tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23632967304722919772024-03-17T14:02:03.931-04:00A Piece Of The ActionA blog about all things Star Trek...James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.comBlogger406125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-37583225912771042062019-06-25T14:19:00.000-04:002019-06-25T14:19:20.550-04:00Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Operation- Annihilate!"Hey guys... While I may not have a review for you, I do want to at least try to finish off these Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition posts! Here is a new one for ya... "Operation- annihilate!". Enjoy! <br><BR><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KeS_PCkimuA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-84557918075394710692017-11-09T08:20:00.002-05:002017-11-09T08:23:36.956-05:00Help Save The Photo Content At This Site!<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/paying-photobucket-to-keep-sites" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/gfmweb_zpswpmwuxgu.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo gfmweb_zpswpmwuxgu.jpg"/></a><br><BR>
This is James Sawyer... I run a few pop-culture websites/blogs online. Some of the more popular ones are:<br><bR>
1989Batman.com<br>
MOTUMovie.com<br>
APieceOfTheAction.net<Br>
ActionFeatures.net<br>
TMNTFilm.com<br>
MOTUCFigures.com<br><bR>
For years, I have ran all of these sites out of my own pocket- Registration fees, hosting fees, content fees- I have covered them all without resorting to ads or fundraising. I want the sites to be a fully engaging experience, free from pop-ups and the feeling that I am profiting from your enjoyment in some way.<br><bR>
Photobucket is seeking to change this. I started with Photobucket years ago when it was the "big" photo hosting site. I needed a place to host all of the photo content for the different blogs, and at the time Photobucket was the best option for this. Still, I have never been a freeloader account- I have paid them a monthly fee for years in order to handle the bandwith for all my sites (the biggest one being 1989Batman.com). With over 15000 photos stored there, a paid account was the right thing to do.<br><bR>
...But yesterday they sent me an e-mail letting me know my plan was going away, and the only option that now works for me is paying $400 for another year of service. Or I have 30 days to go elsewhere (but of course they won't let me just download the photos I have stored there).<br><bR>
That leaves me with 3 options. 1.) Find all my original files, re-upload them somewhere else, then update every single post at multiple sites in 30 days. 2.) Just throw in the towel and shut all the sites down. 3.) Pay the $400 and buy myself a year to do option 1.<br><bR>
None of those are great. None are what I want to do. I honestly am not sure what I am going to do at this point. I highly doubt I would have the time to devote to doing such a huge task of transferring services in the next 30 days, so I would be looking at downtime for the sites until I have time to do this work... and I have a feeling once they are down, the motivation for me to get them back up will slack off (life has a way of keeping you busy). I guess the $400 option is the best one for the life of the sites, as a year is probably enough time to get them all updated seamlessly. But man... $400 a month before Christmas hurts. A lot.<br><bR>
So I posted this message at a few of my Facebook fan pages... and some folks suggested I look toward crowdfunding to offset the cost.<br><bR>
Now I really dislike doing this... but with the only option being major downtime for the sites, I am asking that anyone who has enjoyed the sites and has the extra funds that they wish to donate, please do so. If you don't, that is fine too. I won't just let the sites die regardless. It may just be that they have to go away for awhile.<br><bR>
The goal I am setting for this is enough to cover the photobucket fee to keep the sites as-is for a year (plus a little extra to hopefully cover all the fees GoFundMe will take). This will hopefully buy me enough time to get through the arduous task of migrating all the photos (if photobucket frees them up) to a new hosting site and updating all the posts. If for some reason that does not work... Well, at least this will buy one more year of life for all that exisitng content.<br><bR>
Thanks to anyone who read all this. Even if you don't donate, I appreciate that... and I would appreciate it if you shared this. Not so much to get more backers- But to spread the word on what Photobucket is doing to its paying customers. :(<br><bR>
Donate or use the links to share the GoFundME here: <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/paying-photobucket-to-keep-sites">Paying Photobucket To Preserve Picture Content</a>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-47662623307763256192014-02-11T08:19:00.000-05:002014-02-11T08:19:04.889-05:00RED ALERT! Super Sale At Entertainment Earth Today!SALE ALERT! Entertainment Earth has the AWESOME Diamond Select Klingon Bird of Prey HMS Bounty on sale <b>today only </b>for the crazy low price of $36! Hurry up! <a href="http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DC10071&id=19-401245414">http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DC10071&id=19-401245414</a><br><bR>
<a href="http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DC10071&id=19-401245414"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/bopdeal_zpsa6bc2ba1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo bopdeal_zpsa6bc2ba1.jpg"/></a>
James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-87252910581917199702014-02-10T08:10:00.001-05:002014-02-10T08:11:38.204-05:00Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"Hey there. :) Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Tomorrow Is Yesterday". Let's do the time warp again...<br><br>
<iframe width="600" height="450" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YXpHMDZcIlY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-6611513188310668092012-12-15T12:00:00.000-05:002012-12-15T12:09:43.078-05:00"A Collector's Trek #7" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!After a bit of a hiatus, my seventh blog entry for the official Star Trek website is now up! This time around, I take a look at the McDonald's Star Trek: the Motion Picture Happy Meal promotion! Head on over to StarTrek.com and check it out- A Collector's Trek #7: <a href="http://www.startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-7-the-tmp-happy-meal-promotion">The McDonald's Star Trek TMP Happy Meal Promotion</a>
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<a href="http://www.startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-7-the-tmp-happy-meal-promotion"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/trekblog1.jpg" border="0" alt="trekblog1"></a>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-68700611570556104882012-11-25T20:03:00.000-05:002012-11-25T20:03:20.355-05:00Looking To Buy a Gift For That Certain Trekkie In Your Life This Holiday Season?...Well I might be able to help! The nice folks over at <a href="http://www.welovefine.com/">"We Love Fine"</a> contacted me last week about setting up an exclusive Cyber Monday coupon code to share with you fine followers of APieceOfTheAction.net! The code is good for a whopping 25% off your order of Star Trek related apparel, including the new Juan Ortiz retro print designs and their recent Trek design contest winners! Sweet! So head over to <a href="http://www.welovefine.com/">WeLoveFine.com</a> tomorrow (11/26/2012), load up your cart with some awesome Trek Tees, and then enter the following coupon code to take advantage of the savings: <b>TREKCYBER25</b><br><br>
(And in case you are wondering- No, I am in no way being paid or supported by WeLoveFine.com in this promotion. APieceOfTheAction.net has and shall hopefully always remain advertiser free. I just thought it was really cool of them to want to involve Trek fans in the savings so I am more than happy to spread the word!) James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-78625257992601798962012-09-18T11:02:00.003-04:002012-09-18T11:02:52.523-04:00Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Obsession"Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Obsession". For some reason, when this episode was first shown, the intro segment was for the wrong episode... so this one is a bit shorter than most. <br><br>
<iframe width="600" height="450" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NT5DnlW3_I4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-38043115482306943602012-09-16T16:17:00.000-04:002012-09-16T16:17:10.868-04:00AA/ DST Special Feature: Assembling The Ultimate Crew!<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
So I am not sure if you guys have heard or not, but Diamond Select Toys recently unveiled plans for a new Star Trek figure line called "Star Trek Select". The new line will consist of individual 7" figures featuring packed-in dioramas and interchangeable parts. While I am all for new Trek toys, it seems these figures will lean more towards pre-posed stances as over the high articulation of the older DST efforts. You can check out pictures of the first release in this line, Spock, right here: <a href="http://www.artasylum.com/blog/2012/08/star-trek-select-is-the-next-generation-of-trek-collectibles/">Star Trek Select Spock.</a><br><br>
I believe I will hold out my final judgment until I get ol' pointy ears in my hot little hands... but this new line got me thinking about my AA/ DST crew. While previous Trek toy manufacturers like Playmates and Mego really offered one definitive version of the main crew, AA/ DST released so many different variations on the mainstays that it could be pretty daunting for a new collector to go back and pick out the cream of the crop. Which leads me to this post...<br><br>
With this new announcement pretty much putting the nail in the coffin of the old line, I figured it would be a good time to give you my version of a definitive AA/ DST crew. Some of these are pretty easy picks... others not so much. Some are gonna take a little elbow grease and extra dough to make happen. But you want the best, ya gotta work for it... And of course, this is all my opinion here. You may not agree with my picks, and that is totally cool. These just happen to be my personal picks after years of Trek collecting. So without further ado... My ultimate AA/ DST Classic Star Trek Crew!<br><br>
<b>Spock And McCoy:</b><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
These are pretty simple, and require very little effort to make "perfect". Both McCoy and Spock were best represented in their DST reissues due mostly to the gold used on their rank braids and uniform insignias. The original releases from Art Asylum (while great) featured a cheaper gold paint that I've noticed turns a greenish color over time. <br><br> <a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
Both Spock and McCoy came as single card reissues or in 2-packs. Since we are assembling the "ultimate" crew, go with those 2 packs. Spock (originally spotlighted <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/12/aa-dst-spotlight-commander-spock-dst.html">HERE</a>) comes with Scotty, while McCoy (spotlighted <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/07/aa-dst-spotlight-dr-leonard-mccoy-tos.html">HERE</a>) includes Sulu. The offerings in both sets (as we will see) are just about perfect... with the exception of one minor detail:<br><br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
Just like usual, DST only saw fit to include a "Live Long & Prosper" hand on Spocky-poo... So you'll need to crib one off a different figure to really make him shine.<br><br>
<b>Scotty & Uhura:</b>
<br><br>For the 2 immortal red shirts, I'd recommend hitting those reissues yet again (and you'll already have Scott thanks to the Spock 2-pack). Not only ifs the gold better, but unlike the original Art Asylum versions, the red actually matches between the two! Who'da thunk it.<br><br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
Mr. Scott (originally spotlighted <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2010/11/aa-dst-spotlight-scotty-dst-reissue.html">HERE</a>) is pretty much ready to go right out of the box... except for one essential accessory- Liquor! Thankfully, you'll be buying a DST Casual Kirk soon enough, so you'll have a bottle of brandy ready for Scotty's eager mitts.
<br><br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew7.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
Uhura (who was originally spotlighted <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/12/aa-dst-spotlight-lt-uhura-dst-reissue.html">HERE</a>) is also ready for display right out of the box with the exception of one accessory... A phaser! Again though, you'll be picking up that extra Kirk that will supply the lovely Uhura with the firepower she was sorely lacking. <br><br>
<b>Sulu:</b><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew9.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record here, but once again the DST reissue 2-packs offer the best version of the character in this style. The gold is great once again, but more importantly, the yellowish gold shirt is much better match to most of the "standard" DST Kirk figures. The original Art Asylum versions (much like Scotty and Uhura) didn't match up between characters, so this Sulu offers a great starting point for a matching crew. The only bummer is that he was only released in the 2-pack with MCoy, so you're gonna be stuck buying 2 to complete the custom Chekov and Kirk needed for our ultimate crew. <br><br>Yep. You read that right... Time to get into the tough stuff.<br><br><b>Kirk:</b><br><br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew12.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew12.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>I am gonna make a bold statement here- AA/DST never released a truly definitive gold-shirt Kirk. There. I said it. Don't agree? Well, show me one that has a great head sculpt, a shirt that matches Sulu & Chekov, and a tunic that doesn't look like it was fitted for a 7-year-old girl that only eats crackers for every meal. Can't do it, can ya? That is because there isn't one of those. The first AA release (featured WAY back <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/04/aa-dst-figure-spotlight-captain-james-t.html">HERE</a>) was pretty good, but it featured a shirt that ended up not matching Sulu or Chekov. Then DST took a few turns, and each one ended up using McCoy's shirt mold for some reason, leaving you with a weird ill-fitting look like the Kirk featured <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/05/aa-dst-figure-spotlight-captain-kirk.html">HERE</a>. Oh, and almost all of them used the original AA head sculpt, arguably the weakest of the entire crew. Poop. So what do we do about Kirk? Glad ya asked!<br><br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew13.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew13.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>Time to stretch those customizing muscles! We start off with that Kirk you just got from the Uhura 2-pack. His arms are the right color to match Sulu, but his head and shirt are absolute turds. So here is what you're gonna do... <br><Br>1.) Get some water to a boiling point and then remove it from the heat source.<br>2.) Dip that Kirk's torso in the water for about 60 seconds or so to get the plastic soft.<br>3.) Pop his head off.<br>4.) This part is a little tough. You're gonna need to slowly work that rubbery shirt portion up and off of his body. This probably the hardest task of the entire job and will take great care to get it off without tearing the material (which you will need to do since we will be using this shirt later on). Hopefully, practice will make perfect... as you're gonna need to do this a few more times.<br>5.) Repeat steps 1-4 with that extra 2-pack reissue Sulu I mentioned you would need earlier.<br> 6.) Work the Sulu shirt onto the shirtless Kirk body.<br><br>
See, that wasn't so hard was it? And you were worried. You should now have a gold-shirted Kirk that will match your reissue Sulu, sans his head. For the head, I highly recommend you pick up DST Season 1 Casual Attire Kirk (spotlighted <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2010/09/aa-dst-spotlight-capt-james-t-kirk-in.html">HERE</a>). Not only will you get the definitive AA/DST head sculpt, but you also get those extra accessories we snagged for Scotty & Uhura earlier on! The head switch works just the same as when you removed Kirk's head just a bit ago- Boil up some water, dip it for 60-90 seconds, pop it off and then stick it onto the custom Kirk while the plastic is still soft. There ya go! Perfect practice for...<br><br><b>Chekov:</b><br><br>Chekov presents the biggest challenge of the bunch, since he never got a DST reissue... Meaning we don't have a really good base to start with. Let's look around at what we have left though... Looks like we have a reissue Sulu body with no shirt, and the shirt we took off of the reissue Kirk. Well that looks like a good start. We do have a problem though- Sulu has rank braids on his arms, while Chekov's rank as ensign means he had no rank braids. Poop again. While we could try and dremel or sand them off, that may leave us with uglier arms than what we are hoping for. Oh... We also don't have a Chekov head. Poop to the third power. Whatever shall we do?<br><br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew10.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew10.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
The missing head is actually the solution to both our problems... but also means forking over some cash for another figure. Head on over to eBay or your favorite secondary-market dealer and snag one of the old Entertainment Earth Exclusive Mirror Chekov figures (spotlighted <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/10/aa-dst-spotlight-mirror-chekov.html">HERE</a>). Using the same methods we discussed before, pop the head off Pavel. We now have the head we need for ultimate Chekov! Now we just need those arms. This part is a little tricky; You're going to need to pop him apart at his mid-torso ball joint (the point of articulation hidden under his shirt that allows him to hula hoop). You can do this the same way you took off his head- Stick him in boiling water and just yank the upper joint off of the lower one. Once you have his head and his upper torso taken off, remove that rubbery Mirror Universe shirt. Now take your shirtless Sulu from before, dip him in that hot water, and remove his upper torso just like you did Chekov's. Pop the upper Chekov torso and arms onto the lower torso and legs of Sulu and slip that Kirk shirt you had sitting around onto the body. Since that Mirror Chekov was made in a very similar color to these DST reissues, you now have ensign arms that match the gold shirts of the 2-pack releases. Finish up by heating Chekov's head up just a bit and attaching it to his new body. Voila... You now have a reissue-style Chekov, and all it really cost you was the price of the Mirror version (since we already had the Sulu body and Kirk shirt from our ultimate Kirk custom).<br><Br><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/?action=view&current=trekcrew2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/newapota/trekcrew2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>There ya go... The ultimate AA/ DST Classic Star Trek crew! As I said before, these are all my personal picks, so you may not agree with choices here. I do hope that you at least enjoyed looking this over and that maybe you'll take a stab at pulling off these customs. If you have any questions or need any help, just shoot me an e-mail over at apieceoftheaction@live.com<br><br>
Live long and all that good stuff...<br><br>
-James
James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-9296373479064405202012-09-14T10:47:00.002-04:002012-09-14T10:47:38.637-04:00Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Metamorphosis"Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Metamorphosis". Not that he did a bad job as Zeframe, but give me Glenn Corbett over James Cromwell any day...
<br><br><iframe width="600" height="450" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bahHww7oUf8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-50825396973204203912012-09-12T13:25:00.000-04:002012-09-12T13:26:08.874-04:00Sneak Preview- Hollywood Collectibles Group 1/6th Scale Captain Picard Statue!See? I'm not making you guys wait very long at all... Here's that sneak preview I just teased! Jim Maddox, sculptor behind the AWESOME Hollywood Collectibles Group <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2011/08/potpourri-spotlight-hollywood.html">Captain Kirk</a> and <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2011/08/sneak-preview-hollywood-collectible.html">Mr. Spock</a> 1/6th scale statues, was kind enough to send along these in-progress pics of another upcoming release in the HCG Trek line- Captain Picard in command chair! While this piece is still pending licensor approval, you can already tell that this may end up being the definitive Picard collectible! Check it out-<br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=074.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/074.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=083.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/083.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=072.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/072.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=070.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/070.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=071.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/071.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=picard-rev-3-011.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/picard-rev-3-011.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=picard.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/picard.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br><br>
Pretty sweet, huh? And I know what you're thinking right now- "But James... That's a TNG item, and your blog is TOS-centric... What gives?" Well, this piece was just too darn nice not to feature. But, since this is a Classic Trek blog, I guess it would be wrong to not put a least something TOS in here, right? Good thing Jim sent me one last preview pic...<br><br>
<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/?action=view&current=bones.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/picard/bones.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-72806938573179502082012-09-12T12:58:00.001-04:002012-09-12T12:58:23.208-04:00Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Friday's Child"I'm baa-aaaaaack. :) Sorry for the lack of attention to APOTA folks. Life has just been super busy and I don't have as much free time to devote to it as I used to. I do sincerely appreciate everybody sticking with it and prodding me along to do some new posts though! I can't promise I will be as active as I used to, but I do plan on posting here on a more regular basis in the future.<br><br>
Today I'm uploading a new Sci-Fi Channel segment... But over the next week I hope to have up some other new posts as well, including a spotlight and maybe a sneak preview.<br><br>
For now though, here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Friday's Child".<br><br><iframe width="600" height="450" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zdVhEUtNGfs?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-34555465246803136502011-11-21T10:55:00.000-05:002011-11-21T10:57:25.743-05:00"A Collector's Trek #6" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!Sorry for the lack of posts folks... Between family, my job, and work on my 2 He-Man fan sites (<a href="http://www.motucfigures.com">MOTUCFigures.com</a> & <a href="http://www.motumovie.com">MOTUMovie.com</a>), I just haven't had a lot of free time to devote to APOTA. And, truth be told, I experienced a bit of burnout after this past Trek-heavy summer (doing the Creation panel, working on the Star Trek Vault book, the StarTrek.com blog, etc). I need a break so that I can recharge my batteries and put forth the same quality of posts that you guys have come to expect. <br /><br />But there is some good news! My sixth blog entry is now up over at Star Trek's official site! In this installment, we look at some of oddball item's released for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". Check it out if you get a chance- <a href="http://www.startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-6-wacky-tmp-merchandise">A Collector's Trek 6: Wacky Motion Picture Merchandise</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-6-wacky-tmp-merchandise" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/6-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-82824395715824788832011-09-07T11:35:00.000-04:002011-09-07T11:48:09.699-04:00"A Collector's Trek #5" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!My fifth blog entry is now up over at Star Trek's official site! In this installment, we celebrate Star Trek's 45th birthday by looking back at some of the merchandise available from a company that has been there pretty much every step of the way- Lincoln Enterprises. Check it out if you get a chance- <a href="http://www.startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-5-lincoln-enterprises-merchandise">A Collector's Trek 5: Lincoln Enterprises Merchandise</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-5-lincoln-enterprises-merchandise" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/lincoln.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-44370464440214823512011-08-12T09:33:00.002-04:002011-08-12T09:45:14.264-04:00Sneak Preview- Hollywood Collectible Group 1/6th Scale Mr. Spock Statue!So remember last week when I spotlighted the AWESOME <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2011/08/potpourri-spotlight-hollywood.html">1/6th Scale Captain Kirk Statue from the Hollywood Collectibles Group</a>? Well, last night I got an e-mail about it from none other than the piece's sculptor, Jim Maddox! Jim thanked me for the kind review and very graciously sent over these sneak preview pictures of the upcoming Mr. Spock statue... which looks AMAZING! Spock is done in the same 1/6th scale that both the Kirk and the soon-to-be-released Gorn statues are sculpted in, but Spock ups the ante a bit by including- are you ready for this- his SCIENCE STATION! Wowzers! Take a gander at these early first looks, and be sure to check back at the site soon for an exclusive interview with Jim (a lifelong Trekkie) about his work on all the HCG Star Trek releases.
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<br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=spock4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/spock4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=spock3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/spock3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=spock5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/spock5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=spock2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/spock2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=spock6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/spock6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=spock1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/spock1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
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<br />A HUGE thanks once again to Jim Maddox for hooking me up with these shots!James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-19324847156902740612011-08-03T15:10:00.001-04:002011-08-03T15:42:25.565-04:00Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Hollywood Collectibles Group 1/6th Scale Captain Kirk Statue<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkmain.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkmain.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Item Name: 1/6th Scale Captain Kirk Statue<br />Manufacturer: Hollywood Collectibles Group<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkbox.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkbox.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />HCG released this Kirk statue in mid-2011 for a suggested retail price of $199.95. Here's the back of the box if you'd like to read it-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkbio.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkbio.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Got all that? Good.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkfullrundown.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkfullrundown.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: As I mentioned WAY back in the <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/10/sideshow-collectibles-spotlight-captain.html">Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Kirk spotlight</a>, I am always on the lookout for nice, higher-end Trek memorabilia to add some "oomph" to my displays. So when the <a href="http://www.hollywood-collectibles.com/index.html">Hollywood Collectibles Group</a> announced that they would be making 1/6th scale statues based on Star Trek, I got pretty excited. Their first release, Captain Kirk in his command chair, arrived at my local comic shop this morning. Is he worth the high price tag? Let's find out...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkfull.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkfull.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />When I first saw pics of this piece online, I was a little nervous about ordering it. The pictures made it seem pretty decent, but I have never bought an HCG item before and I know that final product can sometimes differ drastically from a company's solicitation photography. In the case of Kirk, I'm happy to say that the final product exceeds my initial expectations.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirksharechair.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirksharechair.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Let's start with the size- This guy is BIG! Kirk is made at a roughly 1/6th scale, making the statue about 10" tall (since Kirk is in a sitting position). I don't have a scale handy, but the statue has quite a bit of weight as well. The overall size and heft really sets this apart as a true centerpiece for display. One small point I should point out here- Kirk is permanently affixed to his seat, so if you hoped to use the chair for your 12" figures (like I did), you're out of luck.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkclosefront.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkclosefront.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />If there was one area that worried me above all others, it was how Kirk's head would turn out. Shatner is one tough likeness to nail, and the initial HCG pictures didn't exactly fill me with confidence. The final product turned out much better than I thought it was going to. It's still not a perfect Kirk sculpt, but it's definitely better than a lot of the other product out there.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkdetails.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkdetails.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The statue really shines when it comes to detailing. Things like Kirk's delta shield and rank braids aren't just painted on; They are sculpted onto the shirt and then cleanly painted over. But the chair is where things get really cool...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkpanel2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkpanel2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />HCG recreated the instrumentation at Kirk's fingertips in incredible detail. They even included the labeling system used in "Court Martial"! See-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkpanel1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkpanel1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Go ahead and jettison that pod Kirk. Finney's a jerk. Nobody will miss him.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirksideclose.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirksideclose.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Any toy collector can tell you: A bad paint job can ruin a good sculpt. That's not the case with this piece, as the paint work here is solid throughout. I didn't notice any stray lines on mine, and both the skin and shirt have nice paint washes that help the sculpted detailing really pop. Oh, and the boots...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkboots.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkboots.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />...feature a slightly glossier sheen than the pants, helping then contrast against each other. I know this is a pricey piece, but I have seen other statues in this same range that didn't feature anywhere near this quality of paint work. Kudos HCG!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirkbase.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirkbase.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Printed on the bottom of each statue's base is the usual copyright info and the statue's individual number. HCG made 600 regular Kirks like the one I am reviewing, and 150 <a href="http://www.hollywood-collectibles.com/star_trek_kirk.html">exclusive Kirks available through their site.</a> The exclusive version is basically the same as the regular edition, but also includes a "captain's log" and data cards. While I really wanted those extra pieces, I went with my comic shop as it saved me a few bucks in the long run.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0801kirksidefull.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/0801kirksidefull.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />I'm pretty darned happy with this statue. While there have been Trek statues in the past, I really don't think they've ever hit the high quality that this one shows. Statues aren't everyone's cup of tea though, and the high cost will probably dissuade most casual Trek fans from picking this one up. BUT... if you are in the market for a nice, high-end centerpiece for your collection, you may want to check this one out. The statue is available through the <a href="http://www.hollywood-collectibles.com/index.html">Hollywood Collectibles site</a>, but you can find the regular edition cheaper if you shop around a bit. And if the Kirk statue isn't to your liking, HCG has an AWESOME-looking <a href="http://www.hollywood-collectibles.com/star_trek_gorn_exc.html">Gorn statue</a> slated for release by year's end. If the quality of the Kirk is any indicator, that Gorn is gonna be one crazy cool statue... Now I just gotta figure out where I'm gonna put these...James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-78600334726679413462011-08-02T14:21:00.002-04:002011-08-02T15:38:54.458-04:00Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- The Children Of Kings" By David SternSo I am still in the midst of settling down after the Nashville trip. Between prepping the presentation, packing our bags, getting things ready at work, and writing that last article for StarTrek.com, I have been one busy little Trek fan. Things are back to being fairly normal now though, so I should be back on a regular spotlight schedule by week's end. I did pick up a few goodies at the show that I want to post up soon (including a couple of new autographs I need to scan for <a href="http://www.trekautographs.com/">TrekAutographs.com</a>), but with a limited amount of time today, I'm going to have to spotlight something I have pictures readily available of... which limits me to this book spotlight. So, without further ado-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/?action=view&current=childrenofkings.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/august2011blogpics/childrenofkings.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />"The Children Of Kings", as you might expect from the cover, is a Trek-tale set during Christopher Pike's tenure as the Enterprise captain. The story revolves around the mysterious destruction of Starbase 18. All signs point to a Klingon plot, but the presence of Orions in the sector throws all previous theories out the window... and leads Captain Pike and his crew into a battle between the two warring races.<br /><br />Where to begin... Let's start with what the story gets right. I highly enjoyed the Spock/ Number One dynamic. It was interesting to see these two characters working together to solve one of the main mysteries of the plot. Dr. Boyce is also handled very well, with an inordinately large amount of the book devoted to his personal back story. And as a sucker for Orions, I was happy to see their race featured prominently in the novel.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I have quite a few gripes with this one. I know it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, but when I bought this one I expected to read a story that highlighted the virtually unexplored Pike/ Spock relationship. As the story unfolds though, Pike becomes more of a guest character, disappearing for almost the entire book. With Pike gone for such an extended time and Dr. Boyce really filling the majority of the novel, I left the book feeling almost cheated by that cover. The problems don't end with the missing Pike though. Both the Klingons and the Orions feel like they are being written to fit later shows (like "Enterprise") as opposed to playing them as TOS versions. In fact, as I read the book, I found myself thinking that this story was meant for a different continuity... which is proven correct in the author's note at the end. David Stern states in the afterword that the 2009 film freed him of the need to write specifically to one vision of humanity's future and that "The Children Of Kings" was written as a prequel to the 2009 film. Well... that would have been nice to know going into this one. That would have helped explain why the author did things like choosing names and locales (like "Petri" and "Argelius") that have seemingly no relation to the established TOS versions. But with a cover featuring Jeffrey Hunter and Leonard Nimoy as their respective characters, it is hard to think of this as a 2009 prequel. Even more maddening though is to try and look back at this through that new perspective... since the Enterprise was a brand new ship in the 2009 film. My head hurts...<br /><br />It is really tough for me to put aside my disappointment and confusion about this novel enough to recommend it. While the character of Boyce is handled well, and it is nice to learn more about him, I just don't find his story compelling enough to warrant devoting basically the entire novel to. Add in the confusing canon game and you've got one novel that you are probably better off leaving on the shelf... unless of course you prefer Enterprise as your chosen back story. If that's the case, you might like this take on Pike and company. For everyone else though, "The Children Of Kings" is sadly skippable.James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-77186852219881161752011-07-30T18:37:00.004-04:002011-07-30T18:43:24.563-04:00Thanks Nashville!Despite a few technical difficulties, my Star Trek Collectibles Panel for the Creation Entertainment Official Star Trek Convention here in Nashville seemed to be a success! Thanks to everyone that attended... And my apologies if you didn't walk away with a freebie! Once again, I can't say enough good things about the kind folks that contributed extra items to the stack of giveaway goodies I passed out at the show: Marian Cordry with CBS, Zach Oat from Diamond Select Toys, and my buddy Chunky B from Eclectorama! You guys rock!James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-29590711537092181932011-07-29T17:41:00.001-04:002011-07-29T17:44:19.738-04:00"A Collector's Trek #4" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!My fourth blog entry is now up over at Star Trek's official site! In this installment, we complete our 3-part journey into the world of Remco/ AHI toys by looking at some of their 1970's releases. Check it out if you get a chance- <a href="http://startrek.com/article/a-collectors-trek-4-remco-toys-of-the-1970undefineds">A Collector's Trek 4: Remco Toys Of The 1970's</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/?action=view&current=1-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/1-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-62566169443444840702011-07-26T10:17:00.002-04:002011-07-26T11:19:04.226-04:00Playmates Spotlight- Original Spock (Star Trek 2009 6" Figure)<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockmain.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockmain.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Figure Name: Original Spock<br />Manufacturer: Playmates Toys<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockcarded.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockcarded.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />This Spock was released carded as part of the Playmates Star Trek 2009 6" figure line.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockrun.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockrun.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: Well, I've held off on doing this for almost 2 years now, but I really feel that my time has come. I just gotta face the music... take it like a man... rip that band-aid off with one quick pull. That's right folks- It's time to start spotlighting the Playmates 2009 Star Trek line. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockmove.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockmove.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Why have I waited so long to do this you ask? For starters, I've always wanted this blog to really stick to items related to the original series and the first seven feature films. The 2009 film is a little tricky. While part of me wants to separate it into its own segment of Trekdom, the other part of me wants to acknowledge it as a part of the classic canon... especially with the inclusion of Nimoy's Spock. I needed to let this inner argument gestate for a bit before I really opened the door to the '09-inspired merch. The second reason is a bit easier to explain... For me, the Playmates 2009 toys just didn't seem all that great. With a different scale and style than the previous Playmates Trek offerings, I wanted to give myself some time to get to know these guys before committing my opinions on them to the blog. <br /><br />But like I said... That time has come! And what better place to start than with the guy that ties it all together- The Original Spock! Let's take a gander at him!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockfascinating.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockfascinating.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Playmates released 3 differently scaled lines of figures for the Star Trek 2009 movie: A 3.75" line called the "Galaxy Collection", a 6" line dubbed the "Warp Collection, and the 12" "Command Collection". I compromised with myself and went with the 6" version of Spock for this first foray into spotlighting the line. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockclose2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockclose2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />We'll start at the top of the figure and work our way down. The head sculpts of the 2009 Playmates product are WILDLY hit-or-miss, with some featuring decent likenesses and others... not so much. Spock here is one of the better efforts, with a head that bares a pretty solid likeness to the elder incarnation of everyone's favorite Vulcan.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockarms.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockarms.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />As we move down, it becomes obvious that these aren't your daddy's Playmates Star Trek figures. While the old line sometimes had issues with properly scaling the heads to the bodies, the '09 line does a nice job of balancing proportions. The upper body articulation is nice as well, with a large range of movement in the arms and a hidden torso joint supplying a large range of posing options.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockclothes.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockclothes.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Here's where things start to fall apart unfortunately. In order to hide the torso joint, many of the 6" figures feature rubbery coverings over a buck upper body. The material used here seems more durable than the stuff used on the Art Asylum figures, but it also feels REALLY gummy on this Spock due to its thickness. The body sculpt itself is pretty "soft" overall as well, giving the figure a somewhat cheap appearance when compared with other contemporary figures made in the 6" scale.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spocklegs.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spocklegs.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />My biggest gripe on the figure though has to be the hip joints. While the arms feature a wide range of movement, the hip articulation is relegated to a simple T-joint... meaning he can sit down and that's about it. I could almost forgive this if the legs were at least posed a bit further apart, but they aren't. Spock is perpetually stuck with his legs fairly close to each other, severely limiting his poseability. Even the V-joint hips of the 90's figures worked better than this... and I hated those V-joints. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockaccess.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockaccess.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Accessories: Spock includes an interchangeable hand and a black figure stand. While I understand that Spock didn't really use any weapons in the film, I still feel Playmates cheaped out here. Why not stick a vial of "red matter" in with him? That would have been pretty cool.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0713spockllap.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0713spockllap.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />While the '09 Playmates line as a whole isn't all that great, this Spock at least has a few good things going for him. The head sculpt is strong, the articulation is at least half-decent... and it's Leonard Nimoy's Spock! If you are thinking of trying this line out (especially at the current closeout prices nationwide), Original Spock might be a good place to start. Using him, you can decide if you have need for the many, or need for the few... or just the one. See what I did there? Yeah, that was a TWOK reference. Kudos to me!James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-73703896495204095782011-07-20T21:35:00.000-04:002011-07-20T21:41:08.288-04:00Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2011 Romulan Bird-Of-Prey<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopmain.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopmain.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Item Name: Romulan Bird-Of-Prey Keepsake Ornament<br />Manufacturer: Hallmark<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopboxed.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopboxed.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Hallmark released this ornament as part of their 2011 keepsake assortment. Here's the back of the box if you care to read it-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopbio.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopbio.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: As the old saying goes- Third time's a charm! After the mediocre showings of the first two 2011 Hallmark ornaments, I'm happy to tell you that I saved the best for last. This year's ship entry, the Romulan Bird-Of-Prey, definitely rules the roost amongst his 2011 brethren... but that isn't really saying much, is it? Let's take look at her and see if she is actually worth plunking down the money for.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720boprundown.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720boprundown.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The first thing you may notice when getting your BOP out of the box is how "smooth" it is. The ship lacks the intricately sculpted lines and details seen on some of Hallmark's recent ship offerings, like <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/07/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2009.html">2009's Klingon Battle Cruiser</a> and <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2010/08/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2010-uss.html">2010's "JJ-Prise"</a>. There's a reason for that though: The TOS Romulan Bird-Of-Prey isn't supposed to have hyper-detailing! Duh. Take a look at this picture of the shooting model-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopmodel.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopmodel.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Now look at the ornament-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopfrontlight.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopfrontlight.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Not only did Hallmark maintain the integrity of the shooting model by not adding silly things like unnecessary gridlines, but they also did an incredible job of recreating what small details were visible on the original prop. Compare the number of "portholes" and their placement between the two pictures. Go ahead. I'll wait for ya. Done? Yeah, they match pretty darn well, don't they? Good job Hallmark!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopbottom.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopbottom.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Of course, the most integral element to a good Bird-Of-Prey replica is the fowl decoration located on the underside. I have zero complaints with Hallmark's rendition here. The paint lines are nice and tight, with no mismatch between the pattern and the coloring. I also have to give them kudos for incorporating the battery cover into the tail feather portion of the image. Pretty sneaky sis!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopbutton.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Speaking of the batteries- The Romulan Bird-Of-Prey is part of the "Magic" series of ornaments... meaning you're going to get some kind of electronic feature built in. Press the button located on her top side, and this happens:<br /><br /><iframe width="600" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UHRxx9ZPf-0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />Pretty sweet, eh? Not sure how well it translated in the video, but the nacelle lights are SUPER bright. Some folks may have issue with the color chosen for the effect, but I personally dig the blue. It looks really sharp. Oh.. and I actually had no idea that the front part lit up until it started blinking. Excellent work all around!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720bopfly.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720bopfly.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />At $32.95, the Romulan Bird-Of-Prey is the most expensive of this year's Hallmark Trek offerings. Thankfully, it also happens to be the best of the bunch. If money isn't really a factor, but you only have room on the tree for one 2011 Trek ornament, make it this one. It really is quite cool, and it would look great hanging near the original Enterprise (if you have that golden oldie). With the high price, you may be tempted to wait out the inevitable post-season clearance, but I have a feeling this one will be the first one to "disappear". After all, it is a Romulan Bird-Of Prey... Ya get it? "Disappear"? Because it can cloak! Ha!James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-86587337476716808182011-07-19T12:20:00.000-04:002011-07-19T12:23:58.910-04:00Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2011 Spock (Star Trek Legends Series)<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockmain.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockmain.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Item Name: Spock Star Trek Legends Ornament<br />Manufacturer: Hallmark<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockboxed.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockboxed.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Hallmark released this ornament as part of their 2011 keepsake assortment. For your reading enjoyment, here's the back of the box-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockbio.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockbio.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: Remember back in 1999 when you went to see "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace"? You went in with these huge expectations, thinking the movie would be the greatest thing since the Ewoks battled on Endor. Turns out it wasn't. Turns it out it kinda sucked. Fast forward three years... Your standing in line for "Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones", absolutely sure that the mistakes of the first prequel will be erased with this outing and you'll look back and laugh at the early antics of Mr. Binks. Yeah... that one ended up stinking too, didn't it? Well, that's pretty much how these 2011 Star Trek ornaments are turning out as well. Yesterday, we looked at the <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2011/07/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2011-mirror.html">"Mirror, Mirror" ornament</a>, which was kinda poopy. Today we turn our attention to this year's Spock ornament... which unfortunately isn't that great either. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockandkirk.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockandkirk.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Spock is the second release in Hallmark's "Star Trek Legends" series (following <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2010/12/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2010.html">last year's Captain Kirk</a>). The "Legends" series is basically Hallmark's way of getting another run out of the original series mainstays, with a different character ornament slated for release each year. Like I said in the <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2010/12/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2010.html">Kirk spotlight</a>- I am all for "do-overs" on the TOS guys... but only if they do them better than the first time around. Judging by these first two "Legends", it doesn't seem like that is going to be the case with this series.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockrundown.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockrundown.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />That's not to say that Spock is a downgrade from <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2010/12/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2010.html">the Kirk ornament</a>. Spock is definitely superior to that frankly abysmal release... but he's still not that good. At first glance, he seems prefectly fine; A standard Spock holding his tricorder. But get a little closer...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockface.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockface.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />...and things start to get a little funky. And not a good kind of funky. The bad kind. What is going on with that face? Is he smiling? Is this supposed to be from "This Side Of Paradise" or something? Maybe Hallmark anticipated that your tree was going to be filled with those weird muppet-spore-plant things so they went ahead and sculpted him all happy-like. Either that or it's just not a very good sculpt. I'm going with the spore idea.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockdetails.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockdetails.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The rest of the body is a contradiction in accuracy. For example: The tricorder features a really odd smooshed-down sculpt, but then small details on the uniform like the rank braids and delta shield are done incredibly well. It's kinda like eating a worm and finding an apple inside. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockboots.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockboots.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />And since I mentioned it on Kirk, I feel it's necessary to bring it up here too- It's very difficult to get Spock standing without support. I had about 15 unusable pictures of Spock falling over when this shoot was done. He's not nearly as unstable as Kirk, but he definitely isn't meant for displaying on a shelf. Yeah, I know he's just an ornament... But I do like to display mine on the off-season, so his wonky feet frustrate me.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockready.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockready.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />If you were waiting for me to lift this review back up with some hidden bit of awesomeness lurking within this release, you're going to be disappointed. Scroll down. Yep. This is the last paragraph. The only truly good thing I have to say about this guy is that he's fairly cheap. At only $14.95, Spock is the most affordable of this year's ornaments. My experience over the weekend showed me that the low price is definitely going to help this one for awhile, as my Spock was the last one in the store. It's just a bummer that he isn't a little nicer for that price. As it stands now, you'd be better off buying Hallmark's old Spock ornament... which is exactly the same thing I said about the Kirk release. Kinda funny that product released over 15 years ago is making modern day releases look useless in comparison. It seems as if the "Legends" line is turning out to be the ultimate "Captain Dunsel" of Star Trek ornaments...<br /><br />Tomorrow's adventure:<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0720boprundown.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0720boprundown.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Don't worry... We're ending strong with this one, as it is easily the cream of the crop this year. ;)James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-67676335892706995292011-07-18T12:20:00.001-04:002011-07-19T10:23:16.647-04:00Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2011 "Mirror, Mirror"<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrormain.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrormain.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Item Name: "Mirror, Mirror" Keepsake Ornament<br />Manufacturer: Hallmark<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrorbox.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrorbox.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Hallmark released this ornament as part of their 2011 keepsake assortment. For your reading enjoyment, here's the back of the box-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrorboxbio.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrorboxbio.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: So... how was your weekend? Mine was good. Did some work around the house, spent $80 on ornaments, had some family fun time... ya know, the usual stuff. Wait- $80 spent on ornaments!?! In the middle of July!?! That's right folks! In case you forgot, Hallmark premiered their new ornaments this past weekend. So if you buy their new releases each year at the earliest possible moment like I do, then you have three brand spankin' new ornaments to rush out and drop 80 smackeroos on! This year's Star Trek ornaments all focus on TOS, with a Romulan Bird-of-Prey in the ships series, a standard Spock figure continuing the "Legends" series, and a "Mirror, Mirror" ornament figuring into their "Magic" releases. Today, we'll be taking a look at the "Mirror, Mirror" release.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrorside2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrorside2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Recreating a pivotal scene from the classic episode "Mirror, Mirror", the ornament features Spock and McCoy moments before the Vulcan initiates a mind-meld with the good doctor. It's a great scene from a great episode; Definitely worthy of the ornament treatment. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrormccoy.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrormccoy.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The ornament stands at just under 5" tall, with each figure coming in at under 4". Hallmark has done some great work at even smaller scales than that, so I expected the work on these guys to be pretty sharp. Unfortunately, the sculpts just aren't as strong as they should be. McCoy is definitely my favorite of the two, but he isn't without problems. While the sculptor did a decent job of capturing McCoy's likeness, the face just doesn't convey the bewildered look that Bones had during the scene. He almost seems happy, like he's kinda looking forward to the meld... which is weird.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrorspock.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrorspock.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />"Evil" Spock fares even worse in my eyes. The head sculpt doesn't bare much resemblance to Nimoy, and the body has almost cartoonish proportions (particularly the arms). Not only that, but details like the chest adornments on both figures are simply painted on instead of being sculpted. Bummer. Now it may sound like I'm being a tad harsh on this release, especially given the fact that this is a fairly small ornament... but after having recently spotlighted the much smaller <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2011/07/hallmark-ornament-spotlight-2007-star.html">"Wrath Of Khan" ornament</a>, I expected cleaner work from this one.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrorback.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrorback.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />I was pleasantly surprised when I turned the ornament around though! The back wall of the ornament features the "Terran Empire" logo... of which I am a big fan. ;) Nice touch Hallmark!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0718mirrorbutton.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0718mirrorbutton.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Of course, since the "Mirror, Mirror" ornament is part of the "Magic" series, there is an electronic feature built into this release. Press the button at the base and you get treated to a line of dialogue from the episode! Check it out:<br /><br /><iframe width="600" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aDkPJtD6VlQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Pretty cool, eh? Sadly, there is only one sound effect though. Sure, that's all you need for the scene, but I still feel like they could have put another line or two in to really spruce this one up. I do continue to be impressed by Hallmark's sound chip work though. They always seem to hit the perfect balance between volume and clarity. Oh, and just like the releases of the past few years, "Mirror, Mirror" runs on batteries, allowing you to use it as a display piece during non-seasonal months. <br /><br />While it does have some sculpting issues, the "Mirror, Mirror" ornament still makes a cool display piece from one of Trek's all-time great episodes. What hurts this one though is the price- At $29.95, slight drawbacks like a weak sculpt and a solitary voice clip make dropping the money down on this release a bit painful. I hate to say it, but you may be better off waiting for the inevitable year-end clearance on this baby. Unless of course you have no patience like me... Then you're screwed.<br /><br />Next up-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0719spockfacedown.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/0719spockfacedown.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Did he fare batter than "Mirror, Mirror"?.... Come by tomorrow to find out!James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-91831546797421249282011-07-18T09:04:00.001-04:002011-07-18T09:06:35.677-04:00Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "By Any Other Name"Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "By Any Other Name". George Takei explains his early hatred for Walter Koenig in this one...<br /><br /><iframe width="600" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VrDZU2iM38w?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-37110620821607929682011-07-14T18:10:00.000-04:002011-07-14T18:14:16.005-04:00Trading Card Spotlight- Topps 1976 Star Trek Set<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714main.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714main.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Item Name: Star Trek Trading Cards<br />Manufacturer: Topps <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714wnmhgb.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714wnmhgb.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: Released 10 years after the show premiered, the Topps Star Trek trading card set proves just how popular the series became once it hit syndication. What other shows could manage to get a card set produced 7 years after they ended? None, that's how many! (No, I can't back that up with any factual evidence... it just sounded good.) And with only the <a href="http://www.apieceoftheaction.net/2009/05/star-trek-potpourri-spotlight-1967-leaf.html">bizarre 1967 Leaf set</a> preceding it, the Topps 1976 cards really set the bar for all the following Trek card sets throughout the years. So how good is it? Let's check it out!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714cardset.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714cardset.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The basic card set consists of 88 cards. They follow the familiar trading card form: Picture on the front, information on the back. While the pictures on the front may seem a little fuzzy by today's standards, you have to keep in mind that this set is 35 years old now. That's well before the days of digital mastering...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714spockunwinds.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714spockunwinds.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />A wide variety of photography is used for the fronts of the cards. From shots of the main cast like the Spock seen above...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714balok.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714balok.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />...to alien creatures that you may have only seen quick glimpses of in the series...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714enterprise.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714enterprise.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />...and even beauty shots of the enterprise shooting model. Topps did an amazing job choosing some of this imagery way back when. Judging by the shots used, I'd say somebody on the card design team had to be a Trekkie. Who else would include cool close-up pictures like this shot of a cordrazine-crazed McCoy-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714mccoyinsane.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714mccoyinsane.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />What a great card! Imagine taking that to a convention in the 70's and having De Kelley sign it for you. In hindsight, the whole set seems to have been tailor made for convention-goers seeking autographs- Very portable, with a wide variety of the cast featured.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714coteof.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714coteof.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />One of my favorite aspects of vintage Topps cards has always been the captions used on the card fronts. Topps had a talent for making even the most innocent of scenes exciting with their clever captioning. Take the shot above for example. We all know this scene from "The City On The Edge Of Forever": Kirk and Spock are stuck in the past and must steal a few clothes to blend into their surroundings. Well, Topps just upped the ante by taking our intrepid heroes on a "Visit To A Hostile City". Scary!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714cardback.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714cardback.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Each cardback features a short snippet either explaining an element of the show, synopsizing an episode, or giving behind-the-scenes details. While only 41 episodes are covered here, the inclusion of production details more than makes up for the missing shows. The set is also one of the first official products to tease the release of a Star Trek motion picture... a full 3 years before it hit theatres!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714stickerset.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714stickerset.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />So that covers the basic cards... On to the stickers! Inserted at 1 per pack, the 22 sticker set probably drove fans a bit crazy. Nowadays, it's simple to complete a card subset thanks to ebay and online card shops. Back in the 70's though? The best chances you had were trading with buddies and a few hobby shops here and there. Completing a full set must have been a regular Kobayashi Maru...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714spocksticker.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714spocksticker.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />I'll bet it wouldn't have been so bad had the stickers not been so freaking awesome looking! The space back drop, the sweet character shots, and the colorful outlines add up to some seriously retro-cool adhesives. Oh...and a little tidbit for ya: The stickers really prove just how much Spock eclipsed Kirk in popularity, with Kirk appearing on a measly 3 stickers versus Spock's 7 spots!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/?action=view&current=714startreklives.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/july2011blogpics/714startreklives.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />So there ya have it... Is it an awesome card set? Yeah, pretty much. The cards themselves are pretty solid overall, the stickers are nifty, and the product is a great reminder of Trek's popularity explosion in the 70's. The real question though is if you need it now. With most dealers wanting $100 or more for a full set with all 22 stickers included, this is one product that may only appeal to the hardcore 70's Trek or trading card collectors. That's a real shame, as the set is cool enough to warrant inclusion in everyone's collection. Makes me wish that Rittenhouse could do a spruced up reprint of it, maybe using cleaned up imagery but maintaining the 70's feel. They could even include some fresh gum, as vintage 1976 gum isn't as tasty as you might think...James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363296730472291977.post-32931308947088957182011-07-11T12:23:00.000-04:002011-07-11T12:26:20.046-04:00Mego Spotlight- Telescreen Console<a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625telescreenmain.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625telescreenmain.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Item Name: Telescreen Console<br />Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625telescreenboxspock.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625telescreenboxspock.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Mego released this puppy back in the mid-1970's. Look at that beautiful box art! Here's the other side featuring Kirk...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625telescreenboxkirk.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625telescreenboxkirk.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Not quite as nice as the Spock image, but still better than most of today's toy packaging.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625fullview.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625fullview.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Rundown: Combining the coolness of a playset with the enduring fun of tabletop arcade games, the Telescreen Console is one of the niftiest toys of Mego's entire Star Trek stable. Sure it lacks screen accuracy, but just like all their other releases, it makes up for that with a surplus of fun. Let's have a look at this truly one-of-a-kind release!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625mainview.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625mainview.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Since the Telescreen Console combines two types of toys into one, we'll look at each function of the piece separately. First, let's focus on its merits as a playset. Since this is called the "Telescreen Console", it doesn't take a Vulcan to figure out the driving force of the toy- A large viewscreen area. While it doesn't really match anything seen in the show, the look is somewhat reminiscent of the animated series. The color pallet and design used here is also consistent with the other Mego Trek toys of the time. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625kirkchair.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625kirkchair.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Situated in front of the screen is a command chair, perfectly scaled for all your 8" Mego Star Trek action figures! Go ahead and have a seat Kirk...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625kirkathelm.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625kirkathelm.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />With Kirk seated at the helm, the toys now "feels" like a playset. Had I owned this thing as a kid, I probably would have envisioned this as an auxiliary control station of some sort. Those dirty Klingons damaged the bridge, and now Kirk is left to defend the ship on his own from a different location. Oh... or you could imagine this is Kirk on board the disabled U.S.S. Constellation, just like in "The Doomsday Machine". Or you could even ignore that fact that this is supposed to be a ship's viewscreen and just pretend it's one of the various god-like computers that Kirk destroyed in the series, ignoring the prime directive and forcing the planet's inhabitants to start fending for themselves. Hours of fun!<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625gamedescrip.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625gamedescrip.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Ah... but Kirk isn't the only one who gets to play around on this guy! Remember earlier when I said this toy rolled two types of playtime into one? You don't? Oh. Well, then take a look at the back of the box up there and you'll see that the Telescreen Console isn't just a place to plop your figures... It's also an arcade game! How cool is that!?<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625switches.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625switches.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />The Console is activated through 2 dials located below the viewscreen. The top switch turns the device off and on, while the bottom switch actually starts the telescreen's cycle. 4 "D" size batteries are needed to make everything function. As a side note- Do you realize how tough it is to find "D" size batteries nowadays? I went to three stores before finding them. I felt like Doc Brown making a deal with the Libyans just getting this thing to run. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625screen.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625screen.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Once you have it fired up, the middle screen will light up to show you this: A scrolling space scene with enemy ships rotating by. The objective of the game is to move the black sighting stick over an enemy vessel, "firing" the phasers and destroying their ship. And as you can see in the picture, the game features both Klingon and Romulan ship designs! <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625stick.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625stick.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Movement of the sighting stick is controlled through a lever hidden behind Kirk's chair. Move the lever to the right, and the sighting stick moves with it. Move it to the left, and... well, you get the idea. I appreciate the fact that Mego kept the controls at a minimum; Having a giant, obtrusive joystick built into this would have severely limited its playset capabilities.<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625redsec.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625redsec.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />When you are lucky enough to zap one of the enemy ships, an ominous buzz will sound and the red screen to the right of the viewer will light up. We'll get to the lights and sounds in a second, but I wanted to point out a neat bit of design on Mego's part first...<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625lights.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625lights.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Instead of making the owner take apart their console to switch out faulty bulbs, Mego built the lights into an easily removed panel. Slide it out, pop out and replace the offending bulb, then slide it back in. You're done! As an adult, I really appreciate the ease of maintenance... and as a kid, this would have totally been incorporated into playtime as an "access panel" to get into the viewer's innards.<br /><br />But enough about that... Let's check out the Telescreen Console in action!<br /><br /><iframe width="600" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Pn_M_I4RtSw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Man, I was on fire for a second there! Take that ya dirty Federation enemies! <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625score.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625score.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Now had this been a high stakes game with money on the line, I would have kept score of my insane amount of hits using the small scoring dial located below the red lighted panel. This is actually my biggest gripe about this toy... I have no idea how one is supposed to battle the enemy ships whilst keeping their own score on the dial. I sucked at trying to do that. <br /><br />And just in case you have one of these at home and don't have any idea how to make it work... Here are the instructions-<br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625instruc.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625instruc.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625instruc2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625instruc2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Got all that? Good. <br /><br /><a href="http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/?action=view&current=0625telescreenend.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g220/sallah4life/june2011blogpics/0625telescreenend.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><br /><br />Overall, the Telescreen Console is one damn cool item. I don't recall many other toys that combined action figure play with video games (outside of the 1980's Captain Power line), so this is truly a unique piece of Trek toy history. If this were on the shelves right now, I'd buy one for each of my kids and let them go nuts... but alas, the Console is one of the rarer Mego Trek pieces. Prices can climb into the hundreds for nice examples in working condition. If you do want one to simply display with your 8" Megos, it might be best to go after a non-functioning piece and save yourself a few bucks. Of course then you'd never know if you could beat my score...James Sawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07073683145342465022noreply@blogger.com5