EMvTW Extra 07: USS Enterprise-C (Andrew Probert Concept)

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

Way back in the day, I had vowed to not support Eaglemoss' move to produce non-canon models.  This was back when they were collecting signatures on the petition to produce the Titan.  I remember having a very hard stance on how I felt that they were veering away from things that they do best.  Then I saw the Titan model and broke down and bought it.  After I got the Aventine, I finally realized my mistake in my thinking.  Eaglemoss has a very huge pool of interesting models that they could bring to the fans.  Models of ships that we would not normally be able to get our hands on.

Which brings us to Andrew Probert's Concept for the USS Enterprise-C.

This ship was never seen on screen.  Well... sort of never seen...  A golden profile of the model was seen in a wall mural that was located in the observation lounge of the Enterprise D.

 

This wall display was eventually destroyed and the models were dropped in a dumpster when the observation lounge set was revamped for use as the Enterprise-A officers’ mess in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Luckily, the models were rescued and now have a new permanent home.


Per Memory Alpha, the Enterprise C Concept started out as "a design concept painting produced by Andrew Probert for the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The design was intended to suggest an intermediate step between the Excelsior-class and the Galaxy-class starships. A relief sculpture of Probert's design was placed in the observation lounge aboard the USS Enterprise-D. Unfortunately, the model was needed for "Yesterday's Enterprise" much sooner than the time it would take to fabricate the smoother lines of Probert's concept, requiring Sternbach's alterations which ended up on Greg Jein's final model. As Sternbach later renumbered, elaborating in detail on his thought processes,"

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

Ambassador Class Concept Information: Memory Alpha LINK

There are some other pages that have written up some information in regards to this model.  TrekPlace has THIS ARTICLE with tons of evolutionary pictures.  Star Trek Futures aslo conducted a short interview with Andrew Probert about his concept ship and you can read that interview at THIS LINK.

If you are a completionist like me, then having both the Enterprise C and her concept ship side by side in your collection is a must.  If you wish to check out my review of the Ambassador class, can can do so at THIS LINK.

The concept model is a bit more streamlined than the ship that we eventually get to see on screen.

Concept vs. Final Product

Concept vs. Final Product

And now that we got that out of the way, let us focus more on this concept model.

 

 

 

 

I had to hold off reviewing this model for about a month because Eaglemoss has a tendency to back-order the magazine when you pre-order models through them.  Most people would be thrilled to get the model right away.  As a reviewer, I am not thrilled, because when you write reviews, and need to use the magazine for reference pictures and other needed information, it becomes a hindrance when you don't have everything you need.

Since my articles focus primarily on the models themselves, I usually won't talk about the magazines, however, since Eaglemoss annoyed me yet again with a delay in a magazine delivery, I don't mind mentioning that the magazine wasn't really worth the wait, except for the few pictures I needed to confirm one of my observations.  I found the magazine to be a bit lacking on actual details about the Probert-aprise.  In fact, most of the magazine was dedicated to information about Andrew Proberts designing the Enterprise D.  Although the information about the Big D was interesting, it didn't help me in learning too much about this model.  Most of what I learned was from other online sources.

And one of the things that I learned, and probably the most blatant issue with this model is the incomplete detail painting.  OMG!  The message forums and FaceBook fan pages blew up over this issue.

Starting with the top of the saucer, it almost looks like Eaglemoss ran out of paint while filling in some of the windows.  A good third of the saucer section is missing it's black window details.

When you flip the model over, half of the bottom of the saucer section really brings this missing window paint issue into sharper view.

And the last section of the ship that is missing details is on the top of the engineering hull where the neck connects.  And do I mean missing.  It looks like the Borg came along and sliced and skinned the ship of all it's details.

Since we are already on the topic of paint...  Other than the above mentioned glaring issues, the paint work on this model is actually well done.  Eaglemoss gave the ship a light aztecing that blends well.  All the key components received thier fair share of paint so that the phaser strips, RCS thrusters and even the impulse engines can be easily spotted.  With how good the rest of the paint work is, it really floored me that there were such blatant blank spots.

There is some really good news though for collectors who are super bothered by these window detail issues.  There is a guy who has gotten rave reviews on the FaceBook fan sites that produces decal and sticker sets for certain Eaglemoss models that will help you correct your issues.  Be sure to check out Bobmat343's Star Trek Model Decals FaceBook page at THIS LINK and his eBay Page at THIS LINK.

NOTE: I broke down and ordered a set of the Probert-aprise stickers. It took a little while for them to get to me because the seller is overseas from me.  I applied them and you can check out what that looked like at the bottom of this article.

I feel like I've talked enough about the paint so let us now talk about the physical details.

Honestly, the sculpted and molded details on this model are fantastic.  All the etched in details are crisp and clear and show off panel lines, and escape hatches and all the other super important parts of a Federation Starship.

As I have noted, there are plenty of windows etched into the model.  And unlike the actual Enterprise C that was released by Eaglemoss, this one has a much better looking support neck.  And look, the new model has impulse engines!

 

Concept vs. Final Product

The nacelles are a beautiful cross between the Excelsior and the Galaxy class ships.  They are larger than normal, yet they are still sleek and sexy.  And Eaglemoss has done a great job with thier clear red and blue plastics.

Sadly, the joins and seams are a bit more noticeable on this model, especially along the bottom edges of the secondary hull.

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.

When I reviewed the original Enterprise C, I was not super impressed with it's deflector dish.  Although the clear blue plastics were interesting, I don't think that it conveyed a good deflector dish.  I really am impressed with the Probert-aprise's deflector dish.  It is a nice mix of molded details and paint that does a great job of re-creating the original concept art's deflector dish.

 

Concept vs. Final Product

I am going to say this.  Putting the missing details aside, I feel like Eaglemoss produced a very nice model.  I'm actually very glad that they produced it and even more glad that I decided to put aside my trepidation a while ago and actually purchase this.

And that is all I really have to share at this point on this model.  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 (February 2018).

Eaglemoss = $55

NOTE: Prices were researched last on February 26th, 2018.  Sadly, at the time that I am writing this article, the Eaglemoss website does not have this ship in stock.

Given this ship's popularity, even with it's glaring issues, I can understand why it is so expensive on eBay.  I was lucky enough to get my model right from eBay so I will to be a bit more frugal here with my opinion.  Is the model worth $55?  Honestly, with the issues that I mentioned, I certainly would not pay that much money for this model.  HOWEVER, if you can be patient and wait for the model to become available again on Eaglemoss' website for its normal pricing, then I would change my tone and say, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"  Get the model.  It will definitely look good in your fleet.  And then if you really want to add some pizzazz to the model, splurge on the extra decal stickers.  The pictures I have seen of the model with the decals added show a vast improvement.

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 stated earlier in the article, I purchased a set of decals to fix the missing windows issue.  I ordered the self sticking decals as I really hate working with water slides.  The procedure to apply them was easy, if not tedious due to thier small size and awkward positioning, but with a little pressure from my finger, they eventually set.

 

 

 

The final product does indeed look great.

 

So there you go.  You can decide for yourself if you want to make these changes yourself.

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     Comparative Shots
Sticker Fix Work In Progress Pictures

Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek
Star Trek Starship Collection [Not Yet]