This miniature display model arrived in the mail today: the Phoenix which you may remember from Star Trek: First Contact. A larger, toy version is also available, but I preferred this miniature because (a) it was pretty inexpensive and (b) doesn’t take a lot of room!

I took several photographs before I got one that looked the way I wanted. I could have probably done a bit better had I setup the camera on a tripod and setup some lights too, but I didn’t feel like going through all that. So, be happy with what you see here.

Nonetheless, it is a pretty cool model, and has some pretty good detail for such a small one. It’s about 3 inches long once assembled. Assembly is easy. The ship itself comes in three pieces. Just have to align it right, which is relatively easy unless you have poor vision. Just make sure you’re putting it on right and don’t force it together. There is a certain way it fits together, and the rounded “tab” has a flat side. It’s easier to spot on the one part than the other (sorry, don’t remember which and I don’t want to take it apart). But, if you pay close attention, you’ll get it without a problem. The base comes in three parts as well. Very easy to put together. Then, just mount the ship on the base and you’re all set.

Looks nice on your desk or curio. The warp nacelles are adjustable too. They can be outstretched, ready to warp off and meet the Vulcans, or they can be in the closed position. Get yours today, and you can have your own model 54 years before Zefram Cochrane builds the real thing out of an old nuclear missile.

Meanwhile, on the topic of phoenixes…

Well, this false potato beetle did not rise from his own ashes, but he did (sort of) return from the dead.

Last summer, I caught a few false potato beetles, intending to take pictures of them. I don’t know if I ever got around to that. At any rate, they eventually died. So, I stopped putting in new food for them. I didn’t clean out the cage either, waiting instead for spring cleaning.

The other day, I happened to look in the cage, and here was this guy wandering about. I don’t know if he’s survived by not eating at all, or by eating the dried up plants in the cage (which don’t look chewed on) or sustaining himself on old, stale water. No idea. But, he’s still alive.

I remember when I was a kid, I was trying to see how long they would live in captivity. The longest I ever had one live was a few months. The longest living died on Christmas day way back when.

I think I may have had one live a month or two longer than that a few years back, but I don’t remember for certain. At any rate, I think this one must be the longest living.

I gave him some food tonight, thinking he would eagerly eat new, fresh food. He just wandered around on it but didn’t eat. Maybe he thinks not eating will make him immortal?

Scratch that. I just checked in on him, and he’s taken a few nibbles. Now he’s just standing there. Maybe he’s savoring it, or maybe his stomach is doing backflips. Who knows. Anyway, I’ll see how long he keeps on ticking.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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