Starships Collection's NX-01 refit, Federation fighter, and more

Updates from several ships in Eaglemoss' Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection today, starting with an interesting behind the scenes look at the development of the sixth oversized special issue, the Enterprise NX-01 refit. After the first few photos of the model were shared, designer Doug Drexler sent Eaglemoss back notes for fine tuning, and with remarkable speed Eaglemoss generated version two, with tweaked colours and detailing; perhaps most notably switching the nacelle caps from dark red to a warm orange. Doug posted these photos on Facebook:

Another glowing Borg Cube!

Just days after revealing their paper lantern Borg Cube, ThinkGeek are back with another glowing illuminated cube. This one, which they describe as a "glowing chair", has a bit more to offer though: A more robust plastic build, the fifteen-and-a-half inch Borg Cube light is powered by an internal battery (which lasts for eight hours), so it can be placed where-ever you see fit, and is strong enough to sit on, or use as a foot-stall, as well as being a light source. While you would surely only ever want it to glow green, it can also be remotely controlled to glow in sixteen different colours, at different brightness levels, and can even strobe or fade between colours - Perfect for your next Borg disco...

Book bits: New covers, new ebooks, Legacies blurbs, and more

Lots of updates from the world of Star Trek prose today, including several dazzling new covers, news of a whole bunch of new ebooks, new blurbs from the 50th anniversary Legacies trilogy, and more! Continue below for everything, starting with new covers!

First up, StarTrek.com have premiered the covers for two novels. Due out in May is Elusive Salvation, Dayton Ward's sequel to the brilliant TOS/20th century book, From History's Shadow. This new cover, by Alan Dingman (as credited by the author), seems to feel both very modern and superbly retro, and quite atypical for Star Trek. I love it:

IDW's February titles, and other Star Trek comics news

IDW have released their solicitations for February, which include two new Star Trek comics, plus an omnibus book. Continue below for the details of all those, and more Star Trek comics news:

Starfleet Academy #3
Written by Mike Johnson and Ryan Parrott, with art by Derek Charm.

The all-new hit STAR TREK mini-series continues here, as Uhura and Kirk draw closer to uncovering the truth surrounding a century-old mystery. Meanwhile, T'Laan and the new cadets find themselves on the brink of elimination from the Centennial Competition!

This one has three covers: The A cover by Charm, a subscription variant by Paulina Ganucheau, and a retailer incentive by Adam Rosenlunc.

Bye Bye Robot's latest Voyager and TOS art

Bye Bye Robot have revealed their latest Star Trek art releases, with six new prints from four artists including images inspired by Voyager, and two different eras of TOS. Continue below to check them all out.

First up, from Bye Bye Robot co-founder Charity Wood, we have Intrepid Class, a wide format painting of the USS Voyager, which continues a series in the same format which so far also includes the TOS USS Enterprise, and the Enterprise NX-01. Like those previous pieces, this is a 14x36 inch print.

Cross Cult's all new Promtheus trilogy!

Cross Cult, the publishers of German translations of Star Trek novels, have announced huge news; for the first time ever, they will be releasing entirely original German language Star Trek books. Starting next July, and running for three consecutive months, will be the Prometheus trilogy, written by Bernd Perplies and Christian Humberg - Both have a good number of sci-fi and fantasy books to their names, and both have previously done translations of many of the modern continuity Star Trek books which Cross Cult have released in German.

The trilogy will be tied to the current prose continuity; set shortly after the assassination president Bacco in The Fall series. It sees the USS Prometheus sent on a mission to deal with new threat in the Lembatta Cluster, a region near the Klingon border. The Prometheus, commanded by Captain Richard Adams, has to deal with both the new enemy, and a tense relationship with the Klingons, in the guise of the IKS Bortas and crew, who are also sent to investigate. Here's Cross Cult's overview of the series (in German of course):

Erst vor wenigen Wochen wurde Föderationspräsidentin Nanietta Bacco an Bord der Weltraumstation Deep Space 9 ermordet. Und so steht im November 2385 die Vereinigte Föderation der Planeten an einem historischen Wendepunkt: Eine neue Präsidentin soll die Schrecken der jüngeren Vergangenheit vergessen machen und den Weltenbund in ein besseres Zeitalter führen. Nicht nur in den Reihen der Sternenflotte regt sich die Hoffnung, endlich wieder zur friedlichen Erforschung des Alls zurückzukehren.

Doch während die Vereinigte Föderation der Planeten und die Sternenflotte hofft, endlich zur Ruhe zu kommen, taucht eine neue Bedrohung am Horizont auf.

Die Sternenflotte entsendet die U.S.S. Prometheus, eines ihrer stärksten Schlachtschiffe, während gleichzeitig Spannungen zwischen der Föderation und dem Klingonischen Reich entstehen.

And a translation care of UnrealitySF's forever helpful Jens Deffner:

Just a few weeks earlier Federation President Nanietta Bacco was assassinated on the new Deep Space 9 space station. As a result the United Federation of Planets has reached a historic turning point: A new President is tasked to let the recent horrors remain in the past and lead the Federation into a new, better era. Not only within Starfleet hope is rising to return to peaceful exploration of space.

But while the Federation and Starfleet hope for quieter times, a new Meance rises on the horizon.

Starfleet sends the U.S.S. Prometheus, one of its most powerful battleships, all the while new tensions arise between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

The series features brand new cover art by Tobias Richter (including nebulae by Ali Ries). The first book also promises a fold-out overview of the Prometheus. Continue below for details of each book in the series, and prospects of an English edition.

Book 1 will be Feuer gegen Feuer (which could translate as Fire Against Fire):

Get in the mood, with a glowing Borg Cube

ThinkGeek have come up with a relatively subtle and functional Star Trek item for the home, the new Borg Cube paper lantern floor lamp. Being a simple cube, the untrained eye might not even detect it being a Star Trek product, but of course on closer inspection you will see it is printed with the details of a Borg Cube.

Here's a gif ThinkGeek have made to show it with the light on and off:

Staships Collection: NX-01 refit, Breen, Xindi, Phoenix, Star Trek Beyond ships, and more!

Lots of updates from Eaglemoss' Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection today, including the first look at several new models coming soon in the collection, and news of possible new ships on the way from forthcoming film and TV productions! Continue below to check out everything.

First up, the next oversized special issue in the series will also be the first non-canon design featured, Doug Drexler's Enterprise NX-01 refit. The smaller regular NX-01, released waaay back as issue four in the series, remains one of best models in the entire run, and it doesn't look like this larger version is going to be any less impressive. Series manager Ben Robinson shared these photos on Twitter, including one with a hand for scale:

Live Live part 2 preview

Out this week is the middle issue in the three-part mirror universe story, Live Live; part of the nuTrek ongoing comic series. Regular writer Mike Johnson penned the tale with art by almost as regular artist Tony Shasteen, who also made the main cover art. The subscription cover comes from Lorelei Bunhes. Continue below to check out those, and a five page preview from the issue:

The Spectrum War #5 preview

Out this week is the penultimate issue of the nuTrek/Green Lantern crossover comic series, The Spectrum War, which rather lives up to the title in a dazzlingly colourful issue!

Written by nuTrek regular Mike Johnson, with art by Angel Hernandez, this fifth issue in the series has three different covers: The A cover by David Williams, coloured by Charlie Kirchoff; the B cover by Tess Fowler, coloured by Tamra Bonvillian, and the subscription cover by Garry Brown, coloured by Doug Garbark. You can see all three, and a five-page preview from this issue, continuing below:

Neca's new Bat'leth

Are you a Klingon with a soft side? Then you might want to arm yourself with Neca's new bat'leth prop replica, a full-size reproduction of the iconic prop, which is made of friendly safe foam.

Here's how Neca describe it:

Add extra authenticity to your costume with this soft foam replica of the most honorable weapon of all, the Klingon Bat’leth!

Modeled on an actual prop used on screen in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the foam construction makes it perfectly safe — yet the detailed paint deco is so realistic you may mistake it for a lock of Kahless’ own hair dipped in lava and twisted into a weapon to make empires tremble. Measures a massive 4 feet long.

Neca expect to ship this from March, although Entertainment Earth are feeling a bit more conservative, with their pre-order anticipating it will arrive in April.

Stab a sausage like a loyal citizen of Cardassia

It appears the StarTrek.com Shop is trying to muscle in on ThinkGeek's long held title of producer-of-most-unlikely-Star-Trek-products; as following the recent USS Enterprise cutting board, they are now taking orders for the Star Trek: The Next Generation BBQ set!

Included in the set is an Enterprise-D shaped spatula, a Cardassian emblem fork, Starfleet delta embellished tongs, and (I think the neatest design in the collection), a set of four Starfleet delta skewers. All come in a Starfleet issue box, ready for BBQ on away missions... The set should be available from later this month.

Comic bits: UK comic strips, January comics, new covers, and Spock/New Vulcan miniseries!

Lots of Star Trek comic news today, including the details of all the January titles, as well as few other new books, and lots of new covers. Continue below for the full details of everything.

First up, a book I have been dreaming of for a long time is finally coming. According to a new Amazon listing, next March will bring us Star Trek: The Classic UK Comics Volume 1, a hardcover book reprinting for the first time ever the rare 1960s UK comics originally printed in a variety of magazines. This will presumably be the first of two books reprinting the whole run, following on from the US comic strip books from a couple of years ago. I am even more excited for these books than I was the previous US strips, as not only do the UK strips share the somewhat whacky and pulp-fiction-sci-fi approach of the Gold Key Comics, but they also feature some stunning artwork (like the example pictured, which should be even better once cleaned up for this new release). Here's the Amazon blurb:

In 1969, six months before the Star Trek TV series premiered in England, British comics readers were introduced to the characters in an original comic book series. The stories were serialized, generally 2 to 3 pages at a time, in 257 weekly magazines spanning five years and 37 storylines. These extremely rare comics have never been published in the United States. Star Trek fans will quickly note that the comics were not written with strict adherence to Star Trek's core concepts. The Enterprise frequently traveled outside our galaxy, and the crew committed many violations of the never-mentioned Prime Directive along the way. Spock shouted most of his lines and often urged Kirk (or "Kurt," as his name was misspelled in early issues) to shoot first and ask questions later. But it's precisely that "offness" that makes them so eminently readable and deserving of a proper reprinting. They're unique in the annals of Star Trek and fans have gone without them for far too long.

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.  

News of another new title coming next year came from IDW at the New York Comic Con last month, where Legacy of Spock was announced, a four-issue arc in the nuTrek ongoing series, which will focus on Spock prime and New Vulcan, as well as what Bleedng Cool reported as "the 10 Vulcans left after the homeworld is destroyed". The tribute to Leonard Nimoy will of course be written by series regular Mike Johnson, and is due to start in March (so presumably will cover issues fifty-five to fifty-eight).

The four issues will take the ongoing series right up to the release of Star Trek Beyond, and if it's going right back to tell the story of New Vulcan from the beginning would follow a similar pattern to the comics preceding Into Darkness, which were character-focused flashback issues. Last time the Countdown to Darkness series ran concurrently telling the current mission of the Enterprise - Surely something similar is in the works for the new film?

USS Enterprise cutting board!

From the great minds that brought us the USS Enterprise pizza cutter, the USS Enterprise spatula, the USS Enterprise cookie jar, and the USS Enterprise sushi set, behold, the latest random thing to be shaped like the USS Enterprise! The USS Enterprise cutting board set!

The bamboo Enterprise-shaped cutting board features a laser etched diagram of the ship on one side, with the cheese knife and cheese fork included cunningly concealed as the nacelles (held in place magnetically no less!). The detailed Enterprise design is set on a larger board, including slots to hold your crackers, and the whole thing can be flipped over if you'd prefer to use the larger base board as a chopping board on the other side.

More pictures after the jump. It is available to order now from the StarTrek.com Shop, expected to arrive in December.

Gold Key Archives, Volume 4 preview

Due out early next month is the fourth book in IDW's Gold Key Archives; omnibuses of the first ever Star Trek comics, with wonderfully remastered artwork giving them more life than ever before.

Amazon have now activated their Look Inside feature for this book, giving us the first look at the rejuvenated artwork from the first story in the omnibus, The Haunted Astroid (which you can also see below).

Six stories, originally issues nineteen to twenty-four, are included in the book, the others are A World Gone Mad, The Mummies of Heitus VII, Siege in Superspace, Child's Play, and The Trial of Captain Kirk.

The Hollow Man preview

Out this week is the ninth issue in John Byrne's New Visions photo-comic series. The Hollow Man is a Spock focused story, akin to the many of the classic colonies-with-problems episodes. Continue below for a five-page preview:

New Star Trek series coming in 2017!

Star Trek is returning to the small-screen in January 2017! NuTrek writer and producer (for the first two films) Alex Kurtzman will executive produce, along with Heather Kadin - The pair have worked on several TV series together previously, including Scorpion, Limetless, and Sleepy Hollow.

Aside from an interesting distribution arrangement, little is known about the series at this point. The press release does specify that "The new television series is not related to the upcoming feature film Star Trek Beyond", although given Kurtzman's involvement, and the obvious marketing advantages of tying the two ventures together, I feel inclined to not take that statement too literally (are we talking "not related" in so much as nuTrek is distant to the prime timeline, or more like TNG's relationship to TOS, or DS9 to TNG...). The press release does offer a general Star Trek premise for the series:

The brand-new “Star Trek” will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations, while exploring the dramatic contemporary themes that have been a signature of the franchise since its inception in 1966.

Aside from Star Trek returning to TV after what will by then almost twelve years (!), the most interesting thing is the way CBS is going to distribute it. The first episode will air on the CBS Television Network, but subsequent episodes will be available exclusively via CBS's streaming service, CBS All Access, the first original production for the service. CBS are obviously hoping to give their streaming service a bit of a jump-start, to compete with the likes of Netflix, by matching the model of creating original content, and it seems it is down to us trekkies to make that happen for them! Internationally the series will be distributed for TV and other services.

You can read the full press release after the jump: