***NOTE:
This is part retrospective, part review, and part opinion piece. This
is by no means a comprehensive look at Playmates Toys’ Star Trek
line. It is, however, a lot longer than I originally intended.***
I’m
on a huge Star Trek kick right now. These things happen to me
occasionally – when one of my secondary loves will take front and
center for reasons that may or may not be clear.
Before
any Trekkies that might be reading this stand up and go sputtering
out of the room (or just click away from the page), let me explain
that whole “secondary” thing:
I
fucking
love
Star Trek. The original series is sacred to me in a way that not many
things in the media are. I think the sixties Batman TV show is the
only other thing that occupies the same sort of place in my heart.
Those two shows were in syndication when I was a small child and were
the first television programs that I would say I was devoted to. The
Monkees
is probably up there as well, but for obvious reasons does not have
the same staying power as Star
Trek and
Batman.
My
point here is that Star Trek has traditionally had a tough time in
the toy aisles. With two notable exceptions – one of which is what
I am going to be talking about today – toy companies have had a
mystifyingly difficult time supporting lines that by all rights
should be chock full of aliens, starships, and imagination-inspiring
items of all kinds. I’m not going to try to nail down exactly why
certain lines haven’t caught fire over the years – that would be
a whole other post. Today I’m going to take a look at Playmates
Toys’ massively successful and years-spanning run with the Star
Trek license.
Side
Note: The other manufacturer that I consider to have been successful
with Trek was Mego. I know that Diamond Select Toys has produced some
fantastic figures and what are easily the best starships of any line,
but if you aren’t penetrating mass market retail then you’re not
producing a truly successful toy line. Sorry, I think DST is awesome,
but that’s how I feel.
So
my current Star Trek kick is due to a combination of factors – the
stars aligned, if you will. SyFy was showing The
Undiscovered Country
a few weekends ago. I saw it while I was getting ready for work.
Pretty much any time I catch a bit of one of the original crew movies
– my preferred form of Trek
– I end up having to watch all of them. After doing that I
proceeded to Netflix to check out some Next
Generation.
I watched “Hide and Q” and then went straight to “The Schizoid
Man”, continuing on from there. As of this writing I am on “The
Ensigns of Command” and have recruited Lil’ Troublemaker into my
watching due to the next aspect of my Trek kick – somebody sold all
of their Playmates Trek toys to my local comic book shop and I have
bought a
lot of
them.
Back
when Playmates first got the Star Trek license I was still not
convinced about The
Next Generation.
I was solidly an original series guy. I wasn’t sold on this old
egghead, Picard and I thought Data and Wesley were annoying. I also
had trouble buying my pal LeVar from Reading
Rainbow
as an outer space adventurer. It was a classic case of resistance to
franchise change, I was just too inexperienced to recognize it. I was
eleven when the show premiered. I don’t think I truly loved the TNG
crew until First
Contact
came out. I might have been watching the show by then – probably
was – but I specifically remember that movie blowing me away.
In
1992 I saw the Playmates TNG
toys in the toy aisles and was not interested. I don’t think it
even occurred to me to hope that they would produce figures of Kirk
and his crew because back then that wasn’t necessarily something
that was done. The toy companies hadn’t quite grasped the power of
nostalgia yet. They were still more concerned about brand recognition
(a less powerful form of nostalgia).
Playmates
took an interesting approach to their Star Trek line. Every single
item that was released was numbered and labeled with a “Limited
Edition” branding. This was a stroke of brilliance, as it added a
collectability factor that would appeal to older fans of the
franchise, who would be needed to propel the line to success. You can
take one look on eBay and see that the numbers were utterly
meaningless as anything other than a way to track production
quantities, but at the time it was a compelling facet of collecting
the toys.
What
drew me into the line a year later was the Classic Trek box set:
That
bridge set is made of cardboard and was the interior of a huge window
box. It included the figures pictured; the essential classic Trek
crew. I saw it in the store and knew I would have to have it. It came
out in 1993 – I was seventeen years old and sort of keeping my toy
collecting on the down-low at that point. I believe this set was so
important that I talked my mom into buying it for me for my birthday
or Christmas.
These
were not my first toys from Playmates. As everybody reading this
probably knows, these are the folks that produced the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles – one of the greatest toy lines of all time. The TMNT
line was the one that kept me going in the awkward wilderness years
between GI Joe and X-Men. I knew how Playmates handled wacky mutant
animals and such, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from a more
humanoid line.
So sassy! |
One
of the things that I did not like about the Star Trek line – but
that I admire now – was the lack of realism. The figures’
proportions were off and the likenesses verged on cartoony. My guess
is that this was done to give the line a more toy-like and appealing
quality for kids while still producing the characters that older
collectors wanted. These Classic Trek figures were significantly less
cartoonish than the TNG
figures that had been offered up to that point. I give you Worf as an
example:
Granted,
poor ol’ Worf is the most extreme case of weirdness that Playmates
produced, but he is pretty bad. Most figures in the line weren’t
stuck in action the way he is, but most did have limb positioning
that suggested very specific poses. The one instance where this is
absolutely acceptable is in Spock and Sarek’s right hands:
Playmates
maintained standard articulation throughout the line – swivels at
the head, shoulders, biceps, waist, and hips with pivoting elbows and
knees. This was a pretty good collection of joints for figures in
1992; particularly the bicep swivels.
To
me the worst thing about this line was the way the hip joints were
done. Playmates used angled cut joints, which made the figures look
extremely odd and uncomfortable when sitting down. Everything else I
can either overlook or have just grown to enjoy, but those hip joints
were just bad design. Especially in a line where the characters spent
a good seventy percent of their screen time sitting down.
Even
now – with my newfound appreciation for what a fantastic toy
line this is – I still hate those hip joints.
Another
thing that confounded me was the holsters on these guys:
What
the heck goes in there? The phasers can’t fit because they have the
firing effect permanently attached.
These days that firing effect
would be removable or just not included (if it were Mattel they
wouldn’t even have phasers). Those holsters messed up the figures’
profiles and seemed to serve no purpose.
So
the line had a few strikes against it – the likenesses and
proportions were questionable, the hips were awful, and those
holsters were useless protrusions.
Now
let me tell you why it is such an amazing, fantastic toy line.
The
figures are clearly meant to be played with. They are constructed
from a sturdy, slightly flexible plastic that is going to survive any
age group. Those joints can be moved over and over and over again.
They’re tough. Some figures had action features like Data’s
opening ports:
And
those little pieces are sturdy.
Each
figure came with a ton
of accessories. Everything from phasers to tricorders to computer
terminals to character specific things like Worf’s Bat’leth or
even episode specific items like Sarek's Vulcan harp.
Heck, Picard even comes with a mug for his Earl Grey!:
I’m
still not sure how I feel about LaForge’s visor being removable:
It’s
an awesome touch and something you wouldn’t expect, but the darn
thing would be extremely easy to lose.
While
the figures fall squarely into the “made for kids” category, they
feature as much detail as you could want. The lines on the uniforms
are sculpted, not just painted. The rank pips on the figures’
collars are painted correctly. Even the piping on the bottoms of
their trousers is colored correctly. The paint decos are solid and
clean. The facial detail can be a little basic, but again – the
figures look like they should look within the style of the line. Some
feature better likenesses than others, but there’s no problem
telling who should be who. And to reiterate the playability – the
paint is tough. You can toss these guys in a bag and not worry about
paint scraping off.
Oh,
and each figure is numbered according to the “Limited Edition”
gimmick I mentioned above:
Thankfully
Playmates didn’t put it anywhere noticeable.
The
figures themselves were a bit on the simplistic toy side, but were
fun. And Playmates did not mess around with the assortment. Within
the main toy line they hit almost every primary cast member of the
original series, TNG,
Deep
Space Nine,
and Voyager.
It’s an amazing accomplishment. Not only that, the line saw a
number of releases from the motion pictures,
and of course that irascible rapscallion, Khan Noonien Singh!:
Side
Note: I have to admit to being utterly dismayed that Playmates never
completed the original series crew in their movie uniforms. We got
Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov due to tie-ins to other films, but the rest
of the original Enterprise crew were never produced. And here’s the
real
kicker – they have never been produced in any other line, either!
That uniform is my favorite movie costume of all time. If I had
however much it would take to commission or buy or whatever one of
those uniforms right now I would fork it over.
Playmates
did not stop with fun action figures. While fun action figures are
great, to achieve true legendary status a toy line must include
vehicles and… dare I say it?... playsets. And we got some great
ones with this line.
I’m
not going to get into their wonderful range of electronic starships
because I haven’t bought any of those yet. I used to have the
Enterprise 1701-D and I have no idea what happened to it. It had a
lot of cool sound effects and lit up in the right places. I do seem
to remember that the engine nacelles had trouble staying on. I also
just remembered that my mom bought me that, as well and that I was
disappointed that it wasn’t the original Enterprise (though I kept
that to myself). Man – I must’ve really
not liked TNG
at first.
What
I will talk about are the actual playsets. Playmates released a
bridge, a transporter room, and an engine room. They are all
electronic and feature lights and sounds.
The
Enterprise bridge playset is now one of the jewels of my collection.
The one I bought was well taken care of and all of the electronics
still work. The stickers are a little off-center and in some cases
just in the wrong spots, but overall it’s solid.
This
is a large playset that approximates the scale of what it represents
more closely than most playsets I have seen. It doesn’t feel
cramped in any way and every crew member has their correct station.
The chairs are sculpted to accommodate the figures’ weird sitting
positions:
I’m
not saying they look normal sitting down, but they stay put in the
chairs for the most part and can interact with the consoles. There is
also a seat that slides out from under the rear station:
Everything
is made of a sturdy plastic and the paint is great. While it is in
good shape, this set has obviously been through some moves and
transport. But there are no major scuffs and even the tiny pieces are
intact – no broken parts. The only things missing were two of the
small brackets to hold the walls in place:
These
are the ones that hold the portions that flip down, so it’s no
great loss. The pieces stay in place just fine without the brackets.
I
mentioned above that the stickers were placed a bit poorly, but
here’s the amazing thing – the stickers are all still intact.
This playset is over two decades old and those stickers aren’t even
curling.
There
are light bulbs behind the viewscreeen that are activated by the
buttons at the Tactical Rim:
Each
of the seven buttons activates a different combination of lights and
sounds from the show:
Post by Needless Things.
There
is a switch under the console that turns the electronics on and off.
The screen remains lit when the button is in the “On” position,
which I like. I know it burns batteries (three “C” batteries, to
be exact), but it brings the set to life. I do wish they had included
interchangeable screens. Even the old Mego set (and the reproduction)
had those. It would be nice to have a neutral starfield to put in
there.
Two
of the wall panels swing down to open up the set:
There
are also two sets of spring-loaded doors. I’d prefer it if they
weren’t spring-loaded.
The closing action is just a bit too
intense.
Post by Needless Things.
Overall
this playset is great and does what it needs to do. I think the thing
I like the most is that the designers didn’t see fit to add in any
“enhancements” to “improve” the bridge’s playability. There
are no breakaway walls (the walls that do flip down serve a purpose
and are not action features) or ejector chairs or laser cages or any
other kind of unnecessary gimmicks. The playset bridge looks like the
TV bridge and there’s nothing to break the play vibe, if you know
what I mean. Q can drop into this thing and start wrecking
everybody’s life and there’s no neon yellow “Phaser Explosion
Chamber!” hanging around making everybody feel stupid.
I
would have been just fine and dandy if Playmates had stopped with the
bridge. It’s big and awesome and can support all of the
starship-oriented adventures you might need. But that wasn’t enough
for the toy company. They also created an Engineering Room playset:
This
was released in conjunction with Generations.
There was another playset before this one, but I’m saving it for
last because that’s how this thing is flowing.
Unfortunately
the electronics on mine aren’t working. It’s supposed to light up
and make sounds. I paid a lot less for this than what I’m seeing it
selling for online, so I might tinker around with it and see if I can
get it working again.
As
far as the construction, Playmates managed to pack a good bit of play
value into a fairly small and simple environment. It’s obviously smaller in
scale than the set from the show, but there’s as much here as needs
to be. The reactor core looks awesome with its translucent tubing and
central chamber.
There is a hatch at the base where the included
dilithium crystals (smaller than the ones included with the figures)
can be inserted.
The
main control panel has buttons to activate the lights and sounds –
whatever they may be – and has a pretty good sticker to represent
the various controls. Like the bridge, this playset has some great,
durable stickers. There’s a weird stool that looks like some kind
of ergonomically sound thing you’d buy from Sharper Image. This
actually works a lot better than the chairs on the bridge. There’s
also this thing that plugs into a hole in the console to prevent the
ship from blowing up or something. It’s been a while since I’ve
seen Generations,
on account of not liking it very much at all.
This
set includes a bracket that allows you to mount it outside of one of
the sets of doors on the bridge playset.
It doesn’t look beautiful
– the sets are not really sculpted to go together – and the
engine room is not located even remotely this close to the bridge,
but it’s neat that the designers built the bridge with the idea of
future expansions. It makes me wish that we could’ve gotten a Ten
Forward, a Sick Bay, or even a landing bay for the Goddard
shuttlecraft that Playmates released (which I haven’t bought yet
and probably need to jump on). Heck, they could have even released
generic cabins to attach to this thing.
Sadly,
the only other playset we got was the Transporter Room:
I’m
torn on this one. As far as the functionality goes it is fantastic.
You open the little door, stick a figure or two in, slide the
switches, and they are “transported”. It works perfectly and is a
nifty illusion accomplished with lights and mirrors. The window on
mine is pretty jacked up and I don’t know why. I haven’t tried to
clean it yet, but it almost looks like that smudging is on the
inside, which I don’t even understand. Like the bridge and the
engine room, I got a better deal on this thing than I’m likely to
find anywhere else, so I guess I’m going to hang onto it.
My
issue with it is that it isn’t really designed as part of the
Enterprise like the bridge and engineering are – it’s designed as
a standalone thing that is clearly a toy for kids. Rather than
working the controls into something that the figures can interact
with, there’s just this big honkin’ control panel. It isn’t
functional as an actual playset – it’s more like an Easy Bake
oven. And it doesn’t have the physical connector for the bridge;
not that this would really work in that capacity.
Post by Needless Things.
While
the gimmick is great and works amazingly well (the gimmick worked amazingly well when I wrote this - when I shot the video the sound had died), I would have preferred
more of a straight-up playset that the figures could really interact
with. A simple rotating device like the Mego playset utilized –
though on a larger scale – combined with lights and sounds could
have been great. The rotating portion could have even been removable
in the event that you preferred to have just a regular transporter
platform with no gimmick.
All
in all Playmates Toys did something truly impressive during their
time with the Star Trek license. They combined collectibility with
playability in a way that not all licensed toy lines can manage. Just
the small portion of the collection that I now own has made me and my
son very happy.
On
another note, if you are looking at collecting an older toy line,
this one is ideal. The prices are low for the most part and a
lot of
collectors invested in it, so clean and boxed samples can be had with
little trouble. You’re going to spend a little bit for a bridge
playset in good shape, but you can crew it for comparatively little.
If you want to stop there, you can. If you get caught up in the same
Trek madness that I have, there’s a ton more to this line to hunt
down.
I would call this one of the more successful lines of the 90s.
It ran out of steam towards the end and got confused with different
scales and seemingly different directions, but the core line is a lot
of fun and fairly manageable.
The Classic Bridge set drew me in to the line. It was something I had hoped to see come about for many years. I saw it at K+B Hobbies for retail $80 when it came out. It was too much and I passed. Later I found a stand alone toy store, Playworld- a lone remanent of of a once proud toy chain, in a quiet town in Long Island, NY who was selling it for $25. I snatched that baby up-and a bunch'a other Playmates figures pronto!
ReplyDeleteI too hate the hip joints and wish more Wrath of Khan uniformed figures had been made. People had been trying to forget The Motion Picture for years-why merchandise it now???
If I recall the MP figures were made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the first film. As many people would like to forget that film, it was instrumental in giving fans something new from their beloved franchise.
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DeleteHey, just wanted to say great article, really takes me back. By the way, the holsters on the figures legs are for the tricorders everybody came with. They serve a purpose, but they're still quite annoying.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you enjoyed it. I'm still slowly building the collection.
Delete