Production item number information needed on Lt. Uhura

[wyldpny]

I was looking at the item numbers for the carded Star Trek 6 face figures and noticed that they go in order from Kirk Item No. 51200/1, Spock Item No. 51200/2, Dr. McCoy Item No. 51200/3... and then Scottie jumps to Item No. 51200/5 with the Klingon rounding out the sequence as item No. 51200/7. The later released Lt. Uhura is Item No. 51200/4.
Was it possible that the release of the Lt. Uhura figure was delayed which is why her number is 4 and not 6?
We know that she was the first and only Star Trek female Mego produced, and an African/American figure to boot even though it doesn't look like her.
So I am wondering if maybe the production process for Uhura took longer than originally anticipated and Mego decided to release the now famous "five face" cards with just the five faces on the front and back of the card of those available as an interim during the short time before her eventual release?

And BTW, what ever happened to item No. 51200/6 ?? Though we know that later this item number was given to the Klingon Sears catalog mailer, one can only wonder if this was originally a proposed figure that was never produced?

Thanks for any help in clearing this up

Steve

[The Toyroom]

I've often wondered that myself...

[livnxxxl]

Interesting. I would like to know that myself. Good catch!

[Sideshow Spock]

This person's site says the "rumor" was Uhura was later only made due to complaints from women's groups:

http://members.aol.com/JWKearse/MEGO/html/Mego1.htm

[wyldpny]

OK, if we were to consider this "rumor" as a possible answer I have two thoughts.
One: Is the rumor about the womans groups complaining because there was no female figure slated to be produced and so womans groups started to complain (since the womans movement was big in the late 60's and into the 70") and so Mego under this pressure decided to produce and release an Uhura figure late in the line up? If so then that doesn't explain the item number oddity being #4 on Uhura with the earlier released Scott and then Klingon actually having item numbers after Uhura.

Two: What if Uhura was going to be produced and then Mego for some reason changed their mind and was going to shelve the idea. When the womans groups found out they started to complain. This would make more sense as it would better explain the item production number oddity. If this is possibly the case then that would mean that the backer cards had already been at least designed to the point where it was cheaper for Mego to go ahead release them with the item numbers unchanged.

I don't know though on this womans group rumor. I think I would need more on that one before I would give it much weight.

[megoscott]

That's a ridiculous, unsubstantiated statement, in my opinion. Women's groups had more important things to do that complain about Mego Star Trek toys in the mid 70s. That kind of thing is much more 1990s.

[rchatlin]

I believe Mego intentionally left gaps in the numbering to allow for expansion.

Other lines skip a digit as well.

r
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[Sideshow Spock]

That's a ridiculous, unsubstantiated statement, in my opinion.

Yeah, if it had a basis in fact, you'd think the subject would have come up in an interview or panel discussion over the years, and I can't find any evidence of that.

[palitoy]

I've heard this rumour in the 80's except that it was the NAACP, I don't know who comes up with this stuff.

I heard it from a "Former Mego Employee" who also claimed that Virdon and Burke were reused to make Starsky and Hutch. Genius!

My best guess is Uhura must have been stalled in production somehow.

[apes3978]

I heard it from a "Former Mego Employee" who also claimed that Virdon and Burke were reused to make Starsky and Hutch. Genius!

That same rumor actually was on one of the POTA TV series discussion groups as well... It took me several times (and another memeber jumping in to back me up) to convince those people that they were totally different figures...

[Hulk]

I've never heard a rumor of that nature. The fact that page was originally written in 1997 before the museum existed in its current format is probably why.