Review: Eaglemoss Star Trek XL Starships Collection So Far

The Eaglemoss XL Enterprise Collection: the NX-01, the 1701, the 1701-D, and the 1701-E.

TrekMovie received the first four ships in Eaglemoss’s new XL Edition line of Star Trek starship models. After getting up close and personal with these ships, this reviewer is left with but one word: wow.

Eaglemoss began releasing their Star Trek Starships: XL Edition collection early in 2017 through a subscription ($59.95 per ship), or for purchase individually through their online store ($74.95 per ship). These ships are the largest ever produced by Eaglemoss, with the quality you’ve come to expect from the brand. Each comes with a stand to exhibit with the rest of your collection or as a standalone display. XL Edition ships are die-cast, hand-painted, and come with a companion magazine focusing more on the productions these vessels featured in, rather than the ships themselves. For a detailed profile of ship specifications, as well as the design process, the smaller siblings of these ships include those details in the accompanying magazines.

Here at TrekMovie we received four ships, which are available now for purchase: NX-01, the Enterprise, Enterprise-D, and Enterprise-E from Eaglemoss’ XL Starships collection (subscriptions available here). The Voyager model is the newest addition to the line and debuted two weeks ago but is not included in this review, but expect a review once it arrives in the post.

The Eaglemoss XL Edition collection. Currently, five ships are available with five more on the horizon.

The XL collection plans on including at least five more ships (Enterprise refit, Enterprise-B, Enterprise-C, the Defiant, and the Reliant), so going with their subscription option would save $150 over the course of the run. In addition to these five, Eaglemoss’ Ben Robinson has teased an XL version of the U.S.S. Excelsior.

The Enterprise NCC-1701: No Bloody A, B, C, or D

The TOS Enterprise NCC-1701

Measuring in at 11 inches, the TOS Enterprise comes in as the longest ship of Eaglemoss’ XL Starships line. The entire starship is made from die-cast metal, save the underside of the saucer, the navigational deflector, and the warp nacelles. The warp nacelles are constructed with a molded ABS plastic that feels much stronger than the plastic elements included in Eaglemoss’ smaller Starships Collection. The paint job is spot-on perfect, making this Enterprise a convincing little sister of the filming model currently sitting in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

The contents of the magazine differ from the standard Starships Collection release, with the focus being on casting TOS, and filming “The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Collectors looking for the history of the creation of the famous Matt Jefferies ship, along with its canon specifications, should be sure to pick up the smaller model.

The Enterprise NCC-1701-D

TNG Enterprise NCC-1701 D. Notice the aztecing on the saucer section.

Measuring at 8.5 inches, the Enterprise-D is perhaps the largest in total volume of any ship of the XL line thus far. When you pick it up, you can immediately feel why. The majority of the ship is constructed from die-cast metal, with little plastic to be found other than on the warp nacelle grills and bussard collectors. The Eaglemoss Enterprise-D showcases the line at its finest. The majority of the ship is die-cast, with other parts a hard, molded ABS plastic.

The paint job is authentic and impressive for such a model. The model feels heavy, despite the fact that plastic elements have been incorporated seamlessly into its construction. The most impressive aspect of this small model has to be the “aztecing”, a painting method used to make large starships look like their hulls are made of multiple pieces of metal rather than one smooth surface, that has been meticulously painted. The Eaglemoss U.S.S. Enterprise-D still has much of the detail that can be seen from the larger Diamond Select version of the ship. Larger models, such as the version of the “D” produced by Diamond Select Toys, has molded lines over the hull to represent the aztec pattern, but no actual paint to provide contrast and make the ship shine. Another nice touch are the ship’s windows. Unlike other releases of the Enterprise-D, Eaglemoss’ version includes windows with both the lights on and off.

The magazine focuses on making TNG, which includes some lovely conceptual artwork for uniforms, the bridge, and props. It also includes details on casting TNG’s characters.

The Enterprise NCC-1701-E

First Contact style Enterprise NCC-1701 E

The lighter paint job on the The Enterprise-E is reminiscent of the version of the Sovereign-class ship we saw in Star Trek: First Contact. As Trek fans are aware, the design and paint job on the Enterprise-E differed through First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis as the CGI model passed between different visual effects companies.

The elongated saucer and top of the secondary hull are made of die-cast metal, while the bottom of the secondary hull and the warp nacelles are made of ABS plastic. While the Enterprise-D’s superb paint job, particularly combining the ship’s aztecing and windows, was perhaps its most impressive feature, the windows on the Enterprise-E appear to be painted a few millimeters off from their indentations. This leaves plenty of indentations all over the ship devoid of painting. Further, the ship’s warp nacelles look devoid of detail. The reds, blues, and grays of the bussard collectors, warp grills, and gray detailing are nice, but the nacelles lack the detailed aztecing that the present on the saucer. The aztecing is present on the underside of the nacelles, but curiously vacant from their sides. This leaves the bussards, grills, Starfleet branding, and RCS thrusters the most prominent parts of the nacelles. With the Enterprise-D being painted with such perfection, this reviewer is left to wonder how Eaglemoss could neglect those details from the Enterprise-E.

The magazine focuses on making First Contact, redesigning the Borg, and creating the Borg Queen.

The First: The Enterprise NX-01

ENT Enterprise NX-01

Eaglemoss returned to form with a stunning XL version of the the Enterprise NX-01. The entire ship is cut from die cast metal, save for the ship’s warp nacelles. Whereas the nacelles on the smaller version of the NX-01 felt flimsy and tenuously glued on, the ABS plastic on the XL version makes them feel strong. This reviewer personally had difficulty with the smaller NX-01’s nacelles falling off, but these XL starships feel sturdily constructed.

The aztecing on the NX-01 is perfect. Eaglemoss seems to have used a pearlescent paint, as the NX-01 shimmers when hit by the faintest of light sources. The gold, gray, and black details on the ship give her provide a lovely contrast and air of screen authenticity. Fans of Eaglemoss’ earlier NX-01 refit model will already have a sense of how beauty of the XL version of the Enterprise. The only disappointment, as far as the version this reviewer received, is the smudging of the ship’s name at the front of the saucer, as you can see in the photos.

The magazine focuses on creating, casting, and filming Enterprise.

The Official Starships Collection, which is approaching 120 ships, can seem daunting when it comes to cost and the space the ships will take up in your home. Further, as any subscriber will receive two ships per month, it will take years to receive the entire collection. The XL Collection offers the most iconic starships from Trek with exceptional detail. This reviewer would recommend the XL line as the perfect introduction to Eaglemoss’ Star Trek products, and these are a must-have for existing subscribers.

TrekMovie will soon have more reviews and news from the ongoing Eaglemoss Star Trek Starship Collection so stay tuned. Keep up with all the Star Trek merchandise news and reviews at TrekMovie.

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Can anyone confirm if the poor window paint the E and the letter smudging on the NX are one offs or present on all of them? Do they offer replacements for issues like this?

The window misalignment is probably common but doesn’t detract too much from the look. But the Enterprise smudging is not, as mine is fine. They will send a replacement for those errors.

I have all 113 ships released so far, plus all the specials/bonuses and the XLs, and couldn’t be happier. Despite some minor flaws on some of the models, you won’t find any series that produces this many different ships at this price point.

Well that’s the thing, they seem to go for quantity over quality. It is what it is I suppose.

Yeah. They’re mostly decent as long as you don’t look too close.

Replacing flawed ships is important.

I have the NX. No smudging, it’s perfect.

It’s hit and miss. I won’t subscribe. Instead buy from Forbidden Planet and look at the model before buying. Some of the window misalignment issues are terrible.

Another thing is I noticed the NX is missing the Aztecing on the paint shown in the promo picture above it.

Thanks for this coverage. So tempting to get involved with this, but in the end it would become a problem with where to find space for them all in the house. Very tempting, though.

Quality consistency is all over the place. Some are very good while others are very bad. I carefully pick and choose what I want. I don’t recommend subscribing.

I have read reviews of several Eaglemoss ships elsewhere that complained about a misalignment between molded and painted windows. I have never bought one myself but it seems like this is a common problem.

It is. I returned my D as the windows were so badly misaligned.

Indeed. I would be much more interested in these models if they stuck to high-quality plastic rather than cast metal. Die-cast metal always seems to have soft detail, poor paint quality, and massive seams. I love the idea of this series, just wish the models looked better.

I keep saying that same thing but have heard that apparently having some weight to a model is a selling point. I still have an all plastic Johnny Lightning TOS Enterprise that, while not perfect, at least doesn’t have the gaping seams the small Eaglemoss version has. So I don’t intend to buy it.

Call me crazy, but how a model looks is far more important than how heavy it is.

I’d love to see them do an XL DS9. I mean… it would be approx. in scale with the regular ships if they did! How unbelievably cool would that be.

Pretty cool they have all the Enterprise editions out although it looks like the KT version won’t be made though. It would be nice if they include that one in the future too.

They have made the USS Vengence, the Franklin and the Kelvin.

From what I saw they were special editions larger than the standard sizes

Ok cool. And yeah I forgot about the Kelvin and Franklin. Those two represents the KT in a big way as well now, the Kelvin for obvious reasons.

Does any model-maker have a relatively comprehensive line of ships where the relative sizes of the ships are correct?

I can’t understand how so much obvious work and care went into the TOS Enterprise model — and then a decision was made to paint the main sensor disc red. The same red as the Bussard Collectors, no less. It makes the model look like, well, it makes it look like a toy! Seam lines on the underside of the primary hull don’t look so sharp, either.

Could someone please tell me if the XL Ent-D has the same error that the smaller-sized version regarding hanger bays 2 and 3 being the same size? Two should be smaller than 3!