While I was there, I happen to see the second edition of Polar Lights 1/350 Enterprise. I asked Iris if its already taken and she said no, despite a lot of people asking about it. For you see, this is a very big model kit and when finished, could be about 1 meter long. For Star Trek fans, this is the long awaited dream kit and yes, its very daunting. At the side of the box is a paper attached 'telling' the potential owner to contact SFTPMS (Selangor Federal Territory Plastic Modelling Society) should they encounter any problems or needs to have the model built.
This was, accoding to Iris, a lot of people expressed interest in owning it but did not know how to build it nor even make it into display quality. It has been sitting there for quite some time and it was an extra unit too. So, after some discussion, she let me have it, and with a very attractive discount too. Yeah, so I took it. Heh.
Enterprising History
Previously, a company called AMT/ERTL came out with the kit since the 80's but its not accurate, which helped spawn the accurisation industry for Sci-Fi. But the problem is, by the time you got those accurate parts, it would have cost more or the same as the kit itself and yes, at 18 inches, its not enough.
The after the millenium, Bandai tried their hand with their own version using their latest plastic injection technology which made Gundam kits so technically superior and precise. But alas, compared to the AMT/ERTL, it was small. Beautiful, accurate, all lighted up too but small.
De Boer then got everyone salivating with their 1 metre resin and fibreglass version but it was too expensive and is a shipping nightmare for everyone. Plus, you would need to be a competent modeller to do it right.
And so, during the last few years, Polar Lights came out with the 1/350 scale. And yes, its huge at one metre. But what its worth noting is that apart from the Tamiya 1/350 CVN-65 Enterprise Aircraft carrier, this is the biggest Sci-Fi model kit ever. And its quite accurate in most parts too. But what is so special is that it was designed to be lit up. Yes, lit up. So, this is what I am doing now, with the PCB board project.
The First version
Polar Lights issued two versions of the model. Basically, they are the same. The only difference was that one comes with white plastic while the other in light blue. The white plastic version was the most sought after for those who plan to light it up using 'The Raytheon Effect'. This is because the main saucer is curved and it is not easy to simulate the spotlight fanning effects as seen from the Movie. (Later on, it was revealed the Movie model was lighted up externally which, is difficult (but not impossible) to achieve using model lights.) So, what Raytheon did was to light the saucer from inside and with the proper light masking, the result was amazing.
The Second version
For the second version, although the model came in white plastic, there is a blue tint which shows up considerably when light via 'The Raytheon Effect'. However, this version, which is the one I have now, comes with extra aztec decals. This is because the model is not exactly white but is comprised of an almost aztec-like patterns. The painting is a nightmare too because its full of different shades of pearl-like colours, gold and mish-mash of other colours. And so, to minimise any blue-screen reflections, the model was toned down to what you saw in the final cut.
My Project
Although the kits allows you to build the two versions, I prefer the Refit as in NCC-1701A, seen the Star Trek movies IV to VI, mainly because I like the Warp Nacelles to be lit up blue and so is the blue impulse dome. So, for the electronics, I am doing the Navigation/Strobe, Photo Torpedoes, Deflector Dish, Spotlights, Impulse and Warp effect and all controlled from a controller board, maybe, possibly, controlled from a wireless remote too. But they can work as stand-alone units too.
This was, accoding to Iris, a lot of people expressed interest in owning it but did not know how to build it nor even make it into display quality. It has been sitting there for quite some time and it was an extra unit too. So, after some discussion, she let me have it, and with a very attractive discount too. Yeah, so I took it. Heh.
Enterprising History
Previously, a company called AMT/ERTL came out with the kit since the 80's but its not accurate, which helped spawn the accurisation industry for Sci-Fi. But the problem is, by the time you got those accurate parts, it would have cost more or the same as the kit itself and yes, at 18 inches, its not enough.
The after the millenium, Bandai tried their hand with their own version using their latest plastic injection technology which made Gundam kits so technically superior and precise. But alas, compared to the AMT/ERTL, it was small. Beautiful, accurate, all lighted up too but small.
De Boer then got everyone salivating with their 1 metre resin and fibreglass version but it was too expensive and is a shipping nightmare for everyone. Plus, you would need to be a competent modeller to do it right.
And so, during the last few years, Polar Lights came out with the 1/350 scale. And yes, its huge at one metre. But what its worth noting is that apart from the Tamiya 1/350 CVN-65 Enterprise Aircraft carrier, this is the biggest Sci-Fi model kit ever. And its quite accurate in most parts too. But what is so special is that it was designed to be lit up. Yes, lit up. So, this is what I am doing now, with the PCB board project.
The First version
Polar Lights issued two versions of the model. Basically, they are the same. The only difference was that one comes with white plastic while the other in light blue. The white plastic version was the most sought after for those who plan to light it up using 'The Raytheon Effect'. This is because the main saucer is curved and it is not easy to simulate the spotlight fanning effects as seen from the Movie. (Later on, it was revealed the Movie model was lighted up externally which, is difficult (but not impossible) to achieve using model lights.) So, what Raytheon did was to light the saucer from inside and with the proper light masking, the result was amazing.
The Second version
For the second version, although the model came in white plastic, there is a blue tint which shows up considerably when light via 'The Raytheon Effect'. However, this version, which is the one I have now, comes with extra aztec decals. This is because the model is not exactly white but is comprised of an almost aztec-like patterns. The painting is a nightmare too because its full of different shades of pearl-like colours, gold and mish-mash of other colours. And so, to minimise any blue-screen reflections, the model was toned down to what you saw in the final cut.
My Project
Although the kits allows you to build the two versions, I prefer the Refit as in NCC-1701A, seen the Star Trek movies IV to VI, mainly because I like the Warp Nacelles to be lit up blue and so is the blue impulse dome. So, for the electronics, I am doing the Navigation/Strobe, Photo Torpedoes, Deflector Dish, Spotlights, Impulse and Warp effect and all controlled from a controller board, maybe, possibly, controlled from a wireless remote too. But they can work as stand-alone units too.
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Thanks to my membership, the price I got from Iris wascheaper than getting it from the States, but its still
slightly close to double for what I got years ago.
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