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

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...

AA/ DST Spotlight- Scotty (DST Reissue)

Figure Name: Scotty
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys



DST reissued the original Art Asylum Spock as a single-carded release in their "TOS Wave 5" assortment and...



...in a 2-pack with Spock!



The Rundown: Ah, the finale of the "TOS Wave 5" spotlights. Well, as you can see I didn't exactly save the best for last. While both the Romulan and the "casual" Kirk bring a lot of new stuff to the table, this Scotty is just a simple reissue... and it isn't the first time it's been reissued either. Scotty got the reissue treatment not too long ago in a 2-pack with Spock. Since both reissues are almost identical once they are out of the package, it's easier just to group them together into this one spotlight. Oh, and since both releases are just tweaks of the original Art Asylum figure (spotlighted HERE), we won't go into too many details about the figure itself. Instead, we'll just look at what's different on the reissues to see if it warrants another purchase. Got all that? Good, because there may be a quiz later.



Let's start at the top and work our way down... Scotty's head is the same as his original version, but this time around he has a slightly "pinker" tone to his skin. The original paint job isn't bad, but I do prefer the warmer tone of the reissue.



With both the gold and blue shirted crew reissues, there is a visible difference in the shades of material used. Reissue Scotty and his red shirt buck that trend, with a shirt tone that is pretty darned close to his original release. You can see a slight difference when they are side-by-side, but not enough of a difference to write home about. The gold paint on the reissue's delta shield however is a dramatic improvement of the original's (which has started to darken and smudge over time).



Like most of the re-releases, the rank braids on Scotty's sleeves are painted with a much more vibrant gold paint. It's a small change, but it really helps them stand out better than the original version's.



Lastly, the original AA version of Scotty had a slight paint wash all over his pants, giving them a bit of a "dirty" look. The new version eliminates most of that wash, opting for a clean flat paint job. I prefer the "clean" version, but I barely noticed this difference, so it's really not that big of a deal either way.



Accessories: Both the 2-pack version and single carded releases include the same accessories- a communicator and a white handled phaser.



So is he worth getting? Well, if you don't have the original, OF COURSE HE IS! It's Scotty! If you do have the original, I'd say he's not entirely necessary since there aren't that many drastic changes here. Unless of course the gold is starting to look dingy on your original releases (like mine is). In that case, you may want to go with the 2-pack since it comes with a nice reissue of Spock (check him out HERE). BUT... since most retailers only sell "TOS Wave 5" in sets, you may be stuck with Scotty as a single card release anyway, whether you want him or not. In that case, just pop off his head and make him a red shirt...

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2006 Transporter Chamber

Item Name: "The Transporter Chamber" Keepsake Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark



Hallmark released this piece as part of their 2006 keepsake assortment. Here's the back of the box if you'd like to give it a read-



The Rundown: With the holiday season now upon us, I feel like I really need to get cracking on the ornament spotlights. It looks like I've only done 10 so far... which doesn't give you guys nearly enough options for tree-trimming possibilities. So today we going to warp around the sun, taking a trip back to 2006 for a look at the "Transporter Chamber" ornament available that year. It's pretty keen...



This ornament recreates the famous transporter chamber we all know and love from the original series. Captured in a moment just before beaming are the intrepid away team consisting of Kirk, Spock, and Scotty. Not really sure why Hallmark went with Scotty instead of the more obvious choice of McCoy, but I'm guessing it was because they wanted to feature all three shirt colors.



At only 4 inches tall from the bottom of the base to the top of the transporter, there isn't a lot of room for detail on the three figures (which come in at a little over 2 inches each). The likenesses are almost non-existent, but there's enough here that you can tell who's who. The artist did do a fine job of capturing the body language on Kirk and Spock though; There's no mistaking that confident pose that Kirk would always strike just before beaming out...



Behind the three figures is the back wall of the transporter chamber. The wall features a nice reflective surface and some etched-in detailing that does a great job of replicating the "rainbowy" look of the series. It's tough to capture how nice this looks on camera, but the whole effect is really well done.



The transporter's base only features three of the pads, but this is an understandable tweak, as trying to make this totally screen accurate would have made it too large and cumbersome. At the center of the base is the button which activated the light and sound features... which ROCK! Check it out:



The lights are nice and bright, the sound is clear, and the duration of the effect is just right. And since this thing runs on 3 AAA batteries, you don't have to worry about trying to plug this into a string of tree lights. You can either use it as a regular display piece on your desk, or....



...hang it on the tree and clip a light into the provided hole in the back! The possibilities are endless! Well... I guess they aren't really endless. There's really just a couple. But they are at least good possibilities!



The "Transporter Chamber" is easily one of my favorite Hallmark ornaments. I really have no complaints at all about this one. If you're thinking of getting into the Hallmark ornaments, the transporter is a great one to start with. It originally retailed at $28, but now goes for just a smidge over that at around $30-$40. That may seem like a lot, but when compared to the current crop of $30 ornaments, this one really stands out in the pack.

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Custom Playmates Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (From "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home")

Figure Name: Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (as seen in "Star Trek IV")
Made by customizer Matthew Hackley



The Rundown: Another entry in the ongoing "What if Playmates had kept the Trek license?" series of customs from Mathhew Hackley! This time around, instead of a character or look from the original series, we went with the movies for inspiration. I would have LOVED to see Playmates continue the "Classic Star Trek" line to include the main crew's look in each of the films- Thus why we are looking at Scotty in his attire featured in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" this time around!



At first glance you might be asking yourself "hey self... why is he calling this a custom from "Voyage Home" when Scotty wore the same outfit in "Search For Spock?". Well, in actuality, Scotty's uniform is a bit different in TSFS. Here's a shot from Star Trek III-



...and here's Mr. Scott in Star Trek IV-



Notice anything different? I mean anything besides the fact that he apparently got a lot happier in Star Trek IV...



Though Scotty carried the rank of "Captain of Engineering" in Star Trek III, he still wore the yellow undershirt of the operations division. It wasn't until we caught up with him again in Star Trek IV that Scotty started sporting the white undershirt of the command division. Not really sure where he found this shirt in his size on Vulcan during the crew's exile there though...



And since this figure recreates Scotty's garb from his escapades in 1980's San Francisco, it wouldn't do for him to be showing his rank insignia and delta shield, so Matt left those off when it came time to work him up. A fine attention to detail that Playmates might not have remembered to do back then.



While Playmates did give us a couple decent stand-ins for movie era Scotty in the form of Generations Scott and the TNG Captain Scott, I've always preferred the jacketed look. I have no doubt that had Playmates kept the license and continued the "Classic Star Trek" movie line, we would have seen the crew in their TVH looks eventually, since Star Trek IV is easily one of the most popular of the Trek films. Alas, we will never know... but thanks to Matt Hackley we can at least get a glimpse at what might have been!

AA/ DST Spotlight- Chief Engineer Scotty (Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan)

Figure Name: Chief Engineer Scotty
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys



Scotty was released as part of the second wave of "Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan" figures. The entire wave was comprised of retailer exclusives launched at San Diego Comic-Con.



The Rundown: The third and final installment of red-movie-uniform Scotty figure spotlights! This DST version from TWOK really is the best of the bunch and shows just how far toy manufacturing has progressed in the last 25 years.



Just look at that body sculpt! Now I'm a huge fan of the 3&3/4" scale, and I'm a huge fan of Playmates style figures...but even I have to admit the sculpt on this guy puts the other 2 Scotty figures to shame. DST did a great job of capturing the look of these uniforms. Not only that, but there's quite a bit of articulation still! It's the best of both worlds here (no TNG pun intended).



The DST TWOK line does some reusing of parts between figures, but it's understandable here. If the character has the same build, I don't see a problem with a generic body as long as it's differentiated somewhat. That's exactly what DST did here; Scotty reuses the Terrell body with slight changes to make it fit the rank and division of Mr. Scott. The figures may utilize the same body, but there's enough changes to make them look totally different on a shelf.



The head sculpt is good here, but I can't decide if it's better than the Playmates one or not. That may be just my Playmates bias sneaking in though...



Accessories: Scotty includes 2 extra hands, a phaser, and a flip-open communicator.



TWOK Scotty is a really nice figure and shows just how far Trek figures have come. DST may have some misses over time, but thankfully the TWOK line isn't really one of them. The only thing that stinks is that there's no telling how much you'll have to fork out for this one. The original retailer for him (Action Figure Express) sold out a long time ago, and his price ranges pretty widely on the secondary market. I've seen him go for as little as 10 bucks (which makes him a must buy) to as much as $50 (which moves him into the "really gotta think about" territory).

-James