Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Accurizing the Refit Movie USS Enterprise NCC 1701 A

After a long weekend, I went back to work and found a package on my desk. YES!!! Its from Don Lights and Magic. I had ordered the accurization parts for the ERTL/AMT 1/537 scale 22" USS Enterprise and they have arrived.

I had hoped to be able to build 2 kits (The Motion Picture [TMP] version 1701, and Star Trek V 1701 A version) but I wasn't able to find the correct shuttle bay for the TMP version. I still have the option to build it with the hangar bay closed, something I'll decide later.

At least this project is beginning to see some light. I had in my possession 6 units of ERTL/AMT Movie Refit kits for a very long time, 2 of which comes with the lights option, another 2 with the Galileo Shuttle (Star Trek V) and 1 each from Star Trek III and IV. Unfortunately I didn't get the first issue for The Motion Picture (TMP) as its known as the "Smoothie" kit due to its smooth surfaces, unlike the later issues that had the garbage panel designs that were all wrong



My requirements for this project so far in terms of materials I need
  1. ERTL/AMT Movie Refit USS Enterprise - check.
  2. Don Lights and Magic Accurate parts - check
  3. Madman Lighting set to light up the kit - coming soon
  4. Detailed decals as well as the Aztec Decals - coming soon 
I'm not going to explain more about these kits, or what I plan to do as yet, since I'm not ready for this project. I still have to finish up my Moebius Mark II Viper from the new Battlestar Galactica, and a couple of TOS Mark 1 Vipers from Revell.

So here's a brief preview first of what I received from DLM - The accurate parts plus instructions printed with photos and in colour, plus some painting guides:





The Refit Upgrade Set below has the correct Bridge, lower saucer sensors and the main deflector housing and array, warp collectors plus the Phaser Emitters, photon torpedo bays, etc etc





Behind and slightly underneath the Bridge is the VIP Lounge. The one on the left belongs to TMP version, while the one on the right is for the 1701 A version. I got both as I wasn't sure which version I wanted to then




The Shuttle Bay is for the 1701 A version. ERTL/AMT unfortunately did not provide any shuttle bay at all for their kits, and the end piece of the hangar bay is all wrong. I opted for the clear version for both the hangar bay and shuttle bay walls/ceiling so I can light this area up. A little bonus was that miniature Galileo Shuttle which I didn't expect. Nice.





Other clear parts consist of the Warp Flux Chillers, Upper Deck Casing, window ports, and the Impulse Deck





Besides the accurate parts, a lot of work are still needed to correct many ailing features of the ERTL kit. I'll get into more of that when I start this project, and provide a detailed step by step guide in this blog later.


As a bonus, I also got this since I found it by accident at DLM. Its the clear and detailed parts for the Revell Starfury from Babylon 5. This is just way too cool.







Now all I need is to find me a Revell Babylon 5 Starfury kit that's unbuilt..... :(

2 comments:

  1. Yes, DLM was great when the kits were there. Now, time has moved on and everyone is into 1/350 except him...... darn.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually Polar Lights (PL) was God sent. But before PL, there was only AMT/ERTL. I know of a lot of people who are now stuck with these kits, and the sheer amount of work and parts required to accurize these were a big turn off. They are also a challenge. I've yet to see a 22" ERTL kit being assembled in Malaysia, let alone one that's lighted

    ReplyDelete