[Prologic9]

So we're approaching the release of R2's 350 E and I'm sure I'm not the only guy who feels the need to "get ready." I've got a shat-load of projects lined up between now and then, and what better place to start than with the dawn of all Trek modeling; The Crappy AMT TOS Enterprise kit.



For reasons I can barely remember, I liked this kit as a kid. I guess its simplicity made it seem easy. I have a fond memory of building it in a hotel room after picking the kit up in the gift shop after a long day at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. I also remember getting some cement on the inside of the saucer and it ate through it like Alien blood.

I had a few ideas at first about trying this or that, but realized early on the best way to develop my skills is to just focus on building the cleanest model possible. I'm not going for any aftermarket stuff, as I'm not going to really do anything with the model once it's finished.

The only real 'fix' I'm doing is removing the dents and rings on the lower saucer. I plan to just pencil in the replacement lines after painting, so the decals can be properly placed.



The lower part of my secondary hull bends to the right, just like my... Um, I added some tabs to the top to help with alignment.



A small brass tube with some epoxy putty for support. It looks like it goes all the way through here, but the rod for the base fits inside a larger tube.



The top half of my secondary hull dropped off just before it meets the bottom half, which results in a big 'shelf' between the two. So... lots of putty. You can see the printed design I'm going to put on the base.

 

[Chrisisall]

Enterprise is like pizza. Even a so-so Enterprise is still Enterprise.

 

[liskorea317]

Don't say that to a New Yorker!

 

[liskorea317]

So we're approaching the release of R2's 350 E and I'm sure I'm not the only guy who feels the need to "get ready." I've got a shat-load of projects lined up between now and then, and what better place to start than with the dawn of all Trek modeling; The Crappy AMT TOS Enterprise kit.



For reasons I can barely remember, I liked this kit as a kid. I guess its simplicity made it seem easy. I have a fond memory of building it in a hotel room after picking the kit up in the gift shop after a long day at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. I also remember getting some cement on the inside of the saucer and it ate through it like Alien blood.

I had a few ideas at first about trying this or that, but realized early on the best way to develop my skills is to just focus on building the cleanest model possible. I'm not going for any aftermarket stuff, as I'm not going to really do anything with the model once it's finished.

The only real 'fix' I'm doing is removing the dents and rings on the lower saucer. I plan to just pencil in the replacement lines after painting, so the decals can be properly placed.



The lower part of my secondary hull bends to the right, just like my... Um, I added some tabs to the top to help with alignment.



A small brass tube with some epoxy putty for support. It looks like it goes all the way through here, but the rod for the base fits inside a larger tube.



The top half of my secondary hull dropped off just before it meets the bottom half, which results in a big 'shelf' between the two. So... lots of putty. You can see the printed design I'm going to put on the base.

Was this a kit issued in the 80's? I have a few kits including the recent repop and none of them has that bend in the hull like that. There are some nice aftermarket kits to make this kit better!

 

[Trekkriffic]

This is the second thread I've read where the lower and upper secondary hulls don't line up correctly. I have a reissued kit myself in this blue color. I'll have to look and see if it has the same problem.

 

[spock62]

This is the second thread I've read where the lower and upper secondary hulls don't line up correctly. I have a reissued kit myself in this blue color. I'll have to look and see if it has the same problem.

I've been working on 2 Enterprise kits, one a late 80's AMT kit and one of the newer, R2 releases (first reissue molded in white). Both kits have ill fitting secondary hulls, but the newer R2 release is slightly worse. Also, on both versions, the warp engine halfs don't line up correctly, especially the starboard engine. Again, the R2 version is slightly worse.

 

[Prologic9]

Was this a kit issued in the 80's? I have a few kits including the recent repop and none of them has that bend in the hull like that. There are some nice aftermarket kits to make this kit better!

Nope this is one of the recent reissues with smooth saucer and there are ample more problems with the plastic. For instance once I glued the nacelles together, they weren't circular they were oval. I haven't fixed it yet but I guess I'm going to have to squeeze them into shape when I glue on the Bussards/ End caps and hope that holds them there afterwords.

And the worst bit was: After alignment trouble with the starboard nacelle I move on to the Port nacelle, it goes together easily and I think "finally a break." I go to dry fit it and I get major drooping on the port nacelle. I fiddle with them to make sure they're both in correctly but no matter what I can't get that nacelle straight.

Then I realize that there must have been some kind of freak accident at the plastic factory because someone dropped some silly putty into my port nacelle. It seems fine sitting there but in reality you can easily bend the pylon a good 30-40 degrees. It simply wasn't hard enough to support its own weight.

So I took some scrap plastic and epoxied it inside. Now the pylon is basically a solid piece, with the plastic going all the way inside the nacelle.

 

[Captain April]

The secondary hull issues are an artifact from the original molding, when the hull was supposed to come apart so you could change the batteries for the lights that have been gone since 1972.

 

[Shaw]

Wow... sorry to hear that you are having all these issues with this model. My model (the white plastic Round 2 reissue) didn't seem to have any of these problems, so I'd guess that it is the plastic rather than the molds. Even going back and looking at pictures I took when I got the model (to use to compare and contrast it with the 1966 AMT version) I didn't see any of the warping you seem to be having (secondary hull here and here, and nacelle here). And even though I modified the attachment points on the nacelles, the original configuration was sturdy when I did an early test assembly.

It looks like you're over coming these hurdles with good results... it is just too bad that you had to deal with them to begin with.

 

[Chrisisall]

Don't say that to a New Yorker!

First forty years of my life I lived there. Pizza where I live now mostly sucks. But at least it's pizza.:wave:

 

[charonjr]

In attaching my nacelles, I put some glue into the slots. Being tube glue, it wouldn't come out until I squeezed a little harder, then glue flooded into the slot. There wasn't any way I could think of to get the excess out, so in go the pylons. And wipe, wipe, wipe! Had to sand down the damaged plastic....

 

[Chrisisall]

Now the pylon is basically a solid piece, with the plastic going all the way inside the nacelle.

That's a great way to strengthen it. :thumbsup:

 

[Trekkriffic]

When I built my 18 incher years ago I laid two pieces of rectangular brass tubing side by side in each pylon on either side of the locator pin and glued them in with CA. Then I packed in between with epoxy putty. They were super strong when finished and provided nice channels for passing wires thru into the nacelles.

 

[Prologic9]

I don't mind the obstacles that much because that's the whole point, dealing with them. I'm just surprised there were so many here.

Here's a look at a very simple base;




More work on the seams. I've got the shelves filled in about as good as I'm going to get them. It's a little lumpy but with paint and decals it should be okay.

The truth is spot putty (which is what I used) just isn't cut out for something like this, but I wasn't about to break out the 2-part bondo for something this small. I needed something inbetween and I've just spent too much money on my setup for the time being to run out and get more.



The saucers attached, I'll be able to start paint-painting soon. The nacelles are just dry fitted, I put a little piece of thin styrene down in the slots and it makes a tight fit;

 

[Chrisisall]

Oh man, it's already lookin' good.
Your sanding is very nicely done (I do a bit myself. Every single day.:freak
:lol:

 

[liskorea317]

I don't mind the obstacles that much because that's the whole point, dealing with them. I'm just surprised there were so many here.

Here's a look at a very simple base;




More work on the seams. I've got the shelves filled in about as good as I'm going to get them. It's a little lumpy but with paint and decals it should be okay.

The truth is spot putty (which is what I used) just isn't cut out for something like this, but I wasn't about to break out the 2-part bondo for something this small. I needed something inbetween and I've just spent too much money on my setup for the time being to run out and get more.



The saucers attached, I'll be able to start paint-painting soon. The nacelles are just dry fitted, I put a little piece of thin styrene down in the slots and it makes a tight fit;

It looks great! I'm working on one thats taking a long time to finish due to work commitments but I hope it looks as good as this one does!

 

[Prologic9]

So I got some new tools in the mail. Some stuff to work on small areas. An airbrush that I enjoy very much, but I now realize I'm going to have to invest a lot in paint.



The area where the neck connects with the saucer is giving me a lot of trouble. I've already had to remove it once because it didn't set perfectly level with the secondary hull. Actually I would have let this go but I've had so much trouble with this I wanted to rip it off anyways.



I used epoxy the first time, this was a mistake because though I used a lot I still had a tiny bit of give in the saucer, and when handling it the finish around the seam would split and crack.

I was never able to get this area clean and smooth. I filled with putty, glue, some putty that I liquified and brushed on, and sanded and sanded with paper and sponges and files, and lots of steel-wool. I hope someone can share some good tips for this area because its sending me into an endless depression.

I've since slowly reattached the saucer. This time I started with a little bit of CA, enough to keep it in place but I could easily remove it if needed. I'd give the seam a pass of glue, make sure it was still level and let it sit. Repeat.

 

[WarpCore Breach]

Yeah, this is one area where alignment is tough. I made an alignment jig to set the saucer and engines to the secondary hull.

I still can't figure out why there's that gap in the top front of the dorsal. It's annoying to fill in. One guy I know sliced a bit of the dorsal tab off in order to slide the saucer back a bit and that gap does go away. Tried it on one build.

 

[Captain April]

That's one change in the molds that was a mixed blessing. Yeah, the secondary hull lines up correctly (provided the plastic hasn't warped), but that gap... :freak:

 

[charonjr]

The saucer leveling issue, I solved by sanding the top of the pylon level. It seems to be off just a tad. The front of the pylon that falls short, I filled by gluing on a thin piece of strip. Once dried, I cut and sanded to shape using the pylon side contours as a guide, then cutting the top shallower using test fits to match the saucer contour. All in all, it didn't take long and worked well.