tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87470213032183856012024-03-14T09:50:34.381-07:00Spaced out bloggerSpaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-42353168261284671902016-08-09T10:59:00.000-07:002016-08-09T11:03:55.956-07:00Spoilerific Star Trek Beyond reviewStar Trek Beyond<br />
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A review of Star Trek Beyond. Warning, there be spoilers ahead! <br />
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You have been warned...<br />
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The film begins with Captain Kirk attempting to establish a peace treaty between two species. As you might expect the negotiations degrade and Kirk rips his shirt again. This incident also introduces the movies super duper doomsday weapon. Why the filmmakers can't make a modern Star Trek movie without a terrible weapon is known only to them. But it'd sure be nice to have one without a megalomaniac and a doomsday device. We find out the alternate Enterprise has a bar, which is situated in the saucer rim and that it is entirely empty. McCoy and Kirk have a little fun at Checkov's expense. (We'll miss 'ya Anton) We also find out that Kirk still has Daddy issues and is not fond of celebrating his birthday, you see Kirk is now one year older than his father was when he was killed aboard the Kelvin. This sets up Kirks character 'arc' for the film, It also mirrors Spocks arc. The Enterprise is headed out to Yorktown, a shimmering new starbase on the edge of the known Universe. In a voice over of his Captain's log, Kirk tells us that his life aboard the Enterprise is becoming a little "episodic"... har, har. Basically, this is the audiences first inkling that Kirk isn't entirely pleased with the Captaincy. This is probably the most character development that alternate Kirk has ever had. These threads continue throughout the film. This scene also introduces the new Warp speed effect, which, in my opinion, is superior to that of it's immediate predecessors from "Star Trek (2009)" and "Star Trek into darkness" and is the best warp effect since "Star Trek The motion picture". <br />
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The Enterprise arrives at starbase Yorktown in a sequence that is one of many extremely beautiful visual effects sequence in the film. I would go so far as to call them "Breathtaking". I generally roll my eyes at such parlance, but in this case I believe it apt. We get a few glimpses of life aboard the massive station which is a rather large orb with airlocks connecting the outer rim with the interior, we get to see the Enterprise entering the station from several vantage points, the most impressive of which is seeing the massive vessel gliding under a large pool of water which is suspended over the large Starship dock. The crew disembarks and we see a little of the inside of the massive starbase and then we get to Spock's character development for the film when he gets stopped by Uhura, who gives back to him a necklace that had once belonged to Spock's mother. Uhura breaks up with Spock, nice of her to do it in public(!). Spock of course objects, but to no avail. Much to Spock's chagrin McCoy was present to see the whole thing and can't help but razz Spock about the breakup, once we get McCoy's joke out of the way, we see Spock get stopped by two Vulcans; in the next scene we see that they were informing him of the death of his alternate universe counterpart, "Prime" Spock (Leonard Nimoy). This of course hits long time fans a little harder than the general audience due to the death of Leonard Nimoy in 2015. I'll be writing of my thoughts on Leonard Nimoy in a separate blog post. <br />
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The primary plot goes into motion when an alien pod knocks on Starbase Yorktown's door. In the pod is a woman, who appears to be alien, clearly in distress. In a nice little bit of business, we see the alien woman fitted with a Universal translator and see it calibrated. What's cool is that the UT is on a delay and that she actually must speak before we hear the translation, they stick with this set up until the end. Which is a refreshing change of pace, rather than the UT just making her sound as though she's speaking English. Well done filmmakers. She informs the Starfleet crew that her crew are stranded on an alien planet and asks Starfleet to rescue them. The only kick is that her ship crashed on a planet on the other side of a nebula/asteroid field and that the Enterprise is the only starship advanced enough to navigate it. Naturally, Starfleet agrees to attempt a rescue and, once again, our intrepid crew puts on the yellow, reds and blues to save the downtrodden. We also learn that Kirk had put in for a transfer to Starbase Yorktown to be it's new fleet Admiral (Or some rank, I can't remember). The commander of Yorktown tells Kirk that his transfer request has been received and that they'll be making their decision soon. With that, the crew disembarks and heads into the asteroid field. <br />
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In short order the Enterprise makes it through the asteroids which give way to a planet, the alien woman states that it is called "Altamid". Not long after arriving at the planet, the Enterprise encounters a rather large object in orbit. The object appears solid and then breaks up into thousands of fighters and begins attacking the Enterprise by literally ripping through her hull. Kirk immediately orders shields up and to open fire upon the swarm, but their Photon torpedoes can't lock on to the tiny swarm vessels and their phasers aren't having much affect. Kirk orders an immediate withdrawal and Sulu tries to get the ship into warp, but she won't engage her engines. It's never explained why the ship can't enter warp, we just have to believe that it can't for some reason. We get our first look at the main aliens of the film, pretty standard Star Trek aliens, bipedal, two eyes a mouth, etc. (Although there's a reason for that as we'll find out later.) The head bad guy orders the swarm to take out the ships engines and in a somewhat painful scene for anyone who loves the Enterprise(s), the swarm tears through the warp nacelle pylons, severing the warp engines from the ship. I have to say that element was somewhat shocking to see; whenever we see the Enterprise take damage, it's nacelle pylons always remain largely intact. When those are gone the audience really understands that this truly is the end for the starship Enterprise. That was definitely a Star Trek first. Scotty says that he can shunt warp power to the impulse engines and Kirk orders it done. The main cast splits up at this point and each then has their own little adventure as the ship is further destroyed. The head bad guy (Krall) makes his big entrance onto the ship and one wonders at this point what his reasons are for attacking the Enterprise. Well, it turns out that he was after a device that was part of a super weapon, the same device from the start of the film and the peace negotiation. Kirk and Krall spend a bit of time going after one another, there's a fight, etc. Krall orders the the Enterprises "Throat" cut. In other words, the neck connecting the saucer and secondary hull. The swarm then rips through the ships neck and severs it, sending the saucer into the planets atmosphere. Then begins a sub-sequence where Kirk must separate the remnants of the neck from the saucer because the impulse drive won't function as long as the neck is still attached because the ships stupid computer is still trying to draw power from it's now missing warp core. This is where everybody now must evacuate the ship. Scotty, in the secondary hull, uses a torpedo to escape. Spock and McCoy are trapped in a turbolift which was in the neck when it was destroyed and they are ejected out into space and somehow manage to make it into an enemy swarm ship without suffering from exposure to space. Which is one of the problems with modern movies, anyone over 25 can't tell what the hell is going on half the time as shit is just bombarding your senses. I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out once the movie is out on DVD. Uhura, after helping Kirk separate the saucer, winds up in what's left of the ships neck with Krall. Sulu, Checkov and the alien woman all evacuate the saucer in what are called "Kelvin pods", although in the theater it sounded like Kirk said "Kevin Pods" and I thought "Who the hell is Kevin and why does he have pods!". We then are treated to a shot of the Enterprises saucer crashing on the planets surface. So much for poor Enterprise. <br />
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Then begins act two of the film. Pretty standard. You could almost read the act break on screen. Everyone winds up in different places, Uhura and Sulu have the least to do as they're captured by the bad guys and imprisoned. Kirk, Checkov and the alien woman wind up together as they were the last to leave the ships saucer. Spock and McCoy are together and provide the comic relief. And Scotty introduces us to this films "cliff hanger" moment and to the character of Jaylah, who saves Scotty from intergalactic hoodlums. Jaylah recognizes the arrowhead badge on Scotty's uniform and asks for his help in fixing something. Scotty, somewhat surprised that she recognizes starfleet symbology agrees to help her if she'll help him find his friends. One thing these films do is make everything informal. In the original movies the characters wouldn't have used the term "friends", they would have used "crew", "colleagues", etc. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I'm just pointing out the differences. I don't know if it could mean anything culturally, but perhaps it does. Spock is injured and McCoy helps him using his usual brand of bedside manner. The duo also give us our required swearing for the film, these new films gotta come with that PG-13 rating! Kirk and Checkov reason that they can find more of the crew with the sensors on the crashed Enterprise then they can with a tricorder, so their mission is to find the downed saucer. Uhura and Sulu (And that dumb character "Keenser" (Terrible, childish fucking name by the way. I'm looking at you Abrams.) are held captive and try to escape, find some old Starfleet gear and find out that Krall has been using it to spy on the Federation, including Yorktown and the Enterprise. Krall has even accessed the Enterprises logs. Pretty industrious dude this Krall, I guess he deserves to be the bad guy. Uhura and Sulu are then recaptured. Scotty follows Jaylah to what she calls her "house", which turns out to be an old starfleet ship! The long forgotten U.S.S. Franklin, Captained by the awesomely named Balthazar Edison. This is probably my favorite element of the film as the ancient starfleet ship offers us the most references to past Trek. In this case, it is references to many of the technical aspects of "Star Trek: Enterprise". Meanwhile, Kirk and Checkov have located the crashed saucer, they enter it and Checkov begins routing power to a bridge station. Kirk takes the alien woman and heads below to find the lost artifact/super-weapon that Kirk hid before the ship crashed. Once below, the alien woman believing Kirk has led her to the super-weapon, turns on him and takes his weapon, she uncovers the panel where Kirk supposedly hid the weapon and realizes that nothing is there. Kirk was lying and Checkov sneaks up on her from behind and orders her to drop the gun. Kirk laid the trap. Then the two get ambushed by alien drones who begin firing on them. Queue the next action sequence. Kirk surmises that they could move the saucer by shooting one of the thruster exhaust thingies. This works and the saucer begins lifting off. Kirk and Checkov go back up to the bridge, blow out the bridge picture window and slide down the saucer as it's flipping over. The saucer then flips over and lands on the evil alien woman. Kirk and Chekov then make their way to find the crew.<br />
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Back at the wreck of the old Franklin, Scotty hears this 'old' shitty music coming from the engine room and asks "Is that music". I don't know Scotty, given how shitty it is I would say not. But Jaylah says "Yes" and implies that it was NWA that taught her how to speak the English language. Okay, that little mystery solved. Jaylah then hears something and her and Scotty make their way outside where they find Kirk and Checkov suspended in some kind of crystalline structure, apparently it's one of Jaylah's traps. The three are introduced and Scotty shows Kirk that the old starship Franklin is intact and on the planet. They go through a little bit of the history of the Franklin including: That it was the first ship to reach Warp 4, it's registry is NX-326, it's a "Starship" class vessel and was captained by Balthazar Edison and Kirk calls Balthazar and his crew "The first heroes of the Federation". I love that line. So TOS. Okay, now to deconstruct some of the info on the Franklin. If the ship was the first to reach Warp 4, then why is it's registry number higher than that of the NX-01 from "Star Trek: Enterprise" that was capable of going faster than warp 5! The original starship Enterprise was a ship of the "Starship" class. How could the Franklin be of the Starship class if it was built 80 years or so before the original Enterprise from TOS? According to the movie the ship was lost in 2164. Three years after the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Scotty then asks Kirk's permission to do something, Kirk is confused as to why Scotty needs his permission, Scotty says "Because I didn't want to take the blame alone." Cut to Spock and McCoy, they've found themselves surrounded by three enemy drone vessels with their weapons trained on them. Bones says "Well, at least I won't die alone" Spock then gets beamed out. McCoy says: "Typical" just before he too is beamed out. McCoy finds himself in the transporter room of the Franklin. Apparently Scotty wanted Kirks permission to beam up Spock and McCoy, because as Scotty tells McCoy "These old Transporters were only used to transport cargo." Which is another reference to "Enterprise", or rather the pilot episode of "Enterprise" where Lt. Reed and Ensign Mayweather discuss how the new transporter (As of 2151) was just approved to transport bio matter. And during the first season of "Enterprise' the transporter was used sparingly and was generally viewed as being hazardous and not very reliable. You can understand then McCoys trepidation at being transported by the transporter aboard the derelict U.S.S. Franklin! This is yet another possible inconsistency. I.E. Why hadn't the Franklin's transporter been upgraded to that of Archer's Enterprise? Now it could be suggested that, despite it's higher registry, that the Franklin was really a ship that was much older than Archer's Enterprise and Starfleet gave Edison an older ship, and that something as sophisticated as the transporter on a ship as old as the Franklin was not easily upgraded and could have been entirely integrated into the Franklin's systems. <br />
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Once aboard the Franklin, Bones says that he must tend to Spock's wounds. Scotty pulls out a bunch of ancient surgical implements, McCoy laments their relatively primitive state but manages to use them to mend Spock. Once that's done, the team figures out where Krall is keeping the Enterprise crew. They hatch a plan to rescue the crew with the Franklins transporter and with the help of a rather convenient motorcycle (That is hundreds of years old) being stored aboard the Franklin. Kirk and crew enlist the help of Jaylah who states that she's been to Krall's hideout, but she refuses as the last time she was there her whole family was killed. Scotty talks her into it, naturally. And the team goes and rescues the Enterprises crew. Queue another action sequence. With the remaining Enterprise crew safely aboard the Franklin; Sulu and Uhura inform Kirk of Krall's dastardly plan to attack the Federation and destroy Starbase Yorktown. Kirk then turns to Scott to get the ancient derelict Franklin in fighting shape so they can go after Krall. Scotty tells Kirk that the ship isn't in the shape necessary to make the trip and in a conversation that I love, Scotty tells Kirk that the Franklin was built in space and meant to operate exclusively in space! Unlike the former U.S.S. Enterprise. But Kirk insists and the miracle worker, with Jaylah's help, get the ship ready for take off. Sulu says that to reach take off speed, the ship must achieve 'terminal velocity', which requires them to free-fall from the peak that the ship is perched on to the valley below and hope that they can reach the necessary speed before plummeting to their death. Now, since this is a movie, the plan succeeds and the ship takes off. But, I think this is possibly the best 'action' sequence of the film. The visuals, music and Foley all work together to make this a very effective sequence. Thank you film makers. <br />
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The ship leaves the planet and goes after Krall. One wonders though how the ancient Franklin was able to navigate the nebula/asteroid field when the former Enterprise was the only ship sophisticated enough to make it through the other way to Altimid?! This plot hole is never addressed. Pretty typical storytelling for these newer Trek movies. Kirk asks Scotty what kind of weapons they have and in another nod to ST: Enterprise, Scotty informs him that they only have "Pulsed phase cannons and spacial torpedoes". Which was the original armament of Archer's old Enterprise. Krall pierces through Yorktown's defenses and just as he is about to attack the station, the Franklin shows up. Since the enemy swarm is comprised largely of drones, Spock surmises that they must be controlled with a signal making a type of hive and that it would be possible to disrupt that signal thereby neutralizing the swarm. To do it, they need to have access to the swarms computer systems, so the crew hatch a plan to commandeer one of the enemy vessels. Spock volunteers, but Uhura notes his injury and Kirk agrees that he may not be in the best shape for such a mission. Spock then suggests that McCoy accompany him. McCoy of course loves this and the two are transported aboard a swarm ship. They again manage to eject the ships occupant into space without suffering exposure. Spock gets the frequency and relays it to the Franklin. Someone says they need a loud noise to disrupt the swarm and Scotty suggests Jaylah's shitty music. Jaylah unfortunately picks "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. So we are treated to a rather cheesy sequence of the Franklin skimming over a sea of swarm ships blowing them up by blaring Beastie Boys. Fuck you film makers. Pick better fucking music, assholes. And in the most insulting moment of the film, McCoy asks Spock "Is this classical music" and in a moment of unparalleled idiocy, alternate Spock says "I believe it is". Yeah. Fucking. Right. I doubt there will be any time in history where Sabotage by the Beastie Boys is considered "classical". If there is then we truly have reached Idiocracy. So with the swarm destroyed, the crew focus their attention on Krall, who punches his way through Yorktown's airlock with three of his ships. McCoy and Spock follow him and the damaged Franklin pushes it's way through the remains of the airlock door and chase after Krall. In what is actually a pretty cool looking sequence, we see the Franklin flying in pursuit of Krall right under a clear river of water that was set up earlier when the Enterprise arrived at the station. Krall has punched through and is flying inside the stations habitable areas, the crew surmise he's heading for atmospheric control so that he can release the super-weapon into the stations life support systems. With Spock and McCoy unable to stop Krall, Kirk orders Sulu to punch through the river; Sulu obeys and crashes the Franklin right through the river and in a maneuver that would make the crew of the Seaview proud, the Franklin flies almost vertically up through the water, Kralls ships become embedded in the bottom of the Franklin's saucer and the ship comes slamming back down into the water. <br />
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The Franklin's sensors register the areas where Krall's ships have punctured the hull and Kirk orders those areas searched. Kirk and Uhura make their way below into the Bowls of the Franklin and Uhura notices something on a screen in the Franklin's mess - it's a video of the Franklin's original crew celebrating. Uhura rewinds the video several times and realizes that Krall and the former commander of the Franklin share the same voice and accent. Cut to Scotty, Uhura, Kirk and Jaylah watching Balthazar Edison's last captains log where he expresses his anger at the Federation for leaving he and his crew stranded on Altamid. He then explains that the planet's former inhabitants had left behind a drone workforce and technology capable of prolonging life. Apparently, the technology makes the user take on the physical attributes of the people whose life it sucks away. Which explains why Edison and what was left of his crew had appeared to be aliens. In yet another reference to "Enterprise", Scotty explains how Edison was a former MACO - a soldier - who fought in the Xindi and Romulan wars and when the MACO's were disbanded, Edison was given command of the Franklin in thanks to his service to Humanity. This is basically the scene where the expository scene where the plot is revealed. Just then, Kirk and Uhura notice the bodies of two dead Enterprise crewman who appear to have been prematurely aged with one missing it's uniform; clearly Edison has been there and taken the crewman's "life force" or whatever you might call it. Cut to: Edison in a starfleet command uniform making his way from the crashed Franklin to the life support control system. Kirk chases after Edison/Krall and Scotty, Uhura and Jaylah go up to the Starbases control room and tell Kirk exactly what he needs to do to prevent Krall from killing everyone aboard the station. Kirk catches up with Krall, who appears to be somewhat Human at this point. Krall goes on to explain the source of his anger and why he's chosen to become a murderer. There's a little back and forth, Krall/Edison says people of Kirks time have become too soft and that when he was a kid he had to trudge 90 miles to school and back through boiling hot lava everyday. Pretty typical exposition for your average tyrannical murderous overlord whose just north of a hundred. Kirk tells Krall he's full of shit and Krall makes the mistake of trying to kill the hero and winds up dying via the very weapon he chose to use. Case closed. <br />
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Oh and Kirk gets saved from certain death by Spock and McCoy. Naturally at the last minute. It wouldn't be a summer blockbuster without a last second save, would it?! One wonders though WHAT Spock and McCoy were doing all that time and why they didn't help sooner, but oh well. <br />
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Spock takes a moment to inventory his dead counterparts possessions, among which is a picture of the original Star Trek cast from "Star Trek V: The final frontier". I could have almost cried, if I weren't a robot. Kirk then debriefs the stations commander mirroring a conversation they had at the beginning of the film; Kirk tells her that Edison "got lost out there". The commander then tells Kirk that the job he applied for is his if he want's it and Kirk asks if "Vice Admirals (or whatever he said, I can't recall.) don't get to fly, do they?" The commander says no and Kirk turns down the promotion. We then catch up with the crew who are having a birthday party for Kirk. The scene is actually somewhat reminiscent of the final scene of "Star Trek V: The final frontier". Everyone gets a little moment. Scotty surprises Jaylah with an offer to join Starfleet. Jaylah laments having to wear the starfleet jammies. McCoy accosts Kirk and Spock asking them "So you really wanna go back out there, huh?". We then pull back to a time-lapse sequence of the construction of the new U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A and the film ends. <br />
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Overall, I found "Star Trek Beyond" to be a very positive viewing experience. Besides the minor quibbles mentioned above, I thought it was wholly superior to anything J.J. Abrams has done and is, I think, a move in the right direction for this modern Star Trek. I felt a very strong TOS movie and a TNG vibe from this film, both of which were welcomed to this long time fan. I left the theater feeling like I've seen a decent Star Trek film and that was something I haven't felt in a LONG time, I have recommended it to my friends and family. <br />
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As a Trek fan... I loved all the little easter eggs, although I thought the 'giant green space hand' was more of a dig at TOS than a nod. But perhaps that's an incorrect presumption. I loved the Franklin, as a design and as a story/plot device; it's something we've never seen in a Trek film and I liked how the ships former crew were integrated into the plot. There were some issues, as mentioned above, regarding the technology of the Franklin. Including the design of the viewscreen and control panels, which look to be the same as those used aboard the much newer Enterprise; one wonders how technology had stagnated for a century. The designer of the Franklin had stated in an interview, that the ship was originally designed with the warp engines UNDER the saucer and that once the script was changed, they had to be moved above as the ship had to be able to 'land' on the planet and take off. It's kind of funny, the bottom of the Franklin is completely flat, another instance of an objects design being dictated by what it must do, which makes perfect sense in this cases. I'm a fan of the Franklin, I like the design and it is very evocative of the NX-01, but the designer of the ship states unequivocally that the NX-01 was not on his mind as he was designing the Franklin. Oh well, it would've been a nice homage. Despite my dislike of the music used, I did like the fact that music was the means of defeating the bad guy. Far more creative than simply using guns or fists. And it was a first for a Star Trek movie and certainly a first that actual music was used in such a fashion. One thing I do lament is having yet another "Bad guy gets super weapon and goes after the Federation" plot. It's almost as though none of the people writing these movies have seen the various Star Trek shows. That particular plot was not common within Star Trek. Oh sure it was used, but it seems as though it's been OVER used since "Star Trek II: The wrath of Khan". Ending the film with a time-lapse of the building of the Enterprise-A was awesome and strangely emotional. It really put a positive spin on the whole film and made you feel like they were moving forward... to the future. In many ways I love the newest Enterprise-A, it's a little like coming home for me. But I think the nacelles are way off and not at all evocative of the original, which I think they should be shooting for. I think they should have gone for rectangular nacelles instead of the round-ish ones. That would have really made me feel like they were trying to get back to the old movie Enterprise while creating something new. The nacelles are mounted too far forward on the pylons (Like it's predecessor.) and the weird details on the top of the engines seem out of place and make the nacelle design look goofy. The ship seems to have an almost Gothic feel to it, which I like. <br />
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NCC-1701-A<br />
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I guess I'd recommend this film. I can't say it's a perfect movie, or a perfect Star Trek movie, but it was good and, in some ways, celebrated the originals. Have fun. <br />
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If you've read this and still have not seen the film, what the fuck are you doing?! Don't spoil the movie for yourself, go watch it! <br />
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-Spacedoutblogger<br />
<br />Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-59127818619393239592015-09-16T15:45:00.003-07:002015-09-16T15:45:56.872-07:00Beloved films from childhood and the Internet I grew up watching <i>Star Wars </i>and <i>Star Trek</i>. I loved them both for what the were/are. But at a certain point, I'd say in about 2004 or so, I started to really loathe <i>Star Wars</i>, and not just because of the prequels, but it was feeling deep within. And I finally realized, it's because of <i>Star Wars </i>fans! Their adversarial nature turned me off completely. I found that they'd constantly bash <i>Star Trek</i>! And that pissed me off! Really, it was - and is - their feelings of inadequacy and thier general stupidity which makes them bash <i>Trek.</i><br />
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I just had to get that out. Fuck <i>Star Wars </i>fan boy douche-bag assholes for making me hate <i>Star Wars. </i>You motherfuckers can all rot in hell. <i> </i><br />
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Your moment of Zen for the day. <br />
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-<i>Spaced out blogger</i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-38039092892371697982015-09-04T18:47:00.000-07:002015-09-04T18:47:13.454-07:00"Chewie... we're home" (Force Friday and Revell Star Wars model kits)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjv0fKqxhRz03SvursRpmQuG6N19nn_Uri_TUh6jbcccuyF1XYRcL96lwGyarZPBQeox2HoiBXCLgt_Gy_HJIHDoj4A74zy9WuyCDqEKAs0JY-g_qH4Dsm02yPHltu9nX2DiSpVzb4N7l/s1600/milleniumfalcon-level1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjv0fKqxhRz03SvursRpmQuG6N19nn_Uri_TUh6jbcccuyF1XYRcL96lwGyarZPBQeox2HoiBXCLgt_Gy_HJIHDoj4A74zy9WuyCDqEKAs0JY-g_qH4Dsm02yPHltu9nX2DiSpVzb4N7l/s320/milleniumfalcon-level1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Revell skill level 1 Millennium Falcon</i><br />
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<i> </i>Today was "Force Friday"; another marketing gimmick from Disney and it's marketing glubs. <b>But</b>, beyond the political commentary, it was the official release date of merchandise from the upcoming "<i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens"</i>. As a red-blooded model kit building American I naturally jumped at the opportunity to own at least <i>something</i> from the new film and so availed myself of the Revell skill level 1 Millennium Falcon.<br />
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Now, one might think "<i>really? Skill level 1?". </i>I know, <i>but</i>, it was the only version of the ship available in the form of a model kit, it was decently priced and included lights and sound <i>and </i>it is actually a decent representation of the ship! This is the first wave of model kits from Revell for "<i>The force awakens"</i>, wave two ships next month and features skill level 2 models, increasing the accuracy (In most cases), the scale (and size) and detail. They will also be devoid of the lights and sound gimmick. Given the size, details and playability options of this first wave, it is clear that these kits are intended for kids.<br />
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One thing that Revell kits of this particular subject, the <i>Millennium Falcon</i>, often get wrong is the height of the so called "side walls" running the perimeter of the ship; indeed, this very inaccuracy is what has kept me from purchasing any iteration of the Revell <i>Falcons</i> until now. This new version, while not perfect, is actually acceptable to this particular accuracy freak. Not too tall, nicely detailed, works well. One area of dissapointment for many is that the skill level 2 arriving next month is a simple re-release of the original freakishly innacurate Revell <i>Falcon</i> with a new dish. A must-pass for me. <br />
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This kit is <i>so</i> good, in fact, that I am considering purchasing another as a means of creating the quasi-canon "<i>Stellar Envoy</i>" which was featured in one of the comics and whose appearance was later copied for the film "<i>Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith". </i>Seen in the picture above. <br />
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Now when I got back into scale modeling back in the 90's, skill level 1 or, snap-tite, (snapfast if you're the other guys), was a simple no-frills affair. No lights, no sound, just a small representation of the vehicle. Here then in 2015, Revell has taken snap-tite to a whole new level! Providing not just a nice looking model but also a higher degree of playability options for the kids amongst us (Of which I consider myself a member), with their "electronics block", which is actually a self-contained unit housing all of the electronics, nicely hidden away inside the kit. They even included molded detail on the block itself! Despite the fact that, once assembled, such details would be invisible. After perusing Revell of Germany's site I've decided to hold off on buying the skill level 1 <i>X-wing</i> out now in favor of the more dimensionally accurate skill level 2 out next month. <br />
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All across the Internet people are decrying these kits as simple toys, not worthy of their money or time and that Revell is remiss in their duty by alienating older modelers. I find this notion that segments of people should be pandered to amusing. Better kits of these subject will be available soon, this alone should reduce the amount of grousing by at least 500%, but sadly it does not.<br />
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As a very experienced modeler it is my opinion that these kits are <b>not </b>just for children, they can be enjoyed by all! So, go enjoy! <br />
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-<i>Spaced out blogger</i><br />
<br />Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-24988735238865729682015-07-01T14:35:00.001-07:002015-07-01T14:35:34.759-07:00Thoughts, musings and observations of the Sovereign class and her predecessor(s)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Sovereign class U.S.S. Enterprise</i><br />
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<i> </i>What does one first think of when thinking of the <i>Galaxy class U.S.S. Enterprise? </i>That of course varies depending upon the person, but I think of families and her massive size. A large community in Space. Were I to imagine a <i>Starship</i> traveling past the furthest star and exploring the Galaxy, I think of the <i>original Starship Enterprise </i>and the <i>Galaxy class Enterprise; </i>they just exude purpose and an understanding of what one might need to explore the outer reaches. However, that is <i>not </i>what I think of when I imagine their <i>Sovereign class </i>counterpart. What I see when I look at the <i>Enterprise-E </i>is <i>speed</i>. There is a point where streamlining reaches a point of absolute literalism and that is where the <i>Enterprise-E </i>begins and ends.<br />
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<i> </i>The <i>Sovereign class </i>co-exists(ed) with the <i>Galaxy class</i>. The <i>Galaxy class </i>is clearly supposed to be an Explorer; the ship that gets sent out into the Universe on her own, without support and comes back a decade later to relay her findings; it's size and accouterments makes it the most obvious type of ship to do so; so with that in mind, what then is the mission parameter/ purpose of the Sovereign class? Is it supposed to be a successor? The <i>Galaxy class </i>was still fairly new having only been introduced less than a decade earlier. Per conversations with <i>Ronald D. Moore </i>back in the late-90's, the <i>Enterprise-E </i>had no families on board (Thankfully since she was partially assimilated). So no families, slightly faster than her predecessor, heavily armed per <i>Star Trek: Nemesis </i>and with less mass. How many Explorer-type vessels does <i>Starfleet </i>need?<i> </i>Does the <i>Sovereign </i>have to be an explorer? Could it instead be a cruiser? A patrol ship?<i> </i><br />
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<i> </i>Given all 'facts' of the class stated above, I assert that the class is rather a light-to-heavy cruiser, fulfilling a more generalize role; allowing the <i>Galaxy </i>and other-larger classes to fill the role of <i>Explorer. </i> So in reality, I can see the <i>Sovereign </i>being a successor to the <i>Excelsior</i> class. Which would stand to reason since they were ancient yet still in service at the time of the <i>Sovereigns </i>introduction.<br />
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So there it is, some random ramblings about fictional ships and their place in a fictional future; naval-gazing I be.<br />
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<i>-Spaced out blogger</i> Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-13513682204373324282015-06-08T09:16:00.002-07:002015-06-08T09:16:58.046-07:00The current mindset of the scale modeling community Upon recent visit to one of my favorite modeling forums; I came upon a conversation about a certain <i>Star Trek </i>producing model kit company. The conversation roughly revolved around said companies propensity to produce the same subject (The original <i>Enterprise</i>), in multiple scales and how frustrated the poster was about the dearth of new subjects.<br />
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The counter argument stated that anything beyond that subject did not sell well enough to justify the continued expenditure on subjects that do not turn a profit; and while this is a correct assessment of the situation from a buisness perspective; it hardly seems like the perspective of a simple hobbyist! When did the consumer become so enamoured with the inner workings of the companies from whom they purchase that they would spout their talking points in casual conversation? Has the mentality of corporate America so seeped into the minds of the people that people justify the stagnation and the stunting of their own hobby?<br />
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I can understand the benefits of being aware of what causes such a lack of subjects, but I just get a kind of "Stepford wives" vibe from people that spout corporate lingo. That sounds more like corporate programming to me.<br />
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Perhaps I'm being too critical; too judgmental.<br />
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I support any comment that pushes the expansion of the scale modeling hobby.<br />
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-<i>Space out blogger </i><br />
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<i> </i> Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-41209883441485841282015-06-02T17:10:00.000-07:002015-06-02T17:10:11.200-07:00Thoughts on the recent deluge of Star Trek TOS fan films<i> Star Trek New Voyages/Phase II; Star Trek: Continues; Starship Farragut; Starship Exeter, etc. </i><br />
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<i> </i>Those are just the names of a few of the 1960's <i>Star Trek </i>based fan series. For whatever reasons people seem intent upon reliving the same characters and designs ethos' over and over again; I'd love to see a <i>Star Trek </i>based series with it's <i>own </i>unique look and style. Now <i>Star Trek: Renegades </i>seems to have done so, but it is post-TNG which would account for the differences in appearance. Don't misunderstand, I <b>love </b>the look and feel of the original (And I think the <b>best</b>) <i>Star Trek</i> series. But enough is enough, I'm starting to tire with seeing the same ship layouts and the same tired old characters being played by people interpreting what had been perfected fifty years ago.<br />
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I know I have the option to not watch them but I look at all the money, time, effort and <b>love </b>that has gone into recreating the original sets and wonder - could they have made more of all of that if they'd stretched their creative legs? <i>Create </i>something! Not recreate. Now, I wouldn't mind seeing a minor redesign; keep the essential elements and change the rest. Does <b>every </b>fan series have to be set on a Constitution class starship? Does <b>every </b>Captain have to be Kirk?! I've seen Kirk, I've seen the original Starship <i>Enterprise. </i>Show me something that predated TOS with new characters with their own styles and idiosyncrasies!<br />
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I guess I'm just burned out. I'm starved for <i>Star Trek </i>and the only outlets are a shitty film series and an overabundance of TOS-centric fan series. <br />
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Why not go out and put my money where my mouth is?!<br />
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I can't afford to do so. I would <i>love </i>to create my own <i>Star Trek, </i>I simply don't have the capability. No money and most importantly; no space.<br />
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Please, if you're reading this and considering making your own <i>Star Trek </i>series? Consider setting it in the familiar; branch out; be different!<br />
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<i>- Spaced out blogger</i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-71110396168959767112015-05-21T19:50:00.001-07:002015-05-21T22:27:58.477-07:00Thoughts on Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek into darkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Way back when, in 2007; I had heard the unthinkable; <i>Star Trek </i>was being remade. I was worried, I've seen other reboots and with one exception, none were palatable. J.J. Abrams' <i>Star Trek</i> movies have been no exception, from the childish humor of the first movie to the homage (*cough* rip-off) of <i>The Wrath of Khan</i> in the second one, they've proven to be less than stellar outings for the venerable <i>Star Trek </i>franchise. <br />
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With that said, I have found some minor reasons to appreciate some of the <i>ideas</i> presented in both films.<br />
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<i>Black-hole escape:</i> The ending of the first film features the <i>Enterprise</i> escaping from a black-hole. I found this sequence to be <i>very</i> reminicent of something one might see in the original series, specifically the <i>Enterprise's</i> 'slingshot' through time; everyone being physically thrown around and from side to side, Scotty's line "<i>I'm givin' 'er all she's got Captain!" </i>was a nice moment that hit me square in the chest.<br />
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<i>The breaking of the "Prime directive" </i>from "<i>Into Darkness</i>". This was a great plot-line in the film and one I think they explored well; they didn't build the plot around it but it none-the-less has an impact. It also allows the audience to ponder what <i>they</i> would have done in the crews' position. I've actually thought about this more than I've thought about the first film in it's entirely. Were I in a position to save an entire civilization, I would have made the decision to save them, just as our protagonists do. <i>But - </i>I do see the wisdom of the Prime directive; it was never explored better than it was in <i>The Next Generation</i>; that series asked the same question and offered a humanitarian answer. Protect and save life if at all possible, which is how I see the organization of <i>Starfleet</i> and the <i>Federation</i>; as humanitarians.<br />
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So <i>Kirk </i>breaks the prime directive and <i>refreshingly, </i>we see him pay the price. He faces judgment and loses his command. I thought that was a beautiful way to set up the film; I just wish they'd done more with it - to have it's affects ripple throughout the story; instead, <i>Kirk</i> immediately gets his command back with nary a slap of the wrist, so it is not terribly well paid-off (We should see our heroes have to <i>earn</i> their gifts.); but the plot needed <i>Kirk </i>on the <i>Enterprise</i> and in command for the later drama of his decision to trust <i>Khan. </i><br />
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<i>One odd thing...</i><br />
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Why in God's name was <i>McCoy</i> testing <i>Khan's </i>blood on a dead Tribble? What the hell kind of <i>Frankenstein-esque</i> Doctor is <i>McCoy </i>in this new Universe? Not only is he testing on a dead Tribble he just happens to have lying around, but he's doing so in the middle of a crisis! I don't even think they were out of Klingon space yet. It just struck me as odd and was clearly a clumsy foreshadowing device. Childish writing. <i> </i><br />
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"<i>A five year mission, Spock!"</i><br />
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<i> </i>Yes, in this film the five year mission of the original series is a new concept! This is something I would have never even considered as an idea; one just takes for granted that <i>everyone</i> goes out on five year missions into the unknown. This film makes it special, something to strive toward, something one must <i>earn</i>. <i></i>And it makes sense and I <i>hope </i>becomes a part of the <i>Star Trek </i>canon. It also perfectly sets up the forthcoming <i>Star Trek beyond</i>, whose title I find quite inspiring and I hope that the writers are similarly inspired and take the title to heart while crafting the script.<br />
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<i>The Enterprise refit:</i><br />
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The end of <i>Into Darkness </i>sees the <i>Enterprise </i>refitted, albeit mildly. The Impulse engine has been widened making the detail fit better with the established design than it's predecessor. The ship, thanks to the closeness of the Nacelles, appears wider and the new engine only reinforces that. If anyone reading this has any influence over the model kit company <b>Revell</b>, please have them make a model of this refitted version of the <i>Enterprise</i>; I have the previous version and love it. <i> </i><br />
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That sums up my <i>positive </i>thoughts of these two new rebooted <i>Trek </i>movies. I haven't the time nor the energy to discuss the negatives, I'd be here the rest of my life.<br />
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Enjoy life, take it by the hand full and love every moment of it!<br />
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- <i>Spaced out blogger</i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-60772135922902341942015-05-15T18:44:00.004-07:002015-05-15T18:44:48.934-07:00Thoughts on Avengers: Age of Ultron (spoilers) Just caught Avengers 2 the other day and on the whole I liked it. Things that I remember most:<br />
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* The love story between Black Widow and Hulk/Bruce Banner; I found it not only a pleasant surprise but quite touching. As a dorky weirdo with anger issues whose been crushed on by beautiful Women, I can totally relate.<br />
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* The battle between Hulk and Iron Man. Amazing. The part where Iron Man is just punching the living shit out of Hulk saying "Go to sleep, just go to sleep." was awesome, there was weight to it; amazing what Foley can do these days.<br />
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* James Spader. It's been quite some time since I've heard an Actor make so much of their voice. I had no idea it was him until the credits, he was amazing. <br />
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The rest of the film was packed with stuff but by the time I got to the final battle I was "action scened" out. I'd just had too much of it so I kinda tuned out a bit. I love to see characters devoted to the saving of lives but was shocked by the treatment of collateral damage in these films, millions dead and the characters are still quipping away. Perhaps I'm dwelling too much over non-existent deaths, but it just hit me that way.<br />
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This film made me fall for Scarlett Johansson, I just fell for her.<br />
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I'd recommend seeing it if you've not yet done so. <br />
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- <i>Spaced out blogger</i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-1964874658386382712015-04-28T13:52:00.001-07:002015-04-28T13:52:11.293-07:00Moebius Colonial oneSo I just picked up the <i>Colonial one </i>from the updated <i>Battlestar Galactica </i>produced by Moebius models and just from an engineering standpoint the kit is outstanding! I love it, thank you Moebius!<br />
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If you've got any interest in this ship at all I would highly suggest getting one, it is a real knock out of the park by Moebius. Sadly I don't have a camera these days or I'd do a build-blog but perhaps someday. Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-75843434213332703052015-04-27T10:51:00.001-07:002015-06-08T09:17:53.600-07:00Don't buy from "Big bad toy store" So I ordered the NX Excelsior from <i>Star Trek III</i> from Big bad toy store and it's produced by Diamond select toys, now if you know anything about DST you know that their quality control is lackluster at best, especially when it comes to items that have been released previously; look no further than their TOS Phaser for proof of that.<br />
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Naturally, I get my Excelsior and it's shaped like a banana, with the saucer pitched up, gouges in the plastic, paint over spray and an overall poor appearance. So I email Big bad toy store. And they say they need visual 'proof' of the damaged item. Why? Can you not take the paying customers word for it? I've <i>already </i>paid for it! Send me a return slip and give me a refund!<br />
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After seeing the quality of this one I'm quite apprehensive about receiving another one that may be in <b>worse</b> condition. I've been down this road before and am not looking to traverse it again.<br />
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I would not suggest buying a DST item nor would I suggest purchasing from Big Bad Toy Store. Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-51050786546199944992015-04-25T16:24:00.003-07:002015-04-25T16:45:40.885-07:00Relative age of the Oberth class starship<br />
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The <i>Oberth</i> class. One of the more unique designs in <i>Star Trek</i>, very modern looking for its era. This design was used from the 2280's to the 2370's, clearly a very successful ship type. However there are a few factors which draw into question its age. I will use this page to review and analyze these factors.<br />
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<i>Registry:</i><br />
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The registry of the <i>U.S.S. Grissom (NCC-638) </i>is<i> </i>the lowest on-screen registry of any ship seen until the <i>NX-01 Enterprise. </i>We know the original <i>Enterprises </i>registry <i>(NCC-1701) </i>is that of a ship of at least the 2260's and it is considerably higher than that of the <i>Grissom. </i>Were we to go by the registry alone, and assume that they are all sequential, then the <i>Grissom </i>herself could be far older than her first on-screen appearance. <i> </i>The next highest registry of the <i>Oberth </i>class is <i>(NCC-640) (Seen on a ship in Spacedock in Star Trek IV: The voyage home and later in Star Trek: The Next Generation). </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNYtq5tdx3rTf-ncT0_pEB-A6yBghqgsjBfNUkeaMv0ag3nz88QoO5DW-Fm2aOjzYZO__uecMudefpk6tA4ykalenwgrDGhyphenhyphenlOero5-WzSAaoAThfA9ZX2sAwUlOuqBOEB7Qg0Q3EXw0t/s1600/Oberth_class_studio_model_beauty_pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNYtq5tdx3rTf-ncT0_pEB-A6yBghqgsjBfNUkeaMv0ag3nz88QoO5DW-Fm2aOjzYZO__uecMudefpk6tA4ykalenwgrDGhyphenhyphenlOero5-WzSAaoAThfA9ZX2sAwUlOuqBOEB7Qg0Q3EXw0t/s1600/Oberth_class_studio_model_beauty_pass.jpg" height="247" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Grissom model being shot for an episode of Star Trek: TNG. Notice the registry on the boat hull. </i></td></tr>
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<i>Design: </i><br />
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The design, first seen in <i>Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), </i>looks very modern and fits in perfectly with the ships designed for that movie including the <i>U.S.S. Excelsior (NX-2000) </i>with many horizontal grilles and vents being a very prominent design feature of the both ship types. The ship looks like it belongs in the <i>Star Trek </i>movie era. <i>Speculation: </i>Take away the decals and pennants, shoot it with the camera and <i>SPFX </i>technology of the 1960's; would the ship still appear as modern? Could it pass for a ship of the TOS era? Also notice the design does not feature a deflector dish, many MSD's (<i>Master systems display) </i>have the deflector behind the lower dome of the boat hull (<i>Secondary hull or Engineering section). </i>I find this location to be perfect and wonder, from an in-universe perspective, why it would be hidden behind a cover? That to me suggests that it has one less weakness than the <i>Enterprise </i>and those of her Ilk. We also can't use that to determine the ships age, does it have a lit/glowing deflector? Or does it have an Antenna-style deflector?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAFPWWRAqGltG21drpbBKG76A7simFTFuPQOQrele3TfRQR_cOS0yt0JYcCnmLTtmnMUXvKh23J9Bo6R3uQ4_Ml0j78fLv8pm3xue7JWqWfXheH1eGGxJ0INh7R7drqerfzLXNWDGgpKz/s1600/USS_Biko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAFPWWRAqGltG21drpbBKG76A7simFTFuPQOQrele3TfRQR_cOS0yt0JYcCnmLTtmnMUXvKh23J9Bo6R3uQ4_Ml0j78fLv8pm3xue7JWqWfXheH1eGGxJ0INh7R7drqerfzLXNWDGgpKz/s1600/USS_Biko.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Interiors: </i><br />
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The interior of the <i>Grissom </i>is exactly that of the movie-era Refit <i>Enterprise</i>, only with the chairs and some consoles rearranged to suggest a smaller vessel. As we've seen with other Starships, such interiors could be plug-in, plug-out affairs. They could also be beamed in, so no real way of determining age that way. Let's look closely at the <i>Oberth </i>classes <i>first </i>appearance on <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>, that of the <i>.S.S. </i><i><i>Tsiolkovsky. (The .S.S. registry may point to a reason for the ships internal appearance). </i></i><br />
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The SS <i>Tsiolkovsky's </i>interiors were fairly normal by TNG standards, corridors and the miniature bridge set all fall within the norms of early-TNG. There is however one glaring design detail which may suggest an <i>Oberth class </i>far older than one might think...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdSLsrTDJMcIOBej0EtuFmhQuKO3gCTpmHDXfTS4YKU-f0O1Ttc7pcmBTOeDDhQRt1qU8ucV1BmYVdmZUuzVl_FdLODJQv7Ia9mVeVLzSnsHPKri-UC6A7mo9CJp4LSFvT1LAEJp4bHLO/s1600/nakednow_hd_045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLdSLsrTDJMcIOBej0EtuFmhQuKO3gCTpmHDXfTS4YKU-f0O1Ttc7pcmBTOeDDhQRt1qU8ucV1BmYVdmZUuzVl_FdLODJQv7Ia9mVeVLzSnsHPKri-UC6A7mo9CJp4LSFvT1LAEJp4bHLO/s1600/nakednow_hd_045.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Look at the picture above, notice to the left of <i>Geordie</i> - the TOS style Burke chair. Were the set designers trying to tie this ship to the <i>original series e<i>ra?</i></i> This, to my knowledge was the one and only use of TOS style set dressings in TNG. <i><i> </i></i>It's tenuous, but this plus the relatively low registries of the early <i>Oberth </i>class starships we saw; I think, make these points fodder for the argument of these ships having been, if not built and produced in that era, at least <i>present</i> during that time. And that subsequent appearances of these ships were possibly of ships that were either refitted with new technology or newer builds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFmM8nwzOI-avB3phVdqa1UFarNemw_k9G5P8fIly32CmeF_nT9FFY5Z-yMSH8hCvLI3XYHvhdL0EwtnbQBeaqJfwfknjOWCu6wnBMce7Qn3Ts7CTD5gXlNOhDmpZYqMVYfWYb87aFt9M/s1600/nakednow_hd_043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFmM8nwzOI-avB3phVdqa1UFarNemw_k9G5P8fIly32CmeF_nT9FFY5Z-yMSH8hCvLI3XYHvhdL0EwtnbQBeaqJfwfknjOWCu6wnBMce7Qn3Ts7CTD5gXlNOhDmpZYqMVYfWYb87aFt9M/s1600/nakednow_hd_043.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1960's style "tulip" chair seen to the right of Geordie </i></td></tr>
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My own opinion is that these ships were likely new as of the 2280's, possibly brand new as of the first appearance of one with the <i>U.S.S. Grissom</i>. However, I do fancy the idea of these ships having been designed and built in the 2260's and why not? Being science ships they wouldn't need the power and technology of those ships on the 'front line' or those meant to explore the outer reaches of space. Even if they're new as of the 2280's they clearly had longevity having lasted at least a century.<br />
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The ship <i>looks </i>kind of 60's-ish and lacks a great deal of detail, like ships of the <i>original series</i> era (<i>2260's)</i>. I'd love to build a model of one with TOS<i> style </i>registry and pennants.<br />
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- <i>Spaced out blogger</i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-17511613102688624762015-04-23T17:02:00.001-07:002015-04-23T17:04:27.382-07:00A quick analysis of the background ships from Star Trek: The Next Generation <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJkHZtDvfGHySg81GWwyT-8FCj9dmm0SIi1CyY5YIEvDdOYDwjH0dIYZ0z6pNjQWZ0awdXrwg5JSBkNI1CYtrCrYHXMUtSn1X5T02rAOUrAAcvJEBAF1rYq5yMA0_L8YSE0RYoXpf2ElH/s1600/Hood_with_Enterprise-D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJkHZtDvfGHySg81GWwyT-8FCj9dmm0SIi1CyY5YIEvDdOYDwjH0dIYZ0z6pNjQWZ0awdXrwg5JSBkNI1CYtrCrYHXMUtSn1X5T02rAOUrAAcvJEBAF1rYq5yMA0_L8YSE0RYoXpf2ElH/s1600/Hood_with_Enterprise-D.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you're like me than you're fascinated by background models and props. That is, models and props used in Film and Television. You might also ask, "What is a background model or prop?" Well, it is an item that was not given a close-up or if it was it was seen only briefly and from a distance. For example, the Navy ships used at the end of the film "The Abyss". Or the kitbashed Starships<i> </i>as seen in several episodes of <i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</i>. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKNAifgR3QiHJceo52JvHvdsY01x94NMmE3EiV76DIwcbJeVZZAPRPhOAV9NIQLQpDF39e0dcLiS4DS0-vVotWRXzNqHjJb5qYeqBr9h08vuioTJJy4e4aXCGI5p5U81T97QYkb67Je25/s1600/USS_Stargazer,_profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKNAifgR3QiHJceo52JvHvdsY01x94NMmE3EiV76DIwcbJeVZZAPRPhOAV9NIQLQpDF39e0dcLiS4DS0-vVotWRXzNqHjJb5qYeqBr9h08vuioTJJy4e4aXCGI5p5U81T97QYkb67Je25/s1600/USS_Stargazer,_profile.jpg" height="133" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>U.S.S. Stargazer</i></td></tr>
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Let us start with the <i>Constellation class</i> <i>U.S.S. Stargazer</i>. The model having been featured in several episodes of <i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i> and featured originally as <i>Captain Picard's</i> first command. The registry (<i>NCC-2893)</i> and interior sets suggest that it is a ship of the late-23rd early 24th centuries. It seems to have been a tradition of that time to use ships for 100 or more years as we see ships of the <i>Oberth, Miranda and Excelsior classes </i>bolstering the Starfleet. Real world reason being that it was far cheaper to re-use models than to create new ones, still even after they had more modern ship models they continued to use the old <i>Star Trek </i>movie-era models. Funny enough the model built for the <i>Stargazer </i>was brand new and was created in place of using the <i>Enterprise </i>refit model for the episode "<i>The Battle"</i>, hence the class name of <i>Constellation</i>.<br />
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One of the things I've noticed about the models built and modified for <i>TNG,</i> more often than not, featured strange dishes, antennae and protrusions. These features seem quite anachronistic for the era as we hadn't seen such things since the original <i>Enterprise</i> and her "Sensor"/ Deflector dish. Features which are more akin to things seen on <i>Star Wars </i>ships, they seem somewhat out of place on <i>Star Trek </i>ships. As a child I used to call the movie era and pre-TNG ships the "Junk" era of <i>Star Trek </i>as the ships seemed encrusted with greeblies, bits and bobs. <i>Picards Stargazer </i>and those of her class being the <i>most</i> obvious examples of such. What purpose did these things serve? Were they sensors as some on the production have speculated? Or were they instead Phaser cannons? That would seem to be an unpopular and indeed a very un-<i> Trek </i>like feature. One of the commonalities of the more 'greeblified' (<i>Constellation, Miranda, Soyuz) </i>ships is the distinct lack of a Deflector dish, did these things make up for a lack of that? . <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0Bzqn6oUkSz2zCIGLEDyXT761Eu96-kmmS_IOm00movhqcgwiUhpGiY6BarTw_UvE_crx7eFjfGvGM68CGdP8iQ7S-6raybGPELNXU_BaTnhrBSfh2CEzSKXi9aUQ8t9z5l5ipXRkMgi/s1600/USS_Bozeman_studio_model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0Bzqn6oUkSz2zCIGLEDyXT761Eu96-kmmS_IOm00movhqcgwiUhpGiY6BarTw_UvE_crx7eFjfGvGM68CGdP8iQ7S-6raybGPELNXU_BaTnhrBSfh2CEzSKXi9aUQ8t9z5l5ipXRkMgi/s1600/USS_Bozeman_studio_model.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Soyuz class U.S.S. Bozeman</i></td></tr>
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My first impression of the <i>Soyuz </i>class is: It evokes the feeling of a WWII Destroyer or Battleship with it's many "sensor" cannons and blisters. It's registry also fits well with that theme (<i>NCC-1941) </i>It's clear quite a lot of work went into the conversion of the <i>Miranda (Reliant) </i>into the <i>Soyuz</i> (<i>Bozeman)</i>. Shame we didn't see more of it, but the episode suggests that even by <i>TNG</i> standards the ship was old. I wonder, were these ships a dubious flirtation with alternate technologies, technologies which clearly never really caught on since the only other ship we see with dishes and protrusions is the <i>U.S.S. Saratoga</i> seen in the pilot for <i>Deep Space Nine</i>, which by the way was never seen again, nor were any other ships like it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit00sgIF4immEOAA4ZZJuLq3ypBIaQ6tKCmcxsufXrj09MatEzwvZwRVI1z99LMuuOIiZqTTMi7Qdi0ZUsSdJrIJiYoSdGkhjZptHFU4ZjiTpJM3TvZjndpUwFT6PjOkUgvrQwzRW0MwFL/s1600/USS_Saratoga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit00sgIF4immEOAA4ZZJuLq3ypBIaQ6tKCmcxsufXrj09MatEzwvZwRVI1z99LMuuOIiZqTTMi7Qdi0ZUsSdJrIJiYoSdGkhjZptHFU4ZjiTpJM3TvZjndpUwFT6PjOkUgvrQwzRW0MwFL/s1600/USS_Saratoga.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhi9DyyGLMKsP84PQjeL2-dp7fQJuDYmLgE61_FVrqTz0U-jlczPFg2SaFU7Ma5bZO9pcDWq4PDioXYtcoJyTPfGQfvz9UuqvbN4SlbZs6g79aeVEVDzcxbnDzDVNPbNwfMpguPVSDP1o/s1600/saratogasensor.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhi9DyyGLMKsP84PQjeL2-dp7fQJuDYmLgE61_FVrqTz0U-jlczPFg2SaFU7Ma5bZO9pcDWq4PDioXYtcoJyTPfGQfvz9UuqvbN4SlbZs6g79aeVEVDzcxbnDzDVNPbNwfMpguPVSDP1o/s1600/saratogasensor.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Sensor protrusions on the U.S.S. Saratoga</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEVU4y8Rml2HwGMzir3BuUhsXTxQFg4TFo2AUl_bUmiYopt9MNrFaxC1pb3AXO0uDIlRBDix0CQ7tYthBg47y5OYXjYG0kpmulgHJbmtpYMAZ0ad-I4aQXvDvu_lRoJ7BCTusejmDVNnK/s1600/saratoga2_model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEVU4y8Rml2HwGMzir3BuUhsXTxQFg4TFo2AUl_bUmiYopt9MNrFaxC1pb3AXO0uDIlRBDix0CQ7tYthBg47y5OYXjYG0kpmulgHJbmtpYMAZ0ad-I4aQXvDvu_lRoJ7BCTusejmDVNnK/s1600/saratoga2_model.jpg" height="155" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQX1GuN_dhTtBgruWDCKi6Z1y-GcGmuNFranM1bHEL4_3bBKaQ8gVGzUhlOvtGTNASeMNIaezmrExKzGjiFf_rtfp76S7YscECG0sDPTHkRYr08RVCFNzWqRkaSJCb7iwu7eIFhQekFi2P/s1600/Drex+Files+in+Exile+Star+Trek+Art+Department+Fleet+Yard+Doug+Drexler+USS+Saratoga+Miranda+class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQX1GuN_dhTtBgruWDCKi6Z1y-GcGmuNFranM1bHEL4_3bBKaQ8gVGzUhlOvtGTNASeMNIaezmrExKzGjiFf_rtfp76S7YscECG0sDPTHkRYr08RVCFNzWqRkaSJCb7iwu7eIFhQekFi2P/s1600/Drex+Files+in+Exile+Star+Trek+Art+Department+Fleet+Yard+Doug+Drexler+USS+Saratoga+Miranda+class.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>On a special note, notice the details on this 'breakaway' model of the Saratoga for DS9's "The Emissary", it has decals or stickers representing the detail parts. Also notice the Enterprise refit warp nacelles mounted on a Reliant type ship! Pretty cool...</i></td></tr>
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Clearly these ships and their strange features were one-offs created for production reasons and likely weren't meant to be analyzed. They were simply meant to 'flesh out' these background ships and to differentiate them even further from their on-screen counterpart. <br />
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- <i>Spaced out blogger</i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-1424137836342696402015-04-17T16:25:00.000-07:002015-04-17T16:25:05.836-07:00Star Wars: The Force Awakens props, costumes and models<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-OC2FKxAXoJtrsYL_pSKwwo3JmxWVUJI1CDiPL-e1mhpw9kvW9TM8WHc_C7A1tqH01F1OPh3b8Q7W1Qm8fjw5LZYLHhUJS4FCbaJKAM1xh-ac7fvF4uA3ELjqveSuOGLhjeckITRIYx1/s1600/zzrkfb3fui45zs5mlqgv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-OC2FKxAXoJtrsYL_pSKwwo3JmxWVUJI1CDiPL-e1mhpw9kvW9TM8WHc_C7A1tqH01F1OPh3b8Q7W1Qm8fjw5LZYLHhUJS4FCbaJKAM1xh-ac7fvF4uA3ELjqveSuOGLhjeckITRIYx1/s1600/zzrkfb3fui45zs5mlqgv.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New "Flame Trooper" as seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Episode 7</i></td></tr>
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Most who read this blog might think me only a fan of <i>Star Trek. </i>Not true, I am also a fan of <i>Star Wars (</i>Though the prequels obliterated any interest I had in <i>Star Wars</i>) and <i>iO9</i> recently released pictures of some of the props, models and costumes on display at the <i>Star Wars celebration. </i>I wanted to take a moment to comment on some of what is on display.<br />
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http://io9.com/star-wars-costumes-and-props-reveal-new-characters-for-1698341539 <br />
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<i>Millennium Falcon</i>:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVM8etEbs_javz1XcoI74tNxeUis0syEL0ad3jIgkSiLPWy7egjy4i9lZwmJjvjAwHpMQKR8gCb9UgUDuf4yotuT9LlOg8tMFdsCQz7J0pS6p1_Xqg0gFzfRjSUhEdnTXRWei8HXdfd47q/s1600/xhhautqndtlqwl2wllxe.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVM8etEbs_javz1XcoI74tNxeUis0syEL0ad3jIgkSiLPWy7egjy4i9lZwmJjvjAwHpMQKR8gCb9UgUDuf4yotuT9LlOg8tMFdsCQz7J0pS6p1_Xqg0gFzfRjSUhEdnTXRWei8HXdfd47q/s1600/xhhautqndtlqwl2wllxe.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Model of Millennium Falcon as seen in <i>Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i></td></tr>
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Probably my favorite ship from <i>Star Wars </i>as a child, these days I'm not as excited about it as I once was. That said, I am glad to see it again on screen and with a new (Square) Radar dish! Which is apparently a <b>stock</b> Correllian unit whereas the original was a custom military grade if we're to believe "<i>Incredible cross-sections of Star Wars: The ultimate guide to Star Wars vehicles and spacecraft". </i>Beyond the nostalgia associated with it and it's inclusion in the new <i>Star Wars </i>films and it's minor alterations, there's really nothing new to write home about with this one.<br />
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<i>New X-wing fighter or T-70 fighter:</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ID35_dE7S_07YKl7nKLDygU9ehrqLLfQOKr1VfUot66BYBE9nOUjUAbmojs1uvs-llXjwSuHexUF4FfL9GxvVWbzMVUugxyjWJAq1ePsCYvtr-DYJB_zPxP3N-wK0Ph8E0tPLGMnZwrn/s1600/ifixnqt777jwqoyb88ey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9ID35_dE7S_07YKl7nKLDygU9ehrqLLfQOKr1VfUot66BYBE9nOUjUAbmojs1uvs-llXjwSuHexUF4FfL9GxvVWbzMVUugxyjWJAq1ePsCYvtr-DYJB_zPxP3N-wK0Ph8E0tPLGMnZwrn/s1600/ifixnqt777jwqoyb88ey.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New X-wing fighter or T-70 as seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens</i></td></tr>
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Ah yes, now we get to the new meat-on-the-bone. A new ship for a new era, hearkening back to the classic <i>X-wing fighter</i>, the <i>T-70</i> puts a new-old spin on the craft by taking a cue from artist<i> Ralph McQuarrie's </i>original concept art for the <i>X-wing. </i>Note the larger engine intakes which split at the center line. <i> </i>Also note the shorter, sleeker fuselage. The only thing I don't care for is how the wings split. I would have also thought that technology would have advanced considerably following the disbanding of the Empire. I guess in the <i>Star Wars </i>universe the tech only advances as much as plot requires. In other words, not very much. <br />
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<i>Flame Trooper:</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDxVP6FsunAaGWwENh78pbYmS3WP-YLA3HuXNoBy9W02tfHcSGDnH6sPGK0shoL0Fyj0QWBWiEs_WFLLwRPPp0WiZ6_N0ZuQde7bpMjqugnY-KrIHSi7CTTt7fmYIOao1CmxLT0R4lAbF/s1600/zzb2b813qalida25ida5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvDxVP6FsunAaGWwENh78pbYmS3WP-YLA3HuXNoBy9W02tfHcSGDnH6sPGK0shoL0Fyj0QWBWiEs_WFLLwRPPp0WiZ6_N0ZuQde7bpMjqugnY-KrIHSi7CTTt7fmYIOao1CmxLT0R4lAbF/s1600/zzb2b813qalida25ida5.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Flame Trooper helmet</i></td></tr>
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<i> </i>My second new favorite thing from <i>Episode 7, </i>the <i>Flame Trooper Helmet</i>. I'm one of the few people who never <i>"got" </i>the love of the vac-u-formed <i>Storm Trooper armor. </i>I just found it looking cheesy. <i>Now however, </i>this new <i>Flame Trooper armor </i>and it's <i>Storm Trooper </i>equivalent have me desiring my own helmet for the first time. If anyone out there has or have access to the original molds, I'd love a copy of either. You know, just for wearing around the house! Thing is, it looks rather difficult to see out of without the aid of some kind of computer imaging.<br />
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<i>Finn's shoes:</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVfkYHA3R7G7KqzCNCd8n3jccVYZHn-m41G-KjDDwwAtRn1rw2xdBzUVh5w5hpgIEjk_oK6nd99MAJR_bq8s2G-fVeU1yw6ZC4AeYvBBwuuO9H_Gn2Qcmq45iwQEEt-2p0hAU7wdJDUar/s1600/hhiuix7tm9k2mdrgaeaq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVfkYHA3R7G7KqzCNCd8n3jccVYZHn-m41G-KjDDwwAtRn1rw2xdBzUVh5w5hpgIEjk_oK6nd99MAJR_bq8s2G-fVeU1yw6ZC4AeYvBBwuuO9H_Gn2Qcmq45iwQEEt-2p0hAU7wdJDUar/s1600/hhiuix7tm9k2mdrgaeaq.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I want a pair! They look like 80's Earth standard. Tennis shoes... in <i>Star Wars. </i>Too cool.<br />
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I love the implication that these models make, specifically that the new movie is using physical modeling for it's effects! Unless these were made for J.J. Abrams personal use. ;) Or publicity purposes, which is certainly possible; they did the same thing for <i>Star Trek 2009. </i>I must say I hope they were used to make the film. Physical model making is a dying art, assuming these weren't "grown" (Though even that requires art and skill). <br />
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<i>Random thoughts...</i><br />
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<i>-Spaced out blogger </i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-90446844752951772082015-04-13T20:38:00.000-07:002015-04-14T09:49:26.011-07:00The Ed Miarecki Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Phaser or how I learned to love "Yesterday's Enterprise"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUJKLYuU1hlfRhAmMNr9DOE-oASRtUyv0sS9aA2BWCY7IhvkvIIgftUFF4CJlDNf260vyuiLEmTLvRgJu1pRUeXvOVm4n1wQ9o0oH26mTzQixo_nJP4LR_k0iYg_ryxEE9NnsnhgGK0TO/s1600/0412151601-00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUJKLYuU1hlfRhAmMNr9DOE-oASRtUyv0sS9aA2BWCY7IhvkvIIgftUFF4CJlDNf260vyuiLEmTLvRgJu1pRUeXvOVm4n1wQ9o0oH26mTzQixo_nJP4LR_k0iYg_ryxEE9NnsnhgGK0TO/s1600/0412151601-00.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed Miarecki Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Phaser</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Ah, the Phaser from the TNG episode <i>"Yesterday's Enterprise"</i>. Originally a fan-convention special produced by fan and prop maker Ed Miarecki, it was meant to be a replica of the Phaser from <i>Star Trek: The Motion Picture</i> and <i>Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan</i>, it was yanked for use in the TNG episode as a quick and dirty solution to the need for an anachronistic out-of-date Phaser for the crew of the <i>Enterprise-C</i>.<br />
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The example above is a rather poor casting of the <i>EM (Ed Miarecki, heretofore known as EM) </i>Phaser. Sporting a kind of mottled paint job, a number of seam lines and a glued-on sticker-type control pad; this Phaser is quite the mess. Thankfully, it only cost me $40 dollars from a seller on ebay, who also claimed it had fan-made electronics (unfortunately for me he never claimed them functional). Despite that, this Phaser exudes sleek streamlined futurism straight out of <i>Flash Gordon; </i>in fact, put a "rocket style" fin on the top and it could easily pass for one of <i>Flash's </i>sidearms.<br />
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Unlike it's <i>Original Series</i> predecessor, it features long un-broken lines and a comfortable grip. It fits the hand like it was meant for it. However, it differs in some ways from it's intended on-screen counterpart (<i>The Phaser from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). </i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0Rvv-qY1Glt9NXljSZTK5yArfEIkYP6fSr32SXl4y0rJlVJGGa7AnKg0_ExC1CAjNZ-DJ949JB4VWqrPzgfklFpxsyekzGBaFYMwgOMM8E3HEDA7YqffC7w7uSCGnGzq3UNsKwKEgW5W/s1600/WOKphaser1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL0Rvv-qY1Glt9NXljSZTK5yArfEIkYP6fSr32SXl4y0rJlVJGGa7AnKg0_ExC1CAjNZ-DJ949JB4VWqrPzgfklFpxsyekzGBaFYMwgOMM8E3HEDA7YqffC7w7uSCGnGzq3UNsKwKEgW5W/s1600/WOKphaser1.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the actual screen-used background or "dummy" Phasers. Picture taken from recent auction.</td></tr>
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<i> </i>Comparing the two images above, you will note the <i>EM </i>Phaser is longer and thinner, with a much simpler grip. <i> </i>Not evident in the images is that the <i>EM </i>Phaser is also wider. This has the affect of 'streamlining' the weapon.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmH7gpJoG6Ciefk3B8euRvk5TZFCx8mqNwCYGvZms_6wl8ZugIyx6I_OlphlTvb2wWChqe-UwOwX04fMFTcDmKwYgh8jAbzsIMzDpqEIuc-l-ZxMfEE7Vh18Cfec9K-EoPF5vztDM9cHN/s1600/moviepistol1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmH7gpJoG6Ciefk3B8euRvk5TZFCx8mqNwCYGvZms_6wl8ZugIyx6I_OlphlTvb2wWChqe-UwOwX04fMFTcDmKwYgh8jAbzsIMzDpqEIuc-l-ZxMfEE7Vh18Cfec9K-EoPF5vztDM9cHN/s1600/moviepistol1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An artists rendering of the <i>EM</i> Phaser (Phasers.net)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWV7Y6GMFPgq2AP_PLIV6Y-DsI_N7seXvccaams4CSzPrUuWsQYYico2VykmnSqbX7eDj8fiSP9d9FImZAWAGIp7sgQAWjrxY3Lo66EOR6cJH0pEsnmuHNkrGmO97ncLqU2UvgV2haVRJY/s1600/Star-Trek-II-The-Wrath-of-Khan-TWOK-Phaser-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWV7Y6GMFPgq2AP_PLIV6Y-DsI_N7seXvccaams4CSzPrUuWsQYYico2VykmnSqbX7eDj8fiSP9d9FImZAWAGIp7sgQAWjrxY3Lo66EOR6cJH0pEsnmuHNkrGmO97ncLqU2UvgV2haVRJY/s1600/Star-Trek-II-The-Wrath-of-Khan-TWOK-Phaser-1.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A re-purposed vac-u-formed <i>Ed Miarecki </i>Phaser originally made for "<i>Yesterday's Enterprise"</i></td></tr>
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The Phaser replicas <i>EM</i> sold at conventions were solid-cast resin and were quite heavy. The necessities of Television production prohibited such heavy props, so <i>EM</i> vac-u-formed over one of his Phasers, creating hollow replicas for use in the episode. The prop Phasers were never seen doing anything more than hanging from the actors uniforms so lighting effects were unnecessary. When antique Starfleet Phasers were needed for the episode <i>"Final Mission", EM </i>took one of the Phaser props he created for <i>"Yesterday's Enterprise", </i>re-painted it, added lights to it, a grip and sent it to the producers for approval. They instead decided to use the Phasers from <i>Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. </i><br />
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The Phaser seen above is from a private collection.<br />
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-<i>The Spaced-out Blogger </i>Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-77469104327832237592015-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:002015-04-05T19:26:06.462-07:00The Polar Lights original starship Enterprise (NCC-1701) model kitOh so long ago back in 2003, the only models of the original <i>U.S.S. Enterprise</i> were all AMT kits and all of them were horribly inaccurate. Enter: Polar Lights, the unintentional successor of AMT and their beautifully accurate 1/1000 scale model of the original Starship <i>Enterprise. </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBb8ztZkx80z6VyNCye5KDB22jggdKDgOW0UTF9x3J98-golqYUtrjRz4IJkhDokbxbK5u_8kcBXyjDcYs0bY0GtL-LXUGbCD9GPerc-j_Bmq1exjybg_WqEd7vp1VJBqOrn-4Iklm1IK2/s1600/Polar_Lights_Model_kit_PL4200_USS_Enterprise_2003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBb8ztZkx80z6VyNCye5KDB22jggdKDgOW0UTF9x3J98-golqYUtrjRz4IJkhDokbxbK5u_8kcBXyjDcYs0bY0GtL-LXUGbCD9GPerc-j_Bmq1exjybg_WqEd7vp1VJBqOrn-4Iklm1IK2/s1600/Polar_Lights_Model_kit_PL4200_USS_Enterprise_2003.jpg" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
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A gorgeous kit. 11.5 inches in length. A 3 in 1 kit, what that means is that there are parts to build three different versions of the <i>Enterprise</i>! First pilot version, second pilot version and production version. It also contains decals to render a "Mirror Universe" version of the ship which was represented by the <i>second </i>pilot version of the <i>Enterprise</i>. The kit was marketed as a snap-tite as are all Polar lights 1/1000 kits, but I would suggest using glue as the kit has some parts that will not stay put using only hand pressure.<br />
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<i>A few tips on building the kit:</i><br />
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The instructions suggest building the kit in sub-sections, that will be necessary for the secondary hull, but I've found that with the primary hull (<i>saucer section)</i>, it is best to attach the bottom of the saucer first to the secondary hull (<i>snapping it in place then gluing the tabs</i>), then attaching the planetary sensor (<i>As it is attached from the inside, you will need to insert and paint it before you attach the top of the saucer</i> <i>as you will the Impulse engine</i>). This gives you a nice firm, straight saucer!<br />
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Moving on to the engines. The attachment tab on the warp nacelle pylon is too thick and will need to be cut on only <i>one </i>side of the pylons, the remaining side will be sanded down some as will the insert hole in the Warp engine itself. Sand and check until you are satisfied that the engine will be straight upon gluing. Sand the attachment hole in the Warp nacelle at a horizontal 90 degree angle, this will ensure a straight, flush fit on for the engines!<br />
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<i>Next is paint:</i><br />
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One of the most common questions asked about the original <i>Enterprise</i> is "<i>What color is it?"</i> Well, that's a pretty tough question to answer. There are many opinions on the answer to that question. My answer is to buy the "<i>Space seed" </i>edition of the kit (<i>Released in 2014)</i> as it is molded in the correct green/gray color. If purchasing that kit is not an option, I've found that "<i>Krylon pewter gray"</i> is a nice <i>"out of the can"</i> solution. If possible you can mix your own colors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZM4Xo-Wm5kvLD6DBBsYvu_210pEMK0zv0mAVVOPvwA0pVcJ8YBnM6f_m581GsPvf8w-7jFe9q4o8nBlOkF5-9qh1eU3sXCYyyTVdXiRH3mrlDQIVUh_7P1DYXZqU7Uwv-2wrRBkaLDZZ/s1600/POL908-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZM4Xo-Wm5kvLD6DBBsYvu_210pEMK0zv0mAVVOPvwA0pVcJ8YBnM6f_m581GsPvf8w-7jFe9q4o8nBlOkF5-9qh1eU3sXCYyyTVdXiRH3mrlDQIVUh_7P1DYXZqU7Uwv-2wrRBkaLDZZ/s1600/POL908-2.jpg" height="222" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 "Space Seed" edition</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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That is pretty much it for this kit. It is a breeze to build out of the box and gives the builder lots of options. I've built more than a dozen of them just for the joy of building them, if you or your little one love <i>Star Trek </i>and would like a nice, manageable sized model of the first <i>Enterprise</i> this would be the kit to get.<br />
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<i>Happy modeling! </i><br />
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<i>-Spaced out blogger </i> <br />
Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-69974632016928226242015-04-04T18:24:00.000-07:002015-04-04T21:20:29.382-07:00"We are one big happy fleet!" Reliant (Miranda class) musingsAh Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, everyones supposed favorite and supposedly the <i>best</i> of the Star Trek movies; well I find that debatable. Regardless of my feelings, it did introduce Star Trek's first new Starship and one of the most enduring designs of the franchise. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCOAulswAIb8iKLY4qUUPyguZRq0rieigVs5__kFixS5c2F30aTRcXCIInn9fZnpJItRKN1wL572bQ7w66DfrQ7EpTQaJUGqnnAAHn6mIpFmX0ZXZbBAHdBOMhCT3zq_wB6QmweWjxL1P/s1600/USS_Reliant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCOAulswAIb8iKLY4qUUPyguZRq0rieigVs5__kFixS5c2F30aTRcXCIInn9fZnpJItRKN1wL572bQ7w66DfrQ7EpTQaJUGqnnAAHn6mIpFmX0ZXZbBAHdBOMhCT3zq_wB6QmweWjxL1P/s1600/USS_Reliant.jpg" height="134" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S.S. Reliant</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The ship originally had no class designation. Fandom called it the "<i>Avenger</i>" class. It was later given the class name "<i>Miranda"</i> in Star Trek: The next generation. A name that I never cared for. The ship was an instant classic and quite the hit with fans, despite that it took more than a decade after the films release for there to be a model kit produced. That is a <i>long</i> time for a kid, needless to say that when a kit finally <i>was</i> released in 1994 by the AMT corporation, I was all over it. Immediately built it right out of the package and never even thought about painting it. Well, times have changed as has my techniques and I can say happily that I now own a 1/1000 scale model produced by the AMT successor "<i>Polar Lights"</i>. The kit is a joy to build and I recommend it highly.<br />
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I've been going over the design for the past few weeks and have begun looking at it differently; for the longest time I simply accepted the design without putting much thought into the 'why' behind it. Now, I'm asking some real tough questions of the ship using all information of the time and the benefit of hindsight.<br />
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First we'll begin by looking at the true origins of the Ship known as Reliant - the screenplay. The screenplay says this about the Reliant:<br />
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<span class="postbody">"EXT. DEEP SPACE - NEAR CETI ALPHA V 7
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In f.g. is the U.S.S. RELIANT, an older, somewhat
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battered Starship of the ENTERPRISE class, with a
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</span><span class="postbody"> </span>slightly different configuration"<br />
<span class="postbody"></span><br />
<span class="postbody">"Enterprise class with a slightly different configuration" That could mean anything, obviously the ship wasn't even in the design phase at the time that description was written so let's ignore it. Let us focus on this - "<i>U.S.S. Reliant, an older, somewhat battered Starship"; </i>now that I find intriguing. I always took the Reliant as a newer, better equipped contemporary of the Enterprise. But the writers (<i>and director)</i> intended for the ship to be older and in worse condition - lesser than the Enterprise. Indeed a case could be made for that from certain clues not only in the design but in the film itself. </span><br />
<br />
<span class="postbody">Let's take what we see of the ship first: It matches the Enterprise visually with regard to it's engines, same impulse engines, same warp engines, same bridge. In that way it is comparable technologically to it's in-film adversary - The Enterprise. But what of the equipment or '<i>greeblies' </i>on the outside? What purpose do <i>they</i> serve? We see that the ship lacks a Deflector dish, it possesses the three round details around the Enterprises deflector- they are positioned two on the saucer and one on the "<i>Weapons pod"</i> of the Reliant. Suggesting that the system exists on that ship and would seem to be a necessary component as all Enterprises have them. Could the rest of the details on the Reliant be connected or rather a replacement for the deflector? </span>In later classes or variants of the Miranda class we can see the ship <i>without</i> the roll-bar and as such missing that part of it's deflector system; obviously it is not necessary for the ship to have as it has existed without it.<br />
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Are the details on the outside of the ship meant to suggest that it is somehow older, lesser, not as sophisticated or refined as the Enterprise? I'm quite fond of the idea that the Reliant is an older ship and not as good as the Enterprise, despite it seeming like the better of the two in the film; though that was probably due to the Reliant catching Kirk and crew off guard in their sneak attack, leaving the Enterprise horribly crippled throughout the film. I doubt if the Enterprise were in top condition that the Reliant would be much of a threat, despite it clearly having more weapons. And what of those weapons? What mission type would necessitate <i>that </i>many weapons? The ship possesses no less than <b>four</b> torpedo launchers and <b>sixteen!</b> Phaser banks. Talk about being gunned up!<br />
<br />
The case could be made that the Enterprise was more of a science and exploratory ship where as the Reliant was more of a patrol/destroyer meant to patrol the neutral zone and as such was given a greater number of weapons. Add to that it's ability to 'jam' sensors and you've got quite a lethal ship. So why then was it supposed to be "an older, battered starship"? The ships registry (NCC-1864) suggests that it is newer than the Enterprise (NCC-1701), possibly by several decades. Could the ships history point to an answer? Let's say it <i>was </i>a patrol ship, plying the Federation border for most of it's life; and let's say it encountered an inordinate number of battles? That might suggest a reason why such a gunned-up ship like the Reliant was relegated to surveying planets in known Federation space. An old warhorse (Which Harve Bennett R.I.P seemed quite fond of - look to his Starfleet Academy script and the 'old' Enterprise for another example) put out to pasture a bit early due to a severe service life.<br />
<br />
That said, there is nothing in the film which suggests that this ship is anything less than the Enterprise. Indeed, the Enterprise herself is relegated to a 'training vessel', something that in <i>real </i>naval terms means the ship is one step from the scrap yard.<br />
<br />
I do however like the idea of the Reliant being an old beater of a starship. Though I also like the idea of a rather small starfleet (A couple of hundred ships or so), I think it makes the universe seem smaller and our heroes seem a bit bigger. Make of that what you will.<br />
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Another point is the disposition of the Reliant's crew <i>before</i> Khan exiled them; they seemed as though they'd almost welcome banishment! Go back and watch, everyone including Kyle seems bored to tears and wanting to do <i>anything</i> but surveying planets for a bunch of kooky scientists! Perhaps that's why Terrell and his group of TOS castaways pulled such a shitty assignment, their bad attitude coupled with a cannon fodder of a Captain and they could all probably see the writing on the wall. Those guys were fucked before they left Spacedock.<br />
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Variants.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMvLv4sDhfv439o8ltdT1H82vmiYpSvgwM_OlxgZlinzg90CbOfRt55IOyFG5NCG6RFyLiHbeuZ5FJ2s3wlxU8X6gbLuWjupnjV77zDNd1D3YahyVGqrd3dpa8JtEV4iFNIZdRDjC9gJd/s1600/USS_Lantree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmMvLv4sDhfv439o8ltdT1H82vmiYpSvgwM_OlxgZlinzg90CbOfRt55IOyFG5NCG6RFyLiHbeuZ5FJ2s3wlxU8X6gbLuWjupnjV77zDNd1D3YahyVGqrd3dpa8JtEV4iFNIZdRDjC9gJd/s1600/USS_Lantree.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S.S. Lantree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The variants of the Miranda class might also suggest that this ship is a POS. Let's take it's first appearance on TNG - The <i>U.S.S. Lantree</i> designated a class 3 supply ship with a handful of people aboard. No weapons bar (Not an intentional decision, see the reason <a href="http://tv-tastic.com/2011/04/16/drexfiles-fantastic-behind-the-scenes-star-trek-video-of-the-u-s-s-reliant-filming-model-the-voyager-bridge-set/">here</a>).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcX04spS3kWyXmvCYDLxam6kPr87xmWVpR2pLxsIt_DK5WgzQMJVrzN2N_aZXsTJW6voBzaX14a-Qk4_ZbNjVikIV9NWIn_kKGscWD2Nt-mlwMP8z1R3BHEkk3c7Lmmt156xfBqOM1RVs/s1600/Miranda_Class_studio_model_dressed_as_USS_Lantree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcX04spS3kWyXmvCYDLxam6kPr87xmWVpR2pLxsIt_DK5WgzQMJVrzN2N_aZXsTJW6voBzaX14a-Qk4_ZbNjVikIV9NWIn_kKGscWD2Nt-mlwMP8z1R3BHEkk3c7Lmmt156xfBqOM1RVs/s1600/Miranda_Class_studio_model_dressed_as_USS_Lantree.jpg" height="201" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lantree filming model.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Soyuz class.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvKBubU_wuT-Z64opJDXYT5hJDtn2hk5NmGwV1Fqai3WnjJ0QnT_IwdEN8r3NpXF-KM7dY_3f5SMIzPKgr-xAVjVjZCZP-uNLWadBb1a2pd801D4PreIkjCMTmpTLeVck2bqXlgaSM5ul/s1600/USS_Bozeman_studio_model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFvKBubU_wuT-Z64opJDXYT5hJDtn2hk5NmGwV1Fqai3WnjJ0QnT_IwdEN8r3NpXF-KM7dY_3f5SMIzPKgr-xAVjVjZCZP-uNLWadBb1a2pd801D4PreIkjCMTmpTLeVck2bqXlgaSM5ul/s1600/USS_Bozeman_studio_model.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AqMdvWMzL65K28Y-Sj5oyrESDBjmpQtPbNXM3ZirXyBNKERYRuXYe1WT9Tys1BqYSt_z1izXPs9sWQ6Gwn4j7YLMLCO6gfG_y5709wqABT5eRWiJ0mqbjd6WSIMADJKzkEFkKXr51-hE/s1600/USS_Bozeman_emerges_from_a_temporal_causality_loop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AqMdvWMzL65K28Y-Sj5oyrESDBjmpQtPbNXM3ZirXyBNKERYRuXYe1WT9Tys1BqYSt_z1izXPs9sWQ6Gwn4j7YLMLCO6gfG_y5709wqABT5eRWiJ0mqbjd6WSIMADJKzkEFkKXr51-hE/s1600/USS_Bozeman_emerges_from_a_temporal_causality_loop.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S.S. Bozeman (NCC-1941) emerging from a "Temporal Causality Loop"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In the TNG episode "<i>Cause and effect"</i> The Enterprise-D is continuously struck and destroyed by a Miranda variant; the U.S.S. Bozeman (NCC-1941). I've loved this variant since it's first appearance on TV. It was quite a unique Starship design in that it had a number of 'sensor blisters' on it all with suspiciously gun-like sensor tubes sticking out of them. It wasn't seen too clearly in the episode but it was clear enough to see the differences. The creation of this new sub-class was obviously a cost-saving measure and required only a minor modification of the old Reliant model. <br />
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Saratoga variant:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXxnHC-EU0Yxj6bnc4LqmeamI2rFhJV90VK_mlHDCicLlFaHnyXD5XKeQl7z3VntWwCuS90JMhv1_xHVecnUYFXBm3ehloG4AoEchc6aBaZZJA9K6R_s3aGJB3jsIhjGJW9pd7vVHVfyE/s1600/USS_Saratoga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXxnHC-EU0Yxj6bnc4LqmeamI2rFhJV90VK_mlHDCicLlFaHnyXD5XKeQl7z3VntWwCuS90JMhv1_xHVecnUYFXBm3ehloG4AoEchc6aBaZZJA9K6R_s3aGJB3jsIhjGJW9pd7vVHVfyE/s1600/USS_Saratoga.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S.S. Saratoga (NCC-31911)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisWvXD8tvRPANIPfGJlV2hqoXjImwPA7m739ao7t0QCJmfGC2V0Bv8Ydk5Y27_yfZl2dIo_33E6ELnrQNE7gS7dHJgKzbN1iGKTVWomwX0jVWz3UjJsGLacLb-F3iMyjZa9pKV6h6sHpg/s1600/saratoga2_model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisWvXD8tvRPANIPfGJlV2hqoXjImwPA7m739ao7t0QCJmfGC2V0Bv8Ydk5Y27_yfZl2dIo_33E6ELnrQNE7gS7dHJgKzbN1iGKTVWomwX0jVWz3UjJsGLacLb-F3iMyjZa9pKV6h6sHpg/s1600/saratoga2_model.jpg" height="155" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S.S. Saratoga filming model</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In the DS9 pilot "<i>Emissary", </i>commander Benjamin Sisko is seen as the first officer of the U.S.S. Saratoga (NCC-31911); a modified Miranda class nearly eighty years after the ship was first introduced. The ship is ultimately destroyed by the Borg in the battle of Wolf 359. It is unique in that it lacks the Reliant's rollbar and is equipped with two large sensor dishes on either side attached to the warp engine pylons. It also strangely fires a Phaser blast from the planetary sensor on the underside of the saucer section (In a similar position as that of the old Enterprise) and not from one of the many Phaser banks located under the saucer. The interiors of the ship show a very modern vessel and not one that seemed to have been built in the 2270's (Like the U.S.S. Reliant), though it is possible that the interiors of the ship had been modernized (A term and practice of many modern navies, a means of lengthening a ships service life.). The Registry would seem to suggest that it is a much more modern vessel. Were Miranda class ships built into the 24th century? Or were they simply modernized, re-equipped and new registries assigned? <br />
<i> </i><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSg77-o86a-UqHDzdwhIyT1fIEUQPoDgmS_Gp9mTNw4EoKEgaTYRK43pqOyozQmKhy_4fCDLI8d1FhOjdm0SIot4offkR0CTjuLMEL_huN1bo_2nGN4Pu_NcEbl1G7VdCtVW0_ExErxG59/s1600/saratoga2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSg77-o86a-UqHDzdwhIyT1fIEUQPoDgmS_Gp9mTNw4EoKEgaTYRK43pqOyozQmKhy_4fCDLI8d1FhOjdm0SIot4offkR0CTjuLMEL_huN1bo_2nGN4Pu_NcEbl1G7VdCtVW0_ExErxG59/s1600/saratoga2.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saratoga model details</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i> </i>- Spaced out bloggerSpaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-61431750608704751822015-04-04T15:47:00.000-07:002015-04-04T15:47:32.846-07:00To boldy go... I'll start this post by saying that I am a <b>huge </b>Trekkie. Star Trek for me is less a show and more an ever evolving, changing part of my life. It started in my childhood, with many a Saturday spent watching Star Trek the original series, falling in love with the characters, their quirks and their adventures. One of the greatest characters of all being the Starship Enterprise, the futuristic space-faring equivalent of an Aircraft carrier. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphEvCFUHDEJzzOHUGSkyGHUQofk6pE0ouQZoG1FpLPO9GZkvP4T67Uir6sTsB-5izepEgaYH21NpWjxDBEwgZH5dX9d7SXL9S0R-LPx5BlQT6O5n0Y7qdUU6tIEtKrGzS_WwYMPf1MN4V/s1600/isthereintruthnobeautyhd0653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphEvCFUHDEJzzOHUGSkyGHUQofk6pE0ouQZoG1FpLPO9GZkvP4T67Uir6sTsB-5izepEgaYH21NpWjxDBEwgZH5dX9d7SXL9S0R-LPx5BlQT6O5n0Y7qdUU6tIEtKrGzS_WwYMPf1MN4V/s1600/isthereintruthnobeautyhd0653.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (NCC-1701)<br />
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The Starship Enterprise was my first fictional, in-animate love. Other kids were falling in love with their dolls and stuffed animals, I fell in love with my model of the Enterprise, so much so that as a six year old I actually cried after the destruction of the Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. I mean real tears, it wasn't pretty.<br />
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The characters of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty and all the rest were wonderful role models for a young outsider trying like hell to understand the world around him. If I found myself lonely and out and about, I could pretend that I was on an alien planet or exploring an abandoned starbase. Nothing stimulated my imagination like Star Trek, it was a series that could literally go any<i>where</i> and do any<i>thing</i>. Later, with the introduction of Star Trek: The Next Generation I found the <i>next </i>generation of role models in the characters of Picard and Data, two of that series' strongest moral centers. When in a predicament, I on occation ask myself, what would Spock or Picard do? I rarely ask what Kirk would do as it would likely land me in jail or riddled with STD's. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQ-Y8QXN1GkgOiPkKE308HZykVkUO6gSFVOXGxtfeAHnAOP_9O_u2iXHsaqeWWwvT8YLoLvJFptbSo4YAHrX0ltpfD7DWIzQerkD8DuwykRK1L_AyNRILH2w1qk1C0X0FKN1FJn10C6G5/s1600/uss_grissom_aft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLQ-Y8QXN1GkgOiPkKE308HZykVkUO6gSFVOXGxtfeAHnAOP_9O_u2iXHsaqeWWwvT8YLoLvJFptbSo4YAHrX0ltpfD7DWIzQerkD8DuwykRK1L_AyNRILH2w1qk1C0X0FKN1FJn10C6G5/s1600/uss_grissom_aft.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0E-H1D4noQOwks01blo8gl1Fi6ItuVcG7-JgGCJs19PTXsHQaJoUIFLDWF07RzHcvMY-z3kRbZ2wKDh-XTSL-I5yI8A_CUl46vp7oi_rR5SjhTx54Ui-DQz2AT7i64Fd9ZknETzRn3pDM/s1600/twokhd0796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0E-H1D4noQOwks01blo8gl1Fi6ItuVcG7-JgGCJs19PTXsHQaJoUIFLDWF07RzHcvMY-z3kRbZ2wKDh-XTSL-I5yI8A_CUl46vp7oi_rR5SjhTx54Ui-DQz2AT7i64Fd9ZknETzRn3pDM/s1600/twokhd0796.jpg" height="134" width="320" /></a></div>
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(<i>From top; U.S.S. Grissom; U.S.S. Reliant; U.S.S. Enterprise) </i><br />
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The Enterprise type was the only Starship we the audience saw until Star Trek: The Motion Picture, when the Enterprise was "refitted" (In reality it was a whole new ship and Model, though we're supposed to believe that it was still the old Enterprise just in a new guise.) And in that film it was still <i>just </i>the Enterprise, until Star Trek II: The wrath of Khan with the introduction of the U.S.S. Reliant and in Star Trek III: The search for Spock we were introduced to no less than <b>five</b> new ships including, the U.S.S. Grissom, U.S.S. Excelsior and a Klingon bird-of-prey. after that I found things to get a bit cluttered as we were introduced to ship after ship none of them having the same impact as the first few, it soon became old hat.<br />
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Now, thirty years in retrospect I find myself stuck in the 80's, building and re-building the same types of models; all of which are either the hero ships from the first series or movies, or designs derived there from. <br />
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These objects have so affected me that I find that I'm surrounding myself with them, immersing myself in the world of Star Trek. Given what Star Trek is and the ideas and ideals it attempts to convey, I can't think of no better obsession, indeed - it was the ideas presented in Star Trek (and familial influence) that gave me the moral center and compass I now possess. As such, I would like to thank those that have expanded the Star Trek universe and those that dared to espouse such beliefs even in a time when such things were blasphemy.<br />
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I would also like to add a side note for the late Leonard Nimoy, you gave me a compassionate hero and persona in the character of Spock and yourself. You will be missed.<br />
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(<i>Live long, and prosper)</i><br />
<br />
-Spaced out blogger<br />
Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8747021303218385601.post-55273336938279896242015-04-04T14:52:00.000-07:002015-04-04T14:52:34.687-07:00The spaced out bloggerHi all!<br />
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I'm "The Spaced out blogger"! And I love all things Science fiction, this blog will be a hodgepodge of ideas, information and just general thoughts about various sci-fi or indeed, life subjects.<br />
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If you've got a question or something useful to add or if you just want to hang and chat feel free to post or drop me a line.<br />
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SOB (Son of a bitch) (Kidding, I mean Spaced Out Blogger)<br />
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<br />Spaced outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15183436441639412729noreply@blogger.com0