The Micro Machine sets

[t_smitts]

I'm sure I'm not the only one here with fond memories of these little guys. To this day, I'll occasionally take a gander at that third set I was never able to acquire on eBay, invariably going for two or three Benjamins.

One thing I've always wondered is who exactly was in charge of picking which ships they'd make a toy out of?

Now you have the obvious ones: We had all the Enterprises up to that point, and all other "hero" ships and stations (DS9, Voyager, Excelsior, Runabout, Defiant).

You had pretty much all the ships of best known and/or often seen aliens (Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Borg, and eventually Jem'Hadar). You also had all the Kazon ships, which were pretty regular on Voyager at the time, plus the Maquis ship and Caretaker array, both of which were pretty prominent in the premiere.

You had a couple of other notable Starfleet ships: Reliant, Grissom, Stargazer, Saratoga, Farragut (which was really only notable for being the best shot of a Nebula class ship, but I'm glad they included one of this class), and a few shuttles and space stations.

By the end, though, they were starting to do a number of "ship of the week" types. like the Miradorn, Klaestron, Numiri, and Karemma ships (or that weird "solar sailing ship"). I don't have a problem with this. I'm curious what made some get picked and not others:

-I'm surprised, for instance, that they never made one for the Merchantman despite being pretty clearly seen in ST3. (I'd rather have seen that than the Spacedock shuttle). The Jenolan certainly wasn't one of the more graceful looking Starfleet ships, but that one might've been nice.

-I'm not sure who picked the inaccurately named "Cardassian Obsidian" (really a Keldon-class, which was just a Galor with some spare parts slapped on). I'd rather have seen the smaller Cardassian ship we saw in "Profit and Loss" and "Tribunal".

-The T'Pau is one that might've been interesting to see, along with the Batris/Xhosa.

-I'm not generally a fan of asymetrical ships (except the Breen one), so probably just as well they never did the Borg ship from "Descent"

-The Tholian ship might've been the one notable TOS ship they missed.

-I would've liked to have seen the Groumall from "Return to Grace" and the Vidiian ship from "Deadlock", but it might've been too late for those ships.

Of course nothing got released after '96, meaning no Dominion warships, Phoenix, Prometheus, Dauntless, Equinox, Delta Flyer, or Breen ships, let alone anything from "Enterprise". Pity. I think they may have been the best licence "Trek" toy makers (or at least a tie with Playmates and Johnny Lightning).

Thoughts? Any other pre-1996 ships you think they missed?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I didn't have very many of these except for the set where all the ships were "chromed". I've been looking around for years for Defiant. I have the Playmates Deep Space 9 station and a fiber optic DS9 that I haven't put together yet. They both need a Defiant.

 

[Forbin]

I've got all 3 mega-sets, I just can't remember where I put them!

 

[t_smitts]

I've got all 3 mega-sets, I just can't remember where I put them!

I'd still love to get my hands on that elusive third one!

I was able to get the first one (plus the Star Wars set) up here, but, for reasons I'll never understand they never sold the second or third in Canada. My dad was able to pick up the second one for me on a business trip in Vegas, but that third one torments me. It haunts my dreams. (Okay, maybe not that much, but I still want it).

As I said, I'm curious who got to decide which ships they'd make.

 

[Dukhat]

I own all the Trek micro machines except for the H.M.S. Bounty (the BoP that had adjustable wings). I agree about their awesomeness and that they were cut short before their time (although I still scratch my head as to why the Saratoga doesn't have its side guns, or why the Stargazer is yellow to match the desktop model and not gray to match the studio model...).

As to who was in charge of selecting them...who knows? But yeah, some of their choices were just bizarre...I mean, the Numiri ship? Who the hell were they?

I think the problem at the time was that during both DS9 and VOY, both series had lots of one-off aliens and not a lot of new Starfleet, Klingon, or Romulan ships other than what we saw in TNG. Plus, the Akira, Saber, Steamrunner and Norway class ships were seen so briefly, and had zero info about them at the time, that I can understand their omission (but there's really no excuse for not having the Phoenix or the T'Plana'hath IMHO...)

Also, they could have made another three-pack of TOS with the Tholian ship, the Aurora, and the Fesarius. The Merchantman would have been another good choice (I remember FASA's miniature of that ship, and it was quite cool-looking). Ditto your feeling about the Jenolan. I also wouldn't have minded seeing the original large TNG shuttlecraft, a workbee, a travel pod, Regula One, and the Bozeman.

 

[E-DUB]

Look for the Hallmark mini-Defiant (it was part of a 3 set but I don't remember which other ships it came with.) Drilling a small hole into it's nose and a DS9 docking port, it fits perfect. And when I say a "small hole" that's what I mean, I used dental drill bit. Speaking of neglected ships, I've always been disappointed not to have a physical representation of the Vidiian warship from Voyager. (This one, http://www.yourprops.com/Original-V...res-Star-Trek-Voyager-TV-1995-prop-61109.html, not the redressed Batris.) No model, no Micro-machine, no Johnny Lightening, nothing.

 

[6079SmithW]

I used to play with these all the time when I was a kid. I'd line the ships up and make little fleets.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I loved the Galoob Micro Machines. I don't have all of them--I really only picked my favorites--but still, I have most of them nonetheless. My favorite set was the classic TOS 3-piece--the Enterprise, Klingon battlecruiser, and Romulan Bird of Prey. Conversely, I also loved the basic TNG 3-piece of the Enterprise-D, Klingon Vor'cha-class cruiser, and Romulan D'deridex-class warbird.

My biggest toy wish is a set that features all of the Enterprises in scale with the Micro Machine TOS Enterprise. With Hasbro now having the license to make toys from TOS to Star Trek XI, they could make that happen.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

Look for the Hallmark mini-Defiant (it was part of a 3 set but I don't remember which other ships it came with.) Drilling a small hole into it's nose and a DS9 docking port, it fits perfect. And when I say a "small hole" that's what I mean, I used dental drill bit.

Thanks, I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[t_smitts]

I own all the Trek micro machines except for the H.M.S. Bounty (the BoP that had adjustable wings). I agree about their awesomeness and that they were cut short before their time (although I still scratch my head as to why the Saratoga doesn't have its side guns, or why the Stargazer is yellow to match the desktop model and not gray to match the studio model...).

As to who was in charge of selecting them...who knows? But yeah, some of their choices were just bizarre...I mean, the Numiri ship? Who the hell were they?

I think the problem at the time was that during both DS9 and VOY, both series had lots of one-off aliens and not a lot of new Starfleet, Klingon, or Romulan ships other than what we saw in TNG. Plus, the Akira, Saber, Steamrunner and Norway class ships were seen so briefly, and had zero info about them at the time, that I can understand their omission (but there's really no excuse for not having the Phoenix or the T'Plana'hath IMHO...)

Also, they could have made another three-pack of TOS with the Tholian ship, the Aurora, and the Fesarius. The Merchantman would have been another good choice (I remember FASA's miniature of that ship, and it was quite cool-looking). Ditto your feeling about the Jenolan. I also wouldn't have minded seeing the original large TNG shuttlecraft, a workbee, a travel pod, Regula One, and the Bozeman.

Numiri were from season one's "Ex Post Facto". Like most alien ship models, it was modified and used many times both before and after as a "ship of the week". (Check out the Studio Models pages on Memory Alpha).

Same goes for the other one-shot ships I mentioned. One upside to this, however, is you can pretend a Klaestron ship is a T'Lani ship, or Tamarian ship, or even a totally new alien ship.

Why did the Saratoga lack the "guns" (if that's what they were)? Not sure. Perhaps they simply took a look at the studio model and assumed it was simply a Reliant look-alike without the roll bar. Interestingly, though, they didn't use the same molds they did for Reliant. The Saratoga's noticeably thicker.

I think you gotta give them a pass for not making any "First Contact" ships, other than the big "E": Being the "hero" ship, the E was almost certainly designed long before any other ships from the movie. It's likely Galoob's time making Star Trek ships ran out around that time, meaning any other ships from the movie probably would've been too late. (Possibly true of the Groumall and Vidiian ship as well, both of which, I think, were first seen in spring of '96).

The yellow Stargazer was clearly because the Ready Room model got a hell of a lot more screen time than the studio model. In fact, the packaging on the back shows the incorrect registry (NCC-7100) that the Ready Room Stargazer had.

A Merchantman would be nice. Same goes for a Tholian ship (since they were the same model, I doubt they'd to an Aurora). Forgot to add earlier that a Maquis/Federation fighter would be nice too. I agree with Regula One. That smaller Cardassian ship (I think they're called Hideki class) would've been a better choice than the Keldon Class. And, yes a Jenolan wouldn't have been bad either. A T'Pau too.

Honestly, I don't need to see all that many types of shuttles, though. I think the Galileo, the TNG shuttle, and the Voyager shuttle are enough. The Spacedock shuttle didn't excite me (especially when they could've made a Merchantman instead). Seeing other TNG shuttles, the travel pod, or a Workbee really didn't interest me. I'm not sure a Fesarius would work either.

I don't a problem with it myself, but I'm not sure they'd bother with the Bozeman, after doing two other VERY similar looking ships.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I used to play with these all the time when I was a kid. I'd line the ships up and make little fleets.

So did I, though in partnership with my action figures, so that I could jump from interior to exterior

I always wanted to get the Enterprise-A, then in the later releases all the really cool looking alien ships and the Pasteur, but unfortunately I never could find them. I would get them from eBay, but they're stupidly expensive for a toy so I'll just live with my happy memories.

 

[The Wormhole]

My memory isn't the strongest here, but I think it was around 1997 that Star Trek's popularity began losing steam, and as a result, the Trek Micro Machines were dropped. Which is a bit of a shame since at this point Trek really began delivering new ship designs which could have kept the line thriving had the sales been there. Hell, they could have done a special set devoted to the ships of First Contact alone.

 

[NCC-1701-B]

Some of my best childhood trek memories was when we went to get our christmas tree one year, my brother had the Enterprise D, I had the Enterprise B, and we'd play with them all the time, still have that B, -1 nacelle. I've collected as many as I could though as a few years ago they were really cheap on ebay.

 

[trekkier]

Oh the micro machines, I loved those while i was a kid. 2 weeks ago at NYCC i saw the infamous 3rd set for 45 bucks and snatched it up immediately. My childhood dreams came true when i grabbed that thing!

 

[t_smitts]

I used to play with these all the time when I was a kid. I'd line the ships up and make little fleets.

So did I, though in partnership with my action figures, so that I could jump from interior to exterior

I always wanted to get the Enterprise-A, then in the later releases all the really cool looking alien ships and the Pasteur, but unfortunately I never could find them. I would get them from eBay, but they're stupidly expensive for a toy so I'll just live with my happy memories.

Each set, I think, was progressively harder to find. I'm certain on the first set was available in Canada.

My memory isn't the strongest here, but I think it was around 1997 that Star Trek's popularity began losing steam, and as a result, the Trek Micro Machines were dropped. Which is a bit of a shame since at this point Trek really began delivering new ship designs which could have kwp the line thriving had the sales been there. Hell, they could have done a special set devoted to the ships of First Contact alone.

'96 might've been a high-point for Trek. Worf had just joined DS9 the previous year, Voyager was still on, it was the 30th anniversary, and an exciting movie was coming out. Still, it doesn't seem like popular dropped off THAT quickly.

Some of my best childhood trek memories was when we went to get our christmas tree one year, my brother had the Enterprise D, I had the Enterprise B, and we'd play with them all the time, still have that B, -1 nacelle. I've collected as many as I could though as a few years ago they were really cheap on ebay.

Yeah, a number of mine from the first set ended up in pretty rough shape: The Enterprise TOS, A, D, and Excelsior all had their saucers break off. With the TOS Enterprise, it still fits back in the slot, but the others, you gotta physically hold together. The "A" is probably in the worst shape: So many botched gluing attempt left the saucer not really fitting with the rest of the ship, and there's some scary-big cracks in the nacelles.

Early on, one of the nacelles on the Reliant came off (I know what you're thinking, but it was the WRONG nacelle! ) Eventually the other one came off too, but both can still be fitted back into place.

Set II is in much better shape, because I was older when I got that, but whoever made it did a sloppy job with a couple of them: With the saucer-separating Enterprise-D, the "neck" is seriously sticking out of the secondary hull, and the phaser ring on top of the saucer is totally from where it should be. I hardly ever did anything with that one, just because it looked so bad.

Oh the micro machines, I loved those while i was a kid. 2 weeks ago at NYCC i saw the infamous 3rd set for 45 bucks and snatched it up immediately. My childhood dreams came true when i grabbed that thing!

Is that envy I feel? Yes.

 

[KirkPicard]

Still proudly display my micromachine fleet!

 

[AggieJohn]

Nice. Still got mine too. I loop string around them and hang them on the christmas tree.

Kind of which they had created the following ships:

Klingon STI Battle cruiser and Kronos I from STVI

Saladin destroyer and Federation Dreadnought from TOS ( I know the cannon is questionable but why not give the nod to Joseph.)

A pack of the original 13 Constitution class star ships would have been pretty sweet too.

 

[t_smitts]

Still proudly display my micromachine fleet!

Think you can show some close-ups of some of the ones from Set III? I'm espeically curious about the Big "E", Voyager, and the Saratoga.

Plus I'm curious how the HMS Bounty stacks up with the regular Bird of Prey.

Looking at this collection, I'm suddenly reminded that for the initial 3-packs they came out with (1 TOS, 1 Movie, 1 TNG), the TNG came out with the Borg Cube, the Warbird, and the Vor'Cha before the Enterprise-D, which wouldn't come out until the second batch of 3 packs. What was up with THAT??? Could they not get licensing rights for it at first? Did they really think kids wanted to play with a Borg Cube before the "D"?

Nice. Still got mine too. I loop string around them and hang them on the christmas tree.

Kind of which they had created the following ships:

Klingon STI Battle cruiser and Kronos I from STVI

Saladin destroyer and Federation Dreadnought from TOS ( I know the cannon is questionable but why not give the nod to Joseph.)

A pack of the original 13 Constitution class star ships would have been pretty sweet too.

Those are some long shots, especially the non-canon stuff.

The movie Klingon battle cruiser might've looked too close to the OS cruiser to bother

 

[The Wormhole]

Looking at this collection, I'm suddenly reminded that for the initial 3-packs they came out with (1 TOS, 1 Movie, 1 TNG), the TNG came out with the Borg Cube, the Warbird, and the Vor'Cha before the Enterprise-D, which wouldn't come out until the second batch of 3 packs. What was up with THAT??? Could they not get licensing rights for it at first? Did they really think kids wanted to play with a Borg Cube before the "D"?

I think they were just trying for some variety. As I recall, the first wave of TOS ships was the Enterprise, Romulan BoP and Klingon D-7. The first movie wave was the Reliant, Excelsior and Klingon BoP. At this point, we have three Starfleet ships, and two Klingons. It was probably felt that for TNG rather than include a fourth Starfleet ship a third Klingon and second Romulan, best to give Trek's primary races some more repersentation. And the Borg were a big deal back then, so they were obviously considered worthy of the first wave.

Also worth mentioning, when Playmates did their toys of the ships, their first wave of that was just the Romulan warbird, Klingon Vor'cha, and Starfleet shuttlecraft. The Enterprise D was in the second wave.

The movie Klingon battle cruiser might've looked too close to the OS cruiser to bother

Not really an excuse, considering how many ships of the same class they had like the Reliant and Saratoga, Excelsior and Enterprise B, the Enterprise D and its three-nacelled variant from AGT, a Klingon BoP and an HMS Bounty variant, and hell looking over that picture they seem to have released two different Borg cubes. Now sure in the case of the first three there were design differences, and one Borg cube is a lighter shade than the other, but with ships that similar released, they could have done the K't'inga.

 

[B.J.]

Hmm... not the clearest picture, but this ought to make some of you cringe.

That's my 4 year old playing with my Star Trek and Star Wars Micromachines. I believe I have all but the 3rd large set in there, with several duplicates. Oddly enough, after going through myself and 3 kids, the only real damage is one of the Reliants had the entire rollbar/nacelle assembly come off, which is a real pain to try and put back on. I did remove just a couple that were my favorites, though.

I doubt we'll ever get another series like this, so I'm wondering, with all the 3D printing options available now, has anyone looked into getting some models made at about this scale?