# Request Input On Building the AMT/ERTL Reliant



## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

Hello all, rather than hijack the thread about the _Miranda _Class Starship I am going to start a new one. Recently I bought a _*Reliant*_ Kit from Dr. Brad (Thanks Brad) who stated in a another thread that he had one to many in his collection, so I PMed him and asked him if I could relive him of one of the few he had extra of.

Well the package arrived today after one week to the day after it was shipped from Canada :woohoo:. Well my question to you guys has anyone tried to light this puppy up? I know that because of its scale it will not be the same as doing the 350 Scale PL Refit E but, could anyone tell me what pitfalls to lookout for. and what is the problem with rollbar pylons that were mentioned in the other thread. And any other things to be aware of.

AZbuilder
John

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Don Matthys has an excellent primer on how to light the kit up. It's at CultTVman's website: Don Matthys' USS Reliant. I'm also quite sure that he'd be more than happy to give you all kinds of advice on the buildup. :thumbsup:


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

Thanks for the info. and link Griff. I had better digest all this info. before tackling this project. Whew, and I thought the 1/350 Refit was a lot of work.

AZbuilder
John

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Sorry gotta go.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Reliant Lighting*

Yeah Don, I think I remember how I did my 1/350 Refit E with lights  . but that was 3 yrs. ago. I guess I need to go back over my notes and pics and see what I can glean. also I am looking into getting a few of your items from your site so I can do this project right.

AZbuilder
John

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Shim Placement*

I have been wondering, is this the placement of the shims for wideing the pylons so wires will have enough room to light the Warp drive engines and the sensor array on the roll bar?



John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

You are on the right track John.

Sorry gotta go


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

*Az*

Here's what I did.

I built everything as directed but I removed the top of the outboard pylons as shown in the crude edit of your scan.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Reliant Build*

Cool beans Don, looking forward to seeing the illustrations and pics. BTW I have a few other questions about your build suggestions but they can wait, first things first.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## starseeker2 (Jun 13, 2008)

I thought that like the Refit Enterprise's nacelle struts and like the Reliant's rollbar, the insides of the Reliant's nacelle strut recesses would be plain, no grill lines. Any reference photos? Edit: Here's one of the roll bar. I wonder if the Refit E has any of the little tiny details in the recesses that the Reliant has?
(Where did the grill rumor about the Enterprise start, anyway??)


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## DL Matthys (May 8, 2004)

Sorry gotta go


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Reliant Build*

Well people it has been a few days since my last post and this what I have done so far on my build of the Reliant. 1. Washed the parts, 2. Drilled out the View ports and areas where I want lights to show through 3. Spray painted the interior black after masking View ports and other areas followed by spray painting the interior again but, this time with white. 4. Ordering some LED's and other parts from Electronic Goldmine (http://www.goldmine-elec.com/).
5. Cut strips for wideing the nacelle pylons and roll bar. Next is mixing up some clear epoxy for the View ports and letting that cure. More later.

John
AZbuilder
*
Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*A New Use for Credit Cards*

I have found a new use for credit cards, you can cut them into strips and use them instead of plastistruct sheets. That's what I did to widen the nacelle pylons and roll bar also, I had to cut and reposition the phaser cannon piece due to it being out of alignment because of the wideing of the pylon. Here are some progress pics so far.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

That's comin' right along, John. 

What did you do to the aft section of the photorp pod? Hard to make out detail in that one pic.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Oops*

Sorry about the blurry pic of the sensor pod/photon torpedo Jeff. the only things I did to the aft section of the piece was to highlight the details, drill out the torpedo openings fore and aft and putty the big gap in the sensor pod.
the red LED's look great when they are lit. Now I am waiting for my mail order for my Blue LED's so I can work on the nacelle's. I really would have like to have used DLM's nacelle pieces with either light sheet or CCFL but, I'll improvise.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## starseeker2 (Jun 13, 2008)

It's been so long since I've thought about the Reliant that I forget what all could be changed on it if you really wanted to "accuratize" it. Seems to me that the panel lines on the top addition to the saucer aren't quite right, and that the vertical angle of the face of the leading edge of the addition rising from the saucer isn't correct, and that the outline of that leading edge of the raised decks on the saucer might not be quite right either. There's no lower impulse engine dome, just a flat surface with a running light. Saucer grid lines??

Nope, all a fog now. You really want to hit Bridger's site and carefully pour over reference photos. 

Always been one of my three favorite starships.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Who?*

Starseeker2 wrote


> You really want to hit Bridger's site and carefully pour over reference photos.


Who? What? Where?

John
AZbuilder


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## Bot The Farm (Jan 13, 2005)

I'm not 100% this is Bridgers site, but try here for the saratoga configuration of the studio model
http://www.st-bilder.de/html/miranda1.html


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## starseeker2 (Jun 13, 2008)

Yes, that's the place. Why did I call it Bridger's site?? Maybe that's his user name somewhere? Sigh. I've been looking online and at home for my (I thought comprehensive) list of Reliant fixes but so far no luck. I've got to get better organized.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

Thanks for the link guys. I found 4 pics of the U.S.S. Reliant I can use. the rest of the site is dedicated to the U.S.S. Saratoga. but, overall the pics have given me some ideas I can kick around.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## starseeker2 (Jun 13, 2008)

Things to look for:
Saucer is of course too thin. 
Nacelles may be too short but I never confirmed that. The nacelles on the Reliant do have slightly different details than the Refit E. 
The front of the weapons pod is too simplified.
The roll bar is too thin and missing vents on leading and trailing edges. The "vents" on the Reftit E and the Reliant are smooth inside. The Reliant has little tiny details in there inside the "vents". 
A B C decks are incorrect, esp recessed detail on B and C.
Rim on underside of saucer is not wide enough. 
The deflector grid on the topside is close radially but the radii of the circles is not quite right
The panel lines on the new top section are inaccurate.
The large recessed areas on the top section aren't accurate in either dimension or detail.
The viewports on the fwd facing surface of the top section aren't accurate.
The slope of the fwd facing surface of the new top section isn't the correct angle vertically. IIRC, it's also not quite right looking down, either. 
The port holes on the aft section of the main hull aren't accurate.
There is no crystal on the bottom of the saucer, just a small flashing nav light.
The shuttle bay doors and details surrounding them aren't accurate. 
Darned if I can remember anything else. The Bilder site may have pictures of Reliant variants in other sections so search around a bit. The variants were modifications done on the cheap, removing or adding the roll bar or weapons pods, but the core of the model remained pretty much unchanged. 
Also someone somewhere (Arthur Pendragon??) did create an accurate Aztek pattern for the Reliant. It's totally different than the Refit E. 
And of course there are great aftermarket decals out there.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Reliant Links*

Here are some links I have found reguarding the Reliant.

http://www.dlmparts.com/amtrefitreliantparts1537scale.html


http://www.federationmodels.com/decals/jt_graphics/default.htm
Item #JTG-04 Item #JTG-G10
$15.00

http://www.federationmodels.com/decals/aztek_dummy/default.htm
Item #AD-09
$40.00

Completed Reliant's over on http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn/Models/ModelingStarTrek/StarTrekFederationships/tabid/465/Default.aspx

Doug Cowles
http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn/Model...l/SlideShow/mid/1526/ItemID/3383/Default.aspx

Robert Hargraves
http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn/Model...tl/SlideShow/mid/424/ItemID/2524/Default.aspx

Trenton Bennett
http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn/Model...l/SlideShow/mid/1526/ItemID/3796/Default.aspx

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## starseeker2 (Jun 13, 2008)

And of course this:
http://www.starshipmodeler.info/gallery13/jz_092108_reliant.html
Not enough photos and not anything you could use as a reference, but for an inspiration for modelers it can't be beat.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

Oops I missed that one, Thanks for pointing out that one Starseeker2. I am going to try and document my build and submit it to Starship modeler and Fine Scale Modeler (FSM) Lord knows they need more submissions for Sci Fi stuff.
Hmmmm maybe that's taking it too seriously. :freak:
John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Reliant Build Update*

Well here is an update to my U.S.S. Reliant build. As you can see I added some LED's to the nacelles and a piece of acrylic rod with a 3mm red LED attached. I used Surface Mounted Device (SMD) LED's to the stern light of the nacelle which is much smaller than using a 3mm red and green LED to good effect I think. Now to attach the nacelle halves together and run the leads through the pylons and mask the LEDs and Bussards for a coat of white primer then detail the warp nacelles then I will be finished with that portion of this build then it is off to the saucer and engineering section. I will upate as soon as I can. Enjoy the Pics.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagiination Soar*


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## Griffworks (Jun 24, 2002)

Pretty kewel. I'm really enjoying your buildup, living vicariously thru your work.


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

Thanks Jeff, I just finished adding the 15 grams weight that is recomended in the assembly sheet which I used 2 nails and a wad of tacky putty in each nacelle then assembled the halves and puttied the seam. then I attached the pylons to each nacelle making sure that the power leads were pulled through and then puttied the seam where the nacelle attaches to the pylon. Now I am just waiting for the putty to dry so I can sand the seams then primer the completed assemblies. I will take some pics and post them here when I am done.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*A New Update on my "Reliant" Build*

Well people here it is almost the end of the month and Turkey Day to boot and here is my latest update on my build and I am almost getting it done. I am adding a LED here and there some Fiber Optics strands then she will be ready to seal up and then detail and decal. Well here are some of the pics I took of my progress to date then I will be adding more pics to my modeling site.

















Enjoy
John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*A New Update on my "Reliant" Build*

Well people here it is almost the end of the month and Turkey Day to boot and here is my latest update on my build and I am almost getting it done. I am adding a LED here and there some Fiber Optics strands then she will be ready to seal up and then detail and decal. Well here are some of the pics I took of my progress to date then I will be adding more pics to my modeling site.

















Enjoy
John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*More Update Pics*

Here are a few more update Pics.







Enjoy
John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## JGG1701 (Nov 9, 2004)

Wow! very nice!


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## omnimodel (Oct 9, 2004)

*Reliant tips.*

Sorry to be a little late to the party... I've been doing more building than posting lately.

Here are some pics of a Reliant I completed in May 2006. I was quite proud at the time, but when I compare my skills now to what they were then, there are some aspects that make me cringe.








Anyhow, it looks like your build has come along nicely. I thought I might be able to give you some tips on painting (and help you avoid some of the mistakes I made...)

First and formost is the Aztec pattern. It is radically different from the ones used on the Enterprise, both in terms of the shapes used and their alignment to one another. Rather than go through the tedium of friskets and making tape, I just used Photoshop to make enough decals to cover the ship (see pic above). I had toyed with the idea of selling them commercially, but I didn't know if there's any market for it.

The other thing to keep in mind is something a little more philosophical... the question of painting to match the studio model vs. painting to match what appears on screen. The reason all of those duck egg blue studio models appear gray on screen is due to the special effects process itself. To make their matte shots, ILM would film the ship against a blue screen. Then, *all blue would be chemically removed from the negative*. Since ILM model makers knew this would happen, it is safe to assume the models were painted based on how they were supposed to appear on screen rather than how they would look in the studio. This is why Tie Fighters look intermediate blue on display and light to neutral gray on screen.

Unfortunately, I discovered this information after the build was completed. Looking at it now, I realize it is far too blue to look like the Reliant. If I had to do over again, I would use various shades of gray where the blues are... but that's just me...


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Sealed up the "Reliant"*

Last night I glued the top and bottom halves of the saucer and engineering section. After making sure the lights and Fiber Optics were O.K.. Did some needed puttying for the light leaks and some paint over the puttied spots. I have the decals cut and readied, now paint with acrylic Pearl White over all then seal that with "Future" then apply the decals and apply "Future" Again. Then I will be done. Thanks for the painting tips Omni, a bit late, but they are appreciated. I do like your idea of useing decals for Aztecing. My build will not be Azteced. Wish I had thought of that decal process and applying it to my build though. When I am finished with my project I will take and post pictures both here and on my modeling site.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Reliant Build*

Well guys after almost 2 months and a hospital stay for some serious health issues that needed attending to the AMT Reliant is finally finished. :hat: what took me so long was I had a few mishaps such as breaking off the warp pylons and a serious separation of the upper section from the lower section on the saucer/engineering.  I am thinking that the heat from the resistors may have caused the superglue to become brittle I am suprised that so much heat could be generated from just 9V. Well I will be posting pics from finished build soon, probably over the weekend.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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## AZbuilder (Jul 16, 1999)

*Here are the pics*

well guys here are the pics i promised ya the other day of my finished AMT Reliant. I hope you enjoy them. I you want to see all the pics they are posted over at my picture site at

http://modelmania.niceboard.com/uss-reliant-ncc-1864-revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-cold-f71/

Enjoy and Happy Holidays and have a great and safe New Year.

John
AZbuilder

*Let Your Imagination Soar*


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