ALANOODLE'S SCALE MODEL PORTFOLIO

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For the entire 30-year run of the model kit, the instruction sheet remained mostly unchanged since it was first released in the '60s. Over time, the assembly diagrams were modified only slightly to reflect the few subtle changes made to the kit over the years. Most of the changes were made when the lights were eliminated from the kit after the first few runs and later when improvements were made to the way the engine pylons connected to the secondary hull.     Click on the image to the right to view the full instruction sheet (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) which includes a painting and decal placement guide and a page with a brief description of the ship  and life onboard.      For the sake of clarity, I will describe most of the parts of the model by using the part names found in the kit instructions rather than the names often found in "Trekkie Lore."

I: PRIMARY HULL
 

Saucer top from new kit (right), with grid lines - saucer top from old kit (left) with grid lines removed. The green blotches are filler putty which became necessary when I got too enthusiastic with a hobby knife. THIS IS NOT HERE Saucer bottom showing new scribed rings, running lights (left and right), and new sensor dome (center) on rounded bottom.

The bridge and upper decks on the kit's Primary Hull top have a profile that appears too flat on the top and should be more rounded. I replaced the entire part with the one from my old pre-'70s Enterprise model, which had a more rounded bridge section. (When compared with the drawings in SHIPS of the STAR FLEET, it becomes apparent how inaccurate this area is. Though still not correct, the older part looks better.) The only paint to remove on the old part was on the windows, which sanded off easily. The old decals, long ago applied to bare plastic, almost came off by themselves. The raised grid lines were shaved off with a #17 X-acto chisel blade and the top was sanded smooth with 320, and 400 grit sandpaper (see "The Ultimate Starship" in FAMOUS SPACESHIPS...).     The raised concentric circles on the Primary Hull bottom were also removed. New circles were scribed with a divider at radii of two, one and a half and one inch, and pieces of Evergreen .040" strip styrene were added. The three round quarter inch depressions were filled with Squadron putty and sanded flat. The flat, raised platform in the center of the part was sanded until it was completely blended into the contour of the saucer bottom. A new Planetary Sensor Dome was made from a piece of acrylic cut on a lathe.     Holes were drilled into the top and bottom Primary Hull halves to accommodate sensor dome lights and LED running lights. Two 3 volt model railroad bulbs were placed into milled aluminum reflectors (the aluminum would also act as a heat sink, keeping the bulb housing from becoming too hot) which were then glued into the saucer halves. They were wired together in series for a total capacity of six volts. Running lights were two pairs of LEDs, each pair wired in series with one 3K-ohm resistor on each side of the saucer, mounted directly into the saucer hull. All three light pairs (port running lights, starboard running lights and sensor domes) were wired together in parallel to one common pair of wires. The Primary Hull was then glued together with the common pair of wires running out the opening on the underside.

II: THE SECONDARY HULL

    I cut the sensor mount (the three concentric rings behind the sensor dish) out of the Secondary Hull Front Cover and replaced it with a section of 1 1/4 inch acrylic rod turned on a lathe. The Main Sensor and Navigational Deflector dish was replaced with the more accurate dish from the old Enterprise model. Old paint was removed from the dish easily with oven cleaner and a tooth brush. Its diameter was turned down on a lathe from 1 3/16" to 15/16".
 

III: WARP ENGINES

    Perhaps the most striking feature of the original television Enterprise is the warp engines. Each engine was fitted with an illuminated spinning vane effect simulating the generation of immense power. I wanted to capture the look of that effect in a non-moving light assembly. (I toyed with the idea of motorizing it, but in such a tight enclosure, even a small motor would heat up considerably.)

    A lot of experimenting was done before I found a satisfactory way to light up the engines. The domes supplied with the kit are too thick and opaque, so they were replaced. After several tests using everything from Plastruct acrylic domes to the vacuformed engine caps from Estes' flying Enterprise kit, I decided to vacuform my own domes to create a convincing warp effect. (My day job at the time was as a model maker for a retail display manufacturer, so I had access to the necessary equipment including a vacuform machine.)

    I used a three layered system of domes made from .015" translucent (natural) sheet styrene and .030" clear copolyester. Vacuform patterns were made by sinking marbles or ball bearings of varying sizes into a wood base. The clear inner domes were painted with Tamiya clear red acrylic in a random vane pattern.

Engine-dome vacuform patterns from left to right: inner "color dome", middle diffuser dome, outer dome.

Vacuformed domes from left to right: "color dome", diffuser, outer dome.

    The kit's two "propulsion unit domes" were removed from their molded collars with a razor saw, leaving the forward bevel. The three raised bumps on each collar (on the real TV model, these bumps are actually clips that hold the seven inch wide acrylic domes on) were filed off. The lighted dome assemblies were then glued to the flat ends of the dome collars.

    One 3-volt amber bulb mounted in an aluminum reflector illuminates each engine. The wires run down through the pylons and out holes cut into the mounting tabs. The two engines were wired in series giving them a total power capacity of six volts together.
 

A completed warp dome, ready for assembly onto the warp nacelle.

    The rectangular grids on the insides of the engine pylons possess some nasty ejector pin marks. They were shaved and sanded off to be replaced by decals after painting.

    Each of the "propulsion unit shields" was cut into three sections each about 5/16" wide. The front and rear of each section was beveled and they were placed in position underneath the engine domes, 1/4" behind and about 1/16" apart. Tabs were added to the "intercoolers" made from 1/4" sections of .040" x 1/16" strip styrene.

    The grooves running around the aft end of the engine nacelles didn't line up when the engine halves were assembled so they were filled to become black stripes after painting.

IV: FINAL ASSEMBLY

    After the grooves in the "shuttle craft hangar deck" were filled in, I finished assembling the model as per the instructions. All the sub-assembly circuitry was routed to the secondary hull and connected  to a 1/8" phone jack, which was placed at the bottom of the secondary hull. This power jack would double as the model's mounting hole. The entire secondary hull would be reinforced with A&B epoxy putty so that the phone jack alone could support the top-heavy model's weight. After testing the system with a six volt DC adapter, I closed up the secondary hull and sealed up the model.
 

Finally, using a sharp file and much effort, the three flat platforms on the sides and bottom of the forward secondary hull were recessed 1/32". The side platforms were finished with pieces of strip styrene (arrows, right).

By the time I had finished assembling the Enterprise, the control reactors on the inboard engine slots were the only parts of the kit that weren't reworked, replaced or scratch-built (arrow, left).

V: "I NEED POWER, SCOTTY!"

    A powered display stand was made from a 1 1/2" thick piece of basswood milled out to accommodate four "C" batteries, a switch and an external power source jack. The model is mounted on a 1/8" phone plug epoxied to a well supported 5 1/2" long section of Plastruct 5/16" ABS tube. Plugging an external power source into the base cuts off power from the batteries.

Bottom of stand showing batteries and wiring.

Back of powered display stand. Note the external source jack and on-off switch. Plug on top of rod plugs tightly into bottom of model.

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