The Enterprise E has always been one of my favourite starship designs. It’s sleek and it has little nods to the designs of the previous Enterprises.
I’ve wanted to own this ship for a number of years and now with this re-release of the Art Asylum/ Diamond Select Nemesis version of the ship, I finally got my hands on one. The first thing you notice is how thin the saucer section is. In the past, I have owned the Playmates Voyager and recently, their 2009 movie Enterprise. The 2009 Enterprise looks decidedly chunky next to the E!
The detailing on the E is a massive step up from the minimal detailing on the Playmates ships. It’s the first Art Asylum ship that I’ve owned and I am very impressed with it. Unlike the Playmates ships, this comes fully painted and detailed with all the signage and decals already applied. One thing I didn’t like was that the copyright details were printed quite prominently on the underside of the nacelles. They could have been printed on the bottom of the base.
Talking about the base, it’s very similar to the 2009 movie Enterprise base. It’s black with the bottom part in the shape of the TNG movie Comm. Badge. It has a ball socket that fits into the bottom of the E. You also have an extra battery cover section that doesn’t have the socket, so you have more choices in displaying it. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze to fit into the socket and you need to use a bit of force to make it fit. I was a bit worried that I would break it!
It has lights and sounds activated by a button on the bridge dome. It features 8 sounds that are nice and loud and clear. No muffled sounds here! Sir Patrick Stewart himself orders to “Engage!”, “Ready Phasers”, “Fire All Weapons” and “Battle Stations” accompanied by light and sound effects, such as Phasers, Impulse Engines and Quantum Torpedoes!
It’s a worthwhile addition to any Star Trek collection. It’s a little bit expensive at £35.99 plus £5.50 p&p. But, if I’d have bought a model kit of the E, and factored in the cost of paints, plus the aztecing decals and the amount of time needed to build and paint it. I think that it’s a fair price.
I bought mine from Forbidden Planet.com as they had it for the cheapest price. Make sure you order from the forbiddenplanet.com site. It’s a very strange situation that there are two Forbidden Planet websites! And for some reason the forbiddenplanet.co.uk site sell the Enterprise E for £40. Some places, like Amazon, even sell it for £50!
Written and images by Darren Pickles
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