1/1600 AMT Star Trek Space Ship Set - Refurb

TimeyWimey

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These three small models made up the AMT Star Trek Space Ship Set kit from the mid-seventies. They're scaled something like 1/1600 scale, and originally had a base with three posts that they mounted on together. The Enterprise is about 6.5" long. It was a snap together kit, so I had to stick them back together for this picture, and the decals are flaking off rather badly. The base is missing, as is the exhaust piece from the very back of the Klingon ship. I'm amazed everything else is still here. I built these when I was a teenager with rudimentary modeling skills.

My plan is to refurb this set, cleaning and painting them and applying fresh decals - and correcting a few errors.

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(The small parts to the left are all the remains of the first large (18") AMT Enterprise and Klingon ships I ever built. Just the little chrome inserts from the sides of the Klingon ship's engine, the hangar bay doors from the Enterprise, and one transparent green "sensor dome" from the underside of the Enterprise's saucer. That very first kit came with lights in the top and bottom domes which lit up when you twisted the front end of the secondary hull. I so wish I still had that thing...)

0DAA9E3A-B179-4B59-A9C6-5A787713DB8B_zpsaeueuyje.jpg
 
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We'll start with the Enterprise.

All disassembled. Not many parts, which is unsurprising for its size.

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Here's an amazing inaccuracy: Those rectangles up the outside of the engine struts belong inside the struts. That's quite a mistake. I'll be sanding those off, and they'll be replaced by decals.

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Here I've cleaned all the parts and removed the old decals (I already ordered a new decal sheet from JT Graphics: http://jt-graphics.com/D_1600.html), and glued the sub-assemblies together. Next, I'll fill the seams and do some sanding and start correcting some inaccuracies. For one thing, that grid on the saucer has to go. The grid existed on the original model, but it was thin pencil lines and there's no way it would be visible on a model of this scale. Also, the very tip of the deflector dish spike has broken off, I'll have to repair that.

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Here it is all glued back together, with the grid lines and misplaced vents sanded off.

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I glued a piece of aluminum tubing into the bottom and cut it off flush, to use as a socket for a base.

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Seams filled, primed (to see if the seams look ok) and sanded, Ready for paint and decals.

93BC5445-DFDB-4F5C-BA2E-B0DFBEE0FC74_zpsmufalkvz.jpg


The paint will have to wait a bit - I've decided to build my Polar Lights 1/1000 scale Enterprise and refurbish my old AMT 18" Enterprise and paint all three at the same time. Also, it's stupid cold right now, so there's no way I can spray any paint outside and I don't have an indoor spray booth (yet).
 
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