Monday, November 6, 2017

EMvTW 88: Vahklas

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

It's time for another alien vessel in my Eaglemoss vs. The World series.  This time, the Vulcans bring us yet another vessel that we get introduced to in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode titled "Fusion".


According to this Memory Alpha LINK, "The Vahklas was a Vulcan civilian transport commanded by Tavin, the leader of its crew of V'tosh ka'tur. The vessel used a Vulcan frequency to hail other ships and was capable of visual communication. The Vahklas left Vulcan in approximately 2143."  There also is some other information about this type of ship ate this Memory Alpha LINK.


The Vahklas is actually our third Vulcan submission from Eaglemoss, and all three come from the same Star Trek: Enterprise era.


The ship on the left is the Surak class and you can read my review of that model at THIS LINK.  The ship in the middle is a D'kyr class, and I actually reviewed two manufacturer's versions of this ship.  You can read that review at THIS LINK.

I always get a bit excited whenever Eaglemoss presents us with a new alien vessel.  The problem that I faced this time though was that Eaglemoss' record with me on thier Vulcan ships has been 50/50 so far.  I liked the Surak class a lot, but then recommended that my readers go with Hallmark's D'kyr class model so I wasn't too sure what to expect this time around.

Without further procrastination, here is Eaglemoss' rendition of the Vahklas...

 
 
 
 

The sculpt and molded details of this model were OK, but they were not great.  Although there are lots of details molded into the model, they all seemed to be softened a bit and just are not very crisp.  I suppose we could assume that this was done on purpose to give the ship an older and worn look, but it just doesn't look right.


I've seen some reviewers say, and I'm going to agree with them, that the paint color of the model is a "baked-bean orange red" with a darker red wash to create the weathered and dirty look.  That is probably the most descriptive and excited that I can get about the paint job.  Overall, the painting is lackluster with a few windows painted on to try to break up the overall boring look.


The rear of  warp "ring" is painted blue to represent the glow effect.  This section would have been much better served with the addition of our favorite Eaglemoss clear plastics.

You can't even tell which section of the rear area is the impulse engine(s) because the "rust" paint has been applied to everything back there.  It looks like the paint has run as well which gives the model the appearance of an infants butt that had just endured explosive diarrhea.


And it is from the back of the model that you can clearly make out the joins and seams of how Eaglemoss put this thing together.  From the angle of the next picture, it just looks like the two main halves of the model are ill-fitted.


The one minor positive I found was that it seams like Eaglemoss did manage to squeeze in a piece of translucent plastic into the particle beam emitter.  Although, it is crammed so far back in that hole that it just sort of blends in, so, it is easy to miss.


At the time that I am writing this article, you can get this ship on eBay for around $24 (shipping included).  It also appears that you can get it direct from Eaglemoss for around $22 (plus shipping) which tells you a little something about the popularity of this model, namely, that there is none.

I think the paint job is what ruined the model for me.  I could have forgiven the softened molded details given the age of the ship, but the paint job just didn't help drive home the old feeling, but instead the paint job made the entire model look sloppy.

Based off that assessment, I would really be hard pressed to buy this model again knowing what I now know.  I like Eaglemoss and what they provide for us, and I hate to be mean, but I personally have a hard time justifying spending the money on this particular ship.


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

No comments:

Post a Comment