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First, full disclosure: I am a professional freelance model maker hired for many build-ups, but NOT an employee of Round 2. I was indeed involved somewhat in the new re-release of this kit. Therefore I must state that my bias should be taken into account by the reader. I also have a bit of a soft spot for this particular model!
All previous releases of this 1979 AMT kit were, shall we say, less than “stellar,” from the quickly done, uninspiring box art which featured a poorly retouched photo of the studio model printed in the wrong gold color, the kit itself molded in a really boring white plastic, nothing much for decals or painting guide and worthless and completely inaccurate “docking plates” between the crew module and the warp sled.
With these things in mind, I can really understand the previous lack of interest in this kit.
But now, all that has changed… for the better… MUCH better! Round 2 has decided to seriously rejuvenate the kit, and went all-out with a plethora of major improvements! (Fig. 1)
The warp sled and crew module has been re-tooled, to more closely match the original filming miniature, with accurate docking points and corrected warp engine grilles. Magnets have been added so the module can be attached and detached realistically! A complete set of very accurate decals, to simulate the panelling over the entire ship, has been added along with symbols and names for two Federation and three Vulcan variants! The kit has been molded in the actual color that the studio miniature was painted (as originally designed by conceptual artist Andrew Probert), so beginners or people who don’t like to paint can build an authentic replica with minimal work! The box art even sports a brand new illustration by Probert himself! The kit also contains an all new multi-position display stand with a ball-and-socket joint and solid steel chrome-plated prop rod! Even the instruction sheets were completely re-done with a lot of new illustrations, tips and tricks to help the beginning builder as well as useful stuff for experienced modellers. (Fig. 2)
The kit has been improved so much that I’m going to prove to you what can be done by using minimal equipment and painting. It's ideal for the modeller who has limited resources or budget. You’ll still need patience, of course! That’s a given with all model building, I’ll try to make it as easy and fun as possible! FYI, the model shown here was built over the course of four evenings.
The nice thing about a kit like this, is that you don’t really have to go all out with fancy building techniques and expensive painting equipment, thanks to comprehensive decals and the correct molded color. Just simple gluing and some minor painting techniques can result in a really beautiful job! Let’s walk through it.
First, following the instructions, glue all the sub-assemblies together. When removing the parts from the sprue, do not bend or twist them off. Cut them off with a hobby knife, then file or sand away the nub that’s left on the part (Fig. 3).
Make sure you glue the magnets in place on the crew module’s inside bottom surface (part 17) and the sled’s docking surface (part 10) before gluing those parts in place on the sled or the crew module!
Note: The magnets cannot be held with regular plastic model cement, so you must use superglue or epoxy. Important! Pay close attention to the magnet polarities so they attract each other rather than repel! When you glue the magnets in place, do so while holding parts 10 and 17 together the way they would be when “docked”, then put the magnets into the recesses. They will automatically “seat” themselves, and should be obvious if they are positioned right.
The best kind of glue to use for the rest of the model is the watery-thin plastic model cement that comes in a bottle with a built-in brush, like Testor’s Liquid Plastic Model Cement. First, test fit the parts and then trim away anything that keeps them from fitting snugly together. Then while holding the parts together, apply a generous amount of glue along the joint every inch or two. Capillary action will carry the glue around the joint. Now, press the parts together until the melted plastic and glue squeezes out of the joint (Fig. 4). Do not wipe off the bead! You’ll trim it off later, after it dries. Doing this will insure a very solid “welded” bond and also help hide the seams and avoid puttying when you finish the model, as this “ooze” acts as a kind of ready made filler. Be careful not to let the glue touch your fingers.
Once the glue has been applied, you can use clamps, clothes pins, rubber bands or tape to hold the parts together until they dry in a few hours or overnight.
If you accidentally spill any glue somewhere it’s not supposed to be (Fig. 5), don’t panic, but don’t wipe it off either. Wiping it will only roughen the dissolved plastic and make it worse. Just don’t touch the surface and allow it to dry for a few hours. You can sand it down later, or, it will simply disappear by the time the model is coated with the decals and dulling spray.
When the sub-assemblies are done and dry, you can begin to trim the joints. Several methods work, depending on the surface. You can “carve” the joint down with your hobby knife (Fig. 6), you can also use the edge of the blade as a scraper to remove the flash (Fig. 7), or you can finish it up with a flat mill file (Fig. 8). Finish up with wet sandpaper or foam sanding blocks (Fig. 9). Wet sanding keeps the paper from clogging and produces a smoother finish. When these techniques are used, the joints will practically disappear (Fig. 10) and be quite presentable without puttying!
Normally, spraying the entire model with a base coat of paint in the correct color is necessary. This kit was already molded in the correct Mauve color (painstakingly researched to match the studio model!), so you don’t have to paint the whole thing, just a few detail areas. This can be done nicely with standard bottle-and-brush hobby paints. As long as you’re not building the “Federation” version which requires the whole ship be painted light gray, you’ll only need some black and purplish-blue paint as indicated in the instructions. You won’t need the “sand” color as indicated, because Round 2 has thoughtfully included the skid colors as decals too!
Another nice thing about detail painting a model already molded in the correct color is that mistakes (Fig. 11) are very easily corrected. For this reason I highly recommend the use of acrylic based paints, such as the excellent Tamiya brand or Testor’s Model Master Acryl instead of enamels or lacquers. Acrylic paints can be very easily wiped off with a rag or Q-tip dampened with Methyl Hydrate or ordinary rubbing alcohol (Fig. 12) which does not damage plastic. Because the main color is the plastic itself, you don’t have to worry about rubbing off the base color!
You can also use the tip of your knife blade to GENTLY scrape away paint from the edges of some of the harder to get at areas (Fig. 13). The only areas you have to paint are shown in Fig. 14. I hand painted the black and sprayed the blue in this case, but you can hand paint the blue too with equally good results. The rest of the decoration is done with the extensive decals included in the kit.
Now you need to make a decision based on your comfort level. You can either decal the model, as per the instructions, while the model is still in sub-assembly state, or you can assemble the model completely and then apply the decals. I chose the latter, as I find it easier to handle the model as whole when applying decals rather than to risking damage to the applied decal work while gluing the model together. This makes it a bit tougher to apply decals on the insides of the nacelles, but it’s not that hard to do. Think it through and choose whichever you feel most comfortable with.
Either way, you will have a slight oversight to correct before gluing the warp engine nacelles to the sled or applying any decals. The new re-tooling of the improved and correctly deeper nacelle grilles increased some of the “meat” under the slots where the sled’s locating tabs insert, blocking proper clearance. These tabs need to be trimmed down a bit to fit properly. Use a file, sanding block or your knife to trim away the inside surfaces as shown until the nacelles fit correctly against the sled (Fig. 15). Look from the rear of the ship to make sure they line up square, and don’t cant over sideways.
Now, you can begin to apply the decals. This is the most time consuming process of doing the model, but extreme patience here will really pay off.
All decals stick best to highly polished or glossy surfaces, very poorly to flat or matte finishes. Therefore it’s important to apply a clear gloss coat to areas of the model that were sanded or filed down, or you can use plastic polish to buff the surfaces to a nice sheen. Either way will work, as long as the surfaces are as glossy as possible where the decals will go, and in the case of this kit, it’s the whole model!
Any good acrylic clear will work, such as Microscale Industries’ Micro Gloss or Model Master Gloss Clear Acryl # FM02017 (Fig. 16)
Before cutting out or applying decals I recommend the following: Do yourself a huge favor and buy some Microscale Industries’ Liquid Decal Film (Fig. 17) . This stuff is like magic for decal work. It restores old decals as well as prepares new decals for application. With a clean brush, carefully apply liberal amounts of the solution, like paint, to the top surface of decals that you anticipate may be troublesome, like larger decals that could fracture, and allow to dry completely. The decal film strengthens the decals so they don’t fracture as easily. When dry, it becomes completely invisible. You could literally apply the Decal Film to the entire sheet, but keep in mind that the decals will no longer “automatically separate” from each other, and you will need to trim the decals right up to the edge of the image, which, by the way, is a good practice anyway. Never try to apply more than one decal at a time.
It’s also a good idea to have some decal setting solution handy. I recommend Walthers Solvaset (Fig. 18). Setting solution softens the decal and allows them to more easily conform to compound curves and helps them snuggle down into detailed areas. Apply the decals as per the decal’s instructions, blot out excess water, then apply the decal setting solution to the top and allow it to work. It’s important not to disturb the decal once the setting solution is applied. If the decal somehow gets moved, quickly but carefully use the tip of your tweezers (an essential tool for applying small decals) to move it back into place. If it doesn’t move easily, apply more water to the area to re-float the decal. Move it back into place and soak up the water with a damp paper towel. Re-apply the setting solution. The decals will also wrinkle alarmingly after a few minutes, but don’t panic, that’s normal (Fig. 19). Allow the decal to air-dry and they will lay down flat again. If the edge of the decal lifts up after it’s dry, just dab a bit of clear coat in between and use it as glue to stick it back down.
Other articles here on the Round 2's Workbench cover decal application in greater detail.
Once all the decals have been applied and the warp engines are glued on, the finishing touch is to apply a nice flat finish over the entire model. Doing this will get rid of the high gloss we needed for decal application and, more importantly, will hide a lot of sins! Dulling the surface will blend the decals into the surface, hide those glue marks and generally finish off the model.
There are several types of matte finishes out there, Microscale’s “Micro Flat” works well, as does Model Master Flat Clear Acryl # 4636 (Fig. 20). You can brush paint these on with good results if you don’t want to do any spraying. Just take your time and do it in sections, using a wide (about ¼” to ½”) good quality soft bristled brush. Don’t try to do the whole model at once.
The easiest and most common standby is good ol’ Testors No. 1260 Dullcote in the small spray can (Fig. 21). The biggest problem with this stuff is the really vile odour it has. It works better than just about any other product, but man, does that stuff ever STINK! So make sure you use it outdoors or in a very well ventilated room …or make sure the wife and kids are gone until the smell clears! If you’re worried about inhaling chemical fumes, use a charcoal filtered respirator.
Shake the can well, shoot a one second burst at an old newspaper or something to clear any unmixed chemicals that may be present in the nozzle and feed tube, then apply the Dullcote in short bursts all over the model. Do not saturate the model. A very light coat is all that’s needed. Allow it to dry, then flip the model over and do the other side. Do the crew module and the sled separately. Allow to dry and examine for any spots that are still shiny. If you find any, give those areas another shot of Dullcote.
Mount the model on the stand and display it proudly (Figs. 22, 23, 24, 25), take some snaps and email them to all your friends as you tell them you hardly needed to paint anything to make the model look so wonderful!
But if you didn’t get enough painting out of it, try this: because the stand base is a perfect spherical cap, you can also have a lot of fun painting it to look like the surface of a planet! Maybe do it with reds and pinks to make it look like the Planet Vulcan!
Keep looking to Round 2 for new models and improved classic kits, right here at www.round2models.com!
There’s so much fun in building models!
EjIMBo.
E. James Small
Excellence In Model Building
www.smallartworks.ca
All photography by E. James Small
