Large Scale USS Excelsior Class Ships - Whats out there?

[OpticsJedi]

The lack of pics of any parts is really sketchy.

But that's just the thing there's actually been hundreds of photos since the project began on Facebook..... And there's supposed to be a big release of all the parts coming soon..... Being that a lot of people like to rip each other off for their ideas re-casters and such you could also understand why certain things have been kept discreet. EAD will release final photos of all parts soon.

 

[modelerdave]

I'm not on Facebook so maybe post a few of those hundreds of photos here. And it seems dubious that there's this crazy underground of pirate recasters just waiting to rip-off a large scale Excelsior kit...come on.

Maybe this is all on the up and up. But the builders are not doing themselves any favors at all with the complete lack of meaningful information about the kit.

 

[OpticsJedi]

I'm not on Facebook so maybe post a few of those hundreds of photos here. And it seems dubious that there's this crazy underground of pirate recasters just waiting to rip-off a large scale Excelsior kit...come on.

Maybe this is all on the up and up. But the builders are not doing themselves any favors at all with the complete lack of meaningful information about the kit.

A complete lack?

 

[modelerdave]

A complete lack?

Yes. Meaningful was the operative word, which is why I emphasized it. Maye this kit will be great. But as I said, the builders aren't helping their cause by asking for orders with zero pictures of parts, other kit details (like the lighting rig or Aztec masks), or a finished product.

This isn't a debate, so I'm going to stop here. There's nothing else for me to add.

 

[Millenniumf]

A complete lack?

Not a complete lack, but the pictures I have seen don't do the kit any favors. So if there are more recent ones that show significant improvements that I'm not aware of, then they should be posted here. But the ones I've seen attributed to this kit show a remarkable lack of attention to basic construction, never mind the details. I wasn't going to post these because I was going to give the manufacturer or anyone who did buy this kit the chance to post better ones, because I figured maybe there are better pics out there that aren't released publicly yet, but as they haven't I'll go ahead and post what has been shown so far.

As noted by me and others who have seen these pictures, this kit does not look anywhere close to what I'd expect for $500+. It would be fine for a personal project, because you do you, but I'd definitely expect straight parts to actually be straight and the sides of the saucer to be smooth, at the very least.

Now, this is from the Facebook page, so... perhaps these are extremely early photos of the master? But if that's the case, why is Azteking being done to the saucer? Surely that would be reserved for when a clean pour of the master was done, or if the Azteking is meant to be molded into the saucer for some reason, why is this finishing step done before the extremely basic step of smoothing the surface of the masters? This entire project screams "amateurish" and "in need of serious feedback before selling copies". The CGI previews look fantastic and are what I would expect from a premium product, but the actual model itself is barely worth 1/10 of what is being charged.

I don't want to be a negative person and squash a much-needed large scale Excelsior kit, but I am not comfortable with a relatively unknown company making this kit and taking money for orders when the master is in such a state. They should not be even considering asking for money until the master is finished and ready for pouring the rubber, IMO. I might be more lenient if this were someone who was well-known who I trusted to get the masters to a state ready for casting, but not someone I've never heard of whose workmanship is so shoddy. This has all the earmarks of someone way in over his head and who is trying to bring a new kit to market without the necessary skills to make it something worth the amount of money they're charging. That might not necessarily be the case, but they have not put their best foot forward here.

 

[Starbase101]

The pic I've got showing a TEST of the aztec painting templates (these were never intended to be promo photos, just mask template test shots) shows a much smoother hull. I would guess you've got old photos.

 

[modelerdave]

Wow. Those pictures are atrocious, except for the final shot with the Aztecs. There really needs to be more concrete information about the production version of this kit.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Ugh…that’s an ugly neck on that thing.

 

[Starbase101]

Ugh…that’s an ugly neck on that thing.

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The metal upgrade neck is way better: see this post

 

[OpticsJedi]

Yeah the master for the dorsal the neck is laser cut aluminum and a huge improvement over that also this year are very early photos and it's interesting because there's definitely a learning curve in working with the SLA resin parts and they don't really give a lot of wiggle room for what you can do with them after they're printed where is the PLA parts from the first prototype was actually far more workable and yes the kid has come a long long way there's a gentleman that produced a amazing hair where it's actually like a nine sheet set of blueprints and actually I can post this....

So I don't have authorization and I'm probably gonna hear a lot of crap for posting this because it didn't go through the approvals process but essentially that is 90% of the kit minus the Aztecs and the metal masters that are still on their way, they don't even have a solid even coat of primer on them however all of those parts are actually fairly clean and are in process of being subscribed very very meticulously and anything that is misaligned or miss shaped is being attended to during this very crucial process that's why nobody has seen pictures of the kit, because the majority of the radial stacked parts ... Are still being laser cut and the remainder of the parts the two hulls s the mid deck is not actually pictured here but those were laser cut the majority of the styrene that you see on the inside of the two I guess you want to call those valleys on the aft ends of the secondary hulls is all laser cut than affixed, the impulse crystal deck recesses were all laser cut... So now we can listen to everybody bitch and whine about how awful this looks because it's not primed in one solid coat so that everybody can see where the clean versus imperfect areas are mind you the idea that EAD was going for here was to sell 25 kids that were signed by George Takei with the license with a certificate and lighting kit as tax and everything else that you could possibly want with it in a good scale so that they can basically fund the long-term run of re-creations of the studio model to scale. Unfortunately as it stands now there's only eight remaining slots open for the premium format kits and the amount of money that the AG has paid just to get this one item licensed and licensed in a way where they could have more creative control over elements like the box and packaging and accompanying materials well basically they're just gonna do the 25 and that's it so the long-term plan of producing the kid on a regular basis as a bare-bones model kit, is dead.

The exceptionally beautiful decals are being printed by micro scale so they are professional decals because when this is done this will be a professional kit. I've seen a lot of criticism about this but I haven't seen anyone take on the task of actually going out and trying to produce a kit that not only could be the NX or the NCC version but also the 1701B/Lakota in this scale from scratch because most of these parts now here pictured our scratch built.

EAD has been understandably delayed with the multiple heart attacks that one of their team members suffered who then ghosted them and he was the one printing their second prototype. EAD had to relocate twice during the shelter in place of the pandemic because their main offices and living residence was being earthquake retrofit which made no sense and they were relocated for 10 months living out of a suitcase while working on this not once have they put this project on the back burner.

The head of their creative team got a infected splinter in his thumb while working on the kit in December and was actually hospitalized and had surgery and actually is still recovering and shouldn't be using his thumb but has been using the hand nonstop since getting out of the hospital and I don't think it actually healed correctly from what I've heard he's having issues with it because he's so dedicated to this project... At this point he's paying for it out of his own pocket because they never finished out there 25 minimum run for it to happen....

And so their next major update was going to be this: if everything is approved for final approvals with CBS Viacom the next update was going to be all of the kit parts laid out in their final form... So that everybody could see what this thing in tails because it assembles exactly the way that the bill George studio 7 foot model assembles... And then it ships to everyone and then no one will ever have the opportunity ever again at least not like this with all of these Paris feels included to get this kid and they're way under charging believe me especially with supply chain and the inflation..


And the sad part about it is is that everybody uses the poor creative Director like a whipping post... Instead of showing some support like I get it there's been a pandemic there's a war in Europe right now raging on and nothing is really improved in the country since Donald Trump has left power but you know what whatever happened to the light togetherness that this craft this fandom and these forms used to have where is it because I feel like people are setting a really bad example on how to treat one another and instead of being encouraging and uplifting or supportive and understanding people are just constantly on the attack and trolling everyone and I just think that's really sad it really embarrasses me to even be associated with people as petty is this at times.

So I can tell you this: CBS Viacom is currently going through a grueling approvals process for every single part an aspect of this kit and technically I shouldn't even be saying that but if all goes well at the end of it they're going to make the unveiling of the entire thing and it's going to start shipping the remaining eight kids are actually going to go up about 40% in price to compensate for the amount lost due to inflation and also discounts that they've been giving... And then after all 25 are shipped this kit is dead and they are ceasing further production of kits of this caliber of this type of format and only taking any kind of custom jobs which for the people that know their work and know their reputation they know that they won't let anything less than the highest expectations leave their shop.


I apologize for the run-on and any grammatical or spelling errors in this as it was too much to type.

* worst part of it all is that during this whole time the creative Director who is estranged from his seven-year-old daughter recently learned that she was basically abandoned at home by her mother for eight months and nobody knows about the whereabouts of where the mother was and he's going into court within days of releasing the kid to take full custody of this estranged daughter so any support for just the job and dedication they've invested into this project and ensuring all the details are just right by release, I am sure would be greatly welcomed and appreciated.

 

[OpticsJedi]

Not a complete lack, but the pictures I have seen don't do the kit any favors. So if there are more recent ones that show significant improvements that I'm not aware of, then they should be posted here. But the ones I've seen attributed to this kit show a remarkable lack of attention to basic construction, never mind the details. I wasn't going to post these because I was going to give the manufacturer or anyone who did buy this kit the chance to post better ones, because I figured maybe there are better pics out there that aren't released publicly yet, but as they haven't I'll go ahead and post what has been shown so far.

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As noted by me and others who have seen these pictures, this kit does not look anywhere close to what I'd expect for $500+. It would be fine for a personal project, because you do you, but I'd definitely expect straight parts to actually be straight and the sides of the saucer to be smooth, at the very least.

Now, this is from the Facebook page, so... perhaps these are extremely early photos of the master? But if that's the case, why is Azteking being done to the saucer? Surely that would be reserved for when a clean pour of the master was done, or if the Azteking is meant to be molded into the saucer for some reason, why is this finishing step done before the extremely basic step of smoothing the surface of the masters? This entire project screams "amateurish" and "in need of serious feedback before selling copies". The CGI previews look fantastic and are what I would expect from a premium product, but the actual model itself is barely worth 1/10 of what is being charged.

I don't want to be a negative person and squash a much-needed large scale Excelsior kit, but I am not comfortable with a relatively unknown company making this kit and taking money for orders when the master is in such a state. They should not be even considering asking for money until the master is finished and ready for pouring the rubber, IMO. I might be more lenient if this were someone who was well-known who I trusted to get the masters to a state ready for casting, but not someone I've never heard of whose workmanship is so shoddy. This has all the earmarks of someone way in over his head and who is trying to bring a new kit to market without the necessary skills to make it something worth the amount of money they're charging. That might not necessarily be the case, but they have not put their best foot forward here.

It was a test... all that was was a layer of gloss with one frisket yes one, laid down on the primer... As most of the clients have been exceptionally impatient and so to quench their thirst for visual when the visuals were not ready for Eyes to see that was done and then all of the negative and nitpicking questioning and doubts were silenced until recently. I can tell you right now that of course the edges were smoothed out and cleaned up and detailed and no the Aztec is not being molded into the kit that's ridiculous and that's a stupid assumption but I can understand the confusion here where people tend to be more professional in their step-by-step layout of how things are presented unfortunately in the Facebook group where the majority of the clients are I hate to say it but it's a **** show and these people are giving the creative Director in the team behind this project a hell of a hard time, without considering that yes for $500 despite inflation despite supply chain issues where costs have gone up and supplies are more scarce which is still a reality these people are under charging especially considering the amount of Labor work research and effort that is going into this entire kit a 3 foot model with two secondary hulls, Aztec masks a lighting kit, and all of the parts to build one of three versions of the ship and not to mention the assembly and internal structure identical to that of the original 7 foot model. Not to mention that everybody on the team has full-time jobs on top of this project but yeah I'm pretty sure anybody could knock that out in about a week by themselves....

 

[bwize]

Thanks for the update. I have spoken to the creative Director a few times and I could see and hear the stress that they are experiencing. When we discussed the 8 remaining kits that needed to be sold, I told them I think the best way to achieve that is to show some updated pics of the kit and the laser cut alum neck. Show/build it and they will come, lol.

I can tell you all now, they shared a pic of the laser cut neck part with me and my god is it absolutely stunning! Just like the studio model and the details in the 2 probe launchers was amazing.

I asked if I could share this pic here, to help drone up interest, but he asked me not too as it was not an official pic and that he would include in later updates.

If that azteced saucer is any indication of the quality of the rest of the kit, this this kit will be amazing! I just cannot wait to see all the finished parts layed out on display for us all to see.

I was a member over on their Facebook group for a few days, but as OpticsJedi said, it became so toxic over there, I had to leave the group. Such a shame as I was looking forward to seeing the updates that were going to be shown there.

 

[Jamesfett]

I have faith in the Excelsior Gods. They will build it and it will come to me.

 

[Starbase101]

"If my grandmother had wheels.....she'd be towing this kit over to my house right now."

 

[Millenniumf]

It was a test... all that was was a layer of gloss with one frisket yes one, laid down on the primer... As most of the clients have been exceptionally impatient and so to quench their thirst for visual when the visuals were not ready for Eyes to see that was done and then all of the negative and nitpicking questioning and doubts were silenced until recently. I can tell you right now that of course the edges were smoothed out and cleaned up and detailed and no the Aztec is not being molded into the kit that's ridiculous and that's a stupid assumption but I can understand the confusion here where people tend to be more professional in their step-by-step layout of how things are presented unfortunately in the Facebook group where the majority of the clients are I hate to say it but it's a **** show and these people are giving the creative Director in the team behind this project a hell of a hard time, without considering that yes for $500 despite inflation despite supply chain issues where costs have gone up and supplies are more scarce which is still a reality these people are under charging especially considering the amount of Labor work research and effort that is going into this entire kit a 3 foot model with two secondary hulls, Aztec masks a lighting kit, and all of the parts to build one of three versions of the ship and not to mention the assembly and internal structure identical to that of the original 7 foot model. Not to mention that everybody on the team has full-time jobs on top of this project but yeah I'm pretty sure anybody could knock that out in about a week by themselves....

You can tell me that all day, but you really need to show pics of this stuff. If it's gotten improved since those pics were taken, then for the sake of sales I would think you'd be happy to post updated pics here. People do want this product, but so far it raises a lot of red flags that an ounce of professionalism would dismiss immediately.

Believe it or not, I'm not trying to be antagonistic. I'm genuinely trying to give you some good advice, because I do think we need a large scale Excelsior kit like this one. And if you're genuinely trying to drum up interest and gather the funds, then the way you're treating genuine criticism of your product is not the way you go about it. I'd love to buy your kit, but so far the way you've presented your product and the conduct you've had so far of making claims about quality without showing updated photos and then acting testy and sarcastic when called out on it makes me not want to support you regardless of whether your product is good.

All you had to do was post updated photos showing the current state of the master and it would be a lot easier to believe you're a professional seller who can be trusted to deal professionally. Back in the 90's you might have gotten away with that attitude of "My word is my bond, and if you're questioning it then up yours", but it don't fly nowadays. There's been too many instances of people being burned by expensive product that turned out to be crap, and people didn't find out till after money had been exchanged and the seller bounced. And with the proliferation of readily available digital cameras in practically every cell phone and laptop, there's no excuse for not taking up-to-date pics and posting them if you really have been making progress since the images that are available now were posted.

It takes seconds. I can do it in less than a minute. So the fact that it's been more than a day and you still haven't taken new pics, uploaded them to an image hosting site like Imgur, and posted links is highly suspicious behavior. It will continue to be highly suspicious till you take pics and post them. Add to that the bristled post I'm replying to and it adds up to me thinking you're trying to cast blame on others for the effects of your own behavior at best, and that you're acting fraudulently at worst.

Again, acting professionally and posting photos that are up to date would do wonders for your reputation, which frankly needs repairing fast if you have a hope of selling a full run of this thing, IMO.

 

[modelerdave]

^^^^ This right here from Millenniumf. I haven't seen anyone on RPF voice hostility to this project. I've seen warranted skepticism that has not been well received by the builder(s) of this kit. Perhaps the followers/buyers on Facebook are a different story, but then complain there, not here. And the point about still lacking representative photos of the final product stand. If this thing is supposed to ship this month, where are the photos?

 

[bwize]

So, did any one following this thread whom have purchased the kit and are part of the lucky first ten kits sold get a shipping notice today as the website stated a estimated ship date of 4/01/22?

Just curious.

 

[OpticsJedi]

So, did any one following this thread whom have purchased the kit and are part of the lucky first ten kits sold get a shipping notice today as the website stated a estimated ship date of 4/01/22?

Just curious.

No I got a shipping notice as of Apr 1st, for a few reasons number EAD felt that it wouldn't be a good day to associate with the kit because of all of the hijinks that yearly happen on April 1 but more importantly Microscale is still in production with the decal sheets, a very important component to the overall quality of the kit, and the electronics boards which they just added to the listing that are included are still on their way from the manufacturer. EAD will not ship incomplete product.

 

[OpticsJedi]

^^^^ This right here from Millenniumf. I haven't seen anyone on RPF voice hostility to this project. I've seen warranted skepticism that has not been well received by the builder(s) of this kit. Perhaps the followers/buyers on Facebook are a different story, but then complain there, not here. And the point about still lacking representative photos of the final product stand. If this thing is supposed to ship this month, where are the photos?

Big Pic Dump coming soon, and It will be the only pics that matter.

 

[bwize]

Thank you. I have reached out to the creative director twice this week with no reply. They have been promising this "major update" pic dump for a few weeks now, so it is getting a bit frustrating waiting for them.

I understand that some drama has happened behind the scenes, so I guess I just need to put on my patience cap and set the heck down and shut up, lol. Just super excited to see the kit and receive mine.