Unphased with Playmates

They are now officially back with figures, starships and yes, roleplay accessories!

Playmates return to the Star Trek franchise has landed well and you never knew how much you missed them until new items dropped onto the market.

Alongside an initial eight figures and the classic TOS USS Enterprise is their Type 2 phaser also from the Kirk and Spock era.

Let’s make one thing straight. If you’re expecting Diamond Select level detail and features you will be disappointed. First and foremost this is essentially a toy. There’s no detachable Type 1 phaser on the top, the barrel doesn’t rotate for different beam intensity nor do the dials and grill on the Type 1 work. Fact: this is a robust item designed for kids, bought by adults. 

The packaging is absolutely on point and in keeping with the 90s version with the addition of the current Star Trek Universe logo. There’s a little hole to give a demo click of the trigger and the usual nice, glossy photos of the phaser too. Wisely there’s actually very little to the box with only a plastic insert tray for the product and an instructions pamphlet contained within.

Size-wise it’s near enough spot on with the classic grey/black colour combo that fans will be more than familiar with. In the show there were several different colour variants glimpsed but this remains probably the most recognisable. It’s lighter than the Diamond Select version too plus that always felt more of a display item than a useable toy if you will. That’s something Playmates have more than taken into consideration.

In terms of surface detail, each important element is physically reproduced where it should be if not functionally. Atop the clip-in Type 1 there are the setting and intensity dials as well as the silver grid. To the front of the phaser is the grey nozzle emitter which does light up dependent on the firing effect you choose. Playmates have also managed to distinguish grille features and line detail around the phaser with wonderful precision if albeit simplified for the toy market. Note for example the grilles to the rear are recessed versus the DS version’s which were raised. Again, there were several variants of the gun through the show at a time when consistency and accuracy in the franchise were not a high priority. 

Playmates have added in the gold ejection button for the Type 1 just behind the smaller unit and to the rear of the Type 2 we have the adjustable setting dial. Now this - apart from the trigger - is the only piece of functionality on the product. On the opposite side is the power switch and in this edition it offers Demo, Off and On.

Offering up three setting of Stun, Full and Overload, each is accompanied by its own light (dial and nozzle) and sound effect. Certainly my daughter got some good use out of the batteries running around stunning the cats but for fans of absolute 100% authentic detail it will be a let down.

I quite like it. The phaser is a solid item and perfect for cosplay with a cost that won’t make you sweat if it does get damaged. My only grumble is the horrible ‘other’ side that is riddled with reset screw holes and ruins the whole effect. Could these have been hidden? Probably and one would expect there to be some innovative fans out there who will cover them up to preserve full effect of the phaser. 

It's a good reproduction and although I can't compare it to the 1990's edition, I'm still pretty happy with the result given the cost. What I am now hoping is that the TNG Type 2 will not be as chunky a beast as previous and be more aligned to its TV version - but yes, I'll be getting it anyway.

More Playmates reviews on the way!

Lost Post: The Toys That Made Us

LOST ARTICLE....sometimes one just slips the net - here's a mini review of the "recent" show looking at Trek toys that I somehow missed publishing...

Already one of my favourite Netflix series, The Toys That Made Us opened up its four episode second season with a corker.    

Not particularly known for its toy lines, Star Trek has a rich history of merchandise and with the online streaming service now showing every televised minute of the franchise its fitting that Star Trek gets to sit alongside luminaries such as Transformers, GI Joe, Lego, Hello Kitty and...erm...Star Wars.   

The toy lines have an incredibly bizarre history as the show explores from the 1960's era of AMT model kits, re-stickering existing unrelated items with the words Star and Trek through to the 70's period of flashing light helmets and the important Mego figures then on into the 80's Galoob figures (and all their errors!), the phenomenal success of the Playmates range in the 1990's and cruising to the Diamond Select, Eaglemoss and MacFarlane licences of the 21st Century.

The Toys That Made Us displays a somewhat colourful picture of the past to Star Trek merchandise. It seems that the companies responsible for producing the goods couldn’t time releasing their ranges with the franchise’s highs for many years and the quality was varied especially in the early days.  Add in a flying Enterprise, tanks and even freezicles and you can see a franchise being plundered in any way possible no matter the accuracy and quality.

For an overview,  talking heads come from the former head of Mego, the Tenuto family, the Trimbles, Doug Drexler - but noticeable through absence are any faces from Eaglemoss (Ben Robinson) when the show heads into the realms of The Official Starships Collection and the future of the franchise in toy form - although I might disagree with calling that collection a toy?! In addition, there's not even a mention of the Micro Machines starships from the 90's which reflects the fact this is much more tied to the history of Star Trek action figures rather than ships and playsets which get the occasional aside.

There are more than a few memories in there for myself as a collector since the 1980's but it's what's not mentioned that really isn't explored as much as it could have been. There are not only some stupidly off the wall ideas that actually made the production grade but what of the cancelled Galoob second wave of toys or more recently the axed Diamond Select Deep Space Nine waves? Hearing about what happened to cause these "failures" would have been a great addition although I might suspect it's down to the matter of timing that the licence holders have been getting wrong for decades. There is mention of the "1701" collections that meant collectors were scrambling for a limited number of items to complete their sets and which inadvertently was a factor that made sales crumble.

It's amazing as well, considering how precise fans can be around screen accurate replicas how much has been produced "cowboy" style or with some major tweaks to make it highly cost effective with one of those being the mix-and-match creature parts pressed into service for the brown-skinned Mego Gorn figure.

This is perhaps one of the more prominent The Toys That Made Us because it focuses on a franchise that is blindingly present but yet really failed to make a significant dent on the market when it comes to kids toys. Look at the other names in the series and all of them have reached silly heights of popularity whereas Star Trek has trundled along in the background, some might say, for many years just keeping itself above water and paddling for dear life.

Each of the lines has fallen foul of some error along the way which has caused them grief but the show looks positively to the future with the continuation of the JJ reboot and the launch of Discovery providing not only a new range of potential toy lines but (and unsaid), a whole new generation of buyers too.

Interestingly this is one series of toy lines that seems to admit it's appealing to an older generation of collectors rather than children playing with them which has led to the need for superior accuracy on all levels and an adherence to canon rather than continuing to stick new labels on other toy lines. Maybe there could have, ironically, been a little more detail in each of the sections covered but there is only a 45 minute run time for each episode of the series which might prove to be the restriction.

How I managed to miss publishing this so long ago is a total mystery but hey, this is a great episode that fills in some gaps and shows that Trek's merch history is certainly eventful. 

Definitely worth checking this one out on Netflix as soon as you can!

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Where's Star Trek: Rebels?

As my son was zooming his Hot Wheels mini JJ-USS Enterprise around the lounge, hoping to blow my USS Vengeance out of the sky, my wife raised a very good point. 

"He loves ships and the whole space thing," she observed, "and he does like watching Star Wars Rebels - how come there's no Star Trek for kids? Surely they're missing a trick and an audience?"

That's a very good point indeed, especially when it comes from a someone who has no serious love for the franchise. Flashback; the only non-live action Star Trek in 50 years was the 1973 animated series and while it's a good diversion, these days it's classic fans who are the most likely to buy it on DVD and laud some of its exemplary stories. Either that or take berate the brilliance that was the personal forcefield belt. 

Star Wars on the other hand has certainly cornered the market not only producing excellent animated shows such as The Clone Wars (twice) and Rebels in recent years but let's not forget Droids and Ewoks back in the 80's. Plus there were the more child friendly(!) Ewok movies and that "amazing" Christmas special. So why not Star Trek? What has stopped a 50 year old franchise from branching out and potentially extending its lifetime even further. Even in recent years Doctor Who has realised the opportunity within the younger audience. While kids will watch the show, Russell T Davies brought in The Sarah Jane Chronicles to appeal to a younger generation and, I suspect, prep them to watch Doctor Who when they get older. As a footnote here, '60's retro series Thunderbirds has been rebooted in CG and already I can see what the bulk of my son's Christmas presents will consist of and I'm hooked on it for Saturday morning viewing. It's a good example where that rebooting has succeeded in capturing fans of the original and finding a new, adventurous and young audience.

However Star Trek has always aimed for a slightly highbrow audience intending a branch of sci-fi that provokes discussion and is cleverly multi-layered which, no offence intended, has made it less accessible to children. Yes I and many others will have watched it in our formative years but I wouldn't think we're in any for or majority. There wasn't a ton of action, it wasn't all explosions and space battles and there was a fair bit of talking. 

Looking back and thanks to some input from Dennis Koch on Twitter, I recalled that there were forays into material for a younger audience - certainly the comics of the 80's and 90's were looking to expand the ranks of fandom. Likewise there were the 100+ action figures in the Playmates range that many of us still have mint, styro-chipped and vacuum-sealed for future generations, there were books about the main characters at the academy, the Corps of Engineers books, handheld computer games, Galoob figures (yeah, they were great...), Micro Machine starships, I could probably go on but there was, indeed one thing missing, perhaps the hook that needed to be there to secure a more successful merchandising/revenue stream for the future - a TV show.

Think about it. Kids and adults watched Star Trek, kids and adults watched Star Wars but the later pulled out something that meant the younger generation were hooked even more and wanted X Lego set or Y action figure because there was a show which was "exclusively" theirs. At a push there were the Kre-O sets for Into Darkness and we'll be seeing a Mega Bloks USS Enterprise from The Original Series on the shelves of your local toystore in 2016 BUT Star Trek has never hit that mark and while there have been numerous lines or toys, books or games which could attract that market. They've not had an alternative visual gateway which could have then led them on to the experience of the main Star Trek series.

I am in no way suggesting we dumb Star Trek down, nor am I suggesting that The original Series or Deep Space Nine are inaccessible for younger fans but there needs to be something which is more encapsulating so it's not just the "geeky" kid in the class who watches it. in fact we could even speculate that The Worf Chronicles is perfect for a younger audience if we slap an inexperienced, rookie crew in with the angry Klingon captain(!) and some horrific comedy character - or Neelix.

So is it time to change? As with the JJ movies that have dragged Star Trek more firmly into the 21st Century is it now time to draw in that younger audience because it might well secure a better future for a franchise that, at the moment, is relying purely on a third motion picture in its 50th anniversary year. It could easily be set in the JJ-verse, it could be live or animated I don't think it really matters but it does need to aim for that demographic because there has to be something to ensure the longevity of the franchise. Star Wars is managing to do that through its multiple projects but Star Trek still seems blinkered or maybe it really doesn't appeal that strongly or want to appeal to that younger generation. Before you mention it, yes I have thought about the ever increasing comic book/graphic novel range but they seem more focused on the older viewer and collector especially with cash tie-ins such as The Planet of the Apes, Doctor Who and most recently Green Lantern. Even more singular titles have revisited old concepts such as The Tholian Webs. No guessing what that was about which is going to interest more invested fans than perhaps younger, newer ones.

Of course such a conversation also kicks off other possibilities. With some clever scripting there could be characters dropped into Star Trek Beyond (or taken from) that would lead into said children's spin-off and launch a whole new strand of the franchise. Interest in the movie is certainly starting to gather momentum with visual confirmation of Idris Elba's involvement by his appearance in the launch video to win a walk on role in the third installment (has it really come to this?!). Nice twist on that video guys just adding Idris in there but I can't forgive the break-dancing. Seriously, is there no better time to grab that hot iron and expand the universe as we're seeing DC and Marvel do with their superhero franchises?

I might be going crackers here but Star Trek has always remained, at least on the screen, 100% pure to a single vision, one crew and a seven (not always) season run with no variation outside the lines. The reboot did blur those lines and I would like to think that adding a more juvenile-aimed show could really smudge those boundaries for all time. There needs to be a good head in charge to give it the edge and feel of Star Trek that some recent spin-off elements have tragically diluted. Certainly a spin-off wouldn't do the merchandising department any harm...as long as it's done right and doesn't turn out to be a Bucky O'Hare that is and not allow it all to end up in the 99p bin after six months.

It is after all about getting it right and if there's one thing Star Trek hasn't been good at it's consistency. The last 50 years - and the last 15 for definite have been rocky, uneven affairs that have distanced fans and potentially begun to cut off that younger audience. Taking the bull by the horns and exploring new avenues just as the rebooted films have done could be the key to unlocking some new potential and who knows, we might not be looking forward to a Sulu series in a couple of years but a Sulu movie. I could see an animated version doing well and the options would be limitless. Heck, I'd even go as far as saying George Takei would be onboard immediately to voice.

Whatever happens, the next 12 months will be critical to the future of Star Trek and it's existence for another 50 years. I just hope that it's going to keep the vision focused and cater for all potential parties.

Have I got it right? Does Star Trek need to explore other media avenues to remain a strong player in the sci-fi market? Let me know below!

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