Just like the Enterprise NCC-1701-A model, this Starship U.S.S. Reliant NCC-1864 model will be lit.

While the instructions suggest gluing the saucer halves shut, once one has made "sure that all wiring connections work", I found a way to open up the saucer section without and at the same time avoiding a visible seam as seen in the front edge of the Enterprise NCC-1701-A saucer section.

The saucer section is cut all the way around on the underside of the ship.
The outer ring wil later be glued to the top part of the saucer. Then the inner part will be attached with magnets, giving me direct access to every single LED and cold cathode inside the saucer section.

The seam is filled with Bondo. The seam will be barely visible since it is right on the edge of where the concave part of the sauver goes into the flat outer ring.