STAR TREK in 1:2400 scale

[Albertese]

I've been gathering a collection of 1:2400 Star Trek kits and now I'm building them. I figured I'd begin with the beginning, the original Enterprise. This will be a build thread where I'll put up all the models I put together. My intent is to build all the ships that appear in the show in 1:2400 scale. Some I'll have to scratchbuild, but I'm starting with the kits.

Now, anyone who's build the 1:2400 TOS E knows it's an awful kit. Well, if you want it to be the ship in the show. It's actually a fair representation of the 18" AMT model. But I wanted to model the ship from the show. First I carved off the cartoony window squares all over the secondary hull. Then I made room for a styrene tube to accept a 1/8" acrylic rod as a stand. Then I carved around the shuttlebay doors and made a ....hood? ...awning? I don't know what the official name of the roof over the doors would be called, but I made it out of sheet styrene and filed it down to blend it with the rest of the hull. I filed the recesses into the hull at the 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 positions. I filed down the interconnecting dorsal to match the contours of the 11' model.

On the saucer, I filed down the shape of the "B-C" deck area to match the 11' model. Then I added strips of styrene around the edge of the saucer and then spent hours filing it the match the angle and sharpness of the 11' model. The undercut in the saucer had the wide flat outer edge of the 18" AMT kit, so I took a curved blade and scraped out the plastic to closer match the 11' model.

I also made a couple little changes to the nacelles.

It's about 90% complete. I think I'm gonna make my own sensor/deflector dish as the kit's looks like a weird salad bowl or something. Also, the Impulse deck area, while not terrible on the kit, got wiped out while I was rebuilding the saucer edge, so I'll have to scratchbuild that area also. Overall, I think it's coming together to match the 11' model a bit more closely. I figured I'd share it at this point, before I wrap it up and start painting.

To fill file marks and scratches, I used mostly CA and flat white spray paint. Also a bit of Squadron Green on the saucer.

Well, more to come.

--Alex

 

[Kaiser]

Sweet

 

[Albertese]

Thanks, Kaiser!

I made a new scanner/deflector dish.

In my first post, you can see that I got carried away with sanding the nacelles and softened the edge of the aft cowlings. It's been bugging me, so I'm going to fix them tonight.

--Alex


UPDATE

Got the nacelle ends done.

--AM

 

[Roguewolf]

Very nice work, are you sure it is 1/2400 though? I haven't heard of any kits made in that scale. R2 has re-released the 1/2500 line of kits.

What did you use for the ball at the end of the nacelle? Looks amazing!

 

[Albertese]

Thanks, Roguewolf!

I remember back in the day that these were being called 1:2400. And now they are being marketed as 1:2500. What gives? The assembled model is 4.75 inches long. A 947 foot Enterprise would be 11,364 inches long. 11364/4.75=2392.421....or closer to 1:2400 than 1:2500. So, that's why I'm going with that number. If it is indeed 1:2500, then then Enterprise would be about 989 and a half feet long. For my money, that's the weird number. To go the other way, a 947 foot ship at 1:2500 scale ought to be 4.5 inches long. That extra quarter inch on the kit makes it definitely 1:2400.

To make the aft nacelle ball, I chucked an inch or so of the kit's sprue into a battery powered hand drill and used it as an improvised lathe to file/sand it to a hemisphere. Then I sawed it off and drilled a shallow hole in the end cap and CAed the hemisphere in place.

Thanks for looking!

--Alex

 

[StarCruiser]

They've always been 1/2500th scale (ish). They were never stunningly accurate though - so you're correct to claim it's closer to 1/2400th.

 

[Albertese]

I finished the impulse hardware. Also, I added formation lights (bottom ones too). I think this more-or-less finishes the sub-assemblies. I think I might paint them before final assembly, but I haven't decided.

Painting this weekend. Maybe sooner, but I doubt it.

Thanks for looking!

--Alex

 

[MadMan1701A]

Looking good.

I always paint my stuff after assembly... I usually end up messing up the individual parts while I'm putting them together, and have to repaint anyway.

-Ricky

 

[Albertese]

Thanks, Ricky.

I normally do also, but I thought for this one, being so small, it might be easier to have the areas be more accessible.

Anyhow, I got around to spraying a base color. I used Tamiya TS-5 Light Blue (Luftwaffe). I think I read somewhere (maybe something posted by Shaw?) that it's a fair match to the original color. I think the original was a bit greener, but the TS-5 does look pretty darn good to my eye.

If all goes well, I'll start the detail painting Sunday.

Thanks for looking!

--Alex

 

[Q2UnME]

There is a Tamiya Grey acrylic paint that is said to be pretty darn close right out of the jar. The actual paint # is: Tamiya J.N. Grey 81312 XF-12. The fine folks over at R2 Models have picked it as the color for their 1/350th. TOS kit, lightened with white by 10%. As with anything, go with what YOU like best. You're going to be looking at it for some time and have to be happy with the result.

Q2

 

[Albertese]

There is a Tamiya Grey acrylic paint that is said to be pretty darn close right out of the jar. The actual paint # is: Tamiya J.N. Grey 81312 XF-12. The fine folks over at R2 Models have picked it as the color for their 1/350th. TOS kit, lightened with white by 10%. As with anything, go with what YOU like best. You're going to be looking at it for some time and have to be happy with the result.

Q2

I don't currently have an airbrush, so mixing custom colors (90% XF-12 + 10% White) won't work for me. Though I mean to get one before tackling the 1:350 model, so I will certainly make a note of this and experiment with it when the time comes. Thanks for the reference!

For now, though, I'm stuck with whatever I can get in a rattlecan.

--Alex

 

[Albertese]

I had a little extra time today, but I didn't quite feel like painting. So, instead I started one of the simpler scratchbuilds.

--Alex

 

[B.J.]

"Started". So, Borg or First Federation?

 

[USS Jack Riley]

^^My thoughts exactly. Either one would be great.

 

[Albertese]

"Started". So, Borg or First Federation?

^^My thoughts exactly. Either one would be great.

Hey, guys, thanks for looking! I'm starting with just TOS for now, so, First Federation. I have a notion to do TNG as well, but that will come later.

I had planed to paint these yesterday, but I unexpectedly spent all weekend hanging out with family in Washington, so when I got home I did manage to get started painting the warp nacelles, but not enough progress to warrant pictures yet. I'll post once it's all ready for final assembly.

--Alex

 

[Albertese]

I managed to paint all I think I'm going to paint on this. But there are some things I want to make some custom decals for. That's the next step. Then I'll put on the kit's decals, then I'll weather it and then I'll do final assembly.

Thanks for looking!

--Alex

 

[MadMan1701A]

Looks great... the nacelle domes look really good.

-Ricky

 

[Roguewolf]

Alex,

Real great work here, I love your improvements to this lovey little kit. You should drop into All Scale Trek sometime, lots of Trek mode builders over there in all scales, they'd love to see your work. http://www.allscaletrek.com/index.php

 

[Albertese]

Thanks, Ricky. I'm pretty proud of those domes, myself!

And, Roguewolf, I have been lurking there quite a bit over the last week or two. I think once I've finished with it, I just might go ahead and post over there.

The project is slightly on hold, though. I've been having some killer insomnia of late and my brain is so muddy after work that I don't seem to have the focus for anything creative. That, and the Portland area seems sold out of Testor's Glosscote, which is my preferred surface to decal. And tomorrow, I'm going on a day trip to Mount Hood, so that means I probably won't get any more done then either.

On the plus side, I did finally get around to scanning the decal sheet so when I do design my custom decals, I know they will work well with the official ones...

In case anyone was wondering, my custom decals will consist of the grey panel aft of the "Magnatomic Flux Constrictors," the impulse engine emitter rectangles, the three circles on the underside of the saucer (to replace/relocate the sanded off detail), and the so-called "rust-ring" on the upper surface of the saucer. Also I will go ahead and make names and numbers for the other connies that showed up on TOS. Any suggestions for what I might be missing on that list?

--Alex

 

[Albertese]

Well, I am part way through making the decals. But I wanted to take a break and that stinkin' white cube was taunting me, so I painted it. I considered spraying it, but I wanted it to have the textured, mottled look of the original cube. So I painted it by hand.

--Alex