Friday, 25 April 2014

Eaglemoss and the Final Thirty

Official Starships Collection

But first a couple of little Eaglemoss updates just to warm you up for the Main Event.

It seems that the Official Starships Collection site has now added the upcoming USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E to the flick through previews on the home page - just one more little tease of this much awaited model. On their Facebook page there's also been the addition of a sneak peak plan view of the Vor'Cha due out in just three weeks time.

While that's going on there, Entertainment Earth have dropped on two magazine cover images for issues 25 and 26 due out in August. I'm very excited about these two. The first, the USS Prometheus is more confirmation of just how Voyager managed to get the coolest Starfleet ships. I suspect that this will not be separable into Multi-Vector Assault Mode as seen in Message in a Bottle and if it does come in several pieces I would suggest contacting Eaglemoss for an immediate replacement.

The next image is for the Tholian cruiser (22nd Century) and therefore from the prequel Enterprise series. As regular readers might have picked up, The Tholian Web is my all-time The Original Series favourite episode and for the time being this is going to be the closest I'll get to having the craft from that story. While the latter issue 26 might not be as hotly anticipated as the USS Prometheus, these are still two fairly well known craft which will be welcomed to any collection.

Which leads nicely into something that I have been discussing recently with +Nils W. . The first forty issues of the collection are now set in stone via the Official Starships Collection page (see below for the expected release dates table). However after that it's still something of a mystery. Reviewing the Memory Alpha initial projection list of the full 70, there are a couple of ships that were expected later which have already been released or are due in a matter of months. So, with a quick bit of juggling, here's what we see as the thirty that are still to be confirmed by Eaglemoss.

What we've also managed to deduce is that with the additional release of one special every quarter, there could well be another seven larger scale craft due to compliment the range working on the basis of one coming out every eight regular issues. If we stick to the 70 issues that means the collection will run until April 14th 2016 in the UK with, surprise, surprise, The Original Series NCC-1701 most likely being the final edition (projected currently but come on....has to be...). The Memory-Alpha provisional list is actually missing the Nausicaan Fighter too so it comes in a little short when you start working out the numbers.

There are also a line of notable absences from this list and we think there should be a campaign to ensure that at least the ones here are included in the range - let us also be reminded that the 70 issue figure could well be their original intention which could be adjusted due to demand. In that case we could be looking at 100 or more maybe!

So here's the provisional list that is still to be confirmed. I've included all of the ones omitted from those officially announced on the site.

  • Raptor Class
  • Breen Warship
  • USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C
  • Borg Queen’s Vessel
  • Hirogen Warship
  • T’Plana-Hath
  • USS Enterprise NCC-1701-J
  • Son’a Command Ship
  • D5 Class
  • Jem’Hadar Battleship
  • Malon Export Vessel
  • Federation Mission Scoutship
  • Scimitar
  • USS Relativity
  • Goroth’s Starship
  • USS Kelvin
  • Son’a Collector
  • Xindi-Reptilian Ship
  • Suliban Cell Ship
  • Phoenix
  • Fesarius
  • Steamrunner Class
  • Xindi-Aquatic Cruiser
  • Vulcan Long Range Shuttle
  • Saber Class
  • USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
  • Romulan Bird-of-Prey (23rd Century)
  • Federation Holoship
  • Scorpion Class
  • Norway Class
  • USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Specials-wise I think we can say that the USS Vengance is a given and should be out about the same time as the Xindi-Insectoid craft. Following that are we likely to see a K-7, Regula One or a Spacedock? For note the specials seem to be appearing on 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 64.

Anyway, focusing on the last issues, as we've said, there are some massive omissions, some of which have been identified already. Some are great but others are a bit iffy - in fact there are ones in the provisional list above which we could easily substitute.

  • Species 8472 bioship (cool idea...special?)
  • Borg Cube (yes please - the free one is OK but this is one to consider or a special)
  • Cousteau 
  • Galileo (see below)
  • Aeon 
  • Hazari Vessel 
  • Karemma Starship 
  • Species 6339 Starship 
  • Centaur-Class 
  • D'Kyr Class 
  • Laneth's Starship 
  • Negh'Var 
  • Romulan Science Vessel 
  • SS Botany Bay




I really don't think it will finish at 70 given the blatant holes and missing craft but then there are some that should be here - and are even missing from the "extras" list. Some of these suggestions aren't that memorable and I don't think I'd be upset if the Hazari, Karemma or Species 6339 ships were omitted. At some point the line has to be drawn (who said that now....???) so here are our five essentials that must, repeat MUST get into the final 70 and aren't at the moment. Some are from the list of suggestions but others haven't even made it that far. Eaglemoss, you'd better be listening up now!



USS Pasteur (Olympic Class)


Could well have been the subscribers special model instead of the USS Enterprise-D from All Good Things.... A metal sphere section clearly here and a magazine covering alternative futures as well as the designing of the model developed from the original designs for the Kirk-era USS Enterprise of The Original Series+Nils W. is backing this one to the hilt and I don't blame him. Missing this classic would be a dishonour even the Klingons would be embarrassed by. It's not even on the suggestions list here. Rubbish. 

Galileo Shuttlecraft

Considering that the runabout gets included in the first 40 why aren't we seeing at least one entry for the short-range personnel craft? I'm not suggesting that we do the whole range but maybe just the original design from The Galileo Seven. Forgetting its inclusion would only make it even more obvious and with the real ship's recent restoration project completed there will never be a better time. Fans probably wouldn't be concerned to miss out on the shuttle from Star Trek V or the multitude of designs from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise.

Negh'Var

Either as the version seen in The Way of the Warrior or as the future Klingon warships from The Next Generation's finale. How could the Klingons not get this ship included when the Jem'Hadar manage three entries on the list? It's one of my favourite designs and seeing it only included as a side point note is a great shame....However, might I tempt a suggestion that it could be slotted into one of the Specials slots? There's a thought and I reckon that could work.

SS Botany Bay

trekcore.com
"Marooned for all eternity at the centre of a dead planet...." Hell yes. Why would you not include this is we have to have the Vengeance as a special edition? Nuts. This is one of the classics and The Original Series doesn't get enough coverage as it is in the range (mainly due to the infamous light dot to represent a ship far away). Most, if not all, fans would at least maim if not kill to see this in the final list. Imagine this as a special perhaps - a whole mag dedicated to Khan - and we mean the good one.

Kazon Warship (Predator Class)

Not the greatest of enemies featured in Voyager but they were the first and as such should be represented in some form. Maybe only the one entry is necessary and in that case let's plump for the large Kazon ship that caused a few issues in Caretaker. It's a curve ball but if we're having to stand some of the randoms suggested then this has to be higher up the priority ladder for sure! It's not special material but Voyager fans shouldn't be short-changed.

Is there a ship that you know isn't being included in the range or even mentioned as a suggestion? Maybe it's time to start getting the campaign up and running to ensure your favourite design doesn't get left on the page. Drop your comments below and let us know your thoughts! Would the ones we've selected be among your choices? Are there any you would remove?

  1. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D (29th August 2013)
  2. USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (movie refit) (5th September 2013)
  3. Klingon Bird-of-Prey (19th September 2013)
  4. Enterprise NX-01(3rd October 2013)
  5. Romulan Warbird (17th October 2013)
  6. USS Voyager NCC-74656 (31st October 2013)
  7. Klingon K'Tinga battlecruiser (14th November 2013)
  8. USS Excelsior NCC-2000 (28th November 2013)
  9. USS Defiant NX-74205 (12th December 2013)
  10. Borg Sphere (26th December 2013)
  11. USS Reliant NCC-1864 (Miranda class) (9th January 2014)
  12. Akira class (23rd January 2014)
  13. Jem'Hadar cruiser (6th February 2014)
  14. Cardassian Galor class (20th February 2014)
  15. USS Equinox NCC-72381 (6th March 2014)
  16. Ferengi Marauder (20th March 2014)
  17. USS Dauntless NX-01-A (3rd April 2014)
  18. Bajoran Solar Sailor (17th April 2014)
  19. USS Stargazer NCC-2893 (1st May 2014)
  20. Klingon Vor'cha class (15th May 2014)
  21. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E (29th May 2014)
  22. Krenim Temporal Weapon Ship (12th June 2014)
  23. Nebula class (26th June 2014)
  24. Xindi insectoid ship (10th July 2014)
  25. USS Prometheus NX-59650 (24th July 2014)
  26. Tholian ship (7th August 2014)
  27. Romulan Bird-of-Prey (21st August 2014)
  28. Maquis Fighter (4th September 2014)
  29. Jem'Hadar Fighter (18th September 2014)
  30. Nausicaan Fighter (2nd October 2014)
  31. The Valdore (16th October 2014)
  32. Runabout (30th October 2014)
  33. Cardassian Hideki Class (13th November 2014)
  34. Vulcan Surok Class (27th November 2014)
  35. Klingon Bird-of-Prey (22nd Century) (11th December 2014)
  36. Oberth Class (25th December 2014?)
  37. Andorian Cruiser (8th January 2015)
  38. Delta Flyer (22nd January 2015)
  39. Romulan Drone (5th February 2015)
  40. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B (19th February 2015)
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All images in this article from Memory-Alpha (unless stated)

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