# Revell Enterprise In Box Review video



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

Well, since the last thread I posted this link in got sent on a ballistic trajectory towards the sun, I thought I would re-post it in a new dedicated thread. Chances are though many of you have probably already seen this thanks to the link from CultTVman. But, here it is for the hobby talk posters that haven't seen it yet.





 
I'll leave it to you guys to determine whether you wish to purchase the kit or not. I will say in advance though if we decide to talk further about the kit here, don't let it deteriorate into the "soap opera" of the other thread.

Concerning a build of my model, I indeed plan to get to work on it soon. But first I need to order a DLM lighting kit for it and finish my 18" Constellation long box model (which you can check out on my Youtube page after watching the Revell kit review). Accuracy issues aside, the Revell kit looks like it should be a very fun build.


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

It looks like a fairly easy build, but not exactly a quick one, thanks to the sheer number of parts. I think the main factor in our advantage is that most of us know this ship backwards, forwards, and inside out; I'm one of those poor souls who could quite literally build the 18" AMT kit blindfolded.

I noticed you avoided commenting on the one blatant, no-excuse-is-good-enough error with this kit, the stand. What the frell happened with that one?


----------



## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

Nice video, Thanks, Jay.


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

I didn't comment on the stand because frankly I could care less about it. It is a STAND. It is NOT the model itself and on many of the builds I have been doing lately, I have not been utilizing the stands anyway. For this particular model, I'll probably stick it on a display base with a brass rod support arm (I haven't decided if I'll try to power the lighting system with an onboard battery setup or if I'll need to snake wires down to a stand).


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I'd still like to know what they were smoking when they approved the thing, and if they brought enough for the rest of us.


----------



## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Hey Jay,
If you want to see what something might look in this size with Miarecki's weathering scheme, you can check out my build of the 18 incher:


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I think the operative phrase is, "Yeeeeeeech!"

Looks like the paintings of the Enterprise on the covers of some of the James Blish novelizations.


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

While I admit seeing that paintjob on the 11 footer I consider to be "Yeeeeeech," seeing it on an 18" model makes me want to indeed try it more. I might tone it down a little, but I like it. Reason being is it is something a little different and would distinguish my build from the millions of other Enterprise builds out there a bit more than just my individual skill set and eye for color. 

Very nice work there Trekkrific and thanks for posting those photos! Didn't you also have these on CultTVman? As such, I believe I had seen them once before and they were what got the ball rolling on me wanting to try this.


----------



## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Trekkriffic said:


> Hey Jay,
> If you want to see what something might look in this size with Miarecki's weathering scheme, you can check out my build of the 18 incher:


If you could replicate the NASM gift shop display in a diorama, you'd really have something!


----------



## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Jay Chladek said:


> While I admit seeing that paintjob on the 11 footer I consider to be "Yeeeeeech," seeing it on an 18" model makes me want to indeed try it more. I might tone it down a little, but I like it. Reason being is it is something a little different and would distinguish my build from the millions of other Enterprise builds out there a bit more than just my individual skill set and eye for color.
> 
> Very nice work there Trekkrific and thanks for posting those photos! Didn't you also have these on CultTVman? As such, I believe I had seen them once before and they were what got the ball rolling on me wanting to try this.


Thanks for the compliment Jay. I'm not sure if I ever posted these pics on CultTVman but I know I've posted them on probably half a dozen other sites since I completed the build back in 2005. At the time, I was just trying to replicate the studio model as it looked in the Smithsonian using the photos Chris Trice took back in 2000for reference. At the time, I was unaware of all the furor in the modelling community surrounding the weathering job done by Ed Miarecki during the last restoration and I was quite happy with how my model turned out. Now, however, I have come to think that Ed went a bit overboard on the weathering, having said that, I can say that I did attempt to go with a more subdued weathering scheme on my build back in 2005 due to the smaller scale of the AMT kit. 
If I were to attempt this build again, I would go even lighter on the weathering and gridline scribing to give me more of an onscreen look.

Link to Chris's pics:
http://www.mjtsc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new/1701.htm


----------



## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

SteveR said:


> If you could replicate the NASM gift shop display in a diorama, you'd really have something!



I like that idea Steve. I'm surprised no one has done that yet!


----------



## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

Thanks for posting this Jay. Its very comprehensive and well shot. Good descriptions of pros and cons. Some good and some bad as with mostly any model kit. Having seen it I think it would be fun to build primarily because of the ease of lighting that the clear parts enable. I'll pick one up if I can get one in the $25 - $35 price range.

Regards,
MattL


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Captain April said:


> I think the operative phrase is, "Yeeeeeeech!"
> 
> Looks like the paintings of the Enterprise on the covers of some of the James Blish novelizations.


I LIKED those artistic variations. I think Trekriffic's version is really cool. We need more variety of that sort.:thumbsup:


----------



## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> I LIKED those artistic variations. I think Trekriffic's version is really cool. We need more variety of that sort.:thumbsup:


Even the ones with the flames coming out of the nacelles AND out of the shuttle bay? :jest:

The Bama one
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/_...k_1_(novel).jpg/250px-Star_Trek_1_(novel).jpg

The entire Blish series
http://i44.tinypic.com/2e2owtu.jpg

BTW I'm with you and also like many of the 'variations on the theme' of the great grey lady that are out there. Its still easy on the eyes even if they do mess up a feature or two.


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

Heck, I remember the rockets coming out of all three areas in the Captains Log reprints of the Gold Key comics (remember those?). I can remember quite well Captain Kirk giving the order "Rockets to full!" I think they printed about two years worth of comics before somebody said "warp drive" the first time (I also remember bald Klingons with no beards except for the commander wearing shorts). Those were some BIZARRE stories!

The most wild Enterprise of the bunch though was the infamous Gold Key comic shot of one sitting on a planet with landing struts emerging from the secondary hull (about three decades before Voyager ever did it). THAT one never got reprinted in the Gold Key comics (and I don't recall seeing a picture of it, but it was infamous).


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Spockr said:


> Even the ones with the flames coming out of the nacelles AND out of the shuttle bay? :jest:
> 
> The Bama one
> http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/_...k_1_(novel).jpg/250px-Star_Trek_1_(novel).jpg
> ...


Stuff like that used to bother me some but after staring at the artwork in between reading the books when I was a kid, they grew on me after a while.


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Jay Chladek said:


> The most wild Enterprise of the bunch though was the infamous Gold Key comic shot of one sitting on a planet with landing struts emerging from the secondary hull (about three decades before Voyager ever did it). THAT one never got reprinted in the Gold Key comics (and I don't recall seeing a picture of it, but it was infamous).


THAT I would like to see!


----------



## CLBrown (Sep 8, 2010)

PerfesserCoffee said:


> THAT I would like to see!


Well, the old Dinky Toys Enterprise had a compartment on the bottom, and you could open up the compartment to act like landing legs. But other than that, I've never seen anything with "landing legs" on the classic Enterprise. So I really, really want to see this as well. It's not that I don't trust the person saying it, I just want to verify that it's true.

EDIT: I actually have access to 100% of the Gold Key comics... as well as the entire original Marvel run, the entire DC run, and most of the "Wildstorm" run. Obviously, stuff published more recently isn't part of this disk, but it's got pretty much everything prior to its publishing date. They're all scanned and provided in PDF form. Check this out.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Complete-Comic-Collection/dp/B001B5KYR2

But so far I have not found the image being discussed.

EDIT: You can see the Dinky Toys doors used as a stand, here:

http://dunningrb.wordpress.com/2008/08


----------



## Kit (Jul 9, 2009)

The great thing about the Internet: Pretty much everybody has access to weird stuff like Gold Key comics.

So there's this, without landing legs, but with a pretty cool drop-down lower sensor dome. I've decided that's canon, based on extensive personal research and my superior knowledge. Superior, I say! Hahahahaha!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1RaJb2xGPh8/SiFQ5OreVrI/AAAAAAAABY8/4aOUgvaa9bU/s1600-h/uk_story_01.jpg


----------



## Just Plain Al (Sep 7, 1999)

^^Who's "Kurt"^^


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Gotta love the stairway leading into the bottom of the secondary hull.


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

That has GOT to be the shot! Indeed, no landing legs, but a very low hover there. Several of the early issues had the Enterprise flying through planetary atmospheres at low altitude. The Jetsons car in the lower sensor dome is pretty wild as well.


----------



## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Interesting Zeppelin-style boarding ramp coming out of the secondary hull.


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

You know, come to think of it with all the special shaped hot air balloons out there, I am surprised nobody has tried to do a Starship Enterprise hot air balloon yet (or maybe it has been done and I've never seen it).


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Maybe someday in an upcoming Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...


----------



## Warped9 (Sep 12, 2003)

Spockr said:


> The Bama one
> http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/_...k_1_(novel).jpg/250px-Star_Trek_1_(novel).jpg


As inaccurate as it is I have always loved this piece of art. It really conveys a sense of wonder and adventure that I associated with TOS.


----------



## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Warped9 said:


> As inaccurate as it is I have always loved this piece of art. It really conveys a sense of wonder and adventure that I associated with TOS.


I agree. Even discounting for the inacurrate rocket exhaust it's still a marvelous cover and imparts a sense of wonder and urgency.


----------



## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Kit said:


> The great thing about the Internet: Pretty much everybody has access to weird stuff like Gold Key comics.
> 
> So there's this, without landing legs, but with a pretty cool drop-down lower sensor dome. I've decided that's canon, based on extensive personal research and my superior knowledge. Superior, I say! Hahahahaha!
> 
> http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1RaJb2xGPh8/SiFQ5OreVrI/AAAAAAAABY8/4aOUgvaa9bU/s1600-h/uk_story_01.jpg


Cool! Thanks for finding that!:thumbsup:


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

I checked out my Youtube account today to reply to some of the comments and I saw something pretty cool. The Revell Enterprise video review is up to "1,701" hits. 

So far it has been my most watched video to date and has helped modelers on both sides of the pond make informed purchasing decisions. I'm just loving it.

BTW, I had this masochistic idea to "fix" the saucer. What if one were to graft the saucer bottom from an 18" AMT kit to the outer ring of the Revell one? Then you would get the more accurate saucer edge, a "better" saucer bottom (not accurate mind you, but a bit better) and wipe out some of that grid you guys hate. I don't plan to do it with mine. But I thought I would throw the idea out there if anyone wanted to try it.


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

I need to find a new source, since that eBay seller sold out before I could nab one.


----------



## nautilusnut (Jul 9, 2008)

> You know, come to think of it with all the special shaped hot air balloons out there, I am surprised nobody has tried to do a Starship Enterprise hot air balloon yet (or maybe it has been done and I've never seen it).



Actually, there was a foil helium balloon Enterprise about 10 years ago. I still have it somewhere. I have inflated it several times over the years.


----------



## Jay Chladek (Apr 17, 2001)

We were refering to a big hot air balloon, as in the kind that has a basket underneath. I've seen helium balloons a plenty, but not something THAT big.


----------



## Bay7 (Nov 8, 1999)

Jay Chladek said:


> BTW, I had this masochistic idea to "fix" the saucer. What if one were to graft the saucer bottom from an 18" AMT kit to the outer ring of the Revell one? Then you would get the more accurate saucer edge, a "better" saucer bottom (not accurate mind you, but a bit better) and wipe out some of that grid you guys hate. I don't plan to do it with mine. But I thought I would throw the idea out there if anyone wanted to try it.


I've tried sanding it down to a more acceptable slant - still not right but the plastics down to paper thin now! Had a go at taking the under-rim edges off too - its hard work for little gain I think an amt transplant would have worked better.:freak:

Steve


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Got a bid on one over on evilBay....


----------



## Bay7 (Nov 8, 1999)

Captain April said:


> Got a bid on one over on evilBay....


Interesting you should post that - I was just browsing eBay for my 2nd kit with a view to building it as a Captain April era Enterprise!

Steve


----------



## Captain April (May 1, 2004)

Well, wait a week, I don't wanna get into a bidding war over this one.


----------



## jaws62666 (Mar 25, 2009)

There is a buy it now on ebay now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Revell-Star...es_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&hash=item19cc769cc7


----------



## James Tiberius (Oct 23, 2007)

mine is on its way!


----------

