Tag Archives: playmates

Jan 17 2018

Playmates Voltron: Legendary Defender… Let’s Form Voltron!

Happy Hump Day, Toyhounds! I’m checking in with a little bonus Wednesday content today so that I can wrap up my review of Playmates’ Voltron Legendary Defender Lions, because the Classic ’84 Lions have hit stores, and this Netflix set is really just old news now. Yesterday, I had a look at the Black Lion and today I’m finally putting these five kitties together to form Voltron… Dyna-Thrusters are go… Let’s go Voltron Force!!!

And here he is, and straightaway, I’m very impressed with the way he turned out. He’s big, he’s heavy, he looks mighty damn good, and he’s a surprisingly stable robot that can be played with like an action figure without worrying about him coming apart. I’ll talk more about the playability here in a bit when I get to articulation, because there are some caveats. He’s certainly not as well proportioned and streamlined as the Utlimate Voltron, but that’s to be expected considering this one is actually formed from the separate Lion toys. We’ve had more than a few combining Lion Voltrons over the years, and overall I’d rank this one up with some of the best of them. It’s always a question of the right amount of compromise between the Lion toys and the combined mode, and I think this one did just about everything right.

When it comes to transforming the Lions and putting him together, there’s nothing terribly complex, although there are some things that are really neat. I absolutely love the way the legs on the Green and Red Lions completely fold away. The front legs store inside their respective Lions’ bodies and the rear legs are hidden nicely too. The result is a very streamlined look to the arms, which is more than I would have expected considering the price point on those guys. If you have the electronics set to On, Black Lion will comment on every step of the assembly. It acknowledges which Lion is being plugged in and calls on the next Lion to join. Sure, it can get annoying, but it’s also really damn impressive. And if you get tired of hearing it, there’s always an OFF button. I had every intention of doing a video of the electronics, like I did with the Black Lion, but wrestling with this guy on camera proved to be way beyond my patience. When separating the Lions, the legs simply eject by pushing the buttons on the backs of the knees. The arms have to be pulled out, and sometimes that can require a lot of force.

As I discussed in the reviews of the individual Lions, the paint and coloring on these has been fairly good with little flubs here and there, and all that carries over to the Voltron mode as well. The various colored plastic of the torsos and limbs are all nice and shiny, and the silver and gold paint looks especially nice. It would have been really cool if they could have painted all the gray plastic in that snappy silver, but I get how that would have been expensive, and probably would have had rubbing issues when it came to the combining. Here’s hoping the gray on this one won’t yellow over time like the shitty plastic Mattel used on theirs. One thing I do find a little hard to excuse, however, is the lack of paint on Voltron’s face. It’s a key area of the figure and it’s not all that big a surface. I think it would have looked so much better had they painted it silver instead of leaving it that bare gray plastic, and I don’t see how it would have broken the bank. It’s a shame, yes, but not a deal-breaker, and I had the same issue with the Ultimate Voltron figure too.

So let’s talk articulation. There are some useful points here and some not-so-useful ones. If you’re talking playability, I’d say there’s a ton of fun to be had here, but in terms of poseability, then not so much. Voltron looks great standing there on the shelf, but as soon as I try to get him into some cool poses, I find out that he really is a lot more limiting than I had hoped. From the waist down, things are actually not bad. The hips offer the possibility of a wide stance, the knee ratchets are pretty strong, and you do have those swivels in the thighs. One thing to note while posing the legs is that the front legs on the Blue and Yellow Lions do not lock into place and since these serve as heel spurs, this can be good and bad and bad news. The good news is it lets you tweak them for stability in different poses. This helps since there are no ankle tilts. The bad news is, sometimes they will give way under the weight of a pose. In fairness, I had the same problem with Matty’s far more expensive Classic Voltron, so it’s not something that is unique to this toy.

The articulation in the arms is a lot more problematic. The shoulders do not articulate at the points where the Lions connect, but rather further into the chest where the Black Lion’s shoulders are. This can look awkward and throw off his symmetry on certain poses. But my big problem is in the elbow hinges, which are constantly at odds with the compacted hind legs of the Lions. You can’t bend the elbow far at all before it bumps up against these, and that’s disappointing, because it practically renders the whole joint useless. You can, however, get some decent lateral movement out of the shoulders. There’s no articulation in the torso, which is to be expected, but the lack of rotation in the neck really bothers me a lot.

As for his accessories, Voltron’s Shield plugs into the Green Lion so it can be worn on his shoulder. The Sword is completed from the two parts that came with the Red and Green Lions.  The Shield looks great, but I’m not at all a fan of this Sword. Part of that has to do with the design, as it’s really the one thing I think they screwed up when designing the Legendary Defender version of Voltron. Everything about this guy is so sexy, but that swrod was a swing and a miss. The toy version doesn’t help matters, as it just looks cheap and flimsy and the clear plastic blade is prone to showing scratches. He can, however, hold it quite well.

I also dig how you can attach the Red and Green Lions’ weapons to give some some added firepower.

It may sound like I’m coming down really hard on this figure, but the truth is I’m actually pretty happy with it. I think Playmates walked that fine line between creating some great Lion toys and making a solid looking combined mode, and that isn’t at all easy. Not to mention they did it in a way that allowed this set to be sold off the pegs in the local toy aisle, as opposed to as a more expensive adult collectible. In the end, I can’t emphasize enough the subtle difference between playability and poseability. This is a fun toy to play with, even with some of the limitations in articulation. He stays together very well and he’s just a gloriously hefty amalgamation of plastic robot lion goodness. But if you’re looking for a Voltron that can pull off some great poses on your shelf, than the Ultimate Voltron is definitely the direction to go. For me, having both really is the only answer.

Jan 16 2018

Voltron: Legendary Black Lion by Playmates

I was hoping to have finished my look at Playmates’ Voltron: Legendary Defender Lions before the end of last year, but that didn’t pan out. Hope y’all didn’t think I forgot, because I didn’t. I just got side-tracked in the craziness that was 4th Quarter. But I recently started picking up some of Playmates’ Classic Voltron Lions and that proved to be just the ticket to motivate me to wrap up my look at these guys from the Netflix series. Fair is fair, I can’t start opening those until I’ve wrapped up my reviews of these kitties. So, let’s check out the Black Lion today, and tomorrow I’ll come back and have a look at Voltron himself. And in case you missed it, here are my reviews of the Yellow and Blue Lions, as well as Red and Green.

While the previous Legendary Lions came on huge carded bubbles, Black Lion comes in a window box, which offers a great look at the toy from multiple angles and also has a Try Me hole so you can fire off some of the electronic phrases & sounds. Personally, I wish all the Lions came packaged like this one. Technically, the package is collector friendly, but it would probably take a lot of patience and determination to get Black Lion out without mangling the tray. There are a lot of rubber bands and some zip ties holding him in place so a Blazing Sword, or razor comes in handy. The back of the package shows you a picture of the toy and also the proper way to connect all the Legendary Lions together to form Voltron.

Out of the box, I find this guy to be pretty damn impressive. Obviously, he’s the biggest Lion in this pride, and the stylish wings on his back give him an even larger appearance. As with the other Lions, the quality of the plastic here feels really good in hand, and thanks to both the size and the electronics, he has a nice heft to him. Playmates has been able to maintain a uniform aesthetic throughout the entire set, while still instilling a little bit of individuality to each of these big cats, and that’s certainly true of The Black Lion as well. I think they’ve done a nice job recreating the animated models in toy form. He features that same great mix of angles and curves that walks the fine line between paying homage to the originals and yet still managing to look fresh and new. The coloring on the toy is mostly achieved through the plastic, which is predominantly a mix of black and gray. The black has a nice sheen to it, whereas the gray is a bit more matte. The red plastic used for the wings looks great, and you get some snappy silver paint as well.

The majestic wings attach to the body with rotating hinges, so you have several options on how you want to display them. I kind of dig them straight up and back, but they look pretty cool when they’re angled too. The tail on this kitty isn’t as bendy as on the others, and it’s designed to stay so that it’s curving up and away from the body, which looks really good. Overall, the leg articulation is similar to the other Lions, although you lose a bit of it in the hind legs so that they can serve as Voltron’s hips. The rotation at the tops of the legs doesn’t any further forward than you can see above. Also the middle hinges in the hind legs are designed to only bend backwards. In the end, this guy isn’t quite as poseable as his peers, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had with him.

The head sculpt is very nicely done and gives this big cat a lot of personality. The paint is overall pretty solid, but there’s a little white slop on my Lion near the nose. I’m still satisfied with how he turned out. These are, after all toys, and not very expensive ones at that. Black Lion’s mouth will open, but you’ll see Voltron’s face peeking back at you, so it’s best to keep it closed.

As with the other Lions, this guy comes with a pilot sled that can be stored in a hatch in the belly. As I’ve said before, this gimmick doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but it doesn’t hurt the toy either, so I’m fine with it. There’s also a button on the side of the Lion that allows you to fire off some of the phrases and sounds, as well as light up his chest. Likewise, there’s an On/Off switch on his back in case you want him to be quiet. Here are some of the sounds and phrases he says…

There may be a few more in there, but after a while he started repeating, and I think you get the idea. The chest light isn’t all that apparent in the Lion mode, because it’s pointing at the ground and kind of hidden underneath him, but it’s mostly designed for the combined Voltron mode.

The Black Lion seems to be selling at most places for around $30. I paid $25 for mine, and it feels like a pretty good deal. Playmates did a beautiful job with this kitty and, like the others, he’d be a damn fun toy even if he didn’t combine with the others to for The Big Guy. Looking back, I remember being happy enough with the Ultimate Voltron that I was considering passing on this version. But now that I have a complete set, and I see how great they look all lined up, I can confidently say that I’m very happy that I decided to collect these. It’s also good to know that there are proper Voltron toys on the shelves for the kids to enjoy, because these would have blown my little mind back in the day. Come on back tomorrow morning and LET’S FORM VOLTRON!!!

Oct 12 2017

Voltron: Legendary Red Lion by Playmates

I had planned to look at both the Red and Green Lions last Thursday, but I was only able to get Green in time, so this week, I’m going to take a look at Red. It actually worked out fine, because I’m a little pressed for time today and needed to do a quickie… and after reviewing four of these kitties, this should indeed be quick!

We’ve seen this packaging three times so far, and Red’s isn’t any different. The card and bubble are not collector friendly, but it does offer a good look at what you’re getting. The inserts are personalized to fit the lion and the package shows you where Red goes when he combines with the others to form Voltron!

Of all the lions, Red and Green are the most similar to each other, both in size and overall aesthetic. The legs share the same molds and the differences in the bodies are very minor. I realize similarities are to be expected for the sake of Voltron’s symmetry, but I think the designs for Blue and Yellow (Voltron’s legs) were better distinguished. That’s not to say I’m disappointed. This sculpt is sleek and curvy and absolutely beautiful and the the heads are each unique.

Playmates picked a fantastic shade of red plastic, which looks great along with the black, gray, and silver paint. You also get a little bit of yellow at the base of the tail and some light blue paint apps on the hind legs. None of my lions have had poor paintwork, but I think Red here is probably the tightest. There aren’t any nicks in the white around the mouth and the slop is kept to a bare minimum. Given that these are most definitely toys and not collectibles, I’m quite happy with how they turned out.

And yes, the little pilot sled accessory is still included and can be stored in the hatch under the belly. I wish they were able to keep the paint apps on these that are shown on the package and promotional materials. Or that I had the skills to paint them up myself. As it stands, I don’t have a lot of use for these other than the way they really convey how enormous these lions are supposed to be.

The articulation is identical to the Green Lion, which means you get hinges in the hips, knees, and ankles of each leg, all of which contain ratchets. The head can rotate side to side but cannot look up or down. The jaws are spring loaded and the elbow joint for the arm mode gives him the ability to bend left or right in the middle, which is useful for posing.

As with the other lions, Red comes with a back-mounted weapon. In this case it’s called a Magma Beam Launcher. It’s fairly similar to Green’s weapon and as big and goofy as it is, I really don’t mind it too much. I do think it’s unfortunate that they couldn’t cast the missile in a red translucent plastic instead of the blue they used for Blue’s Ice Beam.

Red also includes the other half of the Blazing Sword. which features a translucent blue blase. Like Green, he can hold it in his jaws, but I don’t think it looks as good with him carrying it as the Green lion does wielding his half.

Playmates has produced yet another fun lion to add to the team. Right now, I’d say that Red is contending with Blue to be my favorite, but they’re all quite good. He even escapes the one minor gripe I have with these and that’s the paint on the others could have been a bit better. With that having been said, I’m happy to have most of this Pride of Lions assembled. Next up will be Keith’s Black Lion and after that I’ll be able to check out Voltron. And fear not, convertorobo fans, next week, I hope to be turning my attention back to Transformers proper at least for a week or two before coming back to Voltron!

Oct 5 2017

Voltron: Legendary Green Lion by Playmates

As I’ve been threatening for the past couple weeks, I’m switching gears back to Voltron on Transformers Thursday for a couple of weeks. I had actually planned on looking at both the Green and Red lions today, but when I stopped off at the store to finally buy them, Red was gone. I wound up ordering him online, but he won’t make it on time and the show must go on so Green is going solo today.

The packaging is essentially the same as we saw last time for Blue and Yellow. It takes a mighty big bubble and card to contain this kitty, but the packaging is colorful and looks great. The bubble insert has an ad for the Netflix series and also shows that the Green Lion can form Voltron’s left arm, once you collect all five of the Legendary Lions! Alas, this packaging is far from collector friendly, so give me a moment to tear it open and we’ll check out Pidge’s ride!

There are a couple of things that I dig straightaway. First off, despite being an arm, he isn’t much smaller than the two leg Lions. That’s a big step ahead from my Toynami Masterpiece Classic Voltron where Red and Green are considerably smaller. I’ll include a comparison shot of the three Legendary Lions at the end. Yes, I know the more uniform size is going to come back and bite me when I get them combined and deal with Voltron’s proportions, but right here and right now, I like the scaling. I also really love the individualized styling of each lion. Green is a little less boxy than Yellow and Blue, but they still fit in beautifully with one another. And despite Green having an elbow joint in the middle of his body, he still looks great, and it adds that little extra bit of articulation to what is already a very posable toy. All the joints in the legs are strong giving him the ability to hold almost any pose.

Overall, the coloring is pretty good. The green plastic is bright and both the green and the black plastic are shiny. They both really pop next to the flatter gray. I do wish the paint was a little tighter on these lions. It’s not terrible, but the white paint on the face could have used another coat. It’s got a few chips in it and you can see some unevenness in the brush strokes. Yeah, this is a fairly inexpensive toy, not a collectors’ item, so I’m willing to be a little more forgiving than usual.

And yes, the Green Lion also includes a tiny pilot sled, which can be loaded into the opening door in his belly. The package shows the pilot fully painted, but in reality it’s just a black molded blob sitting in the sled. The only thing that I find cool about these is that they give you an idea of the enormous scale of the Lions.

As we saw with the Yellow and Blue Lions, each one of these comes with a special weapon that attaches. Green Lion has a giant missile launcher, which pegs into his back. Pidge’s Lion is supposed to harness the power of nature, and this thing is referred to on the package as a “Vine Launcher,” but it shoots a blue missile like the Blue Lion’s ice beam. The least they could have done is cast this missile in translucent green plastic. I wasn’t a fan of Hunk’s big disk launcher, but I liked Lance’s weapon, Pidge’s here falls somewhere in between. It’s not as stylish as Lance’s, but at least it can pivot and fire in different directions. I don’t hate it.

The Green Lion also comes with Voltron’s Shield and the back half of The Blazing Sword. The shield pegs into the back of the lion and the sword can be held in the Lion’s mouth, thanks to the spring-loaded jaws. Pretty rad!

With the two previous lions already on my shelf, The Green Lion fell right in line with my expectations. He looks good and he’s a fun toy. He’s also a damn fine value for the money. Green ran me exactly fifteen bucks at the local Big Box and I’m impressed that Playmates can put out a toy this cool for so little money. Hell, that’s less than a 6-inch Hasbro figure and about the same price as a Deluxe Class Transformer. He’s a good sized kitty with lots of articulation and he includes a bunch of extra stuff. Next week I’ll check out Red Lion and then get back to a few Transformers before moving on to the Black Lion!

Aug 31 2017

Voltron: Legendary Blue and Yellow Lions by Playmates

I warned you all it was coming! Voltron has invaded Transformers Thursday and he ain’t gonna leave quietly. Well, truth be told, I have some new Transformers figures on their way to me, but they haven’t arrived yet so I needed filler! Still, after how much fun I had with the Ultimate Voltron, I thought I might as well check out Playmates’ Legendary, combining lions. Today I’m checking out Lance’s Blue Lion and Hunk’s Yellow Lion!

The lions come carded, which is pretty surprising as these are fairly good sized toys and larger than you’re average Voyager Class Transformers figure. The packaging lets you see lions very well and while the card look generic on the front, the backs are actually personalized for each lion. They also advertise the Netflix series, which, if you haven’t seen it, you should check out, because it’s surprisingly great. As attractive as the packages are, the downside is that they’re not collector friendly. Inside, you get the lion, a rather large weapon with projectiles, and a very tiny pilot with sled. Let’s open them up and let them loose!

I really love the look of these guys and I think they match the animated models quite well. They’ve got just the right mix of organic curves and squared off edges, making this an aesthetic that I can really get behind. They also compromise very little in favor of their ability to transform. The coloring is also very flashy, with base colors achieved through colored plastic and both the yellow and blue looking suitably bright and glossy. They also each have some red, white, and silver paint apps in all the necessary places. In a lot of ways, I’d say these cats can stand up to Matty Collector’s more expensive classic lions.

Another thing I really dig is that this pair are slightly different in size. Hunk’s lion is slightly larger and bulkier than Lance’s and each of the lion’s head sculpts are unique. I’m interested to see how the scaling difference effects Voltron, since they both form his legs, but I’m sure it’ll work out fine.

The articulation on these cats also stacks up quite nicely. The front legs feature ratcheting joints at the “shoulders,” “elbows” and “ankles.” The back legs have the same with an extra added ratchet between the “knee” and “ankle.” The tails are made of a bendy material and the jaws are springloaded and can open and close. That last bit, is a little disappointing, as it means you can’t display them with the mouths open. Also, there’s no articulation in the middles and the only articulation in the necks allow for the heads to move up and down.

Each lion comes with a teeny tiny pilot in sled. These go a long way to demonstrate the enormous scale of the lions and they can fit into opening compartments in their bellies. Honestly, I could have done without these. The shots of these on the package show them having paint apps on the little pilots, but that didn’t carry over to the actual toys. Once they’re in the lions, I doubt I’ll ever take them out again.

And speaking of features I could have done without, each lion also comes with a ridiculously oversized weapon that can mount on their backs. Hunk’s is an “armored disk launcher” and boy does this thing look stupid. It also doesn’t really match the cannon that Hunk could summon in the cartoon. It clips onto the lion’s back and it comes with four translucent blue disks. I’ll grant it this, it does shoot quite well! Obviously, I don’t need to use if I don’t want to, it just clips on and off, but it’s a whole lot of plastic invested in something I don’t plan on using a lot.

Lance’s lion features an ice beam, which translates into shooting a translucent blue missile. I actually don’t mind this thing as much as Hunk’s. The twin blades that reach out over the lion’s head looks kind of cool and once again, it shoots really well. Hey, I know these are toys, and I’m sure kids will have endless fun shooting these things off.

I’m not sure what the original MSRP on these lions are, but I picked mine up off of Amazon for about fifteen bucks a piece and it’s hard to argue with that. These figures are made really well and look great. Overall, the quality is loads better than what I was expecting. It goes without saying that I’ll be picking up the rest of the Legendary Lions, but next Thursday, I hope to be back to looking at an actual Transformer and then I’ll just alternate for the rest of the month.

Oct 22 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Metalhead (Nickelodeon) by Playmates

TURTLES! Did you think I forgot about the Turtles? Well, I kind of did. I was planning to stop buying these figures after the initial wave of core characters, because I don’t really watch the new series and I’m really looking to cut back on the different lines I’m collecting. Nonetheless, when I go into the toy aisle and there’s nothing else in there and I want me a cheap fix, it’s hard to turn down Playmates’ TMNT line. The Wally World here looks like they’ve all but given up on selling action figures that aren’t Iron Man 3 or Star Wars, but they do still have a well-represented section of TMNT with a lot of the new figures. I decided on Metalhead, who isn’t a new figure, but one that hasn’t been showing up on the pegs around here. In fact, this is possibly the first time I’ve seen him in the wild.

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It’s hard to walk past the Turtles section in the aisle without getting drawn into it and a lot of that has to do with the great packaging. It’s exciting, colorful, goofy, and just seeing it makes me want to start rummaging through the pegs even though I told myself I wasn’t going to buy anymore. It’s nice to see Playmates get it right again with this line. I was afraid the influx of variant gimmicky Turtles would choke the pegs, but all of this stuff seems to be selling and there’s almost always something new to see here. It’s also one of the few action figure lines that the local Walmart seems dedicated to support. Maybe there’s a connection there?

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The back of the card features the usual clip-out bio card and other figure available from the initial couple of waves. Looks like I’ve got them all except for Kraang. I’m not digging that new design for the android body, but if he’s the only figure standing between being complete up to this point then chances are I’ll pick him up eventually.

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My first impression of Metalhead out of the package is that he’s less refined than the other figures. The plastic feels rougher, there’s mold flashing, and the paint is rather sloppy. On any other figure it would be a letdown, but seeing as he is a robot cobbled together from salvaged scrap, it actually works in the figure’s favor. I’d like to think Playmates did this on purpose, but other than the paint, I’m sure that’s not the case.

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I do really dig the Nick re-design of this guy. He’s very Turtle-esque, but with some boxy and angular bits and a wire mid-riff that would make C-3PO proud. The sculpted nuts and bolts on his joints are a nice touch, and I absolutely love the fact that his turtle shell is a manhole cover. Brilliant!

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We all know by now that if you aren’t one of the Turtles, your articulation in this line is going to suffer for it. That’s the case with Metalhead too, although this guy fares a little better than many of the other non-turtle figures. The neck is ball jointed and the arms rotate at the shoulders and swivel just under the elbows. That’s all there is from the waist up. The legs make out better with hinged ball joints in the hips, hinges in the knees, and swivels just under the knees. In the end he has just enough useful points so I can have some fun playing around with him.

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Metalhead doesn’t come with any accessories, per say, but you do get an energy blast style missile that fits into the hole in his right hand. There’s no firing mechanism, but if you flick the back of it just right you can get some distance on it. I’m not usually a fan of the missiles, but I do believe I may display him with the blast coming out of his hand. It just looks cool.

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I picked up this guy for eight bucks and change and I’m really happy with that. In fact, I’m rather amazed that the price on these figures hasn’t gone up all that much. When they were first released they were between seven and eight bucks each. Nowadays they seem to have leveled out closer to eight and nine, but that still makes them some of the better deals in the action figure aisle. This line continues to provide simple and honestly fun figures at a great price, which is something that few of the other companies can seem to do these days.

Jun 8 2013

Star Trek The Next Generation: Data & Geordi LaForge (in movie uniforms) by Playmates

Tonight is Pub Night. It’s the one night of the week where I put my excessive drinking on display by taking it public, and I’ve started early by finishing off the last of my Balvanie 18. That means I’m a little strapped for time and I’m looking for a quick something to feature today. I also haven’t done much with the 90’s Star Trek figures by Playmates lately and I have a whole box of these guys sitting in the corner and waiting to be featured so I can find a home for them on the shelves. Today we’ll look at Data and Geordi in their Generations movie uniforms.

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I’m sure I’ve gassed on before about the Starfleet uniform debacle of Star Trek Generations. During that movie, The Enterprise was a come-as-you-are affair. Picard obviously called up Starfleet and said, we’ve saved the universe countless times, we’ll wear whatever the hell we want. I think there’s one scene on the bridge where you’ve got crew wearing the TNG uniforms, the DS9 uniforms, and a couple of 19th British naval uniforms from the Holodeck. The Helm Officer probably could have shown up for duty in his pajamas and nobody would have even blinked. The only uniforms that nobody is wearing are the original designs that were cooked up for the movie and scrapped later on. As a result, if you buy Playmates’ Generations figures, you get a complete set of the bridge crew wearing uniforms that were never actually seen on screen… ever! That all having been said, you can kind of tell that Starfleet was meant to be transitioning into the DS9 style jumpsuits during this time. Fortunately, Playmates made a mends by releasing some of the characters in the proper uniforms later on.

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I bought these figures loose, so I don’t have any packaged shots, but each figure was billed as being in their “movie uniform” and came with their own Skybox trading cards. Actually, they each came with a number of cards. I also got cards for Worf, Ambassador K’Ehleyr, and a couple for Lore. I guess at this point Playmates was just stuffing a bunch into each baggie. Playmates also continues the preposterous practice of stamping “collector numbers” onto the packages and the figures.

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Let’s start with Data. He’s an enormous improvement over the original Data figure. By this point in the line, Playmates was getting much better with the proportions and eschewing the more stylized caricature sculpts. This Data is taller and no longer suffers from those ridiculous monkey arms and huge hands. The head sculpt is updated only slightly, but I never had a problem with the original figure’s likeness, so this one is fine too. They nixed the opening access panels that were featured on the original figure, but that was clearly done so they could reuse the body. You also get sculpted rank pips on the collar and the newly designed communicator badge. I think my only gripe here is that his hands aren’t sculpted to hold any of his accessories.

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But that’s ok, because as usual the accessories suck anyway. The equipment is all stamped out in a blue-green plastic. God, I hate that! You get a tricorder, a PADD and… ah… two other things. This is why it helps to have the cardback… it’s often the only way to tell what the hell some of the accessories are supposed to be. At least the phaser is silver, but it still has the stupid beam coming off the end, which I’ll be snipping off at my earliest convenience. Data also comes with a display stand shaped like the newer comm badge.

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I don’t have nearly as much to say about Geordi, mainly because he uses the exact same body as Data, so it’s all been said already. The head sculpt is very similar to the original figure, although the VISOR is not meant to be removed. Geordi comes with a PADD, something else, and four diagnostic tools, all of which are appropriately stamped in purple plastic… wait, what? He also comes with the comm badge style figure stand.

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As both figures are built on the same body, they each feature the same articulation. The arms rotate at the shoulders, have hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The legs rotate at the hips and have hinged knees. There are also swivel cuts in the neck and waist.

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And there you have it… both of these are decent enough figures and they really show how far Playmates had come since the initial wave of Next Gen figures. I can’t say I like the DS9 style jumpsuits better than the Next Gen tunic, but it’s nice to finally have these characters in the proper uniforms which they wore in the movie. Plus, they look great displayed in my Generations Engine Room playset. There’s also a Captain Picard in this style uniform, which I still need to pick up… To the Ebays!!!

May 25 2013

Star Trek: The Original Series Hand Phasers by Playmates and Diamond Select

I started my tribute to the new Trek film a couple weeks ago with a look at Playmates’ hand phaser from the 2009 movie series, so it seems only right to end Star Trek Week with a look back at The Original Series phaser. In terms of my own personal favorites, this original piece of Starfleet hardware is second only to the awesome design featured in the otherwise shitty fifth movie, The Final Frontier. Were they used again in Undiscovered Country in the infamous mashed potato attack scene? I think so, but I can’t remember for sure. I’m actually going to be doing a dual feature comparing the TOS phasers made available by both Playmates and Diamond Select. Phaser vs Phaser… FIGHT!

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No package shot, because I’ve had these things for what seems like forever, but since I’m likely to get a little techno-babbly, I am including two pages from my trusty Starfleet Technical Manual as reference for the anatomy of a phaser. I first bought the Playmates one to replace an actual resin and metal prop phaser that I bought at a Trek Convention back in the late 80’s. I had to sell that one off because I was in need of monies for college, or some other stupid thing, and I had a ridiculously high standing offer on it from a friend of a friend. It killed me to sell it, but them’s the breaks. Anyway, I was never totally happy with the Playmates release, so when Diamond Select offered their version some time later, I was quick to pick it up.

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First, let’s talk scale… both phasers are close to the proper feel for an adult hand, but the Playmates version is actually quite a bit chunkier than it should be. It’s not only the overall dimensions that are skewed, but the sculpted, “Type 1” phaser also looks a lot bigger than it should be. Now, if you just happened to be holding the Playmates version, the extra girth might not be readily apparent to you. It’s not that bad and it feels ok in the hand. But, if you compare it side by side with the properly scaled Diamond version, you can clearly see the difference.

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In terms of sculpted detail, both phasers hit all the right points Both have nice looking translucent beam emitters with adjustable photon accelerators. Both pieces do a good job of replicating steel finish for the accelerators. The beam shield is a bit stubbier and thicker on the Playmates version, but it still looks fine. Both models feature an adjustable Dilithium Crystal Cell, although the Diamond one actually serves a purpose for the SFX, whereas the Playmates version just turns. Both have painted deflector shielding on the sides and rear. They both look good, but I prefer the Diamond a bit more, mostly because it fans out of the back in the proper fashion. Both pieces have exposed screwheads on one side, the Diamond has one on the top and one in the handle, the Playmates phaser has three in the top and one on the handle. The other big difference is the Type 1 phaser on the Diamond version is properly textured, whereas the Playmates one is left smooth.

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Moving to the top down, it’s now worth pointing out that the Type 1 phaser in the Playmates version is sculpted on, whereas the Diamond one is actually removable. Obviously, this is a pretty huge difference. The Playmates version uses stickers for detail on the force indicator dials, and mine have long since fallen off. The Diamond version uses a printed paper sheet under the translucent piece and sculpted numbers and hash marks on the dial. Both look very nice. The Type 1 phaser on the Playmates version has somewhat unsightly speaker holes on the electron aspirator pile, and the trigger is just a sculpted piece, whereas it is a clear piece on the Diamond version. Both Type 1 phasers are missing the operational light between the force setting wheel and the force indicator dial, something that my prop did actually have.

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The electronics are about on par with both pieces. My batteries are drained on both so I’m going from memory here, but each phaser had different sounds for different settings. The Diamond version has working electronics in both the regular rig and the removable Type 1. I don’t recall having any issues with the sound on either piece.

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I’ll freely admit it isn’t really fair to compare these two pieces. The Playmates version was more of a mass market roleplay toy, whereas the Diamond version was designed more with collectors in mind. As a result, the Diamond release clearly comes out on top across the board.  That having been said, neither version is anywhere near on par with my old prop phaser, but both have their merits. The Playmates phaser can often be had for under $20, and all it needs is a patch of velcro to make it an excellent cosplay piece that can take a beating while wandering the hotel lobby drunk out of your mind. Of course, the Diamond version can usually still be had for under $40, and it’s clearly the way to go for a better display piece or for putting together the better Starfleet ensemble. I display them both together and just use the Playmates as a slightly earlier and less sophisticated version. You know, the kind you give to Red Shirts who don’t stand a chance of surviving anyway!

Pages are reproduced from the Star Trek Stafleet Technical Manual. NY: Ballantine Books, 1975. Researched and compiled by Franz Joseph. Star Trek is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures.

May 24 2013

Star Trek (2009) Command Series: Dr. McCoy by Playmates

In keeping with Star Trek Week, tonight I’ll be going to The Pub and taking my liver where no liver has gone before. That means I don’t have a lot of time, but thanks to some careful planning, I don’t need a lot of time today. We’re looking at Playmates’ Command Series Dr. McCoy and a lot of what I have to say about this figure was already said in yesterday’s Captain Pike feature. Still no in-package shot, so let’s just get right to it, so that I can go out and hit the Aldebaran whiskey.

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McCoy was definitely a high point in the Abrams films for me. Next to Quinto, I think Karl Urban does the best job owning his original Trek character without lampooning too much. I like Pegg as Scotty, but it’s not really the same Scotty at all. He’s just too wacky for it to feel like a legitimate treatment of the character. Ironically, I would have picked up a Command Series Scotty if Playmates did one. Ideally, I would have liked to have one in each of the shirts… Command, Science, and Engineering, but poor Scotty got stiffed and there were no Red Shirts released in this assortment. Anyway…

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The head sculpt is about on par with Pike’s. It’s soft, it’s rather cartoony, but there’s definitely a bit of the actor in there. The paintwork is pretty solid. Again, for a mass market retail figure in this scale, this is passable work. Not great, but passable.

The shirt is the blue version of what we saw yesterday. It’s a little long in the sleeves, but it looks nice from the front and has an ugly seam running up the back where it fastens. The sleeve stripes and chest insignia are all sewn on. The trousers and boot-feet are identical to Pike’s.

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McCoy makes use of the exact same body as Pike, and I presume the rest of the Command Series figures. It’s not exactly screen accurate as the barrel-chested body here seems a little bit buff for Karl Urban. That’s ok, though, as I didn’t expect Playmates to churn out a new body for each figure.

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Accessories? The same? Not quite. Yes, you get the same phaser and communicator, but you also get a tricorder. Really, Playmates? You couldn’t have just tossed in the tricorder with Pike too? Another odd thing worth pointing out: The belt clip for the communicator is painted silver on McCoy’s belt, but it’s left black on Pike’s. Weird.

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Hey, I told ya today would be fast. McCoy’s a decent enough figure for what he is, and you can still find him on clearance at a number of e-tailers. I still say we need some high end sixth-scale Trek figures, although my first choice wouldn’t be from the Abrams reboot. Now if Hot Toys would do movie versions of the Classic Crew? Yeah, I’d be all over most of them. No, it’s never going to happen, but I can dream. And with that I’m off to The Pub. I’ll catch you all tomorrow as I wrap up Star Trek Week with a nod back to the original series.

May 23 2013

Star Trek (2009) Command Series: Captain Christopher Pike by Playmates

Star Trek Week presses on, and it seemed only fair to look at some toys from the 2009 movie series. Of course, Hasbro’s Not-Lego Kre-O aside, there are no proper toys from Star Trek Into Darkness. Why? Because Playmates’ 2009 Trek line was such an unmitigated disaster. Ironically, if you do want some Into Darkness toys, just go to your local Toys R Us, and you can still buy the 3-year old clearance figures from the first movie right off the pegs. I have looked at some of Playmates ’09 Trek toys before, The 6-inch figure line and more recently the hand phaser, but I never got around to checking out any of the sixth-scale line. Playmates produced a select few of the characters in this twelve-inch format: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Spock Prime, and Captain Pike.

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I was never planning on going all-in with this scale. Originally, I was going to buy Kirk, Spock, and McCoy and be done with it. But Playmates just up-scaled the same terrible Kirk head for the larger figure and so I went with Pike instead. And that’s fine, because I really liked Captain Pike in that movie. This figure is part of the Command Series, which is what Playmates called the twelve-inchers. Alas, the packaging for this guy is long gone. I had a photo of it somewhere on the FigureFan Zero Mainframe, but I think it got deleted when I spilled Jameson on the HDD. Suffice it to say, it came in a pretty cool window box, which was fairly collector friendly. It’s been a year or so since I’ve had this figure out of storage, so let’s take a look.

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The portrait is decent enough for a figure in this price range. It at least bears a passing resemblance to actor Bruce Greenwood. You get little touches like creases in his forehead and around the eyes. He has a fairly neutral expression, which works for me. The paintwork is very precise. I dig the little grey added to his sideburns. I don’t know that I could recognize the likeness if the figure were dressed differently, but when I know what I’m looking at, I can see the resemblance. Yes, it is rather cartoony, but when you consider the horribly misshapen “man-baby” abomination that was Playmate’s Chris Pines headsculpt, this portrait is a welcome treat.

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The figure’s outfit is also fairly well executed. The new Starfleet shirts have a complex texture of tiny Starfleet emblems running throughout. Playmates managed to capture this effect with a simple pattern. It’s not quite screen accurate, but it looks good and I applaud them for making the effort, rather than just going what would have looked more like a Classic Series shirt. I’m happy to see that the stripes on the sleeves and the Starfleet emblem on the chest are both sewn on, rather than stickered as Playmates has done in the past. The shirt is a little long in the sleeves, and it’s rather unsightly in the back where it fastens, but otherwise fits the figure well. The trousers have a sewn pattern on the knees and the boots are simple sculpted rubber and make up the figure’s entire feet.

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Pike’s is built on a very serviceable 12-inch body. The proportions are good, with the possible exception of the hands, which are a tad too big. The head is ball jointed, the arms are ball jointed at the shoulders and elbows, and the wrists swivel. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, the knees are hinged, and there’s a swivel down by the boot. The chest has a ball joint which allows for swiveling and some limited up and back movement.

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Pike isn’t heavy on the accessories, but you do get the necessary basics. There’s an equipment belt, a phaser, and a communicator. The belt is easily removable and has a holster for the phaser and a slot for the communicator. The phaser is a very nice sculpt and painted in metallic silver. The communicator is just a block of plastic with a sculpted disc and Starfleet emblem. I’m not really a fan of the Abramsverse communicators. You also get a very basic figure stand sculpted to look like the Starfleet insignia. Only one of the figure’s feet are pegged for it. It works, but it’s rather awkward. I would have preferred just a straight disc stand.

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So, all in all, I gotta say… Pike’s not bad. Keeping in mind that this is a pretty “low end” over-the-counter 1:6 scale figure, and keeping in mind how sub-par most of Playmates ’09 Trek toys were, they did an Ok job with this one. I’m probably being extra forgiving because you just don’t see many sixth-scale figures at mass market retail anymore, so I’m grading with a curve. It also helps that I got this guy when he was slashed down to about nine dollars, as opposed to the $29.99 he was originally stickered at. Tomorrow, we’ll look at the only other one of these guys that I picked up… Doctor McCoy!