Vintage Enterprise Kit from Japan - Holy Cow!

[sapper36]

KSN Star Trek Enterprise Plastic Model Airplane Kit - eBay (item 360333573596 end time Jan-11-11 12:26:18 PST)

Look at thar price! Anybody got any details on this kit or pics of a build up? I was casually watching it when the top bid was $20

 

[Mike J.]

Aside from similar box art from the same kit (or re-pops) on Flickr, I can't find anything.

 

[dcarty]

There was an excellent history of Starship Enterprise models in Trek magazine years ago. It's hard to tell but I'm looking to see if it has a propeller in it anywhere--it might be some of that stuff in the baggie with the small metal glue tube. From what I recall you attached the model to a thread or fishing line and it flew with a wind-up propeller located where the shuttle bay normally would be.

First time I've ever actually seen one of these!

 

[Joseph C. Brown]

Here's a pic of two of the KSN Midori Japan Trek kits: a lightable clear kit, and the propeller driven kit.

Several years ago I picked Toshio Okada's book "Lost Plastic Models" and it's a great reference for sci-fi kits that Japanese model companies made. It's written in 100% Japanese -- which I cannot read -- but the book is still very handy. Trade-paperback sized, 159 pages.

It's become a rather hard to locate book, but if anyone needs to hunt one down, it's ISBN number is ISBN4-7663-3268-7

 

[GeorgeC]

Yeah,

I've heard about those Japan Enterprise kits with the propellers and wheels.

People say they're actually good presentations of the Ship once you get rid of the eccentric extras! :lol


Honestly, the best Japanese Enterprise kit I saw was a submersible, propeller-driven Refit Model. Some fellow shot underwater video of it moving through the water in a swimming pool. With the right backlight (or lack of it), it really does look like the 8-footer in the first 6 movies. Water is such a great element for models like this. It's such a naturally thick, viscous medium that you don't need fancy things like motorized, computer-controlled cameras. The models really do move through the water like semi-agile yachts!


P.S. -- Also saw an Enterprise-D submersible model but it just didn't impress me as much as the Refit Enterprise that I saw.

 

[robn1]

Trek magazine did an article on Star Trek kits in the 70s, and they mentioned the Japanese kits with the wheels and propellers. One had a wind up wheeled base that would roll across the floor! I had a poodle that would have loved that, though she would have torn it up playing with it :lol

 

[Jet Beetle]

I saw one of these at wonderfestival last year for 60bucks - kicking myself now