I encountered the same problem. I don't know if the problem is fixed once the parts are glued. The Starboard nacelle on my kit also drifted out to the right at the rear end. I think a rigid brace may be required.
USS Enterprise (2009) (Revell) review and build
- Thread starter thorst
- Start date
I encountered the same problem. I don't know if the problem is fixed once the parts are glued. The Starboard nacelle on my kit also drifted out to the right at the rear end. I think a rigid brace may be required.
captainreynolds
Active Member
Yeah, and I don't want to risk gluing together only to find they still droop as it's too late to fix it by then. Polar lights seem to be the only model company that can do nacelle attachment properly. All the nx-01, TOS and refit builds I have seen and built in both 1/350 and 1/1000 have never had an issue or need for extra bits inside. The revell 1/600 TOS that my friend had was really bad, took him ages to fabricate an internal frame out of steel or aluminium/aluminum.
Also, thanks for the response about the pearl in clear paints.
Just seen something interesting on round 2 models site. It's a bit off topic but the 1/350 nx-01 has just been re-released. So anyone after that kit who was struggling to find one on eBay, it is back in production.
I know what you mean about not wanting to take the risk of gluing only to find you're still suffering from the dreaded nacelle droop. I think that the problem lies with the very thin plastic on this kit. The pylon area should have been given more substantial walls and it's a real shame as the rest of the kit goes together beautifully even with just masking tape. I just couldn't believe the amazing fit on the saucer!
I'll be cutting my teeth with the pearl pigments on my 1/350th OS Enterprise when I have all the bits I need.
I still have my 1/350th NX-01 from the original release along with the Voodoo FX lighting kit. One day!!
Happy modelling.
captainreynolds
Active Member
The only thing I can think of to solve it, if that is the problem, is to glue some more styrene sheet into the pylons to thicken the plastic in them. I have plenty of 1mm thick white as my uni has a scrap bin full of it (waste from laser cutting and vac forming).
And I know what you mean about the saucer, the fit and the detail is fantastic. Ironic that the neck to support the saucer is so sturdy (apart from the lips at the front) and the nacelle pylons are not.
The bit that really baffles me is that they have the twist off bit in the deflector housing and the battery holding frame behind it (yes, it perfectly fits a 9v) meaning they really thought about convenience of battery removal and access the electrical systems yet molded the impulse engines in white and did bits that don't light up in clear. Doesn't make sense.
Well, to anyone who has done a build of all three 1/350 kits, which was your favourite as it will be boldly going where i've never modelled before and i need a bit of advice on which to go for.
It'd be nice of round2 to re-release the AMT defiant at some point. I also wonder if revell is planning a uss vengeance or new bird of prey.
JMChladek
Sr Member
What glue are you using? A good plastic weld liquid glue will likely get these pylons stiff enough to straighten out and the gentle curve to them will probably help as well compared to wobbly flat parts, like what we typically saw with the 18" AMT kits. Those pretty much needed internal reinforcement inside otherwise the glue seams would split out far too easily (plus the plastic tended to be a bit too flexible on those older kits, the glow plastic on the Tholian Web edition tended to be stiffer and more manageable).
The way I see it, if the nacelles are fully assembled and glued, as are the pylons and if they still want to splay in test fits, you could probably insert some sort of an alignment tab at the top of the pylons where you could counteract the bad angles to take care of the droop. But I do think with some sort of crude assembly jig and some good quality plastic weld glue that you can get those pylons straight and true with minor adjustments. And lighting hardware at the front can help to give the nacelles a little more nose weight. Its been done before by modelers with every other iteration of the Enterprise (except for the D, which had a very robust pylon attachment) in model form, so why not do it here as well?
The way I see it, if the nacelles are fully assembled and glued, as are the pylons and if they still want to splay in test fits, you could probably insert some sort of an alignment tab at the top of the pylons where you could counteract the bad angles to take care of the droop. But I do think with some sort of crude assembly jig and some good quality plastic weld glue that you can get those pylons straight and true with minor adjustments. And lighting hardware at the front can help to give the nacelles a little more nose weight. Its been done before by modelers with every other iteration of the Enterprise (except for the D, which had a very robust pylon attachment) in model form, so why not do it here as well?
captainreynolds
Active Member
Revell contacta glue, best of the ones I can get hold of here. The plastic is too thin, even with a strong joint at the front and back of the pylon during test fit it is still too flexible. I assembled it using a crude jig to get everything lined up and it was assembled upside down. The moment the ship was turned right side up the nacelles angled away from each other at the back and drooped. The lighting at the front is fine for my friends model but useless for me as I'm not lighting.
And as mentioned before, I can't just rely on hope that the glue would fix the problem as glue is a little permanent meaning I'm screwed if it doesn't solve the problem. If the bit coming off the nacelle that slots into the pylon was longer it might have helped. As it is, the nacelles align perfectly when held upside down, but wobble like mad right side up. And the joints are being held pretty damn tight.
With some spare styrene I can make the plastic a full mm thicker or even fill the pylons to make them almost a solid piece, then there's no chance of them twisting.
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captainreynolds
Active Member
Forgot to ask, would simply spraying a light dusting of white over azteks done in too dark a grey help tone down the contrast between the base white and the grey? My friend decided to use spray cans on the entire ship but the lightest grey he can get is too dark, so can the aztek pattern be done in the darker colours then made more subtle with the white over spray to make it a lighter grey? The pearl sections of the aztek pattern would then be done over this.
Also seen a build of the refit with the different pearl colours done with tamiya pearl blue, red and yellow and a base coat of tamiya white pearl. All sprays. There's a vid on YouTube showing it, if you search tamiya pearl enterprise it should show up. What's the opinion on this technique as I may use it if I can't get hold of the aztek decals. If it's good but not perfect what could be improved (whilst still only using sprays)?
Thanks in advance for any tips on this.
Also seen a build of the refit with the different pearl colours done with tamiya pearl blue, red and yellow and a base coat of tamiya white pearl. All sprays. There's a vid on YouTube showing it, if you search tamiya pearl enterprise it should show up. What's the opinion on this technique as I may use it if I can't get hold of the aztek decals. If it's good but not perfect what could be improved (whilst still only using sprays)?
Thanks in advance for any tips on this.
captainreynolds
Active Member
Right, the build done with the tamiya pearl blue and pearl white is here:
Polar Lights Enterprise Refit Work In Progress 18
Thought it was on YouTube but got mixed up with a video done by trekworks using the pearls to modify the ships aztek decals.
Polar Lights Enterprise Refit Work In Progress 18
Thought it was on YouTube but got mixed up with a video done by trekworks using the pearls to modify the ships aztek decals.
Just to keep you updeted: I'm still polishing the disk parts because of the primer roughness. I'll never use Revell primer on a small scale model again.
The PearlEX pigments are ordered, when they are here I will do tests and show them here. Otherwise there's nothing new here.
Thorsten
The PearlEX pigments are ordered, when they are here I will do tests and show them here. Otherwise there's nothing new here.
Thorsten
captainreynolds
Active Member
Yep, used humbrol primer on my base and deflector to the same effect. Me thinks I'll be switching to tamiya fine surface primer. 1000 grit wet and dry does fix it but don't want to risk losing the detail on the saucer by sanding it off.
As you may have seen, Orbital Drydock has announced a stunning set of masks and he will ship internationally. I have his Refit and Classic masks already and highly recommend them. Go for it
. I've not seen the Tamiya pearls so can't comment on them. If the colour is visible constantly then you don't want to use them as the colours should only show up as the light plays over the model. You need interference colours rather than just pearl. They go on colourless but pop as the light moves over them.Hope this helps.
Finally I got some more work on the saucer done.
Apart from sanding and polishing the exterior I got the SMD-LED wiring a bit better organized and fixed it to the plastic with epoxy.
Then I cut out big holes to the corridor behind the bridge to get light to the windows there:
And I found another minor missing detail, this time at the part above the impulse engines:
There is a small gap in the top surface of the backmost box. I've replicated it by first sanding down the part a bit and then adding 0.25 mm sheet styrene on top. Think it was worth the extra 10 minutes.
Also I've drilled out all holes for the strobes, nav lights and smaller spotlights to get 0.5 mm fiber optics in there.
The next step will be to spray the inside with silver and white to get it light blocked (the 4 layers of primer were not enough). Then I'll add the windows from a mix of the clear parts of the kit and dental acrylic. Afterwards the lighting will have to be finished and the impulse engine made and the saucer section can be glued together.
Thorsten
Apart from sanding and polishing the exterior I got the SMD-LED wiring a bit better organized and fixed it to the plastic with epoxy.
Then I cut out big holes to the corridor behind the bridge to get light to the windows there:
And I found another minor missing detail, this time at the part above the impulse engines:
There is a small gap in the top surface of the backmost box. I've replicated it by first sanding down the part a bit and then adding 0.25 mm sheet styrene on top. Think it was worth the extra 10 minutes.
Also I've drilled out all holes for the strobes, nav lights and smaller spotlights to get 0.5 mm fiber optics in there.
The next step will be to spray the inside with silver and white to get it light blocked (the 4 layers of primer were not enough). Then I'll add the windows from a mix of the clear parts of the kit and dental acrylic. Afterwards the lighting will have to be finished and the impulse engine made and the saucer section can be glued together.
Thorsten
And yet another tiny modification:
The impulse engine housing should have round corners, the kit has flat sides. This can be corrected very easily with a file. The inner rim was adjusted with putty to follow the new contour:
In this area also the stripes on the saucer's rim should end before the impulse engine with an angled edge. As there will be major filling and sanding works anyways, I'll corret this after glueing the disk together.
Guess I should write a complete mod-list after finishing this build...
Thorsten
The impulse engine housing should have round corners, the kit has flat sides. This can be corrected very easily with a file. The inner rim was adjusted with putty to follow the new contour:
In this area also the stripes on the saucer's rim should end before the impulse engine with an angled edge. As there will be major filling and sanding works anyways, I'll corret this after glueing the disk together.
Guess I should write a complete mod-list after finishing this build...
Thorsten
Hi Thorsten. I think a complete modification list might well be a good idea. I've been following your build closely and love what I've been seeing. Keep up the good work.
The 4 Star
New Member
Throsten - yeah, I'm working on a full video down the line. I started prepping my nacelles, and the complete outer housing underneath the front is WHOLLY inaccurate as well, and can only be painted to fix it looks like (well, that might be the easiet fix there).
Also, there's a missing french curve on the lower saucer section where it meets the secondary hull.
I'm working on getting my engines sealed up and prepped.
Also, there's a missing french curve on the lower saucer section where it meets the secondary hull.
I'm working on getting my engines sealed up and prepped.
Can you show a picture about these inaccuracies on the nacelles here? I didn't work on them yet, so it might be helpful.
I see the curvy panel on the lower saucer, but I think it's better to add this after glueing the disk to the secondary hull... might want to draw templates for those though...
I now airbrushed the interior of the saucer with chrome and a layer of white as the primer didn't block all the light. And I sprayed the impulse engine grill red on the inside and a very dark, reddish brown to the outside.
Tomorrow I'll probably get the dental acrylic into the windows of the saucer and into the impulse engines. I'll really be happy if this works.
Thorsten
The area where the pylons connect to the nacelles is inaccurate too. There are two french curve shaped elements missing all together.
Well after posting I rethought the curved panel on the saucer bottom. Better do it now than forget about it.
I started by tracing the area of the part with paper and a pencil.
Then the sheet was scanned, imported in Rhino3D and scaled appropriately (I added some dimensions to the paper before scanning it).
The shape of the new panel was drawn and exported as pdf, you can download it here (it prints 4 sets of the part):
View attachment saucer_templates.pdf
This file was printed and transfered to 0.5 mm plastic sheet. After cutting it out, it was glued to the kit part:
It needs some additional sanding to get the thickness properly but I'm happy with the shape.
I really don't cry about missing panels, they are so easy to add. In contrast to inaccurate panels...
Thorsten
I started by tracing the area of the part with paper and a pencil.
Then the sheet was scanned, imported in Rhino3D and scaled appropriately (I added some dimensions to the paper before scanning it).
The shape of the new panel was drawn and exported as pdf, you can download it here (it prints 4 sets of the part):
View attachment saucer_templates.pdf
This file was printed and transfered to 0.5 mm plastic sheet. After cutting it out, it was glued to the kit part:
It needs some additional sanding to get the thickness properly but I'm happy with the shape.
I really don't cry about missing panels, they are so easy to add. In contrast to inaccurate panels...
Thorsten
The 4 Star
New Member
Thorsten - your work is simply stunning!:eek
