I'm not one for subscribing to magazines - after all, most of the stuff I want to read can be found on the internet for free. In fact, the last magazine I did subscribe to was the Commodore 64 mag "Zzap 64" in the late 80's! However, after watching an advert on TV last Tuesday about a new series of Star Trek magazines that come complete with a detailed model ship with each issue, I just had to subscribe...
Today I got my first issue of "Star Trek The Official Starships Collection", and with it came a fantastic model of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D from Star Trek : The Next Generation. The magazine itself is nothing special - a glossy mag with a few original drawings by Andrew Probert, some other photos which can be found online or in other books, and a bit of information about the ship. To be honest, the magazine is just a bonus extra as I'm sure most people will be buying this series solely for the models, although with the binder that will be available to subscribers I'm sure the magazines will become a nice library once complete.
The model itself is not very big and measures about 140mm in length, but what is impressive is the amount of detail on the ship. You can see windows, escape pods, and texturing on the hull is fantastic. Also, the model has been made using die-cast metal and ABS plastic, so it doesn't look cheap. This is no toy, but it does seem strong (and heavy) enough to take a bit of punishment from young hands. Fortunately it comes with a nice display stand which is individually numbered.
Issue 1 cost a silly £1.99, so for that price, you can't really complain. Issue 2 comes with the USS Enterprise Refit from Star Trek The Motion Picture and will be priced at £5.99. All subsequent issues will then be £9.99 each which does seem a lot, but if the quality of the models remain the same as this, then I think it's a price worth paying. The publisher Eaglemoss Collections hope to release 70 issues at least (once a fortnight), not including specials, and have issued a tentative list of all issues and ships (which you can see below). Personally, I can't wait for issues 8 and 11 (USS Excelsior and USS Reliant)!
Provisional list of issues
◾01 USS Enterprise-D
◾02 USS Enterprise (refit)
◾03 Klingon Bird-of-Prey
◾04 Enterprise NX-01
◾05 Romulan Warbird
◾06 USS Voyager
◾07 K't'inga-class
◾08 USS Excelsior
◾09 USS Defiant
◾10 Borg sphere
◾11 USS Reliant
◾12 Ferengi Marauder
◾13 Akira-class
◾14 Vor'cha-class
◾15 Prometheus-class
◾16 Valdore-type
◾17 USS Equinox
◾18 Bajoran Solar Sailer
◾19 USS Enterprise-E
◾20 Xindi-Insectoid starship
◾21 Raptor-class
◾22 Jem'Hadar fighter
◾23 Nebula-class
◾24 Suurok-class
◾25 Delta Flyer
◾26 Breen warship
◾27 Krenim weapon ship
◾28 USS Enterprise-C
◾29 Galor-class
◾30 USS Stargazer
◾31 Borg Queen's vessel
◾32 Jem'Hadar battle cruiser
◾33 Maquis fighter
◾34 Romulan Bird-of-Prey (23rd century)
◾35 Hirogen warship
◾36 T'Plana-Hath (starship)
◾37 Prototype Klingon Bird-of-Prey
◾38 USS Enterprise-J
◾39 Son'a Command ship
◾40 Runabout
◾41 D-5-class
◾42 Romulan drone-ship
◾43 USS Enterprise-B
◾44 Jem'Hadar battleship
◾45 Malon export vessel
◾46 Federation mission scoutship
◾47 Scimitar
◾48 USS Relativity
◾49 Tholian starship (22nd century)
◾50 Goroth's starship
◾51 USS Kelvin
◾52 Son'a collector
◾53 Xindi-Reptilian starship
◾54 Oberth-class
◾55 Suliban cell ship
◾56 Phoenix
◾57 Fesarius
◾58 Steamrunner-class
◾59 Xindi-Aquatic cruiser
◾60 Vulcan Long range shuttle
◾61 Saber-class
◾62 Hideki-class
◾63 USS Enterprise-A
◾64 Romulan Bird-of-Prey (22nd century)
◾65 USS Dauntless
◾66 Federation holoship
◾67 Scorpion-class
◾68 Norway-class
◾69 USS Enterprise
◾70 Species 8472 bioship
NO NUMBERS
◾Borg probe
◾Cousteau (Captain's Yacht)
◾Borg cube
◾Galileo
SPECIALS (available to Subscribers only)
◾Deep Space 9
◾USS Enterprise (alternate reality - ST2009 and STID)
◾Future USS Enterprise-D ("All Good Things...")
◾Space Stations
