Polar Lights Enterprise Review

This Polar Lights Enterprise is both inexpensive and a very versatile Model kit to build for both novice and pro!! This build and review is on the second kit that I made. I chose to build the production Enterprise with both kits this way I could test build one and work out the bugs on the second one. The instruction sheet can be a bit confusing with all the variations and there is no step by step for you to follow, so I did mess up a few times and will share that with you later.
I would strongly advise to trim the pins for the snap together kit down so that the parts will fit tighter and leave less of a gap to fill. You still need to clamp. The fit of the parts are very good and will only need a minimum of filler putty. The kit is a pretty thick styrene and has minimal flash with hardly any mold flaws!! I painted the inner bridge dome white as well as the dish sensor before gluing the saucer halves together. This was because I did not plan to use lighting. This kit has a lot of room and you may want to keep them clear if you plan on lighting your Enterprise. I took some advice off the web about cutting the clear navigation lights in half and gluing them to the saucer halves separately because leaving them box stock will keep your two halves from seating together fully. Notice in one of the pictures below you can see the insides of the outer Nacelle caps painted clear red.

Nacelles....

I used #X-27 clear red Tamiya acrylic on the inside cup of the inner insert for the Bussards and silver on the raised portion. I then painted white over the dried clear red on the inside. I also used the clear red on the insides of the outer Nacelle domes.
This was an experiment that went wrong...
My kit was looking like the Refit for the 1984 NASM's exhibition. On the first kit (Pictured Below) that I built the outer caps where not painted red, I left the caps clear and then dull coated them. I liked the outcome on the first kit better. I also painted the raised portion yellow instead of silver. You will see the difference. I would advise you to sand down some of the raised ribs on the inner inserts before installing them because they are a very tight fit.

Primer & Masking...

I think that the hardest part of this kit was deciding what colors to paint it and which Starship to build. After I sanded down all the seams I primed the entire model. I used a 2-part epoxy to fill in the Nacelle pylons where they attached to the Main section. I masked off the bridge, sensor and the clear Bussard domes. I used Testors #2937 Gray Primer.
After a day of drying time I used a fine grit sand paper (WET) to remove any foreign debris off the model before getting ready to paint. I painted the front sensor inlay area where the dish gets mounted with Testors #1244 Metallic Gold without masking because at this point I didn't have to worry about the overspray.
I made a quick decision on the colors because I did like the outcome on (Kit Number One). I used Model Masters Acrylic #4761 Dark Ghost Gray and #4762 Light Ghost Grey. I didn't get caught up in trying to figure out the exact color of the studio model. I then attached the saucer section to the secondary hull, this was a bit difficult to seat, so I shaved off the snap tabs at the top of the neck and glued the sections together making sure they where aligned properly. I masked off the gold colored front section where the dish was going to be placed then sprayed the entire model Dark Ghost Grey. I found it easier to give the entire model a coat of the Dark instead of spot painting. This kit is a small scale and made some of the detailing difficult. While I had the airbrush loaded I also sprayed the shuttle bay doors without installing them. I removed the tabs on the door section so that I could easily install them after the model was completed. The same went for the front dish which I spray painted Testors #1244 Metallic Gold.

More Masking...

Masking seemed to be a big part in getting the Enterprise to look as close to the original as possible. Before the final coat of Light Grey was applied I needed to mask off the bands around the Nacelles and the leading edge of neck that supports the main saucer. You can just follow the detail in the instruction sheet for the ship that you are building or get creative and build your own custom one. The Dark Grey painted main section of the Enterprise is (Pictured Right). Oh and by the way remember I said I would get back to you on my mistakes...well.. after I had the Nacelles all filled, sanded and even primed I had noticed that they where from the wrong version. I had accidentally assembled the wrong parts and built the Pilot version instead of the Production version!! Be careful with these instructions!!! I just called it custom and decided to get on with it. OK....Here I have three pieces in front of me, the saucer attached to the secondary hull and the two Nacelles ready for top coat.
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