Model Kit Review: Pegasus Hobbies 1/1400 N.S.E.A. Protector

BACKGROUND

Never give up, never surrender!

 Released in 1999, the movie Galaxy Quest follows the adventures of the washed up cast of the eponymous television show almost 20 years after its cancellation. Scraping by making a living at fan conventions and store grand openings, they are whisked in to space by their on screen commander and de facto lead, Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), after a group of aliens enlist his help when they mistake him for the character he played on the show, Cmdr. Peter Quincy Taggart. The aliens, known as Thermians, while gifted in science and engineering, have no concept of fiction and believe that the cast and the show are historical documents, basing their entire society on the show. When the cast quickly is over their heads, they rely on the help of a small group of superfans with intricate knowledge of the show. The product was a brilliant satire on Star Trek and scifi fandom at large and the movie quickly became a cult classic.

Guided by the television show, the Thermians build a working version of Cmdr. Taggart's ship, the NTE-3120 N.S.E.A Protector, copying it exactly how it appears on screen. An Evolution-class heavy cruiser, the Protector serves as the flagship of the National Space Exploration Administration and is the most powerful starship built by humanity. Though built for the peaceful exploration of space, the Protector is host to a vast array of powerful weapons, inculding resonance cannon batteries, quantum rockets, pulse catapults, and it's primary weapon: a blue particle cannon.

THE KIT

 This 1/1400 scale kit comes with four sprues containing the wings, command deck, and the hull molded in grey styrene. Also supplied is one sprue cast in clear blue that are used in the engines; a nice touch for those who are looking to light the kit. The kit also comes with a Galaxy Quest logo base.

When making this model, Pegasus was given access to the three studio models produced by Industrial Light & Magic; in fact, one model used to hang in the ILM model making studio offices until they closed their doors in 2011. This kit is the same size as the model used in the movie during scenes showing the "classic" TV show, technically making it a studio scale model. However, the details were based off the larger models used in the movie making it a fine looking model. The paint scheme is rather simple, consisting of mostly white and light greys, but a seeing the close ups of the ship in the movie reveals a nice Aztec pattern on the hull. Recreating it should add a little bit of visual interest.

VERDICT

Overall, this kit is definitely a solid buy! This would make an excellent addition to the display cabinet of any science fiction fan. If the adventurous modeler was in the mood to add lights, there is also a photo etch set available from ParaGrafix that has some nice grilles to add to the engines.