45 replies to this topic

[Prometheus]

Well.... I received my Aoshima Enterprise D today..... Upon first glance...I was blown away.... Just beautiful crisp detail. Very elegant.... The packaging and all is about 3.5 lbs.

Okay Lets break it down:


The GOOD :

Overall fantastic sculpt and detail....everything is there !!! This is amazing....there are two sets of removable saucer impulse units... One set are clear for the light to get through for powered up effect...the second set are dark so no light shows through.....very cool. The aztec and paint in general is almost flawless.... No errors that I can see.

The fit of the saucer and secondary hull is so seemless its almost perfect to the micron LOL

The LED lights look great.....Engines look very good.

The shuttle is a neat addition and very detailed.

Comes with the 6 LR44 batteries you need !!!

The BAD:

This is definitely a MODEL not a toy !!! Very delicate!!! You can feel it will break if you just make the slightest mistake......

The windows are just drilled out holes.... No plastic "glass" kind of lessens the window effect. Also the non-drilled windows are not painted black...they are just the hull color.

The Deflector does not light up as cool as the DST Toy..... Believe it or not only the center part lights up blue on the deflector not the outer part that shines light around the dish....in this way the DST is much better....

The Phaser strips are amazing because they are actually separate pieces that are very detailed ...the problem is they are a bit "tall" from the side view and take away from the contours of the saucer.



Okay...Now for the Down right UGLY !!!


The number one UGLY issue..... The magnets !!! They are SOOOOOO Weak!!!! If you barely move this model...the saucer falls off !!!! Its really bad.

Quality issues.... This could be just mine.... but the screw latch on my saucer battery door is messed up.... the door falls off !! and you can hear a part rattling around inside the saucer....UHG !!!

The final thing is the very tiny screw covers you have to put ion yourself....They are VERY tiny and you have to glue them because they fit loosely.



Overall this is still an amazing display piece...It is very nice looking and the paint job is amazing !!! I would have to rate it a 7 out 10 even with its problems.... if it didnt have those problems I could easily give it a 10.

Okay now for some pics..... forgive me my camera kinda stinks....

[WORF22]

WOW!!! THAT IS SO SWEET.. HOW MUCH WAS SHE?

[Prometheus]

Hey Worf....


She was 158.00 plus shipping.

[Prometheus]

Here are some more shots.....

[Prometheus]

[Destructor!!!]

*HUG*

Thanks for the review! I don't care if you don't like hugs, you're getting another one.

*HUG*

That's for all the FANTASTIC photos. Bad camera my foot. That peeking under the saucer shot up there gave me tingles in my special places. (don't worry, I let them subside before I hugged you).

A pity to hear about the weak magnetics. I think there are ways to strengthen magnets, might be worth a google. Were you not tempted to open the saucer and find the rattler before you glued the screw caps on?

I am surprised to hear that it's weakly constructed. Something about the material, the way the light behaves on it, makes it seem "tough" and "solid". Optical illusion, I guess.

The window close-ups do highlight how the lack of "Glass" is unfortunate, as is the lack of paint in the "off" windows. Two issues that are easily fixed, with a can of thick clear varnish and a sharpie marker, but still disappointing at that price.

So - a few questions:

How are the lights controlled? Is there a switch on each section? Where? Are they individually controlled? Do they stay lit when separated?

I humbly request some side-by-side comparison photos with the DST-D, if you have one. And if you're really looking to party, any other Galaxy class models you have, too!

[Prometheus]

Thanks Destructor !

The saucer and stardrive each have their own batteries and light up independently..... There is a hidden button on each section which you have to push separately for each section to light up.


I took some more shots to show you it lit up seperately and where the buttons are...and just some more lighted shots....



Dont get me wrong.... This is an amazing model....Its not what I would say weakly constructed...I think it just wouldnt survive a fall.....and with the loose magnets thats a real possibility....so the swoosh factor is almost nil.



Stardrive:




Saucer:




Button on Saucer ( Green shell shaped structure):



Button on Stardrive: ( Back of Starfleet emblem)










Destructor...I dont have a DST or Ertl D right now.... In some ways this is the most accurate model of the D to date ( Mainly that the aztec has been painted on a smooth hull its not raised detail like the DST and Ertl) The "nape" of the neck is perfect ( Where the main impulse drive is) The Impulse engine itself is pretty sleek and elegant like the filming model also which is better than the DST and Ertl also.

The ship is 12" long x 9" wide x 5" tall.... I would say without doing the math its about 65% the size of the DST...I think the DST is 1/1500.


Here is a shot with the Playmates Borg Cube for size comparison (I know they arent in scale)

[Daysleeper]

Wow. It does look amazing. Thanks for the detailed review.

[wmfike]

Yes it's light in weight but not that fragile. I got mine yesterday from Hobby Link Japan, and the saucer feel right off, didn't damage it at all. Just wished they would have used the same magnets as Diamonds did for there's. The thing I really don't like are all the little parts you have to put on it to cover the screw holes, 2 of the escape hatches have already fallen out, I think I'm just going to glue them in place.

[wmfike]

Don't know if any has seen it, but if you go to HLJ.com and look at the model shows coverage on the site they feature Aoshima's booth and there are 2 more possible versions of this model coming out, one is a TV color version, it's almost white with no azteking the other is the Yamato. I'm getting both is they actually put them out. :-)

[Destructor!!!]

Yeah, Prometheus started a thread about it a couple of days ago.

Prommie, that's just so goddamn pretty. Thanks so much for taking all these pics. I hope I'm not being a pain in the ass about it!

So at 65% the size of the DST model, that'd be a touch smaller than the playmates ship? The detail is all the more impressive! The Captain's Yacht must be tiny.

*glances up at shelf*

I just got a stand for my Playmates D, so it's sitting alongside the DST D, and I'm starting to seriously want this Aoshima model... lucky there's no way in hell I can afford it, then .

Wait, did I say lucky?

[Prometheus]

No problem Destructor...Glad to take the pics..... Yeah....I had to sell a few items in my collection to get the Aoshima....and If I had a DST D I probably wouldnt have bought it at all....Not that Im disappointed....Its just that this, as you said, is pricey. I wouldnt say I like it more than the DST its kind of a tie in my mind...but the Aoshima may be ever so slightly ahead. ( I go back and forth LOL)

[Prometheus]

Wow. It does look amazing. Thanks for the detailed review.

No problem..... My pleasure !

[Destructor!!!]

I think QMX hold the artesan replica licence at the moment... not sure if it's exclusive, though.

[Prometheus]

I shouldnt show you guys this..... This is a company called Custom Replicas that makes 1/650 Models of the NCC-1701-D and E !! I think they cost around 6,000.00 each....It makes me personally depressed to look at them because they are so cool LOL. The person who designed them is a close friend of the owner of 'Modelers, Miniatures, and Magic'...They are extremely detailed and accurate. Apparently a studio scale NX -74205 Defiant is on the way as well !!!!


Here is the link

http://www.customreplicas.com/

[Prometheus]

wooooooah, that D is awesome!!!!!

It should be for that price !!!! Makes me jealous LOL !!

[Prometheus]

Destructor.... Somebody on SSM posted this comparison shot of the DST vs the Aoshima.... Here ya go....

[Prometheus]

The same person also posted some youtube videos.....