Retro Trek...Prices have gone crazy?

[tllgn]

Interesting ,just a few years and people are charging a ransom ,and the playmates figures of the 90s are cheap as snot .i bought 3
sets of these retro mego star trek figures ,one set is put away,another is wall art,and the third set is loose ,to look at .there were 21 figures in
this line ,i should hope that diamond /emce will do more for the 50th anniverary of star trek ,would love more.

[tllgn]

i also bought the bridge,and a couple extras ,i had to buy another sulu because the first one didnt have rank,and still have a couple Khans .

[TheNewGiJoeWithKungFuGrip]

I found Captain Pike and The Salt Vampire for $20 and $21 each, respectively, at a local comic shop in Tyler, Texas. Capt. Picard was also there for $20, So I bought him. They also had 3 Borg figures for $18.

[SKotK]

I found Captain Pike and The Salt Vampire for $20 and $21 each, respectively, at a local comic shop in Tyler, Texas. Capt. Picard was also there for $20, So I bought him. They also had 3 Borg figures for $18.

Finding things like this locally is the best way to go.

I spent a week in Tyler, Texas back in 2003, and the Space Shuttle blew up over my head...

--SKot

[Denny Crane]

So...were these under-ordered or severely limited production from the get go? Made to order? I find it crazy that new repros are fetching as much (or more) than the original Mego sets.

[SKotK]

So...were these under-ordered or severely limited production from the get go? Made to order? I find it crazy that new repros are fetching as much (or more) than the original Mego sets.

In the grand scheme of things, the EMCE ST repros are undoubtedly much fewer in number than the original Megos. Back in the day, it seemed like every kid had them (except me!), production was on a massive level, and they were going for a good number of years with product in all the major chain stores, all the Christmas catalogs, and with advertisements all over the TV. You can see by the number of them still out there (particularly all the sealed ones) that they were very plentiful.

By contrast, the EMCE repros were done on a smaller scale, only available from select dealers, and not very widely publicized. Plus, they are a niche market, mainly appealing to guys who had them when they were kids, as well as a number of younger Classic Trek superfans...but on the whole, not a large group. So if you were to add up the numbers, the production runs for EMCE ST would have to be extremely small in comparison.

Basically, the repros ARE in fact rarer than the originals. Should that make them worth more? Not in my book. They're awesome, but they can never touch the original Mego line.

--SKot

[DSTZach]

Well, the repros weren't advertised on TV or anything, but they were advertised to the collector market they were intended for, in Previews and ToyFare and probably other toy publications, and possibly even Trek comics -- I was only with DST for the last couple of assortments, but I know we've done ads in IDW books.

I believe some of the early repros were in Toys R Us, so those were made in higher numbers, but still not as many as the originals. Later figures were manufactured based on orders from the specialty market, including Hastings, online retailers, and toy and comic shops around the world, so there may still be quantities in other countries. Runs were not limited to those orders, but the size of the orders certainly influenced how many extras we made.

Plus, the new and updated figures means you've got vintage AND repro. collectors looking for those, and if they're packaging completists, they might just want to get everything anyway.

[tllgn]

^^thanks zach ,is it possible the new releases will have screen printed emblems like they did for the big bang theory Star trek figures.those
emblems looked fantastic .

[Blue Meanie]

Don't think the EMCE Treks ever made it to Toys R Us...they were at Hastings with an exclusive with the Kahn figure. I think Diamond had the EMCE line throughout the existence of the line.

[SKotK]

Well, the repros weren't advertised on TV or anything, but they were advertised to the collector market they were intended for, in Previews and ToyFare and probably other toy publications, and possibly even Trek comics -- I was only with DST for the last couple of assortments, but I know we've done ads in IDW books.

Yeah, they definitely were well-advertised to the specialty/collector's market. But I don't think the average Joe usually knew much about it...which is understandable, since the average Joe generally wasn't going to care anyway.

I believe some of the early repros were in Toys R Us, so those were made in higher numbers, but still not as many as the originals. Later figures were manufactured based on orders from the specialty market, including Hastings, online retailers, and toy and comic shops around the world, so there may still be quantities in other countries. Runs were not limited to those orders, but the size of the orders certainly influenced how many extras we made.

I didn't know TRU carried the repros at all. Interesting...and it would definitely have given the repros more exposure. But I'm betting TRU, if they carried them, weren't all that thrilled with the sales figures for such a niche item and probably dropped them. They're used to moving product on a more massive level.

Plus, the new and updated figures means you've got vintage AND repro. collectors looking for those, and if they're packaging completists, they might just want to get everything anyway.

Like me! Well, I'm not really so much a packaging completist in this case. I just want to have all the original Megos for nostalgia's sake, and all the new versions for the sake of having a complete run. I did skip the Next Generation ones, though (well, I actually bought the two figures for friends of mine who are more into TNG than TOS, but didn't pick them up for myself). And the only reason I'd buy the newer reissues again is if I felt they were superior to the first run figures (as in non-painted faces, or improved design)...or if there were new characters.

I imagine the completists who bought silver armband error Spock as well as the gold version, and Tricorder Kirk as well as the regular one will probably buy at least one of every variation regardless...including whatever redundant figures come out for 2016.

--SKot

[TrekStar]

Well you know something definitely is going to happen in 2016 being the 50th anniversary year,
I'm guessing EMCE DST has something in the works as we speak, probably E E as well.

[DSTZach]

Well you know something definitely is going to happen in 2016 being the 50th anniversary year,
I'm guessing EMCE DST has something in the works as we speak, probably E E as well.

We've pretty much announced what were doing, which is reissuing most of the repros, plus the playset, plus a couple of new figure variations.

And maybe the figures were not at TRU. If they did, I thought it was just Kirk and Spock, but I'll have to check.

[PNGwynne]

The early figures were definitely at Blockbuster. I don't recall TRU.

Zach, will the reissues, incl. the Bridge, have variant details?

[hedrap]

The first run of EMCE Trek got a massive boost for being advertised on a lot of the Trek reboot material, which was found in TRU. I became aware of it by flipping over a TOS phaser or something and seeing the "retro cloth" figures plug.

[daz71]

will sulu and chekov be reissued?