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Should Playmates make a Star Trek: Lower Decks line?


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#1 bgiles73

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Posted 13 July 2020 - 06:53 PM

I saw the trailer for this new animated Star Trek: Lower Decks Series. I really think it would be great if Playmates could use this as re-entry point to bring back my favorite Star Trek toyline. What does everyone else think?

#2 bgiles73

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Posted 13 July 2020 - 07:00 PM

https://m.youtube.co...h?v=V3RkBKedKWw

#3 MisterPL

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Posted 13 July 2020 - 07:02 PM

I'm still waiting for someone to make figures based on the first animated series.



#4 RizzoPSU

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Posted 13 July 2020 - 08:16 PM

Waiting to get past kirk and picard

#5 Gothneo

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Posted 14 July 2020 - 06:55 PM

This series seems perfect for something like mini-mates



#6 MisterPL

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 09:46 AM

This series seems perfect for something like mini-mates

 

Anything that gets DST to produce more than Marvel Minimates is fine with me at this point. I have zero interest in toys based on this cartoon but I won't lie; if they made Lower Decks Minimates, I'd buy them all.



#7 bgiles73

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Posted 16 July 2020 - 03:08 PM

The animation is by the same people who did Rick and Morty. That cartoon has quite a following and a successful wave of figures which is 6 waves deep as of now. Funko has that license, maybe they will be interested in Star Trek. Who knows? I throw Playmates name out there because they stated in the past that if they had something to capture the attention of kids they would love to return. Well I think this new cartoon has a fair shot at drawing in an older kid and teenage audience. I personally think that something in the animation would be lost in translation adapting to the limited flat surfaces of Minimates. Even LEGO had the foresight to mold 3D heads for their Simpsons line.

#8 Morgan

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Posted 19 July 2020 - 10:36 AM

But is it the hope that kids watch the show and buy the figures? Even in the '90s Playmates said that 7 out of 10 buyers were adult collectors. It would be great to see something very opposite happen in the marketplace. 

 

Lower Decks is such a niche property, and the path of figure production to store retail is so much narrower now, it's very different now to have something get on a shelf in Target, than 25 years ago. Directly online, on the other hand...

 

I suspect that if there's currently potential for a Trek figure line in the smaller formats to succeed, it's probably the Picard series, simply because of the potential for the old collectors to come out of "retirement" and buy those figures, especially if they were done in the 4.5-inch format. 

 

The way that McFarlane flamed out has been pretty disappointing. Had they started their efforts right now, as the Picard S1 has wrapped up, perhaps they would have been able to do something different.



#9 VulcanFanatic

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Posted 19 July 2020 - 04:57 PM

I saw the trailer. I'm not interested in this series, matter of fact I just don't like this type of cartoon and from what I've seen on YouTube, it doesn't appear that many other people like it either. I guess the era of decent Star Trek shows is gone. Hopefully Strange new world's will be good , not holding my breath though.

#10 Damon1984

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 08:36 AM

https://m.youtube.co...h?v=V3RkBKedKWw


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#11 bgiles73

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 12:52 PM

https://m.youtube.co...h?v=01_UKRLCvD4

#12 bgiles73

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 01:09 PM

Rick an Morty has a pretty good following. Some of those kids might come over to check it out and realize that Dtar Trek has a lot more to offer. The show cross-referenced Dungeons & Dragons (Stanger Things did too) and pulled a new generation of Dungeons & Dragons gamers in. Rick and Morty popularity also influenced McDonalds to bring back Szechaun Sauce for a limited time for Chicken McNuggets. This new cartoon could potentially draw in a large following. Such a thing could give a boost to other Star Trek product. Personally Id like to see Playmates be the company to improve old lines and fill in those spaces where opportunities were missed the first go round. Do it in the 4.5 scale so you dont have to completely reinvent the wheel. With slight articulation tweeks many of those 90s figures would do well again. Im sure that Voyager ship would certainly be welcome again with improvements in LEDs.

#13 djc242

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 03:08 PM

I was on the fence about the show at first but am coming around to the idea. I'm hoping there are some fun cameos.

 

That would be so excellent if this show was a way for Playmates to restart the 4.5 line for the entire franchise!



#14 Gothneo

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 04:46 PM

I don't really have an issue with smaller scales as much as I once did... time was that the smaller scale meant limited POA and bad paint apps... Obviously companies like Hot Toys raised the bar on 1/6, but hasbro really took things in the 3 3/4 inch scale to new levels. Reto/vintage is certainly fun... but I guess the nostalgia only takes me so far... so I really like the more modern stuff... and I'm sorry but playmates just didn't step up when they had a go at it in 2009... and I can't see that they would step it up any more... which maybe thats what some niche collectors want... and if they can make a go of that then ok.



#15 Morgan

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 05:26 PM

I dunno if Playmates sees a lot of collectors or kids-pestering-parent-buyers out there. Or just store shoppers who watch the shows, for that matter. It's hard to believe, but we now have 3 Star Trek shows on the "air," as it were. The last time that was the case was, uhh, never, not even in the mid-90s when DS9 and VOY were in production and the TNG movies were still going.

 

But are figure buyers, in any age group, there at all?



#16 bgiles73

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 07:08 PM

I think its mainly us old farts buying the figures! Lol I have two daughters that played with Barbies and dolls for all of about maybe five years of their young lives and then video games and cellphones took over. They now are really heavily into Japanese Anime and Manga, a Star Trek anime series would maybe bring in the masses....but like others here, Im not really into changing what I like about Star Trek.....From what Ive seen of Lower Decks I like...I dont find it too over the top. I loved the movie Down Periscope. Also I clearly remember humor in a Star Trek. Trouble With Tribbles had its fair share, Spock swimming with the Whales and giving the punk on the bus the old neck pinch, Datas antics aboard the Enterprise. Q showing up naked on the bridge, Lwaxana Trois many unsolicited amorous advances, Tuvok dreaming that he showed up for bridge duty naked, Phlox with the ship to himself running around the place with no clothes, Barclays holodeck addiction (surely what Picard and crew stumbled on wasnt the best of his personal .....erotic software)! Comedy and Star Trek go way back to the very beginning. Its why it has endured.

#17 Gothneo

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 07:25 PM

I dunno if Playmates sees a lot of collectors or kids-pestering-parent-buyers out there. 

 

But are figure buyers, in any age group, there at all?

 

Seems like the super hero genre still has some... but I think much has gone to high end niche.



#18 bgiles73

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Posted 20 July 2020 - 08:29 PM

Well at least now we can say it isnt just Star Trek. That other big space franchise has also been feeling the sting since Toys R Us went out of business in the United States for the most part. Online orders on their Hasbro-Pulse store and through their kickstarter is whats helping to sustain them. They have a new line of Galactic Heroes (Which is perfectly scaled to Playmates Star Trek line from the 90s by the way) and a new Mission Fleet with 2 and a half inch scaled action figures and ships for in stores along with the 6 scale collector series. Deal is though it seems like collectors unless they like the kid style toys too are having to resort more to online. I personally like both styles of action figure and I would like to see something to draw younger fans into Star Trek. It might not be a bad idea to really pull them in with some interactive role play too. Maybe Hasbro could team up with Playmates for some Star Trek Nerf sets ( Soft Battleth and Phaser sets Assimilation Borg roleplay)

#19 MisterPL

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Posted 21 July 2020 - 11:48 AM

That other big space franchise just sold out of a $400 Target exclusive Smuggler's Run Millennium Falcon within minutes of it being announced.

https://www.target.c...un/-/A-79416673

Star Wars enjoys many impressions across different media, from film and television to video games and publishing. Lucasfilm has made a point of aiming it at the young and young at heart, which is why it's such a good fit for Disney. There's still a surprising amount of demand.

 

Star Trek is on multiple streaming services but the days of newbies discovering it while channel surfing are coming to an end. Syndication isn't what it used to be. There are no new films on the horizon. New content is behind a paywall. Publishing is dead. Is there a game? 

 

All that said, it seems like we're the ones sustaining action figures and it's largely out of habit. Our favorite toys have gone the way of vinyl records. People buy them out of nostalgia or novelty, depending on their age.



#20 bgiles73

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Posted 21 July 2020 - 12:05 PM

Trust me I know Hasbro isnt hurting as much as they say, but just like Star Trek if you want ships you are going to have to pay a premium. QMX and Eaglemoss seems to be our only options right now. Im wanting Star Trek Micromachines. I dont even care if they are blind packed! I want some action figures in the $6-$10 range. Thats still a possibility just not one they are actively pursuing. Playmates is making TMNT and Ben 10. I believe that Lower Decks would be a great shot at getting Star Trek back under their belt. Walmart at this moment is bringing back exclusive classic style Ghostbusters, Masters of the Universe, Star Wars and other lines. Could be a really good time to get Star Trek by Playmates back too.




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