The USS Yamaguchi / Excalibur / Enteprise C(?): A Familiar Face in the Auction Circuit

Prop Store’s 2022 London Auction has arrived and with it come some really neat Star Trek lots. One in particular, however, has been seen before at auction (and not too long ago).

Lot 349 brings us the USS Exalibur / Yamaguchi and this is their description:

A USS Yamaguchi and Excalibur light-up model miniature from sci-fi TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation. This miniature of the Ambassador-class starship was built to serve as two Federation ships, including the U.S.S. Excalibur in the Season 5 episode “Redemption II” and the U.S.S Yamaguchi which appeared in the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The saucer top is currently marked as “U.S.S. Yamaguchi NCC-26510”, and the rear of the model is still marked “Excalibur”.

The model is made from cast resin reinforced with fibreglass, and features styrene detailing. It sits on a metal display stand and features two wires protruding from the bottom. The starship illuminates when powered. The model is accompanied by its original wooden crate which has “Enterpise ‘C'” handwritten in blue ink in two places, and “Trek TV” handwritten or stamped in two other areas.

Well-used in the Star Trek saga, certain decals have come away or show wear from use and age, with the model exhibiting minor cracks and wear to the paint finish.

Dimensions (model): 103.5 cm x 68 cm x 20 cm (40 3/4″ x 26 3/4″ x 8″)

Estimate: £50,000 – 80,000

That price range is probably on par but will likely go a bit more based on current auction trends (on top of a 25% buyer’s premium). Combined with the monetary conversion and shipping from the UK, insane money will be dolled out for this.

What the article doesn’t mention though is that this originally came from the big 2006 Christie’s Auction as well

The Christie’s Auction description reads:

“A visual effects model of an Ambassador-class starship made from glass fiber-reinforced cast resin with styrene details, with loose nacelle caps and shuttlebay door cover — 41x26in. — first seen as the Starship Enterprise-C for “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” one of the most popular episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, then extensively refurbished and rebuilt to serve as a variety of other ships in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the saucer top is currently marked as U.S.S. Yamaguchi NCC-26510″

Back then, this sold for just $40,000 ($48,000 with buyer’s premium) with a shocking auction estimate of just $8,000 to $12,000. Notice they call this ship by three names – Enterprise C, Yamaguchi, and Excalibur. More on this later

After Christie’s, this was held onto until making it’s way to none other than Prop Store’s 2015 London Auction:

This is the auction description at the time:

“The starship model is made of resin with internal fibreglass reinforcement and an array of styrene rib detailing running across the hull and nacelles. The shuttle bay at the rear of the ship is exposed revealing internal cabling. The model has a blue and grey paint finish with additional blue and faux gold detailing on the nacelles and deflector dish. White appliqué panels are applied on the saucer as part of the Yamaguchi transformation.

Red and black Starfleet decals are applied to the exterior of the vessel. The Excalibur’s registration number “NCC-26517” is applied on the underside of the saucer dish and a decal displaying the name “Excalibur” is applied beneath the shuttle bay. Decals with the number “NCC-26510” and the name “USS Yamaguchi” have been applied across the top of the saucer with “NCC-26510” decals on the port side of the nacelles.

Internal lights are fitted across the saucer, hull and nacelles with lights fitted behind transparent red plastic diffusers on the nacelles and the rear of the saucer. Additional lights run through the body of the starship to replicate the look of lit windows, all of which are powered using a cable running from the saucer section of the ship.

Well-used in the Star Trek saga, certain decals have come away or show wear from use and age, with the model exhibiting minor cracks and wear to the paint finish. The model is presented on a custom made, poseable display and remains overall in very good condition. The piece was originally sold in CBS-Paramount’s 2006 40 Years of Star Trek auction. Dimensions: 65 cm x 110 cm x 41 cm (25 ½” x 43 ½” x 16 ¼”)

£40,000-60,000

Astonishingly, this only sold for £33,000. Seven years later, it’s right back on the block.

As you saw, Christie’s called this the Enterprise-C that was later “extensively refurbished” to become the Yamaguchi and Excalibur. However, it’s my understanding that there wasn’t only just one model built and that this is a completely separate model from the Enterprise-C. In fact, the filming model Enterprise-C from “Yesterday’s Enterprise” was kept by master model maker Greg Jein after filming, and remained in his collection for many years before being sold to a private collector. A photo of that model is below.