As a prop and model collector, I’m something of a completest. If I’m going to have Mal’s pistol in my collection, for example, I really need to have both Firefly and Serenity versions (as it turns out, I apparently need to have them in both resin and metal, as well.)
The team at The FX Company seem to operate on the same principal: We’ve previously covered their fabulous builds of the original (TOS), NX-01 and refit Enterprise versions. So it should come as no surprise they’ve also done builds of all the “alphabet” Enterprises – the B, C, D and E.
This week we cover the “B”, the first true redesign of the iconic starship. The Enterprise B is an Excelsior-class starship, so named for the prototype of the line, the U.S.S. Excelsior. Every time I see reference to the NX-2000, or the NC-1701-B for that matter, I’m reminded of Scotty’s timely sabotage of the Excelsior in Star Trek III. He removed what looked to me like a metal bolt from the “works”, causing the Excelsior’s experimental Transwarp drive to fail. Always was a little surprised Scotty didn’t get a court-martial for that stunt. I mean, they wanted to execute Spock just for sending messages to bulging-headed Aliens in “The Cage”.
I have to honest – from a design perspective the Enterprise B is not my favorite ship ever. But, I know there are many who admire the B’s long, clean lines, which make it look a little like a 19th Century sailing yacht. As always, the brilliant model makers at The FX Co. have done a mighty fine job of bringing the B to life:
Pretty!