Kit: No. 8255
Scale: not given
Manufacturer: AMT/Ertl, P.O. Box 500, Dyersville, IA 52040-0500
Price: $19.95
Comments: Injection molded, 19 parts, decals.
USS Defiant, AMT/Ertl's latest science-fiction offering, is Starfleet's small, disposable warship that protects the station on TV's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." It also appears on the big screen in "Star Trek: First Contact."
AMT's Defiant is a snap-assembly kit, but the two sprues of light-gray parts appear deceptively simple -- you're better off gluing the parts together and filling seams.
I began by cleaning up the minimal flash and parting lines. Dry-fitting the hull halves revealed a 1/32" mismatch toward the rear of the hull, along with a 1/16" gap along the seam. Both can be fixed by removing all of the locator tabs from the hull and corresponding pieces.
After a final dry-fit, I attached the warp nacelles to the lower hull using super glue. Once this assembly was dry, I carefully attached the upper hull, navigational array, and forward hull. With assembly complete, I filled gaps and imperfections with putty.
I airbrushed my Defiant with Polly Scale acrylics. The entire model received a base coat of light gray first, then it was masked with frisket film. I carefully cut out individual panels from the frisket (as outlined in the kit's comprehensive painting instructions) and airbrushed them haze gray, ocean gray, navy blue, and RLM 24 dark blue. I hand painted small details with insignia red, dark blue, and flat black. When the paint was dry, I overcoated with clear gloss, then applied the 30 decals.
Fit problems aside, this model was enjoyable to build, and if painted properly, makes an impressive addition to any science-fiction collection. The detail is excellent; it looks like the TV Defiant. I spent about 40 hours on the kit, most of it on masking, painting, and decaling. A beginner can build it, but it will take experienced eyes and hands to paint Defiant.
Chad Kashishian