# 33 inch TOS Enterprise - Studio Scale Replica



## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

This is a project that I've spent a ton of time and effort researching. I started by drawing up an early version of my plans for this model back in 2007, and followed it up with two study models (here and here) at two-thirds scale to help refine my plans (and improve my model building abilities). Originally I had wanted to build this model out of the same materials as the original (which was mostly made out of kiln-dried sugar pine), but I don't have any of the equipment or experience to deal in wood, so I'll stick with what I know I can do.

For a bit of history on the original model, you can check out this page I put together.

Here are some additional reference images I've collected since I did my original plans back in 2007 (which helped me iron out some issues while building my second two-thirds scale study model)...


_Click to enlarge_


_Click to enlarge_​
And how the model looked in 1974...










_-continued below-_​


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

*Where to start?*

I decided that I'd begin with the secondary hull. The series of images below show the steps I've taken to build a master (more of a pre-master).








It started with cutting out pieces of foamcore board and building a base structure. Because this will be the master for both sides, I've included holes and alignment channels for both sides for the nacelle support pylons to slide into. It is easier to build the parts with both holes and fill in the extra later than to build it without any and add them later or build two of these. I'll be doing this exact same thing when I build the inboard nacelle master so I only have to build it once.

Next I put blocks of styrofoam in to the openings and used a hot wire to cut them to the general shapes I needed. And then with them glued into place, I used a template of the secondary hull shape to lay out a surface made of hydrocal. I let that dry/cure and then filled in any gaps that showed up.

That is about where I'm at right now. This isn't all that different from how I made my primary hull for my one-sixth studio scale 11 foot TOS Enterprise, but I figured I'd show how these same steps could also be used to make a little more complex shape... so here is the start of the (pre-)master to the secondary hull of my Phase II Enterprise kit.








It was made the exact same way, just requiring a different template for the shape and the alignment channels for the nacelle support pylons are at a different angle. And this is them together...








And no, this model is not going to become a kit... nor could it's parts be used to convert the Round 2 1/350 TOS Enterprise (which is smaller than this model by more than an inch... 32.4 inches compared to 33.75 inches).

So now I'm waiting a while for the hydrocal to completely dry/cure before I add on a surface that I can work to a smoother finish. When I'm all done, I'll make a mold and cast two parts.

Below are shots of the start of the inboard and outboard nacelle masters, first together and then separate (secondary hull master included for scale).








There isn't a lot of stuff going on with the outboard master. The inboard master has the channel (which I've started) and the attachment points for the nacelle support pylons. So there is going to be a bit of work needed to engineer all that before I get anywhere close to making molds.

A lot of this is going to look like the 11 foot model, but I'll point out where the 33 inch model differs as it becomes easier to see. One thing that is different here is that the inboard channel extends further back (running into the rectangular box features). I think this was a result of the channels originally facing downwards. Datin seemed to have changed the orientation while building this model, and then carried the changes over to the 11 foot model (making adjustments) when they started it a few weeks later.








The main reason that I believe this is the case is that had the channel originally been on the inboard side of the nacelle, the nacelle supports would run into them. And I don't believe that was the only change as the top of the support pylons need to be fitted to the attachment point, so I believe that they were also swapped at the same time... which is why I believe that the inboard vents on the pylons were originally supposed to be pointing outwards (like in many of Jefferies drawings and how he went back to this configuration when designing the Phase II Enterprise).








At any rate, I've continued to make some more progress on the nacelles, mainly gluing many of the inboard nacelle parts together. Here is how they stand currently...









*Going forward...*

While I'm sure many of you guys remember the steps I took to build the primary hull of my second two-thirds scale study model (overview image here), for this build I'll be using the process I used on my one-sixth scale 11 foot TOS Enterprise study model. Basically the same steps but with a primary hull that is 15 inches in diameter rather than 10 inches...








After all, that primary hull was really a test to see if the process would work before applying it on this model.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I cut the openings and started the channels for the nacelle support pylons attachment points. These channels are intended to help align the parts and are the same size as those on the secondary hull master. I cut out a piece of foamcore board that fit into those channels and tested the nacelle masters together with the secondary hull master to see how things are working.








The secondary hull master is on it's side, but the main thing I was looking for was the center line of the masters to be parallel to each other... which it looked like it was when I tested it (for both sets of channels).

I've left myself enough maneuvering room to make adjustments with the final parts later on, but I wanted to have the masters (and molds) be as close to a perfect fit as I could (specially given that all this is hand made... but then again, so was the original model).

I'm hoping to finish off the rest of the interior parts of the inboard nacelle this weekend and then I'll close up the ends and hit both nacelle masters with primer to see where I'm at with them.


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## bigdaddydaveh (Jul 20, 2007)

Looking great so far. Please post updates! Mad skills there...:thumbsup:


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## starmanmm (Mar 19, 2000)

I don't think I even have those types of skills to do that kind of work. Nice Job.


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## Mark Dorais (May 25, 2006)

Amazing work......


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## seaview62 (Nov 30, 2012)

Wow, great detail in your research. I'd love to have this version next to my 1/350 production version! Good job.:thumbsup:


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I've been plugging away at this, but most of what I've been doing is essentially the same things I did on my one-sixth studio scale 11 foot model. I'm not sure that it is all that interesting to show the same things over again.

Here are some progress shots...








I included a test pull of my Enterprise name plaque (which I kept to try out painting/aging ideas on). There has been some more work on the inner nacelle channel, mostly sculpting the ends.

I started making the forward rings (which are currently just four disks). Building those is pretty straight forward... cut out a disk of thin styrene and a smaller disk of thick styrene, glue them together and fill in the stair step between. It doesn't take much effort and when I put all four together I get what I needed.

Because it took longer to do, I did take a series of images of the rear nacelle cap being constructed. For this I cut three disks... two were annulus, with holes large enough for the rear cap's sphere. I cut the annulus into two parts off center which gave me a total of five structural pieces to help hold the ribbed outer styrene sheet in the form of a cylinder. I later added a few more pieces of styrene to close up some openings and then use Aves apoxie sculpt to fill in the remaining open face... being sure to keep the hole needed for the sphere.

It still needs work, but you can get the idea where it is at.

And again, these are all masters... none of these parts are going to actually be on the final model.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I thought I'd throw up some progress shots... I've done some work on the nacelles and started on the primary hull masters. The nacelle halves and secondary hull half will be mounted to wood boards before I make the molds (though they aren't mounted just yet).








I'm using 18 inch circular table tops as the bases for the upper and lower primary hull masters. I'll most likely start laying in the hydrocal on those in the next day or two, though I'm expecting to have to do it in a number of steps over the next week to get the primary shapes I need.


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## liskorea317 (Mar 27, 2009)

Fantastic! Can't wait to see it completed!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks!

I've made a little progress on the lower primary hull master, but there is still a lot of work to be done.








​


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I made some more progress... one of the base boards used for the lower primary hull was slightly warped, so I decided to build two masters and see which one looks the best. The top primary hull master is now at about 95% done.








I was finally able to find a spherical part that is the right size for the nacelle domes. I'll be making two molds from this and casting up those parts before I make the master for the front nacelle (so I know those parts all fit together). The reason for making two molds rather than just one is that I want to make both parts from the same mixture of clear resin to insure that they match each other. I've made (smaller) domes that match the reference color in the past, so I'm not too worried about getting the same effect again.

I was originally going to build masters for the nacelle support and dorsal pylons, but those aren't really hard things to make. Plus building them as final parts I can make sure that they are structurally sound, which would be harder to do if I attempted to cast them.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I've drawn on the underside rings to make sure that they match up with all my research. The best thing is that the _NCC-1701_ decals that go between the engraved rings and flat edge fit perfectly compared to photos of the original model, so I'm happy with them.

In this set of progress shots I've included the start of the B/C deck structure on the top primary hull master to get a feel for how it is progressing.








And this is a test placement of the decals on the masters.


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## starmanmm (Mar 19, 2000)

That is a lot of work! :freak:

Great job and enjoy reading this as you go.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks!

Recently I've been mostly puttying, sanding, primering and then repeating the process... attempting to get the surfaces to the best state I can.

Here is some progress on the primary hull masters (the lower rings have been engraved)...








I've also started in on the bridge and done some more work on the secondary hull master. I included a shot of the original model for comparison in the series of images below. Both the bridge and the B/C deck structure are riding a little high, they'll sit lower and flush to each other (and later the upper primary hull with the actual parts) as I get closer to finishing them.

The biggest thing is that I pulled my first parts for the model... the nacelle domes.








These are the main references I've been using for the domes...








So yeah, I'm still plugging away at this.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Work continues...

The bridge and B/C deck structure are now a single piece (the dome in the images below is a stand in for sizing purposes). I've continued work on the rear nacelle end cap assembly and made quite a bit of progress on the front nacelle end cap assembly (now that I have nacelle domes). I've also started in on the lower sensor dome platform, intercooler and deflector masters.








I've continued to work on the surface of the upper and lower primary hull masters, the secondary hull master and the nacelle masters, and I'm feel pretty good about their progress. I figure I'm not too far off from making molds from those.


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## seaview62 (Nov 30, 2012)

The details on your build are so interesting. Can't wait to see the finished product!:thumbsup:


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Not to regress but the fourth group of images in post #1 showing how the model looked in 1974 with the Enterprise obscured by the baby in a blanket really tickles my funny bone. I mean what possesed who I can only assume is the proud parent to practically set the infant on top of the saucer while someone else takes photos? "Hey let's take some photos of the Enterprise! Oh! Hold on-let me get junior first!" Perhaps they were just doing a size comparison between the model and the baby. I'm not sure why but this just strikes me as being so humorous. 

Beautiful work on your masters by the way Shaw.


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## pagni (Mar 20, 1999)

The baby is Rod Jr.
Proud parent of Rod and Star Trek ?


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks guys!

Here is a test assembly of the rear nacelle parts to see how everything is coming together...








Still a work in progress, but at least it sorta looks like what it is supposed to be.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Here is a series of images of the upper primary hull with the bridge/B/C deck structure sitting in place to see how things are going with these parts...








And another series of the lower primary hull with the sensor dome platform (and a stand in dome) in place...








For both the upper and lower domes I'll be casting them in clear with a small amount of transparent green. I don't have transparent green dye right now, so I'll have to wait to actually make the final parts.

I think I'm almost ready for making molds of all these masters. There is just a handful of little things to fix/finish and they should be ready to go. Some aspects of the model just can't be done with the masters, so I need the final parts to go forward.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

I just can't wait to see what it looks like when she's really finished!!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Me too! :thumbsup:


Some progress... 

Made a mold of the lower primary hull and cast the first part from it (though I'm not sure if this is a final part or just a test)...








At least I know the mold produced a nice part and is still in great shape.


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

Trekkriffic said:


> Not to regress but the fourth group of images in post #1 showing how the model looked in 1974 with the Enterprise obscured by the baby in a blanket really tickles my funny bone. I mean what possesed who I can only assume is the proud parent to practically set the infant on top of the saucer while someone else takes photos? "Hey let's take some photos of the Enterprise! Oh! Hold on-let me get junior first!" Perhaps they were just doing a size comparison between the model and the baby. I'm not sure why but this just strikes me as being so humorous.
> 
> Beautiful work on your masters by the way Shaw.


Agreed, Outstanding work on that Enterprise!:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Regarding those photo's of the Three Foot Enterprise, Most likely it is RodJr. Taken before Gene Sr. Loaned the model out.:dude:


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I finally have molds for both the upper and lower primary hull.








Hopefully I'll have parts by the end of this weekend. The nice thing is that I really don't need to get inside for anything, so I can close the primary hull up pretty quickly. The big issue with this would be getting a nice, sharp upper lip edge.

We'll see how things go.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I now have primary hull parts!








And the best part of this is that these two halves weigh about the same as the first lower primary hull pull I did.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I cleaned up the edges (this is the primary hull top with the first lower half so I could experiment with cutting) to see how things fit together...








Still a bit thicker than it should be, but at least it is really starting to feel the part.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Based on what I learned from the spare lower primary hull, I cut down the main lower primary hull and did a test fit of the top and bottom together...








I threw in a shot of the original model from approximately the same angle for comparison. The clamps aren't actually _clamping_ in those images. I had set them to the target thickness I was aiming for for the outer edge. They pretty much freely slide around the rim at this point.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Got the upper and lower halves of the primary hull together, this is my first primer pass to see how my putty work turned out...








There is still a bit of refining to do, but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

About to start another round of putty/sanding, but here is some shots of the top of the primary hull (with the bridge/B/C deck master set in place)...








Still a long ways to go, so back to my _grindstone_.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Finally got one of the major molds done (major because it has so many parts included on it)...








... so now I can start in on the secondary hull.

I still have a little more to do on the nacelle masters, but that mold shouldn't be nearly as hard to do as this last one.


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Your talent into building the Enterprise is overwhelming Mr Shaw!
I with I had the time , money , & resouces that you have.
Beautiful work as always sir.:thumbsup::thumbsup:
-Jim


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## pagni (Mar 20, 1999)

You are producing molds for these.... are you offering kits ?


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

Parts is parts but some people's parts are better than others. Nice mold work.


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## spockboyz (Nov 28, 2012)

Amazing work as always.

So glad someone is doing this since the original was lost.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks guys! :thumbsup:



pagni said:


> You are producing molds for these.... are you offering kits ?


The molds are so I can make the parts out of a better material than I used to sculpt them out of... but the parts are far from being _kit friendly_. The secondary hull, for example, is the most basic of shapes and doesn't include things like the undercut, the hangar area/fan tail, an opening for the dorsal or openings for the side and underside channel. It is what I need to build the secondary hull, but there is still a ton of scratch building on top of any of the parts I make from these molds.



As this has been bumped to the front page, I guess I'll throw in a few shots of my progress (all of which has been on the primary hull so far)...








A lot of this recent work is similar to what I had to do on the Phase II Enterprise... which is work that upper edge to get it sharp and uniform. And I'm still working on blending the bridge/B/C deck structure now that it is in place.

On the plus side, I don't have to fill in any grid lines.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

Will you have pics of this model when she is completely built?


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

I think you should have incised gridlines just so you could go back later and fill them in. 
It's one of those things that we Trek modellers bond together over.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I think I have enough on my plate without adding gridlines so I can remove them... but I might consider it. 




WOI said:


> Will you have pics of this model when she is completely built?


Yes, I'll take tons of photos. Hopefully it'll look as good as this... or even better.




I started on making the parts for the dorsal... this is a test assembly of them to make sure that they fit to the primary hull's contour.








I included a shot of my first pull from the secondary hull mold. I don't know if that is going to be an actual part for the model, but at least I got the shape I was looking for.


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## edge10 (Oct 19, 2013)

Trekkriffic said:


> I think you should have incised gridlines just so you could go back later and fill them in.
> It's one of those things that we Trek modellers bond together over.


You are a bad man, a very bad man!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I now have the start of the secondary hull, including the start of the hangar doors (yes, my model will have the hangar doors even though the original model's doors were lost between the second and third seasons of TOS)...








The goal is to replicate the model at it's most iconic period... when being used for publicity photos with the cast members during the first season. Some time between the second and third seasons the model was dropped and imperfectly repaired (the port side nacelle was re-attached wrong and the outboard intercooler on the starboard nacelle was glued on backwards) along with the hangar doors being lost.


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## harristotle (Aug 7, 2008)

Your work never ceases to amaze me. Been gone quite a while so I'm digging back pages of old threads to see what i missed. Can't wait to find your Phase II build!


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

Thinking of making it into a LTD Ed model kit?Would you consider getting
Round 2 interested in it?


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks guys!

The masters for this model are far from kit quality and many of the elements are actually being built into the model without masters or molds.

I noticed someone had brought up to Jamie that it would be nice to have a conversion kit to make the 33 inch version of the model. I get the feeling that for Round 2 wouldn't consider it worth their time.

And I don't think that any of my parts would work on the 1/350 model as there is a slight size difference (mine is about 4% bigger than the 1/350 kit).


A little more progress...

Did some trimming of the secondary hull halves an test fit them with the start of the hangar door hood. There is still a ways to go, but it is feeling like I'm making progress.

I also finished up the nacelle masters and mounted them to a board. I'll hit them with a couple coats of Krylon Crystal Clear and then start in on making a mold.








I also started in on the fantail, but forgot to get any shots of it.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

Well why don't till the parts are high quality to do so?


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Finished the first major cuts into the secondary hull... the rear undercut and the side channels.

This is a good example of why my parts aren't kit friendly. The secondary hull was no where even close to finished when I made the mold, but that was by design so I only had to worry about turning out one side to get both. And I knew what I'd have to do to finish the secondary hull as a whole.

This is after a couple hours of cutting/shaping...








The nice thing is that I was totally pounding away at these parts, and they are very strong. They are also very ridgid...which is also quite nice.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Did some more work on the dorsal today. The last major internal piece was mounting the locking screw (which corresponds to a metal plate I embedded into the lower primary hull piece back in January). I should be able to make pretty quick progress on the dorsal from here.








Once I'm done with the dorsal, I'll build it into the secondary hull, locking it into place.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Finished making the mold for the nacelle body. It'll be a while before I get a chance to actually use them, but so far they look pretty good.








I've also been testing fit and alinement of aspects of the secondary hull. With the dorsal set in place, I made some nacelle support pylon stand-ins out of foamcore board. I just needed to mimic the size and shape of the final parts to make sure that the slots they will eventually fit into will produce the correct angles...








All the angles look pretty good at this stage. And if there had been nacelles on the pylons, their center lines would have been about 10 inches apart (like they are supposed to be)... so that is a sizable amount of work done early on while engineering the masters that has thankfully paid off.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I decided I really wanted to see it with the primary hull in place too... so here it is.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

This is a test assembly with a test pull from the nacelle molds... mainly to see what was involved in making them.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Last night I was experimenting with the nacelle body molds to see if I might like Alumilite White better than the TC 1630, and how little material I can get away with (the first nacelle body was about 8 oz). I made a second test nacelle using about 4 oz of Alumilite, but I like the TC 1630 better for this type of part (though I think I can get it down to around 4 oz of material on the final nacelles).

Even though I didn't want to waste any more time on the Alumilite nacelle, it is a second nacelle... which means I can take some more test assembly shots that can help me judge if I'm going in the right direction with this model (I had made additional changes to my plans after the second study model, so this is really my first chance to see them).

Here is how she looks (some images are flipped, I just wanted to see it from a different direction without handling the model too much)...


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

Holy Canoles,I can't believe just how far you had progressed on this,
you should get this model on a kickstarters campaign to have Round 2
to create a Limited Ed kit out of it!!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks!

Something tells me they wouldn't be all that interested in this model. They tend towards more safe subjects, which is why a model representing the 11 foot Enterprise at a scale close to the 33 inch Enterprise was a better bet in the long run.


Small update...

Over the last few days I've constructed the nacelle support pylons. They are actually pretty strong (stronger than I thought they'd be), and can support the weight of either test nacelle. Still, I'd like to get the weight of the final nacelle bodies down a bit more because there are a number of pieces which will eventually be added... adding weight to the nacelles. And even though most of them should be pretty light weight, the domes (which were finished a while ago) are solid and do have a bit of weight to them.

I took another series of test assembly shots, this time with a stand-in for the front of the secondary hull and placement of a test printing of the primary hull decals. I've done a little more work on both the secondary hull and dorsal, but nothing that is note worthy in these images...








It is still pretty rough, but right now I'm mainly happy that all the major elements at least play nicely with each other.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I made another nacelle and tested it against the first nacelle I made... it weighed in at about 90% the weight of the first one, which isn't the significant reduction I was hoping for. Considering that there are a number of additional parts that are going to be added to the nacelles (and assuming that they are all the same weight for each nacelle), we are really looking at something closer to a 5% difference between the first and second tries using TC-1630.

Given that, I'll use that first test pull as one of my nacelle bodies as there isn't a good reason to waste more material if I'm not going to make a significant improvement over what I already have. And now that I know that these are the final parts, I'll start in on bringing them together to make the nacelles.

I took a few more shots of the model with the new nacelle body, I'll be pulling it apart to start doing some more significant work on the secondary hull and dorsal next. In these images I've included the Viewmaster shots of the original model (which I believe predates the accident that damaged the model).








There has been a number of people who have asked about how I'm building these parts. I'm finding that a lot of people are assuming that because these are open faced molds that I just fill them to the rim with resin and end up with solid parts. I avoid making solid parts if at all possible, usually only small parts are cast solid.

So for this model, the primary hull, bridge/B/C deck structure, secondary hull and both nacelles are all hollow. Below is a shot of what the inside of one of the nacelles looks like...








Here is a quick run down of the technique I use...

In the case of the TC-1630, I get about a 10 minute window of work time, so I spread a thin layer over the surface of the mold... making sure to brush it up towards the edges and the higher points. Pretty soon it starts to thicken, and when it stops easily flowing, I let it sit for a couple minutes. I then press in pre-cut sheets of fiberglass cloth, making sure it conforms to the interior contours (it has some give, and you can pre trim it to lay pretty flat against the mold's surface). I then mix up a second batch of TC-1630 and brush it over the fiberglass... making sure it gets absorbed into the material before it starts to set up. Once I get a good covering, I start brushing it up towards the edges like before.

The parts can be removed from the mold pretty quickly... though I usually give it a few hours. After six to eight hours it is pretty hard, after 24 hours it is rock solid (pretty much no-give)... which is why it works so nicely for these larger parts while letting the parts stay pretty thin.

The irregular surface on the interior of the nacelle is from the brushing up process. Irregular surfaces are actually stronger (more rigid) than smooth ones, so it acts sorta like a structural re-enforcement.

The TC-1630 actually cuts nicely too... this is why I wasn't too worried about leaving off key details on the secondary hull master so I could get away with a single master and mold to make both sides. Knowing what I was going to be working with ahead of time is why I knew I only needed one secondary hull half, one outboard nacelle body half and one inboard nacelle body half to build the secondary hull and nacelles.

Hopefully that clears up any confusion. I know no one here has asked about it, but I figured I'd share this with you guys anyways in case anyone was curious.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

More progress...

I finally cast the rear end caps and have been slowly working on the dorsal and nacelle support pylons.








Once I have the front nacelle parts made I'll actually start in on assembling the nacelle bodies themselves and cleaning up the imperfections. I had built in a margin for error into the nacelle body design so that I could fit the ends to the more detailed nacelle parts... so there isn't much I can do to the nacelle bodies until I have those parts ready to go.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I've been working on a number of different parts of the model recently, mostly the deflector assembly, casting parts for the nacelles and making sure I'm happy with the dorsal and nacelle support pylons. I've also been working on the decals, so I've placed test printings of different decals on the model to compare what I have against photos of the original model.

I did a quick test assembly to compare some of the decal elements. Oddly, while the original builders of the model took the "U.S.S. ENTERPRISE" straight off the decal sheet, the smaller "NCC-1701" decals have had their spacing adjusted when applied to the original model.

I realized after taking these shots of the deflector assembly parts that I had used the templates based on my original (2007) plans and not the updated ones... so the second of the three inner rings is too wide.








This is another couple shots of the deflector assembly with the start of a new second ring and the deflector dish master in place.








With a few more of the nacelle parts cast, I took another series of shots of the model assembled to see how things are coming together.








One of the things I noticed about the secondary hull pennant on the original model is that the rear slopes downward (on both sides) compared to the center line of the secondary hull and the windows. I'll have to figure out how to replicate that without taking it too far as to be noticeable (which on the original it is hard to spot).


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

A few more test assembly shots... this time with both nacelle dome assemblies in place and deflector assembly (with most of the parts) attached. The first set is slightly higher resolution (but missing the deflector assembly)...


_Click to Enlarge_​
The next set is at my normal resolution...








One of the things I noticed is that the nacelles seem better balanced with the dome assembly elements in place.

The next big step will be bring the secondary hull together (rather than have the pieces taped together as they are right now). What I'll need to do to start that is build an alignment box much like the one I built for the Phase II Enterprise...








This is well help me make sure that the nacelles align with the primary hull, which is done via the secondary hull. The nacelles only need to be partly assembled and the primary hull is mostly assembled for these parts to correctly align the dorsal and nacelle support pylons in the secondary hull as I bring it together.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

The last few sets of images had been bothering me because the rear nacelle end caps weren't matching up with the reference images of the original model. This seemed really odd since the parts were based on measurements from those same images.

I took the last couple days to walk through all the steps I had used to make the original master and spotted a mistake I had made... I inverted the curve. That is to say, if you applied the curve to a cylinder and cut along it, you'd end up with a part that was correctly shaped and one that wasn't... when making my template for cutting the parts, I arranged it to use the wrong side of the curve.

I started making a new nacelle end cap master and I'm nearly done. I should be able to pour a new mold this week and make up two new parts that are the correct shape.

This is part of the reason for some of the shots I take of the model seeming like they are being repeated, they are repeating because they're at angles that match some of my reference images and it lets me do comparisons.

Anyways, here is my progress on that new master...


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

Ah, the old make a cut and use the wrong half mistake. Been there a few times...


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

That's funny! A classic error! Good catch!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Well, it was a good thing to catch it early... and that the issue wasn't that hard to track down and fix.


Mean while, as I work on some of these other parts I figured I'd give the model a chance to stand on it's own. These are some shots of the nacelles, support pylons and secondary hull, just slot fitted together...








Considering the fact that I left some play in the attachment points to adjust the alignment later on, these parts are holding their positions quite nicely. And there doesn't seem to be any issues holding the weight, so that is one less thing to worry about.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Bit more work on the secondary hull, mainly making sure that the two sides aligned correctly and then that they were together securely enough to support the model's weight (because everything branches out from this one part). I also finally got around to making a new mold for the rear nacelle end caps and made the new parts.








Most of my efforts have been in making sure that everything fits together correctly and looks like it should. The next major effort will be bringing the nacelle body halves together.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Worked a bit more on casting the intercoolers and the lower sensor dome platform, and still working on the overall arrangement of the parts (before I lock myself into that arrangement with the alignment box)...


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## seaview62 (Nov 30, 2012)

It's looking fantastic...Good job!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks!


I did a bit more work on the secondary hull...








Sometimes I forget just how far away from being finished I am while taking these shots. 

When I think about everything that is needed to finish it can get a bit overwhelming. I just keep reminding myself that this will be the first time since 1978 that this version of the Enterprise has existed (my smaller study models not fully counting) and the first time a studio scale replica of the original Enterprise has ever been made.

Hopefully I won't screw it up.


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## TomD66 (Apr 25, 2009)

I enjoy all of your projects especially this one, and follow every one of them. Keep up the great work! I can't wait to see it when she's finished!


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

It looks like it coming along pretty good so far.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

TomD66 said:


> I enjoy all of your projects especially this one, and follow every one of them. Keep up the great work! I can't wait to see it when she's finished!


Ditto!


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## Trekkriffic (Mar 20, 2007)

WOI said:


> It looks like it coming along pretty good so far.


Very well understated sir!


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Thanks a ton guys! :thumbsup:

Right now I'm triple checking everything to make sure all my measurements for the alignment box will produce an arrangement that looks like the original. The overall length of the model assembled is about 33.75 inches, which is a relief considering that everything needed to come together perfectly to get that.

Here are a couple examples of comparisons with images I know are publicly available (and are the ones that inspired all this work to begin with)...

















Considering that the original model had been damaged and was slightly out of perfect alignment in those shots, and how hard it is to try to get something similar to the same angles, I'm pretty happy with how close my model is at this point.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

The likeness of your 33in reproduction and the original you modeled her from
is totally and visually uncanny!!!


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## Allansfirebird (Jun 16, 2007)

Just popping into this thread to see if you're still working on this beauty, Shaw?


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Yes... just nothing that is visually interesting.

The biggest accomplishment was building the alignment box, which turned out great. And that let me start in on the internal structure of the secondary hull (mostly the anchoring of the dorsal). I also opened up a hole in the top of the primary hull to apply the locking nut for the dorsal.

So here is the alignment box (next to the Columbia using the Phase II Enterprise's alignment box)...


_Click to enlarge_​
And here is the first real test of the model supporting itself...








I didn't include any of the detail parts and didn't worry about adding in the spacers for aligning the nacelles, I just wanted to see if the model could hold itself up on it's own.

What I found is that without the extra bits on the nacelles (which are hollow), the model is a bit nose heavy. But the secondary hull and dorsal easily supported the weight of the primary hull!


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

Have you done any more progress on your Studio Scale Replica since the
last time you have worked on it.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Shortly after I posted that I started in on another Galileo model (for a client) which will be lit and include an interior. That has been taking up most of my model building time.

I'm missing a couple parts needed to build the mounting point, and I've been too lazy to hunt them down. Once I've got that internal aspect of the secondary hull finished, I can start back in on making progress even while working on other stuff.

On the plus side, between the work on the Columbia and the amount of time this model's parts have been standing, I feel much more secure in the TC-1630 ultracast that I used to make all those parts.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

I dusted off the parts for this model recently and took a few shots of her to illustrate the size of the 33 inch Enterprise compared to the 18 inch AMT model. I had put together this example a long time ago...








... but I thought that this might be a better illustration...








I figured I'd throw in a couple comparisons with the original model for the fun of it before I put this away again.


_Click to enlarge_


_Click to enlarge_


_Click to enlarge_​
I hope to get back to her soon, she is next up on my project list after the Galileo models.

:thumbsup:


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

So I was working on one of my other projects (priming and sculpting masters, and hopefully soon making molds) and figured I'd throw in a hand full of smaller parts from the Enterprise that hadn't been primered yet. I know spraying parts with primer isn't exactly progress and I'm not trying to tease that anything has actually happened with this model (yes, I know it's been almost 9 months since the last significant progress on it was made), but having most of the model the same color helps to show how far along it is. I'm really hoping that once this model moves back to being the prime project again it'll move rather quickly towards completion.

Anyways, a couple quick shots...


_Click to enlarge_


_Click to enlarge_​
... everything is essentially taped in place, nothing is glued together yet (I'm no where near the point where I want to permanently attach any parts).


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

I can't believe it,I can't believe how far you have come on creating this model.


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## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

You should consider getting Round 2 Models interested in producing a
limited eds of this ship with the parts you have created for it,to help
you make it a model kit.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

WOI said:


> You should consider getting Round 2 Models interested in producing a
> limited eds of this ship with the parts you have created for it,to help
> you make it a model kit.


Oh, I would suggest go all-in and make an all new tool for the entire kit, but I'm a crazy man. 

In the broader picture, I'm not sure how much of a market there is for... wow, not even sure what to call it, how about 'design variation'- model kits, if the market-at-large would have enough knowledge to even have an interest.

Then again, I'm that lone voice in the woods calling out for a new tooling of the AMT Enterprise that reflects the original first issue of the old kit. Then I think about that and start to imagine totally re-working the parts to make it even better, such as separating the nacelles from the support pylons...


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## alensatemybuick (Sep 27, 2015)

I know back when you started this thread, David, you ruled out this becoming a kit, which I think is a good thing. Better to keep it an exclusive one-off work of art, or as something you could replicate in very small quantities if you chose to.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

Considering that they decided against doing the Galileo (which really does have popular support), I very much doubt that they'd be willing to do a studio scale (_one-to-one_) replica kit of this version.

That having been said, I'd be willing to put together plans for a 1/1000th scale version. They were able to push through a 1/1000 Reliant (even though it lost to the Galileo in their contest) and the 1/1000 Drexler NX-01 refit, so it seems like that scale fits their tooling budget much better.

Heck, if asked I'd provide them with plans to do a 1/1000 scale Phase II Enterprise. Considering the amazing things I've seen model makers do with the 1/1000 TOS Enterprise and 1/1000 TMP Enterprise, I could totally see people building some great representations of the Phase II Enterprise at that scale (which is too small for me, personally, which is why my study model is 1/500th scale).

But in the end, they would need to want to do it on their own (I'm no sales person) and people (including Round 2) know how to contact me if they wanted.

I'd love to have the masters for a 1/500th scale kit of the Phase II Enterprise done before 2017 (40th anniversary of preproduction of the _Star Trek II_ TV series), but I'd rather help bring to market a more affordable (if smaller) kit that more people could buy. And if the Drexler NX-01 refit was possible (having never made it into any of the shows or movies), then maybe the Phase II Enterprise has a chance.


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## MartyS (Mar 11, 2014)

A 1:1000 Phase II Enterprise would be great, I'd certainly build one of those...


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

I had forgotten they did actually make the NX-01 refit. I guess my general dislike for the NX-01 blinded me. 

I mean, it's not a BAD design, but it (to my eyes) looks too advanced for the supposed time period and doesn't look a THING like how I've generally thought of the first Starship Enterprise should look. Then again I may be simply channeling my general dislike for the series 'Enterprise', so there's that.


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## Irishman (Apr 30, 2005)

Shaw,

Inspiring stuff as usual, guy


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## publiusr (Jul 27, 2006)

Just a bump here.


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## Captain Robert April (Jul 5, 2016)

Shaw said:


> Considering that they decided against doing the Galileo (which really does have popular support), I very much doubt that they'd be willing to do a studio scale (_one-to-one_) replica kit of this version.
> 
> That having been said, I'd be willing to put together plans for a 1/1000th scale version. They were able to push through a 1/1000 Reliant (even though it lost to the Galileo in their contest) and the 1/1000 Drexler NX-01 refit, so it seems like that scale fits their tooling budget much better.
> 
> ...


Quantum Mechanix might be interested....


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