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What does everyone think of the New Movie Roll Play stuff?


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#1 Gothneo

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Posted 30 March 2009 - 10:50 AM

So far, I'm a bit underwhelmed, and I don't think it's because of what playmates is doing persey, but more to the point that the gear just doesn't seem as futuristic or something... I can't really put my finger on it... maybe they just don't seem as mechanically useful? I dunno...

See this is something that I love about most "Trek Tek". It really inspired people to actually create that kind of technology... Communicators, Tri-Corders, etc...

It seems that they did a better job of making the Tech retro for shows like "Enterprise" then they did for this TOS prequel.

I love the raw mechanical look and design of the ENT Phase Pistol. very nice, and true to the show. I could believe the phase pistol to be a predecessor to the Phaser. Like wise, items like the Maco Hand scanner and such were (IMO) nicely thought out and designed.

The Tri-corder that was "Redesigned" seems out of place. It should have at least had a 3 or 4 in display.

Same for the Phaser... They could have made a new Phase Pistol that was inspired from (but not exactly the same) as the Laser Pistol from "The Cage"

So... I dunno... is anyone else thinking this way??

#2 thecapn

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Posted 30 March 2009 - 12:07 PM

I 100% agree. They look like a lot of "sci-fi" tech - flashy, curvy, and not really useful-looking.

All of the Trek Tek thus far on the shows seem to be made with function first, form second (with the possible exception of the "boomerangs"), and they "looked" like they could actually work.

No one would design a phaser that's that flashy with a spinning emitter. It's just not practical. Too flashy and easily seen, especially in daylight. And the spinning emitter is just begging for mechanical problems on a "real-world" device.

The others are more meh than non-functional. But that phaser bugs me.

#3 knightone

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Posted 30 March 2009 - 12:07 PM

I actually like the prop designs. I saw a pic of the real phaser prop and it was nice. Very nice, with a dark, brushed metal appearance. The toy doesn't do it justice. I think the same will be true of the communicator and tricorder as well, once we see the real props in action. That's why I'd like to see QMX make prop replicas.

#4 Gothneo

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:12 AM

Hmmmm... so Knightone, you seem to be suggesting that Playmates hasn't done as good of a job at capturing the likeness of the real deal?

That would be disappointing... especially since the one thing I did think highly of from playmates, was the "Trek Tek"!

If your correct, this may be an area where AA/DST still outshines the competition. The biggest credit is due to them for the Phaser, which was good enough for use by the prop dept, so anyone that has one technically has a Screen Quality prop!

Well, as with most things, I'll probably have to see the movie, then see them to make up my mind!

#5 pickard

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:29 AM

Knightone is correct. Compare a Playmates TOS phaser to an AA/DST phaser and then look at an actual prop. It's obvious which toy is closer to what the actors held in their hands.

Playmates' role-play items were not true to the actual size and design of the screen-used props. They're modified for use by smaller hands, for inclusion of electronics, and to make them more sturdy.

#6 Gothneo

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 09:36 AM

QUOTE (pickard @ Mar 31 2009, 04:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Compare a Playmates TOS phaser to an AA/DST phaser and then look at an actual prop. It's obvious which toy is closer to what the actors held in their hands.


Well, I know that ENT used the AA/DST Phaser, so that's a no-brainer... I've never seen the Playmates version, but I'm assuming your saying that this is an area where AA/DST has consistently outshined playmates?

While the scale might have been off with the previous playmates product (the AA/DST Phase Pistol is off too...) I thought the execution of many of them, especially the DS9 Bajoran Trek Tek was nicely done.

Are there any good picts on line of the new Movie Phaser, Comm & Tri-Corder?


#7 Whirlygig

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 10:10 AM

QUOTE (Gothneo @ Mar 31 2009, 10:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Well, I know that ENT used the AA/DST Phaser, so that's a no-brainer...

Just so everybody has their facts straight, here's an excerpt from the Memory-Alpha article about the Enterprise Phase Pistol ('phaser' is not the correct name for this device):
http://memory-alpha....ki/Phase_pistol
QUOTE
In 2002, Art Asylum produced a phase pistol toy available at most toy stores at the time. The mold was so accurate that, although approximately 20% smaller than the prop created for the series, Enterprise producers ultimately used the toy versions as on-screen props, for stunts and some cases full-on "hero" shots. They were repainted, since when the Art Asylum toys were released they were not the same colors as the ones they used already on the set.

Note that the AA/DST was also smaller than the actual prop. Also, I have one, and the tip is bright orange like with real toy guns, so even if the grays and blacks are the same (or close), that little bit would need modification to be screen-accurate.

Before someone burns me for being "off topic", consider how this demonstrates that Playmates is not entirely different than AA/DST in this regard.

#8 Gothneo

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 11:07 AM

I'm talking about the AA/DST Phaser that was used in the episode "In A Mirror Darkly". So when I say Phaser, I mean Phaser. When I say Phase Pistol, I mean Phase Pistol. Sorry that wasn't clear.

For that matter I believe (but could be wrong) that it was an AA/DST phaser that was used in the DS9 episode "Trials & Tribulations"

Edit: Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm wrong about the DS9 Ep, since the AA Phaser Release came out in 2004, and DS9 would have long been wrpped by then.

#9 Whirlygig

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 12:20 PM

QUOTE (Gothneo @ Mar 31 2009, 12:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'm talking about the AA/DST Phaser that was used in the episode "In A Mirror Darkly". So when I say Phaser, I mean Phaser. When I say Phase Pistol, I mean Phase Pistol. Sorry that wasn't clear.

Sorry, I had never heard that about the Mirror Darkly phaser before. With no context to your remarks I assumed you were talking about the phase pistols. You're right about T&T though...that was before AA/DST was doing Trek. Actually this thread talks quite a bit more about both IAMD and T&T with regard to the phaser, which is where I just now educated myself: http://www.trektoy.c...p?showtopic=165

At any rate....

I do think the Playmates tech pictures look pretty good. But, you can't tell everything from pictures. Until we see them in real life, and in use in the movie, we won't know how they compare.

#10 Gothneo

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 12:43 PM

No need to be sorry! I fully understand that I failed to specify the context of what I was talking about! It happens!

Thanks for that link... yep that's the discussion I recall reading too!

I wasn't really trying to criticize Playmates though... well, at least not until Kinghtone brought up the idea that the playmates toys may not do the real thing justice... but as we all know we'll have to wait & see!

I guess, I'm still just underwhelmed, and I think a large part is due to the design of the actual props. Again, I'll wait to see them in action.

#11 Whirlygig

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 02:02 PM

QUOTE (Gothneo @ Mar 31 2009, 01:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I guess, I'm still just underwhelmed, and I think a large part is due to the design of the actual props. Again, I'll wait to see them in action.

Well as far as my personal feelings about the props:

Communicator - Why are they still using flip-phone-like communicators that far in the future? In the 60's it looked advanced. Now you would expect something more like what TNG-era had. At least this prop does look a bit like it could have followed from the ENT communicator.

Tricorder - Considering our technology today, I would expect it to have a computer screen that would be capable of displaying images and completely different controls/data based on the mode it's in. Not a limited number of blinking lights -- but maybe it does have a versatile screen and Playmates just had to choose something to display on the decal. Furthermore, wouldn't you expect it to be smaller, too? In fact, I might actually expect that this device would be combined with the communicator.

Phaser - The idea of flipping the emitter around seems pretty flawed. I didn't know about that until recently. So one orientation is kill and the other is stun? I would think that in a sticky situation you would most likely want to be able alternate between the two a little faster than physically rotating that thing would allow. Maybe that's actually why they did it - to create dramatic tension as they often do in movies with gun reloads. "Oh crap, stun didn't work, the monster is still coming!" (fumbles with emitter)... As far as comments about it being too easily seen....while that is a good point, think about the clothing these people are wearing. They apparently don't seem too worried about being seen!

Anyway it's probably a good move to make sure it at least looks like a real gun. That way kids will be more likely to want to play with it.


#12 Gothneo

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 03:06 PM

Great analysis! Thanks!


QUOTE (Whirlygig @ Mar 31 2009, 12:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Communicator - Why are they still using flip-phone-like communicators that far in the future? In the 60's it looked advanced. Now you would expect something more like what TNG-era had. At least this prop does look a bit like it could have followed from the ENT communicator.


I agree, but for some reason it just looks a bit bland to me. I really don't have that much of an issue with it, and the ENT comm was kind of uninspiring, but it did an ok job of trying to "predate" the TOS comm.

QUOTE (Whirlygig @ Mar 31 2009, 12:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Tricorder - Considering our technology today, I would expect it to have a computer screen that would be capable of displaying images and completely different controls/data based on the mode it's in. Not a limited number of blinking lights -- but maybe it does have a versatile screen and Playmates just had to choose something to display on the decal. Furthermore, wouldn't you expect it to be smaller, too? In fact, I might actually expect that this device would be combined with the communicator.


Yeah... the screen is exactly my issue! The TOS tricorder had one, and so did the Maco hand scanners... it just seems like they dropped the ball on it a bit.

QUOTE (Whirlygig @ Mar 31 2009, 12:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Phaser - The idea of flipping the emitter around seems pretty flawed. I didn't know about that until recently. So one orientation is kill and the other is stun? I would think that in a sticky situation you would most likely want to be able alternate between the two a little faster than physically rotating that thing would allow. Maybe that's actually why they did it - to create dramatic tension as they often do in movies with gun reloads. "Oh crap, stun didn't work, the monster is still coming!" (fumbles with emitter)... As far as comments about it being too easily seen....while that is a good point, think about the clothing these people are wearing. They apparently don't seem too worried about being seen!


I think the styling could have been ok, but who goes into battle with a weapon that glows and gives away your position??! but yeah... no phaser, phase pistol or Laser Pistol in Star Trek Lore had that type of feature, but it may be cool and grow on me... I just need to wait and see it in action!


#13 knightone

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 04:25 PM

I think the problem is that they are making these fit into a $15 price point in order to make it a more manageable prospect for kids to buy into. There's only so much you can do for that price. DST's products are at a price point 2-3 times what Playmates is aiming at, but they are aiming at adult collectors with disposable income of their own.

The communicator appears to have a spherical holographic display in the center. Only so much can be done with a lower cost toy to replicate such an effect, so I'm sure what we'll see on screen will be more impressive.

The tricorder appears to be influenced by the TMP tric, which also didn't have a screen, but had a lot of blinkies. But maybe it relays information in a way we haven't been shown yet. Maybe it ties into the communicator's holodisplay. We'll see.

The phaser in the movie has a dark grey, brushed nickel finish. That probably would be impossible to replicate on a $15 toy, so they just gave it a bright metal finish to try and make it stand out. But this is not how it looks in the movie. They would have had to make it out of die-cast metal to achieve the look, and there is no way they could have gotten the price low enough on it to make it marketable to kids.

The emitter doesn't glow on the actual prop. The stun nozzle is the same color as the rest of the phaser and the red/kill emitter is actually a subdued color anodized onto the metal. It isn't bright or noticeable from a distance and would not give away your position. Consider the fact that the TNG phasers had a bright, glowing green power disiplay on top, with the boomerang display slanted slightly forward, toward the target. The red anodized emitter on the new phaser is no where near as bright as that. Also, the emitter in the movie is motorized. Again, for $15, this would have been hard to include. I think if DST had done it, they would have at least added the motor.

Size-wise, it's hard to tell if these will be accurate. I'd have to see the toys in person as well as see the props being held by a person to judge their true size.



Of note, the only role-play toy that Playmates made to accurate dimensions was the DS9 Bajoran tricorder. Everything else was mysteriously too large or too small, with no real rhyme and reason as to why. Oversized items were often much larger than the area needed to fit the electronics, leaving a lot of empty space that wasn't needed. Undersized items could have been made larger since, from the oversized items, it is clear that they weren't taking into account the hands of small children. It's like their sculptors refused to get things right just because they didn't want to get things right. Or, perhaps, they were working off of photos and were just bad at guess-timating dimensions.

And even though AA's phase pistol was smaller than the original phase pistol prop, they ended up being used on screen later in the series. So, the AA could be considered accurate. Maybe it can be considered a second generation/Mark II phase pistol.

The AA/DST TOS phaser was, in a way, used in DS9's T&T as the AA is based on the HMS/Rod.com kit, which is based on the phasers HMS made for T&T.

#14 Gothneo

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 05:16 PM

Thanks for that Knightone! Yeah, I think one of the few playmates Trek Tek I have is the Bajoran tricorder. Like I said I'll wait for the movie to see how they look... one never knows, if the form and function look cool, maybe I'll be able to customize the Phaser to look better.

Thanks for the input!

#15 Whirlygig

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 05:26 PM

QUOTE (knightone @ Mar 31 2009, 05:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The emitter doesn't glow on the actual prop. The stun nozzle is the same color as the rest of the phaser and the red/kill emitter is actually a subdued color anodized onto the metal. It isn't bright or noticeable from a distance and would not give away your position. Consider the fact that the TNG phasers had a bright, glowing green power disiplay on top, with the boomerang display slanted slightly forward, toward the target. The red anodized emitter on the new phaser is no where near as bright as that. Also, the emitter in the movie is motorized. Again, for $15, this would have been hard to include. I think if DST had done it, they would have at least added the motor.

Interesting. I wondered if it might be motorized "in real life". Where did you get this information about the colors & operation of the phaser? Is there a scene in one of the trailers that shows these things, or do you have some inside info coming from somewhere?

#16 knightone

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Posted 31 March 2009 - 05:33 PM

The info about the motorized emitter comes from an Entertainment Weekly article. The reporter was there when they were trying to get the nozzle to spin as the motor was operated remotely via a wired remote, off-screen and they had to do several takes before it was timed correctly with the rest of the scene.

There was a picture of the real phaser prop leaked a few weeks ago on a couple of the prop boards that was confirmed to be real by an insider source. The pic has since been taken down. Trust me, though, it looks far nicer than the Playmates toy.

Don't judge them until you see the movie. I think every iteration of the standard Starfleet gear has met reistance in the beginning, but most of us have warmed up to the phasers, communicators, and tricorders that have come before. I think once we see the actual props in action, the same will be said of these new interpretations.

#17 JonWes

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Posted 05 April 2009 - 09:14 PM

I'll admit I was a bit underwhelmed by the toys themselves at first. I'm going to wait until I can see them in real life to fully judge, I'm just not sure how I feel about the chromed elements. It seems to fit some of the design-look of the movie but not the props specifically. When I first saw the phaser the first thing I thought of was one of those cheap dollar store laser guns that make bomb sounds as well as laser sounds.

BUT... the design has grown on me. I definitely like the look of the actual prop better though. I have one on pre-order so let's hope it looks cool. If nothing else I guess there's always repainting. I agree about the communicator being a bit bland. It makes sense on one hand but as a toy it doesn't set me on fire. I kind of wish they'd made a version without electronics or with minimal electronics and packed it in with the phaser like AA did with the Enterprise Phase Pistol.

#18 tribble

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Posted 05 April 2009 - 11:05 PM

I have planned to get the Trek tek roleplay items and the Enterprise ever since I first saw them. Now I am concerned about the accuracy of the look of them. Do any pictures of the actual props exsist online anywhere, or did anybody happen to copy them and can post them here? I will probably get them anyway, but would be happier if they looked closer to the real thing. (Funny: I just realised how that sounds! And that the "Real" thing is still a prop) I really need to get a life! LOL

#19 JonWes

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Posted 06 April 2009 - 07:36 AM

I don't think there is a problem posting this... I can't really see why there would be. But if there is feel free to delete it. But here it is:


#20 Gothneo

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Posted 06 April 2009 - 08:08 AM

thank you JonWes!

Yes. That does look better IMO, and quit different from the toy...

The Basic form seems to be captured, but, as Knightone said, it doesn't have glowing bits like the toy.

I still think from a weapons perspective they may have missed to boat with requiring the firing mech to be rotated 180 one way or the other, but I like this look better then the toy.




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