A new month is upon us and this of course means it is time for two more reviews of Eaglemoss' Standard Line of models. The first of our two choices this month is the Fesarius.
We are introduced to this ship in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode called "The Corbomite Maneuver".
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Fesarius was a starship built and operated by the First Federation, encountered in the mid-23rd century. It was described as the flagship by its captain and only crew member, Commander Balok."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Fesarius Class Information: NO Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
Fesarius Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
Before I get into my thoughts on this model, here are a few other pictures of it from different angles.
Yup, that is it. You are looking at a yellowish and golden ball. A golden snitch that had it's wings clipped.
The ship has been presented to us in that episode in two different model forms. The first was as a physical studio filming model back in the 60's. Then, when the show was remastered more recently, it came to us as a CGI model.
I will start off by stating that my photos are giving this thing way too much justice. The flash on the camera makes this model look way brighter than it actually is. The reality is, it comes out of the box looking rather dull.
Yup, that is it. You are looking at a yellowish and golden ball. A golden snitch that had it's wings clipped.
Photo Credit: GIFy
The ship has been presented to us in that episode in two different model forms. The first was as a physical studio filming model back in the 60's. Then, when the show was remastered more recently, it came to us as a CGI model.
Original Studio Model CGI Model
Photo Credits: Memory Alpha
I will start off by stating that my photos are giving this thing way too much justice. The flash on the camera makes this model look way brighter than it actually is. The reality is, it comes out of the box looking rather dull.
In all honesty, after seeing the original model from the 60's, I feel like, although Eaglemoss was trying to replicate the CGI model, then ended up replicating the old school model instead.
The sculpt and mold work details are very crisp, and it should be considering that the entire model is made of plastic.
In all honesty, that join makes the whole thing look like a yellow Death Star minus the laser cannon.
And that really is all I can say about this model. When I wrote this article on May 15th, 2019, you could order the model right from the company's US WebStore for around $23 (shipping unknown). You can also find it on eBay for around $30 (shipping included). And regardless of those two prices, my feeling is that the model, at least the version I got IS NOT worth the money. I feel like Eaglemoss just sort of phoned this one in and took our money for it.
I saw that one FaceBook user had a model that came to them split in two, and the weight that you feel is just that, a metal weight that was glued into the model. In my opinion, that is not quite what die cast modeling is supposed to be.
The paint work was a bit disappointing to me. As I pointed out, in normal lighting conditions, it is dull and drab looking. In some places, it even appears to be smeared.
The most disappointing thing about the model is the join and seam though. Clearly we can see where the model splits in two pieces.
In all honesty, that join makes the whole thing look like a yellow Death Star minus the laser cannon.
Photo Credit: Wookieepedia
I think the problem that Eaglemoss runs into with this model is the shear size of the In-Universe ship, when scaled down to this size, details become lost.
I'll close out this review by sharing my oldest sons thought of it when he saw it. And I quote, "It looks like an Osage Orange."
Photo Credit: Mother Earth News
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
Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek
Star Trek Starship Collection [NO REVIEW YET]
NOTE: Whoever was running the Star Trek Starship Collection Review blog at THIS LINK, seams to have dropped off the grid after their review of Warship Voyager. While commenter's have asked the writer if he/she was OK, there has been no reply.
Other Reviewers Take On The Eaglemoss Model:
Some Kind Of Star Trek
Star Trek Starship Collection [NO REVIEW YET]
NOTE: Whoever was running the Star Trek Starship Collection Review blog at THIS LINK, seams to have dropped off the grid after their review of Warship Voyager. While commenter's have asked the writer if he/she was OK, there has been no reply.
Thanks for the review. I'm not even remotely a fan of this ship myself though. I'm curious as to whether you bought it simply to have a complete collection. I've seen you pass on the XL ships which are a separate line; have you passed on any regular sized ships whether special editions or in the main line or is your goal to catch'em all?
ReplyDeleteI bought it for two reasons. One, I'm a bit of a completionist and since I'm in to the collection this far, I might as well ride it out. The second reason is that I wouldn't feel comfortable producing a review on a model that I didn't have in my hands. I considered the Special Edition line of ships to be a direct tie-in to the Standard Line, since they were advertised that way at the beginning with Deep Space Nine. And as of right now, I have a complete collection of both the Standard and Special Edition line of models. As long as finances hold up, my goal is to review them all. It sure would be nice to make some money off this review stuff, or get some sort of freebies from Eaglemoss. Although, after the Fesarius review, that probably won't ever happen. :-)
DeleteWow, that seam is unfortunate, but it's pretty neat to see an official model of this vessel. I wouldn't call it obscure, but I wouldn't have much use for it as I use my ships for gaming and I don't see the First Federation being much involved. Still very neat to see this classic from so early in Star Trek history!
ReplyDelete