Private Enterprise? Chris Huisman reveals why TOMY’s new Star Tek model is out of this world

Chris, it’s exactly a year since we spoke about Back to the Future and Star Trek. I want to talk about your extra work on the Enterprise model… If the first one was great, the new one is incredible! Why did TOMY want to replicate the Enterprise refit?
TOMY’s first USS Enterprise NCC-1701 replica was based on Star Trek – the original televisions series, or TOS for short. After its release, we received a tremendous number of requests from collectors to tackle the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

TMP?
TMP! As the plot line goes, the old starship returned from its five-year mission and underwent a massive upgrade, or refit, in which everything was replaced, much like modern naval ships undergo every few years.

Great answer! I appreciate it being the ‘in universe’, too! So… What are the big differences between the two models?
Besides sharing the same structural configuration of the hulls and the engine nacelles, everything is different! The most striking difference is probably the paint job and sweeping nacelle pylons. While the TOS Enterprise was mainly gray, the TMP Enterprise is more off-white, but covered in multicolored iridescent panels that have a fascinating visual effect. TOMY’s TMP Enterprise is also slightly bigger than TOMY’s TOS Enterprise, and has visually dynamic lighting effects that can interfaced via the display base.

Why do you think those changes we’re desirable? Why were the fans so enthusiastic for it, I mean?
Many Star Trek fans fell in love with the Enterprise refit as they watched the movie on massive cinema screens in 1979. The ship’s design itself was a work of art, and the fans really wanted us to replicate it in every possible way.

As a designer, what was the greatest challenge you faced on this model?
Nailing the iridescent effect on the starship is critical, and TOMY is doing its best to recreate the effect. It requires a massively increased amount of painting techniques compared to TOMY’s TOS Enterprise – so we’re excited to offer this to collectors.

I’m glad you mentioned that, actually! The surface finish is incredible… I was curious how you’d achieved it. How did you do it?
I’m extremely fortunate to have a crack squad of Treksperts at the ready who have been integral in helping TOMY recreate the iridescent patterns on the starship… Karl Tate and Gary Kerr spent many hours analyzing previously unseen reference photos of the TMP Enterprise filming miniature, and ultimately created the most accurate visual map of the patterns ever to be deciphered.

Wow! Is that right? They unearthed original images from the late 70s? That’s incredible.
Isn’t it?! And now TOMY is doing its best to recreate that look at the factory level. We’re excited to see this model displayed proudly in Star Trek fan collections.

I’ll bet. Let me ask you this: if you could’ve waved a magic wand and included one more dream feature on this, what would it have been?!
Fully functioning transporters without any corruption of the buffer pattern during rematerialization – because screaming blobs of flesh are a real buzzkill, man!

Ha! Heck, now it’s more important than ever to find a magic wand! Ha! That’s funny! Alright… What’s the one question I could’ve asked you about this today but didn’t?
Hmmm… From my personal perspective, what’s the most amazing thing about this project?

Love it! What’s the answer?
I had the incredible opportunity to show TOMY’s original USS Enterprise Refit model to Adam Savage and Norman Chan of TESTED.com.

Oh, no way?!
Yes way! I’m a huge fan of Adam and Norm which made my visit to their awe-inspiring studios a dream come true.

Perfect answer. Thank you, Chris. And perhaps we’ll speak again next year looking at the NCC 1701-A…