Trent Bennett’s Enterprise C

Here is my submission for the Round 2 version of the Enterprise-C model. This particular model took me about three months to build. I didn’t work on it every day but I did not want to rush it.

I decided to build her as how she appeared in “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. I sprayed her with Tamiya Color “Light Gray” . After that dried I sprayed a bit of it into a paper bowl so I could paint the outer ridge of the deflector dish so it matched the rest of the hull. This is something that a lot of people tend to miss when building the Enterprise-C model. I then proceeded to paint the clear pieces the right colors. I even painted the impulse engine blue like how it appeared in the show. I assumed it was that color in the show because the ship was running on barely minimum power.

After the clear pieces were painted I then proceeded with painting the darker and lighter blue colors. At first I was going to go with what the instructions said to use for the colors. However, after examining the colors from the original studio model of the Enterprise-C then the refit upgrade she was given I knew the color recommendations were partially wrong. The outer dark blue area I did actually use Russian Flanker Medium Blue since it seemed a lot closer to the original studio model images. The lighter blue areas was a mix of Light Blue, Russian Flanker Medium Blue / Gray and White. The instructions also called for the escape pod hatches to be painted Sand. I did test it that color but found it to be wrong. So I re-painted them light gray and it was nearly identical to the colors for the escape pod hatches on the original studio model.

After the main painting was finished I proceeded to add all the necessary decals. A couple of decals ended up tearing on me during the process. The ones on the under side of the nacelle pylons that were “Enterprise” and “NCC-1701-C”. The other was the word “Enterprise” just below the main shuttle bay on the secondary hull. For the pylons I improvised by moving the battle burns to those locations. The one below the main shuttle bay was from the Enterprise-E decals. After the decals were finished I started painting in the windows. The black windows were done using an ULTRA FINE TIP black marker. The white windows were filled in with an ULTRA FINE TIP white marker that can be bought from JoAnns or some other craft store. Once again I tried to replicate which windows were off and on by the pictures from the studio model and how it appeared on the show.

Once the windows were finished I started adding the battle burn decals. I thought I was paying attention to where they were laid out via the pictures of the studio model. However, some of them I wasn’t quite paying attention to the locations and ended up messing up but it didn’t matter anyways. I also noticed that they didn’t include decals for ALL of the battle burns, so I ended up having to replicate some myself. I tried very closely to replicate the streaks and such from the studio model to the Round 2 model. However, this proved VERY difficult at least for me it did. I ended up using some paint thinner to try and “beef” up the burns a bit. I then also applied a bit of black wash to the model to give it the more dirty gritty look as if it would have during a very serious battle before being destroyed.

This model was not built 100% to match the original filming model. I know that the original filming model did NOT have the extra escape pod hatches on the top saucer towards the back. Nor the extra escape pod hatches on the top part of the secondary hull by the main shuttle bay. I also know that neither the original Enterprise-C and updated Ambassador refit filming model have the phaser bank on the underside of the secondary hull. As I said this build was not meant to be 100% perfect to match the filming model. I figured if Starfleet had actually built that ship then those extra pieces probably would have been on there.

Over all, I’m satisfied with how this turned out. I know I plan to get another Enterprise-C model and build it as the Ambassador Refit version. However, with the daunting and sometimes difficult task this took to build I will NEVER build it as the Enterprise-C with battle burns again. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this build and looking at the pictures.

Trent Bennett