Species 8472 Bio-Ship

from "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001)

Scale: 1/7000
Initial Release: 2003
Medium: PVC
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

"Star Trek: Voyager's" second season-ending cliffhanger, "Scorpion Part 1" introduced two new important elements to the series.  The first was Species 8472, a smart and ruthless alien race from "fluidic space," a sub-universe of our own.  Their "Bio-Ships" -- living mechanisms of enormous complexity -- were fast, powerful and nearly indestructible.  The second element was a short-term alliance with the Borg that brought to Voyager Seven of Nine, a human Borg who would soon become of the series most popular characters.

Species 8472 and their bio-ships made appearances in several subsequent episodes.

About the Kit

In the early 21st Century, Japan suddenly acquired Star Trek fever.  One of the companies that decided to go where no Japanese toy company had gone before was Furuta, which issued a set of 10 mini-models ranging from the Enterprise-A to the Deep Space 9 space station. (All models came with the same packaging; as with baseball cards,  buyers never knew exactly what product they were going to get.)  Like the other Furuta models, the Spieces 8472 Bio-Ship was a simple kit (just seven pieces)  made from pre-painted PVC plastic and measured just four inches long.  The original completed model has been weathered with a dull black wash to bring out the details.

The model was built from an original issue.