EMvTW 84: NX Alpha (NX Prototype)

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

Moving right along with my latest batch of Eaglemoss vs. The World reviews, we now come to the NX Alpha.  We were introduced to this vessel in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode titled "First Flight".

The NX Alpha, was part of the NX Project.  Per THIS Memory Alpha LINK, "The NX Project, also known as the NX Program or NX Test Program, was Starfleet's effort to develop a starship using the engine designed by the Warp Five program. Prior to the NX Project, Human ships were incapable of exceeding warp two."  Unfortunately, the NX Alpha had a short life span as it ultimately blew up during one of its test flights.  You can read more about the NX Alpha at these Memory Alpha and Memory Beta links.  Her sister ship, the NX Beta was able to successfully break the warp 2 barrier after it was "borrowed" from the Starfleet test facility.  You can read more about the NX Beta at these Memory Alpha and Memory Beta links.


These ships did not have an official classification, however, given thier similarity to The Phoenix, I'm going to group them along with that ship in a class called the Warp Study class.

Speaking of The Phoenix, I reviewed the Eaglemoss version of that ship, along with the Furuta version, a while back.  You can read about that review at THIS LINK.  I was rather impressed with Eaglemoss' rendition of the Pheonix, even though it had a few flaws.  Since I don't really have anything to properly compare the NX Alpha to, I've decided to pair her up with The Phoenix for a couple of pictures that will hopefully give you some nice comparison views.

Phoenix vs. NX Alpha

Phoenix vs. NX Alpha

Phoenix vs. NX Alpha

As you can see, the details are probably just as good as on The Phoenix.

Here is my traditional multi-angle view of the NX Alpha.

 

 

 

 

The sculpting and molding of the model are well done and are accented by the addition of the curved stabilizers.

The details to the main engine exhaust are a bonus as well, although I would have added a little red inside the exhaust port.

The molded details are all crisp and clear, both on the top and on the bottom of the model.

The paint job is the real wow factor for this model.  It is very well done, with the pin-striping lining up perfectly with thier molded counterparts.

The small Starfleet decals on the hull and the yellowish rings behind the command module add to the models nice look.

I didn't notice it at first, but there is a slight and subtle azteching across the entire ship which is why I didn't feel like it was one large silver blob.

One of the neat components of this ship is the open engine compartment which allows for ease of access to the experimental warp core.  Eaglemoss did a great job with the molding and even added a slight darker grey coloring to parts in this section which further breaks up the monotony of an otherwise silver ship.

Eaglemoss has once again treated us to thier signature clear plastics on this Starfleet vessel, this time, highlighting the bussard collectors with red and the nacelle grids in blue.

In my opinion, this is not Eaglemoss' best work for this sort of thing.  The bussard collectors are not seated well, and my clear red bussard caps have a very noticeable bubble in them. 

I do check out other people's reviews of Eaglemoss ships,partly to make sure I didn't miss anything, but also to see if my personal take of the model matches other reviewers takes on it.  My reading of those other reviews tells me that these bubbles are there either on purpose, or are a production wide mistake.  If it was done on purpose, then Eaglemoss could have done a better job of making both bussard collectors look symmetrical, but instead, the bubbles just now look out of place.

The joins and seams are way too noticeable on the nacelles (look closely at the nacelle picture again), especially near the rear where the exhaust ports have a very viable split.  This is a shame because the joins are well hidden on the rest of the model.

At the time that I write this article, you can get the NX Alpha on eBay for around $27 (shipping included).  The seam and bubble issue aside, this is a very well done model and quite frankly, well worth the money.  She looks great next to my Phoenix and would make a great addition to anyone's collection or 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
Comparative