1/350 Enterprise-A build -- WIP

morrris99

Wow! Love that Arboretum! Now make sure you use magnifying lenses for the windows so you can see it afterwards

GeneralFROSTY

No progress done on the kit my last day at the shop - that day was concentrated on practicing some modeling techniques.
I was VERY pleased to have found an AMAZING hobby shop not far from the workshop - this place had EVERYTHING a modeler and model train enthusiest could ever dream of - a HUGE inventory of plastic model kits, paints, professional tools and building materials.
I brought my father with me - he was excited too as the shop reminded him of the hobby shops that were big when he was younger - lots of model rockets and wood planes....
I could have spent ALL day there. I immediately grabbed up the re-issue of the classic TV series Enterprise kit from AMT which I had been wanting to order online to use as an experimental kit to better prepare me for some of the techniques I will be using for the Refit build.
I was also pleased to see the Hobby store had a FULL supply of styrene plastic sheets and misc parts - I bought a few of those to experiement with gluing, puttying and using my solvent glue.
I'm pretty excited to go back and even more excited that it is a short drive from my Father's workshop - so if I need a paint or a certain tool/supply, rather than order online and wait a week I just shoot down there!
The place is called Iron Horse Hobby House, in Reading PA. No website, but if you live in my neck of the woods it is certainly worth the drive. Thier railroad train inventory was impressive to say the least.
Anyway - enough of that. Here are some pics of my 'experimental' side projects....
Practicing puttying and masking:

Kickin' it OLD SCHOOL with the 18" Classic Enterprise:

Jediguy

keep it coming! Love what you're doing and definitely gonna be following this build!

GeneralFROSTY

My gratitude!
I still have a lot of learning and experimenting to do. A big thanks goes to the generous and knowlegable members on the Starship Modeler message board.
Even though I'm stoked to get more work done on the Refit, I have to move like a snail and really practice and experiment on less-valuable kits - a recommendation made by RPF and Starship Modeler forum members and I am glad I took that sound advice...

GeneralFROSTY

I wanted some friends and family members to fallow my build of this beast, so I started a blog - please swing by and support my build!
http://jimmy2step.blogspot.com/
This coming week, I will continue to hone my model building skills with the 18" Classic Enterprise and begin work on detailing the arboretum walls.

Lear60man

Hey Jimmy,

Well Ive been at this beast for 6 days straight 8 to 12 hours a day. The hotel maids are convinced Im doing unnatural things. Saucer sections are ready to be glued together. One nacelle is finished and the other needs about an hour before gluing. I made light boxes and used a blue plastic document folder to diffuse the light to get the proper warp effect. The light kit was / is the biggest head scratcher. The main wiring diagram is the biggest help and just remember to match the color coded wires. Oh and have a 9v battery handy to test all lights multiple times. Another nugget, the red and green LED's have different voltage and will knock out the rest of the NAV light ring on the saucer. The kit didnt have red and green nav lights so I found some and no workie. Replaced with 3mm white and used clear paint. Problem solved.

Christian

TK4611

The instructions actually say that there are no red & green LEDs supplied & to paint clear ones instead...
Another thing to watch out for is on the upper saucer wiring diagram, the black lead isn't connected to the power supply.

Lear60man

I must have missed that. I couldnt find that in the written directions but Im using the trek modeler kit. I did figgure out the saucer ground

TK4611

I've got the TrekModeler kit too. And you're right, it is a real head scratcher!

Lear60man

Im ditching the farm as it interferes with the main electrical connecting rod Construction is on hold for a few days as i actually have to work

TK4611

Do you mean the brass rod that comes with the kit?
It IS possible to use that and still have the arboretum...

Lear60man

You have to drill a hole in the bottom of the body directly underneath the arboretum for the main electrical cannon plug. After soldering and heat shrinking its a tight fit. I think I got it mangled in there. I picked up a bit of copper pipe that slides over the end of the cannon plug. Then the rod that comes with the PL kit will be epoxied inside that. The left over room inside the pipe will hide the main wires into the base.

GeneralFROSTY

Well.....I WAS looking forward to revieving the Trekmodeler kit...now I'm just scared! A few of you now have said what a headscratcher it is, and seeing as how I'm pretty slow, especially with complicated things, I'm not looking forward to the potential setbacks understanding the kit will cause me.

Lear60man

Jimmy I am about as bad as they come with electronics. If you match the color coded wires youll be fine. Just make sure to solder and insulate everything. Check every section before gluing together. Plan for setbacks but the rewards are greater.

TK4611

I drilled a hole directly below the arboretum and then used CA glue to secure the nut to the inside of the kit. I then screwed in the female connector that comes with the brass rod and then epoxy glued over the top of that. After leaving it for about 24 hours, it was as hard as rock and holds the rod easily.
The arboretum fits perfectly over it.
Note the rod wires coming out to the right of the arboretum and the support tabs removed to allow the completed shuttlebay to fit in!



Jimmy, as Lear60man says, take your time, test everything (with resistors!), plan it out and you will be fine.
We're here to help if you need us!

GeneralFROSTY

Good to know - I am certainly going to need help.
As I may have mentioned before, I have some comprehension difficulties and I am not looking forward to the trouble I may have when working with this kit....
Good news is, I finally got my airbrush in the mail! Very happy with it and looking forward to testing it out. Once I've become comfortable with how it functions, I can finally begin work on the Officer's Lounge.
Not really going for 'canon' with this kit, just looking to do the best job possible.
In the meantime, I am still working on finishing the 18" Original Series E.

TridCloudwalker

You got me a few miles away. I've put a few light kits together. Never one this big, but the process is exactly the same. We can work on the light kit next week if you like.

Fett_Ish

Does he no longer sell the "plug'nplay" kits anymore? It cost a small fortune but it is pre soldered and tested and broken into 5 sections that just plug into each other. 0 experience needed. I can't wait to finish the kit,but I am afraid.

GeneralFROSTY

yes, the Trekmodeler kit is still plug n' play, but still a daunting task I presume. Not just the kit itself, but the cutting and modifying of the model kit to accomidate the electronics. Lots of wires and things have to fit together just right.
I have some new photos coming this week - I neglected to bring my camera to the shop this past week, so I have to snap off some shots of my progress.
I finished the officer's lounge and I am quite happy with the results.
I also scratch-build a set of walls for the Arboretum which look pretty good for a first attempt and scratch building from sheet styrene.
I also finally recieved my Trekmodeler light kit. Looks pretty complicated but thankfully, it's all ready to be installed. The instruction manual which comes on CD will have to be printed out and studdied over and over again - it has some pictures to guide you along, but some of the instructions are a little vague, but still manageable.
I got a lot of work done on my 18" Original series E 'Warmup' kit - all primed and ready for final sanding and painting - that Tamiya primer works like a dream and I'm glad my hobby shop carries a good bit of Tamiya products - I will be a frequent buyer of them!
Pics coming soon....

Lear60man

Jimmy,
did you get the prebuilt light kit or the DIY? I tested and retested everything before joining sections together. Wouldnt you know it....half of the saucer lights shorted out after I joined the two halves together I had to cut 5 holes in the bottom to do surgery. All patched up now. I start masking and painting day after tomorrow. I have kept the nacelles and main dish off for ease of painting.

Oh I had to do a fair amount of trimming on the nacelle arm bases to eliminate a gap between the upper portion of the fuse and the sides. Dry fit them and you will see what I mean. Another thing with the light kit is getting the main parts together and fitting all the wiring properly. Ill write more in a few days on how I got the main pieces to fit properly but basicly:

Lower hull completed (shuttle bay auboretium electronics etc) attached to stand. Then the sides with outer halves of the nacelle arms and solder up the two spot lights. Then the upper hull with with inner nacelle arms and nose. Note Obviously you will have to finish all the soldering before closing up the top. I ran the nacelle wires up the inner portion of the outer nacelle arms and hot glued them in place. That was one less thing I had to wrestle when putting on the hull top with the inner arms already attached.

Christian

GeneralFROSTY

I got the pre-wired kit.
I am a little dissapointed that the kit was not engineered to fit down a hallow rod replacement for the display stand.
I don't like the fact that aside from the display rod, there will be wires coming out of the middle of the ship. I would have preferred all those wires hidden withing the display rod.
Any suggestions?
I have some progress pics coming this week that will show how my 18" classic is coming along, as well as my new scratch-build Arboretum walls and my completed Officer's Lounge.
Me and my new friend will be stopping by the hobby store on wednesday and I will be picking up supplies for my shuttle bay build.

Jedi Dade

Find a length of pipe the same diameter?

Jedi Dade

Lear60man

Jimmy,
I used a piece of copper pipe that slid over the female connector ( I say slid, more like wedged in after i used a dremel to open up the pipe a bit). The inner diameter is big enough to accommodate the wires and the rod that came with the PL kit. Go to HD with the female connector and youll find the right size. BTW unscrew the two tiny screws and throw away the little wire clamp piece at the end of the connector. It sticks out enough that it wont fit into the copper pipe. Used a glue gun to mate up the rod and pipe. Drilled a small hole in the bottom of the trench of the base to run the 4 wires through. The female connector now becomes the main support rod and you can plug up the hole in the lower section of the hull as you arent going to need it.

Hope that makes sense.

Christian

GeneralFROSTY

I might need some pictures to help illustrate what you are saying.
I had thought that Polar Lights put the display rod in the place that it is because it gave the kit the overall best support.
Would using the center hole as the support rod/electronics connection effect the support of the model in any way?

Lear60man

Ok now remember I glued the hell out of the male power plug inside the bottom of the hull and layed down some glue gun for added support. Its solid. As far as weight distribution, I think moving the center of gravity aft will be balanced by all the added weight of the electronics in the saucer. Besides this is a far more secure mounting location than the forward ring.

First pic shows the copper pipe that slides over the female plug. Out of the bottom of that plug are your 4 main wires that go from the model to the base. The are feed through a hole I drilled in the trench next to the silver rod receptacle. Now take the silver rod, that came with the kit, and put it into the base. Slide the copper pipe with the female plug and 4 wires, over the silver rod. I used a hot glue gun to secure everything. Just make sure to test fit everything before you glue the silver rod inside of the copper pipe.



This is a pic of where the wires from the copper pipe come out and down through the hole I drilled. Ill hide them with some sort of greebly later.



This is where they come out underneath.