Saturday, August 15, 2009

Playmates Spotlight- Galileo Shuttlecraft



Item Name: Galileo Shuttlecraft
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Playmates released the Galileo Shuttlecraft as part of it's Classic Star Trek line (with an exclusive "Where No Man Has Gone Before" Captain Kirk).



The Rundown: Playmates released 3 figure-scaled vehicles: the TNG Shuttlecraft, the DS9 Runabout, and this Classic Series Galileo Shuttlecraft! While it may not have the electronics of the other 2, it's still packed with plenty of features.



Since I just spotlighted him yesterday, you already know the Galileo includes an exclusive figure- the "Where No Man Has Gone Before" Kirk. This is the only one of the 3 figure-scaled vehicles to include a figure, so I feel like that helps justify the lack of electronics. As a little side note- The box lists the Shuttlecraft as first appearing in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (thus the Kirk), but the Shuttlecraft didn't make it's first production appearance until "The Galileo 7".



The Galileo is a 2-seater. The front of the shuttle lifts open to place 1 figure at the controls:



While not entirely screen accurate, there's enough details in here to make it appear like the classic shuttle's controls. The seat has a safety belt harness to keep the figure from flopping around (which has a TNG symbol on it...probably a reuse from the TNG shuttle). It's a little tough to get a figure seated in here though, especially with that V-crotch....



The back of the shuttle opens up to reveal the second seat. Same deal as the front- there's a safety harness back here too. It's even more difficult to get a figure in here though due to the cramped space.



There's a bunch of panels that open up on the Galileo for added play value. There's one up front...



...and one on each nacelle. Perfect for making repairs when your crash land near Zefram Cochrane's house!



Playmates also tried to incorporate the door mechanism seen in the series. While it's a cool feature...



...there's obviously no way a figure's getting through there. I can't fault Playmates for adding a feature in though ;)



Accessories: In addition to the Kirk figure, the Galielo includes the laser cannon featured in "The Cage" (so this set includes stuff from at least 3 different episodes).

So even though it's not really accurately scaled, and Playmates definitely took some liberties with it, the Galielo is still super-cool and definitely worth picking up. It looks great in a figure display and has a bunch of cool features. Makes me wish DST would make one for their figures...but we all know that probably ain't happening.

-James

3 comments:

  1. Just as an additional note, the Cannon can mount on the ceiling of the shuttle when you open the front windows up...there's a peg in te ceiling that fits into the bottom of it. Don't know what the point is, but it's interesting...

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  2. Cool blog! Thank you.

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  3. otaku5003- Oh i love this, i just wish DST would get smart and make one for their figures

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