Among the ships in the Starfleet armada that answered the USS Shenzhou’s distress message at the Battle of the Binary Stars the USS Edison was lost with all hands onboard after valiantly pushing against the Klingon forces.
Designed as a troop transporter intended to move soldiers and small range fighters into the thick of hostile confrontations, the USS Edison NCC-1683 was introduced at the beginning of Season One of STAR TREK DISCOVERY and was part of a series of background ships that would help illustrate the depth of the Federation’s initial confrontation with the Klingon Empire at infamous Battle of the Binary Stars. The ship’s designer John Eaves attacked this latest assignment in the same fashion as any of the hero ships he’d approached in the past.
Though a lot more compact in size by comparison to the larger USS Discovery the USS Edison NCC-1683 is a Hoover-class ship with an unusually diamond-shaped aft station that appeared crafted as a landing bay where small one-person fighters could be loaded and deployed in mass and into combat situations. The engineering hull was housed beneath the main saucer section of the ship and was uncharacteristically swept forward instead of a naturally aerodynamically back with the nacelles nestled on either side in a catamaran style.
When Eaves submitted the various design options for the fleet ships that inhabited the 23rd Century of STAR TREK DISCOVERY the similarities in silhouette of certain ship designs encouraged the design team to make minor adjustments and modifications once Eaves initial pitches made the cut. The USS Edison quickly moved up the ranks and although it had relatively little screen time, the Hoover-class may eventually return in another iteration in an upcoming episode of the new series. It’s triangular aft area has a design appeal that is evocative of the USS Reliant.
Ship In The Line
Delivering on its promise of quality collectible items Eaglemoss Collections release of the USS Edison NCC-1683 marks the sixteenth release in the line of models based off of designs appearing in STAR TREK DISCOVERY and is a larger offering than their standard models, excluding the “XL Editions” which are their latest more elite line of collectibles. The USS Edison remains interesting in that it continues to push the envelope of starship designs, but still has a way of remaining faithful to canon and fan’s expectations.
The model itself is beautifully detailed and captures the spirit of the starship, with amazing sculpted parts in both a high-end plastic and die-cast metal.
USS Edison NCC-1683 | Issue 15 | Star Trek Discovery The Official Starships Collections from Eaglemoss Collections | $54.95 available on the Eaglemoss Collections website or as part of the subscription service.