Eaglemoss has made a name for themselves producing high-quality, incredibly detailed models
over the years for tons of different brands. But, for this life-long Star Trek fan, their greatest
triumph has been their Star Trek Starships line. They’ve gone far beyond the scope of their
original, already ambitious plans, producing ships that most Star Trek fans never thought we’d
see in 3D form. A new series, Star Trek: Discovery brings a plethora of new ship models, and
Eaglemoss were right there, ready to make new models of the ships.
Today’s review covers the first model in the line—the USS Shenzhou. This ship was first
introduced in the series premiere episode, “The Vulcan Hello,” captained by Phillipa Georgiou.
The Shenzhou is perhaps one of the best new ship designs to come out of Discovery, so I was
excited to get this model in-hand.
The sculpt of the ship is the usual highly-detailed model we’d expect from Eaglemoss. It no
doubt helps that the company has access to the digital models used on the show. Discovery has
an estimated budget of $8-$10 million per episode, and they leave all of that on the screen. The
CGI models look pretty much feature-quality on-screen, and this is reflected in this physical
representation as well.
Every detail is captured here, from the tiniest registry mark, window, or navigation light to the
bold red hull striping that really makes the Shenzhou stand out. It’s a really unique look for a
Starfleet vessel, while still having a lot of the hallmarks of ships from the past. The basic shape
of the vessel itself is reminiscent of the Enterprise from the prequel series of the same name,
with a deflector dish mounted at the front of the saucer. One other impressive small detail to
note—almost too small to see in pictures, is that there is translucent plastic incorporated into the
nacelles. It’s only a think line that really shows, but in the light, you can see it. The fact that
Eaglemoss went the extra mile for this detail is really impressive.
The only real negative of the whole ship is some window misalignment on the top of the vessel’s
saucer. You can see one row of windows doesn’t quite follow the curve of the saucer correctly.
It’s a detail that’s frustrating considering the excellent work found elsewhere. But, I’ll be honest,
once the ship is on the shelf, I really don’t notice it at all. Hopefully, it’s something that will keep
improving in the future, but as it is, I am really pleased with the quality and construction of the
ship. Like all the Eaglemoss ships, this is a hefty collectible, being made of diecast metal and
plastic. The bulk of the vessel is diecast, with the plastic parts mostly reserved for the
thinner/more fragile sections. The stand grips the ship nice and tight and has a weighty base
designed to make sure the ship isn’t going anywhere.
You can purchase a subscription to the Star Trek Discovery ship collection or buy ships
individually. The sub is not a part of the main Star Trek Starships line, like their XL line, because
it’s a different scale. Overall the ships sit somewhere between their main line and the larger XL
ships. The Shenzhou is a fantastic start to the collection. Future installments will include more
Federations ships and also ships from the Klingon Empire.
