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This is the Polar Lights Klingon D7 Battle Cruiser from ST:TOS. Overall, the kit is very good. My major complaint is that the 2 pieces forming the neck are not very symmetrical toward the aft section. It is quite obvious that the neck will not be quite straight when attached. Other than that, very nicely done! I followed the directions, but chose to glue, sand and fill my model as best I could instead of simply doing a snap-together.

Although I followed the plans and decal placement as close as possible for the Klingon version, I took a few liberties on the painting using Testors Model Master colors of my choosing. I based my choices on some old Smithsonian Museum photos from a 1977 Star Trek Giant Poster Book #10 that I used as a guide.

I chose to paint the neck and bulbous bow section Testors #2134 Fulcrum Gray/Green as well as the warp nacelles and grill housings atop the engineering section. I then used #1793 SAC Bomber Green for the flat deck below the bridge, the bridge itself, detailing the at the aft section of the neck, the grillwork above the warp nacelles (sorry, but the chrome just didn't work for me), the grill at the fore end of the structures at the top aft of the engineering section and the intakes just forward of the warp nacelle pylons on the engineering section.

For the engineering section itself and the warp nacelle pylons, I mixed 1/3 SAC Bomber Green with 2/3 Fulcrum Gray/Green. This yielded a good medium between the two and with different lighting blends extremely well.

For a little added detail, I used #4752 Gunship Gray for detailing the warp nacelles on the raised ridges in the depressions on either side, the chromed grilles near the aft of the nacelles, and the gadgets that detail the bottom of each nacelle. I also used this color to detail the grillwork on the aft of the flat deck below bridge. I then used #4668 Clear Green for the chromed rear-facing louvered "windows" on the flat deck below the bridge. This gave them a nice effect, reminiscent of the clear green parts on the old AMT kit. The sensor antenna/torpedo tube at the bow (depending on your interpretation of what it is) is #4762 Light Ghost Gray. Oh, by the way, for the display stand I simply used Krylon Gloss Black.

Overall I really enjoyed building this model as I am now a little better at it than when I built those old AMT kits when I was a kid!

I think the Klingon D7 looks even better alongside my production version Enterprise. Yes, I used stickers instead of decals on the 1701 as I was afraid decals would be damaged should the model get handled occasionally. This photo also demonstrates how "alien" the color scheme of the Klingon ship looks alongside its gray Starfleet counterpart!

Robert Young

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