Hot Wheels: Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D

by Mattel

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds
• ASIN: B0026JTL2G
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #249,423 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The so-called "die-cast" Enterprise, May 17, 2009

By 

James Riccioli "toy boy" (Waukesha WI) - 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 

This review is from: Hot Wheels: Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D (Toy)

When I heard Mattel would be producing a series of "die-cast metal" ships from the Star Trek universe under its Hot Wheels brand, I was so excited I couldn't wait for the release date to arrive. Jettison the warp engines; this model is dead in space, from a truth-in-marketing perpective. It's more fiction than science.

The model of NCC-1701 Refit is at least two-thirds plastic (the entire saucer section and neck, both warp engine nacelles and pylons, and the front and back of the lower section.

I wouldn't object so much if Mattel hadn't so boldly gone where others have gone before and fell short of their efforts, material-wise. The Corgi Enterprise from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in 1979 was about three-fourths die-cast metal and the Ertl models from later movies was about two-thirds metal. A full metal ship was certainly very doable. Mattel simply decided that it could make more money with cheaper production costs. We're talking pennies per unit here, assuming the company wasn't trying to produce molds that would last for many years.

Worse yet, the packaging ignores the reality of the situation. There's not even an attempt to be honest, with LARGE PRINT-small print wording such as "DIE-CAST METAL with plastic parts." What Mattel did was probably legal, but it is dishonest.

Finally, on my model and at least a half dozen others I've seen in stores, the plastic saucer section is tilted askew relative to the lower hull, like it is deformed at the neck. This could be the result of packaging the mostly plastic ship in a way that warped the flexible plastic material, or it could be a natural result of the PVC plastic changing shape as the plastic cured. All of this could have been avoided had Mattel actually made the entire ship our of die-cast metal.

Alright, it's not all bad. In terms of paint and molded details, the ship is the best scale "die-cast" model yet produced. (Ignore the 1:50 description that seems to follow this multi-ship line. Manufacturers are not adhering to any particular scale, based on dimensional information I have on hand.) So if you want something that looks good, it's passable for $15 or less.

But the only prime directive Mattel seems to care about is profit, so you'll have to decide if the Ferengi way of doing business is the right way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well now it reads 1701 REFIT, May 18, 2009

By 

mfx3 (Virginia) - See all my reviews

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

This review is from: Hot Wheels: Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D (Toy)

I guess the folks at Mattel realized their goof in labeling this ship 1701-A on the box and 1701 on the actual ship, so they re-named her 1701 REFIT on all the newer boxes. Unfortunately, they forgot to change the ship details on the back of the box, so it now reads like the 1701 REFIT was the result of the 1701's destruction near the Genesis Planet. Wrong.

Also, I agree with the others that the materials in this model could have been much more impressive, and the "DIE CAST METAL" ad on the front of the box is total bunk. Yeah, it's got 5% metal. So you can't just advertise die cast metal and forget to mention the 95% soft plastic. Ah well, it still looks nice on display.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, but not entirely accurate, April 27, 2009

By 

Bryan Weber (San Angelo, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hot Wheels: Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D (Toy)

Overall, this is a highly detailed die cast replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the Star Trek feature films.

However, Hot Wheels has made a slight error, at least on the ones I've seen on the shelf.

The packaging labels this as the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A. However, if you look at the actual toy, the registry number on both the saucer and the warp nacelles lacks the "A", making it a replica of the Enterprise as it appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

The Enterprise-A appeared in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Either someone at Mattel didn't do their homework properly, or someone approved this without knowing the full details.

In any case, the discrepancy between toy and packaging shouldn't matter much if all you're looking for is a good replica of the legendary starship to display proudly in your collection.