I know this is a tad bit off topic, but I doubt I’m the only Trekkie on this board, so I decided that I’d share the awesomeness that is this replica ship with you. Diamond Select has made several other very nice Star Trek ship replicas, including the NX-01, the original NCC-1701, the NCC-1701 refit as it appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the NCC-1701-E as it appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis. Of all those great ships and great replicas, this NCC-1701-D replica from Star Trek: The Next Generation is their best effort yet.
The Enterprise-D measures over 17 inches in length, and is around 7 inches tall. If you have one of the previous offerings, such as the original TV series’ Enterprise or the Constitution-class refit, the “D” is pretty much in scale with them. The only ship it’s not in scale with is the Enterprise-E, but that’s not the “D”s fault. The sculpting on the “D” is absolutely incredible. The windows, bridge, escape pods, phaser arrays, shuttlebays, impulse engines, warp nacelles, photon torpedo launchers, and deflector array are all here and all intricately detailed. If you watched Star Trek and know the Enterprise-D, you’ll be able to pick out each and every detail on this ship.
There are two display stands, a large one and a smaller one inside it. Their bases are both shaped like the communicator badges worn in The Next Generation. Unlike previous Diamond Select ships that included an extra battery cover that did not have an indentation in it for the display stand connection (if you decided to hang your ships or otherwise display them without the stand), this ship features removable plugs in the panels used to connect the ship to the display stands.
The bridge also serves as a button, which activates lights, sound effects, and the voice of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard. Pressing the bridge once will activate a single sound effect with corresponding lights, while holding it down will cycle through all the light and sound effect combinations. The bridge, navigational deflector, impulse engine, and warp nacelles all light up. The phrases/sound effects are as follows:
“Open a hailing frequency. This is Captain Jean-Luc Picard!”
“Energize.” –followed by transporter sound effect
“Scan for lifeforms.”
“Shields up, red alert!” –followed by red alert klaxons
--sound effect of phasers being fired from the tactical station, followed by phaser discharge.
“Make it so.”
--sound effect of warp engines engaging.
“Tea, Earl Grey, Hot.” –followed by replicator sound effect.
“Dispersal pattern Sierra, and fire!” followed by photon torpedo sounds.
“Transferring command to the Battle Bridge.”
--impulse engine sound effect
“Continual fire, all phasers!” –followed by phaser firing and discharge sound effects.
“Damage report!”
“Warp 9, engage!” –followed by warp engine sound effect.
“Let’s make sure history never forgets the name, Enterprise.”
There’s also a button to the rear of the impulse engines on the stardrive section that, when pressed, will make all the lights on the ship light up at once. I LOVE this feature, because now you can display the Enterprise all lit up, if you so desire. You can also check out the lighting without having to listen to sound effects, or have the lights pulsing along with the sound effects.
There’s another feature that makes the Enterprise-D the best Trek ship replica to date. Hold the stardrive section in one hand and the saucer in the other, and gently pull them apart. The saucer section separates from the stardrive section, just like in shows like “Encounter at Farpoint” and “The Best of Both Worlds.” When you do so, the ship lights up, Picard says, “Prepare for emergency saucer separation!” and then the sound effect of the docking clamps releasing plays. Put the two sections back together, and the docking clamp effect plays and the ship lights up again. Perhaps the neatest effect is the impulse engines on the saucer section. They DON’T light up when the ship is connected, but they DO light up when the saucer is separated. I dunno how they did it, but that’s pretty darn neat! The top of the stardrive section is also nicely detailed, especially considering that it’s usually hidden from view. There’s the phaser array, the battle bridge, and even “NCC-1701-D” and Enterprise lettering. The two sections are held together by a very strong magnet, which means there are no holes or posts on either section to detract from the realism. There is only a small strip of metal leads on top of the stardrive section and on the bottom of the saucer section that let the lights and sounds function together. The smaller display stand that I mentioned earlier can be used to display the ship separated.
The Enterprise-D is a very nice, very detailed starship, and it’s almost perfect. Keyword: almost. There’s some detailing that runs along the front of the rear pylons that I’m not sure is there on the regular “D.” This same model, with some modifications, is used to create the Enterprise from the final episode “All Good Things.” That ship features a third warp nacelle and a large phaser cannon, among other things, and perhaps this is a leftover. The plugs that I mentioned that are used to fill the holes the display stands plug into are small and look easily lost. It is easy to see the plastic ball on the display stand wearing out over time and making the Enterprise floppy on it. As it is, the ship is so heavy it is difficult to put it in certain positions without it flopping over. And finally, it appears some window detailing was left out on the “neck” of the stardrive section. I saw a post on Diamond Select’s website that acknowledged this error and a signup sheet to receive decals to fix the problem. I signed up…and never got any decals, and I see no evidence of that post anymore.
Despite the few flaws, I still love this starship. It’s the best (pre-assembled) replica of the Enterprise-D to date. If you want one, figure on shelling out around $50. The “All Good Things” version can also be had direct from Hastings for the same price. It’s an exclusive version, so if you don’t get it now, be prepared to shell out some serious dough for it later. The earlier Diamond Select releases, particularly the NCC-1701-A, go for big bucks, so figure on the 1701-D holding its value and only going up in price if you wait to get it. If you’re a fan of The Next Generation like me, you pretty much HAVE to have this ship. It’s worth the money, and you’ll be blown away like I was.
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