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

She turned out fantastic! 

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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/

  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

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 

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