Friday, June 5, 2015

EMvTW 34: Vulcan Suurok class

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

Rewrites: May 2016 & August 2018

It's a new month and it brings with it two new ships from Eaglemoss for my collection.  In this article, I'm going to highlight the Vulcan Suurok Class ship.

We are first introduced to this massive starship in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode called, ""Breaking the Ice"


Since Eaglemoss is the only manufacturer to offer a pre-built and pre-painted model of this ship at this size, I of course only have this one in my collection.


Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Suurok-class was a type of Vulcan starship designated by the High Command as a science vessel and combat cruiser during the mid-22nd century.  The design of the Suurok-class possessed a long, cylindrical primary hull and a unique circular, ring-shaped warp drive.  During the 2150s, this design was among the fastest and most powerful starships operating in the Vulcan fleet."

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

Suurok Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

As of the re-writing of this article in August of 2018, I learned that I had it mis-identified as a Suark Class starship.  According to Memory Alpha, this is a common mis-identification for quite some time even among the fans.  In fact, Eaglemoss still has it listed incorrectly listed on thier site.  So here I am, setting the record straight.

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.

Normally my Eaglemoss vs. The World articles are a lot longer, but alas, only having one manufacturer's ship to look at tends to kill the whole idea behind me writing these articles.

Eaglemoss

 
 
 
 

I feel that I should start this review off by warning you that the ship is very snug in it's packaging.  Be very careful when removing it to avoid any breakage.  The stand is nice and snug too and requires some slight forcing to mount it, so also be careful not to snap anything.

The very first thought I had when looking at the Eaglemoss model and handling it was that it is small.  It is long, but that length means that it has to be scaled down to fit in the standard sized box.  Since the actual "in universe" ship is supposed to be rather large, this will typically not translate well when it is scaled down to something this small.  Details are going to be lost.

I have confessed in other articles that I read a couple other people's reviews and thier 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.

For the most part, this model gets good reviews although one person made the statement of "it looks like a stick with a ring on it."  I'm not sure that I agree with his assessment as I personally think my model looks fairly good.

The sculpting and molding that Eaglemoss was able to accomplish on this little model were actually pretty darned good.


There are plenty of molded in details to give the ship a texture so that you are treated to all sorts of panel lines and windows.  and the mold work is crisp and clear so that all those details can be made out with ease.

I think that the paint work was equally good too.  They chose to highlight a couple of panels across the hull with some well placed paint.  There are plenty of windows and other primary areas of the ship that received paint to keep the model from looking totally like a carrot.


I was particularly impressed with Eaglemoss' work on the warp ring and the "support neck".


The outer details on the ring made me think of the One Ring from the Lord Of The Rings series.


They did paint the warp exhausts of the ring, as well as the numerous windows on that support neck.  The window details is what really gives you a sense of just how big this ship was in universe.


The back of the "support neck" gives us all sorts of neat little tidbits to admire.  I think it was cool to inclde the two shuttle bays on the back of the "neck" that connects the ring to the rest of the ship.


They did choose to use some clear red plastic to help represent the impulse engines.

Honestly, I think Eaglemoss did a good gob with what they had to work with.  All of the molded and painted details work well together, and in the end, you do end up with a nice model of a ship that no one else has yet produced.

Conclusion

At this point in my articles, I like to do a quick check on eBay to get some prices of the ships I've shared with you.  I will continue with the tradition of rounding up the most inexpensive Buy-It-Now prices (with shipping included in that price) from eBay at the time of this article's (re)writing (August 2018).

Eaglemoss = $29

NOTE: Prices were researched last on August 29th, 2018.  As of the writing of this article, you can also currently order the Eaglemoss model right from the company themselves for around $23 (shipping unknown).

This really is a good representation of this ship and well worth the investment to add it to your fleet.


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   

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

3 comments:

  1. I was surprised that the ring on this ship wasn't a true circle - at least on my model. Your pictures seem to show this as well. Again, conflicting images on the interweb don't help resolve this issue.

    You are probably already aware, but several ships that are listed here as having no other model have been made by WizKids for the Star Trek: Attack Wing game (Micro Machine-sized).

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    1. Hi there!

      I never really took notice of the circle thing until now. That's pretty interesting.

      I've shared this in other commentaries... I never got into the WizKids stuff due to cost and thier small size. For me, what you get for the price is very expensive so I have refrained from collecting them. I try to aim my reviews at recommending the best model for the cheapest price.

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  2. I balked at the price tag at first, too, but I'm a Trek gamer as well so I eventually gave in.

    Considering what I was paying for the unpainted FASA miniatures 30 years (gulp) ago, the WizKids price doesn't bother me - especially since I intend to play the game at some point.

    Their quality varies wildly with the Federation ships being a little less and other powers being variously better in general.

    Avoid the Excelsior (oval saucer section!?) and the "Tinyprise" (ridiculously small TOS Enterprise) at all costs!

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