EMvTW Discovery Special 4 - Starbase 1

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

The whole Eaglemoss bankruptcy thing forced me to re-evaluate my collecting choices, and as a result, I recently made several impulse purchases.  Two of those impulse buys were the Special Edition space stations from the Star Trek: Discovery The Official Starships Collection.  While I am not a Disco fan, I realized that I should probably get the Special Edition stations from this collection while I still could at a somewhat decent price.  

I just finished reviewing the very cool looking Discovery Special # 3, Section 31 Station (Review Link HERE), which then leaves us with the tall and spindly Starbase 1.

It took me some research to figure this out, but we only get to see this station in this configuration in the Star Trek: Discovery episode called "The War Without, The War Within".

Per Memory Alpha, "Starbase 1 was a Federation Starbase 1-type space station administered by Starfleet. Located in the Sol system, it was considered to be one of Starfleet's oldest and most venerable installations."  They go on to say, "In the mid-2250s, the Strongpoint-class Starbase 1 facility was located 100 AU from Earth, at very edge of the Sol system. At the time, it had approximately 80,000 inhabitants. Late during the Federation-Klingon War of 2256-2257, the Klingon forces of House D'Ghor attacked and occupied the starbase, killing the station's entire population before the USS Discovery arrived.  The station was reclaimed and repaired, and relocated to Jupiter orbit by 2259, where the old seed pods were (re)attached as additional habitats. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) visited the starbase at least twice that year."

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

Starbase 1 Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

Doing my usual photoshoot with this station proved difficult, not only because of its pointy shape, but also because of its symmetrical design.  As you can see below, the model is rather repetitive as you turn it and take in views from different angles..

 
 
 

I'll admit that I had a little bit of a hard time matching this model up to pictures initially.  It was then that I found out that we only see it in this current state for one episode of Discovery.  I would have much preferred the station as we see it in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (as seen below), however, then it would not be a Discovery model.

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

The truth be told, it would have been an engineering miracle for Eaglemoss to have pulled off the later rendition of Starbase 1 with all those garden pods.

The paintwork on the model is decent, HOWEVER, the biggest issue I have with Eaglemoss' model is that it is not screen accurate.  The only time we see the station, it has a big red Klingon emblem painted onto it.

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

The Eaglemoss model is missing that logo.  My feeling is that Eaglemoss was aiming to present the station in its untainted and fully manned state.  

The entire model's light tan is broken up by a mottled grey which ages the over all look of the station.  In a way, it makes it look a bit dirtier and used.  The application of the white specs along the base and along the spire, representing the many windows, look great and give a fantastic idea of the actual size of the station.

The sculpt and mold work is nicely executed.  The top of the spire has what looks like several antenna arrays that I'm guessing can be quite fragile if not handled carefully.  They still make for a cool tactile feature.  

I particularly like the mold work on the bottom of the station.  Traditionally, in Star Trek, the reactor is located down here, and since the magazine wasn't very helpful, we will assume that the extended silver part is just that.  Eaglemoss did a great job of suspending the power plant away from the rest of the station.

The docking arms are done well tp from a mold work and paint work perspective.

And that is all I have to share on this model.  I know that's not much, but as I stated earlier, the details are a bit repetitive.

Over all, the model is nicely done both from a paint work perspective, as well as the molding work.  Other than it not being completely screen accurate, and it not being the later version of the station, I can't find any technical fault with the Eaglemoss' model.  The problem is, I also can't find anything exciting about it either, it is just a plain looking space station.  After a few turns of the base, you have seen everything and are ready to move on to the next model.

In the past, when I would write these reviews, I would do some price shopping, and then give an opinion on whether this model is worth the prices I found.  Because of Eaglemoss' bankruptcy, the ability to get this model at a reasonable price has pretty much gone out the window.  The average price on eBay for this model at the time that I write this (August 2023), the model is around $100 (plus shipping).  I lucked out when I bought mine and only paid $80 (shipping and tax included) which is still a lot for a collector like me.  Even paying that slight discount, I find myself disappointed with this impulse purchase as I was hoping to have gotten more for my money. 

If I hadn't had the hair brained idea to complete my Eaglemoss space station "fleet" across the various collections, I probably would have passed on this one all together.  That being said, it now is on display with the others in my 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