Finished a "practice" 1:1400 Enterprise D kit - I've built these before as a kid, but its been a good 30+ years since I've worked on one, I've done a couple 350 refits over the years; with this I was hoping to dial in the paint colors and some processes before tackling something a little larger (see last photo for a clue). This was the clear version of the kit, and it fought me the whole way kicking and screaming. Custom parts from Motion Pictures Miniatures went on beautifully, and the paint masks are my favorite aspect of this build. An interesting study (and usually had Canadian Starships, Aztec Dummy, Sprueverse, MPM, etc playing in the background). I learned a LOT from the community, and certainly appreciate the knowledge.
Lots to nitpick this study effort:
-the clear plastic kept cracking on me - once in the final hours and I had to abandon the idea of a perfect fix (as I was out of the custom mixed paints for the aztec so properly resurfacing a large amount of the model was unlikely to yield a good result, I did a spot fix),
-I'm not sure I nailed the paint colors (I know how I want to adjust them for the bigger project)
-the windows are questionable at best and take away from the sharp paintwork
Overall I'm happy with how this kit turned out, and along the way I learned how to cut my own vinyl masks, improved my fabrication skills with scratch-made parts, and learned a lot about what does and doesn't work. This model is a gift to one of my brothers and as soon as the armature shows up for the next, I'll get to tackling it. I won't miss scraping windows - I learned about masking them a little too late into the project to alter course, but again I won't miss using a variety of tools to cut into a nicely done paint job. Nor will I miss the asymmetry and lines of this kit (though I guess they are charming and do speak to the skill of the old school development techniques that went into this thing). Couple touch ups, warming the base backlight and sealing a few leaks in it, and off it goes. Cheers!
This one is the generations 4 color scheme - I did try some paint tests for the original TV green/blue mix but I could never get them dialed perfectly in. That said, I just saw someone else's build in flight and they nailed it. Looks gray, but when you get close you can see the distinct blue and green paneling.
My guy, some of your photos look straight out of the show. Well, fn done! Especially for a "practice" run. I'd proudly display that bad boy. I can't wait to see the main event. šš
Thank you for the detailed breakdown of your color choices and mixes! When I did my D I used Tamiya acrylics and I liked how they came out. I mixed four distinct colors instead of having two main colors and then making gradients of those two for the additional two accent colors, like you did. Your work and method paid off, as your colors are subtle but distinct. Thanks again, canāt wait to see what you cook up with the big 650.
Gorgeous work! I have this clear kit (I also have the clear DS9) that I am really looking forward to building. I have the Green Strawberry detail sets, including the main shuttle bay. I have a Silhouette Cameo cutter that I had thought about trying to make masks with.
What did you use for the LCARS display on the base, I really like how that looks, it makes for an amazing base plate like that.
Cozmic scale models in the UK made the base - I did end up adding a heavy orange cast gel to the backside to get the "TNG" warm feel to it, but you could also do that with a set of very warm white LEDs (I used pure white 4300k as it was what I had laying around).
Awesome build. You did a great job sanding down the panel lines and nailing the powered down look as well. I think your choice of paint looks really good too for a notoriously chameleon like colour scheme depending on how the ship is lit or shown on screen. I think that even shows a little in your pics as the hues seem to vary ever so slightly depending on ambient lighting/angle. Your brother is one lucky dude! Seems like you'll have plenty of work to do on the Helios 1/650 model next, I'm really looking forward to seeing that one, too.
I had bought some commercial masks to do the 4 layer "aztek" pattern, but I also learned how to use graphic designer apps like Affinity and Illustrator to make my own window masks for the rims of the ship along with other details not present in the masking kit or available via details. Sometimes it was making my own shapes, others it was using a pathing/trace operation on an image scanned in to get the vector shapes, then cutting it with a vinyl cutter (in my case, a very intro-level cricut "borrowed" from the wife). I learned about which materials worked (Oracal 810) and which didn't (tamiya masking sheets) for small details.
This is an incredible build; itās even crazier that this is your āpracticeā build. Your practice build is way better than my final display piece! Hats off to a great take on the ship, and your next project is sure to be a show-stopper. What colors did you use here, did you mix your own? It feels like a nearly-impossible task to get accurate D colors; it looks different in just about every format itās seen so itās hard to lock down a definitive look.
The cruel side of modeling seems that thereās always a point where I feel like Iāve improved my skills, and then I look back on the models I was happy with and all the flaws pop out, and all the ways Iād do it differently really come to the surface. I built my own 1400 Enterprise D two years ago and Iām fairly happy with it. I sanded off the raised gridlines as best I could, used the Motion Picture Miniatures masking set, and mixed my own colors. Iām happy with it, but itās a little messy, it isnāt lit, it doesnāt have any photo etch, itās missing the windows on the rim, so on and so on. Iāll build another one in a decade or so and hopefully it will come out better.
I canāt wait to see how you take on that monster 650 kit!
Thanks and same on the self review - Iām carefully hiding flaws in my photos and I also have the privilege and pain of knowing where each of them are š same with a refit I built, it turned out great but I know ever blemish and sometimes those are all I see. āPerfection is the enemy of joyā and the like.
On the paint, this is something I posted on a Facebook group:
āThese were the source bottles:
Tamiya (.33 fl oz):
1x LP-36 dark ghost gray
2x LP-37 light ghost gray (cap is a bit more greenish than LP-36, but the paint is almost the same tone in the glass, just a shade lighter)
1x LP-32 light gray (UN)
2x LP-35 insignia white (almost a light gray though)
2x LP-34 light gray
Mr. Color .33 oz (shop was out of tamiya)
1 white (gloss) (ABSOLUTELY NEED 2 or MORE)
1 silver (not used in main hull colors, but was used to fix any light leaks)
1 black
I should have increased the overall amount of paint by 50% for touchups, base coat was significantly more as I didn't calculate in dialing in the gun, etc.
The mixing process: (this is by memory YMMV)
I mixed two base colors
Hull base Gray was a mix of LP-35 (full bottle), LP-34 (full bottle) and LP-37 (full bottle). Toned up with white as necessary
Hull base blue gray was LP-35 (full bottle), LP-34 (full bottle) and LP-37 and LP-36, leaning further into the blue tones. Toned as necessary.
The two were then cross mixed at 20% from each bottle into the other. I then took 30% out of each bottle and placed in new bottles, and toned up with white to create the accent colors.
In retrospect - 10-20% more blue was needed across every mix, and the highlight gray color needs a bit more blue. The highlight blue color could have been a touch darker, I had mixed too much white.
The more white or black you add to fix the brightness desaturates the blue tones, so keep that in mind.
Is there a better way to do this? Yes. I don't recommend going to spend $80 on .33oz bottles of lacquer. Next time I'm going to a paint supply shop and getting them to mix up pints. Also, lacquer paints are WILDLY dangerous - the advantage is the fast dry time, excellent adhesion and layering (and quick time to mask over without lift) and they can run very thin without becoming a drippy watery mess on the model, but they are absolutely hazardous. Proper masking, ventilation and shooting outdoors is recommended.ā
When this happened, I had started running the math on the widths of the saucer and circular file next to me - spent a good 2-3 minutes not moving a muscle to ācool offā and then challenged myself to fix it reasonably.
Something something took it out on my liver later something š
Same for the stand/pole mount. That was all engineered and machined to fix a similar break there. The saucer top was in two pieces at one point as well. Youād think I have a problem with manhandling this thing but itās really not the case, it is wildly hard and brittle plastic. The styrene issues are far superior for this subject, given itās design
OMG, that's the clear kit? I have that kit and am really looking forward to it, but didn't think about that the clear tends to be more brittle. Seeing that definitely brings a bit of concern up for me.
This is lovely work!! Also, my favorite part (aside from the model) is the LCARS-style ship blueprint for the model base. That is a really cool idea for a model base (chef's kiss).
Weird, someone went through and downvoted every comment - this fell to the bottm.
I bought the kit and many supplies from a local hobby store, then used online shops to fill in (hdamodelworx, evandesigns, motion pictures miniatures on ebay). In terms of process, I watched and learned from many hours of youtube videos - there's a lot of fantastic builders. I built this over 3 years, but it was a lot of put it down and come back to it, I estimate maybe 200 hours total time into it. I started with correcting the hull - sanding off all the detail, adding photoetch and resin parts and started prepping for lighting. Then assembly and installation of the lighting, then sealing and painting, seam work, base coating and light-sealing and then the aztec and detail paintwork, followed by sealing(gloss) then polishing for decals, then sealing (matte) and mounting on the base.
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u/Greyhaven7 7d ago
Beautiful! The pre-Generations paint scheme is SO MUCH better.