Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 High Definition Ship

15/11
2009

Product Description

A Diamond Select Release! The U.S.S. Enterprise has seen more than her share of interstellar adventures over the years and now the all-new High Definition ship can be yours! Featuring a design based on the digitally-remastered Star Trek television series, this sixteen-inch starship sports additional details now visible on the classic U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701! Each ship includes light and sound effects plus a removable display stand.

Product Details

Decades after its 1966 TV debut, Star Trek remains one of the world's most recognized science fiction franchises
The starships seen in the series and films are instantly recognizable by millions
Re-creates the ship as seen in the digitally remastered series, based on Matt Jeffries' original design
Features light and sound effects
Measures 16" long

Video Reviews

No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews

"I'll never lose you. Never..."

Review Date: September 30, 2009

Reviewer: M. Ram, San Jose, CA, USA

Until the mid 1960s, space vehicles in science fiction were either shaped like flying saucers or rocket ships. In 1966, Star Trek debuted and changed all that with one of the most original and iconic vehicles of all time, the USS Enterprise. Art Asylum originally released their versions of the ship in 2006 (for Trek's 40th anniversary). They came in three variations: the one shot for the original pilot "The Cage"; the one shot for the series pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before"; and the production version that was used throughout the series (outside of reused footage, of course). Plenty has been written about those ships already, so I'm not going to go into their differences. This re-release (from September 2009) was touted as having the more intricate detailing that was seen during the remastered Star Trek's CGI shots. But is it worth the extra cost?

Short answer: YES!

Though it's from the same mold as the 2006 versions (which were based on the physical model), this Enterprise looks a bit more like the CGI model. The paint is a darker gray, and it's less glossy. There's a grid on the top of the saucer section (with four white rectangles) that includes the "rust ring" near the front edge. The "grills" inside each engine nacelle have silver rectangles inside with tiny black dots (I guess they're supposed to represent perforations in the "metal"). The bussard collectors are more of a transparent yellow than red (for a reason, see the paragraph on lights below). Of note, the 2006 versions had painted-over plugs that covered screw holes on the bottom of the saucer. The 2009 model instead hides the screws under the triangular shapes, which is great! Of course, the plugs on the engineering section still show, but at least they made an effort to make the ship look better (something most people wouldn't catch, wink wink).

The stand is the same one used for the 2006 versions. The cost of producing new ones was probably too expensive for AA to implement, but it's still disappointing they couldn't come up with something better. Posing the ship is difficult, as angling it off-center will cause everything to fall over. The fact that only one side slopes up to the mounting cylinder causes balance issues as well (the stands for the Enterprise-D were stronger in that regard, as they sloped up from the middle and were all one piece, where here you have to insert the vertical part into a slot on the side of the base). The top of the mounting cylinder doesn't fit easily into the ship, and you have to press very firmly for it to go all the way in. Be careful though, otherwise you may end up breaking something!

There are new sounds for this ship! These include longer dialogue from Captain Kirk ("This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise representing the United Federation of Planets", etc) as well as new recordings of effects like the transporter and photon torpedoes. I especially like the warp effect sound, which is longer and shows off the lights nicely. The phaser effect is missing, but the rest do make up for it. AA easily could have reused the existing effects, so these are a welcome surprise.

The lighting effects are also improved. The saucer domes and navigational lights (red and green on the sides of the saucer) are pretty much the same, but the bussards (fronts of the engines) have been modified. On the 2006 models, they glowed red, but here they slowly change from red to yellow to green and more closely resemble the ones on the show (the yellowish plastic helps with the effect). I don't know how AA managed to do make the colors change, but it looks great! As with the 2006 versions, if you hold the bridge section down for five seconds the lights will turn on and stay on until you turn them off by pressing it again.

The box is slightly different from the 2006 releases in that the pictures on the back and description of the effects are changed. Unfortunately, the ties and plastic that holds the ship in place are a bit too tight, so I ended up with some scratches on mine. Aside from that, a few areas had glue reside, and one window near the bottom saucer dome was painted green instead of dark gray (!). These are minor nitpicks though, and issues that appear on all of AA's Trek ships. Overall though, this is a fantastic model/toy, and you'll be proud to have it in your collection.

Not worth it

Review Date: November 3, 2009

Reviewer: Richard L. Grant, Connecticut, USA

I purchased the "HD" Enterprise model on Amazon. Upon receiving it, it appeared to me to have been previously used. There were several scuff marks on it. In addition, the model appeared to be of the cheap "snap together" variety, with the seams in the engine nacels and the area immediately beneath the hanger deck splitting open. The instructions also indicate that if you press the bridge dome for 5 seconds, the bridge, nacel and running lights will stay on. They do not.

In sum, this appeared to me to be a cheap and poorly constructed product that did not live up to its advertising.

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