SRS Prototyping : USS Antares

First Look

November 11, 2007

SRS Prototypes : USS Antares

MISCELLANY
Kit #	SRP-01
Scale:	1:1000
Produced:	November 2007

The USS Antares was mentioned but never seen in the first season Star Trek episode, "Charlie X". It wasn't until 2007, 41 years later, that we finally get to see this doomed ship in the original series reboot that's currently airing on ABC-TV with updated, computer-generated effects shots replacing the old, often quirky, effects shots. The designers of the new effects did not make a new ship to represent the Antares, but instead tore a page out of a peripheral chapter of Star Trek lore. You might recognize the design from the early '70s animated effort, Star Trek: The Animated Series. Specifically, the robot cargo drones from the episode: "More Tribbles, More Troubles". The addition of a crew section turns the cargo drone into the manned starship USS Antares.

The addition of a crew section turns the cargo drone into the manned starship USS Antares. Here is a screen capture of the Antares on it's ill-fated rendez-vous with the starship Enterprise. This is another wonderful nod to the animated series and shows that the creative folks behind the new effects are also Star Trek fans.

This is the box art photo by pattern maker, Scott Spicer of SRS Prototyping. It shows a very nice build up of the model.

The model is comprised of 6 parts solid cast in grey polyurethane resin and one sheet of water-slide decals.

The detail are fine and well rendered throughout. There were only slight seam lines visible on the nacelles. The rest of the parts are perfect. The nearly flawless castings were produced by Federation Models. So kudos to them for a fine job molding and casting this gem.

Here are the cargo and drive sections. SRS Prototyping did a wonderful job turning the scant amount of information and images available into a fully detailed, 3 dimensional model kit.

The parts placement is quite obvious and well indicated. The nacelles are slotted on either side so either can be used for the left or the right. I'm very impressed with the engineering of the kit. The tolerances are so fine that the nacelles actually can be held in place with friction fit.

Here is the single flaw I found in the kit: one air bubble. Fortunately, it is easily fixable with a little bit of putty, and it's not in a noticeable area.

NOTE* These are images of a preproduction sample, so I would expect that molding irregularities like this will be eliminated before actual production begins.

I've drilled a small hole into the side of this piece for the mounting post. I'm anticipating shooting some below eye-level shots so this will allow me an unimpeded view of the ventral side of the model.

The water-slide decals have Federation markings, the name and registry for the U.S.S. Antares, NCC-501, windows and a few distinctive panel markings.

All told, this is beautifully patterned and exceptionally well cast. SRS Prototyping's USS Antares is a great model that fits right in with Polar Lights' 1:1000 USS Enterprise and Klingon D7 model kits. Aside from some paper models, I believe this is the first time ever that this design has been commited to plastic! It's currently available from Federation Models.

For more information about Star Trek: The Animated Series, please check out Perfesser Coffee's TAS Modeler's Reference Page and Kail Tescar's Star Trek: The Animated Series web sites.