A Blue Neck On The USS Enterprise Model In “The Cage”?

[Captain Dunsel]

I’m getting ready to build up a Polar Lights 350 Kit into the original version from “The Cage” and one think puzzles me—the neck color.

Some people believe that the neck connecting the primary and secondary hulls together was a light blue color.

Others believe that the neck color is the same gray as the base color of rest of the ship and what is being perceived as a “blue neck” is actually the slight reflection of the blue screen on the semi-gloss neck of the original version of the model.

What is the current consensus?? Are there production photos that show conclusively what the neck color originally looked like?

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Hmmmm...

 

[yodakiller1138]

Go on the culttvman site. They have article about the restoration of the 11 foot model and the colors they used. They did use a blue.

 

[Gregatron]

Glossy blue for the first pilot, flat blue for the second pilot, hull color with flat blue leading edge for production.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Thanks for the info!

Though it’s accurate to the build, I think the “blue neck” is a terrible look and I can see why the creators dropped it when the model was converted for the series production version of the craft.

 

[Gregatron]

I have a feeling it was painted differently so as to distinguish it as a mere connecting pylon for the primary and secondary hulls, but then they decided it detracted from the overall look. The repaint gives the ship a more unified appearance.

 

[robn1]

The 11 footer was only used in "The Cage" for the opening shot, and it was shot against black so no bluescreen reflection.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Go on the culttvman site. They have article about the restoration of the 11 foot model and the colors they used. They did use a blue.

Thanks for the resource referral!

For those who are interested, here’s the article:

A Modeler’s Guide to Painting the Starship Enterprise by Gary Kerr – CultTVman's Fantastic Modeling

 

[alensatemybuick]

I've wondered for a while if the blue on the leading edge of the dorsal in the regular series version of the ship was actually a holdover from the WNMHGB paint (i.e. it was masked off and painted around) or if it was re-applied.

 

[Duncanator]

Great article!