113 replies to this topic

[Pauln6]

We might not buy into it, but I've noticed alot of kids taking notice of Spinmaster's Tron line. The 3 3/4" figures really aren't all that much more detailed than the Playmate's 2009 Star Trek line, but the interactivity between the figures, vehicles and roleplay are what this line has that Playmates and DST can't grasp. Playmates should not have done a transporter playset in the first wave that set wasn't very action oriented. The shuttle orbital jump and drilling platform should have been included in the line up! So should the two Delta Vega monsters. We should have been able to find in adittion to the Enterprise- The Kevin and Nerada. What is a kid to do with only one advesary figure with no ship. Hell, the 6" figure of Nero didn't even come with a pistol. This line was boring and that's why it's still lingering on shelves.

I agree with this. If you want children to play with toys then make them exciting - think about what stories they will want to play out. Whether the scene was cut or not, they should have had a klingon and a few alien prisoner figures as well as a male and female romulan henchman for Nero. Star Wars did something similar with the characters from the cantina and the bounty hunters in the 70s and 80s and we loved them as kids. Even the TMP figures had one set of crew and one set of aliens (although I'm not sure that they captured children's imagination at the time (possibly for the same reasons as this line), I certainly got hold of as many as I could when I was a kid).

I would prefer them to finish off the 7" line but if the 3.75" line meant they would produce some of the missing characters, I'd be up for it. I might even try to find one of the movie bridge sets for them (I'd avoid the horrible playmates figures if possible). However, what we are likely to get it more Kirks and Spocks - meh. If Janice and Christine were part of a 3.75" wave one, I'd be straight in there.

[bgiles73]

I'll go a step further about appealing to the kids. Have any of you checked the Spin Master's Tron displays lately. The pegs at Toys R Us, Target and Wal Mart locations near me have all been hit really hard by Christmas shoppers. This shouldn't seem out of the ordinary this time of year but whats crazy is i looked at Star Wars figures, Iron Man, Transformers, GI Joe and a few other lines all displayed very close to the Tron:Legacy pegs. They had alot of pegwarmers still remaining. Tron looks to be a real hit. If you would have asked a kid about Tron six months ago that same kid wouldn't have known what you were talking about. That niche property (and it was a much smaller niche than Star Trek) is selling more than Star Wars in my area at the moment! CBS/Paramount needs to take some notes here and get some interesting product out there!

[Gothneo]

- Goth, I do agree with you, it is each to their own and with that, DST have to do what they think will work - but you have to admit, In recent years there's been a substantial rise in disgruntled fans chiming in and voicing their disappointment with DST's Star Trek line..

he he! I admit nothing But seriously, I can't tell if the level of dissatisfaction (aside from just not getting any product) has risen. There are people who railed against AA when they had the license, and then took the torches up for DST once they got it and now sing nothing but praise for AA! There's also people that rail against everything, AA, DST, or Playmates!

Its typical that people who are happy with things just don't say as much as those who are upset. Every time we have a poll on this site it seems to come out about the same, there is s certain % of people that think everything is great, a % that hate everything DST does, and (it seems to me) the bulk of people who recognize the product for what it is, and are generally happy, but always challenge DST to do better!

Collecting Trek Toys is a hobby for me. Something I want to enjoy. I don't do it for money, or for any personal gain other than I'm a fan and I like the product. Its not all perfect. When something disappoints me I say so. Likewise when I'm delighted by it I say so. But I absolutely refuse to get bogged down, or distracted by detractors of something I want to enjoy as a hobby.

To me that's an unfortunate aspect of Chucks decision to respond to that particular post, because, (and he points this out), theres no question, so there's no real response, its just a distraction.

Its also the reason why I typically refuse to engage in a point by point argument and counter argument with detractors. There's nothing to argue here, detractors have their opinion and I have mine. A detractor's not going to change my opinion of DST, and I'm not going to change theirs. I buy DST's product, detractors typically don't. I like DST's product, detractors don't. And there's nothing wrong with that. Though, I have to admit, I sometimes wonder why some people put so much effort and passion into arguing on the internet about something they don't buy and don't like, but hey whatever! If that's their hobby, then great! Enjoy it! I'm not letting it ruin mine! In the big scheme of things its just not that important to get all worked up about.

[bgiles73]

About Tron - the UK Toys R Us's don't seem to be stocking ANY Tron toys so I can't comment on it first hand.

It could be as simple as this though; Tron has been out of circulation for what 30 years, it was only ever one movie where as Star Trek is a franchise spanning the best part of 40 years, and thats before 2009 - Tron: Legacy comes 30 years after the Original, plenty of time for that movie to be forgotten. No kid would have even known about Tron - Star Trek is a much bigger entity and has been non stop for 45 years (so far), and has never really gone away for longer than 10 years, and even then you had repeats and an animated series. Star Trek just became unpopular, a show that was seen as a show that had had it's day, a show that had lost it's creative flair and become this ridiculous show about silly people dressing up in pyjamas, but it was still known, there's a big difference. Whilst I do agree with you that more should be done to get the kids interested, I would suggest that even more has to be done to sell Star Trek than you would do to sell Tron. Tron has no stigma attached to it, as far as kids know, it's just a new thing that daddy would know about.

Star Trek hasn't had the luxury of a 30 year break, had that happened and then JJ Abrams movie revived it all, it would have probably been huge with kids because it would have had the years to have been forgotten by many.

But then again we might of had something similar to the "Lost in Space" revival movie. True absense makes the heart grow fonder. The stereo type of a Trek nerd that the documentaries "Trekkies 1 - 2" portrayed is truly going to be hard to shake! All I'm saying iswith a little work they can turn it all around. 2009 Star Trek was the first that I remember to advertise during the Superbowl of all things so it's a start.

[bgiles73]

he he! I admit nothing But seriously, I can't tell if the level of dissatisfaction (aside from just not getting any product) has risen. There are people who railed against AA when they had the license, and then took the torches up for DST once they got it and now sing nothing but praise for AA! There's also people that rail against everything, AA, DST, or Playmates!

Its typical that people who are happy with things just don't say as much as those who are upset. Every time we have a poll on this site it seems to come out about the same, there is s certain % of people that think everything is great, a % that hate everything DST does, and (it seems to me) the bulk of people who recognize the product for what it is, and are generally happy, but always challenge DST to do better!

Collecting Trek Toys is a hobby for me. Something I want to enjoy. I don't do it for money, or for any personal gain other than I'm a fan and I like the product. Its not all perfect. When something disappoints me I say so. Likewise when I'm delighted by it I say so. But I absolutely refuse to get bogged down, or distracted by detractors of something I want to enjoy as a hobby.

To me that's an unfortunate aspect of Chucks decision to respond to that particular post, because, (and he points this out), theres no question, so there's no real response, its just a distraction.

Its also the reason why I typically refuse to engage in a point by point argument and counter argument with detractors. There's nothing to argue here, detractors have their opinion and I have mine. A detractor's not going to change my opinion of DST, and I'm not going to change theirs. I buy DST's product, detractors typically don't. I like DST's product, detractors don't. And there's nothing wrong with that. Though, I have to admit, I sometimes wonder why some people put so much effort and passion into arguing on the internet about something they don't buy and don't like, but hey whatever! If that's their hobby, then great! Enjoy it! I'm not letting it ruin mine! In the big scheme of things its just not that important to get all worked up about.

Amen there brother! When the fun of collecting a line escapes me I bail, just like Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line. DST has screwed a few things up, but nothing on the level of Matty Collector! If you read the current news about the Ghostbusters line, it seems we were even duped into believing The Four Horsemen sculpting team were working on that line as well. Even though the original AA team has left over the years, we were never mislead by DST Chuck into believing that Digger and team were still handling all the sculpts.

I hope DST can continue what they do. Goth don't let my love of all things 3 3/4" detract from your enjoyment of the 7" line, 'cause while I'm rooting for a mass produced 1:18th line, I'm also praying they do Chapel and Rand for the 7" line! I'll be buying them too!

[JMW326]

he he! I admit nothing But seriously, I can't tell if the level of dissatisfaction (aside from just not getting any product) has risen. There are people who railed against AA when they had the license, and then took the torches up for DST once they got it and now sing nothing but praise for AA! There's also people that rail against everything, AA, DST, or Playmates!

Its typical that people who are happy with things just don't say as much as those who are upset. Every time we have a poll on this site it seems to come out about the same, there is s certain % of people that think everything is great, a % that hate everything DST does, and (it seems to me) the bulk of people who recognize the product for what it is, and are generally happy, but always challenge DST to do better!

Collecting Trek Toys is a hobby for me. Something I want to enjoy. I don't do it for money, or for any personal gain other than I'm a fan and I like the product. Its not all perfect. When something disappoints me I say so. Likewise when I'm delighted by it I say so. But I absolutely refuse to get bogged down, or distracted by detractors of something I want to enjoy as a hobby.

To me that's an unfortunate aspect of Chucks decision to respond to that particular post, because, (and he points this out), theres no question, so there's no real response, its just a distraction.

Its also the reason why I typically refuse to engage in a point by point argument and counter argument with detractors. There's nothing to argue here, detractors have their opinion and I have mine. A detractor's not going to change my opinion of DST, and I'm not going to change theirs. I buy DST's product, detractors typically don't. I like DST's product, detractors don't. And there's nothing wrong with that. Though, I have to admit, I sometimes wonder why some people put so much effort and passion into arguing on the internet about something they don't buy and don't like, but hey whatever! If that's their hobby, then great! Enjoy it! I'm not letting it ruin mine! In the big scheme of things its just not that important to get all worked up about.

Very Well Said!!!

[Gothneo]

Goth don't let my love of all things 3 3/4" detract from your enjoyment of the 7" line, 'cause while I'm rooting for a mass produced 1:18th line, I'm also praying they do Chapel and Rand for the 7" line! I'll be buying them too!

I.A.G. (Its all Good!) bgiles73!

I'd love to see someone make a 3 3/4 line for the people that want it! All lines come to an end sooner or later, and I recognize that DST certainly seems to be in the twilight of this line.

Like most lines though, it feels unfinished, and you know what, that seems to be the thing about toy collecting!

[Destructor!!!]

Those are good suggestions, and I think they would do well, but as Chuck would no doubt point out, we don't have all the facts.

They are probably weary of all the great suggestions that they won't be able to produce for one reason or another - cost, time, buyer confidence, sales projections, Licence limitations, etc...

We, as fans, only have our own limited observations, the odd bit of information Chuck tells us, and most importantly our own desires and tastes.

Chuck knows this, so when he reads an "uninformed" fan giving him a list of "Definitely successful" product suggestions, he probably just facepalms, and consults the market research reports crowding his desk procaliming Kirk and Spock two-packs as the safest and cheapest products for them to produce.

They have brains in DST, they do think of awesome stuff they could produce if they could justify the risk, they just can't sell all those ideas to the people they need to keep happy.

I think that was part of the reason Chuck responded to that. To tell us that he's not just sitting there in a bubble, unaware of our frustrations. He and the team feel them too, but there are mitigating circumstances that prevent them from doing the things we, and they, wish they could.

They are a small and passionate company, and I am grateful for everything they produce. The love of the source material is evident in every item I've bought from them in a way that it never was in Playmates items.

I'm not an action figure guy, so I can't really comment on that side of the business (except to say that my BSG Brendan "Hotdog" Costanza figure is GREAT!), so bear in mind (AGHHH! YOU HAVE A BEAR IN YOUR MIND!) that I'm really only commenting on the tech and the ships.

[Gothneo]

CBS has a Star Trek Store?

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Well... lookey there! your right! I never knew that. (really I didn't!)

Oh and its not true that DST doesn't advertise... I've seen adds in the Star Trek Mag, ToyFare, and other magazines...

[Destructor!!!]

Isn't Web advertising easier and cheaper than print advertising? Or am I behind the times?

[Gothneo]

Sure is... much more targeted though.

[Destructor!!!]

I visit lots of geek sites and star trek sites.

I only ever see DST products in ads for stores like Entertainment Earth.

*thinks* that may be because of my ad block plus extension.

[Alex]

All right, I have to be honest here: I'm glad that Chuck replied to Edward Cole the way that he did, because it was the type of reply that was justified. I understand Mr. Cole's frustration, but I also understand where DST is coming from, and when I see the "fan dumb" (not saying any of us fall into that category ) insist that they know how to handle the Trek license better then DST does, and provide no background or credentials other then "I'm a fan with internet access," they lose all credibility in my eyes. Andy/TheHSBR owns a business, Rick owns NewForce, my credibility consists of the fact that I live with someone whose worked in market research/advertising for 30 years, and I personally have a background in TV production. (I really don't want to go into more detail, but in the interest of fair disclosure, I figured I might as well mention that.) When I see someone complain about the packaging like Mr. Cole did, my initial reaction was "that was CBS's decision, not DSTs," and sure enough, Chuck managed to bring that up in his honest and accurate reply.

Again, I understand why fans are frustrated, but I also know that DST has information that we don't, and that they're producing what they can. Look, I want a Voyager line as much as Mr. Cole does, but at the same time, I understand that the figures, and action figures in general, simply haven't been selling well in the past few years, and I also understand that I don't have DSTs balance sheets or market research in front of me to give me enough information to determine whether or not a VOY line would sell. Like Chuck said, DST isn't perfect, no company is, but DST is definitely better then the alternatives that I've seen, especially for Trek. One thing I can tell you is that CBS has more pull then DST in what toys do and don't get made. A good example of DST bucking CBS was the Maltz/Kruge two-pack; DST was warned by CBS that the two-pack wouldn't sell well at all, but they went ahead and tried to take pre-orders for it to see if they could justify production, and when it turned out that CBS was right, and DST and the fans weren't, DST pulled the plug. Now to be fair to CBS, they've actually given DST more lee-way then Play Along had under the old contract with Art Asylum. When ENT was new, Paramount demanded that Art Asylum produced ENT figures, even when they weren't selling, and we all saw what happened there: the production of peg warmers bankrupted Play Along and Art Asylum, and DST pretty much bought out the Art Asylum name and its people and continued the Trek line, avoiding ENT which was selling terribly.

The one way you can vote for more Trek product is to buy Trek product that's already available; pre-order the new Enterprise-E and WOK communicator, pre-order two and keep one in the box, pre-order three and give one to a friend, but pre-order and pre-order frequently. The same goes for the figures that are available, if sales pick up, DST has something to bring to CBS to sell them on additional figures. The best way to avoid having current product canceled before its released is to pre-order it. This is true of just about anything, so if you're like me and really want the new Enterprise-E, you probably have the ship on pre-order. If you want the Salt Vampire, you'll probably order a few of them if they become available again. When market research tells DST that an item won't sell, the last resort is pre-orders, and if those don't work, things don't get made and it becomes a lose/lose situation. This is true of any product line, and it's why I continue to pre-order items like the new Enterprise-E.

I find this quote from DST Chuck interesting:

"One more question- for you this time. What company do you think is waiting in the wings to jump on the Classic Trek license? WE love Trek, we

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[Fat Valentino]

You know, I'm not an AA/DST collector, but the frustration about the cancelled waves/reissues combined with his response make me suspect that DST's Star Trek line may be poorly managed. I feel it was very unprofessional to answer an ernest, if poorly articulated appeal with insults. Fans are pissed that you won't release anything new for a year, so he mocks their business saavy? The business side of things is the producer's problem, not the customers. The guy must have been drinking in his office to post that rant, very unprofessional. If Hasbro pulled that, someone would lose their job. Shame on you. Honestly, I wouldn't mind a goofy, chrome plated Power Rangers style Star Trek line at this point.

[Gothneo]

I'm not saying DST couldn't advertise a bit more, but people are acting like they don't advertise at all!

Page 10 of the last issue of "Star Trek" has a 1/2 page blurb on DST's new trek toys... why pay for something when certain sites report it for free? Its a waste of money! What would DST get for advertising here! We all know they make the product! Its the retailers that need to advertise, and they do (on many sites, but FHC is add free... and thank you for that FHC!)

If your not seeing any DST adds, then your not looking. Just a short time ago I was on an airplane, and while browsing through the Airline mag, bam! there was a DST add, and it featured Star Trek toys of all things. I thought that was a savvy use of add dollars.