EMvTW Bonus 04 / Extra 00 - Future Enterprise D (Galaxy X Class)

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

Rewrites: May 2016 & June 2018

Now that I've shown off the first Eaglemoss gift, the dedication plaque in THIS ARTICLE, I can move on to my last "Ealgemoss vs. The World" article for the month., I had apparently reached the point of receiving my next free gift, the Future Enterprise D.  We are introduced to this starship in the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation during the episode called  "All Good Things...".

I am kind of excited for this release because I actually own several manufacturer's renditions of this ship so this article is going to have a bit of meat to it.

My collection is made up of an Eaglemoss, Furuta, Hallmark and MicroMachine.


Officially, at least according to the Memory Alpha website, there is no classification for this ship.  However, if you check out the Memory Beta website which covers the non-canon Star Trek stuff, you will see that it has been classified as something called a Galaxy X class dreadnought.

Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Galaxy X-class was a type of Federation starship, in Starfleet service at the end of the 24th century, and were expected to continue in service into the 25th century. It was a dreadnought subclass of the Galaxy-class design.  The Galaxy class was refitted at the turn of the 25th century, after the collapse of the Khitomer Accords in 2399. In response to increased hostility with the Klingons, the newly redesigned ship was equipped with a phaser spinal lance, phaser cannons and a cloaking device since Starfleet was authorized to develop and implement cloaking technology on selected ships.  The additional engine nacelle assembly greatly increased the ship's speed."

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

Galaxy X Class Information: NO Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

This is a pretty popular ship with TNG fans and manufacturers as well.  MicroMachines produced one as well.

 

Since my series of reviews is based on more larger scale models, that will be all that I'll share of the Galoob model at this time.

Eaglemoss vs. Furuta 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", a series of pictures I wished I had seen long ago, and the main reason I started this blog.

Eaglemoss vs. Hallmark vs. Furuta

Eaglemoss vs. Hallmark vs. Furuta

The sizes of the ships do vary a lot depending on the manufacturer.  As you will soon see, there are some other subtle differences as well.

Eaglemoss

 

 

 

 

The million dollar questions that came to every collector's mind when we learned of this model was, "Will Eaglemoss re-use the mold?"  and... "Will it be painted as heavily as the very first model we received from them?"

Here are two nice side by side shots of both Eaglemoss models together to help answer some of those questions.

 Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

One of the things I learned from handling my very first Eaglemoss ship was to be careful when removing it from the packaging.  If you remember, I snapped off the saucer section of that ship in my haste to unpack it.  

As I said at the beginning of this article, my Eaglemoss ship was one of my free subscription gifts.  As careful as I was with this one, it did not spare me the need to do some repairs.  I was slightly disappointed because mine was already broke.

This sort of stuff doesn't bother me too much though as I'm a model builder.  I also hate to have to wait for another one to be sent to me so I decided to have a go at fixing it.  I carefully removed the nacelle, which was actually glued on like that, I then cleaned out the notch that the strut slides into of all the excess paint that had collected in it and then super glued the nacelle back on.

I do confess that I read a couple other people's reviews and takes on the Eaglemoss' models.  This allows me to get a feel for whether I missed something or to see if my model has something out of the ordinary.

It seems that quite a few of my fellow reviewers received a model with a typo printed on it near the mains shuttle bay, on the back side of the saucer section.

Typo 

My Model

As you can see from my model though, Eaglemoss must have corrected the issue in a later production run.  This in itself surprised the heck out of me as I have plenty of other Eaglemoss models where I have spotted similar typos that other fellow collectors had, and they were not corrected in later runs.  I'm not sure why they would invest time and money into correcting a model that they are not making any money on, but hey, I guess we'll applaud them on that.

One other complaint that I have, isn't with the model itself but rather the fact that it doesn't come with one of those cool magazines, that every other ship has come with.  It would have been neat to read up on the ship's specifications and how they came up with the idea of refitting her.

I'm about to make some references to Eaglemoss' first model, The Galaxy Class, and if you have a moment, be sure to CLICK HERE to check out my article on that ship.

Swinging back to those million dollar questions...  It appears that Eaglemoss took thier already existing Galaxy Class model and very carefully created the new parts for it.  It doesn't look like they just stuck pieces on, instead all the new parts look like it is part of the ship.

This of course means that all of the molded metal and plastic details are still as high quality as the original ship.  When you look at the top side of the saucer, it becomes clear that while Eaglemoss did indeed reuse thier molds, however, they then also glued on the extra "futuristic" greebles.

 

 Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

It is also clear from looking at the bottom that those molds were used, and they just added on the phaser spinal lance.  

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

I'm not knocking the reuse of the molds though.  Eaglemoss produced a fantastic model when they made the Galaxy class, so they didn't need to mess with perfection.

The paint scheme is a bit different from the original Galaxy class model..  The original ship had a very heavy aztec pattern while the future version's paint job is more subtle.  

I'm OK with this as I always felt that Eaglemoss sometimes puts too much attention into the aztecing on thier ships.  The original Galaxy Class model that they produced almost looked too dark because of the all that aztecing that they applied.

The rear end of the ship is where Eaglemoss did have to remold some parts.  As you can see from the pictures below, they had to redo the nacelles, the nacelle struts and the back of the neck leading to the saucer section.  Eaglemoss did continue with using thier awesome looking clear plastics for the bussard collectors and nacelle grills.

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

I went over the model several times.  Although the joins and seams as noticeable on some places, they are not glaring.  

One of my favorite traditions when looking at a Starfleet vessel is to take a closer look at the deflector dish.  I like to do this on the models because it can tell you a lot about a manufacturer's attention to details.

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

The molded details are still great for the dish, however, it appears that they have gotten a bit lazy and did a sloppy job of painting the dish.  At least the colors are correct.

In conclusion, I feel that in typical Eaglemoss tradition, you end up with a very nice looking ship.  Although the Galaxy X class model isn't as good as thier first Galaxy class, it still is a great representation.  It just sure would have been nice though to have an accompanying magazine.

Furuta

 

 

 

 

I always like to point the following out for my first time readers.  Furuta is a Japanese company that produced a series of gashapon toys.  Gashapon toys are meant to be nothing more than cheap little $1 to $5 bubble gum machine prizes.  I like to remind my readers of this fact so that they can take any critical reviews I may make in the spirit it is given.  In all honesty, being super critical of a cheap little toy is a bit harsh and foolish.  Anyone expecting these toys to be on the same level of a Hallmark, Eaglemoss or Hot wheels is being delusional.  I found a neat video about these types of toys and you can check that out at THIS LINK.

And here is the two Furuta models in a side by side comparison.

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

One technical issue with this model is that my nacelles have a tendency to fall off if I handle the model roughly.  I suppose I could rectify this by gluing them on.

The sculpt and molding work is rather good considering the cheapness of the toy.  All the extra futuristic greebles are present and in good proportions.

From a paintwork perspective, there are a few tiny issues.  The phaser cannon on the bottom of the saucer could have used a little something to spruce it up color wise.  The only glaring issue that I could find with it was in regards to the top of the saucer section.  The registry is in the wrong place and the ship's name is missing.

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

 

Speaking of paintwork, just like thier attempt at making the original Galaxy class, it appears that Furuta forgot again to paint the impulse engines.

Furuta did a pretty decent job with thier warp nacelles though.

Furuta's attempt at doing the deflector dish comes away lacking.  I think I would have been a bit more impressed with it had the gone with a gold or brownish color instead of the red.  I do applaud them on fixing the joins and seams issue that plaqued the front of the original Galaxy Class model.

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

 

Other than the minor issue I've mentioned, it still is a nicely done model for a cheap little toy.

Hallmark

 

 

 

 

In 2007, Hallmark released the Future Enterprise and it was one of thier self-powered units.

This is kind of exciting for me as I haven't been able to compare a Hallmark ornament in this series for quite a while.  

And just to keep things consistent with the rest of the article... here is the 2012 Galaxy Class model next to Hallmark's Galaxy X class model for comparison.

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

Going over the model from top to bottom I really can't find any kind of glaring issues.  They do a fair job on the molded and painted details.  They manage to cover all the major components you would want to see on a small scale model which in the end, gives you a nice looking ship.  

All the important future greebles are present and look good in size and shapes.

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

 

The rear of the ship looks fine with the nacelles and nacelle struts receiving thier due attention and futuristic upgrades.

The one thing that bothered me about the Hallmark ornament was the deflector dish.  Like thier 2012 regular Galaxy class ornament, they have the center of the dish raised instead of forming a concave dish.  I reminds me a lot of a "outie" belly button.  And the coloring is wrong.  I think if they had surrounded the center piece in blue paint then I would have been forgiving of the raised dish.  

 

Galaxy Class                                    Galaxy X Class

 

The fact that this model lights up without the need to plug into a light strand on your tree is a HUGE bonus.  All the key areas light up when you press the little button.  

 

Other than the issue with the dish, I still think that Hallmark produced a nice small scale ship and with it lighting up, it makes for a nice addition to any collection.

Conclusion

And that is all the ships I have to share this time around.  Before we go on to my final judgement, let us continue with the tradition of pricing.  It seems to work best with me rounding up the most inexpensive Buy-It-Now prices from eBay at the time of this article's (re)writing (June 2018), so we will continue with that.

Eaglemoss = $33  

Furuta = $10

Hallmark = $22

MicroMachine = $25 41

NOTE: Prices were researched last on June 1st, 2018.  As of the writing of this article, you CAN NOT order the Eaglemoss model right from the company themselves as it is meant to be distributed ONLY as a subscriber gift.  The eBay prices for this particular model jump all over the place as time goes by due to the rarity of the type of ship.  The best thing to do is to sit and just check back often to see if you can get a better deal and then just buy it when you find one for a comfortable price.

And we now find ourselves in the part of my article where I like to offer my opinion on which model will give you the best bang for the buck.  This is just my way of saying which one is worth the most for your investment.

If I was watching my spending and wanted a really good version of this ship, I would probably choose the Hallmark ornament.  It is a nicely detailed ship that has the bonus of lighting up at the push of a button.  If I wanted high quality and money wasn't an issue, then Eaglemoss' model wins hands down.  It would also make sense to buy the Eaglemoss one if you already own the original Galaxy class model from them as they really do look cool next to each other.

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     Furuta     Hallmark
MicroMachine     Comparative Shots

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