At long last, Bandai's new masterpiece is here! Measuring 36cm (14-1/2 in.) long when completed, this rendition of the beloved Enterprise as seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, etc. Features snap assembly and is completely pre-marked -- there's no cement or paint required. What's more, it comes complete with an advanced illumination system that lights-up the windows in the saucer, secondary hull and bridge, plus the engine nacelles, impulse engines and deflector!

Don't confuse "snap assembly" with meaning poor quality, or lacking detail like it does on some low-end models! This kit was designed by a group of hard-core Star Trek fans at Bandai who wanted nothing less than to put together the ultimate Trekkie-pleaser.

If you're worried about the quality of the pre-printed markings, don't be. They're amazingly clear -- even the tiny "United Federation of Planets" marking on the rear of the engine nacelles and secondary hull is perfectly legible, despite being only about 1mm high! (see photo below, with pen tip for scale). And the "Aztec" color mottling scheme is beautifully done -- it's not as pronounced as shown in the prototype photos below, but is still apparent as a slight change of color and glossiness.

The illumination system is driven by three AA (UM-3) batteries (sold separately) that hide in the Star Trek emblem-shaped stand. Six bulbs are strategically placed around the ship, and their light is evenly distributed through transparent plastic panels on the inside, using the same technology that illuminates instruments in the dashboard of a car. Running the wires and securing them to contacts is probably the trickiest part of the whole assembly job (which took me about 3 hours), but the instructions are very well-illustrated.

You can display the ship on the display stand, or remove it at any time for hanging or other display -- parts are included to plug the joint to the stand on the bottom of the hull. See an excellent full-build review on the web's biggest modeling site, Hyperscale.com: http://kits.prohosting.com/ussenterprisereviewbg_1.htm

I can hardly wait for their "Enterprise-E" (as seen in Nemesis which is due for release in late summer!