Figure Friday…the final frontier…I’m not really sure where I was going with that other than to signal that I’ll once again be writing about one of my great loves, Star Trek.
I could wax rhapsodic about how Trek offers me both escapism and provides an aspirational view of the future but I’m here to write about toys. Trek toys. Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s there wasn’t a ton of Star Trek merchandise for a young Trekkie such as myself. I had a singular Commander Riker figure (pre-beard) from the 1988 Galoob line and that was it until Playmates got the license in the mid-90’s.
The Playmate’s toys weren’t much to look at if I’m being honest. It’s kind of difficult to make action figures based on a show that was mostly sitting and talking. Of course, that didn’t stop me from collecting nearly the whole damn line.
Luckily here, in the future, Star Trek merchandise has only gotten better and better. I’ve got a full display case of all the comm badges (arranged chronologically from TOS to Discovery), a virtual armory of 3D printed phaser props, and a full starfleet of Starfleet’s ships. It’s something of a minor miracle that I’ve managed to date as many people as I have.
Star Trek Starships Die Cast Collection
As I mentioned above I’ve got a whole slew of the previous Starships collection that was produced by Eaglemoss until they went under a few years back. It was a real shot to the warp core when they stopped producing ships but I was secure in the fact that I had pretty much all my old favorites as well as every single U.S.S. Enterprise 1701 A through F.
But then Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds had to come along and taunt with amazing new ship designs, and there I was, shipless.
Thankfully, Fanhome swooped in and acquired the license, and I signed up for their subscription service the second I could. Presently, I’m a few months into my subscription, and they’ve all been amazing. They’re slightly larger than the previous standard Eaglemoss models, which really allows them to show off the details of each ship.
I’m particularly enamoured with the Titan NCC-80102-A (and, by extension, the forthcoming Enterprise 1701-G), and I’ve enjoyed lurking on r/StarTrekStarships reading all the shitty hot takes on why Trekkies hate this design and that it’s “too small” to be an Enterprise. It’s a great-looking ship, and there’s no rule out there that says every subsequent Enterprise has to be larger than the one that preceded it. If you want to get real in the weeds about it (I do), the 1701-E was technically a smaller ship than the 1701-D.
Now, the bad news: If you’re looking to sign up for this subscription service…you can’t. Subscriptions are currently closed until March and buying prior ships individually is off the table as well for the moment. I suppose it’s good that they’re selling so well since that’ll keep the line going for the foreseeable future.
Master Replicas Star Trek Figures
Last week, Master Replicas announced they’re getting into the Trek figure game, and it looks like we’re going to be in for some amazing figures.
Honestly, this seems like what Playmates should have done with the license when they briefly held it and promptly cancelled it a couple of years ago. Based on what I’m seeing these new figures have improved sculpts, articulation, and most importantly, they’re new. I was unfortunately unimpressed with the last outing from Playmates because they looked like lost figures or rehashes from the 1990’s line. I know there’s some merit in retro and throwback designs, but the Trek license wasn’t one that could benefit from it.
This new line has a few figures from Picard, hot-Spock from Strange New Worlds, and a significant amount of the crew from Lower Decks. It’s refreshing to finally see some contemporary figures coming out of a Star Trek line.
I’m taking a “wait and see” approach to these figures. The sculpts look good but the bulk of them seem a tad broad-shouldered. Not necessarily something I think about when I think of Admiral Picard. Still, as a Trek fan I’m glad they exist and I’ve already chatted with a few people that have preorder both Spock and Picard.
Until next time, live long and prosper.
