Normally, I care nothing about packaging unless its an exclusive or a 12″ figure. I just like to put my large scale figures back in their boxes for storage and display. And with that said, Playmates has some very nice packaging for these 12″ figures. Its got a simple, nice big window to show off the figure, some photos and blurbs and the like. But I’ll be damned if this packaging didn’t piss me off as I tried to open it. Unlike any sane or rational company that has their boxes open from the top or bottom, these open from the side. Once open, you can slide the inner tray out and start cutting the figure free from the gaggle of twisty ties and clear rubber bands that hold him in. Even if you do get him out without damaging the package, you’ll soon notice that the stand is trapped under a sealed blister on the back of the tray. Bastards! I suppose I could cut it out with a razor, but considering Pike here will spend most of his downtime in the package, I’m leaving it in place for now.

Ok, so lets get the head sculpt out of the way. It looks pretty good… if only it were supposed to be someone other than actor Bruce Greenwood. Its a good sculpt on its own, there just really isn’t that much of a likeness. The graying paint apps around his sideburns are a nice touch, though, and actually the sculpted hair on the whole is pretty good. All the paint apps on my figure’s face are quite good, with no noticeable slop. This is certainly passable for a mass market release, but what does upset me a bit is that the sculpt on the figure is noticeably different than the one pictured on the back of the box. There’s no attempt at chicanery here, since you can clearly see what you are getting through the window, but obviously something happened between the initial prototype sculpt and the final figure. For a thirty dollar figure, I think they could have done a little better in this department. But at least it doesn’t look downright silly, like Kirk’s head.

The outfit is fairly simple but very good. His gold Starfleet shirt is very close to movie accurate, and complete with rank fringe and an insignia that are actually sewn in and not just stickers like some of Playmates previous 9″ scale Trek figures. The pattern on the shirt adds an authentic, quality feel to the shirt and while the black undershirt is faked by being sewn in around the collar, you could barely tell unless you were looking for it. The pants… I’m not too sure about. They’re brown, and I’m almost positive they are supposed to be black. I own the movie on Blu Ray, I should probably know this, but I’m sure someone out there can confirm or correct me on this point. The boots are rubber with some nice little details on them.

For a mass market figure, the articulation on this guy is not only excellent, but rather surprising considering it is a Playmates product. Its not quite at the same level of Mattel’s recent twelve-inchers used in their Ghostbusters and DC Movie Masters lines, but its close… oh so close. The main thing missing here are the floating plates that create enhanced shoulder movement in the upper chest. Now keep in mind, folks, Mattel’s figures retail for sixty dollars and Pike was half that price at his initial offering. Either way, I’m very happy with the articulation here, but then I don’t buy a lot of figures in this scale, so I may not be as picky as the next guy. His hands are molded to hold his equipment, and they do that quite well.

Pike isn’t loaded down with accessories, but he definitely comes with all the essentials. He has a phaser, a communicator, a utility belt that holds them both and can be removed, and a pegged figure stand in the guise of the Starfleet insignia. The phaser is absolutely fantastic. I have the Playmates prop roleplay toy for reference, and it really is like they shrunk it down for this figure to use. Obviously, there are no electronics or moving parts, but the sculpt and paint apps are excellent. The communicator is ok, but nothing special and it doesn’t open. For the price point, a tricorder would have been welcome, but I can’t recall him using one in the movie, so I won’t gripe too much.

With the general level of quality exhibited by this figure, its hard to believe its put out by the same company that did the shitty 3 3/4″ and 6″ Star Trek figures or pulled the now notorious, “fuck you, you’re never getting a complete playset” bridge scam. At the $30 price point, you are probably getting what you pay for. At the $14.98 clearance price, I feel like a got a great value. Its really too bad the head sculpt on the Kirk figure is so bad, otherwise I’d pick it up in a second at the discounted price, although I must admit, I’m really tempted to go back for either Alpha Spock or the Quinto version. Either way, its just really cool to have a Captain Pike figure in my collection.