Information Preservation - Enterprise Refit Aztec Painting - By Tony "Raist3001" of Enterprise Creations

Hi, Everyone!

While doing some casual Enterprise refit painting research, I came across a very insightful 12-page forum thread on Hobby Talk that was started on June 22, 2007 by forum member "Gunstar1."  It was entitled "Painting the Refit (ST:TMP)."  Here is the link: https://www.hobbytalk.com/threads/painting-the-refit-st-tmp.188494/.

On November 18, 2007, forum member Tony "Raist3001" began posting links of his painting experiments and findings on his now-defunct website, Enterprise Creations.  He wrote up three pages of information which are quite informative.  Unfortunately, he stopped contributing to the Hobby Talk thread on November 9, 2009, and he has not been on Hobby Talk since August 12, 2014.

It would have been a shame if his findings were lost, but through the magic of the Internet Archive Wayback Machine his Enterprise Creations posts were found!  I wanted to create a blog article to preserve Tony's write-up, so here it is...

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Aztec

Welcome to my aztecing page.  I am no expert to say the least.  I am just a regular joe who is having some fun experimenting in different mixtures and ratios, hoping to find the right combination to give the illusion of what we all have come to love on screen.  Sort of like looking for the Holy Grail :)

I hope that any part of these experiments may aid you in your own quest for perfection, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!

And so I forge on.

The following pictures are of my latest trials and tribulations.  I should note that I am testing now with Pearl-Ex powders.  This batch of paint was mixed up flat, which is 1 part flat base and 3 parts future and just a pinch of interference blue.

 

 

 

If you have not already noticed, the flat pearl is even more subtle than previous satin mixes I have used.  I corrected a few of the pictures in Paint Shop so you could make out some of the pattern.  The main Aztec does not sheen as well as a satin mix, but I have to say I have come to really like these latest results.  To the eye, the Aztec is practically invisible, and retains the white color of the base coat.  One of the things that always bothered me was that with previous tests, the hull took on an almost yellow tinted color.  Too much pearl I tells ya.  My next round of experiments will be with another satin mix but with less pearl powder.

The following pictures are of my latest and I believe final tests.  I am very happy with the latest results and will be using these findings to paint my Aztecs.  In all my previous experiments, I always used the pearl Ex powders or Wasco paint added to a flat medium or Future.  Although I got some real good results, I could never get past the yellowish tint the blue pearl seemed to give off when not in direct light.  I was given good advice by so many talented folks.  Add a bit of clear blue to the pearl mixture.  Good results but still not happy.  I thought this advice was sound as I was trying to add a solid color to the pearl.  So in my infinite slowness, I decided to add Pearl Ex blue to a bottle of Testors acrylic flat white.  I then sprayed my new mixture.

In the following picture, I placed a light source directly above the primary hull.  The center of the pattern pearls beautifully, while the outside patterns fade away.  Even the secondary patterns seem to disappear.

In the next picture, I placed the light almost indirectly to the primary hull.  The result is a popping main Aztec and nicely pearled secondary pattern, while the rest fades away.

Almost no direct light source.  A nice small pop from the outside pie wedge fading to a negative pattern as seen in the pictures from Christie's auction.

 

Another angle with almost no light source.  Here, the secondary pattern pops nicely while the main pattern fades away.

 

This paint mixture creates a very subtle pattern that pops very nicely depending on light source and angle.  I am very happy with these results, and I hope I was able to help you create your own Aztecs.

It's very hard to see in the above picture the wonderful blend of the 2 colors.  To the naked eye, the patterns are totally invisible until light strikes the surface at specific angles.

I utilized Aztec Dummies templates.  Lou is an all around great guy with a fantastic product.

 

The templates were applied to the entire secondary hull, pylons, and warp nacelles in random order over a thorough coating of a custom pearl blue mix.

 

To create the custom mix, I used Model Masters flat white, and Wasco (http://www.taxidermy.com/cat/05/paint.html) iridescent paint.  In a 2 ounce jar, I mixed 1 full bottle of MM flat white.  I added 10CC water and 18CC iridescent blue.  The more iridescent blue you add, the less subtle the patterns will be.

*** Blog Editor Note: Tony references "Wasco" at http://www.taxidermy.com/cat/05/paint.html which no longer exists.  However, he meant that he was using Polytranspar acrylic paints that he purchased from that site at the time.  These paints can currently be purchased from McKenzie Taxidermy Supply at https://www.mckenziesp.com/Water-Based-Paints-C3409.aspx. ***

I let the paint dry for a week and then begin the most dreaded task of removing the templates.  I use a few patterns I cut out of frisket to spray the next layer of patterns in iridescent red.

 

The second layer is also extremely subtle and compliments the blue layer quite nicely.

 

What you can not see in the above picture is how nicely the red layer compliments the blue.  A very nice complex pattern is in the making.

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Tony originally intended on adding more information, however, that never came to pass.

Hopefully anyone who reads this finds it helpful.  It will certainly be a good guide for when I ever tackle a similar project.

:)