New Polar Lights Klingon Battle Cruiser

I was on the phone with Thomas Sasser, the kit's designer, the other day when he finally got his own copy of the model and fitted it together. He took a ruler to it for the first time and was really upset. In short, he'd done his job fine and designed it the right size, but the toolmakers in Asia didn't reduce the 150% master enough. Yes, it's too big, and it's way too late to do anything about it but buy it and build it.

Dave Metzner of PL says he's let the toolmakers have it, and will be watching them closely on the next kit.

The neck thing was just a big screwup that everyone missed.

I think it is a curse. The Star Trek model curse. It is very hard to make a Star Trek model correctly without something going wrong. I understand the Klingon ship is in much worse shape than we all realize...the ship is 12% too large. Oh, the neck is the perfect length. But the rest of the ship is oversized. Well, there is quite a a stirring going on at other web sites trying to decide if the ship is too large or the right size with the neck to short or something as confusing.

My local hobby shop hasn't gotten the D7 yet, but now I know what to look forward to.

What is it with kits of the D7, anyway? I've built 2 different kits ( one from the old Enterprise-Klingon-Romulan set, the other was the Star Trek VI version ) and BOTH had problems with that same neck joint!

Though aggrivating, it really isn't all that big of a problem. Little bit of sheet styrene & sandpaper will fix it. It'll just take an extra bit of time & improve your skills. And woln't you be satisfied when you get that 2.6 degree boo boo fixed & looking good?
Shim & sand, folks. Shim & sand.

Dave of PL said that the next run of kits will have the neck problem corrected.

Rotorhead, I found you can save a lot of time and fitting if you thin the square mount in back of the boom. Then try shaving the 'fat' side of the base of the boom. I trimmed with a Dremel MiniMite.

I was shopping today and found eight of the Polar Lights Klingon D7s in the model section of the store. Now they are down to seven since I bought another one. So if anyone is looking for the model I know there are some in Stockton, CA....at WAL-MART!

Roosterfish,

I just stumbled across the "neck nightmare" myself yesterday; I got 3 of these D7's sight unseen, and I'm pretty P.O.ed myself. You are definitely not the only person to run up against this.

My thanks to John P. for the link to the other forum - I've got to jump over and see what the consensus is to do about this. Won't be an easy fix in any case.

Cheers!
Tony

Okay I need to run home and finish the 100+ kits I already have that are unbuild or startd so I can be ready.

Thanks for the heads up John P for the thread link. After mulling over the model situation I do believe surgery is in order for the model. I'll have to snap off the clips on the back of the boom and see what the situation is. I might have to cut and inset the boom into the main body of the ship. Then I'll rebuild a mount for the boom to attach to the body of the ship. I don't mind putting models together but unplanned repair to a model annoys me.

This is a more serious problem with the attachment that people realize. It is not a simple gap between the boom and the body but a complex shape that has to be mounted flush to look right. A person could mount the boom the way it is, crooked, and just sigh and move on. But it is noticeable. A person could really work at the neck for a long time and eventually get it looking right. That will take serious work. But this is a snap-together toy and is suppose to be easy to assemble. I might guess that people will snap it together and display it with the noticeable flaw. And they will remember never to buy a Polar Lights model again because of poor quality models. And with the model on display then anyone that asks who made the model will get the answer Polar Lights. And the neck will still be crooked.

Here is a picture of the complex gap that has to be repaired. Note that the boom is on straight and butted solidly against the body of the ship. There are very complex curves and shapes to fill. Someone is really going to have to work to get the ribs to mount against the body of the ship.



I'm guess I'm not the only one to get a model that was a lemon.

John P, weren't we the ones arguing for the Art Asylum Enterprise 1701-A Toy at the other web site? I agree with you...IT IS A TOY...and not a model.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Trekkie Wow, that kit sounds pretty cool. Does anyone know what other kits they're going to come out with that are Star Trek orientated.

Coming out next month: 1/350 NX-01, 24" long, 250 parts, suitable for lighting.

Coming out later this year: 1/24 scale Scorpion fighter from nemesis. Snap kit with prepainted Data and Picard figures.

Scheduled for late 2004 or so: 1/350 USS Enterprise 1701 refit/A, 34" long, supposedly with parts and decals to make both versions, and hopefully with detailed hangar deck, arboretum and officers' louge. The details are still being worked out, as the kit is just out of the drawing stage and no final plans for how much detail will be included have been made.

Beyond that, only Dave Metzner knows what he wants to do next.

There's an ongoing discussion of the neck problem and fixes for it on the CultTVMan bboards:
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?p=683532#post683532

I just assembled the boom halves yesterday and noticed the problem. I see that a wedge made of styrene strip and some putty will take care of the angle problem.

Thanks for all of your replies! I will probably go ahead and buy the kit; it will go great with the Enterprise. Thanks also for the welcome. This was my first post, and I appreciate the friendly responses.

I'm assembling the model now and generally I find the model quite good. The molding seems soft but that is like the previous Enterprise model. There are three things I do not like about the model. One is the Paramonster label on the underside of the port wing. I'll bet the Paramonster legal people made Polar lights put the label on the model. It is an easy five minute fix to remove the label with sandpaper. Polar Lights put the label in a easy spot to remove the "wart." Second problem I had is personal; I didn't like the cheap looking chrome parts so I removed the chrome and will put a metalizer paint on the parts and assemble. That is another easy fix. The third will test the mettle of a modeler. The neck of the ship meets the body is obviously crooked. It is real obvious that the boom is shifted about two degrees to the port side. That is going to be a very difficult fix in a bad location. I'm still trying to figure out how to do the fix without the repairs looking ugly. Has anyone else noticed the neck problem with the ship or was I the only one to get a "lemon?" If anyone else has noticed then do they have a solution? I'm very open to suggestions. The boom problem with the model is very annoying because a simple shim will not work. Too bad the problem had to show up because it was going to look like a great model.

The back of the Klingon box shows the 2' long NX-01 Enterprise in 1/350 scale. I also hear that the refit Enterprise (sometimes referred to as the Enterprise A) is coming out in 1/350 as well.

I would like to see the Romulan Bird of Prey from the episode "Balance of Terror."

Wow, that kit sounds pretty cool. Does anyone know what other kits they're going to come out with that are Star Trek orientated.

Welcome to the FSM forums Nachtflieger. Good luck on your purchase and build of the Polar Lights Klingon Battle Cruiser.
mark956

I posted a quick review of the kit along with scans of the sprues and decals on the Armorama review page at http://www.armorama.com.

I picked up one the other day. It is nice and like the Enterprise comes with both stickers and decals. It gives the option of a Romulan or Klingon version (2 different parts). Decals allow you to create two different Romulan battlecruiser paint schemes and at least two different Klingon paint schemes.

Kit is snap tite and includes 31 light gray parts, 8 chrome and 1 transparent red part.

$12.99 seems rather high, even my higher priced local shop carries it for $11.99.