The Problem with Playmates' New Star Trek Toys
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ย. 2022
- Join Jay as he reviews the new retro inspired Star Trek action figures from Playmates. While Trek fans are excited to have new Star Trek toys on shelves, the cheap prices and availability of the figures that inspired these new releases leave toy collectors with a tough choice to make.
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I've never understood why they don't make these figures compatible with 3.75, then and now. They really can't be mixed in with any other franchise or scale. Part of the charm with 3.75 in the 80s was the fact that you could have Starbuck in an X-Wing and Buck Rogers hang out with Kirk.
Super 7 Reaction does have a new TNG figure line in the 3.75 scale they're just not mutie possible just the old style 5 point movement like old school figures. 🙂
They totally do scale with other lines, primarily... Kenner! Most of their post-Star Wars lines were 4.5" tall, with a slight scale creep to 5" by the mid '90s. Super Powers, RoboCop, Ghostbusters, all the Batman movie toys, and a ton of other stuff. The Borg could invade the Batcave, Picard could take a trip in the Ecto-1 or Justice Jogger, heck, you could even have Romulans attack Kevin Costner or Alec Baldwin. Dixon Hill Picard actually looks really sweet next to the Shadow Thunder Cab, FYI. :)
Absolutely. The original Galoob figures had a great scale and sat down so much better than Playmates. Never mind the smaller scale actually fits the bridge playset Playmates built far better.
@@autoneurotic Did you know (Super 7 Reaction) is doing them in 3.75 scale as well currently?
@@pennygadget7328 thats fair, I mostly stick with 3.75 due to Vintage Collection and World of Halo :P
I grabbed Khan simply because, well, Khan, and I really like him. The phaser accessory is an odd choice, since he never actually held one in the movie, but it's still a really nice little figure. Would have been nice to have swappable heads for him and Spock, though, to show them bloodied and radiation burned, but for the price, I'm pretty happy with him.
I saw these in the store and they looked a little cheap with the type of plastic they used. It seems a lot of the retro lines like the TMNT and G.I. Figures have a similar cheaper feel to them than the original toys of the 80s and 90s. I wish I would have kept my original Star Trek figures. I still have the shuttle. Great comparison video as always.
Also the retro collection Stah Wahz line felt more brittle / hallow.
For this line, they should've just repossessed all those Direct TV satellites from the 90's and refurbished them into a spaceship to release an Enterprise for us to get!
The figures are alright...but they aren't 30 years of improvement in likeness and manufacturing better. A few years ago I bought cheap loose later figures and kitbashed better versions for all the main cast for my TNG bridge playset. I'll be passing on these, as much as I hoped they'd be a must buy. They certainly have their place in the market for people looking for a less toyish body.
This is a great take, agree completely!
I think for just 15 dollars a figure it's amazing, especially in today's market. I was very impressed with Picard,a great photo real ehanced headsculpt. I'll be collecting these, we feel like outliers to me haha.. No one us talking about them
I remember children in middle school telling me, "Star Trek is stupid. Why do you watch it?" I owned Star Trek TNG action figures. I even found an Enterprise-D bridge set at a yard sale for $10. The toys are now in a Goodwill somewhere.
a guy at the WA state toy show a week ago had a giant barrel full of minty carded TNG figures for $3 each, by noon on the second day of the show he was only asking ONE DOLLAR each 😄
I hearrrrd that! 😃😃
I got the new Star Trek Next Gen figures. I like them for just $13 each. I never had the vintage figures, so it is nice to find these new ones in the stores.
Not sure why they didn’t just make these 1:12. Especially since they aren’t in scale with the original figures. Oh well, I didn’t have too much hope when Playmates dropped the promo pics.
I have seen these figures in stores a number of times, and I have been tempted by the Next Generation figures...but I need to see some evidence of a wave 2 coming here, and so far I haven't heard anything. Also, I really would like to see some Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and even Enterprise love on the horizon as well. (Though mostly DS9)
I'm waiting until they release the original 90's Trek toys design on Ninja Turtles packaging with a Marvel build-a-figure included. Maybe by 2060 they'll get bored enough to.
“Adult collectors bought so many of those toys and kept them on card you can find them so cheap today” lol basically every single line today from Funko Pops to MOTU, all these nerds buying up all these toys thinking in the future they’ll be worth something hahaha
I kind of agree the fact that the vintage figures are still so readily available kind of kills my enthusiasm for this line. It is neat to have Discovery figures in scale with the rest though.
Yeah, I may still be in on new characters we haven’t gotten in the vintage line for sure
That's exactly what I thought when I saw these at Target. I was like: "I can get the vintage ones CARDED for less then $10.". It definitely makes sense to get the 90's toys vs these new ones.
The Original Star Trek toys are just perfect. The new ones are cool and I have a couple but you can't beat the 90's figures.
Christmas 1992. Probably the best Christmas I ever had for loot. My parents got me almost the entire line of Playmates Star Trek toys. I got the ships. All the main figures. Phasers and Tricorders. Two figure cases. I couldn't believe it. And those toys gave me years of fun. At some point over the years, my mom sold off most of the stuff in garage sales, but I managed to save a few figures. This video just gave me flashbacks to my childhood, so thanks.
Sounds like an epic Christmas, glad you enjoyed the video!
Hopefully you'll be able to find the ones you lost. Don't give up the search, especially considering how they're still saturating the market today. As a fellow collector, I totally feel you. 🖖😎👍
Thanks for giving me an excuse to buy my kid the "complete line of X" toys from time to time... guess he'll thank me later😅
2:27 The Burnham one is hilariously accurate. 😂
Hope the job hunt is going well brother Jay. Thanks for the new content.
Thanks Neil! It's going well so far!
Completely agree Jay, vintage is the better line. I was really excited for these but Riker is way too short and looks nothing like Jonathan Frakes.
Yup completely agree!
I love the idea of new Star Trek toys, but my biggest problem is actually that 90s scale. YES you can put them with the old figures and that's kind of nice. But they don't "play well" with hardly any other lines! Most figures coming out now are either 3.75 or 6 inch. They will always look weird on a shelf with the rest of your collection unless you ONLY collect Star Trek. I have a large collection of the originals and that one point always makes me a bit sad. They are really nice looking figures though. And the added articulation is awesome.
Weirdly enough, the 90s figures scale really well with Toy Biz Marvel. Not the Marvel Legends, but the X-Men and Spider-Man figs from the 90s... which is hilarious when you remember there were two TNG/X-Men crossovers (and one with TOS). So that's ONE toyline you can display them with.
@@CrisisComics Yeah. There are definately a few out there. They fit with the old Jurassic Park too, if I'm not mistaken.
They should have scaled them correctly so they could go right on the shelf with the vintage. I did buy a Spock we don’t have a red tunic Spock yet. And since Nimoy was taller thinner he kind of fits in, better than the rest in the line
The next wave is all based on the nickelodeon Prodigy show. I'm sure they're interested in doing Strange New Worlds also so hopefully the line can win with the new shows. I hope they do figures for Lower Decks!
I need strange new worlds!!!!
I'll probably pick up a full Strange New Worlds crew if they do it.
Yeah I’ll hold out until the SNW figures.
I don't collect Star Trek figures myself, but I always liked the slightly cartoony/toyetic charm of the original line. As a toy collector, I would gravitate toward those, but a bigger Trek fan might appreciate the more realistic/accurate style of figure. But the fact that the prices are so low and the roster is so big on the vintage line, it seems like that would be much more fun to collect!
Yeah its a great line to collect on the cheap!
I finally finished a complete '93 Series II TNG, and working on a full DS9 crew before I start tackling the 90s XMen. TMNT is just too high, and I remember openeing them all and later gave them all away to a neighbor.
I still have tons of the 90,s stuff , & ...well ... im STILL happy with ALL my 90,s Trek. The waves , the mail-away exclusives , the store exclusives , & the larger sized waves too. I have the Transporters series.... man , those were the days... i feel ya , you aint outright said it , but , ya .... great review! :D
That new Riker headsculpt looks more like Ryan Doell…
RYKER DOELL!
OMG you’re right!!!
I bought quite a few of the vintage figures the past couple years. All MOSC. I don’t think I spent more than $8 on any single one…even with shipping. They are fun, and the sculpts hold up pretty well. I’m honestly not interested in starting a new collection…even if the articulation is better. We’ll be finding these new ones for $5 in 30 years themselves, lol…
They should have just made all the characters from "The Wrath of Khan" in one go. That is what most fans wanted.
I still love my Diamond Select/Art Asylum line of the crew of DS9. I especially love my General Martok and Ezri Dax.
Woof, the new figures pale in comparison to the '90s figures. Playmates Star Trek is a rare vintage line that is high quality but extremely affordable to collect. The new series seems extraneous.
I have a lot of those carded and loose Vintage Star Trek Figures.
I haven't come across the new line yet but I have a O'Brian I picked up last year from the DS9 run from the 90's (I was an Petty Officer in the Navy so I had to get the Cheif) this is the first of your videos I've seen really enjoyed it hope you have a great day
Thanks for watching Donald! And thank you for your service!
It's funny, I was at my local comic shop the other day and in their Star Trek section they had the new Playmates figures at $17 a piece and right next to them they had a ton of the 90s figures MOC at $5 each. There isn't really much of a wow factor to these new ones to where I'd pick them up over the older figures which I can get so much cheaper and with a much greater variety.
Thanks for sharing, and YES, I have at least two paper cases with the original figures on card ! and a few duplicates that were opened. So no I won't be buying these, the originals are still the best ;) I am hoping they come out with some really good ones for Strange New Worlds.
"Star Trek Ultimates" seems to be raising the bar (and price) w/different face sculpts/hands/accessories. I adore my OG run, including the Borg Queen.(Might spring for the Ultimates Guinan, tho.)
I'm still waiting for a 6 inch scale line.
It is great that the Playmates Figures are back. I've ordered two online but haven't gotten them. I hope we'll be getting Lower Decks Characters too.
I honestly thought the new Riker was Wesley Crusher...Wil Wheaton as he looks today with a beard!
That’s a really good take lol
I just ordered the new TNG playmates figures I’m so happy I got them. I’ve also been collecting more Star Trek action figures. I love Star Trek and love to collect the figures and ships. If you ever want to talk about Star Trek let me know!!’ Great video to watch. I just subscribed. Have a good day.
I was happy they re did the line as towards the end there was no consistency in the articulation (some only had 5 points articulation) and we never got a full crew of the originals in movie form.
I agree I think the 90s ones are better but I am hoping I now I can have all the one crew crews especially the Kirk movies
That’s a great point Bryan!
That was always my frustration: Playmates did a full TOS era bridge crew and Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu and Uhura in their uniforms for The Motion Picture but we only got Kirk, Scotty and Chekov in the movie uniforms for Generations and Lt. Saavik for Wrath of Khan. It would be great if we could get a full bridge crew for movies II-VI.
Wrath of Khan Kirk looks almost like Prince Charming from Cinderella with how realism-esque he is.
I've actually grabbed a lot of the vintage STAR TREK figures for _DIRT CHEAP_! I've been eyeing the newer ones, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Collectors for years wondered why they chose to tear up Riker's uniform in the 1992 figure.
Right??? Such a weird choice lol
After picking up the Data and Picard, The other major problem I have is Data's arms are way too small, both too thin and short. On any action figure they can completely throw off the look of a great sculpt/design. (Google DC Icons' Static) having average size arms or just reusing the ones from Picard would have been cheaper and better.
Interestingly however this problem is exacerbated by Brent Steiner having noticeably long arms, if you ever see a standing shot of data, most figures don't include this detail however the exception is the original playmates figure
I was excited when I heard these were coming out until I seen the pictures. To say I was disappointed was a understatement.
I like the Spock figure shown here, and the Discovery figures are MUCH better imo. They fit really well with the rest of my Playmates Trek collection
Agreed about the Playmates figures being cheap & plentiful, I think the most expensive items in my Star Trek collection are the Bridge and Engine Room sets though. Out of the new line I do want the OG Enterprise, that ship is pretty nice for the price. Great review as always, sir.
I have found a lot of those Vintage Star Trek Action Figures at Flea Markets and Toy Conventions. And I still have my mid 90s loose figures.
Yup same here!
Agreed. I have all the Next Gen crew and Shuttle. Got the shuttle new in box for peanuts and got most of the crew as a bulk buy with most of their accessories. I think so far it’s a pass for me. But I do hope it’s successful. Especially to support the new series. Just my 2 cent.
Yeah, have had a very similar experience for my collection
Not surprised sadly. Playmates let the collector dollar go with turtles and they seem to be regretting it, and yet can’t meet the wants of fans.
This is an easy pass for me. Great review! 👍👍
Thanks TGS!
Love these new Trek toys and it seems as though the first line has done pretty well! I think they’re different enough for fans to go buy them, but also can work with and have the charm of the original while adding new characters from the new shows to the line. As for the ship… it’s awesome, very much a solid toy but also in keeping with the classic playmates ships. Looking forward to more.
I’m glad you dig em, I def want some Strange New World Figures!
Totally think that the next line should be based off of strange new worlds and Prodigy, definitely.
The biggest problem is that each time the license changes hands, the figures offered are the same old same old. There is a very rich cast of characters to choose from and Playmates could have chosen better. Besides, they should know by now that most Trek fans don't like grossly inaccurate toys. Especially starships.
Mwlah, A Starship?!? (In Mark Twain voice)
Nice figure but the lack of a waist cut is something Playmates really needs to correct going forward.
I have 100 of the vintage Star Trek figures, would love to trade them to a Star Trek fan.
New content!
I swear, after tbe Star Wars figures became so valuable the adult collectors bought tons of action figures from other movies and tv show and kept them on card. They were all hoping that lightening would strike twice.
Playmates used Shatner's Selfie series from Habro well that is how it looks
Haha so true! 🤣🤣
Playmates has never been one for high accuracy. I remember the USS Voyager with the droopy saucer, the Enterprise 1701-E that was based on early concept drawings
Surprised playmates would only do 4.5 inches… 😜 in all seriousness: great video! 🖖
Ehhh ohhhhhhhhh lol good one Silva 🤣
Can't wait for Prodigy Janeway.There are so many TOS and TNG figures already. DS9 and Voyager are always skipped it seems.
I can remember in the seventies when toys were for kids, what happened.
I hope they do a Lower Decks line. I'd get them all.
I bought the entire collection (minus one figure) for super cheap in the period of about 4 months in 2017!
"The proportions are accurate to the life-like characters...", as GDL showed mickey-mouse-hand spock 🤣 00:04:04. Hehehe I love this channel.
The gloves where huge in the movie too! 🤣🤣🤣
@@GeekDadLife I can't stop laughing at the hands. Amg. Haha 😆
I bought the whole of the first wave, but I doubt I'll get more. Was hoping for a MOTU Origins-like line, but they don't fit with the 90s figs and in the UK, at least, we don't even get the retro-style packaging. The Discovery figures don't scale with the TNG & TWOK figures properly, which is weird.
Yeah I saw that, that’s an odd choice for sure
I think the whole idea is that people are going to want the new versions where they offer a lot more modern features, photo real and articulation. I can't see anyone wanting the old 90s figures over these. They did an excellent job and this is going to be a great, affordable line to collect.
I'd rather have the original figures than the new ones.
Quick question: How does the leg articulation work on the Kirk and Spock figures? Is it like the vintage Generations TOS figures where the legs effectively can't move because of the hard plastic bottom of the uniform jacket?
No they used a soft rubber for the lower part, and they move just fine
@@GeekDadLife Good to know. Thanks.
Are they gonna do the whole crew in this new line? Beverly Crusher? Deanna Troi?
As a 6” focused collector who loves Star Trek I am annoyed we have new lines at 5” and 7”
The new ones look like barrels with stick-figure arms.
Love the video. But I disagree about the face sculpts. I think that the Kirk face looks a lot more like Shatner (maybe a bit younger than he was in WoK) than Riker does Jonathan Frakes. That Riker looks like they face scanned the afternoon shift manager at a Game Stop in a random mall.
Yeah the Riker is not good lol
I think Playmates' picked the wrong time to release these toys in this scale. I understand that it is an anniversary edition, the problem is Super7 have announced their TNG ultimates line which has the exact same level of articulation and head scanning tech in a 7" scale for $50AUD more than the Playmates'. I'm just not sure that I want to invest in 5" scale in where the copyright is stamped in a very prominent area, I feel if they went to 6" or 7" scale they could put it on the feet or have that soft plastic uniform top with that info and give us an ab crunch and butterfly joints and it would be superior to Super7.
Star trek picard needs to be in old action figures. Old captain Jean luc Picard in his action figures and the Old commander William Riker in his action figures and his wife Deanna Troi in her action figure. Old Geordi La forge in his action figures and Old commander Data in his action figures and Old Dr Beverly Crusher in her action figure in the toy action figures or dolls.
Great video. The new Trek figs look much better than the TMNT Retro reissues!
Agree completely with that take!
They look like Galoob figures with modern articulation. Nice but I agree the original were better. Could you include some figure stats in the description, such as original Playmates ST figure height, points of articulation, location of articulation VS the new PM BT versions?
I bought a grocery bag full of loose figures 10 years ago for $20. But I’ll take Strange New Worlds and animated series figures!
Still no Marauder Mo? Come on Playmates.
I love watching your videos 😍 sorry I've never left a comment before.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you like them!
@@GeekDadLife You're welcome
I'm a toy collector myself.
I know the point is to appeal to nostalgia but at some point, the supply is overtaking the demand, I love TNG, grew up with it toys and all, Ive come across boxed figures at thrift stores all the time, some for as low as $1 so I can't see myself going out of the way to grab these, they need to reevaluate the value these have to people before releasing them
The Star Trek action figure line from Mego in the 1970's was very successful. The only reason it was cancelled was because Paramount pictures insisted, as they wanted to make way for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This movie turned out to be a huge mistake. The toy line for Star Trek: TMP crashed and burned because the uniform designs looked like pajamas, and the movie was too boring for kids to enjoy.
I feel like they should have either done a six/ seven inch super articulated line like marvel Legends or DC multiverse. Or gone full retro and done them in the exact same style as the vintage figures and just continue that line.
Instead they went with this weird third option which doesn't seem to be anything anyone wanted.
That’s a really good call out, it is in this weird limbo between the two
I want a 6 inch figure line.
I don't know why they aren't scaled the same as the original. Seems like an odd choice. Also, there's something about the torso to limb proportions that don't look quite right to me.
Anyways, where are Lower Decks figures? I don't need to recapture the 1980s and 1990s but I need the Cerritos crew on my shelf!
I have nearly 300 original Playmates Star Trek figures. I think I can safely pass on these new ones.
I loved the original Playmates line. I bought all of these but have not opened yet!
I was disappointed with their choice for the TNG lineup. I think it should have been Picard, Data, Worf instead of Riker, because those three are the members of the crew that got the most episodes focused around them and their growth as characters. As well as being the three most iconic.
Agree, getting a Worf here would be great!
I'm hesitant to buy these, despite wanting them. The main reason is that I'm worried we won't get full crews. If they continue the trend of 7 figures per year with each year being a mix of shows and there being so many shows, it will take years to get a full crew. That's not even factoring in all of the possible uniform variants (both the TOS, TNG and DS9 crews had two different uniforms).
That's a very fair point, filling in the gaps is going to be huge in making this line successful in the long run.
Yeah, I like the figures in general, but I made a video a couple of weeks ago about the problem of the scale, it's a huge lapse of judgment I think.
I have all the Playmates figs except Data Redemption. I am annoyed these don’t fit as seamlessly as I was expecting. Though some aliens may fit if they get that far. The 90s figs have much better likenesses as well. Not planning to buy these unless we get aliens or all new characters
Hopefully there won't be any "1701 "disaster like last time
As many have noted, for years now, where is a quality 3.75 Star Trek line?!!
With matching Ships, playsets and beautiful weird aliens?
This is just a gigantic missed opportunity and seems pretty much a test run, to see how they are received.
Wich it is.
I'm not too keen on the face scanning technology. The older figures have a much nicer face and a certain charm about them.
I don't own any Trek figures; I had a Spock doll ages ago back in the 1980s🖖
Yeah agree orginal Star Trek toys are really cheap at the moment and to charge double for something that doesn’t really resemble the original actors is a big poor on their part as they could have created something really different and special that still plays homage to the orginal playmates 90”s toys great epsidoe 😎👍🏻
Yeah, completely agree!
@@GeekDadLife I refently acquired a whole bulk lot of orginal Star Trek next generation figures MOC play sets and ships so I’ll be holding on to them for a while 😎👍🏻
@@ryanthecollectorkid great plan, maybe in another 20 years you’ll get an extra 5 bucks out of it lol
@@SunnyDiegoProduction that’s it 😂 you never know but they are cool retro line from the 90”s
The new Riker looks way too small. He's 4-5 inches taller than Picard & Data irl, but his figure appears to be on a smaller buck, compared the other 2.
Yup good point!
Yeah not making them match scaling with a beloved collector line whose nostalgia they were directly trying to capitalize on was a choice that probably got someone fired.
But is that Picard a lot taller than Riker? And is Kirk taller than Spock? How do they not even make them scale to each other??? Such carelessness.
And I hope to everything holy they fired the idiot who thought an embossed product label covering the ENTIRE back would be OK.
There are so many things wrong with this line that you have to think they were intentionally trying to tank it.
One glaring issue that I have is Kirk's extra large starfleet badge. It's not properly proportional next to the Spock figure. What gives?
That’s a great call out!
Pass on it all, I sold all my playmates crap over a decade ago
Johnathan Frakes is one damn handsome man. That figure looks nothing like him.
Something about new ones body is off. It looks like they used old body and old legs and add new smaller arms and smaller heads.
Original come with trading cards and are cheeper plus have better/more accessories and can be used to make customs so go cheep and buy a huge lot and get more and save $
Wow the arms and heads seem all over the place in scale.
That Riker looks more like Wil Weaton.
I still have my collection of the original 90s figures, don't see a need to get these.