Customer Reviews

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 25th Anniversary U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've bought all of the replicas coming out, and I have to say that this one hands-down, has to be the most beautiful of them all.
First off, it's sturdy, I mean, real sturdy. Second is the sound effect and the lights knocked me out. You press the bridge and Kirk's voice screams, "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN! KHAAAAAAAAN!" With the whirring sound effect from the movie in the background. While it's doing that, the deflector dish, warp nacelles, and navigational array light up.
Really nice.
I'll admit, I'm no good at models. The last one I tried looks like an enterprise covered in spiderwebs of glue.
So, if you are like me, and are no good at models, and always wished for a light-up Enterprise that comes with a super nice display stand, then this one is for you.

This '25th Anniversary Edition' is a reissue of the 'NCC-1701-A' model released a few years ago by Art Asylum, but with a new paint scheme, different sound effects, and molded in a different type of plastic. Although the mold is exactly the same, when you put the two editions side-by-side the differences become immediately apparent.

First, the entire paint scheme is different. The "A" version was molded in a basic light gray plastic, which approximated the look of the filming model but gave it a very toy-like and slightly unfinished appearance. The "Khan" edition is molded in a lighter, almost white plastic, and is finished with a an almost silvery, satiny white finish which - combined with the gently raised and textured aztec pattern mold into the hull - really does a nice job of capturing the look of the filming model. To be technical though, this look really more approximates the look of the filming miniature as it appeared in "Star Trek - The Motion Picture" rather than "Wrath Of Khan", since ILM ( who did the effects for the second film ) found the super-iridescent paint job originally given the model too difficult to work with, and ended up dulling the finish down to a less shiny patina. The toy is also given a gentle darker wash of paint which really helps to bring out the molded-in panel lines and recessed windows, although on some examples, this wash is a bit heavy and pools in some areas.

Unfortunately, the downside of this new version is the lighter colored plastic which the entire model is molded in. I presume the change in plastic was made to enhance the shinier paint job, but the newer material almost resembles the transluscent "glow in the dark" plastic that the old 'Aurora' "Frightening Lightnings" Monster model kits of the 1960's and '70s were molded in. This plastic is so transluscent that almost any light source shines through the hull. This is particularly apparent in the saucer, where the shadow of the speaker assembly is almost always visible in the bottom. This also allows the light from the various included effects to shine through the areas surrounding the intended illumination point. The "A" version, with its more opaque plastic, did not suffer from these light leaks. But overall, when the "Wrath Of Khan" model is just displayed unlit ( as it would 99% of the time ), it is much nicer looking than the first edition.

Both editions have the same poorly designed ball and socket stand which fits into the bottom of the battery cover. Care must be taken when inserting the ball as too much pressure will cause the stand to snap. My suggestion would be that you pick an angle you are happy with, and leave the model displayed that way, rather than repositioning the model very often. After the model sits in one position for a long time, the grip between the stand and battery cover seems to increase, and makes adjusting the position a rather dicey propsition ( believe me, I've snapped several of these stands over the years ).

Still, even with these deficiencies, the model makes an attractive and affordable display piece for any Star Trek fan, especially one without the time or patience to build an elaborately detailed model kit.

To put it lightly I agree with the other reviews of this item. It is a nice looking Enterprise but the Art Asylum NCC-1701 A is a better ship to buy. The white color on this one is nice but the plastic is really thin. Compared to the NCC-1701 A this ship is lighter in weight so Diamond must have changed something at the manufacturing facility besides the color. My huge complaint with this ship is the deflector dish. The dish is black when it should be a light blue with the lights off. The NCC-1701 A has this feature perfect with the light off but cost alot more if you can find one. I would give the NCC 1701 A a higher rating than this Wrath of Khan version. Also with this version the impulse engine lights do not light up or if they do you canot tell due to all the light bleeding through the plastic. I own almost all the Art Asylum Enterprises and this one is my least favorite of all them.

First, let me say that this model has a pretty high level of detail. The Hull even has the slightly elevated mosaic pattern and there is only a single screw (on the bottom of the secondary hull, or engineering) which allows you to alternate between the piece which is used to insert the stand base and another it you'd like to fly it around without a hole in the bottom :P It comes already painted and decaled (thoroughly), out of the box, and the paint job looks very well done and accurate. You notice many things looking at this model that you never saw on-screen.

I do have a couple gripes about this, however, that I have never seen in a review. If held up to the light, or of there is light coming from behind it of almost any significant brightness, most of the saucer section, except for the center which houses the speaker etc, becomes semi-transparent. In other words, you can see the light 'bleeding' through from behind, while the engineering section does not have this problem. Also, without it being lighted, the deflector dish appears as almost entirely black. That was the biggest disappointment - when the lighting isn't activated, she has a black deflector dish.

Other than that, wonderful model! 4/5.

I really enjoyed this model. It has great sound effects from the movie, and looks just like the "Enterprise" from the movie. My only complaint is that the ball on the stand for the ship didn't fit in the socket on the ship's battery cover.

This is a cool item to add to my collection. I really liked the sounds from the movie that the ship makes. If I had to pick one thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was that both sides of the warp nacelles don't light up, only on the inside of each nacelle is there a blue light??? I found that very odd, but then again on the 1701 E model niether side lights up. But still a must for ant Trek fan.

I really like this representation of the Refit Enterprise, but the one I have came with severely warped nacelles. That's about the only negative thing I can say about it. I'll have to ship it back for a replacement, but otherwise the detail is nice and sounboard and lights are awesome.

Keep on Trekkin!

This model is great. I love all the different audio clips from the movie that play when you press the bridge dome. The detail on the ship is very impressive.

While I do like this it does seem to be made from a cheaper plastic and it does have a few spots that could use fixing, one of the nacelles is bent on the front and is likely from the way it is made and the the piece the 2 nacelles connect to isn't fully connected to the main body of the ship.

While the saucer section is a bit transparent, the rest of the ship is excellent and over all the detail is beyond awesome. My nacelles are a bit bent on the front ends rather than 100% perfectly straight and the box was well bent and crushed a bit, so if you are a collector and want in box items you may want to consider another item. I display my purchases I don't leave them in a box to collect dust until they are worth selling again so this doesn't matter to me much.