Why wasn't the Enterprise Bridge more show accurate?

[Mr.Marion]

The lack of grey and red I guess would be my problem with it. The yellow really makes it look cartoony.

[enyawd72]

If I had to guess I'd say it was because grey toys are kind of boring...they probably made it more colorful to appeal to kids. Or, it could be because the entire toyline resembled the cartoon more than the live action show.

Actually, that entire playset looks more like the arcade inside a Chuck E. Cheese's...LOL

[Mikey]

Strangely, the only thing they did get right is the pattern under the captain's chair representing the middle step-platform.

[Mr.Marion]

If I had to guess I'd say it was because grey toys are kind of boring...they probably made it more colorful to appeal to kids. Or, it could be because the entire toyline resembled the cartoon more than the live action show.

Actually, that entire playset looks more like the arcade inside a Chuck E. Cheese's...LOL

Yeah before watching the filmation cartoon I assumed alot of designs were based off that. But there isn't a Clown Talosian, Jimi Hendrix Mugato, or Aquatic Neptunian in that either.
I understand playsets don't have match the source material but their Batcave had many call backs to the TV show.
I'm trying to think of what would make the bridge better and I would have changed the color scheme and had railings on the mat painting instead of whatever the hell those stripes are.

[VintageJoe70]

Slightly O/T, but I wish Playmates had done a bridge set accurate to the old tv show to go with the set of small figures they did from the original show...Instead of everything being STTNG...

[hedrap]

My first guess is the outside dictated the inside. So blue wins. Secondly, if you compare the playset to this angle...



...it sorta lines up. But it's really damn boring. So the problem to me, has always been that with a set known for it's backward shooting direction, they chose a forward design. I'm guessing that's due to the JLA/Superfiends design where nothing is going on behind the team as they stare at the monitor.

The playset should have been based on the shot angle you show, plus a giant viewscreen slot-holder connecting to the console. Instead they went forward, realized it doesn't look like "The Bridge" and decided to turn the different panels into a collage of stations. Almost like they're banking on a kid to visualize the shot and not look at the set as a whole. It's apparent they weren't aware of the 180 Degree Rule in cinematography.

[enyawd72]

I've never found Star Trek to be particularly toyetic, unless they're exploring a strange planet and run into some cool aliens.

But the bridge? I mean, it's a bunch of people sitting around at work stations doing basically nothing. Makes for a pretty darn boring toy.

Now the Mission to Gamma VI set, that's another story!

[TrekStar]

I think they did okay, considering it was mid 1970's, plus mego never made Sulu and Chekov so there station was non
existing. The view for the kids was facing Kirk and what was behind him, Spock on the left and Uhra on the right.

Of course Scotty would be in or next to the transporter and well I guess Dr. McCoy needed to be some where.

What would have been cool, is if mego made a second level under the bridge and divided it between engineering
and sick bay, now you have a place for Scotty to hang out, say the transporter and table and chair and then a
chair desk and bed in sick bay.

Even better, a lift elevator that fitted one figure and a gadget that kids turned to go up and down between floors,
of course this would have cost more during the 70's inflation crisis, but I bet it would have been a big seller
at Christmas time, what something like that would be worth today, I know I would have it.

[jwyblejr]

^Almost sounds like the prototype second version that was posted on here awhile back.

[sprytel]

That's how I have them displayed in my display case. Top shelf is the bridge, second shelf is engineering, third shelf is sick bay, and fourth shelf is the transporter room. As a kid, I would have loved a "Wayne Foundation" style playset like that.

That said... I loved the Mego playset. As a kid, the colors and designs of the playset were no more problematic to me than the light blue phasers and tricorders. It was just part of the toy aesthetic.

[warlock664]

Why wasn't the Enterprise Bridge more show accurate?

Because it was a toy, not a screen-accurate replica.

[SKotK]

^Almost sounds like the prototype second version that was posted on here awhile back.

Ah, you mean this one:

Star Trek Enterprise Bridge 2 prototype (1977).jpg

Yes, that would have been truly amazing. I can't see the design being practical enough to become a final toy, though. But I'd have loved it.

It's my understanding that in addition to the influence of the cartoon, Mego went with the odd colors (regardless of their inaccuracy) to make the toy more bright and appealing to children. Probably the same logic that applied to the blue and red phasers: blue is good guys, red is bad guys. Inaccurate, but simple and to the point. I think this choice even went so far as to influence Azrak-Hamway to produce some of their normally black Phaser Water Guns in the same blue that Mego did, as seen here:

Star Trek phaser water gun (blue) mib 2.jpg

Of course, then you have children like me who despised this inaccuracy and thought of it as a cop-out (I made sure to get the black Phaser Water Pistol). But I suppose we were the exception. And it didn't stop me from seeing Mego commercials on TV and wanting that bridge playset more than anything else in the world at the time!

--SKot

[Spyweb007]

The layout is pretty good, the blue is a good choice to add some color as opposed to grey. I think that replacing the bright orange and pink stripes with black would have made it look pretty close for a toy from that era. Would have been great if there was another set with engineering and sick bay, made in the same shape to add to it.

[megoat]

Why wasn't the Enterprise Bridge more show accurate?

Because it was a toy, not a screen-accurate replica.

Exactly. Fretting about things like "screen accuracy" or "comic book accuracy" with vintage toys sorta misses the whole point. I'll never understand folks who see things like these as faults. It's often because of these inaccuracies that makes vintage toy collecting so appealing in the first place. I'd leave things like "accuracy" up to modern toys-made-as-collectibles companies like Sideshow or Hot Toys or whatever....

[Nostalgiabuff]

the design never bothered me as a kid and certainly does not bother me now. I love it and have always loved this play set. it is a lot of fun and that is all that really matters