At the time, Unobtanium president Rick Cigel emphasized the attention to detail that the project demanded: "We could have saved some money (sending the manufacturing and assembly work overseas), but here we have Quality Control all day, every day," he told the official site. Indeed, this committment led to a pricey product, at between $765 and $1,495.

Now, Trek5 and Trekofile report that Unobtanium has disappeared, leaving many customers without filled orders or their money refunded. According to Trek5, the modelmaker's web site (www.unobtainiumltd.com) no longer functions and at least one customer has reported to the site that he has yet to receive a model or a refund of his $1,395. Trekophile reports that Viacom Licensing representative Kristi Walrod has informed customers that Unobtanium's license to sell the products has expired and that Paramount can insist, but not force, Mr. Cigel to refund customers' money.

In addition, reports have surfaced that some of the models that did ship suffered drooping engine nacelles due to poor resin work with the product. Trekophile also received word from two former customers of the company that say they visited the site of Unobtanium's offices on March 5th to find the company gone and the space filled by another vendor. At least one source at the site claims to have spoken to Mr. Cigel via cell phone, who claims that he is attempting to refund customers' money and that his partner Chris Gilman's company Global Effects is still operational.

Some customers have informed the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office over the matter and Trek5 has provided the following contact information for Unobtanium customers:

• Lauren Whitehead at Viacom Licensing: (323) 956-5583
• LA County Consumer Affairs: (213) 974-1452
• Kristi Walrod, assistant to Juanita Palomino, Exec. Director, Domestic Licensing for Viacom - kristi_holden-walrod@paramount.com

You can read more at the original report here.

Update: The company's web site appears to be operational.