# TrekModeler 1/350 Refit painting guide now available!



## Gregatron (Mar 29, 2008)

http://trekmodeler.com/services/tm_electronics1/tm_electronics_catpage1.htm


Anyone order this, yet?


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

I haven't but will be. His painting was incredible on what he showed in the past so this guide will be great.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Ordered! Thanks for the heads-up.


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

The scary think for me is that I have looked at the reference photos so long that as soon as I sew the photo of the PL model side, the first thing that came to my mind is "The windows are wrong."


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Working on the Aztec myself I can tell you "there is lots at TrekModelers Aztec that is not correct either". For example the nacelle rears "candy cane" pattern, he got 17 strips.. it should be 13. But it's not the goal to 100% reproduce the patterns but the look, and in that he succeeded with flying color (except for that his colors are far to vibrant for this scale). 

The paint guide itself .. honest? You don't really need it to to a TMP Refit. What you need is the Aztec patterns on the individual sections of the ship to achieve the look (do some research on the many pictures of the studio model there are) and the interference colors (Wasko, or PearlEX) to get the "pearl" effect, which is not a "pearl" effect but as said an interference thing. 




























Just saying.  


@ bigjimslade

Yes, not all the view ports are where they need to be on the PL kit, but fixing them will only have a 1% change to the overall look of the ship. In other words... its not worth the trouble to relocate all of them. The ones that need real fixing are the 5 ones at mid lower secondary hull, the bottom two need to line up with the rear two of the 3 view ports above them. Everything else is minor deviations.


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## Sgt Angel (Jan 17, 2013)

*What are you using*

Using the Decals or getting the aztec templates??


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Me? Everything you see on my build above is paint work! 
There are no decals in use here. 

ATM I am still at the process of painting the interference Aztec (PearlEX color) and am currently working on the nacelles. 
Painting the Aztec takes more time then building the kit will all the lighting options but the reuslt is well worth the time! 
AztecDummy templates help, especially for the saucer, but except for the forward secondary hull and saucer main Aztec 
his Aztec patterns are his choices (as in he made them up) and mostly nowhere near what the Refits true patterns where in TMP.

You can see a short video of the Aztec effect -here- (click to get to the video)
I chose to use more subdued Aztec colors as opposed to Trekmodelers very strong ones, which to my eye is completely out 
of scale at 1/350. However, the intensity of the Aztec colors strongly depends on the light source and your point of view, 
also the digi cam is unable to catch the full color spectrum.


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## shabo451 (Jan 27, 2008)

Ordered mine yesterday as well. Currently building both a Deboer and a PL and mainly looking for ideas in addition to what I've already found.


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## The Trekmodeler (Jul 21, 2005)

Hey Guys, 

I got the heads up from a customer about the thread.

Just wanted to clarify that, yes, the colors are vibrant and they are supposed to be. Purchase Paul Olsen's Book on his site www.olsenart.com/ and check page 94. The color tensity is determined by the number of paint coats you apply, building them up too much will make them appear more vibrant. Also lighting conditions are HUGE factor. As far as reproducing a panel by panel, this build was essentially a prototype test for the paint scheme. A panel by panel could be done on the next one but I don't see a good reason for it. The goal was to reproduce the TMP movie look.


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## The Trekmodeler (Jul 21, 2005)

Lower saucer

























Secondary hull.


























Nacelle tail


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## The Trekmodeler (Jul 21, 2005)

Blue screen test 










And finally the overall 'off color' exposed with camera flash.


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## Tiberious (Nov 20, 2001)

I just see no way that I could EVER do that, but kudos that you guys can!

Tib


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Awesome work TrekModeler! 

Your masking work is much better than mine, but that is probabbly due to your better use of the AB, I am not very good at it. 
As far as the vibrant colors go: according to Paul Olsen yours are what it looked like on the studio model. 
At a scale of 1/350 it should be much less. 

And I agree a panel by panel makes no sense, its the TMP look that matters not a duplicate of each section.


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## secretreeve (Sep 11, 2012)

Anyone else have an issue with paying almost $40 for a guide?


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## trumpetpa (Dec 10, 2012)

When you create something, you can charge what you want. No one is forcing anyone to buy it. You can spend the hours of research to figure the paint scheme out.

I will say, a nice gesture from trek modeler, would be to offer it to customers who have previously bought either the DIY or preassembled refit light kit, for free as a download to save on shipping.


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## secretreeve (Sep 11, 2012)

honstly i would much rather an electronic version for $10 or $15. makes it alot more affordable when you factor in cost of the model, lighting, paints, display case if you opt for one and other things such as photo etch


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## FyreTigger (May 31, 2005)

I've ordered the guide. I haven't seen it yet.

But I know a fair amount about R&D, and writing, and book production, and the time and effort involved. While $35 may seem like a lot of money given the meager cost of goods of a CD-ROM, one must take into account the huge effort that went into TrekModeler's research, documentation and writing. One must take into account the relatively small demand for such a guide.

If TrekModeler makes minimum wage for his effort, I'd be surprised.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

FyreTigger said:


> One must take into account the relatively small demand for such a guide.


Indeed. We're used to mass-market pricing (five to ten bucks, maybe?), but this is very niche, and so we pay a premium. No biggie.


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## GSaum (May 26, 2005)

secretreeve said:


> Anyone else have an issue with paying almost $40 for a guide?


Yes, I do. TrekModeler priced me out of a purchase. I'm already spending enough on the kit, a lighting kit, a display case, and paint. $40 is a bit much for me seeing as how I can do my own research.

That's not saying it's not worth $40 for others, and if you have the money, go for it! But I'm living off a part-time teacher salary, so it's not cost effective for me at all.


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## shabo451 (Jan 27, 2008)

Personally, I have no issue with the price. It's a matter of how much you want it. I've seen his kits and like what I see. Factoring in the time for research, mixing/matching colors and tests/dry runs, I'd much rather have this knowing I'll like the results and appreciate this being made available.


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## secretreeve (Sep 11, 2012)

I think its fantastic of TM to do this, and releasing it as an actual book.

It's just an oppinion that perhaps they should have gone the ebook route instead.


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## GSaum (May 26, 2005)

secretreeve said:


> I think its fantastic of TM to do this, and releasing it as an actual book.
> 
> It's just an oppinion that perhaps they should have gone the ebook route instead.


Wait, is it an actual, PAPER book? Everything I read on the site suggests its a digital file on a CD.


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## Tiberious (Nov 20, 2001)

I tried twice to get an estimate from TM for a baseline TMP lit with open shuttle bay but never got a response. I could never match the results pictured here or on his site. Not sure a guide would help. That said, it is on disc and in PDF format for those who weren't sure. Risky as it'd be nothing to copy it vs a printed book. I look forward to reviews from someone who's already bought one. I'd love to have one as a reference and would like to know if the guide is helpful or just showing off. 

Tib


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## secretreeve (Sep 11, 2012)

GSaum said:


> Wait, is it an actual, PAPER book? Everything I read on the site suggests its a digital file on a CD.


For $40 I should bloody hope so.

It doesn't take alot to put together an E-book I've been there and done that myself.


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## The Trekmodeler (Jul 21, 2005)

Ouch you guys are brutal! 

Thanks for the feeback!

Initially, we wanted to get the paint guide out by email but the document contains a ton of images and compressing the file might affect their quality. So we opted to send it out on a CD or DVD. 

The reason we even put out a paint guide at all is because nearly every email we received for the past couple of years included an enquiry about such a guide. We felt that enough people were interested so we began work on it. We also have many enquiries for the actual Refit 1/350 build itself and collectors are ready to pay many thousands of dollars for it. The problem is, it takes quite a bit of time and we can not satisfy the demand for the build. Try not thinking about the price tag because at the end of the day it is still only $35.00 plus $3.00 shipping worldwide. It’s not going to break the bank and even if you are a highly skilled painter like Garbaron and have no need for the paint guide it will still help you at least organize your thoughts because painting the Refit is a huge process. You can easily lose track and become frustrated. And as far as it being useful, I can promise you that we will be using this guide for our upcoming Refit build.


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

The Trekmodeler said:


> The problem is, it takes quite a bit of time and we can not satisfy the demand for the build.


I can attest to that! 

It will take longer, much longer, to paint the Aztec then the actual construction of the ship, lighting and all included. 
Painting the Aztec is time consuming as hell and there are NO SHORT CUTS to do it! You either do it or you don't. 
You can't do a complex pattern at some parts of the ship and then start to simplify later because you get tiered of 
doing it. And believe me, you WILL get tiered of doing it. 



The Trekmodeler said:


> It’s not going to break the bank and even if you are a highly skilled painter like Garbaron (...)


Well thank you. Much appreciated praise I want to return since it was your Aztec work that inspired me to try it too. 
And I referenced your PhotoBuket album of the Refit quite a lot to get some of my bearings especially on the strongback, 
although I ended up giving it my own spin in the end. 
Artistic license you know  



The Trekmodeler said:


> (...) and have no need for the paint guide it will still help you at least organize your thoughts because painting the Refit is a huge process. You can easily lose track and become frustrated.


Oh yes. Frustration is part of working on the Aztec. When you start you really need to decide on what and how much you 
want to do, you can't go easy later and there are NO short cuts to this! 

Especially the masking will make you go nuts and you will easily go off track on some of the patern that have repetition.
Like the pylons "lightning bolt" pattern or that "candy cane" on the rear of the nacelles. This is the masking I did for 
the "candy cane": 


















(yes, no 13 strips either but 10, a compromise courtesy of the masking material available to me. Using the 3mm tape 
I would have ended up with a round 16 strips like TrekModeler, using the 6mm with about 8 strips; using AztecDummy 
stripping gave me 10, a good compromise)

This masking needs to line up on top and at the bottom like so: 










If you make a mistake at the masking process and have a slight variation of the angel the pattern is tilted at your 
entire line up is screwed and you can start again. Masking the above took me 4-6 hours each.


A couple of things I think TM will agree on: 

You will also always be in doubt if it "pearls" enough and this will make you tend to over exaggerate the colors. 
I talked to Paul Olsen quite a lot for some time and he confirmed that TMs Aztec color intensity is what it was 
like on the big studio miniature. If you do it like him with those vibrant colors, you are not wrong. But as is with 
scale modeling you need to reduce the color contrast and intensity the smaller the scale. With that in mind I 
did a lot of testing before I settled on the intensity I use now. I started with about the same color intensity as 
you seen on TMs work but quickly decided it was too much and out of scale so I cut it by a 1/3.

The real colors used by Olsen for the TMP Refit where gloss colors! The thing with the interference colors is they 
are more intense the glossier the surface is, that is the more light gets reflected on the hull. My Aztec colors 
don't look strong right now because I use a matt clear coat as the base. This helped me determine a color intensity 
that is more in scale to 1/350. Once I am done painting I will apply a semi gloss clear that should bring out the Aztec 
colors. The other factor is light source and light intensity. Natural light will bring out the colors the best, tungsten 
and other artificial light sources will make the Aztec more subdued but in contrast will make the "off" colors, the 
complementary, look stronger. 

As I speak of the off colors. The Refit has lots and lots of the Aztec blue on it. The blues complementary is a 
yellowish color. If your blue is too strong you will have a yellow ship! And you will see the yellow more often than 
the blue. Simply because you need the correct light and viewing angle to see the Aztec colors. 

Another issue you will encounter is that "it looks more/less color full on the other side" thinking, even if you know 
you used the same color mix or the actual pot of color you used on said other side. This gets even harder once 
you need to remix the colors when you use the PearlEX colors.
My advice here is: always use the same mixing ratio, keep going, even if you think it looks different. 
It does not. Light will play lots of tricks on you when you do the Aztec. 

Be patient when you do the Aztec. If you feel it start to frustrate or annoy you ... take a break.

Don't get in to a rush to get it done because of your frustration. As I said, there are no short cuts. 
Once you committed yourself to do the Aztec for real at a set level of complexity you have to stick to it! 

To gvie you and idea on what you are headding into if you decide to do a TMP style Aztec. 
The picture below is the result of 4 month pearl Aztec painting only! 



















Four month of work. I am working on the nacelles right now, I almost got the port nacelle done and I estimate 
another 2.5 month until I am done with the saucer. So it is roughly 6 month of painting the Aztec alone. 

Like someone here said, doing the Aztec for real is not for the faint of heart. 
But the end effect is well worth the time.


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

Oy that summary sounds painful. But you are right, it is worth it. This is why I have been procrastinating in building my refit, for this reason. However, I will eventually do it. This was always another favorite Enterprise so I want to get it done.


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## secretreeve (Sep 11, 2012)

eh, honest can be brutal, but its why people like me haha.

It's still a good think you have done.


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## nightspore (Dec 17, 2012)

*ILM Refit*

I'm not wanting to be sacrilegious but... It is my understanding that ILM toned down the gloss of the paint scheme for 'The Wrath of Kahn'. Is there a reference for this? Thanks in advance!

Gary


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

That is my understanding too. The reason being the pearlescent colors caused light issues when trying to film the model. One reason the ship in TMP was in subdued lighting.


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Yes, ILM toned down the Aztec for TWOK because the Aztecs reflectivity caused reflections of the used blue screen on the hull thus creating holes in the ship in post processing (separating the ship from the blue where all that is blue disappears). There are only very few shots where you can see the TMP Aztecs very high reflectivity.










Note the dull areas at the rear of the nacelles that shows the actual white hull color, everything that shines is painted with the Aztec colors. Now imagine the edges of the saucer, or parts of the secondary hull that are painted in such high gloss standing near a glowing blue backdrop, not speaking of the studio light sources that would get reflected too. The TMP Refit must have been a lighting crews and director of photography true nightmare. 

For TMP Trumbull and Dykstra solved the problem by shooting the ship against black velvet on a low lit stage and the resulting shots of the ship are to this day the best shots of any Enterprise. When ILM took over for TWOK, they already used the blue screen technique and the blue screen causes all sorts of reflections on the ships Aztec laden hull. Their solution was to give her a "dull coat" to tone down the glossiness of the Aztec while retaining the overall look of the ship so she would not "look any different to the audience". 

There are no sources on what that "dull coating" was comprised of. Due to the research I have done for my own Aztec work I believe it was a mixture of a semi gloss clear coat that had some white mixed in to it. Semi gloss clear coat because ILM wanted to reduce the glossiness of the Aztec and surely did not intend to spray each Aztec panel individually so it had to be a "spray the whole object but retain paintjob" solution, ergo a semi gloss clear coat. Some white because in all of the pictures we have of the Ent-A (Cloudster, Christies Auction, Mark Dickson etc.) the Aztec colors blue, red, gold and green are hardly visible and very subdued, meaning not only was their glossiness but also the original intensity reduced. This could have only been done by adding some white to the semi gloss clear coat. 

This "dull coat" mixture solved ILMs blue screen reflectivity problem because the Aztec gloss reflection was eliminated, the colorfulness reduced, the overall look maintained and close up you would still see the original Aztec. 

Perhaps Galaxy_Jason and TrekModeler can add their view on this too, but I think that was what ILM did.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Garbaron said:


> There are no sources on what that "dull coating" was comprised of.


My money's on Krylon's dulling spray, standard kit in many studios.


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

The Refits dull coat was a permanent thing, its on the hull to this very day. The spray you show says "Temporarily reduces shine and glare" and that it can be wiped off without a trace. That it not what was used and its questionable if it was even available in 1982.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Well, it was available in '87 (we used it in studio) but point taken on the permanence.


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

GSaum said:


> Yes, I do. TrekModeler priced me out of a purchase. I'm already spending enough on the kit, a lighting kit, a display case, and paint. $40 is a bit much for me seeing as how I can do my own research.
> 
> That's not saying it's not worth $40 for others, and if you have the money, go for it! But I'm living off a part-time teacher salary, so it's not cost effective for me at all.


If he is doing a small run, his mark up for color printing is probably not that big.

If he did a CD, copies would be floating around all over.


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## nightspore (Dec 17, 2012)

Garbaron said:


> The Refits dull coat was a permanent thing, its on the hull to this very day. The spray you show says "Temporarily reduces shine and glare" and that it can be wiped off without a trace. That it not what was used and its questionable if it was even available in 1982.


Thanks for the input!

I was wondering about how much dulling was used to avoid reflections. I guess it is up to the modeler. 

Gary


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## eagledocf15 (Nov 4, 2008)

The Trekmodeler said:


> Initially, we wanted to get the paint guide out by email but the document contains a ton of images and compressing the file might affect their quality. So we opted to send it out on a CD or DVD.
> 
> The reason we even put out a paint guide at all is because nearly every email we received for the past couple of years included an enquiry about such a guide. ............ It’s not going to break the bank and even if you are a highly skilled painter like Garbaron and have no need for the paint guide it will still help you at least organize your thoughts because painting the Refit is a huge process. You can easily lose track and become frustrated. And as far as it being useful, I can promise you that we will be using this guide for our upcoming Refit build.


I for one would like to thank you Trekmodeler!!!!! Bless you. Articles like these really do help. Planning is a big part of construction! Thank you again and I ordered mine.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

I've received my guide, and "comprehensive" is the word: aztec diagrams, paint mixes for the strongback, and a definite order to the process of masking and painting. The guide actually makes the whole job look doable. It's worth the money to me, anyway. :thumbsup:


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## Opus Penguin (Apr 19, 2004)

Same here. It actually lessened my intimidation on this. I have not looked through it completely, so am not sure if it has something like this, but it would be cool if it includes the design pattern that you can print on friskets (red one, then, green, then gold, etc.). Then all you do is put the basic pattern down and print out the color you need next and paint over it. Then move on to the next one, etc.


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## shabo451 (Jan 27, 2008)

Still waiting on mine (ordered Jan. 18th). From the sound of it, I can't wait to see what's included.


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## ClubTepes (Jul 31, 2002)

Trekmodeler,

I just order up your disc a few minutes ago.

I was really admiring your deflector effect, just curious how you did it?
I noticed what looks like a copperish color in the dish and RGB flat leds?

Also wondering what you used to frost the dish?


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## Tiberious (Nov 20, 2001)

Please keep the feedback coming, I'm THIS close to ordering one!

Thanks,

Tib


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## The Trekmodeler (Jul 21, 2005)

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Some samples printed out from the paint guide showing part of the instructions for each ship, the TMP Refit 1701 and the 1701-A.

1701-A
http://trekmodeler.com/services/tm_electronics1/paint_guide1/11.htm

TMP 1701 Refit
http://trekmodeler.com/services/tm_electronics1/paint_guide1/12.htm

ClubTepes, correct! The inner area of the deflector housing as well as 4 flat top amber 3mm LEDs positioned near the center were airbrushed a toned down copper from Testors enamel. The clear dish itself was given a coat or 2 of Krylon matte.


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## Tiberious (Nov 20, 2001)

Broke down an ordered it. I'm hoping that the suggested supplies list includes some of the 3rd party bits that will help me get some amazing results despite my lacklustre skills.

I'll post my thoughts once I get it.

Tib


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## Garbaron (Apr 23, 2004)

Thos examples of the paint guide look really good.

But don't kidd yourselfs boys. 
Actually painting the Aztec like you see on his 
finished model will require a lot of stamina!
Like ... A LOT.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Garbaron said:


> Actually painting the Aztec like you see on his
> finished model will require a lot of stamina!
> Like ... A LOT.


Oh yeah. I'm concerned about having the thing set up for as long as it takes. Dust-free, too. It sounds like quite a commitment.


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## shabo451 (Jan 27, 2008)

Recieved mine a few days ago and have been reading and re-reading. I'm planning on using this for both a Deboer and the PL 1/350. Lots of info. Seems daunting at first, but I think given time it's well worth it.


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## tedkitus (Jun 19, 2008)

I just received the paint guide in the mail today. It's extremely detailed and it takes you step by step through the entire process. I think it's well worth the money which really isn't that expensive. It will still be a lot of work to paint the model, but at least with the guide as a reference it doesn't seem so daunting. Now I just need to get my DIY lighting kit and a few aftermarket parts and paint and I'll be set.  good job TrekModeler!


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## Tiberious (Nov 20, 2001)

Got mine today too.....daunting.....daunting....


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## tedkitus (Jun 19, 2008)

He updated the guide recently. I found a few errors in the paint numbers and a pollyscale paint was discontinue. I wrote to let him know and he updated the guide and sent out an errata with the updated pages.


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## checksum (Mar 31, 2012)

When it comes to setting up the 4 shades of blue needed for the Enterprise-A strongback Im having a hard time figuring out what to base the 4 shades off. In the green "Refit" instructions he mentions exactly what colors to use and if it needs flat white or whatever to get the 2nd and 3rd shades. But it seems for the Blue colors he just mentions using US Navy Blue/Grey and Tamiya XF-23. Not the specifics. And in the color photo in the book it looks like 2 is darker than 3. 
Does anyone have any idea what to use to get the specific tones he shows?


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## MartinHatfield (Apr 11, 2004)

I already spent over $300.00 with these guys. I would love to have the paint guide, but not until it is at least half the price that it is now.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

One reason for the high price might be that because they do pro build-ups, they are essentially giving away some trade secrets in the guide, so they may have factored some lost income into the price. The scale is small, but it's there nevertheless. 

... But pricing is always a gamble.


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## tedkitus (Jun 19, 2008)

There really isn't any trade secrets that they are giving away. Everything regarding painting can be found on the net if your willing to put in the time to look and compile the information. They just want to be compensated for the effort that went into putting the guide together. The guide is very convenient for those like myself that don't want to hunt for the information to paint the model. All the information is at my finger tips. For me, it's worth the $35.00. The paint guide along with the DIY lighting kit is prorbably the most money I have ever spent on accessories for a kit.

The most I've ever paid for a kit was $500 for the Anigrand SD.

Now if I can just move the kit closer to the top of the stack so I can start...


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## bigjimslade (Oct 9, 2005)

For a limited run, color print, $35 is a steal.


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Don't get me wrong, I bought one and think it's great. The price is fine for me. :thumbsup:


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## redline hunter (Jan 9, 2008)

More than worth every dime.



Doug


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## tedkitus (Jun 19, 2008)

bigjimslade said:


> For a limited run, color print, $35 is a steal.


They never made printed copies of the paint guide. It's only existed as a PDF.


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## MartinHatfield (Apr 11, 2004)

tedkitus said:


> They never made printed copies of the paint guide. It's only existed as a PDF.


Which means another $30.00 or so for a nicely printed version of the pdf. I don't have the printer that can handle something like that, so I would have to take the cd to Kinkos or similar and get it printed there.


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## checksum (Mar 31, 2012)

When it comes to painting the strongbacks I wish the guide was a little more detailed. Like I said, he goes into a good bit of detail for the green version but when it comes to the blue version there is a little info left out. I think he assumes that if you follow the green version but just apply it to the blue version you should be able to figure it out. 
But, I am having trouble with the blue strongback in terms of cutting out the correct size for each piece of tape that is to be applied in each step of doing the Blue Strongback. I tried scanning my decals in to my computer and then outlining the areas I want to cut out with tape and then printing that out (at the same size) but I am at a loss for how to use what I have printed to cut the appropriate size and shape for the tape piece... I have tried gently putting a piece of blue painters tape on a green cutting mat. Then tapping the printout I created over the top and then cutting over the top what I want to cut out by cutting thru both the paper and the tape, but the results are not that good...
Does anyone sell vinyle masks similar to acteck dummy masks for the strongback area?


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