It is these "simple" paint jobs that are the most challenging. They show every flaw! You're doing well, mate. Great job!!!

Leiggho, those colored foil engines look great! I will certainly have a go at them for mine.

Knox, thank you for the compliments! I really love the part about Kirk having to do a double take 

  You did a great job building and finishing this model, and the base just sets it off.  Even Kirk would have to do a double take before he sent torpedos into it's flanks.

                                                                                                                 knox

Let's see if the photo posts work.

This is a collection of Enterprises in 1/2500 I did about 3-4 years back. They all use the foil and magic marker technique:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliegghio/20914961901/in/dateposted-public/

Here is a closeup of the -E  from that collection where I did the impulse engines and Bussard collectors in red with orange highlights. No visible fading as far as I can tell:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliegghio/20720941529/in/dateposted-public/

Cardassian cruiser in 1/2500 done this year:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliegghio/20720941749/in/dateposted-public/

Klingon D7 warp nacelles and impulse engines:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliegghio/20719648250/in/dateposted-public/

Defiant warp engines:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mliegghio/20897980662/in/dateposted-public/

The oldest ones are about four years old and they look fine. I have them overcoated with Future and the models are displayed out of the sunlight. 

I'll see if I can remember to post photos on the forum, and put some pictures up.

Bish, I am happy to hear that you like this one. Thank you my friend.

Leigghio, I am curious as to how well the marker colors hold up over time? I have found that they tend to fade with age when I have used then in the past for things like bumper numbers on armor builds.

You should try both paint and markers. I found that the marker ink is actually more vivid in hue than clear red, but the ink is more difficult to get on uniformly than paint. Markers worked fine for me because at 1/2500 the surfaces to cover are tiny. Ex.: on the K'Tinga in that scale I did the inset  illuminated areas of the warp engines in green and the tiny impulse engines in red per the ST VI Blu-Ray.

Greg & Gamera thank you guys. I appreciate your kind words! I forgot how fun Sci Fi builds can be!

Thanks for elaborating, Stik. I think you did a great job "winging it".

Toshi and Greg, thank you for the kind words.

Greg regarding the panels, after I had the base colors chosen, only partially following the instruction sheet call outs, I just went with the closest colors in tone and hue in my Humbrol paints. I wanted the panels to look similar but different at the same time. It was very hard to come by any color photos of the studio model that were of much use, and comparing those to what was seen on screen in the movie showed a LOT of color shift. So I was pretty much winging it.

The planet base thing is one of those wild ideas that happen on my bike rides when I get on a good long stretch of road or trail and my mind can wander. It is simple and effective.

Q'wpla!!! (or however you spell it)...

She turned out fantastic! 

Love it, Stik.

How did you determine what colors to paint all of the individual panels?

That base painted to resemble a planet is genius. Gene's special effects folks would have been proud, methinks.

A excellent build, I love the color scheme.

Toshi

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

MC, I had tossed around the idea of various planet type color combos: grays, blues, reds, etc. In the end I went with this, as they were what I had in Tamiya colors ready to go. I like the sound of yours though very much!

Leiggho, the foil base for the engine sounds like an excellent idea! Although I may try clear red paint instead of red magic marker. I have plenty of chrome foil to give this a shot with.

For the impulse engine glow you might want to try the technique I use for my 1/2500 star trek ships that are too small for LED backlighting.

I apply chrome or polished aluminum bare metal foil to the area, then color it in heavily with a magic markr of the appropriate color. Magic marker inks are quite vivid but translucent, so the ambient light passes through them and reflects off of the foil back out through the ink. I finish with a heavy coat of Future or other gloss coat. Fairly convincing at least at small scale.

You might try it first on a scrap model or a part from your spares bin.

That, my friend, is absolutely outstanding. I have to say Stik, I believe you have pegged the awesome meter with this one. Thank You for taking us along for the ride.

Very nice!  Thank you for the build narrative.

Thank you MC

So here it is, all done in her multi color glory on a nice dark background sheet and with my nice arid planetary base...

That turned out mean looking Stick. Love the base.

Well, I think I am gonna call this one done for now... although I still do need to figure out something for the impulse engine glow...

Today I did a very subtle wash in certain areas, and then a topcoat of Humbrol Satin. Lastly I painted up the base of the stand to resemble some sort of arid planet, just to give that some visual interest...

I think that I will try to do some more photos tomorrow against a dark background.... 

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the enthusiastic feedback! 

Today I added another coat of Future to seal in the decals before I do an washes and a top coat...

Tomorrow I should get it finished up....

Awesome stuff Stik. Your work has got that thing looking Bad A. I'm excited to see your finishing touches

Nice work !

It proves that Klingon shipyards still produce first rate starships.............

Looks like a D7 to me Stick, although I've never figured out why the creators used that gawd awful purple. Just too girlie for a Klingon battle cruiser. They should have put an Amine girl on it. 

Just kidding Stick. Really looking good man.

You do have steady hands re all that brush painting. Really nice job.

Waiting for finish coat and to see if you do any weathering.

This continues to be an eduational thread for me, thanks Stik.

Wow! She's ready for action! Very nice! The 3rd photo, were those decals for the grill work?

Nice! The mauve doesn't stand out as much with the gloss varnish on, the final matte coat should tone everything down. Looking forward to seeing the end results.