This isn't the final version of the model, as Ben explained:
Happy Christmas everyone. I've got a little something for you - the first pictures of the original series Enterprise. It's the factory's first attempt so it 's not perfect. You'll see straightaway that they forgot to pain the deflector dish and they haven't given me a stand so some of the pictures are a little awkward, but I'm pretty pleased so far. Enjoy and here's to next year's ships... BenMore images after the jump:
For a listing of all the ships in the Starships Collection, including links to all my previous previews and reviews, see my index page.
It looks very promising for a prototype.. I had not noticed they have issued any Original series ships yet.. seems a bit strange but I guess it's because all the originals were physical models. I just hope Eaglemoss stays consistent with their quality next year. I have a hand-full of their models (Akira class, USS Equinox, Danutless, Prometheus). I have to say the Equinox is leaps and bounds ahead of the others as far as detail and quality goes. I was very much disappointed in the Prometheus with the detail on the underside and overall quality. I for one can't wait for the Centaur
ReplyDeleteFrom what Ben has told me, the main reason for the lack of TOS ships to date is the feeling that because many of them are light in detail (no aztecing and such, which is popular) they are considered less desirable. Thanks to the TOS remastering project there should be CGI models available for most designs I would think. I'm sure they will eventually fill in the TOS ships, detail dense or not, they include iconic cornerstones of the franchise.
ReplyDeleteOf the ships you noted, I wouldn't say any of them are bad models. The quite plain underside of the Prometheus is a bit dull, but I think that's a limitation of the source material. Same reason the Akira doesn't have a name on the hull; the original model didn't either.
I think the quality is pretty impressive across the board though. There are a handful that are Really impressive (Miranda, NX-01, Oberth). But disappointments have been rare for me, the only one I'm really not into is the Ferengi Marauder, thanks to its weird and inconsistent paint job.
At first glance, it looks quite faithful. But upon closer inspection, the deflector is the least of the concerns I see, which will hopefully be addressed before full-scale production rolls out. Here's what I'm seeing in these photos:
ReplyDelete- Decals on the top of the saucer section are crooked.
- that annoying feature I call 'window creep', where the paint for the windows does not match up to the physical indents in the model. Many ships have this problem.
- Horrible joins throughout (Bussard collectors, Nacelles to struts, Engineering hull, etc.).
As this is a first attempt, hopefully these areas will be improved upon. Window creep is something that I see on a lot of models (even the Ent-D), but nobody mentions it. It might be better to not have window indents on the models, so the paint misalignment isn't noticeable. Of course, that's no help for the models that have already gone by.
This one looks promising.
ReplyDeleteWindow creep has been annoying on some of them indeed.
The Ferengi Marauder wasn't my favorite but it was the color and lack of detail on the Cardassian warship that really bothered me. The Jem'Hadar ships are also strangely nowhere near their on-screen color.
As for window detail not always matching , I thank thats more of random error with production then something that applies to all produced models of a ship.
ReplyDeleteFor example I have seen several Enterprise D, Enterprise E and Roman Warbirds that had windows lined up perfect, but also several that were off in alignment
I have been getting 2 copies of each ship (and just started my third subscription and I finally got an Enterprise D that had its windows not aligned properly.
Brandon James
ReplyDeleteThe original model of the Prometheus is smooth with no details. That isn't a mistake by Eaglemoss.
Though the do mess up the aztecing on the ship.
Yeah its very obvious you don't want to start the collection featuring ships that lack details, even the 1701 refit the released has more details then what would be on most original TOS ships. It also gives them a nice bit of promotion later their run for an iconic ship.
They could always have done the HD Remaster CGI version of the Enterprise. It has more details, panel lines, and a few more windows than the original model.
ReplyDeleteI think the point here is to do the "original" Enterprise, not a more tooled-up version in CGI nearly 45 years later. Even this prototype has more detail on the bottom of the engineering hull than I think you ever saw on the show. The markings on the underside of the saucer also seem bolder, but it may be difficult to do 'subtle' at this scale.
ReplyDelete