Looks great!
Die Cast Lighted 1/350th TOS Enterprise (TOMY crowd funded)
- Thread starter CessnaDriver
- Start date
smoothchat
New Member
Perhaps some way to trigger the touch pads remotely. Shoot at them with a laser pointer or something.
Nobody's bold enough to risk destroying the plug covers, to open her up and convert her. I'll probably just take the batteries out, put her in a display case, and light the exterior with spotlights.
Hit them with a tractor beam!
The thing is, turning on the internal lighting does bring the ship to working life in a way no exterior lighting could in my opinion. Could you really sacrifice that?
I agree with you 100%, but unless I can convert her to AC power, the hassle of keeping her in a case and having to change batteries out every few weeks is leading me that route.
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I think Denoby2 is contemplating cracking open the Enterprise and doing the AC conversion. He is pretty fearless when it comes to hacking the electrics in these models. It may be worth keeping an eye on his YouTube channel. But I do hear you. I too wish they had included a mains connection.
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I bought the color changing spotlights from Amazon but the white setting projects multiple colors, mostly pink. I wonder if the white only spots have this issue. I was thinking of using these for my 4 foot Jupiter 2 interior but not if they’re not soft white. Right now I’m keeping them on dim light blue.
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
Did you buy the color changing spots or the white only?
You can use foil bunched up like a finger tip shape attached to a wire to ground (or just a long enough wire) to activate a capacitance touch switch. I started to play around with it but stopped because it would just look ugly with the wires.
To do it right, we will need to open it up in a non-destructive way (plug hole covers). There is a tiny gap at the bottom of the secondary hull that will let you run very light gauge wire into the battery compartment. It’s right where the hull meets the stand so would be barely visible. That could be done with dummy batteries and would not require opening up the ship. If we could get at the screws then running that same wire through the neck to the saucer batt compartment would be pretty straightforward.
A lot of folks probably don’t care enough or are too risk averse to do the work but this is the only vehicle/figure in my entire collection whose lights and sounds aren’t activated by a smart switch - so it sits there begging to be modded lol.
datbrad
New Member
Hello, I'm a new member but I've been a long time lurker on this forum and really enjoy learning from all the great posts. I started building models as a teen in the '70s and I still have what was the crown jewel of my collection back in the day, the original (inaccurate) MPC release of the Millennium Falcon.
So, I was a backer for the Tomy Enterprise and was disappointed with the news about the seams and plugs, as were other folks. When I got it, those issues were not as glaring, but I found a different problem.
There is slight play where the nacelle struts join the underside of the nacelles. It's worse on the port side that I've attached stills of, but the video clip of the starboard nacelle shows the issue best.
It seemed to me the issue is related to the panel on the outside face of the strut that is visibly seated flush at the bottom, yet not at the top.
I sent this info to Tomy and requested a set of 6 screw hole plugs so I could pry them out to access the screws and tighten them. Without engaging me on that idea, the CSR simply offered a replacement hull assembly (last photo from them).
I pushed back, offering to fix the one I have if they send me the plugs to save them from having to replace the entire assembly and save it for somebody with a more serious issue like lights being out, but they insisted replacing the whole hull section was their only solution. I asked if they could send it now, but they said they have to receive mine back first. I'm hesitant because other than the nacelle issue, the plugs are all reasonably flush, and the seams are as tight as I've seen looking at photos of ships others have posted.
I agreed to their offer and plan to box up mine and ship it, but I'm worried I might exchange could have different issues such as plugs pushed in too far or not fully inserted, larger gaps in the seams that split the pennant stripe on the sides of the nacelles.
I could still try to fix the problem and try not to damage them or chip the paint around them, and I don't know for certain if my idea will work, but it could be less trouble than the whole exchange process.
Thoughts?
Thanks for reading my ridiculously long first post, btw.
So, I was a backer for the Tomy Enterprise and was disappointed with the news about the seams and plugs, as were other folks. When I got it, those issues were not as glaring, but I found a different problem.
There is slight play where the nacelle struts join the underside of the nacelles. It's worse on the port side that I've attached stills of, but the video clip of the starboard nacelle shows the issue best.
It seemed to me the issue is related to the panel on the outside face of the strut that is visibly seated flush at the bottom, yet not at the top.
I sent this info to Tomy and requested a set of 6 screw hole plugs so I could pry them out to access the screws and tighten them. Without engaging me on that idea, the CSR simply offered a replacement hull assembly (last photo from them).
I pushed back, offering to fix the one I have if they send me the plugs to save them from having to replace the entire assembly and save it for somebody with a more serious issue like lights being out, but they insisted replacing the whole hull section was their only solution. I asked if they could send it now, but they said they have to receive mine back first. I'm hesitant because other than the nacelle issue, the plugs are all reasonably flush, and the seams are as tight as I've seen looking at photos of ships others have posted.
I agreed to their offer and plan to box up mine and ship it, but I'm worried I might exchange could have different issues such as plugs pushed in too far or not fully inserted, larger gaps in the seams that split the pennant stripe on the sides of the nacelles.
I could still try to fix the problem and try not to damage them or chip the paint around them, and I don't know for certain if my idea will work, but it could be less trouble than the whole exchange process.
Thoughts?
Thanks for reading my ridiculously long first post, btw.
Attachments
Looks great!
Yeah, that’s what led to my initial post. If you want pure white you really need to get white LEDs unless you want to spend a lot of money (like Hue bulbs). Good news is you can mix and match. Just have to play with the sequence of hitting them with the IR signal since the two styles might share frequencies and react in weird ways.
Sorry - short answer is the white LEDs in my post do not have the issue. They’re pure white. You just need to pick warm (lower temp) or cold (higher temp) depending on your preference. Mine are all cold.
I wonder how many units TOMY could sell to modelers if they sold it as a complete kit rather than a finished model. I imagine a $300 kit would be very popular among Trek model builders.
I would think that any replacement units issued would be vetted for defects so the recipient should be unlikely to be less happy with the replacement than with the returned item.
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Based on your video, I would probably go with the hassle/risk of the replacement hull.
I saved the video and slowed it down. Not sure if it’s the movement of the whole ship or camera wiggle - but I can’t tell if the pivot point is where the strut meets the ship or where it meets the nacelle. You’re there in real life so you must know it’s at the nacelle joint.
If you could just get that plug off without damage it would be an easy decision. As it stands, you would need to take on the risk of damaging the plugs without knowing if tightening the screw will resolve the issue - although it seems likely that it would.
So there - I was of no help whatsoever
Lightning
Master Member
It seems to me that since you are sending back the engineering hull anyway, now is the perfect time to experiment with the plugs. Get yourself a tiny suction cup and have at it. If it works you can try to fix your problem, if it doesn't we will have learned something, and TOMY would have to pull and replace them anyway if they were going to reuse your hull. Unless that would somehow mess up the return process.
Hear hear to that! We will keep it our little secret
. Seriously though, if you don’t hack away at the plug you won’t be doing any harm to Tomy.
But pics are required … after you receive your replacement. Inquiring minds …
datbrad
New Member
The Tomy CSR said in an email that they are harvesting parts from extra ships that they ordered for this purpose. I am hopeful they will at least inspect the replacement hull for visible cosmetic flaws before shipping it to me.
Over the weekend I may still try to pull out the top plug from the back of the strut to tighten that screw. Thinking about trying one of those cuticle tools that looks like a tiny shovel, and to address the risk of chipping paint around the plug, I would get the type made of plastic/vinyl.
I'll post an update in a day or two and if I do attempt a fix, I'll review how it went.
Thanks guys!
Over the weekend I may still try to pull out the top plug from the back of the strut to tighten that screw. Thinking about trying one of those cuticle tools that looks like a tiny shovel, and to address the risk of chipping paint around the plug, I would get the type made of plastic/vinyl.
I'll post an update in a day or two and if I do attempt a fix, I'll review how it went.
Thanks guys!
