AMT/ROUND 2 USS DEFIANT as seen in 'THOLIAN WEB' 1/650 scale Update #1

A Tale of Two Defiants - 23rd Century as seen in 'The Tholian Web'...

This is going to be a unique build...it's a glow-in-the-dark model, molded in glow-in-the-dark plastic which means...I can't paint or putty it, so this is where neatness counts in a big way.  Also, this model brings back fond memories as a kid building the old AMT USS Enterprise, straight out of the box....Here we go!

I love this!!  This is sooo retro, it feels like the original box art!.  Great job Round 2!

UNBOXING

There are 3 bags, the saucer, the rest and the newly molded 'Tholian Spinners'.  Also the large decal sheet included in the first R2 re-release of the AMT 18" USS Enterprise.  I still take my hat off to both Polar Lights and R2 for giving us such an accurate decal sheet with windows.

This should look familiar to anyone aged 90 - 25 who built one of these kits in it's 35+ year run from AMT.  When I built mine as a kid (and I tried to build the fleet) the font was very wrong.  Again, thank you R2 for provided accurate decals.

As this model is molded with  glow-in-the dark plastic, I decided I would use an 18" 'black-light' to illuminate it.  Since I can't paint this model, except for accents (impulse engine, end caps, deflector dish), these are areas I can modify.  First thing, the bridge dome and lower sensor dome are the wrong size and don't match the filming miniature.  The dome on the left is from an old 22 inch AMT Cut Away USS Enterprise.  What I'm going to do is cast that part as replacement domes.

 Here is my first test with the black light.

THE STAND

Normally this isn't where I start on a model but as this is a custom base, it needs attention.  The base is made of 5/8" thick plywood with a 'studio wall' with The Tholian Graphic included in the box and a ceiling to mount the black light.

The model seen here is another 18" build but a complete redo of most pieces to look like a half scale studio miniature of the 3' studio model.  Lots of subtle differences here.  Reasonably good stand-in for now.

So this base has been fun to build and uses a different skill-set when wood working vs. model construction.

This is the underside of the base.  The white strips are 3/4" ply strips left over from a different building project (apple boxes for my production company).  The strips allow for extra space along the back of the model. 

I countersunk three lines to allow for Stanley L brackets

Same done for the ceiling portion.

Part way.  I didn't countersink the back as I didn't want to compromise the strength of the plywood sheet.

Here it is assembled with the black light in place as a test.  The back wall will be covered with The Tholian Web backdrop.  The base will have sheet of clear acrylic with 'mirrored' paint sprayed on the back of it.  I'm hoping this will help bounce the light from above the Defiant to the bottom section.  The model is quite translucent and even the glow from above will glow to the bottom.  The finishing details will be made with styrene to do the trim work.  The bottom 2 cut outs are to allow for front places switches (one for the web, the other for the Defiant.)

I hope you enjoyed this first update.  Next, cleaning parts and prepping the few spots for paint.  I will be scratchbuilding a new deflector dish and housing, addressing the bottom dome and reworking the aft end caps on the nacelles.

Cheers for now and happy model building!!  Stay tuned for some finishing photos of the USS Enterprise Space Seed Edition, Update #8.