Another UK resident

[mophius]

Hi all, my name is Martin and I am 38 (i think) I have spent so long telling people I am 21 that i still think i am.
I am a car mechanic working for a national name so i can get a bit technical at times. Please no asking about your cars as you will only get ignored, I do enough of that during the day.
I have built over time: (unsure of scales)
TOS Enterprise
TOS D7 battle cruiser
TOS Romulan Bird of Prey
TNG Enterprise D
TNG Romulan Warbird
TNG Ferengi Marauder
Various military aircraft
Various tanks
some trains, carriages and freight wagons
Even tried a model of The Santa Maria, it went horribly wrong in the end so ditched it.

The star trek models i did were all when i was at school and about 12 years old. I did them all quickly and didn't tidy up all the joins or sprue bits. I want to retry what i did when i was younger but this time take some pride in what i am doing.

I have seen questions on here about scales and which to use. I would like to ask which has the most variety so i can get to making and have a nice selection all about the same size.

I can remember going to my local model shop and asking after certain models but always getting told "we don' t have that one." I ended up frustrated that i couldn't get some different models at the time.
I am now looking forwards to building these ships again and lots more. Even the thought of putting the light kits in is making me excited to get building right away. I can't though as I now have to wait for payday.

Will post some pics of my first basic build but in the meantime will keep looking for some good tips from all you vet modellers.

[Scotchyn]

welcome, glad you found us!!

[Kremin]

Hello and welcome aboard

size and scale are two different discussions if you want them to be about the same physical size to each other then you will be all over the place with scale, not that there is anything wrong with that

If you want to build ships at the same scale as each other it depends on which era you want to build as to what is the best scale to go with

Shuttles and fighters are best at 1:72 1:32 or 1:48

TOS and Movie era I prefer at 1:537 or 1:350(if you have space) but there are a few TOS ships at 1:600 or 1:650 scale

TNG and beyond for largest variety you are looking at 1:2500 and there are plenty of kits at that scale but some are very small

1:1000 numerous kits in this scale TOS, Movie in styrene so sometimes reasonable cost
1:1400 Nice Enterprise C and D in this scale most of the rest are more expensive GK kits

Not a total list but covering some of the universe

[mophius]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

It looks as though i may venture into 2 different scales then. 1/1400 and 1/2500. I like the variety of the TOS models in the 1/1400 scale but also i grew up on TNG so will be doing alot of work on 1/2500.

I am already eyeing up my first purchase in 1/2500 which will be one of the triple snap kits, either 3 Enterprise kit or adversary kit. Anything i should be wary of with working in small size or just use my common sense.

[Moongrim]

Welcome aboard Mophius!

I can understand your not wishing to talk about your job stuff while on the forum, but I would imagine that you've got some electronics experience in your job that you'll probably wish to apply on the models if you decide you wish to light yours up.

I would like to ask which has the most variety so i can get to making and have a nice selection all about the same size.

The best variety- that fulfills that question- is the 1/2500 aka "Sacred Scale". The benefits for the Sacred Scale also include being able to fit more onto your display stands due to the smaller size, and they tend to be a bit cheaper than their bigger brethren. The downside- is that they're harder to see (for us older folks with not-so-keen eyesight) and you tend to lose out on a lot of the nicer details- such as lighting one up, unless of course, you've got some incredibly fine motor skills.

Here is a link to the list of currently known model kit makers and distributors. It's difficult to keep up with some of them as many have been hit with Cease and Desist letters.
https://www.allscaletrek.com/viewforum.php?f=23

[mophius]

[quote="Moongrim"]Welcome aboard Mophius!

I can understand your not wishing to talk about your job stuff while on the forum, but I would imagine that you've got some electronics experience in your job that you'll probably wish to apply on the models if you decide you wish to light yours up.

Yes, indeed I can do some soldering. While I am not that good at it I am sure I will improve now.

[Xen]

Yes, a warm welcome! We have good people here and promote an easy going vibe.

Regardless of skill level and your standing within our community, know that your contributions are appreciated and of equal value. Feel free to just "chat". Share your work if you wish, but do so knowing that it is entirely optional and NOT a requirement.

Also, please do not feel restricted to posting in the "Newbie" area. It was a test of sorts to see if such a section was needed. It will most likely be "nuked" in the next forum reshuffle. IF that were to happen, your posts (along with any others) would be relocated to other sub-forums. Nothing would be lost.

AST is as much a repository of Trek goodness as it is a playground for fans.

Lastly, please excuse Xen. He goes on a bit, but means well.

[NCC1966]

Welcome aboard!

[el gato]

A bit late on my part but welcome to AST! As Kremin indicated, you can be a subject modeler or scale modeler. Sounds like you've picked your poison, er, picked your scale.