AA/ DST Special Feature: Assembling The Ultimate Crew!

So I am not sure if you guys have heard or not, but Diamond Select Toys recently unveiled plans for a new Star Trek figure line called "Star Trek Select". The new line will consist of individual 7" figures featuring packed-in dioramas and interchangeable parts. While I am all for new Trek toys, it seems these figures will lean more towards pre-posed stances as over the high articulation of the older DST efforts. You can check out pictures of the first release in this line, Spock, right here: Star Trek Select Spock.

I believe I will hold out my final judgment until I get ol' pointy ears in my hot little hands... but this new line got me thinking about my AA/ DST crew. While previous Trek toy manufacturers like Playmates and Mego really offered one definitive version of the main crew, AA/ DST released so many different variations on the mainstays that it could be pretty daunting for a new collector to go back and pick out the cream of the crop. Which leads me to this post...

With this new announcement pretty much putting the nail in the coffin of the old line, I figured it would be a good time to give you my version of a definitive AA/ DST crew. Some of these are pretty easy picks... others not so much. Some are gonna take a little elbow grease and extra dough to make happen. But you want the best, ya gotta work for it... And of course, this is all my opinion here. You may not agree with my picks, and that is totally cool. These just happen to be my personal picks after years of Trek collecting. So without further ado... My ultimate AA/ DST Classic Star Trek Crew!

Spock And McCoy:



These are pretty simple, and require very little effort to make "perfect". Both McCoy and Spock were best represented in their DST reissues due mostly to the gold used on their rank braids and uniform insignias. The original releases from Art Asylum (while great) featured a cheaper gold paint that I've noticed turns a greenish color over time.



Both Spock and McCoy came as single card reissues or in 2-packs. Since we are assembling the "ultimate" crew, go with those 2 packs. Spock (originally spotlighted HERE) comes with Scotty, while McCoy (spotlighted HERE) includes Sulu. The offerings in both sets (as we will see) are just about perfect... with the exception of one minor detail:



Just like usual, DST only saw fit to include a "Live Long & Prosper" hand on Spocky-poo... So you'll need to crib one off a different figure to really make him shine.

Scotty & Uhura:

For the 2 immortal red shirts, I'd recommend hitting those reissues yet again (and you'll already have Scott thanks to the Spock 2-pack). Not only ifs the gold better, but unlike the original Art Asylum versions, the red actually matches between the two! Who'da thunk it.



Mr. Scott (originally spotlighted HERE) is pretty much ready to go right out of the box... except for one essential accessory- Liquor! Thankfully, you'll be buying a DST Casual Kirk soon enough, so you'll have a bottle of brandy ready for Scotty's eager mitts.



Uhura (who was originally spotlighted HERE) is also ready for display right out of the box with the exception of one accessory... A phaser! Again though, you'll be picking up that extra Kirk that will supply the lovely Uhura with the firepower she was sorely lacking.

Sulu:



I know I am starting to sound like a broken record here, but once again the DST reissue 2-packs offer the best version of the character in this style. The gold is great once again, but more importantly, the yellowish gold shirt is much better match to most of the "standard" DST Kirk figures. The original Art Asylum versions (much like Scotty and Uhura) didn't match up between characters, so this Sulu offers a great starting point for a matching crew. The only bummer is that he was only released in the 2-pack with MCoy, so you're gonna be stuck buying 2 to complete the custom Chekov and Kirk needed for our ultimate crew.

Yep. You read that right... Time to get into the tough stuff.

Kirk:



I am gonna make a bold statement here- AA/DST never released a truly definitive gold-shirt Kirk. There. I said it. Don't agree? Well, show me one that has a great head sculpt, a shirt that matches Sulu & Chekov, and a tunic that doesn't look like it was fitted for a 7-year-old girl that only eats crackers for every meal. Can't do it, can ya? That is because there isn't one of those. The first AA release (featured WAY back HERE) was pretty good, but it featured a shirt that ended up not matching Sulu or Chekov. Then DST took a few turns, and each one ended up using McCoy's shirt mold for some reason, leaving you with a weird ill-fitting look like the Kirk featured HERE. Oh, and almost all of them used the original AA head sculpt, arguably the weakest of the entire crew. Poop. So what do we do about Kirk? Glad ya asked!



Time to stretch those customizing muscles! We start off with that Kirk you just got from the Uhura 2-pack. His arms are the right color to match Sulu, but his head and shirt are absolute turds. So here is what you're gonna do...

1.) Get some water to a boiling point and then remove it from the heat source.
2.) Dip that Kirk's torso in the water for about 60 seconds or so to get the plastic soft.
3.) Pop his head off.
4.) This part is a little tough. You're gonna need to slowly work that rubbery shirt portion up and off of his body. This probably the hardest task of the entire job and will take great care to get it off without tearing the material (which you will need to do since we will be using this shirt later on). Hopefully, practice will make perfect... as you're gonna need to do this a few more times.
5.) Repeat steps 1-4 with that extra 2-pack reissue Sulu I mentioned you would need earlier.
6.) Work the Sulu shirt onto the shirtless Kirk body.

See, that wasn't so hard was it? And you were worried. You should now have a gold-shirted Kirk that will match your reissue Sulu, sans his head. For the head, I highly recommend you pick up DST Season 1 Casual Attire Kirk (spotlighted HERE). Not only will you get the definitive AA/DST head sculpt, but you also get those extra accessories we snagged for Scotty & Uhura earlier on! The head switch works just the same as when you removed Kirk's head just a bit ago- Boil up some water, dip it for 60-90 seconds, pop it off and then stick it onto the custom Kirk while the plastic is still soft. There ya go! Perfect practice for...

Chekov:

Chekov presents the biggest challenge of the bunch, since he never got a DST reissue... Meaning we don't have a really good base to start with. Let's look around at what we have left though... Looks like we have a reissue Sulu body with no shirt, and the shirt we took off of the reissue Kirk. Well that looks like a good start. We do have a problem though- Sulu has rank braids on his arms, while Chekov's rank as ensign means he had no rank braids. Poop again. While we could try and dremel or sand them off, that may leave us with uglier arms than what we are hoping for. Oh... We also don't have a Chekov head. Poop to the third power. Whatever shall we do?



The missing head is actually the solution to both our problems... but also means forking over some cash for another figure. Head on over to eBay or your favorite secondary-market dealer and snag one of the old Entertainment Earth Exclusive Mirror Chekov figures (spotlighted HERE). Using the same methods we discussed before, pop the head off Pavel. We now have the head we need for ultimate Chekov! Now we just need those arms. This part is a little tricky; You're going to need to pop him apart at his mid-torso ball joint (the point of articulation hidden under his shirt that allows him to hula hoop). You can do this the same way you took off his head- Stick him in boiling water and just yank the upper joint off of the lower one. Once you have his head and his upper torso taken off, remove that rubbery Mirror Universe shirt. Now take your shirtless Sulu from before, dip him in that hot water, and remove his upper torso just like you did Chekov's. Pop the upper Chekov torso and arms onto the lower torso and legs of Sulu and slip that Kirk shirt you had sitting around onto the body. Since that Mirror Chekov was made in a very similar color to these DST reissues, you now have ensign arms that match the gold shirts of the 2-pack releases. Finish up by heating Chekov's head up just a bit and attaching it to his new body. Voila... You now have a reissue-style Chekov, and all it really cost you was the price of the Mirror version (since we already had the Sulu body and Kirk shirt from our ultimate Kirk custom).



There ya go... The ultimate AA/ DST Classic Star Trek crew! As I said before, these are all my personal picks, so you may not agree with choices here. I do hope that you at least enjoyed looking this over and that maybe you'll take a stab at pulling off these customs. If you have any questions or need any help, just shoot me an e-mail over at apieceoftheaction@live.com

Live long and all that good stuff...

-James

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

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.

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

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?

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

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.

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

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....