Timothy S. Johnston Builds AMT 1415 / 12 Station K-7
Time for my next adventure …
A quick recap about my model-making journey: I’m recapturing my childhood through the hobby that I had abandoned many, many years ago. Originally, I just didn’t have the funds to do justice to the models I was attempting. At the time, they were mostly WW2 planes like the Spitfire and the P-51 Mustang. When I recently rediscovered the hobby, however, I found the TOS models that AMT/Round2 were releasing: the famous Enterprise NCC-1701, the Klingon D-7 Battle Cruiser, and the Romulan Bird-Of-Prey. Over the span of a few months, I built and painted them and created a display in my office. These TOS ships are extremely nostalgic for me; I was born in 1970 and grew up watching Star Trek every single day for well over a decade, and still watch them to this day. Here’s the display:
Here are my blog posts to catch you up on the building of AMT/Round2 TOS Models:
Now, I have turned my attention to another classic model from Star Trek: The Trouble with Tribbles. You may remember the story and the space station from this episode. Kirk and company receive an emergency call for help from Station K-7. They arrive, expecting catastrophe, only to discover that the station’s commander is hoping Enterprise will protect their stores of modified wheat grain, quadrotriticale. The Klingons have also appeared, and the commander is concerned about this. During the events, Cyrano Jones, trader, introduces a tribble to Uhura, and very soon all hell breaks loose. It’s a classic episode, very funny and charming, with some interesting characters and hilarious situations, such as the bar fight.
It’s so entertaining, in fact, that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine later revisited the episode in a time traveling story called Trials and Tribble-ations. The DS9 episode brilliantly inserted their cast into the TOS show, creating a new classic in the process.
Note Sisko and Dax in the background, digitally inserted in the DS9 episode: Trials and Tribble-ations.
The AMT/Round2 model is 1415/12. Here are the box contents:
I first had to join the “arms” of the station and the central module where they connect. Once that was done, filling gaps and sanding was the next task. Also note the tiny Enterprise that will orbit the station once it’s completed:
I filled the gaps with putty and sanded the edges as smooth as possible. You can see the lines of white putty above, where the “arms” of the station join the central hub. I primed all the pieces with gray Tamiyah, then did a bit of research on the final color scheme. On the show, the station was mostly a neutral gray with some black lines. However, I noticed some very interesting designs online that featured the station with a two-tone scheme, a dark and a light gray, and decided to go with this. The painting began with me blocking large sections:
Here is the finished color scheme before applying the decals:
Note the copper at the top of each saucer. The antenna in the background (near Enterprise) is also copper. I did this to match the other TOS ships I’ve built, most notably the Enterprise’s deflector dish. Now to begin the decals. It’s a much smaller sheet than the other models had (Enterprise had a massive sheet, if you recall my earlier blog post):
And the finished product:
I absolutely loved creating this model. The decals weren’t too challenging, with the exception of the large name across the ridges on the top saucer. Otherwise, I loved the two-tone scheme and the station turned out looking wonderful. I enjoyed it so much, I bought another one to build. The makers of the kit thoughtfully provided other letters on the decal sheet, so model makers can create many iterations of the same station. Thank you to Round2 for this.
I hope you enjoyed this new build! Stay tuned for more!
— Timothy S. Johnston, 12 September 2024
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“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
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.
“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
“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
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
Praise for THE WAR BENEATH
“If you’re looking for a techno-thriller combining Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and John Le Carré, The War Beneath will satisfy … a ripping good yarn, a genuine page-turner.” — Amazing Stories
“One very riveting, intelligent read!” — Readers’ Favorite
“If you like novels like The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising,
you will certainly enjoy The War Beneath.” — A Thrill A Week
“If you’re here for thrills, the book will deliver.” — The Cambridge Geek
“… an engaging world that is highly believable …” — The Future Fire
“This is a tense, gripping science fiction/thriller of which Tom Clancy might well be proud . . . When I say it is gripping, that is the simple truth.” — Ardath Mayhar
“… a thrill ride from beginning to end …” — SFcrowsnest
“… if you like Clancy and le Carré with a hint of Forsyth thrown in,
you’ll love The War Beneath.” — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee (RET),
2017 Nebula Award & 2018 Dragon Award Finalist
“Fast-paced, good old-fashioned Cold War espionage … a great escape!” — The Minerva Reader
