The One I Have Been Waiting for

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Packing just the nacelles with foam insulating tubing would not cause the motors to overheat however:

View attachment 87737
IMG_3973 by Steve J, on Flickr

Ok. Have to try that then.

 

[martin9428]

So am I. But that isn't happening just yet. I have started to rush a bit. I need to step back for a few days at least and take a break from it. The wiring is gonna be fiddly work and I am already worried I could goof up badly as is.

Whenever I feel myself getting impatient and starting to rush, I have to put it down as well, or I start messing up.

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Whenever I feel myself getting impatient and starting to rush, I have to put it down as well, or I start messing up.

Agreed. Normally its not a big deal for me, because I have developed a "system" that ends up building kits quickly... but this is a whole new beast due to the size, complexity compared to the older Enterprise kits I built over the years, and I want to do the best job I possibly can on this one. Plus its also meant as a pathfinding kit for a second build that will be a different ship type.

 

[martin9428]

I understand new ground. I am working with PE for the first time and trying to decipher what from the sprue to use and what not so I can use the PE part as well as modifying and filling. I work a little at a time and put it down for awhile

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

I understand new ground. I am working with PE for the first time and trying to decipher what from the sprue to use and what not so I can use the PE part as well as modifying and filling. I work a little at a time and put it down for awhile

Yeah, PE can be a pain. Just primed the pylons and found that there is a LOT of super glue in between the PE grill holes on the vents. Hopefully I can paint them to hide that.

 

[trekriffic]

While I've been working on my Enterprise E, I had so much trouble with the PE on top of the nacelles that I took about a 3 week break from it. Doing so allowed my frustrations to subside and come up with a better solution to the problem I was having. The same thing happened with the grills on the starboard impulse engine, that break lasted almost a month. No wonder I have spent a year and a half on this build which is almost finished now once I get the last of the decals on.


USS Enterprise E - Nemesis-WIP - Teasers by Steve J, on Flickr

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

When I was working on my Enterprise E, I had so much trouble with the PE on top of the nacelles that I took about a 3 week break from it. Doing so allowed my frustrations to subside and come up with a better solution to the problems I was having.

Yeah, PE can be great, but I am not convinced at this point I absolutely needed it for at least certain parts of this kit. I suspect the nacelles will have a similar glue fill in like the ones on the pylons. That doesn't fill me with happiness.

 

[martin9428]

That's right. I was never like this, easily frustrated and lose of interest if the model does not keep me entertained. Not sure of it's my advancing age or PTSD. I figured the PE would be something different and will hold my interest. I do actually enjoy figuring out the various problems and best way to do the PE.

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

That's right. I was never like this, easily frustrated and lose of interest if the model does not keep me entertained. Not sure of it's my advancing age or PTSD. I figured the PE would be something different and will hold my interest. I do actually enjoy figuring out the various problems and best way to do the PE.

I like it too, but for me there seems to be an opinion anymore that all kits NEED at least some PE anymore, but I am not convinced of that. Especially when its stuff like these grills that are almost certain to get easily damaged or like what happened to me, glue fills in all the holes in them. At that point, I'dve rather just stuck with the kit parts.

 

[trekriffic]

I like it too, but for me there seems to be an opinion anymore that all kits NEED at least some PE anymore, but I am not convinced of that. Especially when its stuff like these grills that are almost certain to get easily damaged or like what happened to me, glue fills in all the holes in them. At that point, I'dve rather just stuck with the kit parts.

That's one of the reasons I went with the kit grills myself on my own build:

Big Enterprise Nacelle Parts in a Medium Grey by Steve J, on Flickr

Having said that I love how the PE fan blades looked with the lights on:


USS Enterprise 1/350 scale - Bussard Detail by Steve J, on Flickr

 

[trekriffic]

Please forgive me if I seem to be hijacking your thread. It's just that I really am enjoying watching you work on this and I get carried away reliving my own experiences sometimes.

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

That's one of the reasons I went with the kit grills myself on my own build:

View attachment 87751Big Enterprise Nacelle Parts in a Medium Grey by Steve J, on Flickr

Having said that I love how the PE fan blades looked with the lights on:

View attachment 87752
USS Enterprise 1/350 scale - Bussard Detail by Steve J, on Flickr

When I build the Condor out of a second one of these, I will not use the grills. There are other parts I will use but not the grills.

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Please forgive me if I seem to be hijacking your thread. It's just that I really am enjoying watching you work on this and I get carried away reliving my own experiences sometimes.

No problem at all. the more the merrier!

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Sorry for not posting the last few days. My health crap has been slightly acting up and my car is getting worse, so I am in the process of getting ready to get a new car. Loong story. Haven't done any work since Monday, but I can show these:

Shuttlebay is ready to install!
And the windows are prepped. I ordered some paints and window masks so once I get those in I'll begin actually building her up. For reals.

 

[martin9428]

Very cool

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Not DIRECTLY related to this build, but found these last night on my Google Drive. My old prototype Condor I built from the AMT TOS E and the Upgraded D-7, both from Condor Saga. Posting to show a physical representation of the mods I will need to do to the second 1/350 kit. Though this is nowhere as close to the 3d model as the final version will be.

Wish I still had these.

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

So despite being in a VERY foul mood due to some stupid crap my boss pulled at the end of the shift last night(Sat), I decided to do a bit of work. I made the ring and clear donut as Trekriffic did for the bridge, and did the B deck windows. I tacked them in place with carefully placed dots of CA, then filled the windows in with Micro Kristal Kleer. Gonna let dry overnight. The idea with the MKK is to hopefully fill any gaps and ideally make the windows flush to the hull.

I will fix the gap on the white ring once all the parts are set up.

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Decided to fill the join between B/C deck and the saucer. Should have done it before the windows but meh. Got that sorted, the ring is puttied, sanded and painted, and bridge is in. I do need to re coat the MKK on a couple windows as I had to rip it off those windows due to contamination from sanding. Again, should have done the puttywork first.

 

[trekriffic]

Yeah, the windows on B/C deck are particularly deeply recessed aren't they? On my build I cut tiny rectangles out of thin clear styrene sheet, gluing them on top of the kit window inserts with MKK. Worked really well to make them flusher with the hull and I didn't have to worry about adding more MKK due to shrinkage as the MKK dried. I found I could also sandwich the shadow casters in between the window and the clear styrene so they stood out more when backlit.

Before:


Before Adding Clear Styrene Window Panes by Steve J, on Flickr



Window Pane Placement with Tweezers by Steve J, on Flickr

After. Just a slight recess:


USS Enterprise 1/350 scale - B-C Deck Windows by Steve J, on Flickr

 

[Thereal9thdoctor]

Yeah, the windows on B/C deck are particularly deeply recessed aren't they? On my build I cut tiny rectangles out of thin clear styrene sheet, gluing them on top of the kit window inserts with MKK. Worked really well to make them flush with the hull and I didn't have to worry about adding more MKK due to shrinkage as the MKK dried. I found I could also sandwich the shadow casters in between the window and the clear styrene so they stood out more when backlit.

Crap. Wish I had thought of that. I'm worried about adding the paint masks to them since the MKK is slightly sticky when dry.