The 48 inch Enterprise

The small model

Chances are that the 48 inch Enterprise began life simply as a development tool to help finalize the design of the ship.  As is visible in these photos the model is a very finely crafted miniature which displays virtually every detail found on the 11 foot model.  Later this model would be used in a few effects sequences but generally speaking it probably spent most of it time decorating various offices at the studio.  One useful feature of this model is the fact that the port side (near side in the bottom photos) is completely detailed, unlike the 11 footer.  This allows us to see those details which are unavailable on the other model.
 

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