As we first reported back in December, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum has recruited a panel of experts — from both inside the Star Trek production team and outside talents — to assist in guiding the museum’s conservation team to prepare the classic USS Enterprise filming model for the next era of preservation.

Last week, most of that advisory team descended upon the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia, where they got their first up-close-and-personal look at the historic starship and spent the day brainstorming their best ideas for the museum’s project with lead curator Dr. Margaret Weitekamp and chief conservator Malcolm Collum.

The team met for an all-day meeting on Wednesday, May 13, and that was so successful that Dr. Weitekamp reportedly estimated a “huge amount of time” was erased from the project’s expected timeline.

Model expert Gary Kerr had this to say about his visit:

We attended an all-day meeting on Wednesday, and everybody contributed great ideas. The meeting went so well that Margaret said we shaved a huge amount of time off the restoration. Thursday morning was devoted to wrapping up discussion of a few items, and to taping individual interviews with the committee members.

Some of the topics included corrections to be made to the model, how to conserve the model and prevent it from falling apart, the way it will be displayed in the new Boeing Hall, and other matters that we can’t discuss yet.

There’s a lot more work to do, but rest assured that the project is in good hands – and we have reference photos for the 11-footer that are a quantum level better than what was available in 1991-92.

Kerr also spoke about the renovation and ultimate display plans for the model:

Our thinking is to restore the model to its filming appearance, with only the markings on the left nacelle, which were on the filming model, remaining. We don’t want to open up all the holes and add fake wiring, but will have period photos of the model on the monitor.

The model will be in a big glass case that’s temperature & humidity-controlled to preserve the model. How would you feel about a two-sided approach, with the case oriented so the “pretty” side is arranged to provide better visibility and “Kodak moments” for visitors?

The “pretty” side would describe the theoretical spaceship, while the descriptions on the other side would describe the filming model.

Star Trek production designer Rick Sternbach was also in attendance, diving into the technical needs of the modelwork:

I was mostly interested in examining the markings and some of the general paint concerns, as well as joining in the discussions about structural and display matters. We talked about various methods for restoring the hull markings; most hobbyists already know about things like paint masks, waterslide decals, and dry transfers. Still digesting what we’ve seen.

At the moment, the hull is a number of different colors; grays and browns and a bit of green. Over the years, different paint jobs have changed the look, going back to the original delivery model. A lot of research has been gathered in order to make a decision as to what exactly will be done with the surface paint (as in what point in the show production do you “freeze” the look).

Based on our smart committee member recommendations and whatever plan of action NASM comes up with (soon), the hull surface colors and markings will be physically worked on.

In addition, the model inspection and group discussions were all recorded, along with one-on-one interviews with the various committee members in attendance.

When we visited the Udvar-Hazy Center back in January, the museum team hinted at possible plans for a Discovery Channel-like television special surrounding the Enterprise model project, and this may be the first evidence that such a broadcast is under production.

We’ll continue to follow this project throughout the summer — but what are your thoughts so far? Let us know in the comments below!