Following the release of the Probert Enterprise-C concept design, Eaglemoss has released the next never-seen Star Trek starship in their model line, the Matt Jefferies-designed Star Trek: Phase II refit of the original USS Enterprise.
Jefferies, the artist behind the original Constitution-class design for the classic Trek series, was approached to revise the starship for the in-development Phase II sequel series in 1977. He focused on maintaining the overall look of the ship but brought in a pair of new warp nacelle and engine struts, with a flatter shape and more physical detail than the TOS-era cylinders.
In addition, the new version of the ship featured a second turbolift on the bridge dome, additional registry markings on the secondary hull, and pronounced circular hull detailing on the top of the saucer.
This version of the ship, however, was abandoned in late 1977 when plans for Star Trek: Phase II were discontinued as production shifted into preparation for Star Trek: The Motion Picture which would get the larger, more-detailed refit USS Enterprise design needed for the the big screen.
The produced model for the Official Starships Collection brings the Phase II design to collectors at the same scale as the other Constitution-class models released in the past, measuring about 5.5″ in length with the standard display stand.
This is the fifth subscription-size model of the Constitution-class after the TOS-era Enterprise, the mirror ISS Enterprise, the USS Yorktown, and the glow-in-the-dark “interphase” Defiant.
The saucer underside remains basically unchanged from the other versions of this ship, but top side has sharply-molded grid lines in its metal surface. The new nacelles are also in full display on this model, with bright orange nacelle caps made of translucent plastic.
Aside from the ever-present window alignment issues — here impacting areas on the underside of the saucer and the sides of the engineering hull — the only other issue we have with the Phase II model is a somewhat noticeable seam on the secondary hull, and a somewhat plain deflector dish presented in a flat orange. The nacelles do appear to be a bit longer here than on the originally-built model from the 1970s.
It’s a bit disappointing that this version of the Enterprise is only available in this small-scale size. While I’m sure it’s unlikely that it’s financially viable to add the Phase II version of the Enterprise to the larger “XL”-size model line, it would still be nice to see this edition of the ship presented in a bit of a bigger scale.
Here are some more photos of the model:
Eaglemoss announced last week that the Phase II model won’t be the last concept-design ship that they’ll be bringing to collectors, as they announced that early concepts for the USS Voyager design will be added to the model series in the coming months.
If you’re interested in the Phase II concept Enterprise, it’s available at Eagelmoss’ web store now (in the US for $24.95 or in the UK for £10.99).
Come back soon to TrekCore as we’ll be taking a look at another revised version of the Enterprise, the new Star Trek Beyond edition of the Kelvin Timeline starship!