1/2500 Lighted TOS Enterprise Diorama WITHDRAWN

[slawton]

My 1st constest as well as my 1st lighted model! I view this as a learning experience. I will use the AMT 1/2500 Cadet Series kit and customize it as-necessary to increase accuracy. Inspired by others who've managed to add lighting to these small kits, I will give it my best shot. I intend to place it in a memorable diorama -- I'm thinking "The Tholian Web".

[slawton]

Here is my kit, decals (from several TOS Enterprise kits) and some electronics (LEDs, resistors, etc.):

[slawton]

Here's an underneath shot -- lots of lights in a small area. There are white beacons blinking on/off every second or so on the port/starboard side of the saucer. On the top, these same beacons are green & red. I'm not sure how to simulate the light effect on the nacelle domes.



Another view from the rear -- more lights near the shuttle hangar doors:



A side shot of the Defiant (I'd like to simulate that eerie glow for another project). I don't know how I'll get all of those lights on the neck.



I'll probably solder bare copper wire together to form the web. When I thought about the geometry, I realized that a sphere could not be made from the triangular patterns seen in "The Tholian Web" episode. I took a look at the Enterprise "In a Mirror, Darkly" episode to see they made the web in a shape similar to D&D dice:



Another view:



Apparently the Defiant 'inter-phased' from the Trek universe in Kirk's time to the Mirror universe (Terran Empire) in Archer's time -- 100 years advanced in technology leading to a decisive advantage over the Empire's foes. Here's a picture of the Defiant:



This was a nice cross-over episode, allowing the characters to be evil/treacherous, new uniforms, new ship decoration and throwbacks to the TOS uniforms, etc. We even got a good look at a Tholian & a Gorn (never shown in TNG, DS9 or Voyager). And from the TOS episode -- how about those environmental suits:

[Cubey Terra]

Ah, the TOS environment suits. I especially love the orange ones with the obvious gaping hole under the chin. Yeah, that'll keep out alien contaminants.

[Kratok]

Ah, the TOS environment suits.

Better than the Life Support belts from the animated series.

[Lonewolf]

Yeah, I remember those as well. The belt with the shimmering "glow" that was supposed to represent the shield.

Come to think of it, wasn't that the same concept used for the personal shields in "Dune", both the movie and the miniseries?

slawton, what gauge wire are you considering using? For 1:2500, it seems like it would have to be pretty thin. Is it going to be able to support its own weight?

[el gato]

He could use a thicker gage for the outer edges of each side. From the screen caps, those appear to be thicker than the smaller triangles

[Lonewolf]

That's kinda what I was thinking. There might even be some sheets of fine mesh that would work for the inner sections, rather than having to try to solder all that fine wire together.

[slawton]

I plan to use the thinnest wire I can find and use thicker gauge for the edges (as suggested by el gato). I'd love to use fine mesh, but I doubt I can find it in the shape of triangles. I believe it should be able to support itself -- geodesic domes are supposed to be very sturdy.

I'd like to improve the accuracy (not that I am complaining about a kit originally tooled almost 30 years ago). Here's what I/others have noted (let me know if you are aware of more):

Shape of bulge below bridge (sand to make more tear drop shape)
Sides of saucer (sand from squared to angled inward going down)
Lower Saucer Rings (sand/putty)
Bridge dome (putty to build it up taller/rounder)
Raised window lines on secondary hull & neck (which need to be sanded off)
Deflector dish housing (sand outer ring to align with engineering hull)
Deflector dish (possibly scratch build)
Engineering section (sanding down the sides to create little trenches that continue into the deflector dish housing)
Shuttle Hanger (improve shape, add beacon dome)
Nacelles (not quite round)
Nacelles (should slightly taper in diameter - larger in front)
Nacelles (bars should have air gap in the middle)

As for lighting, I think we need to blame indianatheshepherd for this madness in small scale kits (I was happy to believe it was impossible, until he did it -- or was it really just photoshop'd?). I had thought the TOS E would be a good choice since it had relatively few windows -- but it is so small and the lighting effect on the nacelles is unique. Here are some relevant posts from others who've attempted this:

https://www.allscaletrek.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=441 indianatheshepherd's TOS E
https://www.allscaletrek.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1245 harristotle's TOS E
https://www.allscaletrek.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1709 4EyeDuncan's TOS E
https://www.allscaletrek.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1573 zookman's TOS E motor in nacelle idea
https://www.allscaletrek.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2042 DeadHead's TOS E

I'll try to incorporate 'lessons learned' from their work into my build. I plan to order some small surface mount LEDs for some/all of the lighting effects.

[el gato]

If I may so humbly add, there's also my build. The list you have above is pretty comprehensive as to the changes that are needed. I did not attempt to correct the tapering on the nacelles or adding the gap in the nacelle bar. I also didn't know what your plans were for decals. I used Absolute Models, but with the new decals that are now included in the PL offering you won't need aftermarket. Certainly they're beyond what used to be included with that kit. Just be careful in that some are brittle.