The Tamarians , who communicate using metaphor, appear in one of TNG's most celebrated epsiodes – 'Darmok'. Their ship is a match for the Enterprise-D and has the technology to block her transporters. The studio model was a modified version of the Talarian observation which had appeared the previous season. That ship was designed by Rick Sternbach, who was inspired byt he anime, 'Galactic Patrol Lensman'. The model is 4.3" (11 cm) long.