Playmates Toys

[drt]

Oooof... Those guys are annoying.

Their complaints about it not being a collectors item remind me of this cartoon I saw years ago where two guys were complaining about a toy, the final word balloon read "Once again, Playskool bitch-slaps the adult collector."

 

[Cosmos12]

I think it looks great. The lights and sounds are much improved and they have made the trigger much more natural to use since the 90’s release (when you had to press it up, instead of pull it back). Can’t wait to get my hands on it.

 

[fireproof78]

If you want an accurate toy phaser it's not a patch on the DST version, but it's a fun and affordable toy.

Toy. Yes please. Adult collectors need not apply.

 

[Paul755]

it’s like what I said about the screw holes on the Enterprise. You gotta remember it’s a toy that…at least in theory…is meant to be played with. Not a studio display quality prop replica.

 

[drt]

it’s like what I said about the screw holes on the Enterprise. You gotta remember it’s a toy that…at least in theory…is meant to be played with. Not a studio display quality prop replica.

Yeah. The DST phaser is cool, but it's totally fragile and the button cell batteries die after a week.

 

[Kor]

I can't remember if anyone has posted a comparison of these new figures next to the 90s figure, but this video has the new Admiral Kirk next to old TOS Kirk, starting at 5:27:

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And the new Kirk figure next to the one from Generations, in a photo at the top of this forum page:

https://thefwoosh.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=93391&start=735

Maybe the differences are less noticeable if you have the figures sitting down.

Kor

 

[fireproof78]

I can't remember if anyone has posted a comparison of these new figures next to the 90s figure, but this video has the new Admiral Kirk next to old TOS Kirk, starting at 5:27:

That's pretty surprising but yeah that's a full 5 inches 4.75, which does make a difference. The tooling is very different too.

 

[Paul755]

Yeah, I’m curious to know why they went with the softer material for the jacket instead of just going with hard plastic like they did for the rest of the figure. I would think it would be cheaper to go all 1 material.

 

[Tomalak]

It would be strange to give the new figures great articulation but then restrict them with a hard plastic jacket. This is a great compromise.

 

[Kor]

Star Wars figures do something similar with robes that go below the waist.

Kor

 

[drt]

Playmates has done this for a while, the ST2009 guys had rubber shirts as well.

 

[Paul755]

And Art Asylum/DST did similar with all their Trek lines. Don’t get me wrong, I like the change playmates made. I’m curious to see how the others look/feel since I’ve only seen Kirk.

 

[Kor]

On a side note, I encountered a few of the 90s Playmates TMP figures at a collectibles shop the other day, and the wrist communicators were indeed humongous. I never had those particular figures when they came out. By the time of their TOS movie lime, I thought that I was "over" action figures.

Kor

 

[drt]

I've watched a few more 2022 Playmates reviews, I think folks got used to the more adult AA/DST/etc. offerings we've had for the last 20 years and forgot (or never knew) how toyetic the 90s line was.

 

[fireproof78]

I've watched a few more 2022 Playmates reviews, I think folks got used to the more adult AA/DST/etc. offerings we've had for the last 20 years and forgot (or never knew) how toyetic the 90s line was.

I can almost promise that. Wish I had the time and budget to do my own review videos. So irritating when adults look at toys as collectibles.

 

[Sketcher]

Maybe (probably) it's childhood nostalgia, but I've preferred the 90s Playmates toys to anything from AA/DST. The scale always felt wrong. I guess I just prefer that 3.75-5 inch range for my figures. That being said, I don't have much care to get the new Playmates renditions, especially with the older ones still cheap on the secondary market. Buttttt if they ever redo that oversized TNG combadge with lights and chirping sounds effects I might be won over.

 

[Kor]

While I like the improved articulation (I never liked the weird V articulation for the legs even back in the day), I wish these new Playmates figures lined up better visually with the older ones. Modeling them more after the SeaQuest DSV line would have been great. Those were in the same scale as the Trek figures, and were a little more realistically proportioned, though not hyper-realistic in appearance. So they didn't look out of place together.

Kor

 

[Paul755]

I would have been fine with the “less cartoony” sculpts if they would have kept the scale the same.

 

[Tomalak]

I never loved the DST figures - I've never been into the statue look, but loved the caricatured Playmates toys.

I think new the new guys are a good compromise. Maybe the face sculpts are a little soft and at this scale and could do with being a little more cartooney. Or perhaps they just need a tighter paint job.

I hope this line continues and it can develop. Looking forward to seeing the Prodigy figures in the flesh.

 

[Paul755]

I have a hard time believing we will see the Prodigy stuff this year considering we still haven’t seen a shot of the Janeway or Rok prototypes. And with the trouble they have had getting the TOS, TNG and Disco stuff on shelves I just can’t see them hitting before Christmas.