Fair to Middling: USS Cerritos Unreleased!

Trying to find an XL USS Cerritos is becoming harder and harder.

Master Replicas have managed to secure just about every single last one on the planet but there was some good news when they revealed the existence of the mid-size Cerritos and USS Titan from Lower Decks.

Never released by Eaglemoss, these two are ship-only editions that would have (you suspect) launched the Lower Decks ship range as part of the Star Trek Universe series.

The Cerritos in either scale has been in considerable demand with both this and the XL selling out in minutes although some dodgy multi-orders have been noted by the Master Replicas team. Good to know they're all over it.

Based on the season one version of the ship, the Eaglemoss model doesn't have some of the higher detail that was added in subsequent seasons. It's a bit of a loss that there were never opportunities to upgrade the original build but we all know why that is.

The paint scheme for one is very simple. A plain grey base with blocked dark grey sections  and mid-level grey hull highlights dominate the top of the ship. Alignment of the mid-grey to the lifeboat hatches is pretty good, likely assisted by the scale since this is a relatively small ship in-universe. The windows are also painted on. I can ay no more because the alignment on the mid-size Cerritos is appalling. There's no other words for it because they are so off from their hull indents it's embarrassing. Was this a rush job at the end of the line knowing what was coming? Maybe it was but it ruins what is actually a decent replica.

Eaglemoss have, to their credit, added in the phaser strip with more precision and this almost totally encircles the saucer. The distinct Support Services yellow stripe also pops that touch of colour both on the dorsal and ventral sides of the ship 's primary hull and on the bottom of the engineering hull.. One can only assume that over time collectors would have been able to add ships with the red and blues of command and sciences to their shelves.  

To the rear of the hull is the plain and simple ship registry of USS Cerritos NCC-75567. This is the only place on the model and is in keeping with its onscreen counterpart. The reason for this is brilliant. Since the Cerritos is a support ship and more likely to be towing something, the registry was placed to the back rather than emblazoned on the front.

One thing I do like here is the unevenness of the mid-grey panelling. It's beautifully asymmetrical on the top and bottom of the saucer and Engineering section although that's not continued onto the warp engines. They mirror each other from the centre out but let's get to them momentarily.

On the underside there is some very slight misalignment of the grey highlights in regards to the four darker recesses but those are almost insignificant. The colour scheme works perhaps even more effectively here as it swirls around in three shades towards the centre of the primary hull.

Darting down to the pencil-shaped nacelles we have two industrial-looking struts. Given their size they do provide decent support for the engines. Oddly the two smaller pieces which connect to the tiny Engineering hull are patchily painted.

Nor do the engines contain any transparent elements for the bussard collectors or warp grilles. Everything is painted in here and in respect to the collectors that makes sense as there's a ton of detail around them leading into a darker grey piece before the lighter shades of the main bulk of the nacelle.

Maybe the translucent elements could have been painted as we have seen before however this choice gives the Cerritos a more "cartoon" and matt finish overall. The warp field grilles on the nacelles are fairly slim which may have dictated the choice to go 100% plastic with just the addition of a conspicuous Starfleet pennant towards the front.

The seemingly inaccessible Engineering hull finishes off the Cerritos with the same uneven patterning which is less evident onscreen than it is in reality (which is bizarre since there's actually no physical filming model of the Cerritos!). The deflector is finished in pastille shades which does look out of place and subdued when compared to the rest of this design. Why we've gone for a toned down effect here is a bit of a mystery given the bright glow that emanates from it in Lower Decks and if anything it detracts from the finish.

The stand fit for the Cerritos mid-size is secure although fitting the clear holder into the black base was one of the tightest connections ever to the point where I thought the force would snap something. 

This is a good replica but the choice to market it at exactly the same price as the XL (£59.99) remains a mystery. Yes, it will go with the mid-size Titan but again that's the same price as the XL edition Eaglemoss produced. Both of the mid-size are rare and clearly from the speed they sold the demand was there especially if collectors were unable to get hold of the XL. For note that did drop just two weeks later.

Nor is there a magazine with this one since it was produced and lost in the depths of Eaglemoss' multiple third party warehouses scattered across the globe. I think that finding all of these items may have been Ark of the Covenant level cubed at least.

We'll be comparing this to the XL shortly but at first impression and seeing why some of these were cancelled orders following its launch there really doesn't seem to be a reason to have this AND the larger edition. Personal opinion, choose one and go with it because they're going to be similar in detail with only size being the difference.

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