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So I managed to find a Mirror Mirror set on the 29th in St. Louis. At this particular Target the folks had not set up their endcap yet, but when I asked about Mego, the helpful employee I was talking to knew they had a Trek case in the back and pulled out a set for me.
Before I start with my dissection of Spock, I do have to make a disclaimer. I am totally thrilled that MEGO is making new toys and new 8" figures with cloth goods for people to collect and kids to play with. I have followed along all of the recent ReMego type figures and have enjoyed what all of these modern companies have risked equity to bring to us, the MEGO collectors. Big thanks to those that are continuing to make these things for us to enjoy and to inspire our kids and future generations with playtime and fun. And a special big thanks to Marty Abrams and Doc Mego (and everyone else involved) for persevering and getting the MEGO brand back into stores.
I broke open the set and took Spock apart to see how these newMego bodies compared to previous incarnations. They are definitely not vintage. Closest to Doc's EMCE bodies, tho they seem to have taken a step backward from the very last bodies that EMCE used for the Universal Monsters and the Penny Dreadful figures.
Exploded Spock pics. A general layout of the newMego body. The most noticeable change is the new torso with the neck attachment plug. Another notable change, tho a bit less conspicuous is the use of a rubber sink gasket type band to attach the arms and legs. There is no metal attachment at the hip pin, the band loops around the pin. There is still a metal connector for the arm, tho.
This is a bit of a concern for me. This softer vinyl plastic used for the arms is the same or similar to the Doc Mego bodies used for Bif Bang Pow, Universal Monsters, Diamond Trek, and others. I had numerous issues with my eMCe Trek figures arms breaking due to the bands pulling the metal connectors thru the softer vinyl. This seemed especially bad with the color plastics used with figures like Gorn or Mugato. The banding on those figures was also extremely tight, which often stretched the arm connection hole until it split. I eventually just restrung each of those type bodies when I got them to keep the arms from having problems, especially because my kids were playing with them and they were not staying in the package or sitting in a static display on a shelf. I think the new band puts less tension on this joint, which will help with this issue, but I really hope that Target stores are not hit with a bunch of returns if this arm joint remains a weak link on the figure and causes problems. I included a pic with a comparison to a well used vintage Mego arm. Whatever plastic that utilized was able to hold up to the metal connector and the band tension for many years of play and not split. If there was a product suggestion box for these, I would definitely suggest a different, more resilient material for the upper arm.
I would also note that the pelvis has a warp to it that does not allow the legs to sit in the sockets at the same angles. This does not seem to be an issue with the bands and tension that are on these figures, tho it led to some leaning in earlier reMego bodies that had the same warp in the pelvis, but also had tighter bands. Interestingly enough, I think this warp started in the original Mego production, but seems to have gotten more pronounced with the recasts of the parts in recent product releases.
This is a comparison of a couple of Mego style parts. The grey one is from the Bif Bang Pow 6mdm line, the lighter one in the center is from this Spock, and the bottom one is a vintage Mego item. They all show a bit of the warp, tho the more modern ones are more pronounced. I am hoping that for upcoming releases, a completely new pelvis can be sculpted and this issue can disappear.
I have to say I am a bit sad to see the neck plug on the squish head go, as that is a bit of a defining Mego trait to me. Truthfully, this means that newMego will never be confused with vintage. But, they cannot be mixed and mashed either.
The cloth goods are fantastic, and I really like the use of the micro velcro to hold things together. Much smoother than some of the giant snaps of old and leads to a better presentation for the figure. Both the Kirk tunic and Spocks are nicely tailored and fit the figures well. The emblems are screened on and are sharp and good looking. The knife accessory is also spot on for a Mego style piece of vacuum cleaner food.
I have honestly not done an a/b for the belt, phaser, and communicator; tho I did note that they do not seem to have any markings on them to indicate where/when they were made.
I was also hoping that this Spock had a sculpted goatee, but I must say that the painted one does a fine job of giving us the evil alter-ego Spock from another dimension.
All in all - I am (again) super excited to see Mego back in stores, and also to see the Trek line continued. I eagerly anticipate the next waves of figures.
Before I start with my dissection of Spock, I do have to make a disclaimer. I am totally thrilled that MEGO is making new toys and new 8" figures with cloth goods for people to collect and kids to play with. I have followed along all of the recent ReMego type figures and have enjoyed what all of these modern companies have risked equity to bring to us, the MEGO collectors. Big thanks to those that are continuing to make these things for us to enjoy and to inspire our kids and future generations with playtime and fun. And a special big thanks to Marty Abrams and Doc Mego (and everyone else involved) for persevering and getting the MEGO brand back into stores.
I broke open the set and took Spock apart to see how these newMego bodies compared to previous incarnations. They are definitely not vintage. Closest to Doc's EMCE bodies, tho they seem to have taken a step backward from the very last bodies that EMCE used for the Universal Monsters and the Penny Dreadful figures.
Exploded Spock pics. A general layout of the newMego body. The most noticeable change is the new torso with the neck attachment plug. Another notable change, tho a bit less conspicuous is the use of a rubber sink gasket type band to attach the arms and legs. There is no metal attachment at the hip pin, the band loops around the pin. There is still a metal connector for the arm, tho.
This is a bit of a concern for me. This softer vinyl plastic used for the arms is the same or similar to the Doc Mego bodies used for Bif Bang Pow, Universal Monsters, Diamond Trek, and others. I had numerous issues with my eMCe Trek figures arms breaking due to the bands pulling the metal connectors thru the softer vinyl. This seemed especially bad with the color plastics used with figures like Gorn or Mugato. The banding on those figures was also extremely tight, which often stretched the arm connection hole until it split. I eventually just restrung each of those type bodies when I got them to keep the arms from having problems, especially because my kids were playing with them and they were not staying in the package or sitting in a static display on a shelf. I think the new band puts less tension on this joint, which will help with this issue, but I really hope that Target stores are not hit with a bunch of returns if this arm joint remains a weak link on the figure and causes problems. I included a pic with a comparison to a well used vintage Mego arm. Whatever plastic that utilized was able to hold up to the metal connector and the band tension for many years of play and not split. If there was a product suggestion box for these, I would definitely suggest a different, more resilient material for the upper arm.
I would also note that the pelvis has a warp to it that does not allow the legs to sit in the sockets at the same angles. This does not seem to be an issue with the bands and tension that are on these figures, tho it led to some leaning in earlier reMego bodies that had the same warp in the pelvis, but also had tighter bands. Interestingly enough, I think this warp started in the original Mego production, but seems to have gotten more pronounced with the recasts of the parts in recent product releases.
This is a comparison of a couple of Mego style parts. The grey one is from the Bif Bang Pow 6mdm line, the lighter one in the center is from this Spock, and the bottom one is a vintage Mego item. They all show a bit of the warp, tho the more modern ones are more pronounced. I am hoping that for upcoming releases, a completely new pelvis can be sculpted and this issue can disappear.
I have to say I am a bit sad to see the neck plug on the squish head go, as that is a bit of a defining Mego trait to me. Truthfully, this means that newMego will never be confused with vintage. But, they cannot be mixed and mashed either.
The cloth goods are fantastic, and I really like the use of the micro velcro to hold things together. Much smoother than some of the giant snaps of old and leads to a better presentation for the figure. Both the Kirk tunic and Spocks are nicely tailored and fit the figures well. The emblems are screened on and are sharp and good looking. The knife accessory is also spot on for a Mego style piece of vacuum cleaner food.
I have honestly not done an a/b for the belt, phaser, and communicator; tho I did note that they do not seem to have any markings on them to indicate where/when they were made. I was also hoping that this Spock had a sculpted goatee, but I must say that the painted one does a fine job of giving us the evil alter-ego Spock from another dimension.
All in all - I am (again) super excited to see Mego back in stores, and also to see the Trek line continued. I eagerly anticipate the next waves of figures.
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