Each does once again come complete with a stand (three of the four here don't need it) as well as a lithograph print of each vessel which is also included on the back two inner pages of the accompanying mini magazines.
Featuring in the 2009 reboot, the Transport shuttle is one you need to keep an eye on. If you sneeze there’s a good chance it’ll vanish. The smallest of the small quartet, it still carries a good level of detail but could have done with being ever so slightly bigger. It’s not as if the box is filled out and it’s also very off scale with the other three more conventional craft.
With the standard blacked out windows, the Transport Shuttle has a fantastic weathered finish with worn paint, scuffs and colour variance. Given it should have been afforded a slightly bigger scale, the finish is impressively carried off. There’s also a fair amount of decals applied to the ship with warning arrows, the registry and hatches wing panels all added.
The weathered look manages to cover up some of the less defined panelling as well as the loss of size versus its peers but what you do feel is that the more realistic finish contrasting to the more sci-fi (and cheaper) elements of the TV shows actually doesn't weigh into its favour.
Assigned to the USS Enterprise, this craft has brushed up well with the same worn effect as the Transport Shuttle. It also benefits when it comes to the registry decals which are much easier to read due to the letter spacing and can even afford to add in the black edging. On the Transport Shuttle all that finery just becomes a bit of a blob.
The panelling too is more defined with distinct ridges on the shuttle surface rather than a series of undulations that gave the smaller Transport vessel a little of its character. It does have a much more industrious look to it as well as that more blocky shuttle silhouette that is distinctive in the Prime Universe sets. Where the Passenger Shuttle does excel is in the retro nacelles which include recessed buzzard collectors and also exhaust points that are a distinct homage to the back end of either/both the original 1960's Enterprise and/or the Galileo shuttle.
It’s a lovely design and well executed. Possibly a tad on the small size but packing a lot of good finishing detail and a more realistic, used appearance than we’ve seen in other sets.
I love the surface detail on this one even more than the Passenger Shuttle because of the speckled, patchy effect that gives a spectacular uneven and realistic finish. Featuring three distinct entry points, the Medical Shuttle is also the most visual attractive of the four thanks to the boatload of red markings that scream out loud it’s role.
Along with the medics markings striped across the hill, the shuttle also has some general use warnings around there being No Step to the side door off the nacelles. These little touches, which are evident right across the pack, might not seem significant thanks to the scale disappointment yet they make the Kelvin Quartet a more tangible group with warnings and labels that you would hope for and expect to be used on such a craft if it were real.
Of the four, it’s the only one that doesn’t sit flat hence all of the pictures include the stand. It also seems to bear a strong resemblance to the Kelvin Medical Shuttle with some minor body modifications including the repositioning of he warp engines. Again there's a lot of strong and crisp decaling on this one set against that angled, weather bodywork with the name, starship registry and pennants all crystal clear. A little more rugged than the Medical Shuttle, the Warrant's detailing is potentially the best of the four but that's not a gold star in any book. The panel lines are prominent and the black window blocking sits perfectly into its assigned recesses but you still feel it's (yawn) undersized and missing an opportunity.
Each of the magazines is an incredibly brief resume of the shuttles' appearances in each of the Kelvin trilogy just to jog your memory as well as screencaps and new CG to fill out the background but don't expect too much as each will take you moments to flick through. The best bit is probably the tech spec at the back.
Comparing directly against the other six sets available, this one falls far short of the standard that fans have come to expect from Eaglemoss. Yes, all the elements are here and work but that size issue has really ground my gears this time since that disappointment has seeped in since I opened the box on its arrival.
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