After a tumultuous June that saw Star Trek: Discovery‘s leadership team ousted, the month concludes with another round of shifts inside the franchise spin-off as the series continues down the road to Season 2.
Announced today via Deadline, cable television veteran James Duff — who created and ran longtime TNT drama The Closer and spin-off Major Crimes for the last thirteen years — has joined the Discovery team in an executive producer role, set to work directly with new showrunner Alex Kurtzman to run the Season 2 writers’ room.
New DISCOVERY executive producer James Duff
While Duff is new to Discovery, it’s not his first time visiting the Star Trek universe, as he wrote the Naussican-centric “Fortunate Son” in Star Trek: Enterprise’s first season.
In addition to Duff’s appointment to the Star Trek: Discovery team, new Season 2 writer and consulting producer Jenny Lumet — who previously worked with Kurtzman on 2017’s The Mummy — has also been promoted to a co-executive producer role on the series.
Finally, Season 1 mainstay Olatunde Osunsanmi, who both served as a co-EP and episodic director has gotten the bump to full Executive Producer status, and will serve as the on-set lead producer at Pinewood Studios in Toronto where Discovery is filmed.
Osunsanmi directed two episodes of last season’s story — “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry” and “What’s Past is Prologue” — and is expected to continue helming at least one more episode in the upcoming second year of the show.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek: Discovery news!
Star Trek fans were excited by the announcement last September that longtime subscription box provider Loot Crate was partnering with venerable Star Trek licensee QMx to offer the Star Trek Mission Crate, a bimonthly subscription box of new apparel and collectibles from the Star Trek universe.
Customers were offered two choices: pay for a year’s worth of Mission Crate deliveries up front for $245, and receive a free bonus item — a metal replica of the movie-era Enterprise — or pay every two months, at $39.99 each.
The full-year buyer’s bonus USS Enterprise model — still in drydock.
Unfortunately, the experience for Star Trek Mission Crate customers has been extremely frustrating, and beset by a number of delays and limited informational updates.
These issues are not unique to Star Trek; a review of the Loot Crate customer support Twitter account indicates delays are frequent across their product line — but the recent experience for Star Trek Mission Crate subscribers have been particularly unfortunate.
The first box — titled “Wolf 359,” and themed after TNG’s “The Best of Both Wolds” — had been delayed twice, after originally scheduled to make a December 2017 debut. Initially, the crate was delayed from a month to January 2018, disappointing holiday shoppers who had purchased the crate as a Christmas gift.
In its place, Loot Crate sent a small bonus box to customers as a free gift, re-issuing several Star Trek items that had been in the company’s regular subscription box, a decent stop-gap measure for waiting fans.
But on January 30, subscribers were notified that the box was being delayed a second time, “to make a slight change to improve one of the items in our first Star Trek Mission Crate for a more show-accurate look.”
The “Wolf 359” crate finally shipped in late February, and to Loot Crate’s credit, the contents of the box did seem to have been well-received by subscribers — with particular praise for the Locutus of Borg figure produced by QMx, as well as the Shuttlecraft Galileo-themed outer packaging.
Since those early-2018 shipments went out, however, there have been no further shipments to Mission Crate subscribers. The second planned delivery, the Worf-themed “Way of the Warrior” crate, was originally expected to ship by the end of April, but it wasn’t until mid-May that subscribers heard about the status of this collection.
According to this May 15 update, the “Way of the Warrior” crate was now targeted to ship in mid-June. “We are excited to get it to you as soon as possible,” read the message. Despite the delay, subscribers were charged for the second Mission Crate release.
Weeks passed, and on June 15 — about when the second Mission Crate shipment was expected to start going out — the Loot Crate support team indicated that another delay was impacting the product, this time specifying that the problem centered around the box’s custom packaging. (This same reply was received by another inquiring subscriber as recently as June 28.)
Already behind schedule, Loot Crate then announced the theme of their planned June 2018 box: a Voyager-centric collection called “Dark Frontier,” themed around Seven of Nine and the Borg… but that announcement came with advanced notice of a delay on this third delivery, too, despite being charged for that month’s subscription fee.
For the fans who purchased a full-year subscription when it was announced in September, the subscription system is less than three months from issuing auto-billing invoices for another $245, when only one of the six already-paid-for shipments have left Loot Crate’s warehouse.
A sampling of Twitter-based pleas for answers from subscribers.
While the vendor appears to have a number of issues causing delayed shipments of its products, nothing seems to be impacting their financial systems, which continues to charge customers on a regular schedule — as bi-monthly subscribers are already seeing charges for the yet-unannounced fourth delivery appearing on their credit card statements.
It seems that Loot Crate isn’t even ready to announce a theme for that next collection, indicating in a support tweet that they are still working on “behind the scenes logistics” — not a good sign if products are to be ordered and received for customer fulfillment anytime soon.
A promo image advertising the second Mission Crate collection, originally planned for April 2018.
After hearing from many of you about the state of the Mission Crate fulfillment schedule, we reached out to Loot Crate to see what the company could tell us about the situation.
While they were not able to share with us a specific schedule as to when shipments would resume, Loot Crate provided TrekCore the following statement regarding the Mission Crate program.
“Loot Crate is working diligently with [product supplier] QMx to provide a high-quality, narrative-driven experience for ‘Star Trek Mission Crate’ subscribers. Unfortunately, we have experienced delays in developing the crates and getting them out to the fans.
We are deeply sorry for this inconvenience. We have resolved the issues and are working diligently to get subscribers’ ‘Star Trek’ experience back on track.”
Given the significant delays that have impacted all of the subscription boxes so far, it seems the company has a lot of work to do in the weeks and months ahead in order to catch up to what their customers have already paid for.
From their commentary today, Loot Crate claims that things are moving back in the right direction — but only time will tell if the exasperated subscribers will get the Star Trek goodies they’ve been waiting for, as their apology does not differ too much from the repeated feedback offered by their public customer service team.
We’ll continue to follow this program as the summer progresses and will bring you updates on shipments when they begin to resume.
Did you sign up for the Star Trek Mission Crate program? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.
Last night, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films held the 44th Annual Saturn Awards in Los Angeles, and Star Trek: Discovery walked away from the evening with two wins to the series’ name following the show’s five nominations.
As a series, Discovery picked up a win as Best New Media Television Series — aka, best streaming series — from the 2018 nominees, beating out Netflix’s Altered Carbon, Black Mirror, Mindhunter, and Stranger Things, as well as Amazon’s Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams and Hulu’s The Handmaids’ Tale.
On hand to accept the award for the series were Discovery actors Mary Chieffo (L’Rell) and Ken Mitchell (Kol), as well as executive producer Heather Kadin (all pictured above).
In the acting categories, while fellow nominees Doug Jones and Jason Isaacs left empty-handed, Discovery series lead Sonequa Martin-Green took home the Best Actress in a Television Series trophy, accepting the prize via pre-taped video from the Discovery set in Toronto.
Martin-Green’s win beat out a group of extremely talented peers, including Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Caitriona Balfe (Outlander), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Adrianne Palicki (The Orville), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), and Mary Elizabeth Windstead (Fargo).
Joel Harlow with a fan at STLV 2017.
As for some Star Trek-adjacent honorees:
Makeup artist Joel Harlow (Star Trek ’09, Star Trek Beyond) won the Best Makeup award for his work on Marvel Studio’s Black Panther;
Composer Michael Giacchino won Best Music for his score on Pixar’s Coco;
One-time Voyager guest star Michael McKean (Better Call Saul) won Best Supporting Actor on Television;
Patrick Stewart scored the Best Supporting Actor win for his role in 2016’s Logan;
The Orville, staffed by many Trek veterans, won Best Science Fiction TV Series — note broadcast and streaming series were categorized separately, so Discovery was not a competitor in this category.
Another new Star Trek product debut kicks off this Wednesday morning — this time with an adult twist — as Chronicle Collectibles spin-off company Silver Screen Bottling Co. has revealed the first in a line of Trek-themed bottled spirits.
Announced via StarTrek.com and their official website, James T. Kirk Straight Bourbon Whiskey is set to debut at San Diego Comic Con next month, before being released for general distribution later this year. Trek artists Michael Okuda and Doug Drexler are noted as having contributed to the packaging design.
The product release claims that this bourbon is touted to “celebrate [Kirk’s] bold spirit of adventure,” and includes this detail on the spirits themselves:
A serious Bourbon selected from choice barrels from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. Aging in range from 4 years old to 12 years old, each small batch release of James T. Kirk Bourbon exhibits a depth and richness seen in only the finest Bourbon.
Crafted with the highest respect for the whiskey and for the man that bears its name, James T. Kirk Straight Bourbon Whiskey is for the serious Star Trek fan and serious Bourbon fan, alike. Notes of caramel, Asian five spice, and pecan are not to be missed in this very special small-batch Bourbon.
Some fans immediately noted on social media that a Kentucky bourbon product would seem to be more in line with a Dr. Leonard McCoy themed release, rather than Jim Kirk, and the company quickly replied with hints of additional products already headed in that direction:
Stay tuned! More products incoming 🖖🏼
— Silver Screen Bottling Co. (@SilverScreenCo) June 27, 2018
While this will be debuting at SDCC next month — the company will be at the Chronicle Collectibles booth in San Diego — we’ve also confirmed that Silver Screen Bottling will be at STLV in Las Vegas this August as well.
Interestingly, Silver Screen Bottling’s official website also seems to indicate that they’ve acquired a product license for the full range of Star Trek properties — from the Original Series through the films and even the Kelvin Timeline movies — so it will be interesting to see what else is in their plans. (We’ve reached out to SSB for confirmation on the license information.)
It’s been a slow week in terms of Star Trek production news, but a wave of new Trek products have been revealed over the past few days, set to hit the market over the next few months — so let’s take a look at what’s on the way!
First up is this new costume replica from ANOVOS, recreating the Starfleet ‘bomber jacket’ casual uniform seen several classic Star Trek films, around the shoulders of a few officers including Captain Kirk, Scotty, and Starfleet Fleet Admiral Morrow.
Somewhat less expensive than some of ANOVOS’ other wares, the Trek film jacket is up for preorder now at $299, and is projected to ship to early buyers in the Spring of 2019 in time for the 35th Anniversary of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock where the costume debuted. (The preorder price will jump to $350 on June 30.)
Showcased at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH this past weekend, where WizKids’ Zev Schlaslinger demonstrated the forthcoming multiplayer card game set to arrive for purchase this summer.
The Ferengi-themed game doesn’t yet have an official release date announced, but it is expected to retail at approximately $24.99 once released. We’ll keep you posted as we have more information on Galactic Enterprises.
Trek licensee IconHeroes announced a pair of San Diego Comic Con-exclusive products this week, from both the Next Generation and Original Series eras, planned to be available at their booth (#3345) starting July 18.
First up is an Enterprise-D saucer section fabric mousepad, set to retail at $15 for the 9″ product. This will be available only at SDCC and limited to a run of 100 pieces.
Their second release is a trio of Original Series uniform-themed smartphone card holders, which are made of silicone to adhere to the back of a flat-sided digital device. These will be available in San Diego for $10 each.
Hallmark also shared some updates on their forthcoming convention-exclusive Star Trek releases this past week, with a new image of the Animated Series ornament pair of M’Ress and Arex, a combo pack set to debut at next month’s San Diego Comic Con (and to be available at STLV in August and New York Comic Con in October).
The company also revealed the first look at a plush Gorn doll, set to be limited to 2500 pieces, which will be another convention-exclusive set to arrive at SDCC in July.
As always, we’ll be reviewing the 2018 Hallmark releases just as soon as we get our hands on them – so stay tuned!
FanSets announced late last week that they will be debuting “Autograph Pins” at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention this August, with the first release personally signed by William Shatner himself in gold marker.
The company advised in their announcement tweet that the quantities for this product are expected to be “extremely limited,” and while they’ve not set a public price, we expect the cost to be at or above the $100 mark based upon the average Shatner autograph price.
Due in October is another new miniature prop replica from Running Press, following their TNG-era tricorder from earlier this year: a replica of Locutus of Borg’s facial appliance as seen in “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II” and “Emissary.”
Set to measure 3.75″ x 3.75,” the die-cast metal mask replica will also include a battery-powered red light to recreate the iconic laser on the original costume, along with a metal display base and a 48-page hardcover miniature book detailing the history of the character and the Borg as a species.
Next March brings a collection of Next Generation comic series, reprinted in one 568-page hardcover omnibus: IDW Publishing revealed today Star Trek: TNG — The Missions Continue, containing five multipart graphic novels previously released from the publisher.
Finally, from our friends over at Eaglemoss, we got our first look at the initial Star Trek: Discovery model subscription gift — a binder to hold the included magazines — as it began to arrive to early adopters in the UK this past weekend. As we reported in April, there are several more subscriber-only freebies to follow, including dedication plaques for the Shenzhou and Discovery.
Eaglemoss’ program manager Ben Robinson also revealed on Saturday that the company now expects to roll out a new Discovery starship model every month (beginning with the USS Kerala which is arriving to subscribers now), with the next releases scheduled to be the new Klingon Bird of Prey, the USS Europa, and the Vulcan cruiser seen in “Lethe.”
Also shared today is this ‘turnaround’ video of the forthcoming ‘XL’-sized USS Enterprise-B, coming later this year.
While original set for a June 23 debut, McFarlane’s listing on Amazon now details a September 1 release date for these first-run Star Trek products, 13 months after they were first announced at STLV 2017.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for the latest in Star Trek product news!
An original novel based upon the explosive new Star Trek TV series on CBS All Access!
Lieutenant Saru is a Kelpien, a member of a prey species born on a world overrun by monstrous predators…and a being who very intimately understands the nature of fear.
Challenged on all sides, he is determined to surpass his origins and succeed as a Starfleet officer aboard the U.S.S. Shenzhou.
But when Saru breaks protocol in order to prove himself to his crewmates, what begins as a vital rescue mission to save a vessel in distress soon escalates out of control.
Forced into a command role he may not be ready for, Saru is caught between his duty and the conflicting agendas of two antagonistic alien races.
To survive, he will need to seek a path of peace against all odds, and risk compromising the very ideals he has sworn to uphold….
I have to be honest; it has taken me a few weeks to both finish the book — and to write this review — as I sought to savor the experience of the last novel on the publishing schedule for the foreseeable future. I hope you can forgive me this indulgence!
While I sincerely doubt this is going to be the end of the Star Trek book line (though the year-long radio silence on the matter is quite frustrating!), Fear Itself is certainly a well-earned entry in Trek‘s literary library. As both an adventure story and a character exploration of Saru, Fear Itself really serves as a solid prequel to Saru’s arc throughout the first season of Star Trek: Discovery.
Over the course of Discovery’s first fifteen episodes, we see Saru mature from a snappy coward in “The Vulcan Hello” to a more confident and sure-footed acting captain of the USS Discovery by the end of “Will You Take My Hand?,” set nearly a year after the series premiere.
Acting Captain Saru of the USS Discovery.
His is a character who really finds his mojo, and has one of the more subtle (but enriching) arcs of Discovery so far. Fear Itself shows us an earlier point in Saru’s career – four years prior to the Battle of the Binary Stars – in which he begins that journey.
While we do not learn a huge amount more about the Kelpians or Saru’s origins — something Discovery’s writers are likely reserving for the television series — we still receive a deeper appreciation for the character and his motivations through Saru’s actions, and we get a window into his mind during a tense situation.
We also dive further into the Saru/Burnham relationship, something also explored in 2016’s first Discovery novel, David Mack’s Desperate Hours. The bickering between the two featured in “The Vulcan Hello” and “Battle at the Binary Stars” is on full display in Fear Itself, but we get a better understanding of where that originates.
The first season of Discovery implied, but did not go into much detail, that Burnham and Saru are more alike than they first appear, and Fear Itself dives deeper into that idea, and adds satisfying layers to their relationship as it plays out in the show.
Leka Trion of Peliar Zel (left) and a 22nd century Tholian (right).
Author James Swallow does the best jobs of the three Discovery authors to date in absolutely nailing the character voices and the tone of Discovery. Doug Jones’s performance as Saru leaps off the page, as does Michelle Yeoh’s Captain Georgiou and Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham. You can really see the characters in your mind’s eye speaking the lines, and the Discovery milieu is very well adhered to.
He also integrates a number of canon elements into the novel from later shows that fit seamlessly. The Tholians are the main antagonist, and it is a lot of fun to see Discovery characters going up against another of Star Trek’s more unique and beloved alien races. In addition, the Peliar Zel (who appeared in TNG’s “The Host”) and the Gorlans (who merit only the barest of mentions in “Mirror, Mirror”) each have big roles to play.
The other characters of the USS Shenzhou also appear, including a third appearance in the novels for Captain Phillipa Georgiou. Again, Georgiou is rendered in this novel most alike Michelle Yeoh’s performance on the screen, with all the shades of a determined captain and a leader of people who works to cultivate their best qualities and overcome their defects that Yeoh brought to the role.
Captain Phillipa Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou.
We may only have seen Prime Georgiou on screen for a short time, but she is absolutely one of Star Trek’s best captains. I hope the tie-in material continues to explore her character, while the on-screen version version of Discovery continues to follow Emperor Georgiou in future episodes.
Overall, if you are a fan of Discovery, I highly recommend pickup up Fear Itself. The action is well paced, the character moments land, and the story feels true to both Discovery and the wider Star Trek canon. As he has done so many times — seriously, go check out his other Trek novels! — Swallow has produced a fine book that will scratch the itch of any fan awaiting the return of more Trek to our televisions.
Here’s hoping we learn more about new Trek novels from Pocket Books soon — hopefully some kind of announcement might be made at STLV in August — because James Swallow’s Star Trek books are always a delight. It would be a real shame if there weren’t any more of them.
* * *
If you liked Fear Itself, you should check out:
Desperate Hours by David Mack – The first Star Trek: Discovery novel is set one year before the Battle of the Binary Stars, and dives deeper into the Burnham/Spock relationship, with plot threads for Georgiou, Saru, and an appearance by Captain Christopher Pike’s USS Enterprise!
Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward – The second Star Trek: Discovery novel is set ten years before the Battle of the Binary Stars and ties into the classic Trek episode “The Conscience of the King” to give us a story of the prime universe’s Lorca and Georgiou dealing with the massacre on Tarsus IV.
Leka Trionz
Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers by James Swallow – My personal favorite of James Swallow’s previous Trek novels, this story — which kicks off the Terok Nor trilogy, but is largely a standalone story — explores first contact between the Cardassians and Bajorans, which would eventually lead to the Cardassian Occupation.
It’s been about five months since the last member of the XL Starships model starship series debuted, but today we’re back with a look at the latest entry in Eaglemoss’ larger-sized Star Trek collection, the Constitution-class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A.
Making its first on-screen appearance in the final moments of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, this ship was a reuse of the original Constitution-class refit starship design introduced in the first Trek film, with the studio model repainted and relabeled to represent the second Kirk-era Enterprise in 1986.
The Enterprise-A is launched from Earth’s Spacedock. (‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’)
Eaglemoss has released two versions of the refit Constitution-class in its subscriber-sized model program, a original Motion Picture version of the Enterprise in 2013, as well as the the Enterprise-A itself three years later — but now, they’ve added the movie-era ship to their XL Starships line, scaling up the starship to a 10.5″ length, more than double the size of the smaller editions.
Some of the previous XL Starships releases have faced criticism for seeming to be just enlarged versions of the standard size Eaglemoss productions, but in this case, the Enterprise-A stands apart — this ship is clearly a new sculpt compared to its smaller-sized predecessors.
From the bridge, to the saucer, to the secondary hull and nacelles, there are differences all over this model — in ways that both elevate and detract from the final presentation. While we’ll cover some of the fairly notable problem areas a bit further down in this review, let’s start with the standard “What about the windows?” question.
This model finally gets things right in this department, as just about all the sculpted windows found in the smaller editions have been removed in the XL edition, replaced with painted black or white window markings on the rim of the saucer and on the secondary hull.
Only a few textured portals are included in this version of the ship — the six blue windows on either side of the drive section, the circular docking ports, and a set of eight markings underneath the saucer — and all of them are painted properly without the alignment problems found on prior Eaglemoss releases.
It’s also good to see the correct presentation of the ship’s blue bussard collectors, which in all previous releases have been missing the ‘split’ at the front of the translucent nacelle caps.
This point of detail has been a sticking point with fans of the model series since the first version of the Constitution-class refit was put out in 2013, so it’s nice to see this part of the ship corrected for the larger-sized model.
The areas surrounding the deflector dish have also been much improved compared to the smaller editions, as the yellow portions of the ship are much closer in appearance to the original studio model, though the dish itself — while bright blue to emulate the look of the illuminated model as seen on camera — still lacks the radial markings included on the ‘real’ starship.
The photon torpedo launcher situated above the dish also receives a nice bit of two-toned paint on the XL edition, matching the original filming model; the smaller Eaglemoss versions of this ship remained unpainted in this area, leaving the launcher white.
The rear of the ship also does a good job representing the back half of the starship, including a fairly accurate recreation of the raised ‘rib’ running the top of the secondary hull, the blue coloring adorning the hull plating, and the Enterprise shuttlebay area.
Unlike the smaller version of this ship, the entire top half of the drive section — including the neck and nacelle struts — are made from die-cast metal, giving the ship a much more solid feel compared to the 3.5″ models.
Moving to the primary hull…. well, this is where we start to run into trouble.
The XL Enterprise-A (left, middle-right) versus the studio model’s saucer rim (middle-top and bottom).
Let’s start with the rim of the saucer section, which is unfortunately void of just about all detail found on the actual studio model — including detail that was present on the small-size Enterprise-A ships previously released.
The ‘real’ Enterprise-A model features three radial sets of grooves ringing the saucer, several clusters of rounded windows dotting the hull, along with a few airlocks and tiny text identifying the starship.
While the XL Enterprise-A carries over the white window markings from the subscriber releases, it drops the grooved textures all together — something that was on the smaller model — and adds the STARSHIP U.S.S. ENTERPRISE and UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS text to the rim in large lettering.
Without the rim textures and airlocks, this text seems very much out of place with the surrounding details missing. Just take a look at this Star Trek VI screencap, and you can see how much that rim detailing adds to the look of the starship.
While that is a bit of an annoyance, it’s not the biggest issue this model has — that takes us to the top of the saucer.
Eaglemoss 'XL' Enterprise-A: Bridge Module
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Studio model (left) vs. XL Enterprise-A (right)
Studio model (left) vs. XL Enterprise-A (right)
Studio model (left) vs. XL Enterprise-A (right)
Studio model (left) vs. XL Enterprise-A (right)
Strangely, the bridge module on the XL Enterprise-A is totally different from the starship seen in the three Star Trek films where this vessel appeared. What’s more: the bridge shape was correct on the smaller version of this ship, meaning that this new sculpt is actually less accurate than the 2016 edition.
We’re not sure what reference information Eaglemoss was using when they sculpted this edition of the Enterprise-A, but compared to the studio model used in filming, the actual shape of the bridge is way off from the ‘real’ starship — not to mention the notable color differences in the model’s paint work.
In addition, the two sets of hull markings on the top of the ship are unusually positioned compared to the studio model; the USS ENTERPRISE text in front of the bridge is positioned much too close to the center of the saucer, while the registry number to the rear of the bridge is about twice as large as it should be.
Normally we can give minor discrepancies a bit of leeway when it comes to the Official Starships Collection model series, but the issues with the saucer section on this larger Enterprise-A model are things that are difficult to overlook.
Here are some more photos of the new Enterprise-A model, including some additional comparisons to the Star Trek VI-era studio model:
Eaglemoss 'XL Starships' -- USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
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XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
Subscriber-sized model (left) vs. XL USS Enterprise-A (right).
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
USS Enterprise-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
XL USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A
Studio model (left) vs. XL USS Enterprise-A (right).
Studio model (left) vs. XL USS Enterprise-A (right).
Studio model (left) vs. XL USS Enterprise-A (right).
The Constitution-class refit is many fans’ favorite version of the Enterprise, and while we shined a spotlight on some of the improvements found in this larger edition, the strange changes made to the saucer — changes that removed correct details found on the smaller Eaglemoss version — are a bit disappointing.
That being said, if you want to add the XL Starships version of the USS Enterprise-A to your collection, you can preorder now from Eaglemoss (for $74.95 in the US, and for £49.99 in the UK) — it’s already shipping to subscribers to the XL series in some areas.
The next XL release in Eaglemoss’ pipeline is the 9″ edition of Captain Sisko’s USS Defiant, so watch for our review of that “tough little ship” later this summer.
Back in February, we brought you an exclusive report detailing plans for a then-unannounced Art of Star Trek book expected in 2018, set to focus on the works of longtime franchise contributor John Eaves — and four months later, we now of the first official details on this forthcoming release from Titan Books.
Star Trek: The Art of John Eaves has been formally announced today by the publisher, and this upcoming hardcover release — written by author Joe Nazzaro, who most recently helmed the Star Trek Beyond – The Makeup Artistry of Joel Harlow — will span Eaves’ three-decade association with the Trek franchise, from his time on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier through Star Trek: Discovery.
A few preview pages of the book have also been revealed, including looks at Eaves’ concept design artwork from Star Trek: First Contact, the Xindi weapon from Star Trek: Enterprise, weaponry from Star Trek Into Darkness, and the revised USS Enterprise as seen in the Discovery Season 1 finale.
'Star Trek: The Art of John Eaves' (Titan Books)
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Formal information about the book hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but today’s announcement at StarTrek.com confirms The Art of John Eavesis targeted for an October 23 release in the United States — and we’ll be sure to let you know when preorder options are live.
Keep checking back to TrekCore for all the latest Star Trek book news!
To wrap up this unexpectedly-busy Trek Tuesday, this evening we bring you the first official product photos of McFarlane Toys’ forthcoming James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard action figures, hitting stores this month.
First revealed nearly a year ago at 2017’s Las Vegas Star Trek convention, the pair of 7″ captains arrives for sale on June 23(UPDATE: Amazon has rescheduled to September 1) and are intended to be the first of several Trek figures that McFarlane is expected to produce under their relatively-new product license.
Toy Fair 2018: McFarlane 'Kirk' and 'Picard' 7-Inch Figures
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We were able to check out early packaging and accessory designs at 2018’s Toy Fair trade show back in February (the gallery above), but this week McFarlane Toys has released a series of photos featuring the final products in play-action poses.
McFarlane Toys 'Kirk' and 'Picard' Figures
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In addition to the new images, the company also released official product descriptions of each figure, including a final breakdown of the included accessories accompanying the captains.
Captain of the USS Enterprise, Captain James Tiberius Kirk is one of the most renowned Starfleet leaders. Kirk leads his crew to the far reaches of space, Where No Man Has Gone Before. Regarded as a maverick, Captain Kirk strays from the path of Starfleet regulations, but only when the ends justify the means.
Captain Kirk is shown in his Command Yellow Starfleet uniform and will come with a Type II Phaser, a Communicator, and a Phaser Rifle. Figure Stands 7 inches tall and comes complete with multiple articulation points and a stylized brand specific base.
Captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), Captain Jean-Luc Picard shows that diplomacy can be just as effective as jumping head first into action. Despite his mastery of rhetoric, Picard is also known as an incredibly tactical Captain when faced with a violent threat. Captain Picard leads his diverse crew to seek out new life and new civilizations and to boldly go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Captain Picard is shown in his Command Red Starfleet (Type B) uniform and will come with a Type II Phaser and the Ressikan Flute, from the episode Inner Light. Figure stands 7 inches tall and comes complete with multiple articulation points and a stylized brand specific base.
The two actions figures are available for preorder now for $19.99 each.
IDW Publishing is continuing their multi-year Star Trek licensed property crossover comics this year with a newly-announced miniseries combining Captain Kirk’s Animated Series-era crew with the heroic robots in disguise in 2018’s Star Trek vs. Transformers.
Announced today via io9, Star Trek vs. Transformers is coming this September as a four-issue tale from writers John Barber and longtime Trek comic scribe Mike Johnson, telling the crossover story with help from artist Philip Murphy and colorist Leonardo Ito.
A pair of spanning covers to Issue #1 from artist Philip Murphy
Per io9’s report, the story will start with the USS Enterprise encountering Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots near Klingon space, where the teams must join forces to save a dilithium mine under siege.
From writer Mike Johnson:
“This is a crossover several decades in the making, and we could not be more thrilled to bring it to fans.
John and I are having a blast writing the first meeting of Starfleet and Cybertronians, and Phil is the perfect artist to bring these two franchises together on the page.”
Two more variants by artists Derek Charm and Paulina Ganucheau
Novel #4:
Novel #5:
Novel #6:
'Star Trek: TOS Sketchbook'
'TNG Movies Sketchbook'
'The Art of John Eaves'
