Timothy S. Johnston Builds AMT 1405M USS ENTERPRISE-E |

Timothy S. Johnston Builds AMT 1405M USS Enterprise-E

Here is my photo journal featuring the building of scale model kit USS Enterprise-E, from AMT/Round2 models.

This is the ship from The Next Generation films First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis. It really was a character itself in FC, as the crew fought the Borg on the ship, and I think the designers did a beautiful job for that film.

Find my ranking of The Next Generation films HERE.

The Box

The front:

The back:

Box Contents

Here are the box contents. There were three different colours provided for the translucent pieces: red, orange, and blue. I ended up priming and painting over them, then painting the shade that I wanted. I am not yet at a stage where I feel confident in lighting scale models … but soon!

Gluing the Hull

Once I removed all the pieces from the packaging and studied the instructions, it was time to start removing them from the sprues, filing down the extra bits, and gluing the pieces together. Note the clamps and bands used to keep pieces tight overnight while the glue cured:

The primary hull/saucer section:

The nacelles:

The pylon struts which connect the nacelles to the secondary hull:

The secondary hull:

The ship is coming together now. Note the tape on the pylons; I planned to paint the nacelles separately and then attach them later. To make sure the glue adheres properly, it’s best to have unpainted surfaces.

Here’s a view of the ship’s bottom. I planned to paint the deflector dish copper to match my previous Trek ships. That dish played an enormous role in First Contact — in that film, on the dish, there was a crucial hand-to-hand combat sequence with The Borg.

Painting

Now the hull was together — or at least in large pieces — and it was time to prime and paint. I chose a more reflective aluminum colour for this ship, from Revell. Here are the nacelles; I chose the metallic red for the bussard collectors, which is the same colour I’ve used for all my other Federation vessels.

The impulse engines also got the same shade of red:

The use of metallic copper has been a consistent accent colour in all my ships since my first Enterprise. Here I used it for both the location of the stand’s rod, as well as for the deflector dish and the clamshell shuttle bay doors:

I’ve now glued the nacelles to the pylon struts. The ship is really starting to come together!

In the next picture, note the dark blue on the saucer’s top. There are decals that go there, and I decided to paint the area so once the decals are on, it might provide more depth and detail. You can see the finished product further down; tell me how it turned out.

Decals

Here is the decal page. It’s quite extensive. There were so many escape pods (also another sequence from First Contact) that this stage took between eight and ten hours in three different sittings.

Here’s the ship’s registry on one of the nacelles. I found the decals for this model went on very well.

Enterprise’s underside. Note those escape pods. Also note the large grey decal with hull painted blue beneath it.

Here’s the top of the saucer. Note the large decal with the blue paint beneath it.

The Final Product

This was the hardest model I’ve done since getting back into the hobby a few years ago. (I took a forty-year break from the hobby and only recently rediscovered it.) Here are the final pictures; I hope you enjoyed this look at the building of AMT’s Enterprise-E!

The base is in the shape of a Starfleet emblem. I primed it, painted it metallic copper, and clear coated with semi-gloss.

The saucer’s top:

The saucer’s underside:

If you are interested in my next scale model project, click the below logo and find out which Star Trek kit it will be! As I continued to explore this hobby, I’ll post the results here at Life After Gateway. Watch this space!

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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, 26 August 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