Papercraft U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

[Vortex_4200]

I have been putting plastic models together for more years than I really care to remember, but with talking to a friend at work we started to talk about putting together papercraft models, so I have now decided to jump into this and for an old plastic modeler this is very cool.
So with that in mind my first project is the starship Enterprise from the the original series, and I'd like to post some pics as the project comes along and ask a little advice if I can.

The first photo is my first cut out and sad to say I messed up, I had thought to print out another but decided not to since I want to learn from my mistakes
The second is of part of the secondary hull assembled
The third photo is one I would like to have advice on.... it says to "roll" the sides of the pylons, this was a problem on the secondary hull, what is a good way to "roll" paper since you cannot simply fold it?

I'll upload more photos when I can, if you don't hear from me in a week send out search parties!!!!

ooooh - my fav!
Chris

[jaffro]

When I need to roll or curve something, I roll it with a "rolling pin" which is of thinner diameter than the curve I need, sometimes you need to roll it a few times to get the shape you need... in the case of your pylons there, I'd be making the reverse side of the part to show where you need to roll and where you don't, seeing as they're not going to be round tubes.

Hope that makes sense, if not let me know and I'll try to explain with pictures.

Oh and welcome to the forums / card modeling etc.

[Millenniumfalsehood]

When he says "rolling pin", basically any round object will do. I favor pencils and screwdrivers myself.

[MOS95B]

Rolling stuff was a stumper for me in the beginning, too. Matter of fact, I still kind of suck at it....

But I have a small collection of different sized dowels I use for ir now. Jut roll them ober the section to be rolled on a soft surface (mouse pad, palm of your hand, thigh, etc) and they will curl up.

[Ron Caudillo]

Hi Vortex_4200!
Thanks for downloading and building my Enterprise model!

Here are 2 of the photos I took before I wrote the assembly manual to show how to build it. This photos show the pylon and secondary hull after initial rolling. If you e-mail me, I can send you a zip file of all of the photos in sequence. Zipped file is just at 5.5 meg though.

To roll the pylons, I took a stainless steel rod about 1/8 inch in diameter and pressed it into the back side of the pylon piece to get the curved surface. I pressed it and rolled it into the palm of my hand and gradually got the roll diameter smaller and smaller untill it was just right.

For the secondary hull, I used a wooden dowel about 1/2 inch in diameter and rolled the part around the dowel to get it formed. Because the secondary hull is cone shaped, I had to roll it a little at a time and help it form into a cone by sliding it sideways a bit as I rolled and formed it.

When the part is rolled correctly, it should stay in the shape that it needs to be when it is glued. That way, you don't have to fight the part to glue it together.

If you have any further problems or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask me. You can also email me.

Thanks for posting pictures of your build, I look forward to seeing more of your progress. Good luck!

Best Regards,

[Vortex_4200]

Thanks everyone!
I will attempt this feat at the risk of life and limb and will post photos in the next few days!

[cdavenport]

Originally Posted by Ron Caudillo

Hi Vortex_4200!
Thanks for downloading and building my Enterprise model!

I forgot that was your design. It is really well done. I have mine hanging from the ceiling of my classroom.

[Vortex_4200]

Got a few new photos to share, I used some of the ideas you guys shared with me, thanks again... hope you like them, been having lighting issues but I hope to resolve them tomorrow and hope to have better photos.
The final photo is a test fit... had to do a small bit of trimming on the hull but it looks pretty good so far.

[Ron Caudillo]

Thanks Cdavenport! Post me a photo? Thnaks!

Vortex_4200, the build is looking great! Thanks for sharing.

Best Regards,

[Vortex_4200]

Bad news
Something went very wrong with my model and I had to scrap it
I going to take some time and try to figure it out but I don't understand I was going 100% by the directions.
this picture from the star trek web sight is how the whole project feels to me at the moment.



I will keep you posted when I make my second attempt later down the road.
To all you out there that put these models together... keep up the good work, I be reading the post!

[aphelion16]

Remember we never have failures in building projects. As a wise modeler said here once, dont call them failures, but prototypes. As anybody knows prototypes have a high failure rate (MTBF). I build a LOT of prototypeswall, so keep the faith.
Paul

[SEBRET]

aphelion speaks the truth. Every time you make a model, no matter how simple or complicated, there will be at least one point during construction when you say "well what if i do this instead", or "I actually think it would have turned out better if i had done this" and from this you will develop your own self tuned methods of construction. The way I see it, every model is a practice for the next one.

SEBRET

[dhanners]

If I could pipe in, rolling paper can be made easier if you roll the paper while it is on some sort of soft surface. The reverse side of a typical computer mouse pad usually works great.

I have a variety of "rolling pins," from knitting needles all the way up to large-diameter brass tubing. I'm wary of using wood dowels for rolling because they can warp and their surfaces can be uneven and not perfectly round. I learned this by using one to roll a pice of paper long ago, and the uneven surfaces of the dowel wound up crimping the paper.

[Vortex_4200]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.
I havent given up on papermodels, but like you said I have to re-think how I do it.
I tying to figure out my NEXT project... any suggestions?