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#21 Alteran195

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Posted 07 June 2017 - 08:21 PM

Maybe it looks better in person?

The Defiant certainly didn't look the best in its promos, but it looked nice in person.

Are you going to have any other shots of it out of its box and properly displayed Zach?

As a side note, I'm certainly glad you're coming around again.

#22 DSTZach

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Posted 07 June 2017 - 08:31 PM

Do people thinking I am just here looking for compliments? Or that I respond to criticism to somehow squash it, because it is a thing to be squashed? I really only want to address concerns, and if there is a reason for the thing they have a concern about, then I want people to know the reason. If this forum were all people saying "I love it! Great! Fantastic!" I would really see no reason to stick my head in at all. I stick my head in because I care. (Of course, I stopped sticking my head in for a while because... I cared too much? Let's go with that.)

 

That said, I think the comparison of this exclusive con variant to the wide-release, 100%-new, relatively unheralded, low-expectations-around-these-parts Romulan Bird of Prey is the thing that confuses me. Compare it to the green Defiant, the gold A, the cloaked or partially cloaked BoP if you like, but to compare it to a fully painted ship with electronics, the best interpretation of that particular ship that's ever been done (from what I hear), and you're seemingly setting this one up to fail.

 

It's a fun variant, memorializing a great moment, but no, it's not a snapshot. We're only making 400. We make over 10,000 of each new ship class just to start, plus re-runs and variants. It's not meant to be all things to all people. Hope some of you enjoy it! I myself look forward to backlighting that sucker.



#23 DSTZach

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Posted 07 June 2017 - 08:37 PM

Maybe it looks better in person?

The Defiant certainly didn't look the best in its promos, but it looked nice in person.

Are you going to have any other shots of it out of its box and properly displayed Zach?

As a side note, I'm certainly glad you're coming around again.

 

Translucent things usually look better in person. Stained glass windows, glasses of scotch, anything from the Frederick's of Hollywood catalog...

 

Once I get one in a box, I will take it out of the box and take some pics!

 

I honestly thought my header pic made it look pretty cool. (Disclaimer: This was a Photoshop, I was not in space.)

 

FinalFlight-copy.jpg



#24 1701D

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Posted 07 June 2017 - 08:58 PM

I stopped sticking my head in for a while because... I cared too much? Let's go with that.)

Ahhhahaha ;-) you cared way too much, maybe we all care way too much!

That said, I think the comparison of this exclusive con variant to the wide-release, 100%-new, relatively unheralded, low-expectations-around-these-parts Romulan Bird of Prey is the thing that confuses me. Compare it to the green Defiant, the gold A, the cloaked or partially cloaked BoP if you like, but to compare it to a fully painted ship with electronics, the best interpretation of that particular ship that's ever been done (from what I hear), and you're seemingly setting this one up to fail.
 
It's a fun variant, memorializing a great moment, but no, it's not a snapshot. We're only making 400. We make over 10,000 of each new ship class just to start, plus re-runs and variants. It's not meant to be all things to all people. Hope some of you enjoy it! I myself look forward to backlighting that sucker.

I think as consumers we tend to look at these items as we see them. To me, this item doesn't work with depicting... anything we've seen on screen.

For me and I guess most fans, we'd rather have something that looks awesome and that is as close to screen accurate as possible - that for me, would be the burnt out hull of the Starship Enterprise on an amazing new stand. WITH lights and sounds, maybe even a break away section of the saucer so as a fan you're able to display it intact but battle damaged or falling from space burning up.

I guess from my stand point this is a bit lazy? A bit slap dash, and just yet another ship we've seen countless times before with nothing new beyond a different colour of plastic.

That being said; this is an exclusive and a bit of fun for those wanting to pay for it.

But then again, I have to say that DST really hasn't shown fans anything for us to be able to commit to buying more from you. The Borg drone sounds cool, the Romulan Bird of Prey is cool and the Reliant... is coming? Maybe? Soon? Who knows? Then there's a second ship coming too? 2009 Enterprise? All this mystery for product based on tv series and films decades old... really? And then there's the lack of effort over the 50th Anniversary was pretty appalling really when there should of been a bigger push for newer items; a captains action figure box set? Death of a red shirt action figure box set? A little imagination perhaps? And don't tell me that Star Trek doesn't sell because that old excuse won't work anymore, if it worked at all.

Anyway,

Since McFarlane have a licence to do Star Trek toys, there has seemed to be a bit of a revival in interest in what you guys do at DST... I'd quite like to know if DST have ever considered or would ever considder doing complete re tools on some of their older ships?

I think your newer ships are far superior (Bird of Prey both Klingon and Romulan) and really shows off what DST can do. The lit windows and the increased detailing on both releases add to the authenticity of each model and add to their display ability.

I'm thinking that ships like the Enterprise D and the Original Enterprise Would actually really benefit from a retool that includes lit windows or sculpted windows, nicer paint applications etc... I think especially the D, which lacks the same quality in construction and hasn't got the screen accuracy of your more recent models.

There's definitely interest here and elsewhere for DST's continued Star Trek range but that interest will only last if DST show us that you're actually serious about Star Trek. One ship and a figure - however great they may be, just won't fly, you guys are going to have to pull your finger out and offer up some pretty amazing product. I'm not entirely sure an orange Enterprise is the best message you could of sent to the fans.

#25 Razorgeist

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Posted 07 June 2017 - 09:33 PM

Not really my cup of tea but nice bit of fun none the less.



#26 Jay K

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 12:05 AM

Shocking that no one has made a nice gif of this yet:

4ed885b78ce8b59f8dc1f57e69bce8a1.jpg



#27 Alteran195

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 07:55 AM

I find it confusing that on various discussion boards, people are saying stuff like "we're getting this instead of (insert trek ship here)?" Have people really not paid attention to DST's past exclusives? They're all repaints of existing ships. 



#28 Nigel

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 08:34 AM

Nigel, I wasn't talking about your posts, they were not the entertaining ones I meant. Sorry for the confusion.

 

So, someone calling the product "horrific" is more entertaining I guess. Probably everyone posting here has shelled out hundreds if not thousands of dollars for DST over the years. Keep that in mind when you're being sarcastic to us.



#29 Nigel

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 08:47 AM

I find it confusing that on various discussion boards, people are saying stuff like "we're getting this instead of (insert trek ship here)?" Have people really not paid attention to DST's past exclusives? They're all repaints of existing ships. 

 

That's no excuse for them to be bad, though. The TOS Defiant was actually pretty cool, as were the other ones.



#30 Nigel

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 08:56 AM

That said, I think the comparison of this exclusive con variant to the wide-release, 100%-new, relatively unheralded, low-expectations-around-these-parts Romulan Bird of Prey is the thing that confuses me.

 

I'd like to state for the record, Zach, that I was 100% enthusiastic about the Romulan BoP from the beginning and bought one as soon as it became available. I am not trying to be a jerk to you guys at DST, I just thought the presentation of this particular 1701 release leaves a bit to be desired and it's always good to remind you that we are some of your most loyal customers.  ;)



#31 Alteran195

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 09:07 AM

 

That's no excuse for them to be bad, though. The TOS Defiant was actually pretty cool, as were the other ones.

The TOS Defiant was the only SDCC exclusive in the last couple years that I thought was potentially worth it. Part of me regrets not getting it.

 

The gold A would have been better if it was ALL gold, the normal paint apps made it look bad. 

 

The fully cloaked BoP was just a clear piece of plastic. 

 

I honestly can't remember any of the others. I think there were some battle damaged variants? 

 

I'm sure there are going to be enough people that think this is cool enough to buy that they will end up selling them all. 

 

It is pretty damn ugly though. 



#32 1701D

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 09:46 AM

Ah look, DST will do as DST does. Fact is DST isn't doing enough with the Star Trek licence, hopefully that begins to change.

What they do do though is great, Khan Select and the Romulan ship are both lovely.

Where they let themselves down is their re issues. The A and the NX-01 are the exception to the rule, but the Classic 1701 and the refit and the D are all really bad and could do with being completely redone, if the D is an issue at the size it is, make it smaller.

#33 Alteran195

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 10:01 AM

What's wrong with the TOS Enterprise? 

 

The latest reissue fixed the sound issues it had. Other than that its a pretty solid model. 



#34 Dilithium1

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 11:57 AM

I dont know guys; I think it's kind of fun.  



#35 1701D

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 02:10 PM

What's wrong with the TOS Enterprise? 
 
The latest reissue fixed the sound issues it had. Other than that its a pretty solid model. 


I find it looks and feels cheap. I hold it up to the recent Klingon and Romulan ships and it feels like it's from a completely different line of toys.

The D and the original Enterprise both feel far more toy like than the Birds of Prey.

The proportions are also way off. It's definitely not as crisp as the Klingon or Romulan Birds of Prey. The pylons flex too much too and the seams are pretty poor. The grid lines are awful and should never have been applied.

The D... if I'm correct it seems as though this model is based off of an old AMT kit? the sculpt is one of DST's poorest in terms of accuracy. The connections between nacelle and pylon are all wrong, giving the ship an odd profile, the lack of sculpted windows means that the printed windo detail looks sloppy and the rest of the painted/printed detail looks botched. The whole model looks too clunky, the paint applications are sloppy and sculpted detailing unnecessary. It's put together poorly too (this seems to be an issue with consistent quality).

Those are the two most popular ships in Star Trek and I'd love to see them be remade entirely using better techniques clearly used on the newer ships. The Aoshima Enterprise D is beautiful and a good starting place for a new DST version.

I think it's definitely time for DST to be thinking about producing new models - not sure how long their current mould's for these ships last.

#36 Alteran195

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 04:39 PM

Looks a feels cheap? I just handled it and several other DST ships, including the Romulan Bird of Prey, it doesn't feel any cheaper than it, and it certainly doesn't look cheaper.
The BoP's batteries are dying, and I don't currently have replacements.
DjEaELT.jpg


I'm also not really sure what you mean when you say the proportions are way off, it certainly seems pretty accurate to me:
6pGlGUn.jpg
E1L7BVa.jpg

The pylons don't flex much more than any of their other ships, and this is a pretty bad complaint considering how narrow they are. Even the TWOK has a thicker pylon base than the original.

The E's nacelles flex about the same amount as the TOS Enterprise.

The grid lines are there because they are there in the HD remaster, you can't release an HD version of the ship and not make it look like the HD version from the show.
qS8frRJ.jpg

I personally prefer the grid lines and rust versus the original release of the ship.

I will agree that there are some seam issues, but not bad enough that I'd want them to waste resources completely remaking the ship at this point.

I also never mentioned the D, I know it's sculpt has issues. But again I'm happy enough with it to not want them to try to remake it when there are other NEW ships I'd want more.

#37 1701D

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 04:57 PM

There's more weight and heft to the Romulan Bird of Prey and the plastic quality seems better

The secondary hull is too small

The deflector dish area tapers the wrong way

The decals and printing are badly placed and misaligned.

The pylons flex a little too much for my liking but I take your point

The shuttle craft bay doors are too small

The starboard and port lights are the wrong way round


It's irritating that the two best ships and most iconic ships weren't done at a time when DST were doing ships like the Klingon Bird of Prey and the Romulan Bird of Prey. The outcomes would have been better I think.

#38 Reign1701A

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 06:31 PM

Interesting that you dislike the 1701 release so much, I liked it so much that I have 3 different versions of it (original, HD version, light-gray HD version). The proportions are a TAD off, the saucer is too thick/beefy, and the secondary hull isn't the right shape; on the studio model, the bottom of the secondary hull tapers, but on the DST model it's too straight. But for the price point and the wealth of light/sound features, it's an awesome item.

I love DST's Enterprise-D too: sophisticated (and frankly bold) electronics, fantastic detailing, and impressive size. To each their own I guess.

#39 1701D

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 06:57 PM

I don't dislike it, it's just not their best work;

From best to worst in my opinion:

Klingon Bird of Prey
Romulan Bird of Prey
Art Asylum's USS Enterprise A
DST's USS Enterprise E (Nemesis)
DST's Enterprise NX-01
Art Asylum's Enterprise NX-01
USS Excelsior
USS Enterprise B
USS Enterprise 1701 (TOS)
DST's USS Enterprise A (the sloppy placement of the registry)
USS Enterprise D
USS Enterprise D (AGT)
USS Enterprise 1701 (refit)

I'm really hoping that the Reliant is as good if not better than the KBoP.

#40 Jay K

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Posted 08 June 2017 - 09:28 PM

I find it confusing that on various discussion boards, people are saying stuff like "we're getting this instead of (insert trek ship here)?" Have people really not paid attention to DST's past exclusives? They're all repaints of existing ships. 

 

That's true (and we know that here) but to most people who don't follow things as closely as we do, they're seeing this company make a bright orange refit Enterprise instead of *insert the Defiant, Voyager, Enterprise-C here*.

 

It's reactionary, but only because it's so ridiculous.






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