# Enterprise TOS 22" cut away



## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Like most of us...ahem...."older" folks, I built many many models when I was a young pup. Ships, planes, cars, etc. 

One of the ones I built was an Enterprise, tos model. As a pup, It wasn't much more than put together and painted. I did a couple extra things, but very limited. As with all our "toys"when we were young, that model has disappeared a looong time ago. My Dad (RIP) used to watch the original series all the time and I used to sit with him and became a "trekkie" (I predate the whole trekkie/trekker thing). Also somewhat Ironically, I was born in 65, when they finished the first pilot: " The Cage".

So fast forward and here I am, post retirement, and I find myself wanting to build another Enterprise TOS. But not wanting to just slap together another 18" kit like I did when I was a kid. This one will have more bells and whistles. Lights,more accuracy, etc.

The new 1:350 kits are nice, but at around 36" they're a little too big to have around the hobby room. Forget anywhere else in the house, the wife won't have it. In all fairness, she's basically signed off both garages and the second floor loft to me, so I don't have much to complain about. 

The 18" kits all seem to have too much "inaccuracies" for what I'd like to build and "scratch built" is actually more work than I want to do. 

Digging around the internet, I run across several of the 1996 release "cutaway" enterprise builds. They're actually really nice. So I settle on stating with a 22" cutaway kit. I looked only for "factory sealed" kits so I knew nothing would be missing:










Now, I know I'll have to join and fill the "splits" in the panels/hull, which isn't that big of a deal. But then I run across a build of the cutaway (by someone who is obviously VERY talented) that just looks spectacular and this one is actually built as an actual "cutaway"lighted and painted interiors and various other internal spaces done up to the nines.

And just like that, I was off to buy TWO of the 22" cutaway models. Plan is to build one as a "complete" exterior model and the other as an actual "cutaway" model. the exterior model will take a fair bit of time to complete and I expect the interior model will take even longer. But it should look super cool having one cutaway and one complete side by side. 

Yup, I get the irony of a 36" model being too big and two 22" model not. What can I say? I'm a bit inconsistent I guess.....LOL!

Watch this space for more, but it will likely be quite some time before I have an update. the model kits aren't even shipped yet....


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## garyseven (12 mo ago)

I have have several ST models, including the Cut-away, that I'd planned to one day build. I retired 6 mths ago. But I've decided to do the 1/350 TOS with lights, probably in the spring as I will be working in my garage. Yes, the CAW is a nice kit, lots of threads on it. I believe you can still get some accurate parts for it. Good luck.


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## RLR (Dec 15, 2015)

The 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise is actually only 32 inches. The Refit is actually the bigger one at almost 36 inches. Personally, I was just build the 1/350 as the cutaway is just a pain with all the modifications you would have to do just to get it to look right. If the size is a problem you could just build the original AMT 18 inch kit. Federation Models has plenty of upgrades for this kit.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

RLR said:


> The 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise is actually only 32 inches. The Refit is actually the bigger one at almost 36 inches. Personally, I was just build the 1/350 as the cutaway is just a pain with all the modifications you would have to do just to get it to look right. If the size is a problem you could just build the original AMT 18 inch kit. Federation Models has plenty of upgrades for this kit.


I’ve got an 18”-er in the closet, unbuilt and still sealed. It’s the 1989 release, so lots more “inaccuracies” in that than the cut away model (or so I understand). Both need work, so it’s a wash either way.

I’m not overly hung up on small differences, there were several props with several differences used in the series anyways.

regardless, I’m going to give the cut away models a go. Should be fun and having a cut away and complete on the shelf should look cool. Whatever the “inaccuracies” may remain.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Well, guess I got my “reference material”.

I was schkuffling around ebay (was bored) and ran across a box set of TOS at a decent price. I think it was released in 2004, as the three seasons are in the yellow, blue and red “tricorder” boxes:










I’ve wanted this set for a while, but it seems they’re usually waaay overpriced compared to the “digital remasters” which seem to be everywhere and less expensive. Or, they’re not a complete set and you have to buy bits and pieces to make a full three season set.

These are the ones I wanted as they are cleaned up for dvd viewing, but they are not the “digital/cgi/remastered” episodes.

So no added or “enhanced” cgi stuff. Just the way the old series was filmed; actual physical models of the enterprise…just the way Gene wanted it.

It’s also the “unaltered” episodes I remember watching with my Dad as a kid. So theres a nostalga element to my having the “non cgi enhanced/remastered” versions.

The remastered episodes are ok to watch when they come on the tv, but they just don’t have the originality of the original episodes and they take away some of the “campiness” of watching a sci-fi show from the 60’s. Just personal preference I guess.

I’ll be building the two cut aways like the series model enterprises, not the pilot or 2nd pilot versions.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Still waiting for the kits to show up, so I've been planning and purchasing. 

I believe I will do the interior cut away model like this gent demonstrates in CGI:






It will take a little reworking of the kit interiors, but I think it will be worthwhile. There are many fictional deck layouts around, but this one is clean and looks easy to build with less clutter than most. The engine room is in the wrong place though, that will be under the engine struts in the engineering hull.

I've been wanting lights but don't like the limitations the kits on the market offer. Not to mention, they want an awful lot of $$$ for some led's and controllers. I figured out what I wanted it to look like and started ordering stuff. 

First, some 28g wire. I went for gray insulation and 100 meters of it. That should be enough to at least light one model! (LOL)

Then grabbed some .75mm fiber optic, 100 meters of it. Not sure how much I need, but that should set me up for at least several models.

The "bussard collectors" was another story.That's a pretty specific type of circuit and board. Luckily, ebay turned up something that should work:






that's just a demo mode, but there are a couple patterns that should work. It also has a speed adjustment so I can slow it down as needed.The board itself is just a skooch bigger than 1.25", so it should fit in the nacelle. If it doesn't fit, I'll just have to run individual wires up to the nacelle for the led's.

For the flashing Nav lights, I just picked up a couple cheap in line control boards. Adjustable for flash patterns and speeds. It's a pretty limited board, but it will do what I want. 

I've got a fair amount of led's in the drawers, but I grabbed and assorted 500 pack in 3mm, just in case.

Something I wanted to try (but haven't seen anywhere yet) is lighting the power conduits. The plan is to remove the inner "skin" on the RH nacelle strut and expose the plasma conduits and the jefferies tube that run up the strut (will have to be scratch built). The Jefferies tube will be used to hide the wiring going up to the nacelle. The Plasma conduits will get a "chaser" circuit with red led's from the core in the secondary hull up to the nacelle. They will pulse upwards and give the conduits a red glow, pulsing like they are transferring power to the nacelles.

I elected to not put the blue strips on the inner parts of the nacelles. I don't remember them on the orginal series, so I'm not putting htem on. I;m guessing some put the blue light strips becasue they either want something more illuminated on the nacelles or I believe it was there on the star trek discovery iteration of the original Enterprise. Regardless, I'm not putting them on mine.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

I’m still waoting for the 22” kits to be delivered, but I’ve been looking at pictures of the interior pieces from other guys builds.

The more I look, the more I think I might have to ditch the pieces that form the interior and do a scratch build. For how I want the interior deck to look, I just don’t think I want to be “locked in” to the kit interior forms.

I can also see that the kit parts take up a fair bit of space on the interior, namely, the inserts essentially double the hull thickness. Thats jall space I can use to make the hangar deck more realistic and improve other areas of the saucer.

I also believe I may redo the “cutaway” parts a little differently that stock. I think I’m going to make the secondary hull a full cutaway and the part of the saucer that removes as a “top down” cut away. Basically, the uppper surface will be lifted from the lower piece and you’ll be able to look down and see the various sections and equipment in the saucer itself.

Hmmm, I think this build just got a lot longer and a lot more involved….


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Little something I picked up for a couple bucks showed up today:










It’s old, broken and yellowed, but its all there and all intact. The little “stubs” are broken off the pylons where they enter the hull, but thats easily rectified.

Basically, it looks like someone glued it together, stuck the decals in it and that was that. So it’s relatively “unmolested”.

My plan is to pull most of it apart and build it back up and paint with the proper colors. I might also do some basic lighting on it.

This is meant as a relatively quick and easy build, mostly just for display off in a corner somewhere and personal enjoyment rather than staying to a rigid reproduction of the movie enterprise.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Slow but steady wins the race:










Let it soak in water with a touch of vinegar for a couple hours and the waterslide decals are slowly releasing.

Transferred to wax paper:










Those weren’t too bad and came off mostly intact. Just had to go super slow and peel them back onto themselves so I could see where it needed a little extra “encouragement” from a razor blade.

The “A” is a little messed up, but it was already damaged on the model itself. I might just cut it off and make it a “1701” refit instead of a 1701-A.

Not in that pic is one of the secondary hull decals, the long red one. That didn’t survive quiet as well. Thw red strips are small and thin which made them hard to peel without cracking. Not to mention, the hull curves in two dimensions which makes it even harder to get good coverage to help lift it with the razor blade. It’s that compound curve giving me fits.

Next hurdle is getting them to dry flat. For that, I’ll put another piece of waxed paper on top and something flat and with a bit of weight, like a hard cover book or similar. It’s already pressing in the garage, I’ll leave it overnight and we’ll see what it looks like in the am.

Still not sure if I’ll reuse them or try and find a replacement decal set. I suppose it depends on how well they survive the removal process…


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## garyseven (12 mo ago)

Tourmax said:


> Slow but steady wins the race:
> 
> View attachment 326569
> 
> ...


Cool. How do you think they'd react to decal solvent & setting agents when you try to put them back on?


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

garyseven said:


> Cool. How do you think they'd react to decal solvent & setting agents when you try to put them back on?


No idea. I'll find that out if I try it I guess....


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## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

You mentioned a touch of vinegar. How much is a touch? 

I would think your water container was big enough to hold the largest part - so between a pint and 2 pints of water was used to soak the individual parts in. Or did you do them all at once in a larger container?


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Milton Fox Racing said:


> You mentioned a touch of vinegar. How much is a touch?
> 
> I would think your water container was big enough to hold the largest part - so between a pint and 2 pints of water was used to soak the individual parts in. Or did you do them all at once in a larger container?


'
couldn't tell you how much. It was literally a "splash" from the jug. Kinda like asking how much a "pinch" is when cooking. No idea on quantities of either water or vinegar. Water was as much as it took to cover the decals.

Parts are soaking as we speak. But the first pieces were an experiment as much as anything else. Now soaking the rest. Will let these soak for a couple days to see if it gets any easier to remove the decals.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

some of the decals in their new home:










Pressed and dryed overnight. Nice and flat.

First cutaway kit showed up today:










complete and ready to go. First kit will be built whole, second kit will be a cutaway.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

Well, got a bit lucky with the enterprise 1701-A.

Set of original decals showed up on ebay and I was able to snag them for 10 bucks. 

I'll still carry on with stripping the old ones and trying to save them, but it's likely I'll just use the "new" decals when finishing the NC 1701-A.


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## garyseven (12 mo ago)

Tourmax said:


> Well, got a bit lucky with the enterprise 1701-A.
> 
> Set of original decals showed up on ebay and I was able to snag them for 10 bucks.
> 
> I'll still carry on with stripping the old ones and trying to save them, but it's likely I'll just use the "new" decals when finishing the NC 1701-A.


IIRC, the first issue of that kit, from STTMP, had rub on transfers, not standard decals.


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## Tourmax (Aug 9, 2020)

garyseven said:


> IIRC, the first issue of that kit, from STTMP, had rub on transfers, not standard decals.


Interesting bit of trivia, but it doesn't really make much difference for me. I just want a "fresh" set of decals for the rebuild o the 1701-A kit.


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## Zombie_61 (Apr 21, 2004)

garyseven said:


> IIRC, the first issue of that kit, from STTMP, had rub on transfers, not standard decals.


You're remembering correctly. I remember they weren't particularly good (or at least the set I got wasn't) and it was difficult to get them to adhere to the model paint.


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## Fido Montoya (7 mo ago)

I always wanted to get the cutaway model. I've had a fair number of Enterprise kits over the years as well.


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## NTRPRZ (Feb 23, 1999)

I started to build the cutaway as a whole ship, but needed a clear bussard dome and endcap. But at Wonderfest, someone had their built-up and omitted all the extra parts, so I got what I needed for only $5.


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## mb1k (May 6, 2002)

Tourmax said:


> Slow but steady wins the race:
> 
> View attachment 326569
> 
> ...


When the time comes, I can set you up with some refit ENTERPRISE decals for free. PM me.

Doh! Disregard, I just saw that you picked some up on eBay. But feel free to reach out if something goes sideways with that set.


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Love your project, and had no idea that old decals could be safely removed and store to be used again. Wow! However, please be aware that the video you linked is incorrect. (So are the parts included for the interior in the cutaway kits, but that is yet another problem.) Basically, Main Engineering is in the Secondary, (otherwise known as the Engineering) hull, not the Primary (saucer) hull. However, it's your model, so be sure to build it as you want it. (Of course, post pictures!!)

Larry


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

Tourmax said:


> Well, guess I got my “reference material”.
> 
> I was schkuffling around ebay (was bored) and ran across a box set of TOS at a decent price. I think it was released in 2004, as the three seasons are in the yellow, blue and red “tricorder” boxes:
> 
> ...


I've been watching these lately. Amazing how many clear shots of the 1701 there were from back in the day.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Yes an old thread I know. 
Curious about status. 
Meanwhile a little inspiration/motivation...





-Jim G.G.


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