# AW Studios- 1/350 TOS Constitution



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

*AW Studios- 1/350 TOS Constitution- New Pics Added*

AW Studios is excited and pleased to announce that we have recently purchased the "Master Parts" of the 1/350th TOS Constitution/Sinclair model kit originally being produced by Composite Creations. We have received the main ship parts (Engineering, saucer, nacelles, B/C deck) as well as parts for the detail pieces. Our sincerest appreciation goes out to Joe Melvin for handcrafting these great parts. We still consulting with CC in order to on perfect these parts to get them right. 

Currently we have done several vacuformed test pulls using .060 and .080 styrene with very exciting results. We are in the process of making some slight modifications to the main hull sections as well as fabricating the remaining detail pieces that will be cast in resin. Our main fabricator is working extremely hard to create acurate detail pieces and continue to hold true the original intention for producing this kit for Star Trek model fans.

This model kit, when completed will be a combination of vacuformed styrene and resin detail parts as well as decal sheets. The styrene will be both .060 and .080 and believe me it is almost as sturdy as the PL Refit injection molded parts. You will also be able to light this model utilizing tubing that will be cast into the pylons. 

AW Studios is GK company comprised of three model/prop fans (myself- Scott, AWHotshot- Rhett, and Crashmann- Charlie) such as yourselves. As some of you may know, AW Studios is curently working on several Star Trek, Star Wars, and other Sci-Fi related model kits (1/350- Constellation, 1/350th- Miranda, 1/350th Dreadnought Conversion, Sebulba Podracer, Red October) as well as our current product line of Ghostbuster Props. We hope to have some of these going into production by April and May (after Crashmann recovers from having his 3rd child). 

Within the next few weeks I will be posting the pictures of what we currently have produced with the current TOS parts and pictures of the additional detailed parts that will be cast in resin. Our ultimate goal is to provide you all with a reasonably affordable TOS model kit that is accurate, lightable, and fun to work with. The kit will be available directly through us via Paypal payment. When we are ready to start producing the kit we will start an "Official" Interest thread, but you are more than welcome to e-mail us at [email protected] or PM me through PM here or Starship Modeler. 

Stay tuned for more exciting news from AW Studios!

Scott, Rhett, and Charlie
AW Studios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Glad to hear the official announcement, Scott. 

I think I've asked you this before, but are y'all planning to be at WonderFest? If so, will you have a table in the Dealers Room? 

Regardless, looking forward to your complete line of kits. :thumbsup:


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## Four Mad Men (Jan 26, 2004)

Sold!


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## idman (Apr 11, 2004)

THAT'S THE WAY UH-HUH UH-HUH I like it UH-HUH UH-HUH :tongue: WOO HOOO


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Scott, great to hear the announcement 

I know just how hard you guys are working. Joe did a fantastic job with the masters. From what I have seen, the kit will be fantastic!!


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## Kanaan (Jan 27, 2007)

Scott-

WOW. I had no idea you were making such amazing progress as well as the variety of kits. When do you guys have time to breathe? I suppose you're bringing some of these goodies to Farpoint for show and tell?

BTW, I know we've been playing phone tag lately. I got your voicemail about Farpoint. I'll likely call you over the coming weekend. 

Phil


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Kanaan said:


> Scott-
> 
> WOW. I had no idea you were making such amazing progress as well as the variety of kits. When do you guys have time to breathe? I suppose you're bringing some of these goodies to Farpoint for show and tell?
> 
> ...


...hhmmmm maybe...... Phill, Can't wait to talk to you this weekend.

Scott


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, I am excited!! I will be happy to see what the kit will look like. Thanks for the tease.


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

Yeah Baby!!! :thumbsup:


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Did I miss the price somewhere?
or is that to be determined?


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Did I miss the price somewhere?
> or is that to be determined?



[removed]


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I've been told, but will let Scott answer that question since things might change between now and the next time he pokes his head in here.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

...More wealth than you can imagine... :jest:


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## Hotshot (Oct 3, 2006)

Kanaan said:


> Scott-
> 
> WOW. I had no idea you were making such amazing progress as well as the variety of kits. When do you guys have time to breathe? I suppose you're bringing some of these goodies to Farpoint for show and tell?
> 
> ...


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Yeah, Hotshot fixes the things I screw up...:lol: Now get back to work Hotshot, NO REST FOR YOU!


Scott


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## Kanaan (Jan 27, 2007)

Rhett-

Awesome, man! I look forward to meeting you if I haven't already. I was not a dealer last Shore Leave but will be this year (as well as Farpoint next weekend).

My table will be in the main dealer room. The Collective will likely be out in the hallway along the front windows of the hotel and Mike Riehl, the other model dude, is usually at the corner by the escalators.

I wonder if Farpoint yet realizes that the models are taking over their convention...muahahahahaha.....surrender now!!

Phil


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Just an FYI, if you have not figured it out, Hotshot/AW Hotshot is our Head Fabricator. Our version of the Miracle Worker.



Scott
AW Studios


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Kanaan said:


> Rhett-
> 
> Awesome, man! I look forward to meeting you if I haven't already. I was not a dealer last Shore Leave but will be this year (as well as Farpoint next weekend).
> 
> ...


Models, and Props and Costumes...Oh MY!


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Did I miss the price somewhere?
> or is that to be determined?





Raist3001 said:


> [removed]


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Final pricing has yet to be determined. The goal is to try and make it as affordable as possible, but material costs and labor will ultimately drive the price.


Scott


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## Pwesty (Aug 30, 2002)

Hey Guys,
I am a little confused here about what’s going on. Are these conversion kits fo the polar light 1/350 refit kit or are these full blown kits? If there are kits does that mean I can finley get a good Reliant in1/350 scale if so I what one!!!! ;-)
Sorry for the confusion on my part and thanks


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

does aw studios have a website?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

No. These will all be full kits except for the Dreadnought. We are currentlt working on our website and hope to have something up soon. 

Some of these have been in develoment for over a year and are finally finishing up. Purachasing the TOS masters from Composite Creations was an opportunity that we could not pass up. 

To say that we are excited about the next several months would be an understatement.


Scott
AW Studios


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Chuck_P.R. said:


>


Sorry Chuck, I stated a price that was not yet a finalized price so I removed my post. When a price is determined, Scott will announce it for everyone.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

No biggie.
I figured it was something like that...


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## Pwesty (Aug 30, 2002)

Thanks Scott,
I was just wondering about the level of detail on the kits? Are we looking at what Thomas Sasser did for the PL Big E refit?
Thanks


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I bought a lot of PE 1/350 figures, when the refit came out. Now I can use them, to put in TOS 1701. One less item to buy. With the Target LED light sets, I have most of the lighting figured out. What is missing? Oh yea! The model!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

As promised, here are some pictures of the first test pulls we did a little while back. This was before we started doing some modifications for vacuumforming. All-inall I would say it was a success. These were pulled .080 styrene. We will most likely stick with .080 and .060. It is a good sturdy thickness.


http://tk386.com/aws/constitution_class-sinclair/index.html


Scott
AW Studios


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

So far so good. Thanks for the pictures. I'm happy!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Yeah! Looking good!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

We talkin male or femals molds? "cause, well, I'm sure you know, female gives sharper detail.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

John P said:


> We talkin' male or female molds? 'Cause, well, I'm sure you know, female gives sharper detail.


Having looked at the photographs provided in the link, they're male masters that are being used to vacu-form. 

I'm not sure how one could vacu-form with female molds. 

As with most vacu-form, most of the detail will be provided by the builder of the kit. The plastic they're using appears nice and thick and should take some good engraved detailing here and there and should allow windows to be cut out without destroying structural integrity..


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> ...I'm not sure how one could vacu-form with female molds...


Actually, it's pressure-forming:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pressure-forming.htm


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

Awesome! :thumbsup:


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Looking MIGHTY good! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

toyroy said:


> Actually, it's pressure-forming:
> 
> http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pressure-forming.htm


That's cool!  Is it do-able at the garage kit level?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

This was done in "The Garage", if that answers your question. Thanks for the positive feedback so far.

Scott


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Can't wait to see more Scott


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## idman (Apr 11, 2004)

this is looking great I'm ready for it


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

Scott,you might try to drill small holes in the saucer masters to draw down the plastic so you dont get those large air bubbles.Alexander


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## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

Vaderman said:


> This was done in "The Garage", if that answers your question. Thanks for the positive feedback so far.
> 
> Scott


If you are using pressure forming then I am really confused. Why are you not doing female molds for the TOS kit? This would give 10 times better fit and detailing and would sell WAY more kits. I would buy a femail molded kit instantly where I need to think about the much larger amount of detailing I will have to do with parts formed over male molds.

Mark


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

^^ Since the masters were already done, before Scott got them, that is the way it will be done. As in all kits, the choice is yours to get it or not. I hope you wait and see, how it looks in a few months.

For me, having a LARGE TOS 1701, is my dream. It will be coming true soon. I have put off doing the cutaway, because it is not BIG enough for me.


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## 1711rob (Mar 15, 2006)

For me, having a LARGE TOS 1701, is my dream. It will be coming true soon. I have put off doing the cutaway, because it is not BIG enough for me.[/QUOTE]

Besides Lloyd one can not have a 3ft long refit or A without having the same size TOS Sitting Next to it.The cutaways are ok,I have 2 but would love to see the same size TOS Sitting next to the Polar Lights. Heaven, Pure Heaven


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> That's cool!  Is it do-able at the garage kit level?


I don't know if the technique has been used for model kits, but there are a number of plastic shops that do this work. Concievably, one could make the molds, and job out the forming of the kit parts.


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## Hotshot (Oct 3, 2006)

I think we all need to just relax and watch the progress. We've already determined how it's gonna get made, and from how the masters are coming along(ones you haven't seen), you guy's will be impressed!
Thanks for tagging along!


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Hotshot said:


> I think we all need to just relax and watch the progress. We've already determined how it's gonna get made, and from how the masters are coming along(ones you haven't seen), you guy's will be impressed!
> Thanks for tagging along!


I'm sure your model will be as good as any vacuformed kit.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

toyroy said:


> I don't know if the technique has been used for model kits, but there are a number of plastic shops that do this work. Concievably, one could make the molds, and job out the forming of the kit parts.


 Oh, I've bought plenty of vacuform kits that were female-molded. The edges and detail are MUCH sharper than is possible with male molds. You only have to sand off the little nibs where the suck-holes in the mold were.


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

John P said:


> Oh, I've bought plenty of vacuform kits that were female-molded. The edges and detail are MUCH sharper than is possible with male molds. You only have to sand off the little nibs where the suck-holes in the mold were.


Whe you're vacuforming with a female mold, you are essentially pressure forming at 1 atmosphere pressure. You should be able to get even crisper detail, when using more pressure. Plus, you don't need to mess up the part surface, with the suction nibs. The question is, can one safely and effectively use this technique at home?


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## Nova Designs (Oct 10, 2000)

John P said:


> Oh, I've bought plenty of vacuform kits that were female-molded. The edges and detail are MUCH sharper than is possible with male molds. You only have to sand off the little nibs where the suck-holes in the mold were.




hehe, he said "suck holes" :tongue: :wave:


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Nova Designs said:


> hehe, he said "suck holes" :tongue: :wave:


Yeah, but he also said "female molded"


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

So far we are planning on using "Male" bucs and suppliment them with detailed resin parts. To be honest, the main sections have very little detail on them, other than windows. We are not putting gridlines on ours, except possibly for the three rings on the lower saucer.

We do have the ability to make female bucs. We are doing them with the 1/350 Constellation and Miranda classes that are in the works. We will see how the next pulls turn out.

Scott


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Alright, folks, I realize that we're all curious about the kit, how it's made and such, but let's please not get too hung up on the details. I've no doubt that when we see the kit we won't really care how it was designed and produced.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2007)

Only thing i must admit to being curious about is when i'm going to get me grubby mits on one 

Go easy.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

When John May gets his dry dock done, then I see two ideas, for this kit. As seen in the 2006 Ships of the Line calendar, the TOS 1701 in the dock, awaiting the refit. Or, take parts from the refit, and put them on this model, showing the refitting. 

Both would make a great display, and with lights in the ships, and dock. Awesome!!


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## Hotshot (Oct 3, 2006)

**** rubs hands together evilly***


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Vaderman said:


> So far we are planning on using "Male" bucs and suppliment them with detailed resin parts. To be honest, the main sections have very little detail on them, other than windows. We are not putting gridlines on ours, except possibly for the three rings on the lower saucer.
> 
> We do have the ability to make female bucs. We are doing them with the 1/350 Constellation and Miranda classes that are in the works. We will see how the next pulls turn out.
> 
> Scott


Please don't take any of the discussion about vacuforming and pressure forming as a criticism of your work. Some of us actually _are_ interested in design and manufacturing techniques!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

None taken. That is what being a part of this modeling community is all about. Sharing ideas and suggestions. We are just excited to be able to offer this to folks. We will try our best to be as detailed as possible. There will always be room for improvements, no matter how well a kit is made. One thing I have to say is that we have some really nice masters to start with. We will try to incorporate all of our knowledge of vacuforming to make these masters produce a solid, quality kit.

Once I let Hotshot out of the dark room we keep him in, we hope to be able to show off some of the detail parts he has worked on.:devil: 

Thanks again for the feedback. Keep it coming.

Scott


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## Hotshot (Oct 3, 2006)

I can get out? :wave:


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> When John May gets his dry dock done, then I see two ideas, for this kit. As seen in the 2006 Ships of the Line calendar, the TOS 1701 in the dock, awaiting the refit. Or, take parts from the refit, and put them on this model, showing the refitting.
> 
> Both would make a great display, and with lights in the ships, and dock. Awesome!!


That was my idea!

Except I originally proposed a couple of differences:

Two half cutaway Dry docks. In the first, a Refit E pulling out.

To the right of that a second half cutaway Dry Dock with a TOS E pulling in.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Well, it has been a while since the last update. I wanted to share a few pictures of some prototype pieces we have been working on. 

Please keep in mind we pulled these using a quickset resin, so they are not the cleanest pulls. Also, the Bussard collector is being redone. The one that is here was AW Hotshot' first attempt using the wrong blueprints, but you should be able to getthe idea we are shooting for. Also, the dish antena rod is incorrect and was originally based on the Smithsonian restoration dish. Let me know what you all think. 

http://www.tk386.com/aws/starship_parts/index.html 

Scott 
AW Studios


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Some of the parts look fantastic.
But the rings and three side pads on the deflector housing don't look so hot.

Have you considered geting some Plastruct tubing about the right diameters of the various circles and then sanding the outside of the rings on a slant via a lathe(or even by centering the pieces on a drillpress).

Also, you might want to consider taking those three flat panels off the deflector housing and placing on the port and starboard and dorsal points of the secondary hull, as was done on the original AMT kit. That way no one will have to fill that impossible to fill seam and you could add the detailed ribbing forward of the side penants on the secondary hull.

Here is a pic that shows what I'm talking about, on the left what the preferred method might be, on the right the other method:


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

On the secondary hull I like the simple two part design used in the Estes Flying Rocket kit, or like the design seen on the 22" cutaway kit, assuming one turned the three parts into two.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, I like what I am seeing. More resin, than I remembered seeing, when first designed. I do perfer more resin details, so I'm have on how it's going.

I have one burning question. Is there going to be a hangar deck interior, and shuttles, as first thought of by the original builder, of the masters? It would be nice, but if it will increase the cost a lot higher, then I can build it myself.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Amazing detail! Looking great, already!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Scott, I like what I am seeing. More resin, than I remembered seeing, when first designed. I do perfer more resin details, so I'm have on how it's going.
> 
> I have one burning question. Is there going to be a hangar deck interior, and shuttles, as first thought of by the original builder, of the masters? It would be nice, but if it will increase the cost a lot higher, then I can build it myself.


Lloyd,

Yes there will be an interior hangar deck. It should not change the cost of the kit too much.

As far as the rings, I appreciate the feedback Chuck. The squares on the side are only there as a guide for now. Unfortunately, I do not have a lathe to work with for the deflector housing. She still has some work to be done, but I think it was a good start considering it was the first pull from the homemade parts it was made with.

Scott


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Absolutely fantastic Scott. I'm sure the finished parts will be nothing but spectacular!!

Looking forward to more updates


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> Lloyd,
> 
> Yes there will be an interior hangar deck. It should not change the cost of the kit too much.
> 
> ...


No question it's fantastic work. _I wouldn't presume to diminish that in the least._

Other then your having asked for suggestions, I wouldn't have even mentioned it if ones eye's weren't so automatically drawn to the deflector housing/dish when looking at a completed ship. It's such a key element of the ship. If it looks perfect your mind tends to overlook other slight variances. But if it looks even a little off then it tends to throw the whole model off. That part, the top of the saucer, and the front part of the nacelles tend to be the most crucial parts of the ship.

You've put so many hours and resources into this, I just wanted to offer a couple of contructive suggestions, sorry if I seemed a bit too critical, you've already done fantastic work on tons of elements that I didn't talk about. So _please don't think I didn't notice the 99.9% of the ship that looks fantastic!_

On the tooling issue...

I don't think a lathe would be necessary. If you started with plastic tubing with the right ring sizes that are as close to the wall thicknesses as possible, the only ring you would need to sand at an inward slant would be the largest outer part in order to give it the proper slant.

The outer ring would be the only one that would need the sanding. It would have to be a very thick walled piece of plastic tubing for the outer piece in order to slant it enough - you might even need a couple of pieces of tubing nestled and glued together.

But once that outer ring is perfect the other inner rings would just need to be cut to the right length and nestled inside one another.

Just an idea.

There may be simpler ways to make the piece look perfectly symmetrical, I'm just making a suggestion off the top of my head and hoping it helps.

Good luck and great work so far! I especially like the quality of the work you did on the intercoolers, which I would have expected to have been very hard to get to look as dead-on as you have gotten them. :thumbsup:


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Great work, thanks for the photos! From the pylon pictures it looks like you are planning on casting some rectangular metal tubing into the part.


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Me want.

:thumbsup:


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## m5multitronic (May 27, 2005)

Somebody oughtta say thanks to Joe Melvin. But I guess we can't do that here.

Oops! I probably just got myself banned for life....


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Don't be a TROLL, *m5*....

If you - or anyone else - wants to know why Melvin was BANNED from here, feel free to PM or email me. However, I'm guessing you already know a lot of the background information, *m5*, judging by your comment.


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## fokkerpilot (Jul 22, 2002)

Your casts are coming along just fine Scott & Rhett.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Just a quick question for everyone: 

Would you prefer the kit be "smooth" with no window indent marks or with indent marks to no where to drill your windows? We are working onthe masters and need to make a decision about this soon. Thanks for your input. 

Scott 
AW Studios


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Hey Scott, I personally would prefer window indents. 

JMNSHO


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Indents, please. make it as easy as possible to locate them and cut them out.


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

Yes, definitely put indents for the window markers.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Indents are preferable but I'd prefer smooth over raised ridges.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I'll cast my vote for indents, as well.


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## d_jedi1 (Jan 20, 2007)

I'm voting for indents too


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2007)

Count me in on the indents, looking forward to this one !

Go easy


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Another vote for indents.


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## idman (Apr 11, 2004)

Indents are Good


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

How about a comprimise? What if we were able to supply you with window mask templates in order to locate all of the windows. We would drill holes in several areas where some of the windows are located which can be used a a marker to line up the window template. No matter what, drilling and filing will need to be done. You would at least have a template to work from and can decide which windows you want to drill out. Just a thought.

Scott


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

That will work for me.


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## idman (Apr 11, 2004)

Vaderman said:


> How about a comprimise? What if we were able to supply you with window mask templates in order to locate all of the windows. We would drill holes in several areas where some of the windows are located which can be used a a marker to line up the window template. No matter what, drilling and filing will need to be done. You would at least have a template to work from and can decide which windows you want to drill out. Just a thought.
> 
> Scott



HMMM I thought that was the original plan to begin with.. whatever way you decide is fine with me


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## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Templates to locate windows works for me too. I had to make a set when I did the 22" AMT kit a decade ago.


DLM


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> How about a comprimise? What if we were able to supply you with window mask templates in order to locate all of the windows. We would drill holes in several areas where some of the windows are located which can be used a a marker to line up the window template. No matter what, drilling and filing will need to be done. You would at least have a template to work from and can decide which windows you want to drill out. Just a thought.
> 
> Scott



Hey Scott 

My vote was for indents but the templates will work just as well. What ever you guys decide, can't wait to build one


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

Yeah, I suppose a template is cool. And, probably much easier for you guys to produce. Thanks.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> How about a comprimise? What if we were able to supply you with window mask templates in order to locate all of the windows. We would drill holes in several areas where some of the windows are located which can be used a a marker to line up the window template. No matter what, drilling and filing will need to be done. You would at least have a template to work from and can decide which windows you want to drill out. Just a thought.
> 
> Scott


Compromises like that can kill a kit before you're even ready to ship.

Looks like indents have the vote, for a very important reason - scale!

We're talking 350th scale here! How many people were disappointed and put off by PL's 1000th scale TOS E not having windows?

That's been overlooked by many(grudgingly) due to the very small size, *but at 350th scale?*

We're talking about a kit made* in one of the largest mass produced scale* ever attempted for this ship.

Indents would be the only sensible way to go.

Cut out windows with clear plastic inserts ala the PL Refit 350th would be even better.

But indents would be acceptible.

Decals only at such a large scale would make the whole ship *look like a toy* and be a deal breaker.


*A 32+ inch model with decals for windows would look like a toy. Even if you get everything else completely perfect.* The indents don't need to be as deep as those on the AMT Cutaway 22", but they should be there and very visible.

Decals would make the whole thing look like one big toy.

Sorry. I love what you've done with the model so far, but resorting to decals for window at this huge a scale would be terrible.

Sorry but that's my honest assessment.
Still like what you've done to this point, however.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

On the other hand, indents sucked in with a male mold are NOT going to be very sharp-edged at all...


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Chuck, you completely missed it. Scott said TEMPLATES, not DECALS. And, having guide holes to line up the TEMPLATES, it will work just fine.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Chuck, you completely missed it. Scott said TEMPLATES, not DECALS.


 
Perhaps I did Lloyd. But templates are an improvement on non-existent indentations how?

Templates are not indentations Lloyd.



Lloyd Collins said:


> And, having guide holes to line up the TEMPLATES, it will work just fine.


You assume.

I'd rather the assurance of the window indents being there to begin with and there being zero question or guessing about it.

But that's my personal feelings on the matter. 

You're free to disagree and be certain everything will work just fine otherwise if you so choose.

Personally I'd rather the feature be there to begin with. I'd rather that then assume everybody - including myself - will be able to fashion the windows from the templates.

Opinions were asked for. Please go with the indentations present to begin with.

That's my opinion.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Chuck,I respect your opinion, as always. If it can get the model out sooner, and maybe save some money, templates are good. But, I do see your view. I have worked on a Seaview vac-formed model, with indents, and it was easier. Also, have worked with templetes, I had no problems. So, both will work for me. 

I like that we are asked our opinion on the model. Usually, when you open a box, you are surprised on how you have to build it. For me, I will just be happy to FINALLY get one.


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## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

I would like to weigh in on the indent side. Having a clear marking as part of a piece eliminates a lot of possible sources of error. A template may shift (even with guide pins) or simply not conform adequately to the 3 dimensional surface. Lets keep in mind that not all of the curves are 2 dimensional bends.

For these reasons my vote would be for indents.

Mark


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

marc111 said:


> I would like to weigh in on the indent side. Having a clear marking as part of a piece eliminates a lot of possible sources of error. A template may shift (even with guide pins) or simply not conform adequately to the 3 dimensional surface. Lets keep in mind that not all of the curves are 2 dimensional bends.
> 
> For these reasons my vote would be for indents.
> 
> Mark


Agreed. Even as John P. has pointed out, the indents may not be perfect(though at 350th scale I think they could come out fairly well if not perfectly sharp), but I'd rather have them then not.

It would be a deal breaker for me to not have windows represented on something of that scale.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Chuck,I respect your opinion, as always. If it can get the model out sooner, and maybe save some money, templates are good. But, I do see your view. I have worked on a Seaview vac-formed model, with indents, and it was easier. Also, have worked with templetes, I had no problems. So, both will work for me.
> 
> I like that we are asked our opinion on the model. Usually, when you open a box, you are surprised on how you have to build it. For me, I will just be happy to FINALLY get one.


I understand the feeling of wanting to finally get a 1:350th scale TOS E. 

Trust me I do.

I also think though, they shouldn't oversimplify the kit to the point where it is undesirable and kills their sales. Few people want to do hundreds of hours of work to get the thing looking decent. 

Maybe some would spend that much to make it near perfect. 
But I doubt many would want to start out doing every basic tiny little detail like windows almost from scratch.

At least I don't think most people want to go through that.

I think it should look fairly decent and have certain specifics done that the builder shouldn't have to do - in this case windows.

Had I not been able to work extra hours and put aside the money, or had some unforseen bill or expense happened I would be in exactly the same boat as to waiting for a 350th TOS E.

I waited about 30 years and had to save for months to be able to get the MR TOS E. Any number of things could have happened to prevent me buying it, as I don't have a ton of disposible income.

So again, I fully understand how you feel; and I hope this works out for the best and everybody gets what they want from this model. :thumbsup:


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## Hotshot (Oct 3, 2006)

So . . .indents it is. 

Seriously though . .if you're gonna buy a 1/350 vac formed kit and you don't have the skill to 
a) line up a template
b) cut out a window, be it wiht a drill, knife, or a sharp attitude
c) do both, or measure you own from scratch

. . .then you shouldn't be building the kit. Period. Hollering about who's opinion's betteer drags the whole dang thread down, so stop it. The kit's gonna look great no matter what. 



Oh . . . and there will be a shuttlebay.



With shuttles.



I just pulled our Deflector housing tonight and hoo doggy it looks nice!


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## 747 (Oct 11, 2001)

I think I agree with Chuck. We've waited this long, a few extra months and a few extra bucks for it to be right is fine by me.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Hotshot said:


> So . . .indents it is.
> 
> Seriously though . .if you're gonna buy a 1/350 vac formed kit and you don't have the skill to
> a) line up a template
> ...


*N.B. Bolding is used for emphasis, not a substitute for caps.*  



Opinions were asked for.

Whether or not one can use a template is irrelevant, 
if nobody wants to do the tedious work every time he builds one 
and _therefore doesn't buy one because of having to deal with tedious templates _
whether he _can_ use a template or not is irrelevant. 

_The kit goes unsold because somebody has dismissed the amount of tedium a modeler wants to deal with._

Should we assume a skilled person never would want to avoid having tons of their time wasted on features that could have been built in to the product?

Again, opinions were asked for as to indents or templates.

And while many, actually most, of us have enough skill to use templates; the question that was asked was

- do we want to have the indents or deal with cutting out windows?

To me it is a matter or want, not skill.

I personally *want *the windows already done, my skill level not withstanding.

I *could* spend hours apon hours cutting out the windows. 

I could also scrub my kitchen floor with a toothbrush.

Both are just as exciting and desirable. 






Hotshot said:


> So . . .indents it is.


Yes, please. Thank You!


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

John P said:


> On the other hand, indents sucked in with a male mold are NOT going to be very sharp-edged at all...


For a totally different reason, I just dragged out a vacuform SFSM TOS Romulan Bird of Prey I bought a long time ago.

Based on indents on that ship, doing the windows on the 350th TOS E should be totally doable, and if they can be done as well as the guy who did this kit, 

the windows on a 350th could come out fairly decent.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Regardless of whether we provide templates to mark the windows and drill or provide indents by marking them on the master, the modeler will still be required to drill the windows through (at least if they want to light it). 

We did ask for opinions about the windows, and we appreciate the feedback. I guess Chuck has raised the point that without the window indents, people will not buy the kit. I would appreciate if others would chime in on this opinion. Would not having indents for the windows stop you from buying the kit? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks again for your feedback.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Indents or just a template work for me, Scott. As you already mentioned, we'll have to do the necessarily cutting, sanding, filling, repeat... that we'd be doing whether there were indents or a template. 




Chuck_P.R. said:


> For a totally different reason, I just dragged out a vacuform SFSM TOS Romulan Bird of Prey I bought a long time ago.
> 
> Based on indents on that ship, doing the windows on the 350th TOS E should be totally doable, and if they can be done as well as the guy who did this kit,
> 
> the windows on a 350th could come out fairly decent.


That kit is a lot different than the one that AW Studios is going to produce. For starters, those vac-kits were made w/female molds, which allows for much crisper detail - at least where vac-kits are concerned.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, I said before and still say, it does not matter to me. I plan to do the 22 inch cutaway TOS 1701, and the windows are in the wrong place. Guess what I have to do, to put lights in it...make a window template. So it will not be a problem with a larger model.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> Regardless of whether we provide templates to mark the windows and drill or provide indents by marking them on the master, the modeler will still be required to drill the windows through (at least if they want to light it).


That's totally true, but it would make it much easier for us.

Also, I'm sure there may be some people like John P. and others who don't usually light their kits. For those customers, a little paint and they are done.

Not only do you have to worry about some people(who can know how many kits are not purchased? Sort of like trying to prove something you may feel intuitively but unable to prove empirically) not buying the kit because of windows there is always the problem of people coming behind you and using your kit to recast a version with indents. That would bite!

Question, is there a reliable clear plastic you could use, so someone might be able to paint the indents with masking fluid and then light-seal the rest? Sort of like the Yamaguchi?

It might be more difficult to do the proper light sealing over clear plastic using exterior coats of paint alone, or might not.

Just trying to brainstorm a bit here.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I WOULD try to light this baby. I'm the indents camp. I can't say I won't buy it if there are no indents, but it'll take me longer to get up the energy to build it knowing there's that extra work of locating the windows. I have a LOT of models to build, I appreciate it when a kit doesn't give me too much extra work to do.


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Hi Scott,

My vote was for indents and I stick by that vote. However, either way you decide to sell the kit will not affect my decision to purchase one 

Looking forward to building one


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

John P said:


> I WOULD try to light this baby. I'm the indents camp. I can't say I won't buy it if there are no indents, but it'll take me longer to get up the energy to build it knowing there's that extra work of locating the windows. I have a LOT of models to build, I appreciate it when a kit doesn't give me too much extra work to do.


You tend to do so many scratchbuilds I've heard you say(okay, write) that you buy regular kits by the case.

Might the extra work influence how many you end up buying?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Raist3001 said:


> Hi Scott,
> 
> My vote was for indents and I stick by that vote. However, either way you decide to sell the kit will not affect my decision to purchase one
> 
> Looking forward to building one


Same question: might the indents not being there influence whether or not you buy more then one?


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Same question: might the indents not being there influence whether or not you buy more then one?


Hi Chuck 

Honestly speaking my answer is no. With all the work I need to do in order to create a PL refit, (the shuttle bays are models in and of themselves), drilling out windows is not a big deal for me. That is NOT to say that I do not understand your P.O.V. I would still much rather have the indents. But it's not a deal breaker for me.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Same question: might the indents not being there influence whether or not you buy more then one?


 More the fact it's a vac kit (which I generally don't like to build) and the price will influence that. I'll probably only get one.


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## Bay7 (Nov 8, 1999)

With these portholes being either rectangular or round, I have no problem with cutting em out. If it was the refit or the 1701 D, ten I'd kick up a fuss!


If the ports were masked off properly, wouldn't multiple coats for paint create the impression of recessed ports? 

and again, if properly masked. the white of the plastic (I'm assuming it will be white) could be utilised to replicate the white lit ports of the tos E, when illuminated from the inside.


Cost may make me think twice about ordering but I always find vac kits hard to build - when windows have been slightly recessed, its made it hard to cut out than having no guide at all! (*but then, I am a lazy modeler).

Mike


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Bay7 said:


> With these portholes being either rectangular or round, I have no problem with cutting em out. If it was the refit or the 1701 D, ten I'd kick up a fuss!
> 
> 
> If the ports were masked off properly, wouldn't multiple coats for paint create the impression of recessed ports?


You would need multiple layers of vinyl as after a couple of coats the masks would be lower then the paint.

On top of that who wants to cut out dozens of little round and rectangular masks?


So far a couple of people have given reasons as to why they might still buy a kit without window indents.

But not a single person has said they favor it.

One person has gone so far as to infer people wanting indents are just lacking in skill and shouldn't buy the kit. That doesn't explain why someone would want to do tedious, mindless little task like cutting out the windows - but let's put that oversight aside and deal with the effort - even skill - a vacuform kit requires.

Vacuum kits are a pain to build to begin with, as has been pointed out by some very skilled people in countless Hobbytalk threads. Witness the fact that John P. doesn't like to build them. 

If admitting that infers that I or anyone else is less skilled then so be it.
Anybody who thinks their skills are so great that kits with huge, relatively thin walled pieces is not at all difficult to build you get a gold star.

On top of that consider the size of this kit. Even if provided an armature of some sort, it's extremely difficult to stabilize such large pieces of vacuform. If anybody thinks vacuform styrene pieces are the same as you might have in your 350th PL Refit kit - think again.

Usually without using foam(easiest) or a ton and a half of putty the pieces will not remain steady or rigid.

Try doing the saucer, or even engineering section on a 1:350th without foam!

Then if you are going to light her, you better have all your connections perfect and hope they stay that way before using foam or putty.

Yes. Vacuform pieces this large will be a real pain to build no matter how skilled someone is.

Personally I don't want to add to the drudgery of all of that having to cut out dozens of tiny windows, templates or not.

Masking again will require to cut out dozens of tiny windows - and hope that none of them have bleed under, and I don't believe the layers of paint would be that practical a substitute. Just a guess on my part. More importantly I wouldn't want the hours and hours of tedious work cutting, pasting, and painting.

All of this to try and match something that could have been done once by the manufacturer and then repeated with consistency on every kit.

Again, let's remember not a single person has favored templates. Just a couple of people have said they would still buy the kit.

But zero in favor of templates.


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## Styrofoam_Guy (May 4, 2004)

I am late in the game here but I am still on the male/female vacforming. 

Hypothetically If the front resin piece is 1.500" diameter and the master for the secondary hull is 1.500" diamter. Would not a male vacform mould using 0.080" thick styrene make the finished secondary hull OD 1.660" diamter?

A female mould with the correct dimensions would give the best results.

I do not see the problem with vacforming a female mould vs a male mould. The hard part is producing the female mould.


Alex
Styrofoam Guy


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Chuck, you need to chill out! Getting worked up over a model is not worth it. If you don't like the way the model is done, don't buy it. But let others choose for themselves. You have got a MR Enterprise, so why would you want to do all the work, and make a big fuss over this model? Enjoy what you got, or buy this model, and make it your own.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> If admitting that infers that I or anyone else is less skilled then so be it.
> Anybody who thinks their skills are so great that kits with huge, relatively thin walled pieces is not at all difficult to build you get a gold star.
> 
> On top of that consider the size of this kit. Even if provided an armature of some sort, it's extremely difficult to stabilize such large pieces of vacuform. If anybody thinks vacuform styrene pieces are the same as you might have in your 350th PL Refit kit - think again.
> ...


I think that there is an assumption that this kit will be made of "relatively thin walled pieces". That is an incorrect assumption. The test pulls we have done were done using .080 HIPS styrene. The secondary hull is VERY thick. I have seen vacuformed kits that are thin like a plastic dixie cup, these are not. Because we are using a thicker styrene for both structural intergrity, rigidy and sturdiness, I am a little hesitant to drill too many holes in it because the thicker plastic may just cause a "sink dimple" and not a true indent. Too mnay of those would really mess up the smooth hull surface. Too many dimples will require a lot of spot putty. I prefer sticking with .080 for the secondary hull and no less than .060 for the saucer and nacelles for the structural integrety.

The other point that I think is being overlooked is that even with indents, if you plan to light her, you will still need to drill the hole out and file it (either port hole or rectangle window). If you don't light her the indents may throw off the decals because of how they are recessed.

No one will dispute that vacuformed kits are more difficult to build than injection molded kits. We are designing this kit to make it relatively easier for a person to build and will be providing full color, step-by-step instructions for the modeler to follower. However you are going to have to get your dremmel out and do some cutting, trimming, sanding, etc. 

Once the masters are finished and we will do some test pulls (including ones with some window holes drilled) to see how it turns out. When we have our first kit ready, we will take full detailed photos of the kit laid out for instructions/advertising, or just for people to see what they would be getting. 

I think that no matter what we do or not do, people will find both positive and negative feedback to provide. That is the nature of having an opinion. We take the feedback as a way to improve our kits. That is the nature of Quality Control. Ultimately the decision will be up to the consumer if they wish to buy it. We are just trying to offer a "kit" product that modelers have been wanting and is reasonably affordable as compared to items like the MR TOS. Some people like to get their hands dirty and also have the ability to build kits the way they think it should be (how many times have heard people say "the colors are too dark" or "the gridlines are too deep" or "the windows are not in the right place"). 



Styrofoam_Guy said:


> Hypothetically If the front resin piece is 1.500" diameter and the master for the secondary hull is 1.500" diamter. Would not a male vacform mould using 0.080" thick styrene make the finished secondary hull OD 1.660" diamter?


We are taking every measure with the masters to account for the thickness of styrene that we will be using. The styrene will match up to the resin parts. Female molds are not the easiest things to make (as I can attest to with our Stargazer kit that will use female molds). Remember, TOS is reltively smooth with clean lines. If this were the E-E or E-A, female molds would be the way to go. It would take alot more time to get ready for. 

I think most people will be pleased with what they get. As soon as I get more pictures, I will post them. Thanks again for the feedback. Let's keep things positive! :thumbsup: 


Scott
AW Studios


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, thanks for the info! 
You said that there are to be resin parts, will the hangar be resin? Will any shuttlecrafts be included? Any plans to offer any add on parts, at extra cost, not planned for the kit. Any thoughts on what the decal sheet(s), will include?


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Chuck, you need to chill out!


 
Please refrain from telling me to chill out.

I know how to use internet writing conventions.

Unless you see all caps assume I'm perfectly chilled.

I do take a lot of words to explain myself, I sometimes overly explain each point. But I've worked in jobs where if I didn't do that some very undesirable results would occur - that would then take tons more work to correct.

So please don't equate my attempts to be thorough in discussing a topic with not being "chilled."

Telling people to "chill out" or "calm down" is often used by people to help them dismiss or diminish the validity of the points that the supposedly "unchilled" person is making.

I know you don't mean to do that, but it can be very insulting.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2007)

I can only speak for myself, i'm really not bothered about wether it's indents or templates.
Eitherway, if there's a good and/or accurate indication of where the windows go then not so much of a problem.
Modeling skill does come into it but so does modeling attitude and if it's going to be in requirment of a bit more effort to get an end result then so be it but like i said, that view i consider true only for me.

I'll be looking forward to this one. I really am tight for space here but when the chance of a good sized kit like this lady comes along, i'm all for it 

Excellent work sir!
Go easy


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Chuck, you need to chill out! Getting worked up over a model is not worth it. If you don't like the way the model is done, don't buy it. But let others choose for themselves. You have got a MR Enterprise, so why would you want to do all the work, and make a big fuss over this model? Enjoy what you got, or buy this model, and make it your own.


So since I have an MR Enterprise I should just go away and shut up?

Take whatever's made and not comment?



Lloyd Collins said:


> But let others choose for themselves.


I have no problem letting anyone choose for themselves.

I'm not telling anyone to not speak their mind, or implying they should "chill out."

I'm making points about what is being said that people may not have considered.

I appreciate Scott having asked for opinions, and I recognize his right to totally ignore any points I or anyone else here has made.

What it comes down to for me is that it's almost ridiculous to not have a feature included in the mold by the manufacturer one time so that the dozens of windows appear consistently in every single kit made then requiring us to do them for each kit.

If Scott can do the windows, I vote for them to be included.

If he can't, he can't. But if there is a way to do it on the master that would save a ton of time for everyone who does one.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> I think that there is an assumption that this kit will be made of "relatively thin walled pieces". That is an incorrect assumption. The test pulls we have done were done using .080 HIPS styrene. The secondary hull is VERY thick. I have seen vacuformed kits that are thin like a plastic dixie cup, these are not. Because we are using a thicker styrene for both structural intergrity, rigidy and sturdiness, I am a little hesitant to drill too many holes in it because the thicker plastic may just cause a "sink dimple" and not a true indent.
> 
> ...
> 
> ...


Now that makes sense.

You won't really know for awhile if the indents will work.

If they do work, I'd vote for the indents.

If they don't work, not much could be done about that.

Please let us know how the test pulls come out.

Thanks again for taking the time to ask for input and your responses.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Chuck, 

You've gone more than a little overboard w/your comments trying to persuade Scott and others to put indents on the model. You've been told by a MODERATOR to chill out on the subject, as well. Being over bombastic may have it's merit in some cases, but not in this one. It's become bothersome not only to myself, but to others, as well. 

Unless you have something more constructive to say, please refrain discussing the issue of window indents with this model. I'm not telling you again and if a Moderator has to tell you to back off/chill out on a subject, you need to listen because I expect Rob or Lloyd to give you a Time Out if you don't. 

Thank you for your cooperation.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Addendum to the above: I appreciate your input in these forums, Chuck. Please don't think I don't. I think you just need to step back a bit and let this particular subject run it's course without feeling you must respond to every point that's made. Buy the model or don't. You've made your thoughts on the subject crystal clear. 

Again, I do appreciate your input and dicussions in these forums.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

I thought the points I was responding to and making were constructive but perhaps not all of them were. If so I apologize.

I used to work for the Minerals Management Service and had to respond to request for information on parcels of land available for lease or that had already been leased for oil & gas drilling.

Some of the info that was requested by companies they were entitled to, some information is classified. The main reason MMS was set up was not just to manage resources, but that so we would know exactly how much oil we have in every parcel of land in the US so that when the future oil crisis occurs a few decades from now we will be able to manage and ration that oil to the public and military. Most people look at the MMS as just a government agency managing lands that happen to have energy reserves. But what should be interesting to note is that it was established not by the Interior Department it technically falls under - but by a National Security Act. Remember what happened when Japan ran out of oil? Imagine every country with a beef with their neighbor about to run out of oil to power their military.

If I didn't give them all the info they were entitled to, I would suddenly have to deal with a half dozen requests from attorneys.

If I accidentally give them classified info I could go to jail for 10 years for every violation.

So I do tend to overexplain myself and respond point by point.
It's a method of writing that has been necessary due to work I had to do over a period of years.

Why that's interpreted as needing to "chill out" or with being bombastic I have trouble understanding.

But I'll gladly shut up on this subject if that will make everybody happy.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> *>SNIP!<*
> 
> Vacuum kits are a pain to build to begin with, as has been pointed out by some very skilled people in countless Hobbytalk threads. Witness the fact that John P. doesn't like to build them.


I wanted to address this specifically. I've built more than half a dozen vac-kits in my life and I'd like to think I'm fairly skilled at at least the construction part of models. 

Vac-kits are not that hard, really. They require a bit of reinforcement internally, to be sure. However, I know of other kits - both styrene and resin - that require similar reinfocement. It's nothing new. One of the benefits of a vac-kit is that it's lighter, while being able to be constructed to be just as durable as a styrene kit. I've built a number of strene and resin kits that are more of a pain to build than any of the vac-kits I've built, as well. 



> But zero in favor of templates.


Actually, to be fair you'd have to count folks who don't care one way or the other, wouldn't you?


previously said:


> Indents or just a template work for me, Scott. As you already mentioned, we'll have to do the necessarily cutting, sanding, filling, repeat... that we'd be doing whether there were indents or a template.


As I and others have said, either way you go, you've still got to cut out the windows, especially if you want to light it. That's why I'm in the middle. Indents will simply make it a little bit easier on us, but might well make the cost of the kit go up. Think about that for a bit.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> I thought the points I was responding to and making were constructive but perhaps not all of them were. If so I apologize.
> 
> I do tend to overexplain myself and respond point by point.
> It's a method of writing that has been necessary due to the jobs I've held over the years.
> ...


 Fair enough and apology accepted far as I'm concerned. 


> But I'll gladly shut up on this subject if that will make everybody happy.


I'm not telling you to shut up except for on that point. I _promise_ you that we get that you prefer indents. You've left no doubt about that in anyone's mind.


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## Chuck_P.R. (Jun 8, 2003)

Griffworks said:


> I _promise_ you that we get that you prefer indents. You've left no doubt about that in anyone's mind.


I'm glad that's clear.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Chuck_P.R. said:


> Now that makes sense.
> 
> You won't really know for awhile if the indents will work.
> 
> ...


No problem. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter....:wave:


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Hey All,

Here are some more pictures (some posted here, the rest on Image Shack) of the masters being worked on and the first test pull being built. AW Studios has been working hard, along with the original creator of these masters, Joe Melvin to try and get the dimensions and the details as close as possible. Hopefully, you all can see the progress we are making.

I know that some people have a fear or may be concerned that a vacuform kit will be too thin and not sturdy. Hopefully these photos will put that thought to rest. You can see, she will be plenty thick. Enjoy!
Scott
AW Studios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

I've no fears that y'all will put out a quality product, Scott! 

And you can mention the name of the "original creator". Despite what he tries to tell other folks, his name isn't taboo, nor is giving him proper credit for the masters and his work on them.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

more pictures attached and the rest are on Image Shack:

http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk48ky3.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk49iu0.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk50iq5.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk51fr0.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk53by0.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk54jv7.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk61nv8.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk57yj2.jpg
http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk48il6.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk46rl9.jpg
http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk47qw2.jpg
http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1atk46ey4.jpg


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Griffworks said:


> I've no fears that y'all will put out a quality product, Scott!
> 
> And you can mention the name of the "original creator". Despite what he tries to tell other folks, his name isn't taboo, nor is giving him proper credit for the masters and his work on them.


Thanks Griff!


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Looks great!


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

The kit looks fantastic! 

I wish AWStudios all the luck in the world.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

:thumbsup: Thanks Tony!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

The links don't work for me, can't see the photos.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> The links don't work for me, can't see the photos.


I will post some directly tonight.

Scott


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> I will post some directly tonight.
> 
> Scott


Too late. I've decided to close this thread. It's getting too long as it is.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

* *




Just kidding of course!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Look forward to seeing them, Scott!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Here are the photos for those who could not access Image Shack.


Scott


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

A few more.


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## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Wow! All I can say is Wow! But Please tell us how much this wonderful kit will cost. Do I need to sell my arm,leg,or my kids to get one of these? lol: ) I am hoping it will be under $200.00? Thanks(Mouth Watering)


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

^^A leg and a kid will do. :tongue: 

Scott, thanks very much for the photos! :thumbsup: 

Is it me, or is the model is looking like a TOS 1701. :thumbsup:


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## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Lloyd Collins said:


> ^^A leg and a kid will do. :tongue:
> 
> Scott, thanks very much for the photos! :thumbsup:
> 
> Is it me, or is the model is looking like a TOS 1701. :thumbsup:


For Sale: One Leg from me $200.00,with sale comes FREE KID,Kid works hard,eats very little,or will Trade Both for Kit!
PM me with Offers! Thanks :lol:


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

As the Beatles might say, "It's gettin' bet-ah all the ti-ime!" :dude:


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

saiyagohan said:


> Wow! All I can say is Wow! But Please tell us how much this wonderful kit will cost. Do I need to sell my arm,leg,or my kids to get one of these? lol: ) I am hoping it will be under $200.00? Thanks(Mouth Watering)


Thanks for the kind words. You will not have to sell your arm and leg. The kit will be under $200. Just not sure yet, how far under.  Alot depends on when we start producing the parts in bulk. We will then get a sense of material cost and time.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Just a few more pictures of some of the progress:

Scott
AW Studios


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

And more.....


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## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Those Parts look Real Good,It just makes the Mouth Water Just a bit More. Can't Wait to see this when it is all finished,WOW!


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## Prowler901 (Jun 27, 2005)

WOW!!!

That's vera, vera nize  
:thumbsup:


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Just a few more pictures. 


Scott
AW Studios


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

With the Deflector array!


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

*Fantastic!!*


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Just a few more updates. The model you see inthe picture is being built using the first test pulls we did. These are not even the final parts. We are tryingto work out all of the kinks and bugs to make this kit as builder friendly as possible. Feedback is always welcome.


Scott
AW Studios


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

One more


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Lookin' good, Scott! You and your team are really coming along with this project. Gonna be a lot of happy folks out there when this is made available for purchase, methinks.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

What Jeffrey said! Still excited by what I see!


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## gofourindian (Mar 31, 2007)

Any Updates?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Yes. We are doing some more test pulls tonight based on some of the parts that have been remastered by Joe Melvin of Composite Creations and myself. If things go real well, we could be ready to take orders within 1 to 2 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed.


Regards,

Scott
AW Studios


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## gofourindian (Mar 31, 2007)

Crossed they are! Scott...Thanks! It looks awesome! Any word on a price yet?


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Thanks for the good news, Scott!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Well, after a 1 week delay in doing the vacuform test pulls, we were finally able to get them done. I am very pleased with the results thus far. Here are the main pictures taken right after the pulls.http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek_TOS_Vac_Pulls/index.html


And attached are some pulls of afew of the resin detail parts.

On another note, I have spoken to JT Graphics and he has supplied us with window decals for the kit as a template or to use as decals. JT will be making the rest of the decals for this kit and we hope to be able to offer them sale with the kit. For those of you that remember, JT supplied MR with decals for the prototype 1/350 TOS out at Wonderfest last year.

We are coming into the home stretch and will hopefully be ready to start taking orders soon. 

I am very excited with the results so far. More pictures to come soon!


Scott
AW Studios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Very nice! You should all be proud of your work on this. Yes, _all_ of you.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Looking very good! Has a test fit of the whole model been done yet? Can you show a close-up of the hangar deck?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek_TOS_Vac_Pulls/slides/DSC_6501.jpg

I'm gonna need a little more guidance than _none _on where to cut the part from the excess!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

John P said:


> http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek_TOS_Vac_Pulls/slides/DSC_6501.jpg
> 
> I'm gonna need a little more guidance than _none _on where to cut the part from the excess!


It is a little hard to see in that photo because of the lighting and the whiteness of the styrene, but there is a definite cut line from where it attaches to the riser/excess styrene.

It is a little clearer in this photo. 

http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek_TOS_Vac_Pulls/slides/DSC_6492.html

Don't worry John, we will make sure we provide some guidance for cutting the parts.  


Scott
AW Studios


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Ah, yes ... at the end of that hairline crack/slit?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

SteveR said:


> Ah, yes ... at the end of that hairline crack/slit?


You are correct sir!


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## 3D-builder (Jun 4, 2007)

John P said:


> http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek_TOS_Vac_Pulls/slides/DSC_6501.jpg
> 
> I'm gonna need a little more guidance than _none _on where to cut the part from the excess!


Yes, this is a crucial point in the construction of a Vacuum formed model for sure!  If you were forming over your own master plug with a equator plug underneath it would be much easier. After the pull is complete you can pull out the equator plug, this leaves the master plug still inbedded in the styrene.You now trim away the flash with scissors just above the master plug leaving maybe 2mm to 3mm of styrene.Take two pieces or what is needed of sand paper and tape them to smooth surface.Flip the pulled piece over with the master facing down and sand until you just make contact with the masters flat side, your know at the correct half of the part.You will also see how easy the mater falls out of the plastic at this time.

For the buyer of the kit this will not be possible because the master plug nor the equator plug will be included...nor should it be  So what to do well maybe Scott can just include the thickness of the equator plug in the directions. If it was 20MM high you need to take off 20MM of flash to reach the true equator.

If the above senario was true mark off at 20 MM and 17MM and cut it with a scissor at 17MM. Because of the shape of the hull and the soft characteristics of polystyrene I would not recomend a exacto knife as the can wonder without a straight edge.After you cut it at 17 MM lay it down on sand paper and watch as you move up to the 20MM mark when you get there your OK.

Regards,
Michael


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## 3D-builder (Jun 4, 2007)

*Vacuum formng*

Here is quick guide to what I said this a Studio scale A-wing engine Iam building for a display model. I created the master of the engine out of pine and it was covered in some areas with epoxy sculpt.

Picture 1 Shows the equator plug up on the platen
Picture 2 shows the Pull
Picture 3 shows the


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Something that I had pointed out to me when working on my first vac-kit and ahve done ever since w/Vac-kits is to cover the entire model in primer while it's still "on the card" - i.e. before cutting the parts off the sheet. Once you've done that, you can lightly sand down the parts along the unprimed edge until you meet the primer and you're good to go. Has worked on all my previous projects w/o a problem.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Those are all good tips. Yes I will include the directions of exactly where to cut/trim the styrene flash. With the majority of the parts it will be pretty obvious. The only part that may be slightly more difficult is the lower saucer section. I wanted to put enough meat on it just in case someone has an ooppss with the dremmel or X-acto knife.  


Scott


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## 3D-builder (Jun 4, 2007)

1st pic shows the equator plug up on the platen
2nd is the pull
3rd shows the equator plug not removed
4th shows the equator removed
5th shows sicssors being used to cut equator flashing


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## 3D-builder (Jun 4, 2007)

A few more steps with pics. I think vacuum formed kits can be fun and rewarding, you just have to be patient and be ready to make adjustments.

6th pic working it down to master plug
7th pic finished you can see it is level with the master inside
8th pic Together.

I pulled this out of .080 or about 2mm styrene as a test because I was out of 3mm. Iam a overkill idiot so don't think this is dig against Scott. Iam sure the kit will be sturdy and true when all is finished! Good luck with the kit and the sale.

Regards,
Michael


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Griffworks said:


> Something that I had pointed out to me when working on my first vac-kit and ahve done ever since w/Vac-kits is to cover the entire model in primer while it's still "on the card" - i.e. before cutting the parts off the sheet. Once you've done that, you can lightly sand down the parts along the unprimed edge until you meet the primer and you're good to go. Has worked on all my previous projects w/o a problem.


I'm not sure I quite follow you. What I'm picturing is the outside with primer, the inside not, and I sand from the lower inside edge until I go all the way through to the primer, thus thinning down to nothing at that point. I think this might do well for separating the parts cleanly from the flat part of the sheet, but I don't think it would help know how much of the "extruded" part of the plastic to trim/sand off. What am I misunderstanding?


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## portland182 (Jul 19, 2003)

^^ After priming your sheet, you carefully cut the part out with a scalpel.
This will leave an un-primered edge at the bottom of the part where it used to be a bit of the sheet of plastic.

Carefuly (!) sand the part, until the un-primered section is completely worn away. You have now completely removed 1 part from the vac form sheet.

The primer versus un-primered line tells you how far to trim the extrusion.

Repeat with other parts and glue the kit together...

Jim


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Sorry if I'm being dense.
Looking at the image below, I want to part at the line indicated by the green arrow, not the red one. I can visualize the sand-to-primer working great if I want to part at the red line but not helping if I want to part at the green line. Is that right?
(With SFSM vacform kits, IIRR, the desired part line is typically more like the red line. With others, such as shown by 3d-builder and vaderman, like the green line.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

No, you're not being dense at all. That part will have to be cut from the "inside" of the secondary hull piece and shaped as required. Does that make sense?


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Thanks. While I was hoping you guys know a "magic" technique, I didn't think there was any getting around the basic: trim and sand just enough (not too much!) from each part until the two sides mate perfectly and form the perfect shape (circle in this case: wide oval, keep sanding; narrow oval  time to putty  ).


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Yep. On that opening area at the front of the secondary hull, I'd suggest that you cut that piece a bit "large" so that you've got room to work in towards the rim. Plus, it might be completely covered by the deflector housing piece, so cleaning it up likely won't be an issue. I always recommend that you give yourself plenty of room to work "toward" the area you're looking to make a clean seam since that's a ton easier to do than trying to rebuild an area.


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

This is getting me excited for the kit!

<broken record mode>
Vaderman, how much _and how soon?!_
</broken record mode>


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## 3D-builder (Jun 4, 2007)

uss_columbia said:


> Sorry if I'm being dense.
> Looking at the image below, I want to part at the line indicated by the green arrow, not the red one. I can visualize the sand-to-primer working great if I want to part at the red line but not helping if I want to part at the green line. Is that right?
> (With SFSM vacform kits, IIRR, the desired part line is typically more like the red line. With others, such as shown by 3d-builder and vaderman, like the green line.


Your ok brother  You have to cut both any way 1st you cut all the flat styrene away that was unused around the base of the formed shape red arrow.After this you are left to cut the flash away indicated at the green arrow mark.The flash at the green arrow mark is created by the equator plug elevating the master plug.It's neccessary to elevate the mater plug so you can achieve the true equator or half.Once it is trimed up to the green arrow indicated you are finished.I would suggest you can trim the the flat unused are with a exacto-knife.When you begin to trim up to the green arow line use a pair of scissors as you will have more control.Remember the part is a half so it's hollow, it will have a bit of flex and this could make trimming at this section dangerous with an exacto knife.As your applying pressure to cut the the piece will want to give a bad situation with a knife.

I would also suggest leaving a mm or so before the green arrow all the way around.Sand the rest of the falsh to the green arrow so you come up perfect on the equator.If you cut it all the way around with scissors or exacto knife and end up with a un-even edge it will require more filling when the two halfs come together.This applies for all of the formed parts in the kit.

Hope that helped a bit.

Regards,
Michael

Oh P.S. when you sand don't sand in various areas with the sand paper, tape the sand paper down and glide the part over it until you reach your finishing line at the equator


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Griffworks said:


> No, you're not being dense at all. That part will have to be cut from the "inside" of the secondary hull piece and shaped as required. Does that make sense?


That is exellent advise.

Scott


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Me still want :roll:


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

uss_columbia said:


> This is getting me excited for the kit!
> 
> <broken record mode>
> Vaderman, how much _and how soon?!_
> </broken record mode>


As soon as I get some things straightened out here, I will be able to tell you when. It should hopefully be in a few weeks. I am hoping to keep the price at $175, not including JT's decals, which will probably run about $15 or shipping.

Final price will be announced when I post the that we are taking orders.

Scott


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Any more pic updates for us, Scott?


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

:devil: Is it ready yet?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

To quote ST:III- "Soon Captain....quite Soon!"

Actually, most of the detail resin parts are in silicone as we speak. Just a few more detail parts to finish and clean up. I am also going to do one more once over of the saucer section top, based on the last pulls. I want make sure she is real smooth and thatthe teardrop tapers just right.

My goal is to make an annoucement in early July about taking orders. I just want to make sure we are ready before I do. If I have not mentioned it, I have spoken to JT Graphics and he will be working with me to provide decal sheets for the kit. As soon as I work out the exact cost of them, I will let you know. He has already provided me window decals that can be used to make templates for the windows.

I appreciate everyones comments. Please let me know if you do have an interest in the kit. I have an "informal" list right now and I will contact everyone onthat list once I am ready to release it.

Regards,

Scott
AW Studios


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Well, put me on that list, if you haven't already.

Might not be able to actually put in an order until September, but I definitely want one.


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## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

Definately put me on the list.
Thanks.
Mark


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## justinleighty (Jan 13, 2003)

Ditto.


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

I'm in as well


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## Dreadnought Fan (Nov 1, 2003)

Any new word on this? It has been several weeks since the last update from you, Vaderman.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Status please.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Poured silicone on some of the master parts this afternoon. I need to do a little more refining on the main bucs (neck, upper saucer), the shuttlebay (which has been a PITA), etc. I just got a set of preliminary decals from JT that look great. I will be going back to Crashman's (my partner) this week to hopefully finalize the rest of the molds. My goal is to start pouring parts this week and next week, order boxes, part bags, and mailing labels. Hopefully I will start taking orders by next week. I hoped to this week, but I still have too many parts to get molded. I also need to get the rest of the parts to Joe to finish doing a build-up and directions. See the thread on Starshipbuilder to see some of the progress.

*NOTE: LINK REMOVED IN AN ATTEMPT TO KEEP THINGS PEACEFUL*

Just let me know if you are interested in a kit. I may also be offering the Destroyer kit as well. I just need to modify the neck slightly ti connect to the nacelle.

Thanks for the interest. 
Scott
AW Studios


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

You sure you wanna be posting links to that thread? There's a little too much attitude in there, I'm afraid.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Let's focus on the model and not any unpleasantness. I'm sure that Charles will clean up the thread at Starship Builder and I'll then go back and replace the link. My apologies to Scott for removing the Link for the time being.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

I had not seen the thread since the last several posts. I am sorry the thread has spiraled there. I have no problem with the Starship Builder thread being removed at this time. I will try to keep this thread on track.


Scott


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## star-art (Jul 5, 2000)

It was just brought to my attention that things got out of hand and the thread in question has been locked down and cleaned up. Now back to our regularly scheduled modeling discussion. . .


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Vaderman said:


> I had not seen the thread since the last several posts. I am sorry the thread has spiraled there. I have no problem with the Starship Builder thread being removed at this time. I will try to keep this thread on track.


No worries, Scott. I think you've done a great job of making sure that this thread stays on track, as have the majority of folks who've posted here, and thank you all for that. I think that you've done an excellent job of keeping us informed on the kit's status. You can't help when things get off track, unfortunately. 

The link to the thread: http://www.starshipbuilder.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1656&page=6

A reminder to everyone as a whole - let's keep to the discussion at hand, which is the production of the kit itself. There's no need to go off-topic and discuss anything other than this product. 

Thanks.


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## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

Griffworks said:


> A reminder to everyone as a whole - let's keep to the discussion at hand, which is the production of the kit itself. There's no need to go off-topic and discuss anything other than this product.
> Thanks.


 
On that note, the kit is looking fantastic. I'm not a big fan of Vacuform kits but I think I'm going to have to purchase this one.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Vac-kits aren't nearly as hard as some folks will have you believe. Sure, there are some real dog-kits out there, but even a dog of a kit can be made in to Kennel Club material with a little tender loving care. I'm sure that once Scott & Company have the minor accuracy issues ironed out that this is going to be a must-have kit. I wasn't thinking serious of buying one due to both storage and display space issues, but if the final product is as good as what I'm sure Scott and AW Studios is capable of giving us, I'll prolly have to get one and keep one of my PL Refit's so they can be shown side-by-side - if only in my man-cave in the garage of the house we're about to get. Heck, if nothing else, I'll buy one to help support AW Studios to encourage them to press on w/their planned line of 1/350 Trek kits. 

Anyhow, I hope that folks will continue to be patient with Scott as he and his crew work thru these issues.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

The attention to details that this kit is getting, mean that it will be a great kit to get.
The updates, only make getting this kit, more of a must have kit.
Scott has been great on everything, about this kit. I look forward to getting one!


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## REL (Sep 30, 2005)

That's looking pretty good, he's got it nice and smooth and the pieces cleaned up really well.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Thanks for the kind words. We are striving to produce a kit that is as accurate as possible given the tools we had to work with. So far we are pleased with the results. As with any kit (PL, AMT/Ertl, Revell, etc.), I am sure there will be possible flaws that people will point out or will want to change. 

Like Griff said, vacuform kits really are not as difficult as people will lead you to believe. A lot of factors need to be considered, thickness of plastic, the number of vacuform pieces, detail pieces (usually softer if you vacuform them using male bucs, but sharper with female bucs), how much internal support do you need. I can comfortably say that the thickness of the kit will please people (once they cut of the flash, they will think it is almost as thick as the PL refit). There are 8 pieces of vacuform parts (Top saucer, Bottom saucer, 4 nacelle halves, Port and Starboard Engineering/neck section). The detail pieces will be done in resin. I just pulled the masters out of the molds for the deflector array housing, bridge, lower sensor ring, shuttle bay doors, and impluse engine. The mold turned out really nice. The inner nacelle, piece, and other nacelle details are in silicone as we speak.

With a little elbow grease, sand paper, files, utility and X-Acto knives, razor saw, spot putty, Apoxie Sculpt (can't get enough of that stuff), primer, and paint, you will have a great representation of a TOS era Constitution class ship. And with us offer the decals from JT Graphics, you will have window decals for those who don't like to light or use it as templates for drilling windows for lighting.

Unfortunately I have lost my camera, otherwise I would take pictures of the molds. Hopefully Charlie (my AW Studios partner) will be able to get the video of us doing some vacuform pulls and pouring silicone posted on our photo site.

Thanks again for the words and the support for this project.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

I have had the pleasure of viewing one of Scott's kit first hand. Although it is not to be the final version to be available to the public, I can say that the kit is well constructed. The plastic is quite thick, and very sturdy. Once the flash is trimmed back, what you have really are halves just like any injection mold, just with out the insertion tabs. 

The final release from AW studios I believe will be totally satisfying.

Good luck Scott


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I'm back, and I want one.


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Welcome back. I think you beat the model here by at least a few days, though.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Captain April said:


> I'm back, and I want one.


Got you on my "unofficial" list.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

[Cartman]

Shweeeet!

[/Cartman]


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Thanks again for everyones feedback. I will be going on vacation next week and into the following week. However, once I am back, we will be contacting those who have expressed interest and will be making the announcement on the kit release. 

Thanks again for all of your support.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

Vaderman said:


> Got you on my "unofficial" list.
> 
> Scott
> AW Studios


If you can add me too. Depending on the cost I would be very interested as well.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Enjoy your vacation, Scott!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Griffworks said:


> Enjoy your vacation, Scott!


Believe me, it is much needed. Need to rest up for all of the plastic melting and resin pouring and packaging.....and.....and..... :tongue: :roll: 

Scott


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, enjoy your vacation! :wave: 

We always know where you are, after we tagged you. GPS is real neat! :freak: :tongue:


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

I just wanted to make a quick announcement that AW Studios and Composite Creations have decided to part ways on the development of this kit. After AWS acquired the original masters from CC, AWS kept CC involved with AWS development and remastering of the original parts and feedback on the new parts that were created. We would like to thank CC for all of their efforts and input and wish them the best on their future modeling endeavors. 

Don't worry, AW Studios will still be producing this kit. We believe in this kit and believe that there is a need and desire by fans to have one to build. We thank you for your continued support.

As mentioned earlier, we will be making the announcement sometime after we return from vacation on the release of the kit.

Regards,

Scott
AW Studios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

No worries, Scott. We'll be here when you get back from your vacation. Enjoy it and don't think about models or modeling for the entire time!


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## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

Hope the vacation was great Scott. Any news update?

Thanks,
Mark


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> I just wanted to make a quick announcement that AW Studios and Composite Creations have decided to part ways on the development of this kit.


Scott, I can't say I am surprised to know this. I always thought it was just a matter of time. It is a shame to say the least. I am glad your forging ahead though. Looking very forward to building one of these  

Not to mention some of your other projects


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## Guest (Aug 25, 2007)

Raist3001 said:


> *snip* Looking very forward to building one of these


That makes two of us Tony!
Seriously looking forward to getting my grubby lil' mitts on one of these...or two 

Go easy


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Thanks All.

I have another round of parts in silicone as we speak (pylons, bussard disks, side deflector houseing detail, shuttle bay). The last piece I need is the deflector dish which I am having turned on a lathe for me. 

If all goes well, I will be speaking to my partner Charlie this week and hopefully we can work out a schedule to start pulling shells and pouring resin parts. I also need to give JTGraphics some time to start printing decals. My goal is to have the kit ready for sale in 2-3 weeks.

I am still keeping a list of people interested, so let me know and I will ad you to the list.

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Any thoughts about electronics and lighting?

I have been in corespondence with Joe @ CC to make the 1/350 discs 1 1/2 inch diameter. (on spec) He has a first set of samples of the resized circuit discs to try with his build up.

DLM


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

DL Matthys said:


> Any thoughts about electronics and lighting?
> 
> I have been in corespondence with Joe @ CC to make the 1/350 discs 1 1/2 inch diameter. (on spec) He has a first set of samples of the resized circuit discs to try with his build up.
> 
> DLM


Oh she will definately be lightable. I was going to leave the electronics up to those such as yourself Don, JWR, etc. 

Joe @ CC is no longer working on the development of this kit, however, I believe the discs were good.

Don, are you interested in a kit ?

Scott


----------



## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Yes interested, but not yet commited... with so many ongoing projects here.
But I can always change course...I'll need one to build one.

I am anxious to see if the WWB system can be adapted to 1/350 TOS and the NX-01. Already I have custom kitted circuit kits with parts for the relic TOS 18 inch kit for customers who have inquired.

The next step here is to take the disc photo etching art film from prototype to prodution. 


DLM


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

DL Matthys said:


> Yes interested, but not yet commited... with so many ongoing projects here.
> But I can always change course...I'll need one to build one.
> 
> I am anxious to see if the WWB system can be adapted to 1/350 TOS and the NX-01. Already I have custom kitted circuit kits with parts for the relic TOS 18 inch kit for customers who have inquired.
> ...


Cool. I will add you to the interested list. If you need a bussard housing (bussard discs, housing chamber, domes) for sizing purposes, let me know.

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

I have to admit Don having a bussard collector and navigation flasher board set for this kit would be really desireable.

My Two Cents,
Mark


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

With it being vacuformed and the fact that I will be running brass tubes through the cast pylons, this ship screams to be lit.  


Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

*the correct tenses*

of casted is "cast" and lighted is "lit"


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Lou Dalmaso said:


> *of* casted is "cast" and lighted is "lit"


 "of"? Also, where's your punctuation and capitalization? You have a nice qualifying clause here, but it's a sentence fragment hanging in space, with no subject revealed.


----------



## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Vaderman said:


> Cool. I will add you to the interested list. If you need a bussard housing (bussard discs, housing chamber, domes) for sizing purposes, let me know.
> 
> Scott
> AW Studios



OK... let's do with them parts for a start...I have two pairs of 1.5" dia discs to find out.
PM sent.

DLM


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Lou Dalmaso said:


> of casted is "cast" and lighted is "lit"


My wife was the english major...not me, I....


----------



## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Scott, have you received the deflector dish yet?


----------



## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

John P said:


> "of"? Also, where's your punctuation and capitalization? You have a nice qualifying clause here, but it's a sentence fragment hanging in space, with no subject revealed.


I'll cop to the Capitaliztion and punctuation, but the subject line provides the rest


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Raist3001 said:


> Scott, have you received the deflector dish yet?


No not yet. He was going to try and get it spun and mailed out to me this week. I will follow up with him by the end of the week. 

The wheels are really starting to spin now.....the time for release is fast approaching...:roll: 


Scott


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

John P said:


> "of"? Also, where's your punctuation and capitalization? You have a nice qualifying clause here, but it's a sentence fragment hanging in space, with no subject revealed.


Alright you guys, stop w/the analyzing and correction of people's diction? While I understand that some commonly mispelled words can be annoying - "irregardless" being a pet peeve of mine! - it doesn't add to the conversation at hand and can be pretty annoying. Especially when it's more a simple matter of a person misspelling a word or "fat fingering" when they're typing.


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

^^ P.S. The human brain can read what is ritten, and deciffer it ok.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

LOL @ Lloyd.... 


Scott, please add me to your list of interested folks. It'll be a couple months before I can get one (promises to Wife about model spending after our move), but I definitely want to get one and will be sure to tell everyone where to buy one. 

You guys at AW Studios are DaBomb. :thumbsup:


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Griffworks said:


> LOL @ Lloyd....
> 
> 
> Scott, please add me to your list of interested folks. It'll be a couple months before I can get one (promises to Wife about model spending after our move), but I definitely want to get one and will be sure to tell everyone where to buy one.
> ...


Got you added to the list. And AWS appreciates the support.

Scott


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Well, that was a long break.

What'd I miss?


----------



## Eric K (Jul 15, 2001)

Hmmmm, a 1/350th TOS Enterprise? What's da price? I think I'd like one or maybe two.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Captain April said:


> Well, that was a long break.
> 
> What'd I miss?


Welcome Back! Haven't missed much. Hopfully I will finish up the molds of the masters this weekend. We are so close I can taste the Klingon Blood Wine. I still have to work on the instructions and need to touch base with JTGraphics. 




Eric K said:


> Hmmmm, a 1/350th TOS Enterprise? What's da price? I think I'd like one or maybe two.


Pricing will be $195 plus shipping. This includes a set of JTGraphics registry decals and windows decals. Let me know if you want me to add you to the interest list and how many.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Eric K (Jul 15, 2001)

Add me on!! Go fer one at the moment and I'll hope to get two. Sorry for the wishy washy on the second one.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Eric K said:


> Add me on!! Go fer one at the moment and I'll hope to get two. Sorry for the wishy washy on the second one.


No problem. You will be added to the list. Thanks for your interest.

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Hello I have a question,this thread started in Feburary,and it is now September,any idea on when this might be available as a kit? I would really like to have one of these. Could we all get a progress report? :wave:


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Good things come to ye who wait.


----------



## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

saiyagohan said:


> Hello I have a question,this thread started in Feburary,and it is now September,any idea on when this might be available as a kit? I would really like to have one of these. Could we all get a progress report? :wave:


Patience is a virtue


----------



## Capt. Krik (May 26, 2001)

"Rome wasn't built in a day!"


And the cliches just keep on comin'.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

"The Needs of the many..outweigh....the needs of the few..or the one"

Quick update.

Final molds have been poured and I hope to take some photos tonight for posting. So far I am relatively pleased with how everything has turned out. I am sure that those of you who have done resin casting, know it can be a finicky and tedious process.

My goal tonight is to lay out all of the parts for photos. If the pulls go well, I should be ready to take official orders. However, I still need to get the intructions completed (this is being worked on). I will start with people on the interest list and see if they are ready to commit to getting one. 

Hopefully tomorrow I will make an announcement. :woohoo: 

Charlie (my partner) and I need to restock our .080 and .060 styrene and make sure we have our resin from Smooth-on ready to go. 

Keep your pointed ears crossed!

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

saiyagohan said:


> Hello I have a question,this thread started in Feburary,and it is now September,any idea on when this might be available as a kit? I would really like to have one of these. Could we all get a progress report? :wave:


If you are not already on the interest list, I will add you to it. :thumbsup: 

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Vaderman said:


> If you are not already on the interest list, I will add you to it. :thumbsup:
> 
> Scott
> AW Studios


Thanks for the update, I am really looking forward to having this and building it.:woohoo:


----------



## REL (Sep 30, 2005)

Posting someone's private PM's publicly is pretty low in my opinion.


----------



## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

REL said:


> Posting someone's private PM's publicly is pretty low in my opinion.


Sorry but I needed to clarify this,because if our leader thought my question about progress was hateful,then maybe other might of thought that also,and that is not the way I meant it.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Yes, posting a *Private* Message w/o the other persons permission has pretty much always been verboten (i.e. "forbidden") in pretty much every forum on the Internet, for quite a few years, George. There's a reason that folks send them *Privately*.... You should know better by now that this is unacceptable.


----------



## edwhitefire (Jan 23, 2004)

BAD post! Bad!
Heel... Heel... Sit!
Stay.


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Heh... That's funny. Thanks, Mr. Whitefire. I needed that laugh.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

:freak:  I must have fallen asleep through all of the excitement. 


Scott


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Once again I leave the house, and look what happens!

Since the model is real close to being released, I wonder how long before a shuttle is mastered, and released?


----------



## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

Who's going to tackle a 1/350 doomsday machine??  

Probably wouldn't fit in my back yard.

A shuttle would be nice.


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I think just the maw of the planet killer would kinda be the size of the jaws of one of those prehistoric sharks.

Say, fifteen feet in diameter?


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> Once again I leave the house, and look what happens!
> 
> Since the model is real close to being released, I wonder how long before a shuttle is mastered, and released?


 
HHHHHHMMMMM No look what you did. You got me thinking about "Another" future project.... 

Actually after this, I want to finish the 1/350th Stargazer, 1/650 Enterprise E and the 1/350 Reliant. After that, my partner Charlie wants to tackle a larger scale (not studio size though) Deathstar. But, the shuttle could still be worked on simutaneously.  


Scott


----------



## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Vaderman said:


> Actually after this, I want to finish the... _<SNIP>_...1/650 Enterprise E


Oh heck yea  Looking very forward to this project


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

The new pictures are here...the new pictures are here:roll: :woohoo: 


Here are the photos that we took the other night. We are very excited. I want to get a quick build-up done (to use for instructions and box art) and then we should be ready to roll. Let me know what you all think. Attached are some pictures. The rest can be viewed at the link below.

http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek_TOS_All_Parts/


Enjoy!

Scott 
AW Studios


----------



## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Scott...your personal message box is full here at HobbyTalk
I got your domes to test out with circuit boards.
Contact me by regular E-mail I'll know the results by the end of the day.

Don Matthys 
dba Don's Light and Magic 
www.DLMparts.com 
[email protected] 
Make it Glow!


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

It looks awesome! 

Lots more resin, than I though, but that only makes for more details.

I noticed the nacelle struts are resin, will that affect running lights to the nacelles?


----------



## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

Scott,
I looked through all of your pictures and I am impressed. Nice job!. 

I do have four thoughts/questions:
1) Where are the dome pieces for the rear of the nacelles? Will you be supplying them as part of the kit?

2) On the hangerbay doors: These castings don't look so great. The grooves seem way to deep and the grove width is way out of scale. These should be scribe lines. Am I missinterpreting the picture?

3) Will you be offering the impulse engine piece in clear so we can light it up?

4) Overall, which parts will be clear?

Thanks,
Mark


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> It looks awesome!
> 
> Lots more resin, than I though, but that only makes for more details.
> 
> I noticed the nacelle struts are resin, will that affect running lights to the nacelles?


If you look some of the later photos on the link, you will see that I cast 2 rectangular tubes into the pylons for both stability and to run wiring. I think we should be good.

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

marc111 said:


> Scott,
> I looked through all of your pictures and I am impressed. Nice job!.
> 
> I do have four thoughts/questions:
> ...


1. Silly me forgot to bring them for the pictures. Yes we have them and they will be included with the kit.
2. We will take a look at it and if need be, make changes. I agree that they may bee too deep.
3. I had not planned on it, but I may be getting some impulse engine grills that I can clear cast and the slid cast grills can be cut out and replaced with the clear ones. 
4. My plan is to clear cast the following parts: a. The Bridge dome b. The lower sensor dome c. Possibly the entire shuttlebay, but minimally the observation/control room and the open door archway. d. and as stated above the impulse grill if people think it is worthwhile.

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

Thanks for the clarification Scott. Looking good.

I would really like a clear Impulse piece to make the lighting easy. 
One vote at least.

One last thought: On your instructions: As someone who has never done a vacume kit before A hints and techniques page for this kit would be really nice.

Mark


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, I remember now, about the nacelle wiring tubes, thank for the info.

Before this kit was announced, I though the 22 inch cutaway, would be the largest. So I bought 1/500 figures for the kit. Now with this 1/350 kit, I can use the PE figures I bought for the refit in this model. I have plans to have rooms, and figures in this kit, when you look in the windows. 

I am now seeing if I can build a 1/350 shuttlecraft to put in the hangar. Yes, I am excited.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Lloyd Collins said:


> I am now seeing if I can build a 1/350 shuttlecraft to put in the hangar. Yes, I am excited.


I do have one that I scratch built, but 



marc111 said:


> Thanks for the clarification Scott. Looking good.
> 
> I would really like a clear Impulse piece to make the lighting easy.
> One vote at least.
> ...


We will see what we can do for ya! :thumbsup: 

Scott


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Just a quick update, I have been getting some advise from Don Matthys on casting my parts and have decided to redo several of the molds. This will help to improve the quality of the parts that are cast. Obviously that will delay things a little longer, but not too long (I hope). I appreciate everyone's patience and support. We are just trying to produce the best kit with the resources at our disposal. 

If no one objects, I will be contacting people via PM or e-mail to confirm interest and if they will be purchasing or not. I need to start getting a definitive count in order for me to let JTGraphics know how many decals to print up and to also order my shipping supplies, resin, etc. 

Thanks again. 

Scott 
AW Studios


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

While we are waiting on the bell jar to degas and remake a few molds, I have taken this temporary delay and am making the most of it. I have redone a few parts based on feedback from people. Revised parts include, shuttlebay, clamshell (shuttlebay door), inner nacelle detail, front bussard housing and 3 rectangle pieces that surround the bussard discs. 

I am at work right ow, but when I get home I will post some of the new pictures. 

Regards,

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Sorry these are a few days late. My kid has been sick and late nights working on the model delayed photos. A little more sanding and priming and they will be ready for RTV molding. 


http://new.photos.yahoo.com/[email protected]/albums




Enjoy!

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Eric K (Jul 15, 2001)

Clicked on the link and it jsut sent me to a page that said yahoo photos is closing.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

That's wierd. Even when I sign out of my yahoo account and then click on the link it takes me there with no problem. Try closing all browsers and then reopening them.

Is anyone else still having problems accessing yahoo photos?

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

It worked for me.


----------



## marc111 (Nov 10, 2005)

Scott
Parts are looking good. Two observations:
1) Its great that you are including shuttlecraft. It would seem from your picture that the front lacks the slight projections of the side walls past the main upper slanting surface.

2) The grooving on the shuttle doors is just not right. It should look like this.









Thanks for the hard work,
Mark


----------



## heiki (Aug 8, 1999)

FYI: Yahoo is planning to close yahoo photos.





Eric K said:


> Clicked on the link and it jsut sent me to a page that said yahoo photos is closing.


----------



## newbie dooby (Nov 1, 2006)

You can transfer your photos to flickr.com with your same yahoo username and password.

There is a step by step tutorial in yahoo photos that shows you how to do this. I did this about a month ago.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

newbie dooby said:


> You can transfer your photos to flickr.com with your same yahoo username and password.
> 
> There is a step by step tutorial in yahoo photos that shows you how to do this. I did this about a month ago.


Thanks Newbie. I am nowinthe process of doing that. Once done, I will post the new link.

Scott


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Hey All, 

Several people have PM asking me about when it willbe available and the price. We are striving to bring you the best kit we can with our limited resources. The cost will be $195 plus s&h (probably about $20). This price includes the registry decals and window decals from JTGraphics. 

I will be making an announcement very soon about taking orders. New degassed molds are being made next week, then final casting can be done. The basic directionsare being completed as well. We are about a month away from shipping. If people would like to start ordering now, they can, so long as they realize that shipping will not begin until some time next month. 

Scott 
AW Studios


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Hey All,

Switched over to flickr photos. I have to get used to it. Here is a link to those parts again.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/q7W7Sw

Here are some of the new laser etched parts I just got back.

http://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/793q4t

I hope the link works.


Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Those look great, Scott. You guys are doing a great job adding details to the kit.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Thanks. I was really impressed with how well the detail came out on the laser etched parts. Now I have to cast the part.

Scott


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

We are still waiting on our 3/4" plexiglass for the degassing chamber, but the parts are all ready for new molding...









The basic build-up is almost complete along with the instructions. ...I see a light.....
















We will be taking orders soon.. Stay tuned in because once I do, I will probably offer a special deal for the first several buyers. 

Scott 
AW Studios


----------



## idman (Apr 11, 2004)

Is my name still on the list scott you know I've been wanting and waiting for this thing since it was first being conceived and the molds were turned over to you.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

You are on the list sir! 

Scott


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Hey all, 

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Here are a few updated photos. 

Included is Don's (DLM) Warp Waddell Board. The effect is awesome. I should have more updates soon. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157602521243999/ 

If anyone would like to see a video of the boards running, let me know and I will e-mail you. 

We still have some final work to do on her and we will be creating the final molds (degassing them) and then pressure casting the parts. Once we have pressure cast parts and final vacuum formed shells pulled we will announce that the kit is available. 

One other note, after discussing it with my partner Charlie, we both agreed that it was best that Joe (KirkTrekModeler) no longer be involved in any further development of this kit, including instructions and use of his build-up. 

We appreciate everyone's support and hope to be able to bring you a great kit for you to enjoy.


Scott 
AW Studios


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Jeez, Joe is ticking people off all over the place...


----------



## RossW (Jan 12, 2000)

Hey, that's my circuit board Don and I developed for the 22" cutaway! Glad to see it will have another life with an even bigger scale Enterprise.


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

It is awesome. I think it is going to make this ship rock!

Scott


----------



## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

RossW said:


> Hey, that's my circuit board Don and I developed for the 22" cutaway! Glad to see it will have another life with an even bigger scale Enterprise.


Yes my friend.... Them Warp discs got blowed up real good! :wave: 

DLM


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

*Major Announcement regarding this kit*

Hey All,

I am sorry this thread has been quiet for a few weeks. Let's just say that AW Studios has been doing a lot of thinking over the last several weeks and has made a HUGE decision. AWS has decided to stop all work on the 1/350 TOS kit as it stands and will be going in a new direction. What this means is that we are not going to be using any of the kit parts you have been seeing on this thread. This was not an easy decision for us to make, but we felt it was the right decision. What this does not mean is that we are not going to be doing a 1/350th TOS kit.

And now for the GREAT news, AWS has approached Richard Long (REL) about commissioning him to do the new masters for the TOS 1/350. After discussing it with him, REL has agreed. :woohoo: Not only has REL agreed but we have discussed how it will be done.

1. The parts will be grown via a 3-D printer first and Ricahrd will clean it up and finish detailing it. This will help guarantee symmetry.
2. The saucer, neck, and secondary hull parts will have the windows and sensor rings included on them.
3. The masters will be used to make female molds for vacuforming. This will allow the window details to come through on the plastic.
4. New resin detail parts will be created as well using some of the best reference materials available.
5. Richard will still be creating a shuttlebay for the kit. 
6. JT Graphics will still be providing decals for the ship.
7. Don's Light and Magic will still be offering a lighting kit including resized Waddell Warp Boards for the nacelles.

To say that we are excited is an understatement. I think we all know the level of detail and quality that Richard puts into his work and know that this project will be no different. Our ultimate goal is to provide you, the modeler and fans with a kit you have wanted for a long time. We want to be able to bring you the best kit possible and we beleive this is the best way to do it.

According to Richard, once he finishes up a few of his current projects (like the K'Tinga and E-D), he will get to work on detailing the TOS E. He will actually be supplying us with the female molds and silicone molds, so once received, we will be able to start production right away. We are looking at sometime in early 2008 for a release if all goes as planned. This along with the 1/650th E-E and 1/350th Romulan BOP that Ricahrd mastered and the 1/350th Constellation class we are working on will be just some of the exciting kits we hope to bring you next year.

I will be starting a new thread sometime soon, but for now if you have questions or comments you can ask them here or PM me. 

Regards,

Scott
AW Studios


----------



## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

This is some good news, getting REL! I was looking forward to the kit, but next year will be better, money wise. Thanks Scott, for the great job so far.


----------



## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I'm IN! Great news!


----------



## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

I'm glad you chose to go in a new direction,with a more accurate master and parts,I think you will be more successful.alexander


----------



## Guest (Nov 18, 2007)

To say that is excellent news just doesn't cover it!
Even more in than i was before on this beastie now.

Nicely done people!


----------



## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

Exciting news Scott. 

I am very excited for you guys


----------



## Xenon (Nov 2, 2007)

Ohhh, I'm going to have to save my cash for this kit, definitely.

How is the 1/350 Miranda coming along?


----------



## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Xenon said:


> Ohhh, I'm going to have to save my cash for this kit, definitely.
> 
> How is the 1/350 Miranda coming along?


We will probably go in the same route with the Reliant that we are doing withthe TOS E. Richard and I have been discussing this as well.

Scott


----------



## Xenon (Nov 2, 2007)

Vaderman said:


> We will probably go in the same route with the Reliant that we are doing withthe TOS E. Richard and I have been discussing this as well.
> 
> Scott


Well that's made my day !

How difficult a kit is it to master? I ask because the Miranda class hasn't had the benefit other ships have had of consistent and reliable source material. I'm sure if you were to do the maths, there's one Reliant beauty shot for every 25 of the Enterprise refit alone ...


----------



## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Fantastic news, Scott! I'm _definitely_ interested in a TOS 1701.


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I thought REL wanted out of the business. Glad he changed his mind.


----------



## fokkerpilot (Jul 22, 2002)

It's all good Scott! :thumbsup: Things will start coming togther now


----------



## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

Recently, an all-fiberglass kit offering and now an all-new female tooling for the vacuform - both in 1/350th. Things are definitely looking up. 

I wouldn't be surprised if, within a year, that Tom Lowe renegotiates the license and there will be a styrene kit out thereafter.


----------



## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Well this has gone from bad to worse,at least for modelers on a limited budget such as myself. I was looking forward to this. I mean don't get me wrong Rich does more than Excellent work on making model kits and masters for them. 

But I can see the price now going to at least $400.00+ now which is way out of my price range. Lets be honest here,Scott. The only reason this is being decided to not go thru after over almost a year of this being discussed here and all the money you have invested on making parts,you have decided to let the Melvin affair get in the way of the model not being produced,right?

What about all the modelers such as myself who were looking forward to this coming out? I feel that if this kit is produced,the price should be the same out of fairness to those of us who have waited,watched and hoped for this kit.

But I know that will not happen. Me personally I would rather have what you were working on. I know that it was not perfect but it was still something that could have been corrected,and still made affordable. What happens to the parts already made?

I would be interested in aquiring the parts to at least make one kit so I can build it for display on my shelf that has been sitting empty waiting for this.

I see a lighting kit was developed for this and a lot of work went into that also, now what happens to that? Is it really fair to so many of your associates who have worked on this and now what happens to them.

I am sorry Scott,but I have respect for you doing this great kit,but after everything Please do not let Joe Melvin stop you from completing this. Will you Please reconsider ?


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Scott's done what he thinks is the right thing. As he's explained - and almost all of us know - with REL involved it will be a much higher quality kit. I'm more than willing to pay a little extra. However, I don't see it having to come up to the $400 mark as you seem to think, George. It's still going to be a vac-kit by the sounds of things, so I just don't see it being $400. 

And we're not going to bring up things that have transpired elsewhere here. I'm not going to have any of that stuff brought up here. 

Thus the thread is locked. 

Scott, when you feel like giving us more information on the new kit, please feel free to start a new thread.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

OK, unlocking the thread so that Scott can respond at his leisure. He'll give the response that he feels worth giving and isn't obligated to expound upon his reasons any more than he already has. Given Scott's eloquence, I'm sure that most people's fears of a price hike on the kit will be put to rest....


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Saiyagohan, 

I would not worry too much about the price. I am committed to bringing this kit out as economically reasonable as possible. I hope to keep it within the ball park of the price. 

We took over this project almost a year ago with the intention of trying to help out and produce a nice kit for everyone. But considering all of the drama that has surrounded it, we had to decide what was AWS's best interest. We knew thatthere were concerns people had with the original parts and we took those concerns seriously. That is one of the reason I love coming to these boards, to get some feedback. We will not be using any of the old parts at all for the new kit. We felt it was best to start with a clean slate, in all aspects of this project. 

With Richard making the masters now, I feel that we have just stepped it up a notch and will be able to offer an even better kit to everyone. We are real excited about how these parts are going to be made as compared to the parts we made earlier. While we were happy with most parts, this new approach will just make it even better.

Believe me this was not an easy decision to come to. However, we do believe it was the right decision. With the parts being 3D printed, we will not have to worry about symmetry and alignment issues. The window details will be vacuformed into the plastic, so the modeler will not have to try and figure out where to place the windows. Overall, it will be a much better product hopefully for around the same price I was going to sell the original kit. Besides, the more interest, the better the chances that we can keep the price close to where it was. :thumbsup:

I do not think you will be disappointed. 

Scott


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## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Vaderman said:


> Saiyagohan,
> 
> I would not worry too much about the price. I am committed to bringing this kit out as economically reasonable as possible. I hope to keep it within the ball park of the price.
> 
> ...


Thanks for letting us know that have been faithful followers of this. Will you or Rich be handling the sale of this now?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

This is an AW Studios production. It will be sold through us. We have only commissioned Rich to do the masters. He will not be producing this kit. He has already mentioned on other threads that the E-D will be the last kit he produces.

Scott


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## Raist3001 (Oct 23, 2003)

George, patience my friend. All good things come to those who have patience. 

Now....where can I buy stock in AWStudios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Vaderman said:


> This is an AW Studios production. It will be sold through us. We have only commissioned Rich to do the masters. He will not be producing this kit. He has already mentioned on other threads that the E-D will be the last kit he produces.


Thanks for restating that for the sake of clarification, Scott. I definitely appreciate it.


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## saiyagohan (Aug 4, 2006)

Raist3001 said:


> George, patience my friend. All good things come to those who have patience.
> 
> Now....can I buy some stock in AWStudios


Thanks Tony,I fully understand what you are saying. I am not so much impatient here. I was just concerned. And my apologies for asking about what I did previously, I should have considered Griff's feelings more and been more discreet. It was not my intention to get anything started. Apologies.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

I'm just concerned... 

Will we get the trademark REL updates as he builds the masters? God I love following along on his projects!


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

drewid142 said:


> I'm just concerned...
> 
> Will we get the trademark REL updates as he builds the masters? God I love following along on his projects!


I will ask him to do updates the same way he has done for his kits. I think it helps to generate interest.

Scott


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## Sean C (Nov 7, 2007)

Well, this is exciting!

I was hoping to see REL's E-C before the TOS-E . . . . since it seemed his E's were being made "reverse-alphabetically." I'm not much of a Trek fan, but Rich is converting me! This is going to be a great project to watch. I'm bustin'! :woohoo: 

Regards,

Sean


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## uss_columbia (Jul 15, 2003)

Great news, Vaderman!


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Hey, good to see you here, *SeanC*! Hope you'll stay a while.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, thanks for the update. I am glad this thread is open, again. I just got home, and saw it's back. Looking forward to more updates, as you release them. Keep up the great work!


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## mikephys (Mar 16, 2005)

Hi Folks:
I have built a lot of store bought models, and I've even done a scratch build, but I have never bought a garage kit (although that term doesn't seem to fit this obviously high quality project). Any idea how much it may cost? I'm only after a ball park figure, so that I can start saving my dimes and nickels now. 
Thanks, Mike


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Well, I believe the original projected cost was going to be right around $225. Scott says he's doing his best to keep the price from going much above that, so my own personal opinion - which Scott and AWS is NOT obligated to stick to, BTW!!! - is it'll likely go no higher than $250 to $275. Still very affordable considering what all we'll likely get with it.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

I have already planned to light it, and put small rooms inside, so you can see crew members as you look in the windows. I will use some of the figures I bought for the refit.


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## REL (Sep 30, 2005)

You could always take screencaps of the original series sets, have slides made of them in the scale of the ship, then cut those out and make a small plexi lightbox to put behind the windows, then when the light comes from behind it looks like a small room. 

They did that on some of the studio models, like the Medical Frigate scene at the end of ESB for instance where Luke, Leia and the driods are standing in the window watching Lando and Chewie depart in the MF. 

In fact you can actually see what I'm talking about on the Ent E studio model here in this pic.

http://www.resinilluminati.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=116&d=1195685589


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Whoa! Very kewel pic, REL! I've never seen that particular close up.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Actually the old project was goin g to be $195 plus shipping. That included a set of JT Graphics decals. Final price will really be determined by the cost to produce (commission for masters, materials for parts, etc.).

I will do my best to keep it as close to the original price as possible.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Well, that's even more gooder, than! I was over-guesstimating the cost. I think that $225 to $250 should still be _very_ reasonable. 

And sorry if I came across as trying to push for a specific price, Scott. That's not at all my intention.


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

REL, that is something to think of. I forgot, that Voyager did the same, with shots of the sets.

Scott, I know you will try, but if not, it will be worth it.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Knowing the quality of Richard's work, I know it will be. When I see his K'Tinga I get all giddy inside. I just wish I could speed up time.

Scott


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## steverider1960 (May 15, 2006)

"When I see his K'Tinga I get all giddy inside."

Quote of the week!


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## Hand Solo (Aug 1, 2007)

> I just wish I could speed up time.


LOL!!! Richard has really raised the bar on G/K expectations hasn't he? 'Speed up time'...
Considering the quality and length of time it takes most G/K artisans to bring product to the market, Richard works at Warp 9!

It doesn't get any faster or better than this.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Hand Solo said:


> LOL!!! Richard has really raised the bar on G/K expectations hasn't he? 'Speed up time'...
> Considering the quality and length of time it takes most G/K artisans to bring product to the market, Richard works at Warp 9!
> 
> It doesn't get any faster or better than this.


I know. Right now he has set the standard. It is one of the reasons I decided to go with him on the restart/redisign of this project. It doesn't get any better than Richard.

Scott
AW Studios


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## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

One of the concerns I had with the previous version of this kit was that it was still going to get a little rough in the details. Now, if you're into making heavy modifications to your projects, this might not be much of an issue, but for those of us with limited experience and/or resources for such endeavors, it starts becoming a dealbreaker.

With REL taking over the mastering duties, that issue goes bye-bye, since we will now be looking at a model that'll look _better_ than the real thing.

To put it another way, if I'm expected to shell out that kind of money on a model, it damn well better be perfect in the accuracy department. That criteria has now been met.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Captain April said:


> To put it another way, if I'm expected to shell out that kind of money on a model, it damn well better be perfect in the accuracy department. That criteria has now been met.


Glad we could alieviate your concerns. :thumbsup:

One thing that is yet to be determined is the gauge of plastic that will be used. On the original project we planned to use .080 for the engineering and .060 for the saucer and nacelles, but with the new masters, these will have the window details cast into the "female" mold. Richard has told me that he will make the windows deep enough to provide nice detail and sharp lines. We will have to do test pulls with the different thickness of plastic before we settle on it. 

Scott
AWS


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

I am sooo gonna get me one of these! I have wanted a 1/350 version of this ship in awhile! Time to start saving.


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Opus Penguin said:


> I am sooo gonna get me one of these! I have wanted a 1/350 version of this ship in awhile! Time to start saving.


I will add you to the list, if you are not already on it. :thumbsup: 

That goes for everyone, if you have not notified me yet that you are interested, please let me know if you are and how many. It will help me gauge the amount of supplies I will need to purchase, such as plastic and shipping/packing material.

Actually, if it is OK with Griffworks, Lloyd Collins, and Carson Dyle, I can start an interest thread so people can make sure they are on the list. 

Scott
AWS


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## Lloyd Collins (Sep 25, 2004)

Scott, that sounds good to me.


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Per the PM, you're good to go, Scott.


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

Vaderman said:


> I will add you to the list, if you are not already on it. :thumbsup:


Thanks Scott! Actually I should already be on the list.


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## drewid142 (Apr 23, 2004)

PM sent... I'm in for 2! 

I'm already way over budget... with REL Ktinga too... but these are must haves... one to build, and one to save to build again some day!


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I'm gonna wait to see the price before I commit.


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## newbie dooby (Nov 1, 2006)

What happened to this?


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## Vaderman (Nov 2, 2002)

Hey Newbie Dooby,

We have started over on this project, deciding to commission REL to create the masters for us so we can produce it. We felt this was the right direction to go in terms of quality and approach. Here is the link to the new thread. Let me know if you are interested and I will put you on the list.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=204901

Regards,

Scott
AW Studios


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