XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E

Re-released in a shiny, magnetically shutting display box, the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E is still a very sought after XL edition.

Now comfortably packed in a black box with black foam and the standard mini-magazine, the Enterprise-E XL is probably one of those Eaglemoss models that has the most to prove alongside the XL Excelsior Class editions.

Why? Because the original regular issues were frankly poor. The box size restricted the ship, the detail was horrendous and everything just seemed to go against them. In the larger scale there's a lot of room to make the necessary updates and kick those smaller ships out of the way.

In the case of the Enterprise-B this was exactly what happened and I was blown away by the quality of the XL, easily becoming one of my favourite display items. In the case of the Sovereign Class Enterprise-E I have mixed feelings.

Larger in every sense, this is still a mix of three different films, taking elements from First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis to bring her to life. 

Lets start at the top. The first thing to get a handle on is that the surface is no longer as cluttered as its smaller predecessor. That had so much packed onto the small model that everything was falling over itself and the ship was lost underneath. Here there's more space for the ship to breathe and for the details to stand out for themselves. Lifeboat hatches (wisely decalled on) and markings are a lot more identifiable and the windows aren't crammed in with the aztec paint scheme.

That spacing means you can appreciate the scale and detail of the model itself much more easily. Yes, you know I'm going to touch on the point that window alignment is all over the place versus the recessed markers for them and annoyingly the RCS thrusters are a few millimetres out of sync with the hull. Those are fairly big disappointments but because of the issues with the small version your mind is willing you to really, really like it and ignore the flaws.

That aztec paint scheme on the ship is nowhere near as subtle as the magazine cover or the onscreen version might make you think with the contrast pattern dramatically blocked out across the hull. In contrast, the gold and gey patterning behind the bridge and over the main shuttlebay absolutely benefits from the scale increase as you can see the lining more clearly and again it's not clustered together.  There is a dip in the structure around this point which looks like a badly disguised join but at least the shuttle bay is recessed under the dock shuttlebay control box.

So too the plating detail along the top of the secondary hull. This does seem very cluttered but nowhere near as bad as before. The scale again allows this to appear more as a speckled finish than a blob. 

What I can't get my head around is how the more brown finish there and also on the underside of the E hull can be accurate. Everything else you see - including the magazine in the box - portrays this as a more grey colouring in keeping with the saucer patterning. However, on the model it's in a mottled beige/grey that just looks odd and this runs right the length of the ship. Bizarrely the top speckling/aztecing is the same colour but when it's condensed into such a small area there's no doubt it's giving off brown tones.

At the front of the secondary hull we do have the deflector dish, here rendered gold rather than a yellow that was seen on screen. I'm also questioning the colouring of the Captain's Yacht in its under-saucer dock because it's definitely in contrast to the regular edition version.

Onto the warp engines. These are more a replica of the versions that appeared on the E in Insurrection and Nemesis when they were slightly extended hence part of the reason this is something of a "cobbled together" final product.  The design of these pieces is excellent while the finish is a bit more questionnable.

For one, the striping on the pylons is slightly sloppy with the edges of the grey and black lines frayed in places. The bussard collectors are strongly featured and Eaglemoss have utilised their translucent plastics to open up the warp grilles along the top of each nacelle. To the rear there is some nice greyed inset detailing and of course the ship registries at the tips.

Tragically though, collectors will get to see just how those blue elements atop the warp engines are connected since they are pegged from the top in four distinct points. Rarely do we get to actually and obviously see build issues on these craft yet this is one that does stick out in a very glaring position.

In the magazine we focus heavily on First Contact with both the work that went into creating a design for the upgraded Borg and the introduction of the Borg Queen taking centre stage. It's a good read and completes the package by keeping close to the focus of the product which always gets thumbs up from me.

Overall construction on the Enterprise-E is pretty decent and there's a lot of weight to the front. The saucer and the upper "spine" section of the engineering hull are metal here with the remainder in plastic. I was actually surprised just how heavy this one is. Genuinely I want to love this model and also the E itself but the more I look at it, the more I'm not convinced by the design. In turn this might be affected by the paint job that makes it more brown than grey. That warp grille issue also bugs me to be honest and I'm not sure I can see past it.

The details on the A actually worry me less than they do here and while Eaglemoss definitely have stepped their game up from the regular mini version, it still feels a long way off an accurate edition of the Sovereign Class from any angle or movie.

Fans will want this one in their collection because of its screentime and significance but beware disappointment.

Check out all our Online Starships posts HERE

You can find out more on the Star Trek Online Official Starships Collection by visiting the Hero Collector website HERE

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25 Years: First Contact Retrospective

After two and a half decades, First Contact still stands as The Next Generation's finest cinematic voyage.

A combination of time travel and the Borg, the eighth Star Trek movie combined two of the franchise's most successful elements into a movie of truly galactic proportions.

1996 was an interesting year for Star Trek; it was the 30th anniversary of the show and First Contact quite literally went back to the beginning, the pivotal moment in time where everything changed and looked at the very origins of the Alpha Quadrant. Voyager had produced Flashback and returned viewers to The Undiscovered Country while DS9 had perhaps more effectively commemorated its heritage with the mix of new and old in the sublime Trials and Tribble-ations. 

Star Trek was truly at the zenith of the Berman era with two popular shows in their third and fifth seasons and no apparent end in sight for Picard's crew on the big screen... but all that would change in seven years with the release of Nemesis in 2003.

However, at this point there were some changes taking place in the franchise thanks to the arrival of this eighth movie. While it's brilliant to note that passage of time it's also worth pointing out that this would be the debut of the grey/black uniforms, James Cromwell's Zephram Cochrane, the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E and a striking redesign for the cinema screen of the Borg.

While the Enterprise-E would only make two further appearances in Insurrection and Nemesis, the new uniforms would transition onto DS9 and more recently Lower Decks while the Borg look would be seen again in the Delta Quadrant. Cromwell's Cochrane would even turn up in the premiere episode of Enterprise in 2001 to pass the torch. 

But it can't just be these factors that endure First Contact 25 years later. It came off the back of the successful - if flawed - Generations with a more natural gestation period than its predecessor. While the handover movie to the TNG crew had been hurriedly produced after the seventh and final season of the TV series in 1994, First Contact  had a chance to develop at a more sedate pace. Written by Generations and TNG scribes Ronald D Moore and Brannon Braga, the Borg were the natural go-to for villainy and First Contact probably fleshes them out more than any other single instalment of the franchise.

We've talked before about the differences in the Borg from TNG to Voyager but here in First Contact we have them at perfection. Assimilation en-masse is introduced as is the silky Borg Queen and in two hours we have a better picture of the Borg hive structure and even their true malevolence. In The Best of Both Worlds and the other TNG episodes there was always a sense of a blank slate with the drones and even a mindlessness but in First Contact they look threatening, they look determined. Take the look of the drone who attacks and presumably assimilates Lt Hawk on the main deflector dish. The menace is present not just his facial expression but in his movements and ultimately the costume. These were Borg you felt were genuinely unstoppable from the second they appeared on screen.

But again, First Contact isn't just about the Borg because even though they are a formidable threat, there are still moments of appropriate humour in here; Data and Picard touching the Phoenix, Barclay stalking Cochrane or Troi getting drunk. But they don't overwhelm the picture and help to alleviate some of the burgeoning tension that builds through the story.

There's a lot of variety in here with Picard's story on the Enterprise as he makes his way back to the bridge with Lily Sloane, the preparations for the first warp flight and then Data's peril at the hands of the Collective. While Generations placed the fate of an unseen planet - Veridian III - in danger, the Federation itself and more specifically Earth are targeted. 

Yet while we celebrate the dawning of another milestone in Trek culture, for us in the UK it was actually December 13th which marks our true 25th anniversary of its premiere. That's 21 days after the US experienced it.

Twenty-one days ladies and gents. OK, that was nothing like the wait we had for TOS or TNG or even DS9 if you were reliant on terrestrial TV in the mid-90's - but there was still a wait of some degree. Over time it became less and less until in the case of the latest shows it's 24 hours dependent on the platform.

But remember back then? We just had to wait whether you wanted to or not. You could always fork out £11.99 for two episodes on VHS and even then they were at least six months behind. Yet here we are again but having to wait an untold amount of time to see the latest Discovery episodes. The more things change, the more they do indeed stay the same however, while we can grump over the delays (which back in t'day we just dealt with and waited or got someone to post a video from the US!) TNG remains only one of two Star Trek shows to have made the jump to the big screen.

While it is 25 years since Picard, Data and the Enterprise crew faced off against the Borg Queen for (what should have been) the only time, it is still a rather jaw-dropping 18 years since Nemesis. Eighteen years since a Trek series last crossed to the big screen directly (not a reboot!) and surely now the clock on that possibility is ticking down rather than adding up.

After the rushed production of Generations, First Contact showed what the cast of TNG were capable of both in front and behind the camera. It set a benchmark that neither of its successors were able to match and in many respects that no Star Trek movie has managed to achieve since. It is the crowning glory in that short-lived big screen stint for the Enterprise-E and a stepping stone and reference point for many, many more adventures across the galaxy.

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The Ultimate Ten: Our Final Look Back at The Official Starships Collection 1-180

One thing I promised to do was give a final rundown on The Official Starships Collection and pick the Ultimate Ten; those ships which represent the best of the best from Eaglemoss and made the series worth collecting to the very end.

...And to help out with tis one, I've welcomed back Simon from The Engage Podcast to split the pack and ensure we're lining up the Must Haves from all 180 issues...

Over to Simon first!

Firstly, I’ve got to say that second time around it was an even harder question to answer… as Eaglemoss have produced many incredible models over the seven years (since their UK launch in 2013).

On that note, I’d just like to thank Ben Robinson (and Eaglemoss) for what has got to be an called nothing short of an astonishing collection. As they managed to faithfully recreate numerous starships that us fans (or Ship Geeks) have wanted to own for decades. From the obvious to the obscure they covered them, and we couldn’t have been happier. Because through the hard work they put into every starship you could tell how passionate they are about what they’re doing.

I’d also like to spend a moment to recognise Zoe from over on their Facebook page as I can talk from personal experience (like other fans) if you’ve got a problem, she’s the person to talk to. She’s a real credit to the company, thank you Zoe for everything you’ve done. 

Just like before the ships I’ve chosen are (in my opinion) a higher quality than compared with some of the other models Eaglemoss have manufactured. Which is partly due down to the construction of the ships, as they have a higher ratio of die-cast metal than plastic. Which I think makes the ship ‘more realistic’ and better value for money.

Issue 52
USS Centaur NCC-42043

If you asked me at the start of the collection “what starships are you most excited about getting Simon?” this model wouldn’t have been on my list but Eaglemoss have done a great job recreating the USS Centaur which briefly appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode A Time to Stand;. I also picked this model, as I think that the magazine that comes with it is also really well put together. Specifically, the ‘Designing the USS Centaur’ section which explains the unusual origins of this kit-bashed starship.

Issue 95 
New Orleans Class

In a similar vein to the USS Centaur, I’ve chosen the New Orleans Class as I think that it’s a great model of a starship we never saw in any real detail at the Battle of Worf 359 (wreckage seen in The Best of Both Worlds, Part II).

There are many other Battle of Worf 359 starships I could have chosen, but the New Orleans Class always intrigued me. This model also comes with another well put together magazine which once again looks specifically at how they ‘Designing the New Orleans Class’ including the clever use of highlighters in another one of the franchises kit-bashed starships!

Issue 142
Promellian Battle Cruiser

This starship design I’ve always loved since it’s appearance in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Booby Trap. So, when Eaglemoss announced that they were producing it I was ecstatic, and I wasn’t disappointed by what I received.

The level of detail on it is spectacular. As the greebling makes it highly tactile and really adds to the feel of the starship. Well done Eaglemoss! PS (from Clive: If you hadn't picked this one, Simon, I would have done...!)

Issue 148
Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser

Seen on-screen for the briefest of moments in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode Valiant the menacing Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser is as dangerous to your wallet as it was to the members of Red Squad. As Eaglemoss have done a fantastic job with all the Jem'Hadar starships scattered throughout the collection, but the Jem'Hadar Battle Cruiser is my favourite out of them all down to its quality and it’s sheer formidable ‘shelf presence’.

For my final choice I’ve decided to choose what is (in my opinion) the definitive starship Eaglemoss have produced. As it shows off what they’re capable of doing at their best… and it’s no secret amongst fans but that’s undeniably recreating the “ships of the week”. But because they were so fantastic at doing it, I’ve decided to put two starships in the spotlight.

Issue 88 and 175
Vahklas and Mondor

Like I say I couldn’t decide between the two, as they both have an amazing attention to detail for their size. They equally have an almost total metal construction… but differ in the way that they’re worth buying.

The Vulcan Vahklas (seen in Fusion) is worth putting on your desk for the hull design work. Whilst the Mondor (seen in Samaritan Snare and incognito during Lower Decks finale No Small Parts) is worth picking up simply because of its incredible accuracy paint apps.

I think that both are unfortunately somewhat overlooked but are great value for money. Great work Eaglemoss!

Now back over to Clive for the Final Five...

Issue 143
Merchantman

Famed for its brisk demise in The Search for Spock plus its multiple reuses in The Next Generation et al, the Merchantman model is a spectacular feat. The metallic paintwork, the engine detail and that sweeping body shape are an element of the '80's in one single starship package. We waited for ages for this one and were not disappointed. Nearly ruined by the choice to then produce the modified version only a few issues later when they could have been separated out a little bit more (also worst offender for that - Bajoran Transport and Smugglers' Ship).

 

Issue 49

ECS Fortunate

The ships from Enterprise never failed to impress; even the rubbish ones from a single episode, but with the Fortunate the gauntlet was laid down firmly - here was a single episode ship with an incredible finish. The slender shape was sharply detailed and each of the cargo pods numbered. It was a minor point but given the tiny scale of this one, it has to rank as one of the collection's greatest achievements in such a small package.

Further note, I could have easily picked five models from Enterprise for my selection but I managed to restrain myself!

Issue 77
Romulan Shuttle

Here's a curveball choice and not totally because it's a cool model.

The Deep Space Nine single episode appearance of the ship from In the Pale Moonlight made a big impact on fans - possibly just because of the brilliance of the story - but also because this was an unusual Romulan ship never seen before or since. The model was a real pleasure to photograph with all those metallic surfaces and clever use of negative space which is in keeping with the larger D'deridex warbird that is echoed in its design. 

Issue 54
Steamrunner Class

A brutal, chunky muthaf**kin' badass ship design one step away from being the big brother who would come and punch up the school bully for you after he stole your pocket money, the USS Appalachia is the pinnacle of the anti-Borg 24th Century Starfleet redesign strategy. Eaglemoss, I think, succeeded more with this than they did with the earlier USS Thunderchild and created a model that effectively demonstrated its nature. Side note, I do love the design so I’d have been gutted if this had been cocked up.

Issue 4
Enterprise NX-01

My god. Still to this day just looking at this one gives me chills and cemented the fact that the collection was going to be immense in every way. I was fortunate enough to have this one sent to me by Eaglemoss pre-release (but after the trial run) and I was bowled over in a second. The detail, the highlights, the panelling, the decals, the scale and even the weight of the damn thing are spot on perfect and even though this isn't close to being my favourite ship in the franchise, Eaglemoss smashed this - NAY OBLITERATED - the park a mere four issues into the collection. Was every other ship since that date rated against this one...totally.

With that we're closing out out coverage of the collection. Thanks again to Simon for his input - but do you think there were better selections to be had? What are your ultimate ten?

Read all our other reviews of The Official Starships Collection from issue ONE here.

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A Few Words from Jean-Luc: The Wisdom of Picard

Set for a 10th December release, Adams Media’s definitely-suitable-as-stocking-filler might be the words of inspiration you’re looking for in these uncertain, locked down times.

Chronicling the greatest words and phrases from the captain of the Federation’s flagship, The Wisdom of Picard covers every season of The Next Generation, the four movies that followed and the recent first season of Picard. 

Edited by Chip Carter, the book is separated out into five sections with each taking a different angle on the learned Jean-Luc, capturing those classic moments. There's The Final Frontier (Philosophy and Humanity), Where No One Has Gone Before (History and Science), New Life and New Civilisations (Literature and the Arts), Strange New Worlds (Exploration and Adventure) and To Boldly Go (Politics, Leadership and Diplomacy) so at just a flick through you can find a relevant phrase. 

Within each part we have those key words from the captain such as his chilling appearance as Locutus in The Best of Both Worlds, his revealing discourse with Seven in Stardust City Rag, passionately defending Data in The Measure of a Man and making the sky the limit in All Good Things... - but it’s got a lot more in there too and that’s where the headings come in to play.

Splitting The Wisdom of Picard into bite size pieces makes it a lot easier to find what kind of phraseology you’re looking for. Each is also paired with an image from the relevant episode and this includes everything up to Ergo in Arcadia, Part II which aired earlier this year (2020).

It’s a nice little volume to dip on and out of with his epic words divided into a series of categories so when you need one to assist in your diplomatic duties with the Gorn Hegemony you won’t be at all lost. 

The research here is very good with a nice, concise introduction to each section followed by the appropriate quotes. In one sitting it is a very quick read but I foresee this being something more to dip in and out of to seek some inspiration in one area or another.

Definitely something as a quality stocking filler for the discerning Star Trek fan or perhaps even your average fan of the recent Picard series alone. Given the mess of a year we've had alongside all the political shenanigans going on coupled with a pandemic and there's got to be a few words from Patrick Stewart's alter ego that will happily sum up the best and worst of times in a positive fashion. 

Ideal as a Christmas stocking filler, this little gem is already available for Kindle and will be out in hardback (my preference) from December 10th.

The Wisdom of Picard ISBN 978-1-5072-1473-2 is priced at £9.99 from Simon and Schuster

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All images CBS All Access

THAT First Contact: The Official Starships Collection Special: T'Plana-Hath

Arriving (late) alongside the final regular issue seems to be a dose of luck.

The reason? Issue 180 was the Borg Cube that opened the movie while this starship's arrival on Earth closed out the final scene.

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight you can see how this ship influenced the later/earlier ships of the Enterprise series in its colour palette at least. But let's strip this back and focus on the model at hand.

The T'Plana-Hath comes in one of the largest boxes Eaglemoss have managed to print and there's good reason since this is a model which isn't just wide but also has considerable height.

Working from the floor upwards, Eaglemoss have chosen to - and rightly so - display this ship in the landed position. It kind of makes the stand obsolete since it can support its own weight on the three feet and also looks utterly ridiculous perched above the stand.

The feet are also the plainest section of the T’Plana-Hath, single toned on the upper side with the mottled effect strangely on the bottoms and then continuing up the legs to the main body. That significant hatch is totally absent from any of the three ground units, removing a key elemental piece of visual Star Trek history - there's not even a recognisable joint line. 

Also seems a bit odd to put the more impressive paint job on the BOTTOM of the feet which will never be seen but hey, if this is screen accurate who are we to argue with that choice?

The legs on the outside arc up and under the top shell with some basic panel detail. Flipped over though there is not just a decent two-shade paint job once more but also three blue energy stripes also showing slight wear and dirt. The central unit underneath, in reality, would turn 120 degrees to allow the feet to retract and dock around the three engine pods. This can still be seen in the way that the bottom of the hull is laid out but isn't a working feature here. 

The engine exhausts are very clean when you compare to the mottled hull and "worn" energy stripes but this might just be forgivable since they won't be heavily on show.

The distinct split between the "landing gear" hull section and the main body is well handled and you can imagine that rotational aspect more from what you don't see when the T'Plana-Hath is viewed from above.

The main hull has many large segmented panels marked out with many of the pieces raised higher than the base level. That mottled paint work is far more distinctive on the top, emphasised more with some segments being rendered in a darker shade than the majority of the hull. Visually it's a nice smooth shape right the way across, ending in the three sizeable engine units which are also segmented. The mottling adds to the age of the craft, indicating heavy use through the effective dirty wash that is most noticeable on the very top of the ship.

The simplistic form of the ship relates well to its Vulcan pilots and to future ships used in the short-lived prequel series. Eaglemoss have created a smooth and fairly fault free large-scale model here that is potentially one of the most impressive editions to behold. The stand, as discussed, does detract from the spectacle from this one so just stick it back in the box and display her grounded; it's a far better look. 

The T'Plana-Hath magazine revisits First Contact and that seminal scene which sees Zephram Cochrane greeting Earth's first extra-terrestrial visitor including numerous shots from the eighth Star Trek movie. It's standard reading by now but is then complimented with a substantial 11 pages focusing on the design and creation of the unusual Vulcan starship.


Combining words from John Eaves, the article includes photos and proposals for the ship which didn't make it to screen plus explanations of how some of the features - including those rotating feet came to be. The article covers how the ship was physically created (partially) for the movie as well as alterations that were made before it made it to the screen.

An overall resoundingly good package, the T-Plana-Hath sits in Star Trek lore as a piece of future history. The replica from Eaglemoss is honouring that in a big way however there are a couple of tweaks that could be made here or there - an additional bit of weathering or more focus on the detail around sections that fans saw closeup on screen in particular.

Saying that, this is a big model, sturdy and as always with the specials, well packaged. She suits display standless and will be one ship fans are sure to want to have in their collection immediately. A high standard creation for the most part, this one looks damn good out on display.

Read all our other reviews of The Official Starships Collection from issue ONE here.

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All Good Things... The Official Starships Collection Issues 178,179...and 180

But alas...here we are....

One hundred and eighty issues, .six years and eleven months later it's come to the last edition.  

As you might expect, it's a real mix of expectations and delivery with the Husnock Warship from The Survivors, the Vidiian Starship from Voyager's Deadlock and finally, perhaps fittingly and conspicuous by its very absence, the Borg Cube from First Contact. The Husnock ship from The Next Generation's pivotal third season might look a little familiar - and so it should since it's the original form that would be altered to become the Bajoran Freighter and the Smuggler's Ship from Unification among several others.

in terms of its detail, the original is probably this model in its simplest version. Coated in a plain grey with darker grey highlights, the Husnock Warship has a subtle aztec pattern across its surface with some small, raised details. Towards the centre the darker grey denotes the bridge module painted in with blue windows around two sides of the ‘v’ shaped unit.

In comparison to its later variants, the Husnock Warship continues to build towards the rear and Eaglemoss have accurately captured its simple but distinctively angular shape at the back end too. I always remember this one looking particularly "plasticky" on screen and I'm glad that they have kept that manufactured feel in the replica here. 

Everything about it seems almost too good to be true and too pure in form with only a series of blue and white dots, indicating the size of this craft, spread across the central piece to the rear. 

Out to the sides that clean, minimal finish has been maintained into the darker grey wings with each of these tipped with an underslung, pointed energy weapon. Both of the prongs to the sides are a little flexible but still feel sturdy. Indeed, the whole ship feels very solid thanks to its blocky structure. 

The rear of the warship is tonally even darker than the forward sections and carries a more condensed form of the aztecing seen elsewhere. The lines continue to be cleanly finished and the painting in of the engine is also crisp alongside what seems to be a small docking port just below it.

On the bottom, there's a fraction more detail to be seen. You get a better look at the greebling on the underside of the two weapon prongs which are more visibly attached into the main body of the ship. You also get a clearer view of the windows that line both sides of the hull almost right to the front.

There's a third weapon prong slapped in underneath and right in the middle which wasn't present during the Husnock's first attack during the Enterprise's first visit to the planet. This is noted a few times and lines up both the screen appearance with the model.

While you can see where this and the wingtip weapons fit into the ship, the main join line is hidden away below the overhang from the top of the hull giving an overall seemless impression.

The first of the three magazines in this delivery provides the usual ship overview as well as the customary plan views to compare against the model. In fairness they are very close perhaps on this occasion the CG and images contained therein are even more plain than the mode.. Issue 178 also includes a relevant section dedicated to the making of The Survivors especially in note to the location work that made this one such a memorable episode. Alongside the text are a good selection of photos from the story as well as behind the scenes from the time out of studio.

An excellent final piece for The Next Generation here allows Hans Beimler a chance to recount his memories from his time on the series including writing this episode and being involved with the many-handed Yesterday's Enterprise instalment from later in the same season.

The penultimate edition of the collection takes us into Voyager territory with the Vidiian Starship. It's only the second occasion that the race famed for its ravaging Phage has appeared in the series following issue 103's Warship which was actually used later in the series.

The overall design theme of them both is extremely similar although this later creation has a more golden coat but retains the "front heavy" concept tapering to the rear.

Certainly the colour difference is striking and actually out of character with keeping an aesthetic with alien ship continuity. Perhaps with the Vidiians though it was easier to retain a visual impression alone in the shape of their ships.At the front the starship features a pair of pincers arcing out to the front paralleled by the two warp engine humps on either side. 

The golden finish is speckled with white dots to indicate internal lighting and are painted onto the hull rather than sitting into indentations that probably wouldn't be aligned. Rather than an aztec look, the Vidiian ship carries distinct panelling across the whole surface .

Both the warp engines mounted as part of the wing design are tipped with a slightly orange glow before curving back into the larger "shoulders" of the ship and the assembled gubbings on top of the craft. It's not a stunner but the detail of the hull is well replicated from its limited outings and does come across as a model that more time was taken to complete given the texture of the hull, the colour and well, everything.

The structure around those main, prominent features are supplemented with well defined supporting sprues to the rear from the hull to the engine exhaust and then to the front, either side of the predatory pincers. It contrasts quite starkly to the Husnock Warship with its simple lines and plain finish, demonstrating once more the difference just six years of model creation and CG had made on the franchise.

Even out to the edges of the wings there are the geometric panel forms both top and bottom with the underside losing the spinal feature of the dorsal piece but retaining the finely painted engine in the centre back.The other less noticeable details that do reappear on both sides are the blacked out, recessed grilles on the engine pods, again with their painting precisely aligned with the indents. 

For a ship that, for once was used more than once but not more than twice, the Vidiian Starship is somewhat seductive with a smooth slimline shape and profile that Eaglemoss have done well to recreate. The stand positioning works very well with the negative space of the hull allowing for a central grip more evenly distributing the weight of the ship over the stand. It's a bit of a fiddle due to the length of the forks that grip the main hull from the back and how far the go back against the main hull but the end effect looks good.

This magazine is our last trip into the Delta Quadrant exploits of Voyager and focuses mainly on the second season. Opening by compiling the stats for the Vidiian Starship, the magazine suffers from not having that many good photos of this vessel to work with, leaving the visuals a little fuzzy or, at best, long distance. 

The CG here is better than the real thing, adding more texture to the ship than we received on screen or in the flesh. 

Starting out as another ship - that from an earlier season two episode, Parturition - the Vidiian ship made just two appearances in the excellent Deadlock and later in Fury before being replaced with the even more angular Warship.

Finally we take a look into the filming of the Voyager episode in which this starship appeared and it's one that took a lot to complete since there are two of the hero vessel, a challenging-to-film death scene and a sequence which saw Janeway meet Janeway. This probably provides more detail on the filming of the episode than the Voyager Companion (not the greatest series guide written) including how some of the pieces were successfully committed to film.

Deep breath now. 

Here we go - and forgive me if I stumble over this because we are now here...the Borg Cube and the end of the regular collection. Grab a hankie.

Now the last time we welcomed a six-sided addition to the series was the Tactical Cube in issue 58 from October 2015(!). Now we have our sixth Borg ship and the first "proper" Cube since we're not going to count the oh-so-well-remembered light up box that was among the initial free gifts way back when.

Unsurprisingly the whole thing is plastic so it's a bit of a double-edged finale since we would have sincerely loved this to be a true combo of the metal and plastic builds we've been used to since issue one.

But hey, there is one major redeeming feature which sets this one right above the Tactical Cube. That Borg craft cleverly repeated each of its sides meaning there were only three distinct elements combined in duplicate to make the threatening starship. Here, each side is unique, each piece carries its own markings and hull nuances and every surface is filled with technical detail including - and it would have been a major error to leave out - the hatch for the Borg Sphere on which the Queen makes her escape into the 21st Century.

Coated in a single dark grey, the hull of the cube is highlighted with marks of green to show the pulsing energy through the structure. This effect is a bit lost on a plastic model and it doesn't help that the depth of the craft that you see on the big screen is lost due to the nature of the building material which only allows for minor changes in the undulation of the detail. Final tip of the hat to Eaglemoss because I could swear point blank that the surface of the Tactical Cube under the added armour plating is almost identical to that of the First Contact cube - nice but of continuity/cheap option to reuse the mould...!

As for the fit together, the six sides are clipped into place internally with only a slight seam around two of the face to give any indication of the construction. As for the stand, it's the same principle as was utilised for the Tactical Cube - just sit it on a plastic shelf and attach to the base. Job. Done.

So to our last look into the magazines and we have a straight forward retelling of the opening battle sequence from First Contact  along with some crisp new CG of the distinctive craft and shots from the movie. As for designing the ship, it's a bit like trying to reinvent the wheel as we discover from the perspective of John Eaves.

Voyager introduced Borg Probes, the Queen's ship and the already hat-tipped Tactical Cube but it's odd to think that the lead alien vessel could have looked very different before the designers returned to the familiar - but even then it did look, initially, different to the screened version which even has its visual cues in the Artifact from Picard. 

Closing out this issue ahead of the Key Appearance is a brisk two page piece on how some of the Borg technology in the film came to be...you'll be surprised as to what was used so I won't ruin the surprise.

And that's it. 180 issues over and done. We've reviewed every one from the very beginning and it's been an utter pleasure to do so. As for the pick of the crop from these three, well, let's not select a top dog this time. All three have some great merits and are pretty damn screen accurate all round. The magazines have a right mixture of quality with, as we've come to expect, some articles being over long and others that merit more length getting a few paragraphs.

Apparently we will have more collections coming in 2021 - so that'll be Picard and Lower Decks at a minimum...but who knows what else. For now the binders on this one can be snapped shut and filed. Could there have been more issues? Yes, but what would we have been left with since this felt as though we were already starting to get the splinters from the barrel bottom. The Official Starships Collection has been a major game changer for the franchise and one would suspect, Eaglemoss/Hero Collector as well and that will never ever be surpassed. 

You did us fans proud. 

Thank you.

Read all our other reviews of The Official Starships Collection from issue ONE here.

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