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Jay K

Member Since 13 Jul 2008
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Posts I've Made

In Topic: Built 1/1000 USS Defiant

22 May 2020 - 10:20 AM

Just a quick update, as a lot of time has passed!

I've managed to buy two of them, from New York. I couldn't find any in the UK, which caused me to near lose my mind at the thought that I might have missed my chance, but nah, all good. Overall cost (including shipping/customs) is going to be around £10 more expensive than if I'd bought ONE kit over here, crazy. Anyway, I've been doing a ton of research in preparation for making the first one, which will just be a static model (to be used as a toy/frisbee, etc lol). I want to try and make this as accurate to the filming miniature as possible, not to a super-anal degree in terms of matching the colours exactly, but as close as possible. As I won't be starting for a while, I thought I'd share a few things I've discovered in the time since I was last around here:

First of all, there's now some fantastic aftermarket extras for this kit. Most notable are aztek dummy's mask set (something which has made me decide to not use the aztec decals that come with the kit, at least not for solid colour):

 

https://www.culttvma...my-_p_4262.html

 

 

Secondly, a company called Green Strawberry have made a photo-etch set together with some additional resin parts. These include the INTERIOR of the nacelles (delighted by this!), and even the shuttlebay, which is amazing at this scale, but won't be something I'll be taking advantage of:

 

https://greenstrawbe...angars-204.html

The additional resin parts for the nacelles will allow for amazingly accurate lighting, which is something I'll be doing with the second kit (once I've got the lay of the land with the first one). I'll be going to town with the second one, big plans mainly centred around things like can I fit a small rechargeable battery inside, that could be charged wirelessly? All dreams at the moment obviously, but with the things I've seen during my research, the possibilities for things like that are there nowadays.

The final thing, and this concerns the first one I'll be building (static), is something that caught me off guard, and is honestly jaw-dropping in terms of why haven't we seen companies do something like this ages ago (Prometheus, I think you'll love this dude):

https://culturehustl...y-stuart-semple

It's a paint powder that makes glow-in-the-dark paint. It comes in several colours, but I linked to the blue one above as it's immediately clear how amazing this stuff could be. However, here's two examples of trek ships (Defiant being one) made by a guy on reddit, that use this paint to incredible effect. Just to be clear, these models are not lit by LEDs, it's just glow-in-the-dark paint. Also notice how these shots are taken in a lighted environment:

 

Spoiler

 

The spotlight effect on the Yeager's registry details made my jaw drop!

 

You'll see a few odd colour choices he's used (green pulse phases, yellow port lights on the Sabre), but that's down to him using the green lit paint. The good news is that a pink shade is available already (should help make red), but the guy who makes the paint is working on a red shade, amongst others.

 

So yeah, tons of exciting stuff. When I start the first build, I'll make a progress thread here. Won't be for a while yet, but I can't wait to get started. :)

 

EDIT: Randomly, I'd LOVE to see someone make the Excelsior with that lit blue all over it.


In Topic: Deep Space Nine Doc “What We Left Behind”

22 May 2020 - 02:40 AM

What a fun documentary (I just watched it). I guess I never realized how poor a view the fans and execs had of DS9. I'll be honest.. I was slow to adopt it... I pretty much missed the 1st two years... and I came in year 3... and then year 4 when it really took I was hooked... I stayed up late nights to watch re-runs of seasons 1 & 2 to coach up.

 

Of course these days you can stream it all... and they are right! DS9 is very well suited to serial streaming.

 

Until DS9... I would half-heartedly watch even TNG... in other words I wouldn't schedule anything around it... but with DS9, once I was hooked it made me a fan to tune in a watch every episode of every series.... until recently. I passed on Picard after the two seasons of DISCO. I guess DS9 was the show that made me a super fan... DISCO was the show that seems to have ended it... Sadly, with the death of both Auberjonois and Eisenberg the story line they came up with would require new actors. 

DS9 was the 'I'm now a trekkie (TNG) so I'll catch every episode of this' (I was seven when DS9 started), and yeah, very glad I did! :)

Regarding Picard, I wish I'd passed on it (gut told me to), but the allure of seeing him, Riker and Troi again pulled me. Just my opinion, but it's already been emptied from the recycle bin in my brain. :/

As for the DS9 S8 storyline, yeah that's a shame, but I suppose if it was ever expanded upon, it could be reworked to something along the lines of:

Spoiler


In Topic: Deep Space Nine Doc “What We Left Behind”

10 May 2020 - 07:12 AM

Massively late to the party with this (life just gets in the way sometimes). Truth be told, I'll hold my hands up first of all and say that I found it online somewhere, simply because I needed the distraction right now, combined with the realisation that I actually forgot about it in the first place. My shame (on both counts), but only temporarily, as I need the blu-ray version of this as soon as possible. Far too tired and drunk right now to mooch online for it, I'll do that tonight, but yeah, wow.

We all have those shows that are special to us; whether it be because we grew up with them or any other myriad of reasons, but DS9 is that show for me. For years I couldn't choose between it and TNG, but purely speaking for myself, I finally feel fully able to admit that I love it so much more than any other iteration of Star Trek. I know that's patently clear for all to see on this forum, especially over the years, but away from here, and even within myself, I've always been conflicted by the fact that DS9 is the Star Trek show that wasn't about actual exploration, and in fact centred around a massive conflict in its latter seasons. However, as they so eloquently put across in the documentary, the show is an exploration of one's inner self (and I'd argue society as a whole), as opposed to a fictitious galaxy.

 

The remastered HD scenes are breathtaking (jesus, will we ever see it fully upgraded, and in 16:9 as well - what an amazing treat it was to see that), the in-jokes were wonderful, as were the music and interviews. It was everything I wanted and more, and also, I have to be honest, everything I feared it'd be as well. The writer's room...shit. I now want to see that story so much, it was a wonderful tease but truthfully, a genuinely painful one (for a number of reasons, not least because I really dislike all the current iterations of Star Trek, and I was immediately gripped by the things they were discussing). I wept throughout the whole thing, but I had to pause a few times, mainly on the writer's room parts that mentioned Nog and Odo, now obviously a lot more sombre.

I honestly could go on and on (Max Grodénchik singing that version of Heart in San Francisco, Andrew Robinson is amazing, the line Ira says regarding Section 31 - it was in the latest film at the time but screw it, it's our creation, that had me almost shouting yes out loud, and the closing song from the Trek Rat Pack!), but yeah, needless to say this is a must-watch for all trekkies, and an amazing love letter to the fans, and was just what I needed right now. I can't wait to get the blu-ray to see the extras. And start work on that model kit I just bought last week, which now has a great photo etch upgrade set that I'm going to get to make sure it's a true studio replica. :D


In Topic: 2020 Toy Fair

16 February 2020 - 11:02 AM

Maybe DST will show us that TNG phaser thats been in development for the last 5 years!!

Hahahahaha

Well it's going to light up and make sounds, so maybe we should let them have another 4 years before we kick up a stink! :D


In Topic: New Star Trek Series starring Patrick Stewart

31 January 2020 - 08:35 PM

Star Trek to me was always about showing humanity as having moved on from how we are today, whilst using the troubles of alien races to highlight problems that are relevant and current to our present day situation. To see this aspect gone (something I dearly loved about Star Trek), makes for painful viewing to me.

 

 

Extended thoughts:

Spoiler