Star Trek Shipyards: Delta Quadrant books previews

Eaglemoss and Penguin Random House have released a large selection of preview pages for two of their forthcoming books, the latest entries in the Star Trek Shipyards(ad) series, The Borg and the Delta Quadrant: Akritirian to Krenim(ad), and Delta Quadrant: Ledosian to Zahl(ad). Continue below to check them.

The Shipyard series typically collects the in-universe sections of the magazine from Eaglemoss' starship model collections, with previous books charting Starfleet Starships(ad) (over two volumes(ad)), other Federation ships(ad), and Klingon ships(ad). Each of those books has had some brand new content due to handful of ships not being made as models by Eaglemoss yet. In the case of these books, which effectively present a log of all the ships encounter in Star Trek: Voyager, there is much more new content, as there are an awful lot of Voyager ships that haven't been made as models yet. As a result I think these are two of the most exciting volumes in the series so far!

The first book, The Borg and the Delta Quadrant: Akritirian to Krenim(ad), is due out in April. Here's a reminder of the blurb:

Featuring ships of the Borg and vessels of the Delta Quadrant, the first of two companion volumes of ships from STAR TREK: VOYAGER.

This volume begins with the ships operated by STAR TREK‘s greatest villains: the Borg, including the Borg Cube and Sphere, the Borg Queen’s Ship, the Renegade Borg Vessel and the Borg Tactical Cube. From there, it profiles more than thirty-five ships operated by the species Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant, featuring ships from A – Akritirian to K – Krenim.

With technical overviews and operational histories, the ships are illustrated with CG artwork – including original VFX models made for the show.

After you read this, be sure to check out the companion volume – THE DELTA QUADRANT: Ledosian to Zahl, which profiles more than 50 ships of the Delta Quadrant species, among them the Lokirrim Warship, the Species 8472 Bioship, and the Vidiian Warships.

With previously unseen artwork specially created in CG the two official volumes form the most comprehensive account of Delta Quadrant ships from STAR TREK VOYAGER ever produced.

THE BORG AND DELTA QUADRANT: Akritirian to Krenim IS THE FIFTH BOOK IN THE SERIES STAR TREK SHIPYARDS.

Eaglemoss starships previews next special, XL, STO ships and more

There's been a run of news from Eaglemoss' starships collections of late, but this latest update brings the welcome return of new ships from the the original range. Continue below to check out the latest special issue, XL issue, STO ships, more updates from new Universe series, and Build the Enterprise-D too!

First up, TrekCore have released some early previews for expected June releases. That includes the latest oversized special issue(ad) in the original Official Starships Collection, and the latest in the growing collection of space station models: Relay Station 47, from the TNG episode Aquiel. 

Wear a Borg Cube on your back, plus other Star Trek backpacks and lunch boxes

The Star Trek Shop has launched a new range of Star Trek backpacks, which include a Borg Cube design, meaning you can help the Collective bring order to chaos as you take the Borg with you on your daily excursions (in the event you're going anywhere right now!). It's one of five designs in the range, continue below to check them out.

Perhaps calling this a Borg Cube is a bit of a stretch, as it's more a Borg rounded-oblong... But it's inspired by a Borg Cube at least, specifically The Artifact, from Picard, with it's distinctive trenches - If you are looking for a strictly Cube-shaped practical container, check out the lunch boxes below too.

Michael Chabon introduces the secret civilization of the Romulans

Star Trek Picard creator, writer, and executive producer, Michael Chabon has been over the last few months occasionally sharing fascinating background articles on various aspects of the people and places featured in Picard. His latest piece introduces us to Romulan society, giving us a fascinating insight into the Romulan worldbuilding that informed what we saw on screen, and hopefully will continue to expand the species' lore as the series continues. Continue below for a look at some of the highlights from this latest post, and his previous articles.

This Romulan backstory adds ever more layers of deception and subterfuge to the Romulan culture. My favourite element looks for where the roots of this might lie, in the nature of Romulus itself:

Legend holds that the basis of Romulans’ fixation on deception and the hiding of secrets is the unusually high proportion of mimetic (camouflage-using) native animals and plants that the first settlers of Romulus found on arrival, snakes that look like flowering vines, flowers like lizards, mammals that alter their coloration according to patterns in light falling on them. Best known of these to outsiders, of course, is the so-called “warbird” after which Romulans have long patterned their military starships. The plumage of this raptor has unique optical properties that mimic the wavelength of ambient light, causing the birds to “disappear” against a clear blue sky, a phenomenon that is said to have inspired the most celebrated, and most Romulan, of all Romulan technologies: the cloaking device.

Of course, that could just be a classic Romulan “cover story.” Romulans are addicted to cover stories.

Kalinda Vazquez to write latest Star Trek movie

The ongoing efforts to get another Star Trek movie into production seem to have started over once more, with Deadline reporting Paramount have signed up Discovery writer Kalinda Vazquez to write a new Star Trek movie. There's no detail just yet on which crew or timeline might feature in the film, although it will be a Bad Robot production, who of course previously brought us the three Kelvin timeline movies.

Vazquez's has previously written the Pike-focused Short Treks episode Ask Not, and Discovery's recent return to the mirror universe, Terra Firma, Part 2. She has also been a consulting producer for the latter half of Discovery season three. Her other cool Star Trek connection is that she is named after a Star Trek character! Kelinda the Kelvan, from the TOS episode By Any Other Name.

More Picard ships previewed from Eaglemoss' Star Trek Universe starships collection

To formally mark the launch of Eaglemoss' new Star Trek Universe: The Official Starships Collection(ad), IGN have released lots of new images, including the first look at several models in the collection - The series will eventually feature ships from all the current live action Star Trek series, but for the first ten issues it's all Picard, so this gives us some of our best looks yet at several of the ships from that series. Continue below to check them out.

Review: Picard season one on bluray

I recently rewatched Picard, via the bluray edition of the first season(ad). Continue below for my thoughts on the season as a whole (some vague spoiler discussion after the first few paragraphs), and the offering of extra features on the bluray.

The Story

Despite hearing it from the producers repeatedly when the series was being promoted, what really struck me in the rewatch was truly how much the series is like a long film. Not just that it feels like a film, but is a much more engaging experience to watch that way. 

So much so that I now really wish they're released the whole series as four or five two-hour-ish episodes. It would have been a bold departure from the normal format for Star Trek that I think would have done the story a great service. But with that not being the case, the whole series now being available, on bluray or streaming, we can still watch it like that anyway.

I liked Picard a lot watching it as it came out, but viewing back as a whole I really love it. The word that keeps coming to me thinking of it, is beautiful. For several reasons.

Eaglemoss' Star Trek Universe starships series opens for subscriptions and teases future ships

Eaglemoss' new Star Trek Universe: The Official Starships Collection(ad) is now open for subscriptions in the US - UDPDATE: And now in the UK(ad), Germany(ad), and other parts of Europe(ad) too - and the revamped website is teasing several forthcoming ships in the series, which will be a mixture of ships from all the currently in-production live action Star Trek series; Picard, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds. Continue below to check out all the new previews, and newly revealed details for the series.

Lower Decks season one bluray and DVD on the way

Lower Decks season one is getting its home video releases this May, with bluray(ad) and DVD(ad) sets available, including a steelbook(ad) version of the bluray. Continue below for all the details of the extra features and all the different formats.

The two-disc set will of course include all ten episodes of the first season, along with a nice selection of behind the scenes special features, some two hours worth, exploring the production of the series - Very welcome given this hasn't been as much a focus of CBS's social media around the series compared to the live action series. 

These promise a look at the animation process, the design of the opening titles, music of the series, and discussion of various in-universe subjects. There's also an all out movie-style trailer for the movie-style episode Crisis Point: The Rise of Vindicta, and deleted scenes.

Voyager Documentary crowd funder flies through stretch goals in just its first day!

A crowd funding campaign to make a Voyager Documentary has got off to a phenomenal start, just about tripling its initial goal to raise $150,000 to complete the film, in less than 24 hours. It's already flying through several layers of stretch goals to make the film longer and more elaborate.

The Voyager Documentary (snazzier title awaited) is being put together by 455 Films, who previously brought us the similar format DS9 documentary What We Left Behind(ad), as well as other Star Trek documentaries For The Love of Spock(ad), Chaos on the Bridge(ad), The Captains(ad), and Get a Life!(ad).

The previous DS9 documentary brought together cast and crew to reflect on the production and lasting legacy of the series, and the new Voyager documentary will presumably take a similar approach. 

With the impressive start to funding, they've already raised enough to make a longer film, with some nice graphics, and additional footage, and are well on the way to adding in some original music. The DS9 film ultimately raised almost $650,000, which also allowed them to undertake HD remastering of select clips for the film; a real highlight, with DS9 and Voyager the only Star Trek series not currently available in HD - So I'm very much hoping that will be the next stretch goal for this campaign too.