Die Cast Lighted 1/350th TOS Enterprise (TOMY crowd funded)

JiminSTLouis said:
I wonder if that lower dome support can be printed and then just use the vertical rod without the huge cluster support?


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A thicker support rod without that other monstrosity would be fine. Hopefully there will be some alternatives/hacks to what is being sent wit the model.

My other concern is the support pylons sagging over time. Sure, it's die-cast but if that's a possiblilty, then forget it....
 
Grayswandir said:
I am on the fence about cancelling. I planned to have this on my side desk, sitting next to me every day. I can probably learn to live with the plugs, but the base is just overpowering, especially since it covers half the now "good" side. If only they mirrored that front base and had it on the plug side.

I called Tomy support and asked them if they had any plans for a modified base - even one that we paid more for. Firstly the support person was very friendly and understood my concerns. He said that there were no plans for a different base, and even if they did plan that they'd have to go back to Paramount and get approval. He said that would take 6-8 months and said it just wasn't something that was going to happen. Maybe if enough of us called and asked they would take note.

It seems like someone with skills could make a better saucer base, one less intrusive, even just a mirror of what are going to get. I am not that person. I would gladly pay for a better base if someone ever sold one, but is it worth the daily disappointment every time I looked at it in the hopes that someone someday makes a better base.

I was really looking forward to this, cleared the space for it back in July 2022 and was eagerly awaiting its arrival. What a bummer.
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You know I'm thinking it would not take much to modify the base and make something that would be better.
 
weisshaupt said:
Did a little research. Found some die-cast car modeling sites where they claim baking-soda and superglue (cyanoacrylate) would made an adequate fill - even for pot-metal die-cast. One guy gave it a try on a cracked part he had , sanded it, painted it , put it in the freezer, put in the sun and did so repeatly over a week and wasn't able to get a crack in his paint.
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I have seen people fix small diecast cars with that method. It works well.
 
animator said:
It's all toys, guys! All our props, original, reproductions, filming models, our cars, I knew a guy who had an real airplane that was a toy.

Don't try to elevate one toy over another, just pick the toys you like! The person who is happiest with whatever toy they have wins!
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I thought the rule was the one with the most toys wins.
 
Any worries about Nacelle's drooping?

I know this is "die cast", but someone mentioned on FB that the alloy used will, in fact, droop over time...
 
Flanman said:
I doubt they will droop as they are made from metal.
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I know that, but metal still bends and droops depending on strength, weight, thickness and other factors...

Not to mention the connection points - weakness there will still cause issues.

Suffice to say, confidence has been lowered greatly about the quality of this thing. :cool:
 
modelerdave said:
Here's what I just sent to TOMY:

Hello,

I regret to say that I have decided to cancel my order for the TOMY Enterprise. The size of the stand, the visible saucer seam and screw holes, have tipped my decision to cancel. I understand there will always be compromises with these types of products but this is vastly different than what was promised during the campaign. And no, I don’t believe there was any intent to deceive on TOMY’s part. I think the enthusiasm for a really accurate collector’s item was genuine, but there was apparently a huge disconnect between what was wanted by the design team and the realities of being able to mass produce something like this. I think the decision to make this die cast and to have the saucer separate from the engineering hull were, in hindsight, not the best decisions for this model.
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Can I use this when I email them? I feel pretty much the same - sadly.
 
Well, add me to the cancel group. I have the MR Enterprise and it's looking great still and in perfect working order. I knew there would be compromises but man - that stand really bugs me a lot. Still got the DeLorean on order even though I got the Hot Toys BTTF II one a few months ago and love it! Oh, well. I will hand it to TOMY for allowing cancellations fairly easily and being up front about this - even at this late stage.
 
spc said:
If Tomy wants to make this right (or at least better) they could send out an updated base so the “good” side could be displayed. From the pictures it looks like only the chevron part of the base would need to be replaced with the saucer section support holes on the side opposite from where they are now.
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spc said:
I emailed Tomy customer support suggesting they send out an updated base that would allow the screw covers to face the back. If they committed to doing that there might be fewer cancellations. Feel free to send them an email as well.

cs@Tomy.com
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I’m not so sure about that. That particular support strut has a slight curve to it, which even if you did get a new base with peg holes on the other side, it 'might' not correctly align to the other side of the base. So, if ever done I think it would be best for both the base and the support strut to be updated.
 
rad1701 said:
Well, add me to the cancel group. I have the MR Enterprise and it's looking great still and in perfect working order. I knew there would be compromises but man - that stand really bugs me a lot. Still got the DeLorean on order even though I got the Hot Toys BTTF II one a few months ago and love it! Oh, well. I will hand it to TOMY for allowing cancellations fairly easily and being up front about this - even at this late stage.
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But would they have been upfront about it, if our photos didn't create this storm across various forums, or was it just damage control?

Unfortunately, our unintended early access comes with its disadvantages, as it'll likely be harder for anyone in Australia who wants to return their pieces to Zing/EB Games.
 
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Phoenixblazes said:
But would they have been upfront about it, if our photos didn't create this storm across various forums, or was it just damage control?

Unfortunately, it'll likely be harder for anyone in Australia who wants to return their pieces to Zing/EB Games.
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Yes, I think the online pics obviously pushed them. If you are asking would they have sent out that email if those pics hadn't shown up? Who knows? But, I think they looked at everything and realized this is a big item to have people have to ship back so it was the right move to give people a chance to cancel ahead of getting it. Also as others have said, if I didn't have a super nice MR version I might have kept this. I also have a 1/350 scale model kit I need to build myself. So in the end my home can only hold so many studio scale ships and this one just didn't make the cut.
 
rad1701 said:
Yes, I think the online pics obviously pushed them. If you are asking would they have sent out that email if those pics hadn't shown up? Who knows? But, I think they looked at everything and realized this is a big item to have people have to ship back so it was the right move to give people a chance to cancel ahead of getting it. Also as others have said, if I didn't have a super nice MR version I might have kept this. I also have a 1/350 scale model kit I need to build myself. So in the end my home can only hold so many studio scale ships and this one just didn't make the cut.
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That's fair.

Unfortunately, I know if I bought the model kit, I'll probably let it sit in my storeroom for years, if not decades as I procrastinated. Very much as I have done with the handful of Perfect Grade Gundam kits I've purchased, but not built over the past 10-15 years.
 
Phoenixblazes said:
But would they have been upfront about it, if our photos didn't create this storm across various forums, or was it just damage control?

Unfortunately, our unintended early access comes with its disadvantages, as it'll likely be harder for anyone in Australia who wants to return their pieces to Zing/EB Games.
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I have to wonder if these units weren't sent - very early - to Australia in order to elicit exactly this response? How did they get their units - in theory even a reseller would have to receive the unit in the US and then ship to Australia. They aren't even beginning to ship to US addresses till Oct 9th. So how the heck did this reseller get units to send now? ANd Kudos to those posting the picts and keeping us all up to date.. but something ...happened.
 
weisshaupt said:
I have to wonder if these units weren't sent - very early - to Australia in order to elicit exactly this response? How did they get their units - in theory even a reseller would have to receive the unit in the US and then ship to Australia. They aren't even beginning to ship to US addresses till Oct 9th. So how the heck did this reseller get units to send now? ANd Kudos to those posting the picts and keeping us all up to date.. but something ...happened.
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Not necessarily.

Many products that are allocated for Australian shores are shipped directly from China. But it's usually the case that our units are from the second batch onwards and are usually held for shipping until products have shipped out first to their direct customers.
 
I wonder what they will do now with all the cancelled ones, whether they will just put them up for sale direct from TOMY, or whether they will resell them elsewhere.

Assuming they do put them up for sale elsewhere, it'll also be interesting the description they use, since they can't really say it's a perfect replica anymore, or use the prototype pictures.
 
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