(Started writing this post on Monday, but didn't finish until today)
So, my order arrived today. I got the Reliant concept, the Promellian battle cruiser, the Sheliak ship, the Emmette, the Tamarian cruiser, and the... Tamarian cruiser??? Even got a duplicate magazine. No idea what I'm gonna do with this, but whatever.
The Promellian battle cruiser, as some of you may know, is one of only two physical models during the Berman era that were not designed in-house (the other being the Pasteur), and it shows. It really looks like a ship from one of those cheesy 80's sci-fi films, with no obvious Trek features (deflector or nacelles) and a lot of wear on the gray. It's also a very flat ship. I can't imagine it having much room. An interesting look though.
The Sheliak ship is an obvious recycle of the Merchantman. I knew this, but I was struck how much smaller the model is from the Merchantman model, presumably because the mandible-like pontunes sticking out the front really lengthen the ship and force a much smaller scale. I would've preferred something that looked a bit more alien, but I guess they had to make do with what they had.
Seeing the Emmette makes me wish that the "Enterprise" opening credits had shown more of the ship than the back. Other than what I saw on-screen (which does look good), I can't really say how accurate it is. Interesting ship, though. I wonder when, exactly, it was supposed to be in service.
The Tamarian ship is one of those designs I've seen recycled for use by so many different aliens of the week, that I don't really associate it with anyone, at this point. I already had the Micro Machine model (which they listed as the "Klaestron ship"). I do like holding up to light to see the red plastic in the nacelles glow.
Finally, the Reliant concept. As with all the concepts we've gotten at this point (Excelsior, Enterprise-C, Voyager), I think the design we ultimately got looks better, but this one is still pretty interesting. It's even got a couple of advantages over the original Reliant model. The aztecing looks wonderful, as does the red stenciling around the name and numbers, which the original Reliant and Saratoga don't have, but the Lantree, Antares, and Bozeman do. Maybe it's where they're placed, but the nacelle struts on this one look longer to me, even when I flip it over and compare it to the original.
It also occurred to me that this could potentially be the last Starfleet ship in the set that I end up buying. I've got pretty much all of them from the numbered set, apart from the Excelsior concepts, and some of the Wolf 359 and Dominion War kitbashes, simply because I didn't like the designs. I don't have the Aeon or Relativity, but I'm not sure they really count. I do have a couple of the standard-sized specials (Bonaventure, Enterprise-F, Enterprise-C concept, Voyager concept, "The Cage" Enterprise, "Phase II" Enterprise, and the Connie Defiant), but I think I got all the Feds I was really excited for. I might consider getting the Yorktown or the Defiant concept at some point, and if they ever make Columbia NX-02, I'd be interested in that, but nothing on the horizon, really.
(Night of the Creeps)
