Resin Kit Review: Resin Modeler 1:1400 Northwest Class (NW Class)

NOTE:  You can click on most pictures to get a larger view of them.

Rewrites: March 2016 & November 2018

Up next in my resin kit review series, is the 1:1400 Northwest Class (NW Class) kit produced by Resin Modeller.

Resin Modeller's Recommended Paint Scheme

There are no Memory Alpha or Memory Beta articles about this type of starship.  This ship never appeared on screen, however, it was was mentioned in one or two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.  There is lots of information on this ship that can be found HERE (about a little over half way down the page).  The gist of the ship is that it was supposed to be Earth's first warp 5 capable ship, however, it's experimental drive proved to be unstable and that drive tech was scrapped.  This type of ship now serves as a science and patrol vessel.

The Model

This is a very unique model that no other kit maker has attempted to produce.  You can read Adam's write up on the ship and find directions to purchase it HERE.

Note: As of the re-writing of this article in Novemeber 2018, this kit is no longer in production.  That being said, I have always found Adam (Owner & Operator or RM) to be very personable and it doesn't hurt to message him and inquire about the kit.

This 1:1400 scale kit measures in at around 12cm when completed.  She comes in 5 pieces and includes decals that allow you to name her 8 different ways.  I had a chance to speak with Adam, who owns and operates Resin Modeller and had asked him about the length of time it took him to create the ship.  As it turns out, this was a collaboration that he had done with Robert Heckadon who created the ship for the Star Trek: Enterprise - Season Five Project.  Robert had already created the foundation model and Adam then laced it with hull plating.  Adams work on the project was only a few days.  Adam then sent his model off to a professional 3D printer to make the master for his molds.

 

 

 

 

DeepSpace Pat's Paint Scheme

NOTE: The eye hook is NOT part of the kit.  I added that because a majority of my hand built models are hung up on a book shelf to conserve space.

This model is another one of my builds that pre-dates my taking Work In Progress pictures.  I will TRY to remember any difficulties I had during the build.   

The one thing that I can say is that Adam produces kits with some very nice consistency.  The 3D modeling and 3D printing technique that Resin Modeller uses to produce his masters, yields some gorgeous looking kits.

Cleaning up the excess resin on this ship was a breeze in most parts.  I had a little difficulty cleaning out crumbs from around the deflector dish assembly and around the bafolds by the bussard collectors. 

As you can see, I accidentally nicked off a tiny piece around the rear deflector dish assembly as well.  

The last bit of clean-up issue I ran into was some minor air pocket trouble on the exhausts for both nacelles.   

NOTE: The air pockets were encountered back before I learned how easy using putty could be.  As you will see in my disclaimer down below, air pockets are usually an expected norm when dealing with some garage kits.  If I had know what was in THIS ARTICLE on filling seams and air pockets then, this model would have come out a bit better.

The last bit of trouble I had with this model was in regards to nacelle line-up with the primary hull of the ship.  I remember cursing at it while trying to get the nacelles to stay put.

NOTE: Once again, this was also all my fault as I was attempting a harder model that was probably above my skill set at the time.  Plus, knowing the information in THIS ARTICLE about gluing would have made building the ship so much easier.

The model sports all sorts of nook and crannys that once cleaned up, really add to the look and feel of the model.

Other than that, the model was actually fun to build and paint.  

Conclusion

Although this is a really nicely made kit that looks great when done right, I would highly recommend you hold off doing this ship if you are new to building models period.  This is also not a good model for a first time resin kit maker either.  The skill sets needed to make the model turn out looking decent are more suited towards more veteran builders.  

I hope that my experience with this model does not taint my feelings of just how great the quality is of the model.  If you ignore all of my low skill set difficulties, you will find that this is actually a very top notch kit to have and a very unique looking ship for your fleet.

As always, I hope you found this article useful and informative.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

So for now, "Live long and prosper!!!"



Additional Links To Photos Of My Collection:

Resin Modeller

Helpful Hint Articles

Washing     Warped Parts     Gluing     Filling The Gaps     Making Stands     Decals

NOTE: If you are new to my reviews, then please read on.  This section talks about the garage kit maker that made this kit as well as a little about why I'm writing this review.  If you are one of my regular readers, then feel free to skip the rest of this article as it is a word for word repeat of stuff from previous articles.

Kit Maker Information

Adam who owns and operates Resin Modeller does most of his business through his website.  He will also occasionally sell his kits through eBay, however, it is always recommended to go to his website for orders.  Although he does not maintain a FaceBook page for his business, he does post his work in progress stuff over at the All Scale Trek forums.

R.M.'s Website: CLICK HERE

R.M.'s eBay Seller Profile: CLICK HERE

A majority of all of Adam's kits are produced via 3D design software and then professionally 3D printed.  He then uses these as his masters in the mold making process.  In my opinion, this produces a very crisp model.

In my dealings with Adam, I find him to be a very nice guy to chat with.  He will usually answer inquiries within a day or two of being emailed.  Like most garage kit makers, he has a regular day job, and the kit building business is his way of funding his love of building models.  He has shared that he has found a lack of 1:1400 scale ships and since that is his preferred size to build in, he just makes the ships he wants for his collection.  

DISCLAIMER SECTION

I consider myself an intermediate model maker.  I'm pretty good with assembling kits these days  and OK on the painting side of things.  I ultimately end up with ships that look good enough to me to display in my collection.  I've found that there are all sorts of neat ships out there that no one has made a pre-built or pre-painted model of, so, in an effort to expand my ship collection I've turned to building them myself, either by kitbashing or purchasing ready made resin model kits.

There are several smaller garage kit makers out there that produce some very good kits.  I've actually developed a good relationship with a couple of them and volunteered some of my time to write up reviews about the kits I've purchased from them.  I have already warned them that I intend to be pretty objective, not pull any punches, and these reviews are going to be written from the point of view of an intermediate model builder.  If this means that I warn away a first time builder from a particular kit, then they will need to be OK with that approach.

Lastly, due to the nature of resin casting, not every kit is going to be the same.  Excess resin and air pockets are a part of the game when you get into this sort of model building.  The kit that I got and built may be slightly different than your kit as far as minor quality issues.  I will still point out flaws with my kit as those flaws could lead into a lesson of some sort for either you the reader or the kit maker themselves.