![\"Nice](\"http:\/\/borkedcode.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/AMT-CS-TMP-Fig-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Nice cover art here, makes a good painting reference. Save the box!<\/p><\/div>\n
AMT\u2019s Cadet Series of Star Trek: The Motion Picture<\/em><\/a>…this kit is actually three separate kits in one, each a 1:2500 scale model of the refitted USS Enterprise, the USS Reliant (from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan<\/em>), and the Klingon K\u2019Tinga-class battlecruiser that appears in both films.<\/p>\n For starters, each ship is supplied on its own sprue, while the decals for all three are on a single unified waterslide sheet.\u00a0 The decals are die-cut, which reduces the work of separating them when you need them.<\/p>\n All the components of the kit<\/p><\/div>\n Once assembled, these are also pretty small \u2013 very convenient if you live with limited shelf space, and actually if you play tabletop games that need a Star Trek theme, these would make some amazing game pieces.\u00a0 I do a little Flames of War from time to time, and if I had a spaceship game I played often I\u2019d really consider using these as units on the board.\u00a0 They look that good, really.<\/p>\n Size comparison of the largest of the models (Enterprise) against a standard 3.5\u201d hard drive and a bank-card<\/p><\/div>\n Unlike many Star Trek models, these teeny models don\u2019t really have a lot of aftermarket accessories \u2013 for instance, there\u2019s no photo-etch available for these, to my knowledge.\u00a0 It would be possible to light these (though difficult), but you\u2019d have to run your own wiring harness as there isn\u2019t any 3rd<\/sup>-party option available.<\/p>\n The box itself is worth a little mention, as it has plenty of nice artwork both front and back along with some basic information on each ship.\u00a0 Pics on the box are useful for painting guidelines, as well as image references for how the kits should look when completed.<\/p>\n Inside the box you\u2019ll find a one-sheet instruction set, some marketing flyers, and a one-page decal sheet.<\/p>\n The assembly instructions are quite simple (which really should be expected, as these tiny kits only have nine to eleven pieces each (9 for the Klingon, 10 for Enterprise, and 11 for Reliant), while the decal and painting instructions are considerably more complex.<\/p>\n Instructions front and back, decal sheet – this looks pretty straightforward.<\/p><\/div>\n The Klingon will be the easiest of the bunch to both assemble and decorate, since its exterior is mostly uniform in nature and the decals are more of an accent.<\/p>\n The decals are die-cut, making them easy to work with<\/p><\/div>\n The Enterprise and Reliant, on the other hand, in the end will be almost entirely wrapped in decals, and as a result will be a bit more complex to handle.<\/p>\n The decal sheet is given to extreme detail, including full multi-tone Aztec patterning for both Reliant and Enterprise, so despite their final size they are going to look really hot.<\/p>\n Notice the multiple colors in the Aztec patterning \u2013 these look really good<\/p><\/div>\n The sprues of the kits are easy to handle, even for myself (I am six feet tall, with correspondingly large hands, and I had no discomfort dealing with the parts in this kit).\u00a0 They were laid out cleanly, with plenty of space between parts and very little crowding.\u00a0 This is pretty important given the size of these parts, as they are fairly fragile.<\/p>\n The Enterprise sprue had quite a bit of flash on it (possibly the mold has aged a bit), but none of it was any great challenge to remove \u2013 dragging a razor across the part and then a quick brush with some 600-grit sandpaper took care of it all very quickly.\u00a0 The Klingon sprue had just a little flash, barely noticeable, and the Reliant was completely clean.<\/p>\n Enterprise had some flash on the parts, but nothing overly difficult to clean off<\/p><\/div>\n Check out the detailing on this hull!<\/p><\/div>\n And the details on the Reliant \u2013 these are gorgeous!<\/p><\/div>\n All that said, I think it really deserves note that the amount of detail on these tiny kits is just spectacular \u2013 even though the saucer sections of the Federation hulls are smooth, everywhere else the detail on these is just amazing.\u00a0 I was really psyched to see how good these looked.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth mentioning that all three have printed copyright text on the inside of the hulls.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be anything to talk about except for the two white models (the Federation ships) \u2013 the text shows through to the outside.\u00a0 I\u2019m concerned that this will also show through the decals, so my decision here will be to prime and paint these before decaling.<\/p>\n The text inside the model shows through \u2013 not ideal without painting<\/p><\/div>\n Technically, this is a \u201csnap-together\u201d kit, with no tools necessary \u2013 and yes, if you have no tools around, you could probably get this done with perhaps just your hands and a pair of scissors to deal with the flash and the decals.<\/p>\n Snap together?\u00a0 Sure, and Falls Apart too.\u00a0 Get some glue.<\/p><\/div>\n However, as with all things, you\u2019ll get better results by using proper tools.\u00a0 That said, you won\u2019t need a lot of them.\u00a0 Here\u2019s my list of what you will need, and what you will want (I will link each one to example products on this site where available):<\/p>\n Snippers and a knife \u2013 make sure your snippers can reach into small spaces<\/p><\/div>\n A razor knife of some kind (Xacto or other)<\/p>\n Wire cutters<\/a> or sprue snips<\/p>\n Poly cement<\/a> (I\u2019m using Humbrol here, but Revell and probably dozens of others<\/p>\n make good model glues)<\/p>\n Model clamps (many different varieties are available)<\/p>\n Make sure your cement has a good long, thin applicator tip<\/p><\/div>\n (several model<\/a> tool<\/a> sets<\/a> are also available that contain many of the items mentioned)<\/p>\n Gap-filling putty (like Plasto<\/a> or Tamiya\u2019s, Milliput<\/a> can work, but it\u2019s a little too thick for this)<\/p>\n Primer<\/a> paint.\u00a0 A rattle-can style is fine, or if you already have an airbrush that works too<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can get hold of clamps in many places, I use 3.5\u201d and 5\u201d sizes here<\/p><\/div>\n Gloss-coat in a rattle-can or for an airbrush<\/p>\n Paints<\/a> (instructions indicate need for Pearl Wihte, Light Grey, Medium Gray, Copper, Medium Blue, Light Cream, Dark Olive, and Olive Green, if you want to go precisely by the book here).<\/p>\n Decal-setting solution (I use Micro-Set and Micro-Sol, but there are other vendor versions, like Revell Decalsoft<\/a> and so on that also do a good job)<\/p>\n A standard file and a putty-working tool<\/p><\/div>\n A good flat-sided file<\/a><\/p>\n White PVA glue (same kind kids use in school)<\/p>\n Round toothpicks (called \u201ccocktail sticks\u201d in the UK)<\/p>\n Metal putty tool(s) \u2013 you can usually get some cheap dentist\u2019s tools to work with this, but the back side of a razer knife will suffice for this kit.<\/p>\n Beer, coffee, or whatever your favorite beverage for working may be.\u00a0 Probably not hard liquor, since you\u2019re going to be working with sharp tools!<\/p>\n Never model without appropriate beverages!<\/p><\/div>\n The assembly of this set of ships is very straightforward, as evidenced by each one getting about a third of a page of instructions to accomplish.\u00a0 Each one has a few small quirks, so I\u2019ll detail them as we go.\u00a0 First, however, the overall nature of the kit needs to be examined.<\/p>\n The instructions are super-easy, as the parts count is very small for these<\/p><\/div>\n It is labeled a \u201csnap-together\u201d kit, as I said earlier.\u00a0 This, while technically true, will result in ships that fall apart at the slightest nudge, and you will not be happy with them if you treat this as a glue-free model.\u00a0 Specifically, the Klingon\u2019s impulse cooling manifolds will pop off, as will the Reliant\u2019s roll-bar, and the Enterprise\u2019s engine nacelles simply do not enjoy a solid fit.\u00a0 If you look at them funny, they will pop off.<\/p>\n So that said, pick up a vial\/tube\/whatever of good poly cement.\u00a0 I\u2019d recommend one with one of those thin metal applicator tubes (I use Humbrol and Revell brands here, but there are other manufacturers who make stuff just as good, and you can find them here).<\/p>\n For each one, remove the parts (carefully!) from the sprues and trim away any excess flast or bits.\u00a0 Before you use the glue, put the kit together friction-fit first to get a feel for how the parts fit with one another and to make sure you get it right.\u00a0 After that you can disassemble the kit and reassemble it while gluing.\u00a0 Some recommend giving parts a bath in soapy water to remove mold-release agents, but I didn\u2019t bother, and didn\u2019t notice any trouble with this.<\/p>\n I can almost feel Mark Lenard scowling at me from the bridge here<\/p><\/div>\n Probably the easiest of the builds, this one goes together very simply.\u00a0 Assemble the forward \u201cneck\u201d and then attach the command deck to it.\u00a0 Press the upper and lower sections of the rear hull together, and then attach the neck to the front.\u00a0 To avoid using excessive force (which leads to broken parts), trim down the tab that inserts into the rear hull a little bit.\u00a0 Once attached, the engine nacelles and impulse manifolds can be attached.\u00a0 You\u2019ll probably need to clamp the hull pieces together while the glue dries in order to avoid excessive gaps (it will still have a couple of small ones, but a clamp while drying will prevent it from being unmanageable).<\/p>\n Am I the only one who hears Alexander Courage\u2019s symphony pieces when I see this ship?<\/p><\/div>\n Press the two saucer halves together and set aside.\u00a0 Next take the engineering hull halves and lay them out next to one another.\u00a0 Set the engine pylons into their slot on one of the halves and then press the other half over it to lock it in place.\u00a0 The deflector dish can now go on.\u00a0 For each engine nacelle, press the two halves together and then slip over the tab on the appropriate pylon.\u00a0 Lastly, the saucer can be pressed onto the neck (might take a little wiggling).\u00a0 The engineering hull required a clamp while it dried to avoid a large gap.<\/p>\n \u2026or James Horner\u2019s fantastic soundtrack from Wrath of Khan when I see this one?<\/p><\/div>\n This one is the most complex of the three, with several three-part subassemblies to deal with.\u00a0 First, attach the rear face of the main hull to the lower hull and then press the upper half down to fix them in place.\u00a0 Determine the correct engines for each side (the \u2018fin\u2019 at the rear of the nacelle faces outward) and the correct pylon for each side and lay them out to either side of the model.\u00a0 Notice that each pylon has a small injection-mold stub on the flat space where the pylon will need to snug up against the hull \u2013 make sure to carefully trim those off before assembling.\u00a0 The engines clamp shut over the angled tab at the bottom of the pylon, you can\u2019t just slip the engines on like you did with the Enterprise or the Klingon.\u00a0 The main hull required a pair of clamps while it dried to keep it together.<\/p>\n Be careful removing the injection marks here, or you might gouge it like I did<\/p><\/div>\n Once the engines\/pylons are assembled, set them aside and press the top of the roll bar into the main piece to assemble it.\u00a0 Next, the final and hardest part of this assembly is up \u2013 the pylons each go onto their respective side of the ship, and while the glue is still soft, the roll-bar needs to be placed into the sockets on top of the two pylons and positioned correctly.\u00a0 Hold it steady for a few minutes to let the glue set.<\/p>\n Once the three are put together, set them aside for an hour or so to let the glue cure.<\/p>\n Let your models rest for several hours after gluing, priming, or painting<\/p><\/div>\n Despite using clamps, a few gaps still resulted in the build of these little buggers \u2013 the Klingon had a fair-sized gap in the top of its rear hull as well as a few smaller ones around;\u00a0Reliant had a bit in the roll bar and on the rear of the main hull, and Enterprise\u2019s neck and rear hull both had some minor gaps.<\/p>\n The Klingon had the worst of the gaps, but glue and resting time with strong clamps reduced to this to a much more manageable level<\/p><\/div>\n Enterprise had a few hairline gaps on the neck and rear hull, some PVA glue sorted that out<\/p><\/div>\n The smaller ones were easily dealt with using PVA glue \u2013 just get a few drops and mix with water (4 parts glue to 1 water), then apply a little on a toothpick to fill in the small gaps.\u00a0 For the larger ones (top of the Klingon hull, Reliant\u2019s engine pylons where they meet the hull) use Plasto or something similar.<\/p>\n Prime-putty-sand-prime-putty-sand, my least favorite part of building<\/p><\/div>\n Once dry, the fillers should be sanded where they appear rough.\u00a0 This will probably require two putty-sand-prime cycles to make them clean enough.<\/p>\n Before doing any painting\/priming, make sure to wash your hands and wipe off any excess stuff on the surface of the models.<\/p>\n I primed all three models \u2013 the Klingon in a deep green and the Federation ships in a dark grey.\u00a0 The green I was hoping would \u2018bleed through\u2019 a bit to show up in the light grey I would use as a base coat.\u00a0 The grey was there to blend out the show-through of the printed text inside the parts of the Fed models.\u00a0 In hindsight I should have just hit them all with dark grey and been done with it, but whatever.\u00a0 Primer serves two main functions here \u2013 first to give the final paint a better grip on the model, and second to show you places that need sanding\/filling.<\/p>\n Most of the time you see Klingons referred to as being green for their hulls \u2013 this was from the studio model of the Original Series D-7, which had a metallic\/pearl green hull.\u00a0 The Amar from TMP and Kronos 1 from ST6 both were more of a metallic grey on-screen, and even on screen the Original Series ship didn\u2019t show off as all that green in hue.\u00a0 I\u2019ll do a little greenish wash on the hull coat later to give it a little hue, but not so much that it veers dramatically away from the screen appearance.<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost like my own little sci-fi Christmas tree here<\/p><\/div>\n I used some spare sprue lengths and a bit of blue-tack (mine isn\u2019t blue, it\u2019s white, but that seems to be the prevailing name \u2013 any sort of sticky gum will do the job) to make something I could hold them with while I sprayed.\u00a0 Once one side was dry, flip it and do the other (making sure none of the tacky stuff stayed on the ship).<\/p>\n Notice the ball of tacky gum \u2013 this stuff can be found in office-supply sections of your local supermarket, Uhu was the manufacturer of mine, you can also use \u201cblue tack\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n After the primer was dry, I hit the two Federation ships with some Tamiya Fine White primer as a base coat for the hull, and the Klingon got a light grey coat.<\/p>\n A note on the use of paints \u2013 you need to have patience when waiting for them to dry.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just drying that\u2019s needed \u2013 it\u2019s curing, too.\u00a0 Paint may feel dry to the touch, and even be easy to handle, but extended pressure or handling can reveal that the paint isn\u2019t quite done yet, and you can give yourself a real headache by handling them too soon.\u00a0 Give Tamiya paints at least two or three hours to set before extended handling, preferably let them sit overnight.\u00a0 I made a mistake with the Reliant and it messed up some of my hull coat.\u00a0 Took a lot of sanding and repainting to get it to look right again.<\/p>\n Here they are, all gloss-coated and ready for decals (Reliant was repaired after the accident below)<\/p><\/div>\n I jumped the gun a little on applying the hull coat, this is what happened when I detached the tacky gum after painting the underside<\/p><\/div>\n Once the hull coats were dried and fully cured, I applied a gloss-coat over all the surfaces to prep them for decals (decals go on best against a glossy surface \u2013 matte or even satin finishes can grab and rip decals).\u00a0 I have some automotive clear coat I use, but in hindsight I don\u2019t recommend this for these models \u2013 it works fine for big stuff 1\/35 scale, but for these little guys it just goes on a little too thick.\u00a0 Rattle-can gloss coat from Tamiya or Vallejo would probably be just fine.<\/p>\n While I let the gloss-coat dry, I\u2019ll take a break here.\u00a0 Next installment, I\u2019ll cover painting and decals on these kits, which is probably going to be a bit harder than the few minutes it took to assemble them.<\/p>\n (Go to\u00a0AMT\u2019s \u201cCadet Series\u201d \u2013 Star Trek: The Motion Picture Set \u2013 Part 2<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello everyone! \u00a0This entry is a first for me – a sponsored kit review on behalf of a hobby vendor. \u00a0I’m doing periodic reviews for the company Models4Hobby.co.uk, and they’ve sent me this kit for review and build. \u00a0A copy … Continue reading <\/a><\/a>Accessories<\/h2>\n
Media Included<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>The Parts<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Tools Needed<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a>Necessary:<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Optional:<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a>Additional:<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Assembly<\/h2>\n
<\/a>The Klingon<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Enterprise<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Reliant<\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Gaps<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>Priming<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>