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Star Trek - Reincarnated from the Genesis Planet!


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After the announcement I was curious about the Playmates line and did some checking. It's pretty amazing how many figures they made. I would usually say minimates would be able to cover more characters and specific versions than anyone else, but I think it's going to be pretty tough to top what Playmates managed. I'm just hoping we can get TNG and DS9 bridge crews.

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The thing about Playmates to remember was that they started making figures in the prime of Trek. TNG was on and popular and then DS9 came around and had a good following. It'd be hard to find that kind of fanbase any more to support that many Minimates.

Sure, I remember the time well. I still think they managed to do really well, even though it's obvious that the toy business was very different at the time. It certainly wouldn't be a bad place to look if DST needed some ideas. Checking out the list of characters produced convinced me I'd really like to see a two-pack of Captain's Jacket Picard and Dathon, among others.

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The thing that any toy licensee could capitalize on is the uniformity of the costumes. You sculpt one Away Team jacket and it's good for everybody. That would be a good way to offer Minimates like Pike and Spock from "The Cage" again; just put them in Away Team gear with extra pieces to make bridge versions as well.

I was huge into Playmates back in the day but they made some decisions that still irk me.

- The original Riker figure came in a battle-damage uniform. Later releases saw the same sculpted damage cheaply painted over (like we weren't supposed to notice).

- The hip articulation was great for pornographic dioramas and little else. Thanks to the V-cut, the figures couldn't even sit properly in their bridge chairs without looking like they were visiting an OB/GYN.

- Because the emitting beams were sculpted to the phasers, weapons looked like bad light sabers.

- The First Contact figures were inexplicably an a 6" scale. They looked great but were terribly out of place with the rest of the 5" line.

But they did offer some fun playsets and vehicles along with a wide variety of characters from most of the TV series and some films. I still have the Galileo from TOS and the bridge and transporter from TNG. I always wished the figures were in the 3 3/4" scale so I could have that Star Wars/Star Trek crossover. When the last movie came out I found it hard to believe that the same company that had delivered such a successful Trek line in the past had failed to do so years later.

I have high hopes for DST's Minimates. I know the new films are bringing in new fans, people who had never given Trek a second glance but are now going back and watching the previous films and shows. With any luck that will translate into big bucks for this latest incarnation of Trek 'mates.

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Oh, ye of little faith. wink.png

I know The Olde Guard is literally dying off but I'm always surprised at how many new fans of the TV shows I run into.

Besides, AA/DST has already offered 49 Trek Minimates (not including the unannounced TRU assortment). Playmates had 159 figures in its standard line so you're already over a quarter of the way there.

Happy thoughts. smile.png

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We could easily surpass Playmates line IF we count quick customs!

Another ideal army-builder would be :

Tholian Web Spacesuit Checkov & TOS Romulan (Generic)

So, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Chekov all appeared in that space suit. There are an abundance of Kirk, Spock and McCoy figures from the older TOS wave 3&4 of minimates available for quick customs at reasonable prices. Add to that there will likely be future figures of those three with army builders we want. But Chekov only has 3 visually different outfits in TOS (not counting the movies), so this would be a good spot to use Chekov. (the three Chekov variants besides his standard uniform are the Mirror Mirror, Gamesters of Triskelion and Tholian Web outfits). Yes, I know Kirk was the star of that episode, but there are many, many more TOS versions I want so my first choice was Chekov for the reasons stated. But if it has to be Kirk, the same reasoning works, I'm buying a bunch to make the whole crew.

From there, maybe a tiny label sheet to add the characters name to the suit (is it even necessary at that scale? I'd be okay without it). If you really want to get fancy, you could have the upper torso as a separate piece with the characters torso print being the standard uniform and include interchangeable arms (silver spacesuit with extra yellow uniform arms). For cost purposes, you could leave him with the spacesuit lower body and leave OUT the black pant legs, as these are easily interchangeable from any other TOS Trek mate! But if you make the torso print the space suit instead of going the sculpted piece route, whatever it takes to get the job done! Just remember that the helmet has to accomodate the head with the hair piece on.

Of course, if you really wanted to get fancy, space suits are one way to reintroduce the TOS bridge crew, you'd just have to include more parts because if you want to use it in that manner, you'd have to pack each figure in their iconic uniform and advertise the add-on spacesuit pieces, meaning 1 extra set of legs as well as everything else mentioned. Remember that theres a TOS red beekeeper-like suit as well that Spock wears, and IIRC Sulu too (even if not, just give him one!)

Also, for re-introducing the crew, Scotty in his basic TOS red shirt is the only one you needn't worry much about - he's a highly sought after figure due to the quick-custom potential of his red shirt, so you can save costs with him and give him an army builder alien (either a different TOS Romulan or Klingon)

So, BAM! I'd buy four of this set just for the spacesuits AND 4 generic Romulans

So, to end this lengthy treatize on Trek Minimates, I think the best plans for this line is to aim to satisfy the quick-customizer community - maybe by highlighting the possibilities on a blog? There's just no way we're going to get every major variation of every crew member in Star Trek, so this seems the best route for better sales.

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I think the best plans for this line is to aim to satisfy the quick-customizer community - maybe by highlighting the possibilities on a blog? There's just no way we're going to get every major variation of every crew member in Star Trek, so this seems the best route for better sales.

Absolutely. If they can only get out one of each of, say, Data, Geordi and Worf, I'd want TNG Worf, Generations Geordi and First Contact Data. Assuming Worf's sash or tire tread or whatever is a separate piece we can make versions of each character in each uniform.

If they were ever to make a season 1 Riker, you can then use the Riker body and another Geordi and Worf to make their season 1 versions and so on and so on.

Edited by Big Ape
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The thing that any toy licensee could capitalize on is the uniformity of the costumes. You sculpt one Away Team jacket and it's good for everybody. That would be a good way to offer Minimates like Pike and Spock from "The Cage" again; just put them in Away Team gear with extra pieces to make bridge versions as well.

I was huge into Playmates back in the day but they made some decisions that still irk me.

- The original Riker figure came in a battle-damage uniform. Later releases saw the same sculpted damage cheaply painted over (like we weren't supposed to notice).

- The hip articulation was great for pornographic dioramas and little else. Thanks to the V-cut, the figures couldn't even sit properly in their bridge chairs without looking like they were visiting an OB/GYN.

- Because the emitting beams were sculpted to the phasers, weapons looked like bad light sabers.

- The First Contact figures were inexplicably an a 6" scale. They looked great but were terribly out of place with the rest of the 5" line.

But they did offer some fun playsets and vehicles along with a wide variety of characters from most of the TV series and some films. I still have the Galileo from TOS and the bridge and transporter from TNG. I always wished the figures were in the 3 3/4" scale so I could have that Star Wars/Star Trek crossover. When the last movie came out I found it hard to believe that the same company that had delivered such a successful Trek line in the past had failed to do so years later.

I have high hopes for DST's Minimates. I know the new films are bringing in new fans, people who had never given Trek a second glance but are now going back and watching the previous films and shows. With any luck that will translate into big bucks for this latest incarnation of Trek 'mates.

I collected most of these but was just so overwhelmed by all of the variants and my disappointment that the ST:Generations lines had no articulation. I sold most on ebay, with a few exceptions

It's hard to believe those came out 20 years ago.

I replaced that collection with the AA/DST 9" characters (s well as BSG.) because there is no comparison in detail, but I have hung onto the 6" First Contact & DS9 figures

For reasons that are purely related to my childhood, I have also been recently scooping up the retro cloth figures and bridge set

I hated the Playmates toys for the recent Trek movie, but bought them because I wanted the bridge set - which turned out to be another disappointment.

Looking forward to more Trek minimates

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Your experience pretty much echoes mine, Captain.

I started dropping the Playmates line when it became more frustrating than fun to collect. The 1701 Series and con exclusives (CONNNNNN!) ticked me off enough but when the line became a Target exclusive, I knew it was over for me.

I came to the Art Asylum board when I heard they had the license for Trek figures hoping they'd be offering 3 3/4" figures. What I found were 7" figures with rubber pants in a time when 6" figures ruled the marketplace and the Furby Yoda was deteriorating on the shelf due to crappy rubber eyelids. The only way you could get AA founder Digger to address your concerns was by punctuating posts with F-bombs here and there. I became the bane of his online existence and, in true corporate American fashion, ultimately became a message board moderator, but I digress...

It was the 3" Trek Minimates that satified my need for a Trek fix. I never cared about block figures before playing with those but there weren't nearly enough of them. When the 2" line hit, I was thrilled... until even this TOS fan was overloaded with Kirks and Spocks.

I think the third time will be the charm. The only thing that gives me pause is the lack of a chase figure. As a collector, I don't care about the hunt. I'm more concerned about the longevity of the line. From a business standpoint, retailers will be able to order fewer cases but fewer cases sold means less money for DST. I'm really concerned that this business model – which is identical to DC Direct's failed line of Minimates – won't be able to sustain the line for long. I hope I'm wrong.

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I think the third time will be the charm. The only thing that gives me pause is the lack of a chase figure. As a collector, I don't care about the hunt. I'm more concerned about the longevity of the line. From a business standpoint, retailers will be able to order fewer cases but fewer cases sold means less money for DST. I'm really concerned that this business model which is identical to DC Direct's failed line of Minimates won't be able to sustain the line for long. I hope I'm wrong.

You forget that DST has learned since the DC mates. The new preferred case break down is:

2-3-3-4 or 2-2-4-4

You want three sets? Buy 2 cases. Luke and a couple others are the only ones getting god cases these days. And only rarely are the TRU waves evenly packed, very rarely.

Hopefully the new break down allows for more longevity to the line than DC got, although this new break down doesn't have a great track record either:

MvC

SFvT

BB (hopefully we'll see more than one wave)

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I collected the Playmates "Five Inch" line. I am only missing 6 figures from that line. I was able to get most of the limited edition figures as well as several of the European exclusives. Off the top of my head I am only Missing Tapestry Picard, Yesterday's Enterprise Yar, Projections Barclay, Redemption Data, Thomas Riker (from TNG), and The Worf that came with a set of vhs tapes. I got the Euro/Australian release of Seven of Nine and Dr. Crusher and I also got both figures of the Where No Man Has Gone Before episode (Scotty and Sulu) that were a convention exclusive for free. I even have a few that I have multiples of due to variations of packaging.

I have customized all of the TNG crew except Worf and I have made Romulans from both TNG and TOS. I have made Andorians, Cherons, Mugato, Shanha (from Gamesters of Triskelian). I have made O'Brien for both TNG and DS9. I have made Jadzia Dax, Major Kira, Seven of Nine, Janeway, Chakotay and Paris. I have even made Number One and Tyler from the Cage. I have a Guinan, a Keiko O'Brien and with the help of Luke I have Bones, Chekov and Scotty from Mirror, Mirror. I even maked Lt. Moreau in the regular universe and Chapel in the Mirror Universe. I have Sisko from Trials & Tribble-ations. I have Picard from First Contact, Sulu and Kirk from Where No Man Has Gone Before, Kirk & Spock from The City on the Edge of Forever. I have few more that I am drawing a blank on. WIP Dr. Bashir, Odo, Dress Uniform Scotty, a robed Vulcan, and Kirk from Patters of Force.

I am thankful for the new line of ST minimates as I would like to get all of them (several fold) to work on Enterprise customs and the TNG crew in First Contact Uniforms. I would like to see more ST minimates to follow. I would like an official Janeway and Chakotay, I would like to see some variations of Picard (Captain's Jacket, Tapestry Picard) and Sisko (Mirror Universe). I would like to see A Piece of the Action Kirk & Spock and others from that episode. I would like to see A Fistful of Data characters, and I would like to see Neelix, Kes, Quark, Morn, the Crew of Enterprise with Dr. Phlox.

I like the idea mentioned about parts. You could make Trip in his uniform and include the parts to convert him to an Environmental suit. You could make Chekov in an environmental suit and then include parts to convert him to his duty uniform. I would also like to see a Picard that you can convert to Locutus of Borg and then while we are at it a Data in First Contact uniform that you can switch out his head and an arm to make him look like his is being Borgified. You can do it with Seven of Nine as well.

I would really hope we see more ST minimates. Also, I keep reading on here that there is supposed to be a Toys R Us set but the news release I read that announced this Legacy line stated it was for Specialty Market only so that tells me TRU would not be getting any, did I read that wrong? I hope that we get even assortments so they are easy to come by. In the first waves of Trek minimates you got one Variant and then three packages without the variant and then four of the other packages from that wave per case of 12 packages. Ex: Kirk & Vina x4, Pike & Spock x4, Scotty & Dr. McCoy x3, Scotty & Dress Uniform McCoy x1. Luke is advertizing Custom Cases with three packages of each set in the case of 12. Which set would be the variant if they were to package them the way they used to do it?

Thank you and I hope to order my case of Legacy mates very soon.

Edited by Captain Paco
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