72 replies to this topic

[JonWes]

Well, after getting my chair problem over with, I finally got to put the Bridge together. All my misgivings are gone about this set, thankfully. I really like it. The vinyl play mat idea sort of put me off at first. I was worried about the crease for one thing, but it was folded nicely and is already starting to flatten nicely. Pieces do slide around a bit (it's a bit slippery) but it's not too bad. The best play sessions as a kid always ended up with the Bridge being a mess so I can imagine kids having a lot of fun destroying the Bridge during a battle.



The plus side is that you'll also be able to reconfigure it into different Bridges if you want to visit another ship! I thought about taking some of the extra Bridge pieces I'll get when I get some extras to make custom crewmembers and making a Starbase with some other stuff I have around. I actually don't think it's bad value for the money. You look at a vehicle that's about $20 and it's similar. I do wish there was an alternate screen but the nice thing is that kids can take the screen out and act out stuff in front of the clear screen... it's something I always wished for with the TNG Bridge as a kid because that darn Romulan Warbird was always there.



The Bridge crew sits well in their chairs and can take fairly natureal looking poses.



The basic set is a good start to the Bridge I think. Certainly the main elements are there to start exploring space...



But really starts coming alive when you add pieces. Here's what the Bridge looks like at the end of wave 1. I really hope we get some generic crew members somewhere down the road... especially aliens. They should make a 3 pack of crew builders. They could have three different bodies - maybe male with yellow shirt, male with red shirt and a female body and they could have 3-4 swappable heads included. That way you could create your own background crew! They could even have 2 different packs - maybe the other has a male with blue shirt, another male and a female body of a different color or something. Lots of possibilities.

[thecapn]

One thing that is bugging me about the bridge - and I don't have one yet, I'll try to get it today - is the selection of consoles Playmates made. If they had made, say, the left side of the bridge, then we could make the right side from spare parts, if wave 2 never comes out. But because they decided to do the front, there are quite a few pieces that would require a lot of customizing work to make.

I'm going to open up my bridge as soon as I get in the car to make sure the chairs are right, I don't want to run into the same problem and have to run all the way back to the store!

[skeletor]

so on the new bridge, from what im hearing the consules dont snap down into anything? they just sit loosely on the mat?

[Commodore Kor'Tar]

Anyone got the measurements on the floormat? How much space would I need to set this puppy up if I decide to purchase it?

[billytrek]

Here's a couple pics of mine as well.







I don't have anything to measure it at the moment.

[anti-hero]

I don't have measurements atm either, but the space issue with it is that it's oval, so it's alomst as long as it is wide. When i was opening it up and adding the pieces on to it yesterday I had it set up on 2 TV trays. It fit with an inch or 2 to spare long ways, but the front and back edges were hanging off by an inch or so. I have a card table that my 2008 Millenium Falcon is currently on, but I might have to find another place for that since the bridge will take up most of the table.


The helmsmen's seats are bugging the crap outta me. i hate that they have to sit so far up on them to be able to touch the screens. I put at bridge console in front and the widge is the perfect size for them to sit back and control, plus I like giving the helm more controls. but the feet of the console piece don't fit well, so i might customize them a little to make them fit.

Just when you thought the Enterprise couldn't get any cooler, along come Samuel L, and Billy Dee!

[JonWes]

I like the pics billytrek! The layout is cool. I was planning on taking heads from other figures and putting them on some extras to make various other crew members to fill the seats too. I was worried about the heads being to big from other lines for these bodies but those look pretty good to me.

[billytrek]

I like the pics billytrek! The layout is cool. I was planning on taking heads from other figures and putting them on some extras to make various other crew members to fill the seats too. I was worried about the heads being to big from other lines for these bodies but those look pretty good to me.

Thanks, JonWes! Yeah, some of the SW heads are way too big. I know I tried to used Jimmy Smitts for like an Admiral Adama-type character, but the head was huge! It didn't look right. If you go through your collection, I'm sure you'll find a lot of useable heads. Plus, the new Star Trek heads pop off very easily and that makes it a very easy process. Also, very much to my surprise and delight, the old Galoob heads fit on nicely! I have an old Riker head on a Sulu body. Fits nice!

I only wish we had more womens' body styles! All we have is that one Uhura, which is cool, but I don't have that many female African American figures to customize and make more women. It sucks because I usually like to have a diverse assortment.

I'm not a good customizer by any means, so I'm sure we'll see some great stuff in the upcoming months!

[knightone]

I picked up the bridge yesterday. It is far from perfect. The Kirk figure that came with mine had black paint splotches on the back and his left hand was stuck and broke off when I tried to turn it. His utility belt was extremely loose and flops around on his body. Oh well, at least it was the yellow shirt version, which I have to buy again anyway for one of the bridge pieces. I just hope QC improves a bit by the time the black shirt version comes out. The vinyl mat is a bit thinner and flimsier than I thought it would be and wrinkles far too easily. I think I'll have to mount to heavy card stock or something later on. The stickers on the data screens also were stuck on properly, there are air bubbles throughout. As someone mentioned, the chairs for the helm and naviagation station are positioned too far back, so the figures have to sit at the edge of the seats to have their hands on the control panels.


I do think, however, the actual plastic pieces are well made and nicely detailed. The viescreen graphic is nice and crisp, I'd like to see them release alternate screens somehow down the line. I do like the concept of the separate bridge compnents. It allows you to reconfigure the bridge however you like. I was thinking that you could just build a more sturdy base yourself for the bridge out of styrene and foam core and the separate consoles can allow you to make the Enterprise bridge or one of your own design. This ability in itself is worth the price of the bridge and all the figures you have to buy to get the consoles.

[JonWes]

I think I'll have to mount to heavy card stock or something later on. The stickers on the data screens also were stuck on properly, there are air bubbles throughout.

The data screens did annoy me. On the first one I had (the one I had to take back because of the chairs) I tried to lift it out and smooth the air bubbles. I worked, but it gives the sticker a "frosted" look once you pull it up. I actually had to pull up a few stickers (carefully!) on some of the Bridge pieces that came with the figures so I could reposition them better. They weren't far off, but on some of them that are meant to go together they look weird if the stickers aren't on the edge.

I do think, however, the actual plastic pieces are well made and nicely detailed. The viescreen graphic is nice and crisp, I'd like to see them release alternate screens somehow down the line. I do like the concept of the separate bridge compnents. It allows you to reconfigure the bridge however you like. I was thinking that you could just build a more sturdy base yourself for the bridge out of styrene and foam core and the separate consoles can allow you to make the Enterprise bridge or one of your own design. This ability in itself is worth the price of the bridge and all the figures you have to buy to get the consoles.

I think creating some kind of foam core base might be nice. It's funny, as the way the bottom of the main chair/helm peices is sculpted almost looks like it could slide into another floor piece. The same with the way the captain's chair is floating out there. Of course, I can't imagine how we'd get floor pieces... it'd be neat if some industrious fans created a basic vac-molded floor for the bridge that the pieces could fit into. Looking at the bridge panorama view on the official site, I noticed there are actually more data screens near the doors to the Bridge that aren't in the set right now. I think once the figures with the data screens come out I might buy some extra figures for customs and nab the screens and put them in there too.

[JMW326]

I bought I piece of 1/4" foam board and traced and cut out the shape of the bridge and mounted it on. I think I am actualy going to go ahead and cut out the floor pieces and raise them as well to make it more 3D.

[billytrek]

I bought I piece of 1/4" foam board and traced and cut out the shape of the bridge and mounted it on. I think I am actualy going to go ahead and cut out the floor pieces and raise them as well to make it more 3D.

That sounds pretty awesome to me! I have no talent and envy people that can do that type of stuff! I'd like to try to do that as well, but I'd know it would end in disaster. Would you paint it? Still use the old bridge playmat? Playmates really gave us a good start at something great! May take the "industrial" person to make it.

[skeletor]

I saw some of the little figures today, and the bridge pieces they come with it looks like they put the stickers on carelessly.
And from what a couple are saying here it sounds pretty much cheap. Too bad too, I was looking forward to this when it was first announced.
It sounds like this is nothing like the TNG bridge that came out in 93

[JonWes]

I saw some of the little figures today, and the bridge pieces they come with it looks like they put the stickers on carelessly.
And from what a couple are saying here it sounds pretty much cheap. Too bad too, I was looking forward to this when it was first announced.
It sounds like this is nothing like the TNG bridge that came out in 93

I'd say the majority of the Bridge pieces I got had the stickers on amazingly well. I only had to fix 2 and that's mostly because I'm very picky. Not sure how you define cheap... I guess it depends. I loved my TNG Bridge as a kid but the Bridge is much more complex in the movie. I like how they attempted to do it. If they did something like the TNG Bridge it'd either cost $100 and be this huge thing that only a few stores (if any) would carry or they'd have to make a very simple version that left out most of the stations. The plastic of the pieces themselves are nice though... and the stickers don't bother me as you get a lot of colors and it looks pretty accurate to the screen.

[skeletor]

I will say this it does seem to display nicely. But some say the floormat is very thin? Thats basically whats keeping me from buying it.....I dont mind if its thin, but is it going to crumble up in no time? lol How easy would it be to tear it is what I'm trying to ask.

[billytrek]

I will say this it does seem to display nicely. But some say the floormat is very thin? Thats basically whats keeping me from buying it.....I dont mind if its thin, but is it going to crumble up in no time? lol How easy would it be to tear it is what I'm trying to ask.

It's very thin but it's like laminated or something (or maybe that' s what vinyl is, I don't know. lol!) It seems pretty durable. My daughter sat on ours earlier and it did get all crumpled up. But it did seem to flatten out within a few hours. I think a key might be to glue it down to poster board or foam board or something. As awesome as the Ent D bridge was back in the day, I find this one just as amusing! As you know, that thing was pretty tight in areas. Here, you can spread things out as far as you want. There's a lot of, I guess, freedom in this one.

[Prometheus]

I just finished a more three dimensional version of the bridge.....







I used 1/4" Foam core and layered the various levels...I still have more work to do.

[Light]

Nice work.

[Scarlet Spider]

Thats great! It really makes the bridge look awesome.


SS

[Andy]

I just finished a more three dimensional version of the bridge.....







I used 1/4" Foam core and layered the various levels...I still have more work to do.

That is amazing work Prometheus! Great Job!!