My Review of AMT Round 2 Cadet Series 1/2500 scale USS Enterprise Kits

The AMT Round 2 Cadet series is aptly named for its simplicity (very minor painting required, comprehensive decals and simple snap-fit assembly) and I believe these kits were designed to mainly cater to the beginner. But I have found that many professionals opt on getting these as even at 1/2500 scale
(very small), they are quite detailed, and they all come in the same scale, giving them dimensions relative to their actual sizes if compared side by side. Who can say no when these are Starships we have come to love.

The Cadet series is basically a repackaged form of the old AMT/ERTL kits. Set 1 previously came with the Classic Enterprise, the Refit, and the Enterprise D, while Set 2 completed the range with the Enterprise B, C and E.


AMT/ERTL 1/2500 scale Enterprise Set 1 and Set 2



With the Cadet Series, the first set is now repackaged with the Classic Enterprise, the Refit and Enterprise B. Enterprise C, D and E comes in their own separate triangular boxes. They are basically the same, using the same mold as with their earlier predecessor, but they now comes with very comprehensive decals packed together.

The only things that were omitted out from the Cadet Series were the display stands for these kits. In the earlier issues, those fancy display stands took up most of the box space as the ships were relatively small at 1/2500 scale. By removing the display stands, the kits can now come in those cute but unworkable triangular box. I didn't like them for 2 reasons, the first being its harder to keep them among my stash as there's no way to prop the boxes together properly, and second, try putting the parts back in again - especially the Enterprise D. I had to spend some time test fitting its parts still on their Spruce to fit in just nice.

As for their display stands, its looking like you may need to get creative. The Classic Enterprise, Refit and Enterprise B no longer have those gaps underneath so you may need to drill through for a display rod to fit. I do have some suggestions later on in this topic.

Outer Space Outfitters Lighting Panels are now Restocked at CultTVman Hobbyshop

Finally after waiting for what seems like ages, Outer Space Outfitters have once again reissued some of these highly sought after lighting panels. They are now restocked over at CultTVman Hobbyshop but I'm not sure how long these will stay restocked.

As promised, I am highlighting them here so as to alert some of you to go get them NOW. Please bear in mind that these items may go out of stock anytime soon judging from the amount of feedback I have received for them, so I would recommend if you can to get yours ASAP before its too late. I myself don't fancy waiting another 6-8 months for another re-stock.

Viper lighting panels from Outer Space Outfitters

BG Lighting inserts from Outer Space Outfitters

Bridge Lighting Panels from Outer Space Outfitters

Galileo Shuttle Panels from Outer Space Outfitters

Shuttle detail set from Brad Hair Productions

Here is something interesting. I wasn't aware that an accurization set was still available for the ERTL/AMT Shuttle Galileo II kit, and it does look VERY tempting. Kit includes rear engine bulkhead, landing pads, rear landing strut, and nacelle details.  Please note that you will need to do some clean up on these resin parts. I might consider this set since I know Brad Hair's quality of work is simply superb. Just check out his work HERE

You'd need to go over to CultTVman Hobbyshop to see what else you need that's restocked. And it looks like a lot of stuff including some new kits are available now.

Its Official! New 2009 Movie Enterprise from Polar Lights is Cancelled

It was only expected  looking at the way information and images from Round 2's blog could mysteriously disappear. Some may rejoice while others will mourn, and as for me, well, it would be nice to be able to have her in my collection.

Their official statement:

Round 2 is not proceeding with development on the U.S.S. Enterprise model kit, as based on the 2009 film, Star Trek. We will continue to focus on classic Star Trek by reissuing nostalgic favorites and enhanced re-releases as well as some all-new tooling of favorite Trek subjects.

Steve Iverson of CultTVman perhaps rounded up the entire debacle over this development the best in his brief summary at his blog. Now we await to see the fate of the 1/350 scale Classic Enterprise.

Coming Soon : My reviews on AMT Round 2 Star Trek Kits and .....

Got these today. The package actually arrived on Saturday at my office and since I don't work Saturdays, the delivery guy sent it to the company's mailing room. Of course no one notified me.

My cousin however did inform me on Saturday that he had received his kits, so I had assumed mine was coming today (Monday). It had to. Both packages were sent out at the same time. Imagine to my horror as I waited .... and waited ... almost the whole day went by and nothing. I checked the tracking and it stated "attempted to make delivery on 19 Feb" .. I was like WTH!!!! Where could she be???

Then close to going home time, my office dispatch gave me a call and said, "Bruce, you have a package with us. Came last Saturday ..."  A little annoyed but I'm a happy camper now.

And I was suppose to begin an extensive review and comparison for each of these kits using their past releases as comparisons. I had all these planned out but because I spent too much time playing nurse to Momma Kitty (see last two post where she just gave birth), looks like the review will have to wait until much later. Need to turn in for the night as I have to still earn a living tomorrow. And I didn't realise playing nurse could be so tiring.

But here's what you can expect :


Received these today. The complete 1/2500 scale Enterprises, 1/537 scale reliant and the 1/1000 scale Enterprise B

 

I will be comparing these to their early issues, and I already know the "Enterpise C" still has her decals in error

 

As for these two, I want to see their Aztec decals .. later.



The Reliant will also be compared to her earlier issue - lots of corrected parts with this kit



As with the Enterprise B. Looking forward to compare her to see the completely new lower primary hull as well as a different "top" to the secondary hull. The planetary sensor dome is now also more accurate and there is a "trench" that was not on the lower saucer on the original kit


 Also coming will be my review on my humble collection of Patlabor Anime kits. It ain't much but from what I see, most of these already come pre-painted.

And lastly .... well, I saw this selling in a shop. She looked cute so I got her. My foray into the Naval Model Scene ... just don't know when that is going to happen yet.

Later folks. Need to catch some zzzzzz's now.

Happy Birthday to my Cousin Bennie

Best Wishes to ya and may the year of the Rabbit brings much fortune and health ......

 Erm .. ok, it is still some kind of rabbit ... right? Qapla?

Let me intro my cousin to everyone. His name is Bennie, and he has been a Star Trek fan like me since when we were very young. He has recently expressed his interest to foray into the world of scale model building, and with this in mind, I decided for his birthday this year, I was going to give him something really unique, something very special - a package with his favourite Star Trek ships from AMT all the way from the US.

From his SMS since morning .... wish I could be there to see his face when he got the package and opened her. I'm really happy to see him smiling like that.

Now the only thing left is to get some proper tools. Also recommend getting some Tamiya paints as well, particularly the colour yellow, blue, red and black ... that is if you're still not planning to completely paint them. You're going to need those colours for the warp nacelles, impulse engines, sensors, etc etc. Kit is already molded in white so there is no need for painting. And oh yeah, some nice art brushes too.

And my appreciation to John Lester of Starship Modeler (SSM) for making this possible. That package was his first ever from overseas and he had been trying to get a good kit of the Enterprise B since ........ hell, since the first time we saw her in Star Trek Generations. Now he has two. The Enterprise C completes his collection of all ships bearing the name USS Enterprise ... oh wait, I left out the NX-01. Nuts.

Thanks John. This is yet another prime example of dependable service from SSM as the package arrived right on time before his birthday. It really makes the occasion more meaningful

Acreation Models Holiday Sales for Christmas

Christmas is coming .. hint hint! HAHAHA .... well, at least take this as advance notice to get your Christmas shopping done pronto. There was once about 3 years ago I had wanted to get my wife a special something. She likes owls so I found a shop online that had something she didn't have in her collection. Problem was .. the online shop was in Japan. And everything there was in Japanese. So I wrote the shop early December ... waited for a reply which came back 4 days later in broken English, queried the guy about his shipping methods and gift wrapping .. waited for his reply which came 5 days later, and then realised its mid December. There is no way her present was going to come in time. Suffice to say I got that much much later for her birthday instead, but the anguish, the torment ..... it was hell. I was to blame too for shopping late.

So, with that in mind, here's the question ... Have you shopped for presents for your loved ones yet? Buying yourself a Christmas gift is also acceptable ... just don't tell too many people yar.

OK, let's see what's already available online for Christmas - Acreation Models

Yup, for those who had used Acreation Models' decals, you aleready know about their quality and how realistice the decals are (they're also very accurate, esp with the Star Trek decals).  Acreation Models is having its Holiday Sale now and looking at the prices ...... well, I myself jumped along with the bandwagon and ordered my Battlestar Deluxe Set. The decals in this set are comprehensive as they cover all the rib areas besides the armour unlike the Armour Plate Decal set which only covers the armour areas and Flight Pod Recess.  



Battlestar Deluxe Set



Polar Lights 1:350 Enterprise Refit Aztec Decals V2



1:1400 ENTERPRISE D AZTECS

 

Enterprise E Aztec Decals


Go check out his site before its too late. You won't find those prices anywhere else.

Finally, yes, Finally the Moebius Battlestar Galactica is in my Hands

With a 5 - 10 days shipping period for International Priority Mails, the wait itself was painful but Starship Modeller again did not disappoint. Package came exactly 10 days and boy, I felt like a little kid again.

I had pre-ordered this kit for a very long time, I think among the first few who did, hoping to get her fast. I didn't expect the strong demand for this kit overwhelmed almost most of the online stores, delaying the shipping by a few days. But the package came, and I am happy.

When I got home, I began snapping pictures at the new arrivals until my 5th click when I got the dreaded  "Battery Weak Warning". Darn it .. had to recharge the camera batteries before I could continue. After two and a half hours of recharge time, I'm back snapping pictures away. Interestingly enough, I have another shipment from CultTVman that's coming and according to the Tracking Status, it just reached Malaysian Customs yesterday. So that'll take another one or two days before she reaches me.

So for today's package, I received 2 units of Moebius BSG, the aftermarket PEs from Paragrafix for the BSG, and PE for the 1/350 scale Polar Lights Refit Enterprise, Hull decals for the 1/350 scale NX01, and several Mark II Viper Canopy Mask.

About Round 2's AMT 1/2500 scale Star Trek Enterprise C

Its great that Round2 is re-releasing these fantastic kits again. The previous release that had the 1/2500 scale Enterprise C was when they had the "3 Enterprises Sets". Set 1 had TOS 1701, 1701A and 1701D, and set 2 had 1701B, 1701 C and 1701 E. I still have these sets stack somewhere in my stash somewhere, and now Round 2 has actually re-released these in the market with new decals. The kits however are reissues of the earlier release. Here's some images how these Enterprise sets looked like when they were first released:

Set 1

Set 2

The Round 2 re-release still issues a 3 Enterprise Set, but this time it will have the TOS 1701, 1701A and 1701B while the Enterprise C, D and E now comes in their own box. All these 1/2500 scale re-release are now categorised as "Cadet Series", a new category given due to the simplicity of assembling these kits. Its also a way to help re-cultivate good old fashion Sci Fi Scale Modelling by producing easy to assemble kits that comes with very nice details and decals.

The Enterprise C re-release couldn't have come at a better time since this kit is truly rare in styrene format. I've read praises that the molds are good, and fittings are near to perfection. The new Aztec decals they've included also helps to give the kit a closer resemblance to what you see on TV.

This set did have one problem. The decals included had the "USS Enterprise" mispelled as "USS Enterpise", missing the "R".

But Round2 is making good its claim as a responsible and trustworthy Scale Model Kit Manufacturer. If you find your kit with this decal problem - then you need to just follow their instructions

AMT661 DECAL ERROR - REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Due to a typo on our latest release of the 1:2500 scale U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-C (AMT661), we are offering a replacement decal. Send the postcard included in the Enterprise 1701-C (AMT661) Star Trek model kit. Fill out the information completely and mark the bottom with “ENTERPRISE C”. The replacement decal will be sent out promptly.

Got that? Alrighty then, you're now set to produce one of Star Trek's famous ship and add her into your personal fleet collection.

Starship Comparison Chart

Ever wondered how big ships from Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, or Star Wars would compare in terms of size if these movies were to come into one universe? Well here's a nifty chart showing how big these ships would be if they were to meet.

More comparison charts after this jump

What do you get if you cross the Enterprise with the Reliant?

THIS BLOG HAS BEEN AMENDED

Why the USS Hybrid of course. Just kidding. I would like to introduce you to John Payne, Kitbasher extraordinaire. I actually googled the name of the ship he created below and found his site. This guy is truly fantastic. He'a an awesome modeller, and his ideas and creativity for non canon Star Trek ships are simply outstanding.

Here's a sample of his kit - The USS Belisarius.


Sourced from Cultman, this kit was created by John Payne.
The page is currently being archived and will be linked back later when its available.
In the meantime, you can check out Cultman's Fantastic Modelling for more great builds and highlights



Click HERE to see more of his creations and builds


This guy gets Top Marks for his ingenuity and creativity. And I love what he did to a lot of his builds too ..