Studio Half Scale TOS Enterprise Scratch build

[SteveNeill]

Steve they aren't glued in yet just propped up.

Thanks guys for all the great posts and kind words. Sorry if I'm short but I have so much work backed up.

I'll be back,

Steve

 

[SteveNeill]

In fact if you go back and look at the masters put together you'll see they are the right height. Nothing has changed since then.

Steve

 

[Mauiman]

Steve,

Forgive me asking but those nacelles look a little low to me. Is it just the way you have them propped up or is it just my old eyeballs betraying me.

He did say something to the effect that right now or as far as we know the ship is not finalized in it's assembly. He has it dry / rough fitted right now and in the end the thing will not have any drooping, sagging, or any other kinds of structural defects.

Question to the rest of you who are impatient and want this done now Now NOw NOW NOW! NOW!! NOW!!! NOW!!!!

(Video 1) A fine example of wanting it done that bad.
Captain Picard throws a temper tantrum. - YouTube

Have you ever made home made syrup for your pancakes, waffles, french toast? If you have not as you pour the sugar in to the water it is cloudy and then it starts to clear up a little and then it gets cloudy again and starts to boil. but after all that boiling the syrup starts to clear up again revealing a clear liquid of just sugar and water. Right now it is in the boiling bubbles stage which just like syrup which cannot and will not and shalt not be rushed. This too cannot and will not and shalt not be rushed.

For example
(Fig 1) My handy work :sick

This has been a rushed job for which I just gone in a 2%/100% effort. Why? Because I am making an example of rushed art.

(Fig 2) The real deal :love

What you see here is when the artist took his time to make this happen. He devoted much time and energy in to this wonderful piece of art.

Just like Leonardo Divinity; Steve is taking his time and devoting much of his time and energy in to this model.

Just give it some time. the model will be gorgeous because it is not rushed. It will be because Steve took the time to make this thing a pure Win.

To you Steve.

Keep the good work up and as I wish to be a good example. I will be patient.

 

[trekriffic]

Thanks Steve.

As for you Mauiman, thank you for putting the effort into such an informative and entertaining response to my query.
A bit of overkill though when a quick "He ain't done with it yet so chill out moron!" admonition would have sufficed.
:lol

 

[SteveNeill]

You guys are funny! But thanks.

I ran that clear epoxy stuff last night and it's AWESOME! No bubbles so we are good there. I'll tell you guys what brand it is and show some pictures later but you don't need a pressure pot this stuff is perfect as you can get.

Steve

 

[SteveNeill]

As it turns out you were right! Darn it! They do sit lower even when in the right positions securely. That is according to the plans.

However here's the model when first finished and as in many pictures the angle of the camera varies but as near as I can tell I'm only a degree or two off. I suspect they sagged over time too. But I think and I hope we are close enough as it would be a real pain and delay to go back and fix. It would mean making new pylons, molds and here's the real deal.

The pylons are made from the plans and the correct length and so are the angles set in the secondary hull. There has to be a discrepancy in the plans as they relate to pictures.

Steve

 

[trekriffic]

This is one of those ocassions where I wish I was wrong. Based on Alan Sinclair's blueprints the circumference of the domes should be even with the edge of the saucer.

I think in the shots of your mock up the rear of the nacelles are braced a tad higher than they will be when fixed tightly in place; once they are made level it should raise the front of the nacelles up a tad. I concur though that, if, as you say, your angle is right, the pylon measurements would appear to have been off a little on your blueprints, at least when compared to what can be seen with the naked eye.
Or the angle could be off by just a degree or two. Or a possible combination of the length and the angle being just a little off could be the issue.
If this is more than just a problem related to the nacelles not sitting quite level horizontally at the test fit stage, I'm sure you'll do whatever needs to be done to make it perfect if I've learned anything about you from reading this thread.

 

[trekriffic]

Of course, the other possibility is the saucer is sitting too high.

 

[SteveNeill]

At this point I am out of money and time to make any such change. It means going back over the engineering hull and the pylons and making new molds. And new products at a huge loss I just can't afford at this time.

The simple fix is this. If the builder is bothered by the height of the nacelles add a little bit of length top and bottom of the pylons. They are smooth and have no detail so a little bit of bondo and sanding will fix it quick.

I'm going to live with it personally. I think once I shore them up for good they will only be slightly off.

Either way the plans are off and I should have done more eye ball building!

Sinclare plans are off too. I worked from Kerr's and they are different.

Steve

 

[Aztek Dummy]

there just something right about the Enterprise being built by a guy in overalls

 

[SteveNeill]

I just checked the Kerr plans again and they show the bottoms of the Nacelles below the top of the saucer. Not by a lot but they do. And now I check the Sinclare plans and I find the same.

Steve

 

[SteveNeill]

OK I feel better now. I propped up the nacelle and pylon into their to be glued positions. Keep in mind the Bussard is sagging down from heat and the masking tape. Is it me or does this pretty much match the Sincare plans? Which also match the Kerr plans. This doesn't mean both plans are right either but I think we are in the ball park.

Glad that's over now can I please get back to work!! LOL!

Steve

 

[Ray22]

Looks Damn good to me :thumbsup.

 

[feek61]

Dug these up for photo reference. Hope they help (and not make matters more confusing, lol)

 

[feek61]

Here are a few more:

 

[SteveNeill]

double post without quote reference

 

[SteveNeill]

Dug these up for photo reference. Hope they help (and not make matters more confusing, lol)

Angle of the camera is everything! This picture set is a good example of how things can be misinterpreted.

The last two photos show it best. Although picture 3 is the first rendition of the 1701 and pretty much a dead on level picture which concurs with my ship and the plans.

The other two are above and below so they are not helpful.

The last one which is slightly from below again show it OK but then again this is the second version of the 1701. If it were dead on then both nacelles would be level to each other and the right nacelle is slight above do to the camera angle.

This is the problem with this sort of thing, You will never find the exact stop. You can only hope for the sweet spot.

Thanks Will,

Steve
__________________

 

[kahn1701]

I think this millimeter debate is senseless. At this juncture.
Yes we all won’t perfection. But we can all nitpick his BIG E to death.
This prop is a Steve Neill interpretation through years of experience,
Research, planning, hard work sweat and tears.
The Big E is not even close to being dune.
A have total faith that Steve Neill knows what he’s doing.
He will make every effort possible to meet his clients expectations..
Witch I am one of..
After all these props will all be victims of the people who buy and build then .
I for one have full confidence in Steve Neills ability to build the best BIG E
Ever.
So much so that I’m paying for one…………….
Thanks Steve

 

[trekriffic]

I'd say she looks pretty close after you tightened things up Steve. And for the terminally anal retentive among us, they can just add an inch or so to the top or bottom of the pylons as you say without too much trouble. I hope the members don't misinterpret my comments for being hypercritical. I just know myself sometimes you can stare at something for so long that obvious things can get overlooked and it helps to have a fresh set of eyes take a look.
She's a real beauty Steve.

 

[robn1]

This really had me worried for awhile, but this shot makes it clear there's nothing to fret about.