Resurrecting my Star Trek models, part deux

This is what my Polar Lights Star Trek models were starting to look like prior to the disaster I wrote in the post right before this one. You need to read that to avoid making the same mistake I did. These pictures were taken almost a year ago. The models were basically waiting for minor details like the dome "light" that goes over the Enterprises' shuttle bays, a good gloss coat to help the decals adhere properly, and some paint corrections, like the copper rings behind the Pilot Enterprise's Deflector (I don't think both versions have the second copper detail).

They are currently being sanded down and repainted. I suppose it's for the better. Maybe this will motivate me to get the grid lines on the production Enterprise's Saucer.

Back from the Ashes - Reviving my damaged Star Trek models

It has been nearly a YEAR since I started on these Polar Lights kits of the Original Series Enterprise and Klingon D7! And now 11 months later I find myself having to repaint them entirely due to the fact that I used what I consider generic Clear Gloss Spray that almost completely ruined them! For ethical reasons I'm refraining from naming the evil product in question that gave my children a tacky(sticky) finish. But it is not gloss spray from Home Depot like Krylon or anything like that. It was a domestic and very common brand of "model paint" found at any Toys"R"Us or Michael's. 

I had gone to some time-consuming lengths investigating and gathering all the resources I could find such as studio photos and magazine articles containing interviews with Matt Jeffries and others to try to get the most accurate color schemes possible. And since I wanted to not just replicate exact studio colors but to tweak them to what I call "Screen Apparent" colors, I had to mix the crap out of the violet grays and the blue grey on the D7 for example. Even the cool blue-violet grey on the pilot Enterprise is hand cranked (I despise yellow-grays, with few exceptions). All modelers have to go through this process of making that "special color" you can't buy anywhere.

But how frustrating to have to sand everything down to start all over again after weeks of cutting, puttying, sanding, etc... So these are my shots of these models undergoing sanding and repainting refit. I was put off for months but I'm not giving up that easily.

Star Trek Fan Art - To Touch the Creator

A piece  I made in August based on the dramatic (and slightly confusing) climactic ending of 1979's Star Trek the Motion Picture. It depicts the reconstructed mechanical form of lieutenant Ilia, was played by stunningly beautiful and late actress Persis Khambatta. She is joined by Stephen Collins who played the character of commander Willard Decker. I made two color versions, one with the Enterprise in a light white-gray and the other in Gold as an homage to an early publicity shot of the ship in metallic yellow.

To Touch The Creator 

(White and Gold versions, reduced to 19% from the originals)

Pencil, Photoshop

August 2012

Star Trek Fan Art - The Sensor

The Sensor (reduced to 17%)

Pencil, Photoshop

June 2012

My first image in a series that pays homage to the Star Trek universe but in the cartoon realm of my not-too-serious imaginings. "The Sensor" is an interpretation of one of the more memorable scenes from 1979's Star Trek The Motion Picture in which Mr. Spock encounters a gigantic copy of the Deltan Ilia that overwhelms him as he attempts a mind meld with it. While most Star Trek fans count Wrath of Khan as their favorite from the original movies, I have a nostalgic place in my heart for this first movie. The effects are fantastic and there's enough camp and overacting in some scenes to keep you awake even through the long, slow V'ger sequences.

Baby Spock!

I'm reposting this from my art blog. It's called "A Vulcan Child". In the third film, The Search for Spock, the crew of the U.S.S. Grissom are surprised to find the recently departed Captain Spock fully revived and regenerated by the powerful life-giving forces of Project Genesis. Even more surprising is that his newly formed body is that of a young boy. While we never actually saw him 'sitting' on the photon torpedo he was entombed in, I figured it would make a really cute image. The image you're viewing has been reduced to 17% of the original larger image.

"A Vulcan Child"

Pencil, Photoshop

June 2012

A tale of two Excelsiors (excluding the Enterprise "B")

Here is the 6' long first model built by ILM for 1984's Trek III. I HATE THOSE MEN IN THE PIC FOR BEING THERE (just kidding)! Behind the simple domed bridge structure in the middle of the saucer, is a singular and centered "Impulse Deflection Crystal". The bridge dome, the deflector crystal, and another dome-like structure behind the warp pylon connector are 3 of the more noticeable changes on the 2nd model.

The ILM model's coloring is also less severe, with a soft soldier blue decoration.

The second and smaller 2' model for Trek VI. I HATE HER (just joking)!

The newer bridge is smaller and more complex. There are two smaller deflector crystals replacing the one larger one. The plating, now blue AND yellow, surrounding the bridge area is more pronounced. The blue markings around the ship are a richer turquoise color in the newer model. While hard to see in these pics, that dome behind the warp pylon connector has been replaced with a curvy but more squared structure.

All of these pics come from another way cooler blog, BRUCE'S DOMAIN. If you like Star Trek and Starship model building, I recommend his blog. It's very thorough.

My friends: The Great Experiment (kind of)

So I acquired from a seller on eBay, AMT's 1/1000 scale U.S.S. Excelsior at a really good knock 'em dead price. Stalking eBay is definitely worth one's time. But anyway, I had never even seen one of these models in person so I was really excited to finally get one. But I was surprised to see it's not the NX-2000 from 1984's The Search for Spock as I expected.

Instead it's the NCC-2000 from 1991's The Undiscovered Country. After seeing the decal sheet with the "NCC" call letters on it I then had to examine the small details on the model and realized it's molded after the 2nd studio model!

Which is fine by me, I just don't know why it wasn't based on the first and significantly larger model. 6ft vs 2ft, quite a difference! This has led me to wonder if the first model was damaged in storage. I know Probert's TMP Enterprise had some damages done it to while in dry-dock, err, I mean "storage", which is just one reason it had about two or 3 repaints done to it.

I'll explain and document some of the different details in the next post above with some pics of the studio models! Model-wise, the parts seem straight and crisp and seem to fit together quite well. There's some simple grid detailing on the secondary hull and underside of the nacelles I'm not thrilled about and I'm sure isn't accurate but can easily be taken care of.

The saucer section has teeny tiny portholes molded on its edge! It's going to be a great while before I can make this one tho, I've still got 5 more starship models to finish first!

Over and Undership

As I mentioned earlier, the models are still under construction. I may have to putty some areas and repaint others. Most obvious is the missing white dome that needs to be attached over the Enterprise's hangar bay. I MIGHT spray the insides of the Enterprise's bussard scoops clear orange. The models still need gloss-prep for decal placement. But the solution needs to be ordered. A local store has Testor's decal solvent, which I'm tempted to get, tho I've never used it before. From my experience Micro Set and Solvaset are really good for this sort of thing.

I wanted to show some of the weathering I applied on these, mostly in the form of dirt or maybe chemical streaks. While that effect can be seen on the original Enterprise to some degree or another, the Klingon vessel's weathering was usually more of a subtle tonal staining. But I like my Klingon ships really dirty, even the classic design. The streaking around her photorp tube is a bit exaggerated and resembles the K'Tinga'a design elements around her launcher, but that doesn't bother me. I may wind up repainting her entire underside anyhow and I'll get into my color choice for the D-7 later.

Aft Torpedoes Armed!

Here are some views of the undersides of my Polar Lights models. Again, still decal-less for the time being. I'm definitely not the best photographer in the world and I have to say that the harshness of the camera has captured many flaws that I couldn't see with my naked eyes. but that helps to make them better, even if it does mean more puttying, sanding and repainting.

It's also hard to capture the colors correctly. The Enterprise in the middle is actually a greener blue-gray, Tamiya's Dark Ghost Grey to be exact. And the blue tones on the Klingon vessel are more aqua. I'll explain more about my color scheme for the D-7 later on.

Fast Forward to 1967

Here is an overhead of the 3 Star Trek models I have that are closest to completion. From left to right: 1)USS Enterprise, 2nd Pilot version, 2)Enterprise, production version and 3)Klingon D-7. The three are mostly painted and have a few small parts that need attaching. They are still not adorned with decals, as I'm awaiting the decal solvent solution that has to be ordered.

Personally, I think I nailed the colors on these babies. That said, NAILED them from an "interpretive" stand point. If I am making models, especially at this small scale, WITHOUT any electrical lighting installed, I will usually color them in a way that gives them an on-screen appearance. But even then, I'm attempting to color them in such a way that only appears to REMIND you of what you saw on the tv or wherever. The 1st ship on the left was originally painted almost white. The final production Enterprise (center) was a much paler gray that was actually more greenish. Those are the correct colors without question. But the Enterprise sometimes appears somewhat bluish in scenes. So I have painted them all a darker shade to emphasize their on-screen looks under certain lighting conditions. Even then, I might augment a color.

Three Sisters (well, almost)

Hello folks! Nearly two decades later, I'm making plastic models again. And that's thanks to the evil of Polar Lights and their 3 foot long Starship (TMP) Enterprise model with clear parts for lighting. Not pictured here, and still in its beginning stages, its parts have been separated, sanded and primed and are sitting in a box, for the time being.

In the meantime, since I'm rusty after all those 18-19? years, I'm handling these smaller and simpler 10inch long ships from the original series at 1/1000 scale. With basic colors worked out, they are awaiting a gloss coat and decals. But the decal adhesive solution has to be ordered because there are few hobby shops in Miami nowadays and they are quite limited in terms of selection and supply, appealing more to the radio-control race car enthusiasts.