{"id":22520,"date":"2025-06-13T20:21:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T18:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gambody.com\/blog\/?p=22520"},"modified":"2025-06-13T20:33:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T18:33:26","slug":"3d-printing-uss-enterprise-d-star-trek-model-with-leds-and-exclusive-wall-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gambody.com\/blog\/3d-printing-uss-enterprise-d-star-trek-model-with-leds-and-exclusive-wall-mount\/","title":{"rendered":"3D Printing Breathtaking USS Enterprise D Star Trek Model with LEDs and Exclusive Wall Mount"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/em> and many other films, spinoffs, books, and various products, the USS Enterprise Star Trek model has played a significant role in the fictional crew’s life and has become an outstanding collector’s piece to add to a personal collection of ships from the iconic franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The beautiful Enterprise D model keeps impressing hobbyists in the 3D printing world. This Galaxy-class ship boasts a fantastic design that takes the most recognized features of the original Enterprise and brings them into a bigger ship with sleeker lines and rounded contours. Hobbyist Scott Davis chose not only to 3D print starship Enterprise but also illuminate it with LED lights and design an exclusive wall mount for displaying his masterpiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Enterprise<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

USS Enterprise Star Trek Model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can download the Enterprise STL<\/a> for the NCC-1701-D version on Gambody marketplace. It’s a stunning 3D model resembling the TV series ship so closely that you can imagine the crew peering through the many tiny windows (some can be lit up) as they travel through the galaxy. The design allows you to separate the saucer, print any of the two hull versions (with and without lettering), place the ship on the platform, adjust the tilt angle, and introduce LEDs through the tunnels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Enterprise<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tips on 3D Printing Star Trek Enterprise D<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before you 3D print your USS Enterprise Star Trek model in resin or filament, read our interview with Davis. This talented enthusiast shares his tips on printing and illuminating the iconic ship. He also explains how to add LED lights and mount the piece to your wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Hello, Scott! First of all, Gambody team adores your 3D printed and lighted Enterprise D model! When did you first fall in love with 3D printing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hi, and thank you for the opportunity to talk about my hobby! I bought my first 3D printer<\/a> on Christmas 2023. I don\u2019t remember specifically what made me decide to jump in, but I just felt like the time was right and the prices were right. I started with an Anycubic Kobra 2 Pro, then 5 months later I upgraded to a Bambu P1S, and I\u2019ve been printing pretty much constantly ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"3D<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Are you a big fan of the Star Trek TV series and sci-fi franchise?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, you could say that. I have memories from my childhood when my Dad would watch Star Trek: The Next Generation<\/a><\/em> later on in the evening, after my bedtime, and I would sneak downstairs to watch the show without anyone knowing. I\u2019ve been a fan ever since. As an Engineer myself, there\u2019s just something about the science and engineering concepts that infuse the franchise that speaks to my soul, not to mention the peaceful and inclusive values that Star Trek\u2019s creator, Gene Roddenberry, tried very hard to make a key element of his show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. How big is your collection of 3D printed Star Trek ships?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I currently only have the two Enterprises from the Star Trek universe, the D from TNG, and the E from the movies. That said, I will admit to being tempted by the Klingon ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also:<\/strong> Lighting Up Star Trek Borg Cube (How a Hobbyist Turned Gambody\u2019s 3D Model Into a Beautiful Ship with LEDs)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You chose to print Enterprise E at 160%. Did you also upscale the USS Enterprise Star Trek model (NCC-1701-D)? If so, what is the scale?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first attempt to 3D print Enterprise E<\/a> was at 100%, and I knew right away, once it was in my hands, that I would struggle too much to try to do any lighting at that size. 160% was as large as I could go at the time with the printer I had, and I was able to run the wires I had through the channels much easier at that scale. When the time came to work on the USS Enterprise Star Trek D model, I knew right away that 100% scale was good enough for me, since the D model is quite a bit larger than the E version, and even at 100%, I wasn\u2019t quite sure where I was going to put it, considering that it\u2019s approximately a meter (nearly 3.3 feet) in length!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"USS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. What printer and filament did you use for this Enterprise D 3D model? How many spools did it take?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I recall correctly, I spent two to three months printing parts for the Enterprise D model with my Bambu Labs P1S. With so many parts and its size, I think I needed around four rolls or so. I used some Elegoo PLA+ gray filament, as I found a good deal for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"3D<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Did you end up using transparent filament for the warp nacelles?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the warp nacelles, I found some blue and some red translucent PLA to use. This way, the color is still present even when the LEDs are off, and when the lights are on, they shine through the colored translucent filament just about right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also:<\/strong> Different 3D Printer Filament Types: Best, Strongest, Most Popular<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"USS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7. How complex or easy was cleaning the parts from the supports? Did it take you a lot of time?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t remember having too much trouble with removing supports; I think I had my support settings dialed in pretty well. I had some trouble with corners lifting off the build plate mid-print due to thermal contraction. A couple of pieces of my saucer section have little gaps in them because I didn\u2019t reprint pieces, which, due to the thin nature of the parts, experienced some minor lifting\/warping during 3D printing Star Trek<\/a> ship. Fortunately, practically all the parts were printable with supports on interior faces, meaning that there weren\u2019t very many exterior hull sections that needed any supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Enterprise<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

8. How did you prepare each 3D printed part of the Enterprise D model for painting?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This USS Enterprise Star Trek model has a significant number of individual parts, and I\u2019ll admit to having been intimidated by the sheer amount of post-processing I would need to do. In the end, I spent quite a bit of time hand-sanding each part, though I can\u2019t say I dedicated an equal amount of sanding time to every part. Sanding is hard work, and I didn\u2019t have a good power tool to help with the process. I definitely could have done more sanding than I did to get a smoother exterior surface for the Enterprise D 3D print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"USS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9. Can you share more details about your experiments with different paints? What did you end up using?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I struggled for a while to decide how to do the color on the hull. I knew I was going to paint, as the raw plastic, while being gray, just wasn\u2019t good enough. I ended up finding a Spray Paint of a metallic silver\/aluminum shade that I was happy with. Pretty sure that I went through two full cans painting all the hull pieces, which I did separately, i.e., before assembling them. I did that because I didn\u2019t want to have to try to mask off the parts that weren\u2019t supposed to be the silver color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Enterprise<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

10. What is more complicated and faster to use: a metallic aluminum color spray paint for the body or acrylic paint pens for detailing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, the spray paint is definitely faster and easier. I just set up the pieces of the Enterprise 3D print in my garage and gave them all a few quick passes with the spray can. The acrylic paint for the detailing was much trickier because there was no margin for error. With the spray paint, I could just paint the whole part. For the detailed work, you have to go extra slowly and be super careful not to mess up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read also:<\/strong> Fantastic USS Defiant Star Trek 3D Print (Advice by Anthony Sforza)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. How did you create your own channel to run the wires from the engineering section to the saucer section?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had made the decision to join the two halves of this Star Trek 3D print permanently, as opposed to leaving the option for displaying them separately (I mean, in the show, you only see them separate a handful of times over 7 seasons). I knew that I was going to put the electronics and the power source in the engineering section, and was thus a little dismayed to see that there was no easy way to run wiring up to the saucer section. With the parts already printed and semi-assembled, I carefully lined up the parts where the two sections joined, eyeballed a spot on both, and took my soldering iron and just melted a hole through the hull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Star<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

12. Please tell our readers more about wiring your USS Enterprise Star Trek model. How many simple LEDs, regular LED strips, and ws2812 LED strips did you have to buy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I could do it over again, I would probably do things differently, particularly for the white strips that light up the windows of the ship. I have used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n