The oldest ornament on the Geek Tree – and the ornament without which there would be no Ornament-a-Day – is the Shuttlecraft Galileo. Released in 1992, the Galileo is a string-powered ornament. The ornament’s lighting is simplistic – just the cockpit lights up – but what truly makes it special is the voice of Leonard Nimoy. Triggered by a button, it features … Read more
One of my favorite Enterprises, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E appeared in Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Nemesis. Today’s Ornament-a-Day entry is string-powered and was released in 1998. The 1701-E’s deflector array glows yellow, while the warp nacelles are the traditional red. Though string-powered, the ornament has no audio associated with it. It’s a bit longer and sleeker than the … Read more
The Locutus of Borg ornament recreates the conversations between Captain Jean Luc Picard and the Borg Queen from the movie Star Trek: First Contact. A string-powered ornament, today’s Ornament-a-Day entry features Picard – in his Locutus persona – plugged into a Borg charging station while the Borg Queen stands nearby. The charging station features a slowly flashing … Read more
Easily one of my favorite ornaments, the City on the Edge of Forever ornament has been a staple of the Geek Tree since its release in 2004. Today’s Ornament-a-Day entry features James Kirk and Spock running through a portal to the past in pursuit of a (not depicted) insane Dr. McCoy. It’s a string-powered ornament … Read more
The Last Parsec – Jumpcorp Guide to Interstellar Salvage: The Last Parsec is a space opera setting for Savage Worlds that has a Star Frontiers meets Mass Effect feel. This new sourcebook provides rules and setting material for exploring – and salvaging – derelict spacecraft. It sounds like a great setup for a campaign to me since you could easily … Read more
The U.S.S. Voyager (NCC-74656) is an understated, string-powered Hallmark ornament from 1996. Taken from the Star Trek television series of the same name, the Voyager has no audio component. The 11th Ornmanent-a-Day entry uses its power to illuminate its deflector dish and two warp nacelles. They glow with the standard red-and-blue familiar to Star Trek fans, but it’s a more subtle illumination than the Enterprise 1701-D. The Enterprise stands … Read more
Another time travel-centered ornament, the Enterprise-C appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. During the episode, the timeline changes because the Enterprise-C passes through a rift in space/time. As it does so, it lands in a future in which the United Federation of Planets is at war with the Klingon Empire and the Enterprise-D is a warship. It turns … Read more
I’ll admit, I was skeptical of the Golden Enterprise NCC-1701 when I got it. The 50th-anniversary ornament features the original Enterprise (no stinking A, no stinking B, no stinking C, no stinking D) … with a gold finish. On the one hand, it’s undeniably garish and gaudy. On the other hand … it’s a freaking golden Enterprise! … Read more
While the Geek Tree is dominated by Federation starships, I do have a handful of vessels from other factions. The first of these is my somewhat battered Klingon Bird of Prey, today’s Ornament-a-Day entry. It’s a string-powered ornament, with its forward photon torpedo launcher flashing yellow, two glowing red under panels (I’m sure there’s a technical readout that would … Read more
The Geek Tree could easily be the “Star Trek” tree. Starships from the franchise’s television and cinematic runs dominate the tree, augmented by the occasional character-focused ornament. The first Star Trek ornament – and the one most sought by collectors like myself – is the 1991 version of the Enterprise. Released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Star … Read more