EMvTW 123: Romulan Science Vessel

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

Next in line for this month's batch of reviews for Eaglemoss vs. The World is yet another kitbash.  Issue number twenty-three is the Romulan Science Vessel.

We are first introduced to this ship in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "The Next Phase".


Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Romulan science vessel was a type of science vessel in service during the mid-24th century, which was used to conduct standard and experimental research for the Romulan Star Empire, and notably by the Romulan Astrophysical Academy. "

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

Science Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

This particular ship is a slightly modified filming model from the previously seen Romulan Scout Ship that showed up in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "The Defector".  Eaglemoss did produce that ship as well, and you can read my review of it at THIS LINK.

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

In fact, over the life of the filming model, it would once again be re-purposed as the Nerada in the Star Trek: Voyager episode called "Favorite Son".

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

With that little tidbit out of the way, let us take a closer look at Eaglemoss' version of the Science Ship...

 

 

 

 

The Romulan Science Vessel is probably one of the simplest kitbashes in Star Trek history.  The show's creators chopped off the familiar and very Romulan like command module and replaced it with something that makes it impossible to determine which end of the ship goes up.

The only other difference is the addition of a tail stabilizer fin.

And so, I find myself sitting here and contemplating being a cheat.  It would be so easy to just do some copy and pasting from the original Romulan Scout Ship article.  But I owe my readers something fresh, so I will try to write this one without looking back.

With that being said, we will attack this by the numbers...

The sculpt and mold work is really fascinating on this model.  Even with the changed command module, there were a lot of details molded into the head of the ship.

The panel lines and exposed areas of the rest of the ship come across nice and crisp.

The paint work is nothing to complain about either.  There are plenty of off colored panels, and exposed areas of the ship to actually make it quite colorful, even from a distance.

In fact, the leading and trailing edges of both wings also have thier grills and exposed areas painted.

 

Eaglemoss brought back thier clear plastics for this model, using a green colored material to enhance the warp nacelles.

OK, I decided to go back and look at the other article real quick and realized that I missed something.  It seems that in an exact carbon copy of the last model, Eaglemoss also carried over the issue of not having any impulse engines on this model as well.

In the end though, you are still left with a well done, if not, strange looking Romulan vessel, that also looks a little bit familiar.

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 (June 2018).

Eaglemoss = $38

NOTE: Prices were researched last on June 1st, 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).

At this point in my articles, I would now tell you if I think that the model is worth the money.  And my answer to that question is, "It depends."  When I buy on eBay, I feel like I got a fair price if I pay anywhere from $25 to $30 for a model.  So if we were going strictly on the eBay pricing, I would have to say "No.", and I would say that because you can currently get the more normal looking Romulan Scout Ship for around $25.  Personally, I think the Scout ship is the better looking of the two models, especially when you put them side to side.

Some collectors, like me, are completionist though and wouldn't be happy without both of them to show off.  Even with that in mind though, I still don't think the model would be worth that $38 price tag on eBay so I guess we can consider ourselves lucky that it is still available right from Eaglemoss' website.

To bring all of that rambling to some sort of conclusion, while I think Eaglemoss did a great job with the Science Vessel, in fact, as good of a job as they did on the Scout Ship, from a personal preference, I think the Scout Ship looks "cooler" and if I could only pick one, then it would be the earlier released Scout Ship.

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 Pictures

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