Er, wow. So they really based the figure on Hayden Christensen then?
First Action Figure image released
- Thread starter ManOnTheWave
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Oh...um...okay. Who is this supposed to be?
Seriously though, that is a truly ugly piece of inferior molded plastic.
The gorgeous art asylum figure in the comparison above only highlights the ugly inferiority of the Playmates figure. I mean, it is ugly, and if that's what it looks like, I won't be buying one.
J.
Seriously though, that is a truly ugly piece of inferior molded plastic.
The gorgeous art asylum figure in the comparison above only highlights the ugly inferiority of the Playmates figure. I mean, it is ugly, and if that's what it looks like, I won't be buying one.
J.
I have most of the Art Asylum classic Trek figures, i think they probably the best figures produced that are under £10 each in sotres. Those TOS figures are gorgous and very well made. Detailed, no shitty looking '70s fabric or out of proportion features.
I remeber us all saying, we all agreed at the very moment they gave the license to Playmates.
This looks like something '95 or '96, even then, Playmates figures were shit.
This just takes the piss, when it was announced the playmates had the licence i put my head in my hands.
Its like the Indiana Jones figures, had so much potential and everyone wanted decent up to date figures made with decent technology like Art Asylum etc. Why do people go to shitty cheap companies for these things, there are loads of really good companies out there to make decent looking figures, then they give us this shit.
So much potential then they shit on it and bury it.
I remeber us all saying, we all agreed at the very moment they gave the license to Playmates.
This looks like something '95 or '96, even then, Playmates figures were shit.
This just takes the piss, when it was announced the playmates had the licence i put my head in my hands.
Its like the Indiana Jones figures, had so much potential and everyone wanted decent up to date figures made with decent technology like Art Asylum etc. Why do people go to shitty cheap companies for these things, there are loads of really good companies out there to make decent looking figures, then they give us this shit.
So much potential then they shit on it and bury it.
Oh, gwad, what a piece of crap! Can't the creators of it see how wrong it is???
I guess one question - which I've no idea of the answer to - is what are the price points on the Playmates figures as compared to similar AA figures. About the same?
Since the Art Asylum stuff is specialty market (meaning you won't find it at Wal-Mart, ever) it's typically a bit more expensive, maybe around $15 a figure depending on where you find it. The Playmates ones I would guess would be around $8-$10 per figure. But the quality of AA's stuff is so much greater that it's worth it. Also, they're doing figures from ever series so far (expect Voyager which I'm sure they'll get to.) The only problem with them is that for some reason the TOS stuff is in a different scale from the TNG and DS9 figures. It's a bit annoying, but I don't display them together anyways.
They're not dolls. They're better. They're action figures!
Who cares make with the starships already.
I have no interest in anything but Minimates and 3 3/4" figures. It's bad enough that Playmates' license doesn't allow DST to make Trek 'mates based on the movie but if this figure is indicative of what the 3 3/4" will be like, I'm more than a little concerned.
I applaud them for trying to render the surface detail of the tunic but it's too deep. Hasbro has done some very nice, very subtle texturing on their Star Wars figures. I just wish the folks who worked on that line could have shown us what they could do with Star Trek.
Nice to see they're coming with accessories, though. Not all figures do. Anyone else think the bases should be transporter discs?
I applaud them for trying to render the surface detail of the tunic but it's too deep. Hasbro has done some very nice, very subtle texturing on their Star Wars figures. I just wish the folks who worked on that line could have shown us what they could do with Star Trek.
Nice to see they're coming with accessories, though. Not all figures do. Anyone else think the bases should be transporter discs?
Ah, okay - now this makes sense. The greater quality of the AA stuff may be "worth it" to adult collectors, but the Playmates line is seemingly directed at the mass toy market. There's a lot more profit to be made - and more visibility for "Star Trek" - selling to kids at WalMart than say, selling to collectors at direct sales comics shops.
Exactly! Which while it would have been nice for AA to get the license, since these are TOYS appealing to a MASS MARKET for the purpose of MARKETING, Playmates was going to be the way to go, something I wish those in the "I wish AA would have done these" group would consider. AA just simply doesn't have the market/distribution power that Playmates does.
Not stupid at all as I explained above. Likely the only people who would even know about an AA Line for the new movie would be Trekkies, what good would that do in terms of marketing?
I seem to remember a petition had to get started for Target or one of them to actually carry something from AA in terms of Star Trek a few years ago or something (yeah I bet that worked.) With circumstances like that, how will you ever get to the masses of kids? Answer: You wont.
I think some Trekkies were spoiled a bit with AA, but the way things were going for AA it would only be Trekkies who would see any of this probably with AA.
Only complaint is that the head and shirt maybe need some work. Everything else looks fine. At least the phaser isn't all completely blue.
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Of course, while the sculpt is pretty "raw" here, this does point out something that most of us already know (or at least, believe we know).
A Tale of Two Kirks...
ncc71877
Thank you for this. I was just going to rant how absolutely stupid it was for Paramount to give the license to Playmates when it is clearly obvious (and made pictorially so thanks to this comparison) that Art Asylum not only produces superior work, but they make other inferior work look even worse (if that is possible) in comparison.
That side-by-side just makes me wish Art Asylum had the license, and not Playmates. Oh well. At least they're still producing Trek figures, and good ones.
There's nothing wrong with the original designs. Making "tweaks" to add "kewlness" only harms them, without really bringing anything new and worthwhile to the table.