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

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

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...

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.

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

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...

Mego/ DST Combo Spotlight- Captain Kirk

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.