Polar Lights 1/350 TOS Enterprise

[Battletweety]

Have wanted to build the famous USS Enterprise in this scale for as long as I can remember. I couldn't get enough of Star Trek when I was a kid. So this is the completion of a bucket list item that I can finally tick off. Great kit from Polar Lights, damn tedious to mask all the windows though. That was a roadblock for me for a while.

Painting was interesting. I used Duplicolor Scratch and Filler primer (2 rattle cans of that) and White Knight Gloss Dusk Grey then sealed with Boyle Clear Matt spray. Its way too big for a normal airbrush so I settled for some cost effective rattle cans from Bunnings. If you're in Australia, those brand names probably make sense.

Anyway, for anyone else contemplating this beauty, its a very simple build, but its BIG!! The lights add a layer of complexity that makes you think about how to put it together.











cheers

BT

[SJPONeill]

Wow!! That is so cool, especially the backlit shuttle bay...

[PaulBradley]

That's really cool!

[DavidWomby]

Mr Scott would be proud of you. Lovely build of THE classic starship.

David

[iggie]

Excellent! That's a great looking build

[Stupot]

Fantastic build. Love the special photo on your workbench thread too!

Stu

[Clashcityrocker]

Very nice. Bet it's a real conversation starter.

Nigel

[Battletweety]

Thanks for all the lovely comments guys.

Conversation starter? Probably a conversation killer if I start talking Star Trek to my friends :P
It would probably go something like this...Pass the beer *burp* *got any crackers?* Hey!! WTF is that.. does it fly if I throw it??...
Hence why I have a locked cabinet with my models in it. :D

cheers BT

[LifetimeModeler]

That is BEAUTIFUL Battletweety!!!!

[Tarkas]

That is excellent! I'm glad you included the photos with the lights on; when I looked at the first few shots, the model was crying out to be lit. Lovely bit of work overall. Hope mine turns out as well once I get a round tuit.

Like the hull colour. There's been a lot of discussion/argument over the years about the colour(s) used on the Star Trek ships, but yours looks to be a good match for what is seen on screen and to photos of the original models -- maybe not exact, but good enough to give the effect that you want -- the model looks like the Enterprise -- and that's the important thing.

[Battletweety]

Thanks Tarkas. I can tell you the two things that caused me grief on the model were 1) filling the seam around the two saucer halves and 2) the hull colour. I researched it to death and found some very definitive sites but in the end, the light reflecting off the surface plays a huge part in what you see and it changes in different conditions so getting it "exact" is a matter of what light you're seeing it in. Same with the real thing. I actually tried painting it with the exact colour from the reference website and I didn't like it. It was too dark and unless I used studio lights on it all the time I would never have been happy, hence the reason you see the colour the way it is

cheers

BT

[B4en]

Wow that is really something! The lights and the view of the hangar deck really bring the old Enterprise to life! Super cool.

[general rocket]

Nice build

[Tim Reynaga]

Absolutely beautiful. Well done indeed!

[Dirkpitt289]

That looks amazing. Not only can't I afford this kit I don't have room for something this big so I will stick to the 1/1000 kits. I'm full of envy.