First announced last August, Factory Entertainment’s new small-scale Star Trek prop replica line is growing — and today, they’ve got two more weapons from the final frontier to add to their arsenal!
To put things in the simplest terms, Factory Entertainment’s “scaled prop replica” offerings are doing essentially what Eaglemoss has done for starships — bringing fans small metal replicas of Star Trek props, measuring in between six to nine inches for desktop or bookshelf display.
Launching first with the iconic Klingon bat’leth and Vulcan lirpa weapons, the first two scaled replicas went up for preorder last summer and have finally arrived for customer fulfillment. Each measuring in at about 9″ in length, the one-piece metal sculptures are a pretty fun new entry to the world of Star Trek merchandise, especially for those of you who love alien weaponry.
The Klingon bat’leth is nicely weathered to represent a well-used warrior’s blade, with its “leather” handles sculpted into the all-metal mold, and its pointy ends nicely shaped (though its “sharp” edges have been safely dulled so nobody actually gets hurt).
The Vulcan lirpa weapon is a simple design, but well-executed; its wide blade and club ends are polished to a mirror finish, and while the blade itself is not terribly sharp — again, for safety — the edge is milled to a fine tolerance to present its traditional shape. (The solid club end, though, could do some damage if you swing it hard enough!)
The company hasn’t forgotten about Starfleet, though, as today they’ve unveiled the next two entries in their scaled Star Trek replicas: a pair of Federation phaser rifles, from two different eras of the franchise — and both are in stock for shipment to fans today.
The first is Captain Kirk’s groovy phaser rifle from “Where No Man Has Gone Before” — the only time it was used in the Original Series — which retains its 1960s look complete with the long, spindly emitter and three-barreled midsection. The 6.5-inch rifle replica is one of the few (if only) commercial products ever released replicating this one-time Star Trek weapon, and is available for $59.99.
While some of the details on the rifle is represented by applied stickers (understandable, due to its small size), the only real design choice we have to question is the black-and-gold spirals around the midsection — using perhaps two-tone bronze colors there would have been more accurate to the original prop.
Next up is the 24th century equivalent, the silver Type III Starfleet phaser rifle first introduced in the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Debuting in “The Mind’s Eye” and used throughout that series and in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, this solid replica is the heaviest of the bunch — with its 7-inch length, the metal rifle weighs in at nearly 8 ounces.
This rifle has a set of ribbed rubber grips applied to the handles and midsection, and while the targeting scope on top doesn’t actually flip up like the screen-used prop, it is painted a nice yellow-green color to match the original — this rifle model also sells for $59.99.
The included display stands require a minor bit of assembly out of the box and could use a little bit of adjustment for future releases — while the clear tabbed stands fit into the base rather tightly, they have a tendency to wobble in place due to their rather wide design.
(They do the job, but you’ll need to fiddle around with them a bit to find the right balance for the displays.)
As we understand it, this line of small-size models is likely to remain focused on Trek weapons — so future releases could include things like the Voyager compression rifle, a Romulan disruptor rifle, a Klingon mek’leth, a Jem’hadar kar’takin blade, and more. We don’t know any specifics about what’s next in line, but it’s an interesting new product line with a great deal of potential.
Factory Entertainment’s scaled Star Trek prop replicas are all in stock now and shipping to collectors this week.