[Guy Schlicter]

Hi Folks,Even though the Round 2 reissues of the Original A.M.T.Star Trek kits are great and have had certain detail improvements and expanded and more accurate decals.I some times like building these kits as I did many years ago and keeping a few similar as to how I built them in those days.I have the skill and abilty to paint a model over and detail paint it well but I like going back 30 years ago when I went to a local toy or hobby store and pick up an Old A.M.T.Enterprise and just assemble and decal and do a minimal paint job and it looked good.Yes I like building some kits right from the box and just build and do some detail painting here and there and I'm satisfied.I am finishing up my first Round 2 second edition tin box Blue Enterprise.I have only painted the sensor dish and area behind it and the Warp drive domes a Metallic Red that contrasts very well with the Blue plastic the Enterprise is molded in.What I'm saying is I like keeping these vintage kits as to how I remember and enjoyed them.I also will use just the basic decals on this first Blue Enterprise Reissue and just add a few addtional marking decals from the supplied decal sheet.Also Merry Christmas to all!Guy Schlicter.

 

[MadCap Romanian]

I agree. As wonderfull and accurate as the PL ship is, I still prefer the classic, yet inaccurate, AMT 18"er kits.

Look for my posts comming to this BB.

 

[TGel63]

A person can build their model how they want. Knock yourself out

 

[MadCap Romanian]

Just wish they didn't remove the grid lines. It was so useful in locating all the little lights and phasers,, even if I did sand off the grid later on.

 

[Grumpy Popeye]

I've been tempted to pick one of the 18 incher up and build in in homage to the build of it I did in my childhood; seams, fingerprints in the glue overflow, gloss white paint, and crooked decals! Actually, I don't quite recall when was the last time I built a kit straight from the box!

 

[MadCap Romanian]

Get the tin box one @$48...and then buy me a Caddy! LOL!

 

[WarpCore Breach]

The classic 18" TOS E is probably my all-time favourite kit. I can't ever see not having one in my collection!!

 

[MadCap Romanian]

I am finishing up my first Round 2 second edition tin box Blue Enterprise.

Speaking of the "Blue" plastic Enterprise kits, I have ever only seen one in my lifetime. Mostly I have only known the white and grey versions.

However, looking at the possibility that I might need an alternative for Tremclad Light Gloss Grey, the colour I have been painting my current 12 TOS Constitution Class ships with, (I'm trying to build all 14 from the Franz Joseph list) I was looking at Tremclad Glacier Blue, which is a very light, almost grey/blue and Tremclad Pistachio which appears to be a light grey/green colour.

This could be an interesting colour scheme if I ever build Franz Joseph's second ship name/number list which includes Bonhomme Richard, Merrimac, Monitor and Wasp, among others. The Glacier Blue or Pistachio colour could show that the ships come later than the original 14, since they are not grey. (I think the second list is the XI-B type as opposed to the XI-A types that Enterprise is a class of.)

In one of the TOS books about the show, I read that the network realized that the original Technicolor film would wash out, and/or the video would degrade, turing the ship from light grey to green and eventually blue. This was one of the original problems with the question of "What colour is the Enterprise". However, purposley painting a TOS ship to be a "Technicolor Washout" variant would be interesting indeed.

Just a thought.

 

[WarpCore Breach]

Interesting theory, Trevor! Also, colour TVs of the era often had colour-shift problems as well. I'm dating myself, but I do remember that. Many times the Enterprise appeared as being grey, white, blue, green and even a kinda of gold, depending on the set and it's tendency for the colour to "drift". If someone remembers seeing the Enterprise on one of those sets as being a particular colour, that's probably because it really looked on that set.

I'm going to stick with light greys for my builds, though. I was never really convinced about the blue/green shift other than degraded signal/ film so I never took any of those colours as being the "true" colour of the ship.

 

[Fozzie]

You gotta go with what looks right to you, which is why, to me, a white Enterprise is just as valid as a light grey one--because that's what I saw way back when (and still see when I look at the original FX on my blu-ray discs).

 

[MadCap Romanian]

LOL! What about a colour-blind version?

Like the pink ship in TAS that was flown by the cat people.

 

[derric1968]

Guy, I have a small request for you that's totally unrelated to this topic. When you are typing up a new post, could you please, please, please hit the space bar at the end of your sentences? Please?!? It would make reading your posts a whole heck of a lot easier! I know it sounds nit-picky, but that little bit if space between the period and the beginning of a new sentence would make a world of difference. Thanks!

 

[Trek Ace]

In one of the TOS books about the show, I read that the network realized that the original Technicolor film would wash out, and/or the video would degrade, turing the ship from light grey to green and eventually blue. This was one of the original problems with the question of "What colour is the Enterprise". However, purposley painting a TOS ship to be a "Technicolor Washout" variant would be interesting indeed.

Just a thought.

I just wanted to step in here and clarify that Technicolor film cannot wash out or change color. Technicolor is a three-strip process that uses a dye transfer and cannot fade or shift color over time. Surviving Technicolor prints from as far back as the 1930's still maintain their color fidelity even today, and are used to match modern restorations of those classic films shot with the process to exact colors and exposure of the original release.

Star Trek was shot on Eastman 5251 Color Negative film - both the live action and the visual effects using the same stock. The Enterprise appearing as a different color was usually deliberate, as a similar style of lighting was used to light the model on the effects stage as was used in the live action scenes shot on the soundstage. Colors could range from cool gray, to blue, purple and green, and sometimes, nearly B&W.

The ship appearing "white" was often a result of a loss of gray values during the compositing process. Each time the film is copied, you lose mid tones, and light gray objects will shift toward white in appearance as contrast increases. Some of the composite shots were often several generations removed from original photography, since it often required several optical duplication steps in order to realize the finished shots back then.

Up until this year, the analog NTSC television standard used throughout North America would often have a problem with color phase shifts and the result would be that the colors were not often true on home TV sets, unless the TV's controls were properly calibrated and the reception was fairly strong.

Sometimes books and magazines are often incorrect on the information they present, especially on technical matters. I just wanted to clarify this so that there is no misunderstanding.

Merry Christmas and Happy Modeling. :wave:

 

[scotpens]

In another well-known color freakout, the command uniform shirts almost always looked gold or greenish-gold on TV, although they clearly show up as green in color production stills. The perception of the shirts as gold was so strong that the color was incorporated into the post-Trek canon.

Up until this year, the analog NTSC television standard used throughout North America would often have a problem with color phase shifts and the result would be that the colors were not often true on home TV sets, unless the TV's controls were properly calibrated and the reception was fairly strong.

Things were even worse back in the 1960s, before sets had automatic color tuning. I remember constantly fiddling with the color controls on our old Admiral round-tube set to keep faces from going green or purple every time we changed the channel. The old joke was that NTSC stood for "never the same color."

 

[MadCap Romanian]

ThanX Trek Ace for clearing that up! That was amazing!