Today's work...

Got started on the base. I'm using the base from the Refit kit; the Refit will get the round base from this kit.  I cut out rectangular openings for the two lighted rocker switches on top for my two circuits; drilled out an opening on the side for the "M" sized DC panel jack the power supply plugs into; and carved an opening in the channel down the middle for the support tube to slide into. Then I gave it multiple coats of Dupli-Color primer:

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I plan to spray it with Krylon Black and then give it a coat of Krylon Steel. I even have decals for the lighted panels that were included on the Refit's decal sheet. Too cool! I didn't even know the Refit base had decals until I tuned in to Steve Neill's blog and saw where he was using the same base and his customer asked him to apply them. They will look great I think; especially if I can mount a few LEDs on top and shine them up at the underside of the Enterprise.

Moving along, I also mixed up a batch of paint for the main hull color. I used two bottles of MM Imperial Japanese Navy Sky Grey, most of a bottle of thinned ACE Shady Cove (left over from my 1/1000 build); most of a bottle of MM Flat White; and a dash of MM SAC Bomber Green to taste. It's pretty close to what I want, I might want to add a little more white.

Here are a few pics of the mix against a color sample from ACE...

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and next to the unpainted kit plastic...

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It's veeeeery close to the shade I'm looking for think.