1/1000 USS Enterprise NCC-1701A

by Round 2, LLC. Polar Lights

Product Features

• Assembly Required Skill Level 2. Ages 12 and up.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 3.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0026ISJ20
• Item model number: POL820
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,560 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Product Description

1/1000 scale. This detailed kit is approximately 12.25 long fully assembled. Features a display stand with ball-and-socket joint for displaying in a variety of angles. Also includes aztec decal set for superior detailing. Snap assembly, no glue or paint required, 12.25" long, Molded in white, plus clear parts, Over 35 parts, Includes full set of aztecing decals, Marking decals.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, if smallish, Enterprise model., June 7, 2010

By 

Cary L. Brown (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

I've been a Star Trek fan since I was born, basically... I was born the same year that Star Trek came on the TV, and was just old enough at the time to actually pay attention (even though I couldn't speak yet!). I fell in absolute love with the original ship, and have spent what's probably an excessive amount of my life thinking about this fictional spacecraft.

In 1979, they made a movie based upon the series, and they created a new version of the ship. There was an in-story justification for the design changes (the ship was essentially torn down and rebuilt from the keel up, into an "almost totally new Enterprise," so that it would represent the best technology available), and a "real world" justification as well (the original creator of the Star Trek concept felt that the original design needed "updating," something which many people disagree with, frankly).

The new version of the ship, created for this 1979 movie, is what this model is of. And this is my second-favorite ship design of all time (with the classic Enterprise being my first). It had a much better "polish" in the construction of the model... the model used on-screen is truly beautiful... and it was very well-thought-through (in large part, due to the efforts of a gentleman named Andrew Probert, who later was the main designer for the "Next Generation" Enterprise as well).

There have been a number of model representations of the "the motion picture" (henceforth TMP) Enterprise over the years. AMT (later Ertl) produced a decent kit, though with significant deviations from the "real" ship seen on-screen, and this brought about the creation of an entire cottage industry of "accurrizing" parts for this model (and for others as well, as time went on).

There have been some resin "garage kits" of the TMP Enterprise which were more accurate than the AMT kit, but these weren't perfect, either, and their quality varied wildly (some could be glued together and painted in a day and look nearly perfect, while others would require weeks of clean-up work!). And there are special tricks and techniques required to build those anyway... it's not for the faint of heart, though the results can be spectacular.

A couple of years ago, Polar Lights released a very close to completely accurate model of the TMP Enterprise. With minimal effort, you can make this into a near-perfect replica of what's seen on screen. But... it is a HUGE model, about three feet long, and fairly expensive as well.

So, Polar Lights (now a subsidiary of "Round Two") created a smaller TMP Enterprise model, and it's a beautiful piece of work.

The model is provided as a "snap fit" kit, so anyone can toss it together as a "toy-like" item. For the most part, kids can handle it just fine, though there are a few places where even a strong adult can have trouble assembling some pieces!

If you're a more serious model-builder, however, you can (with a bit more care and patience) transform this into a smaller version of the huge 3-foot model. The detail is VERY good, especially for a model of this size, and the model itself is quite robust when glued together (a bit more fragile when snapped, however).

There is still a bit of room for "accurizing" of the model, where some details are portrayed by decals, which ideally would be portrayed by 3-dimensional structure.. The aft end of the bridge, for instance) I suspect that a photo-etched parts will replace these soon enough for the truly inspired modelers out there.

If you glue it together, and are good with an airbrush (and can find a good "pearlescent white" paint to paint it with), you can make this truly spectacular. The model comes with a LOT of decals, some of which represent markings, but most of which represent "panel detailing" (something Trek fans refer to as "aztecing" because the panel detailing on the TMP ship looks like Aztec heiroglyphics). These "Aztec panel" decals are transparent (or at least translucent)... so the pearlescent effect of the underlying paint comes through quite easily. This can give you a really remarkably accurate, detailed model without having to paint a million tiny panel details. The use of this much decal covering on any model requires some specialized skills, and some materials most people aren't familiar with (such as "decal setting solutions" which soften decal material so it can conform to complex molded shapes and curves). It's not "easy" to do this, but it's a lot easier than painting the paneling by hand, or masking it by hand and spraying thin layers of subtly different colors with an airbrush)

The end result is a very nice looking, very accurate model of the TMP Starship Enterprise.

One thing I've noticed... virtually every Enterprise model ever made suffers from "nacelle droop" (where the twin engine nacelles eventually start to sag over time, and no longer line up with the rest of the ship). The nacelles on this kit are very light... so I'm hoping that the droop will be minimal. But I'm not convinced that there will not be any. The only way to avoid this, in my experience, is to build a mechanical structure inside (using metal plates) to reinforce the areas which tend to droop... but this would be very difficult to do on a model this small. And the model itself is pretty light on plastic use overall... it's almost "eggshell-like" in some areas. So if you plan to treat a model roughly, don't expect it to last for very long!

Overall, I'm very happy with this model, and expect that I'll buy a few more (for "kit-bashing" purposes - that is, making models of other ships using parts from this) because it's relatively inexpensive. But realize... this is not a toy, or even a very robust model. It's small, it's light, and it's delicate. If you base your buying decisions on "amount of material" you might conclude that this model is overpriced. If you base your buying decisions on QUALITY, however, you'll be happy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful model from Polar Lights, January 7, 2011

By 

M3BRZ (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

Easily assembled, surprisingly well made and remarkably true to what may be the best looking of the versions of 'Enterprise'.

This kit is simple enough for kids and families, while detailed enough to serve as a good basis for the serious modeler.

Recommended for fans of Star Trek, its lots of fun.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the Ship that was advertised. (1701-A), January 9, 2012

By 

G. Grout "G. Grout" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 1/1000 USS Enterprise NCC-1701A (Toy)

Look at the picture, do not be fooled by the title, what you get is not the 1701-A enterprise but the 1701 refit. I'm sure these fools think it's all the same, but it isn't. Different call sign, different superstructure, different ship. I'd ask for my money back, but luckily Starship Modeler.com (a seller you can TRUST) had the appropriate sticker sheet to give me the ship model I actually wanted for only $5 dollars.

tl;dr - seller lies, don't order.