Steven Hein’s USS Wasp

This is the Monogram USS Voyager kit, original from 1995 bought off of ebay as an open box partially assembled kit. I knew I could rescue it and use it to create a wonderful Intrepid Class.

I GM a Star Trek: Adventures RPG group and I wanted a model of the group’s ship. The USS Wasp, NCC-74781

I created an LED lighting system with parts ordered online from Digikey for the engines, deflector, and warp nacelles. I opted not to do window lighting due to the limitations of the original 1995 kit. It was not easy to put together cleanly, costing quite a bit of modification and filling/sanding during assembly. Due to the roughness of the 1995 molding, I was afraid that I would cause more damage to the model than it was worth to drill and file out the windows. There are still a few light issues with seams, but the casting really makes smooth seams difficult on this early version. I opted to leave well enough alone for some of them.

I contacted JT Graphics for a decal set, being delighted to see that they were still around and making custom decal sets. I also ordered the DLM clear deflector set which was an absolutely gorgeous addition to the model.

I used Tamiya Light Ghost Grey for the base color, finding a very convenient (and slightly pricey) version intended for R/C aircraft at my local hobby store. For some reason, Tamiya’s R/C aircraft Light Ghost Grey was a little better match for the standard Starfleet hull color than any other version I have found. The rest of the paintjob was various paints by Citadel Paints intended for mini-figure painting. Their paint “flows” very nicely and very evenly. I only recently discovered them and cannot recommend them enough.

For the sensor arrays, starting with a “circuit board” kind of green and brushing on light dry coats of silver, grey, and copper in a few places really came out nice.

After, I coated it in about 8 light layers of Dullcote, building up a shell that diffuses the edges of the decals in most places so they blend in against light reflections. It also makes it easier to give it a light dusting without peeling decals off!

Steven Hein