Rewrites: NONE YET
Whoa! It's like Deja Vu. Next up in our Eaglemoss vs. The World Series is the Borg Cube.
We first get to see this starship in the movie Star Trek: First Contact (1996).
Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! This review deserves a little more fanfare than that horrible introduction. So let's try this again...
Photo Credit: Memory Alpha
We have FINALLY reached Issue #180 of the Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection. The Borg Cube from Star Trek: First Contact (1996) marks the very last Standard Edition model for this collection. One of my fellow collectors reports that this collection has been going for six years and eleven months. I personally have been reviewing the Eaglemoss models off and on since November 2014. If you ONLY invested in the Standard Edition models, and managed to ONLY pay $25 for each one of them, then you would have invested $4500 in your collection. It has been quite a journey for us collectors, and quite frankly, a fun one for me as a reviewer.
Hopefully, that serves as a better introduction. Now let us move on with the review.
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Borg cube was a type of starship used by the Borg Collective in the 24th century. Along with the Borg sphere, cubes were among the primary types of vessel for its fleet." They go on to say this about the Borg Cube from "First Contact", "[In 2373]... a similar engagement several years later saw a similarly large Federation fleet perform considerably better against another Borg cube. Though it suffered heavy casualties, the fleet managed to inflict heavy damage to the cube's outer hull and cause the vessel's power grid to begin fluctuating. The vessel was eventually destroyed primarily due the intervention of Captain Picard, whose residual telepathic link to the Collective furbished him with knowledge of a (presumably) battle-induced weak spot on the Borg vessel, which was subsequently targeted by the entire fleet." and "At least one Borg cube, and possibly others of its class, contained a Borg sphere. The only known recorded purpose of a sphere disengaged from a Borg cube was for escape. The sphere was the only documented support vehicle a Borg cube possessed."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Borg Cube Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
This is not the first time I have reviewed a Borg Cube...
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Borg cube was a type of starship used by the Borg Collective in the 24th century. Along with the Borg sphere, cubes were among the primary types of vessel for its fleet." They go on to say this about the Borg Cube from "First Contact", "[In 2373]... a similar engagement several years later saw a similarly large Federation fleet perform considerably better against another Borg cube. Though it suffered heavy casualties, the fleet managed to inflict heavy damage to the cube's outer hull and cause the vessel's power grid to begin fluctuating. The vessel was eventually destroyed primarily due the intervention of Captain Picard, whose residual telepathic link to the Collective furbished him with knowledge of a (presumably) battle-induced weak spot on the Borg vessel, which was subsequently targeted by the entire fleet." and "At least one Borg cube, and possibly others of its class, contained a Borg sphere. The only known recorded purpose of a sphere disengaged from a Borg cube was for escape. The sphere was the only documented support vehicle a Borg cube possessed."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Borg Cube Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
This is not the first time I have reviewed a Borg Cube...
Back in January 2016, I reviewed the Subscriber Gift Borg Cube as well as a few other cubes from my collection. This new cube that we get with Issue #180 is a bit different then all of these other cubes, but if you wish to check out that other article, you can find it at THIS LINK.
Traditionally, Borg Cubes made by various manufacturers, Eaglemoss included, have been a bit repetitive when looking at the different sides of the cube. This time around though, Eaglemoss decided to try to make each of the sides look somewhat different.
This paintwork is very simple, but it gets the job done. I have doe this myself with Borg models that I've built and painted. I like the fact that Eaglemoss has stuck with this method for most of their Borg ships as it creates a bit of uniformity amongst their Borg fleet of models.
Traditionally, Borg Cubes made by various manufacturers, Eaglemoss included, have been a bit repetitive when looking at the different sides of the cube. This time around though, Eaglemoss decided to try to make each of the sides look somewhat different.
Unlike most of their models of the series, Eaglemoss opted to go all plastic on this one. I'm OK with this fact because sometimes Eaglemoss suffers from something that I nicknamed the Eaglemoss Melted Marshmallow Syndrome on their metal parts. 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. And because all the parts on this model are plastic, we do not see any of that issue here. Instead, each side is clearly defined with sharp looking details sculpted and molded into the model.
I am happy that Eaglemoss decided to go the extra mile and make each side unique. Given that this IS their last Standard Edition issue, it makes it a piece of art knowing that they went that extra mile. I am thrilled that Eaglemoss also included the docking bay doors for the Borg Sphere ship. I don't think the model would have been complete without it.
I did decide to have a little fun with my Borg Sphere and this Cube and posed them for this escape picture. If I was a little more skilled with Microsoft Paint, I would have tried to make it look like the cube was exploding, but I'm not, so I didn't
The join seams on the Eaglemoss Cube are slightly visible along the edges of the model, but are done in such a way as to just come off looking like they are a natural part of the ship.
The paint work is pretty standard when it comes to most Eaglemoss Borg starships. The entire model is "painted" or possibly molded in the charcoal grey color that gives you that dark foreboding Borg look. And then in random places, Eaglemoss has sprayed fluorescent green paint to represent those patches of glowing light that are always seen on the active Borg ships.
This paintwork is very simple, but it gets the job done. I have doe this myself with Borg models that I've built and painted. I like the fact that Eaglemoss has stuck with this method for most of their Borg ships as it creates a bit of uniformity amongst their Borg fleet of models.
And that is all the pictures and comparisons I have to share on this ship at this time. Unfortunately, the nature of the cube means that there really isn't a lot of different angles to look at. While each side is different, it would probably make for a boring article to share every side with you.
Which brings us to pricing. At the time that I am writing this article (February 18th, 2021), Eaglemoss' US Based Webstore does not have the model in stock, which leaves us at the mercy of other sellers. When that happens, I typically go to eBay and find the most inexpensive Buy-It-Now listing I can find. I was lucky to find the model on eBay for $41 (shipping included).
We now come to the all important part of my review. Is this model worth the money? While the Eaglemoss Borg Cube is very nicely done, let us face the facts... Fact number one is that this thing is all plastic. Material wise, I don't feel that the model is worth $41. Fact number two is that the model is very basic. While each side may sport a different looking panel, you are still basically just buying a grey box with some green paint splashed on it. If the model was going for it's normal price of around $25, then I would grudgingly tell you to buy it, and only if you were a completionist and needed to add this final Borg ship to your fleet. But at this inflated price of $41, then I would have to say that the model s probably worth a pass.
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.
With the First Contact Borg Cube, comes the end of the Standard Edition line of models for the Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection and most likely, an end to any other Borg vessels we will see for this particular collection series. So what better way to end the review than with a photograph of the entire Borg Collective hanging out together.
Besides the latest and last Borg Cube, the Eaglemoss collection consists of the following ships and links to my review of those models; Issue #10 - Borg Sphere (REVIEW LINK), Subsriber Bonus - Borg Cube (REVIEW LINK) Issue #58 - Borg Tactical Cube (Class 4 Tactical) (REVIEW LINK), Issue #73 - Renegade Borg Ship (Type 3) (REVIEW LINK), Issue #99 - Arctic One (Assimilated) (REVIEW LINK), Issue #109 - Borg Queen's ship (REVIEW LINK), and last but not least, Issue #130 - Borg Probe (REVIEW LINK).
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:
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