Bob Frysztak's Ship Modifications for ST:TNG

I was very disappointed by the appearance of the shuttle above the Beta Quadrant ramp, and decided it needed an overhaul.  The decals are peeling, the colors are faded or dirty, and many of the shuttles are mounted with the back end facing forward (an easy one to fix).  Having built many models in my day, I decided to go all out and light the shuttle as well.  
 
Here is how it finally turned out.  The lighting is tied into the lights for the Beta Quadrant ramp.  Whenever they are lit for a shot, so is the shuttle.
lighted shuttle   closeup
    


borg logo In addition to modifying the shuttle, I went ahead and modified the Borg ship as well.  Always one to do my homework before a project, I got some shots of the Borg Scout Ship from the TV show, and worked from those as my model.  The original Borg ship had more detail, so I went ahead and got some styrene tubing and I-beams from my local hobby shop.  In addition, there were not nearly enough light ports, so out came the dremel and exacto knife as well.  After removing the blue (why blue? all borg ships emit a GREEN glow), I began by cutting in about 15 extra holes.  I had to fill the holes with something structural, so that is where I added the pipes and I-beams so simulate a Borg Cube.  After adding all the pipes and beams, it was time to paint.  I decided to go with the traditional Borg Cube colors of various greys and metallic colors.  Finally, I highlighted the panel lines with a flat black wash, then added a few lighter aztec panels with a light grey.  The outside was finished with a few green highlights and the Borg logo (red, of course).  On the inside, I added clear acetate custom painted gloss green, with bronze, grey and black accents.  A few light panels were done with an orange and bronze wash over the clear acetate.  Finally, the ship was reassembled and installed.  Below are the before and after photos of the more realistic Borg Scout Ship:

Mock-up of the Borg ship prior to final painting.  All holes cut, pipes and beams added, and 3D extension mounts added.
Borg mockup

borg03
Borg ship installed, taken with flash to give you an idea of its final color scheme.  
Compare to original Borg ship below.
borg ship old  
borg02
Borg ship lit during "Borg Multiball."   You can see both the lighted Romulan ship (also painted) and the shuttle as well in this shot.
     


So why stop there, huh?  I realized that the Romulan and Klingon ships now looked pathetically pale as well, so off they came.


romulan banner The Romulan ship received a more realistic "2-tone" paint job to try and accentuate the shadow lines of the real warbirds.  Since everything else has lights, this one should too!  So I drilled out a dozen or so holes in the "bridge" area with a micro drill and then added a light to the underside of the head area.  While this significantly enhanced its general appearance, it still lacked a little something.  So I again got out the drill and added green LED lighting to the warp nacelles and a green navigation light to the top.  The nacelles and nav light are tied into the GI circuit and are on all the time, while the bridge lights are tied into the flasher under the ship.  Here is how it turned out:
Romulan





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last modified 8/26/2009