EMvTW 97: Starfleet Academy Flight Training Craft

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

And moving right along with last month's large purchase of models, I now bring to you the Eaglemoss vs. The World article for the Starfleet Academy Flight Training Craft.  We are first introduced to this ship in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled, "The First Duty".

This type of ship was never given an official classification, however, Memory Alpha and Beta say this about it, "Academy flight training craft were types of spacecraft flown by Starfleet Academy cadets.  It was a type of sublight vessel flown in the 2360s by such groups as Nova Squadron, who in 2368 attempted a highly dangerous, banned (as of the 2260s) five craft formation, the Kolvoord Starburst maneuver, near Titan."

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

"The Academy cadet ships were small, one-pilot, blunt-winged vessels, with a fairly flat cross-section; pilots had to wear flight helmets. The craft were equipped with landing struts, proximity alarms, and emergency transporters."

If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:

Academy Trainer Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

Let us take a look at what Eaglemoss has done for us...

 

 

 

 

Eaglemoss usually shines very well when they take what would be a relatively small craft at 1:1 scale and shrink it down to thier standard size models.  This gives them more of a "canvas" to play with when etching in and painting details that would normally be lost on a much larger capitol ship.

So, how did they do with this "fighter"?

The sculpted and molded details are crisp and clear and plentiful.  There are all sorts of panel lines covering the ship and Eaglemoss even managed to show off some exposed components along the ship's spine.

My photobooth has been evolving over the last 2 and a half years.  I have been trying to move away from using the flash on my phone as it tended to white-out the ship.  For the most part, it has been a good move to what I'm doing now, however, in the case of this ship, it's hard to tell what color the model actually is.

The reality is, my lighting isn't the problem.  The ship is done up in a very light yellow, which seems off and out of place to me for a Starfleet vessel.

Other than the overall color, I would have to say that the paint job on this model is phenomenal.

There is enough painted panels to offset the plain yellow paint job, yet they don't go overboard on adding this detail  There are lots of pennants and pinstripes all over the ship and this allows the model to catch your eye from a distance.  Eaglemoss opted to give us the Nova Squad version of this ship and that is evident from thier logo on the nose of the model.  And the final icing on the cake is all of those mechanic warning labels on several areas of the ship.

I'm a child of the 80's and loved Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers.  There is something about that canopy that creates that nostalgic feeling for me.

 

BSG                                                        BR

The joins and seams become very noticeable along the rear of the ship, culminating with very visible breakage along the engine exhausts where the metal should clearly be touching.

I was very happy to see that Eaglemoss decided to squeeze in some of thier clear red and blue plastics for the engine parts.

We now come to the part of my article where I give you my thoughts on whether this is a good buy or not.  At the time that I'm writing this article, this model is going for around $30 (shipping included) on eBay.  Eaglemoss also has the ship in stock for around $23 (not sure on shipping costs). Would I buy this model again knowing what I know now?  I would definitely say "Yes".  Although this ship is not as glamorous as a Constitution or Miranda class vessel, Eaglemoss has still done a fantastic job re-creating a vessel that looks great on your desk or in you collection.

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
Star Trek Starship Collection