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First look at Eaglemoss USS Enterprise

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Coming next summer, to mark the fiftieth issue of The Official Starships Collection, is the starship that started it all, the original USS Enterprise. And as a Christmas treat, The Collection's manager, Ben Robinson, gave likers of The Collection's Facebook page a preview of one of the most anticipated models in the series, which believe it or not is also the first TV-era TOS ship to feature.

This isn't the final version of the model, as Ben explained:
Happy Christmas everyone. I've got a little something for you - the first pictures of the original series Enterprise. It's the factory's first attempt so it 's not perfect. You'll see straightaway that they forgot to pain the deflector dish and they haven't given me a stand so some of the pictures are a little awkward, but I'm pretty pleased so far. Enjoy and here's to next year's ships... Ben
More images after the jump:




For a listing of all the ships in the Starships Collection, including links to all my previous previews and reviews, see my index page.

Find Star Trek starships on TFAW.com!

TOS retro prints are back, as mugs!

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The ever adaptable series of TOS retro poster designs by Juan Ortiz is back! This time eight of the designs from the series have been reconfigures to fit neatly onto mugs, from Culturenik. The episodes features are Obsession, Arena, The Cage, Mirror, Mirror, Balance of Terror, The Trouble with Tribbles, The City on the Edge of Forever, and The Ultimate Computer. Check them all out after the jump:









The designs above are adapted from Juan Ortiz' series of posters, which covered every episode in The Original Series. All the designs have also previously been released on shot glasses, as T-shirts, coasters, trading cards, and released as a book. Select designs have also found their way onto towels, and into a diary!


Captain Kirk's Boldest Missions

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Coming in March will be a new TOS compilation DVD set, Captain Kirk's Boldest Missions, featuring eight, bold missions... So far only three episodes to be included in the two-disc set have been revealed, in the official description, posted by TV Shows on DVD, who also posted the cover concept (not final) pictured.
2-disc set at a great value price: 8 episodes from the science fiction classic, Star Trek: The Original Series, featuring the most thrilling adventures of Captain Kirk (William Shatner)! Captain James Tiberius Kirk steps squarely into the spotlight in this thrilling Star Trek collection that features his greatest interstellar adventures. And the commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise finds a galaxy full of intriguing missions, as he and his crew are destined to go "where no man has gone before."

From an encounter with the mysterious Balok in "The Corbomite Maneuver," and attempting to rescue survivors from a planet-killing machine from another galaxy in "The Doomsday Machine," to the critically acclaimed, Hugo Award-winning "The City on the Edge of Forever," this collection of eight thrill-packed, heart-pounding adventures from the original Star Trek series will have you joining Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew as they soar off on exciting quests and unforgettable encounters.
While this is obviously aimed at the more casual Trekkie (not wanting to take on whole seasons) it might be worth keeping an eye out for further details of this when they are released, as similar compilations before have included new extra features; last year's TOS: Origins set had new introductions, and the older Fan Collective releases came with various featurettes and commentaries.


New TOS starship model kits

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Coming next year is a new TOS Romulan Bird of Prey model kit from Round 2 Models. I have previously previewed the new 1:1000 Polar Lights model itself, and now Things From Another World have added a listing, revealing the new box art. They are expecting this ship to reach us in March. Here's the description:
Few Star Trek ships are as popular or mysterious as the Romulan Bird-of-Prey. The villainous ship played a key role in the original series episode 'Balance of Terror.' The ship's iconic design and blazing bird graphic have been painstakingly researched to deliver the utmost in authenticity for this snap-together model kit. The kit features all decals needed to decorate the ship accurately.
Also newly listed by Things From Another World is another new release, the Build2gether USS Enterprise model kit set, which includes two different models of the original Enterprise, intended for parents or otherwise to indoctrinate, *ahem* inspire, their underlings in the art of starship building.
This AMT Build2gether set features 2 kits of the USS Enterprise that offers a great opportunity for seasoned sci-fi fans to share their interest with the next generation. It features an 18" long glue-together kit which is perfect for moderately-skilled modelers and features water slide decals to decorate the ship. An 11 1/2" long version of the ship is also included and features snap-together assembly for novice modelers. It also features a sticker sheet to supply all of the ship's markings.
I suspect this actually amounts to a reissue of both the existing Polar Lights 1:1000 kit and the AMT 1:650 kit. The new two-pack version is also expected in March.

To see what other model ships are coming up, hit the "models, toys, and games" button on my 2015 schedule page. And to check out all the model kits on offer from Round 2 Models, see my model kits list, and separate list for the 1:2500 scale Cadet Series range.


Book bits: Savage Trade cover, and other book updates

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Due out in March is Tony Daniel's second TOS novel, Savage Trade, and StarTrek.com have now revealed the cover, by Doug Drexler, for that book, with an Archer class ship stealing the show:


Here's a reminder of the blurb:
The U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, is en route to the extreme edge of the Alpha Quadrant, and to a region known as the Vara Nebula. Its mission: to investigate why science outpost Zeta Gibraltar is not answering any Federation hailing messages. When the Enterprise arrives, a scan shows no life-forms in the science station. Kirk leads a landing party and quickly discovers the reason for the strange silence—signs of a violent firefight are everywhere. Zeta Gibraltar has been completely raided. Yet there are no bodies, and the entire roster of station personnel is missing...

More books news after the jump:

Doug Drexler also made an interesting comment on his Facebook today. When asked why the nuTrek images from Ships of the Line (which have so far only appeared in the calendar one year, back in 2011, when Tobias Richter made two fantastic images) have not appeared in the new Ships of the Line book, he, perhaps unsurprisingly, noted the difficulties of getting anything nuTrek approved:
The approval process was much too heavy. We had two JJ images in one of the calendars, and it was torturous. I literally had to go to JJ Abrahms on the side to break a stalemate. He gave the ok, and we were good for that year. It just wasn't practical to to do that every go-round.
Just a couple of other book newslets to mention too: While talking about his latest book, Foul Deeds Will Rise on a recent episode of Literary Treks, Greg Cox mentioned plans for his future novels. We already knew he had a TOS book coming next year, which he revealed will be a TV-era story, but also mentioned he has plans for another TOS story beyond that, which will return to the movie-era (if that project goes ahead, it's currently at the outline stage).

And finally, the TNG parody book by Mike McMahan, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Warped, An Engaging Guide to the Never-Aired 8th Season, has been pushed back in the schedule again, now expected in August (rather than May), next year.

For full listings of the the latest and forthcoming Star Trek books, and links to all my previous coverage, hit the books or prose buttons on my 2015, and 2016 schedule pages.

First look at Eaglemoss Klingon D4

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The fourth oversized special issue from Eaglemoss'Official Starships Collection will be the new Klingon Bird of Prey from Into Darkness, identified as a D4 class in the film, and solicited by Eaglemoss as a Klingon Patrol Ship. Posting on the Star Trek Modellers Facebook group, The Collection's manager, Ben Robinson, has shown off the model for the first time, and it is glorious:


Ben is expecting this issue to arrive in the UK in February, and also commented on some of the background information we can look forward to in the accompanying magazine:
I've just been talking to Ben Grossmann and James Clyne about the design process and how it changed. It's a really interesting story. There are a ton of rejected Klingon ship concepts and the final ship did a lot more than I realised after just watching the movie.
Next up will be the USS Kelvin, and Ben further commented with a hint of more ships to come:
In an uncharacteristic bit of organisation I've already talked to the guys at ILM about that ship and about the six 'background' ships that make up the Fed fleet in the first movie.
For a listing of all the ships in the Starships Collection, including links to all my previous previews and reviews, see my index page.

Find Star Trek starships on TFAW.com!

Book bits: New Frontier ebook series, schedule updates, and covers

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Loads of books news today! First up, via StarTrek.com posting a schedule of forthcoming book releases, there is a very interesting new development in the Star Trek enovella line. Set for release between July and September is Return, a three-part New Frontierebook series, written by Peter David of course. Presumably this will be coming in place of the New Frontier novel that was expected this year (three novellas is basically a novel in three parts).

StarTrek.com also gave some new scheduling information for books which were previously just known to be coming. So filling out the remaining novel slots in 2015 we have James Swallow's new Titan novel, Sight Unseen, the as yet untitled Seekers 4, by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore, and Greg Cox's latest TOS novel, which StarTrek.com revealed will be titled Child of Two Worlds.

In a seperate post StarTrek.com also released the cover for the next enovella due for release, Scott Harrison's post-The Motion Picture story, Shadow of the Machine.


Continue after the jump for a reminder of the blurb for this book, and more cover art:

After its recent encounter with V’ger, the U.S.S. Enterprise has returned to dry dock to finish its refit before commencing its continuing mission. The crew has been granted a two-week period of shore leave before preparations for their next voyage begins. Shaken by their encounter with V’ger, Kirk, Spock and Sulu travel to their respective homes and must reflect upon their lives—now forever changed.

In other cover news, following the recent reveal of the cover for Tony Daniel's Savage Trade, Doug Drexler has posted (on Facebook) his artwork as originally submitted to Pocket, which included a planet, and a nebula by Ali Reis. Pocket decided on a deep space look for the final version:


For full listings of the the latest and forthcoming Star Trek books, and links to all my previous coverage, hit the books or prose buttons on my 2015, and 2016 schedule pages.

The Simpsons do the TOS end credits

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The most recent episode of The Simpsons, The Man Who Came to Be Dinner, was a science fiction adventure, featuring The Simpsons' regular aliens, Kang and Kodos. Naturally that meant a good peppering of sci-fi references, but they went all out on Star Trek for the closing credits, with a glorious homage to The Original Series' own end credits. Check it out:



Continue after the jump to oggle at each Simpsonised Star Trek image to your hearts content. And because I'm crazy, you can see them in their full glory, as I've removed the text:

So first up with have Marge as Vina, in Orion form, from The Cage/The Menagerie:


Homer as Kirk (but in red), fighting the Gorn, from Arena:


Sulu topless fencing from The Naked Time, portrayed here by Akira:


Expanding to other corners of the the Trekverse, grown-up looking Lisa is the Borg Queen!


The crazy cat lady stands in for Kirk, as her cat/tribbles fall down on her.  Principles Skinner is Spock, while Superintendent Chalmers is a suitable unimpressed Nilz Baris, and Professor Frink is Mr Lurry, from the iconic scene from The Trouble with Tribbles:


Bart takes the place of Scotty at work in a Jefferies tube, though he too has had a shirt change, and now works in the science division. This one is probably also from The Naked Time:


Some amusing mixed race partnerships form the face of Lokai and Bele from Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, formed here from Lenny and Carl, and Lou and Eddie:


Homer is Kirk again, while talking to the Triskelion Providers from The Gamesters of Triskelion:


Another detour from TOS takes us to Deep Space 9, where Milhouse struggles to get his glasses to work with Quark's ears!


Barney is Harry Mudd, while Selma and Patty are robotic duplicates of his wife Stella, from I, Mudd:


And finally Mr Burns brings you love, and tranya! Standing in for the puppet-form of Balok, from The Corbomite Maneuver:





This Month: January 2015

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January brings us the first Deep Space Nine (branded) novel in over half a decade (!), the much delayed start of the nuTrek crew's five year mission, a variety of new Star Trek homewares, and much more. Continue after the jump below to check out all the Star Trek stuff due out this month:

Publications

This month's novel should be available right now, and takes us back to the new Deep Space 9, after the events of The Fall. Incredibly, Una McCormack's The Missing is the first novel to be released under the DS9 banner in over five years! The last was also by McCormack, the brilliant The Never-Ending Sacrifice. Though of course we've not been short of DS9 stories in the various mixed series books in the intervening years (check out the reading order flow chart to see how all those books link). While a DS9 novel, there's also a peppering of TNG characters in this one, plus some original characters McCormack introduced in Brinkmanship. Here's the blurb:
The entire sector is waiting to see what the newly reopened Bajoran wormhole will mean for the shifting political landscape in the Alpha Quadrant. On Deep Space 9, Captain Ro Laren is suddenly drawn into the affairs of the People of the Open Sky, who have come to the station in search of sanctuary. Despite the opposition of the station's security officer, Jefferson Blackmer, Ro Laren and Deep Space 9's new CMO, Doctor Beverly Crusher, offer the People aid. But when Dr. Crusher’s highly secure files are accessed without permission—the same files that hold the secrets of the Shedai, a race whose powerful but half-understood scientific secrets solved the Andorian catastrophe—the People seem the likeliest suspects.

As tensions rise on the station, the science vessel Athene Donald arrives as part of its journey of exploration. The brainchild of Doctor Katherine Pulaski, this ship is crewed by different species from the Khitomer Accords and the Typhon Pact. Pulaski’s hope is that science will do what diplomacy has not: help the great powers put aside their hostilities and work together. But when the Athene Donald is summarily stopped in her voyage by the powerful vessel of a hitherto unknown species, Pulaski begins to wonder—will this first contact bring her crew together or tear them all apart?

Meanwhile over in the alternate timeline, the crew of the Enterprise are finally embarking on their five year mission, in issue forty-one of the nuTrek ongoing series. This marks the start of a new 5 Year Mission sub-series, and is also the first half of a two-part story, Behemoth. Mike Johnson continues as the regular writer, while Cat Staggs takes on the artwork for the first time in the series.
"Behemoth,” part 1 of 2: In the wake of their century-spanning encounter with Q, the crew of the U.S.S Enterprise leaves explored space behind to embark on a new five-year mission of discovery! Beyond the reach of Starfleet communications, they can only rely on each other when faced with their first encounter in uncharted territory—and it might be their last! Don't miss this perfect jumping-on point for new readers, produced in association with STAR TREK writer-producer Roberto Orci!

Last month's issue in the series, the final part of the DS9 crossover, The Q Gambit, hasn't actually been released yet, so that too should be out this month.

Also out from IDW this month is the second issue in the TOS/Planet of the Apes crossover, The Primate Directive. The five-part series is written by Scott and David Tipton, with art by Rachael Stott.
The colossal crossover nobody ever expected continues! Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew have landed on the Planet of the Apes—but how?! And how are the Klingons involved? Plus: Taylor meets up with Kirk and Spock, but will he greet them with open arms? Or flying bullets?

And from Titan Magazines is the latest issue of the Star Trek Magazine, issue one-hundred-and-seventy-nine in the UK, or fifty-two in the US. This issues focuses on Voyager, in celebration of the series' twentieth anniversary:
Can you believe it's 20 years since the U.S.S. Voyager was thrown light years across the galaxy and into the unknown expanse of the Delta Quadrant? In issue #52 of the official Star Trek Magazine we look back at the seven-year run of this much loved series, featuring exclusive interviews with series co-creator Rick Berman, and stars Ethan Phillips and Scarlett Pomers. We'll also be talking Janeway, revisiting Voyager's comic book adventures, and trekking across the convention circuit to uncover what draws fans to these massive events. Plus your favorite features, competitions and the latest Star Trek news! Available in Newsstand and PREVIEWS Exclusive cover editions!

Model ships

The Eaglemoss shipyards have two more ships for this month, in The Official Starships Collection. Already in the hands of UK subscribers is issue thirty-seven, the Andorian crusier, which to the best of my knowledge is the first ever model of that ship. Later in the month will be the Delta Flyer, only the second rendition of that ship I believe, following the previous Hallmark release.



At a larger scale, DST's newest electronic starship release is a reissue of the refit Constitution class, specifically this version has the paint job and sounds to make it the USS Enterprise-A, The Undiscovered Country edition.


And finally there are three new Attack Wing gaming miniatures from Wizkids, wave eleven of releases. This month's ships are the Romulan drone, Hirogen warship, and a squadron of Federation fighters. I believe all three of these are firsts! Although Eaglemoss have a larger and wonderfully detailed model of the Romulan drone coming soon.


Props

The only props due out this month are the mysterious chirping combadges from Bif Bang Pow. Mysterious because they still seem to only be listed by Forbidden Planet, and no further detail or images have been released since they first appeared. Both TNG and Voyager badges are to be released, with sound features. The images below were released when listings first appeared.


Previously listed for release this month was the new Search For Spock phaser from Diamond Select Toys, that seems to have been pushed back to March now though.

Homewares

There are numerous new goodies from Westland Giftware to Trek out your home this month. For the first time Westland have drawn inspiration from TNG. Continuing their Star Trek cookie jar collection there are two character busts, Picard, and Worf.


Salt and pepper shaker sets are also a recurring line for Westland, and for their TNG releases they've gone for two pairs of characters, Picard and Riker, and Data and Worf.


And there's also a range of character mugs, inspired by the TNG uniforms. You can choose from Picard, Worf, Troi, and La Forge.


Foreign Language

Finally, German readers also have some new books to enjoy this month. Cross Cul have two new translations, the second of Michael A. MartinsRomulan War books, To Brave the Storm (known in German as Der Romulanische Krieg: Die dem Sturm Trotzen), and the seventh Corps of Engineers enovella, which is itself the first half a two-part story, Keith R.A. DeCandido and David Mack's Invincible, Book One (aka Unbesiegbar 1).


And that, is all, for now. But there are almost always new bits and pieces announced throughout any given month, which I shall of course report on as they appear. Last month's late editions included reissues of QMx's nuTrek insignia badges, with new magnetic backs, a range of mugs featuring Juan Ortiz's TOS retro print designs, and a new design folder for collecting the magazines from The Official Starships Collection.

You can find out more about all these items, and everything else out this year, with links to all my previous coverage on my schedule page.



Entertainment EarthFind Star Trek comics, toys, statues, and collectibles at TFAW.com!

Uncertain Logic cover

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Due out in April is Uncertain Logic, the third book is Christopher L. Bennett's Rise of the Federationseries, continuing the adventures of the former Enterprise NX-01 crew in the newly created United Federation of Planets. StarTrek.com have now revealed the cover for that book, created by Alan Dingman, which features a cunningly conceived version of the IDIC, formed out of the Kir'Shara and Vulcan.


Here's a reminder of the blurb:
Years ago, Jonathan Archer and T’Pol helped unearth the true writings of Vulcan’s great philosopher Surak, bringing forth a new era of peaceful reform on Vulcan. But when their discovery is seemingly proven to be a fraud, the scandal threatens to undo a decade of progress and return power to the old, warlike regime. Admiral Archer, Captain T’Pol, and the crew of the U.S.S. Endeavour investigate with help from their Vulcan allies, but none of them suspect the identity of the real mastermind behind the conspiracy to reconquer Vulcan—or the price they will have to pay to discover the truth.

Meanwhile, when a long-forgotten technological threat re-emerges beyond the Federation’s borders, Captain Malcolm Reed of the U.S.S. Pioneer attempts to track down its origins with help from his old friend “Trip” Tucker. But they discover that other civilizations are eager to exploit this dangerous power for their own benefit, even if the Federation must pay the price!
The rest of the 2015 books schedule was just recently announced, hit the prose button on my schedule page for the full line-up. And you can look to the reading order flow chart to see where this book sits in the wider continuity.

Trek your life: New salt and pepper shakes, coasters, mugs, and more

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Need some more Trek in your life? Well Kirk, Spock, and co are ready to sprinkle Starfleet styling into your home with the latest creations from Westland Giftware, Vandor, and more. The parade of new Star Trek stuff continues after the jump below.

Westland Giftware have added several new items to their Star Trek collection. Typically new items listed in Wastland's catalogue show up a retailers several months later, so you should be able to get hold of these later in the year.

Joining their salt and pepper shaker collection will be Kirk and Spock, this time on transporter pads (perhaps you can sprinkle the salt to make the transporter shimmer).

There's an actual light effect in the Kirk and Spock decorated night-light.
And more lights still, with this set of light-up coasters!
Mugs are a regular fixture in Westland's releases, and this new twelve ounce one has a built in spinning Starfleet delta.
Spock is the sole subject of a new twenty ounce mug too. I think the handle is meant to be Vulcan ear shaped!
If Westland haven't given you enough options, Vandor also have some new drinking vessels on the way.

Their new twenty ounce travel mug features another transporter chamber, and using a heat reactive effect makes Captain Kirk beam in, when hot. Entertainment Earth already have this up for pre-order, expecting it to arrive in March.
Also due from Vandor in March is a twenty-four ounce acrylic travel cup, featuring the USS Enterprise.
Moving away from the kitchen, as I've previously reported, Icon Heroes have a set of Star Trek paper-clips on the way, made in the shape of the USS Enterprise and Starfleet deltas. Icon Heroes have now released another image of this, showing the little tin they come in, which has a USS Enterprise saucer design on the lid. These are also now available for pre-order, with an expected July release.

And finally, something not new at all! I came across a company making Star Trek iphone cases, but only for distribution in Thailand and Hong Kong. CRAZi have released several designs so far, including nice use of TOS iconography:




CRAZi have also posted several designs on their Facebook page for more cases, using the Trexels designs, and some portraits of the TOS characters. I'm not sure if these ever made it to production though, the fully realised designs above seem to have been on the market for a couple of years now.



You can keep track of all the latest Star Trek homewares releases by hitting the "other" button on my schedule page.



Shuttlecraft join The Official Starships Collection, in Europe

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Exciting times for mainland European fans, Eaglemoss'Official Starships Collection has now launched in Germany (the same launch includes Austria and Luxemburg too), and France, and subscribers there get the option for even more ships! As in other countries, subscribers get the extra models of the All Good Things... USS Enterprise-D, and Borg Cube, plus the Enterprise-D dedication plaque, and a folder.  Plus the first issue is €4.99, before going up to the regular €14.99 for subsequent issues.

But then there's more! If subscribers opt into a premium subscription, for an addition €1.50 per issue they also get model shuttlecraft. The German subscription website lists four shuttles to be included, which will be slightly smaller than regular models in the series, at about 10cm long. On the horizon for subscribers are the TOS shuttlecraft, for some reason they've opted specifically for Galileo II, the Type 6 shuttle of TNG origin, the USS Defiant's Type 10, and USS Voyager's Type 9.


It's not clear how often these will be be delivered to subscribers; one would hope at least every tenth issue, which would bring the premium to about the same amount as a regular issue. It's also not noted whether or not each shuttle will have a magazine too.

Also unknown is whether these will be offered to subscribers anywhere else in the world, but I will do my best to find out!

As previously noted, the German series will also have a slightly different release order, and it appears the French release will also follow this revised running order. Continue after the jump for details of that, plus the German TV advert:

The German website lists the following release order, up to issue twenty, and the French website uses the same running order, but only goes up to issue thirteen so far:

And finally here's the German version of the TV advert:



For a listing of all the ships in the Starships Collection, including links to all my previous previews and reviews, see my index page.

Find Star Trek starships on TFAW.com!

Anovos gets formal

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Anovos have revealed their new TNG movie era formal uniform jackets replicas. Both regular officer (with the grey center panel) and captain's variant (all white) will be available, and as ever Anovos have replicated the details from original production wardrobe pieces. The officer version will also be available in all three department colours.


Anovos are taking pre-orders now, with an expected September/October release. Continue after the jump for a look at some of the details of these pieces, plus a look at some of Anovos's latest smaller uniform replica elements.



A century earlier the standard Starfleet uniform was also rather fancy, and Anovos have the TOS movie era uniforms due out from July. Those come with the movie era insignia badge, which Anovos showed off their new replica of on Facebook recently:


Also included will be a set of "pips and squeaks" commendation pins, but Anovos are also now offering those separately, available next month.


The Q Gambit, part 6 preview

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Out this week is the final issue of The Q Gambit, the end of the six-part DS9 crossover story in the nuTrek ongoing comic series. Will Q prove to Kirk there is such a thing as a no win scenario? Will Dukat do ill in allying with the Pah-Wraiths? Continue below for a look at the first five pages from the final chapter in the story:




You can continue reading this story by picking up a copy at your local comic book shop, or from online retails like these: Amazon.com, Things From Another World, Forbidden Planet, iTunes. Or, if you can bare to wait until March, you can pick up the omnibus of the entire The Q Gambit story.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise though, that the USS Enterprise crew do survive to boldly go another day, and will return in Behemoth, part 1, the first half of a two-part story in the new 5 Year Mission series of stories. Which in theory should also be out this month, as the above issue is officially the delayed December issue in the ongoing series.

To keep track of all the latest Star Trek comic releases, hit the comics button on my 2015 schedule page.

Find Star Trek comics, toys, statues, and collectibles at TFAW.com!

Book bits: Voyager covers, new releases, and annotations

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A few bits of books news today, starting with some new cover art from German publisher Cross Cult. Posting on the German Star Trek books Facebook page, they revealed the artwork for Kirsten Beyer's third Voyager relaunch book, Children of the Storm, aka Kinder des Sturms. The ship staring on this cover is the USS Curie, as designed by Mark Rademaker:


Kinder des Sturms is due out in August. Cross Cult also released an updated version of another of their covers. Continue after the jump to check that out, plus a few other Star trek book updates:

Also in the Voyager series, Unworthy is due for German release this year as well. Unwürdig will be out in March, and Cross Cult have now amended the cover, adjusting the sizes of the smaller Full Circle fleet ships featured, and adding in the USS Voyager:


Meanwhile in the US, Insight Editions have released a temp cover for Star Trek: Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier. I'm sure there will be a much more interesting cover to tempt us further before the September release.

The US release of the Star Trek Pop-Ups book also seems to have been set now, with Amazon listing it for November publication (it got out earlier in the UK, check out my review).

And finally, Christopher L. Bennett has released his annotations for his latest Star Trek book, The Collectors, the new Department of Temporal Investigations enovella. The annotations act a bit like a DVD commentary for the books, and are always an insightful read, noting origins and explanations of things in-universe and from real world science. Well worth a read if you've zipped through the book already.

For full listings of the the latest and forthcoming Star Trek books, and links to all my previous coverage, hit the books or prose buttons on my 2015, and 2016 schedule pages.



Interview: Mark Brayer, starship artist

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Bye Bye Robot recently released five new Star Trek art prints, and have been kind enough to put me in touch with all the artists to explore their work. This time I'm talking to Bye Bye Robot regular Mark Brayer. Mark's piece in the latest releases is based on The Galileo Seven, and continues his series of TOS posters, which have now featured four different ships from the series. Mark talked me through all his designs, and how he makes them (continues after the jump):


You’ve established a really strong series, that seems to simultaneously echo classic sci-fi book covers, and have some sort of technical drawing feel. Could you tell us about how you decided on the look for the series, and your influences?
I appreciate the compliments on my work, I have always loved the great sci-fi and fantasy art of the 70s and 80s, and the artists who created them. As you mentioned, Lou Feck, but also Bob Peak, Ralph McQuarrie, and others. Their work graced the front of TV guides, posters, books, and other media, and was a big influence for me. Today, there is some masterful work being created with computers, but I love the look and feel of hand drawn/painted work.
Mark's 3D model of the Galileo
And how do you go about creating your work? What is your medium, and how do you build up the images?
For my Star Trek posters, I use many different types of media from traditional to digital. When designing a poster idea, I always start with pencil sketches. For this series, the ships were always the center of attention, so I would always try to create a layout that featured the most dynamic view of that particular ship. When I have established a layout I like, I do a more finished drawing with pencil and ink. When the poster design is approved, I can begin by building a basic 3D model in Sketch-Up. This allows me to get an accurate and proportional angle of the ship and not spend all of my time with technical things while I am illustrating. This gives me a guide to work with and then when I begin creating the art of the ship, I can manipulate and add things, and be creative knowing that the basic structure is sound. After the base drawing is done, I render it with a combination of some flat color via photoshop, and then I print it out onto a color tinted piece of paper, and then do most of the rest of the final rendering with colored pencil, pastel, ink and paint. After the coloring is done, I hi-res scan it into the computer and add the final text and color adjustments.

I wondered if you might take us through each of the designs so far? I believe the first piece was the S.S. Botany Bay, which almost feels like a classic travel poster to me, was that the intent?
Yes, the S.S. Botany Bay was the first one, and my original idea was to create the scene from the classic TOS episode "Space Seed" where the Enterprise discovers Khan's ship. In fact, I wanted to title each poster I did with an episode name, but in discussions along the way we discovered that wasn't the best way to go. However, each poster does include a "scene", instead of just the ship floating in empty space.
Mark also sent me some behind the scenes images to show his process. You see here some test art from the Botany Bay poster:

And then there’s the USS Enterprise, you seem to be channeling the classic Star Trek book covers by Lou Feck here!
The U.S.S. Enterprise poster does have the feel of one of those classic sci-if book covers I mentioned earlier. I always loved how every time they showed a spaceship, it was always flying very close to the ground, and there were always craggy looking rocks or mountains jutting up into the frame making it look like they were doing a close flyover. So, with my poster, I knew I wanted to capture that look, so I picked an angle for the Enterprise, and to give it more depth, I slightly adjusted the perspective, so the engines swept back a little more, and the saucer section seemed like it was coming out at you. For the mountains, I researched photo reference of mountain ranges for some ideas, and created the landscape. After adding in the greenish color, it was a perfect alien planet.
You can see here Mark's concept for the poster (left), and its final form (right):


The Klingon Battlecruiser, or rather a fleet of them, is there is a story in mind for the scene you portray here?
Well, within the Star Trek universe, you have to assume the Klingons are on patrol somewhere. I originally planned to only show one ship, to keep in style with the other posters. But as the layout was coming together, I thought, it might be more fun to show a group of Battlecruisers. By adding the asteroid field around them, it kind of gives it a more dangerous feel, and I like the fact that you don't know why the ship is firing-- is it to clear an asteroid in it's path, or is there another ship they've encountered. It's up to your imagination.
The final version of the Klingon poster is pictured to the right, while below there's a sketch, and colour test:

And your most recent piece, Galileo Seven, the first in the series to feature characters; I was wondering in particular how you settled on the design for the species that wasn’t seen all that clearly on screen?
The episode "The Galileo Seven" was one of my favorite episodes of the original series. The story was great, and how Spock handles his first command was excellent. Although, we all wanted to see more with this episode, the crash of the shuttlecraft, the aliens who were attacking them, but due to such small budgets, they just couldn't do it. So I always wanted to draw what I never got to see-- the Galileo in trouble flying over Taurus II, and the faces of the creatures. I researched the creatures pretty extensively, on the web and in books, and Charity over at Bye Bye Robot even called on some of her experts to help. The most important reference was a rare image of the makeup design of one of the actors who played one of the creatures, and unfortunately it didn't look very good, thus the reason the producers probably chose to cut it from the episode. However, the makeup test did provide a good basis to go from, and when I was designing the creatures for my poster, I tried to start with the basic design of the makeup and give it a little more life to try to depict what they were trying to show in the episode if they had the resources at the time. I liked how it turned out so I hope the fans do too.
And here, via the excellent birdofthegalaxy Flickr gallery, is a behind the scenes photo of one of those original Taurus II natives, and an early sketch of Mark's take on them for the poster:



Are there plans to continue the series? Are there any ships you’re keen to include?
I would love to continue to add to the four great TOS ship posters we have produced, and I have talked with Bye Bye Robot about a few future ideas. There are a few more ship/vehicles that we could explore, such as the Romulan Bird of Prey and the Space Station K-7. I do have an idea for something from the episode "The Doomsday Machine" which would be fun.
And what else can we look out for from you, Star Trek or otherwise?
Regarding future Star Trek projects, I have done developed a concept for a Star Trek kids picture book that would bring the excitement of the Star Trek universe to a younger audience. I have begun the early stages of contacting CBS about their interest in something like that.

I also illustrate quite a few other children's books, and recently one of those was awarded the Mom's Choice Award for excellence. Folks can see that and much more by visiting my website at www.markbrayer.com
Many thanks for Mark for telling me all about his work, and gives us such an insight into his process. I certainly look forward to seeing the series continue, and hopefully that book arriving soon too! All four of Mark's posters are available now from Bye Bye Robot. And as Mark mentioned, you can find more of his work on his own website, and follow him on Twitter.

I will be posting more interviews with other Bye Bye Robot artists soon, and you can already check out my previous interview with Kevin Hopkins, who contributed the Voyager image in the latest round of releases, and Charity Wood, the founder of Bye Bye Robot.

Books bits: Margaret Clark teases 2015 releases, new books, and more

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Loads of books news today, the bulk of it coming via Visionary Trek's The Captain Table podcast, which recently had Star Trek books editor Margaret Clark on, and many a bean was spilt as they talked about the novels and novellas coming over the next year.

Margaret spoke most extensively about where things are going in DS9 books, particularly in regard to David R. George III's next two books, July's Sacraments of Fire, and the follow-up, which Margaret revealed will be titled Ascendance, and is due out in January 2016 (officially the last book of the 2015 schedule). Margaret revealed the books will be set quite shortly after The Fall and will pick up on many of the threads from that crossover event, and how the crew of the new DS9 react to the historic events.
It's mere days after Bacco's assassination. ...What happens to all of these people realising, the first thing that's going to be written about the new station's history, is that Nanietta Bacco was assassinated here.
She also noted Ben Sisko will be staying closer to home than we might have anticipated:
Because of what happened in The Fall, Starfleet told [Sisko] you can't go out and explore the Gamma Quadrant, we need you here. 
Margaret discussed the books at some length, noting some of the other plots that will be picked up from both The Fall, and earlier DS9 relaunch books.

Continuing the post-The Fall era, Margaret also discussed Titan, and the how the books will continue with Riker now an admiral, in John Jackson Miller's Takedown, and James Swallow's Sight Unseen, both out this year:
John Jackson Miller's is mere days after The Fall, so things aren't that firm, Starfleet Command are trying to figure out what to do with Will. Where James Swallow is actually the first mission of the Titan, and is the first thing that Will Riker is given to do as an admiral in that book. So John Jackson Miller's is sort of the bridge book between The Fall, but the first real Titan book, with the ship dealing with the fact that "it's not Will, aww", that's October, and it's Star Trek: Titan - Sight Unseen.
Margaret also told The Captain's Table all about lots of the other forthcoming books. Continue below for further highlights, and more Star Trek books news!

She made briefer remarks about some of the other post-The Fall stories. Dayton Ward has already noted that his TNGbook, Armageddon's Arrow, will have something of a TOS flavour, and Margaret noted that will be something directly from the previous century, noting: "we'll see the return of some technology from the 23rd century".

Discussing Data, there is nothing on the cards yet continuing his post-resurrection story, as Margaret is insistent Data will only be used now for something really special. Several authors have apparently pitched to use him, but so far she's not oked anything. One of those is Jeffrey Lang, author of last year's Data adventure, The Light Fantastic. While Margaret hasn't granted him another Data story yet, she has bought a DS9 novel from him, which is set for release in 2016. No further details were given, but Lang has previously talked about such a book, which he described as "a 1980s buddy adventure book, featuring Miles O'Brien and Nog".

Regarding Voyager, Margaret talked about how Kirsten Beyer will be assembling some notable guest stars in her next book, Atonement, using an event to pull some prominent political characters into the story. She also noted that the next Voyager book, A Pocket Full of Lies, is set for release six months after the September release of Atonement, so we should be able to pick that up from March, or there about, next year.

Margaret also confirmed Christopher L. Bennett's fourth Rise of the Federation book will be a 2016 release, and discussed this year's new TOS novels. She described Tony Daniel's March book, Savage Trade, as a "sort of sequel to The Savage Curtain". She gave a more lenghty, is still quite vague, description of David Galanter's Crisis of Consciousness, due out in May:
It's a dilemma for the Captain. We have a new treaty and suddenly something changes; who do you decide to sit with, defend, how do you decide to parcel things out. And it has a guest star, a women we see later on, this is a second season book.
She also revealed Greg Cox's December book, Child of Two Worlds, will be a Pike-era story. And that's not all we'll get from Greg Cox this year, as Margaret also announced he will be writing an enovella as well, a TOS movie era story.

Talking about other ebooks she gave some new details about Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann's next Quark novella, The Empty Sack, also due out this year, which will feature Grand Nagus Nog visiting his brother on the station.

Speaking about the New Frontier ebook trilogy she confirmed some of the speculation about the form setting of the novellas, in particular that the story will pick up where the novels left off.

She also mentioned she's talking to two other authors about more ebooks, so the schedule might still have more to come!

That's the news in summary, but Margaret discussed all those titles and more at some length with the guys on The Captains' Table, giving a great insight in her plans and approach. So you should listen to the full interview!

And Margaret isn't the only one revealing details of new books, newly listed in online catalogues is a The Wit and Wisdom of Star Trek. A hardcover release, the book will be published by Cider Mill Press, and written by Robb Pearlman, who brought us Fun with Kirk and Spock last year. Here's the blurb:
The ultimate gift book for Trekkies, featuring classic quotes and photos from fan-loved moments, tidbits of behind-the-scenes trivia, and personal recollections from the cast and crew of Star Trek The Original Series.

The Wit and Wisdom of Star Trek celebrates the enduring legacy of The Original Series, with full-color photos, notable production facts, evocative excerpts, and quotes directly from the cast and crew. From love and inclusion, to humor, to exploration, The Wit and Wisdom of Star Trek lives up to the mission of Star Trek itself: to inspire as well as entertain!
And finally, new annotations! John Jackson Miller has now updated his website with a new page of notes exploring his Titan enovella, Absent Enemies. He also notes his history with Star Trek revealing some details about the Corps of Engineers enovella that he almost wrote:
I sent a pitch for the S.C.E. (Starfleet Corps of Engineers) series of e-books; in it, the Bynar named Soloman, stranded on a planet with medieval-level technology, sets up an analog internet using the world's network of semaphore stations. That was accepted, and would have been my first licensed prose. But the series was cancelled before we could get to a contract, and I got busy on other projects.
And that's all the news! For full listings of the the latest and forthcoming Star Trek books, and links to all my previous coverage, hit the books or prose buttons on my 2015, and 2016 schedule pages.



Simon Pegg to write Star Trek 3!

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Mr Scott to the bridge! The Enterprise's own chief engineer, otherwise known to us in the 20th century as actor/comedian/writer Simon Pegg, is set to co-write the next Star Trek film. Deadline have reported he will be joined by Doug Jung on the task. The pair step into the void left when Roberto Orci, who stepped back to producer role, having previously been expected to direct, and co-write with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.

The new creative team, headed by recently announced director Justin Lin, have got there work cut out to meet the also recently announced release date, in July next year!

Certainly though Simon Pegg being involved fills me with confidence; he is a fully qualified geek of the first order, fantastically funny, and has plenty of writing experience - Following early TV work, including Spaced, he is now best known for comedy movies, working on the Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End) co-written with Edgar Wright, Paul, co-written with Nick Frost, and Run Fatboy Run, co-written with Michael Ian Black. Those films span multiple genres, including elements of science fiction and action.

Doug Jung is new to me, but he has multiple TV writing and producing credits to his name, including creating and writing the police series Dark Blue, and writing multiple episodes of Big Love, a drama about polygamy, and crime series, Banshee. He also previously wrote a movie called Confidence, and, what apparently got him the job, a script for a Bad Robot/Paramount film called Diamond.

Let's hope this new writing partnership runs smoothly, we've got an anniversary to celebrate!



The Primate Directive #2 preview

Cross Cult's Foundations, and schedule updates

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Cross Cult have revealed (on their Star Trek books Facebook page) the new cover art for several of their forthcoming German translations of Corps of Engineers ebook novellas. The three new designs below are for the Foundations trilogy, by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore. They are books seventeen to nineteen in the Corps of Engineer series, and will get their German release starting in December.



Cross Cult have also released finalised versions of several other Corps of Engineers books they previously posted artwork for. Continue after the jump to check out those, and news of German books schedule updates:

The new covers also reveal the German titles for books nine to twelve:

     

    Cross Cult have now scheduledCorps of Engineers books well into 2016, taking the series at least as far the twenty-second novella. The four books above will be coming from March until June, with monthly releases of the series continuing after until at least June 2016. There is just the occasional interruption when some of the more recent ebooks gets a translations: James Swallow's TNG book, The Stuff of Dreams (Der Stoff, aus dem die Träume sind) in September this year, and John Jackson Miller's Titan novella, Absent Enemies (Abwesende Feinde) in February 2016.

    Beyond ebook, Cross Cult have made a lot of other updates to their schedules recently. Die Neue Zeit VI (the sixth nuTrek onoging omnibus), has been pushed back from April to May, while the TOS/Planet of the Apes crossover, The Primate Directive, is now scheduled for release in July.

    The rest of this year's schedule is unaltered from the last updates, but there have been several alterations to the 2016 releases:

      A number of German titles have been revealed for forthcoming releases too:

        And finally, looking even further ahead, not yet scheduled, Cross Cult are now listing several more books on their planned lists. Given their schedule is filled out until the middle of next year, I wouldn't expect any of these until at least late 2016:


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