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To boldly go where no modeler has gone before? Hardly! AMT-Ertl's original
STAR TREK U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (kit #6676) had been around for over 35 years
and was still selling when Ertl discontinued it in the 1990s. A recent
reissue by a company called Round
2 shows that despite its flaws and the later release of more accurate
Enterprise
kits, this old starship kit is still popular.
Many modelers have built this kit more than once, first as a novice modeler
and again years later after refining their modeling skills. I decided to
treat my third attempt at building the Enterprise "seriously,"
that is to do research to learn all I can about the "real"
Enterprise,
the original 11-foot filming model and to use my modeling skills to improve
on the accuracy of the kit. I would also add lights to the model for a
more realistic and exciting look.
No small feat - this old starship kit isn't very accurate. Even after being
retooled in the early 1970s, this kit is at best only a fair representation
of the actual Enterprise filming "miniature." Although all the details
are there, it's obvious that the designers of the kit were not concerned
with accuracy. The kit requires some effort to make it really look like
the starship that was seen on TV. My work was cut out for me. |
