Round 2 Star Trek: TOS U.S.S. Enterprise Light Kit (MKA048)

The kit was a joy to work with. Ease of assembly and fun

I reviewed the earlier version of this light kit. The short of it is this: It's far too expensive for how badly it's designed. The biggest problem with the kit is the way Round 2 designed the LED strips to connect. They replaced the original clip connectors with some shoddy little plastic connectors that you slide the LED strip into and snap closed. But they don't work half the time. Literally. You cannot depend on them to continue working even if they do when you first assemble it. The only way to make sure you have dependable connections is to cut the connectors off and solder everything, which is a pain in the rear. Second issue is the motors for the Bussard collectors. They are still way too damn noisy. And to top it off - the motors spin in opposite directions, but I was only mildly surprised to find that the Left side spins faster than the right side. And it wasn't just confined to the kit I got. I actually sent off for a replacement - and lo and behold, same issue. This kit shouldn't even be $100, honestly. It takes too much time-consuming modification and it is too LOUD.

It is better to solder the connections. The click method this kit uses fails to keep the connection about 20% of the time. It may also lose connection after the model is completed. So - never glue access points (sensor dish assembly, the ends of the warp necells, and the bridge.If the rotating warp caps catch and stop, heat will accumulate on the mini-controller and burn out the motor control. After the left necell stopped rotating, I used resistors and a direct 12volt connection. It was crude, but it resisted abuse more easily.Use light dispersing polystyrene if you plan to light the warp panels.

I’ve been looking for reviews of this new lighting kit to see if anyone else is frustrated too, so I’m either the first to comment or the only one struggling. Im finally giving up on this lighting kit after wasting a lot of time and money. I bought two as soon as they became available (building the Enterprise as gifts) and was meticulous and careful while assembling and wiring the connectors to the LEDs, the circuit board etc. I started about 2 -3 weeks ago, including about 5 hours today and the problem is that at any given time about 20-30% of the LEDs flicker, or they work then flicker later, or they work until I tape them into the model then they flicker, etc. I have been in touch with Round2 and they seem helpful, but after weeks of playing whack-a-mole by switching out twitchy, unpredictable, unreliable LEDs, only to have the same thing keep happening, I’m throwing in the towel. Keep in mind i am a practicing surgeon, so I it’s not about understanding or needing dexterity. After weeks I haven’t installed these LEDs into the model yet, it’s all tabletop since I’m sure I will have the same problems once the kit is assembled, glued, painted etc…..for the money, I feel like none of this should happen at all. PW

Got the kit alongside the one for the discoprise. Discoprise went great and loved it. But this one...The quick connects for the led strips are faulty and cause constant flickering problems in some parts.So I had to start soldering them together. Problem solved right? Nope...Then I find out the power supply is rotted out and arcing, causing EVERYTHING to flicker now. I know is rotted cause I opened it up and took a look. Sure enough there's a large rusted off part seperated, but close enough to arc. I'm lucky this thing didn't burn my house down!Luckily I had a similar plug for my record player. So work continues.Haven't even started on the engines yet, and terrified what I might find there..Those issues, and major ones at that, so far the kit looks great in the kit when on. But the amount of faulty parts is horrible given this price.30 days limit on warranty for a model kit and it's components is way to short if your actually building it with detail and not slapping parts together. At least for one this big and complicated.

I agree with the other posted review, this light set can be problematic and inconsistent in quality. I have installed two of these into 1/350 Enterprise kits I made for family members (they purchased the kits and lights on Amazon and asked me to assemble them). The good news is all the lights and motors worked when I completed the builds (however the light kit required constant adjustment during the build to avoid flickering, outages, etc. --I also ended up soldering the wire connections due to the snap connectors causing issues). The bad news is that on one model the left "spinner" motor stopped working a a week after my nephew received it. On the other kit in less than a month the blinking light function behind the domes stopped, then started working, then permanently stopped. At least the engines are still partially lit and the motors run so it still looks halfway decent. To be clear, these are adults who keep the models on bookcases or desks, treated with care, plugged into a surge protector, etc. so it is not a matter of rough handling, etc. which caused the issues. Also if it matters to you the engine motors have an annoying high pitch whine that reminds me of a dentists drill. You decide if its worth $240 plus tax for a kit which requires a lot of tweaking and is (in my opinion) likely to start failing in short order. Also due to your fear of something burning out, you will probably only turn on the lights for a quick minute to show someone and then turn it off immediately to try and "preserve" the lighting effects. So you spent twice the cost of the kit and how many hours for something that will sit unlit 95% of the time. Something else to think about is the model will be permanently attached to the stand to install the kit as it comes in the box. Overall a lot of money for a limited utility novelty effect (in my opinion). If it was $100 I could see rolling the dice but I don't see the value proposition at this price point.