Review: Bandai 1/850 Enterprise model kit

[Uraniun235]

Sadly I have no digital camera, so there are no pictures to be had. (Thankfully - I'm a complete newbie at model-building, and I really suck at it)

Appearance:

The model is pre-painted, and while someone could theoretically do a better job of painting the model, it would require someone with a lot of talent and time. The Aztec pattern is very nicely done, and while it lacks the metallic sheen seen on screen, it's still a nice touch that adds detail to the model. There is text print that is very small, yet quite clear and legible - namely the "United Federation of Planets" text at the rear of the nacelles, as well as the "Starship U.S.S. Enterprise - United Federation of Planets" text on the sides of the Engineering hull.

The lighting is mostly reproduced with a few exceptions - there are no navigation/formation lights, no lights in those big window-dealies on the lower section of the Engineering hull, no floodlight effect on the saucer, the officers' lounge at the rear of the bridge dome is not lit, no torpedo launcher lights, and the nav deflector is just white.

However, the lighting that is there is pretty darn good. The nacelles light up, as do the cherry-red impulse engines (and the blue crystal on top of the engines).

The light leaks at the seams aren't too bad, mostly stemming from my incompetence at putting the Engineering section together (It's a very packed little area), and from what I've heard most leaks can be eliminated with the use of some carefully applied superglue.

Overall, the model seems to be extremely true to the Enterprise seen on the big screen. While it's smaller than a lot of other Enterprise models, it more than makes up for this in the amount of detail represented.

Ease of Assembly

Some reviewers have said they wouldn't recommend this model to a beginner, and I think I'd tend to agree; there are some skills that should probably be learned while putting together some cheap-ass crap you can pick up at any toy store, rather than on-the-fly with a $60 model.

However, it's still not that bad. There's no glue or paint required, and the instructions are clear for the most part... just make sure you read the entire page carefully to make sure you have the order of operations correct.

There are two things that stick out in my mind from this.

1) The wiring. Again, I've heard little dabs of superglue can really help when getting the wiring down. I can believe it. The wiring can really be a pain in the ass to work with, especially when you tie it all together in the Engineering section. That's a real pain in the ass; you might benefit from having a pair of tweezers or forceps for that last part, as you have to twist little tiny wires around little tiny metal loops, and then get them to all cooperate with all of the other structural and lighting pieces in the section. (Bandai utilized translucent plastic chunks to spread the light from just a few bulbs all over the model.)

2) Trimming the pieces. For your sanity's sake, whenever you clip pieces off from the little racks in order to use them, take the time to really cut off those annoying little bumps that are left behind; they will make your life a living Hell otherwise, because these pieces are designed to fit really snugly together and don't allow much room for stupid little protrusions like that. Maybe that's common model-making knowledge that I should have been able to figure out already, but it caused me untold grief and frustration, especially since the tools I had on hand weren't entirely up to the task of fully excising those little tumors of shit.

I was able to complete this model in the space of a day.

[RedImperator]

If you're looking for a cheap model to practice with, allow me to recommend the Polar Lights USS Enterprise NCC-1701 kit. For 13 bucks you get a well made kit that can be snapped together in about 15 minutes right out of the box, or you can lavish half a day on it and really make it fancy. It comes with enough decals (or stickers, if you hate water-slide decals) and extra parts to make the Enterprise from either of the two pilots, the regular production ship, the mirror universe I.S.S. Enterprise, or one of three other connies seen on TOS (Constellation, Exeter, and Defiant).

Great practice kit because it's a forgiving, high quality model. You're not struggling just to keep the damn thing together like you had to with the old AMD kit. You can get away with only using four paint colors and having the thing come out looking pretty good. It lends itself well to kitbashing, especially with all the extra parts they include. And if you fuck it up, you're out $13. Who cares?

[Sarevok]

no floodlight effect on the saucer

Well a Federation starship does not quite look right without the floodlight illumunating its name printed on the saucer section.

[Uraniun235]

Weren't a lot of the floodlight effects on the TMP Enterprise accomplished with external lighting anyway?

Besides, it's not as if you're going to be keeping this thing in a dark room, or even with it's lights on all the time since it runs off of batteries.

And Imperator... ooh! At those prices you could build a nice heavy cruiser attack squadron!

[RedImperator]

Weren't a lot of the floodlight effects on the TMP Enterprise accomplished with external lighting anyway?

Besides, it's not as if you're going to be keeping this thing in a dark room, or even with it's lights on all the time since it runs off of batteries.

And Imperator... ooh! At those prices you could build a nice heavy cruiser attack squadron!

Tell me about it. I've got two already, both in Terran Empire livery.

[seanrobertson]

Tell me about it. I've got two already, both in Terran Empire livery.

Pictures, pictures!

You're right about the PL 1701 kits. At 50% off sales at Hobby-Lobby, I've actually seen them go as cheap as $4.99. For the options available, you ain't kidding--that IS unbeatable!

Polar Lights also put out a D7 kit in about the same scale (the D7's actually a bit big for 1/1000th, but it's somewhat close). It's good, too, but immediately after its release, Dave Metzner, a higher-up at PL, admitted there were screw-ups at the factory. You know when a company's that forthright, you're in deep shit

Among other problems, the D7's neck tilts a few degrees off-center. The two pieces that make up the neck are of slightly different length, so one side requires extensive sanding (and/or the other needs lots of shimming). The flaw jumps out at me, but a casual observer probably wouldn't really care.

Overall, hard-core modelers definitely found it a bit of a disappointment after the stunning quality of the 1701. It could very well be made into a masterpiece, but the amount of puttying and sanding involved is a monumental pain in the ass. It simply takes lots of time to tweak and perfect.

For snap-fit stuff, though, and for people who aren't as anal-retentive as I am, it's still an easy, nice-looking build. It comes with water-slide decals and stickers as well, including markings for the Klingon version and a couple different Romulan ships.


And did someone say "kitbash possibilities"? Heh:

http://www.inpayne.com/models/kitbash/trekpage.html

John Payne's one of the few truly great Trek kitbashers I've seen. Most of the TOS-era ships in that gallery are done from the Polar Lights version. Some of the parts might've come from Thomas Sasser's PNT Models, though--can't remember. PNT does Franz Joseph stuff:

http://www.pntmodels.com/fjd.html


While I'm sharing links and talking about Polar Lights, you gents might find this upcoming kit interesting:

http://thomasmodels.com/

IIRC, she's due sometime in October. Look at the size of that thing!

The aforementioned Thomas Sasser of PNT, who mastered the 1701, D7, and NX-01 kits, is working on this Enterprise refit as well. Provided nothing goes wrong at the damn factories again *crosses fingers*, this could well be the granddaddy of plastic sci-fi models.

[Thag]

A bit of advice on those snap kits: don't be afraid to clip off the locating pins and just glue the thing together. You have to be more careful on assembly, but it'll usually fit together better.