Spockcation!

So my buddy Chunky B (designer behind those AWESOME Toy Factory Star Trek plush "buddies") has this really awesome thing he's doing called "Spockcation" running over at his blog- Eclectorama . He came up with this nifty idea of a "traveling Spock" feature; Folks from different blogs would each take a turn hosting a Mego Spock figure in their respective hometowns, shoot a bunch of pictures with him, and then send him on to his next host. The results have been a ton of fun so far, with some pretty interesting shots of Spock's experiences across the US and Canada.

Well, a couple weeks back I got my turn with everybody's favorite Vulcan! Head on over to Eclectorama today and take a look at our stop on Spock's vacation thrill ride! While you're there, be sure to check out Spock's other vacation stops, plus all the other fun to be had at Eclectorama.

Thanks again to my pal Chunky B for letting Spock stay with us for awhile! We had a blast with him! And with that, I leave you with one shot that didn't quite make the cut- Spock going barbarian as he welcomes Vikor (the latest "Masters Of The Universe Classics" figure) to our collection:



Spock looks good with a sword.

-James

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

Figure Name: Capt. Kirk
Manufacturer: Mego toys Corp.



Mego released Captain Kirk as part of it's carded 3&3/4" Star Trek: The Motion Picture line.



The Rundown: Wow! If memory serves, I'm on the final 2 figures of the Mego TMP line! The very first Mego 3.75" figure spotlight was way back in May of 2009! If I keep my act together over the next few months, I should be able to spotlight the whole line within 2 years. I'll go ahead and make that a goal. Goals rule. With only Kirk and Ilia remaining, I can't really save the best of the line for last (since the aliens are EASILY the highlight of this line), so I guess I'm going to do the opposite- I'll save Ilia for the final spotlight, since she kinda stinks. But enough about ol' baldy... Let's look at Kirk! (And no, Shatner is not bald.)



Unlike some of the other crew figures in the line, this Kirk figure features a fairly accurate uniform. Sure, there's a couple of minor differences, but this one is a whole heckuva lot closer than the likes of Decker or McCoy. Oh, and Kirk had a couple of different looks from the film for Mego to choose from, but I for one am glad they went with this one. Kirk's admiral duds are AWESOME.



The head sculpt is pretty decent here, especially considering it's age. You know what's a little strange though? I only think it's a fair TMP Kirk... but I think it looks EXACTLY like TJ Hooker.



Kirk has the same 5 points of articulation featured across the line. Again, this was over 30 years ago, so you can't judge it by today's multi-jointed 3.75" fare. It got the job done back in the late 70's, and was pretty much the standard until the G.I.Joe 3.75" line of the early 80's.



I did want to address something on Kirk here that I don't think I've mentioned on this line up to this point. I have a couple of TMP Kirk figures in my collection, but I chose to picture this one in particular to highlight a small problem you have to watch out for on this line- the gold paint. Over time, the gold paint used to bring out some of the detailing on these figures can turn green. Kinda funky, so be sure to keep a close eye out for it. Of course, Mego wasn't thinking about how these figures would look 30 years later when they chose the materials for production, so I can overlook this little shortcoming.

Accessories: Nothing. That's really my only true gripe with the line. All it would have taken is one phaser sculpt that could have been dropped in with every figure in the line. Ah well.



If you're collecting this line, OF COURSE you will need a Kirk. All of the crew can be had dirt cheap, so I really shouldn't have to sell you on this one if you decide to buy into the line. So yeah. Go buy him. Spock would say that it is the logical thing to do.



Wait... What's that you have their Kirk? A TRU DST Kang figure?!? Why do you have that? Oh... you inexplicably found a couple sitting on the shelves this past weekend at your local Toys R Us? Weird. And it was on clearance!?! Even weirder. Well, why are you bringing it out here? Oh... you want me to give it away since you hate those Klingon bastards? Yeah, I don't blame you. They did kill your kid afterall. I'm down.

That's right folks! It's time for another giveaway! You want a free DST Kang figure? Well shoot an e-mail to apieceoftheaction@live.com with your name and zip code, throw "Kang giveaway" in the subject line, and help me get this Klingon out of Kirk's face. I'll accept entries for about a week and then announce a winner! Good luck!

Star Trek 'Potpourri' Spotlight- IDW "Infestation" Retailer Incentive Items

Item Name: "Infestation" Crossover Retailer Incentive Items
Publisher/ Manufacturer: IDW Comics

The Rundown: Sorry for the lack of new posts over the last couple of weeks folks! Work has been killer and I just haven't had much free time for posting. I'm actually doing this post at 5 in the morning (sorry if it's a bit incoherent), but I just had to get this one up right away! I just picked up these super keen retailer incentives for the big IDW crossover event "Infestation", and I really wanted to post this up fast so folks are aware of these.



For those of you haven't been keeping current with the wonderful IDW comics (shame on you), "Infestation" is company wide crossover dealing with one of my all-time favorite group of vile villains: ZOMBIES! The story runs through 4 different properties licensed to IDW- G.I.Joe, Transformers, Ghostbusters, and (most importantly) Star Trek! While none of the properties cross paths with each other (you won't see Kirk riding shotgun in Bumblebee or anything like that), the zombie story runs across each universe and is bookended by 2 "Infestation" specials, the first of which hit comic shops yesterday. Along with the book, retailers who ordered enough copies received special incentives to sell (or give away...). For every 10 copies ordered, stores got 1 copy of the sketchbook pictured above.



The sketchbook features reprints of art done by the various artists featured in the books and covers all four properties involved. There just a few Trek sketches inside, but the ones that are reprinted are really cool- My favorites being the McCoy pictured above...



...and this awesome shot by David Messina of zombie Uhura at her station! Now I know a lot of folks might be saying "zombies and Star Trek? Ummm... no thanks! Keep Trek serious please". But really, what's the fun in that? I mean, Trek crossed over with hippies. so why not zombies? I personally LOVE zombie stories, and I don't see the harm in doing a Trek story with them, especially if it's handled right, which this one looks to be. It's being written by my buddy Scott Tipton (bonus), it's set in the TMP era (double bonus), and it has freaking zombies in it (TRIPLE bonus). What's not to love!?!

Sorry, got on a soapbox there, back to the incentives...



The other incentive item for the book is this nifty patch. For every 5 copies ordered, IDW sent along a pack of 5 Trek "Infestation" patches. Each of the 4 licensed properties involved will have a patch featuring their logo with the zombie hand reaching up to it. Of course we all know that the Trek patch is the most important one, and I'm super stoked to iron this puppy onto my favorite jacket. If my wife lets me. Which she won't.

So there ya go! If you're interested in learning more about the book (which you should), head over to your local comic shop and ask your friendly retailer to point you towards "Infestation" issue 1! While you're at, ask him if he has any of these incentives handy. If he doesn't, and you really want one, well e-mail your name to apieceoftheaction@live.com and there's a chance you might get a set for FREE!

That's right! My local comic shop (Queen City comics in Fairfield, OH) was nice enough to hook me up with an extra patch and sketchbook to give away here at the blog! So shoot an e-mail to apieceoftheaction@live.com with your name and zip code (please put "Infestation" in the subject line too) and get entered to win! I'll pick one name at random in about a week or so! Good luck... and go check out the book!

AA/ DST Spotlight- Vina The Orion Slave Woman

Figure Name: Vina The Orion Slave Woman
Manufacturer: Art Asylum


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



The Rundown: Though they made very few appearances in TOS, Orion slave women have become synonymous with classic Trek. Sure, they made quite a mark in "Enterprise", but mention them to most folks and you'll usually get an answer like "oh, you mean those green chicks that Kirk used to hook up with?". Funny thing is that the closest Kirk ever got to actually bedding an Orion female in TOS was crazy ol' Marta in "Whom Gods Destroy"- and that was actually all part of a plan by Lord Garth to trick the good captain. Well, I guess there's also Gaila in the 2009 film, but that was an alternate timeline; We don't actually know if Kirk ever even met her in the regular timeline. That leaves us with the most iconic Orion female of them all... and she wasn't even a real Orion. Plus, she didn't even interact with Kirk. Weird, huh? Anyways...



Vina here was released as part of the insanely awesome third wave of Art Asylum's TOS figures. She hung on peg shelves along the likes of the Gorn Captain and Kor the Klingon. That's some pretty stiff competition, but Vina held her own. She featured the same great sculpting and paint work seen on those... plus she was a freaking Orion slave woman.



Though it's tough to tell in pictures due to the solid green coloring, the likeness to actress Susan Oliver is actually pretty strong here. This is one case where a company could have phoned this one in and most folks wouldn't have even cared, but it looks like AA actually strove to make this a true Vina figure, and not just a random Orion female.



Sitting atop that great head sculpt are Vina' beautiful locks. Instead of being molded in the same material as the head, AA used a funky rubbery material. The rubber is a little different than the stuff they used on the crew uniforms. It feels more like the material they used on Kor's shirt than those.



Vina's dress is a separate piece as well, and is made of the same type of material as her hair. I keep going back and forth on whether I like the use of this stuff on this figure. I'm afraid it's going to degrade pretty badly over time, but I do like the fact that Vina's articulation isn't hindered at all. Speaking of her articulation-



Yeah, okay, so I looked up her dress. But it was all for your benefit, so leave me alone. If I hadn't done that, you might not have known that Vina's articulation is a little different than your standard AA figure. While her right hip has the same swivel joint used on most of the line, her left hip actually features a ball joint, allowing her to pull off crazy dance poses like this one:



Pretty nifty, eh? Dancing was an integral portion of Vina's scene as the Orion slave woman, so it's nice to see the AA kept this in mind when designing this figure's articulation. There is one drawback to them going for her "dancing" look though-



Vina's hands are sculpted to capture the look of her "jazz hands" from this scene as well. While that's great if you want to pose her in that way (as most will), it does leave her looking a bit odd of if you want to put her in a neutral pose. This is one release that would have benefited greatly from interchangeable hands in my opinion.



Accessories: Vina didn't really come with anything, except a small figure stand. The stand is made of a clear blue plastic with one peg that plugs into her foot. I actually misplaced mine, so the best I can offer is a pic of the one in the package. I will say this- Vina is constantly taking dives off my shelf, so I'm definitely glad one was included (and I'm kicking myself for losing it).



Vina is a great release overall and is definitely worthy of inclusion in any AA/ DST display (despite her limited onscreen appearance). Her rubbery bits may pose a problem in the years to come, but right now? She's looking pretty sharp. As of this writing, she's never been reissued by DST, and she's long gone from stores which makes snagging one a bit tricky. Your only option for getting her is turning to the secondary market. Her price can range pretty dramatically, going from anywhere between $15 and $40. While I'd be hesitant to drop 40 clams on her, I think she's a steal at anywhere between $15 and $25..... aw, who am I kidding. I know I'd pay $40 for her if I didn't already have her. We only got three figures from "The Cage", so paying a little extra for Vina isn't so bad. And Pike needs his main squeeze, green or not.

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Menagerie Part 2"

Two in one day! Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Menagerie Part 2"....



-James

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Menagerie Part 1"

All the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Menagerie Part 1". Bet ya can't guess which one I upload next... ;)




-James

Hallmark Ornament Spotlight- 2010 Captain James T. Kirk (Star Trek Legends Series)

Item Name: Captain James T. Kirk Star Trek Legends Ornament
Manufacturer: Hallmark



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



The Rundown: It's that time of year again... Time for the holiday clearance sale at Hallmark! If you've stayed thrifty and avoided buying Hallmark's 3 Trek ornament offerings for this year, now is the time for a trip to your local Hallmark. As the holiday winds down, the stores begin to divest themselves of their Christmas ornament selection... meaning you'll be able to snag the trio at a deep discount if you're lucky. Sadly, this season's offerings weren't quite up to par with the last few years. While the Amok Time ornament was pretty cool, the 2009 film inspired Enterprise left a bit to be desired (especially in the quality control department). The last of the three is the Kirk we're looking at today. How's he stack up? Let's take a look...



Kirk is the first in a new series of Hallmark ornaments dubbed "Star Trek Legends". The series is slated to feature a new character from the original television series every year. While I'm all for more TOS-inspired ornaments, this seems a little redundant to me. Sure, the series may end up giving us some characters we don't already have in ornament form eventually, but I really see this as Hallmark looking at a way to sell us the main guys again in new poses. We already have perfectly good ornaments of most the original crew from Hallmark. The only way a "re-do" makes sense is if you do it better... and judging by this Kirk, they aren't doing them any better.



Let's start with the head... You're probably looking at that pic up there and thinking to yourself- "man, that is a pretty horrible likeness". Well, you're wrong. The likeness is great, see?



The ornament is a dead ringer of John Belushi as Captain Kirk from the old SNL Star Trek skit. Kudos to Hallmark for plucking this obscure moment of Trek history and producing this... Wait. What? It's supposed to be Shatner? Really? Oh.... well. Yeah, it sucks then.

Seriously, I know that in the past I've cut Hallmark some slack on likenesses. These things are usually fairly small, and the materials used to make them aren't really conductive to facial accuracy.... but I can't let this one slide. At 4" tall, there's no reason the likeness on this Kirk should be SO much worse than previous smaller efforts from Hallmark. It's bad. Real bad.



Unfortunately, the likeness isn't the only issue on Kirk. His proportions are REALLY wonky. Take a look at his pipe-cleaner arms and ridiculously inflated phaser up there. In the immortal words of Captain Panaka from Star Wars Episode I- "Looks pretty bad". I'm really not sure how Kirk even made it into production looking like this.

Oh yeah, and it's a minor gripe, but Kirk can't stand on his own either. I know, I know, he's meant to hang from a tree. Maybe I'm weird, but I like to display my ornaments too, and there really isn't any reason that a "posed" figure like this shouldn't be able to stand on it's own. Oh well, enough belly-aching... Here's his box bio-



That's weird. They forgot to mention his adventures with Dan Aykroyd in "Blues Brothers". They must have run out of space.



To be fair, Kirk was the cheapest of this year's offerings at only $14.95. Too bad he isn't worth that though. Simply put, the previous single Kirk produced by Hallmark WAY back in 1995 is a superior product and can still be had for less than that. As I said at the start of this though, it's clearance time at Hallmark, so you should be able to find Kirk for a cheaper price now. I'm willing to bet that if you find any of this year's ornaments still on the shelves, it will be this one. "Legends" Kirk doesn't bring anything new to the table, other than worries that Hallmark may be letting the quality slip on their Trek products just a bit...