31 replies to this topic

[reverie]

I know we gripe about DST and their lack of advertising, so I was curious as to how everyone did actually come across the toy line and maybe at what point in the game did you discover these figures?

I'm pretty sure the first I saw of the Trek figures were wave 1 TOS figures and Borg at Meijers. I didn't much care at the time, which I'm now kicking myself for! The first bit of interest in wanting to pick some up was seeing TNG in the upcoming toy section of Toyfare.

I think I officially came on board with the first wave of TNG (Riker/Worf) and was lucky enough to have found TOS wave 3 in stores easy enough. I remember passing on ENT figures clearanced at Toys since we hadn't yet seen the show and commenting to my wife I'd probably regret not getting them (I do ). The biggest hurdle in playing catch up was TOS wave 1.

[LocutusOfTuborg]

At the time the first NX-01 came out, I found one on Ebay, while searching for Enterprise...

Once it arrived, I thought "wow... thats some kind of detail for a toy like that..." and on the box there was a hint to AA's website...
... and there where the Enterprise figures... which looked - in my opinion - absolutly great... the detail, the scale, the likeness...
...quickly I bought these, then came Nemesis, Borg - Assimilation, the Away-Team figures etc etc etc...

and very quickly, I found the old AA message board and migrated over to FHC's wonderful and "so much fun" place here, when the time came.

Btw: thx, FHC!

LoT

[Whirlygig]

I believe my first encounter with AA/DST trek toys was when I was searching Amazon for something, and I stumbled upon Thomas Riker w/trombone. I may have searched for "trek toys" or something like that, for no particular reason other than it was around the same time that I got into collecting toys again as an "adult" (SW Titaniums) and I must have wondered what was out there for Trek. When I saw it, I had to buy it because it was TNG (arguably my favorite), it was an obscure character (love those), and it came with the trombone (which I play[/ed]). When it arrived, I thought it was an impressive likeness and from there I discovered the rest of the line. I think this coincidentally happened at about the same time that wave of figures was being released.

Around the same time I also ran into Nemesis figures in a comic shop, and thought they were amazing.

[BadBunnyMike]

I learned about AA/DSt Right from the get go, When the Enterprise figures were in production and they were showing prototype pictures. I was amazed at how detailed they looked and had to buy them. I remembered how detailed AA was when they worked with Playmates on the Alien Combat Series, so i was excited to see what they would come up with. Been a fan ever since

[bgiles73]

I found out about AA's plans to bring us Star Trek figures around the time they were doing figures for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". I had been following Art Asylum since they first brought us that Borg and Klingon figure back when they were a design house for Playmates and several other companies. I knew the signs were looking bad when DST came into the picture though, because of what was starting to happen with their Buffy and Angel lines! DST has been great for ships and Tech, but their hearts just not in the figures.

[JMW326]

I think my first encounter was at KB toys. I found a couple of the Enterprise figures and thought they looked cool. I had no idea they were making them at the time and then I saw the web site on the back of the package and checked it out. I later found the forum and joined (my first online forum). Back then I really didnt visit forums or spend to much time surfing the net for info so if it hadn't been for those first AA Enterprise figures who knows if I would have ever known about them or become the collector I am today.

[Jedigreedo]

I knew about AA's Enterprise and TOS line from the start through collecting sites I was already visiting, but due to Star Wars being my sole focus at the time, not only was I not collecting anything in the 6" scale, but I thought the figures would always be too expensive for me. When I saw the first announcements of Riker and Worf, and then their presence at Toy Fair, it was difficult to not jump into them but I was wary about the slow releases.

I kept track of the following waves' releases through web stores' new releases advertisement banners, and Michael Crawford's review site. By the time wave 3 came out, due to knowing that nearly a whole TNG crew was out at that point, and many sites still advertising Worf/Riker (the two I most wanted), I eventually gave a look around to see who had the best deals and discovered NFC's case deals. It was too difficult to deny at that point, and bought wave 3 and caught up on the previous waves.

[A Chimpanzee & 2 Trainees]

I first I'd seen of an AA Star Trek product was seeing the Nemesis figures in the mall. I forget which store now. Since I didn't care for for the movie, I didn't bother. First I'd heard about them was on the TrekBBS, before the release of AA's TOS Wave 1, which was when I made the decision to start collecting. I'd always been a Trek fan, but never a toy collector. First time I'd bought an AA/DST product was when I caught that AA TOS Wave 1 figure line at the local Suncoast Video. Since then, it had always been my intention to pick of up at least the main crew from every series except Enterprise. It sorta blossomed into becoming a completist for TOS and TNG series, even though I swore to myself that that wouldn't happen... hehe. Oh ye of little will-power ...

[Quadrotritacale]

Michael Crawford's review site.

That was the first place I ever heard of Art Asylum's figures too, but only when they reviewed the first Will Riker and Worf figures. My first thought was, "those are cute, but not something I'd actually buy". It was only when I saw the "Trials and Tribble-ations" Dax at my local comic book store that I bought a figure. I was enamoured with it immediately. It had the best, most realistic face sculpt I'd ever seen on an action figure and got me really excited about this company's products. It's now a little over a year later and I'm starting to regret I ever got interested in DST products with what torture their delays and cancellations have been.

[pickard]

I joined up on the AA forum after I saw their CTHD figures and have been following them ever since.

[Commodore Kor'Tar]

I found out about AA's Trek toy's by seeing the Enterprise and Borg figures in an asile in Kay Bee toys and I bought a few of the Enterprise figures . Then later on I found all the figures from the enterprise line I was missing at Big Lots at a discounted price , so I scraped together my money and picked up all that I got all that I could .

Then later I found out they were doing TNG figures and TOS so I began the cycle again lol

[FHC]

At a Miejers. I was walking down an row and looked up and there they were. I was shocked. How could I not have heard about them before that point!

[Matty-lad]

Hey all,

My first experience was through my local comic shop. I had been collecting Star Trek figures from them for years so that when the new Enterprise figures were anounced, they checked whether I wanted them. It was a no brainer really. And I've gotten everything produced ever since.

Take care,
Matty-lad

[weyoun_9]

It's been so long since I remember getting started again...I dove right in with Enterprise, Nemesis, and the TOS stuff at first...but I have not, to this day bought the Mirror line, except for Marlena, or the battle damaged Kirk. I was actually going to put all my toys away but then they announced the TNG stuff and I stuck with it. I think I first learned about this stuff from the Star Trek magazine. Then it went away for a while...but I knew how to find the information. It has been a REALLY long time since I've stumbled upon Star Trek figure information I wasn't searching for.

[Sybeck1]

I was surfing the web at work one day seeing what it would cost to replace my long lost Mego trek figures, and I came upon this picture:




And my mouth dropped! I had not collected toys in 20 years but this pulled to me, so I went back and got the Enterprise and Borg waves. I only collect AA/DST 7 inchers, hero ships (no BD"S) and role play, so when it's gone, it's gone.

[VulcanFanatic]

Its been awhile so its hard to remember. I became aware that AA was going to make the Enterprise figures and i remember going to the AA website to find out where to buy them and found out that Target, TRU and KBtoys were going to carry them and i remember going to the stores many times until they finally got them in. I saw them all in Target, but they didnt seem to sell a single figure and soon went on clearance. Target carried the 3" Star Trek minimates as well. I didnt buy any Enterprise figures right away and started lurking at the AA forum back in '03 and thought for a long time about joining the AACC(Art Asylum Collectors Club) that had a membership package that included the 2003 SDCC YSK (Yellow Shirt Kirk) boxed figure along with other assorted crap. I finally joined the club in early '04. That was the year that TOS wave 1 came out and i bought the figures and started collecting everything from that point on. I used to be a MOC collector, but lost interest in that, now i have mainly loose, with MOC extras of Spock figures.

[eti]

For me I stumbled across AA Nemesis and Enterprise figures back when Nemesis came out in the warehouse department stores and electronic

[TheHSBR]

I remember seeing the Enterprise figures at TRU followed by the Nemesis line but passed on both because they were so completely out of scale with the PM line. I did buy the NX01 to go with my ships though. I followed the AA line at stores like Suncoast but never bought one. I didnt start collecting the AA/DST line until the Complete Photo Guide in Toyfare really impressed me. I think that was right around before the Picard/Troi wave came out.

[reverie]

I didnt start collecting the AA/DST line until the Complete Photo Guide in Toyfare really impressed me.

I loved that guide.. it'd be cool if they did an update to it!

[Oxnard Montalvo]

I started with The Enterprise figures, and still love 'em now, Rubber pants and all...(Incidentally mine haven't decayed or discoloured at all!) - although This wave will always have a soft spot in my heart as the day I bought them, My wife went into Labour, so I ended up with Enterprise Figures and a Daughter all in one day!