2025 Arisia Paper Modeling Workshop

The Trek Shuttle Returns

Well, after a long (long) hiatus, the opportunity to do a paper modeling workshop that is not just for kids has returned for this Arisia. Unfortunately, the panel length is going to be tight and getting a simple model that would be buildable in the allotted time is tricky. Various designs were tried out, which will make for good subsequent posts. The trick is finding something more interesting than a cube (say Borg starship) and yet still not super complicated. In the end I settled for looking at one of the oldest models out on the internet for inspiration. This led me to a kit published by the late Ulrich Prahn back in the 90s. The files are still available from a site maintained by Oliver Götz .

The Type 15 Shuttle - El-Baz

The Type 15 shuttle which was introduced in Star Trek - The Next Generation was meant to be a small 1 to 2 person shuttlecraft. It allowed individual crew members to do simple trips beyond the range of the ship's transporters. In a way it was really just a "pod" with interplanetary capacity. This is of course familiar to anyone who is a fan.

The featured shuttles carried various names and allowed the show to memorialize other participants in the advancement of science beyond Galileo and Columbus (even fictional ones perhaps in naming one "Pike"). Shuttle 5 - El-Baz is a reference to Farouk El-Baz, a NASA geologist who worked on lunar geology and moon landing site selection during the Apollo program. 

The Type 15 shuttle was designed to exist as a full sized prop for the show. As a result the design is fairly simple. More than just a box, its angled wall design and low engine mountings recall a sort of miniature version of the original series shuttle craft Galileo. The flat sides also work well for cardstock much like the original did for wood panels.

The Workshop Kit

While I originally wanted to scratch something up, it is easier just to work with Ulrich Prahn's kit, but some modifications were made to make it a faster build. The kit was scaled up as much as possible, while still limiting it to a two page kit. Some parts were also modified to allow for easier assembly. The most extensive change was coloring it in. Presumably, the kit was originally worked up before color printing was easily available so the original is only available as a black and white print (actually the originals were themselves ported to "gif" formats from postscript). 

The kit was also originally developed before the myriad of show references could easily be found. As a result it isn't exactly accurate to the miniatures used on the show. Then again, the show's full sized prop could vary quite a bit. The separate engines were never physically attached to the prop just dropped next to the fuselage more or less in the same area.

For a limited time, I'm going to have the workshop files linked here. I hope to work up my own version soon based on drawings from the original prop and photos of the shooting miniature. I have also added some detail parts that can enhance the look of this model. These details are left as an add on, since there really isn't enough time to work on it at the workshop. Given that you may want to try a more careful and less frantic build, the files are available below for download.

• The Kit
• Extra Details (if added, skip step 1 on the instruction sheet and do that at the end since these extra parts really pertain to those detail parts. You will need a hobby knife for these)
• Instructions

General Instructions

Pretty much the standard for cardstock models. I've detailed stuff on the original workshop post back from 2011. With regard to the detailed parts, these were designed to fit this modified workshop kit and not the original. These parts pages are only temporary, and new parts pages will be uploaded when available.

Last Words...

If participation in the workshop has sparked your interest - GREAT. Paper modeling is a great way to approach the fandom without much more investment than resources you may have already, namely glue, scissors, and a color printer. Of course, there are lot of technicalities like the kind of paper and cardstock you deal with, specialty tools like hobby knives or tweezers, and special techniques in construction and assembly. For that I would suggest you visit my subject page off this blog which has links to other article pages on paper modeling and try out Ulrich Prahn's other kits linked here and above. While the El-Baz is the simplest, the others are also not bad beginner kits. Moreover, you can practice kit modification since if you want them in color you will need to modify them with some photo/drawing software such as Gimp, Krita, or Photoshop which is fun in an of itself.