“Space, the final frontier…”
These words greeted me each Saturday afternoon as I eagerly waited to watch the next adventure of Captain Kirk and his crew of explorers. I think that my love of Sci-Fi was that perfect storm of childhood imagination mixed with the right type of story to hook me. Sure, Star Trek TOS is really “cheesy” by today’s standards, but give me a double-fisted Kirk-Fu move against a Gorn any day of the week!
With my imagination being fueled by Star Trek on TV (TNG was on TV at the time in its first run), and my intense love for Star Wars, it is not surprising that my very first model was the USS Enterprise. I can’t tell you what brand it was (probably AMT / ERTL), but she was big, she was grey, and she was poorly put together!!! It was my one and only TOS Enterprise to date, but I vowed when I got back into model making that a TOS Enterprise would make its way to my bench!
Well, that time has come and to be honest, I was disappointed with the lack of detail on the models. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a rivet counter by any means! I know that Sci-Fi requires you to put your expectations on hold a bit to understand the larger story, but c’mon, can we have just a little detail? Well, thankfully Greenstrawberry had us covered.
Their detail set 02316-1/600 designed for the 1/600 Revell USS Enterprise is an exactly what Bones would have ordered! It comes packaged, as always, in strong cardboard backed package that holds it rigid. The actual photo-etch parts are super detailed. It always amazes me at the amount of detail that Greenstrawberry packs into their products!
Some parts are very recognizable, with parts for the nacelles, but other parts are familiar….but I can’t quite put my finger on what they are. Well, after looking through the instructions (more on those below), I find out that there is a full interior for the shuttle bay, and a very tiny, but a detailed bridge for you to add that extra layer of wow! Again…I am not a rivet counter, but I love this detail and I can’t wait to see what it will look like in a completed model!
The instructions are well illustrated and easy to follow. It clearly shows how to remove the parts from the fret and how to assemble and bend. Assembly is straightforward, and with a little patience and some CA glue, you are home free.
I do recommend getting these parts if you want to add a little extra to your models. I will be the first one to admit that I was not a fan of PE. Having used it now on my last few builds, I know that it is not required, but it’s a great addition to the model itself.
Do I recommend this set? Absolutely. It will give your model just that little bit of extra detail that will really make it pop, and it won’t break the bank doing it. The set is detailed, but not so difficult that you will scream Khaaaaaan when you are assembling it!
