One area that is so often overlooked in Sci-Fi series and Star Trek to a large degree is transport vessels. In Earlier Trek this was partly due to the fact that any vessel seen on screen had to be a physical model. That also lent into the movies and The Next Generation. So any new ship was a big deal that would eat into budget. If a new ship was to be shown there had to be a real reason for it. Transports are a very unsexy class of ship when compared to the ships of the line from any of the main races. For most stories they would be very important window dressing. At places like Star Bases, colony worlds, research stations and the like. In these places transports would be a key part of the supply chain. Far more than a ship of the line like Enterprise.
This is one of my favourite ships from Star Trek, It isn't pretty at all but it fulfills an important void. The Klingons would have a large transport fleet for resupply. It is warp capable but its speed and living conditions made it better suited for shorter runs, has a crew of around fifty and is a little more than fifty meters long. These kinds of Space Haulers are very needed in Trek. The Model is quite nice in some areas and a little soft in others. Overall though it is good. The Stack like Structures and engine area are nicely done and the paintwork on this one is excellent. It has a unusual shade of green and a layer of grime and weathering. If you like unusual Trek ships this is a good one to get.
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.One of the most unusual vessels in Star Trek is the United Earth Arctic One. Not a overly long vessel at around 80 meters. It was operational during the Mid-23rd century and came with the rare feature of skids. These were to allow the vessel to land on ice planets.
The ship was relatively easy to fly and could be done so by a pilot alone, but the average crew was three to six for flight operations. It is designed for Arctic conditions, however space itself is the harshest of environments. Its primary role was research and the cargo hold could be outfitted for the mission requirements. It could house around thirty scientists in its living quarters. It came outfitted with thrusters which allowed for vertical take off and landing as well as hovering. It was also warp capable, however it was slow and could only do warp 1.4. It featured no weapons and the hull while somewhat armoured was done so with environmental conditions in mind rather than combat. The Model This was not one I even remembered, which might also be why it was on sale at the time. However I think it is interesting that these lesser know ships are available. The detail on this model is slightly soft when I compare it to a couple of the other ones I own. It is possible that the studio model might not have been super detailed either. It doesn't have too many join lines which is the bane of many diecast models. and overall I think its a nice addition to the collection. Shuttles play a very important roll in Star Trek. In their simplest form they shuttle gear and personal that could not be teleported for some reason, but over time the need for a warp capable small vessel would become important both from a Star Fleet point of view but also a story one.
From the story side it allowed a different kind of story. Often these were either separating crew from the support of the ship or smaller stories that could be focused on a couple of the characters rather than an ensemble. Next Gen used Shuttles in their stories effectively, but it was DS9 that made them a central part of the shows ship lineup. The Danube Class (Nicknamed Runabout) was 23.1 meters long and had a crew between 2 and 4 depending on the mission requirement. They were modular in its cargo area which allowed for several different missions to be outfitted. These included defense (Phasers and Microtorpedo) scientific, medical, cargo or personal transport. The Danube is larger than standard shuttles and this gave it some more versatility. They were capable of landing on planets and leaving the atmosphere. They were able to reach Warp 5 and with that had a decent range. DS9 started with 3 and all of them were named after Earth Rivers. The Diecast model is quite nice. It does come with a lot of detail and Eaglemoss always does a pretty good job of hiding seamlines and screws. Something that can be a bane to some diecast lines. This model is not perfect, however its not very expensive and if one considers the price they are then these are pretty decent value for money. If you like the Runabout then this would not be a bad purchase. |
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January 2025
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