Best U.S.S. Enteprise NCC-1701 model kit?

J

Jehudah Design

Well-Known Member
Good evening.

I thought I'd ask the experts here about this before buying anything.
I want to buy a model kit of the TOS Enterprise NCC-1701, and so far there seems to be only three larger options to chose from.

First there is the Polar Lights 11 inch Enterprise that contains even parts for the pilot Enterprises and so forth.

Second is the Diamond Select 14 inch Enterprise that is made after the one in the remastered episodes, even with lights and sound, it seems.

Third is the largest AMT 18 inch Enterprise in retro packaging.


I want mine to look like the one from the remastered series with all the light effects and glowing windows. Natually then I should buy the 14 inch high definition ship, but I very much like the size of the AMT better, though I have heard that the AMT is not very accurate and hard to assemble.

Are there any other good sized 1701's out there that I am not aware of? Also I should ask if anyone here have ever bought the AMT and made it accurate?


Thanks.
 
The 18" AMT kit is most definitely NOT accurate. Amongst other things the secondary hull is way too small. I have the 22" cut away but it's unbuilt and have not been motivated to do anything with it since I picked up an MR. Next year a 33" accurate TOS version is coming out. I would wait for that.
 
Thanks for clearing that out to me.
I'm not really sure what the cut away is, but think I saw a little of it somewhere. It means that some of the ship is cut away so you can see the inside stuff and all?
A 33" TOS Enterprise sounds pretty darn sweet right now, maybe I should wait for that.
 
If you want to get technical about it the AMT kit was used in the original series in several episodes. So in a sense it is accurate.:lol
 
Dark Side Sith Lord said:
Thanks for clearing that out to me.
I'm not really sure what the cut away is, but think I saw a little of it somewhere. It means that some of the ship is cut away so you can see the inside stuff and all?
A 33" TOS Enterprise sounds pretty darn sweet right now, maybe I should wait for that.
Click to expand...


Agreed > wait for the big new kit.

In the mean time for fun, you could build up the little polar lights kit just to get familiar with the paint schemes and markings.
 
Well actually I would just like to have one all in all, will just study it all along the way of the buildup. I checked out the cut away model kit, and if I understand it all correctly, it is possible to also build it as a complete non cut away Enterprise? I think 33" inches will be too large for what I had in mind for it, so 22" sounds good if this kit is any accurate.

Strange that an old Star Wars fan suddenly gives more thought into the building of the Enterprise than any other Star Wars kit i've had, huh?
 
Dark Side Sith Lord said:
Well actually I would just like to have one all in all, will just study it all along the way of the buildup. I checked out the cut away model kit, and if I understand it all correctly, it is possible to also build it as a complete non cut away Enterprise? I think 33" inches will be too large for what I had in mind for it, so 22" sounds good if this kit is any accurate.

Strange that an old Star Wars fan suddenly gives more thought into the building of the Enterprise than any other Star Wars kit i've had, huh?
Click to expand...


Well, the Falcon and the Enterprise are close cousins when you think about it.

Ultimately they are both "flying saucers" from 1950's roots.
Just a few things slapped on to disguise them.

And both have a great big dish on them too.
 
I'm building the new Polar Light 1/1000 Refit. It';s just like the big kit only...smaller! It's really nice.
 
I've had that cutaway kit for years in the closet, every now and then I take it out and scare myself how much work it would be to accurize and make it whole, I quickly stuff it back in the closet. LOL

We're almost there for the big accurate one many of us have been waiting 30 or more years for.
 
Soooo, the truth is that there are really no accurate kits of the 1701 out there? Without modifying it, that is. Then I guess it's just the same whatever I buy then, so maybe I'll buy the 22" cutaway if I get it confirmed that one kit can become a full Enterprise. I will probably modify it some, but am not sure yet if I will find myself puttying the fudge out of it to make it über accurate. Still it would be awesome to make it that way with all glowing windows and nacelle lights...
 
If you want to build a good Enterprise now, the 22in cutaway is the best option. There are several examples here http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn/Model...arTrekClassicEnterprise/tabid/75/Default.aspx

The old 18in kit has been re released with a smooth saucer and new decals. It has several accuracy issues, but it was used on the show as other starships. It's accurate to the Constellation for example.

Accurate detail parts and decals, and lighting kits, are available for both kits http://www.culttvmanshop.com/Sci-Fi-detail-parts_c_25.html

The small Polar Lights kit is the most accurate available currently, but it's really small and still needs work to correct some things.
 
After building a few Enterprise kits over the years, here is my take on them:

Polar Lights 1/1000 scale Enterprise: Smallest kit of what is currently available, but pretty well accurate out of the box with options for the pilot and production versions of the ship. It builds up fast and if the snap pins are clipped back, it works great as a glue kit.

AMT 18" Enterprise (small box version): This kit is not the most accurate of the bunch, but it can be a fun build and if some care is taken during assembly, it builds easily enough. Plus, there is a TON of aftermarket out there for the kit, so one can get accurate resin pieces for the engines, secondary hull and even a full saucer for it (albeit lighting is a problem with a solid resin saucer). It takes a little more work after that if you want to make it studio model accurate even with the resin bits, but a decent enough replica that isn't 100% dead on can be accomplished if some of the minor details are overlooked. The current Round 2 issue also removed the upper saucer grid that had been on the kit since its original issue, making it a little more accurate.

AMT/Ertl 22" Cutaway: Yes, this kit was designed with lift off sections that revealed the inner workings of the Enterprise. Of course, not all that much is visible internally as a lot of stuff just looks like blobs of plastic. It can be built as a non-cutaway, although some minor corrections are needed to correct some shape issues on parts as draft angles for certain parts lead to some weird details on the warp engines. Built with minor accurizing work and some elbow grease, it looks good, even if you have more seams to deal with and need to break out either some strip styrene or two part epoxy putty in a couple spots. If you prefer aftermarket, Don's Light and Magic (available at CultTVman.com) has done a full resin accurizing kit for this model to make it studio model accurate and it has practically everything you need to make the shape correct. Plus, there are plenty of turn key lighting kits out there to do this ship up right. Best part though is of the three models, this one seems to have the right size of an Enterprise as it is not too big, or too small.
 
JMChladek said:
After building a few Enterprise kits over the years, here is my take on them...
Click to expand...
:thumbsup

I'm not sure that much else can be added to that.

I'm working on my third 22 inch model (two of which were heavily modified, one built nearly stock), and I enjoy the model (and the extras you can get for it) quite a bit.
 
Thanks a lot for all the information and links, guys, that will sure help me a lot. Even one page here sells an accessory kit to make the 22" accurate, so one will probably buy this.
The 22" cutaway seems to be the one to get for me then, will try to find one for a good price now.

Thanks again, yer all great.


Live long and prosper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

curiouslysophie
1/350 U.S.S. Defiant
Replies
11
Views
1,010
curiouslysophie
curiouslysophie
Boba Flint
Finished U.S.S. Melbourne build / kitbash
Replies
17
Views
1,710
Boba Flint
Boba Flint
joberg
Best table saw for model-builders
Replies
14
Views
2,172
joberg
joberg
sparkmatter
Advice on model kits to build with my dad?
2
Replies
23
Views
745
sparkmatter
sparkmatter
mrchester
U.S.S Cygnus 1/700 scale… a study in insanity
5 6 7
Replies
126
Views
6,101
mrchester
mrchester
Back
Top