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This is the Starcraft's 1/1400 scale refit Enterprise. The kit is comprised of only 4 pieces: Saucer, secondary hull, and 2 nacelle/pylon parts. Castings were decent for the scale, but many tiny bubbles lurked just below the surface of the pieces. I had to use filler putty and super glue to take care of a few of the more obvious flaws. Generally, the kit is quite accurate, though due to the small size, some of the details are a bit off or are coated in resin overflow. Easy enough to clean up.
I acquired this kit via eBay for about $30, shipping included. The auction price also included the JT Graphics decals. In order to get the decals to sit in place properly, it was necessary to fill most of the portholes on the ship. It was also necessary to fill in the sensor dish, since it was a bit too deep and the new decal would not conform to anything but a more shallow depression.
I had some trouble with priming this kit, though I'm not sure if it was due to the resin, mold release, or just the paint I was using. Whatever the case, I had to use a primer coat of grey, which meant that I would eventually have to use even more coats of white, which is, of course, the overall color of most Federation Starfleet ships. I found Tamiya white primer to work quite well, and after 3 light coats I was able to do a finishing top coat of gloss white. I airbrushed some sketchy panel detail painting on the secondary hull, and also airbrushed a very dark gray along the inner sections of the nacelles. All the other painted areas were painted by brush. The decals really bring this ship alive with tiny details that would be almost impossible for most modelers to replicate with a brush. I highly recommend JT Graphics' aftermarket decal sets.
