Custom Figure - Captain Jean-Luc Picard Season One

And now, as teased far too long, I will start posting my custom Star Trek Figures. 

While I attempted a few custom figures back in the mid - late 90's during the Playmates run, none of those early attempts were really successful enough for me to keep them in my collection.  The real genesis of my current custom figure collection, and by extension the idea for this blog, started with the Blu Ray release of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 2012.  

At the time I remember thinking that it was odd to see people get excited about the release given how universally disliked the first season of Next Generation is.  And while I did not purchase the Blu Ray myself, it did cause me to go back and rewatch that first season on Netflix to see if it was a bad as I remembered.  Make no mistake - I loved those early episodes when they first aired, but as I grew older and would catch them in reruns over the years it's pretty clear that for every great episode like "Encounter at Farpoint" there is a "Code of Honor".

That being said, the first and second seasons were not as bad overall as I remember them being.  This got me thinking about how excited I was by The Next Generation in those early days and how much I enjoyed my small collection of Galoob figures.  As I started thinking about picking up the season one and two uniform figures from the Playmates line that I had skipped over when initially released, an idea popped in to my head.  I looked over my Playmates toys collection and thought about the childhood joy of those few Galoob figures, and I thought about how thrilled my six year old self would be to have so many figures at his disposal.  At that moment I decided not just to pick up those few missing figures, but to also pick up enough custom fodder to make them in to versions of the figures that corrected many of the "mistakes" I saw from Playmates Toys. 

And so, of course, I needed to start with Captain Jean Luc Picard.

The season one and two uniform Captain Picard figure features the same Picard head used on pretty much every Picard figure throughout the line.  The torso is shared with the season one and two Lieutenant Commander Data, and is pretty much spot on.  I had to look closely at a few different Picard figures to determine if it was a unique torso or the same as Data's because the fourth rank pip seems to be three-dimensional and not just painted on as is the case with many parts reuses.   I still can't tell if it's a slight retool or just extremely well painted, but it looks good enough for me not to be bothered by it so that's what counts. 

From the waist down the figure is a mess.  While the high collar added to the uniforms in season three was the most obvious improvement to the costume, there are other key details that I wanted to get right. 

Two of the biggest features of the season one and two uniforms are the fact that it is clearly a one piece jumpsuit, and the department color coded piping around the yokes on the hem of the pants.  Unfortunately, the retail release of Captain Picard in his first and second season uniform does not have either of these features.  

A main reason for the inaccuracy of the figure is that it reuses the waist and legs of the first series Picard figure.  The "captain's jacket" Picard figure has the belt molded on to the waist, and the very obvious bell bottom trousers instead of the triangular yoke.  So, in order to make myself an accurate season one and two Captain Picard it was time to boil and pop. 

The waist and upper legs came from a Voyager figure - I couldn't tell you which one but it was the same "buck" shared between Tuvok, Tom Paris, The Doctor, and Lieutenant Carey.  This waist piece removed the "belt" of the later Next Generation uniform, and added an extra point of articulation on the leg.  The lower legs came from season one Geordi La Forge to add the proper red piping around the yoke of the pants. 

One of my other complaints about the early Playmates' figures is the "action" poses that many figures are sculpted with.  While some like Riker and Worf are much more extreme than others, the later Deep Space Nine and Voyager figures really captured a good neutral and static stance without making the figures too straight and rigid.  I really didn't want to have to go through all the trouble of repainting the black Voyager uniform arms to match the command red of the Next Generation uniforms, especially if that meant painting articulated joints at the elbow that are notorious for causing paint rub.  Instead, I discovered that I could flip around an additional left shoulder and put it on the right shoulder joint to create a more neutral "arms at the side" pose.

Here is the final comparison between my custom figure (left) and the production figure (right).

Of course one of the other things that I learned during my journey back in to Star Trek figure collecting and customizing is that one can acquire figures very cheaply online.  My pretty standard guideline is that if I can't get a particular figure for less than $5 shipped, I'll wait until I can find it cheaper.  Of course a lot of times I'll get a larger lot of figures where the price per figure ends up being $5 or less.  

As a quick recap of how I made this figure:
-  Season one and two Captain Picard
-  Voyager male waist and upper legs
-  Season one Geordi La Forge lower legs
-  Additional Season one and two Captain Picard for left shoulder 

Let me know what you think in the comments!  

Playmates Toys Top Five

After resurrecting this blog from limbo I felt the need to provide a bit more context and setup before I go straight in to the (hopefully) regular posting of custom figures.  Part of what kept me from getting pictures taken and ready for posting was a certain level of dissatisfaction in how the pictures turned out as compared to a lot of other bloggers and toy site postings.  But, partly for the purposes of this blog and partly for my continued eBay sales, I decided to finally invest in the mini photo studio that I have wanted for a while.  

It's nothing extravagant, but after my little photo shoot today I am very pleased with it.  

As a final lead up before I start posting about custom figures, I wanted to share a bit about some of my favorite 4.5" scale Start Trek figures that Playmates Toys produced.  Maybe it's because High Fidelity is one of my favorite movies, but a top 5 seemed like a reasonable number to capture some of what made these Playmates figures so much fun.  These are not necessarily in any particular order, and the figures aren't necessarily perfect, but before we enter in to the world of trying to achieve greater perfection through customization I think it's important to explore some of what I think makes a great figure.  

Captain Jean-Luc Picard - Star Trek: The Next Generation Series 1 (1991 - 1992)

Right there in the first series of Playmates figures, the first action figure release of Captain Picard will always rank as one of my favorites.  Partly because the "captain's jacket" is emblematic of some of the very best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes - "Darmok" and "The Inner Light", and partly because this figure captured all the details of that uniform so perfectly.  Of course, one of my favorite parts of this figure is the sculpting of the right hand to represent the iconic "engage" gesture.  

The figure's accessories are pretty basic, but suit the character appropriately.  The decision to include a Type I phaser whereas other figures include a Type II phaser seems to me a nod to the more diplomatic nature of Picard's command style.  One of the best things about these accessories is that they are a more realistic silver and not the orange, green, or fuchsia of so many other figures' accessories.  

Of course one of the more interesting accessories is the "Captain's Log" booklet.  This little pamphlet unfolds to a single page, front and back, that relays the story of "Unification Parts I & II" in a pretty straightforward young adult style.  It's interesting that they chose "Unification" and not "Darmok" since Picard appeared in this uniform in the latter, and the story with Dathon at El-Adrel was a much more Picard-centric episode.

I'm pretty sure that this figure was released before "The Inner Light" was aired on TV, and even if it wasn't I'm sure that the figure was already in production before "The Inner Light".  Nonetheless, it would have been nice for a later released Picard figure to include Kamin's Ressikan flute.   

Lieutenant Commander Worf - Strategic Operations Officer, Deep Space Nine - Star Trek "Unified" Series Wave 4 (1996)

There is little doubt that 1996, as the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek, was the greatest height of Star Trek related products available to collectors.  With both Deep Space Nine and Voyager on TV, Star Trek: First Contact in theaters, and Paramount's marketing machine running at full speed to mark the anniversary it was definitely the best year for Playmates' Star Trek line.  After starting with Star Trek: The Next Generation, Playmates released the Classic Star Trek boxed set followed by newly branded lines for Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  With 30th Anniversary logos on the front of the packages, Playmates pulled all 4 series under a single "unified" branding and started releasing waves that contained characters representing all 4 series.  

The character of Lieutenant Commander Worf joined the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine at the beginning of the series' fourth season with the two part "The Way of the Warrior".  While people's opinions of Worf's addition to the cast are mixed, I felt that they were able to integrate the character in to the series in a way that made sense and that added new dimensions to the storytelling possibilities of the series.  All the way through until the end of the 7th season we got an even more in depth look in to Klingon culture, but still had plenty of room to explore the Bajorans, Cardassians, Ferengi, and Dominion.  

This version of Worf was released during the summer of 1996, prior to the premiere of Star Trek: First Contact that fall.  As such, Worf wore the red shouldered Deep Space Nine uniform that represented his new role as Strategic Operations officer through season 4 and the first half of season 5 before the series switched to the grey and black "First Contact" style uniforms.  As much as I enjoyed "The Way of the Warrior", it was really "The Sword of Kahless" that made me so happy to get a figure of Worf in his Deep Space Nine uniform.  

This figure is still a bit bigger and more stylized than other human figures, but not so exaggerated as the first Star Trek: The Next Generation series Worf figure.  Worf has a fantastic new head sculpt that captures his ponytail and slightly altered prosthetic from Star Trek: Generations and beyond.  The Lieutenant Commander rank pips are well defined, as are the updated crests on his baldric.  And most importantly, even though it was released in fuchsia or purple, Worf comes with his new signature mek'leth. 

This Worf figure would be slightly retooled and released again in 1999 as part of the Target exclusive "Starfleet Command" line, and is just as awesome a figure.  It makes one wonder if Playmates might have done a little better if it had released these figures instead of the 6" scale First Contact  line that fared little better than the ill-fated Generations movie line.  

Captain James T. Kirk Wearing Captain's Casual Attire - Star Trek "Unified" Series Wave 4 (1996)

The release of the Classic Star Trek boxed set with all seven of the main characters was one of the greatest things Playmates Toys ever did, and it's hard to pick out any single figure in the set as a favorite when all are so well done.  With the new unified branding in 1996 Playmates began to go back and explore the Original Series (Classic Star Trek) with some fantastic figures like Yeoman Rand and Nurse Chapel in the first series (Wave 3).  Along with the Worf figure featured above, Wave 4 also brought us the first single carded Captain Kirk from the Original Series.  

Sharing the same head, arms, and legs as the boxed set Captain Kirk, the torso is really the only new part of this figure.  But just as the green wraparound uniform was so distinctive on screen, the new torso depicting the seasons 2 and 3 wraparound tunic give this figure such new life.  Just as some of the best Picard episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation feature the "captain's jacket", so too does the green wraparound uniform represent a particular feeling and sense of character for Captain Kirk. 

Obviously one of the most iconic episodes of the original Star Trek is "The Trouble With Tribbles". And as great as the original episode is, the 30th Anniversary tribute done by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in "Trials and Tribble-ations" was just as memorable.  As you can tell, the figure just begs to be covered in cotton craft pom-pom tribbles.  

Captain Kirk came with the same phaser and communicator as the Classic Star Trek boxed set, the PADD previously introduced with Yeoman Rand, and the same tricorder that was released with the Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov figures in the Generations movie line.  The figure's tricorder is black along with the rest of the accessories, I just couldn't find it during the photo shoot so I substituted a blue Generations one rather than dig through the Rubbermaid tub full of accessories.  

Mister Spock as Seen in the First Pilot Episode "The Cage" - Star Trek "Unified" Series Wave 5 (1996)

 I can't quite explain my fascination with "The Cage".  At some point in the mid 1980's my dad signed up to receive the entire Star Trek series "Collector's Edition" VHS tapes.  Every month for a few years we would receive a new VHS tape containing two episodes.  And at the end, when we had received all the VHS tapes, "The Cage" was not included.  According to Wikipedia "The Cage" was long thought lost until an original print was discovered in 1986, and was finally aired on broadcast television in 1988.  I remember as a kid renting the VHS from our local movie store in the summers, feeling like I had found something rare and mysterious.  A few years ago I even bought on eBay a poster advertising the release of "The Cage" on Laserdisc and Video Cassette.

I think part of my fascination with "The Cage" is how everything is similar to, but just a little different from, the Original Series.  Captain Pike, as portrayed by Jeffery Hunter, is somewhat of a mix between Kirk and Picard.  I love the muted colors of the bridge and the turtleneck style uniforms.  So when Wave 5 of the "unified" series of figures was primarily focused on "The Cage" I was understandably excited.  

The Captain Pike figure released in the series was disappointing compared to Spock, Vina, and the Talosian.  While Spock featured the same basic build as the Classic Star Trek box set figures, Pike was skinnier and somewhat out of place.  Combined with a highly inaccurate laser pistol and recycled classic communicator, and the overall exuberance of getting figures from "The Cage" was tempered a bit.  

Spock fared better than Captain Pike in figure form.  The same body would later be reused for the exclusive Scotty and Sulu from "Where No Man Has Gone Before", as well as the Captain Kirk that was included with the Classic Star Trek shuttlecraft toy.  The uniform collar more closely matches the turtleneck style of the second pilot costumes than the rolled neck style of "The Cage", but it still captures the overall feeling of the uniform.  Obviously there is the same disappointment in the lack of proper laser pistol and "Cage" style communicator, but the figure itself is still a fantastic representation of the original pilot episode.

If I ever get really brave and confident in my customizing ability I may try to give Spock a haircut to better capture his Caesar style, but nevertheless this is a figure I am happy to have in my collection. 

Lieutenant Saavik - Classic Star Trek Movie Series (1995)

One of the biggest tragedies of the Playmates Star Trek line is that the company never released a full set of the characters in the maroon movie uniforms featured in Star Trek II - VII.  Sure, we got Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov in the Generations movie line, but the reduced articulation and lack of details on the uniforms was a major disappointment.  Decisions like this, and examples of figures like a mutated Tom Paris or Picard from "Gambit" receiving entirely new tooling when "red movie uniform" figures were never produced, lead many to believe that an increasing number of missteps and missed opportunities was what inevitably caused the demise of the Playmates' line.  

But, through the darkness there remains one singular, shining beacon of light.  The Lieutenant Saavik figure as she appeared in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a perfectly executed figure from top to bottom.  The details of the uniform are perfect - the rank badge on the shoulder and sleeve, the black piping along the front and back seams of the jacket, and the button on the back of the rank tab were all details that the Generations figures lacked.  

The accessories, albeit bright blue, were also perfectly executed and not just a recycling of the same Classic Star Trek phaser and communicator.  While perhaps a bit oversized, the boxy communicator is a prefect realization of the movie prop.  The heavy tricorder looks great, and the phaser is pretty dead on.  Since Khan himself never wields one in the movie you can easily steal the silver phaser he comes packaged with to arm Saavik as she escorts a flag officer down to Regula I.  

There are other great figures in the Playmates line that, in my mind, require no customization or modification to be a perfect representation of the character in plastic.  Screen accurate uniforms, neutral stances, and reasonably captured likenesses are the most important considerations in my collection.  Most of my custom figures are attempts to correct one or more of those errors in the "official" release of a figure.  But, as I said before, a top five seems like a nice number to stick with.  

After this it's time to start customizing...