The Original Tough Little Ship: DS9's Runabout XL

I'm already a big fan of the regular scale Runabout from the ships collection and it was one of the best to photograph.

So, opening up this box to take a look at the XL USS Orinoco NCC-72905 was quite an exciting prospect. 

Nor does it disappoint in any way. The Runabout, as with the Delta Flyer which we've covered earlier, is awash with detail at every point. In a simple phrase, yes it is an upscaled version of the regular collection model but you'd be silly not to add this into your set.

Base coated in the familiar Starfleet light grey, everything about the Orinoco just pops out. Yes, it looks awesome displayed with or without the stand (I prefer the latter) but there's much more to get into here.

Everything about it just feels right. The further two darker shades of grey highlight various mechanisms and recessed portions of the ship. The scale, as with the Flyer means that the surface electronics as well as the plating are much more defined. Comparing the two you can see that on the smaller original there are a few lumps and bumps as well as some feathered paint and blemishes. On the XL those are gone, especially around the joins between the hull sections. There are some flaked paint points on a couple of highlights - most notably one right above the port main forward window if you trace your eye back up to the sloping roof above it. Around the roof slope especially you can see that the paint is nowhere near as thickly applied meaning that the shape of the craft is more visible and allows the finer detail to stand that little bit prouder of the hull.  

As this is a sizing up, the joins are in exactly the same place but what we now see is greater depth on the surface and the fineries not being washed out with the paint. The finish feels crisp and even the interior detail on the rollbar is clear to see. Yes, some of the join lines are a little obvious especially along the centre line but this feels much cleaner in a bigger scale. The decals themselves are focused and clear along the sides, nose, pylons and across the top of the ship and all align as you would expect so there's no glaringly wonky angles. This is one of those pieces that works full stop.

Even the engines have those key translucent sections to replicate the bussard collectors and warp field grilles which are only hampered by the fact you can see the connecting pins between the pieces when the light catches them.

One negative point from me on this one is that my Runabout seems to creak a bit around the middle section. I'm guessing this is down to it being a big hollow lump of plastic made of two sections with linking rods but I would have hoped it to be a bit firmer. That taken however, the construction on the Orinoco is pretty solid and that's also thanks to the impulse unit which are fixed in under the engine pylons on either side of the main hull. 

What is a significant upgrade is that from the original, some of the raised panelling is now coloured. Note that mid-grey colour wasn't present on the smaller edition and it's helped to enhance a good deal of the minor features of the Runabout hull surface. It is a significant upgrade once you spot the colouring and overall precision finish improvements and that, for one, simply makes this a must have.

The regular version is decent but doesn't have the translucent underwing elements nor do you get quite the sense of scale and depth that HeroCollector's XL edition succeeds in encapsulating. There's even a few corrections - the fins on the cockpit module no longer have a lurid red front stripe to them for one. The side pennants to the front are also much more precisely aligned to their actual location on the hull thanks to an adjustment in the joint line and even the underside just seems to have a more crisp and clean finish. 

The attention given to upgrading her is noticeable once you take the time and I can guarantee the Runabout will look amazing out on display alongside an XL Defiant and DS9 (for example). Absolutely a favourite of the range and definitely one of the best quality models in the collection, making those key adjustments has just made it even better.

The magazine with the Runabout maxes out on the designing of the support ship and readers will probably be overfamiliar with the material that has been seen in numerous publications since the mid-1990's. However, on this one there's enough of a difference and upgrade in the Orinoco that the accompanying paperwork almost becomes defunct. 

What's your opinion on the XL Runabout? 

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Screen Shy: The Official Starships Collection Issues 78 and 79

Now here's a thing.   

For the first time in the collection we actually have two ships that never actually appeared (properly) in any Star Trek series. Why? Because technically we only ever saw the underbelly of the USS Voyager Aeroshuttle docked on the Intrepid Class starship and secondly because the Harry Mudd starship, the Stella, was one of those classic far-distant glowing blob ships that The Original Series excelled at including. 

As with the Antares, it would only become a recognisable shape when it came to remastering those 1960's stories.  The Aeroshuttle is a biggie to be sure in the realms of the Starships Collection. Long rumoured to have existed and as rare as some of those damn Pokemon everyone is obsessed with finding at the moment, collectors have been clamouring for its inclusion in the series since the docking process was highlighted in issue six oh so many moons ago. Funnily I couldn't help but make a parallel that we've now had two "docking" vessels in very close succession with the Enterprise-E Captain's Yacht only three issues ago. Those in the UK might understand this as "London Bus Syndrome". You wait years for one to come along and then two do in a short period of time.

For something that was never used and was actually a side hobby project for Adam "Mojo" Lebowitz and Rob Bonchune, the result is quite eye catching. The only bit we've ever actually seen is that flat and very plain underbelly which here is just as flat and plain as you would expect. The only real features to note are the raised landing gear which sits proud of the hull and the mothership registry simply decalled at the rear and nose tip. While you might wish for something a bit more wow, there really isn't any reason for it and the underside merely presents the functionality required for when it's not locked into the primary hull of Voyager.   

Flipping her over there's a lot more to take in in the metal topside. Every surface has some form of raised or sunk panel right across the surface. She is incredibly slim from all angles with a distinct blocky and very recognisably Runabout-cloned central pod latched between the two angular wings. Your eye is immediately pulled towards the golden warp core at the centre with its dark grey surround contrasting to the Starfleet standard light grey that covers 90% of the hull. As with the smaller ships we've seen before the cockpit windows are blacked out and again, distinctly Runabout in their shape (because they could use the sets for the interiors and save some cash). To the rear there are also four windows which parallel the lounge windows on the once-seen rear section of the Deep Space Nine workhorses. 

Along both sides of the ship we have the Starfleet pennant streaking towards the rear bearing the USS Voyager moniker since the Aeroshuttles were never given individual registries or names unlike their Runabout cousins. The pennants also appear on the warp engine pods embedded into the atmospheric wings but here's one thing that bugs me and repeats all over the magazine too - the Starfleet delta symbol is, from the top, the wrong way round. I would understand if these were angled and mirrored left and right but they are both the same way round and it's annoying as hell. However, look at every other pic and you'll see they are all the same. Every. Single. One.  On the positive side though, the warp engines do have translucent red bussard collectors split centrally and blue vents again deep inside the housings. 

The overall grey tone does tend to wash out features on these Starfleet vessels and here is no exception. You can make them out but the paint job does seem heavy in a few patches. The alignment of the windows and the decals is perfect as is the colouring around that golden warp core. The orange thrusters and phaser ports do break up that monotone colouring and are well defined and precisely applied. Some of the smaller paint features such as those black triangles in the side pods attached to the hull by the war engines are missing but that's going to be a hard one to apply in such a tiny gap. Nor do we have the darker colouring around the very edge of the ship as per the magazine pictures but given that's the join line I guess it was another sacrifice needed to be taken.

Only the impulse engines to the rear of the warp engine pods have a teeny tiny misalignment on the painting but it's so minor it barely classes. However, after those annoying deltas, you start seeing all the "cracks" so to speak. As for the build quality though, it's a good clean slot together and clearly just two pieces with the metal top and plastic flat base.

Given the scale, Eaglemoss have done a splendid job of finishing the Aeroshuttle. The paint work is 99% perfect and it is a faithful reproduction of the CG imagining from Lebowitz and Bonchune even down to those damn deltas. I think fans will be very excited to get hold of this rarity even if, technically, she never actually appeared in the show.

To the pages of the accompanying tome now and we get a decent level of information for the Ship Profile section from its design history through testing, its abilities and a full breakdown of its expected lifetime and defences to boot. As we never saw it, all this is fascinating to read and makes this one of the most invaluable resources to date in the series because of how little this craft was actually seen.

The Designing and Building the Aeroshuttle section reveals how it was originally designed by Rick Sternbach before Adam Lebowitz and Rob Bonchune from Foundation Imaging had a pop at her in their spare time. A good read but you do find yourself questioning why this wasn't used instead of building not one but two Delta Flyer's...(but the final On Screen section in her does answer that to a degree!)

Finally and keeping with the Voyager theme we get to walk the set designs with Richard James including a load of pics I've personally never seen and give impressions of the series that could have been. Some great notes in here how bits of other starships made their way into the production, some of the changes that were made and how sets were made to mirror the exterior of Voyager because of its much smaller size than the Galaxy Class Enterprise-D. Together this magazine and model make a good solid package and definitely one I would recommend for all collectors. The unusual and not-often seen nature of the ship will probably be enough for most to head to their local newsagents!

Aaaaaand to Stella. Hmmm.

Ok so this was an addition to the remastered Mudd's Women and by that fact alone it places it at a disadvantage with myself. It's one of those episodes that I could happily not watch again and wouldn't miss it and in some ways, this design carries my feelings towards that story more than adequately.

Plain and simple, it's a lump, an 18 metre long blob. There's nothing flashy here, it's a grey slug-like lump with warp engines. I could just end the review there but I do owe it to anyone reading to give you some more information. Old even by the time of The Original Series, the Class-J ship is an oddment in every possible way.

The surface is in keeping with the classic style of the 60's but given a bit of life with a distinctive metallic two tone aztec paint job that covers every surface from the nose to the rear of the nacelles (but not the inside edge of the lower pylon sections). It needs this finish purely because of the basic nature of the craft with only a slim amount of features breaking up the monotony. There's a distinct lip around the centre edge of the hull marked in blue which co-ordinates against the translucent sensor dome on the top and the blue domes to the front and rear of the stubby warp engines. 

A nice feature are the twin deflector dishes lodged at the corners of the angled pylons. A dulled bronze, they do up the "classic" nature of the ship. To the rear there's one heck of a big, blocky impulse engine that looks like it has some serious kick with all those exhaust ports. On the underside there appears to be a cargo hatch or landing ramp of some form but that's it. 

OK, I'm being a little over-harsh with the Stella - which does have its name emblazoned on the sides of the hull - because the pictures we saw in preview are not as good as the finished article. That was a much darker colour scheme while this model has a much clearer and sketchy metal coating. Do I like it? It's unusual, 100% unique and never to be repeated but I think there will only be a fraction of the collector audience who will be heading out to the shops to snap this one up.

Issue 79 recounts the opening third of Mudd's Women plus it provides some details on the specs of the Class-J starship as seen in the remastered version of the episode. The new CG images of the Stella are really good and while it is one of the most simplistic craft yet, you have to admire the look that has been achieved here. The magazine also covers further references to the Class-J in The Menagerie plus Operation: Annihilate! and The Way to Eden. Note as well that the ship in the episode - the screen-used CG - was not actually labelled as the Stella because it was so small on the Enterprise viewer.

The Designing Mudd's Starship two-pager does explain a lot more about the craft. It actually makes it more understandable as to why the ship looks like it does and the homage it pays to not only the original "screen blob" but also to the legendary Matt Jefferies and his unused shuttle sketches.

The third section in the issue covers Women of Star Trek and takes a different take on the usual magazine article. Blocked by episode, we are given brief background information on both the female guest characters from 17 classic episodes as well as some details on their activites outside Star Trek since their appearances. Fans won't be surprised that Andrea from What Are Little Girls Made of?, Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas from Who Mourns for Adonais? and Vina from The Cage are among those featured in this section. It's something a bit out of the ordinary for the collection and makes for a very interesting read and does cover material that many fans may not know outside of the franchise bubble.

The On Screen moment is fairly obviously Mudd's Women to end the magazine and we also get the preview of next time's Federation Scout Ship from Insurrection.

The Aeroshuttle is the unquestionable "winner" this month, offering the greater detail and aesthetic however the Class-J starship is not without its merits. It is a simple design, a plain craft but it is one that effectively homages a past era and keeps in line with what was originally seen in the episode back in 1966. Sometimes going back to basics can work very well although I'm not certain if this makes that cut.

How did the new ships go down with you? Is the Class-J growing on you?

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Run(about) and Hide(ki): The Official Starships Collection Issues 32 and 33

I like to think that the delay in the arrival of this week's two new starships in the Eaglemoss Collection was due to a spike in demand due to both the Deep Space Nine favourite, the Runabout and the Into Darkness USS Vengeance both arriving on UK shores.

Not since a year ago has there been such a strong double/header when both Deep Space Nine and USS Excelsior were released on the same day.

The regular issues this month follow a very specific theme rotating around that most circular of space stations which has already succeeded in managing two mentions in two paragraphs and as it's my favourite show I don't care; any excuse will do.

Issue 32 is unmissable for fans of the former Terok Nor as the Starfleet workhorse, the Runabout is finally here. Coupled with the model of the station from Special One and the USS Defiant from Issue Nine, it's the final piece of equipment you need to tick for your Bajoran sector fleet.

As this was also the first release in the collection which could be landed in it's presented form it meant we could spend more of the available budget and go on location with the USS Orinoco...location being predominantly my garden doubling for some abstract alien planet in the Gamma Quadrant.

As a Niner this is a must-have and the result doesn't disappoint. The spine section running atop the ship and containing the warp core is made from metal while the command, cargo and habitat modules as well as the warp engines are in plastic. 

She is a little smaller than I had expected in length but retains all the features we're familiar with from the ship as seen on screen for seven years and one episode of The Next Generation. Interestingly there's not even a mention of the Yellowstone Class Runabout from Harry Kim's alternative Earth in Non Sequitur. 

The base to clear-plastic ship dock is very poor, wobbling all over the place while the Runabout itself is a tight fit - something also shared with the Hideki Class fighter in the following issue (33). The construction material split was a clever move with all the parts hanging off the central spine in plastic. Detail-wise the hull highlights some panelling but I find that it's lacking in some finer detail. On ships such as the USS Enterprise-D we received an aztec paint scheme and given the scale here, the Orinoco would have benefitted from this finish - and perhaps a little space dirt as well.

There is a distinctive mid-point joint line running around the centre of the ship making that the only major, visible seam since everything else (on mine at least) has a pretty good fit. I would have liked a bit more detail (yes, noted already...) even around the warp core and I guess the lack of space and therefore rigidity of structure meant that the venting on the sides of the warp engines couldn't be detailed in blue transparent plastic although the bussard collectors do get that treatment. On closer inspection the front sections of the under-wing impulse engines have also received clear red plastic sections - but not the rear.


Then there's that sensor pod. It's a nice attachment and I'm certain some fans will have two (one with and one that they've removed) for super-completion levels but it was used a lot less than it wasn't. It's firmly afixed to the metal body section of the Runabout and perhaps having it as a removable would have been a nice little twist on the model formula. As it is, the sensor pod is very stable, secure and well-made. Shame the only real reason for it to be there is to distinguish which Runabout was which in the show when more than one was shown|!

Now this review might seem (perhaps as usual) that I'm griping about this one. I'm not. It's magnificently well made, has great lines and from every angle this is one of the models we'll be talking about for a long time. It's nice to see that we don't just have to rely on Enterprise to produce a good ship - there were a fair few in other series but it's taking a while to get to them.

Even the decals on the Orinoco are centred from the pennants on the top of the warp sled section to the ship registry on the sides of the command pod. The underside doesn't appear to be that well coloured or marked however it's in keeping with the original design. Very minimal but hey, how often are you going to be wanting to turn this gem over?

So one more great entry to the catalogue and I've even managed to review without a single mention of this being about the same size as the Rubicon from One Little Ship. Well done me....

The first two pages of the magazine were a disappointment, reusing the cover picture for the main (new) CGI image that introduces the backstory to the craft within the Star Trek fictional universe. Giving some key moments in their lifetime, the sledgehammer that was the arrival of the introduction of the USS Defiant in The Search reminds us how ineffective these three little vessels were for Deep Space Nine after the Dominion showed up.

Rick Sternbach's original designs, based on that shuttle from The Undiscovered Country aren't new and many fans will recognise them from, if nothing else, The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine made after the show's second season. The evolution from that point to Runabout is well covered and backed up again here one more time. I hoped there would be more on the habitat module than we get here (one picture) and more on the overall internal design and changes than is presented in the magazine. 

The trail also includes (since it was the same model as the one from Star Trek VI) the USS Jenolan from the Scotty episode Relics in The Next Generation. Again the design carry-overs are blatant due to its heritage but I never knew that at one point the Sydney Class was a potential for the Runabout itself. Adding that picture of the Jenolan does mean every fan will be hoping to see her in a future issue.

Oddly with an issue so far into the production run there are two things to note - that all of the pages are assigned to the Danube Class alone and that we're still getting some info on what happened to the original filming model and how both that construction as well as a later CGI version were used in the series.

Over in Issue 33 it's our second Cardassian starship, the Hideki Class first seen (and I'd forgotten this) back in the second season of Deep Space Nine during Profit and Loss. OK it might not be exactly the same colour we're more familiar with from the later years but then this is one of those ships that seems to have slipped through the net since it's revealed that no-one is able to fill in the story of it's creation (although some people were unavailable/didn't want to be interviewed) it is one of those enigma's forevermore and shows that sometimes you just can't find out everything. Ironically the story of being unable to find out anything about the design process for the Hideki Class manages to fill an entire double page.

The stand for the ship is exceptionally tight-fitting; so much so at one point I thought it was going to snap and was happily proved wrong when it fitted like a glove around the delta-wing of the fighter. While we took the Orinoco outside for a spin I felt it would be unkind not to do likewise with the Hideki Class so it's two on-location shoots this month (no idea how I'm going to do the Vengeance so bear with me).

In series terms this is the ultimate cannon fodder probably seen leaving a scene in bits more than any other ship type in the history of Star Trek. I mean, who designs a ship that can be destroyed with only a single photon torpedo blast or a sustained phaser hit? Bearing similarities to the larger Galor Class we saw a lot of these getting phasered and torpedoed in the brilliant Call to Arms marking the loss of Deep Space Nine to the Dominion.

As models go this one is flat. Literally. The picture on the inside page of the magazine threw me a bit since it's a front view and doesn't highlight any of the dorsal or ventral design intricacies. From the front this is exceptionally dull - no real depth, no good angle to photograph but when you view the model from any other point it's a good little model.

The reproduction is perfect alongside the magazine CGI images with every lump and bump across the surface duplicated precisely across both formats. Comparing the detail to the plan views in the magazine there's not a foot wring but for those of us looking to see just how screen-precise the Hideki Class model is we'll have to jump over to Google Images as the photos used as part of the guide are very, very poor and if not pixellated, blurred. Rather than having to flick between different sources to not off the precision of the collection I would suggest looking for higher quality results. The new CG pics are crisp and clear and should be correct but they may not (but should be) screen accurate. Seeing episodic images to link the ships to their onscreen moments is great but they can below par. 

The design is in keeping with the Cardassian themes we see on the Galor Class and is better than I expected - a thought that I had with the Nausicaan fighter last month. The top section is solid metal while the underside and rear "pincers" are plastic here but the two gel very nicely together with no joint lines visible. Comparing the detail to the Runabout, this has a much stronger 360 degree finish with all sides bearing superb detail. In fact the underside has just as any recesses and rises as the top. It is one of the more strongly detailed ships helped by only being 83 metres in length onscreen which then makes me ask why we weren't able to get an equally high level of panelling detail on the 23 metre long Runabout in the previous issue. Of the two this month I think I'd have to say the Cardassian factor is a stronger result BUT I'll always plump for the Runabout given the choice.

The magazine provides quite a broad feature on the class as well as its sporadic appearances in Deep Space Nine before attempting to give us some history on the design process. As we've noted it's not documented how this ship design came to be and I found the process to confirm details a welcome addition - not all things always go exactly as you would wish. We do have some photos of the filming model but that's your lot here. Eaglemoss have done a c=good job on the model we get and seeing the images of their resource show just how much they're had to do to bring this edition up to scratch.

Production Illustrator Jim Martin gets a piece dedicated to his work here too. Martin worked on Deep Space Nine during its early years and this article fits well in the series as he was involved with the internal design of the Runabout as well as other notable elements in the show. Martin's concept sketch for the Hideki Class is awesome and really deserved to be featured earlier in the magazine as it's key to the main topic here. Martin's interview is just too brief and you'll find a lot of questions coming to mind during a read. Maybe we'll get some more from him in the future. 

Next month we're back into double Enterprise territory with the Vulcan Surok Class and the 2152 Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Before that of course there's going to be our review of one USS Vengeance from Star Trek into Darkness.

Was it the Runabout or the Cardassian fighter which won your preference this month? Were there any surprises you hadn't expected and are you happy with the quality of the accompanying magazine? Why not drop a line below or contact us on one of our wonderful social media channels!

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You can also view our articles on Emissary and the first season of Deep Space Nine right now by clicking on the links. What are your thoughts 21 years on? Is it just as good, worse or better than ever?

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