18 replies to this topic

[reverie]

I just thought I'd throw this general question out there. I'm feeling more and more apathetic about it all as time goes by- between the on/off/on again/maybe off figures, the *years* of waiting after the original release date to finally see them arrive and the sometimes lack-of-quality that you may not expect from a $15 figure.

Now don't get me wrong- I'd love for DST to keep pumping out figures until all they could put out that was new would be an evolved Janeway and Paris slug 1701 set with little slug babies as the accessories. I just wouldn't want to wait until the next century.

So I guess what I'm looking for is a little "pick-me-up" and to try and get invigorated. Sure they've got lots of cool things coming (maybe)- but until then..

[sallah]

Speaking as someone who has collected ALOT of toys over the years, I actually kind of like the fact that the releases are very sporadic and sometimes unexpected...

For years, I collected Star Wars figures. I just recently gave it up. The reason being (other than the deteriorating quality of the prequel era) that I found myself buying out of habit and not out of enjoyment. I actually began to dread seeing what was coming each year and the amount I was going to spend, plus the aggravation of having to go out and find every exclusive, variant, or hard-to-find figure. I was buying figure after figure. "Oh, here's another Luke...but this one has a wrist swivel so it's different so I'm going to buy it". It was, in all seriousness, an illness.

I just forced myself to snap out of it. I took a step back and looked at my collecting and went 'what do I look forward to?' . What am I collecting that absolutely makes me excited with each new figure or each anticipated release? The answer to that was the Trek line, specifically classic.

Sure, the releases are few and far between. Yeah, there are some delays. But I'm getting stuff I've wanted for years WITH beautiful sculpts and great articulation. I have all the classic playmates stuff, but look at these sculpts! Regula 1 Kirk! Radiated Spock! Kor! Captain Terrel! Amok Time Spock! Khan in his dinner outfit! A GOOD Captain Pike!?!? Yes please! So we have a few Kirks...in most cases, each one is in a unique outfit. I'll take Kirk in a different outfit ANY DAY OF THE WEEK over Luke in his tatooine outfit for the 50th time.

And every time I get even a tidbit of news I'm salivating, because it's food to a starving man. If we had something new every week (like Star Wars) the releases to me wouldn't be as special and exciting. The way it is now, I literally can't wait to see Diamond's shipping list to see if something is coming next week or to see if Rick posts that he has a new exclusive coming in 6 months. Plus, no drving from store to store hunting. I know my comic shop or Rick will have it. And I can either just drive there and get it or have it sent to me.

So I love the Trek line, warts and all. It's rapidly becoming the ONLY line I collect (if I can somehow get off this 25th G.I.Joe line train I seem to have boarded) and I couldn't be happier.

Sallah

[Jedigreedo]

I was a huge fan of the Playmates line years ago, especially as I was a kid and they offered so many versions of the characters, as well as wonderfully random ones. I stopped collecting them due to them being more expensive than Star Wars figures around 1995-1996, and Star Wars was releasing so much at the time. When I looked back at the history of Playmates to possibly recollect the line, I was disappointed to see that it got something of an abrupt end around Voyager's time and didn't release too much from it and DS9, most notably the lack of gray-shoulder uniformed figures aside from Target's line, which wasn't complete (and I didn't like the larger FC line).

When DST announced it's Trek line a year or two afterwards, I was amazed with the likeness of Riker and Worf but wasn't sure if I wanted to attempt to collect such an expensive line (compared to Star Wars figures). As they released the Troi/Picard line, and I quickly fell into the Stargate line, I eventually succumbed after Geordi and Data were released. It was then I really took notice as to how much Trek stuff they had released, and it's only increased very nicely since then. I was quite pleased with the amount of detail and work that went into them, and none of them were action-posed like the Playmates figures (seriously, Playmates' Riker pose was annoying after awhile). Since then I've looked forward to future releases, and hope they make as much as possible, especially of uniformed figures. Granted, I'd love to see more alien characters, but am happy with the majority being uniform variations as I see this as the definitive Trek figure line, and would be highly disappointed if they stopped anytime soon, or weren't able to release all of the complete crews (like Voyager).

Their increased amount of attention to the TrekTek and ships has me even more excited than before, I assumed they weren't going to do much in either line, but the inclusion of the communicator, tri-corder and TWOK phaser, all the 1701 variants and Enterprise-D has me massively looking forward to some more TNG/DS9-era stuff. It seems like you never know what could get announced, or surprisingly released all of a sudden as you log on for the first time that day. There is nearly always a surprise from them.

[slayerone76]

Wow, some very nice, thought out opinions. Thanks guys!

What excites me about DST toys? There are a lot of reasons. First of all, I was going through major withdrawal after Playmates stopped making them. I had waited years to hear news of a new company picking up the line, and AA fulfilled that longing. I was an avid PMs collector and still love them today, but AA/DST have brought something new to the game.

We are now getting collector's grade figures. Other than NECA, no other line right now (except maybe some of the Macfarlane stuff, but I don't collect them) has the level of detail and appeal that these Trek figures have. We have never before, in my opinion, seen Trek figures of this quality. Yeah, we have got some good ones, but really look at the AA/DST figures and tell me if there are any of them that you can truly be disappointed with. Okay, Data was too shiny, Jadzia's head is too square, and Sisko is too short, but those are minor hiccups in still very sharp figures.

No figure line is perfect. Even my amazing NECA Jareth figure from The Dark Crystal has an arm stuck in place because of a tooling/production issue. With AA/DST, we are getting detail, we are getting articulation, we are getting some decent accessories, we are getting quality (for the most part - these are some sturdy, heavy figures when you think about it).

I won't lie and say that I don't get disappointed myself now and then. There are bits with QC that I would really like DST to fix. I still feel though, that in the grand scheme, DST is putting out product like we've never seen before and really aren't seeing with other lines today.

As for delays, its an industry thing. Does DST do it more frequently than other companies? I dunno, I don't remember any other company that I collect ever giving release dates like DST does.

[DS9_Fan]

I was really disapointed after Playmates let the line go. It was a real delight to see that a company like DST was producing these characters in a form the Adult Market could collect. DST have done a great job in this respect. The likeness of most of the figures is spot on. The attention to detail in the accessories is amazing, I mean look at the Tricorders and the boomerang phasers, sheer brilliance!

For me, the fact that DST was willing to buy into the line and keep it going also gave me hope that Star Trek wasn't finished. With Enterprises demise and Nemesis less than toasty reception, things looked bleak for Star Trek. But a company like DST plowing a lot of resources into this made it seem, to me, that not all had given up hope in the wonderful franchise.

Of course there are issues like release dates and QC, but if DST hadn't picked up the liscence then we wouldn't even have these Figures/ships/props.

And for that reason I will continue to buy DST's items. Sure I'll grumble from time to time, but that comes from the excited 10 year old in me who can't wait to get his hands on his new Star Trek toys, much like I was 15 years ago!

[JMW326]

I never collected to many playmates figures. I thought they looked a little young and lacked the articulation I like but I did have a few that I liked. When I first saw the AA and then DST figures I was blown away. I loved how they (for the most part) captured the likenesses of the characters. I also loved how much detail was put into them. They looked kind of like statues but still had articulation so they could be posed (which is great becuase I dont do statues). They come with some realy cool accesories that were pretty mych the correct color (no neon pink and purple). I also liked that they pretty much stuck with main characters and variations of them. I realy dont collect to many guest or secondary characters. So it was almost like they had made the line just for me. Sure their have been a few hickups with quality but every toy line has had those problems. It is just a little more apparent with DST becuase they dont make near as many figures as say Hasbro or Mattel. release dates are another issue. It is very annoying when you try and plan your orders so that you have enough money to pay for them when they come in only to have them delayed and delyed so many times that you have two or three set from diffferent lines all show up at the same time. I have got the hairy eyeball from my wife more than once from that. So what did I do? I changed the way I ordered and found more than one palce to get them from so that I knew I would be able to find them when I was ready. Is it ideal" no. Is it effective? yes. It is all about adapting to the situation. Despite release dates and some quality issues I will continue to support them because they make great figures of the characters I like.

[TheHSBR]

I like the level of detail and the ability to customize so much with this line. My biggest gripe with playamtes was its 4.5" scale. There werent many lines that matched that scale and so it was very difficult to customize because of the lack of compatible heads. DST's line though matches up with a number of different lines so it has a lot of options available. I got into the AA line after Toyafre complete visual guide to the new Trek line. I didnt initially buy it because |I had the playames stuff and didnt want to start something new. After seeing that magazine, I jumped in head first and bought up everything. I even became a variant collector even though I had not been during the playmates years. Overall Im prety hapy I got that issue of Toyfare!

I also love the accessories given that are highly detailed and painted accurately. My only gripe with DST is how big the scale is because its hard to keep finding space for all the big figures. One good box could conatin all the playamtes stuff now Im on my 3rd set of drawer units for the dst stuff! I also like how DST has taken on other sci-fi franchises like SG1, SGA and BSG and have made them in a somewhat comparable scale. Its cool to have ONeill, Picard, Kirk and soon Adama standing next to each other. If this line were to end I would be a very sad person! On top of that I just dont have it in me to collect another line or another scale and start from scratch. Im invested in this one and want to see this one succeed.

[knightone]

I am excited about the quality of the sculpts and the innovation of this line. Has DST made mistakes? Sure, but they appear to always learn from those mistakes and improve upon each new release. Look at the Enterprise-D, the electronic captain's chair, the TOS tricorder, and even the TWOK figures. They are slowly and surely improving and upgrading each subsequent release. Raising the bar with every effort. I can't say the same was ever done by any other company that has produced Star Trek toys, not even Playmates who never improved upon the detail or accuracy of their role-play toys or ships nor ever really improved upon the sculpt and details of their figure lines. Even though they did try to add some variety in the form of other products in the line, most never went anywhere and they never tried passing on the improvements in those short lived experiments into the regular product line.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

They are the only Trek figures and toys I collect. I don't play with them, I set them up and display them. They excite me because they look like who they are suppose to, and represent characters that I enjoy.

[Gothneo]

I picked up the line when AA put out the TOS characters... sorry to say it, but I passed on the Enterprise stuff at 1st.

The AA TOS line provided nice Articulation, sculpts, and good paint applications in a scale I like. After getting the 1st couple waves of TOS, I went back and picked up the Enterprise sets... all on clearance by that time. The Away Team versions are by far some of my favorite AA/DST figures to date.

When DST took over, I continued more for the love of Star Trek than the toys. The 1st couple waves were nice, but I was disappointed to see the loss of certain types of articulation such as the Thigh cut... These are back on the TWOK figures, but now we lost the Hinge & Pin Should POA in lieu of a Ball & Socket, which (again) just isn't as good IMO.

At the moment, the line has really reached a sort of critical mass with me... I think DST's total figure releases have now eclipsed the original AA numbers (please check me if I'm wrong on that!) and even the incomplete crews have enough figures that when I put them in a display of there own they look nice together! In fact, you can quickly run out of space to display them! Here's a shot of my current display... and I don't have any TOS or Aliens, or Borg in this yet!

[Artistix]

What excites me about DST's Star Trek line?

They are Star Trek!

**

Love those shelves Gothneo.

[reverie]

Some great, thought out replies in here! I thank you all. It's interesting to see a lot of people were into the Playmates pre-AA. I'm actually more of a new-comer myself, and I only got into the game shortly after the first wave of TNG was released. I *knew* I'd be kicking myself for passing up on the clearanced ENT figures at Toys 'R Us, and I did!

Thank you again for all the uplifting thoughts! I'll be all excited again once I come home to a new box sitting on my porch.

[FHC]

Ah the new box on the pourch feeling. My wife calls it my donation to the RCCF, Rick's Children's Collage Fund

I will put my reasons in here tonight when I'm not typing on my phone

[onebuckfilms]

For me it's the Trek Tek replicas. And although they are great toys, I regard them as replicas, especially the Communicator.

There's a feeling with the Phaser of having it "for real", and they are great fun to have in hand with my Uniform at Comic-Con and the Trek convention.

3 items I want that are comming up:

- TOS Tricorder (Science, maybe a Medical as backup)
- WOK Phaser
- Tribbles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FHC]

To be honest I have been surprised that DST keeps on making Trek, it can't be a big money machine. For the money they make some great stuff. Take the TOS Communicator, if that had been made 10 / 15 years ago at that level, they would have all been rich. I truly feel for the prices they charge for their Trek Tech line alone, is the most bang for the buck you can get.

[pickard]

To be honest I have been surprised that DST keeps on making Trek, it can't be a big money machine. For the money they make some great stuff. Take the TOS Communicator, if that had been made 10 / 15 years ago at that level, they would have all been rich. I truly feel for the prices they charge for their Trek Tech line alone, is the most bang for the buck you can get.

It's funny, because I agree with the "bang for the buck" assessment of the Trek Tek line, but I feel the opposite about their figures. I'm not sure why that is. Corners seem to be cut everywhere with the figures, but then things like the communicator or phaser turn out so great. I'm hoping that continues with the Tricorder.

What excites me most about DST's Trek toys?

Right now, I'd say it's the TRU partnership and the upcoming movie. I see this as an opportunity for the figure line to keep going for a few more years, bringing us some oft-requested minor characters from TOS and TNG, and also making many DS9 and VOY figures more likely to appear.

The TRU partnership will make it easier for me to pick up some items which I'd be on the fence about. With the figures as cheap as Rick's prices, but with no shipping charge, it makes an impulse buy much more likely.

GothNeo, that's a nice setup you've got there.

[DavAnthony]

I was a big Playmates fan and was on board with them from the first wave. For the time they were really great figures and it was exciting to finally have an entire Classic Crew in from that really cool Bridge set they had released. As the 90s went on though Playmates started to seem to loose their focus and started in with the horrible horrible head-swap figures. We never got accurate figures from Generations just really poorly made figure and a Thomas Riker that was shorter then Picard but no Will Riker. In the late 90s Playmates really cheaped out and gave us the same sculpting (which was now inadequate based upon the detail other companies were doing) but less articulation and raised their prices. Needless to say I was done.

Then AA and DST began to make figures. I was amazed at the detail particularly of the Enterprise and Classic Trek figures. These were the figure I had always wanted. The closer to 6" scale was something I liked for the Classic Trek figures. Once DST got the license I was really excited with Riker and Worf but a bit surprised that they were so much taller. Then Picard came out and I was a bit disapointed (I still think that is one of the worst figures in the line to date). But DST continued to improve upon past releases, listen to complaints or suggestions and release finally figures from TWOK-a line I had wished for since I was a little kid back in '82. I've always felt that Classic Trek was the one line that would give DST the most return,and despite the fact that is is my favorite aspect of Star Trek, it is also great for other folks because the success of Classic Trek allows money to be spent on other sects of Star Trek that might not get the attention otherwise.

All in all I've been very happy with DST. I hope they have this line for a loooong time to come. I think that the movie will bump sales up for them (regardless if the movie is any good or not) but it will bring some attention back to Star Trek. If the movie sucks people may be walking the Toys R Us aisles and see a figure of the real Kirk and say "Ah that's how its supposed to be" and buy it out of nostalgia. If the movie is a success then people will be walking through the aisles and they may buy their kid 90210 Kirk but buy a real Kirk for themselves. Plus considering the current level of what people accept as "quality" nowadays I'd expect the new Star Trek to be a hit. My only concern would be if Playmates was to get the entire license away from DST. That would not be a good thing.

[gotham_knight]

What excites me?

Getting characters i love in a great scale with great scults and accessories...lots of great there i realise.

TNG is one of my favorite Trek series and i personally think that DST have done the actors/characters a justice to the likeness and poseablitiy of the figures. I am however very dissapointed at their stance with regards to Voyager which is also one of my favorite Treks with....dun dun dun DS9 being one of my least favorite. Im very happy to see 7 of 9 being released in her Borg form and her Voyager form but without any confirmation of the rest of the crew they will look pretty out of place with my other figures.

I know, i know im moaning and as i said im very happy with the other figures released so far and give kudos to DST for all they have released so far and all ive purchased so far but Voyager is a sticking point for me and i know a fair few people who also consider Voyager as one of their favorite Trek series and would happiliy buy figures for the series, but i do know that a hand full of people are not enough to promote the sale of an entire line.

Anyway back to the topic at hand i find the accessories to be something that makes me happy i like having accurate accessories to pose my figures with, which is another reason im thrilled by the Borg Alchove accessory witht he Borg series of figures i can display my Locutus with it and its nicer than just having the figure standing on its own. I really would like to see more things like this, the Captains chairs were good too...it was something different than your run of the mill tricorder/phaser.

Either way DST continue to produce figures and me and my friends will continue to buy

[Thomas E. Johnson]

They are much better than any other figures, look like who they are supposed to at least to me, and give me warm feelings about why I enjoyed those characters.