While one search for Spock has finally found its target, we thought it was high time to head back to the first hunt for the elusive Vulcan and check out the new Spacedock model from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, just out from Eaglemoss / Hero Collector in the United States.
Under construction well in to the 2250s — as seen in last season’s Star Trek: Discovery finale — the massive mushroom-shaped orbital structure was first seen on-screen in the third Trek film, set in 2287, as the battle-damaged USS Enterprise returned home to Earth after the events in the Mutara sector seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Also seen in the fourth, fifth, and sixth films, the massive studio-built model representing the station would go on to make several appearances in Star Trek: The Next Generation as various starbases across the years, in the form of re-used footage from the feature appearances (to the dismay of those concerned about the much-larger Enterprise-D).
Now, however, the station is now fully-formed as a collectors’ model from Eaglemoss / Hero Collector as a 9″-inch plastic-and-metal construction shipping now to fans.
The third space station in E/HC’s Official Starships Collection product line — following Deep Space 9 and Deep Space Station K-7 — this iconic structure is one that fans of the Trek model program have been clamoring for for years, and it’s pretty well worth the wait. With a mostly-plastic body, the build allows for a great amount of surface detailing, from the spiky antenna clusters on the top and bottom ends to the overall structure of the lower segments.
The only part of the model that’s made of E/HC’s traditional die-cast metal is the dome-shaped center node, which serves as both a centerweight and mounting point for the creative ring-shaped display stand which helps the Spacedock model appear to ‘float’ above your tabletop without compromising the view of the lower portion of the station.
While the coloring on the lower portion of the station is notably made up of various blues and purples — doing its best to emulate the blue tones of the fully-lit station as seen on-screen — it’s not exactly a one-to-one match, especially with the nicely-engineered (but inaccurate) blue ring underneath the station’s upper section.
That being said, despite the deviation, we think it’s a fair-enough match to substitute for the reflection of blue light from orbiting Earth. (That one would be a bit tough to pull off!)
The top of the station has minimal hull markings, just some sparse slashes of red, black and blue around the dome, with purple windows on either side of the structure. There aren’t any real windows molded into the rest of the station’s design, so unlike some of the company’s prior releases, there’s not much risk of misalignment here.
The central antenna cluster — and the matching one at the base of the station — are a bit more spindly than Eaglemoss / Hero Collector usually gets with its manufacturing. It certainly makes a nice detail to the model, but be warned, the antennas bend easily and will snap off if you’re not careful.
Here are some more images of this new special-release model:
While the Spacedock model checks one more box off the list for Star Trek space station fans, there’s still another notable design yet to come from Eaglemoss / Hero Collector’s collection — the orbital office complex from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a studio model which went on to serve in spotlight roles like Regula I from The Wrath of Khan, and Admiral Ross’ war headquarters during Dominion occupation, Starbase 375 from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Will this also-desired station make it to hands of collectors? Never say never, but as Spacedock is only the third Starbase release in over five years of model releases, it may be a while until it enters sensor range.
In the meantime, if you’re ready to bring Spacedock into your own orbit, you can buy it now at the Eaglemoss web shop for $44.95 in the US. (For those of you outside the United States, it seems to be out-of-stock and no longer available in the UK shop.)
We’ll be back soon with a look at more of the Official Starships Collection — but in the meantime, let us know what you think about this model in the comments below!