Defiant

Š1999 David Pagett	This is the USS Defiant as featured in Star Trek DS9. I completed the model some time ago and the basic construction was very simple, however the paint job was a different kettle of fish altogether. I think this was one of the first models I used filler to any effect. The basic construction was quick but left a few joins around the edge so I used a ready mixed filler that dries when exposed to the air. Most model makers seem to favour car filler so I might look at this in the future. The problem was the details on the model surface got sanded away which made painting difficult.
When I came to painting the Defiant I first sprayed it grey to give a good surface for the rest of the details, then I started to pick out the other colours, but as I said, most of the boundaries had been sanded away so I used masking tape to try and recreate them. It soon came apparent that I could not be as accurate as the original lines so I decided on a new tactic.
	I decided to go for a really dirty looking ship which meant the lines did not have to be perfect. I just imagined the Defiant had visited a particularly inhospitable planet and had to take the ship down to the surface and landed in a swamp. Of course they haven't found a Spaceship wash yet!
This is the Bottom of the Defiant with some of the white windows just about visible. I used gloss white enamel on these so they would stand out more against the matt weathered look of the rest of the ship.	Once I had decided on this approach I could then be a bit more careless with the blue and yellow panels knowing I could hide the lines with dirty washes later.
This was a great project for learning new techniques but I think I would like another crack at it just to make a 'cleaner' Defiant that Sisko would be proud of !	The decals were quite difficult on this model because the was a lot of long, red lines which have to be kept straight. I like the finished result but I love the shape of this ship more than it's paint job. I am sure this would be how the Millennium Falcon would look if it was designed in the nineties, it's got that 'Hot Rod' look about it.