EMvTW Extra 24 - USS Reliant (Concept)

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

Rewrites: NONE YET

The next Bonus model to come out of Eaglemoss is another concept model.  This one is what the USS Reliant could have looked like.

We never get to see this ship on screen.  My collection of this type of ship consists of the Eaglemoss model and an AMT kitbash that I built way before I realized that Eaglemoss was going to make one for me.  We will talk more about that model later.

Per Memory Beta, "The Avenger-class was a type of scout starship deployed by the United Federation of Planets in Starfleet service in the mid-23rd century."  That source goes on to say, "The USS Halcyon is the only vessel known to belong to the Avenger-class in Star Trek literature. Some fan fiction sources have associated Avenger-class vessels as a variation of the Miranda-class, but no licensed sources have ever referenced such details about the ships' design."

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

Avenger Class Information: Memory Beta LINK and NO Memory Alpha LINK
USS Reliant Model Information: Memory Alpha LINK

I guess, the best and most logical place to start is to tell the story of what the USS Reliant was really supposed to look like...

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

This is the original design sketch, which can be found on the internet, of what was submitted to the producers of the movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982).  The legend states that the sketches came across the producer's desk, but he had looked at them upside down, and in his rush to go work on another project out of the country, he signed off on them like that.  The model designers debated about re-sending those designs but due to time constraints, decided to build it in the style we all came to know.

This original design was later incorporated into other Star Trek stories and tech manuals and has since been called the Avenger class.

The thing I like about the Eaglemoss collection is that they occasionally will bring us a Concept model in a a static form.  And thus, we now have this ship for our own collections, without the need to kitbash.

 

 

 

 

Though the rest of this article, I will make a few references to Eaglemoss' very first Miranda class model, THE USS Reliant, which they gave us WAY back in issue # 11.  That being said, it might be helpful if you check out my review of that model as well as a few other non-Eaglemoss models at THIS LINK.

Jumping into the review of the Eaglemoss concept model, we might as well start with talking about the paint work.  The model is VERY busy when it comes to painted details.  The ship is covered completely with aztecing.  When it comes to aztecing, my personal opinion is that if it's too dark, then it spoils the look.  And sadly, I find the aztecing of this model to be a tad too dark.  Aztecing should give the appearance of paneling without making the ship look like some sort of leopard.  

The other painted on details though are really well done.  Key areas of the ship, like the bridge dome, phaser banks, windows and RCS thrusters are clearly and precisely placed.  And the ship's registry just plain pops out at you.

It's a shame about that registry stuff popping out at you because it does allow you to find, if you look carefully enough, a bit of a mistake on the sides of the saucer section.  Apparently, this ship also goes by the name of USS Antares.

The sculpt and mold work is crisp, giving you very defined panel lines and windows.  The details of this model are actually far better than what we got way back in Issue 11.

The combination of the great mold work and excellent painting give you a very nicely rendered model to enjoy.  The engineering section is truly a beautiful thing to behold.

 

In addition to all this nice paint and mold work, this model also treats us to some additional greebles, mainly those dual weapons pods that are hung underneath the ship.  

 

While these things are tiny, they come off looking mighty, thanks to Eaglemoss' attention to detail.  They are molded and attached perfectly, and the paintwork just adds the magic touch to this area of the model.

The nacelles have been nicely rendered for this model as well.

Outer View

Inner View

The join seam on the under side of the saucer is just as noticeable as it is on any of Eaglemoss' other Miranda class models, but given it's placement, one could theoretically write it off as a really deep panel line.

And that is all the pictures and comparisons I have to share on this ship at this time.  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 (January 26th, 2021).  Actually, that is a lie, as I can't give you an eBay price, because I wasn't able to find one on the US eBay website.  Luckily, the US based Eaglemoss webstore has them for $30 (plus shipping costs).

I am not sure why Eaglemoss insists on charging an additional $5 for the Bonus Edition models when they are the same size as the standard Line units, but they do, and we pay.  Which brings us to the gist of my review article.  Is this model worth $30 plus shipping?  Well, lets start with the quality of the model.  In my opinion, it is very well done.  I can't find anything I hate about it.  Sure the aztecing is darker than I like, but given the quality of everything else, I can forgive it.  The registry mistake is so small that you can't see it unless you specifically are looking for it.  What you are left with is a very decent looking model on your display shelf.  And if you already have the original USS Reliant, the two of them look rather cool sitting next to each other.

I'm going to give this model the thumbs up and say that it is a good buy.

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.

Before I knew that Eaglemoss was going to produce their USS Reliant Concept, I had seen the blueprints from Paramount and after reading up about the ship, decided to build my own model.

Rather than rehashing a bunch of stuff here, I will instead refer you to the original article that I wrote about that model.  You can read all about that build at THIS LINK.

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     AMT Kitbash

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