eFX Enterprise D

Hi All!

We are excited to announce that we are starting our first studio scale model! To commemorate the 25th anniversary of TNG, we are working on an incredible model of the Enterprise D. Greg Jein has generously given to us original castings of the 4 foot model that he made in 1990. (he remade the D for the 3rd season since they wanted a model with more detail)

So here is what we would like to know. Would you like to see a model made exactly as the original model, ie, 4 feet long, or a scaled down version to a more manageable 32-36", like the Master Replicas TOS Enterprise?

Thanks!

Bryan

Wasn't the four footer the one with all of the ugly texture added to it?
I'm not a big fan of the E-D anyway but I definitely wouldn't want that excess plating.
As for size, how large would it be at 1:1000 scale???

eFX said:

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Hi All!

We are excited to announce that we are starting our first studio scale model! To commemorate the 25th anniversary of TNG, we are working on an incredible model of the Enterprise D. Greg Jein has generously given to us original castings of the 4 foot model that he made in 1990. (he remade the D for the 3rd season since they wanted a model with more detail)

So here is what we would like to know. Would you like to see a model made exactly as the original model, ie, 4 feet long, or a scaled down version to a more manageable 32-36", like the Master Replicas TOS Enterprise?

Thanks!

Bryan

The latter for sure for me.

Just to be a pooper, but, isnt an announcement like this a bit of a downright cheek, when customers who have put coin down for seriously delayed items, are left with little or nothing in the way of updates?
Your call by all means, but i call it rather awkard business practice blowing your trumpet with one hand, and thumbing your nose with the other.

lee

Now that I am a "civilian" I can see things from both sides.

As a collector... YES, it is aggravating when we can't get our toys on time. But, having run several businesses, I can tell you that delays are often NOT the fault of company's management.

And you can't stop ALL future product development because a few older projects are delayed. Cash-flow always have to move forward and some new projects sometimes get done and shipped faster than older ones.

It all hinges on the vendors. If you have a factory promising specific delivery dates and they regularly miss those dates (or they don't follow all of your requested changes, OR completely mess up the samples...which happens a LOT) these delays cause a cascade effect on the project schedule.

And there is NOTHING the prop company can do about it.

OF COURSE, they would want the stuff to ship on time. That moves cash-flow forward in the schedule.

I am just saying that many times, there is nothing that can be done about it. So that doesn't mean that the company must STOP all new product development and advertising. That just wouldn't work.

And EVERY replica company has experienced repeated delays. EVERY ONE.

Amen...

eFX said:

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Hi All!

We are excited to announce that we are starting our first studio scale model!

The TIE Fighter isnt studio scale ?

Cool announcement but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that one day we'll see an announcement for the eFX refit movie Enterprise!

The little Bandai version is very cool but I'd love to have a larger scale one done to match up with the scale of the MR TOS Enterprise!

Chris

MonsieurTox said:

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The TIE Fighter isnt studio scale ?

Hmmm, the eFX Studio Scale X-Wing was probably more like (studio-scale x 1.05), so perhaps that doesn't count either?

I personally have no interest in an Enterprise D. It's my least favotite of all of them.

Maybe the first Studio Scale Trek?

The only reason to preserve the original size would be if the product was an actual copy of Jein's work. If the parts are referenced then rebuilt or scaled in 3d then please just make a miniature of the larger E D instead.

My preference would be for the full version. I will not buy a big Enterprise D but I would gladly spend for one with a lineage, especially since it comes from the source in this case.
Any other way and it's not studio scale at all really.

You could also (as a license holder) just build pre-existing styrene kits with slight resin upgrades and over-bright LEDs and charge $5k a pop, too. Apparently Trek fans like that kind of model!

I tease. But seriously, do a four footer.

wouldn't it make more sense to do a studio scale model of the 2 footer, rather than scale the 4 footer down to a non studio scale?





it's still a pretty big ship

I thought that was just an AMT kit... recently rereleased in all clear styrene by Round 2.

Also I would be happy with a Jein 4ft Enterprise D kit.

Honestly, the smaller scale would help keep the price down, (relatively speaking) but as someone said above, Jein's model featured a heave dose of the texturing and detailing. IMO, I'd prefer the smaller scale but in with the ILM's smoother surface, but I realize a "hybrid" may not be possible under the circumstances

Keep the original size - with all the details untouched.

I guess the question is, do you just want a big model of the E-D or do you want a studio scale replica...

if you're scaling down the 4 footer, it's not a replica

if you're doing it 4 feet, it's well outside of most price ranges

if you do the 2 footer, it's both studio scale, and it's a bit more affordable

anyways, you can read about the two footer here:
Galaxy class model - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki

Smaller means more affordable as well, I would not want to see prices higher then the MR TOS E was.

Thanks for the link tgreco, I had no idea these models had been so well documented.

According to the article the Viacom Entertainment Store sold 12 copies of the Jein 4 footer back in 1997. So it's been done, albeit without lights... but what was the price?

Is there room in the license for raw copies? Offer it built at a huge premium.

tgreco said:

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wouldn't it make more sense to do a studio scale model of the 2 footer, rather than scale the 4 footer down to a non studio scale?





it's still a pretty big ship

Boy, Paul Rudd is rocking that moustache, huh?

You should make it to scale with the MR Enterprise.

What would that even be?

its look has to be that of "generations" and not the series.

micdavis said:

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You should make it to scale with the MR Enterprise.

What would that even be?

IIRC, 6' the same as the main filming model.
As much as I dislike the E-D, it WOULD be nice to see both ships (well built) side by side and in the same (large) scale.

What ever size it will be done at, it is sure to be out of most people's price range, especially in this economy.

I think the only way to keep the costs down (for both manufacturer and consumer) is to do what some have suggested here; offer it as both built and as kits. There should be different versions of the kit, like with or without lighting, to keep the costs down even more.

Roddenberry.com has been successfully selling Trek prop replicas in this way for years. By offering kits they reach MORE of their target customers, as most people who want these products are builders anyway.

In a tough economy, choices like this would be the smart thing to do to gain more customers. These are at least three ways of selling the model that would ensure more sales and give more customers a chance to own one who would otherwise miss out.

I'm afraid I'm in agreement with a few of the others here. Never been a fan of the D.
But with that said, I would imagine you'd have much better success with the 2 footer. Two reasons, how many people who could afford the 4 footer would also have the space to display it? And of course, in this struggling economy, the cost.
Far more could afford a 2 footer.

I want a 4 foot D, but with the better proportions and subtler plating of the 6 footer.
To keep costs down, I'll only be needing a clear hull casting. I'll make my own amature thank you