Saturday 30 June 2018

Anovos' latest Star Trek uniform replicas

Anovos are diving deep into the Star Trek uniform wardrobe with their latest release, the TOS movie era bomber jacket! Continue below to check out that, and their other recent garments.

First seen worn by Fleet Admiral Morrow in the Search For Spock, but perhaps more prominently worn by Captain Kirk in The Final Frontier, the bomber jacket is one of those curiosities of the upper ranks of Starfleet, who seem to have a bit more variety in their uniforms than the rest of the service.

As ever Anovos have figured out every detail of this design to create their perfect replica. The suede jacket includes the movie-era Starfleet insignia badge, and built in belt buckle (but you'll have to add on your own rank insignia, sold separately). The first batch, which have quickly sold out, are expected to ship early in 2019 (you can sign up to get a notification for future runs though).


Wednesday 20 June 2018

Art of John Eaves book cover and preview pages

After being hinted at some months back, Titan Books have now officially announced, via StarTrek.com, a rather exciting addition to their recent run of behind the scenes Star Trek books, Star Trek: The Art of John Eaves.

The book written by Joe Nazarro will cover the entire span of Eaves work on Star Trek, which includes every Star Trek movie since The Final Frontier, and work on TNG, DS9, Enterprise, and Discovery! That includes numerous props and starships, including stars of the franchise such as the USS Enterprise-E and USS Discovery.

The book is due out in October. Continue below to check out some preview pages, which give a hint of the breadth of work we can look forward too.


IDW's September Star Trek comics, including a Transformers crossover

IDW have released their solicitations for September, which include two new Star Trek comics. One of those is something I'm frankly surprised has taken this long to happen, a crossover with one of IDW's biggest other licenses, Transformers! (They sort of indirectly crossover in the Infestation crossover a few years ago, but the two universes didn't actually interact in that instance). The most exciting thing about the crossover is that it's specifically with Star Trek: The Animated Series, so we can look forward to a particularly stylised series, featuring M'Ress and Arex! Continue below for all the details:

Star Trek vs. Transformers #1 (of 4)
Written by John Barber and  Mike Johnson, with art by Philip Murphy
The Transformers ‘80s cartoon series meets Star Trek: The Animated Series in a no-holds-barred Saturday Morning mash-up for the ages!

At the edge of Klingon space, the Starship Enterprise finds there's more to the final frontier than meets the eye, when Kirk and his crew come face to face with the strangest life forms of all: Cybertronians! This unprecedented crossover brings together two of the greatest science fiction universes of all time—in the style of their classic animated series! A five-year mission meets a four-million-year war!
If the aquashuttle doesn't turn out to have been a Transformer all along I'm going to be pretty disappointed!

The book will be available in at least four covers, and they've all been released already! The A and B covers are both by Philip Murphy, and featuring a connecting image, with the A cover featuring the Enterprise crew and their Transformer friends, and the B cover featuring the Klingons (one of them a cyborg!) and the Decepticons.


A whole load of new Star Trek TV projects are in the works!

Exciting times trekkies, CBS have announced they have signed up Alex Kurtzman and his fellow Discovery producers Heather Kadin and Aaron Baiers to have their production company Secret Hideout continue to work on TV projects for CBS through to 2023, including specifically expanding the production Star Trek beyond Discovery.

CBS are officially keeping things vague, noting the the deal:
...calls for him to extend the Star Trek franchise for television, developing new series, mini-series and other content opportunities, including animation
But the trade press are already abuzz with what those projects could be. Variety have identified four different projects:
  • A series set at Starfleet Academy, which is being work on by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, writers and producers known for their work on The O.C., Gossip Girl, Dynasty, and Runaways.
  • A miniseries based on The Wrath of Khan, which one assumes would be the Nick Meyer led project we've already had rumour of.
  • Another miniseries of unspecified focus.
  • And an animated series.
The Hollywood Reporter meanwhile are suggesting that Patrick Stewart might return to play Captain Picard for one of these:
The new deal comes as rumblings about another Star Trek series, featuring Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Star Trek: The Next Generation's Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, have been heating up. Sources say Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman, who left Discovery after season one, are attached to the Stewart-led reboot. CBS TV Studios declined to confirm the Stewart project as sources say a deal is far from completed and may not happen despite the fact that the actor recently teased his potential return to the franchise.

Tuesday 19 June 2018

Book Bits: Star Trek Little Golden Books, and previews from other non-fiction and novelties

Got quite a variety of Star Trek non-fiction and novelty book updates today, including more on Kirk Fu, Incredibuilds and the Lost Scenes book. But first, something entirely new...

Penguin Random House have revealed Star Trek will soon be joining the long running Little Golden Book series, with two TOS inspired books due for release next January.

Little Golden Books are charmingly illustrated childrens books, that traditionally include non-fiction introductions, fairytales and morality tales, as well as tie-ins to popular childrens media characters. More recently they have been getting into more popular culture and nostalgic media tie-ins, with some of their latest releases including adaptations of Jurassic Park and Back to the Future!

For their initial Star Trek offering they are going for character focused books, one featuring Captain Kirk, and one on Mr Spock.


Sunday 17 June 2018

McFarlane Toys Captain Kirk and Picard action figure previews

McFarlane Toys' first Star Trek releases, the Captain Kirk and Captain Picard action figures, are due out any day now, and so of course they have released a whole bunch of images to show of their new creations. Continue below to check them both out.

Both figures are at a seven inch scale, and feature numerous points of articulation, a Star Trek styled base, and a whole load of accessories. Captain Kirk, in his TV era yellow uniform, comes with a phaser pistol, communicator, and a phaser rifle.


Saturday 16 June 2018

Eaglemoss updates: XL Enterprise-B, Kobayashi Maru, Discovery ships, and more!

Eaglemoss have announced and previewed several new ships in their Starships Collection ranges, including the latest regular, special, XL, and Discovery ships. Continue below to check them all out!

First up, via the Hero Collector blog, we have our first look at the eighth release in the XL series of extra big models, the USS Enterprise-B. The Excelsior class is one of my very favourite Star Trek designs, so I'm delighted to be able to get a bigger version of this beauty, especially as being a narrow design it was a little on the small side as a regular issue; the new XL version is apparently 28cm long!


Thursday 14 June 2018

Discovery gets a new showrunner, again. Plus new characters details for season two

Change is afoot behind the scenes in the Star Trek: Discovery offices once more! The Hollywood Reporter are reporting that showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg, who were themselves put in place when Bryan Fuller left the series,  are no longer in the captain's chair(s), with series co-creator Alex Kurtzman stepping in fill the position. CBS released the following statement:
We’ve made some producer changes at Star Trek: Discovery. The series continues under the creative vision and leadership of executive producer and co-creator Alex Kurtzman. Discovery remains on course for season two in 2019 with new and continuing stories that build on its successful premiere season
According to The Holly Reporter, the first five episodes of season two have been completed under Harberts and Berg, but have come in over budget (which will have to be made up by the back end of the season). There's also a suggestion that the writing partners had become abuse to other members of the writing room, with several writers threatening to leave the series!

The Holly Reporter has also learnt that Akiva Goldsman, who was executive producer on the first season and wrote/directed a couple of episodes too, has not returned to work on season two.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

Fear Itself and Prometheus excerpts, and other Star Trek novel news

Just released is the third Star Trek: Discovery novelJames Swallow's Fear Itself, which is expected to focus on Saru on the USS Shenzhou, set some years before the main events of the TV series. Continue below for previews from both the print and audio editions of this book, as well as previews from the latest book in the Prometheus series, and a tiny glimmer of news that there might be more Star Trek books on the horizon.

Tuesday 12 June 2018

Anovos reveal Discovery phaser rifle replica

Anovos have announced their second Star Trek Discovery prop replica, a rather impressive re-creation of the new-look phaser rifle. Like the screen-used props, the rifle is 3D printed, and like all of Anovos' products, is meticulously detailed based on those originals.

The prop will feature several light and interactive features, and comes with a display stand (which is itself inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge apparently).

Pre-orders are open now, for an expected winter release - Arming yourself to deter Klingon invasion will set you back a mere $1500. Continue below for a closer look at all it's features.


New Star Trek Pride clothing

The Star Trek Shop has expanded their range of Star Trek Pride clothing. Initially launched last year with T-shirts, the collection now features several new designs on tank tops and caps too. Everything on offer includes some sort of Starfleet insignia badge, re-presented in the colours of the rainbow Pride flag - I think the TNG badge has been converted particularly effectively, but also on offer are TOS movie era, Voyager, and of course Discovery insignia. Continue below to check out the range:


The Motion Picture poster prints from Iconic LE

A new company called Iconic LE Prints are planning to release limited edition screen printed reproduction of artwork from legendary artist Bob Peak, and their kicking things off with his iconic poster design for Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Available from the 15th of June, two versions of the 24 x 36 inch posters will will be offered; the regular edition will the title and tagline, an edition of 100, and a variant with just the artwork, of which only 50 will be produced. (Images via io9)


The reproduction is based on the original artwork, which features Spock on the left, and Kirk on the right; they were switched for the final theatrical release. The screen-printing process uses 20 to 25 seperate layers (depending which version you're getting), to re-create the artwork.

Wednesday 6 June 2018

Gentle Giant Saru bust revealed

After a first glimpse a couple of weeks back, Gentle Giant have now revealed the full details of their forthcoming Saru bust. The 1/6th scale bust is hand-cast and hand-painted, and is to be a San Diego Comic Con exclusive, but will be briefly available for pre-order to much of the rest of the world via Gentle Giant's website.


It will also be a limited edition, although of how many has not been mentioned.

Gentle Giant have released so many pictures of the bust you can get a full 360 view, which I've done here in gif form! Continue below to check out all the other angles - A rather good way to take in the intricacies of Saru's design.

Tuesday 5 June 2018

Star Trek Online's Victory is Life launches

Star Trek Online's latest expansion, Victory is Life has now launched; as it's title suggests, this is a Dominion and DS9 focused addition to the game, with the Dominion now added as a playable faction, and a bunch of new DS9 story content featuring numerous returning cast members from the TV series. For instance, an unusually war ready Odo narrates the launch trailer:



Monday 4 June 2018

Model kits updates: New announcements and releases from Round 2 Models and Moebius Models

Lots of Star Trek model kit news today, from both Round 2 Models' various prime timeline releases, and Moebius Models' Kelvin timeline kits.

First up the big news comes via Round 2's booth at WonderFest, where they have revealed plans for a potentially large range of Discovery kits. The USS Discovery at 1:2500 scale is expected to be the first release, coming some time in 2019, but many more options are being considered...


Sunday 3 June 2018

Learn Kirk-Fu, with Dayton Ward

Maverick Star Trek author Dayton Ward may be officially out of control! From the writer that previously brought us the first new Gold Key comic in decades, travel guides to Vulcan and the Klingon Empire, and a secret history of alien encounters on Earth in the 20th century, we are now getting an official training manual for the classic martial art, of Kirk-Fu!

Due out in March 2019 from Insight Editions is Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual - An Introduction to the Final Frontier's Most Feared Martial Art. Here's the blurb:
As captain of the legendary U.S.S. Enterprise, James T. Kirk engaged in his share of fisticuffs, besting opponents with a slick combination of moves and guile that remains unmatched. Is there anyone you’d rather have watching your back as you take on Klingons, alien gladiators, genetically engineered supermen, and even the occasional giant walking reptile?

Kirk Fu is a series of unarmed combat techniques developed by one of Starfleet’s most celebrated starship captains over several years of encounters with alien species on any number of strange new worlds. A blend of various fighting styles, Kirk Fu incorporates elements of several Earth-based martial arts forms as well as cruder methods employed in bars and back alleys on planets throughout the galaxy. It is as unorthodox in practice as it is unbelievable to behold. In unabashed celebration of James Kirk’s singular fighting skills, Star Trek: Kirk Fu Manual is an easy-to-use training guide for the new student, including excerpts from Kirk’s own notes and personal logs. With proper training and practice, every Starfleet cadet can become one with Kirk Fu.
Hopefully this will be entertainingly illustrated as well, but any such credit, and the cover, are still to come. We do know it will come in at 64 pages, and be a hardcover release.

Saturday 2 June 2018

Eaglemoss reveal several new Official Starships Collection issues, and other updates

Lots of Eaglemoss Starships Collection news, previews, and updates today. Starting with the announcement of four new regular issues in the main series.

Eaglemoss' Hero Collector blog has previewed issues 131 to 134, with some surprising and welcome ships on the way. First in that run is Arctic One, a 22nd century Earth ship seen in Enterprise's Resistance, which of course we've already had one model of, issue 99's assimilated version.


Friday 1 June 2018

The Light of Kahless #4 preview

Out this week is, at last, is the final issue of the first Star Trek: Discovery comic series, The Light of Kahless. The story brings T'Kuvma's life story to a conclusion, running right up to the start of the first episodes of Discovery, and delivering a surprising twist on those events.

The book is written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, with art from Tony Shasteen, who also provides the A cover featuring L'Rell, completing the series of Klingon major character portraits for the series' main covers. The B cover is a photo of two mourning Klingons. There are also two retail incentive covers; Angel Hernandez' design, coloured by Esther Sanz, features T'Kuvma leading a rather menacing group of Klingons with blades drawn, and Declan Shavley, and colourist Jordie Bellair's final ships cover of the series features the USS Discovery.

You can check out all the covers and a five page preview from this issue below:


Through the Mirror #5 preview

Out this week is the fifth and final issue of TNG mirror universe comic miniseries, Through the Mirror. The revolving art duties for the series this time fall to Débora Caríta, along with J.K. Woodward who has illustrated the secondary story running through the whole series. Both stories are written by Scott and David Tipton.

Like the rest of the series, this issue is available in five covers: J.K. Woodward's connected cover series is completed with the A cover, which will also be offered as a convention exclusive uncoloured variant at some point. The B cover is by the issue artist, Carita, coloured by Jason Lewis and features mirror-Data attacking Picard. And there are two retail incentive covers, both continuing series that have run through the miniseries; a photo-cover, this time featuring a group shot, and a portrait of mirror-Rike by Peter McKinstry.

Continue below to check out all those covers, and a five page preview!


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