A Piece Of The Action

"A Collector's Trek #6" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!

2011-11-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts folks... Between family, my job, and work on my 2 He-Man fan sites (MOTUCFigures.com & MOTUMovie.com), 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.

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 Collector's Trek 6: Wacky Motion Picture Merchandise

"A Collector's Trek #5" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!

2011-09-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

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 Collector's Trek 5: Lincoln Enterprises Merchandise

This Week In Star Trek Episode #8!

2011-08-12T10:13:00.003-04:00

In this week's episode, we take a look at the homemade Star Trek cards I received for my birthday last week! This episode is a bit on the short side, so we'll try and make up for that with a lengthier chat next week. Enjoy!

Sneak Preview- Hollywood Collectible Group 1/6th Scale Mr. Spock Statue!

2011-08-12T09:33:00.002-04:00

So remember last week when I spotlighted the AWESOME 1/6th Scale Captain Kirk Statue from the Hollywood Collectibles Group? 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.

A HUGE thanks once again to Jim Maddox for hooking me up with these shots!

This Week In Star Trek Episode #7!

2011-08-05T09:40:00.002-04:00

In this week's episode, we give our final thoughts on the Nashville Creation Entertainment Star Trek Convention and we take a look at some new goodies! Hope you guys enjoy... and keep the questions & comments coming!

300 Autographs Later...

2011-08-03T17:24:00.002-04:00

...and TrekAutographs.com is as complete as I can make it (up to this point)! If you need to identify a signature, compare an auto for authenticity, or simply want to take a gander at some Trek autographs, head on over and check it out...

And appropriately enough, the final autograph I added to the site was the big man himself-

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Hollywood Collectibles Group 1/6th Scale Captain Kirk Statue

2011-08-03T15:10:00.001-04:00

Item Name: 1/6th Scale Captain Kirk Statue
Manufacturer: Hollywood Collectibles Group

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-

Got all that? Good.

The Rundown: As I mentioned WAY back in the Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format Kirk spotlight, I am always on the lookout for nice, higher-end Trek memorabilia to add some "oomph" to my displays. So when the Hollywood Collectibles Group 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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

HCG recreated the instrumentation at Kirk's fingertips in incredible detail. They even included the labeling system used in "Court Martial"! See-

Go ahead and jettison that pod Kirk. Finney's a jerk. Nobody will miss him.

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...

...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!

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 exclusive Kirks available through their site. 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.

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 Hollywood Collectibles site, 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 Gorn statue 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...

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- The Children Of Kings" By David Stern

2011-08-02T14:21:00.002-04:00

So 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 TrekAutographs.com), 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-

"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.

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.

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...

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.

Thanks Nashville!

2011-07-30T18:37:00.004-04:00

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!

This Week In Star Trek Episode #6!

2011-07-30T08:49:00.003-04:00

In this week's episode, we record the show straight from our hotel room at the Creation Entertainment Official Star Trek Convention in Nashville, TN! Join us as we take a look at the stuff we snagged at the con... and Keaton makes his first video appearance!

My panel is scheduled for today at 3:00! I'm going to try recording the presentation and then upload it in sections, but I have no idea if that will be possible so we'll just have to wait and see. Oh, and I'll get right back into the regular spotlights next week after this madness ends....

"A Collector's Trek #4" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!

2011-07-29T17:41:00.001-04:00

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 Collector's Trek 4: Remco Toys Of The 1970's

Playmates Spotlight- Original Spock (Star Trek 2009 6" Figure)

2011-07-26T10:17:00.002-04:00

Figure Name: Original Spock
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

This Spock was released carded as part of the Playmates Star Trek 2009 6" figure line.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

This Week In Star Trek Episode #5!

2011-07-21T10:15:00.000-04:00

In this week's episode, we take a look at a few more of Blaze's Trek birthday gifts! Plus- we reveal the grab bags and a bunch of the giveaway goodies for my Star Trek Collectibles Panel at next week's Creation Entertainment Official Star Trek Convention in Nashville, TN. Enjoy.... and keep those questions coming!

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2011 Romulan Bird-Of-Prey

2011-07-20T21:35:00.000-04:00

Item Name: Romulan Bird-Of-Prey Keepsake Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark

Hallmark released this ornament as part of their 2011 keepsake assortment. Here's the back of the box if you care to read it-

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.

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 2009's Klingon Battle Cruiser and 2010's "JJ-Prise". 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-

Now look at the ornament-

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!

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!

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:

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!

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!

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2011 Spock (Star Trek Legends Series)

2011-07-19T12:20:00.000-04:00

Item Name: Spock Star Trek Legends Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark

Hallmark released this ornament as part of their 2011 keepsake assortment. For your reading enjoyment, here's the back of the box-

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 "Mirror, Mirror" ornament, which was kinda poopy. Today we turn our attention to this year's Spock ornament... which unfortunately isn't that great either.

Spock is the second release in Hallmark's "Star Trek Legends" series (following last year's Captain Kirk). 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 Kirk spotlight- 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.

That's not to say that Spock is a downgrade from the Kirk ornament. 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...

...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.

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.

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.

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...

Tomorrow's adventure:

Don't worry... We're ending strong with this one, as it is easily the cream of the crop this year. ;)

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2011 "Mirror, Mirror"

2011-07-18T12:20:00.001-04:00

Item Name: "Mirror, Mirror" Keepsake Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark

Hallmark released this ornament as part of their 2011 keepsake assortment. For your reading enjoyment, here's the back of the box-

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.

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.

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.

"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 "Wrath Of Khan" ornament, I expected cleaner work from this one.

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!

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:

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.

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.

Next up-

Did he fare batter than "Mirror, Mirror"?.... Come by tomorrow to find out!

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "By Any Other Name"

2011-07-18T09:04:00.001-04:00

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...

Trading Card Spotlight- Topps 1976 Star Trek Set

2011-07-14T18:10:00.000-04:00

Item Name: Star Trek Trading Cards
Manufacturer: Topps

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 bizarre 1967 Leaf set 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!

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...

A wide variety of photography is used for the fronts of the cards. From shots of the main cast like the Spock seen above...

...to alien creatures that you may have only seen quick glimpses of in the series...

...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-

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.

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!

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!

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...

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!

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...

This Week In Star Trek Episode #4!

2011-07-14T11:36:00.002-04:00

In this week's episode, we discuss Matthew Hackley's amazing Playmates Star Trek customs, welcome a new Trek prototype to our collection, and even squeeze in a birthday surprise for Blaze. Enjoy.... and keep those questions coming!

Mego Spotlight- Telescreen Console

2011-07-11T12:23:00.000-04:00

Item Name: Telescreen Console
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.

Mego released this puppy back in the mid-1970's. Look at that beautiful box art! Here's the other side featuring Kirk...

Not quite as nice as the Spock image, but still better than most of today's toy packaging.

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!

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.

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...

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!

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!?

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.

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!

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.

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...

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.

But enough about that... Let's check out the Telescreen Console in action!

Man, I was on fire for a second there! Take that ya dirty Federation enemies!

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.

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-

Got all that? Good.

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...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Deadly Years"

2011-07-09T14:50:00.001-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Deadly Years". Though most of these extras have nothing to do with the actual episode, there are some great bits with Herb Solow in this one...

DST/ EMCE Spotlight- Captain Pike (Mego Style Figure)

2011-07-07T17:19:00.001-04:00

Figure Name: Captain Pike
Manufacturer: Diamond Select & EMCE Toys

Captain Pike was released by Diamond Select Toys in 2011.

The Rundown: After rounding out the main bridge crew with their Sulu and Chekov figures, DST & EMCE must have felt the need to explore other featured characters for more "good guy" options in their Trek range. As far as TOS male heroes go, the next logical choice after the main crew would have to be Captain Christopher Pike. The guy had it all; Dashing good looks, a sweet laser pistol, and the ability to beat big-headed aliens. Let's take a look at how his manliness fits the Mego form...

Just like the Salt Vampire we looked at yesterday, Pike features a sturdier body than the previous DST/ EMCE Trek releases. The body is held together with screws and feels a bit heftier than before. I'm not sure why it was changed, but I prefer this newer, tougher body. I've noticed the chest on my Retro Khan has begun to split at the seams, so hopefully this new body will prevent that.

Pike features an all new head sculpt done in Mego style. I'm sorry to say it... But I am not a fan of this head. While I do see a decent Jeffrey Hunter likeness here, it looks like it's been stylized to fit a more "cartoonish" look. All of the other "new" Mego heads from EMCE (like Khan and Chekov) fit right in with the vintage figures. The Pike head looks more like it was made for Mattel's Retro-Action superheroes line, lacking the realism that made Mego's Trek releases so cool.

Unfortunately, the slightly cartoonish look of the head isn't the only problem- The head is also quite large. When I first saw the prototypes for this wave, I commented that the heads were a bit large due to them being prototypes. In most cases, original sculpts for toys are a little bigger than the actual figure due to the shrinkage that takes place in the production process. I assumed that the Pike head seen in the prototype was an original sculpt mounted on a production body and the final product would be properly scaled. Sadly, it doesn't seem that this was the case, as Pike's melon is much larger than those of the other figures.

At this point, it's going to seem like I am bashing the crap out of this head sculpt... but I have one more gripe. Unlike the other figures, Pike's skin is painted on instead of the head being molded in flesh-tone plastic. I have no idea why this decision was made, but I really feel that it adds to the cartoony look of the head. Had it been molded in flesh-toned plastic, the head would have fit a bit better with the rest of the line. Oh... and the paint doesn't match the plastic used for the body, leaving you with a Pike that looks like he's been tanning with a bag over his head. Ouch.

Okay... enough with bashing his head in. So what's good on Pike? Well, he's got a new shirt that is AWESOME! It reflects the turtleneck look of the pilots while still maintaining a consistency with the rest of the releases. EMCE did such a nice job on it that I picked up a couple of extra Pikes for...

...customs of Kirk & Spock from "Where No Man Has Gone Before"! Sure, the rank piping is a bit off, but they'll do in a pinch. ;)

Accessories: Pike includes the same belt, phaser, and communicator used on all the EMCE crew reissues. I'll bet you thought I'd take issue with them including these when Pike never used this type of equipment? Well, you'd be wrong! All the mego releases used these weapons, regardless if they used them in the show or not, so their inclusion with Pike makes perfect sense.

Even with the head issues, I am still stoked to own a Mego Pike. Do I wish he was a bit better? Sure. But the shirt rocks... and it's a freaking Mego Captain Pike! The head is going to be a deciding factor on whether you need him for your collection or not... but with most sites only offering him in a pair with the AWESOME Salt Vampire, the choice may be out of your hands. If you want a Salt Vampire, you may be stuck buying the Pike regardless if you like the head or not... and you DO want that Salt Vampire! And don't forget- DST has made it clear that the production of Chapel and Vina depends greatly on the sales of Pike & Salty. With that in mind, it may be worth trying to overlook any issues you may have with the head and just ordering the pair.

This Week In Star Trek Episode #3!

2011-07-07T08:35:00.004-04:00

In this week's episode, we discuss some our favorite Trek toys, show off a couple of new acquisitions, and blather on about trips to Big Lots. Enjoy.... and keep those questions coming!

DST/ EMCE Spotlight- Salt Vampire (Mego Style Figure)

2011-07-06T16:19:00.004-04:00

Figure Name: Salt Vampire
Manufacturer: Diamond Select & EMCE Toys

The Salt Vampire was released by Diamond Select Toys in 2011.

The Rundown: Remember that scene in "The Man Trap" where Dr. Crater is explaining how the M-113 creature is akin to the water buffalo of earth- an endangered species? Well, that's kind what it's like in the toy world too. For being such a memorable alien from the series, the good ol' Salt Vampire sure has gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to toys. No release in the original Mego line, and nothing in any of the various scales produced by Playmates (though Matt Hackley's custom gives us a glimpse at how it might have looked). And of course, who can forget this one-

Sculpted by Art Asylum for release in their last wave of Classic Trek figures, the Salt Vampire was dropped when the assortment was cut down to 4 figures. The figure lingered in limbo until DST solicited it for release a couple of years ago... only to then cancel it due to lack of preorders. *Grumble* It seemed the Salt Vampire would never grace toy shelves.

...Until today that is! Thanks to EMCE Toys and DST, we FINALLY have a Salt Vampire! Would I have preferred a Playmates or AA style figure? Sure. But for being a Mego-inspired figure, this gal is pretty sweet! Let's take a look!

The Salt Vampire features a similar body to the other DST/ EMCE style reissues; I say "similar" because this one feel a bit more solid and is held together with screws. Regardless, it features the same range of movement found in vintage Mego figures. The challenge is getting this body to hold a pose though. Without the aid of a stand, you're pretty much stuck with a straight stance on your shelf. That's the name of the game with "retro-action" though, so I'm not surprised or disappointed by it.

To replicate the furry body of the Salt Vampire, EMCE went with a fuzzy white oversuit (which is almost definitely what Mego would have done as well). The fur is a bit more subdued than it is on the packaging shot and on the prototype, but I think it looks just fine here. Not entirely screen accurate, but since these are replicating Mego-styling, a little artistic interpretation has to come into play.

Since you don't want your M-113 Creatures running around all nekkid, the figure includes a burlap-sack-toga-thingy. It's a separate piece from the fuzzy suit, and attaches around the figure through a snap in the back. Oh... I should also mention that the fur suit attaches through a single snap as well, which has a tendency to pop open when you pose her. What a floozy.

The body includes a few newly-sculpted pieces to finish off the Creature's look. First, there's the wonderful sucker hands! EMCE did a FANTASTIC job on these! There almost a little too nice for Mego style... but who cares! They ROCK!

And speaking of things that rock- Check out that noggin'! A face only a mother could love! Well, a mother and Dr. Crater. Oh, and Dr. McCoy. And Uhura. And Crewman Darnell. And maybe Sturgeon and Green, but we don't know that for sure. So, yeah... it's a really good sculpt- maybe the finest of the "new" Star Trek Megos.

Accessories: Nada. It's not like you need any though. Well, maybe a jar of salt would have been nice.

It's been a long time coming, but we finally have a Salt Vampire figure! While Mego figures may not be everyone's cup of tea, this is one of the finer efforts in that style. And with no other possibilities in the foreseeable future, this one may be worth picking up to fill the void. At a retail price of $19.99, you may be a bit hesitant to throw down the scratch for her... but I wouldn't wait too long. Remember what happened to the water buffalo?

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2007 Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

2011-07-05T17:17:00.000-04:00

Item Name: "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" Keepsake Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark

Hallmark released this piece as part of their 2007 keepsake assortment. Here's the back of the box if you'd like to give it a read-

The Rundown: With the 2011 Hallmark Star Trek ornaments hitting stores in just a couple of weeks, I figured now would be a good time to jump back into the ornament spotlights and feature some of my favorites leading up to the premiere weekend (July 16 & 17). Today we're taking a look at one of the 2007 releases- The "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" ornament!

The "double-cross" scene from TWOK is one of the most memorable moments in Trek's 45 year history, so it's no surprise that Hallmark mined it for this release. Even recreated at such a small scale, any fan would recognize what scene is depicted here with but a glance... even if the staging is a bit off from what was seen in the film-

That is the closest I could come to finding Spock, Kirk, and Sulu staged together in the same manner depicted in the ornament. Is it a huge deal that Hallmark took some artistic license here to make the ornament "work"? Nope. The scene might have taken place "off-camera", or maybe my memory is just faulty... Either way, I find it *ahem" fascinating that even if it isn't completely screen accurate, there's no mistaking which scene we are looking at here. Let's have a look at these guys-

Positioned to the right of the screen is Kirk. The pictures may fool you, but these figurines are TINY, with each one only measuring about an inch or so. At that size, the paint and sculpting work is pretty impressive. Kirk 's uniform features all the necessary detailing. Hallmark even remembered that Kirk's uniform flap is open during his exchange with Khan.

To the left of the screen is Mister Spock. Even though he is teensy-weensy, Spock features a solid likeness and an intricately detailed costumed. I could just see this widdle guy running down to a miniaturized engineering and shuffling off his mortal coil...

Lastly, we have Sulu at the helm console, ready to fire on the unsuspecting Khan. Hallmark even managed to recreate Sulu's stray bangs! Nice work! But let's have a closer look at that helm...

As far as I can tell, the instrumentation panels are reproduced here by means of a couple of decals. I'm not sure how I feel about these. On the one hand, the scale is so small that I shouldn't expect an abundance of detail... But on the other hand, if these are just labels, there's no reason that the images shouldn't be better. It's not a major issue, but still bares noting.

Of course, the focal point of the ornament is the large viewscreen area. I gotta admit- I was surprised that Hallmark choose an image of the Reliant over Khan for the viewer, since the reveal of Khan is such an iconic moment. But here's where the "magic" comes into play! Since the sound clips used for the ornament included ship battle effects, having Khan on the screen would make it impossible to incorporate these effects in coordination with the visuals. With the Reliant on screen, Hallmark was free to add cool lighted effects... like phaser blasts! Check it out:

Pretty cool, eh? Not only did they have phasers firing from the Reliant, but there's also a separate lighting effect for the Enterprise firing on her! Great choices on the lines too...

The TWOK ornament is easily one of my favorite pieces from the entire Hallmark library. It recreates one of Trek's most memorable exchanges with superb lighting and sound effects, especially given this thing's diminutive size. While the helm is a little bit of a disappointment, the rest of the ornament features solid detailing throughout. Oh... and since this guy runs on batteries instead of plugging into a string of lights it can be used as a display piece during non-holiday months. With most auctions closing in the $10-$15 range, you can get this one nowadays for less than original retail. At that price, your wallet won't be feeling the "wrath" of this purchase! Wokka wokka!

AA/ DST Spotlight- Admiral Kirk (Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan)

2011-06-30T17:08:00.001-04:00

Figure Name: Admiral Kirk
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys

Kirk was released carded in the first series of "Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan" figures.

The Rundown: I really feel like I need to make an apology to Diamond Select Toys. Over the years, I've not always been polite when it comes to their handling of the Trek toy license. While they have often canceled stuff that I REALLY wanted, and they've shown an incredible propensity for releasing Kirk & Spock repeatedly, I do need to give them credit for one thing. They did something with the Trek franchise that no other toy company ever did; They released an entire line of figures from "Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan".

For being one of the most beloved films in the franchise, TWOK always seemed to get the short end of the stick when it came to toys. Both of the surrounding films got toys, with Mego providing toys for "The Motion Picture" and Ertl handling the product for "The Search For Spock". Playmates put out an entire wave of 4.5" figures based on the classic films, but only included Khan and Saavik from TWOK. They also squeezed a few figures styled after the film in their 9" and 12" lines, but not nearly a full crew. Which leads us to Diamond Select...

Instead of just sprinkling a few releases into the Classic Star Trek line (like Art Asylum planned on doing), DST pushed all their chips to the middle of the table with the "Wrath Of Khan" figures. TWOK deserved a full line and DST knew it. They planned out three waves immediately, covering all the essential characters that one would want in a very short time. Of course, no Trek line can be without Kirk, so the good Admiral made it into the first wave. After that rather long-winded intro, let's take a look at good ol' Kirk!

The TWOK bodies are, in my opinion, some of the finest work of the AA/ DST era. The sculpting on the uniforms is incredibly nice and very well detailed, with a range of movement that allows for plenty of dynamic posing. And while the tunic does retain a bit of the lamented rubbery elements of the Art Asylum Classic Trek releases, it is thankfully limited only to the area under the belt. The rubber is thicker as well and feels like it will probably hold up better over time. Overall- Awesome work.

Unfortunately... I can't ay the same for the head. I've reviewed it before on the Regula 1 Kirk and the Kirk from the "Death Of Spock" 2 pack, but just in case you don't feel like going back and reading those, here's the cliff's notes version: I don't like it. It looks like it was probably a good likeness at one point... and then somebody went and pinched it. DST did a much better job capturing an older Shatner with their "star Trek: The Motion Picture" Kirk. So much better, in fact, that I did a little switcheroo with mine...

Take that TMP head, throw it on the TWOK body, and you get the first Kirk pictured up there. I think that works much better than the standard release (pictured in the middle). The TMP 2-pack is currently on clearance at most Toys R Us stores, so you won't be breaking the bank by doing this. Oh, and you'll then have an extra pinchy head lying around that you can throw on the "thicker" Terrell body for an acceptable "Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country" Captain Kirk (pictured on the left)! Customizing can be fun!

Accessories: Kirk comes equipped with a phaser and communicator, plus two interchangeable hands. What more could you ask for? Nothing... So don't go getting greedy on me.

Other than a wonky head, this Kirk is the bee's knees. You can't have a TWOK line without Kirk, so if you're thinking about getting into them, this one is a good place to start. He routinely sells in the $15-$20 range... but I've notcied that he is starting to dry up on eBay, so don't wait too long! Otherwise, you'll have to try and buy him at a CCCOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN!!!!!! Get it? "Kahn"/ "Con"? Sigh... Just go buy him.

This Week In Star Trek Episode #2!

2011-06-29T11:19:00.003-04:00

In this week's episode, Blaze and I discuss some recent bookstore findings and the Trek tribute band Five Year Mission. We also answer a couple of viewer questions... so please keep those coming! Hope you guys enjoy!

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Custom Playmates Montgomery Scott & Will Decker ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

2011-06-27T09:19:00.004-04:00

Figure Names: Commander Montgomery Scott & Commander Will Decker
Made by customizer Matthew Hackley

The Rundown: Hey, it's a Twofer Tuesday! Except it's actually Monday. Hey, it's a Multi-spotlight Monday! Today we are looking at not one, but TWO entries from the ongoing "What if Playmates had kept the Trek license?" series of customs from Matthew Hackley! This time around, Matt helps Playmates round out the crew in their TMP uniforms with his Motion Picture era Scott and Decker customs! Let's check 'em out...

First up we have Scotty. I'm really surprised Playmates didn't do this one, especially considering they produced both Uhura and Sulu in TMP uniforms. Scotty has always been the "fourth wheel" of Classic Trek, so his absence from the Classic Movie Series is pretty glaring.

Since the crew uniforms are pretty similar between figures, this would have been an easy release by Playmates. Take a standard TMP body, slap a Scotty head on it, and you're done. Matt did this custom exactly like Playmates probably would have produced him, with the exception of adding a flat coat to lessen the glare of the plastic used by Playmates. Oh, and Matt also made sure to get the color used on the delta shield right... which is something Playmates had trouble with on these.

Next, we have Commander Will Decker... the "Charlie Brown" of Star Trek. It seems like every time Decker goes to kick that football, Kirk is there to snatch it away at the very last second. His dad dies fighting the Doomsday Machine, he gets the Enterprise taken away from him by Kirk, is appointed as science officer only to then be quickly replaced by Spock, has his girlfriend killed in front of him and then resurrected as a weird probe thingy, and at the end, winds up being turned into a glittery light effect. Oh, and only the only figures he ever got were a couple of Mego releases and a Mini-mate. Ouch.

Seriously though- What's up with Playmates never doing a Decker figure in any scale? We get Iman from Star Trek VI... but not DECKER!!? He would have been a simple release! Just like Matt's custom, all it takes is a new head on the existing TMP body. That whole bent-action-foot they used on Spock even makes a lot more sense when used on a dashing Decker figure.

I mean seriously... I can't be alone in wanting to do this on my shelf-

Am I? Hello? Anybody?..... Okay. Moving on then...

As stated, Matt's custom consists of a Playmates crew body with a new Decker head. I really like what Matt did with this one. I feel like this head captures the innocent charm of Stephen Collins quite well. I'm almost in seventh heaven just looking at it. Ha! Get it? "Seventh Heaven"? Because Stehpen Collins played the dad on that show? I kill me!

So there we go. While Playmates did a better job than just about everybody at putting out accurate versions of the crew from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", they still left a couple of voids that needed filling. Well, thanks to Matt, my voids are now filled (I felt dirty just typing that). Had Playmates kept the license just a bit longer, I think these 2 would have been front-runners for release, since they would have both been fairly cheap and easy to manufacture. For now though, a complete TMP crew in figure form is but a dream... Merrily, merrily, merrily...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Devil In The Dark"

2011-06-25T00:23:00.002-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Devil In The Dark"... Bill Shatner's favorite episode!

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Perry's Planet" By Jack C. Haldeman II

2011-06-23T08:57:00.003-04:00

After reading the first two novels in the "Crucible" trilogy back-to-back, I decided that I needed a little breather before tackling book three. The epic scope of both the McCoy and Spock novels, while very compelling, might have been a tad overwhelming. I needed to reign myself back in with something a little more grounded and with a smidge less "oomph" to it... something more akin to watching an episode of the animated series. This way I could also distance myself from the McCoy novel a bit more before tackling Kirk's segment, since I would probably face the same comparison issues I tackled while reading "Crucible: Spock". So I headed over to the book shelves and grabbed this guy-

"Perry's Planet" by Jack C. Haldeman II is the perfect definition of light Star Trek reading. The plot revolves around a planet colonized by a group of settlers 300 years ago. Kirk and crew are ordered on a first contact mission to the planet after receiving a signal that the colonists wish to discuss joining the Federation. When the Enterprise arrives, they find a planet full of blissfully peaceful people, lead by the mysterious Wayne Perry. Records show Perry as the colony's original leader... from 300 years ago. Just as the crew begins to question Perry's existence, they find themselves infected by a mysterious "peace" virus which won't allow them to make any aggressive actions, no matter the circumstances. The infection is unknowingly spread to the crew aboard the Enterprise... just as a Klingon ship captained by an enemy from Kirk's past enters orbit. Stranded down on the planet, Kirk and company must find a cure to the disease and solve the mystery of Perry's planet, which may be tied to a brutish group of the colonists known as the "Immunes"...

This book was exactly what I needed it to be: A fun romp through the Trek universe. At less than 150 pages, the book doesn't spend a lot of time with drawn out explanations or character biographies. The author seemingly wrote this with the knowledge that his reader already knows their Star Trek- he just gets right to the adventure without bogging it down in expository fluff... and sometimes that is exactly what I want from a Trek novel. It's not the best story I've ever read, but I'd say it's definitely worthy of a boring Sunday afternoon. If you see this one on the cheapy shelves at Half-Price books, you just might want to lay down the 2 bucks for it....

"This Week In Star Trek" Episode #1!

2011-06-21T21:10:00.004-04:00

Introducing apieceoftheaction.net's new weekly video segment- "This Week In Star Trek"! My son Blaze and I thought it might be fun to keep a video journal of all the various Star Trek things we talk about on a weekly basis. It might be a new collectible we acquired, episodes we watched that week, new comics that just got released, or any bit of random Trek stuff that happened to cross our paths... As long as it's Star Trek related, we'll talk about it! We'll post a new "no-frills" video each week here on the page... some will be super short (like this introductory one today), but others will probably feature us rambling on until the battery runs out.

Oh... and if you have any questions or items of discussion that you'd like to hear us gab about, please leave a comment here or on the video page! Blaze LOVES when people ask him questions, so he'd get a kick out of any directed at him...

Mego Spotlight- Wrist Communicators ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

2011-06-21T09:28:00.002-04:00

Item Name: Wrist Communicators
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.

Mego released these Wrist Communicators way back around 1979-1980. Yep, that's over 30 years ago folks. Feel old? Me too. Well, here's the back of the box to make you feel better... or worse, considering it pictures the insanely rare Mego TMP ships that most of us will never own-

Yeah, that didn't help.

The Rundown: I really need to apologize to you guys for taking this long to do this spotlight. Had I known how important these Wrist Communicators were, I would have given them top priority. But how was I supposed to know that this was the most exciting toy in the Space Age? Nobody told me. Oh wait... you didn't know that either? Well read the box, ya dummy!

See? Now who has egg on their face? You do. So there.

As explained in that blurb, what you'll find in the box are 2 wrist communicators with power packs. The box illustration above shows that these are pretty accurate recreations of the film props. Let's get 'em out of there and take a look!

...ummmm, these aren't quite as nice as the box illustration. What's going on here? Maybe I missed something. Let me have another look at that box...

Oh. Well thanks for teasing me Mego.

Kidding aside, these things are freaking awesome. I've always been impressed by Mego's role play toys, but these Wrist Communicators may just be my favorite of the bunch. Unlike many of their other releases, Mego didn't take too many liberties with the design here. These are remarkably similar to their screen counterpart, especially given the time at which they were made.

Underneath the "instrumentation panel" of the communicator is an area housing the microphone. While not entirely screen accurate, I applaud Mego's decision to incorporate the mechanism this way. By hiding it under a panel, they were able to maintain the look of the prop without breaking it up to house the microphone. Plus, flip open panels make everything more awesome.

The top of the communicator is where you'll find the speaker area. Again, Mego tried to maintain the look of the prop by placing the speaker in an inconspicuous location. Since the prop has a large black area on top already, placing the speaker device up there makes perfect sense.

The communicator attaches to your wrist by means of a plastic band attached at its back. The band is flexible, but still rigid enough to maintain its shape. The best part is that it can expand enough...

...to fit an adult size wrist! Pretty sweet! And that brings me to another thing I love about these: Their size! One would think that fully-functional communicators from this time period would have to be big and bulky to accommodate their electronics. Not so with these! Since kids were going to have these things strapped to their wrists, keeping them at a manageable size was important to Mego. Which is why they housed most of the electronics inside attached power packs-

Connected to the communicators by a thin electrical wire are the power packs. The power pack handles the bulk of the work for the toy, with the flexible antenna, batteries, and control button all located here. You attach the power pack to your person by means of a belt clip on back. There's even a Star Trek logo emblazoned across the front... just in case you forgot what you were playing.

I'm too lazy to go back and look through my old spotlights and see if I ever dubbed a different Mego role play toy my favorite... so if I did, ignore that. This is now my favorite. The size and design coupled with their functionality make up for one awesome piece of vintage Trek toyness. They don't crop up very often, but when they do you can expect to pay a pretty penny for them in nice shape. Their value isn't really what makes them cool in my eyes though; It's the fact that they don't make toys nearly this cool anymore. Toys like this make me wish I could go back in time and give these to my 7-year-old self, because I know he would have had a blast with them...

"A Collector's Trek #3" Is Now Up At StarTrek.com!

2011-06-20T15:37:00.003-04:00

My third blog entry is now up over at Star Trek's official site! This time around, I take a look at the various Azrak-Hamway Star Trek toys of the 1970's! Check it out if you get a chance- A Collector's Trek #3: 1970's AHI Rack Toys

Playmates Spotlight- Lieutenant Uhura (9" Figure)

2011-06-20T09:39:00.004-04:00

Figure Name: Lieutenant Uhura
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Playmates released this Uhura as part of the 9" Collector Series.

The Rundown: At only 12 spotlights so far, I've barely scratched the surface in showing you what the Playmates 9" line has to offer. Sure, the bodies aren't super-articulated and the releases often relied on the "Kirk-in-a-different-outfit" syndrome... but the sheer number of figures produced is impressive enough to warrant giving this line a look if you haven't already. Today we are taking a look at one of the "must-haves" for those of you who may be dipping your toes into the 9" water- Lt. Uhura!

Uhura follows the same format as all the other releases in the 9" line. Playmates designed a male and female buck body, and then individualized each figure by adorning them with different head sculpts and outfits. If a character was released in more than one outfit, they usually incorporated the same head sculpt across the board (like Uhura did with her 9" Mirror Universe counterpart).

The heads used on the bodies can sometimes be pretty hit or miss. The larger size would seem to offer a more detailed sculpt, but the roto-cast process used to produce these heads could sometimes lead to a slightly warped or distorted shape. Uhura falls right in the middle for me. While I don't think her head is bad, I don't think it is particularly good either. The nose is captured well, but there's something about the shape of head that throws this one off just a bit.

Playmates' 9" female buck body is decently articulated, but still has its limits. A swivel joint at the boot or wrist would have really improved the figure's poseability. But hey... these are mass-market toys from over 15 years ago. You can't go into this expecting a Hot Toys level of articulation. Ya gets what ya pay for!

One thing I will say for the body though- She can hold her accessories! Unlike a lot of the 4.5" figures, Uhura here has no problem gripping her phaser and communicator. Which is important since you want to be able to send her out on a landing party every once in a blue moon. Poor Uhura... Always stuck at the communications station.

While there wasn't much of an outfit to reproduce here, Playmates did do a nice job considering the cost and time at which this was made. The delta shield is a bit large, but other than that I don't have any major gripes with this one. Looking good Nyota!

Accessories: Uhura includes a phaser, communicator, and tricorder. While the communicator and phaser are a bit large, the tricorder is actually pretty nice and well detailed... for a Playmates accessory that is.

And here's her box bio:

Overall, Uhura is a pretty average release for the 9" line, which may make her a good place to start. If you're building a full crew, you'll need Uhura... and her "averageness" may give you a good idea of what to expect with other figures. She routinely sells in the $6-$10 range, so you won't be breaking the bank if you decide to go after one. Besides... you're going to need somebody to open the hailing frequencies for all your other 9" figures.

And just in case you were curious...

...she is sporting some matching undergarments. That one was for you Frederick. ;)

Remco Spotlight- Astro Buzz Ray Gun

2011-06-16T09:08:00.000-04:00

Item Name: Astro Buzz Ray Gun
Manufacturer: Remco Toys

Remco released this colorful sidearm way back in the late 1960's. I don't own a boxed version, so you'll just have to make due with that catalog shot up there.

The Rundown: Ah, 60's Remco product... Why do you have to be so cheesy-cool? The Astro Buzz Ray Gun is definitely far from being accurate to anything ever seen in Star Trek, but that doesn't stop it from being the bee's knees. Don't believe me? Well, let's take a closer look so I can prove it to you...

Let's start with that name: Astro Buzz Ray Gun. It wasn't enough to call it a Star Trek Gun, nor was it enough to call it just a Ray Gun. Remco felt the need to throw a "Buzz" in there, and then like a kid who puts too many toppings on his ice cream, they just went nuts and put "Astro" on top of that. Boy is that name a mouthful. By the time you'd yelled out "Stop Klingon, or I will fire my Star Trek Astro Buzz Ray Gun at you!", it would be way too late.

So why does it look so crazy? Well, as I explained in my second article for StarTrek.com, most of the late 60's Remco Trek product began life as toys from the Hamilton's Invaders line. Hamilton's Invaders was your standard fare for the time- Military guys fight giant insects. The Buzz Ray gun was first released as a role play item for the Hamilton line, but was later recolored and tweaked a bit for use in some of Remco's various licensed toy lines... like Star Trek.

Remco did take the time to make this version at least a little different than the other Buzz Ray Guns though. The side features a Star Trek logo sticker, and a small clear plastic area in the back houses a slightly stylized delta shield. You know- just like Kirk's Ray Gun looked in that one episode...

Now what would a good ray gun be without some special effects? It would be crap, that's what. The Astro Buzz Ray Gun has not one, but 2 electronic features... easily elevating it past the crap stage. Pull the trigger and you'll quickly understand the "buzz" part of the name (here's a hint- it's due to the annoying sound it emits). The gun also features a lighted area up front. Twist a dial along the side of the barrel and a multi-colored disk will turn, allowing you to alter the color of the light beam emitted. Check it out-

As a kid, I'd have loved it. As a parent, I'd have hated it. It's amazing how your perspective can shift over the years...

The Astro Buzz Ray Gun is a neat peek at what Star Trek toys were like during the show's original run. While it's vintage charm an quirky coolness make it neat to own, it doesn't exactly scream "Star Trek" while sitting on your shelf. Unless you are building a staple of 60's Star Trek toys, you definitely don't need one of these for your collection. Even if you did decide to go after one, you'd have to consider the price; Nice loose samples like the one above can routinely bring $100-$150, with boxed versions doubling or tripling that. Yikes! So yeah, definitely skippable for all those but the most hardcore of vintage Trek toy fans...

Playmates Spotlight- Commander Spock ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

2011-06-09T17:06:00.005-04:00

Figure Name: Commander Spock
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Commander Spock was released carded as part of Playmates' Classic Star Trek Movie Series.

The Rundown: After doing this for 2 years, I've started to find myself forgetting which figures in my collection I have spotlighted and which I haven't. Take this Spock we are looking at today for example. I've probably looked at this Spock at least a dozen times on my shelves, and every time I've left him sitting there thinking that I'd already spotlighted him. Well, I guess there's egg on my face, because it turns out that I hadn't. So, without further ado... here's Spock!

Captured in his starfleet uniform from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", this Spock is basically your standard Playmates release. I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but I really feel like the Classic Star Trek Movie Series to which this figure belongs features some of Playmates finest efforts with the license. Each figures featured strong, unique sculpting for the most part, and the character selection was like a classic movie fan's wishlist for figures.

Each of the TMP-era figures released in the wave feature newly-sculpted bodies that do a fantastic job of recreating the screen costumes. I hear a lot of folks often complain about the Playmates bodies, but I don't see how anybody could look at Spock here and call this a bad figure. I'll admit that there work could be a bit questionable at times... but the TMP figures ROCKED.

BUT...Spock isn't a completely flawless Playmates effort. First, I believe they got the background color on his delta shield wrong. Second, Playmates for some reason felt the need to sculpt one of Spock's feet slightly bent to give the appearance that he is stepping forward. I have no idea why they chose to give Spock an "action-oriented" stance. Kirk? Sure. Sulu? Yeah, I get that. But Spock? That's just not logical. It's not really a huge deal, but it does makes it difficult to give Spock a straight stance without the aid of a figure stand.

Now here comes my big gripe with this release. While all of the other figures released in the classic movie series featured head sculpts that were a bit more aged than their TOS counterparts, Spock simply gets a new paintjob on his TOS-era head. Check it out-

It's a little tough to tell due to the paint on the TMP head, but if you look closely enough you'll see that this is indeed the same head. While you could argue that Spock looks relatively the same in TMP as he did in the classic series, I still feel Playmates should have given us a new sculpt. Sulu gets a new head, Uhura gets a new head, but not Spock? Oh, and to add insult to injury- having the skin painted on instead of being molded in flesh-tone makes this figure very susceptible to the dreaded "nose rub". You'll often find this figure with the paint rubbed away from the tip of his nose, sometimes even when he's still in the package. Bummer.

Accessories: Spock includes some engineering tools, a display base (not pictured), and an awesome little Kolinahr necklace...

...which you can use to reenact scenes from the recently spotlighted novel Crucible: Spock by David R. George III! Reading is FUN-da-mental!

Also included with Spock is a piece of V-Ger. Collect all 5 TMP figures to complete your own mini-V'Ger!

And there's the bio from the back of the box... just in case you like reading such things.

A couple of minor quibbles aside, Spock is still a pretty fine figure. He's got a solid sculpt and looks great alongside the rest of the TMP-era figures. While Playmates never released a Scotty, Chekov, or Decker from "The Motion Picture", the Classic Star Trek Movie Series is still overall your best bet for an accurate display featuring these uniforms. Mego's 3.75" efforts were diverse, but lacked accuracy when it came to the uniforms. Their 12.5" figures on the other hand were quite accurate, but only covered a handful of characters. DST put out great figures of Spock and Kirk (in both his Captain and Admiral uniforms), but never managed to release any other crew members. So yeah... if you want a good TMP figure display, you gotta go with Playmates. The best part is that you can do it on the cheap, with most of these guys usually going in the $5-$10 range. At that price, it would be a crime not to jump into these if you're a fan of the first film. Just remember to watch out for that nose...

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Crucible: Spock The Fire And The Rose" By David R. George III

2011-06-08T14:19:00.004-04:00

A couple of months ago, I spotlighted the first book in the "Crucible" trilogy- McCoy- Provenance Of Shadows. I stated in that spotlight that if the other 2 titles in the trilogy were as good as the McCoy novel, then I may have found my new favorite Trek author. Well, I just finished the second one the other day. How did it turn out? Well...

"Spock- The Fire And The Rose" follows the same basic formula as the McCoy novel; The author takes us on a journey through Spock's life, tying events and decisions to the trip through time he shared with Kirk and McCoy in "The City On The Edge Of Forever". David R. George III again does a fantastic job of giving new life and underlying meaning to scenes from the original series and movies that we've all seen countless times over the years. Along the way, he forces you to question certain decisions that we witnessed Spock make throughout the years, causing the reader to reexamine a character that we all probably felt we had a pretty good handle on by now. Multiple times throughout the book I found myself thinking "oh yeah... why did Spock do that when he didn't do that before?". What's great about the book though is that George then answers those questions quite adeptly, almost to the point that you feel it was planned his way all along. He fills in gaps in logic that I hadn't even realized had gaps to fill.

Now that's not to say that this book is flawless. I felt a large portion of the book was handled very well, in particular the moments expanded from "The City On the Edge Of Forever". There were, however, a few aspects that I found myself questioning. For instance (and be warned that these next few lines are somewhat spoilery), Spock deciding to attempt the Kolinahr for a second time after learning of Kirk's death on the Enterprise-B seemed wrong to me. The films did a fantastic job of bringing balance to Spock's character. He was finally able to find balance between his vulcan and human halves. For Spock to then attempt the Kolinahr again to erase his human half out of grief just seems to negate all of that. Even worse, Spock later decides that the Kolinahr was the wrong choice and then has to go through ritual of reestablishing his emotions... which once again leaves us to question if Spock actually did achieve his balance in the films, or if he was simply going through a period of indecisiveness.

Overall though, I was quite pleased with the book. Is it as good as "Crucible: McCoy"? Not in my opinion, but man... that is one tough act to follow. That's the problem with starting off SO strong in a trilogy- Everyone expects your sequel to be as good or better than your first outing. Had I read this Spock novel first, I'm sure that I would have been blown away by the story and how George handled the character's history... It's just in comparison to the McCoy novel that this one shows its slight shortcomings. "Crucible: Spock" is still an incredible read and worthy of a spot on your Trek bookshelf. Now I just hope the author finishes strong with the Kirk-centric finale...

Going Mobile?

2011-06-08T14:09:00.001-04:00

Hey all...

I just enabled the mobile version of my blog today! If you are viewing the site through a mobile device, please let me know what you think of the mobile-enabled version in the comments below... or e-mail me at apieceoftheaction@live.com. Thanks!

-James

South Bend Spotlight- Official Starfleet Belt, Buckle, & Insignia

2011-06-05T10:26:00.002-04:00

Item Name: Official Starfleet Belt, Buckle, And Insignia
Manufacturer: South Bend

This puppy was released to stores way back when "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was still showing at your local theater...

The Rundown: Ah, South Bend... Why couldn't you do just a few more Trek products? Your Electronic Phaser Guns are some of the coolest phaser toys ever made, and your Electronic U.S.S. Enterprise was WAY ahead of its time. Oh how I wish you had released just a few more things... Wait- What? They did do something else!? A belt buckle and insignia pack!?! You don't say! Well, we have to to take a look at that ASAP! Like now!

While it still carries the South Bend logo, these goodies from Milton Bradley's sub-division lack the electronic features that usually accompany that brand name. Who cares though... look how much fun those kids on the packaging are having! No way did they get made fun of at school.

The set includes all the stuff you need to turn an ordinary shirt into a screen-accurate TMP uniform. Let's start with the insignia; It basically a white plastic delta shield with painted lines that you stick to your shirt. I know exactly what you're thinking- "But James, I don't want to ruin my nice blue turtleneck by putting pin holes in it!" Well, South Bend has your back.

Instead of pointy pins protruding precariously from the back of the insignia, South Bend went a much safer route. Included with the set is this nifty white plastic bar...

...which fits neatly into a recess in the insignia's back. Place your delta shield on the proper spot, reach under your shirt, press the plastic bar into the recess, and you're good to go! No messy pin holes, and no danger to your tiny digits!

Next we have the belt. Ummmm, yeah. It's clear plastic belt with a bunch of holes in it. You know... just like the movie. Moving on.

Lastly, we have the coolest item of the trio- The belt buckle! When you open up the box, this is how you'll find your belt buckle. Looks pretty plain without that sticker on it, doesn't it? I wonder how I'm supposed to get that on there...

Oh! So that's how you do it... thanks South Bend! You're a life-saver!

So I just peel the label off of here...

... and stick it right on here.

Now THAT is a belt buckle! But the buckle isn't there just to look good. Quite the opposite. This thing was multi-tasking before we even knew what multi-tasking was. Check the box-

Yeah, that's right. It has a freaking thermal sensor to detect alien presences. Or warm fingers. One of the two.

How's it work? Glad you asked. Place a finger (hot or cold) along the sensor strip for a few seconds, just like I am in the picture above.

Now move your finger away and use the chart from the box to determine whether you are hot or cold. I am apparently hot. Well, I can't argue you with that South Bend... but when does the whole "detecting alien presences" thing start?.... Hello? South Bend? Hello? *Crickets Chirping*

Okay, so let's forget about the alien presence detecting- The buckle still has something else to offer! You might notice a little tab at the top of the buckle. Snap it open and you'll find an "Official Starfleet Identification Card".

To be filled out in the presence of a senior official I'm sure, the card lists important things like your name, rank, and the designation of the ship you are serving on. Since the TMP uniforms didn't look like they had much in the way of pockets, I bet being able to store your ID in your buckle came in pretty handy at the Starfleet bars.

And that's about it. While the set lacks the electronic extras of their South Bend brethren, this is still a pretty cool pack. While I don't think there's any need to rush over to eBay and snag one (they typically run around $40-$60 in box), it might be nice to have if you already own the other South Bend items. Since only a few Star Trek items were released under this brand, putting together the entire range could make for an interesting display....

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Journey To Babel"

2011-06-03T09:22:00.002-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Journey To Babel". William O'Connell shares some of his Thelev memories in this one...

Mego Spotlight- Command Communications Console

2011-06-02T08:56:00.004-04:00

Item Name: Command Communications Console
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.

Mego released this fine toy back in the mid-1970's! Take a closer look at that awesome box art:

The Rundown: Okay... let's say a couple of your buddies own the awesome Mego Communicators. They head over to your tree house and start pretending to be Captain Kirk and Spock. You feel left out. Then all of a sudden you remember that Command Communications Console that granny bought you for Christmas. You run inside, rip open the box, and slap a few batteries in it. Suddenly your tree house has become the Enterprise, with Kirk and Spock down in the yard on a mission to the planet's surface. It's up to you and your console to keep the landing party in constant contact with the ship, just in case something goes wrong... and you know it will.

Well, at least that's what I'm assuming Mego had in mind when they created this guy. It's basically just a big walkie-talkie with a lighted screen, but kids didn't need to know that. Bigger means better, so the Command Communications Console must have been at least 3 times cooler than the regular Mego communicators. Plus it uses alliteration in its name. Bonus points.

As stated, this console is basically the big brother of the standard walkie-talkie. To your right is a large speaker area and a dial that acts as both a power and volume switch...

...and to the left are a couple of nice decorative stickers. The top sticker features Spock peering in at you through a tiny viewscreen. Quit looking at me Spock. The lower sticker is actually pretty useful, as it provides Morse code translations for you to use on the console's buttons.

Behind the stickered area you'll find the console's antenna. The antenna is REALLY long. So long, in fact, that I couldn't fully extend it in this pic. So don't be a Herbert- leave plenty of head room when positioning your Command Communications Console.

At the console's center is the "multicolor phaser light screen". Translation- It's a screen with four little lights inside. While it may seem tame by today's toy standards, this screen probably upped the coolness factor of the piece by about tenfold back in the 70's.

Arrayed along the base of the console are four colored buttons labeled Transmit, Code Key, Red Alert, and Stand By Alert. The transmit button allows you to send your voice to a receiver (like the Mego Communicators, standard walkie-talkies, or the CB of an annoyed truck driver). Pressing the code key allows you to make use of your handy Morse code sticker. The last 2 buttons send out alert signals... which you can hear by checking out this nifty video:

So there ya go. Do you need it? Probably not. It's a cool toy for it's time, and definitely has a Star Trek Animated feel to it, but I just don't put this one on the same level as some of Mego's other roleplay toys (like their Tricorder or their Phaser). The original owner of this toy must have felt the same way, since they felt the need to spice this one up by adding a little something extra to the back of it...

The Bionic Woman makes everything better.

Remco Spotlight- Flying U.S.S. Enterprise

2011-05-31T08:39:00.004-04:00

Item Name: Flying U.S.S. Enterprise
Manufacturer: Remco Toys

Remco released their "flying" Enterprise way back in the late 1960's. I don't have a packaged version, so you'll just have to make due with the catalog shot above.

The Rundown: For my second blog posting over at StarTrek.com, I decided to take a look at some of the various Remco toys available during the show's original run in the late 1960's. Remco did some pretty wacky stuff with the license... including slapping the Star Trek name onto one of their "flying discs" and calling it the Enterprise. So let's put on our flip-flops, head to the beach, and give this puppy a toss with today's spotlight!

In the late 1950's and into the early 1960's, Wham-O toys built an empire on the sales of their Frisbee toy- A disc-shaped plastic glider that soared through the air with the flick of a wrist. Not to be outdone, Remco answered the call for such product by marketing their own flying discs... only theirs would also benefit from Remco's various licensing agreements. Case in point: The Flying U.S.S. Enterprise.

If you were buying a flying disc, would you rather have a plain ol' boring Frisbee... or would you go for one labeled as the U.S.S. Enterprise with a picture of Spock prominently featured on it? That's what I thought. Sure, the principle is the same, but in this case it's okay to make your judgment based solely on appearance.

There really isn't a lot more I can say about this one. It works just like a Frisbee, but it has Star Trek stuff printed on it. Do you need one? Well, that depends. Are you in the market for a Frisbee? Are you a Star Trek fan? Are you willing to spend from $25-$50 on a vintage flying disc? If you answered yes to all three of those, then by all means go buy one. If you only answered yes to 1 or 2 of those questions, then you may need to think twice before going after one. It's undoubtedly an oddball item and not something that most collector's are going to find essential to their collections... but it's probably the one Star Trek item that you can take with you to the beach and not feel strange about...

Second Blog Article For Startrek.com Is Up!

2011-05-26T10:24:00.002-04:00

My second blog article for Star Trek's official site is now up! This one focuses on the Remco Star Trek toys of the 1960's. Check it out if you have a chance: A Collector's Trek 2: Remco Toys Of The 1960's. Then come back here over the next couple of days as I spotlight two of the items featured in the article. Bet ya can't guess one of them...

Playmates Spotlight- Mr. Spock In Dress Uniform (Starfleet Officers Collectors Set)

2011-05-26T09:12:00.002-04:00

Figure Name: Mr. Spock (In Dress Uniform)
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Playmates released this Spock in his Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes as part of their Starfleet Officers Collectors Set.

The Rundown: After looking at Kirk in his dress uniform the other day, the only logical choice would be to follow up with a spotlight on Spock. Since we delved into the wheres, whys, and hows of the set last time, I won't bore you with regurgitating my views on it again here. Head back to the Kirk spotlight if you want to read all that again... but for now, let's look at Spock!

Just like Kirk, Spock features the same head used on all his TOS-era Playmates figures. You can say what you want about the Playmates bodies, but you can't really complain about their head sculpts for the most part. Their Spock head still rocks after all these years.

Playmates gave both Kirk and Spock unique chest sculpts for these releases. The attention to detail is pretty thorough here, with all of Spock's medals being individually sculpted and painted. They even made sure the gold piping was correct on these releases, with Spock lacking the gold piping that runs from his collar to his shoulders- just like it was on the show.

Unfortunately, Spock features the same open hands that we just looked at on Kirk. Again, since they don't really use any weapons while wearing these uniforms, it's not a huge deal... but it still would have been nice to have the option to display them holding their accessories.

You know what's a bit odd though? Playmates seemed to LOVE sticking Spock with a "Live Long & Prosper" hand whenever they could. Yet here is one time where the salute makes sense... but they skip it!? What's up with that? How is he going to show McCoy how to pull off the Vulcan salute now? Well, he can at least do one thing with these hands...

Spock is no Herbert. He reaches. Hey brother...

Accessories: Spock includes a standard phaser and communicator, which he can drop at his feet.

Like I said with Kirk, recommending this pack isn't as cut and dry as a single carded figure. You're going to spend around $20 or so if you want this guy, but you'll be getting the Kirk plus 4 other non-TOS figures. Is that worth it? It is for me just to get the Kirk and Spock, but your mileage may vary. You'd also get a cool display stand that you can throw your Dress McCoy on to complete the big three, but then you run into the problem of having those pesky logos from the later shows on there. Guess I'll need to buy some electrical tape and do a little cover up. I don't want anybody coming over to the house and thinking I'm a "Next-gener" or something...

Playmates Spotlight- Captain James T. Kirk In Dress Uniform (Starfleet Officers Collectors Set)

2011-05-24T08:31:00.003-04:00

Figure Name: Captain James T. Kirk (In Dress Uniform)
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Playmates released this spiffy-looking Kirk in their Starfleet Officers Collectors Set.

The Rundown: Before I get to this spotlight, I am going to get on a soapbox for just a minute. While looking at this Kirk, I started thinking about just how vast a new Classic Star Trek figure line would be if the right company came along to produce it. Think of all the myriad aliens, the multitude of crew members, and all the different costume variations that the line could mine from for possible figure offerings! Now that isn't to say that Playmates did a bad job in the 90's; I've always been a big fan of what they did back then with the license. But I'm talking about a modern line, with today's standards of articulation and sculpting. Something like the current vintage-style Star Wars figures- 3.75" scale with great sculpting and a perfect range of articulation. Plus, that size is perfect for vehicles and playsets, and who wouldn't want a Classic Shuttlecraft scaled to their figures? Or a bridge playset? This line could even mimic the vintage-style Star Wars figures a bit by giving the packaging a vintage look, incorporating photos from the show and maybe even some Gold Key comic elements. Just like when Kenner revived the Star Wars line back in 1995, all it would take is a company that's willing to put the resources into making the line into something worth collecting. Done right, there's absolutely no reason why that line wouldn't be a hit.

Okay, rant over. Let's take a look at this Kirk!

Always looking for ways to get the main crew members out to the masses, Playmates devised the ingenious Starfleet Officers Collectors Set. The pack offered 6 figures, 2 from each of the shows created up to that point. Each pairing featured the captain/ commander and their second in command. From Deep Space Nine, there's Commander Sisko and Kira Nerys, Captain Picard and Commander Riker are included from The Next Generation (both of whom are wearing skirts), and last but certainly not least- Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock from the Original Series, both garbed in dress uniforms.

What makes the pack both ingenious and frustrating at the same time is the exclusivity of the uniforms. 4 of the figures in the set were only released in this manner. So if you wanted dress uniform versions of Picard, Riker, Kirk, or Spock, you had to buy this set. Being a TOS guy myself, I really didn't have much use for the others, so I paid the full price of the set for 2 figures. Actually, I paid it twice since I wanted one to open and one to keep sealed. And that was back at full retail. Ouch. I guess the set isn't as bad for someone who collects all eras of Trek, but even then the Sisko and Kira are straight reissues. So if you did happen to collect all the different Playmates Trek lines, you probably already had those two. See? Ingenious for Playmates, frustrating for collectors.

The Kirk figure itself is pretty decent, but not without issues. The head sculpt is the same as all the other TOS-era Playmates releases. By now you should know that I don't really have any issues with this sculpt. It's a strong Shatner likeness even by today's sculpting standards.

The figure features a new chest mold which replicates the dress uniform quite well. The gold trim features a raised texture, and each of Kirk's medals is individually sculpted. It's nice to see Playmates not cut any corners here.

So far so good, right? Well here comes the bad...

What's up with these arms? I realize using Kirk's existing arms wouldn't work, since they would have featured the rank braids around the wrists... but why did they go with these stubby jobs? Even worse, the hands are sculpted so that they are pretty wide open, negating the possibility of him holding his accessories. I guess that's not a huge issue, since Kirk doesn't really use anything while wearing his dress uniform, but it still kinda stinks. Oh well...

Accessories: Kirk comes with the standard phaser and communicator. Also included with the set is this display stand, which can hold all 6 figures-

And although it doesn't really feature any info, here's the blurb from the back of the box:

While the nature of the pack may be a little off-putting, getting the crew in their dress uniforms is a pretty cool subset in my eyes. Kirk was later released in his dress uniform a couple of times by DST, but since Spock and McCoy were only released in their dress uniforms by Playmates, you'll need to go that route if you want to have all 3 in scale with each other. Since the pack goes for around $20 nowadays, it's going to be a personal debate on what value you place on the rest of the figures in the set. For me, the Kirk & Spock are worth $10 each and the rest are just freebies... but maybe that's just me.

Up next time...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Wolf In The Fold"

2011-05-22T18:16:00.001-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Wolf In The Fold". Redjac... Redjac... Redjac!

Game Spotlight- Star Trek Special Edition UNO Card Game

2011-05-21T12:10:00.006-04:00

Item Name: Star Trek Special Edition UNO Card Game
Manufacturer: Mattel

Mattel released this Star Trek version of the popular UNO game back in 1999.

The Rundown: Awhile back, I spotlighted the 2009 release of the Star Trek UNO card game from Fundex. I felt is was a pretty solid spin on the standard UNO game, and well worth picking up. BUT... my buddy Frederick from "My Star Trek Scrapbook" reminded me of something that I had completely overlooked when writing that spotlight- There had already been a Star Trek version of UNO released years prior! How does this early version stack up to the 2009 release? Let's find out!

Just like the 2009 version, the game comes in an attractive tin display case. The graphic is pretty nice, and I like that this one is a bit more "subdued" than the later release. The inner tray seems to fit the cards better than the later release, with very little card slippage going on.

Each of the cards feature the Enterprise on the back and various individual images on the front. Since this set was made before TOS was remastered with new effects, the shots of the ships used here are from the original versions (effects purists rejoice!). The characters used for the cards are mostly obvious choices, but there are a couple of oddities thrown in. We get Kor thrown in the middle as card number 4, and inexplicably a Talosian Keeper as the 0 card. How did the Gorn not make it in here? Or a Mugatu? Heck, I'd have chosen Trelane or Harry Mudd before a Talosian. By far though, the oddest pick of the bunch has to be the "Wild Draw 4" card-

A Klingon Bird-Of-Prey from the movies!?! How'd that get in here? Weird. I'm going to let it go though, just for the fact that the "Reverse" card features Spock/ Mirror Spock. That alone is cool enough to excuse a couple of mistakes.

The game plays just like your standard UNO deck, with the exception of four new "Star Fleet Command" cards unique to the set. Each of these cards act as not only wild cards, but also feature new abilities that really enhance the game. The four new cards are:

Live Long and Prosper Card- This card allows you to discard your old hand and draw an entire new one. Y'know, in case your hand stinks.

Mind Meld Card- After playing this card, you get to command another player to show his or hand to you. I REALLY like this one. We played a few hands of this the other night, and this card really turned the tide for me a couple of times.

Beam Me Up, Scotty- This card allows you to stop any of these new "command" cards directed at you. Blaze got this one, and was able to deflect my use of the...

Double Tribble Card- If you play this one, the next player has to DOUBLE the amount of cards in there hand! Take that sucker! Eat them cards!

Oh... and I almost forgot- Instead of just yelling "UNO!" when you have one card left, you must now say "Space, the final UNO frontier!". If you don't, you have to pick up five more cards just like in regular UNO. So remember to do that.

As much as I like the 2009 version, I gotta say that this version is a little better in my opinion. The 4 new cards really add to the fun of the game, which is something that the 2009 version didn't do as well (since it only featured one new ability card). It's not that I don't like the new one, I'm just saying that if you only get one, I'd go with this 1999 version. If you look around enough, you can usually snag this one for about $10-$20, which is about the same rate as its 2009 counterpart. So do some hunting around and try for this one if you can. Now you'll have to excuse me, I'm off to play another hand... Blaze owes me a rematch.

Playmates Spotlight- Yeoman Janice Rand (Transporter Series)

2011-05-18T11:42:00.000-04:00

Figure Name: Yeoman Janice Rand
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Yeoman Rand was released boxed as part of the Target Exclusive Transporter Series.

The Rundown: Ah, the Transporter Series... Been awhile since we've looked at one of these, hasn't it? To be honest, I kinda forgot I didn't finish off this series- Thus why it's been almost 2 years since I looked at the last one. Ah well. At least all this will seem fresh... Let's look at this "randy" lass!

For those of you who may not be familiar with these, the Transporter Series figures were a thrifty idea that Playmates came up with to get some more mileage out of existing molds. Each figure is molded in a translucent plastic with glitter sprinkled into it. The figure is then painted from only mid-chest up, giving the illusion that the character is caught in the middle of being transported.

Included with each figure is a transporter base. Set the figure on it, press the button, and the base will shine a light up into the figure, giving it the illusion of being beamed! The base also plays the familiar transporter warble, completing the screen effect.Pretty nifty, huh?

Each of the figures in the series is a straight re-work of their previous standard figure. I haven't yet spotlighted the standard Playmates Rand though, so this is my first time reviewing her head sculpt. It's weird- I never thought the likeness was that great until I took a closer look at it in these pictures. Playmates actually did a fairly decent job here, capturing her hair and mouth especially well. The eyes throw it off a bit, but for the time it is still pretty nice.

Now here's the double-edged sword of the Transporter Series. When you have them standing on the bases, they make really cool display pieces... but once you have them off, they are pretty useless. Imagine if you were a junior Trekkie and this was the only Rand you had. You'd feel pretty cheated, wouldn't you? And rightly so. Who would do that to a kid? Not me, that's for sure...

Accessories: Umm... none. Yeah, that's the other drawback. It would have been kinda neat if they had molded a phaser or something in matching clear plastic. But they didn't. Sad face.

Guess you can just read this box bio instead of looking at her non-existent beaming phaser-

Feel better? I don't.

I've said this before, but it's worth saying again: The Transporter Series is the ultimate definition of a one-trick-pony. There's little you can do with these except stand them on their bases. Only buy these if you already have the regular versions of the crew first. Even then, don't expect a whole lot of options from them. I will say this though- The bases are pretty sweet and would probably make nice stands for the regular figures as well. But, since they routinely sell for around $10 or so, that may be a bit pricey for just a display stand...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Return Of The Archons"

2011-05-14T22:04:00.002-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Return Of the Archons". Fun fact: Ben Stiller (who has never shied away from his love of Trek) got the name for his production company- Red Hour Films- from this episode!

Now I gotta go... I'm late for the festival!

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock "Soft Poseable Figures" (By Knickerbocker)

2011-05-10T10:03:00.000-04:00

Item Name: Captain Kirk & Mr. Spock Soft Poseable Figures
Manufacturer: Knickerbocker

Kirk & Spock were released (separately) as part of the merchandising blitz of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"... way back in '79!

The Rundown: After posting the spotlight on the 12.5" Spock figure the other day, I got some feedback from folks expressing some disappointment in the Mego TMP head sculpts. Some people said that they didn't think the Mego heads were nearly as nice as the heads found on the Knickerbocker plush Kirk & Spock. So I decided to dig out my cuddly Kirk and semi-squishy Spock for today's spotlight and let you guys judge for yourselves which company pulled off the better likenesses!

Before we take a closer look at those heads, let's talk a little bit about these guys. If anyone needed proof that a lot of companies were banking on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" to bring in the same sort of merchandising dollars that "Star Wars" had in 1977, then look no further than the Knickerbocker plush dolls. Seriously... did Knickerbocker even have a clue what TMP was going to be like when they decided to make these? Don't get me wrong- I LOVE the original motion picture... but I know that it isn't a movie most little kids are going to enjoy. Especially not enough to make the parents rush out and buy stuffed versions of the crew for them to snuggle at night.

Oh... excuse me... I keep calling these plushes, but the packaging clearly states that these are "soft poseable figures", not stuffed animals or something. My bad. Well let's just see how poseable these are-

Okay. So the heads turn. What else ya got?

Velcro hands, eh? Very nice. I have no doubt that the amount of poses you can pull off just skyrocketed...

Doesn't Kirk look commanding there now? And what of Mr. Spock- Do his velcro palms allow him to strike an inquisitive stance?

Fascinatingly adorable.

In all seriousness, to call these "poseable" is quite a stretch. In order for me to consider a plush toy poseable, the body should have inner wiring or something that allows the figure to be posed in certain positions without any support. These don't have that. Don't try getting all fancy on me Knickerbocker... these are plushes.

That's not to say they are bad plushes by any means though. In fact, they are actually quite good. Knickerbocker did a very fine job of translating all the details of the TMP uniforms into a plush body. They even remembered the rank braids! And of course there's those head sculpts that prompted this spotlight in the first place...

Let's start with Spock. While I do think this is a pretty decent Nimoy likeness (especially given the fact that it is sitting on top of a stuffed body), I think it looks a little young. Nimoy had some character to his face by the time TMP rolled around. Take a look at this shot from the box for reference-

See what I mean? I think this Knickerbocker head makes for a great "young" Spock, but I really feel Mego's sculptors did a better job of capturing the age of the characters. It's even a bit more evident on Kirk...

Again, pretty great job on the likeness... but a bit on the young side. I'd even go so far as to say this could be one of the stronger TOS-era Kirk heads around. Almost makes me wish the bodies featured the classic uniforms and not the TMP versions...

So there ya go. As far as TMP likenesses go, I do prefer the Mego versions... but I still think Knickerbocker did a pretty great job on these guys. Should you bother getting them? Well, there isn't much you can do with the heads other than leaving them on these bodies, so if you're buying them simply for that then I'd say no. But if you want some true oddities AND you're a fan of merchandise based on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", then why not? They routinely sell for only around $10-$20 each so you won't be breaking the bank if you go after them. Don't let society's stigma against stuffed characters hold you back my friends. Take a ride on the plush side...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Trouble With Tribbles"

2011-05-09T09:04:00.003-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Trouble With Tribbles". You might notice the lack of intro on this one; That's because the broadcast I taped it from actually featured the intro from a different episode for some reason. Even without the intro though, this is still one of my favorite batch of extras. David Gerrold (the episode's writer and all-around swell guy) features prominently, dishing out some of his own personal Trek history...

Mego Spotlight- Mr. Spock (12.5" 'The Motion Picture' Figure)

2011-05-05T09:21:00.005-04:00

Figure Name: Mr. Spock
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.

Mr. Spock was produced as part of Mego's 12.5" Star Trek: The Motion Picture line... way back around 1979!

The Rundown: You know, for uniforms that get routinely blasted by the fan community, there sure are a lot of figures based on the crew's look from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". They were released in 2 different scales by Mego, Playmates chose them for their "Classic Movie Series" over the more popular TWOK-style costumes, and even Diamond Select managed to put out a couple of releases featuring these uniforms. Not that I'm complaining; I personally LOVE the TMP uniforms. Today, we're taking a look at the one of the largest representations of that style- Mego's 12.5" Mr. Spock!

In case you're new to the blog, or if you just don't remember my previous spotlights on this line, I should probably tell you that I've always been a fan of this line. For Mego to produce figures of this quality over 30 years ago with a low retail price is pretty amazing.

Consider today's 1/6th scale market. Companies like Hot Toys and Sideshow produce fine replicas- but the cost usually reflects that. Most 12" figures from those companies will run you anywhere from $100-$200 routinely. Then there's the other side of the spectrum- where companies like Hasbro will put out very modestly priced 12" figures based on their properties, but with a quality to match the economic price. Mego managed to put out something that balanced the 2 quite well, producing a low-priced high quality figure, with a uniform that is STILL good even by today's high standards.

Just take a look at that uniform! All of the lines are actually stitched in, and each of the little accouterments (like the insignia and belt piece) are actually separately manufactured pieces that have been attached to the suit. Today's mass-market 1/6th scale figures would have treated these as decals in all likelihood. Not so with good ol' Mego! For a company that usually did things on the cheap, these uniforms are quite a treat.

Mego never seemed to have a major problem with capturing likenesses, even though they worked in the sometimes tricky medium of roto-cast plastic. The 12.5" Spock is no exception, with a head that nicely represents a slightly aging Leonard Nimoy. Sure, the eyes are maybe just a smidge off, but keep in mind that this sculpt is over 30 years old now!

Now as much as I like these guys, I'd be lying if I said they were completely free of issues. First, there's the hands. Mego used their standard 12.5" body for these, so Spock's hands weren't specifically made for gripping his phaser. The end result makes it seem as if he's pinching it. It's not a huge deal though, since the crew didn't go around blasting stuff in TMP anyways...

Then there's the boots. Yeah, I know. Spock looks like he's wearing little booties. Given the style of the TMP uniforms, there wasn't a lot Mego could do about this. If you're going to collect this line, the boots are just one of those things that you'll have to chalk up to being a product if it's time.

The next couple of issues have nothing to do with how Mego manufactured these back in 1979, but instead deal with how the figures hold up over time. If you do hunt these down, watch out for gray heads! The material Mego used to produce the heads for these guys has a habit of turning gray over the years. If you're feeling industrious, you can try this process detailed over at the Mego Museum to get the heads back to their original color. The other thing to watch out for is the knees, which can crack over time. Since the uniforms cover the knees, it's a good idea to inspect these in person before making a purchase if possible.

Accessories: I'm not counting the uniform as an accessory since he'd be nekkid without it, so Spock includes only 1 accessory- his hand phaser. It's nicely sculpted, with a decal on top representing the control panel.

Here's his little box blurb if you'd like to see it... which you do-

See, aren't you glad I included that? How else would you know that Spock was half vulcan.

So there ya go! Did I do a good job of convincing you that the Mego 12.5" line ROCKS, or did I scare you off with a couple of minor quibbles? I hope it's the former, as these figures really do make awesome display pieces. Prices can range pretty drastically on these, but if you're a smart shopper you should be able to get nice individual examples for around $30-$50. If that price seems acceptable, I'd suggest starting with maybe a Kirk and Spock here. That way, if you completely disagree with me and hate the line, you'll at least have a serviceable display of the 2 main dudes! But just a word of advice- I'm never wrong, so you will like them.

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Crucible: McCoy Provenance Of Shadows" By David R. George III

2011-05-03T09:29:00.000-04:00

Remember awhile back when I said I needed to get caught up on my book reviews? Well, I apparently stink at keeping to my plans. I still have a couple that I have finished reading but haven't posted reviews for yet. But they are just going to have to wait a bit longer, because I just finished a book that I want to talk about IMMEDIATELY-

The "Star Trek- Crucible" trilogy of novels was released back in 2006 to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. Each of the books focuses on one of the TOS "holy trinity" members- Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The novels chronicle their individual lives, following their histories with a basis around an event that all three played a major part in. What event you ask? Well, it's only one of the most important happenings in all of Trek-dom: The trip through time from "The City On The Edge Of Forever".

McCoy's novel looks at his life in a very interesting way; He actually has 2 different lifetimes. First, there's the McCoy we know and love. The one who came back through time with Kirk & Spock after Edith Keeler died. The one who almost died from xenopolycythemia. The one who made a bearded return to the Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". The one who carried Spock's katra. The one who was accused of assassinating Chancellor Gorkon. The one who made a tour of the Enterprise D with Lt. Commander Data...

All these events (and MANY more) are explored in the portions of the book focusing on McCoy's life in the "fixed" timeline. Though it's mostly stuff we've all seen hundreds of times while watching reruns of the old shows and movies, author David R. George III does an INCREDIBLE job of making them seem fresh and new, like we are seeing them all for the very first time. He writes the scenes so well and with such clarity and insight that I found myself going back to re-watch some of the episodes that he references here. Since he is able to describe in words what the characters might be thinking or doing internally, I wanted to see the shows again with his perspective applied... and boy does it work! I don't think I'll ever watch some of these shows again without thinking about this book. That's the mark of a good author- One that makes you question what you thought you knew already.

Of course, events in the book pertaining to this McCoy's life aren't simply relegated to things we've already seen. George also interweaves a complex story into the existing events, one that deals with McCoy's personal struggles. The end of the original 5 year mission and where it leaves him, his inability to commit to relationships, and a series of recurring nightmares about death are just a few of the trials that we watch McCoy go through... and they are every bit as interesting as having the crew face a ship full of Romulans. I say that because the book lacks the usual "bad guy" or predicament that the crew must escape from... and you don't even miss it. It doesn't need one. It's that damn good.

All that being said- The most interesting aspect of the book for me wasn't McCoy's life in the fixed timeline; It was the life of the "other" McCoy that grabbed me by the face and wouldn't let me put this book down. Who is the "other" McCoy? Well, remember when McCoy first made that jump through the Guardian and the whole universe changed? That's the other McCoy. The McCoy that saved Edith Keeler, inadvertently allowing the Nazis to conquer the world and erasing the universe from which he came. McCoy actually lived the rest of his life in that newly created parallel timeline.

It's that McCoy's life that is truly a marvel to behold. You are there with him as he saves Edith and changes everything. You witness his despair in trying to reach his friends, and his horror at the realization that he has caused a change that will have ramifications across the world. You are also there as he finally resigns himself to the life he is stuck in... and that's when things get really interesting. Though you know things can't possibly end well for this McCoy, the author does such an amazing job of making you care for him that you begin to find yourself hoping against all hope that he will somehow fix things...

I'm not afraid to admit that I got a little misty-eyed watching this McCoy's life unfold... and that's why I just had to tackle this one now. I've never had this kind of an emotional experience with a Star Trek novel before. This book isn't just a great Trek novel; It's a great novel period.

I give this one my highest recommendation. It's so good that I'm even trying to get my wife to read it, and she doesn't even like Star Trek that much. If the other 2 novels in the trilogy are half as good as this McCoy one, then I may have just found one of my new favorite Trek authors...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Enterprise Incident"

2011-04-28T10:59:00.003-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Enterprise Incident". Great stuff from Jack Donner in this one...

AA/ DST Spotlight- "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" Communicator

2011-04-27T14:12:00.005-04:00

Item Name: "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" Communicator
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys

DST released the TWOK communicator in their standard "universally branded" packaging in 2011.

The Rundown: Originally shown way back in 2009, the DST "Wrath Of Khan" communicator replica has finally arrived! DST have released a pretty solid array of prop replicas so far... How does their TWOK communicator stack up? Let's check it out!

Before we get down to it, I should probably state that I've never been a huge fan of the TWOK-style communicator. For a film that was set and produced years after the original series, it seemed that the props should have taken a step forward design-wise. That's what made the look of this prop seem so out of place to me. It really felt like a downgrade of the TOS communicators; the TWOK comms were larger, bulkier, and less attractive. Maybe that's all just me though.

Love or hate the design, DST did an AMAZING job capturing it here. I'm not an expert on props, but from what I can tell it seems like all the small details from the screen version are included, right down to the notation on the interior of the flip cover. Not only that, but DST actually made the design functional- incorporating all the activations for the electronics into the existing switches. The lower dial turns the communicator on and off, while the upper switches it into its different modes (more on that later).

Located on the back of the communicator is a small button and the battery housing (it runs on three "AAA" batteries). Yeah, I know. That's a big obtrusive trademark slapped on there. Do I wish it wasn't there? Sure. But I understand that it had to be done, and I'd rather it be on the back of the communicator than stuck on the front somewhere. Enough about that though- I wanna press that button!

The button on the back activates the comm's sound and light features. Again, I'm no prop expert, but I seem to remember the actual prop also had a small, slightly off-center circular button on the back. If I'm not crazy and there actually was one back there, then kudos to DST for including it here! If it didn't, then I suck at remembering stuff.

Depending on which mode you are in, the button on the back will activate different functions of the communicator. If the upper lever is in position 1, you are in "regular function mode". Press the button on the back, and the communicator will play one of the many phrases stored inside it. If you want to hear it play all the voice clips in a row, just hold the button down for three seconds and it will automatically cycle through them.

Position 2 puts the communicator into "screaming Kirk mode". In this mode, a press of the button will activate the "Khaaaannnn" clip. Hold it down for three seconds, and and the scream will keep repeating over and over with a brief 1 second pause in between each one.

The third position activates the "hail-back function". In this mode, the back button has no effect; The function starts automatically when the door is closed. The communicator will chirp until it is opened. Once opened, the communicator will play it's first "hail-back" phrase. Close it back up after that, and it will chirp once again. Open it up again and it will activate the second "hail-back" phrase.

So that takes care of the sounds... Now what about the lights? Glad you asked. The communicator is equipped with three different lighted areas. There's a small red light located on the instrumentation panel, and a lighted area on the top and bottom of the comm. The lights on either end of the communicator will pulse to the sound of each sound clip, with the bottom light illuminating for Kirk lines and the top blinking for everybody else.

Phew... Did you get all that? If not, here's a video showing off what this puppy can do:

Pretty impressive, eh? Overall, it's a very solid replica... but I do have a small complaint about the lights. If I recall correctly, the lights on the TWOK communicators were red, not blue like this DST version. Here's a pic from the film to show what I mean-

See the lights at the base? Red. Again, I am not a prop expert, so I guess it's possible that the communicator also had blue lights, but it seems like red is the more definitive color so I am a little baffled why they went with blue. Are any prop experts out there reading this that would like to chime in on this one? I'd love to know the reasoning behind this color choice!

Even with the color issue, I'm still pretty happy with this toy... and that's saying a lot since I was never a fan of the design to begin with. DST has proven time and again that they can produce high quality prop replicas at an affordable price, and the TWOK communicator is no exception. The translation of the design is top-notch, and the electronic features ROCK. A worthy addition to your staple of Trek Tek goodies!

While I managed to buy this at my local comic shop just this morning, most sites still have them listed as preorders. My favorite online Trek retailer New Force Comics has it available HERE for the low price of $32.99! At that price, you might as well buy 2, hire a friend, and form your own little landing party....

Hey.... I'm 2 Years Old!

2011-04-26T10:47:00.002-04:00

That's right peeps... 2 years ago today (well, it was actually yesterday), I made my first post here at "A Piece Of The Action"! Though I haven't kept up the pace I started at the beginning, I still thoroughly enjoy sharing stuff with all you folks out there. I hope you guys have as much fun reading the entries as I do writing them... And stay tuned, because we just entered the terrible twos! Tantrums await!

Playmates Spotlight- Lieutenant (Commander?) Uhura ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

2011-04-19T09:38:00.004-04:00

Figure Name: Lieutenant Uhura
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Uhura was released carded as part of Playmates' Classic Star Trek Movie Series.

The Rundown: Now here's a figure that really surprised me when it was released. Uhura in her TMP uniform!? I never would have thought that Playmates would have done this uniform before releasing a TWOK-style Uhura. But they did, and I of course bought it. Should you? Read on...

The figure is constructed in the same basic manner as all the Playmates releases. Uhura features a good range of articulation, allowing you to pose her in a ton of action poses like "welcoming the Admiral aboard!" or "opening haling frequencies!". One small gripe-

Uhura has some ITTY BITTY hands! Since she doesn't come with a lot of large accessories, this isn't too big of an issue... but there's now way she's holding that tricorder anytime soon.

Since the crew was a smidgen older by the time the cameras rolled on TMP, Playmates had to do a few new head sculpts for these releases. I think they did a fairly nice job of capturing Nichelle's likeness here... especially her new hairdo! I'm actually surprised that this head was only used once...

...since all it takes is a parts swap and some paint to make a perfectly fine TWOK Uhura! Sigh. I wish Playmates had just had one more year of releases. I have no doubt we would have seen all the classic crew in these uniforms given time. But I digress.

Uhura's uniform is very nicely detailed, with an impressive display of the lines and accoutrements unique to the "Motion Picture" costumes. There is one glaring error though. Can you spot it? Here's a hint-

See anything different there? Sure ya do-

Uhura carried the rank of Lieutenant Commander in TMP, and thus has one solid and one broken rank braid on her sleeve. The figure only features one rank braid, making her a Lieutenant. Even stranger, the package lists the figure as a Lieutenant! So in some ways, the whole thing is correct unto itself... but inaccurate when it comes to representing Uhura's look and rank from the film. Playmates made the same sort of error on their TMP Sulu, giving him Commander rank braids instead of the correct Lieutenant Commander braids. These errors got me thinking...

Perhaps the Sulu and Uhura TMP figures actually started out as bodies for Decker and Ilia? How cool would that have been!?! I guess we'll never know for sure, but it does at least make customizing a bit easier.

Accessories: Uhura includes a tricorder, wrist communicator, PADD and a piece of V'Ger! Collect all 5 TMP style figures and build your own miniature V'Ger! Here's a shot of it completed:

Pretty nifty... but incredibly small.

And here's her box bio if you'd like to read more. It is a bit on the inaccurate side though, since Uhura was already part of the crew under Decker's command BEFORE Kirk returned to the Enterprise.

Rank issues aside, Uhura is still a really cool figure. If you're a sucker for the crews' look from the first film like me, Uhura (and the rest of the figures from the set) may be right up your alley. Just like most of the other Playmates 4.5" figures, you can get this one fairly cheap nowadays, so I really can't think of a reason not to buy it. What else are you going to spend your money on? Candy? Candy rots your teeth. 4 out of 5 dentists agree that Uhura does not rot your teeth. So go buy her. Your teeth will thank you.

Mego/ DST Combo Spotlight- Captain Kirk

2011-04-11T10:00:00.002-04:00

Figure Name: Captain Kirk
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp. (Original), Diamond Select & EMCE Toys (Reissue)

Kirk was released as part of Mego's initial wave of Star Trek 8" figures.

The Rundown: I've covered a lot of Kirk figures here in the past 2 years. Playmates, Art Asylum, Diamond Select, Ertl, Palisades, and even Galoob (yuck)... If you're doing a line based on Classic Star Trek, the one character that absolutely MUST be made is Kirk. He is the mainstay essential to a complete collection (although I personally believe Spock and McCoy are just as necessary). Well, today we take a look at the grand-daddy of Kirk figures: The Mego 8" Captain Kirk figure!

It's tough for me to imagine what it was like for a kid watching Star Trek during its original run. As a child, most of the shows I loved had toylines tied to their existence. G.I.Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, Masters Of The Universe... all of my favorite movies and television programs had a large assortment of toys with which I could create my own adventures. Not so with the original Trek. True action figures of Kirk & crew didn't materialize until the mid-70's, with Mego stepping up to the plate and producing an entire range of toys based on the syndicated show (and also seemingly the animated series). Of course, Kirk was an obvious choice for the initial series of 8" action figures...

Unless you're a Morg living on the surface of Sigma Draconis VI for the past 35 years, you are probably familiar with the style of Mego figures. Mego used the buck system before there was such a thing as the buck system- Essentially using a standard body type and outfitting it in different ways for different characters. The body is held together with rubber bands, allowing for a large range of movement.

The only truly unique aspect of the figure itself is the head... but what a head it is! I love this sculpt! It's a great blend between actual Shatner and the animated version of Kirk. The sculptor really nailed Kirk's bravado here with the slight smirk on the face. Hide your Barbies, because this Kirk is just oozing with machismo...

For the time and the price point, the outfit is very nicely handled. Kirk has the correct number of rank braids on his sleeves, and the black collar is actually a separate section of cloth instead of being just colored that way. The only real issue I have is with the delta shield. Much like the Mego superheroes, the symbol is just a small sticker stuck to the chest. I understand that there were certain limitations back then though, so this can be chalked up to a product showing its age.

So overall, pretty awesome Kirk figure... but something puts this one slightly ahead of the pack. A feature missing from most other Kirk figures. A characteristic synonymous with Kirk...

That's right baby. This Kirk can go shirtless. Bask in the manliness.

Oh crap... I was so focused in getting Kirk's shirt off that I almost forgot this was a combo spotlight! If for some reason you don't want to track down an original Mego, DST and EMCE toys are your huckleberries! For the low suggested retail price of $17.95, you can get yourself a brand spankin' new Mego-style Kirk figure! He's pretty close to the original, with just a couple of minor differences-

Most notably, the shirt on the reissue version of Kirk is much brighter than his original. The delta shield is the same separate sticker style as the original (mine has apparently just lost its luster over time...). While a loose original Mego Kirk will run you about the same price as the reissue, you may want to snag one of these as well. With both Mego-style Sulu and Chekov only being available as reissues, you'll need this Kirk to have all the uniforms in the same matching shade of yellow.

Accessories: Both the original version and the reissue include a phaser and communicator, plus a belt to holster them on. I'm a sucker for weapons' holsters on figures, so I've always been a fan of the Mego "landing party" belt.

If you don't own a Captain Kirk Mego, shame on you. Even if you aren't a fan of the Mego style, every Trek toy fan should have one of these in their collection for sheer historical significance alone. Well, that and he is just plain awesome. You can find nice loose examples fairly cheap (owing to the fact that the figure was produced in pretty large numbers back then). Watch out for that symbol though! Or if the shirt is missing the delta, just chuck it and let Kirk's pecs out to play. You won't regret it... and neither will your female figure collection.

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Elaan Of Troyius"

2011-04-10T14:21:00.001-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Elaan Of Troyius". If you've never heard of the lyrics Gene wrote for the theme music, this one may be for you...

Apieceoftheaction.net Beams Up To StarTrek.com!

2011-04-07T15:59:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks back, the staff of StarTrek.com contacted me about joining their guest blogging team. They wanted me to do much the same thing that I do here: Review classic Star Trek merchandise that fans might remember from their childhood, or that perhaps they'd never even seen before. I could cover things that I already posted on my site, or stuff that I hadn't covered yet- as long as the entries stick to the more vintage or rare items. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I hastily agreed and sent off a few possible items for my first posting. The staff and I agreed that an update on my post focusing on the unproduced Palisades Captain Kirk & Gene Roddenberry action figure set would make an interesting introductory article...

The post just went up this morning, so please head over and check it out HERE. For old readers of my page, the info may be something you've seen before, but there a few new tidbits included for ya. If you're fairly new to my page, I hope you get a kick out of seeing more about this lost gem! Easily, one of my favorite pieces in my collection...

Trading Card Spotlight- Star Trek The Motion Picture (Topps)

2011-04-05T17:23:00.004-04:00

Item Name: Star Trek The Motion Picture Trading Cards
Manufacturer: Topps

The Rundown: If you were a big name action-adventure/ sci-fi film in the late 70's or early 80's, odds are that Topps made a trading card set based on ya. The company tackled everything from "Harry and the Hendersons" to "Rocky II"... so of course they once had their hand in producing trading cards based on Star Trek. Topps released 2 sets based on the Star Trek brand: a 1976 set focusing on the original series, and a set in 1979 tied into the motion picture. In Tarrantino fashion, I'm going to review them out of order and start with the latter set today...

With TMP expected to bring in audiences comparable to Star Wars, it's not surprising that Topps produced a set based on the film. What is surprising though is the quality of this product! The set consists of 88 cards and 22 stickers. The cards feature an incredible selection of imagery on their fronts. From the standard publicity shots seen above...

...to awesome set pictures like this one. Since TMP is probably the biggest visual feast of all the classic Trek films, Topps had a lot to play with here. What makes the set great is that instead of just plastering images directly from the film on the cards, Topps mined a bunch of imagery from the actual production as well, leading to some fantastic unintentional "making of" shots. For example:

Here's a shot from the film showing the alien probe invading the bridge. Now let's take a look at the trading card from the same scene-

Same deal here, only now we can see the actual light used on set to simulate the brightness of the probe! Seeing this production stuff has always been a real treat for me, so finding these gems on the cards was the cat's pajamas. My fav of the bunch though has got to be this one:

In this shot from the making of the doomed transporter sequence, you can actually see the actors filming their parts (which were later obscured by the effects). How awesome is that? If you said "pretty darned awesome", give yourself one gold star.

The set also includes some cards of things either missing from or barely glimpsed in the film. A sizable number of the cards are devoted to the aliens designed for the film, while others...

...provide detailed views of the ship models used for filming. The whole set is like a miniaturized production gallery! Had I owned these as a kid, the imagery on the fronts alone would have kept them miles away from my bike spokes.

On the back of each card in the set, you get one of two things. Most of the cards in the set feature puzzle pieces to complete large pictures from the film, with completed versions shown on some to give you an idea of what you're supposed to be making.

A lesser portion of the backs actually feature a writeup of some sort. Some have bios on the folks involved in making the film, some tell a bit of the story, and a couple just relay quotes from the actors. I wish there were a bit more of these in the set instead of so many puzzle parts, but I understand that the puzzles were standard fare back then.

Before I move on to the stickers, I should probably mention the promotional version of the card set. As you can see by the different numbers printed on the cards above, there are actually 2 versions of this set out there. Well, I take that back- there are actually a total of 5 versions that I know of. There's the standard 88 card set, plus 4 sets shortened to 33 cards used as a tie-n with a bunch of bread companies.

With each specially marked loaf of Colonial, Kilpatrick, Manor, or Rainbo bread, one would receive a Topps TMP trading card. The bread sets consist of 33 cards culled from the original 88, with numbering changed to reflect their shortened tally. The backs were also altered, eliminating the puzzle pieces and adding each company's respective logo. Got all that? I hope so, because it confused me just typing it out.

Back to the regular set... Each pack of cards included 1 sticker, with 22 individual stickers compromising the full set. The imagery used here is mostly the same used on the cards... only now it's stickier.

Just like the cards, the stickers include some really cool production imagery. One of my favs of the set is the Saurian sticker pictured above. Creepy!

As a huge fan of the visuals seen in TMP, I absolutely love this set. There's just SO much cool imagery here that I can't say enough good things about it. Some sellers try and get top dollar for a complete set with stickers, but if you are patient, you can sometimes get it in the $20 range. At that price, I'd definitely recommend a pickup. Just watch out for those bread sets! You'll be missing out on 55 cards worth of awesomeness if you blindly acquire one of those...

AA/ DST Spotlight- Original Series Communicator

2011-04-01T11:49:00.002-04:00

Item Name: Original Series Communicator
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys

Diamond Select first released this communicator around 2007 in the black style box seen above...

...followed by a pairing with the TOS phaser (pictured is the Entertainment Earth version)...

...and lastly, in the blue "universal" branding single box (available through Toys R Us). *Phew*

The Rundown: If there's one thing that Diamond Select has done better than just about any other Star Trek licensee, it's offering really nice prop replicas at affordable prices. Sure, their stuff might not be as screen accurate as a Master Replicas piece, but you absolutely can't beat what you get for the price. We've previously looked at the various DST Tricorders (which you can find HERE), and one day I'll get around to highlighting the plethora of Phaser releases... but today we are gonna get chatty with the TOS Communicator replica!

Now I'm no prop expert, but I think DST did a heckuva job replicating the screen used prop here. The size and shape seems just right, and the internal area looks like it jumped right off the screen. Often times, a toy (and yes, this is technically still a toy) will have to compromise it's accuracy in favor of electronics. Not so with the DST Communicator. Everything works exactly as it should, with no oversized buttons or enlarged speakers getting in the way.

Speaking of the electronics- there's no shortage of bells and whistles here! Let's start with moire. A lot of previous communicators settled for a lenticular sticker to reproduce the spinning moire effect. Stickers suck. With the DST Communicator, flipping open the grill activates an actual electronic "spinning" effect. It's a bit on the noisy side, but man does it look sweet...

Now that we have her open, we can access the rest of the effects. The interior area features 3 lights (yellow, blue, & red) and a small silver area which houses 2 buttons and small speaker. The lights activate when the communicator flips open, but most of the sound effects are initiated by the use of the 2 buttons. The button on your right (closest to the wall of the communicator) allows you to cycle through the different voice clips stored in the device, while the button on your left activates the "red alert callback" feature. Press it in for a few seconds, close the lid, and your communicator will actually call you... You don't even need friends with this thing.

Check out this quick video for a rundown on the electronics. Oh... and I used the "test" feature on the voice clips so that I wouldn't have to keep pressing the button over and over. Just in case you were curious. Which you probably weren't.

Pretty slick, huh? For those of you that have the standard DST Communicator in your collections, you may have noticed that there were actually 9 phrases featured in that video instead of the 8 featured in a standard version. That's because I used the Entertainment Earth exclusive version for this demo. The EE version includes the extra Spock phrase "Your signal is very weak, can you turn up your gain?". But that's not the only difference in that release...

DST used three distinctly different grills (or antennae if you prefer) across their Communicator releases. While the standard and EE versions only differ in color, the TRU version looks to be an entirely different mold. Let's check 'em out!

Up there is your 'standard' release- metal grill with a nice brass paint job. I think this is my fav of the grills.

The Entertainment Earth exclusive features a golden paint job over a metal grill. While I prefer the bronze of the standard, I have no problems with this one either. I just imagine this one as a brand new, "polished" Communicator... How they might look before Kirk breaks 'em in.

Lastly, we have the newer Toys R Us release. Eh. I'm not a fan of this one. I guess for cost reasons, they switched to a gold plastic for this version... and boy does it show. The mold is thicker, with larger rings connecting it to the Communicator's body. The holes in the grill are also REALLY small, making the lid seem more solid than it should. Overall, a definite step down in quality.

Still, no matter which version you opt for, there's no denying that this is one fine piece of equipment. The sound effects are great, the callback feature is really fun, and the overall design is sharp. If you can, try and grab one of the earlier 2 releases... but if cost is an issue, go ahead and snag the Toys R Us version. Most TRU stores I've seen have it on clearance at a measly $18, which makes the cheaper grill a little easier to accept. Now I just gotta find some nice velcro to attach this thing to my pants with...

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Inception" By S.D. Perry & Britta Dennison

2011-03-25T08:37:00.003-04:00

Ever wondered what the relationship between a young James T. Kirk and Carol Marcus was like? Or perhaps you've pondered what Spock saw in Leila Kalomi before their reunion in "This Side Of Paradise"? Well, wonder no more... (FAIR WARNING- Their are some slight spoilers in this review!)

The novel "Star Trek- Inception" attempts to tell the backstory of these 2 doomed romances, filling in an unexplored gap in the characters' lives. The story of their relationships is set against the backdrop of the Inception program (a precursor to the Genesis experiment), to which both Carol Marcus and Leila Kalomi are contributing. A crazed space environmentalist named Thaddeus Kent wants to shut Inception down by any means necessary, and it will take the combined efforts of Kirk and Spock to make sure that Marcus and Kalomi's work doesn't turn into a galactic disaster.

I was a bit trepidacious about this one when I first picked it up. Prequel stories are often very hard to pull off (as evidenced by Star Wars Episodes 1-3), since the reader knows how the story truly ends before they even turn the first page. Still, I thought it would be nice to see the author's interpretation of exactly how these relationships formed (and ended). I'd always wondered how Kirk made the decision to walk out on a pregnant Carol Marcus, or how the emotionless Mr. Spock had formed such a bond with Leila Kalomi. So I dug into it. The results were quite a mixed bag...

What the book gets right is the personification of the characters. Kirk and Spock are just as they should be, with Spock's unfamiliarity with emotion and Kirk's confident nature being showcased as the core of their characters. What's truly impressive though is the way the authors handle Marcus and Kalomi. While existing canon doesn't provide a whole lot on these two, the authors manage to capture their personalities quite well, even intertwining their histories in a completely believable manner. The authors also manage to get all 4 main players working together while not actually having Kirk and Spock cross paths, thereby avoiding any possible hiccups in the characters' histories.

Unfortunately, there is a lot that didn't work for me as well. First, there's the main villain of the piece: Thaddeus Kent. A great deal of the book is spent exploring his character and motivations. So much so in fact, that I feel the main characters get slighted in favor of learning more about why Kent does what he does. While I understand the need for a reader to identify with what motivates a villain, I felt that the exploration of his character was needlessly long, especially when you consider that the book is trying to cover two relationships in fairly short story. That's where my other main problem comes in: There isn't enough of either the Kirk/ Carol or Spock/ Leila relationships to fulfill any preconceived questions that the reader might have. I don't think I'm alone in putting the question of how Kirk left a pregnant Marcus as my main question in his and Carol's relationship. The entire book teases us with Carol's inability to reveal the pregnancy to Jim, awaiting the moment when all will be revealed and Kirk will make the decision to leave. Sadly, it never happens. The book ties up the Kent struggle in fairly short order, but the pregnancy thread is just left dangling out there. Even worse than that in my eyes is the way the Leila/ Spock relationship is handled. While one could see how Leila's feelings in "This side Of Paradise" could have been inspired by the events shown here, I don't see anything on Spock's side that would have caused the emotional reaction shown in that episode. I feel like the authors could have played a bit more towards Spock's inability to hide his emotions at this earlier stage in his life, showing a connection with Leila that would cause the stirring of emotions we witness in TSOP. It just feels like a lost opportunity all around.

While I do have some gripes with this one, it was still fun to see these relationships in the limelight. I can't recommend this one as a "must-buy", but since the book is fairly short (only around 300 pages with a pretty large type-font used), it might make a relaxing read on a rainy afternoon. If you go into this knowing that your questions on their relationships will largely go unanswered, you should be able to just check your inquisitive mind at the door and enjoy the ride...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Who Mourns For Adonais?"

2011-03-23T05:04:00.002-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Who Mourns For Adonais?". Awesome stuff from Michael Forest in this one...

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Action Fleet Mobile

2011-03-21T09:54:00.003-04:00

Item Name: Star Trek Action Fleet Mobile
Manufacturer: Mars Candy Corporation

The Rundown: After the huge success of Star Wars back in 1977, many companies were banking on "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" to be the next big licensing juggernaut. The merchandising range of TMP far outranks that of any of the following "classic" Trek films, despite the fact that it is probably the most cerebral of the bunch. One of the larger companies to sign on as a promotional partner was the Mars Candy Corporation, which produced the piece we are looking at today- The Star Trek Action Fleet Mobile! Let's jump right in... oh wait... apparently we are supposed to read this first:

Okay. Glad we looked at that first. I would have tried to assemble part 2 before part 1 had I not checked that first. Boy, would my face have been red. Oh... and apparently this item allows one to "Have Fun And Learn About Outer Space". The fun part I get... but I'm still scratching my head as to what I learned about outer space. Other than the fact that there are giant starships flying around up there.

Aside from those instructions, this sheet also details how one would have received this piece of perforated paper perfection. If you had 5 candy bars and $1.50 lying around, you were in business. 5 candy bars!?! Remember- that was back in 1979... No wonder our kids are in such rough shape nowadays. Oh, and what the heck is a "Summit" candy bar? Sounds pretty freaking boring. I guess "Board Meeting", "Business Retreat", and "Company Outing" were alternative candy bar names that just didn't make the cut.

Inside your mailer envelope, you'll find this nice gatefold poster detailing some of the ships and faces from TMP. The first section features the crew of the Enterprise-

The rest of the poster focuses on each of the vehicles included as part of the mobile. There are 5 vehicles included, and a crossbar section to display the entire thing on. Each vehicle is constructed by popping their parts out of a construction sheet (or sheets in some cases) and then assembling them according to the instructions.Let's start small and work our way up...

First up is the diminutive Travel Pod, which is completely contained in one construction sheet:

Since it's all contained in one piece, the Travel Pod is the easiest of the bunch to assemble. I wish the image of the cockpit area featured Scotty and Kirk instead of a single pilot, but the ship itself is neatly done and is a fair approximation of the screen-used miniature (especially when you consider this is just folded up paper).

Next up is the Work Bee, which is also a "one-sheeter"...

This one was a breeze to assemble, with only 2 parts in all. It may seem an odd choice for the mobile, since it has so little screen time, but I can't fault Mars for including something extra. It's grossly out of scale with the Enterprise, but it looks nifty so I am cool with it.

Things start to get a little more complicated with the Vulcan Shuttle, which has parts that span two sheets instead of just one:

Now we're getting down to business! As cool as the 2 smaller vehicles turned out, I was really impressed by how the mobile's designers managed to pull off the Vulcan shuttle. Though it seems like a relatively simple ship design, reproducing it as a paper good was probably a fairly daunting task. The end result is very nice, with this ship being my favorite of the bunch.

With parts that cover 3 sheets, the assembly process gets a lot trickier with the Klingon Cruiser:

While I understand the limitations of what I'm working with, I was a bit disappointed in this one. I guess it's almost impossible to capture the spherical look of the bridge area as a paper construct. But after the awesomeness of the Vulcan Shuttle, the Klingon Cruiser was a slight letdown.

The last of the ships is (of course) the Enterprise, which also uses 3 sheets to house all of it's parts:

By the time I finished this one, I felt like an origami Jedi. Like I could make a scaled model of the Taj Mahal using 2 Kleenex and a sheet of construction paper. It's the little victories in life that are worth celebrating.

Even with a couple of minor nitpicks, I think they did a fantastic job on this one. sure, there's a hole through the saucer section and the ship is a bit wobbly, but MAN... that's the Enterprise... MADE OUT OF PAPER! Awesome sauce.

Sadly, though my hands were sweaty and my fingers numb, I wasn't quite finished. The last bit of work was the crossbar section you see above. This one is easily slapped together though, so I managed to push on through. Included with the pack is a length of string that you thread through the assembly and into your completed ships, allowing them to dangle in orbit. I guess that's the part where you learn about space. You'll notice I don't have an a picture of the assembled mobile. Well, that's because I didn't want to try and get the thing home like that... though in hindsight, dangling the whole rig from my rear-view mirror would have ruled.

So there ya go- A little slice of promotional history known as the Star Trek Action Fleet Mobile. You can usually snag these unassembled for between 10 to 15 bucks. At that price, it makes a fun rainy day project, especially for the younger Trekkies in your life. Though I wouldn't suggest feeding them 5 candy bars beforehand...

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Apple"

2011-03-16T10:35:00.003-04:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Apple". There's an interesting bit with Walter Koenig in this one...

Playmates Spotlight- Admiral Kirk

2011-03-11T11:41:00.006-05:00

Figure Name: Admiral Kirk
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Playmates released this Admiral Kirk as part of their "classic Star Trek" assortment, way back in 1995.

The Rundown: I last tackled a standard Playmates 4.5" figure in November of 2010. Wow. I'm really slipping. I hope I remember how to do this...

Released as part of the Playmates "Classic Star Trek" figure assortment, this Kirk figure recreates one of his looks from Star Trek The Motion Picture. Kirk has a few different attires to choose from in the film, but this Admiral uniform was probably the wisest choice for Playmates. Since both the Spock and McCoy figures from this wave sport the standard TMP gray uniform, releasing Kirk in the two-toned uniform of an Admiral helped differentiate him a bit more on the shelves. Plus that uniform is freaking great.

Playmates did a bang-up job recreating the look of the costume on the figure. The uniform detailing is pretty accurate, from the rank braids on the sleeves to the stylish TMP belts. BUT.... there is one glaring mistake. Can you spot it? Here's a hint-

Now do you see it? Kirk's collar was actually white in the film, but for some reason Playmates left it unpainted on the figure, leaving it the same gray color as the rest of the uniform. Weird, huh? Even though it's inaccurate, I kinda like the contrast in colors and I almost wish it looked like that in the movie.

The head sculpt here is the same one used on all of the older Kirks released by Playmates. I think it works far better here than on the "Generations" versions though. It's an odd fit for the older, ummm "thicker" Kirk... but it's perfect for a TMP era version. The worry lines on the forehead may be a bit strong, but overall it's a very strong likeness.

Kirk features the same basic articulation points used on most Playmates figures at the time, with the exception of the waist swivel. Since the uniform comes down over the waist, the joint was scrapped in favor of accurate sculpting. The hips are a bit constrained as well due to the uniform, but since there's nothing to sit these figures down in anyway, it's not really a big deal.

Accessories: Kirk includes a wrist communicator, phaser, and a PADD. They are all cast in red plastic... I understand that at the time Playmates wanted the accessories to *pop*, so they casted them all in different colors... but I REALLY wish they'd have just done these all in gray. Even though they'd have lacked painted details, they would have looked MUCH more screen accurate that way.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the V'Ger piece! Collect all the TMP style figures, and you can build your own V'Ger (albeit a miniaturized version). If I'm not mistaken, this series is one of the very first example of the build-a-figure concept that is so prevalent in toys nowadays. Playmates Star Trek.... quite the innovative toyline!

Other than the inaccurate collar, I really have no complaints with this guy. If you're starting up a classic Playmates collection, this Kirk (along with the other TMP style figures from the wave) are definitely worth going after. You can find them all relatively cheap nowadays (like most Playmates Trek stuff), so head on over to eBay and snag a set! They'll add some nice diversity to your Playmates Classic Trek display!

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- 1968 Aladdin Lunchbox

2011-03-08T08:46:00.002-05:00

Item Name: Star Trek Lunchbox
Manufacturer: Aladdin Industries

The Rundown: Back when I was in elementary school, status symbols weren't things like cars or clothes... it was your lunchbox. Lunchboxes said a lot about what kind of kid you were. Since they all cost about the same amount of money regardless of what was plastered on the box, the choice of which one you carried was based almost completely around your personal bias. If you had a He-Man, G.I.Joe, or MASK box, you were (as Charlie Sheen would say) "winning". Whereas if your mom plopped your PB&J sammich into, say, a Go-Bots box? Well, it was a sure bet you weren't going to be eating at the cool kids table.

So when did this long-lasting affection for stylized lunch housings begin? Glad you asked. Back in the 1950's, the Aladdin Corporation came up with the ingenious idea of licensing popular characters and applying their images onto lunchboxes. Aladdin's first product, the Hopalong Cassidy box- was met with HUGE success, sending their lunchbox sales from 50,000 to 600,000 units in a year! More licensed product quickly followed, including a box released in 1968 based on a little science fiction show you might be familiar with...

Even though the Star Trek lunchbox was released towards the tail end of Trek's initial televised run, the box was still a large success, reportedly selling in excess of 250,000 units! Priced at $3.49 and done in the traditional dome styling, the lunchbox features artwork plastered on each side of it's surface.

Very much like the Gold Key comics of the time, the images created for the box aren't all that faithful to the show, but offer a fun-filled, action-packed take on our beloved characters. Just look at that side panel above for example. Kirk and Spock running off to blast some aliens. Pretty standard, right? Well...

What the heck kind of gun is Kirk using here?!? An antique naval pistol? A boomstick? Who knows, but I'm sure he won't get an trouble from those dirty Klingons with that piece in his hand.

By far, my favorite piece of art from the lunchbox is the large image of the Enterprise soaring through the sky on the box's front. It really is an amazing piece of vintage style Trek art. I'm really curious what happened to the original art for this box. Is it in some filing cabinet somewhere... or perhaps it's in the homes of the box artists (Bob Burton & Elmer Lehnhardt)? Regardless of the medium it was used for, stuff like this should really be on display somewhere. I'd pay a few bucks just to take a look at the originals.

Like all your standard Aladdin lunchboxes, the Star Trek box includes a dedicated thermos (you know- for keeping your drinks cold or your soups warm). The Trek thermos features the same style of art from the box, only this time it's one large scene encircling the entire bottle. There's the image above, with Kirk & a green-shirted Spock doing some skeet-shooting...

...pink-shirt guy making a call on his phone, whilst a low-orbiting Enterprise soars overhead...

...and lastly, a male and a female crewmember doing some fun stargazing. Not really sure why the male crewmember felt the need to bring a phaser rifle along with him, but better safe than sorry I guess. I like to think that these 2 are Chekov and Yeoman Landon from "The Apple". Just like in that episode, Chekov is using the opportunity of an important and potentially dangerous mission on a planet's surface to make some kissy time with the lovely yeoman. You go Chekov.

The 1968 Aladdin lunchbox is one of the cornerstones of a vintage Trek memorabilia collection. With so few licensed products created during the show's initial run, this lunchbox stands out, mostly due to it's outstanding quality. At the original retail price, a ton of these made their way into the hands of young Trekkies... but finding one in good shape nowadays is a tough (and expensive) task. If you decide to go after one, be prepared to shell out anywhere from $200-$500 on average for a mint example. With such a steep price, I can only recommend this one to the most hardcore of vintage collectors...

Big Announcement- "A Piece Of The Action"Star Trek Collectibles Panel At The Nashville Official Star Trek Convention!

2011-03-03T09:17:00.005-05:00

I've been talking with Creation Entertainment for about a week now on this, and it's been killing me not to say anything about it... But now that it's up on their site, I can spill the beans!

At the Creation Entertainment Official Star Trek Convention taking place in Nashville, TN from July 29-31, I will be hosting a discussion panel on Classic Star Trek Collectibles! The presentation will cover the history of collectibles produced on the classic show, focusing on the main merchandise available throughout Trek's 45 year life. While the focus will mainly be on the toys, we'll also take a look at the comics, trading cards, and some other popular items that were available to Star Trek fans during each decade. The panel will also offer a peek at some of the unproduced items that never made it out to the public! And if you get involved in the Q & A portion of the discussion, you'll have a chance to take home some sweet Trek collectible prizes!

So if you are planning on coming out to the show, PLEASE come by the panel and check it out! It's tentatively scheduled for Saturday, but that may change as we get closer to the convention dates. I'd really love to meet some readers from the site and talk Trek with ya. Hope to see you there!

Playmates Spotlight- Captain James Kirk (9" Figure- As Seen In the Episode "City On The Edge Of Forever")

2011-03-02T11:39:00.005-05:00

Figure Name: Captain James Kirk ("City On The Edge Of Forever")
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys

Playmates released this Kirk back in 1997 in their "Warp Factor" style packaging. COTE Kirk was a Kaybee Toys exclusive, with roughly 7500 figures produced. Sorry, no boxed pic this time, but here's his bio from the back at least-

The Rundown: Before we get into this one, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Mike Beckett for designing the new banner for the site! Using the logo he designed and a picture my wife took of Nanjin's custom 12" figures, he created that awesome image you see above. Mike has been a close friend for years, and has hooked me up with some great (and free!) design work for various projects of mine. He's in the midst of starting up his own clothing company- Confront Clothing. Their site isn't quite active yet, but be sure to shoot over there and bookmark it for when product does become available.

With all that said... let's take a look at Kirk!

We've talked about Playmates 9" line a few times now, but for those who may have just recently discovered the site, here's a basic view of the line- The figures all feature the same 2 semi-decently articulated bodies (a male and a female) adorned with individualized cloth outfits that give each figure it's unique appearance. Each character routinely had 1 standard head sculpt reused throughout the line for each of it's releases. The line offered a HUGE range of attired looks for the main crew (due to the inexpensive nature of production) and stands as one of the most expansive collections of Classic Star Trek figures ever made.

Since the line was notorious for doing the main crew members repeatedly in different outfits, it's somewhat of a no-brainer that "City On The Edge Of Forever" was represented here. COTE offered a very unique take on Kirk and Spock, so I'm sure Playmates had it high on their list of possible variations for exclusive offerings. Both Kirk and Spock (and later Edith Keeler) made it into production as Kaybee Toys exclusives, with a retail price of $34.95 each. While that may seem outrageously high for 1997, you have to remember that it was a different time... when Trek was at the height of collectible popularity.

Kirk's head sculpt is the same that we've looked at on previous 9" spotlights. I'm a big fan of it when it's painted well, which it is here. I really feel they nailed Shatner's likeness, especially given the fact that this is rotocast (a material typically hard to get sculpts right with).

At first glance, Kirk's outfit looks really great. The jacket and pants have an almost corduroy feel to them, and the shirt's flannel pattern is very nicely represented (something lacking on the 4.5" version). The clothes even seem to fit just a little oddly, just like they were intended to on the show. If you never opened the jacket, this would be a pretty fantastic COTE Kirk...

Sadly, I did open the jacket. What you find under there is just...weird. Instead of a full shirt, Kirk has this odd dickie thing on. Sure, I know that Playmates was doing these on the cheap, so a full shirt was probably too much to hope for. But this? This makes Kirk look like an exotic dancer. Do yourself a favor and never open that jacket up.

Accessories: Besides the lack of a full shirt, the only other gripe I have is with the accessories. Kirk includes a phaser, a communicator, and a tricorder (plus a stand which isn't pictured). You could make the argument that the tricorder makes some sense, but the other 2 are just cheap additions that seem very out of place. I would have much rather seen some ordinary stuff thrown in, like a bag of groceries or a bowl of soup. Ah, what can you do...

The Playmates 9" line is definitely an acquired taste. There's a bit of cost-cutting across the line (like Kirk's Chippendales outfit here), but it really does offer a ton of character looks to choose from. The COTE offerings are well worth grabbing if you decide to get into it, despite a couple of shortcomings. You can usually snag them at original retail cost or slightly below, and at that price the Kirk is probably worth adding to your collection. Anything more than that and you're paying too much for what you get...

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Tiberius Cologne

2011-02-27T08:26:00.003-05:00

Item Name" "Tiberius" Cologne
Manufacturer: Genki Wear

Genki Wear debuted this cologne back in 2009.

The Rundown: This is a review I've been debating for quite awhile. I kept going back and forth on how I'd tackle this one. How does one review a smell? Since liking or not liking a smell is a matter of personal taste, I can't exactly say "hey, yeah you'll love the way it smells" since I have no idea what smells you love to smell. You see my dilemma, right? Then I figured I would just review the packaging and design, give a brief statement on my opinion of the product, and call it a day. But that would be way too short and sweet to make this worthy of a spotlight. Then it hit me... I'll tackle this one as a product battle! I would put Tiberius in the fragrance fight of his life against the manliest man smell I'd ever encountered. A true test of testosterone. An odorous encounter the likes of which had never been seen before...

So all the lady readers out there- Be prepared to catch the vapors. For this is the battle of Tiberius versus... Mandom.

Choosing an opponent capable of battling the manliness inherent in a cologne called "Tiberius" was no easy feat. Preferred Stock? Nope. Drakkar Noir? I don't even know what that means. Old Spice? Too old. No, the only plausible adversary was Mandom. Created back in the 70's by the Tancho corporation, Mandom is a Japanese import after shave lotion. The product takes it's name from the combination of "human" and "freedom". Mandom's tagline? "All the world loves a lover. All the world loves mandom." Yeah, if that doesn't sound like a worthy opponent for Jame T. Cologne, I don't know what is. Let's get it on!

Let's start with the look of the product. Mandom features the "Mandom" logo, the tagline for the product, and a weird drawing of a dude's face.

Tiberius knocks it out of the park by showcasing the name "Tiberius" (in classic federation font) emblazoned across the Terran Empire symbol!

Round 1- Tiberius!

For our next matchup, let's take a look at the advertising. I can't seem to find much in the way of ads for Tiberius. Pictured above is the back of the box, detailing the cologne and the man it's based on. Most of the print ads I've seen use some kind of variation on this text. Mandom, however, had a string of television ads back in the 70's... featuring none other than Charles Freaking Bronson. Take a look-

Wow. He turned into a Native American gun-slinger for part of that. And he splashed that Mandom on like he was showering in it! This one wasn't even close.

Round 2- Mandom!

Round three: Method of application. I had thought this third round would be an easy pick, what with Tiberius featuring the easily-applied spray nozzle versus the boring splash-on method... but that commercial just changed all that. While I love the convenience of the spritz, watching Bronson liberally douse the stuff all over him reaks of awesome. I'm gonna have to call this one a tie.

Round 3- Draw!

For the final bout, it would only be appropriate to compare each product's distinct fragrance. I hadn't expected much out of Tiberius, thinking it was just a novelty cologne. But it actually does have a pleasant smell! It reminds me of wood being chopped- entirely appropriate, given Kirk's wood-chopping scene in "Generations". Mandom? Mandom kinda smells like my Grandpa. And while my Grandpappy was a heckuva guy and I'd be proud to smell like him... I gotta give this one to Tiberius. Who wouldn't want to smell like Kirk!?!

Round 4- Tiberius!

So our winner is Tiberius! Congrats to our man Kirk for being smelly. In all seriousness, the cologne is pretty cool. It's a little pricey at $30 for a 100 ml bottle, but it's quirkiness and surprisingly pleasant odor make it an especially ideal gift for the male Trekkie in your life. While I don't know if I'd recommend splashing this one on before a date, I could definitely see this as something my kids would get me for father's day, or as a birthday surprise from a brother or sister. That's it's niche, and for that- the product is perfect.

Tiberius (and various other Trek-inspired fragrances that I have yet to try) is available now at Genkiwear.com for $29.99. Set phasers on sensual and order some now!

Game Spotlight- Star Trek Scrabble Game

2011-02-23T17:23:00.004-05:00

Item Name: Star Trek Scrabble
Manufacturer: Fundex

Fundex released this Star Trek version of the classic Scrabble game to stores back in 2009.

The Rundown: The release of the new Star Trek film in 2009 ushered in a plethora of classic Trek related merchandise... including a wide range of TOS-themed games. Now that my oldest son is approaching his 9th birthday and can better understand the rules involved, we've been having a lot more game nights at my house. Last night, we cracked open our copy of Star Trek Scrabble for the first time. How did it turn out? Glad you asked...

In case you were raised by Thasians and have no prior knowledge of the Scrabble game, here's a brief synopsis: Players are each given seven random letter tiles (which are cast in black plastic in this Trek version) to work with at the start of the game. Each letter has a specific point value marked at the bottom of it's tile.

Players arrange their tiles on the included tile racks (the Trek version includes 2 gray and 2 black). The objective of the game is to use your tiles to spell out words... the longer the word, the more points you get.

Words are arranged on the game board, each one building upon the other. The Star Trek version of Scrabble follows this standard method of play, but with a couple of "Trek-centric" extras thrown in.

Just like in regular Scrabble, random squares on the board add bonuses to your word score. One difference here is the change from a "triple word score" into the much cooler "tribble word score". Very clever.

The board itself showcases a bunch of Star Trek mainstays. There's the crew of the Enterprise pictured in the middle, and 4 different ferocious foes featured on each each corner. If you manage to spell out the names of any character featured on the board, you get an automatic 20 point bonus added to your score. Nice! One odd thing here though- Since you only have seven letters to work with, Fundex shortened "Andorian" to just "Andoria". I'm a little baffled by that. Why bother including the Andorian if you wanted it to be something that has a maximum of 7 letters in it's name? Why not stick a Gorn on there, or maybe a Mugato or something?

A look inside the instruction book reveals that bonus points for Trek words aren't limited to the just the characters pictured on the board. The book includes a long list of Trek-inspired words which also offer bonus points too. Sadly, none of us were able to spell out any of the words when playing last night. I failed miserably... but I took comfort in the fact that had I been able to spell out "PONFARR", I woulda got 10 more points.

One last thing I want to mention before I wrap this up- The game also includes these 4 thick Scrabble score card things. I have no idea what they are meant to do, and they don't seem to be mentioned in the instructions. If you happen to know what they are supposed to do, please let me know! Otherwise, I will assume they are meant to be coasters.

Do I recommend this one? Sure, why not. Scrabble is fun. Star Trek is nifty. If you are a fan of both things, how could you not like a Star Trek Scrabble game? That would be like being a fan of peanut butter and chocolate, but hating Reese's peanut butter cups... and that's just foolish. I guess the only thing that might hold you back is the price. A standard Scrabble game runs about $20, while the Trek version will cost you around $30. But if you are buying Scrabble anyway, I'd say go ahead and plunk down the extra $10 for this one. The sheer coolness of the board is worth that...

Mego Spotlight- Klingon Cruiser (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)

2011-02-22T17:28:00.003-05:00

Item Name: Klingon Cruiser
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.

Mego released this ship to stores back in good ol' 1980. Take a closer look at that box art:

...and here's a look at the back of the box...

...and finally, a quick look at the snippet from the side...

Got all that? Good. Let's continue.

The Rundown: I have a few toy "holy grails" that I have been on the lookout for since I started my Trek collection. The wacky late 60's Remco stuff, prototypes of unproduced items, original Leaf trading cards... rare stuff that hardly ever shows up for sale. Pretty high on my list of wants have always been the 3 ships Mego made for their "Motion Picture" line: The Enterprise, the Vulcan Shuttle, and the Klingon Cruiser. Well, last week I finally crossed one of those off my list. Behold... The Mego TMP Klingon Cruiser!

Released toward the tail end of their "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" line, the Mego TMP ships were a departure from the company's norm. Mego usually stuck to action figures, playsets, and vehicles scaled to figures. Since it would have been impossible to do ships in scale with the figure line, Mego opted to replicate them as small-scale models. They chose the 3 most visible ships from the film to reproduce, which would of course include the Klingon Cruiser seen in the film's opening sequence.

Mego was pretty much the king of producing nice toys at a cheap price. The Mego TMP ships are a great example of their thrifty production methods. Each ship is molded entirely in one color (a greenish-blue in the case of the Klingon Cruiser), with all the color detailing supplied by an included decal sheet (which mine is unfortunately missing). They're basically pre-assembled model kits that you just put stickers on. No bells and whistles here... just enough to get the job done.

Now that's not to say that the ship is light on details. Quite the contrary actually! While the cruiser can't stand up to today's replicas, it's pretty impressive by late 70's standards. Each of the ship's main structures feature a pretty decent amount of sculpted detailing. From the "cooling unit"...

...to the bridge area....

...and all the way to the "propulsion units", this ship has a lot going for it!

Given the time period, that's pretty darned good. The ship isn't all that big either, coming in at only 8" from the tip of the bridge to the end of the propulsion units. Take a look at it next to some other Klingon ships to see what I mean-

The Hallmark and Johnny Lighning ships are both fairly small, so you can see that the Mego stuff isn't large by any means. While the 2 smaller guys have a lot more dteial going on, you have to remember that those are produced by today's manufacturing standards, with a keen eye towards authenticity. Mego's Klingon Cruiser was produced 30 years ago. For kids. By that token, it's great.

Included with each TMP ship is a "landing base". I believe the mold is the same for all three, with each one cast in the same color of plastic used on their respective ship. Even though it was probably a cheap addition for Mego to make, it's a very nice add-in for kids that wanted to display their ships when they weren't playing with them. Kids like me. Weird kids.

Okay, so I think I've made the point pretty clear that this was a nice toy for it's time and would have been a great item to pick up back then... but what about now? That's a really tough one, since the TMP ships are INCREDIBLY rare. At the point when these were shipping, the TMP figure line was winding down and stores were moving on to the next hot thing, leaving theses ships with only a VERY limited release here in the US. While all 3 did see a wider release overseas, it's still very uncommon to find them up for sale nowadays. When they do pop up, you can typically expect to pay anywhere from $200-$400 for each ship (depending on it's condition). Ouch. Yeah, at that price I can't recommend this guy to anyone but the most hardcore of Trek collectors. While the ship is cool and the nostalgia factor is there, you can buy much better version for a fraction of the price. Only a crazy person would plunk down the money for these Mego TMP versions...

So yeah... if you have a Vulcan Shuttle or an Enterprise for sale, let me know. Because I'm an idiot.

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek Mirror Universe The Sorrows Of Empire" By David Mack

2011-02-21T09:53:00.004-05:00

I've polished off a few Trek books lately, but I keep neglecting to post spotlights on them. I'm going to correct that in the next couple of weeks, so expect 2 or 3 more of these "reading room spotlights" in the next month... First up: The Sorrows Of Empire by David Mack!

In case you didn't know, I'm a HUGE fan of the Mirror Universe... So when I saw this cover staring at me from on my local book store shelf, I gleefully snatched it up. A book that explores how Spock and Moreau reshaped the Terran empire!? Sign me up.

The book picks up right where the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror" leaves off- The Mirror Universe version of Spock has now had the seeds of change planted in him by Captain Kirk and must decide how he is going to affect a change in the Terran Empire. At his side is Lt. Marlena Moreau, who has also been inspired by the words of our universe's Kirk and stands as Spock's only true confidant. Opposing them is the entire Terran Empire- led by Empress Hoshi Sato II (a great carryover concept from the Enterprise 2-parter "In a Mirror, Darkly"). Spock must somehow move up the ranks of the Empire and set forth a change that will have ramifications for not only his time, but into future centuries as well (leading to the state of the Empire in the DS9 "Mirror" episodes).

While the book isn't quite as "action-packed" as I'd hoped, I found myself engrossed in every chapter. I had expected the book to just take a quick romp in the Mirror Universe, exploring Spock's machinations relating to the TOS universe only. Boy, was I wrong. Spock's overtaking of the Enterprise is actually only the start, with the rest of the book following his story throughout the movie era as well. Familiar faces and concepts are seen again here, but this time through the broken reflection of the Mirror Universe. Mirror versions of characters like Sarek, Amanda, Garth of Izar, Will Decker, Carol Marcus, and Saavik all show up, each one with their own unique and integral contribution to the overall story. Mack masterfully works the existing Terran Empire timeline, making every action Spock takes fit into existing canon while establishing plausible causes to the effects we see in the DS9 episodes. It's almost like they had planned it this way all along...

So yeah, I liked this one. A LOT. If you are a fan of the Mirror Universe (and who isn't), I highly recommend picking this one up. Unlike some of the other books I've spotlighted, you should be able to find this one on book store shelves still. It retails for $7.99... and is worth every penny. Go buy it.

-James

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Requiem For Methuselah"

2011-02-21T07:22:00.001-05:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Requiem For Methuselah". Part of the intro is cut off, but it's better than nothing!

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Whom Gods Destroy"

2011-02-18T06:10:00.000-05:00

I'm on a roll! Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Whom Gods Destroy"....

Mego Spotlight- Communicators

2011-02-17T09:03:00.003-05:00

Item Name: Star Trek Communicators
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.

Mego released these communicators back in 1974! That's older than me!

The Rundown: It seems that the communicators used in Star Trek are a staple in Trek toys. Back in the days before cellular phones, these wondrous devices offered a glimpse at long-distance chatting in the future, and provided the perfect venue for roleplay fun. Most of the communicator toys simply replicate the look of the prop, with no eye towards providing actual communication between devices. The communicators from Mego we are looking at today however are a bit different, since they are actually functional (kind of...). But before we start talking about these guys, I want to take a closer look at this packaging art-

I've said this before, and I'll probably keep saying it until I run out of Mego stuff to talk about- Mego packaging art is AWESOME. Yeah, sometimes it's a bit ridiculous... but that's part of what makes it so cool. Take that shot up there for example. Let's ignore the fact that they seem to be just standing around in space for a second; I'd say Kirk and Spock are only about 15 feet away from each other... but if you have communicators, why would you not just go ahead and use them anyway! Show-offs. And it seems Spock is using a bit of sign language here as well:

Captain, would you do me the great honor of reading "between the lines"?

Now that we have that out of the way... Let's take a look at the toys themselves! Mego went with blue plastic for these instead of the traditional black, much like they did with the accessories for the 8" figures. The communicators are right around 5" long and 2.5" wide, making them a bit larger than the ones used in the show. Of course, this is due to the electronics housed inside. It wasn't possible back then for them to cram the "walkie-talkie" technology into something smaller. The communicator lids are stamped with a nifty Trek logo, while the lower part...

... features a label letting you know that this is indeed a communicator. Just in case you forgot or something.

With the press of a button, the upper lid flips open- revealing the inner area of the communicator. While there are obviously some liberties being taken here, the inside looks enough like a real communicator to satisfy a child's standards. There's a big silver speaker area standing in for the prop's moire, and an array of non-functioning buttons for you to not do anything with.

The communicator is operated via three interfaces along the side. The upper dial turns it on and controls the volume, the middle button allows you to talk, and the lower green/red button handles your "alert" signal. How's it all work? Glad you asked.

Pop open the back of communicator and you'll see this. Yep, that's right... there isn't a dedicated battery compartment. When you open the back to slap in your 9-volt, you reveal all the internal workings of the comm. This was the 1970's... who needs a stinking battery compartment?

Inside the top portion of the communicator is the telescoping antenna that allows you to send and receive signals. It's ridiculously long when fully extended. Like over 28 inches long. I'm sure passing truckers just loved listening to kids playing on these things.

I don't think I need to give you a demo on using the voice feature, but the "alert" signals really need a listen. The alert is activated by depressing the lower red/ green button. Press it in just enough to hide the green area and you'll hear the "Green Alert Signal". If the poop has really hit the fan, go ahead and press it in all the way to activate the "Red (DANGER) Alert Signal"! Check it out, but I'm warning ya- It's loud!

Yeah, that's not annoying at all. It's amazing how 25 years can change your perspective on toys. At 7, I'd have loved that sound. At 32, I want to throw this thing across a room until parts break off.

And since Mego thought it was important enough to mention it in a blurb on the packaging, I should probably draw your attention to the belt clip. How else are you gonna carry these? In your hands? That's for losers.

So there ya go... Yeah, there have been more accurate communicators made, but more fun? No way. I'd have LOVED playing with these as a kid. Walkie-talkies were my preferred method of talking to friends back then, so Trek versions would have been the bee's knees. Of course, those were simpler times... back before 9-year-olds carried cell phones. Man, I really miss the old days.

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Savage Curtain"

2011-02-16T06:35:00.001-05:00

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Savage Curtain". RIP Gene...