Announced back in July, this summer’s newest Hallmark ornament is the convention-exclusive HMS Bounty — decloaking just in time to coincide with the 35th anniversary of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home!
You may recall, of course, that Klingon Bird of Prey ship first makes its appearance in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock under the command of Commander Kruge. (I don’t think we need to give a spoiler alert on a movie of this vintage, right?)
In case you don’t remember: James T. Kirk and crew ultimately assume command of Kruge’s ship at the end of that movie — after killing off all but poor Maltz — and then cheekily rechristen her as the HMS Bounty while in exile on planet Vulcan.
They slingshot the old girl around the sun to go back in time, pick up some humpback whales, bring them forward in time and crash into the San Francisco bay: quite a journey for this “rust bucket.”
Now, is it worth the nerve-wracking rush to purchase during the exclusive window in October? If you’re a “gotta have ’em all!” type Star Trek ornament collector, or just a big old fan of the Klingons like I am, the obvious answer is Dochvetlh vIneH! (That’s Klingon for “I want the thing!” to you Earthers.)
You can never have too many Birds of Prey on your Christmas tree, but if you’re more of a casual fan — or pinching your pennies this year and don’t want to spend the required $35 USD on the special release — I’d recommend you instead track down one of Hallmark’s classic 1994 Bird of Prey ornaments in the secondary market instead.
Why the mixed review, you ask? Well, I’ll admit that an all-metal ornament of the Bounty is really cool. I love the heft of this thing, even if it means you need to find a rock solid branch on your Christmas tree to hang it from — it’s heavy — and I can’t help but love the little hand painted “H.M.S. Bounty” on the hull of the ship.
That said, I wish the overall paint job on this ornament was a bit less… flat. It really screams out for a good wash of a dark green or grey to settle into all the little crevices and highlight the cool details in the sculpt, details that don’t pop at all because of the single tone of green paint on this ornament.
In fact, if you look at the photo on the ornament’s box, you can barely make out the details in the sculpt. Honestly, it doesn’t even photograph that well — but when you take a look at the 1994 Bird of Prey ornament, THAT ship looks like it flew right off the screen and onto my tree.
By comparison, the 2021 HMS Bounty is pretty boring, unfortunately; despite its heft and construction, it just looks like a toy. Now, I don’t work in ornament design, and logistically I’ve got no clue about the production or painting processes.
But I do paint miniatures as a hobbyist, and I have my 1994 ornament sitting right here next to this new one. It seems obvious — to me, at least — that the Bounty is in desperate need of some detail highlighting. It’s a beautiful sculpt, but the paint job just isn’t doing it any favors.
While the first opportunity to purchase this event-exclusive ornament passed by back in July during San Diego Comic Con, fans will have one more chance to pick it up during October’s New York Comic Con — but only 3,750 were produced in total, so you’ll want to engage warp speed if you hope to acquire one as the July allocation went quickly.
This ornament will be sold on a first-come basis starting at 12PM ET (9AM PT) on the first day of New York Comic Con — that’s Thursday, October 7 — and collectors will be limited to one sale per person, per transaction, while supplies last.
Keep an eye on this page at Hallmark’s online store for the sale to go live on that date, and if you’re on the hunt to bring this special Bird of Prey ornament home, all we can say is Qapla’!
Did you already manage to score one of these limited-edition ornaments back in July — or are you angling to snag one during the October order window? Let us know in the comments below!