1/100 TOS Enterprise Mega Build

[spaceagent-9]

but i woulndt pay parasnout anything after what they did to paragon.
if you send me a copy of the nacelle caps i can work with that for you.
the plastic can be gold, red or white.

[thokamous]

any new pics?

[Ekuth]

Originally Posted by thokamous

any new pics?

Mmmmm.... I'd say... yes.

[Ekuth]

"Now repeat after me... the child is mine."

Well, it's been a spell, hasn't it? Miss me? Of course you did.

Needless to say, I've been busy. But you want to see pictures, don't you? Of course you do.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, strap in. I've got pics aplently this go around.

I'm going to break these into separate posts dealing with each section, so we'll start with:

Chairs.

Now there's a LOT of chairs on an Constitution Class starship, you know that? Lots of tables to go with them, too. Well, at first I was going to make them from paper, but after calculating the number I would need, I decided resin casting them would be much more efficacious. So, I carved myself a balsa prototype and made some molds:

Chair Mold:
As this was only a preliminary test of both the form and the process, I only did a 3 shot mold. I will likely make a larger mold later...



Resin Pour:
You don't have much time to work with this stuff; after mixing both parts you have about a minute max to pour before it starts to harden. Here we see some in the mold, and some that were just removed and ready to be trimmed.



Fresh from the Mold:
Fortunately, the resin hardens FAST, so it doesn't take long. Here's a bunch that are out of the mold and ready to be trimmed into shape:



After Trimming, Painting:
Really, there's not much to trim on these, mainly the stem and base of the chair. The mold came out well, I'm pleased with the results. Now keep in mind, the scale of these is LESS than 1/4". So these puppies are TINY. First, I put a drop of CA on a scrap foam piece and paint a white base coat. Then I paint the base and chair seat/back black. Here you see one finished and the rest waiting for their second color:



Trio of Finished Chairs:
These three are going into the kitchen area just to the left.



I currently have a stockpile of about 30 finished chairs ready for me when I hit the next "populated" area. I did up a table prototype, but wasn't satisfied with it, so the tables *may* stay cardstock for now.

Well, that's it for chairs... onto the next section.

[Ekuth]

So, enough of the chairs. Onto:

Attachement Method

Someone had asked how I was going to attach the decks to each other; after considering several options, I've decided to utilize the KISS principle (no, not rock and roll all night and party every day... sheesh. Damn long haired hippies...) and use a friction fit with the top of the support walls.

Basically, after completing a deck and trimming the walls to match the outer curve of the hull, I then trace and cut out the deck above that. I temporarily pin the two together and then trace out where the walls contact the ceiling/floor of the next deck.

I then cut thin strips to match the top "stripe" of the walls and put them in place where the marks are. By gauging the distance needed, I can get a good solid friction fit that not only holds the levels together, but contributes to the structural integrity of the model as a whole.

A lot of words for a simple concept. Here's pics of one of the simpler levels:

Rear Attachment:



Front Attachment:



Now I may have to supplement this technique for the larger decks, but I have a ready supply of tiny neodynium magnets all ready for that eventuality.

So, I hope that answers the attachment question.

Next....

[Ekuth]

Alright, enough of the small stuff.

Here, for your edification, I present a series of shots of all the decks I have so far, assembled. Please note that the top two decks are unfinished, which should be obvious.

The keener eyed among you will spot a color change in the wall texturing; from red to grey. The ship is laid out according to area of speciality, similar to uniform colors... red for command/secure areas, grey for utility/living areas, blue for medical and sciences. Now that we're moving into the utility/living areas, grey is the new red.

Port View:



Fore Port View:



Fore View:



Fore View (Closeup):



Fore Starboard View:



Mid Starboard View:



Mid/Aft Starboard View:



Aft Starboard View:



Aft View:



(Wow! You can attach more than 5 pics! Yay!)

Astute viewers will note that I have closed the raw edges on the first two decks with black; this is actually 1mm foam that I have glued on to give a nice clean appearance and will also serve as cushioning for when I skin the hull.

Alright, let's take a look at those new decks, shall we?

Oh, but first... well... nature calls, even on a starship...

[Ekuth]

Ever wonder just *where* the Captain left his... log?

Yes, Virginia- there are toilets on the Enterprise.

Now *why* you would place these right next to a turbolift entrance is beyond me... wonder if you get that same chemical blueberry smell you find at the back of a Greyhound bus? Yes, I'm dating myself.

Of course we can't find the head without a sign, right?

Head Placard:
Yes, I'm actually that much of a detail mavin that I've made plaques for the various areas. Next time you want to go crazy, go into Paint and try making an alphabet only 6 pixels high and 4 wide...



Port Head:
Just your standard Starfleet issue toilet and sink here, cadet. Move along...



Starboard Head:
Is it ladies on the left and men on the right? Which would a Tholain use? For that matter, can you imagine walking in after a Deltan female changed her... ummm... nevermind.



Hey, never let it be said that I don't follow the blueprints...

Moving right along.

[Ekuth]

Before we get back to the finished decks, let's take a quick look at the current decks in progress:

Up first, we have:

Deck 21: Food Preparation/Shuttle Storage

Things are starting to get interesting! Here we see where the shuttles are stored, 2 decks below the actual shuttle bay. The circular area at the aft is actually a turntable/elevator for the shuttles. Just *how* I'm going to work that... I haven't figured out yet. It may stay static in the interests of my sanity, but I'm tossing around a few ideas.

Also, yes, I'm going to need shuttles. To spare me having to scratch build them, anyone out there have a *SIMPLE* TOS era shuttle model?

Aft (Shuttle Storage):



Mid (Food Preparation):
This room will have a TON of greebles in it. Fortunately, they're all boxes, or variants thereof- so it shouldn't take too long to fill up. Automated machinery, you know.



Fore (Ship's Laundry/Pool Bottom):
To the left, we have the Ship's Laundry. At the right, this is actually the bottom of the ship's pool. Yes, you heard me- there's a swimming pool on the starship. For recreation and the use and comfort of aquatic species. I'm pondering several ways to model this; I have some interesting ideas kicking around.



So, Deck 21 is my current work "area". Expect changes here and much more detail when you see it next.

That brings us to the deck above it:

Deck 20: Recreation/Shuttle Maintenance

Nothing but bare blueprint outlines here so far; but I have to cut out the deck above before I finish the deck below. Why? As mentioned before, I need the deck above to determine the right curve for the outer walls. But you can see the level of detail, even on this simplified outline.



For those of you curious, I've streamlined the process. I first glue a sheet of the grey posterboard (decking) to the foam core board. I use Elmer's Spray Adhesive. After I carefully align the two pieces and they laminate together, I tape carbon paper sheets (VERY hard to find nowadays) onto the decking surface- center the blueprint over the area and secure with tape/thumbtacks so it doesn't move about while I'm tracing the blueprint. I then take a shishkabob skewer and trace over the entire blueprint, transferring it to the laminate deck surface.

Remove plans, carbon paper and voila. A little cutting, and I have my next deck surface.



Alright, boys and squirrels, I have more to show you, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Sleep calls.

TTFN.

[atomgas]

Adding "Heads" really gives life to the model on an epic scale. Astounding work, keep it up!

Seeing this actually reminds me of this article:

STAR TREK Full-Scale USS ENTERPRISE Las Vegas | Collider

[Vermin_King]

Koolwheelz Paper Models

AirDave's shuttle isn't overly difficult...