AA/ DST Figure Spotlight- Mirror Scotty

Figure Name: Mirror Scotty
Manufacturer: Art Asylum Toys



Mirror Scotty was released as a boxed "Special Commemorative Edition" exclusive figure.



The Rundown: To commemorate James Doohan's farewell convention appearance, Art Asylum made this exclusive Scotty figure based on his appearance from "Mirror, Mirror". The box is pretty nice and lists the figure as a "Special Commemorative Edition" (although the picture on the box is not of the mirror universe Scotty...). If you want to build your Art Asylum style Mirror crew, this is the only way to get Mirror Scotty.



The figure itself is pretty nice. It is mostly just reused parts from the TOS Wave 2 Scotty figure, which isn't a bad thing since that's one of the best of AA's releases. The sculpt and articulation are just as great here as they were on that figure. The only thing really new is the shirt mold.



AA did a really fine job of capturing all the little details on the shirt. The little chest medals are actually sculpted and are not just painted on there. The sash is well sculpted too, with a little hole to plug the dagger's sheath into.
Pretty awesome.

So at this point you're probably thinking this figure is pretty much the bee's knees, right? Well, no... there's one major nitpick....



He's got the wrong kind of boots! While this may seem a little nitpicky, you have to concede that the "Mirror, mirror" thigh-high boots are substantially different than the regular uniform boots. What makes it even more head-scratching is the fact that they had the correct boot mold on Mirror Kirk and Mirror Spock! So it's not even a matter of justifying the cost of a new mold, they just used the wrong boots.

If I recall correctly, back on the AA boards they tried to argue that they based it off screen caps and that he was actually wearing regular boots... I don't know what screen caps they saw, but every shot I've ever seen has him in the thigh-highs. That's what the figure should have been in and they didn't do it. It's not a huge issue to switch the legs out at the thighs and make him more accurate (as I have done on my display one at home), it just stinks that you have to do it. You shouldn't have to buy 2 figures to make 1 correct version, especially on something labeled as a special edition.



Still, despite the boot issue, it's a very cool figure to own, and a must have for Mirror Universe fans like myself.



Accessories: Mirror Scott is loaded with accessories! He's got an extra hand, a communicator, a phaser, a tricorder, a dagger and a sheath!

-James

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- Custom Playmates Lazarus

Figure Name: Lazarus
Made by customizer Matthew Hackley



The Rundowm- "The Alternative Factor" is one of those Trek episodes that allot of fans seem to really dislike. Admittedly, I wasn't a huge fan of it growing up, but I've come to appreciate it more over time. The episode was originally supposed to feature John Drew Barrymore as Lazarus. Barrymore was contracted and a specially designed and fitted wardrobe was constructed for him. The day of filming comes...and Barrymore just doesn't show up. He bailed on his contract and left the episode in a real bind. The role had to be quickly recast and the costume had to be totally scrapped and an inexpensive costume had to be quickly thrown together. Oh, and the episode had it's budget severely hampered due to lost filming time caused by Barrymore's absence. So this one had a whole lotta probelms going into it.... Knowing all that, I'm able to cut it a bit of slack... Anyways, onto the figure!



Matt did a heckuva job capturing the crazed look of Lazarus' face. He really nailed the sleep deprived look of his eyes and his crazy wild goatee. But the outfit is what really sells this one. Here's what Lazarus looked like in the show:



Now check out all the details Matt picked up on-



Lazarus had some crazy weird pirate sleeve things going on and some odd knee points to match. Plus there's black speckles all over his outfit that I never really picked up on when watching the show. Really nice work!

So here he is...Playmates style Lazarus!

Mego Figure Spotlight- Rigellian (3&3/4" 'The Motion Picture' Figure)

Figure Name: Rigellian
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.



The Rigellian was released carded as part of the scarce second series of Mego 3&3/4" Star Trek: The Motion Picture figures. (sorry, no carded pic here)



The Rundown: As with all the Mego TMP aliens, this figure is pretty great for it's time. These figures came out around the same time as Kenner's Empire strikes Back line and they'd give any alien figure in that line a run for it's money. The Rigellian here is a very quirky looking figure with a really fantastic, thin alien sculpt. The only problem is that it's not a Rigellian. It's a Saurian. See? Saurian-



And Mego's *ahem* "Rigellian"-



See? the sculpt looks a whole heckuva lot more accurate when you get the name right! I really dig the Mego TMP aliens. They're all really great sculpts for the time...and it's cool that Mego really took a cue from the Kenner Star wars figures and mixed some background aliens into the line! If you can't get this one at a decent price, snag it up!

Accessories: Nada. So don't go looking for any!

-James

AA/ DST Figure Spotlight- Commander Spock

Figure Name: Commander Spock
Manufacturer: Art Asylum Toys



Spock was released carded as part of Art Asylum's first wave of Classic Star Trek figures...



...and as part of an Avon exclsuive 3-pack with Kirk and Dr. McCoy.



...and just for for fun, this is the one I had autographed by Mr. Nimoy!



The Rundown: The first wave of Art Asylum's Classic Star Trek figures was a fanboy's dream come true! We all knew Art Asylum would do great things with the license, but they really took it to a whole new level with the TOS stuff. The head sculpts didn't rely on real scanning since it would obviously be impossible to get head scans from 40 years ago. But here's what a good sculptor can do:



It would be tough for any scanning machine to pull off a Nimoy likeness that good. It really captures spock from all angles. The paint apps on the face are really solid too. The skintone is slightly different than the rest of the figures; just enough to make him seem a little more 'alien'.



The body, as with all the AA TOS stuff, is a fantastic balance between articulation and sculpt. There are so many lines today that can't hit that balance. It's either 'super articulated but looks like a robot' or 'a great looking sculpt that's basically a statue'. AA knew what they were doing. He's articulated perfectly.



Now for the nitpicks. Again, the rubber shirt worries me. They probably won't hold up well over time. The paint on the symbol has already turned a slightly greenish color, and the black collar is leaving a weird black residue on the neck. I really, REALLY wish they hadn't used those rubber shirts. The other drawback is the left Vulcan salute hand. Sure, AA included an extra hand, but it's an extra RIGHT hand! What kind of sense does that make!?! So your stuck with a constantly saluting Spock...unless you crib an extra hand from an Enterprise figure or something...



Accessories: Spock has a tricorder, a phaser, and an extra hand.

-James

Playmates Figure Spotlight- Captain James Kirk (As a gangster from "A Piece Of The Action")

Figure Name: Captain James Kirk (as a gangster from "A Piece Of The Action")
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Kirk was released boxed as a Toyfare Exclusive.



The Rundown: Toyfare got a few exclusive playmates Trek figures over the years. They usually consisted of simple head switches and repaints of existing bodies. Kirk here features the standard Kirk head, and a repaint of the Dixon Hill suit body.



Again, Playmates did a solid job on the 'tough-to-capture' Shatner likeness. It's very good for the scale and the time. The body is nice too, but may be a wee bit on the thick side. I would have preferred that they had used the Data suit body, as it's a bit more realistically proportioned, but I'll take what I can get!



Accessories: Kirk comes with a display stand (not pictured) and a communicator. I forgot to take a picture of the communicator by itself, but I'm pretty sure you know what one looks like...



Hey, little tip for ya! Kirk doesn't come with a hat, but that 40's attire Data does have a perfectly good one glued to his head! You'll have to work it off of there since it's glued on, but once you get it off, it makes a perfect hat for this Kirk.



Hey, another tip! The Dixon Hill in the holodeck 3 pack is in a brown suit...throw a Spock head on there, do some cutting and dremeling on the hat/head and bam...you've got a pretty easy Spocko to throw with your Kirk!

-James

Mego Figure Spotlight- Mr. Scott (Scottie)

Figure Name: Mr. Scott (Scottie)
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp.



Mr. Scott was released carded as part of Mego's first assortment of 8" Star Trek figures.



The Rundown: While Mego did some pretty crazy stuff with their 8" Trek aliens, the crew figures were top notch! The clothing was accurate, the head sculpts were solid, and the accessories were very well done! Scotty (or as Mego spells it "Scottie") here shows how much care went into the crew figures-



Let's start with the head; while it's not as good as some of the other crew member heads, it's still pretty good. Like the Klingon figure I reviewed before, I kinda feel Mego based the sculpt more on the animated version of the character as opposed to the live action version. See?



That looks much closer, at least to me. Either way, you stick him with the rest of the crew and there's no doubt that he's Scotty.



As far as the rest of the figure is concerned, I don't have many complaints. It's the well-articluated standard mego body with a nicely made outfit. It was a great figure back in it's day, and it's still a great figure now (as evidenced by the popularity of the rereleases).



Accessories: Mr. Scott comes with a black belt, a bluse phaser, and a blue communicator....just the stuff he needs to give her all she's got....

Playmates Figure Spotlight- Trelane

Figure Name: Trelane
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Trelane was released carded as part of Playmates Star Trek Warp Factor Series.



The Rundown: William Campbell played not 1, but 2 classic series antagonists; Koloth the Klingon, and Trelane, the Squire of Gothos! And not only that, Playmates did figures of both of his characters! (In fact, he's the only classic style klingon made by playmates...not bad Mr.Campbell!)



The head sculpt is really good...maybe not quite as good as the Koloth head, but still really good. It captures the playfully mischievous grin of the character quite well...



The body is for the most part well sculpted. It features a rubbery coat, which is something Playmates didn't do much at all (I can't really recall any othe figures that had one). The sculpt is pretty intricately detailed to. There's only one major drawback on the figure. The legs. They are permanently bent at the knees. While that works fine for poses like the dueling one above, it doesn't work when you have the figure just kinda standing there-



See? Kinda strange looking. Still, it's Trelane! I'll take him any way I can get him!



Accessories: Trelane comes with very nice character specific stuff; he's got the dueling pistol, his sword, and the mirror that Kirk shot with a nifty decal showing it's inner workings.

And here's his bio for some light reading-



-James