EMvTW Extra 14 - USS Altair (Prototype) (Altair Class)

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

Rewrites: None Yet

I have fallen so far behind with my Eaglemoss collection this past year that to catch up with all the reviews, I will have to produce three a week and then after 4 months, I'll be back on track.  As such, every third review will be either a Special Edition, Shuttle Collection, or one of the Shop Exclusive (or Extras as I call them).

This review is going to focus on the shop exclusive, the USS Altair, which was one of Doug Drexler's concept models for the USS Voyager.

We never get to see this ship on screen, which makes this model a non-cannon ship, even though it was the brain child of one of the best Star Trek modelers of all time.


Per Memory Beta, "The USS Altair was an experimental Federation starship in the late 24th century. It was designed to be highly maneuverable at warp speeds, but suffered from unacceptably low power efficiency. It was this design flaw that kept the Altair from going into full-scale production."

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

USS Altair Information: Memory Alpha NO LINK and Memory Beta LINK

Because the ship is considered non-cannon, there is no official write up about it on the Memory Alpha website.

The beauty of the Eaglemoss collection though is that we can now have this "imaginary" ship in static model form.

 

 

 

 

Right out of the box, I noticed two big issues with my model.  First, and more glaringly. one of my nacelles is crooked (furthest one in picture).  While I was taking a closer look at this, I noticed that the nacelle grills were not flush with the nacelle.

I do confess that I read other peoples' reviews so that I know if there is anything odd about my model compared to others out there.  And I'm glad that I did.  Apparently, my model is not alone when it comes to the nacelle flaws.  Other reviewers have complained about this issue as well, so if you buy the model yourself, be prepared to have that disappointment in the nacelles as well.

Since we are focusing on the nacelles, we might aw well look at the one that is less problematic.  While it is crooked, it is intact.  Eaglemoss used clear blue plastic to represent the warp grill.  They chose to paint the bussard collector a burnt yellow.  The nacelles are slim and elegant.  Honestly, if they did not have the issues talked about above, they would have been a great aspect of the model.

The paint work is not that bad across the entire model, with a few surprise elements thrown in here and there.  The bridge dome has some paint work to help it stand out, and there is cargo hatch markings painted on behind the bride dome.

There are a series of windows painted on the rear edge top portion of the wing to help give a sense of size.  There are a few other painted panel areas as well.

Along the "tail" of the ship, there is a raised piece just past the wing.  it has a pincer like look to it.  I was going to complain how it looks like the joins are badly misaligned here, but from the reading I've done, and seeing other people's models, this seems to be done on purpose.  It just looks like it was badly executed.

The sculpt and mold work for this model are nice and crisp.  There are lots of physical details that were molded into the model and it gives the ship some nice tactile feel to it.

For those familiar with this series of articles from me, you will know that I typically go in for a close-up of the Starfleet ship's deflector dish.  In my opinion, you can tell a lot about a company's attention to details by just looking at this area of the ship.  It has been a VERY long time since I've gotten to take a good look at a model's deflector dish.

The Altair's deflector dish has been painted on, and unfortunately, it is slightly off center.   That being said, it does the job though, and I have seen worse renditions.

I'll call that a wrap on talking about the various parts of the model.

As of the writing of this article (June 7th, 2020), you can also currently order the Eaglemoss model right from the company's US WebStore for around $30 (shipping unknown).

As excited as I get when Eaglemoss releases these types of non-canon models, I really am not all that thrilled with this one.  Honestly, due to its dimensions, there really is not a lot of model for the cost that you pay.  And all of the flaws I mentioned above, further detract from my feelings for the model.  I'm afraid to say it, but Eaglemoss could have done a better job with this one, especially since they threw it into the Shop Exclusive category and charged more than they do for their Standard Edition line of models.  In the end, I don't think it is worth the money, and would avoid buying one if you have to go to a non-Eaglemoss source to get it.

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