# What is the consensus for the TOS Enterprise impulse engine glow color?



## Irishman (Apr 30, 2005)

I was wondering if there was a production intent of color for the impulse engine glow on the original series Enterprise? And barring that, is there a fan consensus of same?

Thanks in advance.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I don't think anybody knows! They were just painted black on the model.
Personally - red.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Yeah, they were never lit nor designed to be lit and I don't recall too many shots that show the impulse deck exhaust (the one that sticks was that shot in 'The Trouble with Tribbles' but I think there was one other) so it's virgin territory open to interpretation. 

The obvious choice would be orangish-reddish akin to ST:TMP and TNG. 

I dunno. Like lighting the inside nacelle trenches on the TOS Enterprise (an option R2 made on their kit and I approve, just for the fun of it), it's interesting and cool speculation and all, but it's not what we saw on the show and thus it just seems somewhat unacceptable. 

But you know? I fall back as always on "It's your kit, build it the way that looks good to YOU" .


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## robn1 (Nov 17, 2012)

Red/orange as seen on the refit on is a good option, but the shuttlecraft impulse engine was lit white.


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

And the Enterprise-C impulse engine was lit blue, suggesting it ran very hot. I have seen some of the remastered TOS episodes that light up the impulse engine. It was never lit up anywhere in the series before. It was always black. I am thinking of duplicating the black, not by paint on the flat surface, but by a black box constructed inside each vent. That way it has a little depth to it.

A long time ago, I had redesigned the Enterprise after ST3:TSFS. I wanted make the orifices of the impulse engine deep and dark, but included a UV light source (not available small enough then) that would light up a set of transparent vanes in the vents that were painted with wee bit of UV blue lines, indicating hot exhaust. Now I have a 3D printer. Maybe I will print that old design out and try this UV leds!


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## Larvinator59 (Jul 3, 2016)

When I get around to building my 350th scale TOS Enterprise I will go with yellowish orange for the impulse and violet/purple for the warp trenches.


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## modelmaker 2001 (Sep 6, 2007)

I went with amber/orange clear Tamiya paint in the inside of my impulse engines. When lit up, the centers are nearly yellow and the outside edges are nearly orangish.


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## holt35 (Aug 15, 2013)

Aren't they blue in TOS remastered? When I get around to building mine that's what I'll go with myself. Really you can do what ever you want to since we've seen Red, Blue and Orange Impulse engines over the years and even different colors in different century's, I always just though of the different colors as representing a different type of impulse engine.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

holt35 said:


> Aren't they blue in TOS remastered?


It depends on the scene. Most of the time they're black like on the original model, but sometimes they have a pale reddish-orange glow.


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## feek61 (Aug 26, 2006)

I personally prefer them not lighted like the original model; I'm an old fuddy-duddy!


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

What is the story line context for each of the different impulse engine color scenes referenced?

Where they under way? Coasting? Stopping? In engine failure/damage?

The fuel as I under stand it in the impulse engine design is activited by fusion and results in a propulsion product - out the exhaust - for movement. As an impulse engine it would only be a brief activation and expulsion of the propulsiion that moves the ship forward. Not sure how long that would last or how far it would provided movement as there is no friction in space right? So the ship should keep moving until it is redirected or hits something?

Where there different levels of impulse power?

:lurk5:


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> What is the story line context for each of the different impulse engine color scenes referenced?
> 
> Where they under way? Coasting? Stopping? In engine failure/damage?


In the original series, I don't think there was one. If they had a "stock" shot of the Enterprise that fit the story, they used it in order to save time and money. If not, they shot a new scene. Either way, given their time and budget constraints I think they were far more focused on getting the episodes completed than on figuring out how impulse engines would work in the real world and the continuity problems associated with them. As for the colors, I'd bet that was nothing more than the effects team(s) for each series choosing which color they thought looked best, perhaps with input from the production staff.



Milton Fox Racing said:


> Where there different levels of impulse power?


I recall Kirk ordering, "One-quarter impulse" or "One-half impulse" in some episodes, but don't remember if any of the other Captains did so on their respective series'.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

The one quarter, half (three quarter) makes sense to naval terms used back then with full ahead and stop also in play. That could also account for different colors as the fusion process would change color as it occured at different levels. :cheers2:


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

TMP actually had Kirk ordering impulse as "Warp point five". The impulse drive came on and they went zipping away from Earth. That seemed to suggest that impulse and warp engines worked together to get to half the speed of light right away.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I did mine in red:


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

I used red magic marker on the white LEDs, can't remember if I did the same on the clear plastic or used clear red paint there.

I also use the photo etch grills, I can't remember where the grill lines first showed up, was it the animated series? The grills with the circular pattern in the middle?

My 1:350 facing off with 1:1000 RBOP:


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

I like the red or blue. Both look pretty cool to me (even though I know when the show aired they were black).


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## feek61 (Aug 26, 2006)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> The fuel as I under stand it in the impulse engine design is activited by fusion and results in a propulsion product - out the exhaust - for movement.
> 
> :lurk5:


How do they go into reverse? There would have to have exhaust facing forward which there is not.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

feek61 said:


> How do they go into reverse? There would have to have exhaust facing forward which there is not.


First you have to determine how they stop going forward. :thumbsup:

I vaguely remember at least 2 or maybe 3 episodes where the Enterprise backs away from an object - so plot wise it is possible, but I dont know ro remember the specifics as to whether it was under impulse power or warp speed.

If I had to guess the warp engine is engaged in reverse to overcome forward movement. :lurk5:

At slower speeds I would guess directional thrusters for manuvering at docking stations and ports.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

feek61 said:


> How do they go into reverse?







:grin2:


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)




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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Thrust vectoring.
And yeah, I know there's no obvious way thrust vectoring could work the way the impulse exhausts are arranged.
Unless.... a shaped forcefield thrust vectoring system!
:freak:


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Maybe they just turn "blow" into "suck?"


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

John P said:


> Thrust vectoring.
> Unless.... a shaped forcefield thrust vectoring system!
> :freak:


With forcefields, tractor beams, and artificial gravity, I always figured the "impulse" part of the impulse engines was not based on normal rocket exhaust causing thrust. The glow was just the radiators for the reactors powering what ever was creating the "impulse".


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

SteveR said:


> Maybe they just turn "blow" into "suck?"


That's exactly right.










You can see the switch on the side of Sulu's helm console. He's even using the Enterprise's back-up camera to make sure he doesn't run into anything.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Zombie_61 said:


> That's exactly right.
> 
> You can see the switch on the side of Sulu's helm console. He's even using the Enterprise's back-up camera to make sure he doesn't run into anything.


Evidence!


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

John P said:


> Thrust vectoring.
> And yeah, I know there's no obvious way thrust vectoring could work the way the impulse exhausts are arranged.
> Unless.... a shaped forcefield thrust vectoring system!
> :freak:


John, using a forcefield to deflect the impulse exhaust has seemed likely to me for 40 years now. I don't think that it is unlikely at all.


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## charonjr (Mar 27, 2000)

I always figured the color of the impulse vents was due to black body radiation. Literally how hot the motor became. White on the shuttlecraft because it gets white hot. Orange on TMP because it is somewhat cooler. The Enterprise C was blue because it ran even hotter. Degrees Kelvin....


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## feek61 (Aug 26, 2006)

Zombie_61 said:


> That's exactly right.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow, after all of these years I never noticed that switch and on top of that; the scene is from my favorite episode! I feel stupid!


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Zombie_61 said:


> That's exactly right.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


:surprise:

Chalk me up as another one who NEVER saw that switch. Do we see Sulu quietly palm it on? I'm assuming of course that's the practical switch to activate the extendable viewer. 

I had always thought it was just another one of those things handled off-stage by a grip or best boy.


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)




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## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I fit was my build I would make the Impulse engines glow red and use the lighted option for the Warp Engine Grills in Blue. While we have seen both red and blue impulse engines in Trek before, I like having them different colors to help separate the two different types of energy.


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## The_Engineer (Dec 8, 2012)

I would go with the TMP orange as that was the closest to TOS. TNG was 75 years later and the impulse engines became red by then.


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## CapnTightpants (Aug 8, 2017)

Zombie_61 said:


> That's exactly right.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm glad that back-up camera comes standard with all starship packages.
Now, about the airbags...


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

Airbags? What, the bridge crew doesn't already get bounced around enough when they're under attack?


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

It must be real! They didn't have Photoshop in 1967!


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Steve H said:


> :
> 
> I had always thought it was just another one of those things handled off-stage by a grip or best boy.


Ha ha.

A 'grip' doesn't touch anything electrical.

And a 'Best Boy' (both the grip and electric departments have them), rarely sets foot on set.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

If you guys use RGB led's, for both the impulse and Warp Trench glows, you can dial in whatever color you want on a daily basis as your mood and or reference material changes.


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