Romulan Bird of Prey - 1/650 Vintage Recreation Display: Build Log #5

Greetings model builders!

Continuing on with the Bird of Prey...

This is where we last left off with this project.  For those wondering why there is a lean (or listing to be nautical) to the model on its stand, that's because I re-opened up the hole after drizzling epoxy through it in the main hull for the stand and did it hand-held with a drill.

Below are the two components to still be added to the model, but won't be doing it until the decals are on and sealed as I want to make the finish of the model different from these and to keep these components crisp.  Debating on the colour of the 'bussards'.  It's hard to tell what colour they were but I like the gold.  If I didn't have a reference, this would be my instinct to use.

So, during the holidays, after some excitement getting my 1/350 Klingon K'Tinga, and a lot of libations wet sanding the hull, I dropped this model a total of 4 times!!

I didn't photograph the aftermath, too upset...

So the damage wasn't severe, but the port nacelle popped off and the joint along the port wing/pylon cracked.  So I used gap-filling Super T Glue (CA) to address this, followed by 'red putty'.

I sanded the rest of the hull with 400 and 600 with wet sand paper.  In sanding over a few times, I noticed the pylon connection with the nacelle and the main hull developed a crack.

a very fine split

I'm relatively new to using Super T Glue, and I have great results with it.  Unfortunately when this happened my thin version of it had dried up?  Weird, so I went back to my original CA solution (and doing this after-hours, this was my only other option).  Just a different thin CA, all good.  I drizzled using capillary action to fill the gap with ZAP and used a fast setting solution to set it.

So here we are with pass #3 with the main colour, Testors Light Blue.

Sanding the hull again with 400 grit wet sandpaper and 600 grit.

And this revealed some flaws of the recent repair.

So more sanding, and red putty work...

That about wraps up this entry.  Below is a link to the previous entry, part 4.

https://fordosmodels.blogspot.com/2018/12/romulan-bird-of-prey-1650-vintage_29.html

Happy Model Building!

Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan blog (production) is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made blog intended for recreational use.  No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.

Retro Review: Klingon Battle Cruiser!! - pre-build update for a BIG project...

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

Did you have a good New Years?  I did!  Thank goodness 2018 is over, although it was largely a good one, time for a renewed sense of optimism for the future.

So this is a bit different, it's not an update but a review of a kit I recently acquired, a 1979 Vintage Klingon Cruiser from Star Trek The Motion Picture.  About 2 years ago I did a similar entry for the Vulcan Shuttlecraft https://fordosmodels.blogspot.com/2017/01/retro-review-vulcan-shuttlecraft.html

I feel this entry is appropriate as this year will be the 40th anniversary of the release of Star Trek The Motion Picture.

The callout on the front of the box.

'Quality molded in a way which will allow the younger modeler to build an attractive model without painting.'  Well, when I was a young modeler, this was true, but I think both Round 2 and Bandai have really cornered the market I feel in terms of releasing kits with multiple coloured sprues.

A sign of the times with the hanging method as a display option.

And the best part of this box art is pictures of the studio model, but truncated.

And this I love, a picture of Spock and Kirk with an early version of the Enterprise Refit, also known as the Taylor/Dow Refit Enterprise which doesn't have the internal spotlights and TOS styled bridge and sensor dome on the bottom of the primary hull.

Inside the box, the first thing that stood out for me was the vintage promotional art.  I have one of these from an old USS Enterprise AMT Refit from TMP, often referred to as a smoothie.

So here are the parts laid out.  What's interesting to me is that it's molded in battleship grey.  The kits I got in the 80s (in Canada) were a light blue, much like the TOS Klingon D7.  I had heard some of these kits were released in many different colours, even including black, much like the current 1/350 K'Tinga.

And the instruction sheet which at the time used to show the parts layout, much like Revell kits.

And of course, the rub-down transfers and the holographic stickers.

THE COMPARISON...

So here is the vintage kit in comparison to current Round 2 re-release.

Here are a direct comparison of the parts.  No changes here, but anything missing here just fell off the sprue.

This is the only sprue/part that did change, the lower main hull.

The new part omits this part, the burnishing tool for applying the rub-down transfers.

The other major change is the new stand system for the model vs. the original one.

The original stand is on the left and the standard large Round 2 stand on the right.

vintage K'Tinga

new re-release K'Tinga

You can also see a dramatic height difference too.  

Here are the decal comparison with the new version on the bottom.

Instructions comparison

original

re-release

original

re-release

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

Happy Model Building!

Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan blog (production) is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made blog intended for recreational use.  No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.