EMvTW 158 - USS Excelsior Nilo Rodis Concept I (AKA U.S.S. Excelsior Prototype Mk I)

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

Rewrites: NONE YET

For this article, we are going to take a good look at the USS Excelsior Nilo Rodis Concept I model (AKA U.S.S. Excelsior Prototype Mk I).

We very briefly get to see this starship at Surplus Depot Z15 in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "Unification, Part I".


The model we are looking at this time around is actually one of the concept models that was designed and built back in the days when the USS Excelsior was being created for created Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.  Although it is a concept model, it is considered canon since it appeared, although VERY briefly, on screen.

There is not a lot of information on these concept models, however, Memory Alpha does have a small section about them at THIS LINK.

I already reviewed the Eaglemoss USS Excelsior and a few other manufacturers versions of it way back in Issue number 8.  You can read my review of that model at THIS LINK.  Eventually, that type of ship evolved into the Excelsior Refit Class or better known as the USS Enterprise-B.  Eaglemoss and several others also produced a model of that ship in Issue number 40 and you can read my review of that ship at THIS LINK.  And most recently, I reviewed Eaglemoss' version of the USS Excelsior Nilo Rodis Concept II (AKA U.S.S. Excelsior Prototype Mk II), during their Issue # 152 release.  You can read that review at THIS LINK.

Now that you have had a chance to review all those other Excelsior models, let us take a look at this one.

 

 

 

 

The paint work on this model is amazingly done.  All of the key components like phaser banks and RCS thrusters have been detailed.

The model is covered from top to bottom with a very light aztec pattern.  I'm not always a fan of aztecing, but it is nicely done on this model.

Unlike the previous excelsior concept model, this one boasts impulse engines that are painted.

The sculpt and mold work are equally well done.  The saucer section boats lots of panel lines and the sensor dome on the bottom of the saucer is particularly eye catching.

The engineering section of the ship has tons of molded details on both the top and bottom of the ship.

This is one of those models that requires you to pick it up and take a good close look at it several times over to really get an appreciation for its finer details.  As an example of this, Eaglemoss even included docking ports on the engineering section.

The ship boasts a huge shuttle bay door.  The paint work on the shuttle bay door is incomplete and does not cover all of the molded detailing.

The quad nacelles are a fascinating part of the ship and Eaglemoss did a pretty job with these.  The Oberth Class like nacelles help establish a line of thinking of where the movies were considering going with the starship designs.  Could you imagine all future nacelles looking like the USS Grissom's?

 Outer Edge of Nacelle

Sadly, there are no clear plastics on the nacelles.  Instead, the warp grills are painted sky blue.  If you look closely enough, just like the shuttle bay door, the nacelle grills are not completely painted in.  Eaglemoss did however, include the aztec pattern on the nacelles, completing the overall look of a paneled starship.

Inner Edge of Nacelle

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.

I have mixed emotions about this part of the model.  Eaglemoss did a good job replicating the physical part of the low slung deflector dish.  This is one area of the model where they did not do a good job with the paint though.  They chose to paint a very light blue "O" on the dish assembly instead of painting the whole area in, with some sort of "glowing" paint effect.  All of the magazine pictures clearly show this area as glowing.  I feel that I would have been more forgiving if they had just used the same color that they used for the "O" and filled that whole section in.

Last but not least, the join seams are well blended into the model's design.  I almost forgot to talk about them because I never noticed them when doing the initial once over for the review.

And that is all the pictures and comparisons I have to share on this ship at this time.  Prices were researched last on July 7th, 2020.  Unfortunately, at the time that I am writing this, Eaglemoss does not have this ship in stock on their US WebStore, so we are at the mercy of the eBay sellers, and the least pricey model I could find at that time was going for a whopping $75!

I am always comfortable paying up to $30 for any Standard Edition Eaglemoss model.  For that price, you are getting your money's worth, unless they do a lousy job with the model.  While this concept model is superbly done, I don't think that it is $75 worth of superbly done.  Honestly though, given the craftsmanship, I would probably be willing to pay up to $50 (shipping included) for this model, and if you are a regular follower of my articles, then you know just how much I like the model when I quote that price.

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.

We now have two of a projected three concept models in the collection at this point in time.  And they look rather nice when lined up next to the USS Excelsior and the Enterprise B.

And I figured I would end this article with a little more in depth side by side set of pictures.

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 Shots

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