EMvTW Extra 05 - USS Titan NCC-80102 (Luna class)

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

My next Eaglemoss vs. The World article is going to focus on a rather unique entry to the Eaglemoss lineup.

The Luna Class starship is a vessel designed for scientific exploration.  You can read more about the Luna Class at this Memory Beta link.  We learned that the USS Titan was being assigned to William Riker during the movie, Star Trek: Nemesis.  There is another mention of the ship in an earlier TNG episode, but I'm going to gloss over that.  If you wish to read more about the USS Titan, you can find all sorts of goodness at these Memory Alpha and Memory Beta links.

I'm going to share one observation of mine.  According to all the reading material, the Luna Class is meant to be a scientific exploration vessel.  Right off the bat, the Eaglemoss model threw me off of that notion due to the overall coloring they went with.  The darker grey they used was in line with all of the Borg Buster fleet that they had produced which were designed for combat.  The recessed bridge and recessed hanger bay was another tactic used in the design of warships.  I know that the "rollbar" is modular and can be swapped out with various pieces, but from my knowledge of the Nebula Class, one of those modules could be a massive torpedo launcher platform.  So I'm not sure if I totally agree that the ship was designed to be a science vessel.  Maybe she was retooled after the Dominion War, much like the Excelsior Class was retooled from being a Battleship to a Science vessel.


The USS Titan (NCC-80102) is not a canon ship.  Well, she is, but only in name.  The model that Eaglemoss has produced is the result of a design contest held by some book publishers that was won by a gentleman named Sean Tourangeau.  The final model was then made by Ellery Connell, while the cover designs for the various novels that she has appeared in were done by Cliff Nielsen.

Sean Tourangeau went ahead and threw all of the collected materials he could find on the USS Titan and put them together at the Titan Shipyards website (click that link to go there).

Eventually, these designs were translated into resin model kits.  You cans still get one variant of the ship from Federation Models (click that link to go there), however, the $75 price tag has kept me from endeavoring to build one and paint one of my own.

Around this time, Eaglemoss started making thier model line and there was a huge outcry for them to tackle some non-canon vessels as well.  It seemed only logical to try to attempt to get them to produce the USS Titan first.  Ben Robinson, the lead designer at Eaglemoss stated that if a certain petition could get 5000 signatures of people willing to buy the model, then Eaglemoss would have a go at producing the model.

And they got thier 5000 signatures.

I never signed the petition, or at least I don't remember signing it, however, I guess I should have.  My original feelings were that Eaglemoss was straying away from the idea of producing good quality models of canon ships.  There was a certain purity to this concept and I originally poo-pooed the idea of supporting this endeavor.   My initial plan was to ignore this release from Eaglemoss and just build my own model, HOWEVER, at $75 for a resin kit, I just could never bring myself to partaking of that adventure.  Depending on how good of a shopper I can be, I could buy up to three Eaglemoss models for that amount of money.  And the Eaglemoss Titan was considerably cheaper, so I bit the bullet and purchased thier version.

Anyway... let us get on to looking at Eaglemoss' model...

 

 

 

 

I actually ordered my model right from Eaglemoss and didn't have any issues with it taking to long to come... except for the magazine, which at the time of the writing of this article is on back-order.  Since my reviews are typically only model focused, this should not affect anything and we'll just ignore that whole issue.

When it comes to the sculpting and molding of the metal and plastic parts, there are lots of good things, and some bad things.  First, there are TONS of details that have been molded into the model.  Lifeboat hatches, phaser strips, panels, etc. etc. etc.  

The top side molded details are nice and crisp looking, but unfortunately, the bottom side of the ship suffers from Eaglemoss' curse of the metal parts having a softer, more rounded  look to them.

There really is a lot of parts etched into this model.  The heavy duty sensor domes both on the bottom and top do try in helping convey that this is science vessel.  And if you look closely at her belly, there is the warp care ejection hatch.  AND, Eaglemoss even included detailing for the ship's captain's yacht.

When it comes to the paint job, I'm once again going to say that this model has lots of good things, and some bad things.  

I mentioned earlier that the over all paint scheme of the ship gives it a darker appearance that matches that of the Borg Buster fleet.

 

The darker color made the ship seem more menacing, more foreboding, more militaristic, which for me, made me think she was more than just a science vessel.  I think that had they gone with the pearl white of the Sovereign Class, then it would have helped me feel differently.  The only thing I can think of as to why they went with this color is that all newer Starfleet ships were this darker color.  There aren't any Starfleet vessels after the Borg Buster fleet in regards to the timeline for us to compare with, so maybe that's the reason?  

When I look at the upcoming U.S.S Aventine (NCC-82602) model, I'm thinking more that this may be the case as she appears to be of that darker grey paint as well.

[Editor's Note: I have received my USS Aventine and you can read my review of it at THIS LINK.]

Some of the painted on details are misaligned.  I point out the fact that all of the white windows are not in line with all of the black windows.

Although there is a plethora of darker grey panels on the top side of the model, there are far fewer of them on the bottom, leaving that part of the ship feeling a bit more bare in color.

Instead of the clear plastics for the warp nacelle grills, we have painted on ones.  Although they do use the clear plastics for the bussard collectors, the model leaves us feeling a bit cheated when you stand her next to the previously mentioned Borg Buster vessels.  

They did use clear red plastic for the impulse engines though instead of thier customary painting of them.  That to me is a bit of a bonus.

The joins and seams are well hidden across most of the model, however, they become painfully clear at the bottom rear of the engineering hull.

The sensor pod/roll bar on my model is a bit misaligned.  It has a slight tilt forward.

Whenever I review a Starfleet ship, I like to hyper-focus on the deflector dish as it usually gives me a good idea of the level of attention to details that a manufacturer puts into thier models.  Let's face it, this is a very important part of the ship and should be accurately represented.

All I can think of is, "what a mess".  The molding is plain, and it looks like a chunk of metal was just jammed in there as an afterthought.  More importantly, what is up with that pain job?  I am NOT impressed.

And we now come to the part of my article where I tell you if I think that it's a good buy.  My answer to this is going to be, "it depends."  I like to try to help my readers to save money and get the best for thier money.  As far as I know, the Eaglemoss model is going to be a limited edition thing which means that it's going to be a rare find eventually.

At the time that I'm writing this article (February 3rd, 2018), the model IS NOT available directly from Eaglemoss.  If you are lucky enough to find it when it is, you can purchase it for around $25 (not sure on shipping costs).  I looked on eBay and there were very few available from the U.K. and they wanted $60 on up (shipping included).  WOW!    So here we go.  If you can get the model for under $50, then I would say yes, I would go ahead and buy it and add it to your collection.  Even with its flaws, its a well done model and it is a unique (and rare) ship that we would not normally have in our fleet.  If I had to pay anything more than that, then I would definitely have passed on it.  I'm not that much of a fan of buying non-canonical ships to spend that kind of money, and especially given the flaws in the model that I had seen.  So, I hope that helps.

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