With a stack of pictures of the Enterprise studio model for
reference, I was ready to paint what I was sure would be an impressive
model. The paint job should be easy. The big studio model was a single
color overall with no visible weathering and only a few areas showing any
color variation. It should be an easy job to get a great look and finish
to this model. I didn't expect the learning experience that would come
from it.
part 1: PAINTING
1: HOW NOT TO PAINT A MODEL
One specific thing I can confidently tell you about the actual color of the paint originally used on the studio model, is that it was some kind of automotive primer. Specifically, I've read that it was GM auto primer. I've also heard that it was Chrysler truck primer. I've also been told that it was definitely Ford auto primer. In my quest to match the studio model's color from photographs, I chose to use colors from Tamiya's line of acrylic hobby paints using a full jar of gloss white as a starting point. By the time I finished mixing, this is what I'd used:
White (X-2).........................2 jars
It's not hard to imagine from the above list that the process of matching
color had gotten away from me early on. (4 drops of Metallic Grey?)
By the time I had finished mixing, I had enough paint to cover the 11-foot
studio model. Not being experienced enough to know better, I thinned the
entire batch of the color for airbrushing, greatly shortening the mix's
shelf-life. If it became necessary to re-mix the identical color some time
after completion of the model, I would be in big trouble. Still, I was
satisfied that it was a good match for the big model's color in the photos
I had and I decided to go with it.
Using a Badger 350 mini spray gun, the model was given several fast, heavy coats of my special blend of colors. I laid down three coats over the entire model in two hours. This Enterprise remained un-weathered, just as I'd seen it in the Smithsonian. The model was then sprayed with Tamiya Clear to prep for decals. The above photos show the model as it appeared just prior to application of the decals. |
| part
2:
DECALS
AND MARKINGS
|
 |
After around 1970, about the same time the kit was re-tooled, AMT-Ertl provided a decal sheet with incorrect letters and numbers in the typeface commonly known to Windows users as "MachineBT." I decided to use decals from the Estes Rockets flying Enterprise kit instead. These decals used the correct font, a very slight variation on the "Amarillo USAF" typeface, probably selected by Gene Roddenberry for being the typeface used on many US Naval vessels and aircraft. (The kit was first released with the markings in straight-up Amarillo USAF. For a good look at both the original decal sheet and the later one, see page 3 of Jay Chladek's article.) The differences are illustrated at left. Also included is the font "Microgramma," shown here because it was used in Franz Joseph's STARFLEET TECHNICAL MANUAL. A modified version of this font named "Starfleet Bold" was eventually used for for the updated Enterprise seen in Star Trek: the Motion Picture (1979) and on Starfleet vessels seen in all TV and film incarnations after. (Trekkie lore implies that the standard form of Microgramma was used on Federation starships between the time periods of the original series and the movies but it was never seen on either the big or little screens.) |
| Some markings, such as the triangles on the saucer bottom and the mysterious, not-seen-on-TV shapes on the secondary hull bottom were airbrushed onto clear decal film before being applied to the model to help avoid positioning problems. Little numbers on the side of the hull were made from 1/4" dry transfers reduced to 1/32" on a copy machine (this was 1991; computers and printers had not hit the mainstream yet) directly onto decal film. New engine pylon grids were made by making an oversize master with Letraset diamond grid screen, reducing it down and copying that onto decal film. |
 |
| I made window decals by burnishing sections of Woodland Scenics white and black dry-transfer striping (1/32") onto decal film and applied that to the model for windows with sharp edges and corners. I used photos of the TV model and drawings in SHIPS of the STAR FLEET as a placement guide for the windows and markings on the starboard (passenger) side of the model. Since the TV model was filmed from that side only, the port (driver's) side was devoid of any windows or markings. I used my imagination (gasp!) for the window placement on that side of my model. The grooves that were filled in on the engines and hangar deck were replaced with 1/64" dry-transfer stripes on decal film. |
 |
The photo to the left shows the starboard side of the Secondary Hull after decals were applied. Shown are the recessed main sensor side supports with the red and yellow Starfleet pennant. Also visible, forward of the pennant is a striped marking that was later found to be a raised surface feature on the actual studio model (arrow). This was actually missing from the model when I visited the Smithsonian in 1989. |
|
By the time I started painting and marking the model, it was already the
21st of March, 1991. A local model show was approaching on March 23rd.
I was hoping to get the model finished in time.
Big mistake. To save time and effort, the decision was made to overcoat the model and decals with Krylon Crystal Clear and finally Krylon Matte Finish rather than airbrush Tamaya Clear over the paint and decals. The result was a lesson learned. |
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5:
FIRST
LOOK
introductionchapter 1chapter 2chapter 3 chapter 4 chapter 5 chapter 6 chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 9 chapter 10
The History of Space Exploration
Figures: People, Creatures and Dinosaurs
