147 replies to this topic

[Chris]

Hi guys,

I was on the Diamond Select Toys website having a browse and I noticed that the Borg/Seven of Nine wave of figures has been removed. Does this mean they have been cancelled as well? Could this be another indication that the license its heading towards Playmates?

Cheers,

Chris.

[TheHSBR]

I wouldnt be shocked if it was. If the license is headed to playamtes we can rule out 24th century stuff for a long time.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

At this point, I doubt DST even knows what they want to do.

[Artistix]

In the latest Q&A they said they are still 'chipping away' at the Borg wave.

[Sgt. Stinky]

AFX now has the Borg wave listed as January 2010. Let the delay bashing begin!

[DS9_Fan]

Holy Moly! Why the delay????? Surely DST are gonna abandon Trek. Anything we saw at Toy Fair surely has to be in doubt, even the TOS Stuff. I'll believe it's coming when I see it on the shelves.

[spider1981]

Hooooly crap!
If they have truly been delayed until some time in 2010, thats the straw that broke the camels back for me.
I'll be canceling all remaining pre-orders saying sayonara to Delayed Select Toys.

At this point (if this delay pans out) I'm actually hoping that Playmates gets the full Trek license. Sure, they may not be as detailed as DST, but they can actually release products.

[DS9_Fan]

And we may get some Voyager a figures and a FULL DS9 wave, kinda routing a bit for Playmates now.

[TheHSBR]

Be careful what you wish for.....

Did anyone expect to get these before 2010? We havent seen final figures, packaging and we are still in the dark about the alcove. I couldnt see them shipping before then! On the bright side maybe DST is finally giving us accurate ship times instead of the fantasy dates they usually give us.

[A Chimpanzee & 2 Trainees]

If they have truly been delayed until some time in 2010, thats the straw that broke the camels back for me.
I'll be canceling all remaining pre-orders saying sayonara to Delayed Select Toys.

I know it sounds like a long time, but really it's 6 or 7 months. Compared to the 2 years it took TNG Wave 5 to come out, it's not really all that bad....as sad as that is for me to say. Trek seems to have this license-of-last-resort mentality from DST. Almost like someone is saying"if we have nothing more important (i.e. profitable) to produce, then we'll put some Trek on the boat." While I'm sure factory issues play a role in some cases, most of the time I'm beginning to wonder if it's probably DST shifting stuff around to get more profitable products out first. Might that explain the delay patterns that we're seeing? Delay for X number of months then all of a sudden a huge burst followed by more months of delay and another burst....?

Something Rick said kinda stuck out at me... about Trek being the big leagues of Sci Fi, which means that Paramount (or CBS) is probably charging many times what other franchises are to get product out. That probably makes their profit margins pretty tiny in comparison to something like SG, or Battlestar... so regardless of how well they sell in terms of numbers. IF that is the case, and I were DST, I'd be treating Trek as my franchise-of-last-resort too unless the sales figures were literally through the roof, which of course we all know is not the case here.

I just don't think it's as simple as demonizing DST. I do, however, think that DST would do themselves a favor by no longer issuing release dates at all until the figures are actually in production and there's an obscenely high chance they're going to be "on the water" soon.

[Nigel]

This makes me sad. I hope they at least can get TOS Wave 5 out. I've been really looking forward to getting that Nurse Chapel figure (and I know there are a lot of other people who want it too). As far as the Borg figures, the only one that really interests me is the Seven of Nine in purple catsuit. But I think I could live without it personally. If playmates gets the license back, judging from the latest movie figures, there would most likely be a big drop in quality.

[Chris]

There is no doubt that DST has amazing product quality in (most) of their figures. But I gave up on collecting their figures a while back. I hated their long delays, buying figures with sloppy paint jobs, loose parts and broken arms and I really got annoyed with their lack of interest in 24th Century Star Trek, especially Voyager. What's the point in having a license to release figures from all Star Trek series and only be dedicated to TOS. Happy days for TOS fans, but it kinda stinks for fans of the other shows. I really hope Playmates do get the license back because they have said they would love to start their line up again from the start.

[TheHSBR]

I dont remember them ever saying that. I also think that it implies start with TOS. We already have a commitment for TOS stuff from DST. I dont see how Playmates getting anything would ensure that we get 24th c. stuff like this Borg wave.

[Chris]

I dont remember them ever saying that. I also think that it implies start with TOS. We already have a commitment for TOS stuff from DST. I dont see how Playmates getting anything would ensure that we get 24th c. stuff like this Borg wave.

I sent Playmates an email back asking what the chances were of them getting the license again to produce figures from TNG, DS9 and Voyager etc and the replied with -

"We are keeping our fingers crossed too. that would be great if we could continue the line from the start again.


Thank you & Regards, Paula Billingsley

Consumer Service

Playmates Toys Inc."

[TheHSBR]

Well its very easy for companies to make promises that they never intend to fulfill or have no obligation to fill. I guess toy companies are a lot like politicians that way! Im just saying we know what we have with DST. Your going to get some good figures here and there but there will be delays and there will be a limited selection. I have no idea why Playmates would think they could sell any more or less in the toy aisles than DST. Everyone likes to point to advertising but here we have the |Borg Wave thats been advertised up the wazoo and still we fear its going to be cancelled. I just dont see how Playmates can make 24th century work any better than DST is doing.

[Chris]

Well its very easy for companies to make promises that they never intend to fulfill or have no obligation to fill. I guess toy companies are a lot like politicians that way! Im just saying we know what we have with DST. Your going to get some good figures here and there but there will be delays and there will be a limited selection. I have no idea why Playmates would think they could sell any more or less in the toy aisles than DST. Everyone likes to point to advertising but here we have the |Borg Wave thats been advertised up the wazoo and still we fear its going to be cancelled. I just dont see how Playmates can make 24th century work any better than DST is doing.

I guess only time will tell, I hear they will make some kind of announcement this Autum. Personally I would love to see them get the license back and release all the trek crews in 3.75 inch scale, (especially DS9 and Voyager) similar to the Star Wars figures. I think that size also appeals more to kids as well because of their playability and can fit in playsets etc. Fingers crossed the success of the new movie bringing in new fans will raise the interest in all of Star Trek. It's happened before, I think it can happen again...

[Sybeck1]

Well, at Comic Con we should see hopefully both Borg waves, along with other things coming.

I would think if another company got the license they would have to notice DST's problem with 24th century Trek, and in turn start with TOS, hence back where we are, with less detail and more headswaps.

[Nigel]

I have no idea why Playmates would think they could sell any more or less in the toy aisles than DST.

Exactly. We're not talking about figures from the new movie here, we're talking about shows that have been off the air for 8 to 15 years now. DST gave us a great TNG line, all it required was a little patience. DST simply messed up a few too many times with the DS9 waves (especially with Sisko) and now are judging whether something will sell just based on pre-orders. As far as quality, speaking for myself and my collection I have had very little problems (except some joints that are froze) and haven't had any bad paint-jobs. But with playmates, I hate to say it but you can almost guarantee there will be problems (again, by looking at the latest movie figures as an example...and if they can't do figures right for a major motion picture then how are they going to improve for TNG era series).

[Iron-Cow]

Wow... I really hope these are simply delayed, and not cancelled, as well. I didn't pick up too many of the TNG line, aside from the Nemesis outfits, but that was mainly to support my DS9 obsession. Still, I was hoping the Borg wave would add some nice variety to the shelf.

Keeping the fingers crossed that these guys see the light of day!

Matt
aka Iron-Cow

[bgiles73]

Exactly. We're not talking about figures from the new movie here, we're talking about shows that have been off the air for 8 to 15 years now. DST gave us a great TNG line, all it required was a little patience. DST simply messed up a few too many times with the DS9 waves (especially with Sisko) and now are judging whether something will sell just based on pre-orders. As far as quality, speaking for myself and my collection I have had very little problems (except some joints that are froze) and haven't had any bad paint-jobs. But with playmates, I hate to say it but you can almost guarantee there will be problems (again, by looking at the latest movie figures as an example...and if they can't do figures right for a major motion picture then how are they going to improve for TNG era series).

I don't know Star Wars classic's Return of the Jedi was in theatres about 26 years ago. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If Star Trek was marketed right I'm sure that money could be made. I think thats what is going on with Paramount right now. They know that the movie did well. They are probably starting to look into why DST's figures aren't selling that well. Next they will probably look to see who can sale these product better. I think the writing was on the wall when DST wasn't offered any claim to any of the new movie product. Not even Minimates.