Warp Models JEM'HADAR SHIP (Kit #WP20) is the most recent in a long line of very nicely detailed kits from this company. WARP is one of the few companies in the garage kit industry whose product has steadily and visibly improved over time. The JEM'HADAR SHIP is no exception. The kit is made from fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane resin and is 8 inches by 8 inches when completed. The parts have detailing to rival any injection kit currently available and dry-fitting suggests that there are virtually no fit problems. The construction plot is simple and straight-forward and given the design, it is unlikely that stress sag will plague it once built. Based on the resources currently available, the dimensions seem reasonably accurate and the color guide offers two painting schemes: the colors of the actual shooting model and the colors as they appear on TV (how they sorted that one out, I'll never know). Still, I've wanted this kit since I first saw it on DS9. I bought the MicroMachine as soon as it came out and the tiny resin one when it appeared.

For those nay-sayers who MUST find something wrong with the kit, let me beat you to the punch: You can't light it, because the kit is solid. Being fiberglass reinforced resin, there is residue on the surface that takes considerable scrubbing to remove...and finally, as near as I can tell, there are no exact matches in acrylic paint for the colors called for, which means mixing your own.

Based on the prices being asked for similarly sized kits in the garage arena, I considered this to be money well spent. This kit is available in the US from Q's Continuum for $69.95 USD and in the UK from Comet Miniatures for £ 39.50 BPS.

Well, This makes a change, Eh? After Federation, Klingon, Romulan et al, we FINALLY get a ship from a new race. These ships are deceptively tough on screen, being able to take on most opponents within groups of three and wiping out convoys in minutes. However, this WARP release isn't as hardy as it's "real life" counterpart, with 3mm thick panels and slim warp engine 'Wings'. This is a complete kit as opposed to their usual conversions and, as such, requires no additional parts from other kits to finish it.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Small box, big padding! 9"X6"X6.5" mostly polystyrene marbles reveal (after a second look! Be warned there IS more in that box, so look again!) 8 resin parts of nice quality wrapped in bubble wrap. Loads of release agent covers everything so a good wash is essential, but previous WARP purchasers will be expecting this. All parts are the new "bland grey" colour, with no clear/coloured parts. No stand is included either, which is a good thing as 1) it keeps the price down and 2) stands are rarely to anyone's taste and are discarded by most of us anyway. Going along with the facelessness of the Jem Hadar, no decals come either, but the ships don't carry markings anyway. A single sheet of A4 is the instructions and paint guide, double sided photocopied and this is where things start to go wrong. Text side 1 is fine and mentions the dual paint scheme of the studio model andand the CGI model, but the paint guide is vague and includes in part fit guide as well. This resulted in a 1-hour search for the location of 1 piece, eventually locating on the underside as a "joiner"? The pieces themselves are crisp and sharp EXCEPT the engine pods. Come on WARP! What's the problem with engines then? There's seams running round the diameter of both of them, and even light sanding revealed millions, and I kid you not, of tiny bubbles that took several hours to fill and re-sand.

BUILD UP pt1

Stick the main body halves together, then the silly joiner and spray the assembly with primer. I stuck mine with Tamiya filler after drilling 2 holes and reinforcing the parts with a sliced up cotton bud stick. This toughens the joint and fills the gap as well. I next primed the warp engines and the 2 upper radiator panels. I was going to prime the biggest part in the kit, the thin rear "wings" but I found a small hole and had to fill it. 1 became 6 and some of the holes were in awkward places too, like at the bottom of panel lines, so they took a while to sort out. After a shower with Halfords primer, the whole lot was set aside for a week before….

PAINTING

Not many sources of reference for this beast, are there? Grey, Purple and a few sand panels with some white on the engines and that's it! all the instructions refer to Humbrol colours, so down to the local model shop and I think I'll do the Studio scheme, which seems a bit more red biased, whereas the CGI is Bluer. Not much to report here, fairly simple paint job (compared to a Galaxy class anyway!) and a small amount of ink to finish the job. Sorry this part seems rushed but I favour building over painting.

BUILD UP pt2

This part is deceptive. It should be fairly routine, just glue the top rear "wings" to the body and job done. If only! There's a LOT of movement between parts due to oversized locating holes on the fuselage, and only visually lining up the parts will ensure an even appearance afterward! I drilled out the "wing" locating ping and fitted circuit board pins in the 4 points, then bored out the holes on the body and used a SMALL amount of Tamiya filler to bond them together. The front pair are invisible but the rear holes are visible from most aspects so go easy with the filler!

SUMMARY

Nice kit, shame about the mould flaws. I got an first run cast and as time goes on they will deteriorate so jump soon. Some detail is crisp like the "Wing" top and front of fuselage, while other detail is soft as on the whole underside and engines. People who thought the ERTL Ent-E and Excelsior kits were small won't like the Jem Hadar either, weighing in at 8" wide, 7" long and 2" tall. However the big problem Is the price. I left this off the top of the review for a reason. I honestly can't decide if this kit is good value or not at £39.99 - that's about $63 with shipping and whatever on top! Mine was a gift from my wife, and as such, IS good value for money. Wannabe Vorta's will want it too. The scale is about 1/650, as well. Still it's here now, and all I need is a "Defiant" in scale and I'll be happy!