Poor Balance Seriously Undermines The 1999 Worf Ornament!

The Good: Imaginative casting, Generally good coloring
The Bad: No special features, Overproduced, Underdetailed, Comparatively expensive.
The Basics: The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character ornament of Lieutenant Commander Worf is robbed of potential greatness by a pretty severe balance issue!


As I eagerly await the new crop of Hallmark Ornaments around this time next month, I am finishing going through the last remnants of my personal collection and reviewing the ornaments there. One of the ones that I was very much on the fence about keeping was the Lieutenant Commander Worf Hallmark ornament. I love Worf. Who doesn’t?! He is the character who has appeared in the most hours of Star Trek in the entire franchise! And the 1999 Hallmark ornament of Worf is good, but it could be a lot better, making it a much tougher sell than it ought to have been

The Lieutenant Commander Worf is a Hallmark ornament released in 1999 as part of the finale celebration for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. To date, it is pretty easy to find in the secondary market because of how unenthusiastic the response was to the ornament's release, despite the character being essential to the franchise.

Hallmark Keepsake has a line of collectible ornaments from major franchises, like Star Trek. From the Star Trek line comes the Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament. Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine will easily recall Lieutenant Commander Worf as he is only full Klingon in StarFleet. This sculpt of Worf is from Season 4 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!), after he has joined space station Deep Space Nine as the Strategic Operations Officer. This version of Worf has the Klingon officer holding up his Batleth sword menacingly.

Basics

The Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament recreates the Klingon officer in solid plastic. The ornament, released in 1999, is a completely recognizable alien character, with his Batleth sword drawn. He has somewhat tanned skin, not nearly as dark as Michael Dorn’s distinctive character had. Similarly, the surface details are molded and painted on. His body is cast in an action position, with both his hands on his Batleth and his expression is a fairly angry one. Given that the ornament was designed for fans, this is an ornament that appeals to collectors and the Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament is instantly recognizable to them.

The Hallmark Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament is made of a durable plastic and he has his hands on his curved Batleth sword and legs spread as if he is leaping angrily. He has his distinctive forehead ridges, but not detailing fine enough to capture his fingernails. Still, Hallmark did a decent job of giving his sash texture and molding details like the communicator on his chest and leather wraps on the Batleth handles. The ornament's eyes are brown with black pupils and they lack a realistic sheen to them. Lieutenant Commander Worf's feet are spread apart with his knees bent, so he does look very active.

The Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament is detailed fairly in the coloring department. Lieutenant Commander Worf's outfit is predominately black, with the red shoulders of Command. But more than most Hallmark ornaments, this one seems to be painted in a rushed fashion. The paint around the communicator is chipped and there was considerable paint bleed between the character’s hands and the leather wraps on the Batleth sword. This undermines the overall value of the ornament and detailing on the sash was inconsistent between the several Worf ornaments I inspected.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a low-cost (comparatively) option for those who might not want to shell out for the starship or mural series of Star Trek ornaments. This Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament simply hangs and there are no additional accessories for the ornament.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Star Trek Christmas Tree, Lieutenant Commander Worf is very much necessary, though this might not be the best possible execution of the character. The ornament has a steel hook loop embedded into the top of the Batleth. From that hook, the Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament hangs entirely lopsided. At best, he looks like he is falling on his ass, at worst, he looks like he is sliding and trying to use the Batleth to slow himself down.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (click here for my review!). The Lieutenant Commander Worf ornament is a ridiculously common ornament that may often be found for less than its original issue price in the secondary market. At this point in the Star Trek ornament collections, most of the primary and most popular characters have all been done and the popular secondary characters are being explored. Lieutenant Commander Worf was overproduced and it easily available inexpensively in the secondary market.

This is a poor investment piece and it is unlikely it will appreciate in value.

Overview

The Lieutenant Commander Worf Christmas ornament should have been an essential Star Trek ornament, but the physics of this ornament rob it of its proper place in one’s collection. If one can find it inexpensively enough and has room on their tree for a clunky, unbalanced ornament, by all means, pick it up. Otherwise, we might as well hold out for a better one from Hallmark!

For other Star Trek ornaments of characters, please check out my reviews of:
2011 Legends Of Star Trek Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
2011 Legends Of Star Trek Spock
2010 Legends Of Star Trek Captain James T. Kirk
2009 Limited Edition Ilia Probe
2005 Khan
2004 Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker
1997 Dr. McCoy
1996 Mr. Spock

4.5/10

For other ornament reviews, please check out my Ornament Review Index Page!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

The "Runabout Rio Grande" Ornament Makes Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Festive!

The Good: Amazing detail, Good light effects, Interesting sound effect
The Bad: Odd choice for sound chip, a bit obscure for casual fans.
The Basics: Well-balanced, well-lit, extraordinarily detailed, the Runabout Rio grande adds value to Star Trek ornaments with its cool light effect and neat sound chip!


Hallmark's Christmas ornaments have become proven collectibles, especially in the secondary market. The franchises that Hallmark has invested in have been strong and reliable, like Star Trek, Star Wars and The Wizard Of Oz. Yes, fans of these things seem to be content to be milked year after year for new and different ornaments and Hallmark has largely delivered with quality, intriguing ornaments. With the Star Trek ornaments, sometimes they have made wonderful works out of obscure starships and the Runabout Rio Grande might well be the magnum opus of the more obscure Star Trek ships.

For those unfamiliar with the Runabout Rio Grande, this was part of a fleet of small exploratory starships dropped off in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Emissary" (reviewed here!). The Rio Grande, I believe, was the only Runabout from the original contingent of three that survived the series. These little ships were a mix between the short range shuttlecrafts and the long range starships in the Star Trek universe and were primarily used in the first two seasons before the appearance of the U.S.S. Defiant to explore the galaxy and get the crew off the space station. Hallmark's choice of the Rio Grande is a good one, but one that might be a bit obscure for casual fans of the Star Trek franchise.

Basics

The "Runabout Rio Grande" ornament faithfully recreates the obscure Federation landing craft in solid white and gray plastic. The ornament, released in 1999, is an incredible casting of the short-range ship with an immaculate paint job and very neat feature. Measuring four and one quarter inches long, two and five-eighths inches wide and one and one-eighth inches tall, the Runabout Rio Grande ornament is a clever addition to the Star Trek ornament line, appearing before a few other, more essential, starships. Like the other smaller ships in the Star Trek universe, this ornament clearly is not in scale with the larger starships in the line. As well, there is added appeal to fans of Star Trek with the voice chip. Still, despite how common it was and how it was not a primary ship, it quickly sold with its $24.00 price tag. As a result, Hallmark had a decent hit on its hand, at least with Star Trek fans.

The Hallmark "Runabout Rio Grande" ornament is made of a durable plastic and has the landing craft on its own, as is typical for Hallmark's starship line of Star Trek ornaments. Like the previous Star Trek ornament release, this one has the date stamped on it, in this case on the top, aft section of the ship like a license plate, though the number is discrete enough to not be intrusive! This ornament plugs into the standard light strand of Christmas lights in order to light up.

The Runabout Rio Grande is detailed incredibly! Runabouts have all sorts of little baffle panels and nooks and crannies and the Rio Grande has each and every one meticulously detailed on the ornament. This ship looks like it was assembled and has exterior panels that could easily be removed as well as a number of surface details and Hallmark gets them absolutely right! As a result, the Runabout Rio Grande has all of the appropriate markings, like the racing stripes on the sides of the ship with the craft's name and call numbers. This includes the same markings on the landing struts or nacelles, which is actually a fine paint job that illustrates just how far Hallmark would go to create a quality piece!

As well, there are molded details, like the tips of the nacelles being molded in red plastic and the warp nacelles themselves having blue plastic that is translucent for the light effect! In fact, the only place Hallmark sacrificed detail for efficiency was on the windows. The front and back windows are painted black and that works fine because otherwise fans would gripe about the detail on the people and panels inside. This looks great; Hallmark did a pretty impressive job with getting the details on this ornament just right for the exacting collectors and fans.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, the "Runabout Rio Grande" has a light function, as well as an audio one! This was one of the few Star Trek ornaments to both light up and play a sound clip. The "Runabout Rio Grande" has a speaker on the bottom surface, as well as a button to activate the sound chip. The Runabout Rio Grande has a five inch cord that is attached to the back of the ornament. This green electric cord is embedded into the bottom, center section and it allows the ornament to be plugged into a Christmas light strand.

Plugging the ornament in (one needs to remove a single light bulb from the strand, then slide the male end from the ornament into the female end on the strand) activates the light effect on the "Runabout Rio Grande." The light effects on this starship ornament are remarkably simple; the warp nacelles and auxiliary thrusters light up. It is a blue and red light effect for the nacelles and the thrusters are yellow. The ship glows pretty well, though the blue is a little more muted than some might light. The light effect is not irresistibly bright.

As well, there is a button on the bottom of the ornament. When pressed, while plugged in, the ornament begins to speak. Michael Dorn actually recorded a special bit of dialogue specifically for use in this ornament. As a result, when the button is pressed, the ornament speaks with Dorn's voice, saying "I wish you a most honorable holiday! Qa'pla!" Michael Dorn, who plays the Klingon Worf and is the actor who has spent the most time on screen in the entire Star Trek franchise makes for a great choice for doing a voice chip and the saying is not even entirely out of character for Worf. The only (semi) issue is with the ship that the chip is associated with. Worf was much more associated with the U.S.S. Defiant than any of the Runabouts. Still, it is a nice touch.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Runabout Rio Grande" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Star Trek Christmas Tree, the "Runabout Rio Grande" ornament is a surprisingly welcome piece, not so much because of its iconic status or recognizability, but rather because of the sound function. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top center of the Runabout, which is the most stable point on the ornament. As a result, the ornament, when affixed to a tree with a hook, hangs almost perfectly balanced from that loop.

This is a generally well-balanced ornament and when plugged in to a light strand, it only has a minimal amount of pitch (less than ten degrees up for the cockpit). It is more or less well-balanced and stable on a tree.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have made ornament replicas of almost all of the major starships from the franchise- as well as some real minor ones - and they have all been more mass produced than that first one. The "Runabout Rio Grande" ornament was a fan draw more than one bought by the public at large. It was fans who bought it up, not investors or general fans of science fiction. Still, it was gobbled up rapidly and this one seems to have mass produced, but not in a way that makes it worthless. It is one of the easier ones to find on the secondary market, but it seems to have held its own as far as value goes. One supposes quality does truly pay off!

Overview

Fans of the Star Trek franchise, Worf, the Federation and the Runabout Rio Grande specifically are likely to enjoy this ornament and be glad that Hallmark continued creating Star Trek ornaments. Fans of the much-neglected Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are certainly glad about it!

For other Star Trek ship ornaments from Hallmark, please check out my reviews of:
2011 Romulan Bird Of Prey
2010 U.S.S. Enterprise (Star Trek refit)
2009 Klingon Battlecruiser
2008 U.S.S. Reliant
2006 U.S.S. Enterprise (reissue)
2005 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A
2003 Scorpion Attack Craft
2001 Deep Space Nine
2000 Borg Cube
1998 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E
1995 Romulan Warbird
1994 Klingon Bird Of Prey
1993 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D
1992 Shuttlecraft Galileo

8/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

The Max Rebo Band Miniaturized As Ornaments Are All Right!

The Good: Decent detailing, Good balance
The Bad: Fairly expensive, Easy to miss on a tree!
The Basics: Obscure characters, even for Star Wars fans, the Max Rebo Band three-pack of mini-ornaments is easy to pass by, despite their quality.


Last year, as I reviewed a plethora of ornaments, I found myself almost completely indifferent to a whole genre of ornaments: mini-ornaments. In the case of the popular Star Wars line of Hallmark ornaments, The Max Rebo Band ornaments are particularly uninspired, despite being decent sculpts.

For those not intimately familiar with the Star Wars films, The Max Rebo band was an alien band playing music in Jabba's palace at the beginning of Return Of The Jedi (click here for that review!) before the "special edition" of that film crapped up the scene with a whole cadre of computer-generated muppets singing an inappropriately boisterous song. The band originally consisted of Sy Snootles, Max Rebo and Droopy McCool.

Basics

Hallmark Keepsake, trying to milk collectors for a little more money and realizing that they could not credibly do what Hasbro has been doing (i.e. making action figures of every single background character and alien in Star Wars), released mini-ornaments of supplemental characters. The Max Rebo band is a collection of three ornaments, each about an inch tall, which depict Sy Snootles with her microphone, Max Rebo with his organ encircling his midsection, and Droopy McCool with his wind instrument stuck in his mouth.

The ornaments come with no articulation, but surprisingly detailed sculpts and coloring details. Sy Snoodles has great coloring detail with her tiny green spots on her head and the coloring to her extended lips. Similarly, the keys on Max Rebo's organ look like they could be pressed down upon, they are so detailed. Even the few keys on Droopy McCool's woodwind (it looks like an electric clarinet) have decent color details, despite being only a few millimeters wide!

Each of these ornaments is right around an inch tall, so the level of detail from the leafy skirt of Sy Snoodles to the organ of Max Rebo are actually impressive. . . if you can find these ornaments on your tree. They blend in pretty easily, making them a tough sell for those putting them on an actual Christmas tree.

Features

These mini-ornaments do not feature any light or sound features.

Balance

Because they are so small and the loops for the hooks are situated at the highest point on each ornament's head, these are all three perfectly balanced ornaments. They also work wonderfully as earrings as a result.

Collectibility

Each year, Hallmark comes out with two major Star Wars ornaments: a character and a space ship. These mini-ornaments were released before the diorama ornaments began to be released and they seem drastically expensive at the original issue price of $18.00. Since then, the secondary market has been generally unkind to them and the price has deflated, though many collectors still do not collect these because they do seem disproportionately expensive.

Overview

The Max Rebo band may be well-balanced and look good, but they seem too expensive and too easily lost for most Star Wars fans.

For other Star Wars Hallmark ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2008 AT-AT and Snowspeeder
2010 "His Masters Bidding"
2010 Rebel Snowspeeder

6/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Exceptionally Breakable, The VERY Limited Edition Enterprise Blown Glass Ornament Has Value!

The Good: Good balance, Quality artwork, Great collectible value!
The Bad: VERY expensive! Breakable.
The Basics: A pretty wonderful ornament, the lack of durability and pricey nature of the Hallmark Gold Crown Reflections U.S.S. Enterprise ornament rob it of perfection.


Christmas ornament collecting is a surprisingly big business in the collectibles market. One of the ways to insure the value of collectibles, unfortunately, is to make them exceptionally limited. One of the ways to make an already limited piece more so is to make it breakable. The truth is that the Enterprise blown glass ornament is very fragile and breaks easily, making it less-than-ideal for Christmas trees, especially around active families. That said, it is still a pretty awesome ornament.

The U.S.S. Enterprise blown glass ornament is a Hallmark ornament released in 1999 as a “bonus” ornament. It is both limited edition and very hard to find, arguably because many have broken. It is getting increasingly more difficult to find in the secondary market and when one may find it, it is usually quite expensive.

Hallmark Gold Crown Reflections has a line of collectible ornaments from major franchises, like Star Trek. For that line, the emphasis is on quality and craftsmanship and the U.S.S. Enterprise ornament lives up on those fronts very well.

Fans of the Star Trek franchise will easily recognize the U.S.S. Enterprise as it appeared in every episode of the original series, Star Trek (click here for my review of the television series!).

Basics

The U.S.S. Enterprise ornament recreates the starship from the television series in blown glass. The ornament, released in 1999, is instantly recognizable both by fans and pop culture junkies all the world over. The U.S.S. Enterprise ornament is 4” wide, 2” tall and about an inch and a half thick. The thickness comes from the fact that the warp nacelles and saucer section of the starship come out of the space backdrop of the main ornament body!

Hallmark Gold Crown Reflections blew the Enterprise in a more silver glass than the white the starship actually looked, but considering how the reboots have it more silver, this works even better now!

The Hallmark Gold Crown U.S.S. Enterprise ornament is made of fragile blown glass. The ornament features a space backdrop with the Enterprise in profile cruising along in space.

This U.S.S. Enterprise has finely-made details, like the way the warp nacelles have red tips and the detailing on the side where it says U.S.S. Enterprise is good as well.

Features

As a Hallmark ornament, the U.S.S. Enterprise ornament could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. Instead, this is attempting to sell itself to a more upscale crowd not wowed by simple sound and light functions. This works more as an art piece than a kitsch collectible and most fans who look for classy will be pleased as a result.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Gold Crown Reflections U.S.S. Enterprise ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Star Trek Christmas Tree, this is very much a luxury, but it is still less expensive than the first Enterprise ornament! The ornament has an aluminum hook loop embedded into the top center. From that hook, the U.S.S. Enterprise ornament hangs very well. The balance is good, and the ship looks like it is flying straight when hung properly.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (click here for my review!). The Gold Crown Reflections U.S.S. Enterprise was very limited as well and because of that and the breakability has skyrocketed to several times its original issue price.

This is a great investment piece and it is likely to keep appreciating in value as more people unintentionally break theirs.

Overview

The Hallmark Gold Crown Reflection U.S.S. Enterprise blown glass ornament is great for upscale Star Trek collectors, but is a very fragile investment!

For other Hallmark ornaments reviewed by me, please check out my reviews of:
2010 Limited Edition Lando Calrissian Star Wars Ornament
2010 "Defender Of Justice" Iron Man 2 Ornament
2010 Edward And Bella Twilight Ornament

7/10

For other ornament reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |