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ψ φ 1:1000 Scale Scratchbuilt Amarillo Class ψ φ

Amarillo Class - USS Stockholm

Manufacturer	Scratchbuilt Model
Scale	1/1000
MSRP	~$24.00 (Parts from Plastruct)
Mold Quality	100% - Plastruct parts
Detail Rating	75% - I don't have the talent yet to do some of the details!
Accuracy	95% - It's got some custom features, but more or less is equal to Masao's design.
Instructions	See accompanying article.
Decals	1 set of homemade waterslide decals.
Other Photos	Amarillo WIP Image Amarillo WIP Comparison Amarillo Decalled

Masao Okazaki started his Starfleet Museum quite some time ago, and on January 15th of 2005, a group build was started at Finescale's website to build from scratch some of Masao's ships. I chose 4 projects and to do them in 1:1000 scale.

I wanted to display some other ships in 1:1000 scale along side my PL TOS Ships and conversions. When I came across the Group Build at Finescale Modeler's website and forum, I jumped right on.

Masao's designs are easy to construct and are made with basic shapes that are almost very easy to find. Plus, the designs for the ships are logical and fit nicely as ships prior to the Daedalus Class. I'll include a Plastruct Co. parts list, price list, and buildup details below.

Plastruct Parts List: (Prices subject to change)
2" Acrylic Hemisphere (VHH-200), Qty.=2, $5.55
1" Butyrate White Tube (TB-32), Qty.=1, $3.25
1" Acrylic Hemisphere (VHH-32), Qty.=1, $0.80
3/8" Acrylic Hemisphere (VHH-12), Qty.=2, $0.90
1/2" Butyrate Tubing (TB-16), Qty.=1, $1.95
3/8" Butyrate Tubing (TB-12), Qty.=1, $1.45
1/4" Butyrate Tubing (TB-8), Qty.=1, $1.15
7/8" Elliptical Hemis (VHE-28), Qty.=2, $1.95
0.030" Sheet Styrene (Dunno), Qty.=1, $4.25

Glue the Two 2" hemis together. Cut off 1.25" of the 1" butyrate tubing. Glue the 1" butyrate tubing piece and the 1" hemi to the new sphere you've made. This is the main body!

Laminate 3 strips of 0.030" styrene that are 1" long and 1/2" wide. Do this twice, 'cause they are going to be your nacelle pylons! On one end of your pylons, you'll want to cut a little bit of a rounding into them so that the pylons will fit onto the seam between the 1" tube and 1" hemisphere. Glue them on!

For this paragraph, do everything twice. We'll be making the nacelles! Cut 1 3/8" of the 1/2" butyrate tubing. Sand/grind/lathe one end rounded (the front) and the other end at a nice taper. Insert 3/8" to 1/2" of the 3/8" tubing in the aft end of the nacelle so that 3/8" is protruding. Insert the same length of the 1/4" tubing into this end to finish up the nacelle.

Once the basic shape of your nacelles are done, shove a short piece of 3/8" Tube into the front end of each nacelle and seat it about 1/16" deep. This is so that your Bussard collectors have something to sit on. Glue the engine nacelles to the pylons, making sure each is straight. Now for the gun turrets!

Glue the 7/8" elliptical hemis to the sides of the main sphere. Make sure they are straight and in line with the nacelles, as well as 180 degrees from each other. Drill a 1/4" hole in the center of te ventral side of the 1" tube and insert a short (3/8" long) piece of the 1/4" tubing. Sand this rounded and either fill with putty to complete or leave open as a place to put your stand mount! Add either thin strips of styrene, toothpics, or rod styrene (I used 3/32" rod styrene) in the turrets for the guns themselves.

Last, but not least, cut and shape some impulse engines with the 1/4" butyrate tubing. You'll need three of them, so I made one good one, then used it as a template to make the others.

Conclusions

I have enjoyed making this kit. It is simple enough to build but it really looks good when it's finished. Purchasing from Plastruct is a breese. The parts come in so many different shapes and sizes that you could easily build this ship in either a bigger or smaller scale. The decals were easy for me to make, since I purchased the decal paper, lazerjet printer, and I have Photoshop 7 on my computer. The parts glue easily together with regular superglue, so you don't have to worry about finding or purchasing some strange glue type.
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