Tag Archives: playmates

Aug 9 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics: Raphael by Playmates

It’s Wednesday Thursday and Day Three of Turtles Week and today is all about Raphael. After two turtles we have a good idea what to expect here, so these features are only going to get shorter and quicker… let’s dive right in!

Packaging… seen it… loved it. Still love it. Raph is posed on the card holding a Sai in each hand and he looks awesome. Apart from the name change on the bubble insert, everything is the same as Leo and Don’s packages. It still feels wrong to rip these guys open, but…

This time, let’s start out with his head’s sculpt and paint… oh, thank god, his eyes are ok. Raph’s features another angry grimace, this time showing teeth in both corners of his mouth. Once again, there are more the “I’m going to murder the shit out of you” Turtles, as opposed to “Let’s pal around and have some pizza.” His eye mask is a nice shade of red and, once again, man does he look angry.

As expected, the body is basically the same as Leo and Don, only this time with his wrist bands, kneepads and elbowpads all painted red to match his eyemask. You get the same fantastic 34 points of articulation, which has already been cataloged in the Leonardo feature. There is one other difference in the body, Raph doesn’t have the baldric, just the belt. The belt features a belt buckle with “R” sculpted and painted on, and there’s a slot on each side of the belt buckle for his Sai.

 

Yes, Raph comes with his trademark Sai weapons. They’re pretty well done, cast in silver/grey plastic and the grips are painted red to match his whole ensemble, and he can hold them pretty well. You also get the manhole cover stand with Raph’s name printed on it. Not an abundance of accessories, but you certainly get what you need.

And there ya go… Like Leonardo, Raphael is a stellar figure. He avoids the eye paint issues that plague Don, so as far as I’m concerned, there is no bad here. Raph is incredibly fun to play around with and looks amazing. Tomorrow we’ll see if Playmates can round the team out without dropping the ball… It’s Michaelangelo!

Aug 7 2012

Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles Classics: Donatello by Playmates

It’s day two of classic Turtles craziness and today we’ll be checking out Donatello. Like I said yesterday, this’ll be a lot shorter to prevent me from getting redundant while also allowing me to go off and hit the liquors early, because it’s been a peach of a day. Just make sure you checked out the feature on Leonardo to get the full picture.

There’s the packaging. Yep, it’s packed with retro awesome. It’s also identical to the Leonardo package only with a different insert in the bubble bearing Donatello’s name. It pains me to do it, but let’s rip this guy open and check him out.

Ok, so as noted, we’re dealing with the exact same body as Leo, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The only difference is the “D” belt buckle and instead of scabbards he’s got a loop to hold his bowstaff. And yes, he has the same awesome 34 points of articulation.
Don’s headsculpt is entirely new, although it’s mostly a mirror image of Leo’s. He’s got the same angry scowl, but Don’s showing teeth on the right side instead of the left. Everything else looks good… except… except… Holy Jesus, what’s wrong with his eyes???

Yeah, poor Don has a bad case of the Wall Eyes, Mad Eyes, or Wonky Peepers… whichever politically incorrect term you prefer. He’s got a little Marty Feldman thing going on there. It’s not the sculpt, just the paint on the pupil, and at this point in time it seems to be effecting most, if not all, of the figures. Maybe Playmates can do a running fix somewhere down the line. Otherwise, the only real difference is the purple paint used for Don’s wrist bands, knee and elbow pads, and his eye mask.

 

Don comes with his signature weapon, his bowstaff. It’s a simple accessory, but nicely sculpted with a wood grain texture and a wrapped grip. As mentioned it can be tucked away in the loop on his back, and he can grasp it nicely in either or both hands. You also get the super cool manhole cover display stand.

 

And… yup… I took the picture with the wrong manhole cover… <face palm>  Rest assured, Donatello’s stand has the proper name on it… I’ll fix it later… [All done, nothing to see here… move along. -FF]

 

And that my friends, is Donatello. Yes, his eyes are unfortunate. It’s a shame that Playmates put out a figure that mingles with perfection in every way and then slips up by misaligning a simple black dot for his pupil. Honestly, it kind of fits the figure in a goofy kind of way… ah, nope, that’s just a lie, it looks awful and it sucks. If he didn’t look so angry, I’d say he was pulling a face, but instead it just looks like he’s got the mad, crazy eyes of a killer.

Aug 6 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics: Leonardo by Playmates

[Welcome to Turtles Week! Today through Thursday, I’ll be checking out Playmates new Classic series of TMNT figures and then Friday we’ll return to Vintage Vault as normal. I considered doing a TMNT edition of VV to round out the week, but after looking at these beauties it was hard to go back to the old stuff. And yeah, I’ll be getting to some of the figures based off the new Nick Toon. Look for that later on in the month, so there’s almost certainly another Turtles Week coming up. – FF]

Oh yeah… I’ve been waiting for these figures since, well since before Playmates even showed them off. Actually, it was probably around the time I got my first Masters of the Universe Classics figure and started wishing that we would get the same sort of collector-grade upgrade for a lot of 80’s toy lines. It seemed like the Turtles would be particularly well suited to such an upgrade, but I never wanted Playmates to be the one to do them. Sure NECA produced an amazing comic inspired set, but I held out for something a little closer to the 80’s design. Well, here we are, Playmates did them, and honest to god, they blew me away with the results. I give Playmates a lot of shit (and some loving) here, so it’s nice to be able to really tip my hat to them on something. Let’s start today with the leader of the pack, and my personal favorite hero in a halfshell… Leonardo.

I’m going to say my piece about the packaging today and then not much else for the rest of the week. The packages for these figures are fantastic, but apart from the bubble insert with each turtle’s name, they are essentially the same across the board. That having been said, when I first picked up one of these packaged figures I was in love. It’s a hefty semi-cylindrical bubble on a fairly heavy cardback. The front card art is deliciously cartoony and vintage and exactly what I wanted in a classic TMNT figure package. There are two stickers on the bubble, one pointing out that the figures are based on the 1988 cartoon classic and the other points out that the figure has 34 points of articulation. Leonardo is (almost) holding his swords in each hand and looks ready for battle, with his stand mounted behind his legs.

The back panel has some blurbs about the turtles, pictures of all four figures and again, some great vintage inspired artwork. There are only two gripes I can level against this package… one, it isn’t collector friendly and that saddens me because I almost shed a tear when I ripped this figure open. Secondly, a personalized file-card style section on the back of the card for each character would have been cool. Nonetheless, Playmates, you really hit a grand-slam on this package. It looks great, and displays the figure wonderfully.

Folks, this is how you update a classic action figure! Playmates was able to make use of the same body for each figure, and it doesn’t at all feel like a copout. They even went so far as to vary the green used for their skin tones. The sculpted detail on Leonardo is fairly minimal, but that works for a retro figure based on an animated character. The most detail is vested in the shell, front and back, the knee and elbow pads, and the wrist bands. The arms and legs are mostly just smooth like they looked in the cartoon. Leonardo’s head sculpt has him ready for action. This is definitely not “kick back and eat some pizza” Leonardo, this is “I’m gonna go fuck up some Foot Clan Ninjas” Leonardo. He’s sneering with the left side of his mouth to expose his teeth. His eye mask is sculpted as a separate piece, but permanently attached, and trails off the back of his head.

Leonardo features a belt and baldric, all sculpted separately from the figure, but permanently attached. The belt has a disc with the letter “L” in the center. The whole ensemble wraps around the back of his shell and holds his criss-crossed scabbards, both of which are functional and can be removed, as they just peg in through the belt and into the shell.

The coloring on this figure is just about perfect. A lot of the figure’s details are color coded to Leonardo’s eye mask, including the grips on his sword hilts. I’m also pretty fond of the somewhat matte finish given to the figure. It’s not super glossy, it’s not painted over and completely dull. You get a nice subtle shine on the arms and legs and on the shell.

Playmates boasts this figure has 34 points of articulation, so let’s just count them down. Ball jointed neck… check! The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, have swivels at the biceps and wrists, double hinged elbows, and each of the three fingers are hinged. His legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs, double hinges in the knees, hinged ankles, the ankles also swivel, and each of the four toes are hinged. He also has a ball joint in the torso. Yep, that’s 34 points and that’s mighty damn impressive, giving this figure  an amazing amount of poseability. The only thing I would have changed would be to add rockers to the ankles, but not at the expense of any of the joints in the figure now, so I’m perfectly happy if that just didn’t cost out.

The old TMNT figures used to come with a bevy of gear, but Leonardo just comes with his swords and a stand. From a cost standpoint, I’m ok with that, since Playmates obviously poured so much attention into the figure itself. The swords are pretty cool. They’re sculpted in plastic that is bendy enough for safety regulations, but not enough to easily warp. They’re appropriately molded in silver/grey plastic and as previously mentioned the wraps on the hilts are blue. The swords fit snugly into the scabbards on Leo’s back, and he can hold them pretty well. I’m wondering if it would have been a good idea to put pegs on the handles and have them peg into Leo’s palms to help him hold them, but I don’t know if it would have been worth the unsightly pegs and holes. Probably not.

As for the stand, I’ve read a number of less than favorable opinions about the stands online and I really can’t understand why. You get a big disc stand sculpted to look like a manhole cover with the TMNT logo sculpted in and Leonardo’s name printed on it. There are two meaty pegs to really hold the figure nicely. I think it’s a fantastic bonus and probably one of the best stands I’ve got with an action figure in a long time!

I haven’t seen Leonardo, or any of the Classic TMNT figures at retail yet, so I have no idea what the going price at brick-and-mortar stores is going to be. The Targets here already set their TMNT section, but it’s all just the new Nick stuff. I got my set for $17 each from Amazon along with my free Prime shipping, so I’m guessing they might be around $15 MSRP? Either way, the fact that these figures are significantly under $20 each is a great deal. Leonardo is beautifully made, has a nice quality and hefty feel to him, and is hard to put down. Sure, he’s a little light in the accessories, but he’s got his trademark weapons and a great stand, and for the price, I’m not complaining. So long as the other figures turn out this good, I’m beside myself with joy.

Tomorrow, we’ll move on to Donatello. The rest of the features will be a lot less long winded to avoid getting redundant, as the figures do share the same body.

Aug 4 2012

Star Trek Innerspace: Klingon Bird of Prey by Playmates

I promise, this will be the last time we look at Innerspace on Star Trek Saturday for a little while. By now I’ve probably devoted more attention to these little ships then they deserve, but when I went fishing into one of my Star Trek Totes, I pulled out three of these and I wanted to open all of them, so we might as well finish up the three. This time we’re looking at the Klingon Bird of Prey. If you’re keeping score, the Shuttlecraft Goddard was a pretty cool little toy all around, the Romulan Warbird looked pretty good as a ship and was kind of iffy as a playset, so let’s see how the Bird of Prey turns out…

It’s the same packaging we’ve seen for the last two weeks. The toy comes on a simple card and bubble with one flap open so you can peek inside and see what’s going on, and the two minifigures are beside it. The back panel shows photos of all the toys little features and has some trivia about the ship’s fictional specifications as well as its appearances in the various Star Trek media.

The minifigures are Worf and Gowron and both are pretty impressive for such ridiculously tiny little guys. The paint and sculpts are good enough so you know exactly who they’re supposed to be. Gowron has a little disruptor sculpted into his hand and both figures are articulated at the hips so they can sit down or stand up.

Unfortunately, as a little toy ship, the Bird of Prey doesn’t fare so well. Its proportions are seriously askew, so the body is too big for the wings and the bridge. Obviously, Playmates had to do this to create enough space for the playset compartment, but knowing that doesn’t make the ship look any less like it could be Playskool’s “My First Bird of Prey.” It’s a real shame too, because a lot of care went into the sculpt, particularly all the panel lines on the wings and the details in the engines. If this thing was properly proportioned it would have looked really bad ass. The coloring is pretty good too, with the hull being properly screen accurate green, the wings painted in, and the engines silver. There’s a lot better paintwork on this ship than the Warbird. The Bird of Prey also has a flip down stand to keep it from toppling over. It serves its purpose, but it only adds to the toy’s aesthetic problems.

Opening up the playset compartment and the Bird of Prey does a little better. Once again, it’s tough to cram a whole bridge into this little space, but I think the Bird of Prey pulls it off better than the Romulan Warbird’s two-seater roadster configuration. The open flaps turn into crew stations and there’s a central captain’s chair and a little viewscreen that you can rotate to show different views. Yeah, it still kind of looks like the captain is driving a car, but these toys really do require a lot of imagination and forgiveness to work. There’s a sticker on the back wall to create the illusion that the bridge is bigger and there are more Klingons on it.

I’d probably rank the Bird of Prey just a little higher than the Warbird, but mainly because of the minifigures. I like to use Worf in the Shuttlecraft and the Gowron figure makes a nice standard Klingon flunky. The ship itself is goofy looking and the playset isn’t going to impress anyone. Still, for the five bucks I paid for this toy, it’s an interesting little curiosity for my Star Trek collection.

Jul 28 2012

Star Trek Innerspace: Romulan Warbird by Playmates

I had originally planned on looking at two of Playmates’ Innerspace toys today, but I had some unforeseen social commitments arise, so we’re going to have to settle with just one. I know, bummer, right? Not to worry, we can come back to the other one another day. Today’s little piece of plastic Trek tat is the Romulan Warbird with Captain Picard and Romulan Sela. Once again, it’s been a long week, and I’ve got a barstool waiting for me down at The Pub, so let’s dive right into it…

Like the Shuttlecraft Goddard, the Warbird comes on a simple card. The ship is partially open so you can peak inside to get an idea of what you’re getting, and the two minifigures are mounted off to the side. Overall, this is the same package we saw last time. It’s not terribly attractive or exciting, but it does its best to tell you as much as it can about the toy inside. The back panel shows various shots of the toy’s features and has a smattering of information about the ship, of both the fictional and broadcast variety. You also get a little punch out collector card.

Out of the package, the Warbird is a pretty solid little recreation of the Starship from the TV show. I’ve always liked the design of this ship. It was bold and different and introduced way back in the first season of the show, and yet they stuck with it right up until the end. It’s molded in green plastic, which fits the onscreen color fairly well. The panel lines are also painted in. I could have probably done without these extra paint apps, but then again, the ship might have looked rather plain without them. The only real problem with the toy’s design is that you can see the interior if you look between the wings. It’s especially obvious if you have the minifigures rattling around in there. Still, this is a little transforming playset and not intended to be a completely accurate recreation of the ship, so it earns itself a pass.

The top of the Warbird opens up to reveal what the package calls “a detailed reproduction of the Romulan Warbird bridge.” What you actually get… not so much. I’m pretty sure the Warbird wasn’t a two-seater roadster, but that’s what we get here. There are seats, and two flip up workstations with screens and compartments for the figures to stand. Now, I know I’m being overly harsh. This little toy Warbird is way too small to even try to create a realistic bridge. I think Playmates did a fairly good job, considering the limited space they had to work with. What’s here is actually pretty well detailed, both in the sculpting and with the strategic use of stickers. I’m sure a kid with some imagination could have had fun with this thing, assuming, of course, you could find a kid that actually played with Next Generation toys. The flip up cover also has a sticker that serves as the viewscreen, showing off the Enterprise. I don’t know why, but I think that particular touch is really damn cool.

The tiny minifigures consist of Commander Sela and Captain Picard. Sela was of course played by Denise Crosby who decided she was better than the show and left, only to realize that she really wasn’t and so she came back to reprise her role as Lt. Yar, until they killed her off again, leaving her no choice but to come back as a recurring character based on her own half-Romulan daughter. Holy shit! As for Picard, don’t get too excited, because it’s Picard in his Romulan disguise, a figure I really didn’t need in this scale. I would have much preferred another Romulan. Either way, the figures are pretty damn good for their tiny size and have articulated legs so that they can stand or sit.

I really don’t want to be too hard on this toy. It’s a cool little idea for what it is and if nothing else it’s a kitschy little item for my Star Trek collection. It’s not the best of what the Innerspace line offers, but it is pretty typical of a lot of the toys, which means this line is really an acquired taste. On the plus side, you can pick these up for dirt cheap. I got mine brand new in the package for four bucks. Not bad for what is nearly a 20 year old toy. Next time we’ll check out the Klingon Bird of Prey.

Jul 21 2012

Star Trek Innerspace: Shuttlecraft Goddard by Playmates

Playmates put out a shit ton of Star Trek action figures and ships and roleplay toys, but they also launched a pair of interesting little lines called Innerspace and Strike Force. These consisted of little transformable playsets with minifigures. The concept is very close to the Micro Machines Star Wars playsets in that they’re pretty simple and you can close them up and take them with you. We’ll get into the Strike Force stuff eventually, but today we’re going to take a look at one of the Innerspace toys. It’s the shuttlecraft Goddard, and it’s one of the better toys in this little series.

While there were some larger, boxed Innerspace toys, the majority of the line came carded, which should give you an idea about just how small these things are. The Goddard is partially opened so you can get a peek inside and the two tiny minifigures are mounted off to the side. The back panel of the card has some specs and background information on the shuttlecraft, consisting of both fictional details as well as its first appearance in the series. You also get a bunch of close up photos of the toy and the various features. The packaging isn’t exactly attractive, but then this is Playmates we’re talking about. It is, however, informative and there’s even a little punch out collector card.

Out of the package, the Goddard is a really nice little recreation of the shuttle designs that started becoming standard about halfway through The Next Generation. In fact, it’s pretty spot-on. How small is it? Well, it falls right between the size of a Deluxe and Scout Class Transformer. There are a few nice details in the sculpt, and the markings on the toy are a combination of paint apps and fairly well applied stickers. About the only complaint I have here is that the windows are stickers instead of paint, and the main windshield is actually two stickers placed on each side of the seam where the toy opens up. I may get inspired enough to actually paint the windows on this thing one day, as I think it would be a big improvement.

The aft of the ship opens up and the boarding ramp drops down, just like it did in the show, and you can reach in and slide out the cargo pallet, just like you could on the larger Goddard vehicle that was designed for the regular action figure line. There are a couple of pegs under the shuttle that can be used to land on and pick up the pallet for transport. Honestly, even if this were all there was to it, I would still really dig this little toy.

But as the name, Innerspace, implies, the Goddard can be split down the middle and opened up to reveal an interior play area, as well as the minifigures (assuming you put them in there). The interior of the shuttle is even a bit more accurately portrayed than the larger Playmates shuttle. There’s a pilot area with a swiveling chair in the front, with some pretty cool stickers to make up those distinctive LCARS control panels. There are similar stickers on the two halves of the shuttle that open up, including stickers showing a replicator serving up a meal and another a piping hot beverage… earl gray tea perhaps? The back portion contains the cargo pallet, which can be slid out to allow the passenger seats to fold open. The interior really is well executed for such a tiny little toy.

The minifigures consist of Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge and Commander Deanna Troi. Really? A Commander? Every time I’m reminded of her rank, I want to call bullshit. But I digress. Imagine what you think of when you hear the term “minifigure” and now shrink it down a lot more, because these things are really friggin small. And yet, overall the sculpt and the paintwork are well executed to the point where you can certainly tell who they’re supposed to be. Geordi even has a little tool molded into his hand so he can run one of those damned Level 5 Diagnostics he was always talking about. Geordi is articulated at the hips so he can stand or sit in the pilot chair. Deanna on the other hand, has zero articulation, so she can either stand behind him and nag him while he’s flying or just lay out in the back cargo area. Her paint is a little less polished than Geordi’s. In fact,  someone went a little crazy when painting her comm badge.

The reason this toy works so well for me is because it’s totally in scale with the figures. There’s really no gimmick here, it’s just a little vehicle that opens up to let you play inside it. I would have LOVED it if the larger Goddard toy had been designed more like this tiny little toy. Unfortunately, the Goddard is pretty atypical for the Innerspace line, and as we’ll see next Saturday, most of the rest of the toys feature the huge Starships that really require you to suspend your beliefs and summon up all your imagination for them to work. Next time, we’ll look at the Romulan Warbird and the Klingon Bird of Prey.

Jul 14 2012

Star Trek: Classic Crew Bridge Set by Playmates

It’s Saturday… It’s Star Trek… It’s Star Trek Saturday! Playmates started out with only the license to do figures based on The Next Generation. Obviously that eventually expanded to epic proportions. As memory serves, today’s featured item was Playmates’ first foray into the “expanded universe” of Star Trek by going back to its classic roots with figures based on the crew from the original series. Instead of making collectors buy up an entire wave of single carded figures, Playmates issued this attractive seven figure boxed gift set.

Playmates is not exactly known for their tasteful and attractive packaging, but they really stepped up to the plate with this one. The set comes in a window box with a folded 3D cardboard tray illustrated to look like the bridge of the original series Enterprise. In retrospect, it’s a little off, and that big empty cardboard Captain’s chair in the middle of the package is kind of strange, but nonetheless, it did a nice job showing off the seven figures. The box deco was a simple space theme with “Classic Star Trek” in the old TV show’s font and an illustration of the old Constitution Class Enterprise. I had to borrow a stock photo for this set, as mine was opened a long time ago and let’s just say the packaging didn’t survive the process. Nonetheless, if there was ever a set of Playmates figures I wouldn’t mind buying again to have MISB, this one would be it.

Included in the package is Captain Kirk, Lt Commander Spock, Lt Commander Scott, Lt Sulu, Lt Uhura, Dr McCoy, and Ensign Chekhov. The figures reuse a lot of parts between them, but because they’re all wearing the same basic uniform with just a recolored shirt, it doesn’t feel so obvious. The sculpts are all actually quite well done for a Playmates 4-inch line. The badges are actually part of the sculpt, and not just painted on, as are the deco around their shirt cuffs. I was happy to see that Playmates went with a more prone and poseable style to the sculpts, rather than some of the pre-posed and awkward stuff they did with the early Next Generation stuff. The head sculpts on this classic set are all decent likenesses too, and there is the occasional flare for detail, like having Spock’s right hand in the form of the Vulcan salute.

Articulation is another thing Playmates did right with this set. All the figures have the same points. The heads turn, the arms rotate at the shoulders, swivel at the biceps, and are hinged at the elbows. The legs rotate at the hips and are hinged at the knees. All the figures can swivel at the waist. Again, unlike some of the early Next Generation figures that felt like they were designed to be poseable statues, these guys felt more like action figures meant to be played with.

The set came with the same accessories for every figure: Each one got a phaser and a communicator. While they were a tad oversized, these accessories were actually painted, and were loads better than the usual monochrome, day-glow crap that Playmates stuffs in with their other Star Trek figures. All the accessories came together in a single baggie, and you also got personalized stands based on the classic series badges, each with the correct department symbol for Command, Engineering, or Sciences. Cool! A couple of tricorders would have been nice, though.

Nowadays, this set is pretty easy to find on the second hand market and like most of Playmates figures, it hasn’t really gone up in value, so you can still pick up a set new in the box without blowing a lot of latinum. In fact, I’ve seen them listed on Ebay and go unsold in the $20 -30 range, and keep in mind we’re talking about seven figures! It’s a great deal, considering these remain some of my favorite Star Trek figures that Playmates ever put out. If they had produced a similar set with the Wrath of Khan theme, I would have probably died of pure joy.

Jun 30 2012

Star Trek Classic Series: Commander Kruge by Playmates

Welcome to a new limited series of features I like to call Star Trek Saturday. How long will it last? Long enough for me to get through some of the dreaded “Totes of Trek” that are stacked in the corner of my hall closet. A fair amount of this stuff comes from the 90’s and I was really torn on whether I should include it as part of Vintage Vault or not. In the end, I compromised and decided to just give it its own day, and tack it on at the end of the week. I may not do this every Saturday, but I will try to toss it in whenever I have time, because I have a lot of Star Trek figures and toys to go through. So, enough preambles… let’s get to it…

Playmates and Star Trek figures are certainly no stranger to FigureFan. I’ve been collecting the Playmates’ Star Trek toys since they were first introduced and while I regrettably sold off most of the ships over the years, I still have all of the figures. I have a strange love-hate relationship with these things, as the line certainly had its share of issues and questionable design choices. Not to mention some of the worst accessories ever. And yet every time I pull out my collection, I can’t help but love these things, right down to the cheesy “individually numbered” gimmick that laughably suggest these figures are some kind of limited edition collectibles. Anyway, I’ve looked at figures from the spin-off TV series and from the original series, but I haven’t looked at any from the Classic Movie Series, and I aim to fix that today.

Yes, it’s Commander Kruge from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. We have here an action figure of Christopher Lloyd playing a Klingon. It’s been almost two decades since this figure was produced and that still blows my mind. While the movie was no Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III was still a pretty solid and enjoyable film and a lot of that credit needs to go to Lloyd’s fun, scenery chewing portrayal of the Klingon bastard who killed Kirk’s son. Once the Star Trek license really got pumping for Playmates, no corner of the Trek universe was safe, and they started reaching out even to the classic movies as subject matter for their figures.

The card used for Kruge is a lot more subdued than the ones used for the Next Gen or Voyager figures. It feels less like a Vegas style billboard and more appropriate to the subject matter at hand, even if it does have artwork of the wrong ship on the top. You get a nice starfield deco and the classic series style lettering. The back of the card, however, is pretty busy. You get head shots of a bunch of other Classic Movie Series figures. You get a pictures and descriptions of the accessories, and you get a nice blurb explaining who Kruge is. All in all, it’s a nice looking package that displays the figure well.

And there’s Commander Kruge. Look familiar? Long time collectors of Playmates’ Star Trek line will no doubt recognize that the body is a straight reuse of the one used for Klingon Warrior Worf. I suppose it’s a fair move on Playmates part, since the costumes were practically identical. It also helps that the Worf figure came with his ritual robes, so you can still display these two figures next to each other and the reuse isn’t overtly noticeable. It’s also nice to be able to swap the robes between the two figures. Besides, as long as they didn’t go with a reuse of the vastly inferior sculpt for the Gowron body, I’m happy.

Yes, this is pretty fine sculpt for what it is. Sure, you need to get past the stylized look and wonky proportions that Playmates loves to do with these figures. The head and hands are just a tad too large and it takes a little while to get past the caricature style. But the detail on the Klingon armor is just gorgeous. Let’s face it, most of the Star Trek line gets by with minimal sculpting of the simple Starfleet uniforms, so it’s nice to see when they get an opportunity like this, they really knock it out of the ballpark. Every little detail and texture is lovingly reproduced here. And the head sculpt? Oh yeah, this has got to be one of, if not one of, the best head sculpts of the entire line. It’s totally Christopher Lloyd in Klingon makeup, and that’s just fantastic!

It’s also worth mentioning that the paint work on this figure is pretty impressive too, especially when I compare the paint with the work on my Klingon Warrior Worf and again, the shitty job they did on Gowron. Kruge’s armor is vibrant and shiny and has some really nice gold and silver that contrasts beautifully with the black and grey.
Kruge’s articulation is identical to the Worf figure. His head rotates, his arms rotate at the shoulders, have swivel cuts in the biceps, and hinges in the elbows. His legs rotate at the hips and have hinged knees, and he can rotate at the waist. It’s barely passable articulation because you really can’t do much with his legs.

Accessories! Here’s the point where I usually go ballistic all over Playmates, but that won’t be the case here. You get a tricorder, a communicator, a disruptor, and a stock attachment for the disruptor. Sure, Kruge’s accessories are all molded in the same monochrome color, but at least they’re cast in a brownish orange color that is fairly similar to the props used on the screen, as opposed to hot pink or neon purple like some other figures. The sculpts on all the accessories are well done and they match the on screen devices pretty well. The stock attachment for the disruptor is a really cool addition, and not something I would have expected from this line. You also get a collector card and a really nice personalized figure stand designed especially for the Classic Movie figures.

I’ve wanted to get Commander Kruge in my collection for a long time and I finally jumped at the opportunity when I found him for nine bucks shipped on the Ebays. While he may not stack up to modern action figures, when you put him in his proper 1995 Playmates context, he’s actually a pretty solid effort. Again, that may be a loaded compliment, but either way, I really like this one. Playmates’ Star Trek is not a line that often impresses, and that’s what makes a figure like this worth owning. It features solid sculpting and paintwork, good accessories, and overall it just really does the character justice.

Oct 20 2011

Tomb Raider: Lara Croft In Wet Suit Statue by Playmates

It’s another slow week for acquisitions, folks, so I’m going to be digging into the FigureFan Toy Closet for content this week. Last week I checked out NECA’s 1:6 scale Lara Croft, so I thought it only fitting I take a look back to a much earlier Tomb Raider piece: This statue and diorama by Playmates.

The packaging is a standard window box with a tomb motif. It’s technically collector friendly, but mine has been a bit mangled over the years. The entire statue with base and backdrop is about eleven inches tall. The Lara figure itself is about nine inches. The entire piece is cast in plastic.
Starting off with the base and backdrop, I have to say Playmates did a nice job here. The platform is a rustic looking floating dock with some coiled rope, and the whole thing is supported by two half barrels. The backdrop is a badly weathered wall with cracked stucco and some brickwork showing through underneath. The Tomb Raider logo appears sculpted into the back wall just over Lara’s left shoulder. Most statues these days appear with pretty minimalist environments or just small detailed bases, but Playmates went uncharacteristically out of there way here to produce a very nicely designed and excellently sculpted environment for Lara. The small section of side wall is a nice bonus too.
Unlike NECA’s modern Lara, Playmates’ version has roots deep into the earlier games and to me that makes this statue a whole lot more iconic in appearance. Without hunting down dates, I’m pretty sure this statue was out around the time the second or third game was released. I seem to recall her spending a lot of time in her wetsuit in Tomb Raider 2. Either way, this is a Lara that we old timers are more familiar with, even if she isn’t wearing her more standard outfit. The wetsuit itself is more or less painted onto her body sculpt, although there are sculpted lines where the sleeves and shorts end. Other sculpted details include her huge belt buckle, holsters with removable pistols, and her bare feet. I’m particularly fond of the execution of Lara’s head sculpt here. Again, its simple but instantly recognizeable. She’s flashing a smile and her sunglasses are worn down on her nose to show off her eyes. Her iconic ponytail hangs down over her right shoulder. All in all, it’s a nice tough and sexy look for Lara.
Lara’s weapons include the two aforementioned pistols and a harpoon gun. You’ll note the tip of the harpoon appears to have snapped off my statue, so there’s something to watch out for. Although, in fairness I’ve had this thing a long time and it’s gotten kicked around a fair share. The harpoon gun is actually sculpted onto her right arm, but her left arm is capable of holding one of her pistols.

While there’s no doubt this is a statue and not an action figure, Lara does have three points of articulation. Her arms swivel at the shoulders and her head rotates at the neck.
As many of you are aware, I’m generally not a big cheerleader for Playmates. They’ve done their share of shoddy stuff, but this statue shines above a lot of their usual crap. Make no mistake, it’s still a low end piece, particularly in the collectible statue market, but for what it is it’s a well designed display piece with a fine sculpt and great paintwork. I picked Lara up at an indie video game store many years ago and paid next to nothing for her. You can still find this statue on Ebay fairly regularly and she often sells for around $15-20. It’s not a bad little collectible if you still have a soft spot for Ms. Croft.
Feb 17 2011

Star Trek The Next Generation: Lt. Tasha Yar by Playmates

It’s been a really long time since I looked at any of Playmates’ Star Trek figures from the 90’s. It tends to be a line that I forget about for a long time and then pick up again when I stumble across some figure that I need, or I think I need. Afterall, it’s a pretty extensive line of figures and while my collection is fairly large, there’s still a number of figures that I’m missing. I couldn’t for the life of me remember whether or not I had Yar, so when I stumbled upon her in a local comic ship, I took a chance and picked her up anyway. I got home and discovered… nope, didn’t have her. So this was a nice pick up.

The awesome thing about these Next Gen figures is that they’re usually dirt cheap so despite the fact that they’re old, I can still buy them carded and not feel bad about tearing them open. I’ve always liked the Next Gen cards. The animated style goes well with the stylized sculpts of the figures and Playmates loved to post advertisments all over the damn cards. Whether it was for Space POGs or video games on the Genesis or SNES, or what have you, these cards always looked like Las Vegas billboards to me. Nonetheless, the bubble displays the figure nicely and makes use of the collectible trading card to personalize the package to the character. The back panel shows some other figures in the line and has a little bio blurb about Yar’s past, which conveniently neglects to use the phrase “rape squads” probably because this is a toy aimed at kids.

Yar’s sculpt betrays the odd proportions that Playmates loved to inflict on these characters. The big stylized head isn’t unlike the big heads once found on the old GI Joe figures, so there’s some nostalgic factor here. Still, this Yar figure was a fairly late release, and the proportions and sculpt on the figures were getting closer to being more realistic and less stylized. By the time you got to the Voyager figures, they were looking fairly normal. The figure actually looks fine until you compare her with some of the other ladies in the line. Compared to Troi or Crusher, she’s a tad too big.  Yar was definitely one tough chic, but she was definitely not a big woman. I wouldn’t go so far as to say Playmates got the Denise Crosby likeness down, but it’s still better then some. I think the thing I like best about this figure as that she isn’t pre-posed like some of the earlier figures were. The uniform is pretty Season One accurate as seen in the gold piping around the collar and the pants cuffs. Nice touch!

Yar’s articulation is standard for the Next Gen line. Her head rotates three-sixty, her arms rotate at the shoulders, have swivels in the biceps and hinged elbows. Her legs rotate at the hips and have hinged knees, and she can swivel at the waist.

It wouldn’t be a Playmates Star Trek figure without a scary and inappropriate collection of off-colored accessories. Actually, Yar’s accessories are downright normal compared to some. She comes with a phaser with that terrible beam attached (but not for long… where are my scissors?), a PADD, a tricorder and a flashlight, which is completely at odds with the palm beacons I remember them using in the series. Either way, Playmates played it cool with Yar’s accessories, by keeping them down to a minimum and giving her useful stuff, although most of it is still molded in dark red plastic. Um, yeah. She also comes with the standard comm-badge style figure stand and the aforementioned collector card.

Yar’s figure was released fairly late in the line, as Denise Crosby was already off the show by the time Playmates got The Next Generation license away from Galoob. Based on the biography on the back of the card, it was after she reprised her role as Yar in the episode, “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” but before she returned to play her own half-Romulan daughter, Sela. Lest we forget that Ms. Crosby thought her acting chops were better than Star Trek deserved and then quickly found out that they really weren’t. She then became a born-again Star Trek actress alumni and started producing documentaries like Trekkies and Trekkies 2, while simultaneously haunting Star Trek conventions. I guess she learned her lesson, eh? All bashing aside, I picked this figure up for under five dollars, which was certainly not a lot of money to fill a vacant spot in my collection.