Tiny Starships - U.S.S. Constitution

**bgt01** · #1 05-12-2014, 08:52 AM

Why a man with hands as big and clumsy as mine would want to try and build a tiny starship is a mystery. But, try I did. Yesterday I decided to do a quick build of one of Glenn Jupp's ships. A while ago I repainted these files to add more detail (markings, windows, etc.), a gray base coat and new hull markings for different ships.

**bgt01** · #2 05-12-2014, 08:55 AM

Since this is the first one I've done, it was only right to build the first ship of the line: the U.S.S. Constitution. First up was the saucer. I wanted to add a little detail so I raised the bridge area by gluing it to 67 lb. white card. I glued the bottom of the saucer to 2 pieces of 67 lb. white card to get a proper saucer thickness. I used a pen to add the 3 windows to the front saucer edge. That gave me something to line up the front marker light (which really shouldn't be there) with so the top would go on straight. The top and bottom saucer parts were curled with a toothpick and glued. Both parts were then edge glued to the saucer bottom.

I glued the neck to 67 lb. card, cut them apart (with the tabs off) then glued both parts together. That gave me a study neck. I used gel Super Glue to attach the neck to the saucer.

**bgt01** · #3 05-12-2014, 08:56 AM

Since this thing is so small, I made "sturdy" the goal. I glued the pylons to 67 lb. white card and then glued the fronts and backs together (without tabs).

I rolled the engines up and glued them together. The thinner card stock I get from Hobby Lobby made these pretty easy. I glued a piece of toothpick into the forward ends for the sturdy factor and to make a flat end for gluing. I used 12mm Light Siam Glamour Glitz crystals for the bussard collectors. They were the perfect size. I glued them on with gel Super Glue. I ran a black felt tip marker inside the rear of the engines to take away the hollow tube look. I should have done that before gluing for a better result. Unfortunately, I didn't get the spacing right on the engine details so the inside details wound up almost on the top of the engine.

**bgt01** · #4 05-12-2014, 08:57 AM

I rolled up the secondary hull and glued it together. I cut a small piece of card to cover up the open shuttlebay. I made a small piece to cover the open area under the fantail that includes the red square. I glued the forward deflector part to 67 lb. white card before attaching the whole front section to the hull. The pylons were glued on with gel Super Glue, along with the engines and the saucer.

**bgt01** · #5 05-12-2014, 08:59 AM

And done. Finally, a build done in minutes instead of days! It was a fun little experiment and I can see how these would make great pieces for starship games. I've already made files to build all the other Constitution class ships (I know! Crazy right!) and have some other classes to play with so you might see some more of these in the future.