(written from a Production point of view)
Master Replicas was founded in 2002 by Michael Cookson [14](X) and Jordan Schwartz, [15] and was best known for its production of high-quality limited edition 1:1 diecast replicas of Star Wars lightsabers and scaled spaceships. The company also released a number of licensed high-end quality products from the Walt Disney, Marvel, The Muppets, Shrek, Alien/Predator, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek media entertainment franchises.
Shortly after losing its Star Wars licensing in 2006, the company was acquired by Corgi and demoted to a brand name only, before Corgi chose to let Master Replicas go entirely bankrupt after all in 2020. [16]
Master Replicas usually employed direct sales for their products, but did additionally partner up with a single (online) retailer, the in 1996 founded Simi Valley, California-based Entertainment Earth, which still exists as of 2024 – unlike the original Master Replicas.
Long before the 2020 bankruptcy, several Master Replicas employees, among others current Creative Director Barry Eldridge and now owner/founder Jordan Schwartz, had already decided to strike out on their own by starting in 2010 the new Factory Entertainment high quality prop replica and collectibles company, [17] having by 2023 in the process surpassed what their former company had achieved. [18]
In March 2023, Master Replicas was relaunched as a British company under new UK ownership.
Star Trek releases[]
Typical Master Replicas Star Trek packaging
The company was already one year after its foundation awarded the license to produce accurately detailed Star Trek high-end prop replicas along with a custom display case and a certificate of authenticity, which were autographed by a primary Star Trek cast member if they concerned a "Signature Edition". [19]
After the 2006 releases, only two further new Star Trek products were produced in 2008 by Corgi under the Master Replicas brand-name. After Corgi abruptly lost its licensing to produce Star Trek products as well later that year, these licenses were awarded to eFX Collectibles and QMx.
| 2003 Release | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Scale | Notes & original retail prices[1] | |
| Star Trek: First Contact Phaser aka (Picard's) "Boomerang" Phaser [20](X) aka Star Trek: Voyager "Cobra" Phaser [21] | 1:1 | Regular edition (1500 pc); with original studio sound effects tapes, activated by a single button on the control panel. comes with a custom display case, numbered display plaque. (US$299.00) | 
|
| "Signature Edition" (500 pc); with autograph of Patrick Stewart. (US$399.00) | |||
| 2004 Releases | |||
| Classic phaser | 1:1[2] | Regular Edition (1500 pc); breaks down in Type 1 and Type 2 phaser; with light and sound effects (US$399.00) | 
|
| "Signature Edition" (500 pc); with autographs of either William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy (US$499.00) | |||
| Classic tricorder | Regular Edition (2500 pc); with lights, sound effects, and display graphics (US$349.00) | 
| |
| "Signature Edition" (500 pc); with autographs of either William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy | |||
| Classic communicator | Regular Edition (2500 pc); with light and sound effects (US$299.00) | 
| |
| "Signature Edition" (500 pc); with autographs of either William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy (US$399.00) | |||
| Klingon disruptor | 1:1 | Limited edition (1500 pc); with original studio sound effects tapes, activated by a single button on the control panel. comes with a custom display case, numbered display plaque. (US$299.00) | 
|
| 2006 Release | |||
| USS Enterprise | 1:350[3] | Limited edition (1250 pc); with lighting (US$1,199.99)[4] | 
|
| "Signature Edition" (500 pc); with autographs of either William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy | |||
| 40th anniversary "Commemorative Edition" (250 pc); with autographs of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Walter Koenig, James Doohan, and DeForest Kelley.[5] | |||
| 2008 Releases under Corgi ownership | |||
| Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Assault Phaser | 1:1 | Limited edition (2000 pc); with removable clip and type 1 phaser, as well as realistic lights and sounds digitally recorded directly from the film. (US$499.99) | 
|
| TR-590 Mark IX Science Tricorder | Limited edition (2000 pc); authentic light and sound effects taken from the original sound files (US$399.99)[6] | 
| |
- ↑ Where known. [1](X)
- ↑ Originally conceived of as an upscale re-issue of AMT's Star Trek model kit No.S598, it was eventually released as three separate items.
- ↑ Exact same size as the original 3-foot studio model. [2]
- ↑ Sold in two waves; the initial 2006 one and the August 2008 500-copy second one – which was not the "Signature Edition". [3]
- ↑ This release came with a booklet and packaging sporting Star Trek's 40th anniversary imprints, whereas the signatures of Kelly and Doohan were facsimiles, as both performers had already died by the time of the release. [4]
- ↑ One year later, eFX Collectibles, who had by then taken over the license to release prop replicas from Corgi, reissued a to 684 copies limited upgraded version of the tricorder for US$150 less, as the "Star Trek: First Contact Mark IX Science Recorder" which came with a plaque autographed by Brent Spiner. However, the for a limited edition unusual release number, very rapid pursuant release, and lower retail price, also suggested that it had actually concerned leftover stock bought by eFX, with the Spiner autograph constituting the "upgrade".
A truly upgraded version, employing the latest available technology and materials, was presented by successor company Factory Entertainment at the 2023 San Diego Comic Con. [5]
Relaunch[]
Relaunch logo emphasizing the ex-Eaglemoss products
The Master Replicas brand-name itself was acquired from the administrators by Darren Epstein, the owner/founder of UK-based Heathside Trading, and who announced in December 2022 on his LinkedIn account his intent to revive the brand as the home for the Eaglemoss Collections display model partwork lines, most specifically those of Star Trek, whose licenses and leftover collectible stocks he too had acquired upon its demise in August 2022. [22](X)
The relaunched site went life on Sunday 19 March 2023, 7:00 pm CET. In an email sent to prospect customers who had opted to receive them, [23] Epstein announced the sale of leftover display model stock, consisting of 400+ items from all Eaglemoss collections (which, as it turned out, included several reference book titles as well), starting with those of Star Trek. Later, it was also announced that these model issues were to be sold in waves of 25+ items each to avoid logistical problems and to avoid overwhelming the customer base. Waves were to be renewed every fortnight on Friday at 10:00 pm CET, and issues would on occasion be included that Eaglemoss had not come around to releasing them itself, but whose production had already been started up nonetheless at the time of their bankruptcy. One such model concerned the Caretaker's array, the by Eaglemoss scheduled, but ultimately unreleased Special issue 30 of the Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection. [24] It was expected that the old stock sale waves would last well into early 2024. [25]
Part of the deal struck with the Eaglemoss administrators entailed that Master Replicas would charge their customers the same retail prices Eaglemoss had charged at the end of their existence, in order to avoid third-party retailers who also got their hands on remaining stock to charge hugely inflated prices, [26][27] a frowned upon practice employed by these retailers who are colloquially known as "scalpers". [28] The condition was faithfully adhered to, when Master Replicas went online.
Former Eaglemoss Project Manager Ben Robinson was extensively consulted by Master Replicas on how to best release the leftover stock to the customer base. At first, it was Robinson who took it upon himself to keep customers appraised on an ongoing basis of stock levels of each wave through his Twitter account, in the process also becoming the de facto Master Replicas spokesperson on several Star Trek news sites such as Trekcore and TrekMovie.com. A little while later Master Replicas itself also opened up its very own Twitter account in April 2023, likewise keeping their customer base appraised in more detail about stock levels and future drops, thereby taking over from Robinson in full, who subsequently recused himself from the Eaglemoss remainder stock reissue.
Because customer fans had by now become fully aware that Eaglemoss products had become once more, however shortly, available for normal retail prices, sales started to pick up in speed with many items already selling out within hours (seconds even, if it concerned sought-after low-stock items, such as Official Collection issue B34, or Online Collection issues 7 and 15) of their offering which caused Master Replicas to shorten the wave release frequency to a weekly one, starting in May 2023. They were additionally motivated to do so was because the stock that they had bought started to arrive faster and in larger quantities. [29] The "wave" release format was abandoned after 3 November 2023 in favor of 1-2 smaller weekly "flash drop"-style drops, when the quantities of arriving stock started to dwindle in size and which in itself was an indication that the bottom of the barrel came in sight at this point in time. This was accompanied by a substantial dialing down of the customer service where the level of stock status information on social media was concerned.
After having received multiple customer complaints about "scalpers" buying items in bulk in order to resell them at extreme prices on eBay, Master Replicas decided to implement a one-copy per shipping-address policy under certain conditions for specific items, [30][31] the rare and by Eaglemoss previously unreleased ones in particular, besides keeping an eye out for suspicious bot activities on their webstore and intervening when deemed necessary, [32] but that protection was dialed down as well after the wave release format was abandoned.
As Eaglemoss had also become the distributor of the new 8" action figure line by Mego, it meant that any Mego stock still residing at the Eaglemoss distribution centers automatically resorted under the bankruptcy settlements. Master Replicas therefore also sprinkled their wave drops with Mego action figures besides the proper Eaglemoss products, those of the very recent 2021 to 1000 copies limited Star Trek line in particular. [33](X) Aside from Mego products, the company also sold Star Trek items stemming from QMx product lines, which, while not part of the Eaglemoss remainder stock, were sold nonetheless in anticipation of the takeover of QMx by Master Replicas (see: Footnotes).
- Waves released
- Wave 1; 19 March – 7 April 2023. [34] The inaugural wave was slightly longer to allow the company some extra time in getting their release operation a smooth startup.
- Wave 2; 7 April – 21 April 2023. [35] Wave 2 saw an extra mid-wave "flash drop", so coined by Master Replicas, featuring several issues left over from the previous wave.
- Wave 3; 21 April – 5 May 2023. [36]
- Wave 4; 5 May – 12 May 2023. [37] This wave saw an extra midweek flash drop of two previously unreleased items that had actually sold out rapidly in the preceding wave, but of which several additional copies were located[1], and to which cancelled orders were re-released for sale. [38]
- Wave 5; 12 May – 19 May 2023. [39] Wave 5 set a new sales speed record, when two items from the Star Trek Online Starships Collection (issues 5 and 7) sold out within half-a-minute of the release going live; a failure in the Eaglemosss era, some issues of the line became now highly sought after, when the realization had sunk in with fans that a couple of them had become canon upon their onscreen introduction in the second and third seasons of Star Trek: Picard. [40][41]
- Wave 6; 19 May – 26 May 2023. [42]
- Wave 7; 26 May – 9 June 2023. [43] Wave 7 saw an extra mid-wave "flash drop", featuring remainder stock of 27 standard items from the Official Starships Collection of which only very limited quantities were left; a few dozen at most, [44] and less than a hundred. [45]
- Wave 8; 9 June – 23 June 2023. [46] This wave set yet another sales speed record, when the 100 copies of the USS Enterprise-F sold out within five seconds. [47] Wave 8 saw again a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop in its first week. [48]
- Wave 9; 23 June – 30 June 2023. [49]
- Wave 10; 30 June – 7 July 2023. [50] Wave 10 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [51]
- Wave 11; 7 July – 13 July 2023. [52] Wave 11 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [53]
- Wave 12; 13 July – 21 July 2023. [54] Wave 12 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [55]
- Wave 13; 21 July – 28 July 2023. [56] No Star Trek mid-wave flash drop
- Wave 14; 28 July – 4 August 2023. [57] Wave 14 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [58]
- Wave 15; 4 August – 11 August 2023. [59] Wave 15 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [60]
- Wave 16; 11 August – 25 August 2023. [61] Wave 16 saw two mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drops. [62][63] An additional "Mego Partner Drop - 24 HOURS ONLY" also occurred during this wave, offering a wide array of Mego action figures, including those from the Star Trek franchise. [64]
- Wave 17; 25 August – 1 September 2023. [65] Wave 17 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [66]
- Wave 18; 1 September – 8 September 2023. [67] Wave 18 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [68]
- Wave 19; 8 September – 15 September 2023. [69] Wave 19 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [70]
- Wave 20; 15 September – 22 September 2023. [71] Wave 20 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [72]
- Wave 21; 22 September – 29 September 2023. [73] Wave 21 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [74]
- Wave 22; 29 September – 6 October 2023. [75] Wave 22 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [76]
- Wave 23; 6 October – 13 October 2023. [77] Wave 23 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [78] An additional "Mego Partner Drop - 48 HOURS ONLY" also occurred during this wave, offering a wide array of Mego action figures, including those from the Star Trek franchise.
- Wave 24; 13 October – 20 October 2023. [79] Wave 24 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [80]
- Wave 25; 20 October – 27 October 2023. [81] Wave 25 also saw a mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drop. [82]
- Wave 26; 27 October – 3 November 2023. [83] Wave 26 saw two mid-wave low-stock clearance flash drops. [84][85]
- Wave 27; 3 November → [86] The "wave" release format for the Star Trek lines was after 3 November abandoned in favor of smaller, semi-regular 1-2 weekly "flash drop"-style drops, [87][88][89][90][91] interspersed by themed drops such as the "Battlestar Galactica Night". [92] The 15 December 2023 and 19 January 2024 drops, were among the last large Star Trek-specific drops. [93][94]
Buoyed on by the apparent success of the Eaglemoss remainder stock sales, new Master Replicas announced that they would continue with releasing new high-end quality starship miniatures, figurines, and prop replicas, but now on their own and starting with such collectibles from The Expanse, [95] Stargate, [96], Doctor Who, [97] Dune, [98] and Foundation [99] franchises for which mother company Heathside Trading Ltd. had signed consecutive license agreements, starting on 11 August 2023. While Eaglemoss had actually already launched model/magazine partwork collections of the former three franchises with several issues released and produced in each (their remainder stock also acquired by Master Replicas for resale), they had never been able to do so likewise with the latter two franchises.
A little over a week later though, on 19 August 2023, the company had to break the news that they had lost out on the Star Trek license to release new outings in the various starship model/magazine partwork lines, and that it had gone to competitor DeAgostini/Fanhome instead for a mid-2024 launch, [100] as DeAgostini/Fanhome was much further along in finalizing their release processes than Master Replicas was from the Star Trek franchise's point of view.[2] DeAgostini was the same company that had acquired the Eaglemoss Star Trek: The Next Generation Build The USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D partwork line license for their Fanhome brand around the same time Master Replicas received the rights to the Eaglmoss remainder stock.
On 10 October 2023 Master Replicas expanded on its own upon the Eaglemoss Star Trek model lines they sold, when they launched their own exclusive limited "Signature Series", which had never been part of the original Eaglemoss lineup. Purely on their own initiative they had Nana Visitor, Andrew Probert, and William Shatner sign their autographs on plaques to accompany surplus Eaglemoss XL Edition stock of the Deep Space 9 station, USS Enterprise-D, and gold-plated USS Enterprise models, which were limited to 500, 500, and 250 copies respectively, and sold at corresponding collector's prices. [101] The metal autograph plaques were designed to be attachable to the model stands. [102] Mike McMahan, John Eaves, and Doug Drexler followed suit in similar manner two months later with two corresponding collection additions each, all of them likewise limited to 500 copies.
Background information[]
- Prior to the release of Polar Lights's highly acclaimed 1:350 model kit of the original USS Enterprise in 2012, Master Replica's 2006 model of the ship was commonly considered the most accurate replica available to the general public. This was not accidental as the company had solicited input from one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of the original eleven-foot Enterprise studio model, Gary Kerr.
Kerr, who had by that time taken numerous measurements of the original model, was referred to Master Replicas by studio model maker Gregory Jein who had initially been approached. Kerr was subsequently employed by the company as a consultant and he enlisted John Eaves, Steve Horch, and his companion Michael Moore to contribute to the construction of the prototype model. (Sci-fi & fantasy modeller, Vol. 26, p. 48) - Two Master Replicas items, the Original Series communicator with a by William Shatner signed certificate of authenticity and a First Contact hand phaser, have made an interaction with a Star Trek parody and pop culture production. In a 2014 episode of the television reality show Storage Wars (Season 5 Episode 8: "Bid Strong and Prosper"), these two items were discovered in an abandoned storage locker room that was sold off in an auction. The auction winners took their winnings to the grounds of the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant (the site frequently used as the location of Starfleet Academy/Starfleet Command) where they were met by three Trekkies in Star Trek attire from the local Los Angeles Star Trek club for a value estimate of their winnings. Spokeperson for the commitee was former production staffer Gabriel Koerner. [103][104] The auction winners were pleasantly surprised when their two replicas were given a combined estimate by the fans of US$4,000, which was nearly six times the combined amount the two collectibles were originally marketed for back in 2003/2004 at US$399 and US$299 respectively. [105](X)
Recent eBay listings of (original) Master Replicas Star Trek items, have substantiated the massive value increases of their collectibles in the after-market, including those from the other media franchises. - A copy of the Enterprise "Commemorative Edition" went up for auction on 30 June 2023 as lot#1232 at Prop Store's Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction: Los Angeles 2023 auction with an estimate of US$4,000-8,000, [106] selling for US$5,937.50 (including 25% buyers premium). [107]
Footnotes[]
- ↑ By the time Eaglemoss went bankrupt, they had maintained eight different distribution stock keeping unit ("SKU") centers, located in the USA, UK, Australia, Austria, Germany, Poland, France and Holland. [6] This was in addition to the stock still left at the Holinail Group, the Dongguan, China-based manufacturer, where most of the already produced new, not yet release-ready items still resided. These were the locations Master Replicas received their stock items from, [7] not necessarily concurrent and some not equally administered as well as others, which became the additional reason for the repeat and/or flash drops of these items. [8]
- ↑ There is potentially a second, major reason in play regarding the franchise's preference for DeAgostini over Master Replicas; the latter is a purely British company, operating exclusively from the UK, which means that the substantial EU Star Trek collector market is slapped with hefty import duties and VAT at 21% (which comes on top of the British 20% VAT already included in the retail price) for products ordered at that company, increasing retail prices by around forty percent in total in comparison to those charged to UK customers, as the (additional) customs clearance costs and the much steeper UK-EU shipping costs are not only part of the import duties, but of the EU VAT calculations as well, meaning that EU customers pay the VAT twice. [9] Operating internationally, Italian DeAgostini does not face such restrictions, including those for the UK where they already operate a physically established local subsidiary since 1969 [10] – thereby circumventing the obligatory import restrictions. This is not an option likely to become viable anytime soon for the small-sized (new) Master Replicas company.
The US customer base for Master Replicas products incidentally, is far less impacted as the treshold for UK import duties stands at US$800 net as of 2023. [11] The much lower corresponding EU treshold is €150 gross, thus encompassing all the additional costs including the EU VAT whereas the 21% VAT and clearance costs are always due for UK imports. All this goes a long way in explaining the dramatic 38% collapse of UK exports to the EU, ever since Brexit became effective at the start of 2021 [12], becoming a huge incentive for the Star Trek franchise to avoid the UK as the European base of (merchandise) operations. Previously, predecessor Eaglemoss had actually circumvented that pitfall by opening mainland Europe (warehouse) subsidiaries before they went bankrupt.
On 6 October 2023, the news broke that Master Replicas had acquired collectibles company QMx, one of its two once American successors for Star Trek back in 2008. [13] With that acquisition Master Replicas took its first step to circumvent import restrictions on the international market by gaining a physical foothold on American soil.
See also[]
External links[]
- Corgi International Limited at Wikipedia
- 2008 TrekMovie.com reviews by Jeff Bond
- MasterReplicas.com – newly launched 2023 official website
- MasterReplicas.com(X) – non-functional archived original version (pre-2007)
- Master Replicas (as Master Replicas Official) at X (formerly Twitter)