The fall of Eaglemoss has fans scrambling for a new way to continue their collecting.
Never doubt the importance that collecting has in a fandom. Sports fans have trading cards, comic fans have comics, and video game fans have outrageously over-priced video games that are digital only. Yay. For Star Trek fans, it’s always been about the ships that make the show.
Sure, there are other avenues to go, like with comics, action figures, and if you’re a PC user, video games. Yet, the one staple through it all. Through uneven video games, canceled action figure lines, and a comic series that remains non-canon, are the ships.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest designers and producers of collectible ships, Eaglemoss, filed for bankruptcy due to the company spreading itself too thin; with the former Director of Licensed Products, Ben Robinson telling TrekMovie;
"The company went for a very aggressive growth plan and wasn’t able to sustain it and toppled over… Basically what happens is you invest in more stock than you can sell. So you tie your money up in stock, you don’t then have enough cash to function and then things go wrong."
CBS supports the Star Trek miniature line, so there is hope
Robinson has spoken out about the future of the brand, and while Eaglemoss as an entity is not likely to be revived, CBS/Paramount has said to be very supportive of the product line, giving Robinson hope that the brand will be revived and finished by someone, especially if they have ties with CBS.
"They were blindsided by this (CBS / Paramount), the senior management of Eaglemoss did not tell them about this (Administration) until very late in the day. So they haven’t had any time to put any other plans in place, or much opportunity to try and fix things. I know they are very concerned about people who have been left with incomplete models and it’s very important to them to find a solution to that. There is no guarantees, but they do really care."
If you’re a collector of the Star Trek brand from the Eaglemoss line of miniatures you may be in luck. If CBS/Paramount does intervene then it’s very likely the line gets finished. If you collected things like the James Bond or Dr. Who items, you’ll likely be best to look for a new line of collectibles to add to your collection.