Got my first Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship today.
Martok2112's review. Comparing the Eaglemoss to the Hot Wheels version.
Yeah, my first Eaglemoss Star Trek die-cast miniature ship arrived today. It wasn't the Galaxy Class Enterprise D like I thought it would be (trying to remember if I actually ordered it....if I did, it may arrive with my next week's shipment, which I think also includes the Klingon Bird of Prey).
I got the refit U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek's I through III.
It is a nicely built model. The paint tone is much more in line with what I always wanted to see in a Star Trek miniature....a light gray, as opposed to the bright white of the Hot Wheels Star Trek miniatures that were released a few years ago. The Eaglemoss version is also a little smaller than the Hot Wheels version.
I was mildly disappointed that they did not put the pseudo-Azteca hull paint detail on the ship, (I was hoping to get some good texture photos from this ship) but it is not a deal breaker...especially considering I paid for my first few ships in advance. Then again, this IS a miniature....so such hand painting would've been pretty pain-staking and patience trying, I'm sure. I think other Federation models due to come out are supposed to have the hull pattern, but I won't hold my breath.
It is made up of both die-cast metal and plastic parts. The warp nacelles are plastic, with the warp emitters and the bussard collectors done up in a clear blue plastic, as is the navigational deflector on the secondary hull. They sorta did the same thing with the Hot Wheels Enterprise refit, but only the inboard warp emitters are clear blue plastic, as is the nav deflector. The nav deflector housing also seems a bit more proportionally accurate on the EM version. Photon torpedo tubes are etched into the front of the EM version. There are no torpedo tubes on the HW version, just a flat, painted surface with no detail whatsoever. The bussard collectors on the front of the EM's warp engines are also singular, and not the split design on the actual ship.
I expressed my mild disappontment with the lack of Azteca hull painting, but this ship (EM) is otherwise very well detailed and painted. The lettering on the saucer section is much more accurately scaled than that on the Hot Wheels version....although the Hot Wheels ship does retain the hull lettering at the aft of the bridge module, and the Eaglemoss does not. (Also, in a cute little faux pas on the Hot Wheels version, it would appear that there is an additional phaser bank located on the upper saucer setion, just behind the bridge, along the same latitutde as the actual main phasers.) Window lights are actually painted on the saucer rim of the Eaglemoss (EM) Enterprise, whereas on the Hot Wheels (HW) model, they are indentations in the model itself. The bridge module upper dome and lower sensor domes on the EM are also painted in a light gold. The bridge module on the HW is simple white all around. Both models feature the grey strip that runs the periphery of the bridge module. The impulse deck on the EM is also painted....blue for the implulse deflector crystal atop the engines, and red for the thrusters themselves. The only painted feature on the HW version of the impulse deck is the red impulse thrusters. The reaction control thrusters on the EM are painted on the saucer's topside only, and are merely indentations on the ventral of the saucer. On the HW version, they are etchings in the hull. Phaser emitters are raised only on the lower saucer of the EM, and painted dorsally, but flat. The name Enterprise is seen below the shuttle bay on the HW version, but not on the Eaglemoss...probably because the Eaglemoss version is smaller than the Hot Wheels Enterprise.
Alright, let's keep the review short. The EM model has a lot of painted areas that the HW doesnt. The HW has a lot more etching for its hull detail. Both are nicely done ships, but I have to give more points to the Eaglemoss model for accuracy in detail.
I eagerly await my next ships....especially the Klingon K't'inga class battlecruiser.
Got my Eaglemoss Enterprise refit miniature today...quick review and comparison
