AW Studios 1/350th Constitution Kit Update

[vaderman1701]

For those of you that may or may not know, AW Studios recently purchased the "Master Parts" of the 1/350th TOS Constitution/Sinclair model kit originally being produced by Composite Creations. Over the last several months we have been refining these parts along with the original creaor, to bring you a kit that people have been wanting to place next to their PL Refit E.


Well, after a 1 week delay in doing the vacuform test pulls, we were finally able to get them done. I am very pleased with the results thus far. Here are the main pictures taken right after the pulls.

http://tk386.com/aws/Star_Trek.....index.html

And here are some more shots. Sorry for the seperate web hosts.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/awstudios@verizon.net/

On another note, I have spoken to JT Graphics and he has supplied us with window decals for the kit as a template or to use as decals. JT will be making the rest of the decals for this kit and we hope to be able to offer them sale with the kit. For those of you that remember, JT supplied MR with decals for the prototype 1/350 TOS out at Wonderfest last year.

We are coming into the home stretch and will hopefully be ready to start taking orders soon.

I am very excited with the results so far. More pictures to come soon!


Scott

AW Studios

 

[BarryZ28]

What kind of price tag are we looking at?

 

[vaderman1701]

What kind of price tag are we looking at?

Most likely $175 (not including shipping or JT Graphics decals)

Final cost will be determined once I get a better breakdown of the cost to produce the kits.

Regards,

Scott

 

[3D-builder]

Hey Scott I have been following the build on SSB.com .I was wondering about picture#6483 I can see the equator plug under the master plug because of the seperation line. The saucer seems to have some flat spots around the perimeter? Not sure if it looks this way because the master plug moved off the equator plug during the pull or if it's in the master plug? Maybe it's just my eyes and all that white styrene.:lol

Regards,
Michael

 

[Commander Max]

From what I'm seeing this is a kit for very advanced modelers only.

 

[vaderman1701]

From what I'm seeing this is a kit for very advanced modelers only.

Not really. This one will not require the internal structures like other vacuform kits that were pulled in .030. This is pulled in .080 and .060 HIPS Styrene.

You are really talking about a total of 8 vacuform pieces:

Upper Saucer
Lower Saucer
Port Engineering section
Starboard Engineering Section
2 halves- Port Nacelle
2 halves- Starboard Nacelle

The rest will be resin detail pieces that will be glued onto the styrene or fit inside of it (in the case of the shuttle bay platform and hanger piece).

I truly want and hope that this kit will be a pleasant experience for any model kit builder to try. I have put some tough vacuform kits together where the plastic was so thin it felt like a plastic dixie cup. That will not be a problem with this kit.

Stay tuned for more.

Scott
AW Studios

 

[KnightAsylum]

Looking sweet, Scott! I will be looking forward to you taking orders for these!
Yet something else I have to buy....

 

[Commander Max]

Any vacuform kit is for advanced modelers. By the nature of the thermoforming process it's very hard to maintain consistency. You can achieve a degree of control, but it's not the same as resin or styrene(injection molded).

No matter what, you have some very serious work ahead to get this model to look decent. Cutting and matching seams is a lot to ask from a novice modeler, that is partly what my statement is based on.

For what your doing, I would go with a thiner skin and add an armature or foam to the interior. Your compromising a lot using a thicker skin. Plus it looks to soft, the inflatable TOS E, LOL.

If the ends of the warp nacelles are resin, those engines are going to droop in time. Or worse the pylons will start twist under time and gravity. I think you could really have a good kit there but you defiantly need to give it more thought.

 

[vaderman1701]

No matter what, you have some very serious work ahead to get this model to look decent. Cutting and matching seams is a lot to ask from a novice modeler, that is partly what my statement is based on.

For what your doing, I would go with a thiner skin and add an armature or foam to the interior. Your compromising a lot using a thicker skin. Plus it looks to soft, the inflatable TOS E, LOL.

If the ends of the warp nacelles are resin, those engines are going to droop in time. Or worse the pylons will start twist under time and gravity. I think you could really have a good kit there but you defiantly need to give it more thought.

Is this a kit you can just slap on cement glue, spray paint and say here it is, of course not. Model kit builders have varying degrees of skill. But if you have been putting together model kits on a regular basis, then you have most of the skills to tackle this kit. Vacuform kits come in varying degrees of difficulty. Will it require drilling and filing, yes. But there are numerous resin and injection molded kits that require this as well.

Going with thinner skin jeopordize the structural integrity too much and would most likely be a recipe for disaster. Not to mention the the master plugs were designed fabricated for thicker styrene, not thinner. It is much easier to repair a thicker piece of styrene of you miscut something, than it is a thinner piece. You state that is "soft", but the TOS is has very little surface detail on it. You called it the inflatable TOS E, but matched up next to Alan Sinclair's TOS E blueprints and side by side with a MR Tos E, it looks pretty spot on.

The end of the nacelle (the end cap) are resin, but not very heavy. The front of the nacelle (behind the bussard collector) has a few pieces as well, so you have a counter balance, if it were a problem. The pylons are not made of styrene, but of solid resin with tubes cast into them for added support and also to run wiring for those electronic gurus. A lot of thought has gone into this kit.

Ultimately the decision is the buyers. Experienced modelers will most likely find it pretty staright forward. Novices may find it more challenging, but no more than an injection molded kit with over 100 or more parts. AT least this one only has 8 vacuformed parts. The rest are resin details. And for those who have no experience, their are people out their that you can commission to build it for you.

Only time will tell how the builders of these kits will rate the skill level necessary to build it.

Scott

 

[KnightAsylum]

Looks way easier then my PL 1/350 refit with it's 3 million pieces!

 

[vaderman1701]

Looks way easier then my PL 1/350 refit with it's 3 million pieces!

lollollol:lol

 

[vaderman1701]

Major Announcement regarding this kit!

Hey All,

I am sorry this thread has been quiet for months. Let's just say that AW Studios has been doing a lot of thinking over the last several weeks and has made a HUGE decision. AWS has decided to stop all work on the 1/350 TOS kit as it stands and will be going in a new direction. What this means is that we are not going to be using any of the kit parts you have been seeing on this thread. This was not an easy decision for us to make, but we felt it was the right decision. What this does not mean is that we are not going to be doing a 1/350th TOS kit.

And now for the GREAT news, AWS has approached Richard Long (REL) about commsioning him to do the new masters for the TOS 1/350. After discussing it with him, REL has agreed \/. Not only has REL agreed but we have discussed how it will be done.

1. The parts will be grown via a 3-D printer first and Ricahrd will clean it up and finish detailing it. This will help guarantee symetry.
2. The saucer, neck, and secondary hull parts will have the windows and sensor rings included on them.
3. The masters will be used to make female molds for vacuforming. This will allow the window details to come through on the plastic.
4. New resin detail parts will be created as well using some of the best reference materials available.
5. Richard will still be creating a shuttlebay for the kit.
6. JT Graphics will still be providing decals for the ship.
7. Don's Light and Magic will still be offering a lighting kit including resized Waddell Warp Boards for the nacelles.

To say that we are excited is an understatement. I think we all know the level of detail and quality that Richard puts into his work and know that this project will be no different. Our ultimate goal is to provide you, the modeler and fans with a kit you have wanted for a long time. We want to be able to bring you the best kit possible and we beleive this is the best wayto do it.

According to Richard, once he finishes up a few of his current projects (like the K'Tinga and E-D), he will get to work on detailing the TOS E. He will actually be supplying us with the female molds and silicone molds, so once received, we will be able to start production right away. We are looking at sometime in early 2008 for a release if all goes as planned. This along with the 1/650th E-E and 1/350th Romulan BOP that Richard mastered and the 1/350th Constellation class we are working on will be just some of the exciting kits we hope to bring you next year.

I will be starting a new thread sometime soon, but for now if you have questions or comments you can ask them here or PM me.

Regards,

Scott
AW Studios

 

[Kuhn Global]

Enough said... I am now convinced of the quality that will come with Richard's involvement! Not to knock anyone's work (infact I applaud the efforts), I just couldn't picture a proper build coming from the parts that were shown. That is why I was inquiring about build up photos...to see if it could be done right.

AW Studios new direction with Richard's future patterns has enabled me to say immediately...

... I will be IN for a 2nd Pilot Version!

Good choice Scott!

 

[Jedi Dade]

OK that all sounds great but have you considered using youe existing parts to create "kitbash fodder" for the masses that need it I'm not much of a trek basher but I know there are TONS of people that are and your current kit should be good enough for those putposes. I guess the question would be if its worth the hassle of going into production for that segment of the market...

 

[vaderman1701]

Unfortunately no. The original parts will not be going out for kitbashing. However, as part of the offerings, we may sell individual parts of the new kit so people can do kitbashes. We will see how things go.

Scott