Playmates Spotlight- Mugato (12")

Figure Name: Mugato
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



The Mugato was released as part of the second wave of Playmates 12" Trek figures back in 1999. (Nope... no boxed pic this time.)



The Rundown: Well, unlike the 4.5" Mugato, Playmates at least got the name right on this one... though that may be one of the few things they got right on this guy. The Mugato is unlike any of the other Playmates 12" Trek figures, as you're about to see...



Let's start with the good. The head sculpt is pretty decent here, with an appropriately angry grimace on the face. I think the 4.5" is a bit better, but I wouldn't say this one is bad by any means.



Playmates captured all the necessary details of the Mugato, including the back spikes and tail. I just have a major issue with how they went about capturing them...



Instead of putting a furry suit over an articulated body, Playmates basically phoned this one in. The Mugato is no more than a stuffed animal with a wire armature inside. That's a little lame considering he cost the same amount as a standard 12" Trek figure. Not only that, the wires don't hold a pose all that well (especially the legs), leaving you with very little in the way of display options.



The other problem is the height. Mugatos are supposed to be around 2 meters tall, not including the head spike. This guys looks like he must be the runt of the litter. Couple his short stature with some majorly poofy fur and the 12" Mugato ends up looking more like a Sprite from Rainbow Brite than he does a fearsome beast.

Accessories: Unless I misplaced them somewhere, the Mugato includes absolutely nothing. Again, pretty lame. Sure, the Mugato uses nothing in the episode, but how about including a flintlock or a mahko root like the 4.5" version did?



You may be considering picking this guy up to supplement your 12" crew collection with. I would give that some SERIOUS thought before plunking down the $40-$60 that this guy usually goes for. His size makes displaying him a little problematic... and he's a freaking stuffed animal. I'd skip this one if I were you, unless you can get him for under $20.

Playmates Spotlight- Captain Spock (12" From "Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan")

Figure Name: Captain Spock
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Captain Spock was released as part of Playmates short lived 12" line as a limited edition KB Exclusive. (Sorry no boxed pic)

The Rundown: Oh how I wish for a high-end Classic Star Trek 12" line. Imagine how great a line from Hot Toys would be! For now though, pretty much the only option we have at this scale is the Playmates 12" line. It doesn't hold up so well to today's standards, but there are a few gems in the lot. Spock here is pretty decent, but is not without problems.



The outfit isn't too bad for the time. Sure, it looks a bit cheap by today's standards, but compared to the uniforms on the classic crew 12" figures, this one is far superior. The flap on the shirt even opens up (though it took some double-sided tape to keep the flap down). The biggest bummer is the painted on insignias and such. Having those as separate sculpted pieces would have probably cost way too much, but man would it have improved the look.



The head sculpt is pretty decent. The top of the head looks a bit bulbous, but the details on the face are really nice. It's probably one of the best head sculpts in the 12" line. Rumor has it that the TWOK 12" figures almost didn't make it due to Nimoy balking at the original sculpt on this, forcing Playmates to go back and improve it to the point you see here.



ARGH! Why? Why must Playmates do this? Why are most of their Spock's stuck with the "live long and prosper" hand? It severely limits the posing capabilities of the figure. Not that he's all that poseable to begin with...



Accessories: Spock includes a pair of radiation gloves to squeeze over his mitts. They aren't particularly well made, nor do they fit all that well. I would have preferred a TWOK style phaser...

Box bio:





So he's not particularly great, but he is probably one of the best of the 12" line. The head sculpt is nice, and the outfit is pretty decent for the line. You can get this one for a fairly reasonable price nowadays...and without a nicer 1/6th scale line to chose from, this is your only choice at a 12" TWOK Spock- unless you go the custom route.

-James

Playmates Spotlight- Captain James Kirk As A Romulan (12")

Figure Name: Captain James Kirk (As A Romulan)
Manufacturer: Playmates



Playmates released this 12" Romulan Kirk as Star Trek Communicator exclusive. (Sorry, no packaged pic on this one)



The Rundown: The Playmates 12" TOS figures are pretty spiffy in some cases. Romulan Kirk here is one of the nicer figures of the batch! He may be light on accessories, but he makes up for it in other departments.



Kirk has the same standard body used on the males in the line. It's got a decent amount of articulation and can hold quite a few poses. The biggest flaw on the body is the overly buff proportions, but thankfully the outfit on this figure does a good job of drawing some attention away from that.



The outfit is a very nice translation of the episode's costume. Playmates did a good job of simulating the knitted look of the Romulan garb. The shoulder sash is especially good, with a bit of detailing in the back-



Sure, there's a couple of things you could nitpick on the outfit, like the sleeves not coming down onto the hands, but overall it's a decent job, especially for the time of it's release.



Hey, look, a new Kirk head! Playmates couldn't just reuse the Kirk head here since he's all romulaned-out. I think the head is fantastic! The detailing on the ears and the lines around the eyes are pretty great. Makes me wish they would have scaled it down and used it in the 4.5" line...

Accessories: None. That's the biggest bummer of the figure. Still, the good outweighs the bad on this one, so I can let it go.

Box bio-

Playmates Figure Spotlight- Captain Christopher Pike (12")

Figure Name: Captain Christopher Pike (12")
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Pike was released by Playmates as part of it's 4th wave of 12" figures. Nope, no boxed pic.



The Rundown: Pike may be my favorite 'human' character produced in the 12" line. I think it's just a really solid figure all the way around. Let's start with the head-



Here's one case where Playmates did a MUCH nicer job on a 12" head sculpt than on a figure's 4" head sculpt. The head sculpt is pretty darned good, and they did a very nice job of capturing the look of Jeffrey Hunter's eyes. In fact, I think this may be their nicest 12" human head sculpt.



Pike uses the same standard body used for all the male characters, but for some reason it just looks like it fits better with Pike, which may have something to do with the jacket. What a surprise that jacket is! It's not something that Playmates really had to do...but boy am I glad they did! The jacket fits very well and is just an awesome addition to the figure. Kudos to Playmates for including it with the figure! The great part is that he looks great without it too as Playmates did a fine job on the 'ribbed collar' shirt as well.

I highly recommend this one if you're thinking of getting into the 12" line!



Accessories: Again, Playmates went the extra mile on this one. We get a unique sculpt "Cage"-style laser pistol and communicator! Pretty spiffy stuff! Oh, and you also get a tricorder for some reason...

-James

Playmates Figure Spotlight- Gorn Captain (12")

Figure Name: Gorn Captain
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



The Gorn Captain was released boxed as part the third wave of 12" figures. (Sorry, don't have a packaged pic for ya...)



The Rundown: So we go from a really bad Gorn yesterday, to a fairly decent one today. The Playmates 12" line was pretty hit or miss. The crew figures aren't all that great, but the "Piece Of The Action" and alien figures (including the Romulan Kirk) are for the most part pretty good. The Gorn here is one of the better figures produced in the line...



The head sculpt is pretty spot on and well painted. Playmates even went to the trouble of sculpting new arms and legs instead of just reusing parts from their standard body. The hand sculpts are especially well-detailed. And the outfit is pretty sharp too...



Pretty nice and screen accurate. I'd say my only gripes with the figure are that it's a wee bit skinny and it could use a little more articulation. Something simple like a swivel wrist joint would have done wonders. The figure is overall very nice though and makes a great addition to the old 12" line or the new 2009 12" line.



Accessories: The Gorn comes with a big stick and his black rock dagger to attack Kirk with. He also comes with the funky translator/ communicator/ recording device supplied my the Metrons.

And in case you want to read his box bio-



-James