So, after my success of my first review, what better way to follow it up with another one?
I held a little vote, and it was unanimously decided that DS9 Tom Riker would be my next review, so what am I waiting for?
A little story. According to various bits of info I've heard, mainly from a thread around here, Tom Riker was meant to be the DS9 version of Barclay or Ogawa, a background character you'd commonly see. Apparently this was to some degree confirmed by Mr Frakes at a convention some time ago, though don't quote me on that. Tom did make it to DS9, albeit in a TNG command uniform in "Defiant", as a Maquis terrorist .
Here's Tom's official bio courtesy of Memory Alpha :
http://en.memory-alp...ki/Thomas_Riker
To the pictures!
A front view, boxed. Just like Jake-O, despite the fact he has a TNG badge and base, he has the Generations badge on the box
You can see all of Tom's accessories, plus his POG, and of course, Tom himself.
A back view. Strange, he has a different arrangement of characters compared to Jake, with people from both the second wave of DS9ers and some from the generic "Star Trek" wave.
A close up of the bio.
Tom's accessories. From left to right: "Scanner" (in fact a TNG prop that's turned up about a 100 times as different things, thanks to Jpatrik for the help in locating what it was), a type 2 phaser experiencing some kind of, err, sub molecular inverted phase pulse or something looking at the stream, a DS9 monitor (actually a monitor Dr Crusher uses: http://tng.trekcore....nerlight249.jpg , and I believe a computer game console re-purposed in S1 of TNG. Also note the fantastic Wormhole graphic on the screen.), a standard issue tricorder, and his POG.
It's a base! (Vreenak style voice)
Tom, freed at last. It's basically an O'Brien body with a Riker head (to be honest he's painted better than my actual O'Brien!).
A close up. Sorry about that white fleck of dust or something on his head, the badge is particularly painted nicely.
And finally, Tom with his phaser and the not so DS9 monitor DS9 monitor
Would I recommend him?
I'm going against common opinion, and I'd say "hell yes". Sure, he never showed up in an episode, but it makes it more appealing for me. In my mind, he's "an alternative Tom Riker from a parallel universe", it's like the Generations TNG crew for me, I'm a sucker for alternative universe stuff and this exactly my sort of thing. Good sculpt, good accessories, good articulation, and very few problems.
Price?
I paid £7 for him, about on par with a regular MISB box figure in my country. Not to mention he was never officially released in my country, and he's one of the last I need to complete my collection, I'd say it was a very good deal!
Playability?
Well, the fact he isn't in an episode limits it, I suppose. But in my mind, adding the alternative universe spin gives him a range of possibilities.
If you'd like a particular picture, or a better view of one, don't hesitate to ask!