Enterprise Bridge (adjusted for DST action figures)

lordgilpin

Awesome work man- LOVE the lights...

...you have to do the panels now though =(

glorbes

Thanks, lordgilpin...but I think the panels exceed my abilities by a massive margin.

Trolling around the 'tubes, I stumbled upon this beauty:

Submission: Star Trek Enterprise Playset - Mego Talk

I bet this type of playset could have been produceable by Mego for sure, and its a thousand times better than the Mego bridge that was released. I am totally adapting the outer images and detailing for my Bridge...I had this idea, but seeing it rendered in retro style makes me realize that all that exterior surface NEEDS to be used for something this cool.

glorbes

Following up on Dr. McCoy's questions about display, I think I worked out a system that'll work. Since displaying the whole bridge would be a bit awkward, I've design the playset to divide in two. The section that will display includes the stations of the major characters and trubolift, whereas the other half that I will tuck away has the viewscreen and remaining stations. This way, I can choose to display the whole bridge for a more interested party (or if my son wants to play with the thing), but can also have a more manageable day to day display.

Here's the 'permanent' display half, secured with small screws to a set large brackets that have been screwed into studs:





I still have to add the LED wiring to this section, as well as the three sets of stairs (ignore the raw styrene ones in the pics...I know they are really innaccurate).

Here's the other half:


The work stations are removable in this section, so that when the bridge is completely assembled, the walkway is intact but there is easy access. The two half sections of the bridge are mounted to a piece of plywood that fits snugly together like a big jigsaw puzzle.

I still have to add detail and color to the exterior walls, finish up the basic lighting, and make the friggin' stairs...but this 'quick' diorama project sort of feels like I'm approaching the end (I think).

whiteranger

this is amazing great job

Atlanthia

So am I right in understanding that the only plans you used for this incredible model were the Michael McMaster drawings and a lot of reference pictures/videos???

I just keep coming back to this thread....awesome!

glorbes

Thanks so much...this means a lot, actually.

It's an imperfect approach, but I model from the gut. I needed to have some reference, so yes, I had the McMaster blueprints as my guide, and watched and rewatched as many bridge-heavy episodes of TOS on Blu-Ray. A more accomplished modeler would have planned things more than I did, and may have either completed this in half the time or realized the project was insane. I feel the latter is true, because I've been working away at this for seven months.

The problem with my approach is that I ran into a lot of roadblocks, discovered some serious errors in my proportions when it was too late to fix them, and misjudged how this thing would eventually fit together. My 'plan' didn't wholly exist at the beginning...this has been a very haphazard and jerky journey. Could it be built better with more know-how and a more reasoned and properly planned approach? 100% yes! I know that I'm missing details here and there, that certain elements of it are off and disproportionate. But am I proud of this thing? Hell yeah!

It just comes down to how each person works...and I am really thrilled that I have received back and forth comments on my updates to this. I'm not a pro modeler, and I marvel at the skills, tools, and patience of so many here. This model and all my previous projects come from a burst of energy and excitement in a subject that always exceeds my abilities, but I find that the most satisfying thing is the trial and error that goes into modeling...the discovery of how to do something, even if its the wrong way. I just love the idea of making something like this with no more than styrene, a straight edge and a knife...it makes my ten year old self smile.

Atlanthia

Well, you have created, and now own something that no one else has but everyone else would love. I would love to try this out myself, at some stage if that's ok with you. Maybe I could grab a few measurements from you, as your scale to match the figures is perfect. I hear what you say about your scaling being different from the original but the whole centre section(Kirk, Sulu, Chekov) looks to be pretty darned accurate.
Are the buttons just tiny squares of styrene and what paints did you use -they seem almost fluorescent.
Many thanks,
Darren

LMFAOSchwarz

Your construction photos gave me major flash-backs to a project of my own:
What Goes On? - Star Tank - YouTube
I built mine rather quickly and crudely, and I'm working on another one of these with a bit more care. I found that for "spoof" purposes, it helps to build the little sets from memory so that I didn't get too caught up in accurate detailing. As it is, I had to forcibly "forget" certain things!
Nice work!

SirNedKingsly

This looks amazing!

Atlanthia

could anyone tell me what height these figures are please?

glorbes

They're about 7" tall, Atlanthia.

Atlanthia

Thank you for that, Glorbes. I just managed to secure/borrow a set of the Michael Mac plans and I am thinking of using a ratio of one inch to one foot. i.e 1/12th scale. I guess that would be smaller than your bridge. by a bit?? Sorry to ask you all these questions, Mate

glorbes

I did approximately 1:10 scale, and then fudged the measurements in a few places to reduce the overall width of the set.

youngwm

This is just so amazing what I nice display! The control panel button's are they just cut styrene and then painted. This looks really good, excellent job on the entire project that you have completed.

scarf man

Really awesome job!

Progrocker

Amazing work! I wish I was still living in PEI (where I grew up) so I could come see it in person.
I just recieved my figures in the mail... so I'm totally planning on doing something similar.
Thanks for the inspiration!

glorbes

Okay, so I have a moment to address some of the questions here...my apologies for the delay.

The buttons are indeed sliced styrene rod and thin square strips of sheet that have been chopped...I wanted to alternate between round and square buttons...I didn't do any toggle switches though. (This answers youngwm's question as well) I painted the buttons white, then coated them in Tamiya clear colors (I decided to stick to red, blue and yellow for the station buttons). The overall width of the Bridge is 30", the height of the platform is 1 3/4", and the stations are about 8 1/2" tall from the platform. I'll have to take a few measurements of more specific parts, and I'll snap some photos of the template pieces I used so that you can get a better idea of how I constructed this. The Burke chairs are made from styrene with apoxie sculpt cushioning on the backs. These are by far the least accurate element of this playset, since the chairs are much more rounded and curvier in the show...I cut my losses and decided to work with what I had and live with something that at least has familiar elements to the actual chairs.

Progrocker, if you're ever 'round these parts, feel free to let me know! I'd be thrilled to have you over.

LMFAOSchwartz, that video was priceless! I know how much work goes into stop motion...the sets look pretty great actually. Well done!

LMFAOSchwarz

Thanks, glorbes! It started out simple, with the thought of overlaying my characters into a brief scene, but ended up encompassing the entire video. I wish I had saved the pictures of the bridge construction. I started out using forms out of simple cardboard, just to verify all those bedeviling angles. Since I was intentionally simplifying, I reduced the bridge to eight pie-sections from ten (six would not have worked at all). Once everything fit together, I traced the contours out on the final product. The viewscreen wall is just a photoshop illustration, actually, so I cheated a bit!
I won't add any pics I have, since I don't want to intrude on your thread: but it's nice to see someone else going through the same aggravation I did! lol

rob8821

now that is awesome!!!very nice work.

glorbes

Okay, I did a scan of the templates I created for the 'ribs' of the bridge consoles, as well as the basic shape of the Burke chair back and seat. The pedestal for the Burke chair was made from styrene tube, card, and apoxie sculpt. I did have a template for the four pronged base of the chair, but couldn't find it. The sketch gives some other dimensions that remained consistent throughout the build. Other measurements unfortunately had slight variations from one section to another, which probably reveals some of the problems I had getting everything to fit together.

The templates are made from 020 thickness styrene, whereas the actual structural pieces were cut in 060 thickness for greater rigidity and strength.

If you'd rather not upload the files below from a complete stranger, here are the underscaled images:

Attached Files

	Poster Entry Form003.pdf (187.3 KB, 26 views)
	Poster Entry Form002.pdf (398.7 KB, 19 views)

DrMcoy

my apologies if i've already stated this before, but thought i'd respond to overall remarks the creator makes about things not being 100% accurate from a dimensions and/or design standpoint.

i think that if you were to make the bridge and chairs and individual stations 100% accurate, they would not be suitable to display with the figures.

the figures themselves, while nice, are not 100% accurate depictions of the characters/actors in shows...although very nicely done (I would have killed to have THESE as a kid) they look very toy-like (because they are indeed toys).

to put such toys in a pristine 100% accurate bridge playset would, to me, look awkward. there has to be a balance in overall appearance of toys vs. appearance of bridge set they are displayed within.

that said, the fact that some dimensions on this bridge are a bit squished and that burke chairs aren't 100% accurate is what makes the bridge set more visually agreeable with the toys, if you get my meaning.

a 100% accurate bridge set would require figures that were more statuesque in their appearance, without clunky ball joints and gaps where shoulder joint meets arm.

i think this bridge set represents a perfect balance in accordance with the look/feel/tone of the figures.

my figures saw this post and now just give me the stink eye wondering where THEIR bridge set is. "ain't gonna happen, fellas," I say, and watch as Spock arches his eyebrow in disdain.

Atlanthia

I agree entirely with you DrMcoy, and I also have to say that, considering the amount that the proportions have been altered, not only is it still instantly familiar but it hasn't really affected the overall aesthetics at all. Superb job Glorbes and thank you for the last post you put up.

I will be shortly starting mine but, with a twist....I am building mine smaller than this one (1/12th scale,) but I won't alter the proportions so mine should come out about the same overall size. My goal, though is to build it for £10 UK / $15 US. I have NEVER built a model before in my life but I want to try this so, sit back and have a good laugh!

Once again, congratulations and thank you for the inspiration. If mine turns out HALF as good as yours,(which I doubt,) I will be happy!

Rikarus

omgomgomg!!! this is so awesome! can I come over and play with that!!! the effort and attention you poured into this really shows, very very VERY nicely done!

LMFAOSchwarz

Dr. McCoy is right. The design is amazingly flexible to many proportions, it seems. Even my model, which was used with figures whose legs were only about 1/3 the length of the body, seemed to easily adjust to them.
Reminds me just a bit how the puppets from the mine car scenes in that Indiana Jones film had to be cut off at the legs to fit into the cars!

superDrool

Completely amazing! I love work like this from scratch. I can't wait to see the completion and how it all comes together.

So far, it's blown my mind. The LEDs and viewscreen backlighting are great ideas. First thing I thought of when you had swapped out the images were to create a grand scale Viewmaster. With just one click you can view through 10 or so cardstock images all having a permanent back lighting to create that viewscreen glow.