[krlee]

Found this a few weeks ago in an antique shop for just $5. It was complete except for the impulse engine part which is easy enough to scractcbuild. I Started assembly, I am building this pretty much out of the box with only aftermarket decals to replace the original 24 year old decal sheet in the kit.

One thing I am adding to the model is a stiff wire brace in the warp engine and pylons. I used clothes hanger wire inside of 1/8 inch styrene tubing. this will prevent the nacelle droop that tends to happen with this model.

The warp engines in place, very solid with no indication of twisting or flexing. I added two .010x .060 strips of styrene to the mounting tab of each pylon, this provides a very snug fit into the sockets molded into the secondary hull.

A close look at the added .010x .060 strips. these will prevent any chance of misalignment when installing the engines.

The only other thing I may do to this model is eliminate the molded in grid on the saucer.

 

[John P]

I'm sure you can get a replacement impulse engine at Federation Models or Shapeways or some such place. It'll cost more than you paid for the model, tho!

 

[krlee]

Decided not to use the wonky sawhorse stand that comes with the kit. I added a piece of styrene tubing inside the secondary hull to serve as a mount point for a custom stand.

After filing away the seam lines I did a dry fit of the sub assemblies. I added the .010x .060 strips to the dorsal connection to provide a snug fit to the saucer.

Since I am not doing any accurizing to this model I decided to leave the saucer grid in place. I will eliminate the three dimple on the underside of the saucer, those always bothered me, even as a kid.

 

[mach7]

If you want you can get a replacement impulse engine from R2. If it was not there fault ( missing) they charge $5, just what you paid for the kit!

 

[krlee]

I modified a Round 2 dome base to work with this model.

Scratchbuilt impulse engine taking shape.

 

[krlee]

I started filling in the dimples on the bottom of the saucer. I used finely chopped pieces of sprue and a liquid cement called Styrene Tack-it, a chemically identical replacement for Tenax-7R.

While the dimples were drying on the saucer I finished the impulse engine part, not perfect but close enough.

After the filled dimples dried for a few hours I sanded it smooth, the repair is almost completely invisible since I used the kit's sprue as filler. I will let them dry for a few days to make sure that there is no shrinkage. or dimpling in the filled reas before I re-scribe the circles on the saucer.

 

[jkirk]

You can have all the variations of 1701 you want, but this lady is my first love!

 

[Chrisisall]

Great work on the classic kit!

 

[krlee]

I added two of the three rings back to the saucer underside, the third ring will run through the dimples that I repaired and I need to add some more plastic into them to complete the repair.

I will use pieces of this excessive flash from these parts to finish the repair. I will use a hole punch and punch out three discs.

These will be glued in over the repair to finish filling it in.

I will let the glue dry for a couple of days, sand them flush and the repair should be as strong as the plastic around it, I can then add the third ring.

 

[krlee]

Final repair on depressions sanded smooth and third ring carved. I also added the raised detail that goes at the base of the triangle details.

 

[mach7]

Looking very nice!

 

[krlee]

Getting close on this one, I have a few small details to add to the engines, the dome over the hangar bay and the small domes for the saucer lights. I am thinking about making a new deflector dish since the kit part is too small. I may also build up the first inner ring of the deflector housing to more accurately represent the original.
My original plan was to do a quick, out of the box build but I could not resist making a few alterations to make it a little more accurate. I am still resisting the urge to do away with the saucer grid.

 

[PerfesserCoffee]

Looks great! How did you add the rings back on the bottom of the saucer?

 

[krlee]

Looks great! How did you add the rings back on the bottom of the saucer?

I used my compass with two points to score the lines. I have used this compass set up like this for over 40 years now.

 

[krlee]

One more minor addition that will improve the look of the model, I extended the first inner ring of the deflector housing. This now looks like the original Enterprise model I built in the early 1970's.

 

[krlee]

Glued a ring of .060 styrene to the original kit deflector dish and used my moto tool to turn it to get a slightly larger dish. not screen accurate but it will look better than the undersized dish in the kit.