1/350 Enterprise-A build -- WIP

GeneralFROSTY

Ok, I just turned 30 and before I get TOO old, I wanted to tackle a model project that has intimidated me for a while - the Polar Lights massive Enterprise refit kit.
I want to build it for my older brother - a US Marine who just got his first house with his wife, so I want a to do something nice for him since he's just as big a Trek fan as me...and he has the space now to display this monster of a model!
I just placed my order online for the kit, I should be getting in next week. I cannot afford a lighting kit this time around, so I am going to build it 'out of the box' with no lights, but that takes a little pressure off of me anyway.
If anyone has any experience with building this particular kit, I would like some help here in organizing myself:
What items will I need to purchase to prep me for the build...aside from glue of course? Should I paint the ship white or leave the plastic color the way it is? What paint color code(s) do I need (I have a full size airbrush system and a spray booth at my disposal, so custom mixed colors are no problem for me to handle)
I want the kit to look as nice as possible without having to buy any aftermarket pieces or kits. I know a lot of that depends on my own model building skills - although I am not a seasoned veteran like many modelers here, I have some art skills and have built some kits from time to time thoughout my life so I'm not going into it totally green, but I DO recognize the need to seek some professional assistanc with this to ensure a better chance of success.
Any help will be appreciated. I will continue to post pictures of my progress throughout the build as well as upload progress video on Youtube.
So where do we start??

yuumi2891103

Woow that's a great project. Your brother will hop up when he get it.

OK, Here are some basic tool you must have beside your paint tool.

Xacto knife or sharp cutting thing to remove parts from parts tree.

For the small parts like the shuttle in the hunger deck, you should
paint it before remove from the parts tree.

Sand paper (water proof) #600, #800 ande #1000 or so.
Primer spray like Tamiya surfacer #1200

Putty for plastic model kit or car filler.

Masking tape (half inches wide or so) This is useful for the paint job
and also for holding glued parts until it's dried. (small cramp)

If you are not going to light the model, these are the tool to start up
build.

I guess all the good buddy in this site will be pleased to advice about
everything you need along the way.

No sweat !
Let's start it up !!!

katsu from Japan

GeneralFROSTY

Thank you for your help.
I was not sure if this should be in the Studio Scale section - since the model is big enough for Studio Filmography - but hopefully I get some help in this section...
I'm happy that the re-issue of this model kit comes with the aztec pattern and hull detailing in decals. One of the things that always stopped me from building this model during its initual release was having to tape off and paint everything.
One of my questions now - to someone who has built one before - is WHAT parts need painted BEFORE being glued together? I may not do the shuttle bay at all - just glue the door on, but would it be possible to glue the whole model together, putty, sand, prime and paint THEN finish off with the decals - or do I have to do things in other steps to get the best possible finish?

yuumi2891103

It's possible to glue the whole model together, putty, sand, prime and paint then
finish off with the decals.

Of course you can check and see some other post or an article
of the build of your 1/350 model but most of them are built very
detailed even in to all the interior and have lighting effect in it.
However if you are going to build A nice solid model to give
some one, The way you thinking now is very possible.

In any way, when your kit has been delivered, Spend an hour to
check the instruction sheet to make your own plan of build.
That's the first step.

CessnaDriver

Join the forum here....

http://www.starshipmodeler.net/talk/index.php

d_jedi1

^^^ +1

I used to be a buster of a model builder until I joined SSM. I'm passable now though I still don't consider myself "Good".

You might want to get some 1:350th people to scatter around your build.

I built mine without lights although I'm considering a tear-down and rebuild sometime soon.

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GeneralFROSTY

Thanks for the input...the thought of getting involved with yet another forum right now gives me a headache! Beside the RPF, I do COW, michael-myers.net and just started playing on horrorbid.com.
Once I get the model in the mail, I will take a look at it an look into the model forum.
I would prefer to do it with lights and all, but I don't have $300 to invest in a kit.

Helldogg

I have been working on this beastie on and off for a few months. Here's what I have been doing.

I used Tamiya pearl white for the main hull colors, pearl looks great, and I didn't need primer.
Micro set and Micro sol decal set, trust me, you will need it!!!

Also when building do subassemblies and decaling first, you will never get some decals on if you put them on after you've built it!

Also lots of xacto blades, the decals love to bubble around raised areas so you will be popping air bubbles ad nasuem.

Good luck and if you have more questions fire away!

clancampbell

Lots of putty, wet/dry paper various grades. Paints, automotive primers which you would wet sand for a smooth finish, then tamiya spray paints.
The kit comes with decals galore to wallpaper your model with, so you won't have to worry too much about paint.
DON'T finish the kit by spraying it with clear gloss, instead use satin or matte.
Here's mine that was a gen1 PL kit...no hull decals!

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Gigatron

If you're willing to spend a few bucks, invest in a pair of Xuron sprue cutters - by far, the fastest, easiest, cleanest way of getting parts off the sprue and minimizing the sprue stub.

When cleaning the remaining sprue stub, do not sand it off. Use an exacto blade, holding it flat to the surface and slowly whittle down the stub. After it's flat, use a few swipes from a high-grit sanding stick to finish it.

And speaking of sanding. don't even bother with sheets of sandpaper from the automotive store. Even their wet/dry paper is too coarse. The trick to building a good model is to not have seams in the first place and I'm going to share a little secret on how to accomplish that. It's all in the glue. Take the two pieces you're gluing together and assemble them with painter's tape (the blue or green stuff). Now, what you need is a fairly hot solvent, like ambroid pro-weld, and a touch n'flow applicator. Slightly pry open the seam and touch the applicator to the gap. Capillary action will draw the glue from the applicator and along the seam. Since capillary action will only draw so far, you'll need to work in section on large assemblies. Anyway, squeeze the parts together and hold for 30 seconds. You'll see a bubbly, oozy mess come out of the seam. After a few minutes, use the backside of your exacto blade and scrape the excess, away. Touch up with a sanding stick to finish.

Now, if you do have to fill in a gap, or a boo-boo, find a tube of 3M Acryl Blue. 10 times better than bondo.


Sanding sticks, sanding pads and ambroid pro-weld (which I believe also comes in a combo pack with a Tn'F applicator), can all be found micromark.com


Another quick assembly suggestion; when you get around to putting large assemblies together, tack them a few dabs of Gorilla brand cyanoacrylate (crazy glue). It comes in a small bottle with a blue top, costs about $4. Best CA you'll ever use. It's quick-setting and crazy strong. It'll hold large assemblies together while you glue them with your solvent.

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

-Fred

Riceball

Love your Enterprise, great job on the lighting. How did you do the spot light on the "neck" and on the arrowhead on the secondary hull? I've always felt that those lights came from nowhere since I could never figure out where the light came from on those spots. Did you use small lights mounted off camera or did you actually find a way to hide some lights to light those areas?

clancampbell

All the spotlights are lit up from inside the model.

Rich

GeneralFROSTY

Now you've gone and done it! I'm thinking I should just save up for a lighting kit before I begin!
You guys need to know I have really bad A.D.D and a learning disability so building this thing WILL NOT come easy to me at all - but I want to push myself to the limit and see how well I can do - and I want you guys to tutor me along the way - if you would like to!
What I will do is, post pics of EVERY single step I take, with your input inbetween each step.
In the end, this build thread will serve as a great tutorial for other builders like myself that are intimiadated by the daunting task of building this kit.
I'm totally lost about what was stated about that solvent glue stuff - never heard of it. I want to keep things at an acceptable level of skill since I obviously have some big shoes to fill!
What I need now is a difinitive shopping list, exact brand names and what websites to order from:
Modelers putty
Exacto knives (I can get that at the art store in town)
paints
glues
odds and ends
I want this thread to be for everyone like me and it will be fun to see how it develops. I'm both excited and terrified....
I look forward to seeing what happens!
-jimmy

robsam

I think you should leave the plastic color as it is. There is no need of coating or coloring it because it must have already a wonderful design and colors. Concentrate on other parts instead of this one. You can get any molding expert's suggestion also. Good Luck !


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Plastic Injection Molding

Gigatron

most modeling glues are solvent based. Testors in the blue tube is the weakest of the bunch. It forms a fairly poor bond which will give with the least bit of effort. Testors in the orange tube is the stuff that most of us grew up on and is much better than the blue. But because some idiots started huffing the the stuff, Testors reformulated and gave us the blue junk.

Better than the testors tube glue, is Tamiya cement in the glass bottle. It's a stronger solvent than the tube and therefor, forms a better bond. The glue with the orange cap is the thick cement. It has a longer working time, but it's not as potent as the cement with the green cap, Tamiya thin cement. The thin cement is usually my go-to glue. It's easy to work with and forms a really good bond. But when I think an assembly might be under stress, I go with Ambroid Pro-Weld. It's pure solvent. It will melt the plastic before you know what's happened. When it dries, the two pieces of plastic become one. It takes a lot of work to break that bond.

I put a call out to another modeling buddy of mine who writes articles on this stuff. I think he has an easy to follow article on using solvents and seam repair. I'm just waiting to hear back from him.


EDIT: He sent me the links

http://hawkeyes-squawkbox.com/2008/0...perfect-seams/

http://www.aeroscale.co.uk/modules.p...=111677&page=1

-Fred

GeneralFROSTY

Thank you everyone! Once I get the thing in the mail (and if I decide to spend some money on the electronics) I will start posting pictures and hopefully, you guys won't mind mentoring me through the whole construction process...

takevin

You can do your own led lighting for a fraction of the price instead of buying a light kit.

TridCloudwalker

First off, I can't believe how many people are recommending to NOT use primer or even any paint on the plastic. GeneralFROSTY, I urge not to listen to this advice. Always always always prime a model kit if you plan on painting it and/or applying decals. Trust me on this. If you don't, anything you stick on that plastic WILL flake off over time even if it's untouched, under glass.

The only exception to this rule is when using the internal spotlight illumination trick like in clancampbell's BEAUTIFUL ship. But even with that, there's still some special prep work needed to ensure everything stays minty through the years.

Second, I know joining a new forum is a mouthful, but any single question you can possibly come up with and ones you'd never think of even asking have all been answered at the previously mentioned starshipmodeler.com. They have a couple mega-threads all on painting and assembling this particular kit, and they are a wealth of knowledge. You don't even need to contribute to the forum, just join and read through the threads and look at the photos. Trust me, it will become your bible.

Third, this model was specifically designed and engineered to be lit. If you can find it in your budget to add lights, I would highly recommend doing so. Even if its just buying a string or two of LED Christmas lights for $20 to jam inside, it will make an already impressive model, look 100% more impressive.

Fourth, be sure to read as much information as you can about decal application, as this model has A LOT. Again, starshipmodeler has a welth of information and tutorials on this. Just about every square inch of this model will have decals on it if you don't want to paint on the complicated aztec pattern.

Fifth, be sure to show us your build progress. I LOVE watching people buld this kit. It never gets old. It's honestly one of the most beautiful kits ever produced. Sadly, the two that I bought are still sitting in their boxes until I can afford all the electronics that I want to trick this baby out with.

TK4611

Very, very wise advice.
Always prime a kit if you intend to paint it, no matter what the subject no matter what paint you are using.
Primer gives paint something to adhere to and just as importantly can highlight surface imperfections that otherwise may go unnoticed.
To not prime a model of this size and detail is to effectively waste your money because as Tridcloudwalker has said, the paint will eventually flake and peel.
If you want to invest in a reasonably priced lighting kit, there are a few options available to you. I bought the Trekmodeler DIY lighting kit for $169.00 and it's awesome. It includes absolutely everything you need as well as a blinker board for strobes and running lights. Trust me, I suck as soldering and I'm even worse at reading wiring diagrams, but this is a very easy and effective method of accurately lighting your model.
I have been working on my PL Refit for over a year now and I figure that I'm still around a few months before I stick a fork in it and call it finished.
It's not a model which should be rushed and certainly one that will be ultimately satisfying with time, research and care.

GeneralFROSTY

Thanks everyone for your advice. I want to do this right, but I know how I am with my disabilities and I struggle sometimes, so I want to arm myself with the best possible information and guidence.
I will go ahead and join that forum and learn as much as I can from the postings, but will continue to post progress photos here and welcome advice and suggestions....
-Jimmy

TK4611

Good on you, mate.
Here is a link to documented build ups and reference sites of this model - http://www.strangelove.com/startrek/?page_id=9.
Good luck!

GeneralFROSTY

Great, thank you!
I want to do the lighting effect as shown before where the light shines through the plastic, but does that involve NOT priming/painting the surface?

DARTH SABER

I don't mean to hijack (Actually it's more like piggy backing), but Im planning on building the smaller 1/1000 Enterprise refit (Just don't have the time or resources to tackle the 1/350 scale) and I was wondering if some of you could answer a few questions? -


I don't have many hobby shops near me, and those only have a very limited range of paint colors.
Could you guys point out which online sources are good for ordering Tamiya spray paints?

Also,
What specific type of Tamiya spray paint do I need for the enterprise refit?
Does tamya sell only one specific type of pearl spray paint, or are there various types?

Thanks,

DS

GeneralFROSTY

I joined the site and have been looking around. A lot of info - so much it's making my head spin! I can't seem to find a 'definitive' build thread/tutorial for the 1/350 so I am going to have to take some more time this week fishing through the threads for the information I think I need.
Once I actually get the kit in my hands (any day now) I can start to strategize a little based on my own common sense and go from there.
There are a lot of things I will need advise on and a lot of advanced techniques I am going to want to use for my build, so I am cossing my fingers I have some pros step in and lend a hand...

clancampbell

It was so long ago, but i believe i didn't prime the spotlight areas. i also airbrushed around the edges, (well, some of them...) of the lighted areas to soften them out a bit. I think i still have the templates for all the spotlights if you want, i'll email them to you.

Rich