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1/350 polar lights model questions

X

XanderL

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Red Shirt
I am about to begin working on the 1/350 TOS enterprise from polar lights and have a few questions regarding the process and mounting it. first things first, I should note that I have no experience with making or painting models so any advice would be appreciated. The first question is about the order in which I should complete things, should I paint and then build or should I build and then paint? I am thinking about painting first and building after, but I wanted to get input from somebody more experienced than me. The second question is about mounting the completed model. I have no room where I can display the model once it is done, I want to hang it from my ceiling, but I don't know what I would need to mount it safely without worrying about it falling.
As I said, any advice would be appreciated
 
350 tos as A first model? That's a huge bite of an elephant! But good luck!
As for painting, depends on what it is. You can preparing some parts before assembly like the deflector dish, and caps etc. That would be easier to paint separate then attach.
Now certain parts like the nacelles, saucer etc. Need to be glued together and sanded before painting.
Now for hanging the model at the end, some fishing line tied to hook that you screw in to the ceiling. You can add some mounts or drill some small holes. I hang a few ships myself.
Plenty of YouTube videos , trekworks has some good videos, etc that can walk you through assembly, painting and decaling .
Any quest just yell at me (30 years building):techman:
 
Yep - probably should look at building one or two smaller (cheaper) kits before you try tackling this monster. Remember this kit comes out at just under 3 feet long (a bit less than 1 meter) and it's a fairly complex build.

There are cheaper and smaller trek out there for practice. If you can find it, the TOS E 1/1000th kit is a fairly easy kit to do. The version with the Botany Bay included is still fairly easy to find.
 
Yeah, that's a heck of an ambitious first model kit!
I personally never paint parts before assembly (well, except for the interiors of airplane models, but that's different). The reason is, you're going to want to putty and sand the seams to make them invisible. Since that'll ruin the paint, you paint after that. I like to put a coat of primer on before the final paint, which helps you see any places where you still need to fill or sand.

With the Enterprise, you have the advantage that it's modular. Build the saucer, then get rid of the seams, then prime and check the seams, then paint it. Build the 2ndary hull, putty and sand, prime, check, paint. Build each nacelle, clean up the seams, prime, check, then paint. You can even put the decals on the individual modules then if you want. After they're done, they go together pretty easily, just be careful not to get glue on the paint job.

Decals like to go on a smooth, glossy surface. Putting decals on matte paint usually results in the decal's film staying visible, because air get trapped in the roughness of the paint. It's called "silvering." So either use glassy paint, or apply a clear gloss coat to the whole model before decaling. After the decals dry, then spray the model overall with a clear matte finish. I like Tamiya spray cans for the clear coats.

Just remember you're doing this for fun. So have fun! :)
 
Come over here to All Scale Trek. You will find some of the best builders and finishers in the hobby.

And yea that is a big bite of elephant.

If you have never modeled before I recommend you get a 1/1000 TOS model and make your mistakes there. Consider it 11 inch school.
 
Thank you all for the advice about painting, building, and making a smaller model first. I will take your advice to heart. I was not planning on using putty and sanding, but I am potentially reconsidering because of how much I have invested in this. With respect to making a 1/1000 model, which one would you recommend? I put together the polar lights snap-together model, although I didn't get to paint it, and had to give it away due to moving out of my dorm. should I get the same model and paint it to get practice?

As for assembling this beast of a project. I also bought the lighting kit, how would this change the order in which I would handle making the model? should I wire a part of it up, glue it, and then sand and paint?

As for decals, how good do they look compared to painting them on? I have the paints necessary to make the correct colors, but I have painting decals that would add too much work to an already large project.

As for hanging, any suggestions about where to put holes in the model and what hooks to use?

Thank you again for all the replies.

PS: do you think that 2 months of working a few hours a day would be reasonable for a newbie to complete this model?
 
https://youtube.com/user/TrekWorks

This guy goes into alot of detail on the build. And does the lighting.
Do you have an airbrush ? Or are you spray canning it?
There are templates for the painting of decals, but there easy to use if done correct.
Like said, nice smooth glossy surface.
When you get to that point, we can talk about it more. Post your progress on here, we'd love to see!

If you really want to..
https://orbitaldrydock.com/Paint-Masks
I've used these, there fantastic .. But not for the faint of heart.

Really like this one, and will use it when I get a 350 tos.
https://orbitaldrydock.com/Paint-Masks/TOS-Aztec
 
Last edited:
Ugh! TOS Aztec! Boo! What did we used to yell 10 or 15 years ago? Canon violation!

I know lots of people like the paneled look on the TOS ship, but it never works for me. It's a matter of taste, though. Go for it, if that's your thing.

To the OP, If you're committed to hanging it from the ceiling, make sure your mechanism is pretty robust. The kit is a lot heavier than, say, the 1:1000 ships and thumbtacks and fishing line probably won't do the trick. I'd hate to see your hard work and monetary investment end up as broken pieces on the floor.

--Alex
 
A nice hook, drilled in to some wood stud, and some more robust 20 lbs test line would work. I hung all the old amt kits from the ceiling as a kid! And have the 350 Franklin with lights hanging right now no problem. :bolian:
But up to you. With the 350 and light kit, you may want to get creative to provide power.

Well there is the defiant that appred in enterprise . it had Aztec on it ;)
But yeah personal opinion, I like it, to more visual interesting than just grey.
 
I should note a few things, I already have the masking kit from orbital dry dock, I was just wondering how good the decals look vs painting them and if the effort of painting them on is worth it, I will come back to that once I get to that step. I do not have an airbrush and I am not using spray paint. I am using acrylic paints and a paintbrush (hope I bought enough paint), although I do have a spray paint can for the base coat and for sealing it. I personally don't like Aztec, so I went with the TOS masks. I think I found a place in my house where I can display the model so I don't have to hang it. I will buy a 1/1000 enterprise and paint that first to get some experience with painting.

Any suggestions for what putty and sandpaper grits to get?
What is the final height of the 1/350 enterprise with the base?
Any suggestions painting the p

I will probably start working on it next week, and I will post updates either here or on a dedicated thread that I started a while back for this project, which can be found here.
 
please ignore the incomplete sentence, I was going to ask about painting the bridge, but decided that I can ask that when I am ready to paint it
 
Okay. Just ping me for any questions, I'm usually on here daily.
Pardon the questions, just trying to see you on the right track, and have you make a great model that your proud of. :techman:

So spray can base coat. That's just fine, pick a good model spray like tamiya or testors, not kyrlon or other wal mart special. Take ur time, multiple light coats . best look would be to get a spray can for the darker grey, turquoise and gold parts and mask it off to paint or paint separately before assembling but that's up to you.

What kind of acrylics?
Best brush paint I use is Vallejo or citadel paint. Go on smooth with minimal brush work.
If it's cheap art / craft paint like Apple or folk art.. Toss those in the trash, there worse than useless.

Putty? Tamiya putty is good. I'm not find of the acrylic putty, but most of the choices of brush, paint etc. Is users preference. Try, if you don't like it try something else.
Sanding? Let's see, there plenty of options. Sanidng sticks, sanding paper , 200 to 1200 grit is about what you need. Just steadily work your way up to smooth. Both sticks and paper are cheap. Can be found at Wal-Mart even.
So good luck!
 
I would add that my personal putty of choice is the Squadron gray putty for plastic. Available though Amazon or any well stocked hobby store. Comes in what looks like a metal toothpaste tube. Also, When sanding, I'm a big believer in wetsanding, so make sure whatever sanding instrument you buy says it will hold up to water.

--Alex
 
I’m just fine with all of the questions, just wanted to give more clarity to my position. I bought Krylon base coat, this was back in October I think. As for paints, I have a mix of Windsor and Newton and Grumbacher brand paints. Feel free to ask more questions if it can help you answer my questions in any way : ) .
 
Albertese said:
I would add that my personal putty of choice is the Squadron gray putty for plastic. Available though Amazon or any well stocked hobby store. Comes in what looks like a metal toothpaste tube. Also, When sanding, I'm a big believer in wetsanding, so make sure whatever sanding instrument you buy says it will hold up to water.

--Alex
Click to expand...

Squadron putty is going to be very hard to find very soon. Squadron is dead... Closed down months ago.
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/general_discussion/f/9/t/187523.aspx
 
Throw away the Krylon. I recommend priming with Tamiya gray primer. For the base color, also use a Tamiya rattlecan. I found Tamiya light gull gray looks really good, although it's not the recommended accurate color.
 
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