Constitution Class Refit - Polar Lights 1/350 scale UPDATE #8 Neck

Greetings!

This entry will go over the building of the neck (interconnecting dorsal hull).

In order of building this model, this part I started to work on while the saucer was being glued together (to be shown in a future build).

I think for most skeptics, this is the most unrealistic piece of the design of this starship; a huge saucer, 11 decks thick in the middle, which is cantilevered over the starship's centre of gravity.  The Enterprise-D exaggerated this, which too me makes the design more 'out of this world'.  I digress...

Early on I had to figure out a wiring path.

For the longest while, I've kept my unused parts taped together with masking tape on the stand.  There are many reasons I do this: a) it frees up space in the overcrowded box; b) it allows me to visualize the completed model; c) there is a sense of accomplishment as this model is slowly being assembled with the mock-up getting disassembled.

That is the 1/1000 USS Enterprise-A Secondary Hull Assembly resting on one of the pegs for the neck connection to the Primary Hull (Saucer Section).

On of the things I don't like about this kit is how the neck connects to the saucer and fuselage (primary/secondary hulls).

The 1/350 TOS Enterprise got it right by making it a large tab on both sides.  A comparison:

And both secondary hull assemblies (note how much masking tape is used to hold the Refit together on top vs. the lack of tape on the TOS Secondary Hull).

The interior of both necks.

I always worry about dry fitting the neck into the hull in case the pins break - it's happened on another model kit which is destined to be a 'kitbash' model of a heavy destroyer, or a 1/350 Stargazer, which would require a 2nd kit.

That said, it is a vast improvement over the old AMT/Ertl Refit kit of 1/537 scale.

The shape of the neck (Ertl kit) was very crude and the docking ports are funny enough the same size as the ones on the 1/350 kit (which is scale accurate, minus a few details).  And there is only one alignment pin on the top of the neck and recessed area to connect with the very heavy saucer.

Having had many of these kits, this did manage to hold for many years...the nacelle pylons were a different story.  But one thing is known about the Ertl kit, it was designed to be illuminated.  The very first release (AKA the 'smoothie') in 1980 and the subsequent release in 1989 had internal lighting systems, the latter one more advanced.  I digress though, but will say at least one kit was built by ILM to represent the USS Enterprise in Star Treks II, III and VI in distant shots, and was sold at Christie auction in 2006.

PREP & PAINTING

Early on, I assembled the whole of the secondary hull and neck with dabs of hot glue and electrical tape (inside) so I could paint the entire sub assembly whole, and thereby eliminating the need to mask off all of the part edges, critical for having a good, clean surface to bond the plastic together.  Any new section of model to be painted always gets washed first with dish detergent and warm water to get rid of any mold release.

First, grey primer to show the defects, followed by white primer as that is close to the hull colour and easier to paint pearl white over it.

So now I have two halves of the neck, clean.  My first task was to start painting where the seam doesn't show.  This also allowed me to paint the hull where the windows are so I don't have to mask off each window individually.

First accent colour is the vertical strip which represents a heavily shielded area where the warp core meets with the impulse deflection crystal.  This section of the ship is designed to have 'blow out panels' in case of an emergency.

Unfortunately as what can be seen below, the grey panel below is where I have had to repaint as the white pearl reacted badly with the paint and created a 'cracked surface', much like you would see in a dried up lakebed, not unlike in Kingman, AZ (what a beautiful state with its deserts, rock formations and kind people).

After some red putty and many coats, I fixed this problem.  Now onto the Torpedo Launch Exhaust Port.  I love how on this model kit they gives you two options, one that looks like the Ertl incorrect part (which they call the Enterprise A version) and one that looks like studio model.  For me, studio model is the way to go.

TORPEDO LAUNCHER

This is one of the main differences which separates this Refit from the original, the visible Torpedo launcher.

On the original Enterprise from the 1960s tv series, all of the weapons emanated from lower saucer, near the central dome, but never was a mark shown where it came from.   It can be seen here.

For the feature films, the torpedo bay, among others (RCS thrusters, Phaser Banks) have become standard demarcations on all Federation Starships.  A updated example.

This is from Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.  This is actually a close-up model of neck, torpedo and upper secondary hull, built for Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan.  Note there is no windows or docking port along the starboard side of this model.

So here is the model part:

With the way models can be built today, I might have made the photon torpedo tubes hollow in regular plastic and added lenses to them, but the studio model had a lens on the front of the torpedo tubes too.

Once masked and painted up, the part is impressive.  Great work Polar Lights (original manufacturer of this kit)!!

LIGHTING

I used two of my smallest LEDs to illuminate this part, so small, I always grow nervous of soldering them, in the past, I've gone through an entire 10 pack attempting to solder them.

Each torpedo tube is separately wired to allow the user to turn on one at a time.

This connection is exceptionally fragile.

So here is the basic lighting setup for the window ports.

And the neck halves dry fitted to test the lighting.  Looks good to me.

Lighting test - docking ports on the same deck as the torpedo bay have not been illuminated yet.

Here is a top down view.

I mated the neck with upper hull segment of the Secondary Hull to see if there is adequate lighting to illuminate the docking portholes.  I will need an LED additional strip for this.

ASSEMBLING THE NECK

Despite planning, there are more wires to go through the neck along the leading edge than originally planned.  I know I can re-route the wiring through another method.

The other big 'ick' is the check-marked shape section on the neck.  Since I've altered the impulse engine, it no longer mates flush with the neck.  This requires me to add more material to the neck, something consistent with the old ERTL model.  

In fact, both the original and Constitution Reft's neck mated close to the engine.  The only 'Enterprise' which had a complete circular saucer with no breaks, either as plant-ons or cut-outs is the Enterprise-C. 

Also my least favourite version of the Enterprise - the early version painting of it looks less awkward than the finished model.

The next big issue is neck doesn't fit into the groove of the saucer.  This is a big problem.  The pins in my honest opinion are not strong enough to carry the weight of the saucer.  My solution is to trim the neck so it fit flush with the saucer. 

Now that all the considerations have been made regarding the neck, it's time to finally glue it together. 

This part is such a crucial part to be strong.  I've allowed it to cure for over a week.  During this time, I started work on the inner workings of the Secondary Hull and the secondary Hull itself.

Once the neck was setup, I then proceeded to pour hot glue to help reinforce the LEDs behind the torpedo launcher.  Then I seamed and scribed the panel lines across the seam on the front and back.  Next step is to deal with the large gap where the 'skeg' on the neck meets impulse engine.  I glued a piece of 'backing' styrene so I can add pieces of styrene later when I mate the neck with the saucer.

My understanding is this part was later added to the neck, to reflect the part which is on the rear of each nacelle.  It's kind of like a 'mini-keel', and both parts are painted the same colour and have the same texture on it.

To replicate the contour, I use an old tool, a contour gauge.  Once pressed against a curve, the individual pins will form the curve of the surface.

contour gauge applied to the saucer.

 This edge is then transferred to sheet styrene plastic.

The same method is used on the impulse engine.

The final part will be made of three pieces of styrene to form an extended box off of the skeg.

The next step was to eliminate the seam in the neck.  Red putty and grey primer to the rescue!

ADDITIONAL PAINTING

To deal with the seams, I painted the leading edge of the neck and the trailing edge as separate colours.  

Something I did notice was the old and new coats of Tamiya Pearl White are different hues.  Since this is going to get wallpaper decals to simulate the aztec hull plating, I'm not worried about this.

Also, the masking I used on the torpedo launcher kept falling off so there is over-spray unfortunately.  This is an easy fix with a brush.

The green vertical stripe (which is supposed to be 'blow out' panels for the warp core) is too dark in my opinion.  It also has chipped a number of times too.  So I'm repainting it.

Finally I can say this is actually the second exterior piece which is completed, painted (minus touch-ups) and the first with lighting (although additional lighting will be added once I prepare to assemble the model).  The only thing which I haven't painted is the 'skeg', something I will paint once it is attached to the saucer as both the area around the neck and the keg are painted the same light blue colour.

The neck finally illuminated with the torpedo bays ready to fire.

This is an accidental shot, but I thought I'd include it.  It sort of reminds me of the early promotional material for Star Trek The Motion Picture with the light trails and psychedelic worm-hole effect.

That ends this entry.  Currently I'm cleaning up the secondary hull for light leaks and dealing with a few issues with the saucer.  The final assembly of this model is as follows as per the instructions:

...and this is where there model is at, in terms of what is assembled (even if there is still work to be done on both the saucer and secondary hull).

Happy model building, cheers!! 

All still images taken of the USS Enterprise from Star Trek are being used for educational use only.  This blog does not claim rights of ownership over any images sourced from the internet.