Hot Wheels Spotlight- USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (TOS)

Item Name: USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (From "Star Trek: The Original Series")
Manufacturer: Mattel (Hot Wheels Division)



This Enterprise was released boxed as part of a mega-set through Costco stores. Here's what the individual box looks like-



The Rundown: I was pretty excited about the Star Trek Hot Wheels line when it was first announced. Decent replicas of ships at an affordable price? Sign me up! I gobbled up the first wave, hunted down the new ships from the second, patiently awaiting my classic Enterprise. But, as more and more of the ships from the first 2 waves started piling up, and with nary a sign of later ships like the 2009 Enterprise in stores, I figured all hope was lost for my beloved TOS Enterprise. Until an unlikely hero by the name of Costco saved the day...



In case you aren't familiar with Costco... where have you been? It's only the largest membership warehouse club in the United states! Well, at least according to wikipedia it is. I have no idea, but I bet they have that right. Anyways... Costco worked out a deal with Mattel to do a big boxed set of the remaining unproduced ships from the Trek Hot Wheels line plus the DVD Scene-It game. The whole set originally retailed for $79.88, which isn't a bad price considering what is included... but with the current state of Star Trek merchandise, I have to question how Costco thought this was a worthwhile gamble. I mean, the Trek Hot Wheels line wasn't all that successful to begin with- couple that with the price (plus the fact that most folks had no idea that the set was even there) and you're left with an item destined for clearance pricing. First it was $79.88, then $59.99, then $49.97, $29.97, and now $24.97 (as of this writing). Yeah, I'm pretty sure Costco can't be happy with how the set is performing. I can't help but think that it would have made more sense to sell these individually through their stores at $15 each. But, back to the ship...



While none of the Hot Wheels Trek vehicles are the "definitive" versions of the ships they are replicating, I do really like their Enterprise. Maybe the simplistic beauty of the original Enterprise makes it easier to translate, but I think they did a fine job on her, perhaps even besting some of the other previous small-scale replicas.



There she is amongst some other comparable Enterprises. The Hot Wheels version is considerably lighter in color than most current toy versions, which is something I like. Regardless of how accurate or inaccurate it is, the color reminds me very much of the old Dinky version (which, as we all know, ruled).



Since the Costco set has 6 ships all together in one set, finding solid paint jobs across the board would seem to be a challenge. Surprisingly this isn't the case, as most of the sets I've seen have pretty even detailing. My Enterprise (and all the other ships in my set) has a very concise paint job, with no stray paint blotches that I can see.



I really like how Mattel handled the illuminated nacelle tips of the show version. Instead of just painted caps, they used a translucent orange plastic. It's a small detail, but it adds a lot to the look of the ship.



Of course, just like all their other releases in the Star Trek line, the Enterprise includes a nifty display base. How else are you going to display it? Duh.



And there's your regularly scheduled box bio if you care to read it...



Would I recommend this one? Of course! In my opinion, it's the most important ship in the entire Star Trek franchise- meaning no display in this scale is complete without it. The only thing that stinks is that you have to buy a giant boxed set to get it. At the current retail of $24.97 though, this ship alone makes it worth the price of admission.

Costco currently has it on their site HERE, but at $39.97 it's a bit pricier than the in-store cost. You do get free shipping with it though, which helps even it out. Either way, you'll need to be a Costco member to buy it. If you aren't already a member, you may want to check with your friends, as the yearly cost is $50...

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2010 U.S.S. Enterprise (From The 2009 "Star Trek" Film)

Item Name: U.S.S. Enterprise Keepsake Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark



Hallmark released this piece as part of their 2010 keepsake assortment.



The Rundown: Oops! I said that I'd be spotlighting this "tomorrow" in the last blog entry... and here it is a month later. Sorry guys! I guess we could always take a jump through the Guardian and fix that little mix up, but then we'd end up falling in love with somebody that had to die or something and we'd be worse off then when we started. Anyways...



Love it or hate it, the "Abrams-prise" is here to stay. For the foreseeable future, this will be the Enterprise we see in any new Trek film projects. In my eyes, it doesn't hold a candle to the original lady, but I have gotten used to it over time and I don't mind buying a few replicas of it here and there. Which brings us to the ornament...



Before we get too far into the ornament itself, I have to reiterate how much I dislike the fact that this year's range of ornaments don't come in the little clear plastic trays. With the Enterprise in particular, the excessive wrapping may actually do more harm than good as it can put pressure in weak spots (which we'll get into later). I vote they go back to the trays!



The ornament itself is incredibly well-sculpted, with tons of little detailing all over it. Looking it over, I kept thinking how far Hallmark has come in the sculpting department. Comparing this Enterprise to their first effort is like night-and-day in terms of sculpted detailing. Fantastic work!



Hallmark really nailed the paint work here as well, capturing even the smallest of details. It may not be quite as nice as last year's Klingon Battle Cruiser, but the paint on this one is still nothing to sneeze at.

And of course, since this is a "Magic" ornament, we have some electronic features built in-



Again, not quite the masterpiece that was the Battle Cruiser. The light is only solid, no firing sequences or anything like that. Plus, the light stays on for only a very short time, which is a drawback in my eyes.



And here comes my big complaint- Notice anything wonky on those nacelles up there? Here's another shot for a better view:



The entire nacelle assembly is entirely askew on this ship! Now I'm not sure if I just got one that was poorly assembled, or if perhaps the wrapping caused the warping, but either way it's there and it's pretty bad. I've never once had a quality issue worth noting on a Hallmark piece, so this is very surprising to me. I may actually end up heading back to Hallmark to see about an exchange, so I'll update this post if it seems like a recurring problem.

For those who like reading boxes-



So there ya go! At $32.95, this one won't be for everybody, especially coupled with the fact that it's the new version of the ship (which many folks haven't warmed up too). I have a feeling that this one may end up making it through the holidays, and if so it should move into the clearance range (although I wouldn't wait too long once it starts into that territory). The ship itself is pretty nice, but the nacelle issue was a real bummer for me. With the high sticker price, there really shouldn't be any QC issues with these. I'd be interested to hear if any of you guys had a similar problem...

-James

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- USB U.S.S. Enterprise Webcam

Item Name: USB U.S.S. Enterprise Webcam
Manufacturer: Dream Cheeky



Dream Cheeky released the Trek-tastic webcam in this nifty packaging for around $29.99.



The Rundown: Truth be told, I know absolutely nothing about webcams. I've never owned one and I've never used one, so I'm a big novice when it comes to judging a good one from a bad one. If you're going into this expecting me to break down the abilities and quality of the camera itself, you may want to turn away now, because I am not qualified to judge it based on that. I just like Star Trek stuff, thus why I bought it. Cool? Okay, let's look at it...

There aren't many products that I have had immediate disappointment with, even before removing them from the package. This is one of those products. See, when I pre-ordered the webcam, it looked like this:



And when my local shop got it in, it looked like this:



Yeah, pretty big difference there. Gone were the gray color, grid lines, and other small details, and in their place there's shiny blue plastic. Yikes! I'm aware that there's always those disclaimers that state "Final product my vary from picture", but that's a pretty big decline in quality.



Moving past the lack of detailing and odd color, the ship itself isn't horrible or anything, it's just plain mediocre. It's got the basic look of the Enterprise down pretty well, and there is at least some detailing, but overall it kinda reminds me of a cake decoration. I keep trying to remind myself that it's a camera and not a detailed replica.



The overall size of the ship is pretty decent, and actually a little bigger than I expected. Take a look at it next to the Corgi Enterprise up there. Not bad at all on that front. Oh, and before I forget to mention it- The nacelles light up when it's plugged in, which is kinda cool.



The ship is mounted on a metallic bendy cord with a delta shield in the middle. You can use the cord itself to balance your cam in mid-air, or use the sticky tape on the back of the delta shield to mount it on the back of your computer. The bendy cord is probably my favorite feature of the whole thing.



There's a look at the camera lens itself. Again, I'm no expert on webcams, so I'll just list the specs out here for ya:

- 300k Pixels Camera, 30 frames/second
- Workable on Skype, AIM, MSN, iChat, etc.
- USB plug and play, NO CD required
- Compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Mac (UVC compatible)
- 4 foot USB cable included

Make sense? Good. I have no idea if any of that merits a $30 price tag, but I can tell you that the pics don't seem all that great to me. Here's a shot I took with it at my office computer-



Not terrible, but quite tiny. The video seems pretty choppy too, but again I have no idea what to expect from this level of camera. At $30, I'm sure there are higher quality webcams out there though. The fact that it's the Enterprise definitely ups the cool factor, but the quality of the ship itself is pretty poor. Even a simple thing like using gray plastic instead of blue would have helped immensely, and as it stands now, it's a little too cheap looking to warrant a spot on my desk. So back to the bin you go webcam...

-James

AA/ DST Spotlight- U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 ("Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan")

Item Name: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys



DST released this Enterprise as part of it's "Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan" line.



The Rundown: The greatest ship design to ever grace the silver screen is recreated by DST in plasticized, effect-laden glory! One of the nicest segments of DST releases are their affordable, high-quality replicas of the ships seen in the films and movies. Let's take a peek at their "movie refit" version of the old girl...



The first thing you notice when you see this one in person is the "pearlized" finish used on her. I personally REALLY like the look. It gives it a much richer look than had they just molded it in light gray plastic and called it a day.



Unlike the TOS version, the movie refit of the Enterprise had a ton of little details painted onto the shooting model. DST did a fine job at capturing all of these little bits, and the paint on my original release is very clean and straight... which was probably quite a task with all these little details (more on this later).



Just like all the other DST ship releases, this TWOK version includes an interchangeable battery cover and stand for display purposes. I like the style used here (ball-and-socket) versus the pegged stand used on the TOS ship. The stand feels sturdier and I worry a little less about these taking a dive off my shelf.

And (of course) the ship is loaded with electronics- There's lighted features on the nacelles, deflector, and on the saucer, plus a ton of sound effects! Instead of typing them all out, here's a quick vid so you can just hear them for yourself-



You can't make out the lights that well on the video, but they are just a tad bit on the disappointing side. The deflector could be a bit brighter, and there's a pretty good amount of light bleed on the nacelles. Which leads me to the recent reissue...

Due to popular demand, DST recently did a new production run on the TWOK Enterprise. I picked one up the other day to see what was new on this second release. It seems (to me at least) that the light bleed has been improved a little on this new version. Take a look for yourself (the first one I activate is the original release)-



Not a huge difference, but I believe they used a thicker paint on the nacelles to block some of that bleed a bit. Now while that's an improvement, I have to say that the new release isn't quite as nice as the first in the paint department.



The newer release doesn't have as much sheen as the original. The pearly finish is still there, but it doesn't have the luster of the original. It's tough to tell in the pics, but some of the detailing lacks the sharpness of the original. Instead of sharp edges, the lines look a little more undefined and a bit sloppy.



You can see in this pic what I mean by the nacelle now having a thicker paint. Notice the difference in the nacelle colors there. Again, while that's an improvement, you can also see what I mean by the details being a bit sloppier this time around. The small brown marking at the edge of the nacelle looks sharp on the original, but looks more like a brown splotch on the new release. I should also point out that all of the text used on the new release lacks the definition of the original, even though they seemed to have use a slightly larger text this time around.



Some details seem totally omitted on this new release as well, like the lines encircling the saucer section. At first glance I also thought that the photon torpedo emitter area was missing it's red paint detailing, but upon further investigation it just appears that the paint app is muddy and the red just got lost in the black.



Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on the new release. If I didn't have the original to compare it to, I'm sure I would be totally happy owning the newer version. Any way you cut it, this is a fantastic toy of a beautifully designed ship. If you have a first release, you don't really need the second issue, even with the lesser light bleed. If it's your first time snagging one, even with the little downgrades here and there, I think you'll still be happy owning the reissue.

-James

Remco Spotlight- Star Trek CSF (Controlled Space Flight)

Item Name: Star Trek CSF Controlled Space Flight
Manufacturer: Remco Toys



The Rundown: Borrowing heavily from Mattel's early 1970's VertiBird toys, Remco debuted their Controlled Space Flight line back in 1976. Remco applied the concept to some of the major licenses they held at the time- Batman, Spider-Man, and of course Star Trek!



The concept seems to fit the Star Trek brand quite well. Kids get to fly the Enterprise around on circular missions to pick stuff up! Here's how the set breaks down...



First there's the control housing. This puppy is what makes the magic happen! The controller spins the rod holding the enterprise around in a circular motion and keeps it aloft with the adjustable weight attached to it's side. It's powered by 3 D size batteries! When was the last time you used a D size battery?!? They're big, heavy, and feel like they could power a Toyota.



The Enterprise is suspended from the controller by a long rod. Sure, it's not really an accurate representation of the Enterprise, but some liberties had to be taken to accommodate the fan mechanism the sends the ship into orbit. Betcha never knew it was a fan that kept the old girl flying through space, did ya?



A large cardboard play mat is included for you to lay the rig out on. Notice the Klingon Battle Cruisers and Enterprise on there? Yeah, why aren't those bigger? There's a whole bunch of wasted space here...



A little smaller than Sulu's station, this is the helm control that allows you to control the flight of the ship. Push it forward to fly backward, pull it back to fly forward, or leave it in the center to hover. There's also a speed accelerator that allows you to crank up juice. Here's a quick video showing my extremely novice skills at controlling space flight:



As it states in the instructions- "The only way to become a Star Trek C.S.F. pilot is to practice", which I apparently need plenty of. I have not once managed to pick up one of these little guys-



Using the hook at the base of the Enterprise, you're supposed to be able to dip down and snag these little guys off the ground. Yeah, good luck with that. Mine have a broken clip here or there, but that's no excuse for my lack of skill at "dipping-and-grabbing".

My old age has lessened my patience for learning how to use this puppy, but as a kid I would have LOVED this thing! I would have been a top-rated CSF pilot! For now though I'm just a 31 year old that flunked out of CSF pilot training...

-James

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 1999 Blown Glass U.S.S. Enterprise

Item Name: U.S.S. Enterprise Blown Glass Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark



Hallmark released this "Crown Reflections" ornament as part of it's 1999 assortment of Keepsake Ornaments.

The Rundown: For Star Trek ornament collectors, this piece is one of the holy grails of the line. It's rarity and fragility move it to the top of most collector's want lists. The ornament can command a hefty price on the secondary market, usually selling between $50 and $70. Is it worth that? Check it out-



This guy isn't like your standard Star Trek Hallmark ornament. It's made of blown glass and is way more "ornamenty" than the regular releases. The standard ornaments can usually double as nice little display pieces, but this one really functions only as an ornament.



The ornament is two-sided, with one side showing the classic Star Trek logo...



...and the other featuring the Enterprise flying through space. Since the ornament is made of blown glass, you can't expect much in the way of detail, but the ship still looks pretty decent and the logo is nice and clean.

And that's about all there is to it. I'd have a hard time recommending this one to anybody but the hardcore ornament guys. At the current price, there's just not enough going on here to justify throwing down that kinda cash. Maybe it's just me and I don't appreciate the whole "blown glass" thing enough though...

Since this one was kinda short...expect another short spotlight today to make up for it!

-James