NYCC 2024: Fanhome Goes Where No Fan Has Gone Before
by Tom Smithyman
Subscription-based collectibles company Fanhome is entering the final frontier at New York Comic Con with a new line of Star Trek ships of the line that are sure to excite even the most cantankerous Klingon-like fanboys.
The company, an offshoot of Italian firm DeAgostini Collectibles, has licenses with a number of media companies, ranging from such brands as Star Wars to The Fast and the Furious to Marvel. This weekend, though the company is showing off its Star Trek ships, pulled primary from the venerable franchise’s newer shows, including Picard, Lower Decks, and Prodigy.
Fanhome typically works as a subscription service that empowers fans to build their own collectibles. They are mailed pieces of a larger collectible – for example, Iron Spider’s head – and they tasked with some rudimentary assembly. For this new Star Trek series, though, fans are freer to choose the specific die-cast ships they want, no assembly required.
It’s part of giving fans a choice and trying different business models, said Isabelle Giggins, DeAgostini’s chief licensing officer.
“We have been working with Paramount for about a year and a half now to get that collaboration ready,” Giggins said. “To be able to launch that range of die casts is something that’s really special.”
The series officially starts in November with the U.S.S. Stargazer from Picard. Others Trek ships include Strange New Worlds’ U.S.S. Farragut and from Picard, the Shrike and the Enterprises F and G.
But some lucky fans were able to snag an NYCC exclusive – the U.S.S. Titan-A. Only 250 were available, and they sold out the first day of the con. To sweeten the pot for fans, the Titan’s Captain Liam Shaw from Picard, Todd Stashwick, will be on hand to sign on Friday.
Each of the 7- to 9-inch ships also comes with a 16-page magazine that profiles the ship in the Star Trek universe and explores the design process with exclusive art and interviews with the production team. The designs are based on the original visual effects models that were used to produce the shows.
The company will follow up this batch next year with even more ships drawn from the franchise’s news series, including the U.S.S. Archimedes from Lower Decks and the U.S.S. Protostar from Prodigy.