Eaglemoss Star Trek Starships

My wife and kids know I am fascinated by sci-fi spaceships so they surprised me this Christmas by giving me some Eaglemoss Star Trek Starships as a holiday gift.  These are some impressive die-cast reproductions of space craft that have appeared within the five Star Trek series that have aired on broadcast television (Star Trek 1966 - 1969, The Next Generation 1987 - 1994, Deep Space Nine 1993 - 1999, Voyager 1995 - 2001, and Enterprise 2001 - 2005).  Eaglemoss goes into great detail in crafting these models working with CBS, which owns the televisions franchise, to get inside details about the ships shown within episodes of the various Star Trek series.  The creative team at Eaglemoss is provided access to the actual CG models used on the shows and when it exists photography of original physical studio models that may have been produced for use within Star Trek shows.

The kids went through the Eaglemoss online shop and picked out three Star Trek Starships they though would look impressive displayed in my home office. They picked out the USS Defiant (that appeared in Star Trek and Enterprise), USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C (which appeared in The Next Generation), and USS Prometheus (Voyager).  They really look great on display!  Every Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship is hand-painted to replicate the imagery of the space craft as seen on TV and is made up a combination of die-cast metal and ABS plastic providing a real level of quality to each model.  Models average about 5 inches long and come along with a black display base with clear plastic stand to allow you to nicely show off your Star Trek Starship.

In addition to working with CBS on the appearance of these starship, each magazine also comes along with a sixteen page glossy magazine that provides an in-depth look at how the model appeared on television featuring interviews with studio staff and show cast along with material from the studio's Star Trek archives.  The magazines feature behind the scenes info about the episodes the starship appeared in, pictures from the television series involving the model, artwork and design sketches used in show production and information about the ship's crew and technology.  These magazines are interesting to flip through with stories about how scripts were developed and sets were crafted to film scenes.  I've always enjoyed examining science fiction blueprints, maps and schematics of fantastic creations and places and wish these magazines were a bit more detailed in that aspect but overall these provided a nice compliment to the die-cast models they accompany.

The only disappointment in these products was that my kids specifically selected one model because it was hyped for being able to glow-in-the-dark to simulate how the USS Defiant went into interphase being caught between dimensions during the  Star Trek episode "The Tholian Web."  Of course this caught the kids attention thinking it would look cool glowing at night.  This feature works but not very well.  The model needs to be placed under an intense beam of light for about ten minutes then will glow for a couple of minutes before the effect quickly fades.  I guess you could also shine a black light on it if you have one to get the effect.  Either way it would have been nice if the model absorbed light throughout the day and used that energy to power its phosphorous effect for a longer period of time once the lights go out.  I actually really like the model itself but it would have really been great if the glow-in-the-dark feature was much more user friendly.

All in all these Eaglemoss Star Trek Starships were a wonderful holiday gift that this sci-fi fan was delighted to get.  They are out of the ordinary collectibles that look great to display and provide nice quality for the price you pay.  From my personal experience, I'd recommend you checking out this collection of more than 100 die-cast models that highlight the impressive history of Star Trek on television.