Star Trek - Reincarnated from the Genesis Planet!

[Macross-Junkie]

The ship's grown on me too, but I'm more impressed with the updated Kirk, the expression and hair seem much more Shatnery to me than the original mate did way back when.

In fact the actor likenesses on all of these mates are pretty excellent, really selling me on the line this time around.

Not digging the Captains Chair at all. Sitting here looking at my DST Kirk in chair and just realized the minimates chair has to many slants and diagonal lines. The chair in the series is much more square...

[winkerbean]

Toy Fair Enterprise is closer to production. We never have clear parts in prototypes. Gul Dukat has one head. Janeway will be more common at TRU than at specialty, but she's still not as popular as Kirk and Picard. The TOS set will be different, but feel free to skip it if you feel like it.

wait, Janeway is coming out at specialty too??

[Mystery Man]

That Enterprise ship w/Kirk just grew on me a WHOLE lot more. Was gonna get it... but now I want it really bad!

[buttheadsmate]

The last Cardassian had two faces on the one head and it was just fine. There can't really be a problem. I think it is a good idea. I am all for the double face and it could be done as just a single tampo and wrapped around the head.

Talking heads......................the more I ponder on how Minimates are produced the more I marvel at them . Without spending a day or two at the factory......which I would love to do ....I have no actual knowledge of how they are painted .....fact.

I'll continue to use the word 'painted' in the absence of a word that accurately conveys the entire process.

That said I can confidently say that I have figured out how most of the parts are painted & that it generally involves the rotation of each moulded part & perhaps constructed part s (leg or arm assembly) through an arc whilst in contact with a paint/ink/tampo/applicator . Most of the standard Minimate body parts have either a circular opening (socket) or peg which you'd be right in thinking are necessary for the assembly of a Minimate , my opinion is that they are also used for accurately holding the part/assembly prior to painting. The next time you look at a disassembled Minimate have a darn good look at the sockets within the moulded parts & you might be surprised to see that they are not quite as round as you may have thought .....they are hexagons ,hexagons are superb for tooling of any description,plain circular holes not so much. A Minimate head however has a square socket within it & SOMETIMES a hexagonal hole in the top ....often without a completely rational reason............. unless it's an aid in the 'painting process

Soooooooooooooooo .......'Painting' two different faces on opposite sides of a Minimate head perhaps takes this process to its economical limit ,it can be done but it's cheaper (less hassle) to produce two heads each with a different face.

I could go on .....but by now you're probably all asleep

[groundhog7s]

Toy Fair Enterprise is closer to production. We never have clear parts in prototypes. Gul Dukat has one head. Janeway will be more common at TRU than at specialty, but she's still not as popular as Kirk and Picard. The TOS set will be different, but feel free to skip it if you feel like it.

wait, Janeway is coming out at specialty too??

Zach can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe what he's saying is that a short-packed TRU exclusive still has more production numbers that regularly released LCS product.

[buttheadsmate]

Toy Fair Enterprise is closer to production. We never have clear parts in prototypes. Gul Dukat has one head. Janeway will be more common at TRU than at specialty, but she's still not as popular as Kirk and Picard. The TOS set will be different, but feel free to skip it if you feel like it.

wait, Janeway is coming out at specialty too??

Zach can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe what he's saying is that a short-packed TRU exclusive still has more production numbers that regularly released LCS product.

I thought that the factuality was that there are more short-packed TRU exclusives than LCS variants .

[karamazov80]

I like that new Kirk, as well. Definitely get more of a Shatner vibe from it.

[groundhog7s]

I thought that the factuality was that there are more short-packed TRU exclusives than LCS variants .

I guess I'm making that assumption since there are no variants in this wave.

[MisterPL]

Toy Fair Enterprise is closer to production. We never have clear parts in prototypes. Gul Dukat has one head. Janeway will be more common at TRU than at specialty, but she's still not as popular as Kirk and Picard. The TOS set will be different, but feel free to skip it if you feel like it.

wait, Janeway is coming out at specialty too??

Zach can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe what he's saying is that a short-packed TRU exclusive still has more production numbers that regularly released LCS product.

That confused me, too. Your explanation makes sense but LCS and e-tailers have the advantage of pre-orders. So unless there's "an error at the factory" (Marvel Series 48) you're pretty much guaranteed to get that figure. If it's short-packed at TRU and there's only one store within a decent distance, you're stuck with the online crapshoot that is TRU.com or depending on the kindness of strangers, which is a pretty f@#ked up distrubution strategy if you ask me.

If TRU is going to be getting exclusive figures from here on in, I wish they'd allow pre-orders online and in stores.

[karamazov80]

Yeah, that's been the conflict all along since that argument was first made--so more TRU figures exist. Great, except they are harder to track down and acquire because few go for pre-order/online sale, maybe half of hardcore Minimate collectors have access to a brick and mortar TRU, little kids and casual fans are more likely to buy stock, etc. So, actual production numbers don't necessarily mean much.

Edited February 14, 2013 by karamazov80

[Liney]

Am I the only one a little peeved that to get any of the Borg you also have to get Picard? I love Picard, but I don't need three different versions of him.

I will end up with three though

[MisterPL]

I'd have been okay with pairing different Borg drones with characters other than Picard. I sure don't want Picard – or any other character – to be the next Kirk in terms of dominating assortments to the point where fans get the impression it's a TNG-only line.

The trick is to convince retailers that there's just as much demand for Worf or Wesley as there is Picard.

[Liney]

Very true, but does it have to be just TNG? The Borg turned up in Voyager a lot, how about Tuvok or someone, since Janeway and Seven are forthcoming?

[tones]

you gotta cut them a little slack with these just coming back though. Kirk and Picard are proven sellers, so the line itself needs them even if you don't.

If Trek mates are going to have a successful return, these first offerings have to do really well. The fact that TRU is on board will help tremendously, but we need new buyers not just collectors looking to expand their current Star Trek collection. Having Kirk and/or Picard available from the get-go will do nothing but help and at least they aren't straight up rereleases of the previous mates. In fact getting all of the Captains out of the way early will be better for sales.

New buyers will be more likely to pick up the "main" characters before a crew member and once they have the Captains they'll be more likely to go after the crew. It's the best way to ensure that the line continues so we do get to complete all the crews, and thats what we all want.

[Liney]

I'm not objecting to having various Picards, its who he's packed with. Each Borg is with a Picard, so even if a new collector wanted Borgs they would still end up having two Picards. But I guess that's the point of the speciality/TRU line...

Not trying to be negative, I'm stoked for the return of Star Trek.

[tones]

sorry, i feel like i've been trying to justify why Trek minimates should come back for so long, i can't stop. don't think it'll really set in til they're in my hands

i think the Borg that comes with Picard is Hugh. i'll still be getting 2 or 3 for Borg parts though.

[monkeycrumb]

I'm happy that they at least made Picard in a different, interesting uniform.

I'm not thrilled that it'll take a while to get more crewmembers, but I understand their strategy here. Not everyone buys from just TRU or just Specialty, but there are some that do. And neither retailer wants to be left out on the main captains! This way, nobody is alienated (heh), and decides to skip out on down-the-road characters that would be an incomplete "team" without the Captain.

I think I've mentioned already that I'm glad they made 7 with Janeway, because Voyager is one where I'd be happy to see them finish off the team early so it clears up a spot for another show's 2-pack, i.e an extra TNG or DS9 pack

If this line ends without us getting the entire main TNG cast in their TV uniforms (I can give or take the movie versions), and without the main DS9 cast, I will be terribly unhappy! I've always been a DS9 fan, but now with Netlfix streaming, it seems like there are more new fans coming on board, especially from those who snubbed it back in the day, and now claim it's among their favorites! I hope this carries over to retail, since we never got the full cast in 7-inch figure form.

Basically: The stage is set, the groundwork has been laid, I'm dying to see Wave 2 of Specialty & TRU Trek!! I'm kinda hoping that we get different characters alltogether between the two markets. It's understandable for the Captains, but when we get to the crew I do not want to see quite as much repetition. I would be fine with one TNG crew at specialty, the other at TRU, because I'm shopping at both anyway.

Can we really expect to get 7 waves with one main crewmember per wave? Maybe not (I'm hopeful however!), so I hope DST doesn't hold back too much. The best part about the initial 2 waves years ago were that they knocked out the entire TOS crew in their iconic uniforms. I'm hoping to see the same thing with the modern Trek shows. I feel like they should NOT hold back, because there are so many variations of characters that they are not going to run out. I want to see them get the main casts out ASAP, because it would be heartbreaking for the line to end with incomplete main crews.

EDIT: Woohoo! My 500th post! Glad it's Trek-related

Edited February 24, 2013 by monkeycrumb

[stack32]

I think people have it backwards, the Borg doesn't come packaged with Picard, Picard happens to be packaged with a Borg, probably Hugh. Picard is the constant here. He was always going to be in both assortments if they wanted to have a chance at being successful enough to sustain the line.

[Jatta Pake]

I just can't wait until I can put a Minimates facehugger on a red shirt. Bones and Spock will be standing over the guy, arguing about the best course of action. Bones will demand that the body be beamed up to sick bay for treatment, while Spock will argue that the logical course of action would be to prevent contamination of the Enterprise and treat the man on the surface of the abandoned colony.

Bones: "Damn your unfeeling Vulcan heart! This man may die before we can get the equipment down to the surface".

Spock: "Doctor, we do not yet know the extent of this organism's biology. Returning him to the Enterprise risks unleashing an unknown alien organism upon the ship."

Bones: "If we are going to keep alien organisms off the Enterprise, I'd like to start with YOU!"

Kirk: "Gentlemen. We will beam Ensign Hicks to Auxiliary Sick Bay Pod 2 and establish 24 hour quarantine. Bones, you figure out how to get this thing of Hick's face. Spock, you make sure we have security detail in place. No one goes in our out until we have a better sense of what this thing is."

Kirk" "Also, let's bring up a few more of those egg things for further analysis."

Edited February 24, 2013 by Jatta Pake

[Turtle]

Haha. Sounds great. Now you've got me wondering how the Borg collective would fare against the alien hive. Which queen will be the ultimate bitch?

[tones]

i'm hoping they'll take advantage of the fact that so many of the characters have alternate looks/doppelgangers. for example, have Data and Will Riker in the TRU wave and Lore and Tom Riker at specialty. assuming that the TRU waves are heavily stocked of course.

sure, it'll take a little while to get everyone, but it'll extend the life of the line IMO. the TRU sets will SELL OUT...FAST which is EXACLTY what needs to happen at retail. you'll get the casual fan as well as the collector buying the main cast and primary villians/army builer.

by the same token, the collector will also go after the specialty wave and eat up all the Lores, Tom Rikers, casual dress/alternate uniforms, Mirroe universe doppelgangers, random crew member and special guest star. I'm in for a Space Lincoln . The specialty waves are produced in lower quantities than the TRU waves so that works perfectly in that respect.

[Captain Paco]

While I really want a full TNG Crew as well as full crews for DS9, VGR & ENT, I don't mind getting variations of Picard and Sisko. I just hope that we get a box set of four TNG Crew members, a box set of four VGR crewmembers, a box set of four DS9 Crewmembers and a box set of 4 ENT crew members.

There are a few ways that DST can keep collectors and the average fans happy:

One: give us our full crews like they did for TOS.

Two: give us limited variants of the same character. (Meaning okay this wave gave us two variations of Picard so the next wave should give us two variants of a different crewmember-like someone suggested a two pack of Will Riker and Data for TRU and a Tom Riker and Lore for LCS.)

Three: give us the shuttle craft that was once announced but never saw the light of day.

Four: give us more ships with exclusive mates not a redesigned character. (for example: give us Enterprise NX-01 with T'Pol or Tucker then give us the Mirror NX-01 with Mirror Archer or T'Pol. Give us Enterprise-D with Geordi LaForge and then give us a Battle-damaged Ent-D with a visorless Geordi LaForge.)

Five: The series specific boxed set of crew members: 1) TNG: could be Dr. Crusher (with lab coat parts), Deanna Troi in Starfleet Uniform, Worf and Yar (could have an extra head for Dr. Pulaski and an extra head & hands for Barclay or O'Brien); 2) DS9: Quark, Dr. Bashir, Major Kira and O'Brien; 3) ENT: Malcolm Reed, Hoshi Sato, Dr. Phlox, T'Pol (could include extra head and hands for Travis Mayweather); 4)VGR: Neelix, Kes, B'Ellana Torres & Tuvok (could include extra head and hands for Harry Kim)

I am looking forward to getting several of the TRU assortment so I can make a Picard from First Contact.

I only hope we get more variety of crewmembers to be able to complete each series and then I will be very happy.

JMO

Thank you.

[monkeycrumb]

"someone suggested a two pack of Will Riker and Data for TRU and a Tom Riker and Lore for LCS."

While that's fine and everything, I'd prefer this was not done in the same wave. Seriously, as much as I love Star Trek and want as much as I can get, how many waves do you think we'll get? Every production piece we can get is best, because there's so many quick-customs that can be done!

I'd do something like this:

Wave 2: includes:

TRU: Data / Geordi (TNG uniforms), Data with extra Lore head or reverse printed since the hair would cover it.

Specialty :Riker / Worf (TNG, Worf with removable baldric piece similar to TOS Klingon mate)

TRU: DS9 1st season Bashir / Dax

Specialty DS9 Quark / Odo

TRU: STIII Kirk / Commander Kruge

Specialty: ST IV Kirk / Spock in white robe

TRU: Enterprise: T'Pol and Trip Tucker

Specialty: Voyager: EMH Doctor and Hirogen Warrior

Wave 3: Includes:

TRU: Wesley in grey uniform / Dr Crusher with removable lab coat (TNG)

Specialty: Data / Troi (First Contact uniforms)

TRU: DS9 1st season O'Brien / Kira

Specialty DS9 7th season (FC style) Bashir and Garak

TRU: Tholian Web Chekov / TOS Romulan

Specialty: Kirk & Spock from A Piece of the Action (Gangster suits & Tommy guns!)

TRU: Voyager Tuvok / Chakotay

Specialty: Enterprise Hoshi / Reed in Space Suit

This way, you can head-swap Riker's head on any other TNG gold uniform to make a Thomas Riker. But such a ridiculously easy headswap character should NEVER take up a spot of another character, unless we were getting 50 waves like Marvel!

Furthermore, quick-customs from those pairings and wave 1 include: a base female blue TNG uniform & First Contact uniform, male TNG gold & FC uniform, plus male red TNG & FC uniforms. I don't care too much about the collar "pips", because the scale is too small to really notice if you leave them unaltered, and if you did, a dab with a silver or black sharpie would be all that's needed . But then waves 1-3 with enough extra packs bought would get you a full TNG cast in BOTH TV & First Contact uniforms, Full DS9 Cast with the Starfleet people in both 1st and 7th season uniforms, O'Brien in TNG, 1st & 7th season DS9, Thomas Riker, Redemption Data, Wesley in red uniform, hopefully Lore, and then maybe some Voyager crew stuff too (IIRC the communicator was the only difference between VOY & 1st season DS9 uniforms, which decals should work in a pinch)

THEN as the line progresses, DST is more than welcome to go back in and release some of the simple headswaps that makes sense *if they must* (i.e. if they were released in TNG uniform, then release FC uniform), but it would be more fun to get newly sculpted variations instead, as in any crew from Q-Pid (Data as Friar Tuck!), Sherlock Holmes & Watson Data & Geordi, LOCUTUS, Times Arrow variants, All Good Things variants. (And by variants, I mean variation in characters outfit, NOT 1 per case!)

So there it is. Not my ideal choice of waves, but there's so many choices on what to make, it'll take forever to get a lot out. I just hate seeing wasted "slots" Plus I continued with one Captain per wave. I love the crewmember & an alien strategy they've started so far, I just don't want to wait for potentially 7 waves before completing crew, with no guarantee how long this line will last.

I really, really hope we get some box sets! I'm surprised there's not a "Best of Both Worlds" 4-pack with Locutus! Throw in Data, Lt Shelby and either Riker or Dr Crusher and that'll get us afew 2-pack slots freed up, along with Shelby who would be a good exclusive, but a waste in a 2-pack (plus a red female body if you want to customize an Ensign Ro)

[Captain Paco]

I never thought of Shelby but I would like an Ensign Ro so good idea with the "Best of Both Worlds" set.

I would like to see two "Q-Pid" sets. Picard as Robin Hood, Riker as Little John, Worf as Will Scarlet, Troi or Crusher in merry man costume then the second set could be Vash as Maid Marian, Data as Friar Tuck, LaForge as Allan-a-Dale and Q as the Sheriff of Nottingham. This would satisfy that fun set.

I would like to see Data and LaForge as Holmes and Watson, good idea on that one, Monkeycrumb. "A Peice of the Action" would be a nice two-pack as we don't really need more from that episode.

A variant of Data would be Lore and then they could always either include the body parts for a B4 or give us a second head for us to make our own B4 with the body from Spock's Brain Spock which means I would need to get a third Spock's Brain Spock for the body.

I don't care how we get them but I want a full TNG Crew more than anything else from Minimates at this point.

[monkeycrumb]

First, try CornerStoreComics (if you dare, IIRC there were some credit card funny business in the past where people had their cc numbers stolen) for the full set with Spock's Brian variant for $10

Second, it's not accurate for B4.

Honestly, I could live without Shelby. I might actually prefer Locutus with 3 main cast members, then later I'd love to see a 2-pack of Ensign Ro with an extra head packed in to make Shelby, and maybe a Romulan or something army-builder-ish. Because if a BOBW 4-pack is the only way to get most of the TNG cast in their iconic uniforms, I'd buy so many multiples, so having Shelby in it would mean I'd buy less than I would if she were included.

I'm totally there with you, I WANT the entire TNG cast above all else, but now that they've started every show's crew, I would love to finish every cast.

Still curious to see Quark, since minimates have no nose. And assuuming the ears are a separate piece, I'm going to army build him so I can customize more Ferengi. Having Odo with him, I'll make a bunch of Bajoran security personnel customs too!