EMvTW 91: USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) (Miranda Class)

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

Lately, when I have an Eaglemoss model to review, I normally don't have anything else to compare it to.  Especially when it comes to pre-built and pre-painted models.  That is technically the same case with this next model. the USS Saratoga, a Miranda Class Variant that we are introduced to very briefly in the Star Trek: Deespace Nine series premiere episode titled, "Emissary".

My current collection of this ship consists of the Eaglemoss model, an AMT (Round 2) model that I built, and a slightly inaccurate MicroMachine.


Per this Memory Alpha LINK, "The USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) was a 24th century Federation Miranda-class starship operated by Starfleet. Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Sisko served as the vessel's first officer during the mid-2360s."  They further go on to say that, "In 2367, the Saratoga was part of a fleet of forty starships massed at Wolf 359 in defense of Sector 001 during an incursion by a Borg cube... The ship was ultimately destroyed by a Borg cutting beam in combination with a warp core breach."  You can get some further information about the ship at this Memory Beta LINK.

If you want a refresher course on the Miranda Class type of starship, feel free to read all about them at these Memory Alpha and Memory Beta links.

Before we get into talking about Eaglemoss' rendition of this ship, let us take a very quick look at the MicroMachine attempt on this vessel.

 

I don't normally do a lot of talking about MicroMachines as they really are not what these articles focus on, but I'm going to make a slight exception here.  It looks like Galoob forgot something on thier version of this ship.  I am guessing that this either happened in a rush to produce the ship, or it was just completely infeasible to include the sensor pods because of the model's small size.

Speaking of those sensor pods, it wasn't until I got the Eaglemoss model and accompanying magazine that I learned that they were in fact sensors and not weapons.  I guess that my confusion came from seeing the Star Wars X-Wing lasers, which look VERY similar.

My initial thought when I heard that Eaglemoss was producing this ship was that they were probably going to reuse thier molds of the USS Reliant.  This practice is not unheard of in the model making industry.  Let us take a look at what Eaglemoss managed to accomplish...

Eaglemoss vs. AMT vs. MicroMachine

Eaglemoss vs. AMT vs. MicroMachine

If the quarter in the picture is of no help, then I'll tell you that the AMT (Round 2) model is allegedly 1:2500 in scale so that should give you a better idea of how large the Eaglemoss model actually is.

Let us take a closer look at the Eaglemoss model.

 

 

 

 

Soooo... did Eaglemoss reuse the mold for this one?  To answer that, let me dig out my USS Reliant for some side by side comparisons.  Incidentally, you can read my review of the USS Reliant at THIS LINK, and if you really like seeing variants of the Miranda Class, check out THIS ARTICLE I did on some not so traditional Miranda class wanna-be's.

The answer is "No".  I was very pleasantly surprised by this discovery.  In fact, the Saratoga is slightly larger than her Reliant sister ship.  It looks like a bit more attention was given to this model as well.  I really liked Eaglemoss' rendition of the Reliant when it came out, and it looks like they brought us a slightly better, upgraded version of this type of ship, just without that roll-bar.

The sculpted and molded details are well done.  All of the key components of the ship are there and have a somewhat crisp look to them.

The paintwork on this model is great.  All of those key components that were molded into the model also are painted to help them stand out.  Like I said, it almost seems like they looked at their Reliant model and asked themselves, "How can we one up ourselves?"  Eaglemoss even managed to paint the bussard collectors on the warp nacelles, which wasn't done on the Reliant.

Which brings me to the one and only nagging issue I have with the model.

Where are all the clear plastics on those nacelles?  I was shocked and a bit disappointed to see this area of the ship painted instead of Eaglemoss using thier trademark clear parts.  

At the time that I'm writing this article, you can get a copy of Eaglemoss' Saratoga on eBay for around $30 (shipping included).  It looks like Eaglemoss is out of stock on them so that must mean that this is a more popular model from them.  It seems like $25 to $30 is where the standard sized Eaglemoss models are averaging these days so I'll base my assessment off of that price range.  Is it a good model that's worth the money?  Most definitely.  I loved the fact that Eaglemoss didn't get lazy, and reuse their Miranda mold, but instead, gave us a completely new and improved Miranda class model.  I am willing to overlook the lacking of clear plastics as well because of the great job Eaglemoss did with the rest of the model.

BONUS ROUND!!!

Every once in a while, I'll have a little extra stuff to share with you that sort of fits in with my comparison articles.

As I shared at the beginning of this article, I had also built and painted a 1:2500 scale version of the Saratoga.

 

 

 

 

This model was part of a set of 1:2500 scale models from Round 2 (AMT) that came from the Deep Space Nine series.

The model was not hard to build or paint, but to truly get the best results, I decided to use some of the decals that came with the model.  The decal application is what made the model a bit more difficult to build.  In fact, I ruined the first set of decals and had to take a second set in order to get this build finished.

In the end though, it turned out pretty decent and had a good place in my collection until Eaglemoss made thier model.

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
AMT     MicroMachine
Comparison