Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2010 "Amok Time"

Item Name: "Amok Time" Keepsake Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark



Hallmark released this puppy as part of their 2010 keepsake assortment.



The Rundown: I swung by Hallmark today before work to drop off my pull list for this year's ornaments. While walking up to the store, I started thinking to myself "is this how far my blind devotion to classic Trek merchandise has come...am I actually about to drop off a want list for ORNAMENTS?". At almost 32 years old, I've spent a LONG time buying Trek stuff... maybe it was time to start thinking about throwing in the towel.

Then I saw that they we're actually putting the ornaments out for sale today. I crumpled up the want list, eagerly grabbed up the 3 new arrivals, plunked down my $83, and walked out. Silly brain- of course I'm not going to give up buying Trek stuff! Anyways... the are 3 new ornaments for sale this year: 2009 movie Enterprise, a new version of Captian Kirk, and the "Amok Time" scene. Today we'll be looking at the "Amok Time" ornament...



A minor gripe here- Instead of plastic clamshells, all of this year's ornaments are just wrapped in tissue paper. I really prefer the clamshells, as they make it easier to pack/ unpack the ornaments and they protect them a little better in my eyes (an issue we'll go into greater detail on when we look at the Enterprise). Not a huge deal, but definitely worth noting.



The "Amok Time" ornament captures a moment from the epic Kirk vs Spock battle featured in the classic episode of the same name. It's one of the most iconic confrontations in the entire history of Trek, so choosing it as a "scene" ornament was a no-brainer. The Hallmark team did a fine job at capturing a moment in the fight, with the 2 friends locked in mortal combat.



As with all ornaments, you have to judge likenesses against a different standard than you would with action figures. Both the scale and the materials used to produced these prevent them from attaining the accuracy of something like a 6" action figure. That being said, the likenesses here are well done, with Kirk's edging out Spock's by a smidge. You can really see the desperation and fatigue in Kirk's face. Spock doesn't fare quite as nicely, and looks a little more surprised rather than determined.



What really steps this one up a notch is the attention to detail. Spock's sash has the "knitted" look to it, the rank braids are all very clean, and the delta shields on the shirts look really good for their size. Even the rocky base is covered in little nooks and crannies to give it that Vulcan feel...



I also wanted to bring some attention to the paint work here. There's a dirty wash all over the figures that helps give them a nice weathered look. Each of the lirpas also have some flecks of dirt applied to them as well. The paint work really adds a bit of nice "oomph" to this piece, and helps push it into the realm of being a nice desk display.

And of course since this is a "magic" ornament, there's an electronic feature:



Pretty loud, eh? The sound is crisp and plays for almost 30 seconds! Nice!

Here's the back of the box if those things interest you:



All in all, a pretty decent ornament and definitely my fav for the year. At $28.95, this thing isn't cheap, but if you're into the ornaments you are probably used to that range of price for something like this. So go buy it! Tomorrow, we'll take a look at the Enterprise. Yes, I have some issues with it.

-James

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek The Motion Picture Make-Your-Own Costume Book" By Lynn Edelman Schnurnberger

This spotlight is a bit of a departure from the standard "Reading Room" version in that this really isn't a novel... but hey, it's still a book so it counts!



When I saw this Star Trek TMP Make-Your-Own Costume Book, the first thought that popped in my head was "Man, they really did think that TMP was going to be as big as Star Wars, didn't they?". (Note- I actually prefer TMP to the original Star Wars) I mean take a look at that cover; Yep. That's a kid dressed in a homemade Zaranite costume. Did you ever see that in real life? I didn't think so.



I'm pretty sure you can figure out the premise of this puppy: The book details how to make homemade versions of your favorite uniforms and costumes from TMP. There's a preface by Robert Fletcher (costume and jewelry designer from the film) followed by a section entitled "The Basics" that details the starting steps in costume-making. From there, you can choose to construct a variety of Starfleet and alien uniforms! Keen! The kids up there seem to love it.



The center section of the book features some full color reference shots of various adornments used in the movie. At only 8 color pages, the selection is slim, but there are a couple of nice treats like the great shot of the Andorian seen above.



Now what would a homemade costume be without good accessories? Crap, that's what. This is why the last section of the book is devoted to stencils of various accoutrements to really spice up your look. That's the Arcturian mask stencil above. No, I didn't draw it. That's the actual stencil. Awesome.

Yeah, so you can skip this one entirely, unless you are into the truly quirky Trek stuff. Then go ahead and buy it, make a costume, and send me a pic. Seriously. I'll post it.

-James

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- The Gorn Hatchling!

The Rundown: This will be a bit of a short post today, since this is a pretty unique custom item... but I just had to share my joy with this little guy with you folks! A couple months back, I was cruising TREKSPACE and I spotted a blog post showcasing this dangerously cute little baby Gorn-ling cracking out of his egg!



The gentleman that constructed it, Richard Svensson, had previously made some seriously cool full scale Trek masks... but he wanted to do something special for the Easter holiday. So he went and bought a large plastic egg, broke out the clay, and went to town making his vision of a baby Gorn cracking out of it's shell!



In the blog post, Richard mentioned that he had made molds of each portion that he sculpted so that the final product would be composed of a more durable material. "Molds!?", I thought to myslef, "that means he can make another!". A quick e-mail and a few short weeks later, and this "so-sweet-he'll-rot-your-teeth" baby Gorn now rests comfortably on my desk at home.

Awesome. Gorn babies rule.

-James (with special thanks to my wife Bobbi for her help on the pictures!)