Saturday, May 12, 2012

Cardassians And Borg, Oh My! Oh No, To This Toy!


The Good: Interesting concept, Pretty cool sculpt
The Bad: Looks like a comic book character, awkward size, Inflexibility, Difficult balance
The Basics: A disappointing concept figure that has an awkward scale, a bulky build and an overall ridiculous look. Even fans of Cardassians and Borg are unlikely to enjoy.


And then there was Art Asylum's Cardassian Borg figure from the Borg Assimilation line . . . For those unfamiliar with Star Trek, The Borg are the terrifyingly indifferent nemesis first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Q-Who?" (reviewed here!) and achieved such popularity that they were the principle villains of the eighth Star Trek franchise film Star Trek: First Contact (reviewed here!). The Cardassians are a much more obscure race, introduced as cold adversaries working to make peace with the Federation in "The Wounded" (reviewed here!) and they were one of the principle villains of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Indeed, what I believe the greatest hour of television thus written and shot, a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode entitled "Duet" (reviewed here!) featured the Cardassians. The Borg Assimilation line of Art Asylum action figures was a series of concept toys meant to enhance the Star Trek universe.

Interestingly, there was a Cardassian Borg in the background of Star Trek: First Contact, but this is not a replica of that. That is worth mentioning because Art Asylum's claim to fame was using body scans to create the most true-to-life sculpts for their action figures. As a result, most of their figures are incredible replicas of characters from the Star Trek universe.

Alas, this is not one of those. No, this is a concept figure derived from the imagination of the production team at Art Asylum. As a result, it is very much its own piece and this has both its strengths and its serious drawbacks.

Let's start with what's cool about this figure. The first thing would have to be the idea. The Borg are cool. They take living things, rob them of their personality and plug them into machines (it's a great capitalist model!) in the pursuit of the ultimate technological advancement. The figure is essentially comprised of hard plastic with Borg armor and a Cardassian head, which has Borg tubes protruding from the back of it.

The figure's face is pretty awesome. The sculpt for the Cardassian head and neck is flawless and the head turns a little allowing for some posability. The coloring for the Cardassian skin is slightly off, but this is a revelation of how clever the production staff at Art Asylum was with their concept; the Borg drain their victims of pigment, so they all take on a more pale, zombified look. So the coloring being a little less dark and gray than usual works perfectly for the figure.

As well, the Borg armature for the left arm is both typical Borg and wicked looking. The Cardassian Borg has a giant claw that looks vicious and it is a nice touch to the methodical Cardassian. The detailing on the arm is excellent and it looks like it could have come right off the set of First Contact. But more than anything, that arm is stylish and for the five people in the world who will actually open the figure up (c'mon, the majority of buyers are going to be collectors and it'll stay Mint In Package) the claw has some articulation which improves its playability.

Finally, the Borg armor has the detailing and plating that makes it look quite good and very much like what has been established within the Star Trek universe as Borg technology. But that's about it.

The armor reveals the first serious problem with the Borg Assimilation line and the Cardassian Borg in particular. Scale. The scale of this figure sets it apart from every other Star Trek toy and collectible I've yet found. At seven inches tall, it is far too big for the Playmates 5" figure line or the Art Asylum 6" toy line and it is far too short for any company's 12" figure line. In short, the three figures in this set are designed to stand apart and that makes them hard to display for collectors and annoying to fans who just want to have a reasonable play experience.

But both of those problems are exacerbated by the size and lack of flexibility of the Cardassian Borg. The Cardassian Borg has ten points of articulation: neck, waist, both shoulders, elbows, knees and thigh socket. This allows one to put it in a few very limited poses, almost every one of which will cause it to fall over. The Cardassian Borg is poorly balanced, designed to stand in a single strangely dynamic (for a Borg) pose with its hand outstretched and twisting at the waist. So in addition to being unwieldy, the figure is cumbersome in its form.

But even worse is the fact that the armor seems to be concealing the most buff Cardassian ever to exist in the history of the Cardassian Union. Cardassians don't look like "Masters Of The Universe" figures, WWF stars or, you know, South Beach steroid addicts. The Star Trek universe has a grotesquely oversized adversary with the Hirogen from Star Trek: Voyager (that's a different figure in the Borg Assimilation line).

For a company that prides itself on accurate sculpts, getting the proportions of both a Cardassian and a Borg (they don't need to be buff for their single-minded goal of assimilation) so spectacularly wrong guts the concept of the figure. This looks like it comes from a comic book, not the Star Trek universe! Set beside other Art Asylum Star Trek figures, the Cardassian Borg appears more like a parody than an interesting concept.

Also, and this is a really weird criticism, the eyes on the figure are full of too much life for a Borg. Whenever anyone is assimilated by the Borg, the first acting direction a director gives the actor is "Stare blankly" or "look indifferent." It's the hallmark of the Borg. This has a Cardassian's eyes . . . there's scheming there.

The Cardassian Borg is pretty hard to find these days, but when you do, it tends to be cheap because it seems Star Trek fans tend to like accuracy and replication of what they've seen more than variations conceptualized intending to flesh out the universe they love. Also, despite probable disinterest from younger children, the Borg Assimilation Cardassian comes with no accessories that could be swallowed, making it pretty safe to leave lying around (again, for those who take it out of the package). Outside getting poked in the eye with the claw, it's pretty tame.

But it's not worth it. This was one of Art Asylum's few Star Trek failures, but it does go to show that when they fail, they fail big.

For other Art Asylum or Star Trek concept figures, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Star Trek Vina The Orion Slave
The Mugato MiniMate
Borg Head

4/10

For other toy reviews, be sure to check out my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the toys I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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