Building the AMT Refit Enterprise by Don Matthys part 3

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Navigational Dome and Impulse Engines

Next concern is the lower Navigational Dome. The provided AMT kit part is the wrong shape and to small. The domed area provided by the DLM update kit cast in a opaque gray resin, is the best solution to fix this as a drop in piece. With .040 plastic sheet I cut a pattern 1/16 inch (2-3mm) smaller than the outer outline of the shape. The kit hull piece will be cut out with the same pattern. The piece will drop in supported with the outer rim. For model lighting purposes, trenches will be dug out with a moter tool to accommodate fiber optics that will run to a central lamp light source mounted in the center of the bottom hull.

With the ready made Navigational Dome outline template I cut away the kits plastic. I like to use this method of taking out plastic: With a #60 drill bit I drill a series of holes within the cut outline. Next with a #11 Exacto blade I cut from hole to hole. Pop out the plastic, then with a rounded file remove the remaining plastic until the piece fits in snug Test fit into place as you go. My reasoning for doing the Navigational Dome area this way is for the possibility to gain access to the model’s interior to replace lamps in case of burnout. Most of the incandescent lamps will be located in the center of the Primary Hull. It beats out the other way of cracking open the hull at the upper-lower join.

Attention now turns to the Impulse Engines: The kit part # 7 will be used. I wish my models engines to glow when lit. The exterior details for lighting will be instead be better served with a DLM graphic decal in red and black line grill detail. I opened up the impulse engine raised area on the hull ( kit part #2 ) to alow light to shine in. The kit plastic on the part #7 engines will be masked to allow light to go through the white kit styrene then opaqued with black paint. Final detail on kit part # 2 is the eight circular port windows on the area between the impulse Engines and the left rear widow part. The general planes features 6 ports. This is an error. The actual studio miniature has eight. The top row has 6 spaces 1/4″ apart and to on a lower level centered below at 1/2 inch apart.

Kit Parts #8 & #9 Interconnecting Dorsal and Photon Torpedo Launch array:

Drilled out the kit’s ports. Puttied up the ever present AMT sinkholes. The circular docking rings are oversized. A correction to all the Travel Pod docking rings were simply made in this manner.

1. Scribe a vertical line down the center to represent the door halves.
2. Cut off a 1/8 inch section of 7/32 inch (5.75mm) Evergreen plastic tube. The inside diameter of this tube closely matches the correct diameter the scaled General Plans.
3. Glue in place with liquid cement from the outside. Let the bond set dry.
4. File and sand down smooth the new protruding ring of plastic to the kits surface.
5. Putty in any apparent gaps on the outside of the new ring and kit plastic. Sand smooth to a level surface when dried. This will be also done for the Travel Pod doors on the Secondary Hull.

I puttied in and sanded smooth the all too deep hull separation double lines. This detail is best done with a DLM decal graphic during finishing and decaling.

Photon Torpedo Launch array

The Photon Torpedo Launch Tubes detail will be done with the DLM update kit. The part’s details is correct. A “V” shape gap above the piece is apparent when its in place. During assembly this area will have to be puttied up to block light leaks. The Torpedo Launcher detail piece can be cast with a clear resin to glow in the tube area when lit. I went with the non lit opaque option. Another option is to cast it in a clear red resin so the unmasked area of the tubes can glow red. The rest of the piece will be opaqued.

The final detail to add to the hull connecting dorsal is at the top which has fine engraved parallel lines. With the pattern provided from Star Fleet Assembly Manual 4, or Kalmbachs “Famous Ships of Fact and Fantasy” I transcribed it to prescribed sheet styrene, .015 thick with 1/32″ spacing (1mm). I kept the area larger than needed on top. The edges must be trimmed to fit up snug against the Primary Hull.

ENGINEERING HULL

Botanical Garden Windows:

A daunting task to perform to open these up and it must be done carefully. I could of used the kit decal to mark in place the the windows . Instead with my art program Adobe Illustrator 5.5 I drew the windows in with a very fine line. This will also serve as a painting mask. (The measurements are approximately 3.75mm wide and 5.75mm high with a .75mm spacing between each window. The length of the entire Botanical Window set is 25mm .) I printed the drawing onto self adhesive Avery label paper and then cut out the windows and applied it to the etched lines indicated on the model. With this in place I used it as a mask and sprayed with an airbrush some dark gray paint. I peeled the paper mask away thus leaving the window area to remove.

With a #60 drill bit mounted into a motor tool I drill holes next to each other within the painted areas. A sharp #11 blade cut from hole to hole. Then cleanup was done with jewelers files to the very edge of the color break. Tapered flat and square files work best. I chose not to thin the plastic from the inside. The posts should be thick and be part as the structural integrity of the hull. And thinning the plastic will stress the styrene making the posts brittle. I’ll fill the windows in later with liquid clear resin.

Next task is in the Shuttle Bay door area. On both side of the doors there is a three dimension detail of lights. The kit part #16 in place, I marked this in with a fine marker pen. I marks the light locations (blue) and opened the area up with a drill and burr. Later a thin piece of sheet styrene will be cut out with three horizontal lights opened on both sides of the Shuttle Bay Doors.

Note: Above the doors is another lighted area. The shuttle bay control room, an array of six windows that glow red. In past models I have drilled and clear resin filled. It was a mess considering the smallness of the desired lighting effect. Last time on the model of the Enterprise NCC-1701 (TMP refit) I let the white styrene plastic shine through. The area is sprayed with a clear red and masked with opaque paints that block the lights. Inside is a lamp and the same area left un-opaqued. I’ll do this later in the beginning of the painting process.

Finally I get to glue something together! With kit parts #12 & 11 I glued them to the Engineering Hull. Fit was bad. Make the best effort to glue to the edges of the outer surface. Reinforced the interior with gap filling superglue and putty Then drilled hole that will have “spotlights” near the Warp Engine pylons. Putty up exterior seams.

Note: References

Many of these detail tips come form Paul M. Newitt’s “Star Fleet Assembly Manual #4”. Newitt’s methods are handy and sometimes his modeling skills are way out of wack by my standards, but the manual has a lot of drawings by Andrew Probert of the details. Of course some are suspect and never used in the original studio model so a photo reference is used as well from other publication for verification.

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