The Good: Amazing sculpt, Decent balance, Good articulation, Cool accessories, Nice mix of affordable and rare.
The Bad: Hand issues with accessories.
The Basics: The closest to perfection any toy company has thus achieved with an action figure of Worf, the Nemesis Worf still has issues with paint chipping off hands when gripping accessories.
As a die-hard Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan, I have an interest in finding a great figure of Lieutenant Commander Worf. After all, while he was on Star Trek: The Next Generation for all seven years, he spent four years on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine during some of the best seasons of that show. So when Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys released a Worf from Star Trek: Nemesis figure as part of their continuing line of 6" action figures, this appeared to be the best opportunity for me to enhance my Deep Space Nine crew toys with a Worf from the same period.
The Art Asylum Star Trek: Nemesis Worf is many things, but it is not perfect. It is, however, close enough for me to let a coin toss determine the rating and be satisfied recommending this as an excellent action figure. It is, without a doubt, far better than the prior 6" incarnation, the Playmates Worf figure. In fact, the only issue I actually had with the figure came with trying to arrange it with one of its accessories and the construction of it became problematic at that point. Outside that, this might well be the ideal Worf figure for collectors.
Basics
The Star Trek: The Next Generation Worf Wave of action figures contains five different Worf action figures from various points in his eleven years on the series. In Star Trek: Nemesis, fans and collectors get the final (so far!) incarnation of the famed Klingon. The Lieutenant Commander Worf figure is the Command branch officer as he appeared in the final episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Nemesis. Attentive fans will note that his bandoleer contains the crest of the House Of Martok, which he joined fairly late in the series. He is wearing the black and gray uniform with the maroon (Command) top peeking out from beneath.
Standing seven and three-quarters inches tall, this is an incredible likeness of Lieutenant Worf immortalized in plastic. The uniform is well-detailed for the character, though the communicator pin seems awfully small, and the face is a strong likeness of Michael Dorn's enduring character. The figure includes such important details as the distinctive Klingon head ridges and the facial hair molded into the plastic, not simply painted on. Even the hair is realistic looking with it pulled back into a soft (almost rubbery) pony tail. The pony tail is realistically bound up and the head is in perfect proportion with the rest of the body. In fact, this is the perfect Worf sculpt as far as the appearance of the figure is concerned.
The paint job is exceptionally well done. The skin tones are colored well and they even include the detailed rouge on the cheeks in a very subtle shading. The shading in the head ridges is extraordinary and realistic and the eyes even have a piercing quality to them. My Worf has a few tiny scratches on the shoulder where the paint appeared to be scraped off, but otherwise, the paint job was perfect. The uniform is appropriately colored and the figure looks good in that respect.
Accessories
Lieutenant Commander Worf comes with six accessories: A StarFleet phaser rifle, a Type II phaser, a Federation pulse bazooka, two replacement hands and an action base shaped like a transporter. That Commander Worf comes with weapons makes a great deal of sense, as much of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a war story and his role in Star Trek: Nemesis was largely to shoot things.
Still, there is some irony to the accessories; Worf did quite a bit more shooting in the predecessor film to Nemesis, Star Trek: Insurrection (reviewed here!). The element of irony here is that the bazooka type weapon Worf comes with was used by him in Insurrection, not Star Trek: Nemesis. Still, that accessory is a very cool one which would be unique to Worf. The three and three-quarter inch weapon is curved appropriately to be held while resting on Worf's shoulder and with a little finagling, this can be done and still look good. The bazooka is accurately colored and is a very intriguing accessory.
The Type II phaser is fairly detailed, though it has accurate coloring for the buttons, but not the charge indicator. The figure is able to hold the phaser in his right hand only; it slips out of his right hand. In fact, all three weapons seem to be only held by the right hand, which is molded open for just such a purpose. Unfortunately, there was no way to connect the phaser to Worf's when he is not holding it.
Then there is the phaser rifle. Three and a half inches long, this firearm is in perfect proportion to the rest of the figure and the attention to detail on it is as astonishing. Unlike the old Playmates figures, which came with solid-colored accessories, this phaser rifle is gray and black with colored details for the sight and the display. The figure is able to hold it with two hands in an appropriate pose and it's possible even to extend the right trigger finger to place it on the trigger. This is truly incredible for a toy in terms of detailing and styling.
Unfortunately, this is where the sole drawback of the figure came into play. Worf's hand had such a difficult time getting arranged to actually hold the phaser rifle that paint scraped off the fingers and onto the grip of the rifle. Both the discolored hands and the discolored weapon are somewhat covered as a result of the hand's placement, but it is discouraging that to get the figure holding one of the neatest weapons, one ends up damaging the figure. Unlike some of the later figures, this one does not seem to have such flexible fingers for gripping the firearm.
As far as fingers go, two of the accessories are actually replacement hands! The hands of the Worf figure may be popped out and replaced with fists. If one wants Worf to be a boxer, he can be now with this incredibly detailed action figure!
The final accessory is a transporter pad base to hold the figure. This 4" x 4" x 1" hexagon base is shaped like a transporter pad and the figure stands quite stable upon it. Initially, I was bothered by the fact that the figure did not have a hole in the foot for stability and a peg in the base, but the figure is so perfectly balanced that it did not need the additional support. The base is perfect for the figure!
Also, Worf's bandoleer is removable! This is a nice touch as it kept the figure realistic in that regard, rather than having a weird bandoleer remnant on his waist when turning him there!
Playability
Lieutenant Commander Worf continued to set a decent standard for Art Asylum and Diamond Select Star Trek figures in terms of playability. Lieutenant Commander Worf is blessed as well by having sixteen points of articulation: ankles, knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, and waist. The neck articulation is incredible given that the base of the neck is a ball joint, allowing for up and down posing as well as left to right movement. This is somewhat limited by the pony tail's inflexibility, but it is still a very posable head and the figure is quite dramatic in the head movements. But the shoulders are equally impressive. As ball and socket joints (like real shoulders!), Lieutenant Worf is able to strike a number of poses that might otherwise be impossible and allow him to be posed in pretty advanced poses.
Moreover, for use with actual play, Lieutenant Worf has all sorts of movement potential making him one of the more realistic Star Trek action figures to play with (for those who actually play with these toys!). But for those posing the figure for display, this is THE Worf figure to have. Well balanced, even in a running pose, Worf is kept stable by the ankle articulation that keeps him sturdy. Indeed, this sculpt balances perfectly the look of Worf in motion with the articulation to keep him standing. Having figures on display that do not tip over is a wonderful thing and Worf's balance is ideal.
Collectibility
Art Asylum and Diamond Select mass produced the Worf wave of figures, though the Lieutenant Worf figure was an exclusive to New Force Comics and Collectibles and was thus a bit more limited. Still, Diamond Select's version of "mass produce" is pretty limited. Unlike previous toy lines, there are no individual numbers on these figures, but mostly they were only available at hobby and comic book shops, so it is not like they were drastically overproduced by any means. The Star Trek: Nemesis Worf was one of the harder figures to find, yet it still tends to command prices only in the $15.00 range as of this writing.
Overview
It is hard to complain about this sculpt as it is incredibly detailed, hand grip issues. This is the Lieutenant Commander Worf action figure to buy, hands down. A must for any Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan! Or the fan of Star Trek: Nemesis.
This toy is based upon Lieutenant Commander Worf as he appeared from the mid-fifth season and beyond of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!) and in Star Trek: Nemesis (reviewed here!)
For other Klingon figure toys, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Worf In StarFleet Rescue Outfit
B’Etor
Ambassador K’Ehleyr
9.5/10
For other toy reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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