WARNING!: This will be a bit of a longer article than you may be used to getting from me. It has been a long time since we looked a more than one model in the same article.
I am now caught up with the monthly Standard Edition releases from Eaglemoss, so let us sit back and have some fun with one of Eaglemoss' latest "Extra" releases, the Shuttlecraft Collection Set #4. All four of these vessels come from the Kelvin Timeline, or Alternate Timeline, or what I like to simply call the JJverse.
Photo Credit: Eaglemoss
Note: No mater how hard I try to take a picture of my sets, the pictures never turn out as nice as Eaglemoss' promotional shots. So I have given up trying. 😀
The shuttles that Eaglemoss brings us this time are the USS Enterprise Transport Shuttlecraft, the USS Enterprise Passenger Shuttle, the Kelvin Med Evac Shuttle, and the USS Enterprise Warrant Shuttle.
I was really surprised when I learned that the next Shuttlecraft Set was going to feature JJverse shuttles. The reason for this surprise is based off the fact that Paramount had basically forced Eaglemoss' hand into producing all of the previous JJverse ships as larger Special Edition releases, and this is something that I voice my displeasure over every time that I have reviewed an Alternate Universe ships. HOWEVER, I think that Eaglemoss' right to produce these four shuttles did have an ultimate price, and one we paid for. I feel that of the four sets of shuttles, the ones we received in this set are a tad smaller than what we are used to getting. Fellow collectors on the FaceBook groups that I participate in seem to be resonating that same sentiment. I honestly believe that these models are more comparable to MicroMachine sized toys this time around. So my guess is that in order to offset a higher licensing cost, Eaglemoss used less materials, thus giving us slightly smaller models than we are used to.
And there I go, ranting again. Enough of that and let us take a look a the actual models.
Transport Shuttlecraft
AKA Military Shuttle
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The military shuttle was a shuttlecraft type operated by Starfleet in the 2250s. Cargo shuttles used the same basic frame."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Transport Shuttlecraft Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
Of the four shuttles, this one has the most written material about it online. And even with it's small size, the model itself has a lot gong on with it as well.
The mold and sculpt work are crisp and precise. It almost looks like those lines are rough and sloppy, however, this is an optical illusion played by the paint job and flash photography.
The model has a lot of little details molded in which was surprising considering how small in stature this thing really is.
The paint work on this little model was one of the more amazing things about it. There is so much detail that has been crammed into this thing from all the angles. And best of all, the paint work is aligned perfectly with the molded details.
The shuttle also bears a dirt wash paint scheme that gives the entire thing a beat and heavily used look. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, the paint work threw me off for a minute and I was going to complain that the mold work was shoddy. And then I realized the optical illusion that was occurring.
There is so much painted on details that you really need to examine the ship over and over to take it all in. Even the drop hatch on the bottom of the shuttle has been highlighted.
While the nacelles are short and don't have any clear plastics, they have been well represented.
The joins and seams on this model, while slightly noticeable, are blended well with the natural lines of the ship, so as to appear to belong there anyway.
And that is all I have to say about this little shuttle so let us send it on it's way.
USS Enterprise Passenger Shuttle
AKA Moore Type Shuttlecraft
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Moore-type shuttle was a shuttlecraft type operated by Starfleet in 2258."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Passenger Shuttle Information: Memory Alpha LINK and NO Memory Beta LINK
While the bottom of this shuttle is not as intricate as the previous one, Eaglemoss did think to mold in the landing gear pads, which break up what would have been a very dull looking part of the model.
Unfortunately, the joins and seams placement are not as good as the other model, joins and seams are more noticeable on the front bottom of this model.
The paint work on this model is very well done. While the entire ship also received the wear and tear wash for a paint job, it is not as pronounced as it was on the last model. The window paint is well aligned too.
This model is rather colorful with all the windows and red highlights. It is hard to tell unless you enlarge the picture, but there is actually writing above all those side windows. Granted, the writing is not well done, but at that size, I would challenge anyone to paint something better.
The rear hatch is not well painted, however, the mold work is done good enough that you can clearly see what is supposed to be there.
The nacelle mold work was well done, however, some of the paint work was not aligned on the rear of it.
And that about covers this shuttlecraft... sooo...
...away it goes.
We are now going to go slightly out of order as the Med Evac shuttle comes from a different "mothership". This way, I can cover the three Enterprise shuttles together.
USS Enterprise Warrant Shuttle
AKA Warrant Shuttlecraft
AKA Takayama Type Shuttlecraft
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Takayama-type shuttlecraft was a shuttlecraft type in use by Starfleet in the late 2250s and early 2260s."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Warrant Shuttlecraft Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
The third of the JJverse Enterprise shuttles is a bit less intricate than the last two we looked at.
The sculpt and mold work are OK, with a few surprises thrown in here and there, like the little shark fin on top.
There are enough panel lines covering the model to keep it from being boring to look a and you can even make out the landing pads on the bottom.
When I started to look at the model and judge the paintwork, this is where I became a bit disappointed. The bottom of the shuttle bears no colors at all, other than some sort of wash to yet again make the shuttle look dirty and heavily used. What is it about the Enterprise shuttles in this universe? Don't they clean them once in a while?
Looking at the shuttle from the side is about as exciting as a view as you are going to get. While window paint is well aligned, there just isn't a lot going on in the form of colors to catch your eye. I will give Eaglemoss some credit though for at least including the ship's registry information on the sides.
While the rear of the ship is a bit more colorful, it is not enough to excite me.
I did like the execution of the nacelle reproduction. The mold work looks fantastic and there are at least a bit more colorful areas to look at.
Do I spot some clear blue plastics at the ends of those nacelles? Why yes!
That in itself is why I didn't hate this particular model.
And that wraps up my up and close look at The Warrant, so wave good bye as it sails off from the "mothership"...
...to join its two sisters for a nice family portrait.
The Enterprise almost looks sickly white when compared to those three "dirty" shuttles.
And now we will swing back to review the third model in the fourth shuttle series.
Med Evac Shuttle
AKA Kelvin Type Shuttlecraft
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Kelvin-type shuttlecraft was a shuttlecraft type in use aboard the USS Kelvin in 2233."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Med Evac Shuttle Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
This poor type of shuttle doesn't even get a class of it's own and I just barely found the Memory Alpha article for it under the name of Kelvin-type shuttlecraft.
I am a member of several FaceBook groups that are fan pages of the Eaglemoss Star Trek starships and it looks like there has been a collective feeling of
over this particular model.
The first question we all had, and a not so obvious issue was in regards to the registry number of the shuttle. Why give us a Medical Shuttle and then give it the number 43? That particular shuttle had very little historical significance other than transporting Captain Robau to his death. If Eaglemoss really waned to thrill us collectors, they should have given this shuttle the number of 37, which is the Med Evac shuttle that helped take Winona and the infant Jame T. Kirk to safety.
The major screw up that everyone noticed, was in regards to one of the snacelle pylons. Apparently, it is missing some material.
Good Strut Bad Strut
David Combe over at the FaceBook HeroCollector Star Trek Fan Group managed to get the following information about Eaglemoss' official response to this error...
"The following message comes direct from Ben Robinson, editor of the collection:
"Unfortunately, there was an error in the original VFX file that was supplied to us by ILM. We didn’t catch this until the models had been manufactured. At this point, it was no longer practical to correct it. We are very sorry about this, and, of course, if anyone wants to return the complete shuttle set to us, we’ll be happy to issue them with a refund."
You've got 28 days to contact customer service (quickest way is to DM the page) and you'll receive a refund."
And if the error REALLY bothers you, David Combe also came up with the following "fix"...
"QuickFix: a tiny square of paper about this big can press fit between the lip at the top of the nacelle where it meets the pylon and the main body of the shuttle, no glue required."
Photo Credit: David Combe
When I asked his permission to share his thoughts from the page, he added the following,
"I only tried [The paper thing] originally because the missing piece is so thin, I figured anything thicker would stick out more. You're gonna see a square of paper if you look underneath, but on display it's probably the best way to fix it."
So, let us temporarily forget all of that error stuff and take another look at the model. The first thing you are going to notice is a striking similarity to The Warrant. That wasn't by accident as the ship creators wanted to show a progression from the shuttles on The Kelvin to the shuttles on The Enterprise.
In fact, the sculpt and mold work are pretty darned close, even down to that shark fin on top of the shuttle.
The panels and doors are all well defined when it comes to the molding as well.
Even the bottom of the front of the shuttle has the same plain "feel" to it, HOWEVER, the striking differences between the two shuttles is the paint work. The application of the grey and red underneath makes a world of difference in appearances.
The red paint scheme of an emergency vehicle is bright and gives the model a much more lively appearance. The painting of the windows on the side doors is icing on an already nicely decorated cake.
The shuttle sports a nice rear end as well. 🤔
The nacelles are simple yet represented well as far as the molding and paint work goes. Unlike The Warrant, there are no clear plastics on these nacelles.
Given a choice between the Med Evac and The Warrant, I would choose this model without thinking twice.
And here comes the last of the parting shots...
...and the last of the mothership pairings.
At the time of the writing of this article (November 27th, 2018), the best price on eBay for the entire Shuttle Set was $125 (shipping included), which was not too much more than what you would pay ($100 (shipping unknown)) for the set directly on the Eaglemoss WebStore. This of course serves as a good time to move into the part of my article where I get to give my opinion on whether this set is worth the money.
And I hate to say it Eaglemoss, but my answer is a big fat "NO!".
Don't get me wrong, the models are very nice to look at. They were even decently crafted.
The primary problem I have with this set is a factor of economics. I feel that these shuttles are way over priced. Look at it this way, the Standard Edition models that Eaglemoss sells, go for around $23 each. If we multiply that by four, it will cost you $92. That's $8 less than this shuttle set, and the models are in some cases, four times larger.
Then, we add on the issue of these models being some of the smallest of the shuttle set series, which further hurts when we shell out more money for them.
I think the thing that really bothered me, after I got over the sticker shock, was the fact that Eaglemoss made a serious blunder with one of the models, and has basically stated, "Too freaking bad, don't buy it if you don't like it." So it is my duty as a reviewer to say, honor thier wish and don't buy it, and instead, take your family out to dinner with the money you just saved.
I don't like saying that, because I like most of thier products, but there you go.
Since I don't like ending my articles on a sour note, I decided to end it with one last piece of eye candy. Here is a shot off all four shuttle sets laid out on display
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 -
Transport Shuttlecraft Passenger Shuttle
Warrant Shuttle Med Evac Shuttle
Fleet Pictures
Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek [NO REVIEW YET]
Star Trek Starship Collection [NO REVIEW YET]
Transport Shuttlecraft Passenger Shuttle
Warrant Shuttle Med Evac Shuttle
Fleet Pictures
Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek [NO REVIEW YET]
Star Trek Starship Collection [NO REVIEW YET]
No comments:
Post a Comment