Amt/Ertl 1/537 Refit Enterprise. Surface detail & other tips?

[MPAIG]

Hello,

I apologize in advance if this has been covered, but, I eventually want to build an EMT/ERT Refit Enterprise.

My main concern is how to handle the surface details.

1) Better to sand off leaving the long pie cut lines from the bridge to the saucer edges(what about the lower hull & nacelles?)
2) Use pink car filler and fill everything in except for heaviest lines? Again See question re what to keep, fill in.
3) Build as is.

As much as I want a Polar Lights 1/350, it isn't in the budget.

I'm also having a lot of fun locating one in Ontario Canada. Found a few online, but got the "we dont ship to Canada" message.

Grumpy me says just get the 1/1000 kit. Sheesh.

Any other suggestions/tips?

Thanks for reading. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Constantine]

Well I think the AMT kit 1/537 Refit Enterprise kit looks best when all the pseudo Aztec lines have been sanded off. I did that on mine, (not finished yet), but it really improves the look of the ship. As far as filler I just used squadron putty, green I think, so I could see that the lines were filled. First I sanded as much off as I could then filled. You'll also have to keep cleaning out the grid lines as you go not too hard, but tedious. Have you seen this article? http://www.paveglio.com/startrek/files/Enterprise.PDF Might help.

Good Luck!
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[MPAIG]

Constantine,

Thank you for this information re sanding and the link. No I did not find it at all.

I think that a new tool 1/600 Enterprise would be great, but I wont hold my breath.

Thanks again.

 

[rbeach84]

Why not ship to Canada? Is that from US? Are there customs issues? Just curious.

For filling tiny engraved lines, I recommend 3M Acryl-White Glazing Putty. It is a automotive product with superior performance compared to almost all 'hobby' putty products. They used to make a 'blue' version, but this is the same without the tint. In fact, if you want a tint, just add a little cheap acrylic craft paint... I got my last tube (expensive but a large tube still cheaper than the hobby versions...) from Amazon of all sources. Avoid the 3M 'red' putties commonly found in auto supply stores, they aren't the same stuff (too grainy, too thin, shrink too much, etc.)

Best of luck!

R/ Robert

 

[MPAIG]

Hello rbeach84,

I am sorry for the delay in my response. I've heard a few excuses, but mainly that it is to expensive now to ship to Canada.

Thank you for the advice re the putty.

Well, found one locally, but he wanted over $100. Um. No!.

 

[cellarboy]

I got my 1/350 refit from here. Shipping didn't seem too expensive:

http://www.greathobbies.com/search/results/?srchtype=AdvSearch&srchvendor=PLL&srchcat=PKS

Hello rbeach84,

I am sorry for the delay in my response. I've heard a few excuses, but mainly that it is to expensive now to ship to Canada.

Thank you for the advice re the putty.

Well, found one locally, but he wanted over $100. Um. No!.

 

[DB537]

Here's one I built a while back. I didn't fill in any of the lines. My only goal
with this one was to make it look better than the one I had when I was 11.
Even with the grid lines I think it turned out OK.