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Star Trek Model Kits: New movie U.S.S. Enterprise
Monday, February 21, 2011
Many people have been inquiring about the new movie Enterprise model kit. We have the following statement.
Round 2 is not proceeding with development on the U.S.S. Enterprise model kit, as based on the 2009 film, Star Trek. We will continue to focus on classic Star Trek by reissuing nostalgic favorites and enhanced re-releases as well as some all-new tooling of favorite Trek subjects.
Live long and prosper,
The Round 2 Model Kit Team
I’m sorry to hear this! I was looking forward to building a few of these.
I hope this means good news for a 1/350 TOS Enterprise.
Well, that’s disappointing, but thank you for letting us know.
I hope this is good news for the 1/350 Enterprise.
Sounds like the J.J. Abrams License Fariy Strikes again!! This really stinks.
Very very disappointed. Are you looking at re issuing the Defiant from DS9?
Ok I am excited about a BIG TOS Enterprise, With the fan base that the originial Show has Its a no brainer to produce a nice Original Enterprise. But Guys you got my hopes up for the New J.J.Abrams Enterprise! I’m hoping that this has just been put on the back burner for manufacturing setbacks or someting. YOU GUYS better make up for it by Produceing a nice BIG TOS Enterprise or I’m never talking to you again….. Yeah right who am I kidding! You guys are Awesome, Keep up the good work!
I think this is good news for a 1/350 TOS 1966 Enterprise.
My guess the 2009 JJ Enterprise demanded too high royalties or wanted a 1/350 of theirs first.
I much prefer a 1/350 of the original TV show Enterprise so at least resources are freed up for that.
I am dissapointed. I want new kits, new ships.How long has it been since a new Star trek ship was offered in a kit? I the re-issues are fine and I buy them when they are released. However for my money I am most willing to spend on NEW NEVER BEFORE KITTED SHIPS. Another classic enterprise in whatever scale glow in the dark or not does not excite me. And please dont advertise a release and then retract, this is the second time.
To be honest, I’m not at all disappointed by this news. I thought that design was by far the ugliest version of the ship that had ever been… uh… created (although I’m tempted to say “squeezed”), so I’m happy instead that Round 2 can hopefully put the would-be resources into the other stuff we all really REALLY want! 🙂 So far the re-releases of a lot of the older kits are fabulous with the revised tooling, decals etc. And, like everyone else, I’m pullin’ for that big 1/350th TOS E! I don’t think there’s a star trek fan OR sci fi fan who won’t buy at least a couple of those, even if they’re expensive, ….as long as it’s dead-on accurate! 🙂
Greetings from New Zealand (where all of the Round 2 kits get shipped to me by Internet retailers )
Personally im happy that JJs “boobyprise” has been cancelled as to me its one ugly and badly thought out design,and would not be welcome on my shelves……
heres hoping for a 350/th scale TOS Enterprise announcement soon i will buy several. 🙂
Will you be looking at the plans for the Akira Class again?
Not a suprise at all. Seems all that Round 2 wants to do is reissue old AMT Star Trek kits with maybe a few enhancements. While it’s nice to see some of these old kits back, let’s face it, even with part/mold/decal enchancements, these kits were never very accurate to begin with. Plus, you still manage to screw up these releases (i.e. no side windows for Romulan BOP and none in Reliant, unless you purchase Aztec decal set). What I’d like to see are new-mold Star Trek kits. Besides, aren’t you running out of old AMT kits to release? Or will you just re-re-release kits in different boxes and plastic colors (i.e. 18″ Enterprise)? So far there has been one new Star Trek release, the 1/1000 refit Enterprise, all others have been canceled or postponed indefinitely. Not a good track record. Re-issues are nice, but it’s the new-mold releases, kit’s never done before or done more accurately then older ones, that generate the most excitement in the model community,
Thats fine by me. Maybe you should make a 1/1400 Akira-class. Hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge.
I’m actually kind of sorry that you had to put so much work into something you’ll never see released. The wasted money, man hours, and effort put into this only to see it crushed must suck tremendously. Keep on truckin’.
I am saddened by this news as I was anticipating this kit’s release. I do wish Round 2 the very best with it’s remaining Trek license and look forward to the company’s planned releases this year. Hopefully we’ll see a kit of the 2009 Enterprise produced in the future.
eimb 1999 took the words right out of my mouth! i hope the 1/350 TOS BIG E! is a GO!!!!!!!!!!
I have to say i am sorry to hear this. But not surprised.
I am wondering what killed it though. Maybe it can be put off to be released in time for the next movie? They are still making another , right?
So what is planned to be done in it’s place? The 350 TOS i hope.
Would also love to see more in your 1/1000 scale line.
and a suggestion , if you decide to reissue the runabout , could you do and interior for it.
Well at long last the reply I knew would come, hey it’s probably for the best, it seems like many folks out there did not really like the JJ-Enterprise anyway, heck I did not at first but it grew on me. I would really have liked to have one
but “Que Sera Sera”. On the other side of this story there of course is the issue of supply and demand, Star Trek in it’s many forms sells, there is a demand for this stuff and folks do NOT liked to be disapointed or strung along with product releases. The important words here Round 2 is when it comes to Star Trek products caution and respect, If folks are not feeling like Round 2 has that for this subject modelers will look at that detrimentally to be sure. Upgrades and the re-poping of old kits is a great idea and you should continue
that philosophy. It works and it’s smart. I would personally love to see a Star Trek Movie Series line of kits like a Battle damaged U.S.S. Reliant or U.S.S. Enterprise from ST:WOK
for example. There is a lot to do with what you have just keep your word to your customers and keep on trekking and you folks will do very well no question.
Just a note to spock62 and the statement that “….it’s the new mold releases, kit’s (sic) that generate the most excitement…..”, and so on.
Ummmm….just a reality check here, Mr. Spock 62…..you DO NOT speak for me with this statement. While I appreciate a new kit or two every once in a while, what got me all excited about Round 2 in the first place (and do the math here…there is a reason it’s called “Round 2″….its not called “The New Kit Company LCC”) was the fact that they own all the AMT and MPC tooling and can reissue really rare kits, Star Trek or otherwise, that I either built like crap when I was a kid or just passed by on the store shelves ’cause I was too dumb to buy them the first time. And from the original molds, not as some back-engineered kit that isn’t really like the original. And as I recall, AMT’s last effort to make some of your revered “new” kits resulted in those God-awful vinyl Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty kits that you couldn’t build and that didn’t sell – because the sculpts looked like crap. If that’s progress, leave me out.
RED ALERT! Some of us kit builders, who are also die-hard ST fans, actually LIKE the old kits coming back. Not “accurate”? I don’t care. The original studio model isn’t accurate either. NOTHING about a Romulan ship is accurate, since there isn’t any such thing in real life AS a Romulan ship. It’s all fake. They’re all models.
I ain’t a rivet-counter modeler. It’s the original kit I had as a kid/teenager I buy mostly. I LIKE the fact that they come in the original-art/style boxes. I LIKE the fact that sometimes they’re in different colors or in glow plastic. It’s fun sometimes. I built all the Glo-Heads and have them on my dresser and it’s like I’m 15 again. I LIKE nostalgia. I LIKE fun. I like the fact that Dark Shadows models are coming back. I had them originally. Hell, I just LIKE building models. And there is more than enough in the tooling vaults, I’m sure to keep everyone busy and happily building for years and years. Give Round 2 some credit here, for God sakes. What they’ve released so far is nothing short of amazing. The original Batmobile from the original Aurora molds? I NEVER thought I’d live to see that.
To everyone at Round 2: Thank you for all the hard work and all the wonderful products. So the new movie Enterprise isn’t being produced? OK, life goes on. Thank you for trying. Better luck next time, but no big loss. And please understand that some of us builders are extremely grateful for all the nostalgic kits you’ve found the molds for and reissued. They make me very happy. And I’m having a blast building all this stuff. And I love the trip down memory lane. And I’m looking forward to what you’ll be releasing in the future. Well done. And PLEASE don’t get the impression that what some people say on here about what you’re doing and what you “should” release stands for the opinion(s) of others of us that buy and build your products. Keep doing what you’re doing…..because you’re doing it all just right.
Thank you again!
lostspacefan55- Thanks. I needed that. 🙂
So much goes on behind the scenes that shouldn’t/can’t/won’t be aired in public. It is excruciatingly difficult not to comment back about such things. It is good to hear when people enjoy and appreciate all the blood, sweat and tears that is put into our product. We do everything we can to make it the best we possibly can.
lostspacefan55: Wow, must have hit a nerve. Guess you really didn’t understand some or all of my post. Just to clearify, I’m not completely against reissues, “While it’s nice to see some of these old kits back…”, the point is I’d like to see more effort put into producing new-mold kits, which you also seem to like as well. As for my statement that new mold kits generate the most excitement, while I didn’t intend on speaking for you or anyone else, I felt that, based on what I read in various modeling magazines and modeling forums, new mold kits do create more interest. That’s not to say there is little or no interest in reissues, it’s just that new and (hopefully) improved of anything always creates more of a “buzz”. Other companies manage to do both with apparent success. Also, I’m primarily directing my comments towards the old AMT Star Trek kit reissues, not the other AMT/MPC reissues. Some of those, especially the cars, are still really good/fun-to-make kits and I look forward to some of those reissues.
Speaking of a “reality check”, based on your reply, I feel your in need of it yourself. First, just because the company is called Round 2 would not indicate that it just reissues old kits. Not sure what the name means since I don’t work for the company. Do you? Second, comparing AMT’s last efforts producing ST kits to what Polar Lights has done is foolish, one has nothing to do with the other. The original AMT company no longer exists and the fact they produced sub-par ST kits is not a reflection on what Round 2 does with their Polar Lights division. Would you call the 1/1000 Refit crap? Third, you say you don’t care if the kit is accurate and since the studio model is not based on an actual ship, accuracy doesn’t matter. Well, the kit (for example the Romulan BOP) is based on something, that something being the studio model used on the TV show. That’s what the kit should look like, the studio model. The fact that it doesn’t exist in real life has nothing to do with the argument. Using the 1/1000 Refit, which is highly accurate, as an example, how do you suppose Round 2 achieved this? Give yourself an A+ if you said by using the original blueprints/photos/taking measurement of studio model as a guide. Also, most die-hard ST fans (modelers) can be done right anal when it comes to accuracy. So just because you aren’t too concerned about accuracy, doesn’t mean others feel the same way.
Next, and this goes for JamieH too, this blog was created by Round 2 and seems to serve two functions, a) to keep it’s customers informed of products coming out and b) to listen too and answer questions/opinions of it’s customers, both positive and negative. JamieH also visits other forums responding to customers that post on those forums too. If Round 2 only wants to hear the positive and not deal with any negative views, it can end this blog and stop posting on other forums. But, if it really does want to hear what it’s customers have to say, even if it’s something they don’t like, then they need to treat all their customers with some respect. Seems to me that some people on this forum and Jamie take criticism a little too much to heart.
While I do understand that Jamie and others at Round 2 are putting in a lot of time and effort, my criticisms are directed at Round 2 as a whole, not Jamie in particular. At least I didn’t refer to people questioning whither of not the 1/350 TOS Enterprise would ever be made, as “Eeyores” (jackassess), which Jamie did in a post on this blog back on 6/22/09. Well, it’s ’11 and several canceled Star Trek kits later, seems like the “Eeyores” aren’t that far from being wrong. Hopefully, Round 2 will prove me wrong at Wonderfest.
Lastly, lostspacefan55, I get that you like reissues of old kits. I get that your not a “rivet-counter”. I get that you just like to make kits. That’s all fine. But just understand that not all modelers agree with your sentiments and we have every right to voice our opinion, just as you have a right to voice yours. And unless it’s specifically stated, that opinion (at least mine) is not a blanket statement about all modelers, especially you.
Spock62- Please don’t think that I am the only one around here that takes comments harshly. Everyone here would have rather have had the kit release. Look, we had bad news to deliver. We did so. We are now getting beat up for doing so. It is hard not to take criticism of “Round 2” (named because it is Tom Lowe’s second go around in the toy industry, btw) personally. We aren’t a huge corporation with a dozen people sitting around a board room making decisions. We are a team of a handful of people that all work extremely hard on several product lines. Emails come in to us that are pretty dang harsh that no one would ever dare say to our faces. The same can be said for message boards. I’ve never posted criticism of anyone or any company here or anywhere else. I keep everything positive. We show enough respect to post negative responses. We allow for criticism here but it needs to be kept civil. This blog will not become the wild wild west.
JamieH- Criticism can be meant two ways, a)just to bash a person/group or b)to point out problem issues with a person/group in the hopes that the individual/s receiving the criticism will do better. My criticism is of the “b” kind. It’s also just my opinion from my (limited) point of view. Take it for what it is.
When I mentioned the decals that are too fragile, it’s my hope that the person/s involed with decal design would look into it and make better decals for the next kit. Sorry if that and any of my comments where taken for more that. Regarding the “Eeyore” post, that’s the way I took it, though it might not have been meant that way by you.
As for keeping it civil, I agree. Don’t think I crossed the line, just expressing my opinion.
Like I said, reissues are fine, I’ve even bought a few (including the Romulan BOP), but I just wish you guys would consider the following:
a)More new mold Star Trek (and other) kits. Not expecting 10+ a year, but a few would be nice!
b)What you see of the completed model on the box is what you get, unless otherwise stated. The bottom of the Romulan BOP shows the completed model with windows on the side of the hull, but none are included in the kit. Same with the USS Reliant. No mention of them not being included on the box of either (though the Reliant box does say the Aztec decals are not included, but there’s no way to know the windows are only included in the Aztec set).
c)Please make the decals tougher. The Star Trek decals tear to easily. Takes practice and care to work with them.
At any rate, I’m looking forward to see what you guys have in store for us at Wonderfest, Big E or not.
Yeah these ships don’t exist in real life. But that doesn’t mean that the collective of Star Trek modelers don’t an accurate representation. Yes, some of the old AMT kit’s are fun to slap together. But the vast majority of them have major issues with fit, accuracy, and quality.
Jaime maybe you can answer this. Take Fine Molds Star Wars kit’s. They put one to two out per year and generally speaking are very accurate representations of the subject. Is creating a Reliant with that same level of accuracy really that hard in comparison? tell me if I am wrong StarWars ships are vastly more complicated than anything Star Trek has put on screen except maybe Nero/Shinzon ships.
Gentlemen,
I myself have been pretty harsh in many of my statements lately about round 2, most pointedly about the upcoming BATMOBILE kit. However i’ve been sitting reading over the posts while recuperating from a recent surgery and I have to throw in my Round 2 sense.
While I have been overly critical of late about the accuracy of the kits coming from PL I have to admit the alternative, that being no Round 2 at all, is a disheartening prospect. They are here and I am VERY glad of that. Otherwise there would not be ANY of these kits available considering the fact that AMT, MPC and Aurora are all defunct. The only kits we would see would be a trickle compared to what we have because Revellogram would not be doing them. As it is the smattering of vintage kits they do shows that they are not interested in runs of re-pops or re-tools except in cases of extremely popular kits that they know are going to reap a reward without any upgrading or tooling additions.
They (revellogram) might have eventually re-issued the original Enterprise and possibly even the Klingon BOP. Would they however release the Spock kit? Or the Romulan ship? Unlikely. Would they even consider upgrades, re tools or 1/350th kits? Highly doubtfull.
I understand the dissapointment over the fact this latest Enterprise is not being done, at least for now. This is surely a blow to the fleet completists. But all good things come to he who waits…patiently.
There are about a dozen people at Round 2 that are doing the work of a full crew. If Captain Kirk were to wake one morning to find that only he, Spock, Bones and Scotty were aboard the Enterprise, they would have a really difficult time running a ship without a full complement of crew. They would pull it off of course…but they don’t have to because they have a full crew.
Jamie H, and the rest of the staff at Round 2 however are in that position every day. Aside from the miryad of office problems, there are staff meetings to get to, production schedules to meet, prototypes to be inspected, artwork to go over, and yes…this blog to watch over as well as the other blogs associated with Round 2.
Therefore, Jamie (and i’m not making him out to be the Captain Kirk but he may as well be) and the rest of the staff there are piloting a runaway ship with a skeleton crew and making it work day by day. Do things get missed? Of course they do! Do things get overlooked or outright ignored at times due to production constraints and schedules? Absolutely. All these factors considered, the Polar lights brand team does a spectacular job of giving us all MOST of what we want. You can’t have it all.
There are still new tools coming from PL and just because they aren’t releasing the kit you’ve always wanted is no reason to mutiny. They just aren’t releasing it yet. We don’t know the particulars as we are not privy to them and really have no need to be. It could be a liscensing issue, a funding issue or even possibly the fact that at this time PL’s feels they cannot at this time provide us with a quality job on that particular subject. Maybe they are stretched too thin at this point and decided to shelve the project until it can be done properly. These are all viable reasons.
I may be way off the mark and it could be another reason entirely but whatever the reason it is evident to me that Jamie and the rest of the staff puts in some extreme hours on ALL thier projects and are to be commended for what they have been able to do under such circumstances as they have.
You’ll note that I speak ONLY for myself and have called attention to noone. I’m just saying. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed here are the opinions of Bats only and are not necessarily the views of this station, network it’s affiliates or sponsors. The statements contained herein should be chalked up to the nonsensical rantings of a diseased mind.
Should you find yourself reading this in part or in whole, emmediately rinse with saline solution at least five minutes for each eye used.;)
spock62- my responses to your points
a) I would like to do more too.
b) I would have liked to include the window decals but we were hindered by development costs. When I’m asked what can you do to reduce the cost, I first look at the thing I think a modeler can manage without if needed. You guys are incredibly resourceful. I’d rather leave in accurate parts at the expense of adding a second decal sheet.
c) We’ve been addressing this matter with the factory. We know decals have played a very important roll in our success and we take the matter very seriously. Decal issues are incredibly difficult to pinpoint the cause. However, I have improved samples on my desk. IM me your address and I’ll let you try some out. It would be good for someone who has had troubles with them to check them out to see if enough progress has been made. 90% of the time when I try out decals (even the ones returned to us as defective) I never see the same problem.
Btw, the Eeyore thing, I picked that up from Dave Ramsey.
Bats- I think I relate much better to Scotty. 🙂
shotgun- The way I understand it when I talk to the factory about Fine Molds level of quality is that a higher (more expensive) level of tooling is necessary. It kind of makes sense too that there is probably more set up time, more rejected parts and a detail minded person running the actual production. If you consider the injection molding process, you can imagine that the injection points are much finer and more liable to plug, etc.
On top of that, think about the price difference between our kits and theirs. I’m not saying they are not worth the price but it is much easier for us to sell at lower price points.
JamieH- While I appreciate the fact that you had to chose between decals or accurate parts due to cost constraints, it would have been nice to include the windows or at least a disclaimer on the box stating these decals weren’t included. Aftermarket decals are available for these windows, but that adds extra cost to the customer. Hopefully, you can find ways to remedy this in the future. I’d be happy to try out improved decals, though I’m not sure how to IM you, where do I find your address? Is it the address given in the contact area of your website?
Bats- One question, why do you think Revell/Monogram might have/could have reissued AMT/MPC kits? They only own Aurora molds and have nothing to do with, as far as I know, any of the AMT/MPC molds. I do agree that Revell/Monogram shows little interest in reissuing Aurora kits (and no interest in upgrading the tooling), IMHO, it seems the only reason they reissued any of the Aurora kits is because of what companies like Round 2 are doing! I remember reading that their new owner, Hobbico, decided that only new car kits would be produced. So, with the exception of Star War kits from Revell of Germany, there’s little chance of any new-mold sci-fi kits coming from them for the time being.
spock62- we often try to give disclaimers but everything we were working on at that time was being done in a super rush to try to get it out by the end of the year. That was one of those things that just slipped through.
Spock62-
You obviously misread/misunderstood my post. What I meant was, If it weren’t for Polar Lights we would not see any of these great old kits because the only other major player is Revell/Monogram. The only re-issues we would see would “be a trickle” because the only re-issues Revell/Monogram is interested in doing are the ones THEY have molds for on hand. Meaning the Batman, Robin, Stupidman and the Universal monsters Drac, Frank, Wolf and Mummy. I did say “…because Revellogram would NOT be doing them…”
Jamie- I agree, Scotty best suits you! Now- You have three months to put out the next round of kits…in Scotty time. 😀
JamieH- Having worked on many a last minute/rush project/s at my old job, I get were your coming from.
Bats- I based my statement on this one from you frist post: “They (revellogram) might have eventually re-issued the original Enterprise and possibly even the Klingon BOP. Would they however release the Spock kit? Or the Romulan ship? Unlikely. Would they even consider upgrades, re tools or 1/350th kits? Highly doubtfull.” Revell/Monogram doesn’t own the AMT/Polar Light molds, so they couldn’t have reissued these kits, but, to me, your statement seems to indicate otherwise. Anyway, that’s how I took it, sorry if I misunderstood. I do agree with you though, Revell/Monogram seems to have little interest in the sci-fi/fantasy/horror kit scene, unless they own the molds and can make a quick buck off of them. Guess we should be lucky for the few Aurora reissues they’ve done…and for selling/leasing the mold of the Aurora Batmobile to Round 2 (not sure how it was done, just glad it was).
No biggie Spock, I see now where your confusion came from. I can get a bit long winded sometimes and my posts turn out to be clear as mud. Sorry for the confusion.
Bats- No problem, I can get “long winded” too!
JamieH- I noticed on the side of the Romulan BOP box that you guys are bringing back the Galileo shuttle. Do you have any info you can share as to when this will be available and will there be any modifications to the kit to address it’s inaccuracies? Also, is the OS Klingon Battlecrusier being released in just the collector’s tin or will you make it available as a regular release too?
We put the Galileo on the retro boxes for nostalgia’s sake… for now. It is a kit we will likely get to at some point (whether we get to do certain other projects and when will impact our schedule on this one). I haven’t even taken a look at it yet. I’ve heard all of the horror stories about it though. From what I’ve heard, consensus seems to be “start over”.
Please don’t wait to buy our Klingon Battle Cruiser Collectors Edition Tin. (I’d get in trouble if I didn’t say that. Feel free to read between the lines) We are making some pretty significant improvements to the kit. I hope to post about that in depth soon.
JamieH- I was hoping the Klingon Battle Cruiser would be improved, sounds like it will be worth the wait.
If by horror stories you mean that the Galileo kit is a)80% inaccurate (the instruments on the console are fuel/temp gauges seen on cars for Pete’s sake!), b)doesn’t go together all that well, c)looks more toyish then a true replica, then you’ve heard correct. Just started to make mine, been in the “stash” for a few years. Knew it wasn’t that good, but was a little surprised how bad it was! Looked good to me back when I was 11 or so(as most things did back then)! IMHO, this kit is a perfect candidate for a new-mold.
Ok, I’m curious,
The Klingon Battle cruiser is the most accurate of the old AMT kits. AMT built the filming miniature, and the kit is basically a half size version. What improvements will be made? It’s just about dead on accurate.
As for the shuttle craft. The old it is really inaccurate but has a kind of charm for me. I know others will feel different. I am sorry to hear that it is not in line for release.
Thanks
Mark
Jamie,
I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for the work you guys are doing at Round2. It’s wonderful to have these kits available again (warts and all) after years of them not being available. As well as fantastic new ones, like the 1/1000 refit and the new Batmobile. Personally, I didn’t realize until reading your post just how thankless a job it can be. The very fact that you have a blog and participate on other message boards for feedback is evidence of the fact that you’re putting out the best value for our money that you can. We can’t always get what we want, and if we’re half as resourceful as we like to give ourselves credit for, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Thanks for the awesome kits! Look forward to more in the future!
David
First time ever I feel compelled to join a forum and pist my views.
I mnyself am a big model collector of all things Star Trek. This has been a place of great excitement after stumbling across the kits last year in my local model shop. Personally the Movie Enterprise has always been my favourite and I own 2 of the 1/350 kits of which the first was a prototype to a scratch built lighting kit of my own design.
Now I quite enjoyed seeing a new take on the Enterprise in 2009. I am disappointed that this plastic kit is not going to see the light of day. However, I also collect and build resin kitsa for which there is a huge selection of the more obscure Star Trek designs. Already the Kelvin and other designs have been released in resin. It’s only a matter of time before the Enterprise arrives in such a format also.
True resin models are not for everyone. I am simply pointing out there are alternatives to plastic kits. Round2 I am certain are aware of this fact and so focus their work on what they can produce quickly and with good quality results.
Laying into them for cancelling kits is unfair. Air your disappointment of course, but keep it civil. It’s a model kit for god’s sake not the cure to all disease!
I would personally though be interested as to the reason why you chose not to pursue this kit after all the hard work.
Also considering I have an original Starcraft resin mould of the Akira and the new more accurate re cast of it I would be seriously interested inseeing a plastic kit of it too. More than anything because it would be so much less of a headache to modify or ‘chop about’ into my own alternate style of vessel using the Akira as the base.
As unfeasible as it sounds though a 1/250 Akira…*drifts of into a world of desire*……..
Finally though good work on some of the re issues but I do think it’s a bit mean not to include the Reliant aztecs with the kit. You might also want to pop over the the Federation Models website and take a look at their Miranda class shuttlebay conversion kit. Just an idea for future models…
Keep it up though despite the setbacks it’s nice to be able to get these kits again. When I first built them i was 9 years old and they were awful, now at 28 I finally have a chance to make the decent!
Okay typo correction time…
A 1/350 Akira my god could you imagine a 250!! I’d never get it up the stairs…
Jamie,
As we have had a discussion about my hoping the new movie Enterprise wasn’t cancelled I am disappointed by this news. I will hope that this is not the end of the new movie Enterprise and that it may be looked at again in the future. I will also hope that the final line in your statement means that you will look at producing some of the starships that are not available to us like a 1/1000th Voyager and/or Defiant that we can match up with your other 1/1000th models.
Thank you for your work in making any Star Trek models available to me because before you guys (Tom Lowe & company) came back to the model world a few years ago there was nobody making, or looking to make any Star Trek models and without the work you guys have done the last few years we would probably only have gararge kits and old stock to build. You have updated a lot of older models and made the available at reasonable prices. So althought I am disappointed that we will not be seeing the new movie models, I can’t help but be thankful for all you have done for me over the last few years with all of the Star Trek models that you have updated and re-released. I just hope that I will see a few new molds over the next couple of years, and hopefully something from Voyager which is the only Star Trek show you don’t have any models from ……. Hint, Hint 🙂
Thanks for all you have done……
Tommy
Jamie,
Here is a big “THANK YOU” to Round 2 models and all the efforts over the years. In what appears to be a dying hobby, the fact that you issue both new and old kits is nothing short of miraculous. Would love to see a book about all the trouble getting a new kit from drawing board to hobby shop. Jim G.
Jamie
I see your point, my family actually owns an Aluminum and Brass foundry so similar principles. From what I read Fine Molds uses CNC to create their tooling so maybe that’s where the cost comes in. I guess in my mind if more accuracy cost $10 a kit more i’d plop it right on down(On something new).
John
Sucks about the New Movie Enterprise…was looking forward to it to add to the rest of the 1/1000 kits.
A 1/350 TOS E really has no interest to me…I have the NX-01, but that was about it….just too big of a kit for my house, IE: no place to put it once it is built, which seems to be a theme here with the multitude of large kits that go unbuilt.
I do have a question for Jamie however….
I noticed from the Nuremberg show that Revell is re-released an Enterprise and Klingon ship. First off…I didn’t know that they ever had any Star Trek ships in their inventory, and 2nd…if Round 2 has the license to re-produce Star Trek Ships, how does Revell get away with re-issuing those 2?
And in case no one saw it…here is a link to the photo
http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/uploads/RayLefebvre/2011-02-13_221057_Revell_Enterprise.jpg
Well perosnally I say good riddance to bad rubbish; hate the JJPrise 😉
What I’d love to see are more in-scale kits; appropriate to their era.
1/1000 for TMP era ships: Reliant, K’t’inga, Excelsior, KBoP(+Grissom combo or double pack?). I feel seeling aztek decals bundles w/ the kit is a good idea, especially for repops.
For the TNG era ships 1/1400: Ent-C and other re-pops.
Lots to choose from for newly tooled ships:
(the ST:FC ships) Alkira, Steamrunner even the Norway+Yeager.
From TV Series +other movies: New Orleans, KBoP (double pack since small?), Negh’var (Big), Romulan Warbird:D’deridex and even Valdore(big!), Jem’Hadar Bug fighters, Cruiser and Battleship. Various Kardassian classes and even Ferrengi and Breen.
Special ships like an orig Ent @ 1/350 always welcome of course 🙂
Anyways my 2 cents: Thanks for all the passionate and hard work Round2!
Elm City- Licensing agreements usually come with a stated territory attached. Ours covers North America. Theirs covers Europe.
Jamie… I’ve been pretty vocal about my disappointment in this news at Starship Modeler, but I’ve waited to calm down before posting here out of respect.
First let me say that I love everything you are doing for the modeler. The re-pops with enhanced tooling and new aztecs are awesome. I’ve bought nearly every one except for the 1/350 refit because I have nowhere to put it, and the Enterprise B because I can’t find good Aztecs for it (hint…. hint) The rest I’ve bought and either built or am building multiples of.
However, this was the one kit I really wanted more than anything and I feel like I asked the head cheerleader to prom, she said yes, showed up to her door to pick her up… and she said she couldn’t go because she had to wash her hair.
My heart is totally broken. I know things sometimes fall through, but there is no kit for this Enterprise out there. The sad thing is when you got the license for it, the garage kitters got slapped with C&Ds. So we can’t even get it as a big blob of resin. And then you put up pictures of test shots for like, an hour then took them down (if these could somehow be leaked…….) It was so close I could smell the plastic. Then yank goes the rug.
You could make it up to me by announcing that your re-poping the DS9 kit in clear! Actually, I’d really like to see this. The Enterprise D was a good kit to clear cast, but Deep Space Nine just BEGS for it. Rather than including Azteks you could include window masks.
liebevision- I’m glad you’ve liked what we have been able to do so far. I can’t stress enough how much more we would like to do for you guys. Believe me, we can totally relate to your heartbreak. Clear DS9…? hmmm…
Jamie,
I have to agree that you guys are really doing a great job with the re-pops. You got rid of the awful raised grid lines on the original AMT 18″ Enterprise & the changes made to the Enterprise B make it a great kit!
I had asked a few times about the ‘New’ Movie Enterprise and was disappointed, but heck, it’s an ugly ship anyway. I admit I wanted a few to build something different but it’s no big loss. I liked the new Star Trek movie but it will never truly be ‘Star Trek’ to me. I could only take so much of those lens flares.
Keep up the great work and hopefully some of that will include the 1/350 TOS Enterprise!
I just want to say that I just started getting back into the model kits, at the end of last year. I also just started getting into Star Trek. I’m mostly a Star Wars fan, but I have to say, in the past few months, I’ve purchased 1/2500 Enterprise D, 1/1400 E, Reliant and decals, and I’m waiting for 1/1000 Enterprise Refit. I built D and it’s Beautiful. I am looking forward to the rest. I think you guys are doing a great job.
I’d buy the 350, because it looks completely amazing, but I don’t have any room for it. Everyone is screaming for a TV show Enterprise, personally, I’d love a 3 ft Enterprise D, even if it’s out of scale. I’d buy that in a second, without any thought of where I was going to put it.
Once again, from a guy who never has built any of this stuff, I think you guys are doing an awesome job. I would’ve bought the JJ Enterprise. I’d also buy the Kelvin.
And might I also add, I have some Fine Molds too. Like it’s been mentioned, the price of Round 2 kits, with the size of them, is where it’s at, for sure. Reliant will have cost me about $100, when completed, which to me, if done right, is worth it, but things like 3 sheets of decals WITH 1/1000, 1/2500 kits, for under $20, is damn nice. I like my accuracy too, I look at the online shots of film models when I’m building, and as far as these kits go, I see nothing that makes me feel that it’s so bad, it ruins the model. I tell you I can’t wait to see Reliant done.
Now that we have the news that there will be a 1/350 scale
origanal U.S.S Enterprise that whole 2009 Enterprise thing
seems pretty mute, after all 1/350 scale TOS Enterprise, man
the modeling forums have been all jumping for joy, pre-order
fever is wild! But there is also another side to that move,
if you folks do produce, on schedule a nice kit….the demand
for 1/350 scale subjects will be crazy!!! Klingon Battle cruiser, Romulan Bird of Prey, klingon Bird of Prey, U.S.S Reliant..ect, ect, ect. I can see it now, hey I hope you folks
do go that route. It would be GLORIOUS!
On a side note I am one of those select few that did not wish
the demise of the 2009 Enterprise kit, whatever the reason it
is my hope that in the near future you will give it another
shot. I feel that Round 2 producing this kit would do well for
everyone all the way around.
“Buckle Up”
fortress
fortress- someone asked a question about other large kits during our Q&A at Wonderfest. We are working on the video footage of that presentation and are doing our best to get it up soon. Be sure to check that out.
On the new Star trek stuff. I doubt we would explore doing any of that subject matter for a VERY long time if at all unfortunately.
JamieH,
Thanks for the reply I am sure this issue has created
problems for you folks indeed as well as being somewhat
disappointing to Trek enthusiasts, they are still griping
over it on some of the modeling blogs but I feel when they
see the 1/350 1701 due out next year they will be pleased.
I was one of them by the way(lol)
Since you have made it clear that Round 2 will only deal
with classic Trek subjects (which is cool with me) it is
my hope that with some re-boots of older kits you will also
offer some new toolings to the Trek line up.
One of my favorite Trek ships was the NEBULA CLASS STARSHIP
one of the reasons for that is that it could be more than
design but be the same ship, If a subejct like that were
produced, heck a guy would have to buy 3 of them to series
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/nebula-phoenix.jpg
Nebula Class Phoenix
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/nebula.jpg
Nebula Standard
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/proto-nebula.jpg
Nebula Class Prototype
A “41” U.S.S. Excelsior would be one hell of a kit in scale
with the AMT/ERTL U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-A. Lunar Models
did one several years ago in vacuform and resin but I think
you folks could really do a fine job with it.
http://www.thomasmodels.com/gallery/nx8.jpg
Lunar Models U.S.S. Execlsior built by TM
Oberth Class Starship- Famous Science Class Starship from
Star Trek Movies and TV shows.
http://trekazoid.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/oberth.jpg
Well that’s my must have list from Trek.