RETRO BUILD: AMT/ERTL Galaxy Class Tesla (Enterprise-D) Part 6

Greetings, its been a long while.  Things have been very busy with work and unfortunately I had a computer an iPhone and a camera die on me and that computer was the one I use to post on, so my blog has taken a back seat for the last while.  I'm back, with lots to update on.  Since I started writing this post back in July, I figure I'd finish it first before I continue with my USS Defiant build.  I digress, to the model!  And for those seeing this for the first time, this build occurred last year and was my first build with lights since the 1990s!...I digress...

As last seen in my previous entry on the TESLA retro-build, I finished the 'Stardrive' section.  Now moving on to the Saucer Section...

Of all of the canon Federation starships in the Star Trek universe, the Galaxy Class had the largest volume as it was essentially a 'hotel resort' with warp engines, and most of that volume was in the saucer.  So there are lots of windows, and lots of lifeboats.  This is the easiest part of the model to build but the most monotonous section to detail.

I sanded off the lifeboat hatches as they were uneven, some went through grid lines and the studio model the lifeboats appear virtually flat (on the 6 foot model, the 4 foot model had physical relief).  To put back the lifeboats, I decided to make my own decals based off the Round 2 decals included in the clear Enterprise-D release which came out a few years back and since i would be using clear decal sheets for my model, that means I'd have to paint the model tan and mask off the individual squares.  No small task.

Also I added detail which is on the 6' model at various points on the losel saucer.

The Azteking...

On Starship Modeler's website, there are many resources one can download, including decals.  I decided to use an available download decals for this model as frisket masks (in hindsight, it would have been easier, cheaper and faster to print these on decal film and apply it directly to the model.)

This is a coat of white primer.

Next layer of masking.

Originally I was going to apply this as a decal but soon realized it would not match so I had to mask these patterns off individually.

Final under coat!

Now with the hull panel masking removed...(sort of interesting looking if not circus-like)

And now, the base coat...

...and with all of the masking removed...

painting the life boat hatches first and then masking them gave them a 'stepped' appearance, I kinda like it.  For all of the effort, I would either order an extra set from Round 2 next time or find one by the many after-market suppliers.  That would also go the same for the Azteks.  It will be interesting when I finally get around to building my Enterprise-D.

Here is the lower saucer test mated to the Star Drive (Engineering) Section.

On to the Upper Primary Saucer:

This is the same process as before, for the bridge section, I unfortunately lost the dome (a pattern which I've recently found to be time consuming and expensive when you have a a build lasting over months) so I melted 2 fiber optic strands together to get the approximate shape.

It should be noted that I filled in the scribed line where the 5-bank lifeboats intersect the gridline and then re-scribed it after it was masked off...FYI.

Here is the whole model temporarily sitting together, the upper hull unmasked.

What I didn't chronicle are all of the touch ups where tape pulled paint.  Since I used aerosol spay cans to paint the model, I would spray a small amount on a surface like vinyl or something the pain wouldn't adhere to and use cotton swabs and brushes to touch up the sections.  Very effective.

So this is where I will be leaving this 'retro update' for now.   It's sort of funny, it was almost exactly a year ago I finished this model.  Oh well, I hope you are all enjoying this build.  Cheers and Happy Model Building!