I liked the USS Reliant in the Wrath of Khan but I am a big fan of the original show so I decided to kit-bash the AMT Enterprise kit and build the Reliant in the style of TOS.
When it comes to the bussards on the front of th warp nacelles… I am hoping for a nice effect, but I dont’ know what yet. If any of you have ideas on a painted effect let me know. The caps are not clear so it’s surface paint. I’m not lighting this model.
Work in Progress
basic parts
build a new back end & relocate nacelle struts from bottom to the top
assembly
primer coat and pre-shading added
a coat of paint. I’m using Model Master Light Grey #2038
I had hoped for something more bold in the pre-shading, but I got carried away with the airbrush and toned it down a bit too much. Well, no model is perfect.
The pod on top was a photon torpedo pod in the movie, but in TOS those came from under the saucer. I will put the Deflector Dish assembly sustpended over the main hull.
I’m open to suggestions and again, I’m hoping for inspiration on how to paint the bussards.
I do have the Reliant kit and yes, differant scale.
But it’s more to do with “style”. The kit is from the movie which is a very differant style than the original show. The movie era stuff is nice and I look forward to those kits as well.
The style of the show is what I’m going for. is very 60’s. Straight lines, simple curves, nothing “hardware” looking.
You’re right there is a lack of details in the old style… but that’s the challenge isn’t it.
Add detailing without compromising the design. Like doing pre-shading to give the hull panel lines.
Since this ship never existed on the show there is no canon to follow, just style. I can add some things such as a red line at the back of the nacelles in the groove, some other small painted details and I can go crazy with the decals and I intend to.
just a quickie update. I’ve completed the paint and the decals. Photo below.
Only things remaining are attaching the Deflector Pod to the top and painting the bussard collectors. Paint is last as those remain glossy while most of the ship is dull coat.
Hey Gerry, if you haven’t figured out a paint plan for the bussards yet, I’ll tell you how I did mine: I sprayed a base coat of chrome silver to make them really shiny. Then I misted Turn Signal Yellow over that, and finally a 3rd coat of Clear Red. All Model Master colors. I put a final gloss coat of Rustoleum Clear Gloss over them and they look fantastic. If I ever get it done, I’ll post some pics.
Funny you mention that paint job, Dirk. I have decided to do just that… only oposite. Instead of yellor/red I’m going Red/Orange.
I’ve already painted white for brightness, next will be red. I’ll sand down some of that in areas and cover it in clear ORANGE. I got the idea from the following pic of a fellow model makers work {photo below}, he did orange under clear amber, but I’ve tested it with red/orange and it looked quite nice.
Well I like what you have done so far. Your skills surpass my own. Have a idea for my next project. but i’ll need a little help from you to start it. Where did you get the templates for the aft portion of the saucer. If you still have the patern, can I get a copy, that I can scale to the refit style saucer? SLL
Thanks. I’m happy to give you any help I can with your project, but I’m just a medium skill builder at this point.
This is my first kit-bash / scratch build. I am a terrible draftsman but I am quite good at geometric puzzles. It’s really just a box that tapers in a little. The template was just laying it on paper and tracing around the curve, then drawing the shape I wanted, transfer the paper to plastic and glue it on.
One big piece of advice I can give is think the entire process through. What is your finished design then work throught the steps so you have a build plan. You don’t wanna be stuck with things that don’t fit together or you can’t attach securely.
Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out. Of course we are all our own worst critic and I see flaws everywhere! But still, for my first kit-bash it turned out just as I designed it so that’s a win.
Here’s the pics or go to my web page to view them.
My critique… I would have liked the bussard collectors to be a bit brighter. More orange less red…but I can change that with some sanding if it really bothers me.
Also, though it turned out as I desigened it, in hind-sight I think the Deflector Pod is just a bit large for the ship. I should have made it smaller.
And… after taking the pics I realized i had totally forgotten to paint the Impulse Drive!!! I will but I won’t bother updating these pics for that small detail.
Tell me what you think. You can be bruatal… I can take it. {I might cry, but I can take it.}
I think it looks great. I like the panel shading and the decals. The Reliant has always been my favorite ship.
The only thing that jumps out at me is your putty work. I know it’s a pain, and I always groan when I have a lot of filling and sanding to do. I keep a silver sharpie maker handy to check how well I’m sanding. It helps make the flaws stand out without having to paint the areas with primer.
Thanks. It’s amazing that perfectly smooth putty work can get uneven during the paint proess! Either that or my eyesight is horrible 'cause I couldn’t see any flaws until the dull coat was applied the WHAM [:P]
I’ll keep the silver shapie idea in mind, it’ll help.
Well i like what i saw. it really worked out. nice addition to any model shelf. nice clear pics. good references. and the humility was out of this world… i wish i was like that lol
