EMvTW 07 - Klingon K'Tinga Class Battle-cruiser

NOTE:  You can click on most pictures to get a larger view of them.

My seventh installment of "Eaglemoss vs. The World" article will focus on the K'Tinga Class Battle-cruiser that we are first introduced to in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".  This article will be a relatively small and short one as far as comparisons go.  I only have two renditions of this ship in my fleet, Hallmark and Eaglemoss.

Yup, that's it, pretty exciting huh?

Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The K't'inga-class battle cruiser was a primary class of warship in service with the Klingon Imperial Fleet in the late 23rd century and with the Klingon Defense Force in the mid-to-late 24th century."  they go on to say, "Introduced in the early 2270s, the K't'inga-class cruiser was considered one of the most powerful warships in the Klingon Defense Forces, even serving as a flagship of the Imperial Fleet for a time during the 2290s."

For all intent and purposes, I believe that this class of ship is the upgraded and more powerful version of the D-7 Battle-cruiser that we saw more of in Star Trek: The Original Series.  Eaglemoss did eventually produce a D-7 Class battle-cruiser and you can read my review of that ship at THIS LINK.

If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:

K'Tinga Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

Eaglemoss vs. Hallmark

As I started getting into collecting and wanting to expand my collection, I found a serious lack of  comparative data out there showing the various small scale pre-built and pre-painted ships available to the collector.  And so I set out to provide this information myself and hopefully help someone make a wiser decision in which model to buy.

So now I present to you what I like to call "the gravy shot", the one picture I wished I had seen long ago, and the main reason I started this blog.

Eaglemoss vs. Hallmark

Hallmark vs. Eaglemoss

As you can see, the ships are pretty close in size.  Other than that, there are some major differences between the two ships.

Eaglemoss

 

 

 

 

The Eaglemoss rendition of this ship may appear to be plain, however, upon closer inspection, it really isn't that bad of a model.

The sculpting and molding of details is nice and crisp, showing off all sorts of tiny details on the head and neck.  The "feathering" on the "wings" is well executed too.  

They even squeezed in details along the edges of the wings as well.  All this detailing makes the model and the ship seem like a major upgrade to her D-7 predecessor.  seriously, this thing is just covered in etching and raised details.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot going on in the paint department.  Honestly, I've seen better painted versions of this type of ship before, however, from what the magazine has stated, Eaglemoss was shooting for a screen accurate version of what we first see in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and as far as that goes, they did a good job.  

Most of the model is done up in a dull, gun metal grey.  There is some paint here and there to break up the otherwise plain look, like the small black band on the bottom of the neck. Eaglemoss also choose to paint the emergency generator intake and grace us with some gold paint on a circle on the bottom of the ship.  The magazine doesn't do a good job of identifying exterior areas of the ship so I can't really tell you what that area is.  Upon closer inspection, it also appears that they did paint the cloaking emitters around the head of the ship.    

Since we're staring at the head of the ship, the torpedo tube is well done.  There are several ways Eaglemoss could have addressed this part of the ship, but I think I really like the deep recessed and unpainted hole.  It seems dark and ominous.

Eaglemoss managed to use some clear red plastics for the impulse engines.  This was an unexpected, but welcome addition.  That being said, I think Eaglemoss went a little overboard and made them slightly too big.

The nacelles are nicely molded and show off some really good details.

The joins and seams are noticeable along the neck and on the belly of the ship, however, they are not glaringly bad.

Overall, Eaglemoss has done a pretty decent job with this model.  Although she is not very colorful, she still portrays that deadly and businesslike personage that you would expect when coming face to face with one of these types of ships.

Hallmark

 

 

 

 

I always find Hallmark's ornaments a hit or miss each year.  Sometimes they just make either a dumb decision on what ship to produce, or thier attention to details is just plain lacking.  

And then other years, like when they produced this ship in 2009, they hit a home run.  

I think that the only issue, if you can call it that, is that when you compare the Eaglemoss and Hallmark model, the Hallmark model seems a bit out of proportion in certain areas.  Now mind you, they had to do this in order to accommodate the electronics parts of the ornament.  Honestly though, I kind of like the subtle changes as it makes the ship appear more beefy and intimidating.  

The plastic molding is superb and highlights all sorts of little details all over the ship, often surpassing the level of details of Eaglemoss.  

It appears that Hallmark decided to model thier ship after Chancellor Gorkon's Kronos One which we see in the movie, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country".  Because of this, the Hallmark model is much more colorful that the Eaglemoss model.. The subtle color differences on the panels for the wing feathering on the top and bottom make this ship stand out in a crowd without being overly glaring.  And the tiny Klingon logo and Klingon writing on the top side are a nice touch.  

One major difference with the Hallmark ornament is on the bottom.  Where the dome is supposed to be near the rear of the ship, Hallmark chose to paint the Klingon emblem there.

While looking at the rear of the ship, you can really appreciate the molded in details.

The nacelles are equally well done.

This Hallmark ornament is one of thier later designs that used batteries instead of needing to be plugged into a light string.  When she is lit up, all that glowing red gives the model an even more intimidating look.  

 

After you press the power button, she also fires a volley of three torpedoes from her nose torpedo launcher.

In the end, I have to say that Hallmark managed to produce an awesome model back in 2009.

Conclusion

And that is all I really have to share at this point on this class of ship.  As for pricing, I will continue with the tradition of rounding up the most inexpensive Buy-It-Now prices from eBay at the time of this article's (re)writing (February 2018).

Eaglemoss = $30

Hallmark = $40

NOTE: Prices were researched last on February 12th, 2018.  At the time that I am re-writing this, you can also order the Eaglemoss model right from the company themselves for around $23 (shipping unknown).

We now come to the part of my article where I like to give you my opinion of which ship gives you the "best bang for the buck", which is my rough way of telling you which one is the best one to get, for the best price.  To put this in a nutshell, when I write these, I am trying to give my opinion of which model is the best for the least cost.

Honestly, this is a tough one to call.  If you are looking to save money, then the Eaglemoss model wins hand down on being the best for the least.  But I have to say, Hallmark's rendition is really good, and coupled with the fact that she is powered and lights up, makes her the better model in my opinion.  So if you agree with my earlier assessments of the Hallmark model, it might be worth the extra $17 or so to get it.  

The only real problem with the Hallmark model is that it seems to be fluctuating on rarity and price.  I've seen the price for it go up over $100 over the last year so if you can grab one at the lower cost, I'd highly recommend doing so.  It really does look good when put on display in your Klingon fleet.

In closing, I'd like to apologize that this was such a short overview, but you can only do so much with two ships.  

BONUS ROUND!!!

Every once in a while, I'll have a little extra stuff to share with you that sort of fits in with my comparison articles.

I've had a lot of fun kitbashing over the years and as a result, have built up quite the stockpile of parts and spare models.  I eventually went on a binge of building D-7 and K'Tinga variants.  Since I had so many to share, and since they technically were not actual K-Tinga ships, I wrote a whole separate article showcasing those kitsbashes.  You can find that article at THIS LINK.

As always, I hope you found this article useful and informative.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

So for now, "Live long and prosper!!!"



Additional Links To Photos Of My Collection:

Eaglemoss     Hallmark
Comparative Shots

Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek
Star Trek Starship Collection