BTE Shuttle Pack 2 - Hawking & Calypso

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

The next two Eaglemoss models that I am going to review are not something that I would normally have purchased.  There are several reasons for this, but the first is, had Eaglemoss not gone out of business, then these probably would not have been available to me at a somewhat decent cost. 

This set of ships was part of Eaglemoss' "Star Trek: The Next Generation Build The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D" subscription.  Described by Memory Alpha (at THIS LINK) as "a British partwork that debuted in March 2021 in the UK, the US, select EU countries, and Japan.  Available by subscription from Eaglemoss Collections' websites and published under its Hero Collector imprint, collectors can build their own seventy centimeter-long (~27.5 inch-long) replica of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, constructed from hand-painted ABS and die-cast metal parts, and featuring electronic lighting.  Each four-week period, subscribers typically received with each issue four kit "stages" with parts for the model and a (220 × 284 mm) 32-page magazine containing the relevant sections of the assembly instructions."

I would not have normally acquired these models because, while I do like building and painting models, I found this particular project to be a rather expensive undertaking.  Once again, referring to Memory Alpha, they better describe these Shuttle Packs as "Double-model packs offered exclusively to subscribers of this particular partwork alone (and therefore never offered through the company's webstores), which, while coined as "bonus", had to be paid for nonetheless by those subscribers who opted to receive them. Larger scaled than the ones from the Official Starships Collection, each shuttle model came with its own 20-page magazine, which was actually twelve pages longer (and larger) than the ones that accompanied those from the Official Collection shuttle sets. The extra content is taken up with production background information that was not included in the Official Collection shuttle set magazines, which only contained in-universe information. Each individual model/magazine combo came within their own "Collector's Edition" format style packaging as introduced in 2018, two of which included in a box set."

Thanks to the groups I follow on FaceBook, I had the unique opportunity of seeing this partwork fail and be canceled by Eaglemoss in several unmentioned countries, leaving builders in those countries with partially built ships, and no way to complete them without breaking thier bank.  I therefore opted out, and apparently, it was a wise decision in the United States as well since Eaglemoss ended up belly-up and thus stranding everyone with unfinished models.  Rumor has it, that another company has acquired the dies and rights to continue the subscription, but, as I said in my last article, when it comes to Eaglemoss stuff these days, "I will believe it, when I see it."

Lastly, you may be noticing that I am reviewing these Shuttle Packs out of order.  That is because, the companies that are liquidating the leftover Eaglemoss stock, are doing so in a seemingly random fashion.  The reality is, they are consolidating the stock from all over the world, inventorying those assets, then trying to turn it around and sell that stuff to the consumers at a reasonable price.  I took a chance buying this set, in the hopes that I can acquire the other two sets as well.  We will see if my gamble pays off.



Shuttle Pack #2 consists of larger version of the Hawking and the Calypso.

Both of the shuttle models come with Okudagrams.

I am going to borrow this next small tidbit of information right from my review of the Shuttlecraft Collections for two reasons.  #1, it as well written and it still pertains, and #2, because I am at heart, a lazy writer.

"What is an Okudagrams you might ask?  An Okudagram  is essentially schematics of of a ship.  The first ones were created by Mike Okuda of Star Trek reknowned.  He was famous for his designing these for ship's computer displays.

Image Source: LCARSGFX Blog

I haven't looked closely at the Okudagrams that come with these two shuttles, but at a first quick glance, they appear to be the same size as the ones that came in the Shuttlecraft Collection four packs.  It would make sense that Eaglemoss saved some money and just reused them again.

The first of the two shuttles is the Type 4.

We first get to see this starship in the movie, Star Trek: Generations (1994).

Per Memory Alpha and Beta, "The Galileo-type shuttlecraft was a shuttlecraft type operated by Starfleet in the 23rd and 24th centuries.  This type of shuttlecraft had two nacelles, attached to the sides near the ventral hull with two pylons each, and two impulse thrusters facing aft. These thrusters were above and to the side of the rear hatch. The shuttles also had a small, stub wings on the craft's center line. There was also four maneuvering thrusters, located near the corners of the craft. There were two side doors, and the shuttle had a large forward facing window, on the dorsal side of the front of the craft. The forward ventral hull had a large black surface, and a series of landing lights were located in the center of the ventral hull."  They go on to say this about the Hawking, "The Hawking was a Federation Galileo-type shuttlecraft that was in service with Starfleet in the late 24th century, attached to the USS Enterprise-D. It was the second shuttle named for Stephen Hawking aboard the Enterprise, and it was shuttle 15.  In 2371, the Hawking rescued Captain Jean-Luc Picard from a hilltop on Veridian III following the defeat of Tolian Soran and the crash of the Enterprise-D saucer section."

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

Type 4 Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK
Hawking (371) (NCC-1701-D/15) Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

This is the third Type 4 shuttle to be released by Eaglemoss.  The first of two were released as the TMP era version in Eaglemoss' Shuttlecraft Collection Set 5 (Review LINK HERE) and then again as the Hawking (TNG era version) in thier later released Shuttlecraft Collection Set 6 (Review LINK HERE).  This latest version of the Type 4 shuttle is much larger than the ones that came with those Collections.

One of my biggest laments with the Shuttlecraft Collections was the size of the models versus the price.  I always felt that we were overcharged for what we were getting.  Due to the bankruptcy and the fact that I did not participate in the build, I am unsure what the cost per ship of these larger models would have been.  Through Master Replicas, I ended up paying $36 (shipping included in that price) per shuttle.  Considering that the Shuttlecraft Collections worked out to $25 per model, I think I got more bang for my buck with these new models.

 
Hawking vs. Hawking

 
Hawking vs. Hawking

The reality is, we are getting models that are about the same size as the regular issue "Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection" models.  I like this because a larger model usually means more clarity on the details as it provides Eaglemoss with a larger "canvas".

 
 
 
 

The sculpt and mold work are amazing on this model, especially on the bottom of the ship. Like the smaller version, there is a lot going on down here.  The details are crisp and concise, only being disrupted by four little holes that appear to be left over from the molding process.

The lack of paint work detracts from the appearance ever so slightly, and all that nice detail is almost white washed away.  

Like its smaller version, this new model also has clear blue plastics on the rear of the model to serve as the impulse engine exhausts. Since this ship has no rear markings on the hatch, the impulse engines help break up the monotony of what would be a plain white scene here.

The painting of the model has been rendered nicely, with window paint lining up well with the molded details.  Pinstriping and identifiers are crisp and clear.

As you turn the model over and over, you can clearly make out the RCS thrusters that have been painted onto the hull.  The impulse engine intake has been painted grey to represent a void in this part of the ship.

The warp nacelles are a slight bit of a contention for me.  I would have preferred that Eaglemoss used clear blue plastics for the warp nacelle grills rather than painting them blue.  The larger model definately afforded them the ability to do it on this rendition of the Type 4.  Other than that little complaint, the nacelles are nicely done.  The blue paint is a good stand-in for the clear plastics and aligns well with the tactile details.

 

Eaglemoss did a real good job piecing this model together.  The only place where the join seam is slightly noticeable is on the belly of the ship.  And in that case, it blends well with the natural lines of the molded details.  

In the end, I was actually very happy with this larger sibling to the ever so tiny Shuttlecraft Collection version.  The larger size provided the ability to refine the details of this type of shuttle, and I feel like I finally got my monies' worth on this one.

The second ship that we are given in this Shuttle Pack is the Captain's Yacht Calypso.

This "shuttle" is a very unusual design indeed.

We never get to see this ship in action on screen, however, it makes plenty of appearances anytime we saw the underside of a Galaxy Class starship, while it was doing a flyby over top of us.

Photo Credit: Memory Alpha

Per Memory Alpha and Memory Beta, "The Calypso was a Federation captain's yacht that was in service with Starfleet in the mid-24th century, attached to Galaxy-class starships, among others the USS Enterprise-D. In 2371, it scraped on the surface of the planet Veridian III, where the ship's saucer section had been forced to crash land."

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

Captain's Yacht (Calypso) Information: Memory Alpha LINK and Memory Beta LINK

Once again, this is the second time that Eaglemoss has presented us with a version of this ship.  The first time was a rather small version released in thier 7th Shuttlecraft Collection (read review at THIS LINK).

 
Calypso vs. Calypso

 
Calypso vs. Calypso

I'll reiterate that in the end, I ended up paying roughly $36 (shipping included in that price) for the larger version while the tiny model cost me around $25.  

When I reviewed the Shuttlecraft Collection version of this ship, I lamented on the fact that Eaglemoss produced two other Captain's Yachts in the larger Standard size, and then went and produced the Galaxy class version in such a tiny state.  

You see, this is not our first Captain's Yacht, in fact, it is now our third.  Eaglemoss has previously given us the Aeroshuttle from underneath of USS Voyager as well as The Cousteau from underneath the USS Enterprise-E.  

  

Issue 75: Cousteau                          Issue 78: Aeroshuttle

 (Enterprise-E Captain's Yacht)      (Intrepid Class Captain's Yacht)

Click on THIS LINK to read more.    Click on THIS LINK to read more.

Of those other two captain's yachts, one was seen in action on screen, while the other never made a live appearance.  Yet they both were given to us in Standard Edition size format, so, naturally, I'm very happy that we now have this larger version of the Calypso.

 
 
 
 

When I first got this model with the Shuttlecraft Collection, my initial thoughts were, "Which way does it go?"  After doing some quick Google searching, I believe that this is the correct direction that this ship travels.  

The underside of this model seems to be nicer than its smaller counterpart.  The paint work stands out better on this model.  The model does boast some tactile molded details, including the extended landing gear.  

I'm yet again perplexed why Eaglemoss chose to do this, when almost all of their starship models that can land did not have their gear extended.  That being said, the details on the gear are nice, and you can clearly make out the pistons that extend the landing pads.

The top and sides of the model are a bit more detailed.  This part of the model still bears a lot of tactile details, especially windows and even a top side access hatch.

The paintwork on the upper area and sides of the model are much nicer as well.  The Starfleet swoop, ship's registry and pinstripes are all crisp and clear to read.  The window paint is well aligned with the molded counterparts.
 

It's is a weird shaped ship, and in the end, makes for an "OK" model to be in the collection.  For the completionist collector, who has the other captain yachts, I suppose that this larger model now becomes a must have as it will look better with those other two models, over its smaller sister model.

That wraps up my commentary and pictures of Shuttle Pack 2.  Normally, at this point in my article, I would help you find the best place to purchase the set, however, those days came to an end with Eaglemoss' bankruptcy.  Other than keeping an eye on eBay of a nicely priced one, you can check out one of the following sites (Click on thier logo to go there.) to see if they are carrying it.  

 

In the end, I actually liked both of these models.  In fact, I liked them far better than thier smaller versions from the previous Shuttlecraft Sets.  It would be nice to think that Eaglemoss might have made these available to collectors who were not building the Enterprise so that we could have added larger versions to our collection, but we will never know that now.  At this point, if you are a fan of the Enterprise D's shuttles, and like me, prefer a larger scale version of them, shop around for a good price and get your hands on this set.

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 Models:
Hawking (Build The Enterprise)     Hawking (Shuttlecraft Collection Set 6)
Type 4 Comparative
Calypso (Build The Enterprise)     Calypso (Shuttlecraft Collection Set 7)
Calypso Comparative