Oh So Ugly! The Toy Factory Captain Kirk Plush Utterly Disappoints!

The Good: Recognizable as a Star Trek character?
The Bad: Ugly, Proportions are off, Just ugly.
The Basics: A caricature of Captain Kirk, the Toy Factory plush Captain Kirk is a terrible representation of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk!


A few years ago, my wife got me one of the most horrible toys she ever found for me. That toy was the Scotty plush from Toy Factory (reviewed here!). At the same time that horrible plush was released, Toy Factory produced an equally ridiculous Captain Kirk plush. The Captain Kirk plush looks even less like the William Shatner version of Kirk than the Scotty doll looked like a version of James Doohan in fabric.

Basics

Captain Kirk, for those who are not in the know, is arguably the essential character of Star Trek (reviewed here!) as he is the heroic leader who commands the starship Enterprise. Played by William Shatner, Captain Kirk is a fairly recognizable character and Toy Factory made a plush doll of Captain Kirk to help milk Trekkers and Trekkies of their cash as part of the push for the new(er) movie Star Trek (reviewed here). Captain Kirk is easily recognizable by the yellow Command shirt he wears as the essential part of his uniform that differentiates him from other members of the Enterprise crew.

Sadly, this is arguably the poorest rendition of Captain Kirk ever made for licensed merchandise. The 9" tall stuffed Captain Kirk looks more like an Animated Series character than William Shatner's Captain Kirk. The hideous stuffed toy has his arms and legs spread wide, so it is over seven and a half inches wide at the widest point and it is over two inches deep. Captain Kirk is stitched up in three colors of fabric: black (shoes, pants, hair), yellow (shirt) and pink (face and hands). All other details that needed to be colored onto Captain Kirk are silk-screened on. As a result, Captain Kirk has a Command insignia badge silk-screened onto his chest. He also has his face silk-screened on!

This Captain Kirk plush is supposed to be the William Shatner Captain Kirk, not the new Chris Pine one. Either way, with the generic brown hair painted on the plush, this could just as easily be Walter Koenig’s Chekov as it is William Shatner’s Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk's face is a pretty generic set of lines (actually, the face looks exactly like the animated style of Clerks: The Animated Series) and Captain Kirk is smirking ironically. His eyes are essentially black dots and the mouth is a curved line that makes Captain Kirk look like he is smugly considering betraying the consumer.

The only stitching details for Captain Kirk come in the fact that there are two flaps sewn into the head for ears (these look like Shrek's ears more than Captain Kirk's) and on the hands. On the hands, there are three loops stitched perpendicular to the tips to provide the basic appearance of fingers.

What truly kills the toy for fans of Star Trek is that in trying to make something cute, Toy Factory made something out of proportion that looks slightly demonic. Captain Kirk's big round head is 3 1/2" in diameter. That is over a third of the toy's height taken up by the head! The torso and legs are an additional three inches, of which the feet are over an inch and a half tall! These insane proportions make Captain Kirk look utterly ridiculous.

Accessories

Captain Kirk comes with no accessories, nor are there any available. There is a tag on Captain Kirk's left hand indicating exactly who and what this toy is (and alerting me that there are Scotty and Spock plush toys as well). Because the toy cannot hold anything, there is no practical way to accessorize for it.

Playability

Captain Kirk is the first plush toy I've ever reviewed and I suppose that he could be played with like other stuffed animals would be. This toy is not exactly ideal for play - it does not stand up - or display - it is ghastly and embarrassing. As a result, it is hard to consider this aspect of the toy. Mine quickly ended up in a box, though my dog pulled it out and chewed on it, thinking perhaps that it was one of her toys. The dog seems to get more play out of the Captain Kirk plush than I do; even though it does not have a squeaker in it.

Collectibility

Well, I'm a pretty avid Trekker and I sell a lot of collectibles in addition to reviewing them. I have no idea who would want to collect these plush toys and I'm almost afraid to find out. The value of them has to be pretty low because they sell online more than they ever did in stores and they were also pretty commonly available in select claw machines. They proved so unpopular even there that I can still find them in some! Captain Kirk might well be the most common of these Toy Factory plushes.

Overview

There are plenty of great Star Trek collectibles for fans and collectors that are tasteful, fun and have some value. This Captain Kirk plush toy is just plain horrible and not worth tracking down, much less paying for . . . or spending the time trying to win from the claw machine game.

For other toys or merchandise of Captain Kirk, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Minimates Gorn and Kirk two-pack
Art Asylum Captain Kirk MiniMates figure
2010 Legends Of Star Trek Captain Kirk

.5/10

For other toy reviews, please be sure to visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Best Of The (Scale) Klingon Bird Of Prey Toys: Eaglemoss Collections New Klingon Bird Of Prey Sculpture!

The Good: Perfect sculpting detail, Great coloring details, Neat stand, Cool magazine
The Bad: Wings do not move?
The Basics: A very cool toy, the Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is the ideal small-scale sculpture of the awesome ship.


When it comes to giftgiving, my wife is always looking for incredible things for me (which she knows I will inevitably review). In the past, she has gotten me several pieces to add to my collection of AT-AT and Klingon Bird Of Prey toys and sculptures. Late last year, she found me what has become one of the new highlights of my collection, the Eaglemoss Klingon Bird Of Prey toy. This toy is sculpture-quality and well-worth picking up.

While Eaglemoss Collections has just begun their Star Trek ship line, the fact that the Klingon Bird Of Prey is one of the earliest releases and has perfect quality shows that the company truly is dedicated to doing the Star Trek line right.

Basics

The Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey toy is a recreation of the popular Star Trek starship cast in proper olive green plastic. The toy has the look of the actual starship as it appeared beginning in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and in virtually all subsequent Star Trek franchises. The coloring is highlighted by an immaculate paint job which does such things as highlight the bridge section with the proper red ring. As well, the wing supports are properly silver and that is accurately represented on this toy. The side guns are olive green as well, but they include the wear marks to make the ship’s weapons look weathered and functional.

This die-cast Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is truly a masterwork of detailing. It is the perfect rendition of this ship in this scale. At 5 1/4" wide (wing gun to wing gun) by 3 1/2" long by 3" tall, the Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is intended to be a display piece more than a toy. Still, this is a wonderful casting with green plastic for the body, wings and bridge section of the starship. The thruster array and torpedo tube of the ship are highlighted red and all of the joints and panels have weather marks to make the ship look like it was traveling through a planet’s atmosphere as well as through space. The Klingon Bird-Of-Prey, like most Klingon starships is intended to look armored and strong. As a result, the ship is covered in panels that both detail the ship and make it look like it could be protected in battle by the plating. The Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey also captures details like the vents on the top of the wing joint. These are finer details which look precise and accurate (having seen the actual set-used model in person).

What is arguably most impressive about the sculpt of the Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is the detailing of the wing guns. The guns at the tips of the wings are double-barreled disruptors and most manufacturers who replicate the Klingon Bird-Of-Prey tend to cheap out on the guns because they are more delicate by definition. In Eaglemoss's case, they have accurately cast the weapons to have both barrels on each gun! This is extraordinary detailing and it caps off the toy wonderfully for making a model-quality replica of the starship. Those who are fans of the Klingon Bird-Of-Prey will truly appreciate that Eaglemoss made the thin weapons instead of either neglecting them (making them a single, thicker barrel) or making them disproportionately large, which have been flaws in other manufacturer's Klingon Bird Of Prey toys. It does, however, make the Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey fragile, though the metal construction seems durable enough, especially for what is essentially a statue.

Accessories

The Klingon Bird-Of-Prey toy from Eaglemoss comes with two accessories: a display stand and a magazine. The display stand is a 3 15/16" long ovular black base. The base holds a 1 ½” tall clear plastic stand that hooks into the back of the Klingon Bird Of Prey. The stand is very cool in that it allows the ship to be held perfectly in place from the back, as opposed to putting a hole in the bottom of the ship!

The Eaglemoss Klingon Bird Of Prey comes with the customary Eaglemoss magazine. The magazine is an impressive, almost encyclopedic, collection of information on the starship. It has tons of bright, full-color pictures and accurate, thorough information on the Klingon Bird Of Prey.

Playability

The Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey has almost no playability. Instead, this is intended more as a display piece than a toy. If it were a toy, one would expect the wings to raise and lower. But, because this is intended to appeal more to those who like models than toys, the Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is a static ship and one does not imagine children would get much play out of it before the guns broke off the wings.

Collectibility

The limited edition Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey is the third release in a just-begun collection of Eaglemoss Star Trek ships. While not widely released, many toy dealers still have the ability to get it in or consumers can get a subscription directly from Eaglemoss. It is most commonly found in the secondary market at specialty shops where it commands prices at the original price or a little more, but not at exceptional prices. In other words, this is a good piece for fans and investors might have to wait a while for it to appreciate.
Overview

The Eaglemoss Klingon Bird-Of-Prey starship is perfect and is so incredible that it is almost enough to encourage me to buy some of their other ships!

For other Klingon Bird Of Prey toys, please check out my reviews of:
Playmates Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey
Playmates Klingon Bird Of Prey
Corgi 40th Anniversary Klingon Bird Of Prey
Hot Wheels Battle Damaged Klingon Bird Of Prey

10/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Weird Scale, But Incredible Details: The MicroMachines Star Trek: The Movies Set!

The Good: Great balance, Good detailing
The Bad: Yellowing of stands, Inconsistent scale, The Vulcan shuttle Surak is dramatically out of scale, Coloring on StarFleet ships, No collectible value
The Basics: Galoob’s MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies set 1 focuses on the supporting vessels from the Star Trek films and falls dramatically short because of the coloring and scale issues.


When it comes to Galoob’s Star Trek MicroMachine toy line, the biggest detraction to Galoob’s amazingly-sculpted toys are the coloring and scale. It’s good sometimes to get the big problems right out in the open. Those issues come to the forefront with the Star Trek The Movies MicroMachines Collection 1. The reason the Star Trek The Movies Collection 1 epitomizes the problems of the entire line is that the three starship set includes a shuttle that carries one room is larger than the science vessel that carried hundreds of people and almost as large as the ship that had a crew of almost a thousand! And the coloring on two of the three ships is way, way off.

Fans of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (reviewed here!) and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (reviewed here!) will easily recall the three ships featured in the pack. The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies Set includes the U.S.S. Excelsior, Vulcan Shuttle Surak, and the U.S.S. Grissom.

Basics

The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies includes a U.S.S. Excelsior, Vulcan Shuttle Surak, and U.S.S. Grissom. The U.S.S. Excelsior NX-2000 is a 3 5/16” long, 1 3/16” wide recreation of the starship seen very briefly at the beginning of Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and throughout Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The U.S.S. Excelsior is a Make 1 model of the Excelsior Class, with the curved lower engineering hull. It is cast in a ridiculous blue plastic, which is utterly unfathomable. Even so, the U.S.S. Excelsior is sculpted immaculately and has proper highlights and red and yellow detailing lines and running lights. The name and/or ship number of the ship is printed in exceptionally small type on the top and bottom of the saucer section and Galoob even got the insignia and running lines on the sides of the engineering hull rendered perfectly!

The detailing on the Vulcan Shuttle Surak is ridiculously unimpressive. In fact, there are few coloring accents to the dark gray ship that is essentially a block with two forward-facing nacelles. The 2” long gray block balances perfectly on its stand and has the molded fins near the top of the engineering hull, just like the briefly-seen ship that delivered Spock to the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The U.S.S. Grissom is a 2 7/16” long by 1 1/8” wide and 3/4" tall starship that is also ridiculously cast in blue plastic, like the Excelsior (the actual ships on screen were bright white!). Regardless of the initial coloring, the sculpt is fairly impressive with the saucer section and venting section attached to the warp nacelles and main engineering hull. The starship is solid-looking and has decent coloring accents. Despite the awkward base coloring, the U.S.S. Reliant is accented with proper red racing stripes, silver deflector area, and gray engineering panels.

Accessories

The MicroMachines vehicles come only with stands. The stands are identical ovaloid clear plastic stands that are 1 5/8” long, 3/4” wide and 7/8” tall. Each features a small peg which fits into the vehicles. The stands are universal and fit a standardized hole in the bottom of each ship. The stands work nicely to display each of the ships, though the clear plastic has yellowed over the last decade to look disturbingly unclear.

Playability

The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies vehicle toys have pretty limited playability, as they are entirely unposeable and are only really balanced on their stands. These vehicles have exceptionally limited play potential, largely because their subjects have limited playability; the Vulcan Shuttle Surak could have had a detachable crew quarters section, like in the movie.

Collectibility

The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies set was one of the vastly overproduced sets and the ships in it appeared on one card and with the vehicles in a several of the boxed sets. They did not appreciate in value and are unlikely ever to given how many are in circulation.

Overview

Fans of the Star Trek movies and Star Trek franchise starships are likely to be unimpressed by the Surak and the coloring on the main starships, but otherwise will be pleased that they have obscure ships for their collections.

For other Star Trek MicroMachines toys, please check out:
MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies Set 2
MicroMachines Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Set 1
Star Trek: Generations Set 1

4/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Pretty Terrible Exclusive: The Hot Wheels Star Trek Into Darkness U.S.S. Vengeance Toy Crumbles Under Scrutiny!

The Good: Excellent sculpt, Solid stand
The Bad: Nacelles are incorrectly colored, Surprisingly low collectible value
The Basics: The Mattel Diecast U.S.S. Vengeance toy is an exclusive not worth the price of hunting down.


I absolutely love my wife. She knows me exceptionally well and sometimes, there are things she knows I want, but that I don’t want to spend my own money on. When it comes to DVDs (and now Blu-Rays), my wife knows I like the versions that have all the bells and whistles. In the case of Star Trek Into Darkness (reviewed here!), I’ve spent the entire summer bitching about the film, so when there was an exclusive version released, my wife figured even though I have strenuously argued that the movie was terrible (check out that argument here!), that I would still want the exclusive version. In the case of Star Trek Into Darkness, what the exclusive Blu-Ray boxed set had was the diecast U.S.S. Vengeance toy. The Hot Wheels U.S.S. Vengeance toy is an unfortunately poor exclusive because it is an erratically-manufactured toy (my wife was hugely disappointed that the U.S.S. Vengeance exclusive did not match the size of the exclusive Enterprise case that holds our Blu-Ray of Star Trek) and does not fit the scale of pretty much any other Star Trek starship.

Basics

The Mattel U.S.S. Vengeance toy is a recreation of the covert Star Trek starship cast in glossy dark gray plastic. This U.S.S. Vengeance is an exceptional work as far as the detailing is concerned, for the body, not the nacelles. Measuring 3” wide by 6 1/4" long by 1 1/2" tall (3 3/8”when on the stand), the U.S.S. Vengeance is intended to be a display piece more than a toy. This is an immaculately detailed casting, though the coloring on the nacelles is way, way off. The tiny veins for piping and baffle plates are molded into the ship's body and painted on for extra accents on the engineering hull and saucer section. The U.S.S. Vengeance, unlike other Federation starships looks armored and strong and has a section missing from the middle of the saucer section. There is no logical reason for the open section near the bridge section, but it looks pretty distinctive. Hot Wheels also molded into the U.S.S. Vengeance such details as the light ports on the bridge section and the veins on the nacelles. These are finer details which look precise and accurate, most notably the ports on the underside of the saucer section.

What truly sucks down the U.S.S. Vengeance are the warp nacelles. The nacelles are cast in a matte gray plastic that is lighter than the rest of the starship. As well, there is no coloring to the nacelles in terms of lights or internal power sources. In other words, the nacelles are entirely incongruent with the rest of the ship.

Accessories

The U.S.S. Vengeance toy from Mattel comes with only a single accessory: a display stand. The display stand is a solid Star Trek Delta symbol rendered in three dimensions for stability which is topped off in a ball which plugs into a hole in the base of the U.S.S. Vengeance. The ball and socket joint that this forms allows the Hot Wheels U.S.S. Vengeance to be displayed at extreme angles and this is a great benefit for collectors as it may add real variety for the posing of the ship for one’s collection.

Playability

The Hot Wheels U.S.S. Vengeance has decent playability, but I have no idea who would want to play with this model-quality toy. The ship is intended more as a display piece than a toy. This toy has decent poseability and I suppose children could hold it and make little space battles, though it is hard to imagine who would shell out for the exclusive version just to have children play with it.

Collectibility

The Hot Wheels U.S.S. Vengeance was released in undefined numbers, but its value in the secondary market is surprisingly low. Despite the fact that the boxed set with the Blu-Ray continues to retail at $45, stripping the set for the U.S.S. Vengeance toy has not seen the toy appreciate at all in value. In fact, it can be found currently on eBay for less than the value of the common release U.S.S. Vengeance toy from Hot Wheels.

Overview

Despite having an incredible basic sculpt and body coloring, the miscoloring of the warp nacelles make it impossible to recommend anyone shell out money on the Blu-Ray set of Star Trek Into Darkness just to get the exclusive U.S.S. Vengeance toy.

For other Star Trek toys, please check out my reviews of:
Strike Force Maquis Fighter
Playmates Toys Klingon Attack Cruiser
Burger King Sulu toy

4/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Wrong Coloring Reduces The Coolness Of The Star Trek The Movies MicroMachines Set 2!

The Good: Great balance, Good detailing
The Bad: Yellowing of stands, Inconsistent scale, Klingon Bird Of Prey wings are not articulated, Coloring on StarFleet ships, No collectible value
The Basics: Galoob’s MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies set 2 focuses on the major starships introduced in the Star Trek films and falls short because of the coloring.


Given that I have unearthed my old collection of Star Trek MicroMachines and have started reviewing them, like the Star Trek: Generations set (reviewed here!) , I figured it was a good time to keep going with the series of reviews on Galoob’s MicroMachines! Today, I am considering the Star Trek The Movies 3-pack.

Fans of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (reviewed here!) and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (reviewed here!) will easily recall the three ships featured in the pack. The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies Set includes the U.S.S. Excelsior, a Klingon Bird Of Prey, and the U.S.S. Reliant.

Basics

The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies includes a U.S.S. Excelsior, Klingon Bird Of Prey, and U.S.S. Reliant. The U.S.S. Excelsior NCC-2000 is a 3 5/16” long, 1 3/16” wide recreation of the starship seen very briefly at the beginning of Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and throughout Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The U.S.S. Excelsior is a Make 1 model of the Excelsior Class, with the curved lower engineering hull. It is cast in a ridiculous blue plastic, which is utterly unfathomable. Even so, the U.S.S. Excelsior is sculpted immaculately and has proper highlights and red and yellow detailing lines and running lights. The name and/or ship number of the ship is printed in exceptionally small type on the top and bottom of the saucer section and Galoob even got the insignia and running lines on the sides of the engineering hull rendered perfectly!

The detailing on the Klingon Bird Of Prey is also impressive, though not as good as subsequent models. The Star Trek: The Movies version of the Klingon Bird Of Prey has big clunky guns on the wings and no coloring to the upper vent plates. The Klingon Bird Of Prey is 2 ½” wide and 1 3/4" stem to stern. It is molded with all of the appropriate surface details, including the photon torpedo tube on the underside of the “head.” It is a predominately green starship with minimal accents and the green is a bit brighter than the olive green color Klingon Bird Of Preys usually are.

The U.S.S. Reliant is a 2 3/8” long by 1 1/2” wide starship that is also ridiculously cast in blue plastic, like the Excelsior (the actual ship on screen was bright white!). Regardless of the initial coloring, the sculpt is fairly impressive with the saucer section attached to an extended engineering back and the descending warp nacelles on either side. Galoob molded the upper bow with the photon torpedo launcher in perfect proportion to the rest of the ship. Despite the awkward base coloring, the U.S.S. Reliant is accented with proper red racing stripes, yellow running lights, and gray engineering panels.

Accessories

The MicroMachines vehicles come only with stands. The stands are identical ovaloid clear plastic stands that are 1 5/8” long, 3/4” wide and 7/8” tall. Each features a small peg which fits into the vehicles. The stands are universal and fit a standardized hole in the bottom of each ship. The stands work nicely to display each of the ships, though the clear plastic has yellowed over the last decade to look disturbingly unclear.

Playability

The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies vehicle toys have pretty limited playability, as they are entirely unposeable and are only really balanced on their stands. These vehicles have exceptionally limited play potential, largely because their subjects have limited playability. However, Galoob could have done more with them. For example, the Klingon Bird Of Prey’s wings could have been designed to be mobile (a later movie set did feature that!). The other ships are about as playable as they could be.

Collectibility

The MicroMachines Star Trek The Movies set was one of the vastly overproduced sets and the ships in it appeared on one card and with the vehicles in a several of the boxed sets. They did not appreciate in value and are unlikely ever to given how many are in circulation.

Overview

Fans of the Star Trek movies and Star Trek franchise starships are likely to enjoy how inexpensively they can find this set, but be annoyed by how Galoob managed to get the basic coloring of the ships wrong.

For other MicroMachines and smaller-scale Star Trek toys and collectibles, please check out:
MicroMachines Star Wars Set IV
2008 U.S.S. Reliant Hallmark Ornament
Playmates Toys Strike Force Maquis Fighter

6/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Outside The Dramatic Scale Issues, The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine MicroMachines Set Is Awesome!

The Good: Great balance, Good detailing.
The Bad: Yellowing of stands, Horribly inconsistent scale, Lack of collectible value
The Basics: Galoob’s MicroMachines Star Trek Deep Space Nine set focuses on the essential starships from Star Trek Deep Space Nine, but most of them have been done in bigger scale.


When I was in college, Playmates Toys owned the license for many of the Star Trek toys. I was really excited for the Cardassian Galor-class Warship toy the company was planning to release. It was one of the few vehicle toys that Playmates Toys planned to make, but then pulled. So, there are very few toys of that particular starship for play or display in the world. One of them is in the Galoob Star Trek Deep Space Nine MicroMachines 3-pack.

Fans of Star Trek Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!) will easily recall the three ships featured in the pack. The MicroMachines Star Trek Deep Space Nine Set includes the Cardassian Galor-class Warship, Space Station Deep Space Nine, and a StarFleet Runabout.

Basics

The MicroMachines Star Trek Deep Space Nine includes a Cardassian Galor-class Warship, the standard starship of the Cardassian Union. The 2 7/8” long yellow and brown starship is 1 7/16” wide and 7/16” tall and it looks very much like a remora. It is detailed with tiny blue dots for the running lights and the red Cardassian Union symbols. Things like the gun ports are also accented, though the main deflector area of this ship is an inappropriate brown, instead of the luminous red it is supposed to be. It is molded to have baffle plates that look incredibly accurate on it.

Space Station Deep Space Nine is 2” in diameter and 1 3/4" tall. It is gray and brown and accented as much as a small space station can be. It is accented very mildly with orange and yellow panels as appropriate, though the red gun turrets are pretty sloppy.

With even more detail is the Runabout. The 1 11/16” long shuttle-like starship has fine molding on the baffle plates and the ship is appropriately colored on the warp nacelles and racing stripes, if not for the basic white plastic the ship is molded in. In fact, the gray ship looks a little off, but it is not a bad-looking ship. Galoob might not have been able to make the ship detailed enough to have the ship’s name on it. They did, however, get the ship’s number on it and that looks accurate.

The fact that the Runabout, which fits into a strut on Deep Space Nine, yet is almost as big as the actual station! The Galor-class Warship is longer than Deep Space Nine and that is entirely inaccurate for the ships.

Accessories

The MicroMachines vehicles come only with stands. The stands are identical ovaloid clear plastic stands that are 1 5/8” long, 3/4” wide and 7/8” tall. Each features a small peg which fits into the vehicles. The stands are universal and fit a standardized hole in the bottom of each ship. The stands work nicely to display each of the ships, though the clear plastic has yellowed over the last decade to look disturbingly unclear.

Playability

The MicroMachines Star Trek Deep Space Nine vehicle toys have pretty limited playability, as they are entirely unposeable and are only really balanced on their stands. These vehicles have exceptionally limited play potential, largely because their subjects have limited playability.

Collectibility

The MicroMachines Star Trek Deep Space Nine set was one of the overproduced sets and the ships in it appeared on one card and with the vehicles multiple boxed sets. They have not appreciated in value, largely because they were easily available in this coloring and in several other sets.

Overview

Fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine might overlook the fact that the various MicroMachines are normalized to a single size, but they look remarkably good. For fans of the series, this is a relatively inexpensive way to get some very cool Star Trek: Deep Space Nine starships!

For other MicroMachines and smaller-scale Star Trek toys and collectibles, please check out:
MicroMachines Star Generations Set
2001 Deep Space Nine Hallmark Ornament
Playmates Toys Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey

6/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Only Three-Pack To Feature The Enterprise-D With Removable Saucer, The Star Trek: Generations MicroMachines are pretty cool!

The Good: Great balance, Good detailing, Neat play feature on the Enterprise-D! Decent collectible value.
The Bad: Yellowing of stands, Inconsistent scale, Klingon Bird Of Prey wings are not articulated
The Basics: Galoob’s MicroMachines Star Trek Generations set focuses on the essential starships from the film Star Trek Generations and is a great set for those who like this scale of toy.


Back when I was in college, I found my own apartment a bit cramped for my collection. It was then that I moved out of the big scale of toys that Playmates Toys was making for Star Trek toys at the time and I actually got into the MicroMachines for a while. That trend did not hold for me, though I did keep several of the sets of Star Trek MicroMachines for desk fodder through the years. One of the sets I was surprised I kept was the Star Trek Generations 3-pack.

Fans of Star Trek Generations (reviewed here!) will easily recall the three ships featured in the pack. The MicroMachines Star Trek Generations Set includes the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B, a Klingon Bird Of Prey, and the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D (with removable saucer!).

Basics

The MicroMachines Star Trek Generations includes a U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B, Klingon Bird Of Prey, and U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D toy. The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B is a 3 3/16” long, 1 1/8” wide recreation of the starship seen very briefly at the beginning of Star Trek: Generations. More than simply a repainted Excelsior-Class vessel MicroMachine, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B is the proper Make 2 model of the Excelsior Class with the altered deflector dish area. It is cast in proper white plastic (Next Generation-era ships tended to be cast in a somewhat silly blue plastic, even when they were white or gray, but for the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B, Galoob got the ship right). In fact, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B is sculpted immaculately and colored perfectly with the aqua highlights and red and yellow detailing lines and running lights. The name of the ship is printed in exceptionally small type on the top and bottom of the saucer section and Galoob even got the insignia and running lines on the sides of the engineering hull rendered perfectly!

The detailing on the Klingon Bird Of Prey is also fairly impressive. The Star Trek: Generations version of the Klingon Bird Of Prey seems to be a recoloring of the earlier-released Klingon Bird Of Prey MicroMachine with additional accent coloring on the upper vents and side guns. The side guns also appear to be whittled down a bit finer than the initial release’s clunky guns. The Klingon Bird Of Prey is 2 ½” wide and 1 3/4" stem to stern. It is molded with all of the appropriate surface details, including the photon torpedo tube on the underside of the “head.” It is a predominately green starship with minimal accents and the green is a bit brighter than the olive green color Klingon Bird Of Preys usually are.

The U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D is a 2 3/8” long by 1 3/4” wide starship that is the most detailed version of the ship to date. Like the Enterprise-B in this pack, Galoob colored this ship properly, so it is more gray than blue. More impressive, though is how they colored many of the tiny windows to give it the appearance of depth and realistic openness that the ship possessed. The paint accents include racing stripes, running lines and the blue accents for the lights on the warp nacelles.

Accessories

The MicroMachines vehicles come only with stands. The stands are identical ovaloid clear plastic stands that are 1 5/8” long, 3/4” wide and 7/8” tall. Each features a small peg which fits into the vehicles. The stands are universal and fit a standardized hole in the bottom of each ship. The stands work nicely to display each of the ships, though the clear plastic has yellowed over the last decade to look disturbingly unclear.

Playability

The MicroMachines Star Trek Generations vehicle toys have pretty limited playability, as they are entirely unposeable and are only really balanced on their stands. These vehicles have exceptionally limited play potential, largely because their subjects have limited playability. However, Galoob could have done more with them. For example, the Klingon Bird Of Prey’s wings could have been designed to be mobile (a later movie set did feature that!).

To its credit, as is perfectly appropriate for an Enterprise-D from Star Trek: Generations, the saucer module separates from the main hull of the ship! There is, however, no way to display the saucer section on a stand as it features the plug for the hole in the engineering section. Still, both components end up looking pretty cool on their own!

Collectibility

The MicroMachines Star Trek Generations set was one of the underproduced sets and the ships in it appeared on only one card and with the vehicles in a single boxed set. They have appreciated in value already to about double their initial release price and held there for years. As a result, it seems like they are only a good investment piece if one finds them dirt cheap, below their original cost.

Overview

Fans of Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek franchise starships are likely to enjoy the Enterprise-B and the play functions of the removable saucer of the Enterprise-D. I never thought I would say it, but for a change, the Klingon Bird Of Prey in this set is what robs it of perfection!

For other MicroMachines and smaller-scale Star Trek toys and collectibles, please check out:
MicroMachines Star Wars Set IV
1994 Klingon Bird Of Prey Hallmark Ornament
Playmates Toys Strike Force Maquis Fighter

8/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Benefit Of Being The Only: The Strike Force Maquis Fighter Remains Worth Recommending!

The Good: Good sculpt, Has a stand, Wings move, Awesome coloring details, Wonderful collectible value!
The Bad: Mini-figures are poorly detailed, Stickers on front of the ship.
The Basics: The Strike Force Maquis Fighter toy is one of the few maquis-related toys ever produced and (fortunately) Playmates got it right!


Despite their importance in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, the Maquis are one of the grossly neglected affiliations in the Star Trek universe. Part of that may come from the fact that the rebels do not have a technology or culture truly distinctive – the ex-Federation colonists use StarFleet technology that is outdated and the Maquis on Star Trek: Voyager are assimilated so fast that they becomes Maquis In Name Only after about an episode and a half!. And yet, when Playmates Toys was releasing their problematic Strike Force toy line, one of the few pieces they got right was the Maquis Fighter.

Basics

Playmates toys released the Strike Force Maquis Fighter and it is reminiscent of the ships first seen in “The Maquis, Part 2” (reviewed here!), though the presence of the Chakotay and B’Elanna mini-figures with their characters in their Maquis outfits make it clear this is intended to be the ship commanded by Chakotay in “Caretaker” (reviewed here!). This is a surprisingly well-sculpted and well-colored starship toy. Set in the obscure and highly variable scale of the Strike Force toy line (which had the Enterprise-D, Klingon Bird Of Prey – reviewed here!, and Ferengi Marauder, all in the same size, when the ships are radically different sizes relative to one another!), the Maquis Fighter has a wingspan of 6 1/2”. The ship is only 1 1/2” tall and 5 7/8" from tail to nose.

The hull of the Strike Force Maquis Fighter is detailed fairly extensively with all of the vents and plates that the ship had, along with the wing guns, engines and similar details. In fact, this ship is instantly recognizable to the fans and has pretty awesome molded detailing on the wing guns and the guns next to the cockpit. The Strike Force Maquis Fighter looks battle-ready and sturdy and has decent surface detailing. The toy also manages to hide the button that adjusts the wings in the sculpt itself, so this is a nice looking piece, as well as very playable.

The coloring for the Strike Force Maquis Fighter is incredible. Cast in standard StarFleet ship gray, the plastic for the engines, rear vents and forward phaser arrays is immaculately painted to appear real. There are even exhaust lines on the wings and the front of the ship that make it look more weathered than new. Sadly, Playmates cheaped out on the front windows and resorts to stickers for the ports on the front of the ship. Otherwise, this is an incredibly well-sculpted and well-colored ship toy!

Accessories

This Strike Force Maquis Fighter comes with a stand and two mini-figures. Supported by a generic Star Trek black oval base, the stand raises and supports the Strike Force Maquis Fighter about two and a half inches off the surface the stand it placed on. As collectors became more sophisticated with future releases and made it clear to Playmates that they wanted to be able to display the starships, Playmates began to include stands that the starships would rest upon and this one does that. That said, the ship fits fine upon the stand and the single peg that goes from the top of the stand into the hole in the bottom of the ship is adequate to support the Strike Force Maquis Fighter.

The Strike Force Maquis Fighter comes with two 1 1/4” tall mini-figures, Chakotay and Torres, both in their Maquis outfits. Both feature a phaser molded into their hands (Chakotay in his left, Torres to her right), and Chakotay’s outfit looks right. Torres’s outfit is molded well, but is colored a bit more pink than one might recall it being from “Caretaker.” Chakotay is underdetailed enough that he does not have his iconic tattoo on his face. Torres has no forehead detailing to even suggest that she is half-Klingon!

Playability

The Strike Force Maquis Fighter is a starship toy, yet it opens up in the nose section to accommodate a single mini-figure in what would be the cockpit. The other mini-figure may easily stand on the stand, though there are two slots there for the mini-figures, so they may be both be displayed there if one does not want one in the ship itself. Given how awkward the detailing is on the mini-figures, it is hard to conceive of who might like the figures standing outside the fairly well-detailed ship, especially considering the drastic difference in the scale between the ship and the mini-figures.

The mini-figures bend at the waist and have arms that rotate at the shoulders, but no other articulation.

The Strike Force Maquis Fighter is one of the few Strike Force toys that has a play function. In this case, a rather unobtrusive button on the top of the ship allows one to manipulate the wings. Sliding the top sensor array (which is the button) forward raises the wings and locks them in the upright position. Far more durable than the wings on the Klingon Bird of Prey, this is nevertheless a baffling play function as the wings did not move on the actual Maquis fighters!

Collectibility

Playmates vastly overproduced the Strike Force toys, but the Maquis Fighter was the shortpack of the lot. Between that and the fact that it is one of only two toys of the Maquis Fighter (the other being a Galoob MicroMachine), this toy has skyrocketed in value. Playmates made it even more collectible to the fans by including a limited edition number on the box to each toy. My toy is numbered #002330 and so with at least 2400 of these out in the world, it's hard to consider it especially limited. However, because it was the least-produced of the series, it has exploded in value!

Overview

The Strike Force Maquis Fighter toy is a good idea, executed very well. Unfortunately for most fans, it is usually only available now at a premium price, but for those who love the Maquis, it is a piece well worth hunting down.

For other Star Trek ship merchandise, please check out my reviews of:
Playmates Toys Klingon Attack Cruiser
Corgi Klingon Bird Of Prey
2012 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D Hallmark ornament

8/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page! There you will find an organized listing of all of the toys I have reviewed!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Cute Little Klingon Ship, The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey Is Far From Flawless!

The Good: Good sculpt, Has a stand, Wings move
The Bad: Exceptionally breakable, Stand is awkward, Use of stickers, Proportions (with figures), Widely erratic collectible value
The Basics: The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey toy is one of the few that has moving wings and that is all that truly makes it worth buying.


As a collector of (most) all things Klingon Bird Of Prey, when it comes to Star Trek merchandise, I sometimes have the tough job of wading through the crap for the truly worthwhile gems. Sometimes, it is hard to tell which is which and the only benefit of my collecting virtually everything in the Klingon Bird Of Prey memorabilia is that I usually can tell the difference. Unfortunately, the Playmates Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey toy is one of the lesser outings that masquerades as a worthwhile one. As one of the few Klingon Bird Of Prey toys with moving wings, as seen in their very first outing, the Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey toy initially seems pretty cool. However, the gimmick is a flimsy one and the proportions – relative to the figures that come with the toy – are problematic . . . and its stand is frequently insufficient, making it, ultimately, too tough a sell for serious collectors.

The Klingon Bird Of Prey, in this case, the K'Vort Class version, is a fair rendition, though it is not the very best sculpting or coloring of the amazing ship.

Basics

Playmates toys released the Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey and intends for it to be considered like the one originally seen in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (reviewed here!) and it lives up to that fairly well. Set in the obscure and highly variable scale of the Strike Force toy line (which had the Enterprise-D, Klingon Bird Of Prey, and Maquis Raider, all in the same size, when the ships are radically different sizes relative to one another!), the Klingon Bird Of Prey has a wingspan of 7” – 8”, depending on whether the wings are down or locked in their upright position. The ship is 2” tall when the wings are up and it is consistently 5 1/2" from tail to nose.

The hull of the Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey is detailed fairly extensively with all of the baffle plates that the ship had, along with the wing guns, feathering on the underside and similar details. What it lacks are the details molded into the front upper wing section, which is presented on this toy as a pair of stickers that have a circuitboard type pattern to them. The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey looks battle-ready and sturdy and has decent surface detailing. The toy, however, is colored in a lighter green than the actual starship, so this is not olive green and menacing. As well, the wing guns are out of proportion: overlarge and ugly green.

It is similarly baffling that with such attention to detail for the sculptural lines and indentations, Playmates would resort to multiple decals for such things as both the insignias on the wings and on the front panels. At least, Playmates applied the decals for the fans.

Accessories

This Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey comes with a stand! Supported by a generic Star Trek black oval-shaped base, the stand raises and supports the Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey about two and a half inches off the surface the stand it placed on. As collectors became more sophisticated with future releases and made it clear to Playmates that they wanted to be able to display the starships, Playmates began to include stands that the starships would rest upon and this one does that. That said, the ship fits very awkwardly upon the stand and the single peg that goes from the top of the stand into the hole and the slot in the bottom of the ship is seldom sufficient to support the Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey.

The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey comes with two 1” tall mini-figures, Commander Kruge and Valkris. The only way one would know that the Klingon is Kruge is by reading the packaging, it is so generic and under-detailed. Similarly, Valkris is truly only identifiable to the die-hard fans who are more likely to recognize her by her costume than by any details specific to the actual mini-figure!

Playability

The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey is a starship toy, yet it opens up in the nose section to accommodate a single mini-figure in what should be the Bridge. The other mini-figure may easily stand on the stand, though there are two slots there for the mini-figures, so they may be both be displayed there if one does not want one in the ship itself. Given how awkward the detailing is on the mini-figures, it is hard to conceive of who might like the figures standing outside the fairly well-detailed ship, especially considering the drastic difference in the scale between the ship and the mini-figures.

The mini-figures bend at the waist and have arms that rotate at the shoulders, but no other articulation.

The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey is one of the few Strike Force toys that has a play function. In this case, a rather obtrusive button on the top of the ship allows one to manipulate the wings. Sliding the button forward raises the wings and locks them in the upright position. Unfortunately, this is an exceptionally fragile mechanism. I went through three Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Preys before I got one that worked properly (most frequently, the problem was one of the two wings would sag out of the perpendicular alignment it is supposed to have when the wings are raised.

Collectibility

Playmates vastly overproduced the Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey. They tried to make it more collectible by including a limited edition number on the box to each toy. My toy is numbered #002927 and so with at least 3000 of these out in the world, it's hard to consider it especially limited. Moreover, many collectors purchased these and stockpiled them when they were first released, though the market does seem to have gone up on them lately.

Overview

The Strike Force Klingon Bird Of Prey toy is a good idea, but its execution is too sloppy to recommend. The die-hards will buy it anyway, but for the discriminating collector, this is one Klingon Bird Of Prey toy that can be passed by.

For other Klingon Bird Of Prey merchandise, please check out my reviews of:
Hot Wheels Battle Damaged Klingon Bird Of Prey
Playmates Star Trek: Generations Klingon Bird Of Prey
Corgi 40th Anniversary Klingon Bird Of Prey
1994 Klingon Bird Of Prey ornament

3.5/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page! There you will find an organized listing of all of the toys I have reviewed!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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My Final "Minimates" Review Takes The Mugato To Task!

The Good: Looks pretty much like a Mugato, Articulated
The Bad: No accessories, Not collectible, Playability, Posability
The Basics: The final Star Trek minimate from Art Asylum, the Mugato looks like what it is supposed to be, but is no more playable than the others!


Perhaps one of the most enjoyable moments in the DVD presentation of the second season of Star Trek (reviewed here!) is when one discovers one of the easter eggs that features William Shatner joking about Star Trek. In the easter egg, Shatner describes the real way to defeat the dreaded Mugato, a furry beast that appeared in one episode of Star Trek and is now immortalized in at least two action figures, including the Minimate. Shatner declares that when being attacked by a guy in a furry suit, the key is to find a loose thread and unravel the demon! It's that kind of wit and charm that makes him so popular on the convention circuit and it truly is funny on the DVD.

The Mugato, here, is now a Minimate that is anything but furry, though it does look generally like the Mugato (or the Abominable Snowman from one of those ClayMation Christmas Specials . . .). Actually, the Mugato, which appeared in "A Private Little War" (reviewed here!) is one of the more distinctive aliens from Star Trek and the sculpt for the Minimate does include both the tail and the back ridges, which makes it look very much like the character it is supposed to embody.

Still, it's a Minimate and these toys are pointless and virtually unplayable! For those unfamiliar with these little slabs of plastic, "Minimates" are two-inch tall action figures that instantly remind one Lego people, the little "action figures" that made people a part of the Lego world so things like Lego cars, helicopters and houses could have more than just the joy of building associated with them! Star Trek briefly got into the Minimate craze, though that seemed to have (fortunately) died a quick death when Star Trek fans and collectors alike looked at the product, laughed and said "No freakin' way!"

In the Star Trek line, the Mugato is right up there with the Gorn as a fairly decent representation of the subject, made into a toy that is just plain terrible. Like the Gorn figure, this minimate rates a little higher than the others because it actually looks like the Mugato it is supposed to represent. Then again, it's not like the Star Trek universe is full of big, white creatures with monkey faces! I mean, outside the Mugato, this could pretty much only be a minimate of a Munchichi!

The Mugato minimate is a two inch tall piece of plastic that fairly resembles the animal from "A Private Little War." The blockish figure lacks any accessories, though the tail broke off mine rather easily. The Mugato doesn't truly need accessories, it was an animal on the show and wasn't all that sophisticated there!

The figure is articulated, I have to give PA that; the head, tail, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, knees and thigh-socket are all articulated. Given, however, the way the feet are essentially little blocks, the leg articulation does little as far as poseability of the figure. It needs to be stood flatfooted in order to remain up and as a result, the knee and thigh articulation are a bit of a waste.

Which leads to the question of playability. I don't get the point of this figure. Sure, you can pose the Mugato to have it ready to jump on Captain Kirk or knock over Dr. McCoy, but the scale is prohibitive for playing with others and the poseability is pretty rotten for simply displaying. Indeed, in order to get this figure to stand up, many of the poses required me to lean the figure back so it was a tripod with the tail acting as a third leg! As far as a toy goes, this basically seems like an ideal toy for a young child to pick up, pop in their mouth and get lodged there as a result of the limb articulation.

I tend to look at the Star Trek toy lines through the eyes of a collector. As a fan of the Star Trek franchise, toys from Star Trek that I've collected have to be pretty special and, well, collectible. I'm not sure what makes minimates collectible other than that Trek-fans are told they can collect them. In any case, the best collectibles remind the buyer of the subject of the collectible. The best collectible toys rock because of the realism to the likeness of the character they are supposed to represent and articulation. Quite simply, the best collectible toys are the most striking likenesses of the characters they represent for collectors and great articulation for those who bother to take it out of the pack for play enthusiasts or those who want to actually display their figures.

The Mugato minimate was not limited and while the likeness is decent, it's not like it was the most impressive alien Star Trek ever conceived, making it of very limited interest to the fans. While the figure is articulated at thirteen points, much of that articulation is pointless and cannot be used to pose the toy for displays in intriguing fashions.

Ultimately, those who love Star Trek (and I am one of them!) will be able to find a better way to spend their hard-earned fan dollars, though if you insist on wasting them on Minimates, this one or the Gorn are your best bets! May this line rest in peace (and never trouble collectors again!).

For other Star Trek MiniMates reviews, please check out my takes on:
Mr. Spock Minimates
Gorn Minimate
Khan Minimate
Captain Kirk MiniMate
Dr. McCoy MiniMate

3/10

For other toy reviews, please 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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The Klingon Vor'cha Attack Cruiser A Toy That Might Be Better Than A Model!

The Good: Cool sounds, Good light effects, Nice size and sculpt
The Bad: No stand, Lack of light effect, Decals
The Basics: The Klingon Attack Cruiser, Vor'cha class, is a Klingon fighting machine made into a very cool toy!


A long time ago - now, it seems - Playmates Toys had the Star Trek line of toys. Shortly after the twenty-fifth anniversary of Star Trek, Playmates began producing Star Trek toys, both the action figures and larger starships. The starships were about the size of a model, with lights and sound and they focused first on the starships of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

From the first wave of starship toys, collectors were given the chance to pick up the Klingon Vor'cha Class Warship. On Star Trek: The Next Generation, when the leader of the Klingon High Council left the Klingon homeworld, he appeared in "Reunion" (reviewed here!) in a giant, new, powerful ship. That was a Vor'cha class cruiser and it immediately left an impression with viewers. It was as strong as the U.S.S. Enterprise and while it would be quite some time before viewers saw one in action, it looked cool. It made for a pretty instant hit with fans and marketing it was a smart move.

Basics

Playmates toys released the Klingon Battlecruiser at the same time as it released a starship toy of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D and the Romulan Warbird (reviewed here!). These toys were designed to appeal to the niche of collectors who liked models, but were not married to the building of models. As a result, the Vor'cha class cruiser is just over fifteen inches long, ten inches and a half inches wide and just under four inches tall.

The Klingon Battlecruiser is a standard Klingon design with an elongated neck leading to the bridge section and front weapons cannons. The aft section has warp nacelles suspended below each side of the starship. Reflecting the Star Trek: The Next Generation sensibility of Klingon starships, it is a light green. This is actually one of the more intriguing designs for a ship in the Star Trek universe and the frequency of the ships' appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation and subsequent spin-offs, makes for a reasonable first wave ship.

The hull of the Vor'cha class cruiser is detailed fairly extensively with hull plating that makes it look fortified and battle-ready. Because the ship is designed for warfare, it does not have windows and multiple light sources that needed to be detailed into the ship. This works wonderfully for the fans - and Playmates - because it needs to look like a fortress and this little toy does. The Playmates Klingon Battlecruiser captures much of this detailing with precision and an excellent amount of care. This is clearly a Vor'cha class cruiser and anyone who has seen the series will easily recognize it from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

It is somewhat baffling, then, that with such attention to detail for the sculptural lines and indentations, Playmates would resort to a decal for the Klingon symbol and writing on the aft-top and bottom sections of the starship, as opposed to painting it on or making it part of the actual sculpt. This is nitpicky, to be sure, and at least Playmates does the work of applying the Decals. There are small multicolored Klingon symbols on the top port and bottom starboard sections and Klingon writing at the same place on the opposite sides, which are accurate, if not the most flattering aspect of this toy.

The light effects are not bad, but they are contained mostly to the warp nacelles and forward cannon, which are accurate and good. Unfortunately, the aft section has thrusters which are made of the same translucent red plastic as the lights on the nacelles and cannon, but they do not light up. This lessens the overall effect of the lights that do come on when the buttons are pushed.

Accessories

Also disappointing is the lack of a stand. As collectors became more sophisticated with future releases and made it clear to Playmates that they wanted to be able to display the starships, Playmates began to include stands that the starships would rest upon. Alas, the Klingon Battlecruiser has no stand and as a result, those who want to display it must either hang it from the ceiling, let it rest on a display surface or make their own stand.

The toy is outfitted with four buttons on the top of the neck of the ship which generates sounds from a sound chip. When pressed, the toy emits sounds of: Klingon disruptors, the Klingon photon torpedo, the ship decloaking, and a full volley. The best sound is the torpedo sound; it's quick, concise and an accurate recreation of the sound effect from the show. The sound effects are easily more memorable than the light effects and they make for an interesting selling point and conversation piece.

For fans of the starships, there is also a rather unsophisticated blueprint of the Klingon Battlecruiser included in the box.

Playability

The Vor'cha class Battlecruiser is a starship toy, so it does not open up (save the battery slot) and does not naturally interact with the 4.5 (or any other) action figure line. It comes out of the box completely assembled and the battery life may easily be extended by flipping a little button in the battery pack that disengages the light effects.

This is a toy that - outside lighting up and making noise - does nothing. As a result, it is a good toy for children who have an imagination. They interact with other children to create space battles or just soar through the galaxy until they are tired out or whatever kids do.

Honestly, this is a toy created with the intent of selling to adults who are into collectible toys. That purpose was mostly met and the Klingon Battlecruiser is a good display piece, despite the the lack of a stand.

Collectibility

The most severe limitation to the collectibility of the Klingon Battlecruiser as a collectible comes in its selling point as a toy; because the toy comes with batteries and browsers are encouraged by the box to test the sounds, collectors are left with a real dilemma. As most collectors know, almost everything that is collectible is made more valuable by being Mint In Box. The potential consequence of leaving the Klingon Battleship truly mint in box is that the batteries, well after they are dead will leak and eat apart the starship and packaging.

As a result, many collectors - even those who do not display the ship because they want to keep it mint in package - opened the package to remove the batteries. It is difficult to assess the effect this has on the collectibility because these near mint in box ships might well be in better condition than a truly mint in box one which might reasonably have suffered serious damage from battery degradation by this point (especially in more humid climes).

That said, Playmates made the Klingon Battlecruiser more collectible by including a limited edition number on the box to each toy. Then again, they made it less collectible by producing the toy in the volume that they did. My toy is numbered #009987 and so with at least 9988 of these out in the world, it's hard to consider it especially limited. Moreover, many collectors purchased these and stockpiled them when they were first released, though the market does seem to have gone up on them lately.

Overview

I loved my Vor'cha class cruiser when it was first released back in 1993. As time has passed and I have grown up some, I keep the Klingon Battlecruiser because it is a cool ship. Unfortunately, I keep it behind the shelves where the rest of my starships are displayed because there is no natural, easy way to display it. Moreover, the light effects - especially - no longer impress me and it is a battery hog, so I almost never put batteries in and listen to it anymore.

It's an average toy, but I recommend it for the simple reason that it's good, thought buyers who are looking to buy one need to be exceptionally careful about what they are buying. If the seller has left the toy truly mint in box, be sure to have some form of guarantee that if you open it and discover the batteries have bled, you'll be able to get your money back!

Anyone wishing they could conquer the galaxy, this is the toy to pretend it with!

For other Star Trek Playmates vehicle toys, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Gold Limited Edition U.S.S. Enterprise-D
U.S.S. Defiant
Space Station Deep Space Nine

6/10

For other toy reviews, please be sure to check out my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Lamest Star Trek Toy Ever? The Gold Enterprise-D Is Certainly In The Running!

The Good: Cool sounds, Good light effects, Stand, Aspects of the basic sculpt.
The Bad: Lack of complete light effect, Decals, Coloring, Presumed collectability
The Basics: The Gold USS Enteprise-D is a terrible recoloring of the classic starship that wastes collector's time, money and space and ought to be avoided at all costs.


Playmates had an initial Star Trek: The Next Generation starship toy line developed shortly after the twenty-fifth anniversary of Star Trek to commemorate the franchise. In the first wave, there were the obvious U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D (reviewed here!) and formidable and recognizable Klingon Attack Cruiser and Romulan Warbird. The big three starships of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Then they came out with the gold recast of the Enterprise-D. For those who are not fans or collectors of Playmates' Star Trek line of toys, there is a vastly superior and sensible Enterprise-D toy and this one is not it.

Instead, this is a ridiculous parody of a toy and a collectible and while it does appear to have some positive attributes, it is essentially a waste and a mystery as to whom this might appeal to.

Basics

Attempting to milk the popularity of its most popular starship toy to date, Playmates Toys released a special collector's version of the U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-D, the Federation flagship featured in every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (reviewed here!). Like the "Malibu Stacey with a new hat!" on "The Simpsons," this Enterprise toy is an obvious attempt to capitalize on popularity and raise some money without putting in any real effort or expense, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the franchise!

This is the exact same U.S.S. Enterprise-D that was released in the first wave of Playmates toy starships . . . only, this time is is recast in gold! Actually, it's more of a brass color and it is otherwise identical to the original release. Sure, this one has a stand, but it doesn't make up for the lame and pointless recoloring of the classic toy.

These toys were designed to appeal to the niche of collectors who liked models, but were not married to the building of models. This particular Enterprise was designed to appeal to collectors who like toys that say "Limited Edition" on them because otherwise there is utterly no point to this ship. The Enterprise was never gold in the series and the commemoration of it in gold deserved something different, not this (a removable saucer Enterprise might have been better, for example). It does, however, retain the scale of the other starships and as a result, the Enterprise-D is just over fifteen inches long, eleven inches wide and just under four inches tall.

The hull of the Enterprise is detailed fairly extensively with all of the windows that the ship had, along with the nooks and crannies for weapons and similar details. What it lacks, just like its predecessor Enterprise toy, are the light effects needed to make the starship work. The Enterprise-D is covered in windows from people's quarters, lit from within in a rather striking and obvious way. The toy does nothing close to that and as a result, the overall effect of the Enterprise is lost.

It is similarly baffling that with such attention to detail for the sculptural lines and indentations, Playmates would resort to multiple decals for such things as Ten Forward's windows and the writing on the aft-top and bottom sections of the starship, as opposed to painting it on or making it part of the actual sculpt. This is nitpicky, to be sure, but it is annoying that Playmates does not do the work of applying the decals. The Enteprise-D is labeled in several places and it's annoying to have to put all the decals on; after all, if I had wanted a model, I would have purchased a model, not the toy. Even more annoying; some of the decals represent bars that could have been light effects.

The light effects are terrible in that they are exclusively contained to the warp nacelles. Despite the deflector dish being made of translucent plastic, it does not light up. Neither does the bridge or any of the other lights. Moreover, the blue of the warp nacelles looks terrible on the gold plastic of the recast ship.

Accessories

The gold Enterprise-D comes with a stand and that is nice. It might be the only improvement made upon the ship from its original incarnation to this one.

The toy is outfitted with four buttons on the top of the neck of the ship which generates sounds from a sound chip. When pressed, the toy emits sounds of: the Enterprise cruising, the Enterprise going to warp, phasers (with an explosion) and photon torpedo. The best sound is the going to warp sound, which is distinct and an accurate recreation of the sound effect from the show. The sound effects are easily more memorable than the light effects and they make for an interesting selling point and conversation piece.

For fans of the starships, there is also a rather unsophisticated blueprint of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D included in the box.

Playability

The Enterprise-D gold toy is a starship toy, so it does not open up (save the battery slot) and does not naturally interact with the 4.5 (or any other) action figure line. It comes out of the box completely assembled and the battery life may easily be extended only by removing the batteries from the toy.

This is a toy created with the intent of selling to adults who are into collectible toys. In fact, the recolored version is designed exclusively for collectors who want a display piece and something different, something that screams collectible. Perhaps, though, it is better for children; in their play they might come up with a good reason for the ship to be gold!

Collectibility

The most severe limitation to the collectibility of the gold Enterprise-D is that it is ugly. There is no other way around it. This is an ugly, pointless toy. It looks stupid and I know that might seem a base description for it, but the brassy, dull-gold finish makes it look like a hunk of plastic and it looks dumb. It looks like it is supposed to be different and special and the idea fell totally flat.

Moreover, it is weakened as a collectible by its selling point as a toy; because the toy comes with batteries and browsers are encouraged by the box to test the sounds, collectors are left with a real dilemma. As most collectors know, almost everything that is collectible is made more valuable by being Mint In Box. The potential consequence of leaving the gold Enterprise truly mint in box is that the batteries, well after they are dead will leak and eat apart the starship and packaging.

As a result, many collectors - even those who do not display the ship because they want to keep it mint in package - opened the package to remove the batteries. It is difficult to assess the effect this has on the collectibility because these near mint in box ships might well be in better condition than a truly mint in box one which might reasonably have suffered serious damage from battery degradation by this point (especially in more humid climes).

That said, Playmates made the gold Enterprise-D more collectible by including a limited edition number on the box to each toy. This one is limited to only 10,000 of these in the world, so it's hard to consider it especially limited. Moreover, many collectors avoided the gold Enterprise-D because it lacked the appeal most collectors want.


Overview

This is easily one of the worst Star Trek toys Playmates ever produced. It looks ridiculous and is nowhere near as special or collectible as fans would want. Now that I've finished reviewing mine, I am looking forward to ditching this as I lose the deadweight in my collection.

It's substandard toy, and anyone who disregards my advice about purchasing this ought to at least take this advice: be exceptionally careful about what you are buying. If the seller has left the toy truly mint in box, be sure to have some form of guarantee that if you open it and discover the batteries have bled, you'll be able to get your money back!

Then again, why waste your money on this waste of plastic when there are truly better Enterprise-D's out there?!

For other Playmates Star Trek vehicle toys, please be sure to check out my reviews of:
Star Trek Generations Battle-damaged U.S.S. Enterprise
U.S.S. Defiant
Runabout Orinoco


2/10

For other toy reviews, please visit my Toy Review Index Page for a complete listing of the toys I have reviewed with links to the actual reviews!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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