USS Cerritos - Completed Build - 1/1400 scale kit by Polar Lights

Here's my complete build for the USS Cerritos model kit!
Limited Edition USS Cerritos (Only 500 Produced!). Exclusive Box Art (as seen in episode 5, season 2) and Schematic Poster! Only available at www.AutoWorldStore.com! Pre-Order now (due December 2024): www.autoworlds...
Please note: the regular edition will be available at www.CultTVManShop.com: www.culttvmans...
The USS Cerritos is the hero ship from Star Trek Lower Decks, and is the newest Star Trek model made by Polar Lights. This model is 1/1400 scale and will build up to be 15 inches long.
This is a special edition of the kit, with exclusive box art, made to match the model kit of the Cerritos seen in Episode 5 of Season 2. This special edition also comes with an exclusive poster.
Features:
Only Available From Auto World Store!
www.autoworlds...
Limited Edition. Only 500 Produced!
Authentic Box Art (As Featured In Star Trek Lower Decks)
Exclusive Schematic Poster
1:1400 scale, skill level 2, paint & glue required
Molded in translucent plastic and clear
Built size: 15 inches long
Dome base with metal support rod
50 parts
Ages 10+

[@chchzuzia]

That's a ridiculously good-looking kit, and a superb build! Seeing this ship as a real, physical thing certainly gives it a Wow! factor that I haven't always seen in the show.

[@christiananderson478]

I ordered two so I could also make the Vacaville 😁

[@jclark2752]

I have become quite fond of the USS Cerritos. Mostly, these days, I find its Lack of Superiority to be its most endearing trait. Not a 'HERO ship' like the previous vessels… more like a 'companion'… a friend… A Ship that knows its limits. ❤️❤️❤️

[@Iskelderon]

Lighting it with bulb LEDs instead of nearly gapless COB LED strips really does it a disservice.

[@fusionnm]

Thank you! That looks better than I had hoped. Excellent build, I can't wait til mine arrives!

[@andrewcoulthard-clark]

This was solid work and a reassuring reason to look forward to each instalment of its build. Thank you for sharing your experience. If you KZbin Exploring The Roddenberry Archives(Part 4), and go to the 1:16:36 mark, you can see a tour of the Cerritos bridge in Unreal Engine quality.

[@brucek3217]

That came out really nice ! You have a good video on how to assemble and light the kit. 👍

[@travisweeks7819]

Wow she looks good

[@Brian_Buckley]

I would paint several of the windows different colors on the underside as if those rooms were, well, colored differently, and not so uniform. Also shade some out the same way. Make it tinted so a bit of light comes not like the lights are off... When I get mine I think I will try that. I am excited to build this kit for my daughter! Love this channel and this build !

[@alantoms9298]

Yeah, I do similar to windows to break up the uniformity.

[@boblum3360]

Awesome build

[@robertmccombs8446]

Absolutely awesome build and with out the future lighting kit as always a awesome build

[@AirwolfCrazy]

Looking good. It looks like the model they were building on the show. I am excited to getting my model kit. I look forward to seeing another build with more details. I have to wonder if Paragrafix will have any brass for this model.

[@richardr4709]

You mentioned an applicator you used when talking about possibly painting the phaser arrays. I don't recognize that tool, do you have a link or a description for it?

[@ninefive0]

The stand placement is really unfortunate, but gotta respect center of gravity. Love this "as intended" take. Would love to see some builds that employ heavy creative liberty! ;)

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

That's what I was missing when I was trying to build a scale F-15 when I was much younger: either an airbrush or at least some spray paint for the base color and a cheap paint booth made out of a cardboard box. One nice thing model kit manufacturers probably can do is provide a sticker sheet that's made of paint mask film, so it's a lot easier to mask off transparent bits before airbrushing. The manufacturer has the 3D data, after all, and they would be in the best position to create the 2D stencils that would then be cut from the paint mask film. Then again, it would probably be too fiddly to get those paint mask stickers into position unless you're dealing with something with big regions to mask off like a scale car.

[@daniel_f4050]

Both Tamiya and Hasegawa are starting to include masking for the canopies of even 1/48th aircraft kits. That tells me that price of creating such things has dropped enough that your hopes could come true with only a minor price increase.

[@RFAurora]

I'd say I can't wait to get mine, but I may as well wait to see the aztec decals and the light set that comes out for it, since while I am getting the limited edition box, I won't be able to build it until next spring. I will be going for a hyper realistic paint scheme though. No offense to the show, but the model looks a little plain. Also hoping that someone comes out with a new stand that doesn't block the deflector pod.

[@johnthomasriley2741]

Use smaller diameter wires, higher number. LED pull little current. Use as small an wire as you can work. 42 is not too small.

[@michaelchadwick8261]

Excellent!

[@barrysteinlage6888]

I've heard the the drawing on the box show the animated version and realife as if it was live action

[@MAHepler]

So I could be completely wrong but aren't those blue gallery windows on the lower clear impulse piece the main windows that are right there next to the lower decker's bunks that are in every episode?

[@frankwales]

Yes, that's my understanding.

[@daniel_f4050]

Coward! After talking about how uncertain you were about the phaser array decals you don’t even show putting them on? For shame! 😂 Even though I’ve never seen an episode of Lower Decks I’ve got to admit that watching this has convinced me to grab the kit. Surprisingly even that over saturated cartoon color scheme looks quite good. Maybe someday there will be kits of other TOS era ships that I loved in the old FASA Tactical Ship Combat Simulator tabletop game and SFB. The Saladin-class Destroyer and the Federation-class Battleship would make me beyond happy if available in this larger scale.

[@mikebell2112]

If you just build the saucer it could probably be turned into the saucer from The Thing.

[@stevenewman1393]

You know if you paint the inside chrome silver instead of white the bulbs and leds that come with the kit works great that way your not spending lots of extra money on things you don't have to!🤔; Also anyways your model of the Cerritos came out looking very nicely great indeed, But it's not a kit that I'm interested in because it looks to kiddieish and more like a toy on not having any real major type of detail or panel lines on it!🤨.

[@slighter]

Not sure I understand how the chrome would change anything…?

[@stevenewman1393]

@slighter It helps in making the windows and nacelles and so forth stand out a whole lot better just like the chrome with inside a flash light does and you don't have any bleed through either also I myself drill all of the windows out with an 1/16th drill bit and use micro files on the long endated ones and add a clear tape behind them!, And I use a spray can which covers and coats it better than a stupid air brush does and it's also a lot quicker process of doing it.

[@robertovers1863]

how do they know the scale a real one was never and will never be built ?

[@stevencramsie9172]

All you need to know is how big the ship is supposed to be (meaning one of the dimensions, such as length), and you're good. If CBS/Paramount has never released an official length for this class of ship, then you can use known things like the bridge dome or escape pods to estimate the ship's size.

[@robertovers1863]

@@stevencramsie9172 ok thats good they never tell you how long it is but you can work out the size from an escape pod that has never existed ? clever