Jupiter Station artwork by Rob Bonchune
We’re back with another look ahead to the future of the Official Star Trek Starships Collection, as it’s time now to see what Hero Collector has lined up for the holiday season: here are the new Star Trek models you can expect to arrive in December!
First up is the Star Trek: Picard-era Romulan Warbird, the next entry in the Star Trek Universe modern-series collection — seen in a massive armada above the planet Coppelius in the Season 1 finale, “Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2.”
ROMULAN WARBIRD (#10) — By the end of the 24th century, the Romulan Free State had updated its warbird designs to this new model – a finned, segmented attack vessel armed with powerful disruptors, its belly decorated with a painted bird-of-prey.
Though these ships saw use throughout the Romulan Free State, more sinister actors also put them to work – when the secretive Zhat Vash triggered an assault on the synthetic planet of Coppelius, over 200 of the new Romulan Warbirds joined their genocidal fleet.
The Romulan Warbird starship model measures in at about 8.5 inches wide, and is expected to retail at $54.95 / €49.99 / £39.99.
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Next is a brand new addition to the Star Trek space station roster, the massive Jupiter Station, referenced often in Star Trek: Enterprise and seen directly in Star Trek: Voyager (“Life Line”), the station was built out of multiple starship saucer section hulls stacked in a set of parallel structures.
JUPITER STATION (SPECIAL #28) — Located in the orbit of the Solar System’s fifth and largest planet, the Jupiter Research Station was an orbital facility for United Earth (and later the Federation) comprised of six stacked saucer hulls, divided between two sections.
Jupiter Station was a frequent stop for the crew of the Enterprise NX – 01, under Captain Jonathan Archer, thanks to its extensive maintenance, repair, and supply capabilities – and its role as a holographic training facility for MACO troops.
Designer Rick Sternbach drew inspiration from the classic appearance of the Spacedock, and speculated that the saucers may have been recycled from decommissioned UE vessels.
The complicated Jupiter Station model measures in at just under 7 inches high (and 7 inches wide), and is expected to retail at $74.95 / €64.99 / £49.99.
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For fans of the smaller-sized Star Trek shuttlecraft sets, Hero Collector is debuting its first all-alien shuttle set in December, as four in-demand ships make up the eighth pack of support craft.
In this four-pack, fans will find the Ferengi shuttle which debuted in “The Price” (here as ‘Quark’s Treasure’ from “Little Green Men”), the Klingon Toron-class shuttle from “Gambit, Part II,” the Xindi-Insectoid shuttle seen in Enterprise Season 3, and a 22nd century Vulcan shuttlecraft, as seen in “Fallen Hero.”
SHUTTLECRAFT SET #8: FERENGI, KLINGON, XINDI-INSECTOID, VULCAN — These four shuttles each represent one of Star Trek’s more prominent alien species – from the iconic Vulcan Shuttle to the small, one-crew Toron Shuttle used by the Klingon mercenary Koral!
Plus, the sinister (and notoriously difficult-to-steer) Xindi-Insectoid Assault Shuttle, as well as Quark’s personal Ferengi starcraft, which he named Quark’s Treasure before an illegal smuggling trip sent him through a time warp… and back to Roswell, 1947!
Each of the Ferengi, Xindi-Insectoid, and Vulcan shuttles measure in at about 3.25 inches in length, while the boxy Klingon shuttle is about 2.5 inches long. The four-pack of small ships will retail for $99.95 / €104.99 / £74.99.
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Finally, there’s a pair of new bonus starship models on the way, with two we can fully announce here and another two on the roster to follow in the months ahead.
Arriving in November is Steth’s coaxial warp drive ship from Voyager Season 4’s “Vis a Vis,” the first of two new Delta Quadrant ships to expand the Official Starships Collection this fall.
STETH’S COAXIAL SHIP (BONUS #30) — A small, lightly-armored Benthan starship, Steth’s ship was equipped with an experimental propulsion system known as the coaxial warp drive.
This technology allowed it to fold space, travelling vast interstellar distances in moments – but when it was hijacked by a DNA-swapping thief, its owner was left stranded in the wrong body, and the thief set his sights on the USS Voyager.
Also arriving in November is the Kazon carrier vessel, first seen in “Caretaker” and throughout the first two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.
KAZON CARRIER (BONUS #31) — Originally designed by the alien Trabe, this powerful and heavily-armed warship – dubbed the Predator-class – was claimed by the Kazon after they overthrew their former masters. Aggressive and bent on revenge, the Kazon pursued the unfortunate USS Voyager in order to claim Starfleet’s superior technology.
Steth’s ship measures in at just over 5 inches long, while the Kazon carrier will be about 5.5 inches in length; each will retail for $29.95 / €24.99 / £19.99.
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Following these two bonus editions, you can also look forward to seeing the Nomad probe (from “The Changeling”) arriving soon as Bonus #32, while the Talarian Observation Craft (from “Suddenly Human”) slated as Bonus #33.
These ships were revealed on the back of recent Hero Collector ship model packaging, and we’ve confirmed their placement in the upcoming roster with the company.
Phew — now that’s enough new models to make any member of the Collector’s Guild jealous! We’ll be back next month with another round of first-look previews for the start of 2022, and will have more Hero Collector product review and preview news over the coming weeks.
Which of these new releases to you plan to add to your own Star Trek collection? Let us know in the comments below!