Romulan Bird of Prey - 1/650 Vintage Recreation Display: Build Log #1

Greetings model builders!

For those who have been following the site and the USS Olympia build, I'm still working on it, in between work and I will admit, it's been slow going.  Not to fear, there will be more content coming on this particular model...

As a kid, I was always on the hunt for new models, as I was exploring this hobby in the 1980s.  I remember particularly in one store there was a Romulan Bird of Prey, hanging from the ceiling of a long defunct hobby shop.  At the time I wanted it as there was nothing else out there like that except this kit:

I built this set many times and specifically for this blog about 4 years ago.

https://fordosmodels.blogspot.com/2014/12/star-trek-space-ship-set-amt-11600_31.html

I've been racking my brain to think what simple builds I can do between jobs, which are not complicated but do them well and it came to me, build this Romulan Bird of Prey, without heavily modifying or accurizing it, but build it the way it was originally intended to be built in the 1970s.

Round 2 Re-Release

The original model kit was made in 1975 by AMT.

As that kid in the 80s, the model had been out of print for about 10 years from when I first saw it, and unlike now, there was very little way of acquiring hard to find things back then.  Round 2 re-released this kit in 2011 and made several improvements such as add the plasma weapon on the bow, clear nacelle domes and the famous Round 2 dome base.

I first got this model as a Christmas gift about 6 years ago, and I knew i'd build it one day, but never assumed I'd not light it.  Seeing another kit in a store for $20, changed my mind and now will build this as static model (no lights and no embellishments), to create a very simple, elegant and sticking with the parts as it would have been released originally.  I will create my own window decals, vs. painting them and use the updated decal sheet.  Otherwise, it will look as if it were built decades ago...

1/650 Romulan Bird Of Prey

 Upon opening the kit, you can see it comes in 4 bags plus decal sheet and the Round 2 medium dome  base.

The decals are nice and bright.  What has been added are the upper wing details.

A comparison of the commercially available kits decal sheets.  The only one no longer being made is the 1/1600 one, as previously mentioned.

Here is a mock-up of the 1/1600 and 1/650 models.

The 1/1600 model was  built in 2014 as part of the above mentioned Space Ship Set.

That will wrap up this entry, until the next time!

Happy Model Building!

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