Timothy S. Johnston Builds AMT 1332M USS Enterprise-C Scale Model
I have now finished this stellar model from AMT / Round2. I really enjoyed building it.
If you’re not already aware, I recently returned to the scale-model hobby after a forty-year break. It has been an incredible experience, but it also meant I had a lot to learn. I’ve made many mistakes, had to correct errors, and I’ve had to learn on my own how to construct, glue, prime, sand, paint, and complete the Star Trek models.
I’ve selected AMT as my preferred brand because they were the original licensed manufacturer of Star Trek kits, beginning in 1966. In fact, they sold over a million USS Enterprise models in the first year alone! They also built the 3/4 scale USS Galileo shuttlecraft for Desilu and The Original Series in return for the rights to build the Trek models. This large prop was seen in episodes like The Galileo Seven, The Menagerie, Journey to Babel, and The Doomsday Machine. Some of their model kits actually appeared on the show! For example, Enterprise appeared as the heavily-damaged USS Constellation in The Doomsday Machine, and also as itself outside of Station K-7’s viewport in The Trouble With Tribbles.
The below image is actually an AMT model, constructed for the show when they needed a nearly-destroyed starship. Note the registry number is just “1701,” but switched around.
I focus on building strictly Trek models, and so far, all have been AMT/Round2 kits.
My most recent project is USS Enterprise-C, as seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Yesterday’s Enterprise. You’ll notice it’s a fine transitional design from Kirk’s ship to Picard’s:
This kit was actually a gift last year. When I received it from my family, I published a post about the TNG episode from which it originated, and wrote this:
It featured time travel, war, a battle-hardened crew, a ghost ship from the Federation’s past — USS Enterprise-C — and of course, Tasha Yar’s return. Yar had died during the show’s first season, but with some great writing rooted in a wonderful SF concept, the Chief of Security returned and played a pivotal role in the show’s narrative. It also featured a solid performance by Christopher McDonald, who we all remember as the baddie from Happy Gilmore a few years later in 1996.
The USS Enterprise-C is a nice mix of old and new Starfleet technology. The nacelles are closer to what Enterprise looks like in Picard’s time, but the primary and secondary hulls are reminiscent of TOS. The deflector dish is still circular, and the “neck” has some grooves that we’d been seeing on USS Excelsior, in the TOS film series. The bend in the nacelle pylons is one of the greatest alterations, and their design is close to the Enterprise-D. An obvious difference from TOS is the blue and red lighting on the nacelles, bringing this ship decades forward from that series.
I have now finally finished the model. Following is a photo journal with descriptions of my process.
Here is the box front and rear:
The Box and Contents
And the rear:
Note the model comes with “battle damage” decals, which I chose not to use. The box contents:
You can see there are some transparent parts if you’d like to “light” your model: the Bussard collectors, some windows, the sensor dome (at the bottom of the saucer) and so on. I haven’t achieved this level of model making, however, so I generally paint over them.
Building the Scale Model Kit
Here are some of the major hull pieces, glued and clamped before sanding and priming:
I used elastic bands for these parts because the clamps won’t go over these large hull pieces. The purpose is to hold the parts together tightly and eliminate as many gaps as possible while the glue cures. The glue actually melts the plastic together where two pieces meet.
And now here are the major components, all glued up:
At this point, gaps have to be filled and sanded before you can prime. Note the thin gap here, between the primary and secondary hulls. Modeling putty is used to fill these areas, and then after drying overnight, it can be smoothed and sanded. It’s a white line here:
Here is another view of the main components after applying the primer. The primer paint allows the final layer of paint to adhere better. It prevents paint from peeling. It also shows any gaps you missed, which you can then fill with putty. This process — fill gaps, sand, prime — may need repeating several times before the final painting.
Note, at this point (below), I have now painted the final grey over the primer. It’s the colour I’ve been using for the hulls of my Federation scale models — Neutral Grey. However, I have not yet connected the warp nacelles. I’ve found that it’s better to paint those separately before attaching them, because the inside areas are hard to get the paintbrush in for finer details.
Painting the Finer Details
And here are some parts that now have the final paint. The warp nacelles:
Note that I have used copper on the nacelles and saucer to match my other Trek models. In reality, the paint colour there should be yellow, but I took some liberties so my full collection has a matching aesthetic.
Once the fine painting is done and I have attached all the components, I apply a layer of clear coat. This fills small depressions, pits, and scratches and allows the decals to sit flat on the surface. (As best as possible, that is. In some areas, there are ridges, so getting flat areas is impossible.) Here is the decal sheet. It’s quite large, but I decided not to do the “battle damage” decals on this model.
Applying the Decals
And so the decal process begins. This was a two-day event for me. I love this stage, because it adds the final branding details. It’s a challenging process. Someone once gave me some advice to use a hairdryer to help “fuse” the decal onto the surface, and it really helps, along with Micro Set and Micro Sol.
This was the first decal I applied: the registry on the port nacelle support.
The following decal was quite a challenge because of the ridges. You have to try as best as possible to get it to conform to them and then the Micro Sol helps “dissolve” the decal so it looks painted on the model. It’s never perfect, but it looks okay.
Here’s the underside of the saucer. Note the deflector “dish” is circular, which matches the TOS version of Enterprise. In Picard’s day, Enterprise-D had an oval deflector.
Here’s a look at the top of the ship. You can see the decals on the top of the warp nacelles and the beautiful name/registry on the saucer at the ship’s bow. I love the shuttlecraft bay and the ship’s name there too.
The following decal perplexed me for a while. It was on the sheet but I couldn’t figure out where it went. Then I realized … it was for a previous iteration of the model before the hole for the display pole was added. The decal is meant to stretch down the entire secondary hull at the bottom, but I had to cut it in places to make room for that hole. The end result looks stunning, don’t you think?
After the decals were applied and left to cure for a day, I then gave the entire model another spray of semi-gloss clear coat to get everything sealed. Here are the final “beauty” shots of AMT 1332M USS Enterprise-C:
The Final Model
I hope you enjoyed this look at my AMT 1330M USS Enterprise-C build! As I continue to build more Trek models, I’ll upload them here to my blog. I have already selected the next kit, and it’s from The Original Series. Follow me to see which.
Here are are all of my AMT Star Trek scale model builds for you to look at:
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 22 April 2026
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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel
“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop
“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite
“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories
“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest
“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels
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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!
WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.
Book Cover & Jacket Copy:
AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!
A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …
Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.
Taunting him.
Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.
If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.
But the assassin could be anyone …
Watch your back, Mac.
A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:
The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007
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TSJ’s Awards
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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister
THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister
FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist
