This Old Starship Kit, page 8

ALANOODLE'S SCALE MODEL PORTFOLIO

In 1992, the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum opened a special exhibit showcasing 25 years of Star Trek. As part of that exhibit, the 11-foot filming model of the Enterprise was restored by Ed Miarecki of Sci-Fi Modeling Associates in his shop in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ed gutted and re-painted the model. New lighting and a completely reworked Warp Engine lighting system was installed, designed to accurately duplicate the original rotating effect. Since I was also conducting a restoration of sorts on my own Enterprise model, I decided to update the model by researching the newly restored original. That meant another road trip to Washington DC and a lot more photos taken.

Photo from Air & Space Magazine

Visible in these photos are the controversial "Deflector Grid" lines. These grid lines became a major source of discussion among Trekkies. Some people, Ed Miarecki included, have claimed that these lines actually were on the model when the effects shots for the show's final season were being filmed. Those at the other extreme claim that the Enterprise never had any such markings. Many in the middle say that the gridwork was there, that it was just overdone on the restoration or that AMT's kit was correct all along and that the big model indeed had grid lines that were found on the top of the saucer only.

While most views of the Enterprise on video show no such gridwork, there are some good views on the show and some now rare stills of the model where it might be possible to just barely discern a faint hint of a line or two if you really, really want to. (Trekkie Lore implies that the gridlines were added to the Enterprise after the 5-year mission of the TV show.)

As for evidence on the big model itself, it had been painted over a few times since Paramount Studios gave it to the Smithsonian, covering any evidence of a pattern of lines on its surface except for one place. According to Mr. Miarecki, the Smithsonian advised those involved with each restoration over the years that they may re-work any part of the model except for the upper surface of the saucer. All other parts of the model may be repainted or reworked. (This might be why the Smithsonian has never displayed the model with a good view of the saucer top.)

Mr. Miarecki vigorously documented the restoration with many photos, one of which clearly shows a very finely drawn gridwork over the entire top surface of the saucer. There remains the fact, however, that the rest of the model and all other markings had been painted over since the first restoration. One of Ed's photos shows a small portion of the saucer's bottom with its own finely drawn gridwork, similar to the markings on the top but only visible on an area less than a foot across. Oddly, no lines can be seen on any other portion of the model in any other photos. These and other photos of the '92 restoration can be seen on this page on the "Modelers Miniatures and Magic" website.

This prompted me to go back over the photos of the big model I had taken in 1989 before the '92 restoration. On very close inspection of the original prints, it's impossible to discern any pattern of lines at all. After taking one of the better-lighted prints and re-scanning it at a high resolution and then adjusting the brightness and contrast, however, it's possible to just barely make out the same lines seen in Mr. Miarecki's photo as shown by the arrows, right. The line indicated by the top arrow, in fact is drawn at a perfect 90 degrees to the direction of the model, indicating that this line was most likely deliberately drawn and is not just a random stray mark on the model. The big question is whether any of these lines are actually remnants of the model's original appearance or if they had possibly been added after the show ended production.

Visible in the above photo is some detail that was missing when I had last photographed the model in 1989. The raised detail just forward of the red and yellow Starfleet Pennant was a detail that was represented by a decal on my model the first time around.

Again I referred to the drawings in SHIPS of the STARFLEET. The drawing below is modified to reflect the correct coloring. (Click on the drawing for a larger version.)