JJ Abrams' Star Trek Movie Toys

[samurainoir]

Looking back now, what factors do you think contributed to the Luke-warm reception of the Star Trek toys based on the latest movie?

As the original 8" Mego figures of the 70's and the 5" Playmates toys of the 90's, previous generations of Trek fans made both those brands big hits in their day.

Although we also have examples of Trek toys that did not do so well either... Mego's 3 3/4" movie figures, 12" figures and the Galoob Next Generation line.

However, both TMP figures and the initial Galoob NG figures at the time were not tied to a universally praised, and gigantic box office success like the Abrams movie.

Was it that they split the focus/formats into 3 3/4" and 6"? A lack of Aliens/Creatures?

[Hotfoot]

Good question. Overabundance of toys? Most classic and TNG fans our age did not seem interested in the movie or toys. Personally I enjoyed the Movie as I don't worry too much about continuity. They toys did nothing for me although I did pick up the Enterprise at Target on 75% clearance!

[boynightwing]

Terrible sculpts kept me away from them. Didn't look like the characters (barely anyway). Even when they were $3 each on clearance I still couldn't buy them. Also, I couldn't just get Kirk, Spock, and McKoy in their regular uniforms. McKoy had starfleet academy gear and Kirk and Spock didn't. It just didn't jive.

I did however buy the Enterprise for $12 at Winners. They at least got that right. I liked the new movie Enterprise.

[ironman1188]

The 12" were decent enough when clearanced. Good uniform and accessory fodder. the bodies, though improved over the earlier Playmates versions, they were still severely lacking by today's standards.

[johnmiic]

1. This ain't you grand-daddy's Trek. Fans don't want Abramsverse Trek likenesses. They want their original likenesses. I'll bet when the sequel comes out that even if the new toys are improved-they won't sell at all. Star Trek does not appeal to kids of today. Next Generation toys which started the Playmates trek reign appealed to adults and late teens. Not to kids.

2. That being said, Playmates must have hired blind monkeys to sculpt the 3 & 3/4 inch figures likenesses. While they are much improved in posability, the faces are pure garbage. They even lack the pseudo-animated style of their 5" figures from the 1990's which had a certain charm and recognizability.

A more viable plan for tie-in figures would have been to go back to the more articulated 5" classic body they developed; the ones where there was a split at the calf for better seating/posing. Darken the colors of the tunics to match the film and use new heads in that scale. It would have been cheaper. They should have hired the sculptor back who did head-sculpts for Generations and ST-TMP/STII. Those were some of the best likenesses ever done in that scale. Maybe with todays technology they could have done a better job of more properly scaled hands or even posable hands for those bodies in that scale.

[The Bat]

Absolutely HORRIBLE sculpts on the small Figures! On the 12" Figures...only McCoy & old Spock were decent.....they rest SUCKED!

[Tyme2tyme]

I bought the new phaser and tricorder (I've got a thing for Sci-Fi toy weapons) but the figures were terrible! The toy line seemed to be rushed out with little reguards to getting the sculpts accurate.

[Nostalgiabuff]

i bought a bunch for my son, who did like playing with them. I though the sculpts were awful and the lack of articulation really limited play. the hips were all funny.
the 6 inch were a bit better but still too tight at the hips. I did not bother with the 12 inch

[Godzilla]

The transporter was a big piece of crap. I bought 2 on clearance for my kids and I to play with and I could barely get them to work. Contrast that to the Playmates Transporter that my kids love since they can easily transport the figures. That's a great toy.

The movie line was too poorly done for collectors and not fun enough for kids.

[timb]

Over and above the bad sculpt factor, it seems like figures of this nature (toys of plain looking human beings like The New A-Team movie, etc.,) are doomed from the outset. There's just nothing that would make a kid gawk and want them.

I could have predicted those things were going to be peg warmers when first I laid eyes on them.

[Doc]

NO DECENT BAD GUYS NO Klingons, Romulans or New aliens.

PLAY SET SUCKED ROYALLY

[boynightwing]

You know how the figures were supposed to come with pieces of the bridge but you had to buy the floor for the bridge separately? Well in Canada the figures didn't come with any bridge parts and thus if you spent the money on the floor, that is literally all you got.

The Terminator Salvation toys were just as much a failure if I recall. Also Playmates? Maybe they should get in to a different market now that the Ninja Turtles are taking a break from being popular.

[torgospizza]

I agree completely with the posters that said the sculpts were bad. I didn't have too much of a problem with most of the 1/6 scaled guys, but Kirk looked nothing like the actor. Pike just looked like a generic middle aged white dude, which screams "excitement" to kids, right? The 3 3/4" figures were worse than Mego's 30 years ago. Also, like earlier stated, why weren't standard uniformed versions issued of all characters?

[MIB41]

I think the 12 inch figures looked too Barbie-esque. They had that 'Ken' quality to them that, I think, hurt the overall look. Now I did like the older Spock version and I got him. But the others looked like they should be having a barbecue at Barbie's pool.

[Earth 2 Chris]

My son liked the figures okay, but that's probably due to my influence. Besides the horrid sculpts, I think the bland packaging didn't help. But then, most toy packaging nowadays is pretty craptacular, and it all looks very similar.

Chris