1967. I was 9, and couldn't get enough Star Trek. When I saw this kit on the shelf of my local drugstore, I think I went into some sort of shock, and my Dad was forced to buy it for me before I embarrassed everyone there. At home, with Star Trek actually on the tube that night, I opened the kit and caressed each piece with a religious awe. I was actually holding an Enterprise of my own, and I could have literally died happy right there. 1st time falling in love, 1st-born child, 1st Enterprise. Feelings you only get once in life.
I bought mine for $2.50 when it was first released. I ended up building 12 of them, always wanting to have it look like the one on screen. I still have the original first NBC release box in just about perfect condition with the model and all instructions and materials inside untouched.
Amazing! What is the lighting kit like? I remember building a lot of kits in the 70s with the grain-o-wheat bulbs, and my clumsy 8-10 year old fingers had a hard time wiring them up.
I still can’t get over how cheap the kits were back then. Here in Canada, kits are so ridiculously expensive now, I have a hard time justifying buying anything new…I spent $75 to buy my son the 1/1000 Discoprise last year, and I remember a time not too long ago when the Polar Lights 1/1000 kits topped out around $15. Those days are long gone…
The new Enterprise that was introduced in Star Trek: Discovery, and featured in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It’s a beautiful design, and an even more beautifully engineered kit.
@@scaleicons - I agree very much! The prices of the new Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG, etc, etc...kits is just crazy. Part of it is the general inflation of everything from the past couple of years, much is also the fact that the model companies no longer produce the numbers they used to. The thing is, the increased cost is also influenced by opportunity to charge what they want because of the subject. I saw this start well before the pandemic, especially in the hobby stores in the GTA. I used to be proud in the number of kits i had in my collection but the increasing price of same had me start really thinking "do I really need to have this model?".
I built this in ‘73 when I was a kid, and I built it again with my teenage son in a nice bonding experience. I can never get tired of the Enterprise’s shape ❤
I likely received the initial AMT issue about 1967 as a birthday gift and probably then built in a single weekend! Crooked warp nacelles and all. Marvelous work on the video with all the excellent references. A great trip down memory lane to the 'future's past.'
I remember the ton of tube glue it took mount those pylons in 1967 at 14 years old. Still loved it. Built on a picnic table on the shores of Drag Lake in Haliburton County, Ontario. It was so big and bright white. I was maybe 5'-6" tall and fascinated with Star Trek. An older friend of mine went to one of the first Trek conventions and bought a bunch of plastic control console lights, the floppy amoeba creature and a copy of Sulu's gold shirt. This was about 1970 and by then I was 6'-1" and my interests had diverged from modelling. Back into it now at 70.
Great video. I built 4 of these just as a child, and my photo with them is on Glen's poster. Recently, however, I found a badly built, but complete second release with the photo cover and engine lights. I restored it with LEDs and built it as the Enterprise shown on the cover of the box. It is now the oldest Star Trek item in my collection. I also have one with an old lighting system that I built in 1979, flashing running lights and spinning warp nacelles included.
This kit was one of my favorite back in the day. (1974 or 75 ) It was also my very first model kit that I ever ( attempted ) to build. It was a mess , I didn't have any model paint or glue. So I used my Grandmother's fake finger nail glue. And I found some old purple house paint out in my Grandpa's tool shed. My God, it looked like , well let's just say it wasn't anything like the picture on the box that's for sure. But I was proud of it any way. And that was the beginning of my many , and much better looking model builds to come. But as far as The Enterprise , I've built at least 9 or 10 over my 60 years.. With my last one built in October 2022 .. And I'm probably not done yet , I want to do a Big Boy 350 scale Enterprise along with the Strange New World / Discovery Enterprise. Happy Building to All... And just remember that it's a hobby , and it's supposed to be enjoyable and fun. So build for ( You ) and how you want it to look. And don't take it so seriously that it's more like a 40 hour job . It's just ment to be FUN , that's what it's all about.👍🇺🇸
Great post, Charles…thanks for writing. I couldn’t agree more with you about keeping the hobby fun and building your models the way you want to. If it becomes a slog, you need to take a breath and remember what you enjoy about the hobby.
I built my first Enterprise kit in the mid-70s. I had to repair the sagging nacelle supports several times over the years until the year 2000 when both pylons literally fell off due to the aging and weakened plastic. Now I have several versions of the ship displayed in my home office along with Voyager and Reliant.
Yes! I remember this. As a 'model' I was a bit disappointed since it had very few parts - yet it did have the internal lighting system which made up for that once assembled. The Polaris sub model with the removable side so one could see the entire insides from bow to stern - now THAT was a 'builders model'. Still this Enterprise model made a good target for BB gun practice once I got older. The saucer section held up really well to multiple hits. We were kids - no one knows what will have 'value' years later . . . . .
Lifelong model builder here, built that kit many times. I shared this on StarShip Modeller last night, i reckon they will love it. Keep 'em coming mate. :)
In the mid 70's for my birthday, received the Enterprise, Klingon ship, Romulan warbird and Mr Spock model kit (Spock firing a phaser at a three headed snake) and the K7 space station model kits. Spent months painting and putting them together! The Enterprise was of course my favorite. Thanks for the history behind it.
And the beat up Constellation flying into the maul of the "The Doomsday Machine". Sadly the newer CGI remasters replaced the AMT model. I'm so glad I own the original (unaltered) episodes.
A part of me likes the the CG because of the detail and imagery that I could only imagine in the 70s, but yeah…the original fx have their own charm that I miss. Thanks for writing!
Thank you for this. I probably got my 1st Enterprise around 1970 and have built numerous versions over the years. I can vaguely remember some of the details you have mentioned. I can without embarrassment tell you that I got a "little" bit choked up as I reminisced with you over this 55 yr journey .Live Long and Prosper!🖖🖖
Thank you so much for the kind words! Nothing to be embarrassed about…researching this video took me down an emotional memory lane too, as this was my first ever model kit and I built it with my late dad in the mid-seventies. Thanks for writing!
what a beautifully crafted video this is.......the same attention to detail as an idealistic young lad would apply when making an Enterprise model in 1973. SUPERB.
Back in the day, people accurized the AMT kit by swiping the decals from the mid-1970s Estes flying model rocket Enterprise (along with a few of the more accurate parts). The Estes model was directly measured from the 11 foot model as were the markings, so they were quite an upgrade up from the so-so AMT decals, and they set a new standard for sci-fi model kits for accuracy in general.
Interesting! I remember seeing ads for the Estes rockets back in the day, but never saw them up close. That the decals could be swapped out is fantastic!
@@scaleicons I did the same thing. The original 1975 release of the Estes model rocket was pretty impressive, later ones, less so. But scavenging parts and the decal sheet from the Estes model to improve the AMT one resulted in a very impressive looking model. I did the following: 1. Sanded down the AMT model to remove the inaccurate window and gridlines. 2. removed the incorrectly shaped saucer super structure, used the Estes more tear drop-shaped one in its place, grafting it carefully and making sure the lightweight structure of the Estes piece was reinforced. 3. Removed the trenches from the sides of the Estes kit engineering hull and grafted them to the sides of the AMT model. The same with the Estes model's shuttlebay dome, and the nav deflector dish. 4. removed the lower saucer strips and groups of holes from the Estes model and grafted them to the AMT model's saucer. Same with the Estes running light dimples. 5. Removed detailing from the Estes nacelles (the cowling hemispheres as well) to enhance the AMT ones. 6. Finally, the Estes decals applied to the AMT model for accurate windows and markings. Used the Estes paint guides and notes from the study of the 11' model at the Smithsonian by various people for extra accuracy. Had this hanging with the D7 battlecruiser model on my ceiling for two decades and people always were asking why my model looked so different from theirs!
@@nowhereman1046 I also did something similar, though not quite that much. The real problem with the Estes model was that it had to fly, so the saucer was mutilated with a cutout for the tube that held the engine and recovery gear. The nacelles themselves also had some issues because they were just repurposed rocket body tubes, so they lacked the proper taper. Still, the effort for the detailing and accuracy at the time it was an incredible effort when the Estes company didn't really need to.
@@mikedicenso2778 Yeah, that's one problem with the Estes model is that horrible tube. That's the only reason I never fully abandoned the AMT model, at least until the 1980s when the kit got even more inaccurate, including the proportions getting messed up, presumably so AMT could save a little bit of money.
I had one of those models when they first came out. They had peanut bulbs in them with orange top and bottom domes on the saucer. Turn the lights on by rotating the deflector dish base. Somewhere I have an old photo of it hung under a popcorn ceiling and it looks like it is orbiting a moon. Loved that thing even though the engine nacelles would always come loose.
We in the United States DO indeed pronounce the word "decal" properly. For us to say it incorrectly it would have to be spelled , "deckle" which it obviously is not so that settles that. LOL
Such memories. Thanks for this video. I got the 1968 version for Christmas and was fascinated by the light kit, which lit up the warp engines. A fan forever as I learned about battery operated toys!!
Yep, it’s definitely a regional pronunciation. I’ve lived throughout Canada and had never heard “dee-cal” until I started watching TH-cam videos. Friends in the UK pronounce it as “deckle” too.
@@scaleicons I think the word is related to the French 'découpage' (which was an old tradition of gluing coloured paper onto an object) so the Canadian/UK pronunciation is related to the French. I am a Canadian so 'deckle' is the way I pronounce it but I have always loved the 'dee-cal' version too.
I remember one of my early builds of the Enterprise back in 1969. I'd seen an article in a model magazine (don't remember which one) and tried what they described. Got a large box and painted the inside black, then painted a star field with Day Glo paints. Painted the Enterprise with white florescent paint and hung it from the top of the box with thread. Turn out the lights and turn on the black light and you had the Enterprise in deep space. Wish I still had the pics because it was gorgeous!
I had the 1968 version but actually got it in 1974. It still had the crappy nacelle connectors. Great memories though. I can still remember going to a local hobby store and buying it. I have a photo of me holding it circa late 74 early 75. Fun times!
Wow! What memories! The first (and really only) brush I had with kit-bashing, was using one of the six or so Enterprises I built back in the mid 70s as a USS Constellation. I used a candle directed with a hairspray aerosol can to melt the Bussard collectors and part of the primary hull. My grandmother was...not amused! :D
Glad you enjoyed the video! I think a lot of us used open flames to simulate battle damage back in the carefree 70s…but a hairspray flamethrower? That’s hardcore, LOL! Thanks for sharing!
I had the 1975 version with the light green dome covers. My dad and I built it and, much to my chagrin, he painted it a deep metallic blue! Very Disco! In the mid '80's, I built one myself. This was the light blue plastic version. Last year, I bought the re-issue, but plan to leave it in the box as a memento, because I already have much more accurate versions of the original Enterprise in my collection. Thanks for making this.
I still remember the frustration of droopy warp nacelles. When the Star Fleet Technical manual came out I found inspiration to repurpose one into a destroyer class. To this day it was the second best ST model I ever made, just behind the K'Tinga kit that came out right after the first movie.
So annoying, right? Sounds like you found a way to make lemonade out of lemons though. Funny you should mention the Destroyer class…I’m actually building one right now out of an old 1/650 AMT kit.
It's not only the original Enterprise's nacelles droop, but the refit versions as well. and the saucer,neck , and engineering hull never looked straight when looking from the front.
Nice video! My AMT kit that I built in 1982 is sitting on the top of a bookshelf 5 feet from my computer right now! It has fallen and broken a few times over the years, but I have always been able to get it back together!
About 75/76, my local hobby shop had on display a kit someone had built of the federation tug from the technical manual (which I had yet to even look through). I still marvel at the ability to make such things. I’m a 2d artist, but effects miniatures and models are something I have a great respect and interest in.
I’m the same, Dave. As a teen I dreamed about a career in building FX miniatures (never came to pass though). I think it was the era we all grew up in…raised on Trek and other tv Sci Fi in the seventies, then the 80s Sci Fi boom hit and we were fascinated by all those amazing models on screen. Thanks for sharing!
I had the '73 version, and yes the nacelles drooped. I got it to work with scotch tape and stuff, but hey I was young. Great memories and it's cool to see the cover of the box I remember.
I remember trying scotch tape to align my nacelles too! Didn't care that the tape shouldn't be there - my nacelles were straight for... geez it must have been all of ten minutes before the strain broke the tape! Me playing with it didn't help either, I'm sure.
I had one when it came out in stores… even came with a stand. Then they came out with a Klingon battle cruiser.. I remember there was a blinking light on the Enterprise…. That was awesome for that period…
Great video! Thank you for that. One slight correction though. The AMT kit is a screen used version of the Enterprise. In the Trouble with Tribbles, it is the Enterprise seen orbiting outside Barris' window. =)
This kit was my second favorite, built several during the 70s - My favorite AMT kit was the sadly undersized Phaser, Communicator, Tricorder set. I built a bunch of those and I would welcome a full-sized highly detailed model kit.
The AMT model's second appearance in TOS was in "The Trouble With Tribbles" to actually represent the Enterprise herself as she orbited the K-7 space station during certain distance shots. Matt Jefferies did an amazing job modifying the model so that it was not only lit, but he took time to carefully cut out windows (in the proper places) on the saucer and engineering hulls, and then ran lights to those windows, not just the domes and nacelles! Sadly, you can't see them with the poor resolution, but the little 18" model is there in the windows of Lurry's office and in those orbiting shots of the Enterprise behind K-7.
Thomas, I definitely missed this in my video, but I have seen pics of the finished model Jefferies made. He even used the ends of polished acrylic rods for the bussard collectors!
@@scaleicons Regardless, it was an awful lot of effort for something that wasn't visible on screen. In the best resolution pics of the office scenes, you can't see much, just a slight hint of the red pennant stripes on the nacelles and engineering hull.
That is a WONDERFUL Piece of information! I wonder if that Jeffries model survived the diaspora of the various props and items from the TOS ... Would love to see that! Of course by going to that much effort he was protecting the quality of the show in case someone decided to use a closer shot of the 18 inch miniature in relation to the K-7 miniature on the Blue Screen stage.
@@mtdavis9568 It did! It was kept by Matt for many years and then by his brother John until the early 2000s when it was sold at auction to billionaire Paul Allen, who then had it put on display in the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, WA. The paint is still good, but the old AMT decals have faded and partially peeled off. There's a few good photos of it online, in particular, on Memory Alpha wiki.
Oh my God. Yep, I remember trying to get those engines straight on the original kit when it first came out. Being inexperienced as a model builder, I can remember adding too much glue that the pylons sunk into the secondary hull. Meaning me and my brothers often purchased additional kits - lol. Thanks for sharing this. Was truly a unique idea at the time because of the innocent lighting system it had.
I glad you enjoyed the video! I was guilty of using too much glue on one of my early kits too…instead of keeping everything firmly in place, I got a melted goopy mess!
Excellent video and story about this very famous model. I built that original release model - with the transparent green parts and such but I never attempted to light it. I wasn’t that competent when I was 10 nor am I competent with electronics 57 years later. LOL
Thanks, Bill! I remember building a few different “lighted” model kits in the late 70s at the age of 10 too, and I could never get them to work. Even now, I’m not really sure I know what I’m doing when it comes to commercial lighting kits, LOL! Thanks for your feedback!
Thank you for this. I had an AMT Enterprise in 1967 when I was 9 years old. I'm sure I would have been too impatient to install the lighting. When I built model naval battleships and cruisers I always thought the anti-aircraft guns were too small to bother with, and I don't remember fiddling with batteries in the Enterprise. I would have given my Enterprise hard use and abuse as a toy. The main thing I remember was the droopy nacelles, and that I could take the secondary hull apart to try to put them back together better.
Wonderful to hear the history of this model ! I built it at least twice in the 70's. I even burnt and altered one over the stove to create my own USS Constellation (to the horror of my mother!!) Thanks again for this posting brings back memories. - Matthew
Loved it! Had it in the 70’s, with the communicator, tricorder, phaser, bird of prey and Klingon war bird. So much fun to build, but those decals were always tricky…
I've totally built one of those, and kit-bashed a second! So cool to know the history of this classic model. Thanks for making a video about it. I think like so many others, Star Trek model kits are what brought us into the world of model making.
Back in 1967 I built my first Klingon starship because they didn’t have the enterprise at the time, but I did finally get it and it came with the saucer and nacelle lights. To me it was a dream come true, hey, I had the enterprise. Several years later I built several more with different painting schemes. I couldn’t really figure the real color of it although I did do search to find out, early 70’s didn’t have the internet. I had fun doing that, I’d like to do it again but times for me have changed we’ll see if that too will change. Thanks for the history lesson and updates.
Thanks for the kind words, William! I too remember trying to find out the best colour to paint the Enterprise in the pre-internet era. So many complicated paint formulas, so many contradictions. Great times! Thanks for writing.
I've built 14 of the models as a kid in the late 60s, and I did the damaged Constellation and Excalibur. Those were great kits, I had to hang mine close to the ceiling to keep them out of the way.
14?! That’s the record so far, Grar! How did you achieve the damage to the Constellation and Excalibur? When I tried doing battle damage as a kid in the 70s, it always involved a BIC lighter and more enthusiasm than common sense, LOL.
@@scaleicons I used a coping saw and the pieces that I cut off. I used the sprew to make rests to set it on, then used a lighter and a candle to make it smokey. The rest was paint effects and advice from a guy who painted cars and motorcycle gas tanks for a living. He had a lot of advice that was very good.
@@scaleicons my first attempt was a melted mess of one of the nacelles. Good thing the trailer park I lived in backed up on a shopping center that had a model shop, with all the money I made hauling out garbage, a dollar a week, I could get a new one every three weeks.
I was a kid when TOS was on its first run and somewhere have the reply from NBC to my letter begging for a third season. Anyway I built at least 3 of the 1967 kits as the pylons could never take my playing with them. I did build a later model with stronger plastic and improved attachments but it was destroyed when my curious kitty sent it into warp. Great show. Thanks for having me reminisce.
I'll give you a hint as to how how long I've been at it, my first build was the Spindrift from Land of the Giants. Got my first U.S.S. Enterprise kit for my birthday that year. I've been building all sorts of models ever since, but the Trek ships are my favorites. Model building teaches patience, planning, attention to detail, and the ability to improvise, it's a life-long love affair I recommend to everyone.
Very well put together! Guilty as charged - I put together at least one plastic model kit, but then I graduated to VRML and built a life-sized version that I can walk around in. After several iterations designed and built with increasing math skills, I chose not to fight copyright laws LOL.
I built the original enterprise in the 70's and have no idea which one it was! I remember it was white and tried to find a spray paint that would make it look like the tv series color - I got close but never to my satisfaction. Also built the ST:TMP enterprise and Klingon Battle D-7 Battle cruiser along with tons of other models. Nice video!
Thanks, Dave! The first one I built was almost certainly the 1975 small box…or rather my dad built it for me. It was definitely white styrene…though he painted different sections with Testor’s metallic blue and green paint!!!!! (We only had a b&w tv and had never seen any colour images of the ship other than the box photo).
I built two; the first was in 1972, purchased from the gift shop at Disneyland. Original single ship decals. It no longer lives. Second was in the early 90's, had all the ship decals, and was built as NCC-1017 USS Constellation. It still lives.
What a great video! Yes, I tried to build the amt 18" back in the 70's as a kid. I didn't paint it. As it was white. already. I did try to glue it all together in two ours.. Resulting in a crap ton of glue finger prints all over the model from regluing parts that split or sagged apart. I now have the Polar lights 1/1000 & 1/350. The 1/1000 will be my first in mayby 45 years. So It's a practive model and plan to take it very slow.
Thanks for the compliment, Peter! I really appreciate it! The 1/1000 is a really great kit, so much better engineering than the old AMT kit, and an excellent way to shake of the rust and get back into the hobby. Good luck!🙂
I had this kit as a kid! Thanks so much for posting this! This episode brought make so many wonderful memories of my Dad and I building it together. When you get a chance, could you make an epidose about the model of the "Seaview" from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"? 😀
Thanks for the feedback, James…I’m so happy to have triggered a nostalgia buzz for you. I had the same feeling as I edited this video together; as a kid in the 70s, all of AMT’s Trek kits were a staple of my childhood. The Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea kits are an ideal topic…thanks for the suggestion!
Growing up in western Canada in the 70s meant that a lot of the classic kits Americans and Brits take for granted simply weren’t available. I’m looking forward to learning more about the history of the Seaview as well as the other Irwin Allen-based kits (e.g. the Spindrift).
Thank you SO much for this video. I could write forever but will limit it to my first Enterprise kit. It was the '68 version with lighting in both the upper and lower "Saucer" sections as well as the Nacelles. I built it and put it on my dresser (I was a kid at the time), and it would sometimes light up on its own during the night. Spooky. I was a pretty savvy kid and figured it was due to my build. I'm now 62 years old and last year I was able to find an original of that particular kit online. I did pay up for it but was happy to. It had the original plastic wrap and I've yet to open it! I will at some point, but just looking at it, knowing it's been unopened for decades is a joy to behold. I enjoyed your video tremendously. Thank you for what you do.
Michael, thank you so much for your kind words! Knowing that I’m reaching people like you and providing enjoyment and nostalgia is the real reason I do this. Thanks for your support and your attention. I hope you continue to enjoy my videos.😃
The Enterprise is my first "hero ship". I've built at least 3 of TOS's version, 1 D and one E. I currently have a Polar Lights build in the box, partially blacked out for the Tena Controls lighting kit. I enjoyed this video.
Looking at Guzman's concept sketch of the bridge makes me feel like I might owe the SNW and Discovery people a bit of an apology, since apparently the look we see on the new shows was indeed what they would've done back then with more time and money. Also love how some of the Enterprise concept sketches eventually found their way into canon
Yes, I was quite surprised by how futuristic his original sketches were. Guzman is credited with coming up with a circular, dome-shaped bridge concept. I wonder what the series would have looked like had Guzman stayed on.
My first enterprise was purchased from an ad in a comic in the early 70’s. When it arrived, I think from Michigan?, it was just the kit, decals and instructions in a cardboard shipping box. It was missing the packaging we are all accustomed to. It was molded in White plastic with green clear plastic parts. I still have it kit bashed into a tug. Since then I’ve picked up many more over the years. I am currently building another one.
would love to see in the future, a video about the Aurora kits, the Enterprise and the Klingon. And I understand these kits came in different colours e.g. black, brown, green. Would be interested to know more about the different colours there were.
I was born in 1966, the same year as Star Trek. Whenever I see these model kit videos, I will usually comment with my experiences with the original AMT kits. While I'm more familiar with the versions from the 70's (I would have loved to have a lighting kit) I had to have put together a dozen kits, including some of the early ones. I started with just the Enterprise, but my parents got me a Romulan Bird of Prey and a Klingon D7. Then I got a copy of the Franz Joseph Technical Manual and had to build a Tug and a Destroyer. Not long after that The Motion Picture came our, and I had to get the refit Enterprise. My original Enterprise was torn down and converted into a Dreadnought. For most of my childhood, those models hung from my ceiling. They were bashed together, badly glued and slightly warped, and usually covered in dust. They didn't survive to today, but sometimes I think about buying some models and recreating them. I'd be able to do so much better today, if I had the time and effort to put into it.
Richard, I hung my models from the ceiling too! By the early 80s I had the original and refit Enterprise, a Viper from Battlestar Galactica and a Buck Rogers fighter. Like you, mine were horribly built by my current standards, and I’ve spent years rebuilding them. Thanks for sharing!
@@scaleicons You know, I might have had a Colonial Viper too, although it was never displayed with the Star Trek ships. I distinctly remember at least one of my models had cut out windows too, and the green sensor domes, although I'm pretty sure it was never lit. Maybe I felt I could never get the wiring to work, or maybe my parents removed it so I wouldn't become frustrated. The decal sheets all had the multiple names and registries though, so it was an early 70's model at the earliest. By the time I was old enough to watch the show it was in syndication anyway.
I've built this particular kit twice I believe. I think the first one I built was the early battery powered one. I had completely forgotten about it until I watched this video. As soon as you mentioned it it sparked the memory. No doubt as soon as I finished it I probably started playing with it (I was probably 9 or 10) and wrecked it. I do know I built a second one sometime in the late 70's or early 80's. It was the one molded in light blue. There's a picture of me playing guitar with a friend of mine in my first apartment and it's sitting proudly on a shelf in the background! I don't have it any more as it was crushed during a later move. However, I've since graduated up to building the polar lights 3 foot model. It was far more complex but it's a great, more screen accurate kit. There will always be a place in my heart for the first ones though. :)
Awesome, I’m so glad I was able to trigger that memory for you! I feel your pain regarding damaged models…I’ve lost a few over the years during moves as well. Thanks for writing in!
I believe also the episode trouble with tribbles showed the enterprise in orbit outside the star base, which was a slightly modified version of the model kit from what I recall reading. Thanks again for a great video. Here's another point. It seems to me I remember that the lighted warp nacelle domes were also transparent red. I remember having a number of these kits around that time and so it's a foggy memory. I think I was 10 in 68. Thank you for a great video.
I went one further than just building this model. I built an 8' wide helm from scratch out of 1/4" plywood. I scrounged every switch, light, and buzzer I could get my hands on (thanks Radio Shack) and completely wired the thing. Plug it into a wall outlet and it ran on AC and transformed to DC. Every switch did something. Every joint was soldered and taped. That old shag carpet was hard to get solder drops out of! My brothers made fun of me and I finally destroyed it, after I gave my dad all his switches back. My dad passed away in 2005. in about 2015, I found an old box in his attic marked "Enterprise Switches Dave - Make it Go!". That box is filled with some of those old parts, and my dad's note from beyond the grave makes it absolutely precious. For all the razzing I got from my older brother at the time, it was ironic that 20 years later he asked me to build one for his kid. Turns out, everyone was in awe that I was able to do something like that. Even as an adult, he still had no idea how to do it. I also built a "working" tricorder from scratch which was mostly an audio oscillator. Thanks again Radio Shack! That thing used to piss everyone off but my father. After working around aircraft all his life, he couldn't hear it at all. It was like a dog whistle to piss off my brothers and worked well in that application.. My dad was always saying "What????" while my brothers were flipping out. Good times.
Very cool. Over the course of the '70s I probably built at least three to four of these models and it was cool to figure out from this that the first ones I did were from the 1973 release. I had always thought I started watching the show by around '74-'75 but I definitely remember the elements of that '73 version. Also remember the differences with the '75 and the new decals and such. But my strongest memory when it comes to those builds were my tendencies to overuse the glue when it came time to put in the nacelles and build the stand. At least one or two of my models ended up getting turned into "war casualties" once I had screwed up the nacelles too much!
Oh that’s amazing, I’m stoked that I was able to help you clarify a memory from the 70s! Ah yes…glue disasters. So many times I made the mistake of thinking that if a little bit of glue will work, then a LOT will make the bond unbreakable!
That's my model at 19:32! I built that back in the mid-90s and took that pic of it around 8 years ago. I've probably built that kit 20 times, starting when I was 10. I'm glad you liked it enough to use it. 🖖😁
The one credited to Bacchus Imageworks is yours? It’s a great build, I just hope I haven’t used the wrong screen credit! It’s a very nice build, which is what caught my attention. I recognize the stand from a different AMT kit…the ST V refit release?
@@scaleicons Thank you! Yes, Bacchus Imageworks is the name I use when I post my photos online. And yes, the base IS from the ST5 refit kit. It's the culmination of about 20 different builds over the years, beginning when I was about 10. I used the decals from the Estes flying Enterprise kit, and BBs for the phaser turrets.
My mom got an original AMT kit up at the Thrifty’s in Hollywood. Pop and me built it while watching Star Trek on NBC and eating our ‘TV dinners’. That was 55(?) years ago. What a great, fun time!
A slight correction. The 50th anniversary version was retooled to have the Round 2 Dome stand replacing the 3 part cradle. There is an additional release in 2022 in the 2nd edition classic photo box - the styrene is the updated kit with the dome stand, which is likely the standard release going forward...
I bought mine when I was 8. It was £22 in the mid 90's. I had to save up my pocket model and any I earned from my paper round. It was also the last one in the shop so I had to put it on layaway. Took me six weeks to pay for it. I built it in 4 hours. Glue and decals, only painted the bussards with red hammerite that was in the shed. 30 years later, I still have it. Haven't touched it up or repainted it. I'm very proud of it, not of my modelling skills but how hard I had to work just to get it.
I remember the pylon nacelles and how impossible it was to get them to actually stand-up. My dad and I tried all sorts of different glues, but nothing could make that failure in modeling design work in those early kits.
@@scaleicons I turned it upside down and used Lego to support the rest of the model with the nacelles flat on the desk. It was pretty challenging for a 12 year old!
Brings back memories from the 1970s. I do remember having problems getting the engine pylons to connect to the main body. It took a lot of time holding things in place!
🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and informatively explained and executed in every detail way and form indeed, I myself have built this model so many different times that I can't remember and I've built all of the other versions of the Enterprise as well on top of that👌...
Unfortunately we have to go big (1/350) or small (1/1000) if we want an accurate model. But for me the old 1/650 still holds a lot of charm despite its flaws. Nostalgia is a powerful drug!
If you want to get closer to the screen miniature and still have a decent-sized model - without breaking the bank on the big 1/350 version - Revell of Germany has a very nice and modern kit available in about the same size as the original AMT kit. It's not perfect; instead of raised panel lines, it has weirdly deep RECESSED panel lines that really should be filled in. The shape of the B-C deck teardrop is still a bit off. But it's a very nice kit. It includes several sprues of clear parts, including the nacelle front caps and all of the windows, and the decals are accurate. It builds up into a very nice model that is pretty much screaming for lighting if you want to take that particular plunge. As Revell doesn't hold the American license for Trek models, it's not the easiest kit to find, but they're out there. I picked one up through Amazon, and they're regularly on Ebay.
@@scaleicons Glad you enjoyed it. It is a fun channel. Modelers of vary skills but no one criticizes anyone's builds it is all for fun. Lots of great information and modeling tips. The Gloo Troopers always have ideas and information. Max also does a live stream. He is on aircraft training so his posts are short and one a week. He does do a live stream most Saturdays. If you want to have a good laugh and see what that it is all about fun building watch the last livestream from last Saturday. Max does a live build of a snap together kit and it is hilarious. He also hosts viewers build and molders send him pictures to post and he will make a viewers build video of them. Like I said, it is all for fun.
Built my first Enterprise back in the 1960s with droopy warp engines. The next time I built an Enterprise was about 1975, still have that one. Have built others as well and made a transport tug out of a kit.
Barney, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn most of us who’ve built multiple versions of this kit have kitbashed at least one new ship out of the remnants of an old one! Thanks for writing!
I built several and every single one the nacelles sagged. Even on the ones the production team built for “Doomsday Machine “ sagged. It was upon reflection a lousy model.
By the mid-1980s, I was a professional model builder in St. Louis, and built a number of these kits for various clients with my own added lighting system and a nice wood display base. For myself, I built several of the Scout/Destroyer from the Star Trek Technical Manual, as well as a single cargo tug with container.
the original 1966 lighted kit was my very first model I ever built. I have another 1966 lighted model that I would like to build with more lights and sound, but RC controlled. I live in ST Louis. Is there a hobby shop that can help me with the build of this model?
Man... Back in the 70's I had so many models from AMT/Ertle. The Lief Erikson was one of the coolest space ships next to the Star Trek line, and the "Strange Change" monster kits were the bomb!
I got an AMT kit for Christmas in 1974, it had three ships in one box. The Enterprise a Romulan war bird, and a klingon bird of pray. The Enterprise kit was nice but the problem was the plastic hooks to hold the engines upright where a disaster, they just kept flopping down !
When I was a kid my Dad bought me the first version of the Enterprise. A friend of mine also had one. Now, I don't know where he got this from, but he stated that the "dimples" under the ship were for if the Enterprise had to land that it would have to dock onto these 3 stations for the ship not to tip forward. Kind of the way the Hindenburg would dock when it landed. I don't know. I just took him for his word.
The Starship Enterprise grabbed my imagination 5 decades ago to the point that now, all these years later, I've decided to build the entire ships interior from the bridge all the way down to deck 24 :-)
Definitely had that saggy nacelle'd Enterprise in my childhood, and it stood proud with the Klingon battlecruiser, the Romulan WarBird, and the shuttle.
I built this kit several times when i was a kid along with the 3 piece phaser, tricorder and communicator. Me my brother and neighbor would rig up Christmas tree lights with a 9V battery for lighting on the phasers. I always wondered if they ever used the AMT kits of the Enterprise in the TV shows. That's cool!
The decals were so delicate. It separated quickly after floating in water , it would tear especially if it started to dry if it wasn't positioned correctly on the ship. No wonder AMT sold many kits. Each ship was cosmetically different! Each build was a better version from the previous one.
I first bought this kit when it was released in the UK in the blue plastic. This was before I painted kits, so a blue USS Enterprise hung from my bedroom ceiling (on cotton) for several years.
Wow! This really takes me back! I believe I built at least 12 of these over the years, beginning in the late 70's, including some commission builds in the 90's and 00's for other folks. Great content, keep up the great work!
Built one as a kid in the mid 70’s. Had lots of play with the then available romulan warbird and Klingon battle cruiser. Although it ended up with sagging nacelles. Just finished up a newer larger scale kit from Revell Germany that came with a lighting kit.
This video just took me back in time. Built my first Enterprise Kit back in 1975 when I was 9 years old. Then another one in 1976, along with the Exploration set which I loved. Then another one I think in the 90's. Now everytime I go into a Hobby Lobby and walk down their model aisle I see the 50th anniversary edition and get that same feeling I had all those years ago. I have come so close to buying it again, but haven't. Great video!
I built 1 on 1976 I am used it try to take effects pictures of it using black velvet and glitter. Hey at least a hobby store back then asked to put a 5x7 of it in one of their showcases. I was pround of that only being 13 at the time. Then about 88 I built another one this time spending hours and hours sanding off those horrible grid lines on the top of the saucer. I filled in those dimples on the bottom as I remember. Good times.
I just ordered the 2015 kit with the smooth saucer from Amazon. $40. When I was a kid...around 8 I'd say, I bought the original kit from my local hobby shop! Funny thing, I lived in Royal Oak, Michigan at the time. My grandmother lived in Troy and every time we went to visit we went right by the AMT plant on 14 mile road and Coolidge Ave! I didn't even know that's where the kits were made...Just two miles or so from where I bought it!
I was 7 years old when I saw this original lighted model in 1971 at the Kresge"s five and dime store. I pestered my mom for weeks until she finally gave in, and spent over a dollar for this model kit (which was a LOT of money back then) This was the very first model I ever built. I was SOO excited when I put it together and put the batteries in it and then, holding me breath as I turned the deflector dish housing, and.... it lite up the top and bottom green saucer hull lights!! I got my mom to help me attach strings from the ceiling to hold the ship over my bed, so I could turn it on every night when I went to sleep. Of course my parents got rid of this toy when I moved out but, I repurchased this model almost two decades ago ( along with the original 1968 Alien, AKA Kligon, Lighted battle cruiser by AMT which, by the way, was the MOST accurate TOS model , because it was built BY AMT for the last season of the Star Trek TV show) and I look forward to building them BOTH this time, and have them hanging over my bed again! Thanks for the great video! It brings back fond memories of my childhood. You rock out loud! Keep up the good work!
I happened to be taking electronics in high school when I got my Enterprise, so I assembled a circuit that allowed the dome lights to flash on and off. How I wish I still had that model.
This is a wonderful presentation. I’ve lost track of how many of these I built! I really appreciated the improvement in the nacelle strut, though, as the original ones broke off much too easily. About ten years ago, I found one of the nacelles from one of my builds in a box of stuff, and used it to make a cool flat car load for my HO scale model railroad. At that scale, the nacelle measures out to about 80’, which I think could be about right for a scout ship.
I couldn't wait to get home and build mine. Wish I still had it and the box. I dragged my mum around town to find the phaser, communicator, tricorder set because a kid across the alley had one. Then I nearly lost my mind when another kid two doors down showed me his glow in the dark klingon bird of prey. Heady times.
Great video. I'm currently building (yet another) AMT/Round 2 Enterprise, with a few scratch built modest improvements to make it a bit more accurate. 👍
1967. I was 9, and couldn't get enough Star Trek. When I saw this kit on the shelf of my local drugstore, I think I went into some sort of shock, and my Dad was forced to buy it for me before I embarrassed everyone there. At home, with Star Trek actually on the tube that night, I opened the kit and caressed each piece with a religious awe. I was actually holding an Enterprise of my own, and I could have literally died happy right there. 1st time falling in love, 1st-born child, 1st Enterprise. Feelings you only get once in life.
Great memory, Paul. Thanks for sharing!
Such a beautiful story
This me too.
I bought mine for $2.50 when it was first released. I ended up building 12 of them, always wanting to have it look like the one on screen. I still have the original first NBC release box in just about perfect condition with the model and all instructions and materials inside untouched.
Amazing! What is the lighting kit like? I remember building a lot of kits in the 70s with the grain-o-wheat bulbs, and my clumsy 8-10 year old fingers had a hard time wiring them up.
I still can’t get over how cheap the kits were back then. Here in Canada, kits are so ridiculously expensive now, I have a hard time justifying buying anything new…I spent $75 to buy my son the 1/1000 Discoprise last year, and I remember a time not too long ago when the Polar Lights 1/1000 kits topped out around $15. Those days are long gone…
@@scaleicons Discoprise? Never heard of the starship.
The new Enterprise that was introduced in Star Trek: Discovery, and featured in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It’s a beautiful design, and an even more beautifully engineered kit.
@@scaleicons - I agree very much! The prices of the new Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG, etc, etc...kits is just crazy. Part of it is the general inflation of everything from the past couple of years, much is also the fact that the model companies no longer produce the numbers they used to.
The thing is, the increased cost is also influenced by opportunity to charge what they want because of the subject. I saw this start well before the pandemic, especially in the hobby stores in the GTA.
I used to be proud in the number of kits i had in my collection but the increasing price of same had me start really thinking "do I really need to have this model?".
I built this in ‘73 when I was a kid, and I built it again with my teenage son in a nice bonding experience. I can never get tired of the Enterprise’s shape ❤
I did something similar…in fact, I’ve built one with my youngest, who converted it into an amazing Constellation!
Can you find a kit anywhere for a good price.?
I believe Round 2 is still producing this kit, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find online or in your local hobby shop. Good luck!
My Mom & Dad teamed up to try and put the engines on ! They actually welded the engine on !
@user-xg7iz4ok5z now those sound like a couple of very cool parents!
I likely received the initial AMT issue about 1967 as a birthday gift and probably then built in a single weekend! Crooked warp nacelles and all. Marvelous work on the video with all the excellent references. A great trip down memory lane to the 'future's past.'
Thanks for the kind words, Robert! I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Stick around for more like this one!
I remember the ton of tube glue it took mount those pylons in 1967 at 14 years old. Still loved it. Built on a picnic table on the shores of Drag Lake in Haliburton County, Ontario. It was so big and bright white. I was maybe 5'-6" tall and fascinated with Star Trek. An older friend of mine went to one of the first Trek conventions and bought a bunch of plastic control console lights, the floppy amoeba creature and a copy of Sulu's gold shirt. This was about 1970 and by then I was 6'-1" and my interests had diverged from modelling. Back into it now at 70.
Awesome! I hope to still be modelling when I’m 70! Thanks for writing in, Timothy!
Great video. I built 4 of these just as a child, and my photo with them is on Glen's poster. Recently, however, I found a badly built, but complete second release with the photo cover and engine lights. I restored it with LEDs and built it as the Enterprise shown on the cover of the box. It is now the oldest Star Trek item in my collection. I also have one with an old lighting system that I built in 1979, flashing running lights and spinning warp nacelles included.
Oh, that’s awesome Ronpur! Restoring older, pre-built kits is like restoring renaissance art! Thanks for writing!
This kit was one of my favorite back in the day. (1974 or 75 ) It was also my very first model kit that I ever ( attempted ) to build. It was a mess , I didn't have any model paint or glue. So I used my Grandmother's fake finger nail glue. And I found some old purple house paint out in my Grandpa's tool shed. My God, it looked like , well let's just say it wasn't anything like the picture on the box that's for sure. But I was proud of it any way. And that was the beginning of my many , and much better looking model builds to come. But as far as The Enterprise , I've built at least 9 or 10 over my 60 years.. With my last one built in October 2022 .. And I'm probably not done yet , I want to do a Big Boy 350 scale Enterprise along with the Strange New World / Discovery Enterprise. Happy Building to All... And just remember that it's a hobby , and it's supposed to be enjoyable and fun. So build for ( You ) and how you want it to look. And don't take it so seriously that it's more like a 40 hour job . It's just ment to be FUN , that's what it's all about.👍🇺🇸
Great post, Charles…thanks for writing. I couldn’t agree more with you about keeping the hobby fun and building your models the way you want to. If it becomes a slog, you need to take a breath and remember what you enjoy about the hobby.
I built my first Enterprise kit in the mid-70s. I had to repair the sagging nacelle supports several times over the years until the year 2000 when both pylons literally fell off due to the aging and weakened plastic. Now I have several versions of the ship displayed in my home office along with Voyager and Reliant.
I got it as a gift in the late 70s when I was in middle school. I remember the green domes and the incredible frustration of the sagging nacelles!
Yes! I remember this. As a 'model' I was a bit disappointed since it had very few parts - yet it did have the internal lighting system which made up for that once assembled. The Polaris sub model with the removable side so one could see the entire insides from bow to stern - now THAT was a 'builders model'. Still this Enterprise model made a good target for BB gun practice once I got older. The saucer section held up really well to multiple hits. We were kids - no one knows what will have 'value' years later . . . . .
Ah, the Polaris…I got that as a teen and realized about 3 steps in that I had bitten off more than I could chew! Thanks for writing in!
Lifelong model builder here, built that kit many times. I shared this on StarShip Modeller last night, i reckon they will love it. Keep 'em coming mate. :)
Cheers, ModelDiver! Thanks for your kind words and support...more will definitely be coming!
In the mid 70's for my birthday, received the Enterprise, Klingon ship, Romulan warbird and Mr Spock model kit (Spock firing a phaser at a three headed snake) and the K7 space station model kits. Spent months painting and putting them together! The Enterprise was of course my favorite. Thanks for the history behind it.
You’re most welcome, Capt Lazer! I’m glad you enjoyed it! That birthday sounds epic!
I received my first Enterprise kit in 1967. It was the kit with the lighted Saucer and Nacelles. I enjoyed the video.
Thanks very much for the kind words!
Fantastic! I can never get enough about the history of this kit.
Note: the AMT kit was also used in the episode, “The Trouble with Tribbles”
You’re absolutely right, Ross…oversight on my part. Thanks for the kind words, I’m glad you liked it!
And the beat up Constellation flying into the maul of the "The Doomsday Machine". Sadly the newer CGI remasters replaced the AMT model. I'm so glad I own the original (unaltered) episodes.
A part of me likes the the CG because of the detail and imagery that I could only imagine in the 70s, but yeah…the original fx have their own charm that I miss. Thanks for writing!
Thank you for this. I probably got my 1st Enterprise around 1970 and have built numerous versions over the years. I can vaguely remember some of the details you have mentioned. I can without embarrassment tell you that I got a "little" bit choked up as I reminisced with you over this 55 yr journey .Live Long and Prosper!🖖🖖
Thank you so much for the kind words! Nothing to be embarrassed about…researching this video took me down an emotional memory lane too, as this was my first ever model kit and I built it with my late dad in the mid-seventies. Thanks for writing!
what a beautifully crafted video this is.......the same attention to detail as an idealistic young lad would apply when making an Enterprise model in 1973. SUPERB.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Henry! That really mean a lot!
Back in the day, people accurized the AMT kit by swiping the decals from the mid-1970s Estes flying model rocket Enterprise (along with a few of the more accurate parts). The Estes model was directly measured from the 11 foot model as were the markings, so they were quite an upgrade up from the so-so AMT decals, and they set a new standard for sci-fi model kits for accuracy in general.
Interesting! I remember seeing ads for the Estes rockets back in the day, but never saw them up close. That the decals could be swapped out is fantastic!
@@scaleicons I did the same thing. The original 1975 release of the Estes model rocket was pretty impressive, later ones, less so. But scavenging parts and the decal sheet from the Estes model to improve the AMT one resulted in a very impressive looking model. I did the following:
1. Sanded down the AMT model to remove the inaccurate window and gridlines.
2. removed the incorrectly shaped saucer super structure, used the Estes more tear drop-shaped one in its place, grafting it carefully and making sure the lightweight structure of the Estes piece was reinforced.
3. Removed the trenches from the sides of the Estes kit engineering hull and grafted them to the sides of the AMT model. The same with the Estes model's shuttlebay dome, and the nav deflector dish.
4. removed the lower saucer strips and groups of holes from the Estes model and grafted them to the AMT model's saucer. Same with the Estes running light dimples.
5. Removed detailing from the Estes nacelles (the cowling hemispheres as well) to enhance the AMT ones.
6. Finally, the Estes decals applied to the AMT model for accurate windows and markings.
Used the Estes paint guides and notes from the study of the 11' model at the Smithsonian by various people for extra accuracy. Had this hanging with the D7 battlecruiser model on my ceiling for two decades and people always were asking why my model looked so different from theirs!
That’s a heckuva lot of work! I’m glad it worked out for you!
@@nowhereman1046 I also did something similar, though not quite that much. The real problem with the Estes model was that it had to fly, so the saucer was mutilated with a cutout for the tube that held the engine and recovery gear. The nacelles themselves also had some issues because they were just repurposed rocket body tubes, so they lacked the proper taper.
Still, the effort for the detailing and accuracy at the time it was an incredible effort when the Estes company didn't really need to.
@@mikedicenso2778 Yeah, that's one problem with the Estes model is that horrible tube. That's the only reason I never fully abandoned the AMT model, at least until the 1980s when the kit got even more inaccurate, including the proportions getting messed up, presumably so AMT could save a little bit of money.
I had one of those models when they first came out. They had peanut bulbs in them with orange top and bottom domes on the saucer. Turn the lights on by rotating the deflector dish base. Somewhere I have an old photo of it hung under a popcorn ceiling and it looks like it is orbiting a moon. Loved that thing even though the engine nacelles would always come loose.
We in the United States DO indeed pronounce the word "decal" properly. For us to say it incorrectly it would have to be spelled , "deckle" which it obviously is not so that settles that. LOL
LOL!
Such memories. Thanks for this video. I got the 1968 version for Christmas and was fascinated by the light kit, which lit up the warp engines. A fan forever as I learned about battery operated toys!!
Thanks for writing, Mike. That is a great memory!
I had never heard the word pronounced "deckle" before, You Canadians - rockin' my world!
Yep, it’s definitely a regional pronunciation. I’ve lived throughout Canada and had never heard “dee-cal” until I started watching TH-cam videos. Friends in the UK pronounce it as “deckle” too.
@@scaleicons I think the word is related to the French 'découpage' (which was an old tradition of gluing coloured paper onto an object) so the Canadian/UK pronunciation is related to the French. I am a Canadian so 'deckle' is the way I pronounce it but I have always loved the 'dee-cal' version too.
@davidc1878 that makes perfect sense to me.
I remember one of my early builds of the Enterprise back in 1969. I'd seen an article in a model magazine (don't remember which one) and tried what they described. Got a large box and painted the inside black, then painted a star field with Day Glo paints. Painted the Enterprise with white florescent paint and hung it from the top of the box with thread. Turn out the lights and turn on the black light and you had the Enterprise in deep space. Wish I still had the pics because it was gorgeous!
Very clever!
I had the '68 version. I still remember the magical feeling of flipping on the lights in a dark room.
This was my first model, and me very favorite. It looked so cool with that green glow at night!
I had the 1968 version but actually got it in 1974. It still had the crappy nacelle connectors. Great memories though. I can still remember going to a local hobby store and buying it. I have a photo of me holding it circa late 74 early 75. Fun times!
Wow! What memories! The first (and really only) brush I had with kit-bashing, was using one of the six or so Enterprises I built back in the mid 70s as a USS Constellation. I used a candle directed with a hairspray aerosol can to melt the Bussard collectors and part of the primary hull.
My grandmother was...not amused! :D
Glad you enjoyed the video! I think a lot of us used open flames to simulate battle damage back in the carefree 70s…but a hairspray flamethrower? That’s hardcore, LOL! Thanks for sharing!
I had the 1975 version with the light green dome covers. My dad and I built it and, much to my chagrin, he painted it a deep metallic blue! Very Disco! In the mid '80's, I built one myself. This was the light blue plastic version. Last year, I bought the re-issue, but plan to leave it in the box as a memento, because I already have much more accurate versions of the original Enterprise in my collection. Thanks for making this.
Thanks for sharing K2! My first experience was the same as yours…the 75 kit built with my dad…and he printed it metallic blue AND metallic green!
I still remember the frustration of droopy warp nacelles. When the Star Fleet Technical manual came out I found inspiration to repurpose one into a destroyer class. To this day it was the second best ST model I ever made, just behind the K'Tinga kit that came out right after the first movie.
So annoying, right? Sounds like you found a way to make lemonade out of lemons though. Funny you should mention the Destroyer class…I’m actually building one right now out of an old 1/650 AMT kit.
It's not only the original Enterprise's nacelles droop, but the refit versions as well. and the saucer,neck , and engineering hull never looked straight when looking from the front.
You’re absolutely right. I think the refit’s nacelles & pylons are even worse than the original kit!
I watched my nacelles droop until I got creative.
Cut the damn thing open, and used some sprue from the kit to brace those open tabs.
That’s actually a pretty clever solution.
Nice video! My AMT kit that I built in 1982 is sitting on the top of a bookshelf 5 feet from my computer right now! It has fallen and broken a few times over the years, but I have always been able to get it back together!
Wow, 1982 and still around! You must take great care of her. Thanks for writing, and thanks for the kind words Doug!
About 75/76, my local hobby shop had on display a kit someone had built of the federation tug from the technical manual (which I had yet to even look through). I still marvel at the ability to make such things. I’m a 2d artist, but effects miniatures and models are something I have a great respect and interest in.
I’m the same, Dave. As a teen I dreamed about a career in building FX miniatures (never came to pass though). I think it was the era we all grew up in…raised on Trek and other tv Sci Fi in the seventies, then the 80s Sci Fi boom hit and we were fascinated by all those amazing models on screen. Thanks for sharing!
I had the '73 version, and yes the nacelles drooped. I got it to work with scotch tape and stuff, but hey I was young. Great memories and it's cool to see the cover of the box I remember.
I remember trying scotch tape to align my nacelles too! Didn't care that the tape shouldn't be there - my nacelles were straight for... geez it must have been all of ten minutes before the strain broke the tape! Me playing with it didn't help either, I'm sure.
I had one when it came out in stores… even came with a stand. Then they came out with a Klingon battle cruiser.. I remember there was a blinking light on the Enterprise…. That was awesome for that period…
Terry, before I started researching the video I had no idea lights were included. I agree…an amazing touch of detail for the era. Thanks for writing!
The kit was and still is one of my favorite models. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for the kind words, John. I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video! Thank you for that.
One slight correction though. The AMT kit is a screen used version of the Enterprise. In the Trouble with Tribbles, it is the Enterprise seen orbiting outside Barris' window. =)
Thanks for the feedback Justzizguy! I had totally missed the use of the kit in Tribbles. Thanks for the kind words!
I think you mean Mr Lurrie's window commander of K7 - AKA General Kirk!!
This kit was my second favorite, built several during the 70s - My favorite AMT kit was the sadly undersized Phaser, Communicator, Tricorder set. I built a bunch of those and I would welcome a full-sized highly detailed model kit.
I agree…a 1:1 scale away team kit would be ideal!
The AMT model's second appearance in TOS was in "The Trouble With Tribbles" to actually represent the Enterprise herself as she orbited the K-7 space station during certain distance shots. Matt Jefferies did an amazing job modifying the model so that it was not only lit, but he took time to carefully cut out windows (in the proper places) on the saucer and engineering hulls, and then ran lights to those windows, not just the domes and nacelles!
Sadly, you can't see them with the poor resolution, but the little 18" model is there in the windows of Lurry's office and in those orbiting shots of the Enterprise behind K-7.
Thomas, I definitely missed this in my video, but I have seen pics of the finished model Jefferies made. He even used the ends of polished acrylic rods for the bussard collectors!
@@scaleicons Regardless, it was an awful lot of effort for something that wasn't visible on screen. In the best resolution pics of the office scenes, you can't see much, just a slight hint of the red pennant stripes on the nacelles and engineering hull.
That is a WONDERFUL Piece of information! I wonder if that Jeffries model survived the diaspora of the various props and items from the TOS ... Would love to see that! Of course by going to that much effort he was protecting the quality of the show in case someone decided to use a closer shot of the 18 inch miniature in relation to the K-7 miniature on the Blue Screen stage.
@@mtdavis9568 It did! It was kept by Matt for many years and then by his brother John until the early 2000s when it was sold at auction to billionaire Paul Allen, who then had it put on display in the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, WA. The paint is still good, but the old AMT decals have faded and partially peeled off.
There's a few good photos of it online, in particular, on Memory Alpha wiki.
Oh my God. Yep, I remember trying to get those engines straight on the original kit when it first came out. Being inexperienced as a model builder, I can remember adding too much glue that the pylons sunk into the secondary hull. Meaning me and my brothers often purchased additional kits - lol. Thanks for sharing this. Was truly a unique idea at the time because of the innocent lighting system it had.
I glad you enjoyed the video! I was guilty of using too much glue on one of my early kits too…instead of keeping everything firmly in place, I got a melted goopy mess!
Excellent video and story about this very famous model. I built that original release model - with the transparent green parts and such but I never attempted to light it. I wasn’t that competent when I was 10 nor am I competent with electronics 57 years later. LOL
Thanks, Bill! I remember building a few different “lighted” model kits in the late 70s at the age of 10 too, and I could never get them to work. Even now, I’m not really sure I know what I’m doing when it comes to commercial lighting kits, LOL! Thanks for your feedback!
Thank you for this. I had an AMT Enterprise in 1967 when I was 9 years old. I'm sure I would have been too impatient to install the lighting. When I built model naval battleships and cruisers I always thought the anti-aircraft guns were too small to bother with, and I don't remember fiddling with batteries in the Enterprise. I would have given my Enterprise hard use and abuse as a toy. The main thing I remember was the droopy nacelles, and that I could take the secondary hull apart to try to put them back together better.
Thanks for this, Gerald. I remember treating my model like a toy a lot too!
Wonderful to hear the history of this model ! I built it at least twice in the 70's. I even burnt and altered one over the stove to create my own USS Constellation (to the horror of my mother!!) Thanks again for this posting brings back memories. - Matthew
I’m glad you enjoyed the video Matthew, thanks for the kind words. Your mother must have been aghast in seeing the model in the oven, LOL!
Loved it! Had it in the 70’s, with the communicator, tricorder, phaser, bird of prey and Klingon war bird. So much fun to build, but those decals were always tricky…
They still are Allen! Thanks for writing.
I've totally built one of those, and kit-bashed a second! So cool to know the history of this classic model. Thanks for making a video about it. I think like so many others, Star Trek model kits are what brought us into the world of model making.
Thanks for the kind words, Justin! I know the early AMT Star Trek models are what got *me* into this life long hobby.
Back in 1967 I built my first Klingon starship because they didn’t have the enterprise at the time, but I did finally get it and it came with the saucer and nacelle lights. To me it was a dream come true, hey, I had the enterprise. Several years later I built several more with different painting schemes. I couldn’t really figure the real color of it although I did do search to find out, early 70’s didn’t have the internet. I had fun doing that, I’d like to do it again but times for me have changed we’ll see if that too will change. Thanks for the history lesson and updates.
Thanks for the kind words, William! I too remember trying to find out the best colour to paint the Enterprise in the pre-internet era. So many complicated paint formulas, so many contradictions. Great times! Thanks for writing.
I've built 14 of the models as a kid in the late 60s, and I did the damaged Constellation and Excalibur. Those were great kits, I had to hang mine close to the ceiling to keep them out of the way.
14?! That’s the record so far, Grar! How did you achieve the damage to the Constellation and Excalibur? When I tried doing battle damage as a kid in the 70s, it always involved a BIC lighter and more enthusiasm than common sense, LOL.
@@scaleicons I used a coping saw and the pieces that I cut off. I used the sprew to make rests to set it on, then used a lighter and a candle to make it smokey. The rest was paint effects and advice from a guy who painted cars and motorcycle gas tanks for a living. He had a lot of advice that was very good.
Very cool! You definitely had more of a plan than I did…probably why mine just looked like melted messes, LOL!
@@scaleicons my first attempt was a melted mess of one of the nacelles. Good thing the trailer park I lived in backed up on a shopping center that had a model shop, with all the money I made hauling out garbage, a dollar a week, I could get a new one every three weeks.
I so miss the days of cheap models!!!
I was a kid when TOS was on its first run and somewhere have the reply from NBC to my letter begging for a third season.
Anyway I built at least 3 of the 1967 kits as the pylons could never take my playing with them. I did build a later model with stronger plastic and improved attachments but it was destroyed when my curious kitty sent it into warp.
Great show. Thanks for having me reminisce.
I bet I got the same form letter that you got! LOL
Thanks for writing, Anthony. I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
While not a model builder myself, I found this topic fascinating on how the plastic model of the Enterprise changed.
Thanks, Margaret. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I'll give you a hint as to how how long I've been at it, my first build was the Spindrift from Land of the Giants.
Got my first U.S.S. Enterprise kit for my birthday that year. I've been building all sorts of models ever since, but the Trek ships are my favorites.
Model building teaches patience, planning, attention to detail, and the ability to improvise, it's a life-long love affair I recommend to everyone.
I agree 100% about the benefits of model building. Everything you said, plus (for me anyway) it’s relaxing and therapeutic. Thanks for writing in!
Very well put together! Guilty as charged - I put together at least one plastic model kit, but then I graduated to VRML and built a life-sized version that I can walk around in. After several iterations designed and built with increasing math skills, I chose not to fight copyright laws LOL.
Thanks for the kind words! Sounds like you put a lot of work into your virtual Enterprise!
@@scaleicons I enjoy walking around in it. Going where no one has gone before... LOL
I built the original enterprise in the 70's and have no idea which one it was! I remember it was white and tried to find a spray paint that would make it look like the tv series color - I got close but never to my satisfaction. Also built the ST:TMP enterprise and Klingon Battle D-7 Battle cruiser along with tons of other models. Nice video!
Thanks, Dave! The first one I built was almost certainly the 1975 small box…or rather my dad built it for me. It was definitely white styrene…though he painted different sections with Testor’s metallic blue and green paint!!!!! (We only had a b&w tv and had never seen any colour images of the ship other than the box photo).
I built two; the first was in 1972, purchased from the gift shop at Disneyland. Original single ship decals. It no longer lives.
Second was in the early 90's, had all the ship decals, and was built as NCC-1017 USS Constellation. It still lives.
What a great video! Yes, I tried to build the amt 18" back in the 70's as a kid. I didn't paint it. As it was white. already. I did try to glue it all together in two ours.. Resulting in a crap ton of glue finger prints all over the model from regluing parts that split or sagged apart. I now have the Polar lights 1/1000 & 1/350. The 1/1000 will be my first in mayby 45 years. So It's a practive model and plan to take it very slow.
Thanks for the compliment, Peter! I really appreciate it! The 1/1000 is a really great kit, so much better engineering than the old AMT kit, and an excellent way to shake of the rust and get back into the hobby. Good luck!🙂
I built at least 4 or 5 growing up.. I had mine in a case on display . Awesome .. my favorite model ..
Thanks for your reply, Johnny. Looking back, I think I'd have to say this was my favourite model while growing up too.
I had this kit as a kid! Thanks so much for posting this! This episode brought make so many wonderful memories of my Dad and I building it together. When you get a chance, could you make an epidose about the model of the "Seaview" from "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"? 😀
Thanks for the feedback, James…I’m so happy to have triggered a nostalgia buzz for you. I had the same feeling as I edited this video together; as a kid in the 70s, all of AMT’s Trek kits were a staple of my childhood.
The Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea kits are an ideal topic…thanks for the suggestion!
You beat me to this. I think Seaview is the only kit to give the Enterprise a run for its money (Excepting staples like WWII planes or tanks).
Growing up in western Canada in the 70s meant that a lot of the classic kits Americans and Brits take for granted simply weren’t available. I’m looking forward to learning more about the history of the Seaview as well as the other Irwin Allen-based kits (e.g. the Spindrift).
Be sure to include the flying sub kit.
@@ninjabearpress2574 Amen on that too! I actually have an unbuilt Flying Sub kit in my garage. One day I'll find the time to build it. :)
Thank you SO much for this video. I could write forever but will limit it to my first Enterprise kit. It was the '68 version with lighting in both the upper and lower "Saucer" sections as well as the Nacelles. I built it and put it on my dresser (I was a kid at the time), and it would sometimes light up on its own during the night. Spooky. I was a pretty savvy kid and figured it was due to my build. I'm now 62 years old and last year I was able to find an original of that particular kit online. I did pay up for it but was happy to. It had the original plastic wrap and I've yet to open it! I will at some point, but just looking at it, knowing it's been unopened for decades is a joy to behold. I enjoyed your video tremendously. Thank you for what you do.
Michael, thank you so much for your kind words! Knowing that I’m reaching people like you and providing enjoyment and nostalgia is the real reason I do this. Thanks for your support and your attention. I hope you continue to enjoy my videos.😃
The Enterprise is my first "hero ship". I've built at least 3 of TOS's version, 1 D and one E. I currently have a Polar Lights build in the box, partially blacked out for the Tena Controls lighting kit. I enjoyed this video.
It’s amazing to me how many of us have built multiple versions of the old AMT kit. Thanks for sharing Terry, and thanks for the kind words!
What a great video! Fascinating, and most enjoyable. Excellent work Sir. 👏
Ross, thank you very much for the kind words! I’m very pleased you enjoyed it!
Looking at Guzman's concept sketch of the bridge makes me feel like I might owe the SNW and Discovery people a bit of an apology, since apparently the look we see on the new shows was indeed what they would've done back then with more time and money. Also love how some of the Enterprise concept sketches eventually found their way into canon
Yes, I was quite surprised by how futuristic his original sketches were. Guzman is credited with coming up with a circular, dome-shaped bridge concept. I wonder what the series would have looked like had Guzman stayed on.
My first enterprise was purchased from an ad in a comic in the early 70’s. When it arrived, I think from Michigan?, it was just the kit, decals and instructions in a cardboard shipping box. It was missing the packaging we are all accustomed to. It was molded in White plastic with green clear plastic parts. I still have it kit bashed into a tug. Since then I’ve picked up many more over the years. I am currently building another one.
would love to see in the future, a video about the Aurora kits, the Enterprise and the Klingon. And I understand these kits came in different colours e.g. black, brown, green. Would be interested to know more about the different colours there were.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I was born in 1966, the same year as Star Trek. Whenever I see these model kit videos, I will usually comment with my experiences with the original AMT kits. While I'm more familiar with the versions from the 70's (I would have loved to have a lighting kit) I had to have put together a dozen kits, including some of the early ones.
I started with just the Enterprise, but my parents got me a Romulan Bird of Prey and a Klingon D7. Then I got a copy of the Franz Joseph Technical Manual and had to build a Tug and a Destroyer. Not long after that The Motion Picture came our, and I had to get the refit Enterprise. My original Enterprise was torn down and converted into a Dreadnought.
For most of my childhood, those models hung from my ceiling. They were bashed together, badly glued and slightly warped, and usually covered in dust. They didn't survive to today, but sometimes I think about buying some models and recreating them. I'd be able to do so much better today, if I had the time and effort to put into it.
I'll add that I always loved the "sensor grid" even though it wasn't Canon. All my ships proudly bore these lines. 😆
Richard, I hung my models from the ceiling too! By the early 80s I had the original and refit Enterprise, a Viper from Battlestar Galactica and a Buck Rogers fighter. Like you, mine were horribly built by my current standards, and I’ve spent years rebuilding them. Thanks for sharing!
@@scaleicons You know, I might have had a Colonial Viper too, although it was never displayed with the Star Trek ships. I distinctly remember at least one of my models had cut out windows too, and the green sensor domes, although I'm pretty sure it was never lit. Maybe I felt I could never get the wiring to work, or maybe my parents removed it so I wouldn't become frustrated. The decal sheets all had the multiple names and registries though, so it was an early 70's model at the earliest. By the time I was old enough to watch the show it was in syndication anyway.
I've built this particular kit twice I believe. I think the first one I built was the early battery powered one. I had completely forgotten about it until I watched this video. As soon as you mentioned it it sparked the memory. No doubt as soon as I finished it I probably started playing with it (I was probably 9 or 10) and wrecked it. I do know I built a second one sometime in the late 70's or early 80's. It was the one molded in light blue. There's a picture of me playing guitar with a friend of mine in my first apartment and it's sitting proudly on a shelf in the background! I don't have it any more as it was crushed during a later move. However, I've since graduated up to building the polar lights 3 foot model. It was far more complex but it's a great, more screen accurate kit. There will always be a place in my heart for the first ones though. :)
Awesome, I’m so glad I was able to trigger that memory for you! I feel your pain regarding damaged models…I’ve lost a few over the years during moves as well. Thanks for writing in!
I believe also the episode trouble with tribbles showed the enterprise in orbit outside the star base, which was a slightly modified version of the model kit from what I recall reading. Thanks again for a great video. Here's another point. It seems to me I remember that the lighted warp nacelle domes were also transparent red. I remember having a number of these kits around that time and so it's a foggy memory. I think I was 10 in 68. Thank you for a great video.
Thanks for the kind words, Tom. I’m so glad you enjoyed the video.
I went one further than just building this model. I built an 8' wide helm from scratch out of 1/4" plywood. I scrounged every switch, light, and buzzer I could get my hands on (thanks Radio Shack) and completely wired the thing. Plug it into a wall outlet and it ran on AC and transformed to DC. Every switch did something. Every joint was soldered and taped. That old shag carpet was hard to get solder drops out of! My brothers made fun of me and I finally destroyed it, after I gave my dad all his switches back. My dad passed away in 2005. in about 2015, I found an old box in his attic marked "Enterprise Switches Dave - Make it Go!". That box is filled with some of those old parts, and my dad's note from beyond the grave makes it absolutely precious. For all the razzing I got from my older brother at the time, it was ironic that 20 years later he asked me to build one for his kid. Turns out, everyone was in awe that I was able to do something like that. Even as an adult, he still had no idea how to do it. I also built a "working" tricorder from scratch which was mostly an audio oscillator. Thanks again Radio Shack! That thing used to piss everyone off but my father. After working around aircraft all his life, he couldn't hear it at all. It was like a dog whistle to piss off my brothers and worked well in that application.. My dad was always saying "What????" while my brothers were flipping out. Good times.
That’s amazing David, and a truly precious memory! The fact that your dad kept all those switches shows how proud he was of you. Thanks for sharing!
Very cool. Over the course of the '70s I probably built at least three to four of these models and it was cool to figure out from this that the first ones I did were from the 1973 release. I had always thought I started watching the show by around '74-'75 but I definitely remember the elements of that '73 version. Also remember the differences with the '75 and the new decals and such.
But my strongest memory when it comes to those builds were my tendencies to overuse the glue when it came time to put in the nacelles and build the stand. At least one or two of my models ended up getting turned into "war casualties" once I had screwed up the nacelles too much!
Oh that’s amazing, I’m stoked that I was able to help you clarify a memory from the 70s! Ah yes…glue disasters. So many times I made the mistake of thinking that if a little bit of glue will work, then a LOT will make the bond unbreakable!
That's my model at 19:32! I built that back in the mid-90s and took that pic of it around 8 years ago. I've probably built that kit 20 times, starting when I was 10. I'm glad you liked it enough to use it. 🖖😁
The one credited to Bacchus Imageworks is yours? It’s a great build, I just hope I haven’t used the wrong screen credit! It’s a very nice build, which is what caught my attention. I recognize the stand from a different AMT kit…the ST V refit release?
@@scaleicons Thank you! Yes, Bacchus Imageworks is the name I use when I post my photos online. And yes, the base IS from the ST5 refit kit. It's the culmination of about 20 different builds over the years, beginning when I was about 10. I used the decals from the Estes flying Enterprise kit, and BBs for the phaser turrets.
Sounds like you’re a Trek modeler like me…every build gets dressed up with leftover (or cannibalised) parts from older Trek kits! 😁
This was my first model kit when I was 8! Maybe I was 9, it came in the black box and I was 9 in 1989.
What an awesome memory! It was my first model as well…mine was the first kit in the small box in 1975. I would have been about 8 as well!
My mom got an original AMT kit up at the Thrifty’s in Hollywood.
Pop and me built it while watching Star Trek on NBC and eating our ‘TV dinners’.
That was 55(?) years ago.
What a great, fun time!
Oh, what a great memory! Thanks for writing in, David!
A slight correction. The 50th anniversary version was retooled to have the Round 2 Dome stand replacing the 3 part cradle. There is an additional release in 2022 in the 2nd edition classic photo box - the styrene is the updated kit with the dome stand, which is likely the standard release going forward...
Thanks for the clarification, Portland. That dome stand is beautifully engineered, and I’ve purchased several for my own kitbashes.
I LOVE the plastic used in the 50th Anniversary kit. No more saggy nacells. Finally had a quality plastic to work with!
I bought mine when I was 8. It was £22 in the mid 90's. I had to save up my pocket model and any I earned from my paper round. It was also the last one in the shop so I had to put it on layaway. Took me six weeks to pay for it. I built it in 4 hours. Glue and decals, only painted the bussards with red hammerite that was in the shed. 30 years later, I still have it. Haven't touched it up or repainted it. I'm very proud of it, not of my modelling skills but how hard I had to work just to get it.
I remember the pylon nacelles and how impossible it was to get them to actually stand-up. My dad and I tried all sorts of different glues, but nothing could make that failure in modeling design work in those early kits.
I remember trying to keep them parallel and even by using scotch tape while they dried. About as successful as you might think.
@@scaleicons I turned it upside down and used Lego to support the rest of the model with the nacelles flat on the desk. It was pretty challenging for a 12 year old!
Brings back memories from the 1970s. I do remember having problems getting the engine pylons to connect to the main body. It took a lot of time holding things in place!
I think the only time I got them straight was when I built it for the fifth (and most recent) time….about 15 years ago!!!
🖖😎👍Very cool and very nicely well done and informatively explained and executed in every detail way and form indeed, I myself have built this model so many different times that I can't remember and I've built all of the other versions of the Enterprise as well on top of that👌...
Thanks very much, Steve! I think building any Enterprise model is a rite of passage for all of us Sci Fi builders!
This brings back so many memories of building them.
Thank you for making this video.👍🏾
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Gwonk! Stick around, there’s more to come!
I loved this kit!
I wish I could find a few without the design mistakes.
Unfortunately we have to go big (1/350) or small (1/1000) if we want an accurate model. But for me the old 1/650 still holds a lot of charm despite its flaws. Nostalgia is a powerful drug!
If you want to get closer to the screen miniature and still have a decent-sized model - without breaking the bank on the big 1/350 version - Revell of Germany has a very nice and modern kit available in about the same size as the original AMT kit. It's not perfect; instead of raised panel lines, it has weirdly deep RECESSED panel lines that really should be filled in. The shape of the B-C deck teardrop is still a bit off. But it's a very nice kit. It includes several sprues of clear parts, including the nacelle front caps and all of the windows, and the decals are accurate. It builds up into a very nice model that is pretty much screaming for lighting if you want to take that particular plunge.
As Revell doesn't hold the American license for Trek models, it's not the easiest kit to find, but they're out there. I picked one up through Amazon, and they're regularly on Ebay.
I’ve been very curious about the Revell kit too, Lone Locust. I may have to pick one up just to compare & contrast it to the AMT kit!
@@scaleicons I have the same interest. Please let me know what you learn about the Revell AG kit. Thank you.
May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless Round 2 Models.
Yes, I had one in 1967. My sister sat on it as soon as I had finished the kit.
Oh no!!! How disappointing!
Have you seen Maxs Models channel? He has a lot of videos on the history of model companies.
I had not…until you suggested it. Some great content, and I just subscribed. Thanks for the heads up!
@@scaleicons Glad you enjoyed it. It is a fun channel. Modelers of vary skills but no one criticizes anyone's builds it is all for fun. Lots of great information and modeling tips. The Gloo Troopers always have ideas and information. Max also does a live stream. He is on aircraft training so his posts are short and one a week. He does do a live stream most Saturdays. If you want to have a good laugh and see what that it is all about fun building watch the last livestream from last Saturday. Max does a live build of a snap together kit and it is hilarious. He also hosts viewers build and molders send him pictures to post and he will make a viewers build video of them. Like I said, it is all for fun.
Built my first Enterprise back in the 1960s with droopy warp engines. The next time I built an Enterprise was about 1975, still have that one. Have built others as well and made a transport tug out of a kit.
Barney, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn most of us who’ve built multiple versions of this kit have kitbashed at least one new ship out of the remnants of an old one! Thanks for writing!
I built several and every single one the nacelles sagged. Even on the ones the production team built for “Doomsday Machine “ sagged. It was upon reflection a lousy model.
By the mid-1980s, I was a professional model builder in St. Louis, and built a number of these kits for various clients with my own added lighting system and a nice wood display base. For myself, I built several of the Scout/Destroyer from the Star Trek Technical Manual, as well as a single cargo tug with container.
Professional model builder…dream job! I’m working on a kitbash scout/destroyer at the moment. Thanks for writing in Jeff!
the original 1966 lighted kit was my very first model I ever built. I have another 1966 lighted model that I would like to build with more lights and sound, but RC controlled. I live in ST Louis. Is there a hobby shop that can help me with the build of this model?
Man... Back in the 70's I had so many models from AMT/Ertle. The Lief Erikson was one of the coolest space ships next to the Star Trek line, and the "Strange Change" monster kits were the bomb!
Oh, I think I remember the strange change kits! Wasn’t there one of The Mummy?
@@scaleicons Yes Sir, mummy, vampire, wolfman, Mr. Hyde, etc.
Hmm, I’m gonna have to look into those…
@@scaleicons Monsters in Motion has a ton of old school models on their web site.
I know the site…I’ll check it out!
I got an AMT kit for Christmas in 1974, it had three ships in one box. The Enterprise a Romulan war bird, and a klingon bird of pray. The Enterprise kit was nice but the problem was the plastic hooks to hold the engines upright where a disaster, they just kept flopping down !
When I was a kid my Dad bought me the first version of the Enterprise. A friend of mine also had one. Now, I don't know where he got this from, but he stated that the "dimples" under the ship were for if the Enterprise had to land that it would have to dock onto these 3 stations for the ship not to tip forward. Kind of the way the Hindenburg would dock when it landed. I don't know. I just took him for his word.
My Dad helped me build this in 1974. It's always been a fond memory of mine, and that got me into model-building.
Great story! I remember building this kit with my dad in the mid-seventies as well, and it also got me into modelling!
The Starship Enterprise grabbed my imagination 5 decades ago to the point that now, all these years later, I've decided to build the entire ships interior from the bridge all the way down to deck 24 :-)
Cool! I just subbed you so I can see how you progress! Good luck!
@@scaleicons Thanks :-)
Definitely had that saggy nacelle'd Enterprise in my childhood, and it stood proud with the Klingon battlecruiser, the Romulan WarBird, and the shuttle.
I built this kit several times when i was a kid along with the 3 piece phaser, tricorder and communicator. Me my brother and neighbor would rig up Christmas tree lights with a 9V battery for lighting on the phasers.
I always wondered if they ever used the AMT kits of the Enterprise in the TV shows. That's cool!
The decals were so delicate. It separated quickly after floating in water , it would tear especially if it started to dry if it wasn't positioned correctly on the ship. No wonder AMT sold many kits. Each ship was cosmetically different! Each build was a better version from the previous one.
That’s absolutely true! Each new version we built always seems to be better, didn’t it? 🙂
I first bought this kit when it was released in the UK in the blue plastic. This was before I painted kits, so a blue USS Enterprise hung from my bedroom ceiling (on cotton) for several years.
Wow! This really takes me back! I believe I built at least 12 of these over the years, beginning in the late 70's, including some commission builds in the 90's and 00's for other folks. Great content, keep up the great work!
Thank you Probation Bird! I have some great topics coming up. Thanks for your support!
Built one as a kid in the mid 70’s. Had lots of play with the then available romulan warbird and Klingon battle cruiser. Although it ended up with sagging nacelles. Just finished up a newer larger scale kit from Revell Germany that came with a lighting kit.
This video just took me back in time. Built my first Enterprise Kit back in 1975 when I was 9 years old. Then another one in 1976, along with the Exploration set which I loved. Then another one I think in the 90's. Now everytime I go into a Hobby Lobby and walk down their model aisle I see the 50th anniversary edition and get that same feeling I had all those years ago. I have come so close to buying it again, but haven't. Great video!
Thanks for the kind words, George. I believe I built my first kit in 75 at the same age. Talk about a touchstone from childhood! Thanks for writing!
I built 1 on 1976 I am used it try to take effects pictures of it using black velvet and glitter. Hey at least a hobby store back then asked to put a 5x7 of it in one of their showcases. I was pround of that only being 13 at the time. Then about 88 I built another one this time spending hours and hours sanding off those horrible grid lines on the top of the saucer. I filled in those dimples on the bottom as I remember. Good times.
Great video!
I have collected and built most of the AMT Star trek models. Great classic kits.
Thanks very much!
What a great documentary. A treat for any Star Trek fan.
Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, Kevin! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I just ordered the 2015 kit with the smooth saucer from Amazon. $40. When I was a kid...around 8 I'd say, I bought the original kit from my local hobby shop! Funny thing, I lived in Royal Oak, Michigan at the time. My grandmother lived in Troy and every time we went to visit we went right by the AMT plant on 14 mile road and Coolidge Ave! I didn't even know that's where the kits were made...Just two miles or so from where I bought it!
Sweet! I hope you enjoy building it! Great memory too, thanks for sharing!
I was 7 years old when I saw this original lighted model in 1971 at the Kresge"s five and dime store. I pestered my mom for weeks until she finally gave in, and spent over a dollar for this model kit (which was a LOT of money back then) This was the very first model I ever built. I was SOO excited when I put it together and put the batteries in it and then, holding me breath as I turned the deflector dish housing, and.... it lite up the top and bottom green saucer hull lights!! I got my mom to help me attach strings from the ceiling to hold the ship over my bed, so I could turn it on every night when I went to sleep. Of course my parents got rid of this toy when I moved out but, I repurchased this model almost two decades ago ( along with the original 1968 Alien, AKA Kligon, Lighted battle cruiser by AMT which, by the way, was the MOST accurate TOS model , because it was built BY AMT for the last season of the Star Trek TV show) and I look forward to building them BOTH this time, and have them hanging over my bed again! Thanks for the great video! It brings back fond memories of my childhood. You rock out loud! Keep up the good work!
Joe, thank you so much for sharing this awesome memory, and thank you for the kind words and support!
I happened to be taking electronics in high school when I got my Enterprise, so I assembled a circuit that allowed the dome lights to flash on and off. How I wish I still had that model.
Clever! I wish I had some sort of electronics training or background so I could build my own circuit like you did.
I had the short box version around 1975. I remember, I couldn't wait to get it assembled. I've got my eye on the 1/350 TOS version, now...
This is a wonderful presentation. I’ve lost track of how many of these I built! I really appreciated the improvement in the nacelle strut, though, as the original ones broke off much too easily. About ten years ago, I found one of the nacelles from one of my builds in a box of stuff, and used it to make a cool flat car load for my HO scale model railroad. At that scale, the nacelle measures out to about 80’, which I think could be about right for a scout ship.
I couldn't wait to get home and build mine. Wish I still had it and the box. I dragged my mum around town to find the phaser, communicator, tricorder set because a kid across the alley had one. Then I nearly lost my mind when another kid two doors down showed me his glow in the dark klingon bird of prey. Heady times.
built the classic kit in the 70's in High School!
Great video. I'm currently building (yet another) AMT/Round 2 Enterprise, with a few scratch built modest improvements to make it a bit more accurate. 👍
Thanks GSR! Nice, good luck on your build!