n 1966, a unique and daring television show began that would change the face of science fiction. Each week, for an hour, viewers were transported to the stars aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, a starship of the United Federation of Planets. Its bold five-year mission: to seek out and explore strange new worlds. To boldly go where no man had gone before. The original show did not last five years, but was prematurely canceled.
In 1973, the show was revived in an animated series using the voices of the original cast. While some thought the show a failed experiment, others would not give up on it so easily. Fans began to gather in groups to talk about and relive the show. Soon, small conventions of fans began to appear. Then they invited cast members to come by and talk with them. This movement continued to grow. It seemed that decades had passed, but it was just over six years, when the first of the Star Trek films was released—Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This spawned many sequels, and four new television series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. The ships became faster and more powerful, old enemies resurfaced and became allies, and new enemies emerged.
But it all began with one ship—the U.S.S. Enterprise, facing down bitter rivals, the Klingons and Romulans, in Klingon battle cruisers or Romulan warships. Due to old alliances, the Klingons and Romulans shared technology, so the D7 Battle Cruiser and its Romulan version differ only slightly in design, yet they are deadly in both incarnations.
Polar Lights has released two model kits based on these classic designs. The U.S.S. Enterprise comes boxed with instructions, decals and more than 50 pieces, and allows the construction of three different versions of the original ship—the models used in pilots and the production ship used in the series. With paint variations and the many many decals available, a builder can also create the Mirror Universe version of the Imperial Starship Enterprise, seen in the episode "Mirror, Mirror," in which a transporter accident sends Kirk, Uhura, Scotty and McCoy into an alternative universe where the Enterprise is ruled by fear, force and assassination. Stickers enclosed also allow you to build many other Constitution-class starships, including the Constellation, Defiant and Exeter.
The Klingon D7 Battle Cruiser is made from around 40 parts and can be configured as a Klingon or Romulan ship with subtle variations in parts, paint and sticker layout. The Klingon alphabet is included twice to allow for naming your own ship. Two versions of the Romulan ship can be created with sticker variation, including a captain's ship.
Each is a snap-together kit rated at skill level 2 that requires no glue, though certain tools will be necessary to remove flash when parts are removed from their runners. Each has a stand that allows for attractive shelf display.
Completed, the Enterprise measures 11.5 inches, and the D7 Battle Cruiser measures 10 inches, putting these two models in relatively accurate scale with each other.
A project for novices and experts alike
The two kits reviewed here can be built by mature modelers who want a quick project and nice results, but they are perhaps best as starter kits, great for kids who are fairly new to modeling.
Before constructing the Enterprise, however, visit Polar Lights' Web site. They have released corrections to the instructions for the engine sections of the starship. They were originally printed with some incorrect numbers. (Visit here and download a PFD file with corrected instructions.)
While a skilled modeler can spend a lot of time preparing the models by painting the parts to be as accurate as possible, the kits look reasonably good without paint and with decals only. Without paint, the ships look rather monochromatic, molded in gray plastic, and certain parts of the Enterprise in particular really should be painted. The Romulan ship has one red transparent part, and some chrome pieces. The Enterprise has more clear parts, including the bridge, which can be left clear to indicate the domed window, and the nacelles, which should be painted red inside.
I was reasonably impressed with these snap-together kits. I expected loose parts, and I did find some, but for the most part pieces snap or jam together very strongly. The final kits are fairly solid even without glue.
But I have to recommend some gluing. The long thin neck of the D7 Battle Cruiser snaps to the main hull, but not well. Use of some glue at the join makes for a much more sturdy model. Also, the chrome grilles attached to the engines tend to slide around a bit without some glue. I also glued the engines to the main hull, as snapped they were not solid enough for my taste.
The Enterprise snaps together well and even the engines, which, attached by rather thin struts that look like they could be rather loose, are sturdy. The Enterprise's main problem is where the neck joins the saucer section. Glue here is practically necessary, as the connection seemed less than tight.
Where I find these kits rather appealing is their customizability. Many people aren't aware that the ship as seen in the pilots and in the series itself have different rear engine cowls and nacelle caps, different bridges and different-sized sensor dishes. With some work, skilled modelers could configure the kit to look like the ships seen in the animated series, or even some of the ships seen in the Star Trek Technical Manual or other configurations.
One major plus is the inclusion of two sets of decals—one set that peels and sticks for less skilled (or patient) modelers for quick and easy application, and one set of water-slide decals which are superior in look but require more effort. That's a very nice touch. It shows that Polar Lights is catering to modelers of all skill levels with this pair of kits.
