NEW STAR TREK MODELS AND BOOKS COMING FROM MASTER REPLICAS

There has been a gap in the availability of cool displayable models of Star Trek spaceships since Eaglemoss, a manufacturer of licensed collectibles for a number of sci-fi brands, went out of business a few years ago; but Trekkies can now look forward to the upcoming Star Trek Starships Library being produced by Master Replicas for some great new offerings. Launching this summer, with preorders available now, Master Replicas, under license from Paramount Consumer Products, will be producing a new series of reference books and 4” to 5” long model ships.

Master Replicas Star Trek Library will provide collectors with in-depth reference to some of the most historic Star Trek ships while offering them the opportunity to hold the models in their hands. The palm-sized models will be made of a combination of die-cast metal and ABS resin and will measure between 4” and 5” long. They have been made with careful reference to the original visual effects models featured on the shows and movies and then carefully painted to be as accurate as possible. 

Each model comes with a specially designed stand that can be combined with the book to create a display.The books will cover each ship in detail with annotated plan views of the exterior, an in-universe service history, a behind-the-scenes account of the ship’s appearances in the Star Trek franchise, and information about how and why it was created with new interviews with the creators.

The first three books and models being released in July 2025 are: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) U.S.S. Cerritos (Star Trek: Lower Decks) U.S.S. Enterprise (Kelvin Timeline). New ships and books are expected to be released each quarter by Master Replicas. 

GALAXY QUEST THE INSIDE STORY

By Grabthar’s hammer! For more than two decades the crew of the Protector has delighted sci-fi fans with their high jinks in the movie Galaxy Quest. Intended as a parody of sci-fi television shows and movies, Galaxy Quest not only provides audiences with laughs but a quality science fiction story in its own right. Learn the inside story about the creation of Galaxy Quest from the cast and crew who worked on producing this film that expanded beyond a comedy to develop its own a cult following of diehard sci-fi fans who love the flick in a new book from Hero Collector.

Thanks to Hero Collector for providing a Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story for this blog to review and a copy of the book for a Geek Daddy to giveaway. This 200 page hardcover book is sure to delight science fiction fan who enjoys delving into the movie magic behind Hollywood motion pictures. This authorized book takes readers through the whole process of making the movie from concept art used in crafting the imagery of the film to the marketing materials utilized in promoting Galaxy Quest to the public. Start off your journey delving into the making of Galaxy Quest with a foreword by the movie's director Dean Parisot as the beginning of the book.

Inspired by Star Trek actors who seemed forever type cast into their role, David Howard an office temp by day and aspiring writer by night who moved to California with the dream of making it big in Hollywood penned a screenplay called "Captain Starshine." It was the story of "a guy hopelessly mired in the role of being a sci-fi hero." The chance of his script being picked up by a Hollywood studio was 1 in 10,000 but five years later his story now named "Galaxy Quest" was showing on movie theater screens around the world and featured a stellar cast that included Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Tony Shalhoub.

Your chance to learn more about this fantastic story is much better than 1 in 10,000 if you enter to win a copy of Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story from a Geek Daddy. Simply complete the rafflecopter entries below before 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, October 24, 2021. Must be a United States resident over 18 years old to participate in this promotion. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fortunately for Galaxy Quest fans, Howard's script caught the attention of fledgling Hollywood studio Dream Works which was looking for family-friendly stories that would capture the attention and dollars of movie goers. Steven Spielberg who was moving beyond directing to executive producing films for Dream Works was captivated by the concept of "Captain Starshine" and greenlighted the project. Two years later Galaxy Quest was on the silver screen.

Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story includes over 60 interviews with the movie's cast and crew, including Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Rockwell and Dean Parisot as well as previously unpublished photos and concept art from the film's production. It also provides an in-depth look into the film's audio and visual effects. Artists at ILM and Stan Winston Studio share with readers how a mixture of miniatures, puppets, prosthetics and CGI brought to life the incredible monsters and starships of Galaxy Quest.

This book earned a Geek Daddy nod of approval because of the amazing content it is chock full of. Inside stories about last minute changes to the script, behind-the-scenes pictures of modelers creating the Protector, artwork that inspired the costumes and sets used in filming are just a few of the topics covered in this wonderful book. Whether you are a movie buff or a science fiction junkie, Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story provides an insightful look into the making of a fantastic movie. 

Buy Galaxy Quest: The Inside Story utilizing a Geek Daddy affiliate link and this blogger will receive a small commission at no additional expense to your purchase. Commissions are reinvested into the blog to provide non-sponsored content to share with you. Your support of ageekdaddy.com is appreciated!

STAR TREK A CELEBRATION

Today marks the date Star Trek debuted in the United States. It first aired broadcast by NBC on September 8, 1966. Creator Gene Roddenberry aimed to take the Western genre that was popular that time and transport those stories to a Sci-Fi themed outer space setting. Launching way before Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica, more than fifty years later that original tv series has led Science Fiction to overtaking Westerns in popularity, has a diehard fan base, and inspired numerous television shows and movies that continue the mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise "to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before."

STAR TREK A CELEBRATION published by Hero Collector, the publishing division of Eaglemoss Collections which is known for crafting highly detailed science fiction themed models, toys and collectibles, is the definitive guide to the making of the original Star Trek television show. This 255 page hardcover table top book features cast and crew interviews, never before seen art and sketches, and more! It is a comprehensive collection of information and imagery that any Star Trek fan will be geeked to read through.

To celebrate Star Trek Day, courtesy of a Geek Daddy's friends at Hero Collector, this blog has one of these FAN-tastic books to give away to one lucky fan of our blog. For a chance to win it, just complete the Rafflecopter entries below before 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, September 12. One randomly selected entrant will receive the prize. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

STAR TREK A CELEBRATION has extensive character profiles both on the crew members featured in the pilot for the show such as Captain Pike and Dr. Boyce to the cast we all know and love from the series that made it onto NBC and into syndication including Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura. Who is your favorite Star Trek character from the original series? Mine is that indispensable engineer Mr. Scott who was a miracle worker at getting the starship out of danger in just the nick of time.

I'm always excited by blueprints and diagrams of sci-fi space ships and this book doesn't disappoint in that regard. There is a tremendous section full of artwork depicting the design of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Ever heard of Jefferies Tubes? These are what access corridors used for doing maintenance on Federation starships are called in the movies and tv series that follow the original Star Trek. They are named after Walter Jefferies who designed sets and props for the original Star Trek episodes. This chapter is complimented by commentary by Jeffries himself on his designing the Starship Enterprise. Awesome!

There are also sections of the book devoted to show props like the communicator that inspired today's wireless phones, the art department that made strange new worlds come alive on television screens, and the costume designers that dressed characters to reflect the clothing worn in this futuristic science fiction voyage. The book even has a chapter that shows some of the magic that went into creating the special effects done by the show's VFX department.

STAR TREK CELEBRATION is chock full of behind the scenes pictures, imagery from episodes, and insights by cast and crew about the series' production. I was just wowed by this book. It absolutely earns a Geek Daddy nod of approval for allowing Star Trek fans to become totally immersed within the creation of this pop culture sensation.

For more information about the book or to purchase one for yourself head at warp speed over to herocollector.com

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA DIECAST VIPER

I'm a big fan of the Battlestar Galactica television series, so couldn't resist picking up a diecast version of my favorite spaceship from these sci-fi shows, the Colonial Viper Mark II, to display on a shelf in my home office. Created by Eaglemoss Collections, who also have produced a fantastic line of Star Trek spaceship replicas, a number of diecast starcraft duplicating those seen in Battlestar Galactica  shows (1978 & 2004) will soon be available from Sideshow Collectibles. These diecast replicas where crafted utilizing CGI models designed by the modern Galactica VFX team. This level of cooperation from the television show producers has allowed for the creation of faithfully produced screen accurate detail in these great scale models.

I bought this Battlestar Galactica Mark II from my local comic book shop over the summer. It was the only one they had received from their toy distributor allocation of Eaglemoss products. So it is nice to learn that these Battlestar Galactica replicas will soon be more accessible through Sideshow Collectibles.

This isn't a small matchbox sized toy as the Viper Mark II can fill almost half a shelf in a display cabinet. It measures 10.6 inches long and has some heft to go along with its size being made from diecast metal and high-quality ABS materials.  The model is hand painted to emphasis details and add the look of some wear and tear in being used to fight Cylon Raiders.

The Viper Mark II is inspired by the one flown by Kara Thrace (call sign Starbuck) in the 2004 television series. It features her callsign by the cockpit and tail number near the engines. The diecast on the ship's body also has wear and tear effects from Starbuck's close calls in combat. Mechanical details are visible within the nose cone in front and engines to the rear with machine guns protruding from the wings. I think it looks really sharp!

Also along with the model comes a 16-page collector's magazine. It includes concept art, design sketches, vehicle diagrams and screen shots of the Viper Mark II in action during episodes of Battle Star Galactica. Plus there is an interview with Ronald D. Moore who developed the 2004 television series. It is full of interesting information and imagery to flip through.

This Viper Mark II appeared in almost every episode of the second Battlestar Galactica television series. Launched from massive Battlestar ships, the Viper Mark II was instrumental in the First Cylon War. Although they were eventually replaced with newer models, a squadron of the space superiority fighters remained on board the Battlestar Galactica and was re-activated to defend the Galactica during its four-year journey to Earth that takes place in the 2004 television series.

Being able to have your own officially licensed Viper Mark II is sure to delight any Battlestar Galactica fan. I'm glad I got my hands on one! It looks great in my office and yes sometime I take it out to play with it. I'm not afraid to let my geek side show!

The following Battlestar Galactica models will be available from Sideshow Collectibles:

VIPER MARK II

VIPER MARK VII

CYLON RAIDER

CLASSIC CYLON RAIDER

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