In the beginning…
In 1991, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country debuted. It was, In my opinion, one of the better movies of the original series crew. It featured a very dynamic looking Klingon battle cruiser, Kronos One, which was the equivalent in purpose to Air Force One the airplane of the President of the United States
Kronos One was a Klingon K’T’Inga-class battle cruiser that served as the flagship of the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council in the late 23rd century.
The Story…
In 2293, Chancellor Gorkon traveled aboard Kronos One to meet the Federation starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A). Specifically, it was to be escorted to a peace conference on Earth. During the journey, however, Kronos One was fired upon. Apparently by the Enterprise, and seriously damaged by two photon torpedoes, the second of which disabled the ship’s gravity generator. Once Kronos One was disabled, two assassins beamed over from the Enterprise. Wearing gravity boots they began to systematically murder members of the crew, including Gorkon.
After Kronos One had restored power, General Chang, the chancellor’s chief of staff, took command and prepared to fire on the Enterprise, but Captain Kirk, hoping to preserve the truce, promptly surrendered. It was later revealed that Kronos One was actually fired on by an experimental Bird-of-Prey which had the unique ability to fire while under cloak, as part of a conspiracy to sabotage peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
Preparing the Model Kit to Become Kronos One
Around the beginning of 2022 I began to collect studio model references for this model. Nevertheless, this K’T’Inga Class ship was made to be a very ornate model to differ itself from that of The Motion Picture K’T’Inga model. Certainly, I have to give props to Polar Lights for its rendition of the IKS Amar, but too bad they took so long to get Kronos One out on time.
First, I started with buying all I need to get going. First with the…
Polar Lights Star Trek Klingon K’T’Inga 1:350 SCALE MODEL KIT, which is now out of stock, but you can try your hand in Ebay,
Star Trek Klingon K’t’inga Lighting Kit, which you can get at diecastmodelswholesale.com with new box art.
Klingon K’T’Inga Shuttle Bay PE Set,
K’T’Inga Class Battle Cruiser PE Set in order to build a version of Kronos One.
Still, you can purchase your kits and accessories just by clicking on the links and images above if you only want to do an IKS Amar. I did not include a link for the new Kronos One kit due to, at the time of constructing this, me having no Kronos One kit to construct from. I remind you; all this was done before Polar Lights ever decided to mold their Kronos One into a model kit in 1:350 scale 32 years after the movie debuted!
Scratch Building Parts for Kronos One
Then I proceeded to scratch build parts!!! I started on the peculiar nacelles. Using photo references of the studio model, I hacked away the old K’T’Inga. I was apprehensive at first in cutting out pieces of an expensive kit, then I was determined to continue with it. And then, I was at the point of no return. I committed myself to continue by saying to myself, “After all, I am a master model kit builder, and a master model kit builder does not quit.” Of course, that’s all in my head. Feel free to view the following by clicking over the images.
The Process…
The above photos demonstrate the process I went through to get the nacelles the way they should look piece by piece. However, it was a combination of plastic and brass sheets to create the inside of the nacelles. Then, gluing the pieces together using my go-to cement for plastic models, the all-famous Testors Cement Adhesive 5/8 oz. for Plastics which you can get at ModelCars.com with my 10% off promo code, just message me for it. Then I added primer, filling gaps using Testors Contour Putty, and sanding to get it just right. In addition, modified lighting using the separate Star Trek Klingon K’t’inga Lighting Kit.
After which, I also scratch built the vent grilles to the wings as well as the aft engine components that are particular to Kronos One.
I was boldly going where I have never gone before, scratch building on an expensive kit! Have you ever done anything like this? Gambling on the result of scratch building on an expensive kit? Tell me in the comments section below.
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