Star Trek: Starships Model/Magazine Subscription

[Tosk]

But...but, as per the website "The model is based on careful study of the original shootting models." (As careful as the spelling? )

The study may have been careful, but the reproduction is most certainly not. The more I look at it the more I hate it. Granted, some things probably had to be fudged to make it in a "tiny pieces attached to each other" manner, but it's quite terrible in a lot of ways.

 

[pst]

eaglemoss has never gotten the enterprise-D right. and they've produced 5 versions of that ship now.

 

[137th Gebirg]

It is odd. They do wonderful jobs with one-off ships of the week, but the hero ships? Not a clue. The XL E-A was the absolute worst.

 

[Cyfa]

here are some photos I took of the V'ger model I got yesterday. While it's lighter in weight than I would have thought, it's a beautiful model and photographs pretty amazingly, I think. (Hiding them behind spoiler code so as to not disturb the flow of the thread.)

Spoiler: V'ger photos

I love that they modeled it with an open maw, and from a distance it looks cool, but I'm kind disappointed at how shallow it is. Making it a little deeper would have gone ways of selling the idea …

- V'ger *does* photograph amazingly well!! Or, perhaps I should say: You do photograph V'ger amazingly well! These are brilliant photos, @Michael. I love that you've used the V'ger cloud for the background - Did you put TMP on and take the photos in front of the TV?
I was humming and hahing about getting V'ger, and now your photos have convinced me.

 

[Tomalak]

But...but, as per the website "The model is based on careful study of the original shootting models." (As careful as the spelling? )

The study may have been careful, but the reproduction is most certainly not. The more I look at it the more I hate it. Granted, some things probably had to be fudged to make it in a "tiny pieces attached to each other" manner, but it's quite terrible in a lot of ways.

Yeah, I don't get it. The comparison between the shooting model and the Eaglemoss version shows the deflector is a totally different shape, is the wrong colour, lacks the concentric rings, and there's no windows on the saucer rim.

I completely understand they need to make compromises to create a model that works, looks good and can be assembled by novice builders a piece at a time, but given how much it'll cost, they need to get the details right.

You could buy the DST Enterprise-D for a fraction of the cost. It's not perfect either, but I feel it's a better compromise.

 

[STR]

The most accurate 1701-D is probably the AMT 1/2500 model kit. Everything else (even the big 1/1400) has issues. Either wrong proportions, missing details, or weird asymmetries. The old Playmates and current DST are pretty good for toys.

EDIT: The Hot Wheels E-D from a few years back isn't too bad.

The eaglemoss 1701-D looks great when it's 4" long, but their habit of taking the same model, blowing it up 2x and not bothering to fix the details they got away with at the smaller scale are why it's the one line I've not bought.

The 1701-E XL is pretty bad too. Root problem with that one is that they insisted on using a model that was never used on screen and has a lot of glaring issues that add up to the model not being worth the rather high fee for it.

Well, okay, since this is settled … here are some photos I took of the V'ger model I got yesterday. While it's lighter in weight than I would have thought, it's a beautiful model and photographs pretty amazingly, I think. (Hiding them behind spoiler code so as to not disturb the flow of the thread.)

Spoiler: V'ger

I love that they modeled it with an open maw, and from a distance it looks cool, but I'm kind disappointed at how shallow it is. Making it a little deeper would have gone ways of selling the idea …

I also took a couple of photos of the Shran, which, while much too small for the steep price, is a really nice model:

Spoiler: U.S.S. Shran

Recently I also got into ordering the original Battlestar Galactica and I must say I'm pretty impressed with it. It's just an all-around great model. Not easy to take pictures of, but in real life it looks amazing:

Spoiler: Battlestar Galactica

Now I'm kind of bummed I didn't get the modern Galactica a couple of months back. Looking out for a decently priced one on ebay at the moment. In the meantime I got the Pegasus. It's also pretty nice, but not as good as the original Galactica. What's cool is that the landing bays are actually open all the way through. Nice touch!

Spoiler: Battlestar Pegasus

Ooh, Fat Apollo's battering ram looks sweet. I might have to pick her up.

That, and V'Ger.

 

[Tuskin38]

to not have windows on the saucer rim is pathetic.

It has to do with the way the model is built, they can feasibly put windows there.

 

[BillJ]

EDIT: The Hot Wheels E-D from a few years back isn't too bad.

I have that one. Not perfect, but pretty good. Also have their Excelsior.

 

[pst]

he most accurate 1701-D is probably the AMT 1/2500 model kit. Everything else (even the big 1/1400) has issues. Either wrong proportions, missing details, or weird asymmetries. The old Playmates and current DST are pretty good for toys

they're hard to find now, but i think the lighted aoshima galaxy-class models were the most accurate i'd ever seen. they got the main impulse engine right, made the saucer impulse engines have both lighted and dark options, and the deflector is as good as i've ever seen:

 

[Tosk]

I have a non-lighted, "TV colors" one of those, and very happy with it. My only complaints are minor ones, the weird stand and the deflector is very 4-footer. (Personal bias.)

 

[pst]

i didn't even know they made a non-lighted version. you can see mine is pretty close to non-lighted, but that's because i've never replaced the batteries in 5 years.

 

[Tosk]

I also had a non-lighted "real world colors" version at one stage, but sold it when the TV colors one came across my path. Did the lighted one come with a shuttlepod too?

 

[137th Gebirg]

i didn't even know they made a non-lighted version. you can see mine is pretty close to non-lighted, but that's because i've never replaced the batteries in 5 years.

You might want to check that. Batteries have a tendency to leak acid and corrode electronics if not used and/or changed after a while.

 

[CommanderTrip]

You might want to check that. Batteries have a tendency to leak acid and corrode electronics if not used and/or changed after a while.

First encountered this many years ago. Found a playmates Borg Cube new in the box for $10 at a flea market. I bought it, opened it, assembled it, and then checked the battery compartment to find the batteries had leaked acid and ruined the electronics. I was about 11 or 12 at the time, and really disappointed.

Fast forward to last week. I found another playmates borg cube, brand new in the box for $30 at a local flea market. I bought it and when I checked the battery compartment, I was shocked to see the original batteries were still in there and in perfect shape. I replaced them, and I have to say for a 25 year old playmates ship, the borg cube is loud and sounds faithful to the series.

 

[BillJ]

Would love to have a Franz Joseph Dreadnought. That would be one I'd be willing to fork out $75 for.

 

[137th Gebirg]

I'd personally love to see all the original FJ designs. Extra cargo tug module variants could be purchased separately and assembled in-line to make one big model.

 

[STR]

they're hard to find now, but i think the lighted aoshima galaxy-class models were the most accurate i'd ever seen. they got the main impulse engine right, made the saucer impulse engines have both lighted and dark options, and the deflector is as good as i've ever seen:

Gotta say, that one does appear to take the crown.

You might want to check that. Batteries have a tendency to leak acid and corrode electronics if not used and/or changed after a while.

The alkaline battery crust dissolves in vinegar (makes a nice audible hiss in the process). If it gets on the contacts, just soak a q-tip in the acid and apply to the residue. Good as new in about a minute.

Battery gunk rarely does more than surface damage to other materials. I guess if it got on a circuit board it could do irreparable damage, but I've never seen that.

 

[Tomalak]

Yeah the Aoshima is probably the best, but it's still based on the less elegant four footer.

 

[Vger23]

I got the Classic Galactica this weekend. It's pretty amazing in terms of accuracy and detail. It's bigger than I expected. It had a minor paint screw-up in an area that wasn't immediately obvious, but I was able to fix that up myself.

 

[137th Gebirg]

You're the first person I've heard that actually likes it. I've heard horror stories and seen many horrible photos showing the absurdly stark wash paint job and the oddly misaligned alligator head relative to the main body. I've been looking forward to getting it ever since they started the line years ago and now I'm kind of dreading seeing it.