AMT USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D - Part 2

It's time to assemble the Enterprise! In this video we go from painting to a fully assembled ship. Light leaks are the bane of any clear kit, but we'll take care of them as we go.
I actually completed this build back in June, but I'm just getting the videos uploaded now. There will be one more video in this series. Thanks for watching!

[@mikeh1840]

I had this AMT model when it first came out in 1987 ( not transparent, just white or gray- cannot remember). Brought back lots of memories. Funny what you remember from 30 years ago. I remembered how the top and bottom of the nacelle had gaps where they fit around the red cap inserts. Would have loved to have one with lighting. Awesome job, well done.

[@johnpoindexter1489]

She looks spectacular! The lighting is fantastic and sanding down raised aztec markings is the way to go. Really makes her look screen accurate.

[@TrekWorks]

Very nice Matt :)

[@davidchrist2754]

That looks already amazing. Working on the same kit right now and I am still in the parts preparing phase 🤯 I am bit concerned on the neck attaching to the primary hull, so I went ahead and installed magnets hoping this will keep it on place forever….but I remain sceptical given the size of the saucer…

[@mattsmodelshop]

I just glued it on using CA glue (I think... IIRC you have to use CA glue on the clear plastic) and it hasn't budged. My first one is around 9 years old and is still perfect.

[@JimPaulJr]

Sorry to hear about your dad. Its never easy. Very nice work on the Enterprise D. I especially like the way the nacelles and the deflector dish turned out. Great effects and they look just like they do on screen.

[@rafaeleclectic]

Amazing !

[@sdmproductions2949]

Wow Matt she looks awesome great work.

[@aaronvandoorn1276]

Nice

[@PunkyWily]

Looks awesome Matt!! Great work man! Sorry to hear about your father. :(

[@TrekBuilder]

Hello there. Just found your channel and this build, and I've got to say...Man, what an awesome job!! I do have some questions about your methods, that I'm really struggling at understanding. I see that you(as well as other builders) paint, and get everything prepped prior to assembling all the sub assemblies, and what I can't for the life of me understand is how you do this... How do you go back and fill in gaps, make corrections being that you already painted, scratched windows, etc. How are you "re-painting" now that you already painted?? I just don't get it? How are you correcting seams if you already did your paint work prior? What is your method that you use? Also, how are you gluing the sub-assemblies together if they are painted?? My understanding on model glue is that you need bare plastic, and it is advised to not place glue over a painted surface, so I am confused how you are doing this? I don't believe you touched on this topic specifically. I would greatly appreciate if you would explain this. It would be a huge help for me. Thank you for your time.

[@mattsmodelshop]

Thanks for the kind words! On the Enterprise D Clear kit, because it's clear you have to paint it first, then scrape the windows. Once all the windows are scraped and you have it the way you want it, you assemble the ship. You'll find light leaks all over the place (Yeah, it sucks). You then fill/sand/etc being careful not to get putty all over your paint, then you can mask/paint the seams. It takes some practice, but you can get it to look pretty good without too much effort. The big thing is to roll the tape (it prevents paint steps) when masking. Once that's all done, if any of the windows got some paint in them, you get the joy of rescraping them again. I scraped the windows on this particular model 3-4 times. Good luck!

[@TrekBuilder]

Thank you sooo much for the quick response. It is greatly appreciated. Can you also please explain how you assemble the already-painted sub-assemblies? What process do you use to glue them all together if they are already painted? i would greatly appreciate it? :) Oh, sorry, I also forgot to ask, when painting over a second time where you light blocked, or gaps, do you go back and re-prime said areas, or just spray your base color, and that's it? Thanks for your help.

[@Fu-Schnickens]

how did you scrape the paint off the windows?

[@lancebardock]

I have to ask, where did you find a clear one? I know this is 6 months later than the video posted but I got to chase any leads I can find

[@mattsmodelshop]

I think they went out of production again. They come and go every couple of years. If you can't wait, just keep your eyes open for them to pop up for sale. Just don't spend too much for one. I think anything over $60 would probably be too high for one of these kits (then again, I'm kindof a tightwad! :-D )

[@TrayChester01]

I recommend taking light blocking measures behind the deflector next time. Those blue windows would drive me nuts. Also, it looks to me like the deflector is crooked.

[@mattsmodelshop]

Yeah, I noticed that on a rewatch. They didn't look that blue in reality. I think the camera decided to pick up on them. Weird. That'll definitely get light blocked on the next one. At the time, I was in a terrible rush to get it done, as I was on a time crunch. I'm never doing that again.

[@jeromelester3094]

Do you ever sell your models?

[@mattsmodelshop]

I actually don't. It's so much work and effort to build them that I haven't really gotten to the point where I build and sell them. Maybe someday, but not at this time.