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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.
MANY people have been waiting for this one for a LOOOONG time! Design it around the idea that people will want to add internal lighting. Include a hangar deck with the gallery and control room in clear plastic and also a couple of shuttle craft.I know I don’t need to say this, but I will anyway–accuracy and detail are paramount. There’s a ton of reference out there, and anyone who cares to put money into buying into this cares about accuracy more than anything else. Maybe include a bridge insert as well. Aside from my own impressions of what would make this a great kit, I’m supremely happy that R2 is looking into making it happen. If done right, I would not hesitate to buy a case or 2. And I am not alone in this sentiment.
This is a kit that has me excited and I’m thrilled you guys are doing it.
For a list of features, look to what PL did with the 1/1000 TOS ship and the 1/350 refit/Enterprise-A: Detailed hangar, shuttles, built for lighting, parts for all three versions. I agree that a bridge insert makes sense on this kit.
You may want to include a clear impulse deck for lighting, if people want to model the version now seen on the remastered episodes of the series (you know, the one in the picture above).
It’s great to see this! A hangar deck with shuttlecraft like the refit 1/350 would be nice. Parts to make all three versions, like the 1/1000 TOS PL kit would be welcome as well. Parts made for making it easy to light the kit including
some kind of treatment for the bussard domes. Some kind of reinforcement for the warp engine struts to help prevent nacelle droop. Decals for the whole fleet like the 1/1000 would be nice as well as perhaps decals for the grid lines and rust ring on the saucer. Also a display stand with a sturdy metal support rod like the new 1/350 release would be good.
Thanks!
Very good news! I’d like to see this kit actually finished (unlike the 1/350 Klingon) so that means…don’t go too crazy. Yeah, you want it to be great, but please don’t go overboard to the point that it doesn’t get finished (or it takes years).
The main thing I want to see is solid basic construction. Come up with a method of attaching the engines to the pylons and the pylons to the engineering hull so that nothing DROOPS. And a really nice base. Something solid. Maybe a brass rod to attach the ship to it, with a screw on insert? Something SOLID.
Ok, this might be OT, but here goes. Any chance we could get the Cutaway TOS re-popped with solid parts so you can build it as a non-cutaway? I would love a Connie that size and that’s a nice kit, but my puttying skills are not up to fixing the seams where the ‘cutaway’ parts go.
The pylon struts should be designed with a channel for power wires for lighting,and a honeycomb structure to eliminate the stress.The fan blades in the Bussard collectors should be a clear insert,for easy motorization.
I have dreamed about a 1:350 Kit of the Original Enterprise for probably 35 years. My only request is dead nuts accuracy to the original filming model. Hangar bays, Shuttles, clear parts would be neat extras–the aftermarket guys will go nuts as they always do with that stuff anyway. But, like Ignatz says above, accuracy and detail are paramount (sorry about the pun).
I will buy at least two 🙂
I’m thrilled to hear this! You guys rock!
1.) Accuracy: I trust that you have serious intentions on crafting this kit to be as accurate to the 11′ shooting miniature as possible. That would the highest criteria to hit.
2.) Lighting Affordances: As with the 1/350 Refit, engineer for lighting the model. This includes wiring channels for pylons (as noted above – perhaps even a convenient slot for a standard sized square brass tube for extra support), and window inserts. Consider inserts for the nacelle caps, not only for aftermarket light supports, but maybe even fan blades (clearly optional).
The window inserts on the 1/350 Refit Enterprise were fairly soft, and often would not fit the window cavity on the opaque plastic without gaps. Having a very tight tolerence here would be ideal.
3.) Optional parts/decals: Look to the 1/1000 Polar Lights kit and how with one kit you can theoretically build 3 or more versions of the Enterprise. Even if this means engineering the warp nacelles such that you are not including 3 full sets of them in each kit. Same for the decal sheet.
4.) Crisp detail – much of the surface detail on the 1/350 refit was overly soft. Granted, softening is necessary for mold-making, but I found the refit details to have been far more rounded than necessary. Tight tolerances on part fit will be very nice here.
5.) “Fun options” – hangar deck and bridge insert parts, shuttles.
6.) A good stand – I love what the 1/350 refit re-pop kit has for a stand. Nice job.
It needs to be designed for lighting, and in a way that addresses that fulcrum problem – the dish wants to droop from that neck, and the nacelles want to droop in the opposite direction. Stuff you guys already know…
I’d LOVE to see provisions for a 2nd Pilot version, and I’d LOVE to see the nacelle dome structure made in a way that would accept motors/lightboards. Making an inner and an outer clear dome (with fan blades) would probably be enough, as the fans would take care of the crazy add-ons. If you make a the kit in the right way for a fair price-point, people will buy multiples, and then sink the same amount into aftermarket add-ons to make the FJ variants, etc etc. Trek people love to kitbash, and that translates into $$ for you guys if the kit breaks down in a modular way.
If you can’t make it super-detailed, make it aftermarket friendly with the engineering – I can see turned brass 2nd Pilot nacelle tips and photoetched add-ons manufactured in record time.
I’d easily buy 3 of these, and I’m not a huge Trek modeler at all.
I would like to see this as screen accurate as possible. That is number one priority! I would also like to see the same that was offered in the refit kit by including a shuttle hanger that can be seen. Please, no grid lines on the saucer section. I would very much like to see clear parts for windows, nacelles, etc so it can be lit up. Pylons reinforced so they don’t droop over time. I like the idea above of a brass rod as part of the base to support any wiring, but not too thick it takes away from the model. You could include parts of the bridge, nacelles, deflector dish, etc.to make the pilot vs. production versions. I would love to see a motor and fan assembly to create the spinning effect in the nacelles but understand that may be cost prohibitive. Maybe a nice replica of the bridge plaque to include on a base?
I would have to say I am kinda enterprise’d out. I wish it was the ktinga 1/350. I am not sure if it would be easier if some parts of the tos e kit or the whole kit would be cast in clear, since this would be geared to older modelers and not snap kit modelers, making it easier to light, just a thought. If you are going full speed, maybe some type of photo edge fan blades that reside behind the engine domes would be nice. I am saving for 1/1000 refit (this will be the first time I will buy a case of any kit). I am also waiting for the spock/snake kit. I am not sure I would buy this big tos e, it is hard to find space for thirty something inches unless you really want it. But I am happy it is coming out to make other people happy.
Great news indeed! Not much I can add to what’s already been said, other than that I agree that some design consideration be given to those of us crazy enough to want to light the thing up! Really looking forward to production, count me in for at least 2 also! Thanks for helping keep this hobby and genre alive!
Make the kit easy to illuminate like adding clear parts for windows which I hope will be already cut rectangular. Adding a small bridge like the cutaway version but more detailed and visible from the outside.
Oh yeah, I’m absolutely giddy with anticipation! But as others have said, accuracy and detail are paramount above all else, which is to strictly pattern it (as much as possible) on the actual 11-foot filming model at the Smithsonian, and I strongly suggest you make a visit there to collect all possible information.
As its apparent the Original Series ship did in fact employ grid lines on the saucer and elsewhere, I think they should be molded with the model as fine and shallow recessed etchings (but not so fine for paint to fill and render them invisible), I can really see no other way of executing them short of full hull decals. That among many other things are the sort of details you must decide upon.
As the Original Series USS Enterprise is arguably the most iconic spacecraft in sci-fi history, no time or expense should be spared at Round 2 in getting all the details right.
I will also buy at least two:)
Ignatz nailed it:
1. Accuracy
2. Structural integrity, ready for wiring
3. The 3 variants options -pilot, 2nd pilot & production
4. Extras: bridge insert, fan blades, Hangar deck and shuttles, etc.
5. Under $75 OTD?
6. Don’t get bogged down. Make the deadline stick.
Combine the size and engineering on the 350 Refit and the accuracy on the 1/1000 TOS with a mix of the options of both and you’ve got a winner.
I think since seeing Kirk and Spock with the 3′ model it has been a dream of many to have ‘that’ model. I’ve bought several dozen of the 650’s over the years (7 of your recent re-release alone); this one gets several buys from me up front and continued buys over time.
(Also, the ‘threaded ring’ behind the bussard domes, make that a separate single piece. The seams are very difficult to fix properly.)
And no grid lines! 🙂
LL&P
Big Cheers!!!
A must have kit – I’ve wanted one for around 35 years!
As has been noted here – dead on accuracy, a shuttle bay would be good – but I’d really love to see rub-down decals rather than (or perhaps as well as?) waterslide.
Please make it as strong and as durable as possible – perhaps an aluminium aramture with the outer skin kit parts secured to this to prevent sagging.
THREE, PLEASE. 🙂
For starters.
I’ll need the pilot models and the series version.
The recreation of the 1977 Air and Space display of the unmutilated filming model can wait.
Probably will buy about 3 myself. Couldn’t ask for a better bunch of people to tackle this model kit project and faithfully execute it.
Reviewing what has been brought up above, I’d like to add that I would also put the priority on accurate exterior proportions to the 11 foot filming model and internal structural reinforcement.
Some external options as on the 1/1000th kit to retrofit the model to one of the pilot versions would be the next thing I’d look at.
After that, detailed shuttle bay and bridge interiors would be nice but not necessary. Something else that would be nice but not necessary is a clear piece behind the dish antenna to light up.
If you want to go whole hog, making the screen detail on the insides of the nacelles for lighting purposes similar to later versions of the ship would probably encourage kit-bashing and greater numbers of sales.
Personally, if it were just me, I’d love to see engraved saucer grid and other plating detailing. However, in the interest of keeping it more like the original filming model vs. the STOS-R digital version, that detailing would be best left off the model kit and instead replicated by decals or pencil drawn.
I can imagine there will be a plethora of hyper-detailing aftermarket accessories available based on any of the various digital versions of the original ship that have been on the internet. I can’t wait to see what the (near) future brings!
Great Googly-moogly! A 1/350 TOS Enterprise???
Wow.
I think I know why the economy is tanking. We’re spending our money on these new kits. LOL.
I can’t wait.
Rob
Yes, this has been a long awaited kit, and i echo fellow modelers as far as the accuracy. Please Please make this this one right, you may also want to consider extra parts to convert this to 1 or 2nd pilot as well as the production version. I would buy 3, just to have a 1/350 version of all the Enterprises.
Like everyone has mentioned, don’t skimp on the details. A full shuttlebay (with clear parts for lighting) and decals (definitely check with JT Graphics, he is the best). Because photo-etched parts may not be practical to include with this kit, consider creating the bussard fan blades using a decal.
Thanks for doing this. The fans have wanted this one for a looooong time!
1. Rigorous accuracy. If the moldmaker messes up, send it back. This kit’s too big to invest in corrected aftermarket resin.
2. Good no-droop nacelle design.
3. Good single point attach base design.
4. More Hasegawa-like engraved panel lines.
5. Full shuttle bay with shuttles and figures.
6. Accurate grills, grids, etc. even if you have to use etched metal.
7. New pylon-to-nacelle attach design
8. New buzzard collector fan blade design
9. Options for 1st or 2nd pilots or production version.
10. If this is all too expensive, do a ‘fan version’ and a ‘detail master version.’ Heck, come back with a clear version with etched metal interior decks.
The only thing that worries me is the decal sheet, because that is the one weak point in every new release that’s come down the pike lately.
Whoever’s been delivering the decals lately, dump ’em. Nothing can ruin a model building experience faster than fighting with the decals.
1. Please have the shuttle deck, some shuttlecraft, and a few 1/350 photoetch crew.
2. Make the fans inside the nacelle caps easy to turn.
3. Design and market a separate kit for lighting this kit and making the nacelle fans turn! Half the people who buy the kit wouldn’t pay the extra cost for lighting, but many of us will. It could even be a kit that we mailorder directly from RC2 so as to skip the middle man.
4. Make sure the neck has enough structural strength that we don’t have to have a separate support base for the saucer like the 1/350 Enterprise Refit.
5. Make sure there is enough structural strength to avoid nacelle droop.
Thanks for asking for our input!
Your plans to produce this kit proves that you really do care about the fans. This is also evident in your plans to improve the Ent Refit with aztec decals and a new stand/support. If you do everything for this kit that you have now done for the refit kit I think it will sell big. Please include grid line decals (so those that don’t want them can leave them off), shuttle bay, options for all 3 variations of nacelles, hull marking decals for all 3 versions, and good support for the nacelles and saucer neck to prevent droop. I also like the idea of member 24phicks about offering a seperate lighting kit for those who want to go this route.
Thanks for offering this opportunity to comment and keep the kits coming.
Ok, it’s echoing what others have said but…
For me:
1) Accuracy, preferrably to the 11 foot model.
2) Structural strength built in.
3) Single mounting point to base.
4) Crisp moulded parts rather than the somewhat soft surface detail on the 1/350th refit.
The building and lighting I think I may be able to handle 😉
Excellent drills Round 2!
Long may it continue.
Go easy.
This is a grail kit for so many of us, you’re going to have hundreds of people swooning over your table at Wonderfest this year!
One thing that cannot be said enough:
NO GRID LINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those who have drunk the Kool-Aid on this one, I have to say that I find it very unusual that it took close to 40 years for this alleged detail to come to light, and it presists even after the men who built the studio model tell us that there never was such a pattern on the model! I have NEVER seen a raw, un-altered photo that shows this grid in any fashion, and I think if it were there it would have been visible when I took photos of the model back in the 1980’s at the Smithsonian (and would have been noticed and noted by the initial conservation team when the model first arrived there).
I will not accept any ‘evidence’ of this grid other than un-altered, original photos taken during the production of the series that show it. Since none exist, neither does the grid. End of argument. What I will accept is the idea that what has been found are the remnants of guide markings used by the builders to align the name, numbers, and other details, markings made in pencil so lightly that they didn’t even have to erase them when they were done, because they didn’t show up on film (and a detail they would have wanted us to see would have shown up on film!).
Please, Round 2, no grid on the plastic, and no grid decals! Those options would be 100% inaccurate. You did the right thing by removing the grid from the old 1/650 kit and we, the modelers, thank you.
I will likely purchase at least 4 of this kit alone (and have you considered doing variants, like the transport-tug, or the scout/destroyer?).
Alright, I digress, NO grids…
I am extremely excited to see a model company solicit ideas from customers to help make a product better.
My ideas for a 1/350 TOS Enterprise.
1.) Based on 11ft. Miniature. (With 1st and 2nd pilot options)
2.) Make compression rings on the front of the nacelles as seperate individual pieces that stack. (So as to avoid complex sanding of seems as seen in previous releases of the ‘E’ where this detail is ‘split’ with the two halves of the nacelle).
3.) Make the ‘box-like’ structures towards the rear end of the nacelles seperate pieces. (To aid modelers making destroyer/dreadnaught conversions the ability to rotate the ‘odd’ nacelle 90 degrees and maintain those details in a horizontal orintation).
4.) Clear windows for the ‘production’ version. (Those windows not seen in the 1st and 2nd pilot versions can be painted over).
5.) Make the grills on the nacelle struts seperate pieces. (Either you supply photo-etch grills here or allow the ability for aftermarket guys to supply them).
6.) Make the inboard grills of the nacelles in clear plastic. (While not seen on the show – it is said Roddenberry wanted this detail to glow as realized on the refit in TMP. This also allows for photo-etch replacement)
7.) A part inside the bussard collectors to allow for led mounting as previously seen in the 1/350 NX-01 kit.
8.) Make the nacelle struts interlock inside the secondary hull. (For better alignment and strength).
9.) Detailed hangar deck with two shuttles and clear windows on the observation decks.
10.) At least one part to represent the bridge.
FOR FUN.
11.) Include a 1/350 F-104 Starfighter (From ‘Tomorrow is Yesterday’).
12.) Include the ‘Aqua-shuttle’ from the animated series.
13.) A terrain detailed base that has a 1/350 ‘Guardian of Forever’ on it (In clear so it can be lit. 🙂
14.) A Part for the ‘tractor beam emitter’ as seen on blueprints of the ship.
Can’t wait for this model. And to see what customer ideas make it into the finished product.
Thanks a lot guys.
On 1/350 scale people.
Bandai, in their ‘ultimate’ 1/350 Space Cruiser Yamato, did figures for each crew member. Don’t ask me how they did it, but you can tell who is who at that tiny scale.
Maybe here, you can put the right people next to the guardian of forever on the base.
Finally. Leave lighting kits to aftermarket guys like ‘Voodoo’. Obviously to include even a rudimentory lighting kit would push the price way up.
But making a ‘fan blade’ detail that spins is relativly simple.
All you have to do is think about how it might attach to a motor shaft.
It has mostly been stated….
1 Accuracy. You asked us and this is what we would love to see. That includes the decals with the numbers you find running along the engineering section.
2 The pylon struts should be designed with a channel for power wires for lighting,and a honeycomb structure to eliminate the stress. Great suggestion. I agree
3 Hangar bays, Shuttles, clear parts. Yes, impulse deck and bridge; if going with different versions.
4 Now this is back to 1, but the engineering section (next to the deflector dish) has been a subject of rework when it comes to this ship. Get this area correct along witht the angle of the lip of the saucer section… that would go a long way in making this kit better than others.
Here’s my wish list:
-Front of the nacelle, make the ribbed area separate stackable parts to avoid a sending nightmare.
-Front of the nacelle, make the 2 rectangular pieces that stick out on the 1/1000 nacelle cap, separate pieces. Also the non clear part of the front of the nacelle separate from the clear dome.
-Detailed bridge interior
-Clear impulse deck to allow lighting.
-Major structural re-enforcement for the pylons so they don’t droop over time.
Keep it accurate (AVOID ANY GRID!) but also realistic (don’t provide photoetched parts). Separate clear pieces for the bottoms of the inboard nacelle channels would allow for the same nacelles to be used for all three versions, plus would allow for those who wish to light up that part. Stick with a bridge, hangar/landing bay and a couple of shuttles and parts for all three versions as the “extras.”
Even though this will be about the same scale as the 3-foot filiming miniature, please make the kit accurate to the 11-foot miniature.
NO GRIDS…
There never were any on the “Original” series.
As for everything else…what everyone else said.
First I want to thank you for this! Pretty much everyone here has said all my concerns. I think if you came up with your OWN light kit would be nice so we don’t have to wait for it in order to start our build of or beloved connie.
-Jim
By god, I’ve waited 30 years for this kit (when I saw Paul M. Newitt’s LS//100A lighting system ad in Starlog). Thankyouthankyou.
Adding my votes:
– accurate to the 11 ft. miniature
– no grid lines
– separate parts for the nacelle dome restraining bolts
– high-quality decals
– single support rod
– strong nacelle strut supports
Lots more knowledgeable folks than I are commenting. I can look at the ship in the Season 3 episode where the crew rescues a planet from destruction and Kirk loses his memory and thinks he’s an indian chief – Kirok. Sorry, that’s the best I can do. Grid lines are apparent atop the primary hull in my boxed set of the TOS series. I guess that doesn’t mean they’re on the bottom or the secondary hull or nacelles. But it’s a lot easier to fill in scribed gridlines with putty or stretched sprue than scribe or pencil them in yourself and get them right. Either way, I’m excited to see you doing this kit. Numerous excellent ideas here for this to succeed the old AMT kit as the most ubiquitous, long-running kit in plastic modeling history. P.S. I’ll be a bomb-thrower and suggest that you mold it in the ‘correct’ exterior gray finish. hahahahahahahaha!
To all of you who are adamant that there were no grid lines whatsoever on the model, you are partly right but mostly wrong.
True, there were no scribed or embossed grid lines, but they WERE drawn on with faint pencil or similar and enhanced with light weathering. Granted, the way the model exists NOW is incorrect inasmuch as the weathering was grossly, sloppily and embarassingly overdone on the model’s last restoration, but it’s actually accurate in pattern. The only section of the model that currently has it’s original paint job is the top of the saucer section (minus the bridge area of course).
But, yes, there WAS a grid.
First of all, thanks sooo much for taking on this project. I’ve been waiting for this for at least 30 years.
1.) As others have said – accurate to the 11 foot filming model.
2.) A detailed Hanger Deck with a couple shuttles.
3.) Provisions for lighting the windows, nacelle caps, impulse deck.
4.) Pay careful attention to the engineering of the nacelle pylons.
Thanks again!
Let me begin by saying what a frakking amazing venture this is. I have been hoping for this model for a while, and I think it’s an excellent idea getting the modeler’s opinions whilst the model is being engineered. While I know absolutely nothing is promised it is good to know that at least you care enough to see what we think. Having said that, my list of features I would like to see included in the kit are few.
1- A shuttle bay with detail comparable to the 1/350th refit model.
2- A stand that is simple and not tacky, but can support the model.
3- front caps for the nacelles that can at least be made to look like the enterprise we see on the screen.
Just my two cents. Keep up the good work!!
I wont ask for anything more than has been asked for above, but we really do know the product and want your production of it to really sell BIG! and make you lots of profit!
I will be buying at least 3.
Full detail hangar deck with shuttle craft.
As others said; accurate to the 11 foot filming model.
Parts made for easy lighting.
A part inside the bussard collectors to allow for led mounting as previously seen in the 1/350 NX-01 kit.
Decals for the whole fleet.
Thank you for doing this in 1:350, When PL was swallowed I thought oh well we will never see the TOS 1701 to sit with the 1701-A and NX-01.
My advice would be to get Thomas Sasser to do this, since he was the one who did ALL of the Polar Lights kits that we all love. In addition to what has already has been said photo-etched detail parts would be a dream, no gridlines, and both parts and decal options for all the different versions including the Mirror Universe. If it’s done to the same quality and level of detail as the 1/350 Refit, Round 2 would definately have a Mega-Hit on their hands!
I’m buying a case or two of this kit! Just about everything that I would like to see in the kit has been covered. The only things that I would want to see is that the stand for the model be simple and robust, and that the painting instuctions for the model include the best spray can match as well as the best mix ratios of bottled paints to duplicate the exact color of the original miniature.
I don’t doubt the designers are already on top of accuracy concerns, including NO grid lines {grin}. I also assume that clear parts for lighting are in the works.
#1: Structural integrity. I agree with all before me who insisted on proper support to avoid nacelle droop, and a respectable base. This is absolutely vital.
#2: I like the suggestion that nacelle parts such as flux chillers, flux constrictors, and and intercoolers should be designed to allow conversions to scout/destroyer, tugs, and so on.
#3: Photo-etch parts and lighting kits would be nice, but I would prefer an affordable base model. Those who really, really must have photo-etch will no doubt have many options, as with the 1/350 refit.
This would be so cool to have.
A trip to the Smithsonian is in order. I know there are multitudes of photos, but nothing is as accurate as a first hand viewing and photo shoot.
Pretty much most of my wants to see are already listed above.
Round 2- Cheers and thank you for deciding to produce this iconic ship in 1/350th scale. I will purchase at least three of these kits if they are as accurate as the 1/2000 version. My requests are simple and few:
1. Accurate
2. Provide parts like the 1/1000 Polar Lights version to build either of the three versions
3. Provide clear parts for lighting
Thanks again for a 1/350th TOS Enterprise (FINALLY!)LOL; and look forward to my support as a customer!
I would like to add that brass eteched parts for things like the internal nacells would add to the realism of the kit. I am not sure if it would add to the cost but it would be a nice “Special Edition” if anything else.
Like others here, I’ve been looking forward to a TOS Enterprise model in this scale for a long time! Glad to see it’s finally coming!
My suggestions:
1. No MOLDED grid lines, but have them in decals accurate to the shooting miniature (maybe with rust ring/weathering) so those who want them can add them without too much trouble – and those who don’t want them can leave them off.
2. Ready for lighting (windows, sensor domes, Bussard collectors, impulse engines, don’t forget the landing lights on the fantail, and maybe even point sources for phasers), and perhaps have a lighting kit be available as a separate add-on or in a special-edition kit
3. Detailed hangar deck, also ready for lighting, with parts to model the hangar doors open or closed
4. Detailed bridge — it would be especially cool to have a 1st Pilot version with a clear upper sensor dome so the bridge is viewable from the outside as in the opening shot of “The Cage”
5. Separate detail parts for nacelles/struts/etc. that can be relocated for alternate model versions or replaced with etched brass parts.
6. All the necessary detail decals to model the final shooting miniature as closely as possible — numbers and markings on the secondary hull, but also the various outlines and other markings on the upper and lower saucer.
Can hardly wait to see this dream of a kit!!
This is great news!! I’ve been wanting a large, accurate kit of the classic Enterprise, I’m so very glad that it is a wish that will now come true. Reading the comments I believe we’re all on the same page- accuracy is Number One, and the structural integrity issue and lighting accommodations are not far behind. Of course the decals have to be of top quality, I’d hate to have to wait around for aftermarket decals. There’s a lot of information out there and if you guys are serious about this project then we should end up with the Star Trek kit we’ve always dreamt of. Can’t wait!!
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!