NCC 1864 USS Reliant (Star Trek)
Kit by deBoer Hulls
Buildup by Tim Ketzer
Scale 1:260
Length: 92 cm
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After Tim built the fabulous Enterprise, deBoer made the Reliant kit in a matching size available. To make both ships match as good as possible, I asked Tim if he would be interested in building the Reliant as well. Fortunately, he wasn´t tired of Starfleet vessels - and so I comissioned him to work his magic on her.
Tim is a fellow CG artist and expert modelmaker (have a look at his website at www.ketzer.com).
"The wrath of Khan" is still one of the best Trek movies - and the confrontation of the Enterprise and the Reliant quite unforgettable.
The model is completely lighted and has a very accurate paint job. Unfortunately there is very limited picture material on the real model. The lower inner saucer and various other parts are fixed using magnets and can be put off in case there´s a problem with the lighting. The main light is coming from various cold cathod tubes, along with a large array of white and yellow LEDs. The back fins of the warpnacelles were scratchbuilt in order to get some lights in there.
The photos shown here were taken by Tim. There are still some tiny decals and details missing that are on the model now.
As a special bonus and a tribute to the effort that was put into making the model, here are some pictures taken during the buildup:
All the parts spread out |
Cutting a hole in the lower disc to allow for access to the electronics later |
Lots of tiny windows have to be drilled out |
as well as hangar bays... |
Quite a gap to fill where the two halves meet |
Every hole drilled out |
A sturdy internal structure to hold the considerable weight |
Big problem - the sensors are a little bit too far out in the kit... |
... and a rather radical solution. Ouch... |
The remains to be added later |
Gap filled and puttied - like nothing happened. |
A slight alignment problem with the warp engines solved by adjusting the pylon. |
Windows for the observation lounge added. |
Fitting the warp engines |
Aztec pattern for the main saucer. Lots of masking tape... |
and more masking tape... |
Pretty shiny aztec patterns |
More aztec , more tape.... |
...and even more! |
Sensors are back on again |
Vertical mounting can be very helpful. |
The tiny LEDs for the blinking lights are fixed to wood sticks - so they can be exchanged if necessary (not that I would like to do that...) |
Big red LEDs for the photon torpedo launchers. |
Here´s the internal structure - lots of aluminium foil, circuits, cold cathodes and cables. |
