Tomcat's Five Year Mission - USS Enterprise

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 5:16 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Fri Aug 25, 2017 5:05 pm I am disappointed there are no beavers nor hockey player...or beavers playing hockey

Hmmm...ok I'll have another go...

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 6:24 pm

Starting to smell like maple syrup up in here.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 6:55 pm

Ok I bow out, I know when my memes are beat

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Fri Aug 25, 2017 6:58 pm

The beaver with the Molson is perhaps the most Canadian thing I've ever seen.

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat Aug 26, 2017 11:04 am

I had to go back 3 pages to find anything about the kit!

You Meme jockeys are off the chain and way out of control. Shame I say. Shame on you. This is a serious site for serious people.

You need to straighten up and fly right, or else......

I am just disappointed, that's all.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:08 am

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2017 11:04 am You need to straighten up and fly right, or else......

I am just disappointed, that's all.

Right you lot, you heard Admiral Stokes - pull yourselves together!

Work continued on the engine section this weekend - first up the three parts for the pylons were sealed up with the wiring running from the nacelles through them

It's not obvious from the photo but as expected there's a seam to tidy up on both sides of each pylon, so to try and keep the nacelles clean I covered them up in plain paper as well as masking off the details on the pylons themselves

I tidied the seams up and was happy with the results but then...RED ALERT!

I thought I'd sealed the decals down properly, I also thought that I'd applied the masking tape so that it was clear of the decal surface - I was wrong on both counts...

This obviously resulted in a stream of Klingon that roughly translates as "Oh I say, poor show what!"

So... after some counselling

I'm going to see if I can source some replacement decals - if not I'll paint the panels up.

Undeterred we boldly went on to see if there was some other way we could screw up - and wired up the engineering hull. The LED string had to be threaded through the base first as I don't want the hassle of cutting & splicing the wiring later

As you can see the 15 ton warp core has also been installed at the back!

Final test fitting showed that there was some leakage to be dealt with around the shuttle bay doors

But the two halves went together well and the lighting seems to be working as intended

There are some seams to be dealt with here so hopefully I can manage them without nausing up like I did on the pylons!

Thanks for dropping in!

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:53 am

She looks superb captain!

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Wed Aug 30, 2017 3:59 pm

Oh man that looks just absolutely great Neil. Wow, even tho you got a glitch on the nacelle holder thingy, im sure you'll polish that up. It all just looks awesome..

Man I love that kit and your work on it... gotto get that one soon just because its trek!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:59 pm

This thread is hilarious

It even has some good modelling

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:36 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:59 pm This thread is hilarious

It even has some good modelling

Agreed.

And if anyone is wondering, if I or anyone else goofs off in your thread it doesn't hurt your scoring for the judging.

Or so they tell me, the secret judges are pretty reclusive.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:22 am

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:53 am She looks superb captain!

DrSprue wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 3:59 pm Oh man that looks just absolutely great Neil. Wow, even tho you got a glitch on the nacelle holder thingy, im sure you'll polish that up. It all just looks awesome..

Man I love that kit and your work on it... gotto get that one soon just because its trek!

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:59 pm This thread is hilarious

It even has some good modelling

Lysus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:36 pm
Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:59 pm This thread is hilarious

It even has some good modelling
Agreed.

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

I have to admit that after the latest screw up on the pylons the mojo was feeling a little like this

Lysus wrote: ↑Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:36 pm And if anyone is wondering, if I or anyone else goofs off in your thread it doesn't hurt your scoring for the judging.

Or so they tell me, the secret judges are pretty reclusive.

You spoke to the judges!

Did they say how they felt about goofing about in your own threads?

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:47 am

I actually enjoyed my time on Rura Penthe. Don't know what all the fuss was about.

Yeah it was cold. Get over it wimps!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:17 am

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:47 am I actually enjoyed my time on Rura Penthe. Don't know what all the fuss was about.

Yeah it was cold. Get over it wimps!

Ah yes - all those nights around the camp fires quoting Shakespeare in the original Klingon

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:43 am

Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:17 am

In space, are not all warriors, cold warriors?

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:32 pm

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:43 am
Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:17 am

In space, are not all warriors, cold warriors?

Oh be honest, captain. Do you not prefer it this way?

HIghAltitudeScale · Post by **HIghAltitudeScale** » Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:03 pm

I have several of those old Star Trek manuals as well from my childhood. Great work!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:24 am

HIghAltitudeScale wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 6:03 pm I have several of those old Star Trek manuals as well from my childhood. Great work!

Cheers Brett - it's amazing how much we still hoard from years back isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by

Lysus wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:32 pm
Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:43 am
Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 31, 2017 11:17 am
In space, are not all warriors, cold warriors?
Oh be honest, captain. Do you not prefer it this way?

Post by **Tomcat64** » Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:05 pm

Time for a quick mission update from today's tribbleations

It looks like we sorted out the join on the secondary hull ok - just need to redo the panel lines and seal that next

We tried doing the panel lines on the saucer section with Ultimate Concrete wash but that dried really too light (to the point where we couldn't actually see the lines on a photo) so... we asked the science section to mix up some of the Ultimate concrete with the dark grey we'd previously tried in some kind of unholy combination; obviously the necessary safety gear was essential

But it seemed to do the trick

So sealed that up with some AK Ultra Matte and added the clear parts

And up top the impulse engine parts were installed as well - the bridge section here is just dry fitted at the moment until we install the lighting

Back to engineering for the final update

The warp nacelles were attached to the pylons. I should receive some replacement decals in the next 4-6 weeks so working on the premise that'll happen I decided to press ahead and finish the build as adding the decals at the end will be easier than painting the panels up (fingers crossed). The nacelles were attached using Tamiya standard cement - I did think about using CA but decided I needed a little bit of wiggling time to make sure they were seated correctly.

That's it for now - next up finishing off the panel lines on the secondary hull before attaching the engine section and deflector dish. That will just leave the saucer section to be added and wired up.

Happy weekend folks - thanks for stopping by.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:14 pm

This thing is going to look FANTASTIC when she is all put together
I hope it gets a prominent display spot in the house

Hilarious posts as always, going to have to up my thread goofiness just to comepete

for your weekend

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Sat Sep 02, 2017 6:33 pm

Wow Neil, that ship is gonna look just absolutely amazing. Saw bits of it on the Live show last nite as well and even seeing it from 3 computer monitors (my screen looking into Dans screen, which was a pic from your screen) it looked really cool.

I guess you could almost call that an optical illusion or an odd menagerie?

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

It is looking very cool tho, your a pro with plastic dude!

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Sat Sep 02, 2017 8:00 pm

Nice! Almost time to break out the tranya. I hope you relish it as much as I.

MakingModels · Post by **MakingModels** » Sun Sep 03, 2017 1:17 am

Looking really nice

Post by **Tomcat64** » Sun Sep 03, 2017 9:06 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Sat Sep 02, 2017 5:14 pm This thing is going to look FANTASTIC when she is all put together
I hope it gets a prominent display spot in the house

Hilarious posts as always, going to have to up my thread goofiness just to comepete
for your weekend

Cheers Scott - I've got a couple of places in mind for this when it's finished, but it's going to be a fairly big bird so will probably need some surveying.

And yep I don't know why but this one just called out for extra levels of goofing

DrSprue wrote: ↑Sat Sep 02, 2017 6:33 pm Wow Neil, that ship is gonna look just absolutely amazing. Saw bits of it on the Live show last nite as well and even seeing it from 3 computer monitors (my screen looking into Dans screen, which was a pic from your screen) it looked really cool.

I guess you could almost call that an optical illusion or an odd menagerie?

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

It is looking very cool tho, your a pro with plastic dude!

Thanks Tony. How different things might have been if the Menagerie had been accepted as the original pilot eh? Captain Pike and a laughing Spock!

I think I've got a ways to go before being a "pro with plastic" though - there's a few minor flaws on this that keep jumping out at me that aren't showing up in the photos (which is unusual as it's usually the other way around with me). So I'm in that quandary between trying to fix them because they're annoying and running the risk of turning a minor blemish which no-one else will notice into a glaring screw up!

Lysus wrote: ↑Sat Sep 02, 2017 8:00 pm Nice! Almost time to break out the tranya. I hope you relish it as much as I.

Ah yes - I am rather partial to an occasional glass, but it plays havoc with my complexion!

I'm more of a Romulan Ale fan, but then that does tend to cause diplomatic incidents!

MakingModels wrote: ↑Sun Sep 03, 2017 1:17 am Looking really nice

Thanks Karl - appreciate it

and thanks for stopping by - I think we've got a vacancy at the helm if you're interested

MakingModels · Post by **MakingModels** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 1:34 pm

Ohh yes please

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 1:50 pm

Love the design of the original series model. Its so retro with its colours and shapes. While the versions used in the films look good, the original has really got something about it. It also helps that a decently built kit looks way batter than it did on screen!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:03 pm

MakingModels wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2017 1:34 pm Ohh yes please

Cool - Welcome aboard. Don't worry about the sparks - Scotty tells me he's working on it

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2017 1:50 pm Love the design of the original series model. Its so retro with its colours and shapes. While the versions used in the films look good, the original has really got something about it. It also helps that a decently built kit looks way batter than it did on screen!

Thank you Admiral! Hopefully she'll be ready for a shakedown cruise soon

Had a bit of a play today and managed to create my own gif and link to it from Flickr; hopefully this'll give an idea of the flickering in the warp nacelles and will be useful for when I do the final lit up shots - I promise to use a tripod!

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:20 pm

Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 04, 2017 5:03 pm Had a bit of a play today and managed to create my own gif and link to it from Flickr; hopefully this'll give an idea of the flickering in the warp nacelles and will be useful for when I do the final lit up shots - I promise to use a tripod!

NOW THAT... looks like an NCC1701 forward end engine nacelle!

MakingModels · Post by **MakingModels** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 4:14 pm

Post by **Tomcat64** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:03 pm

Looks like we have a major report from engineering!

The engines have been added to the secondary hull - this definitely called for CA! The deflector housing has also been installed.

Then the decal for the top of the engineering hull was added

And finally I needed to grow a couple of extra hands but I somehow got the whole thing up on the base - primarily because I didn't fancy juggling this together after the saucer section was added. It's still tail heavy from the weight in there which "should" balance out once the saucer is in place

I need to matte down the section that's been glossed for the decal and panel lines and then that's the engineering section done. Looks like there's a bit of filling (or clamping) needed on the base pylon too but nothing major.

Aside from the replacement decals for the nacelle pylons we could be in danger of heading out of space dock for a shakedown this week!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:22 pm

Duuude!!!
Look at that!!!
It Is AWESOME

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:05 am

I don't know whether to congratulate you or not, Jim.

d114df50cd3d42af473c1b78d84b7dd752c3778a4ae709402924cba6b05c0f1b by David Stokes, on Flickr

I'll congratulate you - looks stunning, all you need is a crew to fly her now. I've just given away my rather snazzy motorbike and I'm joining the academy!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 6:25 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:22 pm Duuude!!!
Look at that!!!
It Is AWESOME

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:05 am I'll congratulate you - looks stunning, all you need is a crew to fly her now. I've just given away my rather snazzy motorbike and I'm joining the academy!

Thank you gentlemen... stand-by... we're about to leave dock...

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 6:45 pm

All hands! All Hands! Attention - this is the Captain speaking - we're ready to head out...

There's still the issue of the replacement decals to be attended to and a little final fettling but I'll save those for the final reveal so...that's us done for this cruise!

I'd like to record for the log the following personnel for their assistance in making this happen:

First Officer Mr. Lysus

Chief Engineer Scotty TwoKids (whips, rum & lighting department)

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard McSprue (additional lighting advice)

Helmsman Hikaru "Sparky" MakingModels

Admiral Horatio Stokesy

This is Captain James T. Tomcat signing off

Light her up, helm! Second Star to the right and straight on 'til morning!

Thanks to everyone that's stopped by and offered support, advice and goofing!

Live Long and Prosper!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:18 pm

That's a solid bit of alright that is!!!
Hey did I sound English??...you know like English English
Damn, I was supposed to stay Scottish...
Sweet model making my friend, hilarious thread as well

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:04 pm

A welcome edition to the fleet, captain. May you sail into clearer skies. Second start to the right and straight on till morning!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:16 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:18 pm That's a solid bit of alright that is!!!
Hey did I sound English??...you know like English English
Damn, I was supposed to stay Scottish...
Sweet model making my friend, hilarious thread as well

Aye Laddie, ye drifted a wee bit South o' Hadrian's wall there...

This has been a lot of fun

Stokesy44 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:04 pm A welcome edition to the fleet, captain. May you sail into clearer skies. Second start to the right and straight on till morning!

Thank you Admiral - your stateroom awaits!

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:27 pm

Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:16 pm
Twokidsnosleep wrote: ↑Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:18 pm That's a solid bit of alright that is!!!
Hey did I sound English??...you know like English English
Damn, I was supposed to stay Scottish...
Sweet model making my friend, hilarious thread as well
Aye Laddie, ye drifted a wee bit South o' Hadrian's wall there...

This has been a lot of fun

keep-calm-and-be-a-mad-scotsman by David Stokes, on Flickr

article-0-05484C790000044D-615_468x424 by David Stokes, on Flickr

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:31 am

You made it real Neil, well done and congratulations on an awesome perfectly done Starship!

Stash · Post by **bfrd** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:31 pm

I believe this is the bar to which all other "Enterprises" will be compared. So basically it sucks to be us if we ever decide to build one.

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:10 pm

bfrd wrote: ↑Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:31 pm I believe this is the bar to which all other "Enterprises" will be compared. So basically it sucks to be us if we ever decide to build one.

I still want to build that revell one tho, perfect for lighting, It will be fun!

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:49 pm

I leave for a few days and everyone completes amazing builds! I can hardly contain myself for the reveal...hurry up, decals!

Tremendous job, sir!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Sep 08, 2017 9:29 am

DrSprue wrote: ↑Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:31 am You made it real Neil, well done and congratulations on an awesome perfectly done Starship!

Thanks Tony

DrSprue wrote: I still want to build that revell one tho, perfect for lighting, It will be fun!

bfrd wrote: ↑Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:31 pm I believe this is the bar to which all other "Enterprises" will be compared. So basically it sucks to be us if we ever decide to build one.

Thanks bfrd! Believe me there's plenty of places where this isn't perfect and that I'd do differently if I was to go again - so loads of room for improvement

Lysus wrote: ↑Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:49 pm I leave for a few days and everyone completes amazing builds! I can hardly contain myself for the reveal...hurry up, decals!

Tremendous job, sir!

Thanks dude! Yep itching for those decals to turn up... I might have to resort to building something else in the meantime to distract myself!

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 4:02 pm

Hi there, hope all is well.

Good news! The deadline has been extended to midnight GMT October 31! Get building!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Sat Sep 30, 2017 9:45 pm

The decals arrived from Starbase 12! Many thanks to Revell customer service for sorting these out for me, great service.

Here they are in place

All being well I should be able to finally take the final reveal shots tomorrow!

Thanks for tuning back in.

DrSprue · Post by **DrSprue** » Sun Oct 01, 2017 1:08 am

Tomcat64 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 30, 2017 9:45 pm The decals arrived from Starbase 12! Many thanks to Revell customer service for sorting these out for me, great service.

Here they are in place

All being well I should be able to finally take the final reveal shots tomorrow!

Thanks for tuning back in.

Thats great Neil, yup found a few parts missing recently to an older X-1 plane when I started doing it and revell got me the missing part in about a month. Great service really.

Post by **Tomcat64** » Sun Oct 01, 2017 5:36 pm

DrSprue wrote: ↑Sun Oct 01, 2017 1:08 am Thats great Neil, yup found a few parts missing recently to an older X-1 plane when I started doing it and revell got me the missing part in about a month. Great service really.

Thanks Tony - yep submitted the request form, and got a letter back saying it'd take 4-6 weeks, and the sheet turned up at the end of the 4th week.

The final reveal photos are now up here if you'd like to see how I've been playing about with my camera today!

Lysus · Post by **Lysus** » Fri Oct 06, 2017 5:55 pm

Finally catching up on the forum...and I'm irritated that I'm not near a larger screen than my phone right now.

I'll get to the reveal in a bit once the lecture starts and I can sit at the back and space out. Get it...space...

Ahhh...i kill me.

Congrats!

Post by **Tomcat64** » Mon Oct 09, 2017 9:20 am

Lysus wrote: ↑Fri Oct 06, 2017 5:55 pm Finally catching up on the forum...and I'm irritated that I'm not near a larger screen than my phone right now.

I'll get to the reveal in a bit once the lecture starts and I can sit at the back and space out. Get it...space...

Ahhh...i kill me.

Congrats!

Thanks dude - good to see you back on the board - hope all's ok.