Top 40 TNG Models: 21-25

Completing the bottom half of our countdown of starship studio miniatures

25. S.S. Birdseye

3 episodes: “The Neutral Zone”, “Aquiel”, “Parallels”

It’s almost a shame to kick off with this model, as it’s so much less magnificent than the others in this part of the countdown, but ‘thems the breaks’ I suppose. This, of course, is the S.S. Birdseye, where the Enterprise-D picked up the space popsicles at the very end of the first season. The name ‘S.S. Birdseye’ is allegedly emblazoned on the hull of this studio miniature, but I’ve never seen photographic proof! It was tweaked to appear as Subspace Network Relay Station 047 in “Aquiel”, and the same model reappeared as Starbase 47 in “Parallels”. Frankly, it pales into insignificance next to this next model…