Rewrites: None
Eaglemoss continues to produce new models under the "Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection" label, and the next Shop Exclusive, which I call Bonus Edition or Extra Edition models, is a much wished for model. Many collectors have lamented that they wanted to see more Kazon ships in the collection, and so Eaglemoss has granted that wish in the form of the Predator Class carrier.
We first get to see this starship in the Star Trek: Voyager episode called "Caretaker".
Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Predator-class was a massive 24th century type of carrier originally built by the Trabe and later commandeered by the Kazon after their rebellion."
If you would like to read more official stuff on this type of ship, feel free to check out the following links:
Predator Class Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
This is not the first Kazon ship in the collection. Way back in Issue # 106, Eaglemoss brought us the Kazon Raider.
Like the previous model, Eaglemoss wasn't the only company to produce a model of the Predator. MicroMachine also produced a tiny version of this ship.
That is all the picture that I want to share of the MicroMachine model at this time. It was cool to have a model of this ship way back when it came out, even with the colors being way off, and it did give me some bragging rights, so it served its purpose.
Before we get into looking at Eaglemoss' model, I want to quickly talk about the stand.
Before we get into looking at Eaglemoss' model, I want to quickly talk about the stand.
I really don't like it. In order for it to hold your model in place, you need to snap the model into the holder. It is such a tight fit that it takes some force to remove it again. This is a horrible design if you are like me and want to constantly handle the model to play with... I mean to admire it. In the end, I really think that the paint is either going to get really scratched up or something is going to snap off.
Now that the stand discussion is out of the way, let us take a closer look at the model.
We will start the actual review with talking about the paint work on this model. At first glance, it seems very simplistic and it isn't until you pick it up and take a closer look that you start noticing the smaller details. The main body of the ship is painted a golden color. Under the right lighting, you then can make out some off colored patches that give the hull a very loose aztec pattern. During the closeup look though, you then start to see things like tiny windows painted in yellow. These help give you a great idea of just how huge this ship really is.
There are a few more areas that have received some additional paintwork, including some orange engine sections and a darkened grill area on either side of the ship.
The paint work is rather underwhelming. I guess it has to do with what ship this is, but I can't get excited when looking at purely the paintjob.
Thankfully, the sculpt and mold work make up for the non-exciting paint job. Along the bottom front of the ship is some sort of mechanics or housing. The area is massive and flows down the front and then curves back up as it progresses along the underside of the model. This section is rendered rather nicely with crisp and clear etchings.
Thankfully, the sculpt and mold work make up for the non-exciting paint job. Along the bottom front of the ship is some sort of mechanics or housing. The area is massive and flows down the front and then curves back up as it progresses along the underside of the model. This section is rendered rather nicely with crisp and clear etchings.
The nose of the ship is done up in plastic, but this allows Eaglemoss to present to us some "covered" areas of the ship.
The trick is well executed and makes you turn the model to see all of the covered molded in details.
Sculpted details are all over the model and you really have to handle the model a lot to take them all in, which is why I'm not to happy with the stand. Eaglemoss runs the risk of messing these painted and molded details up with the "Snap-On" stand.
Near the bottom rear of the model, we have a tail fin greeble that completes the look of the ship. The tiny yellow window details are present down here as well.
Unfortunately, the join seam is a bit more noticeable on my model, but thankfully it is along the bottom and only noticeable if you are looking down there.
Eaglemoss did manage to insert some clear-ish plastics into this model in the form of yellow strips, that have additional paint applied to them, to represent the engine's glowing parts. The effect is lost on this model though and while they do stand out, they are not as impressive as other times that Eaglemoss used clear plastics on thier models.
And that is all the pictures and comparisons I have to share on this ship at this time. At the time of this article's writing (March 2nd, 2022), I was able to find a non-US based eBay seller that had the Eaglemoss model for $99 (shipping included), and that was it. Luckily, the United States collectors like me are able to get this model directly for the U.S. Eaglemoss WebStore for around $30 (shipping cost unknown). And if you are curious, I was able to find an eBay seller that was selling the MicroMachione model for around $9.00.
Honestly, I felt that I needed to give this model way too many "thankfully" statements to make it a worthwhile investment. The model just didn't excite me, and I'm not sure if we can even blame Eaglemoss for this. The over all appearance of the ship on screen is sort of bland, even though it is massive. Perhaps scaling it down to this size of a model takes away from its impressiveness. I felt that the MicroMachine model was rather disappointing as well. I hate to say it, but my personal feeling is that this model is not really worth the price, whether at the reasonable $30 or the unreasonable $99 price tag. If you are a completionist collector like me, then it needs to be bought to keep your Kazon fleet up to date, but I am walking away from this one feeling a bit disappointed. This ship just did not translate well into a small scale model.
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.
As I stated above, the completionist collector will want to get the Predator Class, to keep thier collection up to date. Pictured above is the Carrier with the previously released Kazon Raider (Issue # 106 - REVIEW LINK).
And for giggles, here is the entire MicroMachine Kazon fleet. We can hope that Eaglemoss will bring us the Torpedo Shuttle (lower right model) one day.
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:
And for giggles, here is the entire MicroMachine Kazon fleet. We can hope that Eaglemoss will bring us the Torpedo Shuttle (lower right model) one day.
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:
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