Factory Entertainment announced their massive Star Trek: First Contact prop replica in late 2021, and we’ve finally gotten a chance to get assimilated by the Borg Queen herself.
Measuring in at 3 feet tall and weighing about 13 pounds, this enormous ‘heavyweight polyurethane resin’ and chrome replica of the Borg Queen’s remains are recreated from the final moments of Star Trek: First Contact, just after the cybernetic leader is defeated by Captain Picard and Data — after her organic components melted away from exposure to warp plasma coolant.
The Borg Queen skull arrived in an extremely well-protected state within a massive, padded box. Along with the large skull-and-vertebrae reproduction comes a heavy-duty display stand signed by First Contact’s Borg Queen herself — Alice Krige — and a user guide for setup and the integrated lighting.
Before we say more, there’s the cost, of course: the Borg Queen skull’s $1,500 price tag clearly puts this prop replica far out of reach to many collectors. (As a disclosure, we want to make clear that Factory Entertainment sent us one of the replica displays to examine for this review — without any conditions or input into this review.)
Clearly it has been produced for a limited audience, and with only about 250 units produced, the pricing isn’t able to be spread across a larger production run. For such an intricately-designed and built display piece — and for its weight, size, and likely exorbitant cost to build and ship from overseas and out to collectors homes — it’s honestly probably right in the range it should be.
Now on with the review! The lighting elements inside the replica are powered by three AAA batteries, which are nicely hidden in the rear of the skull behind a magnetic clip-on panel to blend seamlessly into the overall look of the prop replica — and the on/off buttons are neatly tucked into the lower half of the skull.
When activated, bright red LEDs flare in the Borg Queen’s right eye and spinal column, while a set of green and yellow flashing LEDs are set into the right side of the skull, blinking in a few variant patterns while powered on. The lighting is certainly visible during daylight or in a lighted room, these lighting elements are very bright in a darkened room — making the Queen skull quite the spooky display if turned on at night.
The lighting isn’t quite perfect, though; when lit, the bright red LED in the right eye lights up the entire interior of the skull, which gives the entire head a red glow when lit up in a darkened room. Adding a bit of a barrier behind the LED to block the light from flaring through the entire headpiece would be a big help, as that certainly wasn’t present in the on-screen prop seen in First Contact.
In addition, there’s a large copyright label on the side of the chrome skull which is difficult to remove without damaging the chrome finish on the replica; while the label itself is mostly transparent, the text is very large and if it had to be placed on the prop in this format, it really should have been placed on the back of the skull to avoid detracting from the look of the replica. (Also, putting stickers on chrome? Not great — put it on the matte plastic surface under the battery cover or something.)
Beyond that lighting issue, however, there’s really very view things to complain about in this recreation. The skull is extremely solid, the spinal column looks fantastic, it sits very securely on the tall metal stand, and including an autograph from the actor behind the character is just icing on the cake.
It’s a wildly expensive piece that certainly isn’t something we ever expected to be produced in a 1:1 replica, but for those of you who love Star Trek: First Contact and an afford it — and have the space for it in your home! — this is one of Factory Entertainment’s best Star Trek releases yet.
Did any of you buy the Factory Entertainment Borg Queen prop replica for your own collections? If not, you can still get it through the company’s web shop — and if you have, let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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