Zombie_61
Master Member
Not necessarily. I've used gray primers before that left a surprisingly semi-gloss finish. I just wish I could remember where I'd heard or read about primer being the only basecoat on the original filming model.
STAR TREK in 1:2400 scale
- Thread starter Albertese
- Start date
I love those kits and remember building all of them when I was a kid. I've still got a real fondness for the real miniature stuff. You're making me want to jump on eBay and throw some money at another project I don't have time for
really slick work. I especially love how you did the windows and how you pulled off the paintwork on the nacelle tips.
just curious. Is there a reference for the scale of that cube or do you just have to guess?
Thanks for the kind words! I have found that several people seem to be confusing this kit with the Adversary Set from the 1970's. It had the Enterprise Klingon D-7 and a poorly proportioned Romulan Bird of Prey in 1:1600 scale which makes these new 1:2500 scale ships (roughly) 2/3 the size of those old ones. You can pick up this current set for less than 20 USD. And I say go for it! They're super fun.
And the windows are included as decals, so don't let me take too much credit for them. But, thank you for the compliment on the nacelle domes.
And I just did the math on the scale of the cube. In the episode, Sulu tells us it's 107 meters per edge. So 107000 mm / 2400 = 44.6 mm. (As I said above, I'm going with 1:2400 rather than the advertised 1:2500 based on the actual length of the Enterprise model.) The result is a cube which is much much larger relative to the E than we see on the show, but I decided to go with the stated size rather than visual effects department size.
That's interesting. And entirely possible. But I see a lot of RBOPs around the web with silver skin. In fact, this kit is molded in some kind of swirly silver plastic. And for what it's worth, the CBS RBOP was made to appear metallic. So, somebody's research is pointing to silver for some reason.
I've also seen some very nice ships done with gray in various shades.
I'm leaning more towards lighter coloration, myself. I grew up with the above mentioned 1:1600 Bird of Prey and I always had it painted white with the orange bird decals. I have a can of Tamiya AS-20 Insignia White that is singing softly to me. I'm gonna try it tomorrow after work. Maybe even decal and everything. Pictures to follow.
Though it still leaves the question of the engine domes. Wah Chang's model was clearly equipped with lights, though they seem to have been left dark when photographed. But I have no clue as to the color. I think I'll go with green, even though the whole "green equals Romulans" business wasn't established until TNG, I do like to be able to tie them together. And I think I'll still do them fairly dark, to remain true to the look of the model on-screen.
--Alex
Here's the first test.
On the left is one sprayed in a Krylon chrome color. I underestimated just how shiny it would be. This definitely ain't the way to go for this ship. (Although I think I found the paint for my upcoming Endoskeleton project...)
On the right is Insignia White, which honestly does look very good to my eye. I think I'm going to go out tomorrow and find some other silvery spray, possibly an aluminum color, something not as mirror-like, and try again on the silver one. But I think Insignia White is probably going to be the color to beat.
--Alex
On the left is one sprayed in a Krylon chrome color. I underestimated just how shiny it would be. This definitely ain't the way to go for this ship. (Although I think I found the paint for my upcoming Endoskeleton project...)
On the right is Insignia White, which honestly does look very good to my eye. I think I'm going to go out tomorrow and find some other silvery spray, possibly an aluminum color, something not as mirror-like, and try again on the silver one. But I think Insignia White is probably going to be the color to beat.
--Alex
Zombie_61
Master Member
I like them both, but the Insignia White is closer to what I remember from watching the show; the silver looks more like the ship in the remastered episodes.
New paint!
Here's the new silver. It's a lot more toned down than the chrome. I think I'll use this for the "Balance of Terror" ship and the Insignia White for the other Romulan ships. I'm using the remastered episodes, in this case, to justify the distinction. To me, it looked like the BoT ship was more metallic and the birds in "The Deadly Years" were more white. It also seems to me that maybe these were two different classes of ships just in similar hulls. After all, the ship in BoT was single-handedly responsible for destroying numerous listening posts buried in solid iron asteroids besides giving Kirk a run for his money, while the ships in TDY cornered the Enterprise by out numbering it ten to one. But they did little enough damage that it seems to me that they were way under-gunned and only are effective when used as a swarm.
Also, I think the Romulan D-7s from "The Enterprise Incident" would look good in the Insignia White.
Not much of an update, but I got excited.
Decals to follow!
--Alex
Here's the new silver. It's a lot more toned down than the chrome. I think I'll use this for the "Balance of Terror" ship and the Insignia White for the other Romulan ships. I'm using the remastered episodes, in this case, to justify the distinction. To me, it looked like the BoT ship was more metallic and the birds in "The Deadly Years" were more white. It also seems to me that maybe these were two different classes of ships just in similar hulls. After all, the ship in BoT was single-handedly responsible for destroying numerous listening posts buried in solid iron asteroids besides giving Kirk a run for his money, while the ships in TDY cornered the Enterprise by out numbering it ten to one. But they did little enough damage that it seems to me that they were way under-gunned and only are effective when used as a swarm.
Also, I think the Romulan D-7s from "The Enterprise Incident" would look good in the Insignia White.
Not much of an update, but I got excited.
Decals to follow!
--Alex
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Zombie_61
Master Member
Tough call. I've seen photos of the filming model with the domes lit (white), but I don't think they ever appeared that way on the show. I like the orange domes, but they might be too similar in appearance to the original Enterprise's Bussard Collectors. I know the Next Generation Romulan color scheme was mostly greens, but I'd go with blue.
So, I decided on the orange color for the nacelle domes. In the end, I recalled that an early draft of "The Balance of Terror" had the Romulan ship having been built using technology stolen from the Federation. While that connection didn't make it to the final cut, I wonder if Wah Chang built the model under that assumption and made the engines to light up like the Enterprise ones. All the pictures I've seen of the studio model lit up are black and white, so the color really is anyone's guess. I painted the domes white, then blended a layer of yellow leaving white in the middle, and then blended some orange around the base of the hemisphere, then covered the entire dome with Tamiya Clear Orange X-26.
Then a shot of Testor's Glosscote and started in on decals.
I intend to use the kits decals for two birds, the silver one and one of the white ships. I will make custom graphics for the other ships, but I find myself not in the mood for that kinda thing at the moment, so I think I might put them on hold for a while. Since I want to work on the top and bottom of the ship separately, I went ahead and used one kit's decals on both ships. Tomorrow, after these are quite set, I will break out a second kit's sheet and do the opposite sides. Both the Silver and the Insignia white look pretty darn good IMHO.
My only complaint so far about the Romulan ship is the decals. The graphics for the top fin are fiddly and not well shaped to the area they go on, and I feel that the big bird graphic should have been a touch wider so the ends of the wings would wrap a bit higher around the body of the nacelles. And these do require generous amounts of Micro-Set and Micro-Sol to lay down. There are still a few little wrinkles that may be here to stay... though I will give one more effort with the Micro-Sol to try to smooth them. We'll see. Also, to get the bird graphic to settle into the seam between the nacelle and the pylon, I had to slice through it. I may go back and try to touch up the break with some dainty brush-work. Depends on how saucy I feel in the next few days.
--Alex
Then a shot of Testor's Glosscote and started in on decals.
I intend to use the kits decals for two birds, the silver one and one of the white ships. I will make custom graphics for the other ships, but I find myself not in the mood for that kinda thing at the moment, so I think I might put them on hold for a while. Since I want to work on the top and bottom of the ship separately, I went ahead and used one kit's decals on both ships. Tomorrow, after these are quite set, I will break out a second kit's sheet and do the opposite sides. Both the Silver and the Insignia white look pretty darn good IMHO.
My only complaint so far about the Romulan ship is the decals. The graphics for the top fin are fiddly and not well shaped to the area they go on, and I feel that the big bird graphic should have been a touch wider so the ends of the wings would wrap a bit higher around the body of the nacelles. And these do require generous amounts of Micro-Set and Micro-Sol to lay down. There are still a few little wrinkles that may be here to stay... though I will give one more effort with the Micro-Sol to try to smooth them. We'll see. Also, to get the bird graphic to settle into the seam between the nacelle and the pylon, I had to slice through it. I may go back and try to touch up the break with some dainty brush-work. Depends on how saucy I feel in the next few days.
--Alex
Zombie_61
Master Member
I'd never heard this before. Taking it into consideration, the orange color for the domes is very reasonable; besides, it matches the bird decals quite well. Seeing the silver Bird with the decals applied, it looks more "original" and less "remastered" and I can't say which color I prefer at the moment. Nice work, they're both beautiful!!!
thumbsupROMULANS!
I finished these two.
I used some Bare Metal Foil for the aft end of the nacelles. It was just the right finishing touch. The white one looks great, but the silver one.... I'm afraid I got overly excited and didn't wait long enough for the Matte Finish to cure. My grubby fingerprints are all over this thing. I'm pretty unhappy with the finish. I have every intention of redoing the silver ship with a fresh model on some future date. I'll probably spray this one black and have it be the "cloaked" version. :lol
Anyhow, I did take few shots from familiar angles. Enjoy!
--Alex
I finished these two.
I used some Bare Metal Foil for the aft end of the nacelles. It was just the right finishing touch. The white one looks great, but the silver one.... I'm afraid I got overly excited and didn't wait long enough for the Matte Finish to cure. My grubby fingerprints are all over this thing. I'm pretty unhappy with the finish. I have every intention of redoing the silver ship with a fresh model on some future date. I'll probably spray this one black and have it be the "cloaked" version. :lol
Anyhow, I did take few shots from familiar angles. Enjoy!
--Alex
Thanks,Jedi Dade! I've considered making a mold for my own uses, but I don't think I want to get into the selling business. I do this to unwind and enjoy my free time. I have a feeling that if I tried to monetize my hobby that I'd lose the joy in it. I hate working to a deadline and I know that if I had customers I would either disappoint them or find myself very frustrated. So, sorry, but you'll have to do it yourself! lol!
I've begun the next one. This will be the Constellation from "The Doomsday Machine."
I like that the original episode used an AMT kit as the damaged Constellation. Though the damage they applied seems like little more than judicious use of a lighter. I really like the more extensive damage depicted in the remastered version, though I think the actual ship model they used was too much like the Enterprise. There were a few alterations here and there to make it a "different ship" but I feel that the use of the AMT model really did more to expand the setting than just making it 98% the same as our hero ship.
Also, the Cadet Series Enterprise kit is pretty good match for the AMT 18" Enterprise right out of the box, so I will be using those lines for my interpretation of the Constellation.
What I don't like is the nature of the damage on the CBS model. So much of the "wreckage" looks more like someone let a cigarette ash than like a vehicle that has been shot up, especially what we see around the saucer (the nacelles are better). So I'm going to try to make it look like there is a sensible internal structure being exposed rather than just "damage." To this end I am referencing both Matt Jefferies' cross-section for his take on the Phase II ship, as well as my own stab at deck plans, for the revealed interior on the saucer's flat surface.
So far this has taken me about three and a half hours. But I kinda got bored with doing it straight through so I decided to pause and show you all the beginning of my current project. Thanks for looking!
--Alex
I've begun the next one. This will be the Constellation from "The Doomsday Machine."
I like that the original episode used an AMT kit as the damaged Constellation. Though the damage they applied seems like little more than judicious use of a lighter. I really like the more extensive damage depicted in the remastered version, though I think the actual ship model they used was too much like the Enterprise. There were a few alterations here and there to make it a "different ship" but I feel that the use of the AMT model really did more to expand the setting than just making it 98% the same as our hero ship.
Also, the Cadet Series Enterprise kit is pretty good match for the AMT 18" Enterprise right out of the box, so I will be using those lines for my interpretation of the Constellation.
What I don't like is the nature of the damage on the CBS model. So much of the "wreckage" looks more like someone let a cigarette ash than like a vehicle that has been shot up, especially what we see around the saucer (the nacelles are better). So I'm going to try to make it look like there is a sensible internal structure being exposed rather than just "damage." To this end I am referencing both Matt Jefferies' cross-section for his take on the Phase II ship, as well as my own stab at deck plans, for the revealed interior on the saucer's flat surface.
So far this has taken me about three and a half hours. But I kinda got bored with doing it straight through so I decided to pause and show you all the beginning of my current project. Thanks for looking!
--Alex
Google Image Search. Look for "Starship Constellation" and you'll get lots to see.
But for your convenience, I whipped up this image to give you a quick side-by-side. If you want a closer look, I found these with google in seconds, I'm sure you can do the same.
--Alex
MKWJTC
Active Member
Thanks, MKWJTC!
Some more progress on the Constellation. I've been working on this here and there and it's ready for me to figure out how to skin it. I have a couple ideas. The areas marked purple are the areas that will be exposed.
I didn't work on the ship tonight though. A friend of mine recently had to have her horse put down after a broken leg injury. So I put together a little something to give her when I see her tomorrow. I will paint it in the morning.
--UPDATE--
Painted.
--Alex
Some more progress on the Constellation. I've been working on this here and there and it's ready for me to figure out how to skin it. I have a couple ideas. The areas marked purple are the areas that will be exposed.
I didn't work on the ship tonight though. A friend of mine recently had to have her horse put down after a broken leg injury. So I put together a little something to give her when I see her tomorrow. I will paint it in the morning.
--UPDATE--
Painted.
--Alex
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opal1970
Well-Known Member
Hi Alex,
coming alone very good. The level of detail is amazing. Similar to you, I also have a whole stash of 1:2500 ships that are sitting around in the pipeline waiting for me to get around to them. I had not thought of the Constellation, but I really like where you are going with it and I may just have to dedicate a thread to you someday.
Sorry about your friends horse. Things like that are never easy.
coming alone very good. The level of detail is amazing. Similar to you, I also have a whole stash of 1:2500 ships that are sitting around in the pipeline waiting for me to get around to them. I had not thought of the Constellation, but I really like where you are going with it and I may just have to dedicate a thread to you someday.
Sorry about your friends horse. Things like that are never easy.
