I first became really interested in Star Trek with the release of the first movie. I’d been aware of The Original Series, of course, but it never seriously caught my fancy. Maybe it was just that there was something about Kirk that irritated the living daylights out of me. Anyway, when I caught sight of the rebuilt Enterprise, it was love at first sight. Then came The Next Generation and I was hooked. I’m trying to build models of each incarnation of the Enterprise. Here are my efforts (both model building and special effects) so far.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (Constitution Class)

A shot of the underside of the saucer of the Enterprise A shot of the underside of the saucer of the Enterprise

The ship that started it all: the Enterprise from The Original Series. While I don’t think that this one is quite as lovely as the Enterprise-A, the design is a classic and one of the best starship designs I’ve ever seen. I built this one from the 18" AMT/Ertl kit, with a few extra parts (some bought and some scratchbuilt) and replacement decals.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A (Rebuilt Constitution Class)

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A

The ship that made me a Trekker. This version was built from the original Ertl/AMT kit with the smooth hull and iridescent warp nacelle stickers. I drilled out the windows and stuffed it full of grain-of-wheat lights. Unfortunately, the model didn't survive my last move and these are the sole surviving photos.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B (Excelsior Class)

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B

This ship was seen in the movie Generations and was a rebuild of the Excelsior model. In the movie, the Enterprise B is struck by an energy bolt, damaging the secondary hull. In order to avoid damaging the Excelsior model, the designers added bulges in the area to be damaged. This model is a fairly stock version of the AMT/Ertl kit. I did, however, scratch-build a new “neck” that more closely resembles the original.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C (Ambassador Class)

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-C

The Enterprise C was only seen in the Next Generation episode Yesterday’s Enterprise. This version was built from the AMT/Ertl kit, which is (as far as I could determine) a little more accurate than most fans think. I did miss the one glaring error of commission, though: the “real” Enterprise C didn't have the phaser strip on the lower side of the secondary hull.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D (Galaxy Class)

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D

The Enterprise D was the largest version of the Enterprise and was featured in the 7 year run of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This version was built from the AMT/Ertl fiber optic kit, without the lights (I didn't want to drill out all those tiny windows). I did replace the stock decals with a great set that I got from Federation Models.

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E (Sovereign Class)

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E

The latest incarnation of the Enterprise, built after the Enterprise D was destroyed on Veridian 3. I've always felt that crashing the Galaxy class Enterprise was an unnecessary plot twist and I didn't much care for the Enterprise E when I first saw it. Now that I've built the model, it's not so bad. I can definitely see the influence of Voyager's design.

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Visit my Professional Homepage. I'm a college professor and this is my on-line curriculum vita.

Visit my page on the C&O’s Piedmont Subdivision. Information, history, and models of the C&O Railway in central Virginia.



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