Polarlights Enterprise 1701-A Refit 1/350th Scale


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Final Update Part 1...That Dastardly Decal Sheet Doo-dad.
Here we be finally, it's decal time!
Well first was to have a damn good look at the destruction sheet and make sure of which ones to use as there are differences.
Thankfully this is fairly clear so onward.
Now I decided to just lay down the decals as they are, I could have gone to town and trimmed them all but to honest,
I just couldn't be bothered to and maybe it could be good to show
just how things could turn out with the stock ones.

Just couldn't help myself and went for the registry numbers and lettering because
I just HAD to see how it was going to work out...here are the results in
a 'lights off' & 'lights on' fashion.
The saucer top...



The saucer bottom...



Secondary hull pennant...



Rear of the nacelles...



Lastly, the fantail.



I have to admit I like it, I like it a lot!! so on to the rest of the ship and the
hundred or so tiny little markings..gee ain't this fun ?
Decaling Done And Done...
But We Ain't Done With The 'To Do' List Yet...
Ok then, that's 99% it with the build so a few piccies are in order I think.

















Well that's almost it as I said. Next jobs are to clear and sort the nav lights and strobes,
base it and do the final wiring up so see thee then in a yet to be sorted space below these
words on this very page people.

Go easy gang !
Final Update Part 2...Keeping Things In Good Standing.
Well first up, a project box from my local electronics mob (Maplins here in the UK) and some
additional bits here make up the basic parts for the stand.
Parts as follows: The box (obviously) 3 toggle switches, two of simple on off and one 3 position switch,
the nav/strobe circuit board, the socket for the main power and a lump of timber for the pole.

Some drill type violence perpetrated on box later and odds and sods installed.
The two small black boxes in front are the holder and drawer for a 9v battery for the nav/strobe power.
Neat little idea of a battery holder and much less fiddling about with,
makes a change for me I know.

Just put the battery in the drawer with the big spring and slot into holder,
a snap catch does the rest, nice and clean.

And the inside looks like this...

The hole for the pole fitted nice and snug and some epoxy glue didn't hurt a bit.
The stand hole was drilled a degree or two on the slant to lean the whole deal back just a bit to off
set any slight flex in the pole due to the excess forward weight,
so she would always be about level or as near as dammit anyways.

Much solder and glue slinging later, this was the result.

Everything slotted into place, bottom screwed on and it's a done deal,
later if needed I can remove the bottom plate and attach a larger foot plate for better stability.
The switches from right to left are as follows :
nav/strobe, main lights, warp and impulse light selector.

Final Update Part 3...The Last Task On The Model Proper.
Now to the nav/strobe lights. At the beginning of the paintwork, I put a small drop of clear epoxy glue on each one.
Now done with the painting, I just gently cut the top off each light.

Mixing up some fast setting epoxy clear glue, I put a small drop on each light.

The red and green lights on the saucer edge were done the same way just with a small amount of clear colouring mixed into the resin for each one and applied.

And that is about that ladies and gentlemen, just a small clean up and some black paint and some markings to be applied to the stand and that's that!



Well we are now done officially folks and it's been more than a while taken getting here.
Idiot placards on the stand to say what it is, ditto for the switches...
that idiot is me by the way.

So as some say, stick a fork in this, it's done.

What I Have Learned & Final Thoughts.
OK gang, this is where the pics stop and the wordy stuff begins so if you don't wanna know and just want to see the done deal in all her sorta glory, just click the button below...

For those of you still here, onward to the 13 most important things i've learned doing this model.

1) If you want to do a decent job on this model, there are no real shortcuts.

2) When it comes to gloss paint, the glue on low tack masking film is no longer 'low' tack.

3) It taking longer than you thought to finish is a fact of life as will be forgetting what time of day it is.

4) There will be times it will drive you up the wall...across the ceiling...and down the opposite wall.

5) Doing this kit with a view to doing it right will slowly turn into an endurance trial.

6) A sheer bloody minded determination to get the job done is not an optional extra, it's mandatory.

7) You will use more than one set of ink cartridges printing the reference photos.

The problems of lighting this model are daunting but trust me but more than worth it when you see it doing what it should.

9) You may not get it all right first time, deal with that fact and carry on.

10) You must have the courage to fail, meaning that you must recognise that it could all go wrong, deal with that fact but carry on all the same.

11) You must, by fair means or foul (foul if needs be) complete this kit and you will have something to be proud of, that much I can reasonably guarantee.

12) It is quite possible you will build more than one of these.

13) A fair amount of zen modeling (thinking about how to do it) is not a bad idea before you start.
All of the above is maybe only applicable to me but you may find some of it applies to you, especially if you've not tackled this kit yet.
There are no end of those like myself who've done this kit and more than once,
possibly they have done better than myself, I know of a few who in my opinion most certainly have done a better job.

That's my opinion and i'm sticking to it.

So a few final thoughts are as follows :

My advice if you really want to go to town on this kit, get thee hence as an example, to HobbyTalk.com

Do a search and consult the refit threads on that BBS.
Make sure you search the lighting, building and painting threads.
Never be afraid to ask questions, you will more than likely get an answer and
more than a few folks will help you out.

I for one am both happy and sad at the same time to have finished this model, yes,
there were times when it caused me great annoyance and times when it caused me great elation.

I don't want to sound like this is something more important than it is, that depends on the builder.
The end product is what I wanted it to be, looking good and lit up in an acceptable fashion.
Job done.
Now there are all manner of ways and means to build this.
Should you wish there are no shortage of aftermarket add-ons like decals, resin and etched parts etc.

What follows is just one link for some but not all of them thar extras that can be found out there:

Dons Light And Magic, Resin upgrades and lighting kits.

I didn't use any upgrade stuff on this kit. Why?
Well I just didn't want to do so as one aim of this model was to see what could be done
with the bog standard kit 'as is' so to speak.
After all, I grant you the lighting and figures were extras in this beastie but really it's pretty much a stock built kit.

So with that in mind, now you know some of what can be achieved with just a few extra bits,
some gear you may have laying about and a lot of time and headscratching...so no excuses,
get building dammit!!

And that's it gang, another deal done and dusted.
I hope you've enjoyed this lark, sometimes I have too and the end result says it all.

You lot take good care of yaselves untill the next round of hellhole happenings appear on this here site, untill then...

Go Easy People!

Raytheon.


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