The Black Campbell

The second ship from the Battlestar Galactica series arrived from Eaglemoss and I continue to be impressed with how well they do packing these models in smaller boxes and with no excess packing, when compared to the massive Diamond Select boxes for their BSG models.

As with the Viper Mk II, the new Cylon Raider is a diecast top piece, and plastic bottom piece. It’s heavy, on par with the resin DS version. The joins on this are much less obvious than they were on the Viper, and similarly, it’s not as dark a piece. The weathering and other details are better, although the DS version has more organic looking coloring. As with the Viper, the undercarriage detailing is better; the DS versions skimped on that.

Scale is the same between the two, whereas the Viper from Eaglemoss was just a touch smaller than the old DS version. The base for this one is a bit awkward and doesn’t quite fit the nose section as well as the Viper base did (It’s very good and holds the model securely), and require a bit of adjustment to get the Raider to sit well.

As with the Viper, the Raider comes with a 14-page booklet detailing the vessel, talking about the design evolution, and ending with an interview with Ronald Moore.

So how is it? Again, Eaglemoss’ use of the shooting CGI models makes for a more accurate  model. There is more surface detailing in the Eaglemoss version, although, in this case, I suspect the Eaglemoss version is from later in the show when the Cylons loose a bit of the organic look from the early seasons, which the DS model captures well. Is it worth the $55? If you’re a BSG fan, yes.

I saw a few ads popping up on Facebook a few months ago for a new line of science fiction spacecraft models from Eaglemoss, the guys famous for the small Star Trek ships.  (I’ve got one of their Akira class and it’s lovely.) This new addition to their Hero Collection would be a twelve ship set from Battlestar Galactica — both old and new shows. I’m a reboot Battlestar Galactica fan, as any long-time reader of the blog will know, and I have the four limited edition ships from Diamond Select’s run from back when the show was still airing. So, of course, I signed onto their subscription. You get a ship every other month for the Galactica collection. The first one was the Viper MK II.

The original Diamond Select Viper is an excellent bit of modeling, done in resin and nicely detailed. The specific ship is Viper 2220NC, Apollo’s (and originally Commander Adama’s) ride in the early portion of the show. It’s well done, with a fair bit of accuracy to the markings and the weathering. The canopy comes off (even when you don’t want it to) to expose a detailed cockpit. the stand has the 3rd Squadron (Vigilantes) symbol on it, although the nose markings for the Viper are 1st Squadron (Primus.)

The scale puts the Viper at about 11″ long, and the Eaglemoss Viper is almost the same scale. (It’s a touch smaller.) The packaging for the Eaglemoss Viper is much more compact and less wasteful. Inside, there’s a simple oval stand with clear arm to hold the model. The model was surprisingly hefty and weighs about the same as the resin DS model. The main hull is diecast metal, with wings and engines and lower hull assembly done in plastic. The seam lines on the Eaglemoss model are more pronounced where the undercarriage meets the rest of the nose, and around the engine assemblies, but it’s nothing tragic. Looking at the screen models online, the detailing of the Eaglemoss bird is much better, with some of the warning on the hull scaled more correctly. The weathering is not as extreme as the Diamond Select version and she is sporting the 8757NC markings for Starbuck’s Viper. The canopy is darkened plastic and there is no cockpit detailing visible.

The first model is $20 on the subscription, then they are $55 after that. The first models are the Viper MkII, the new Cylon Raider, the new Galactica, and it looks like the next one up is the Viper MkI from the original show, followed by the new and old basestars. If you’re not interested in the old stuff, you can cancel at any time (and I’m assuming join back up for the ones you want.) This accounts for half of the twelve ships supposedly in the queue, so I think we can assume there will be an original Galactica and Cylon Raider, a Viper MK VI, a Raptor, leaving two others. I’m hoping for a Pegasus from the new show, and I suspect Colonial One will be the last in the group. (I’d much rather have a Zephyr…)

As with the Star Trek models, each ship comes with a 14-page booklet on the vessel and some background on its design for the show, and an interview — in this case — with Ronald Moore.

So how is it? The build quality is better on the old Diamond Select, just because of the use of resin molding. For accuracy of markings, weathering, and overall appearance I’d go with the Eaglemoss. Is it worth the $20 for signing up? Yes. It would be worth the $55 for the main subscription fee, in my opinion.

I’ll follow this up with a review of the Cylon Raider and Galactica soon.