Thursday, June 21, 2012

A Cool Figure For A Single Arc, The Colonel Kira Nerys Action Figure From Diamond Select Lives Up!


The Good: Excellent sculpt, Cool accessories, Good coloring
The Bad: A bit over-accessorized, Minor balance/sculpt issues.
The Basics: The Diamond Select Colonel Kira Nerys figure presents Kira in an obscure (for her) costume with molding that does not allow her to take full advantage of her cool accessories.


I frequently argue that one of the most maligned characters and actresses in the Star Trek pantheon is Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys. After all, for the first two incarnations of Star Trek, both the Captain and First Officer appeared as “Starring” in the opening credits. Nana Visitor is relegated to final billing under “Also Starring.” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actually only stars Avery Brooks. With Star Trek Voyager, Robert Beltran at least appears as the first “also starring.” Nana Visitor was the first First Officer to be denied a “Starring” role. Bummer.

So, I’m always thrilled when there is some form of merchandise that highlights Kira Nerys. In the case of Diamond Select’s Colonel Kira Nerys figure, though, the obscurity of this particular version of Kira makes the choice somewhat baffling. In fact, the more I consider the figure, the more I am forced to believe that the body is a recolored version of the Jadzia Dax figure from the Wave 1 line with a different head.

Basics

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Series 2 (2008) Collection of action figures contained only four figures and it focused on the essential characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which had not been done in the first assortment (or, in the case of Martok, ever!). The second-tier characters Diamond Select cast included Colonel Kira Nerys, Chief O'Brien, Doctor Julian Bashir (reviewed here!) and Martok, the Klingon General. Perfectly sculpted with amazing attention to surface details and coloring, Colonel Kira Nerys arrives in the Deep Space Nine assortment as a wonderfully realized action figure embodying one of the essential characters from the space station. Not widely available, the Kira figure remains harder to find, though Martok was the chase figure in the assortment.

The Colonel Kira Nerys figure is the Command branch officer as she appeared in the final few episodes of the seventh season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!), when Kira was training the Cardassian Resistance. This means that Kira in this form is wearing a StarFleet uniform; not her Bajoran one! This Kira is coiffed in the gray and black costume that became the standard on Deep Space Nine because it was the uniform being used in Star Trek: First Contact. Kira Nerys has a dark uniform with the requisite maroon shirt beneath to indicate she is in the Command branch.

Standing six and three-quarters inches tall, this is a great likeness of Colonel Kira Nerys immortalized in plastic. The character is molded in a neutral stance, which allows one to make the figure more expressive through posing, as opposed to forcing collectors to pose her in one of a few limited ways. The fingers on her right hand are half closed, to allow her to hold her accessories. Unfortunately, the fingers on her left hand are extended more, which makes her unable to hold her phaser accessory in a way that looks at all reasonable. There is a decent level of uniform detailing, including the rank insignia which is painted on as opposed to any form of molding into the figure. Technically, this is Commander Kira Nerys. The communicator is molded and painted on her chest and her wrist stripes - another way to quickly denote she is in Command - are painted on. My Kira was immaculately painted and there were no chips or overlaps on any areas, like the occasionally problematic communicator badge.

Kira's face is molded in a benevolent, neutral expression. This looks like Nana Visitor and appropriately has the Colonel with the longer, “flopped over” hairstyle that she wore when in the final arc. Diamond Select even included Kira’s Bajoran earring, though it is not colored as boldly as the rest of the head (notably the hair). Diamond Select managed to get such details as the nose ridges and angle of the eyebrows of Kira perfectly rendered. As well, Diamond Select did an excellent job with the coloring details, getting Bashir's skin tones with some depth - save on the hands - and shading.

The paint job is incredible on the head as well. In addition to having great detailing to Kira’s piercing brown eyes, her hair is realistically shaded. As a result, Colonel Kira looks like she has head of hair, as opposed to wearing some form of textured helmet! This is a nice sense of detailing and clearly Diamond Select took its time to make the best figure possible. This includes detailing on the nose which is extraordinary. Kira’s fingernails are uncolored. The uniform is appropriately colored and the figure looks great in that respect. This includes the split cuffs at the bottom of Kira's pants, which was a nice touch of realism that no other toy manufacturer has captured as realistically.

Accessories

Colonel Kira Nerys comes with six accessories, making her heavily over-accessorized, but offering fans a lot of options for play or display. Kira comes with: A StarFleet Type II phaser, a StarFleet Phaser rifle, a Bajoran Tricorder, Bajoran PADD, and a Bajoran Disruptor. That Colonel Kira Nerys comes with more weapons than tools makes sense as when she was in this particular uniform, she was training freedom fighters.

The Type II phaser is impressively detailed, basically being a little silver plastic piece in the shape of a phaser with black highlights on the handle. The buttons are molded into the phaser, as is the display. This one-inch long choking hazard fits awkwardly into Kira's hands; it is at the entirely wrong angle for shooting in the right hand and it slips right out of the left hand’s grip! It has the requisite molded details and most of the coloring details, but the emitter display is not colored as if it is lit up and able to shoot. Still, this is an extraordinarily well-detailed accessory.

The phaser rifle is a StarFleet phaser rifle, which Colonel Kira did not use in the final arc. 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, though it is very hard 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.

The Bajoran PADD is a 7/8" choking hazard that is equally incredible in its detail. This works as a decent accessory for Kira, though this particular PADD has Quark's image on it - perhaps foreshadowing a figure from the next line? - and that level of detail is perfectly executed and well-conceived. The PADD does fit in Kira’s right hand (either of them) and that her thumb can actually be placed on the thumb scan button on the PADD is impressive workmanship on both the figure and the accessory!

Unfortunately, the Bajoran tricorder – which is a bit thicker – cannot be held in either of Kira’s hands. The grip on the left hand is far too closed and the right hand is molded too far open! Even so, it is detailed extraordinarily well as far as coloring for the buttons go, making it a good accessory, in the abstract.

The accessory that is unique to the Colonel Kira Nerys figure is the Bajoran Disruptor. The 1” long firearm is colored with perfect accuracy to be copper, bronze and black (on the handle. The Red power button on the side is painted on and looks good as well. There is a decent amount of surface detailing – including the tiny trigger – that makes the Bajoran Disruptor very cool. Given that this accessory is unique to the Kira figure, it is almost inconceivable that the left hand holds in in a grip that is somewhat doofy looking and the right hand is far too loose for it! Kira fans deserved better, even if Diamond Select had put in replaceable hands to accommodate the gun, it would have been cooler!

Playability

Colonel Kira Nerys helps to continue an exceptional level of quality from Diamond Select Toys and she is an impressive Kira figure as she has a good sculpt, accessories to match and a great sense of poseability. Colonel Kira Nerys is endowed with sixteen points of articulation at the ankles, knees, groin socket, biceps, elbows, shoulders, wrists, neck, and waist. Only a few of the joints, like the wrists and biceps, are simple swivel joints. The knees, elbows and ankles are all hinge joints, which offer realistic movement for the joints. Other joints, like the shoulders and neck are ball and socket joints. As a result, the neck turns left to right and can nod! Similarly, the shoulders have a full range of motion because of the style of joint! Diamond Select made an immaculately articulated figure and this is great for fans of Kira or Star Trek toys in general.

The Diamond Select toys do not include a base (or foot holes) for their figures, though with Kira, one wishes they would! The Colonel Kira Nerys figure is not topheavy from bust, but only really stands when she is flatfooted. The ankle articulation is good, but past a certain point with the knees bent, Kira invariably falls over or has to be twisted into a less authentic pose.

Collectibility

Diamond Select Toys seems to be very conservative in releasing its Star Trek: Deep Space Nine action figures and as a result, Kira is available usually only through specialized stores like comic book shops and toy stores as opposed to the big box discount stores. The level of quality is clearly intended for a more discriminating collector, which is probably why Diamond Select is able to get $15.00 per figure. One suspects as time goes by and no one else makes more (or better) Kira figures this will become highly sought after and its value will appreciate.

Just how rare the Kira figure is is subject to debate and it remains one of the two less common figures from this particular line of Diamond Select Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, so it will probably not be a great investment piece anytime soon.

Overview

This Diamond Select Colonel Kira Nerys action figure is a cool toy, but not the ideal Kira figure for the diehard fans of the character. For that, one would want a Kira that could actually hold the bulk of her accessories. . . or was in her standard uniform. Still, Diamond Select made this Colonel Kira pretty cool!

For other Diamond Select or Art Asylum Star Trek: Deep Space Nine figures, please check out my reviews of:
Constable Odo
Jadzia Dax
Captain Benjamin Sisko

9/10

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

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