Return to the BUILD

“Add Guinan’s famous Ten Forward bar to your build as you begin to fit the outer rim of the saucer, connecting the dorsal deck panels to the ventral ones.“

NOTE: I will be presenting TWO different paths to build this Enterprise D partwork model. This is because after Stage 58, I completely tore my own model down and started on my Model Remodel journey. However, I have access to a second Enterprise D partwork that is being built in stock form, so I can show both methods here.

• The normal BUILD section below will show the ‘stock’ way of installing the parts with any tips and tricks I find along the way.
• The new MODEL REMODEL section will describe the changes I made during this stage including any painting, lighting, electronics, wiring, etc.

Contents

Parts

Materials: The Deck Panel L3-10 is metal, and the other non-electronic parts are plastic.

Build

Assembling Deck Panel L3-10

Step A

Carefully remove sixteen (16) Escape Pod Covers from their sprues and fit them into the back of Deck Panel L3-10, as shown.

For these Covers, I shaved off the two tiny bumps on the top and bottom with my hobby knife. This allows them to seat a bit deeper and more uniformly:

While not shown here, I still recommend using pieces of black electrical tape or aluminum tape to seal in the Escape Pod Covers to prevent light leak:

Fit the Left Escape Pod Cover Bracket and Right Escape Pod Cover Bracket to the back of Deck Panel L2-06 as shown:

Secure both brackets to the panel with four (4) DM screws.

This is your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:

Fit the Outer Frame L4-09 to Deck Panel L2-06, aligning the pins and posts to the matching holes.

To give ourselves more room for the Formation Light we will soon install, I recommend cutting the center hole in this part a bit bigger:

NOTE: Since this ‘stock’ build is my second Enterprise D subscription, and Eaglemoss had gone out of business, I attempted to try making the Ten Forward windows light up in this Outer Panel. Therefore, I cut this hole larger and drilled out the appropriate windows. The windows turned out terrible so I abandoned this effort, but it explains why you will see the hole in this Panel is larger than I recommend:

Moving on, we can now fit this Outer Frame L4-09 to the Deck Panel. It should be noted that this Outer Frame L4-09 can be fitted either way, but there is indeed a correct way to attach this part. Looking at the saucer rim itself, these wider corners should be towards the bottom (towards the panel), as shown:

Secure the Outer Frame L4-09 to the deck panel with three (3) DM screws:

Fitting Deck Panel L3-10

Step B

Retrieve your saucer assembly. Slide the Formation Light Lens onto the Front Formation Light LED (from Stage 58).

Be sure this LED is inserted perpendicular to the pins of the Formation Light Lens, as shown. You may even want to use some PVA glue here:

Fit the Formation Light Lens into the center recess of the Outer Frame L4-09, aligning the pins of the lens vertically as shown.

This is easier if you turn your Saucer assembly upside down first:

Fit this panel assembly to the front edge of the saucer, aligning the top pin of the Formation Light Lens into the matching notch (circled).

There is a groove along the inside of the Outer Panel that needs to ‘pop’ onto the rim of the upper Deck Panels, as shown:

Turn your Saucer over and make sure this attached Deck Panel is able to sit flush against the other lower Deck Panels, as shown:

Secure Deck Panel L3-10 to the Lower Skeleton with two (2) FM screws.

In desired, slide the Saucer Power Switch to the ON position to test the operation of the Front Formation Light LED:

That step ends this stage of the stock build. Below you will find the details on what I changed in this stage as part of my Model Remodel.

Model Remodel

Assembling Deck Panel L3-10

• The Escape Pod Covers were sealed in from behind with aluminum tape
• To help reduce light leaks, I pre-installed the Formation Light and again used some UHU Tac PROPower Adhesive Putty to seal around the gaps

Fitting Deck Panel L3-10

This Deck/Outer Panel assembly was then installed normally:

To help seal the gap between this Deck Panel and the Deck Panel inboard to it, I used a narrow strip of aluminum tape. This was slid under the entire gap and pressed into place with my fingers. For the section I couldn’t reach, I used the head of a cotton swab to push it up against the panels:

Here is the result of our Model Remodel changes in this stage. However, I did have to come back and remove these outer Deck Panels to install a LED Filament string to help better light the outer ring of my upper Saucer windows. I have updated my Lighting – Saucer page with the details:

Thoughts

Now we know how the rim of our Enterprise D works! This explains how the outer edges of our Upper Deck panels (which were at different heights) will be pulled down into position. As we continue the model, the other lower Deck Panels will be built in the same fashion and extend out from this center section. Keep the unused Battle Section PCB nearby as it will be needed in the next stage.

Next Up

Stage 62 – LED Brackets, Ventral LED, Power Connector, Battle Section Upper Bracket/Support Rods