This
is a Polar Lights NX01 Enterprise
Star Trek model kit. The first issue of the larger one.
It's
a daunting kit, with a lot of parts. So I take breaks from
it, other wise I will get to rushed, just trying to get
it done.
It
is a great kit, and quite large. I'm not making any modifications
to it, I am only building it straight from the box.
There
are several companies making Aztec templates and decals
for the kit, but because I am a cheapskate ( LOL! ) and
I don't have an airbrush, I decided to approach the problem
another way.
I
ended up cutting some templates from cardboard, shapes with
hole designs in them. I cut them with an xacto knife.
Once
I was happy with the template designs, I tried them out
on some newspaper to see what I could do with them. After
a little practice, I was satisfied with what I came up with.
Does
it make an "accurate" Enterprise? Not really.
But it gives the impression I wanted of highs and lows in
the metal plating.
I'll
let you be the judge if you like it or not. The parts are
painted with a base coat of testors silver (# 1246, which
dries flat). I then used a couple of metallic paint colors
from a dept. store. Again, I tried this all out before painting
the actual model. So if you attempt this, see what you like
on cheap newspaper and try different approaches.
This
was all done with spray paint (how I paint all my models).
One
of the templates was shaped like a slice of pizza, and the
holes cut out were curved accordingly. That's how the pattern
appears curved for the saucers halves.
After
getting the patterns on a "misted" places here
and there to blend it all together.
Currently
this project is on hold because I lost a @#!@# part.
So
I am rethinking what to do.
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