EMvTW 122: USS Yeager NCC 65674 (Yeager Class)

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

It's been just over four weeks since my last EMvTW review, which means, we have another two new Eaglemoss models to share.  Actually, we have a special release to share as well.  These new articles would have come a bit sooner, however, I took a nice long weekend off in the mountains where there was no cell service.  I was literally unplugged from the world and it felt good.

Anyway, first up in this month's trilogy of reviews is issue number 122, the USS Yeager, a Yeager Class starship.

We first get to see this odd looking ship in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode titled, "Doctor Bashir, I Presume".


Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Yeager-type was a type of Federation starship in use during the 2370s.  The USS Yeager participated in Operation Return and was part of the defense force that protected Deep Space 9 throughout the duration of the Dominion war."

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

Yeager Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
USS Yeager (NCC-65674) Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

Since I have no other models of this type of ship to share, we will jump right into taking a closer look at the Eaglemoss model.

 

 

 

 

When I first saw pictures of the model, I was concerned that Eaglemoss might take a lazy approach and just reuse the mold from the USS Voyager.  My concerns stemmed from the fact that I felt that the some of the Voyager's saucer parts suffered from something that I call EMMS.

If you are interested in refreshing your memory about my review of the USS Voyager, you can read my article at THIS LINK.

Eaglemoss Melted Marshmallow Syndrome, or EMMS is best described as a softening of details where they appear more rounded, less edgy and a bit out of focus.  Sort of what happens to a marshmallow as you heat it up to it's melting point on a camp fire.

When I put the Voyager model next to the Yeager model, its hard to tell, but there is a slight size difference between the two saucers.  The Yeager is a tiny bit smaller which means, Eaglemoss made a new mold.

Yeager vs. Voyager

Sadly though, it seems like the top of the Yeager's saucer section still suffers from a slight case of EMMS.

Don't get me wrong.  The sculpted and molded details are done rather well, and there is an awful lot of them.  Just take a look at that engineering section.

To further add clarification about this official kitbash, the engineering section was taken from a Ju'Day Class (or Maquis Raider) starship.  Eaglemoss had already produced that model as well, so if you are so inclined, feel free to check out my review of that model at THIS LINK.

Eaglemoss didn't pull anything on this model, and even added on some eye catching greebles.

For as impressive as the sculpt work was, the paint work is downright over the top. Key areas of the ship have been given thier due attention.  The ship has lots of phaser strips, RCS Thrusters and windows painted on.  The captain's yacht can be clearly seen on the bottom of the saucer too.

The engineering section is probably the most colorful though.

The impulse engines have been given a nice red paint job too.

The joins and seams can be clearly made out on several areas of the model.  Given the kitbashed nature of the ship itself, I'm going to overlook them for this review.

This model is missing out on Eaglemoss' trademark clear plastics.  I get it though, as trying to cram them into those tiny nacelles would have been an engineering feat.  Even without those plastics, I think that Eaglemoss did a great job with the mold work and paint work on this part of the ship.

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.

In the case of the Yeager, a deflector dish is never really identified.  In fact, the magazine doesn't go in to pointing it out either.  I'm going to have to assume that the little divot in the front top of the saucer section serves that purpose.

 

Yeager vs. Voyager

While it looks like Eaglemoss made a new mold for the slightly smaller saucer on the Yeager, it seems like they didn't learn any lessons from the Voyager model that they produced.  I've already pointed out the slight case of EMMS, however, the "deflector" dish on the Yeager seems to be also suffering the same case of separation anxiety that Voyager had with thier dish, with that slight gap just behind the vertical piece that would serve as the dish.  Eaglemoss also neglected to paint this part of the ship as well.

And that is all I really have to share at this point on this class of ship.  As for pricing, I will continue with the tradition of rounding up the most inexpensive Buy-It-Now prices from eBay at the time of this article's writing (May 2018).

Eaglemoss = $37

NOTE: Prices were researched last on May 31st, 2018.  As of the writing of this article, you can also currently order the Eaglemoss model right from the company themselves for around $23 (shipping unknown).

We now come to the part of my article where I like to give you my opinion on whether this model gives you the "best bang for the buck", which is my rough way of telling you if I think it's worth the price.

When I first saw this ship on screen, I was not very impressed.  I actually felt that it was down-right ugly.  I also wasn't thrilled when I first learned that Eaglemoss was going to have a go at making one for the collection.  But I have to say that Eaglemoss did a fantastic job creating this ship for us.  The only issues that I had with it were extremely minor which leave me feeling like I kind of now like the ship.  So, if you ask me if it is worth buying?  I'd have to say yes.  You will certainly have a unique looking vessel in your fleet.  And if you have been lucky enough to have collected the Voyager and Val Jean before hand, then you can line them up for what would look like a cute family portrait.

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!!!"



Definitions
EMMS = Eaglemoss Melted Marshmallow Syndrome.  This is best described as a softening of details where they appear more rounded, less edgy and a bit out of focus.  Sort of what happens to a marshmallow as you heat it up to it's melting point on a camp fire.

Additional Links To Photos Of My Collection:

Eaglemoss   

Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek
Star Trek Starship Collection