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Embarking on a new Star Trek Enterprise model kit
So, we keep hearing that a 1/350 scale Star Trek Original Series Enterprise might be popular. I’ve heard it from a few folks that model builders of all shapes and sizes think it’s a grand idea… well those that have the room anyway. It is probably the most iconic spacecraft (or any vehicle for that matter) of all time and we are giddy as little school children to do it.
So we’ve begun planning, gotten some excellent consultants involved and we’re off and running. We’ve got tons of ideas to make the ultimate Enterprise kit. Now here’s my question to you modeling fans, what would you include in your dream Star Trek Enterprise model kit? Come one, come all and leave your remarks here in the comments area of this blog entry. All ideas will be considered but on the other hand nothing will be promised.
66 Responses to “Embarking on a new Star Trek Enterprise model kit”
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I know I speak for a lot of Star Trek modellers when I BEG YOU to not postpone the 1/350 TOS E kit over anything else. You must realize that this is the dream kit of most everyone here and we’ve been waiting for a large scale and accurate model kit of the world’s most beloved starship for 30 years (essentially from the date of the AMT/ERTL TMP E smoothie; if they could do that kit, why couldn’t they give us the grand lady in the same scale?). I remember whey Polar Lights first got the licence for Star Trek and everyone prayed for a 1/350 TOS E, only to see the NX-01 and Scorpion come out before PL was bought out and the hope of new kits disappeared (until now).
Please, just give us this kit and I can almost certainly guarantee that in return we’ll buy loads of them.
I’m very late to this party, but I’ll echo a lot of the comments above.
Even the possibility of a kit being made of the classic TOS Enterprise at such a large size is wonderful – the fact that its being proposed as 1/350 to match the fantastic kit of the Movie Enterprise is just phenomenal.
When it come out, I’m looking forward to getting more than a few as “kit-bashing” ideas abound.
My requests would all be seconds of comments already made:
- Please leverage the great research that has already gone into the 1/1000 kit and use the larger scale to present the Big-E in even grander form. I would value accuracy to the filming miniature over any other features (obviously not including natural flaws in the real model, such as the nail heads in the engine aft-ends, engine droop, etc.)
- A robust model that can be built and painted to be an heirloom piece and hold it’s shape for the long-term would also be of great interest. I don’t envy the engineering task of making the nacelles not droop with the thin struts the ship has, but I have faith that your folks will pull it off. (Is Thomas Sasser going to be involved on this one? He did a bang up job on his work on the 1/1000 E kit.)
A strong mount and display stand would go hand-in-hand with s stout model.
- An option for an open shuttlebay with gallery parts in clear and shuttlecraft would be appreciated.
- Extra care in the design of the parts for the nacelle domes would be nice to have. The ones on the 1/1000 kit are fine for the tiny scale. At the huge size of a 1/350 scale kit, I would hope to see the space utilized for something with even more depth, visual impact, and fidelity to the look when lit on the show.
- Designing the model to facilitate lighting of the windows, bridge, engine domes, impulse engines, and shuttlebay would be most useful.
- “Remastered”-style “aztec” decals would be nice as would decals for other ships in the fleet, but not at the expense of the other features that are tooled into the model. Decals can be printed at home… we can’t really make our own injection-tooling though
- Extra parts to allow the kit to be built as the two different “pilot” versions (as on the 1/1000 kit) would be beneficial, but personally I can’t see using them and would much rather see the investment go to one of the other suggestions in my list.
Thanks so much for what you’re doing. The tweaks to the 1/350 movie Enterprise were great. I look forward to this proposed kit, the Akira, and other good things in the future.
I have been building models for 30yrs….i have built all the TOS Enterprise kits thorough out the years!…the AMT one is inaccurate…the CUT-AWAY takes a lot of work to make it look right…P.L.s 1/1000 is cool but just to small…this the most famous ship in sci-fi history! she deserve better! this would be a dream come true for model makers…the 1/350 movie Enterprise kit is the best sci-fi kit out there right now!…a 1/350 TOS Enterprise would top that!…keep up the good work round2!!!…i hope you all make this kit!!!!!!!!!
I have only two questions: When and where can we buy one (or more!)
Yeah, actually I do have a request – not sure how it’ll fly, but it’s worth asking:
A kit-basher’s kit. Things like a modified neck for the Enterprise, modified engine nacelles (for vertical mounts for top and bottom), lower-saucer mounted sensor dishes, etc., so that modelers can build scouts, dreadnaughts, destroyers, tugs, etc. General decal sets to go with them would also be helpful.
Anyone? Thoughts on this? I think it would be a great supplemental which would probably end up selling more Enterprise kits for use with these…
Oh PLEEEZE for the love of Neptron, DO IT! I’ve been waiting so long! Do you want my credit card number now?
progress updates would be great, i have my credit card out and ready. it will be a honor to own this fine lady in this scale.
Went ahead and got the Master Replica’s 1/350 Enterprise, but would love to get a few of these for companion pieces (Want to build both pilot versions and a nicely detailed,damaged Constellation). Would even consider building a production Enterprise with the shuttlebay open, as long as the detail is the same quality of the refit. An accurate Galileo in 1/18 or 1/24 wouldn’t hurt, either.
Hoping also for a 1/350 Reliant (may have to scratchbuild this one) and Klingon Battlecruiser from the movies, but I’ll take what I can get.
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaase do this one. Do it for Kirk. Do it for spock. Do it for the fans. Do it for the kids. But especially, do it for me.
Hi,
I really want a 1/350 TOS original Enterprise Kit. Your company has said they want input from customers on the model, and I wanted to have my say. I really want the model to be lightable. The best thing about a big enterprise is the ability to light it if you want to. Here are the main things I’d like to see in the model.
-I would like for all the windows that are in the TV ship to either be cut out, or to be indented (like voting chads), so they can be either left and be painted or so they can be easily poked out if the modeler wants to light the window holes. Cutting windows is a huge pain please include window holes or chads. Please make sure all the windows on the sauser, main hull, and conecting stem all have the windows in the same places and numbers that apear on the ship in the old show. Saving us the pain of cutting them out would be awsome.
-The nacell domes should be transparent, frosted. For those who want to make the pilot enterprise you can include a second set of red nacells, but the kirk enterprise does have clear frosted nacells. The domes should fit on the nacells like on the old show. On the old amt model the domes are smaller than the nacells circumfirance but on the show the domes are the same circumfirance, and semlessly fit. Also there should be fan parts. The show has a moving fan in the nacell domes in front of the lights. These fans should be included, or some peice that creates the illusion of the fan, or both. Some may want to try to make it move others may want to create the illusion of movement by putting a fan infront of circulating lights.
-The shuttle bay should be fully built and the door should be openable. It would be nice if when you open the shuttle door that the shuttle turns around on a platform toward the door like on the show, but that is less nessisary than having the shuttle bay with a shuttle inside. Most important the doors should look like they did on the show. The old AMT model had very different doors thick with grooves. The TV show had a door that was thin and opened apart in the center.
-There are also blinking lights on the enterprise. Assuming you won’t include lights on the enterprise model it would be nice if the bumps representing the lights where removable, but it’s not as big a deal as the windows since they can be drilled through easily and replaced with led lights since they are round. The windows are extreamly hard to cut by comparison.
-If you include a lighting kit it would be nice if you make it so someone with minor know how can make changes to it. Some TOS lighting is up to interpretation. I personaly want to connect the electronics to some other kits like the bridge kit, so they work in tandem. It would also be nice if the lighting kit could be bought by itself.
It would be nice if the model could be reinforced from the inside so it doesn’t fall apart with age like so many models; while still having pleanty of room for lights. I haven’t used decals much yet, but it would be nice if they were thick and easier to place. I’m a bit of a beginer, but I’m starting to work on other models now, and am even taking an electronics class to learn how to light this model once it comes out. I know alot of people feel how I do about the windows and lighting. We want to make a killer enterprise down to the lit windows some of which turn on and off periodically.
Ultimately it would be good if the kit had a lot of leway for people with different ideas.
-It would also be nice if not long after the 1/350 TOS enterprise you also released a 1/350 TOS Klingon D7 Ship and a 1/350 Romulan Bird of prey, both of which need very little lighting.
I’d like to hear back from Round 2 so I know you heard me. Sorry it’s so long but I really wanted to express this stuff.
Thanks
P.S.
I don’t know how to get an alert when people leave replys. How do I do that?
dunderdeck- We hear you. Thanks for chiming in.
As for a method for getting notifications, I don’t know of anything. I asked our web guy about it and he investigated it a little bit. He said he would advise you to subscribe to our RSS feed or check back regularly and new posts should be the first thing you see. Otherwise, he suggests seeing if WordPress might offer a plugin to do this. Sorry we don’t have a better answer. Maybe someone else knows better than we do.
Do you think the windows will be cut out like on the show, or be able to be popped out. I think that that along with the naccelles will really make the model. Also, when do you think it will be released?
Thanks
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE MAKE THIS KIT!!!!! I have 3 of the enterprise A kits I love them so much!! I SO badly want this I can’t even convey how badly!!!
I’ve been collecting for years and this would be one of my favorite things!
Honestly just the kit like the Enterprise A kit would be amazing!! We can do lights and everything if it’s not cost effective to do so, BUT THIS KIT WOULD SELL LIKE CRAZY!!!
I’D VENTURE TO SAY IT WOULD BE ONE OF THE BEST (OR THE VERY BEST) SELLING MODELS!!
ANY UPDATE WOULD BE GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have waited for 40 years for a HUGE model of the Enterprise! As you can see from the other posts, accuracy and detail are the primary concerns. I think making enough room in the model for a strengthening armature would be great. I plan to build this and display it prominently in my home (much to my wife’s chagrin). I want this to be the best model I have. Right now, that honor goes to the 1000 scale Enterprise A with the already-painted-on detail. PLEASE offer this model!