Timothy S. Johnston Builds STAR TREK’s Shuttlecraft GALILEO POL 909 |

Timothy S. Johnston Builds Star Trek TOS’s Shuttlecraft Galileo POL 909

… otherwise known as NCC-1701/7, as seen in the classic Star Trek: TOS episode The Galileo Seven.

I loved making this scale model, despite the catastrophic failure of my first attempt.

The First Failure

Yes, you read that correctly. My first attempt failed so spectacularly, that I had to secure a second model kit and start all over from the beginning. The reason? I used a primer that was more suited to furniture than scale models. Combined with high humidity, when I painted the hull, the final paint layer cracked horribly and resembled alligator skin. I forged on and completed the model, but realized in frustration that it was a total failure. You can see the hull of that model here:

Version 1, Port Nacelle, Catastrophic Failure

I purchased another kit and started on it immediately after.

And despite this — despite making two shuttles back to back — I feel the urge to immediately make a third one right now. I had that much fun making it.

The way the kit is designed, the way the hull fits together to eliminate seams, the way the pieces are designed to be interlocking to provide total accuracy in the final model, is brilliant. Huge kudos to the designer. I wish every kit were designed so perfectly.

The Box and Contents

Here are the contents of the box:

And here are all the pieces on my workbench. Note the transparent pieces in the top left, for those who want to light their models, or create the interior so it can be viewed from outside. I decided not to create the interior (with the figures and controls), although you can purchase that kit too, either separately or together with the exterior in the same kit.

The Assembly

Here are the major pieces, starting to come together. Clamps are used to keep the pieces tight while the glue cures overnight.

Here is the port side hull, clamped and curing.

Here’s the hull, now together. I used elastic bands to keep everything tight while the glue cured. The front viewscreen is in; it’ll be primed in grey and then eventually painted black. Note the two nacelles in the background, together and also drying.

Here’s the shuttle’s aft. The engine grill has been inserted. Eventually it’ll be black. The impulse engine will be metallic red in colour.

This is the impulse engine. I used Testors metallic red, the same as the bussard collectors in all my other Trek completed scale models.

I decided to build the rear landing gear. There is some debate about whether it is visible during flight. In the original broadcasts, it didn’t retract. In the newer remastered Star Trek, with all new effects, this retracted after lift off. I decided to build and attach it, but in the flight version. The bow landing gear is retracted.

Here are the nacelles. I decided to keep the white domes, but I used copper on the bands just aft of them to match my Enterprise model. For the hull, I used a lighter paint colour than usual for my work. Tamiya spray paints are currently not available in Canada, so I switched to Revell Light Grey.

I used metallic silver for the orbs in the warp nacelles:

I just love how this landing gear looks.

The silver (Testors) and copper metallic paint (Tamiya) are striking:

You can see the red impulse engines “glowing” behind the grill.

Here’s another view of that landing gear:

And here she is, ready for the clearcoat spray before applying the decals:

Applying the Decals

After the painting was completed — of the hull and the finer details — I then sprayed with a clearcoat semi-gloss. This helps smooth out imperfections and creates a flat surface for the decals to sit.

The decal sheet isn’t too extensive. The entire process took two hours. Once again, I used Micro-Set to prepare the area, then Micro-Sol on the decal to help “fuse” it to the hull. Note the added options to also create the Einstein and Columbus.

The Final Model: Galileo

Stay tuned for the next Star Trek scale model project on my bench: AMT’s USS Enterprise-E, NCC-1701-E! 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 June 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