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IDW Star Trek comics for April

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IDW have released their solicitations for April, which include two new Star Trek titles: The final issue in the Planet of the Apes crossover, and the second half of a nuTrek two-parter which is due to start in March, which this batch of solicitations revealed will be titled Eurydice. Full details of both below:

Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive #5
Written by Scott and David Tipton, with art by Rachael Stott.
The battle for conquest of the Planet of the Apes comes to a climax! Can Captain Kirk wrest control of the Gorilla army from the Klingons?
There will be three covers, the regular by Rachael Stott, the subscription variant by J.K. Woodward, and another variant, a Gold Key-style photo-montage (the latter hasn't been released yet):



Star Trek (nuTrek ongoing) #44: 5 Year Mission - Eurydice, Part 2
Written by Mike Johnson, with art by Tony Shasteen
The Five Year Mission leading up to 2016's blockbuster STAR TREK movie continues here, as Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise find themselves in the clutches of the Dark Market Syndicate deep in the Delta Quadrant. Don’t miss this all-new story produced in the association with STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci!
There will be two covers for this issue, the regular by Joe Corroney, and a subscription variant photo-cover:



For listings of all the latest Star Trek comics, hit the comics button on my 2015 schedule pages, where you'll also find links to all my previous coverage.

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

Original USS Enteprise in spacedock

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The original miniature model of the USS Enterprise is currently being readied for display in its new home in the revamped Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. At the moment it can be found at the Udvar-Hazy Center, where it is being examined, while the restoration team decides what to do, considering both it's place in history as a an artefact from television production, and icon of space design.

The Udvar-Hazy Center recently had an open day, so several people got to check out the Enterprise model in her restoration lab setting. Most of the photos in this post come from a great gallery by Dan Johnson, who got loads of shots showing both the model in situ, and details - Check out the full gallery.

The restoration team have been scrutinising the model, including looking at how both original details have held up, and how well efforts from previous rounds of restoration are working. The image here comes from a recent Smithsonian blog from the restoration team. Shown here is the saucer paint under ultraviolet light. The paint on the top side of the saucer is the original, and is cracking due to shrinkage over time. The smoother looking finish on the bridge area is from previous restoration work.

To guide the restoration team, a crack team of Star Trek experts has been assembled, including some of the most important names in starship design and Star Trek production; Doug Drexler, John Goodson, Gary Kerr, Mike and Denise Okuda, Andrew Probert, Adam Schneider, and Rick Sternbach, joined by CBS consumer products' John Van Citters, and the museum's curator of space history, Margaret Weitekamp. All are pictured here, video conferencing to discuss the Enterprise.

Continue after the jump for a few more highlights from Dan Johnson's great gallery, check out the Smithsonian blog for more details on the restoration, and see my previous report for information about the display the Enterprise will end up in when all this work is done.




Finally, here's the amusing sign that now guards the former sight of the Enterprise in the museum gift shop (as shared on Facebook by Dwayne Day):



First look at a bunch of Eaglemoss ships, and other Starships Collection news

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Eaglemoss have launched a new website Hero Collector, a science fiction and super hero news site which will also serve to promote their various part-work collections, including of course Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection. In the first article on the Starships Collection, the series manager, Ben Robinson, has released images of the models for issues forty to forty-eight, and issue fifty-two as well, giving us a better look at several models we've seen before, and the first images of the USS Enterprise-C, Centaur class, Intrepid, armoured Voyager, Negh'Var, and Malon Export Vessel! Continue below to check them all out, as well as more of the latest news from the Starships Collection.

Looking furthest ahead, we have the lovely Excelsior kitbash design the USS Centaur, which is due out as issue fifty-two of the collection - Expected first in the UK, this August, and as ever following behind in other markets as the series progresses with local releases.
Skipping back a few issues we also have the first look at the Endgame  ablative hull armored USS Voyager, coming as issue forty-eight, at the end of June in the UK.
One of the best known Klingon designs is issue forty-seven, the Negh'Var. Ben reconfirmed with this new post on Hero Collector, that the version Eaglemoss are producing is based on the original appearance in The Way of the Warrior, the design was tweaked a couple of times in later appearances.
Probably the most highly anticipated of this particular batch, the forty-sixth issue is the Ambassador class USS Enterprise-C. And this will be a good time of year for Enterprise collectors, as the original USS Enterprise is following only four issues later (see previous report for images of that model).
We're off the polluted regions of the Delta Quadrant for issue forty-five, the Malon Export Vessel. This issue, and the one below, are the two most recently solicited, so other images are also now turning up on online retailers as pre-orders come up. The solicitation image of the Malon Export Vessel model is almost, but not quite, identical the the Hero Collector preview, but thanks to 1-Up Collectables, we can see more details as it's higher resolution.

The covers for these two issues have also been revealed, via Man of Action Toys:


Issue forty-four is the Enterprise-era NX-variant, the Intrepid, and the solicitation photo for this one is a completely different angle to the Hero Collector preview. As you might notice, the colours are also completely different between the two images - It's often the case that previews for the Eaglemoss ships have inaccurate colour casts, so I wouldn't get to concerned with the Intrepid, or any of these preview images, being spot on what the final product will look like, colour-wise.


The next few ships we have seen previews of before, but Hero Collector has provided some new images for us to study while we await the releases. Issue forty-three is the Species 8472 bioship.
Before which we have issue forty-two, the Olympic class USS Pasteur.
The Klingon Raptor is issue forty-one.
And just a few weeks away from UK release, another Enterprise, the Excelsior refit, USS Enterprise-B.

And there's more news from The Collection from elsewhere. Posting on The Collection's Facebook page recent, Ben also shared some behind the scenes imagery he's been collating for the forthcoming fourth special issue, the Klingon patrol ship form Into Darkness:


Finally, it looks like the Borg Cube advertised to Japanese subscribers is indeed different to that offered in other parts of the world, as demonstrated by this image of alternate design posted by Twitter user Hikari. Hoping to bring this cube to other markets, another fan of The Collection, Paul Brown, has set up an online petition, so feel free to add your name if that appeals - That said, I do believe another Borg Cube is on the cards for The Collection anyway, indeed I think Ben has mentioned maybe even doing it as a special issue, so he can go to town on the detailing.

But while we're talking petitions, don't forget our efforts to get the USS Titan included in The Collection. We've had a steady stream of support which is bringing us close to three-thousand names now, but that still means we need to find more than two-thousand more Titan fans to have enough people to spur Eaglemoss into producing a special extra issue. So please do sign up and share the petition.

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: Crisis of Consciousness cover, and more TOS-era news

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Books news! Starting with a very snazzy new cover, by Alan Dingman, and released by StarTrek.com, for Crisis of Consciousness, the TOS novel by Dave Galanter, due out in May.


Here's the blurb:
The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is completing a treaty mission with the Maabas, a peaceful alien race not native to the star system they currently inhabit, as descendants of refugees from a great war long ago. Several hundred thousand Maabas once took shelter on their new world, and have now been here for mil­lennia. They do not travel the stars, but seek to explore from within. The Federation’s interest is in the Maabas’s great intellec­tual resources—their science, while behind in some areas, excels in others, and their philosophy is in line with that of the Federa­tion. But just as the pact is signed, the Enterprise is attacked by an unidentified vessel. Enough force is shown to keep the alien assailants at bay, but a new danger arises. Their mysterious foes are the Kenisians—a race that used to inhabit the Maabas’s chosen world thousands of years ago, and who now want to take it back.

Continue after the jump for more book news from the 23rd century:

Also set to expand the USS Enterprise's five year mission, is James Swallow, who also has a TOS novel on the way. It wont be coming until at least some time next year, but Swallow has now revealed, on his blog's Coming Soon page, the title, The Latter Fire. When he previously spoke about this book he highlighted a few episodes to indicate the tone he will be going for, namely The Doomsday Machine, The Enterprise Incident, and The Immunity Syndrome.

Elsewhere in the 23rd century, Cross Cult have now confirmed they will be producing German translations of at least the first two Seekers books, although they've not scheduled them yet.

Finally, something unofficial but most intriguing. The popular and very impressive Axanar fan film is set to have a tie-in book! Producer Alex Peters announced on the Facebook Axanar Fan Group that Axanar: The Four Years War Anthology will be released, including stories by regular Star Trek authors:
I cannot tell you all how excited I am to present to you a project that you will all love. Axanar: The Four Years War Anthology. A collection of 6 short stories, one on each character in Prelude to Axanar written by current Star Trek authors and NY Times best selling Sci Fi authors. The stories will be set during the time of the war and help inform each character who you will see in Axanar. Stay tuned for details.
And that's all for today. To stay up to date with all the latest book releases, hit the books or prose buttons on top of my schedule page, for details of all the forthcoming titles and links to all my previous reports.


2016 Star Trek calendar range revealed!

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Forget 2015, Star Trek has always got eyes on the future; so you'll be glad to know Universe Publishing has revealed (via Amazon listings) its 2016 Star Trek calendar range already! All four of the regular calendars from the past few years will be continuing. But joining them this year will be a fifth format! Ships of the Line is being expanded into a sixteen month calendar poster featuring the ship-tastic cover artwork from the first Ships of the Line book.

Celebrate being a Trekker in a big way with the Star Trek 2015-2016 Calendar Poster.

Available for the first time, this 21 x 15" single-sheet poster of the most iconic Federation ships is complemented by a 16-month calendar, and features art by fan-favorite Doug Drexler.

All five designs will be available form August. Continue after the jump to check out the rest. But do bare in mind these are early listings and the designs will almost certainly change before publication, which I will of course report on when they updated.

Case in point, Ships of the Line 2016 as pictured here reuses the USS Onimaru from the 2014 calendar as the cover, and sample pictures supplied are from the 2014 and 2013 calendars. Plus of course we're expecting this year's range of images to come from winners of the Ships of the Line competition, which hopefully will have supplied some creative new takes on starship art.



A longtime favorite among hardcore Trekkers and sci-fi fans, Star Trek: Ships of the Line 2016 Wall Calendar is a unique collectors addition celebrating the landmark 50th anniversary and gives aficionados something they cannot get elsewhere - spectacular original illustrations showcasing the franchise's most famous starships and vessels.

The characteristic horizontal format maximizes detail in the up-close views of each ship and puts the viewer right in the center of the iconic moments form Star Trek history, but remains a practical addition to any workspace.

Also continuing is the TOS calendar, and of course 2016 will be the 50th anniversary, so one kind of hopes they'd pull out all the stops! The images so far released follow the same styling as the last couple of years; I wouldn't be surprised if the particular image selections changed before publication though.


From "the #1 cult television series of all time" (TV Guide) , the Star Trek 2016 Wall Calendar features full-color pictures of the entire original Enterprise bridge crew, including Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), first officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelly), Lieutenant Sulu (George Takei), Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Ensign Checkov (Walter Koenig), and Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott (James Doohan).

Star Trek, the original series forms the core of an entire philosophy for lifelong fans and the original cast is as familiar to us as members of our own family.

The format for the 2016 Daily Calendar is also consistent with the releases of recent years, but this year is comes in a command/anniversary golden cover.



Celebrating the iconic franchise's landmark 50th anniversary this special edition of the Star Trek Daily 2016 Day-to-Day Calendar is every Trekker's ultimate source for official Star Trek quotations, trivia, character biographies, and lore from more than four decades of Federation history.

A sly way to add a touch of fandom to any workspace, this daily calendar enables Trekkers to keep track of dates, appointments, messages, and more.

And finally the 2016 Engagement Calendar follows this year's subtle Star Trek approach, and indeed goes a little further, with the dark cover featuring just an embossed Starfleet delta and year.



A sophisticated way to incorporate geekery into daily life, the Star Trek 2015-2016 16-month Executive Engagement Calendar features a streamlined layout for keeping track of appointments, dates, and occasions using sleek Star Trek typefaces.

The elegant, stamped cover features the Starfleet delta, giving only the slyest hint to the sci-fi awesomeness inside.

Look out for more news later in the year when the final designs are revealed.

Star Trek Magazine previews

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Due out in April is Star Trek Magazine issue fifty-three (or one-hundred-and-eighty in the UK), which is set to explore the influence of myths and legends in the Star Trek universe. As ever there will be two covers available, the regular, and a Previews exclusive. The covers and blurb below come via Things From Another World:


Monsters and mayhem take over in The Official Star Trek Magazine! It's time to strip off our Starfleet uniforms, don skimpy leather armor, and swap our phasers for flaming swords, as we delve into the classical themes, myths, and legends that have influenced Star Trek over the decades. We'll also find out how Trek couture is becoming high fashion; meet the galaxy's most notorious rogues and reprobates; and discover how Gary Seven faced off against Khan during the Eugenics Wars! Plus all of your favorite regular features, merchandise reviews, and the latest Star Trek news.
You don't have to wait until April for your next issue though, as the latest, the Voyager focused issue fifty-two, has just been released. Continue after the jump for a few preview pages from that issue, via the Star Trek Magazine Facebook page:






Moby Dick in space, Tholians, and more nuTrek comics news

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Ahead of the release of Behemoth, part one, next week, the first story in the new 5 Year Mission era of the nuTrek ongoing series, the creative team have been busy spreading the word about what we have to look forward to. Highlights continue after the jump below:

In a recent interview with Comic Book Resources the series writer, Mike Johnson, gave this summary of that first two-part story in the new 5 Year Mission series:
I've been thinking a lot about the voyage of the Enterprise as a futuristic parallel to the voyages of the great oceanic explorers of history, from all cultures. (Watch "Master and Commander" if you haven't seen it already, a great "secretly 'Star Trek'" movie with the interplay between Crowe and Bettany as Kirk and Spock.) Many historical accounts documented "sea monsters" that were simply organisms as alien to them as new species would be to Kirk & Co. "Behemoth" is a look at how one of those encounters unfolds in the twenty-third century. It's unashamedly a "Trek" take on "Moby Dick," complete with an alien Ahab.
He also revealed plans for a new TOS episode re-imagining coming up in the series:
The next [revisit] will be "The Tholian Webs," a 2-part story coming in issues #46 and #47. And yes, that's "Webs," plural. We don't want every story to be a re-imagining of an old episode, but it's so much fun to show how the new crew reacts to iconic characters and threats from the original series. We choose carefully and make sure we bring something new to the story.
Mike Johnson, and editor, Sarah Gaydos, were also interviewed on Visionary Trek's The Holodeck podcast recently, and Johnson made an interesting note about the shape of the series as it moves between stories:
...each two or three part story is going to role into the next one. Each story wont be hermetically sealed, they are actually going to effect and kick start the next story as we go. So it's almost like an ongoing TV series, but instead of just stand-alone episodes, there's going to be ongoing subplots, and themes, and characters. So, the idea of trying to really heighten the feeling of it being a TV show on the page is what we're aiming for, with the ultimate aim of leading into the next movie in 2016.
Back on CBR, Johnson expanded on that a little, in particular when it comes to the cast of characters, which will soon be including Irina Galliulin from The Way to Eden:
My goal for the next year of the comics is to show a wider slice of life aboard the Enterprise, at all levels of the ship, and that means introducing new faces. I like to give a nod to the original timeline when I can, so I brought back Irina, who was once a love interest for Chekov. There's a hint of that when we first meet her in the comic, but she's really here to add a new voice to the cast with unique scientific expertise of her own, not to be somebody's girlfriend.
Meanwhile on The Holodeck podcast Sarah Gaydos made some interesting notes about artists working on the series. Apparently Tony Shasteen, who illustrated the six-part DS9 crossover The Q Gambit, is now pretty much considered the ongoing artist for the series. But his work will be broken up by other artists along the way; for instance he has a three month gap before returning on issue forty-four in April.

Gaydos also hopes to bring back Rachael Stott for more Star Trek work once she completed work on the Planet of the Apes crossover. And Joe Corroney was noted as the go to cover artist - And indeed the image to the right here is his latest preview post on Facebook, of part of a cover for issue forty-five.

Gaydos also hinted at plans for the wider Star Trek comics line. With plans to tie-in with the release of the next movie once more, plus things underway to celebrate both the fiftieth anniversary next year, and TNG's thirtieth in 2017. She also cryptically noted that she is planning a series that will "have a role" in celebrating this year's twentieth anniversary of Voyager.

For much more from both Johnson and Gaydos, check out the original interviews at Comic Book Resources, and Visionary Treks' The Holodeck.

And for listings of all the latest Star Trek comics, hit the comics button on my 2015 schedule pages, where you'll also find links to all my previous coverage.

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

Starships Collection issues 56-60, and more

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The ships that will be released as issues fifty-six to sixty in Eaglemoss'Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection have been revealed on the new Hero Collector website. It seems the TOS TV era is finally getting some love, with two ships in this run, alongside vessels from the 24th and 29th centuries. Those ships are:
  • #56 Saber class
  • #57 Romulan Bird of Prey (23rd century)
  • #58 Borg Tactical Cube
  • #59 USS Relativity (Wells class)
  • #60 SS Botany Bay (DY-100 class)


These five issues will be released first in the UK, between September and November this year, and as ever, will follow in other markets as The Collection catches up.

Continue after the jump for more updates from The Collection:

Over on The Collection's Facebook page, fellow collector Dennis Mosselmans posted this image from the promotional information included with issues of the The Collection which just recently launched in Germany. Here we see new images of the shuttlecraft models, which are being offered to subscribers who choose a premium subscription.


So far this option is only being offered to new subscribers in Germany and France. Reader Matthew Roscoe posted the response he got from Eaglemoss customer service when he asked, as a comment in my previous report on the shuttles:
For the moment these are only going to be available for the new EU subscriptions just launched. Unfortunately we haven't been given much information on them at all yet, and we're not even sure which ones they'll be exactly. However we do believe these will be offered in the future, possibly for purchase but again nothing has been confirmed yet.
We would make subscribers aware on this in the future if they're to be offered to any other subscriptions.
And finally something even more limited. Also posted on The Collection's Facebook page, by Alex Davis, the winner of one of the competitions a while ago which got him a custom-named model ship - Very cool! And he was also sent a bonus prototype model, of the forthcoming Klingon Raptor!


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!

Star Trek coin series

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The Perth Mint in Australia has announced they will be producing a new series of Star Trek coins. Five pairs of coins will be released, each featuring a captain and ship, starting with Captain Kirk and USS Enterprise coins this month. Each coin is legal tender, valued at one dollar in the island nation of Tuvalu - You would be a little crazy to use it as such though, as they are being struck in silver, so their actual value is somewhat higher!


Each coin will be available either individual, there will be five thousand in this format. Or you can get them as a pair, in a rather elaborate transporter chamber inspired display, and there will be just one-thousand-five-hundred of these. Continue after the jump to check out all the packaging:

Here's the USS Enterprise coin, both coins feature colour prints, and Queen Elizabeth II on the reverse:




And here's Captain Kirk:




The two-coin set has a similar lighting feature to the individual coin case on the top, but the second coin is then suspended within the transporter chamber, illuminated when the doors are opened:





New Visions updates: Gary Seven, Pike, Gold Key and more!

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The next issue of John Byrne's New Visions photo-comic is due out next month, be he's already got stories and plans for issues that will take the bimonthly(ish) series well into next year. As ever Byrne has been posting regular updates on his work in progress on his own forums, giving clues of stories to come and insights into his process creating these unique comics.

A while ago Byrne teased at the possibility of a Gary Seven issue in the series, and has now confirmed that will be going ahead, and naturally it will be issue seven! Here's a page from that issue (work in progress) featuring Kirk, Seven, and a mysterious alien ship:


Apparently the issue will also include rooftop chase, and it seems a visit inside that alien ship, as Byrne also posted this preview of a virtual set of the interior:


Byrne's Gary Seven Assignment: Earth series is perhaps my favourite of his Star Trek work, so I'm delighted for another Seven adventure. But I'm also a huge fan of the Pike era (which Byrne has also previously touch on in his Crew series), so I'm equally pleased that the fifth issue, A Scent of Ghosts, is set to take us back to that earlier time on the Enterprise. Continue after the jump for a peak at that issue, and more hints of things to come in the series.

Byrne posted a small excerpt from the Pike issue, and gave some notes on his casting choices:
I'm bracing for some exploding heads among those who insist we started on Day One of the Five Year Mission, and everybody but Chekov (and possibly McCoy) joined the ship then. Spock was already there, of course.

Kinda made sense to me that others might have been aboard before Kirk, too. Scotty seemed logical. And there was a more prosaic reason for using Kelso: Paul Carr had signed off on the use of his likeness, but Peter Duryea had not.
As well as manipulating stills from the series, Byrne has also been making use of virtual sets, both to create new environments, and give him more flexibility in portraying familiar locations. Another tease posted on his forms was this awesome realisation of the "teleportation chamber" that featured in early issues of the Gold Key comics:



Byrne hasn't got this worked into an issue yet, but hopefully he'll find a way to make use of the retro design.

Something that surely will be well used in the series is engineering, which is why Byrne has been building that too. Here's one view of his virtual set:


You can see many more views of the virtual engineering set, and much more taking us behind the scenes of the photo-comic series, all the way back to the inception if you want to read back enough, on John Byrne's forums.

The next issue, A Scent of Ghosts, is due out in March. That takes the series a month behind its previously bimonthly releases, so it's not entirely clear when we should expect following issues. But when they do come, issue six will be Resistance, featuring the Borg! And then issue seven will be the Gary Seven issue, which might be called 1969, if Byrne has kept the title he used in his previous teaser image.



Behemoth, part one preview

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Out this week is issue forty-one of the nuTrek ongoing comic series, part one of a two-part story, Behemoth. Continue below for a five page preview from the issue, and a look behind the scenes, with some concept art for the new aliens featured.




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

And while you wait to get hold of a copy, you can also check out some more artwork from Cat Staggs, who illustrated this issue. Posting on her blog she released some concept art for the new aliens featured in the story, and also shared a bunch of her inked pages (pre-colouring), like the one below. You can see and read more on her blog.






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!

Lit-verse Reading Order Flowchart, now even more Almighty!

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Good news everyone! Thrawn and I have been busy working on a new update for the ever-so-useful, good-lord-it's-so-complicated-where-do-I-begin? Almighty Star Trek Litverse Reading Order Flow Chart! Which is now on version four, and my how it has grown over the last three years since Thrawn organically dreamt it up.


If you're not familiar, the flow chart seeks to make as clear as possible the sometimes rather complex web of interconnectivity in the continuity of the modern Star Trek prose adventures, showing how each of the series cross-over and build upon each other, and providing a reference for readers in deciding which books to take on next.

As ever you can find the full size version on its own dedicated page here on The Trek Collective, which you can easily find at any time via the "Reading Order" tab at the top of the page.

We've added in all the latest releases and known upcoming books, with the biggest expansions coming after The Fall. The most notable change is that the DS9 column now extends the full height of the chart, thanks to the recent resurgence in DS9 books; there's quite a pleasing cluster of adventures on the new station now building up.

My thanks as ever to the brilliant Thrawn for creating the original chart, allowing me to host it here, and working with me to expand and refine it. I think this is an invaluable resource for the Star Trek reader, so I hope you all find it as useful too!


ThinkGeek are desigining their own uniforms now

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Those ever creative people at ThinkGeek seem to have decided there just aren't enough uniforms to choose from in the Star Trek universe, so for their latest Starfleet uniform inspired creation they've gone and invented a whole new one! Introducing the TNG era Starfleet Tactical, hoodie. Here's how ThinkGeek describe it:
Some away team missions require specialized gear. Pattern enhancers, special imaging tools, photon grenades, tactical hoodies... you name it. This hoodie is not part of the uniform Crusher, Worf, and Picard wear on Celtris III, but rather a fantasy on a theme. What would a Tactical Hoodie from ST:TNG look like? Even though it's in the future, we're pretty sure it'd have some pockets.
I guess they had to come up with some excuse to put the snazzy patches on this, as certainly the tactical uniforms actually worn by Picard and the gang on Celtris III (in Chain of Command) were a little on the dull side; basically just cat suits with funny hoods. Which is fine for the undercover mission, but a little unexciting for day to day Star Trek hoodie applications.




This Month: February 2015 Star Trek releases

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Ships, uniforms, coins, and new prose and comic adventures from across the timelines are filling this months' releases. Continue below for the full line-up.

Books

This month's novel is the second Star Trek story from John Jackson Miller, and his first novel for the franchise. Takedown picks up Admiral Riker after The Fall, and his and the Titan's brief adventure in Miller's Titan ebook, Absent Enemies. But the main players this time are on the Enterprise-E and the Aventine (the latter gloriously depicted on Mark Rademaker's brilliant cover). Here's the blurb:
When renegade Federation starships begin wreaking destruction across the Alpha Quadrant, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are shocked to discover that the mastermind behind this sudden threat is none other than Picard’s protégé and friend: Admiral William T. Riker. The newly minted admiral is on board the U.S.S. Aventine as part of a special assignment, even as the mystery deepens behind his involvement in the growing crisis. But the Aventine is helmed by Captain Ezri Dax—someone who is no stranger to breaking Starfleet regulations—and her starship is by far the faster vessel…and Riker cannot yield even to his former mentor. It’s a battle of tactical geniuses and a race against time as Picard struggles to find answers before the quadrant’s great powers violently retaliate against the Federation…

Takedown hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago. You can read a bit about the novel in StarTrek.com's recent interview with Miller. And while that's the only prose story this month, there are plenty of comics to keep us going.

Issue forty-two of the nuTrek going series is due out, the second half of the two-parter, Behemoth. As ever, this issue is written by Mike Johnson, with Cat Staggs returning for her second issue doing interior art, to finish off the story.
In the epic finale of "Behemoth", the crew of the Enterprise faces an alien threat unlike any they have encountered before - in any timeline! It's a race against time to save the ship or be stranded in uncharted space! Don't miss this all-new adventure overseen by STAR TREK writer/producer Roberto Orci, director of the new movie!

In fact the first part of the story was also out this month, arriving this week (see preview article)! The series was delayed a bit towards the end of the last story, the six-part The Q Gambit, hopefully it will catch up now and give us both halves of this story this month!

In another alternate universe, the other Kirk crew are still dealing with those damn dirty apes! Out this month is the third issue in the five part TOS/Planet of the Apes crossover, The Primate Directive, written by Scott and David Tipton, with art by the Rachael Stott.
It's the battle for the ages! Taylor has escaped the Planet of the Apes, and Captain Kirk must bring him back! Plus, the Klingon/Gorilla alliance makes its move against Dr. Zaius and Ape City!

Both of the new issues out this month are available in at least a couple of covers each, check out my previous report to have a look a the other designs on offer.

Also out this month from IDW is the hardcover omnibus edition of the comic book adaption of Harlan Ellison's original teleplay for City on the Edge of Forever. The Tipton brothers have credit on this one too, adapting said teleplay to comic book format, which was brought to life with J.K Woodward's beautiful painted artwork (see my review of the series).
For the first time ever, a visual presentation of the much-discussed, unrevised, unadulterated version of Harlan Ellison's award-winning Star Trek teleplay script, "The City on the Edge of Forever!" See the story as Mr. Ellison originally intended!

Model Ships

As ever the shipyards are being kept busy this month, with multiple ship models on the way. From Eaglemoss there are two regular issues of The Official Starships Collection, the magazine and model collection getting their initial UK release (they will follow in other parts of the world as the series catches up). Issue thirty-nine, out already in the UK, is the Romulan drone from Enterprise, which is one of the most impressively detailed models in The Collection so far.


Next week will see the release of the next issue, the Excelsior class refit, USS Enterprise-B.


Possibly also out this month is the the fourth special issue, the Klingon D4 class Bird of Prey, from Into Darkness. I'm not quite sure on the release date for this though, this month is the earliest it could come, but it may in fact be coming next month, or later.


Meanwhile at a much smaller scale, this month also sees another wave of gaming miniatures for Wiskids'Attack Wing game. Wave twelve includes Kazon Ogla's Razik, the Romulan warbird IRW Haakona, and a Tholian ship.



Finally the biggest ship release this month, might be DST's latest electronic model. Their new and improved reissue of the refit Constitution class, USS Enterprise-A, The Undiscovered Country edition, doesn't seem to have arrived as planned last month, and is now expected either this month or in March.

Uniforms

Anovos have several uniform replicas on the way this month. For those that already pre-ordered, you should be receiving your TNG movie era uniforms, and DS9/Voyager jumpsuits.


Anovos's stand-alone "pips and squeaks" set from the TOS movie era uniforms are also on the way this month.


Also out this month is a uniform invented by ThinkGeek, the Starfleet Tactical hoodie.

Meanwhile, it comes as no surprise that the chirping combadges listed on Forbidden Planet were not released last month, and are now anticipated in March instead. TNG and Voyager style badges made by Bif Bang Pow are on offer, with sound effects. For some reason these quite appealing sounding props have yet to show up anywhere else.

Coins

A category on its own! Starting this month is a new series of silver Star Trek coins, produced by the Perth Mint. There will be five sets of two coins, each with a ship and commander, the first of course being Kirk and the Enterprise. They are available individually, or in ornate transporter-style display containing both. See my report for full details and more images.


Foreign Language

And finally, over in Germany Cross Cult are continuing to fill the book shelves with new German translations. Both parts of Greg Cox's Eugenics Wars dulogy are out this month, titled in German: Die Eugenischen Kriege: Der Aufstieg und Fall des Khan Noonien Singh. They featuring a snazzy diptych cover design.


And there's also the latest of their Corps of Engineers enovella releases book two of Keith R.A. DeCandido and David Mack's Invincible, aka Unbesiegbar (though the cover inclines me to think of it as Sonya Gomez and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)


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.

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!

Star Trek ReAction figures

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Funko have revealed the first Star Trek action figures in their retro-style ReAction range. Modeled on the classic Kenner three-and-three-quater inch action figures, the ReAction figures feature five points of articulation and an accessories, presented on retro styled packaging.

The Star Trek range will include Spock, Uhura, McCoy, and Sulu (check them all out after the jump), and is just the latest classic sci-fi brand to join the range, following Alien, Firefly, Back to the Future, and many others. Entertainment Earth already have these up for pre-order, anticipating a March arrival.




Star Trek construction toys on the way from Mega Bloks

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Mega Bloks, Mattel's Lego-compatable construction toy range, is to launch a new range of Star Trek toys next year. That will mark a return of Star Trek to Mega Bloks, more than a decade since they last produced a single set, the USS Enterprise-D (pictured). There's no news yet about what subject will be featured in the new sets, but they were specified, in the press release, as a limited edition release, and will form part of Mega Bloks Collectors range, for more mature builders, which currently includes sets based on Halo, Assassins Creed, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft.

The news came with the announcement of several new lines from Mega Bloks, curiously mostly featuring brands that have until recently been held by other construction toy companies. As well as expanding their existing Power Rangers license, next year will also see the launch of  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (previously held by Lego), and sets based on the new Terminator film, Genisys (Best Lock have previously produced sets based on that franchise).

Star Trek's own brick-built history indeed began with that single Mega Bloks set, but more recently had a much larger range from Hasbro's Kreo-O. Those sets were mostly based on Into Darkness, although there were a handful of releases inspired by the wider Star Trek universe. It has not been specified whether the new range will focus on the new movie due out next year, or also incorporate other parts of the franchise - One would certainly imagine anyone with a Star Trek license will be seeking to capitalise on the fiftieth anniversary next year!

I believe Hasbro has dropped Star Trek on the whole, so I would also anticipate news of other toy licenses to come some time this year, ready to produce action figures, props, and model ships based on the new movie.

Ship bits: Attack Wing ships, DST sounds, bobbling, and cutaway!

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Lots of model ship updates for you here, including gaming miniatures, bobble-ships, model kits, and more! First up, Wizkids have announced two more waves of releases in their Attack Wing miniature game. Wave seventeen will be coming in August, and includes the USS Thunderchild, IKS T'Ong , and IRW Vrax.


Wave eighteen follows in September, and features the USS Phoenix, Species 8472 Bioship Beta, and Quark's Treasure.


Continue after the jump for more model starship news:

DST released a video to demonstrate the sounds featured on their newest edition of the USS Enterprise-A electronic model:



Bif Bang Pow have another of their "monitor mate" bobble ships on the way, the USS Enterprise-D is listed for April release on Entertainment Earth.


And finally, Entertainment Earth have also revealed the release date of Round 2 Models' reissue of the AMT cutaway USS Enterprise model kit, which they are expecting in May.



Star Trek Continues, continues

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Have you discovered Star Trek Continues yet? The fan made series expertly reproduces the qualities of The Original Series, with remarkably fidelity not just to sets and costume, but lighting and style. It also follows the best of Trek in its thoughtful and smart stories, which I would rate as not just the very best fan productions, but comfortably among the best episodes of all Star Trek.

There have been three episodes (and a few shorts) so far. The first, Pilgrim of Eternity, is a sequel to Who Mourns for Adonais?, with Michael Forest reprising his role as Apollo. The second episode, Lolani, is an entirely original story, focused on the titular Orion slave girl, used to explore issues of slavery and sex trafficking. And the most recent is Fairest of them All, a sequel to Mirror Mirror, picking up right from the end of the original episode and depicting Spock's rise to power.

The Star Trek Continues team are already at work on their next episode, and have been running a Kickstarter campaign to fund further and expanded production. There's just a few hours left on that, but as you'll see if you watch the episodes, its certainly worth your support, this series is amazing Star Trek. The campaign has already exceeded its initial $100,000 goal, to fund two further episodes, and proceeded to exceed stretch goals to fund the building of engineering and planet sets. Further additional funds will secure even more episodes! You can add your support, on Kickstarter.

And continue after the jump to check out all those brilliant episodes:







New from DST: NX-01, Romulan Bird of Prey, and TNG phaser!

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At the Toy Fair over the weekend Diamond Select Toys revealed several new releases in their Star Trek range.

Two ships will be coming to their electronic starship model collection. There will be an entirely new TOS Romulan Bird of Prey. This was on display, but photography was not permitted (you can see a nacelle in one of the photos below though). DST like there variants, so I wouldn't be too surprised if we saw cloaked and/or battle damaged versions at some point too.

They will also be a re-issue the Enterprise NX-01, which was the first ship in the collection back when Art Asylum released it in 2002! The most recent release of the model was in 2006, in a mirror universe variant, and there has also been a battle damaged version before. The new version has had a much needed upgrade to the paint job, with a more subtle finish on the aztecing, and some of the previously missing details now filled in. Images here via Toy Ark:



DST also had some new prop releases on display, including their first ever TNG phaser. Continue after the jump to check those out:


On display alongside the TNG phaser were Search for Spock phasers. The standard one of these is due out in March, but it appears DST will also be issuing a variant, as you can see in the mages below (eyes peeled for that Bird of Prey too). Image above from Figures.com, below from Toy Ark and Comic Book Resources:



New Star Trek action figures from QMx, Funko, and Bif Bang Pow

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At the Toy Fair over the weekend several companies were showing off new Star Trek action figures, continue below to check out the latest TNG, TOS, and The Big Bang Theory crossover releases.

The most impressive of the newly revealed characters comes from QMx, who have turned always sharp eye for detail to Captain Picard, to make a new one-sixth scale (about thirty centimeters tall) articulated action figure. This release is comparable to the Malcolm Reynolds (from Firefly) figure already available to pre-order form QMx, which itself features no less than thirty-eight points of articulation. Like Reynolds, Picard has an unnervingly realistic head, and highly detailed fabric uniform, plus a phaser rifle. Images via Toy Ark.



Continue after the jump for more new characters from Funko and Bif Bang Pow.

Last week Funko revealed their first Star Trek figures in their retro ReAction range, and with Captain Kirk not included it seemed pretty obvious there would be another wave, which was confirmed at the Toy Fair. The second set of four will be Kirk, Scotty, Vina, and the Gorn. Images via Figures.com.
 




And if those aren't enough retro three-and-three-quarter inch figures for you, then Bif Bang Pow will be expanding the crew further, with the latest Star Trek/The Big Bang Theory crossover toys. Like the larger scale Mego-style series last year, Bif Bang Pow will be producing all the main The Big Bang Theory characters in Starfleet attire, although they only had Sheldon and Bernadette to display at the Toy Fair. Image via Figure.com.


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