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Playmates Toys

I mean, faces can be hard to get right. Look at some early Leia figures.

Heck, look at some 'later' Princess Leia (and many other human characters) figures as well.

For me, I'm more interested in figures capturing the 'essence' of the character. I don't need a 3.75" perfect replica of Harrison Ford, just a figure that looks/'feels' like Han Solo. That's how I'll approach these new Trek figures as well.

Can't wait for them to be released, or perhaps some more preview photos (accessories, packaged samples etc)
 
Okay, I never saw it in real life, only in pictures..., so I did not remember it properly...

But was the quality of the '09 figures that bad? I only know the figures from Internet pictures...

Quality was a piece of it, but it wasn't a quality issue so much as decisions playmates made during the line launch that effectively killed it and turned the entire product into a series of peg warmers. Rather than focus on one scale, giving us a complete crew with a completed bridge playset, and taking notes from AA/DST re: Trek Tek and starships, we were given many different scales, promised future released that never materialized, (effectively making the figure/build-a-bridge perma-incomplete) and ship/roleplay items which left a lot to be desired. I remember reading about a Narada that had been shown off at toyfair, but playmates nixed it once the line was destined for the clearance aisle.

Many collectors felt burned again by playmates, not to mention the comparisons to AA/DST, which at the time figure/roleplay/ship wise proved vastly superior in the quality / collector department compared to the product playmates had previously put out.
 
I still love my Kelvin timeline 1701 from Trek 09, and would absolutely collect more Kelvin timeline playmates merch, if they went back to doing Into Darkness and Beyond starships / figures!

I snagged one off ebay for $25 when the pandemic first started. I remember when they were first released, toys r us had a clearance sale and a wall full of NuEnterprises marked down to $9.99 each. I kicked myself for not getting one (or two), but at the time I had a few of the DST Enterprises and several playmates ships. I knew the pros/cons of each, and ultimately decided to pass, assuming that eventually DST would make one. Oh how wrong I was...
 
Calling Playmates offerings "props" is a bit of a misnomer. They were toys, aimed at children of the 90s, like me, for imaginative play. They all had clips for belts, and odd electronic noises.

Honestly, I appreciate them more than full prop replicas. It was a sign of fun.

The Art Asylum stuff are toys I wanted as a kid. As a scale modeler accuracy matters.
 
You can. They are not rare collector items. They sold on the toy shelf no less. Diamond Select is different.
My larger point is that I have to bear in mind with kids, not just adults fascinated by an old TV show. So, they have to be sturdy.
 
You're welcome, Admiral. ;)

You could also write an e-mail to Elbenwald and/or EMP and ask them if they're gonna have those figures in stock at any point.

I think folks here could be a resource for Playmates. Donny is doing the great interior sets at FAN ART and now has has some official capacity for preservation. Yotsuya is working on TMP era ships and there was a 2018 SCIENCE ADVANCES article “Voxel printing for the digital fabrication of data across scales and domains.”…from A 3D PRINTER THAT CAN PRINT DATA SETS AS PHYSICAL OBJECTS.


Now, what I am saying here is that perhaps Playmates would be open to folks here as their own Hazlab.

There is self template solvent free supramolecular polymer synthesis….an article on how to optimize the process of polymer extrusion and polymer upcycling of common plastic that adds toughness and recyclability to structural adhesives…two dimensional polymer helps create a new lightweight material that is stronger than steel….and lastly scientists engineered new material that can absorb and release enormous amounts of energy.

Jumping figures anyone?

Art Asylum/DST products and Round 2’s 1/1000 kits were sculpted by the late Thomas Sasser…and as you can see, Playmates is also harvesting past work.

But I think the folks on this board could convince Playmates to reach out to the Retroblasting community and the artists here to produce quality products that could leave Diamond Select in the dust.

What is more, Warped9’s TOS/TAS minimalist fare would lend itself to simple Playmates molding as profits coming in go to more elaborate sculpts.
 
Absolutely - as well as a Bey-Refit Enterprise, USS Vengeance, Narada, USS Salcombe, Armstrong, Mayflower, etc… and a USS Kelvin!!!!

GO ON PLAYMATES - WE DARE YOU!

probably best to stick with Eaglemoss with that stuff, if the original line is any indication we’ll get the main hero ships (Enterprises, Defiant, Voyager, Discovery, Protostar, DS9 station, etc..) plus some shuttles/runabouts and that’s probably it. Obscure ships…I doubt it.

I’ll go ahead and guess the E-D will be the next ship then either the E-A or Discovery.
 
probably best to stick with Eaglemoss with that stuff, if the original line is any indication we’ll get the main hero ships (Enterprises, Defiant, Voyager, Discovery, Protostar, DS9 station, etc..) plus some shuttles/runabouts and that’s probably it. Obscure ships…I doubt it.

I’ll go ahead and guess the E-D will be the next ship then either the E-A or Discovery.
We also got a number of alien ship designs, like the Vor'cha, D'deridex, and even Borg vessels.
 
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I made a comparison image between Playmates' 1994 and 2022 versions of Captain Picard. The new figure probably will be a bit taller than the old one, but it has much more realistic proportions. That goes for the rest of the line as well. Also, it looks like ball joints are used at most of the articulation points, so the new figures should be a lot more poseable.
 
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We also got a number of alien ship designs, like the Vor'cha, D'deridex, and even Borg vessels.

true but they were all “main” ships, like both the Klingon and Romulan Bird of Prey. We never got a Malon waste carrier or anything like that.

igg2fio239g81.png

I made a comparison image between Playmates' 1994 and 2022 versions of Captain Picard. The new figure probably will be a bit taller than the old one, but it has much more realistic proportions. That goes for the rest of the line as well. Also, it looks like ball joints are used at most of the articulation points, so the new figures should be a lot more poseable.

something about the arms looks off. Like they are too skinny or something. Maybe the ball joints just cause an optical illusion or something.
 
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