USS Reliant

[Smiffy]

USS Reliant

1:537 scale AMT/Round 2 Models

When the Miranda class USS Reliant appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, it was the first time that we had seen a Federation starship on screen, that wasn’t actually a redressed Enterprise model. It was designed by Joe Jennings and Mike Minor to be a distinctly different ship from the Enterprise, but to be unmistakably based on the same technology and a product of the same civilisation.

The original drawings featured warp engines raised above the saucer on outwardly slanted pylons. The designs were sent to producer Harve Bennett for approval. Happy with the look, he signed off on them and then returned them to the production crew. When they looked at the returned documents however, they discovered Bennett had signed them with the drawing upside down. With Bennett in Israel on another project and time running short, it was decided to quickly re-orientate the Reliant’s engines below the saucer, based on the now approved design. To balance out the look, a weapons pod was added on a rollbar above the saucer.

The studio model was built by ILM and was specifically designed to be light and easy to handle by the effects crew, which was a stark contrast to the large, heavy and generally cumbersome eight foot long, Enterprise miniature. It was constructed from an aluminium armature, covered with vac formed exterior panels and had multiple mount points, enabling it to be filmed from many different angles. The weapons roll bar was a removable piece and a separate battle damaged version was constructed for use in scenes at the end of the film. The miniature was used many times over the next 15 years, in episodes of the ST: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, before making it’s final screen appearance at the end of the movie, ST: Generations.

The Kit

AMT originally released their Reliant kit in 1995. It was scaled to match their Refit Enterprise model at 1:537 scale. As far as I’m aware, it was only ever given this one initial release and was not reissued again. Because of this, it became a very sought after kit for years afterwards and when they did come up on collector sites or places like Ebay, they usually commanded high prices. Now AMT’s new owners, Round 2, have not only re-released the Reliant, but they’ve gone back and done a fair amount of re-working of the parts, correcting a number of flaws that the original kit suffered.

The kit comes in the now familiar Round 2 style Trek box and features an illustration of the finished model on the lid. Inside we find thirty one parts moulded in an off-white colour, a clear sprue holding eleven pieces, a four part stand and one sheet of decals. The finished model is quite an impressive size, measuring just over eighteen inches in length and eleven inches across the saucer’s widest point. The instructions are on a single fold-out sheet. On one side, we have the seven stage construction sequence, while on the back, we have a large paint and decal guide.

Assembly begins with the warp nacelles. Each one is built from just three parts. The two main halves of the nacelle are joined together, trapping the forward intercooler insert, in-between. The nacelles themselves are quite large units, at eleven inches long each. No remedial work has been needed in this area, as I believe these were always regarded as being one of the more accurate areas of the kit. Given ample time to set, the engines can then be attached to the pylons. Again, each pylon is constructed from three parts per side. You have a one piece outer section, to which separate lower and upper inner pieces are added. Once dry, the pylons are simply slotted into the top of each warp nacelle. These can then be set to one side.

Attention then turns to the main hull and this is where all the correction work has been carried out. As luck would have it, I still have an original AMT Reliant kit in my possession, which I purchased back in 1995, when the kit was first released. Out of interest, I retrieved the kit from the depths of my stash, so I could compare it with the new Round 2 issue. The bulk of the main hull is broken down into an upper and lower half. Dry fitting the two halves of each kit together, the first thing to note is the height or thickness. The original kit was noticeably too skinny. The new round 2 model has had the height increased by around an eighth of an inch (or just over 3mm). On the original kit, the rim of the saucer featured raised surface detailing, which I think is meant to represent the sensor bands, which run around the circumference. This ribbing also extended around to the rear side edge of the hull. Round 2 have removed this detail from the new kit and we now have a nice smooth surface, which is far more accurate to the screen model.

The bridge area has also received attention, or more specifically the deck below it. The old AMT model has eight indentions around this area, representing windows. These have been removed from the new Round 2 version, but also the upper surface has been corrected here, with the addition of the missing raised upper surface. Moving to either side of the bridge, the forward edge where the saucer steps up to the raised rear hull, has also been altered. The original AMT kit had some heavy engraved lines here and some more deep window depressions. Round 2 have done away with this and again made a more accurate smooth face.

The rest of the detail on the hull surface appears unchanged. The saucer has a sharply moulded grid pattern and the detailing on the upper rear deck was already a fairly accurate representation of the filming miniature. Assembly of the main hull looks fairly straightforward. The two clear impulse crystals are added to their respective upper and lower hull halves. I think it would be best to mask these clear pieces before adding them, though. The may inadvertently get pushed into the hull if trying to mask them later. With the crystals added, the hull halves can be brought together. The bridge has it’s rear docking port added, before it is then attached to the upper hull.

The aft hull bulkhead has been altered due to the increased height of the hull. This has been achieved by simply making the lower edge thicker. Comparing it to pictures of the studio model, this looks correct. The two clear shuttle bay doors are added to the aft bulkhead, from the inside, as are the four docking lights. The impulse engines have two clear inserts added from the outside and then the aft bulkhead can be glued into position. The engine nacelle/pylon assemblies are now cemented onto the sides of the main hull. Flipping the model over, the lower sensor dome can be positioned on the saucer, once it’s clear insert has been added.

The last sub assembly is the weapons pod that goes over the upper saucer. The lower half of the pod is integrally moulded with the lower halves of the pylons. The upper pod half is glued in place, trapping the fore and aft torpedo launchers in-between. The rear sensor array is then fixed in position and the upper halves of the pylons can be cemented down. The completed assembly can then be joined to hull and the forward and aft phaser emitters are added to the pylon junction.

The paint guide has colour callouts for Model Master paints. It shouldn’t be that difficult to convert into other brands, though, should MM colours be unavailable in whatever part of the world you’re located. The decal sheet provides the basic registries, names and pin-striping required to mark the ship. They appear to be very well printed, nice and sharp and on thin carrier film. Once applied, the only thing left to do, is to sit the completed model on the supplied four part stand.

Conclusion

Once I have a couple of other projects completed, this kit will be making it’s way onto my workbench. I have ordered a number of accessories (with the intention of really making the model shine), including a set of Round 2’s Aztec decals for this kit, which I shall be reviewing soon.

The ship is a firm fan favourite, thanks to it’s starring roll in The Wrath of Khan (which many fans argue is the best Star Trek movie) and it’s great to have this kit available once again, after so many years. The USS Reliant was always one of the nicer Trek kits that AMT issued. The modifications that Round 2 have carried out have made it even better. I have to say, I'm thoroughly impressed with their effort to improve the model, instead of taking the easier option of just knocking out a straight reissue of the old kit.

Top marks.

Review sample courtesy of

UK distributors for