You may notice that the focus of this Star Trek toy blog is specifically on the line produced by Playmates Toys. This may seem a bit anachronistic since Playmates Toys has not produced any new Star Trek merchandise since the failed 2009 movie line, and even more so since the focus is going to continue to be on the 4.5" figure line that hasn't seen a new release since the Target store exclusives in 1999. These facts are not in dispute. But, when it all comes down to it, the immediate association I make when I think of "Star Trek" and "toys" will always be the 4.5" Playmates series.
There are, of course, the Galoob figures I mentioned in my very first post. And in the mid-late 2000's I was an avid collector of the Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys figures. But, as anachronistic as the 90's era 4.5" Playmates figures seem, the reality now is that there have not been any new Diamond Select Toys Star Trek figures since 2010.
At some point after Star Trek Into Darkness was released and there was almost no related merchandise I recognized that Diamond Select Toys was not going to be making any new Star Trek figures any time soon, if ever again. I thought about my collection of Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys figures, and realized that I had no real attachment to them. Moreover, they were taking up a lot of space and represented a significant financial investment that was yielding no return for me.
As I thought about my Star Trek toy collection I realized that I had 3 different scales of figures (4.5" and 9" Playmates and 7" Art Asylum/Diamond Select) and nowhere, between all 3 scales, did I have all 5 series' crews completely represented. Playmates had lost the license before Enterprise existed, and Diamond Select barely finished its Deep Space Nine series before fading away meaning that there was zero representation of Voyager. I got the idea in my head to sell my Art Asylum/Diamond Select collection, and couldn't get the idea of out my head.
In the end I was just so disappointed in what had happened as Art Asylum transitioned to Diamond Select Toys. What had started as a highly accurate, incredibly sculpted and detailed, "high end" line of figures had lost its prestige as the line limped along. The progression is most obvious with the Nemesis / First Contact style uniform figures.
Art Asylum started with Enterprise and Nemesis in 2001. The Nemesis Captain Picard figure lacked some articulation, but was an incredible sculpt clearly showing the benefits of digital scanning.
When Diamond Select Toys picked up a few years later and started releasing figures from Star Trek: The Next Generation it added some articulation, but lost some focus on the details.
As you can see from Commander Riker, gone are the details on the cuffs and hem of the jacket. The uniform looks like a jumpsuit rather than a separate jacket and pants, and doesn't quite match with the style of the Picard figure. When Diamond Select Toys' series 2 came out with Picard from First Contact, the figure kept in a similar style to Riker and Worf from series 1, but changed the color of the command uniform.
While I had been waiting for over a decade to see Captain Picard in his captain's vest realized in figure form, the reality was a bit disappointing. I recognize that the costume designer changed the color of the command tunic from the brighter red in First Contact to a deeper wine color for Nemesis, but to have the figures standing next to each other was more than a little frustrating from a line supposedly so focused on the discerning tastes of collectors. Moreover, the Diamond Select Toys' Picards all seemed far too large in comparison to the other characters.
Things got worse as the Diamond Select Toys line went on. Series 3 featuring Data and LaForge were suddenly scaled down in comparison to series 1 and 2. There were reports that the factory in which they were produced accidentally scaled the final production model to 90% of what it was supposed to be, but this "90%" scale became the standard going forward. The Nemesis Data, LaForge, and Crusher that were eventually released added a third style of design that removed the zipper detailing completely from the jackets and had the ribbing detail on the shoulders that seemed somewhere in between the Art Asylum Picard and series 1 Riker and Worf.
When the first wave of Deep Space Nine figures came out they were in line with Data, LaForge, and Crusher, but again trying to put the Nemesis Worf figure alongside Sisko and Dax seemed out of place.
During the 2014 Christmas season I started the process of selling my Art Asylum/Diamond Select 7" scale figures. I figured (no pun intended) that I would have better luck during the holiday season as collectors and those looking to buy gifts for collectors would increase their spending compared to other points in the year. My assumption proved correct - overall I think I made more than I had initially spent on the figures over the years. While I may have taken a loss on a few figures here and there, other figures that were rarer or more in demand more than made up for that loss.
What was somewhat surprising were the messages I got from buyers during the course of the auctions. Many were asking about specific figures that had already been sold, but others were curious as to why I had decided to part with figures that they were so interested in acquiring for themselves. I have seen a few collectors over the years who suddenly sell off large portions of their collections when unexpected circumstances in life necessitate bringing in additional money in a short amount of time, but that was not the case for me. Obviously I was happy to have more money coming in, but to this day I still have no regrets in getting rid of that portion of my collection.
And so after clearing out the 7" scale figures from my collection the focus returned to the 4.5" Playmates figures. Of course all through this I have continued in other toy collecting pursuits such as G.I. Joe, Star Wars, and Marvel. Without a new TV series and in between movies, Star Trek sometimes fades in to the background of my interests. But, every now and then something will reignite the spark and stir some new interest for a time.
The 50th Anniversary of Star Trek hasn't received a whole lot of pomp and circumstance yet, but I am curious to see what may come in 2016. With Star Trek Beyond coming this summer and no mention of new Star Trek product at Toy Fair in February I highly doubt we will see a Star Trek toy renaissance. But, with the new CBS All Access series premiering in 2017 I cannot help but be reminded of Spock's words in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan...
"There are always... possibilities."
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