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#1 1701D

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 03:30 PM

Ask DST 318 is an all Star Trek edition and meh there might be a few things in there that people are interested about but does anyone get the sense that DST aren't really that excited about Trek in Trek's 50th Year? I mean it seems like it's just business as usual over at DST when this would have been the perfect time to give us fans at least something different, something new. 

 

Granted the Romulan Bird of Prey should be brilliant and the Khan Select looks good and I'm hoping for a decent TNG phaser but its all still a little underwhelming when we've got other companies pulling out the red carpet (MegaBloks construction sets and Mezco's Trek figures to name two).

 

DST just don't seem to be all that interested in Star Trek. I hope they reveal something exciting at SDCC this year (New TV show licence and a JJ Abrams/Justin Lin Enterprise?)

 

 



#2 djc242

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 05:02 PM

Yeah, the only real solid info for me was that the Reliant won't be ready this year.

I have a feeling the question about more articulation came from you. :)

#3 trekhunter1701

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 05:28 PM

Trek does not make DST money so they don't care. So the lack of 50th anniversary merchandise doesn't surprise me. They're in no hurry to get things out because of that. I'm just hoping Mega Bloks continues their Trek line. It is GREAT!!!!

#4 Alteran195

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 07:18 PM

If DST had exclusive 50th anniversary merchandise like other companies are doing, I'd be more excited for their stuff, but it's just business as usual for them.

#5 DSTZach

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 08:59 PM

What do you mean "exclusive"? Retailer exclusive? Convention exclusive? Or only available in the calendar year 2016? If retailers want exclusive Trek product, they have but to call. Con exclusives are still possible. And we do have product shipping for the anniversary -- it may not all be TOS-centric, but we've done a lot with TOS already, and we have offered some TOS product this year with mixed results.

 

Sorry we didn't launch a new product line this year -- I understand that the two new Trek lines are exciting, but we're busy keeping three fairly development-heavy lines active, lines that have established fan bases. And yes, we do have other licenses competing for our attention, but we continue with Trek out of love for the brand, and because we know there are fans who want us to.



#6 Alteran195

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 10:08 PM

Exclusive may have been the wrong word. There's just nothing that you're releasing that screams "this is for the 50th."

In addition to your Kahn figure, why not do a special TOS Kirk in captains chair select for the 50th? Maybe a special triple pack of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy on a partial diorama of the bridge.

Or something even cooler like staggering a release over the year of all the TOS senior staff with diorama pieces that could build up the TOS Enterprise bridge, that would be amazing.

It's not like the 50th anniversary came out of nowhere, it could have been planned for well in advance.

What your releasing is great, but like I said, it's just business as usual.

#7 1701D

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Posted 24 May 2016 - 02:38 PM

If retailers want exclusive Trek product, they have but to call.


So something is keeping retailers away from diamond select product?

Could the lack of retailer interest be because of the lack of enthusiasm for Star Trek coming from you guys? And the lack of recognition in the line from fans who may not be aware of your Star Trek product?

Your ships are awesome, your figures are an acquired taste and your role play line is great fun but it's few and far between and there's only one reason retailers aren't interested and that's down to the lack of interest from fans which I believe comes from a lack of awareness that DST even have a Star Trek line.

Retailers are buying into the Mezco line and the Mega Bloks line but not the DST line? Fact is Star Trek has survived through 50 years, diamond have been a part of that for 10 years and ultimately I'd love to see you guys continue to produce Star Trek items but something has to be done about how you get your line more recognition among fans who don't come here.

Clearly your ships are a huge huge selling point that no other company do.

Obviously it wouldn't hurt if you guys were given the go ahead to producing product based upon the new movies and series.

#8 JMW326

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Posted 24 May 2016 - 04:30 PM

I gave up on the Q&A a long time ago. There is never any useful info that comes out of it.

Not trying to be offensive or mean about it, but I think the lack of retailer interest for Trek products from DST come from years of missed release/ship dates, delay after delay that was always blamed on one factory or another, a few questionable choices when it came to figure waves and design and a few quality mis-steps. That along with what seems like a real lack of interest and promotion of products is why they don't jump on board when DST finally decides to get around to soliciting something new.

I had a few DST TNG/DS9 figures displayed on my desk at my old job a few years ago. This place had lots of trek fans working there that collected stuff too. On several occasions people would walk up and look at Worf or Riker and say how nice they were and ask where they came from. When I would tell them Diamond Select Toys they would either say that they just thought they only made ships or had never heard of them. In the same conversation they would look at Data or Sisko and make an "ugly" face and ask who made those and didn't believe me when I said it was the same company.

#9 DSTZach

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Posted 24 May 2016 - 09:52 PM

We released new Kirk and Spock figures a few years ago with the launch of Trek Select. I can only imagine the outcry here if we were to launch NEW Kirk and Spock figures just for the anniversary, instead of making new characters. Those figures are in stock and available, to those who still need them. Fans may think we're trying to sell the exact same figures over and over again to the same customers, but that's not our goal, so we went ahead with the next character that we thought would make the overall line worth collecting. And yes, more releases may have been possible in the calendar year with some planning, but I'm not sure what role secondary TOS characters will play in this line just yet. (I am not involved in planning.)
 
I can't speak to what was said in the past regarding blaming factories for delays. That would have been before my time, because I don't remember ever saying that, although delays do happen. And I have not sat down and compared Data/Sisko to Riker/Worf as far as likeness or quality goes. But from experience, I know that Trek fans give our products a high level of scrutiny, one that may make retailers see more returns than normal, and that fans are antsy about WHEN they get their items, which may see lengthy pre-orders get cancelled, even if they get re-placed elsewhere shortly thereafter. So perhaps retailers have qualms with those two aspects, but our distributor stands by our products if they have concerns, and we do offer customer service to anyone with legitimate issues that can be resolved. I do not think release dates and quality control are what kept retailers from ordering the new Retro or Minimates lines -- it may have been character fatigue, or low sales expectations, but that would lead me to think that newer or simply different characters would be the solution, not more TOS-based sets featuring the main crew for the 50th..
 
Retailers and fans still order our other Trek lines -- I wasn't trying to say none did. And we continue to promote our products in order to attract new customers, because obviously, new fans are born every day, and I have certainly heard from people who just discovered our various lines. But established Star Trek fans who collect should be aware of who we are and what we make -- we've had all of our products in Toys"R"Us and on Amazon, been promoted in various official Trek media, and we send news and review samples to various online outlets. If there are those among them who are not aware of our products, I have to assume a low level of interest in actual Trek merchandise.

The new lines are great, but I do not know how many 1:12 Trek figures Mezco sells/will sell vs. DST Selects, or how many Trek sets Megabloks sells vs. their other lines. If it's more in either case, then more power to them -- I'm glad to know there is a larger potential audience for this type of product. But I'm sure there are still Trek fans who are not aware those lines exist, same with Eaglemoss or QMX. Even with the recent lull, there are still more Trek fans than there are Trek collectors. They may buy a bathrobe or a mug, but they will not buy a toy, no matter how nice. Not trying to make excuses, just something I've learned in my time in the industry.

#10 1701D

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Posted 25 May 2016 - 02:34 AM

I still think and hope that if DST were given the licence to do new and current Star Trek products based upon Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond and Star Trek CBS All Access then the line would get more recognition.

#11 Alex

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Posted 01 June 2016 - 12:59 AM

Given that this isn't just the 50th anniversary of TOS, but the 50th anniversary of the franchise as a whole, (TOS merely being a part of that,) I kind of wish that DST had planned for a bigger push this year, even if it was just in the form of announcing new merchandise for 2017. I know that DST supposedly isn't interested in returning to the articulated action figure line anytime soon, but this year would have been a great time to have done so. Zach mentioned that DST has done quite a bit with TOS, so I could understand not wanting to run the older TOS figures for a gazillionth time, but VOY turned 20 last year, and it would certainly have been possible to have lumped long–awaited VOY figures in with Trek's overall 50th anniversary as something entirely new, even if they were made largely by recycling previously designed uniform parts with head–swaps. DS9 could have been acknowledged with another run of the "Trials and Tribbleations" figures, or a DS9 select, while TNG and TOS could have even just featured some of DST's other classic products in 50th anniversary packaging. I "get" DST not wanting to rush to announce another ship while two are on the drawing board, and Zach has explained the logic behind that, so I have no issue with no new announcements there, and I realize that DST is hard at work on the TNG Phaser, but it would have been nice to at least have had a TNG Tricorder announcement to coincide with Trek's 50th anniversary, or to have some sort of "The Man Trap" related thing to mark the first episode of TOS to air on TV. I'm please with what we're getting, but I do agree that there could have been more done to make certain things feel like they're intentionally going to coincide with the 50th anniversary.

 

Zach, is there any chance that you guys might do more next year to coincide with TNG's 30th anniversary? I realize it's not the same as the overall 50th anniversary of the franchise, but it's still a pretty big milestone for an arugably popular series, and while I'm definitely eager to purchase the new phaser, I would love to see some other announcements to coincide with TNG's 30th anniversary, such as the aforementioned tricorder idea, or the Enterprise–C assuming that the Romulan BoP has been released on schedule, and there's only one unreleased ship still in the works. Even if the Enterprise–C idea is a bit too difficult to pull off, I would definitely appreciate additional TNG merchandise in some capacity for that show's 30th anniversary.

 

I still think and hope that if DST were given the licence to do new and current Star Trek products based upon Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Beyond and Star Trek CBS All Access then the line would get more recognition.

1701D, Zach mentioned that Paramount seems to be the obstacle to the JJ–verse license. For some reason they don't seem to be interested in a toy line aimed at collectors for that particular universe, at least not yet. While I personally think they're shooting their own foot by not allowing DST to handle the toy license from that universe, it's definitely not DST's fault that Paramount has managed to screw the pooch on the JJ–verse toy licenses for the past two movies. (As much as I thought the Playmates line was a mess, they at least made an effort, and were working with DST at one point in an effort to create TOS figures in scale with their JJ–verse figures. Hasbro on the other hand didn't even try, they phoned in some Kre–O that was put to shame by the Mega Bloks that came before and after it, and didn't have any more traditional offerings.) As for the new show from CBS All–Access, if it's set in the Prime Universe as we all believe it will be, I would hope that CBS would have DST on speed–dial, and would offer them the license, only going elsewhere if DST turned it down for some reason. I would love nothing more than a massive press release at SDCC (or even NYCC for that matter) where DST announced that they've secured the license for the new series. I'd practically be dancing upon hearing (or at the very least, seeing) the news. :)



#12 Whirlygig

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Posted 02 June 2016 - 11:07 AM

Even with the recent lull, there are still more Trek fans than there are Trek collectors. They may buy a bathrobe or a mug, but they will not buy a toy, no matter how nice. Not trying to make excuses, just something I've learned in my time in the industry.

 

That is 100% correct.  Ever since we got stuck in Kirk/Spock hell somewhere between the DS9 figures and today (roughly when TRU signed the dotted line) and even before that when I saw a dearth of cool Trek alien figures, I have wished that DST would acknowledge this fact more.  It's not the larger base of general Trek collectors or fans you are trying to capture the imagination of with action figures.  It is the ones who already buy things like toys.

 

I feel there were so many missed opportunities to rope in fans who even otherwise would generally not tend to buy Star Trek merchandise.  In the figure hey-dey, if I were in charge, I'd have identified every creepy crawly, revolting, disgusting, or novel Trek alien there was and done a whole line of those, catering more to the horror (e.g. NECA/McFarlane) or fantasy crowds.  These people could even be hooked to buy the more standard aliens like Klingon or Borg, etc, if executed properly.  Borg are zombies.  The zombie craze was ramping up to full swing right at that time.

 

Toy sales are basically an equation of nostalgia.  Nostalgia is the drug that drives our impulse purchases.  It comes and goes in waves.  I strongly believe the magic number is in the neighborhood of 30 years.  Whatever the youngsters are really into today, right now -- REALLY into, not what we adults think they are into but what they are actually into -- if you were to buy up every toy you can and stuff it in a basement and then hit eBay 30 years from now you will have made a wise investment.  Because they will be 35, and 35 year olds are trending toward less kids, less responsibilities, and more disposable income.  And they are starting to wish they were kids again.  Of course, keep in mind, that Trek is something you don't get into until you are more like at least 10-15 years old.  So maybe its nostalgia waves are a bit shorter, like 20-25 years, when the original viewers reach mid-30's.

 

I don't honestly get why Kirk/Spock were (are?) the alleged high sellers.  Remember, though, that "buyers" to DST are the retailers.  The retailers are run by decision makers that are probably skewed older.  Their nostalgia for Trek tends more to lie in TOS.  But...for those very retailers, the "buyers" are we geeks/nerds/trekkies/whatever frequenting their comic shops, toy stores, etc.  I would have to imagine this group of people trends younger, and their Trek nostalgia lies more in TNG and later.

 

So I can easily imagine, the retailers only wanting to buy their nostalgia drug, TOS, from DST...and the people frequenting the shops not being as interested in that product as they may have been other product, and therefore, the line died due to the middleman making poor calls with the drug of nostalgia blinding them...

 

Is it that simple?  No.  But it's the picture I have painted to make sense of this crazy world so that's usually what I go with.

 

Anyway, everyone in the chain would do well to remember: who actually buys the toys, and what types of things do those people go nuts over?  If I were walking through a shop, and I saw an awesome Kirk figure next to an awesome Picard/Sisko/Janeway figure....  I'm going for the Picard/Sisko/Janeway.  Maybe there are more old farts in these stores than there are whippersnappers like me, but one day, that balance will shift and *I* and others like me will be the old farts.  So maybe you shouldn't throw out those old prototype molds that were never produced just yet, DST.



#13 djc242

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Posted 02 June 2016 - 05:46 PM

That is 100% correct.  Ever since we got stuck in Kirk/Spock hell somewhere between the DS9 figures and today (roughly when TRU signed the dotted line) and even before that when I saw a dearth of cool Trek alien figures, I have wished that DST would acknowledge this fact more.  It's not the larger base of general Trek collectors or fans you are trying to capture the imagination of with action figures.  It is the ones who already buy things like toys.
 
I feel there were so many missed opportunities to rope in fans who even otherwise would generally not tend to buy Star Trek merchandise.  In the figure hey-dey, if I were in charge, I'd have identified every creepy crawly, revolting, disgusting, or novel Trek alien there was and done a whole line of those, catering more to the horror (e.g. NECA/McFarlane) or fantasy crowds.  These people could even be hooked to buy the more standard aliens like Klingon or Borg, etc, if executed properly.  Borg are zombies.  The zombie craze was ramping up to full swing right at that time.
 
Toy sales are basically an equation of nostalgia.  Nostalgia is the drug that drives our impulse purchases.  It comes and goes in waves.  I strongly believe the magic number is in the neighborhood of 30 years.  Whatever the youngsters are really into today, right now -- REALLY into, not what we adults think they are into but what they are actually into -- if you were to buy up every toy you can and stuff it in a basement and then hit eBay 30 years from now you will have made a wise investment.  Because they will be 35, and 35 year olds are trending toward less kids, less responsibilities, and more disposable income.  And they are starting to wish they were kids again.  Of course, keep in mind, that Trek is something you don't get into until you are more like at least 10-15 years old.  So maybe its nostalgia waves are a bit shorter, like 20-25 years, when the original viewers reach mid-30's.
 
I don't honestly get why Kirk/Spock were (are?) the alleged high sellers.  Remember, though, that "buyers" to DST are the retailers.  The retailers are run by decision makers that are probably skewed older.  Their nostalgia for Trek tends more to lie in TOS.  But...for those very retailers, the "buyers" are we geeks/nerds/trekkies/whatever frequenting their comic shops, toy stores, etc.  I would have to imagine this group of people trends younger, and their Trek nostalgia lies more in TNG and later.
 
So I can easily imagine, the retailers only wanting to buy their nostalgia drug, TOS, from DST...and the people frequenting the shops not being as interested in that product as they may have been other product, and therefore, the line died due to the middleman making poor calls with the drug of nostalgia blinding them...
 
Is it that simple?  No.  But it's the picture I have painted to make sense of this crazy world so that's usually what I go with.
 
Anyway, everyone in the chain would do well to remember: who actually buys the toys, and what types of things do those people go nuts over?  If I were walking through a shop, and I saw an awesome Kirk figure next to an awesome Picard/Sisko/Janeway figure....  I'm going for the Picard/Sisko/Janeway.  Maybe there are more old farts in these stores than there are whippersnappers like me, but one day, that balance will shift and *I* and others like me will be the old farts.  So maybe you shouldn't throw out those old prototype molds that were never produced just yet, DST.


PREACH!

#14 1701D

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Posted 02 June 2016 - 06:52 PM

Well thought out Whirlygig.

I think the trend to go with Kirk and Spock comes more from the new movies and retailers assuming that fans want Kirk and Spock because those characters are back in the public consciousness.

When perhaps fans who do or would collect do want Picard and Co more?

my feeling is this though. Nostalgia is a powerful thing and has shifted a lot of toy lines in the past and continues to do so however, for the nostalgia to work for Star Trek the line would have to either go back to Playmates for them to re-release their TNG 90's line (a possible for it's 30th next year) or for DST to launch a line that emulated the 90's line that really tapped into fans nostalgic side.

I'm 31 and personally I'd be more interested at either Playmates or DST re-issuing a 90's style TNG Playmates line than DST doing more TOS figures.

However, I've loved DST's ships and personally if they forgot about the figures altogether in favour of putting more money into the ships... I'd rather they dump the figure line and do the ships and some prop replicas.

#15 Ensign Ricky

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Posted 03 June 2016 - 07:18 PM

Man, I miss the heyday of Playmates when everything in Star Trek was toyetic. We even got the bleedin' anabolic protoplaser!



#16 Alex

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Posted 04 June 2016 - 03:20 AM

I think the trend to go with Kirk and Spock comes more from the new movies and retailers assuming that fans want Kirk and Spock because those characters are back in the public consciousness.

When perhaps fans who do or would collect do want Picard and Co more?

I really think that "Kirk and Spock Hell" is actually the result of outdated views on the Trek toyline and on Trek as a whole. Back when Art Asylum first picked up the Trek license, TWOK was just turning 20, ENT was new, and we'd just seen the Playmates line crash and burn. While a lot of people wanted Art Asylum to just pick up where Playmates left off in the original 4.5" scale, starting with the ENT crew and then maybe doing updated versions of classic figures with a bit more articulation, Art Asylum wanted 7" figures, which in the long run seemed like a good call; they were a little larger, but had loads of extra detail to them. At the time, there was a good contingent of collectors who wanted more VOY stuff, especially stuff that Playmates never got too, and that wanted it while the show was still fresh in everyone's minds. This might have happened if NEM hadn't tanked and left figures warming shelves, and if ENT hadn't tanked doing the same thing and causing Art Asylum to make massive cuts to the line as a whole. When Art Asylum finally moved on from ENT, Trek was coming up on its 40th anniversary, and there was a huge demand for TOS merchandise, both for the 40th anniversary, and because logically, ENT toys should be followed by TOS toys, and then TNG, DS9, VOY toys just by going in order of the timeline. TOS had kind of been on the way backburner for several years, so there was an appetite for it both in toy form and in media form. George Takei was pitching his Captain Sulu concept, and realistically, Paramount should have green–lighted it as the timing was ideal for such a concept, and it easily would have made up for the faults with ENT. At the same time, Paramount was looking into several ideas for the movies. Some involved post–ENT stories set before Kirk's time, but Paramount decided against these because they were afraid to introduce a new cast on the big screen. Other ideas involved bringing a mixture of TNG/DS9/VOY characters to the big screen, but the idea that Paramount ultimately settled on was a pseudo–reboot, because the fad of rebooting movies and TV shows was really starting to take off, (blech,) and it was the easiest way to do a new TOS movie that was going to need a new cast anyway.

 

Naturally, Kirk and Spock likely sold because at the time, there weren't a whole lot of Kirk and Spock figures in a modern style, and with a new Kirk and a new Spock on the way, the focus was on the TOS characters. Now jump ahead ten years to today where we've got Kirk and Spock figures that have multiplied like Tribbles, an alternate continuity that's been criticized as "Trek–like substance" rather than actual Trek as the only new material in the franchise, and TOS nostalgia that's been milked to death at the cost of ignoring TNG–VOY. TNG turned 20 in 2007 and saw some acknowledgement, but by 2012, it's 25th anniversary went largely ignored with Into Darkness sucking up any promotional efforts for the series. (To CBS's credit, we did get TNG–R on Blu–Ray, but only on Blu–Ray, not on TV or any other format, and before most people had a Blu–Ray player.) Likewise, the aforementioned film's delay into 2013 subsequently ensured that DS9's 20th anniversary would pass unnoticed as well. VOY turned 20 last year and was also barely acknowledged, and now that it's been a good 15 years since 24th Century Trek has dominated anything, there's a demand for stuff from that era again, and a demand for a continuation from that point in the Prime Universe timeline, especially with Trek XI effectively shaking it up with the destruction of Romulus. DS9 and VOY toys are scarce, and even modern TNG figures still require a trip to eBay. People like me who grew up on TNG–VOY wanted TOS stuff a decade ago because we missed it the first time around, and wanted to expand beyond a massive gap in our collection, and now that expansion is largely complete. On the other hand, we now have huge gaps in comparable TNG–VOY merchandise, so there's demand for toys from that era. When I started collecting Art Asylum and subsequently DST's toys, nobody had done an Enterprise–A before, (the South Bend Enterprise was a refit, but not the "A," and was way before my time,) I didn't have a TOS phaser or tricorder, (my brother beat me to the Playmates version,) and I was thrilled when I finally got them. Today I have multiple TOS phasers, TOS tricorders, Enterprise–A's, TWOK and TOS 1701's, etc., but could use more TNG phasers and tricorders, a U.S.S. Voyager that's in line with my DST ship collection, and other items from TNG–VOY. I've got plenty of Kirks and Spocks to choose from though, and if I have to play in the TOS timeline only, I'd much rather have more McCoy's, Sulu's, and Scotty's than Kirk's and Spocks, altough I'd much rather set TOS aside for awhile. If DST gets a JJ–verse license though, that would be another story as those are fundamentally different Kirk's and Spocks than any that I have. (Oh and no disrespect meant to Chekov and Uhura; it's just that McCoy, Sulu, and Scotty had a lot more screen time that would make for interesting action figure possibilities.)

 

There is hope for TNG–VOY fans though as I'm starting to see at least TNG merchandise making its way back to shelves, most likely because of its impending 30th anniversary next year. Not long ago, I saw something on Amazon, something I've wanted since I was a kid: A TNG lunch box. It's metal, a nice step above the plastic lunchbox I'd carry as a kid, and it has the Enterprise–D embossed on it and looks completely awesome. Do I need a lunchbox? No. Will I likely buy this one as soon as I have some spare change? HELL YES! If nothing else I can display it with my other Trek stuff, or even use it to store something Trek related. As a kid I could never find a TNG lunchbox, but I still had one. My mother bought some random lunchbox (I think it had a Marvel character or something on it,) peeled the design on the front off, bought me some TNG stickers and then grabbed another package of them and used it to create a TNG lunchbox. To protect the stickers, a sheet of laminating paper was placed over where the stickers were and the previous design had been, and cut to fit the lunchbox. Voila, now I had a TNG lunchbox. Today, my one–of–a–kind TNG lunchbox now sits under my bed, holding an armada of "Star Trek" (and possibly some "Star Wars") Micro Machines, in and of themselves a product I wish Hasbro had revived when they had a Trek license, and wish they would revive if they still have said license. (They did it for "Star Wars," and they got my money, and I'd be even more excited if they did it for Trek.)

 

Of course, Trek merchandise of the TNG–VOY variety as a whole could still be a bit easier to get a hold of. While ThinkGeek has a new TNG beach towel, (you can pry the one I've been using since '92 from my cold, dead hands, along with the one I have that's identical but has never been used,) nobody seems to have a license to make Star Trek sheets for my bed, which is something that's irked me for years. I can find "Star Wars" sheets rather easily, and right before Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, there was even a set aimed primarily at adults, but something like Star Trek sheets with TNG or VOY "Delta Shield" communicators on them or starship blueprints are completely nonexistant. I may have to pay a small fortune for VOY toys, but at least they exist. If I want TNG–VOY bedding, or even TOS or ENT bedding, I'm completely out of luck.

 

As for the toys, most of the people I know would easily go for TNG–VOY over other forms of Trek. My first introduction to Trek was TNG, but I got into it at a much younger age than most of my friends. When my friends got into it, they did so largely through VOY, because at the time VOY premiered, they were in the 10–15 age range, while I was into TNG in some capacity while still in the single–digit age range. VOY and parts of DS9 were probably the first Trek series that I could completely comprehend the first time that I watched them though, and VOY and TNG constantly battle for the postion of being my favorite Trek series, and as a result, I tend to be most interested in toys from those two shows as well as from DS9. This doesn't mean that there isn't TOS stuff that I want, (there definitely is, and I've bought quite a few TOS toys already,) it's just that I'd prefer more from TNG–VOY, and as much as ENT as a series irks me, I'd easily plunk down the cash for an NX–02 Columbia, or an NX–09 I.S.S. Avenger today if given the opportunity.



#17 Razorgeist

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Posted 04 June 2016 - 10:35 AM

 

When my friends got into it, they did so largely through VOY, because at the time VOY premiered, they were in the 10–15 age range, while I was into TNG in some capacity while still in the single–digit age range. 

 

 

Ive experienced this as well.  Im always surprised at how many people came to be Trek fans thanks to voyager.



#18 1701D

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Posted 04 June 2016 - 07:16 PM

Isn't it just as easy as saying that the popularity of a Star Trek toy line is linked to the popularity and the kind of popularity that the franchise is getting.

In 1999, Star Trek's ratings were declining. From DS9 through to Enterprise, year on year the ratings would decline as people got bored of Star Trek. In the movies, box office figures declined movie to movie until Nemesis dropped and flopped.

And that marries up with the success of the Star Trek toy lines... As Star Trek's ratings dropped, Playmates sales declined to the point they could no longer support the line... Step in a smaller, niche comic book toy company, Art Asylum, taking on the Star Trek toy line in a bid to appeal to the older Star Trek fan as many of the Star Trek fanbase was skewing to an older demographic. It didn't work. Enterprise failed to bring in an asueince of either established fans or new fans, the Art Asylum line suffered as a result. Though their TOS line was a success, it was a success because like Mezco are doing now, it was the first time we saw such detail in a Star Trek line of these legendary characters. However success was short lived as Art Asylum's Nemesis line flopped as much as the movie.

In step Diamond Select. And... Yep the line wasn't the success it should have been and thus quality dropped considerably.

When Star Trek was revived in 2009 clearly Paramount's intent was to have a mainstream toy company produce a successful toy line that repeated the success of the Playmates TNG line of the 90's... It did not succeed. Whilst personally I think the quality of the 2009 line was so poor, what made it fail was that this was the first time in a long time that Star Trek was being brought back to appeal to a mainstream audience and kids. Whilst the movie succeeded at the box office and with critics the movie was not the beginning of a brand new toy line that spanned dozens of figures, ships and play sets like TMNT, MARVEL or Star Wars, it, like many big box office successful movies (the fast and furious franchise, James Bond etc...) was something that was hugely popular but not a movie you'd walk out of as a 30-something guy or girl thinking I'd love to start collecting toys based on this series.

The same with Star Trek Into Darkness. In rolls Hasbro with a half-baked Kre-O line that appealed to no one.

It's interesting though, with the birth of the new movies, merchandise for the original series and TNG seemed to get better. From DST, QMx, Think Geek, Funko and other companies, all of them were producing more and more merch based upon old Star Trek than the new movies.

The safe bet for these companies is Kirk and Spock. With this years current offering, it's the Original Series that Mezco are focuses on, it's the Original Series that Mega Bloks are focused on. With other miscellaneous companies it's Kirk and Spock and TOS. It's a safe bet for companies to say "if we can't sell product based upon the most iconic and popular Star Trek characters, then there's no hope for a Janeway or Data One:12 figure"

It seems to me that as things stand right now, it's the model kits and one off lines or items that are working well for Star Trek fans. The Star Trek Beyond Pop Funko figures, the housewares we see based upon TOS and TNG, the Star Trek Select line of one figure per year, the DST ship line which has always been a fan favourite, the Mezco One:12 line and the Mega Bloks 50th TOS line... Will these lines go beyond into other areas of Star Trek? Well it depends on how well they are received by the fans and if they hit a niche that fulfills a need with Star Trek fans but I'm thinking that all of this goes back to what Zach was saying (here?) that there are more Star Trek fans than Star Trek collectors. Most people will enjoy watching the show and not be remotely interested in buying toys based upon it.

The new star trek movies are just simply never going to be big enough to entice fans of that series to buy into a large toy line. A ship perhaps, a model kit of the new enterprise or the Franklin sure! And the pop Funko line sure! This is really why I think DST would be great to be given that licence as they already have an established Star Trek line.

However to see something that resembles the 90's line from Playmates, It's really all down to the new series. If the new Star Trek series triggers a new wave of Star Trek fans like TNG did and more recently the revival of Doctor Who did back in 2005 then it's with the new Trek series we will see a revival in new Star Trek toys that if successful would go on and include multiple lines of figures, role play and ships from all over the Star Trek universe.

#19 Gothneo

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Posted 05 June 2016 - 07:50 AM

Zach, I admire your candor and willingness to take on some of these hard questions!

 

I for one think DST does care about the license, and tends to play into there strong suite trifecta of Figures, Ships and Role-Play. 

 

I was a fan of the line when AA had it, and actually have to praise DST for taking it over and... to new highs. DST released more product than AA ever did, and has run with the license much longer than most retailers ever have.

 

DST took both the Ships and Role play to new levels, and continues to execute well on both those fronts IMO. The Trek Tek I think has become more and more difficult to find good new introductions, but not impossible! I loved picking up all the Phaser Variants. The Phaser and Communicator are still the best scaled and priced replicas out there! I personally thought the Disruptors ended up being too large... but thats actually not DSTs fault... thats the way they are!

 

Likewise, the original action figure line had a great run. Sure I could pine for it to continue (and I have) but the reality is it had a great run and they couldn't get interest from retailers and ultimately fans at the end. For me the pinnacle of the DST original line was wit the TWOK figures. All the exclusives, and the outright execution of that line was fantastic IMO. If you look at lines from other properties...they all have to recycle the same popular figures. Marvel Legends was a fantastic line for its time, but in its current incarnation I think its even better... and I have way more Cap America, Venom and Spiderman figures than I probably want... but its the price I pay to support a line I like.

 

I remember when DST started the Marvel Select Line.... A lot of people liked ML more in part due to the hyper articulation... but largely because it started churning out lots of product... but DST kept chugging away... and now its a quite impressive line! Trek Select has the potential to go the same way... but only if it has the retail support. 

 

Where would I like to see DST go with the license??

 

1. I think DST has the ship line well in hand. Party on Garth!

 

2. The Select line is all about popular incarnations of fans fav characters and moments in Trek. DST is doing a great job in this regard.. Kirk, Spock, are Picard are clearly all top 5 picks... Kahn and Worf are easily top 10. Keep picking fan favorites... and while I really would love to see a Janeway in the line... I have to come to terms that thats only likely if the line continues and prospers. 

 

3. Trek Tek - The Type II is a great selection and I look forward to its eventual solicitation and release! Looking forward to a TNG Tri-corder that can flesh out a TNG away team set! Yes they seem slow in comming, but I think DST has the right idea as these are products that are intended to be perpetual at some level... always available out there for retailer and fans... and they've done a bang up job with the TOS core items.



#20 DSTZach

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Posted 10 June 2016 - 08:31 AM

Any questions about more TNG for the 30th anniversary should go to DSTChuck at Ask DST. Now is the time for him to start planning 2017, so bug him now for TNG stuff.






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