figure 1
figure 2
figure 3
figure 4
figure 5
figure 6
figure 7
figure 8
figure 9
figure 10
figure 11
figure 12
figure 13
figure 14
figure 15
figure 16
figure 17
figure 18
This kit has been out of production for just over 10 years and it’s really nice to see it get some attention again! I ended up picking up the earlier version to compare and Round 2 did this re-pop some solid justice. Of course, the mold was never terrible to begin with but there are a couple of spots that could have used a little work along the lines of parts fitting (as with most kits, but more on that later!).
First off, Round 2 did a nice job with the repackaging by creating a box size and style appropriate to the model. While the completed length of the ship is 10.5” the components fit nicely in the wedge shape. It was interesting to note the choice of displaying the underside of the saucer versus the 1/1400 scale kit where the topside is featured. This seems to be the case with all of the Cadet Series re-releases but sometimes it is nice to see the ship’s name and registry on the box.
Opening the box revealed the familiar plastic baggies and supplemental inserts, as to be expected. But again I was surprised to be confronted with the size of the ship and the 12 pieces supplied (see figure 1). Since the original mold was used the small foot for inserting a stand was present, even though there was no stand included. Luckily I had a bag of brass rods and access to a laser cutter and was able to build my own stand!
Examining the contents was fun, as always, especially because I was able to compare it to the older kit. If you have built the older version you will not find any upgrades save for the kit being cast in the typical slightly iridescent white styrene, which is a nice touch. The real excitement came when I started to look at the decals! As the product information page notes, there is “extensive aztec decals”. While I agree that the decals are extensive and cover much of the ship, the “aztec” part of the decals really only applies to the nacelles and not the rest of the ship. The paneling is quite extensive but there is no “aztec-ing” per se on the saucer or secondary hull decals. Other than that minor omission the decals are really stunning and detailed. I am especially impressed with the phaser banks, lifeboats and nacelle components (see figure 2).
The first order of assembly was the nacelles and support pylons, which are attached the rear end of the secondary hull. The halves went together pretty easily at first but then I realized that they have to be assembled with the pylons and not separately (sometimes I don’t read the directions thoroughly!) (see figure 3). This is a decent design but since the plastic is so thin and is one piece, the pylons might eventually droop a little bit. In fact, they did droop only slightly but that was easily remedied by applying a little heat from my lamp. Overall the alignment of the nacelles and pylons is pretty spot on (see figure 4).
The next step was joining the two halves of the secondary hull over the rest of the smaller parts. I ended up gluing in the deflector trench, stand foot, pylon assembly and backside piece into one of the halves before completing the join. I found that without doing so, as the instructions say, the pieces would not align properly and then the join would have been quite sloppy. During this process I noticed that the notch that is supposed to hold the backside piece was a little too small and the alignment was off. So I took my Exacto and cut out a little slice and viola! Fit like a glove (see figure 5)!
Well…mostly. Once the secondary hull assembly was completed the saucer section was a cinch. All the pieces came together really smoothly as long as the order in the instructions was paid attention to. Like I said earlier, there are some fitting issues and some gaps that need to be addressed but this is to be expected of almost every injection-molded kit and no two are the same (see figure 6). For the most part the “trouble” areas are quite manageable with a little bit of putty and sanding before painting (see figure 7).
Now for the last few steps, which as it turns out are quite big steps. The directions mention that the kit is molded in the correct base color: white. However, if you so choose to paint they recommend using a very light gray, which I did. The Enterprise E is definitely not a white ship with paneling. The plastic color makes sense as a base for the Refit and other TMP-era ships but not the E. However, the light gray I can believe so I went with that and it seemed like it was going to work out pretty well (see figure 8).
Applying decals can be a very time-consuming effort but can yield amazing results. Round 2 has done another amazing job with their decals. They are colorful, they have good resolution, they are thick and strong and they generally adhere well to curved surfaces. The first couple of decals I put down were pretty small (for the set) and there were no sizing issues (see figure 9). One thing that I was happy to see on the decals was the inclusion of the phaser banks! I always have a tough time painted tiny little strips of color because I have to go back and do touch up. Not this time (see figure 10)!
The lifeboat decals are also one of the highlights of this set. Even though you can still make out some of the print-matrix dots, the color and shape is sharp (see figure 11). The paneling goes on really smoothly and fits really well (see figure 12). The areas I was most worried about were the phaser banks and the smaller panels on the back. It turns out I had nothing to worry about because the decals were designed to fit really well (see figure 13)!
Although once all the saucer paneling was layed on the color started to seem a little off. While initially I agreed with the light gray base coat, the application of the decals really changed my mind. The larger panels on the main saucer section have a level of color warmth to them that clashes with the cool/neutral of the light gray. The color mismatch is not terrible but it is something I would do differently next time. Many modelers have chosen to use camoflauge gray as a base coat, which would match the coloration of the decals much better.
Another thing I noticed is there are no windows included in the decals. It is understandable that the windows are too small and too numerous to engineer onto the decal sheets, but the 1/1000 Scale Refit decal sheet has them and they really do make a difference, even if they are not aligned perfectly. Other decal omissions include the deflector dish and impulse grills, both of which can be easily painted in. However, the RCS thrusters were included and really do add a nice bit of detail (see figure 14).
There were some more issues with the decals on the underside compared to the top side of the saucer. Both the window insets and grid lines posed hazards to perfect decal placement. Even though the decals generally are pretty tough and work well with curves, etc, the grid lines collectively made the decal shorter so that it did not reach the edge of the adjacent panel (see figure 15). My recommendation is that you file down all of those panel lines during the assembly and putty process. As for the window recesses, I’m not entirely sure how to navigate those. Perhaps and H shaped cut will help it lay better, provided registration is good or maybe even cutting out each window section entirely (see figure 16).
Some of the many pluses to the decal set is the nacelle paneling/aztecing, the bussard collectors and the warp nacelle grills. The pylon decals fit nicely into the recessed areas and wrinkle only a negligible amount and the coloration of the paneling on the underside of the nacelles works well with the base coat (see figure 17). Also, there were almost no alignment, sizing or fitting issues with the rest of the nacelle decals! The exception is the black side grill sections, which seem slightly smaller than the area they are meant to fit in. The bussard collector decals even have a little bit of that pulsing effect and a nice crisp outline to them (see figure 18).
Overall this is a really great little kit! In fact, I like this kit so much I am going to get another one and experiment with a different base color and lighting! Since the plastic is white is seems feasible to use the “Raytheon” effect to light the nacelles and other parts. The minor shortcomings of the decals notwithstanding, I will use them again and if you’ve worked with Round 2’s recent decals, you know they are top quality! While I don’t have a rating system for this release, I can say that this is a kit that is well worth the time and effort! Happy modeling!
Nicholas Sagan
nicholassagan.wordpress.com
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
