In 1964 he was hired to build the three foot Enterprise miniature using plans created by Matt Jefferies. In Decemeber 1964, Datin subcontracted the construction of the eleven foot model to Volmer Jenson. Datin also oversaw later modifications to the studio models, as well as the construction of the shuttlecraft hanger and K-7 miniatures.
He shared his wealth of knowledge with Star Trek fans and model builders. Richard Datin stated: “Jeffries also furnished paint chips, for which I had lacquer-based paint custom-matched by a Fuller’s Paint dealer on Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles”…..”it was not a Ford or GM paint or primer as some “learned” souls have decried. It was a flat finish–a light grey color with a light tint of green.”
http://culttvman.com/main/?p=7718 – Here are the much anticipated paint specs for the “The Original Series” Enterprise, based on research provided by Richard C. Datin, the original builder of the 3′ (33in) and 11ft. (4x) filming miniatures, in late 1964.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Constitution_class_model#Designing_a_Motion_Picture_Enterprise

As far as the ship not being significant. It has made a huge impact on this world in both fantasyland and real life, across the boundries of race, sex, and culture. I imagine you could draw a outline of the ship and show it to as many people as you can in as many places and at least 90% if not alot more would reconize it. It’s arguably the most reconizable object in the world. Who could say that of the “Spirit of St Louis”(I choose it because it was mentioned earlier). The Spirit of St Louis was just a airplane, just like the one that was made before it and the one that was made after it, identical. So where is the significants there and why aren’t the others next to it. It was just a plane like any other until one day, some one had an idea… The concept that Star Trek brought and still to this day brings, is idealized more then any other. So I think that it’s impact on history, the future, and our society from fantasy and reality are both just to enormous to gange. Oh yea, it was a prop not a toy. But Because “geekdom” is still tabboo to the cool people, We may never know just how deep and wide spread the belief in the ideology of Star Treks reality really is.

After reading the posts here, I went and pulled out my files on the Enterprise, hope that some answers may be forthcoming to these questions.

As far as treating the Enterprise model as seriously any other artifact in the Museum’s collection, the second restoration of the model had the wiring for the model duct taped to the unfinshed port side. This wasn’t what I would consider a NASM caliber restoration effort. Why was it approved? For that matter, instructions for all the restorations had to be authorized and supervised by someone on staff – the April/May issue of Air and Space Magazine has an article that states that Ken Isbell was assigned to monitor Ed Miarecki’s work on the third restoraton. If the records regarding each restoration are in the Museum’s files, can we see them? Somebody had to sign off on the way too exagerated gridlines on the lower half of the primary hull. The third season Trek episode “May That Be Your Last Battlefield” has a shot that zooms in on the lower half of the primary hull and ends with a closeup of the lower sensor plarform, and was only used once, in that third season episode. Why, with this clear evodence of how how that portion of the model appeared in the third season of the series, was the Miarecki gridwork approved?

Was Richard Datin’s involvement with the model researched by the NASM? Articles on the true color of the Enterprise model are online, a color match was made from the overspray on a blueprint from a touch up that he did on the model. It wasn’t the 1969 Ford Gray that Ken Isbell stated in the Air and Space article that Ed Miarecki told him was the color match. An extensive interview with Mr Datin was done in the Star Trek Communicator Magazine where he details the work he did on the model and the fact that he was the one who cut the solid wood hemispheres off the front of the warp nacelles when the lighting system for them was installed – he still had them in his possession at the time the interview was done about 10 years ago.

The last time I visited the model (I make the pilgrimage every few years or so), one of the acrlyic rods on the lower half of the primary hull was falling out and the cladding on the impulse engines was peeling away. Is maintenance ever done on the model in its current location?