This build is of the Moebius Models 1:350 scale U.S.S. Franklin NX-326. The Franklin is the smallest of the 1:350 scale lineup, and the second 350th scale product Moebius Models has released. As always, Moebius has done it again with another fantastic mold. Next to NO seams, and easy fitting. I would highly recommend this kit to anyone who wants to start building the 350 scale lineup.
The build i am going with is just about as advanced as the 350 refit i did previously but THIS TIME....im adding a bussard board. It was purchased on ebay from germany and required soldering and wiring to get it to work. Also i purchased the Paragrafix Photoetch set which includes:
-A completed bridge with consoles and chairs
-1:350 scale crew
-New registry and name plates
-Replacement planitary thrusters
- and more...
I opted to stick with the name Franklin.
The bridge was fairly easy to build and even easier to light. The detail in the bridge is fantastic, with lighting obviously being at the top of priorities for the people who designed it. Consoles, screens, doors, and just plain old lighting fixtures, are all there. I used coloured wrapping tissue for the monitors (Blue & Green) to match somewhat to the movie and concept art. For the crew i opted to go with the original series 3 colour shirts.
For the engines, the primary shaft was split into two molds. Easily fit and glued down. The lighting consisted of the germany outsourced "Rotating Bussard Board" and a flickering orange LED for the aft part of the nacelle. Once the parts were solid and the bussard "spinners" were attached, i matte coated the clear parts to give a smokey and hazey look to them. I feel that it gave a more TOS era feel to the ship than the look of the bussard caps on the NX-01
I used white LED light strips for the interior lighting. For the 2 navigation lights, i just painted the interior of the clear part their respected colours and let the interior lighting illuminate them as static lights. When it comes to the stand for the model, the original one is very cool in design but for the purposes of lighting the model...it served no purpose. I used a hollowed out chrome plated plumbing tube that i found in my basement as the new stand. The masking of the windows was tedious even for a ship with so little windows. In future i will be using the masking sets developed my Lou Dalmaso. You can find those on cultmantv.com and they will save you a ton of time, frustration, and ensure proper fitting so it looks perfect when they're removed.
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