Diamond Select's New Enterprise-A Issue

[Jeyl]

The Art Asylum/Diamond Select refit Constitution Class toy has been one of the longest lasting and most frequently changed toy in the Starship line up. The first one was respectable enough but the sound effects were not from the source material. The Wrath of Khan Enterprise was a huge improvement in the sound effect department and deflector dish lighting, but the plastic used for the toy as a whole was made of a much weaker material. It didn't affect durability so much as it affected the lights. The plastic was so thin that the impulse engines lit up the whole bloody saucer section.

Now we're back with the Enterprise A with a new paint job, new sound effects and new electronics! Yes! This Enterprise comes with an all lights on mode just like the previous models!... only it lasts for only 10 seconds but at least it's long enough to admire.

Now for the bad news. Unlike the Art Asylum version or even the Wrath of Khan one, this toy has been further modified to be one whole complete piece. Nothing detaches. With the first one,both the nacelles and the pylons could be detached. With the Wrath of Khan, only the nacelles would come off. Here? They're permanently fixed. Sounds good on paper, but here's the execution.

The orientation of the nacelles... Since they're fixated on the pylons, you can't adjust them. And whoever put the nacelles together did not take the time to properly orient them. Sadly it doesn't look good from other angles.

So buyer beware. I don't know if all of them share the same problem, so see if you can spot the mis-alignment through the package.

 

[Kor]

Well that's disappointing.

Kor

 

[Ronald Held]

I will pass on it.

 

[Jeyl]

Ok, I may have 'jumped the gun' a little bit, but keep in mind. Not everyone has the proper tools to do this and it's not something I would recommend without extreme caution. Given that everything else about the toy is is an overall improvement from all the previous models, I had to try something. Anything.

So I went and got a cheap heat gun, put on a pair of working gloves I got for my car and warmed the sucker up. Once I started to smell the warm plastic, I than applied gentle force on the nacelles to try and re-orient them. Here are the results.

Huh... that's MUCH BETTER. And as of 20 minutes after letting it cool off, it's still in this orientation. So, if anyone decides to pick up the new Enterprise A and the nacelle orientation is all screwed up, there's a fix for it. Just please use extreme caution.

Tools Needed:
1. Heat Gun
2. Work Gloves
3. Safety Glasses

You don't need to heat it up too much. Just enough where you can start to smell the warm plastic from about a foot away. Once you think there's enough heat, ALWAYS TURN OFF THE HEAT GUN and than apply the force. Don't hold the heat gun away with one hand and try to orient with the other. Use both hands. I applied heat to both sides of the pylons connecting to the nacelle so I think that will give you more room to work with without over stressing the model.

While the backside gaps along the pylons are a little bit more open, they are far, FAR less noticeable than the misaligned nacelles. And the electronics still work perfectly.

As it stands now, this is the best rendition of the Refit Constitution Class ship out there. It's definitely worth getting if you plan on fixing it like I did.

 

[MarsWeeps]

What's all that colored crap around the deflector dish?

 

[Nightowl1701]

^ What I imagine all this was supposed to look like, when it was brand new.

 

[SeerSGB]

What's all that colored crap around the deflector dish?

A, poor looking, attempt at aztecing?

http://www.trekbbs.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Borjis]

is it still made of semi-transparent plastic though?

That's the only reason I didn't get any of them. In all the reviews if someone turned an over head light
on you could practically see through the saucer section.

I do have Excelsior though, no see through on that.

 

[Jeyl]

is it still made of semi-transparent plastic though?

NO!

Goodness, I was so taken by the mis-alignment that I forgot to mention that the plastic on this Enterprise is NOT the same as the TWOK variant. I put both toys up against a light and nothing shines through this new one. It's pretty much the same plastic as the original release.

 

[CT0760]

I'm a little behind here but I just noticed one of my nacelle pylons isn't properly aligned and needs to be bent back a little bit; as I don't have a heat gun, do you think a hair dryer could work like a heat gun at close range?

 

[CT0760]

Borrowed a heat gun and it was able to reposition the pylon in 30 seconds, thank you for the idea Jeyl!

 

[CT0760]

Borrowed a heat gun and it was able to reposition the pylon in 30 seconds, thank you for the idea Jeyl!

Forgot to add: I'm almost tempted to want to use a heat gun on my USS Voyager from playmates yo push that bulge under the saucer until it's more flat but I doubt it would work as well

 

[Kor]

I'm a little behind here but I just noticed one of my nacelle pylons isn't properly aligned and needs to be bent back a little bit; as I don't have a heat gun, do you think a hair dryer could work like a heat gun at close range?

Somehow that reminds me of STVI's revelation that a phaser on stun at very close range can actually kill.

Kor

 

[CT0760]

Hair dryer didnt work, it doesnt generate enough heat (unless maybe I would use it at touching range for 20 minutes)