NOTE: You can click on most pictures to get a larger view of them.
My last Eaglemoss Vs. The Review for this month is going to focus on Eaglemoss' special release model, The Jellyfish. We are introduced to this vessel in Star Trek (2009), which I "lovingly call NuTrek.
Eaglemoss has produced this model in thier larger Special Edition size. Personally, I think it was a waste for them to do this, but apparently, they are being forced to by Paramount, who are being buttholes about licensing. I want to use a stronger language than butthole to demonstrate how I really feel, but I also have to keep this clean for my reading audience. So the story is, Paramount will only allow Eaglemoss to produce ships from the new movies as Special Editions, so in several cases, we are forced to wait and then we are "treated" to something that is just plain over the top and wasteful from a design and model perspective. I've complained about this before, so I will stop my ranting there.
You can read more about The Jellyfish through these links at Memory Alpha and Memory Beta.
Let us take a closer look at the model...
I did not take my normal array of photographs like I normally do with my collectibles. There is a reason for this...
The model is very symmetrical, meaning that it is duplicated on both sides. I went over it again and again, and there is no difference between those sides.
You can cut the model in half along the seam line and end up with two identical parts.
This really disappoints me given that this is a more expensive "Special Edition" model. It comes off as being lazy. I would be more forgiving if it had been a standard size model given that we have seen this approach to duplicated sides with the Borg ships and Tholian Web Spinner.
The model is also very light weight, meaning that it is made mostly of plastic. In fact, I was unable to find any metal parts on this one. So it makes me wonder why this special edition was similarly priced to other special edition models. We have virtually no metal, and a duplicated design, so where is the cost going?
If you ignore the mirroring of sides, the sculpting and molding on the model are actually nicely done. The majority of the main hull has a rough, scale like, organic like texture across it. In fact, the model is covered in all sorts of varying textures as you progress from the front of the ship all the way back to the engine housing.
As far as paint jobs go, the model is on par with Eaglemoss' usual great paint jobs. The model is definately not bland to look at. They did a fantastic job with the varying grays and silvers all over the ship to highlight it's various parts. I was rather surprised at how green the model was. My recollection of the ship in the movies was that it was a brighter color, more closer to white, but it appears that I was wrong. I went back and looked more closely and all the shadows and darkness of space seemed to have skewed my perspective at the time.
Eaglemoss does manage to sneak in some of thier trademark clear blue plastics on this model. It appears that the cockpit and the engine exhaust are both made of this material.
Unfortunately, the size of the model doesn't lend well for Eaglemoss when it comes to trying to hide joins and seams. You can clearly see where the ship could be split apart into it's two halves along the main hull and the spindly arms.
The stand is a bit wonky. The model sits oddly in it and has a slight tilt forward which makes it look like it could fall off the stand at the slightest bump. Since my reviews are focused on the models though, I'm not detracting any points for this.
I bought my model on eBay for around $55 (shipping included). The price is fine. I'm just tired of being forced by Paramount to endure LARGE versions of NuTrek ships, that can be done as just as well as smaller scale versions, And I'm a bit disappointed that the model feels like it is made entirely out of plastic as well. I felt a bit jilted from the get go of un-boxing the model. The model is OK, but not great. After having received the NX-Refit from them a few months ago, this model just feels like a step back.
But, let's face it. No one else has made a pre-built and pre-painted version of this ship. If you want one to display in your fleet, then the Eaglemoss model is a good fit for the price.
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
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