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The Future of the Diamond Select Star Trek line


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Poll: Expanding DST's Star Trek licence (32 member(s) have cast votes)

Do you want to see DST get a licence to cover both the JJ Abrams movies and the new 2017 TV series?

  1. Yes absolutely I'd love to see DST produce product for both as well as the older shows and films! (13 votes [39.39%])

    Percentage of vote: 39.39%

  2. No, some other toy company needs to take on Trek. (11 votes [33.33%])

    Percentage of vote: 33.33%

  3. Yes but just product based on the JJ Abrams movies as well as their already established TOS - ENT era product (0 votes [0.00%])

    Percentage of vote: 0.00%

  4. Yes but just product based on the new TV series as well as their already established TOS - ENT line (2 votes [6.06%])

    Percentage of vote: 6.06%

  5. No but continue with the TOS - ENT era of the Star Trek franchise. (7 votes [21.21%])

    Percentage of vote: 21.21%

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#121 MisterPL

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Posted 04 October 2016 - 09:29 AM

Given the perceived tone of DSC and the abbreviated season, I doubt the mass market will be as interested in this Trek as they were with TNG. Manufacturers – DST is particular – seem a bit nervous about the new streaming paradigm. I suppose it's a little like syndication in that retailers can't be certain who's watching or when so they won't risk stocking product.

 

I think DST needs to try something new. Like Star Trek itself, they need to find another avenue to end consumers. There's not much sense existing in the direct market if you won't take advantage of soliciting directly to that market.



#122 1701D

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Posted 04 October 2016 - 03:36 PM

1701, DSTs Star Trek line is far from dead, they have been actively producing products for years now. Not nearly as much as we collectors would like, but they have still been doing it.

You seem to think that Star Trek is some big merchandise power house that sells super well, which it isn't. It probably will never get back to the level it was in the 90s when there were multiple TV shows on, and movies coming out all the time.

Star Trek had a big merchandise push when the 2009 move came out. Stuff was advertised everywhere, there were commercials, fast food promotions, a ton of stuff, and it all ultimately failed.

Trek doesn't sell nearly as well as some of the other franchises DST makes stuff for, so they aren't going to invest nearly as much money. It's business.

Star Trek isn't Star Wars, it isn't DC or Marvel, and it never will be. No matter how badly we want it to be.

As I said before, there probably won't be a big merchandise push with Discovery because the last one failed. Maybe a while after the series establishes itself we'll start getting stuff, but I really doubt it'll be when it first airs.


Star Trek has never been a big merchandise power house. Even when Playmates had the license in the 90's, it wasn't as big or as successful as Star Wars.

No I'm not drawing comparisons. I'm saying that DSTs line is pretty much dead. By this I mean that a few items released over the space of two years is hardly a line that is alive and well. It's on life support isn't it?

With no new Star Trek to draw product from, it is only a matter of time before this line does well and truly die off. With Paranount and CBS seemingly uninterested in giving DST the rights to produce product for current Star Trek productions, it doesn't seem as though they have much confidence in the DST line.

And why should they? Diamond have limped on with their Star Trek line with fewer and fewer releases, smaller and smaller profits while they continue to miss release schedules and do nothing to refresh their line.

As for Discovery and merchandise for it. There will 100% be something. this isn't the 90's, CBS will be looking to make as much money off of the fans with Discovery as they possibly can.

With a new Star Trek show, will come merchandise and I bet it won't be diamond select leading that charge.

#123 Alteran195

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Posted 05 October 2016 - 06:28 AM

Few items released?

 

In the last couple years, off the top of my head, they've released:

Select Picard

Select Worf

Femme Fatales Borg Queen

Femme Fatales Deanna Troi

Star Trek 3 Phaser

USS Enterprise NCC-1701 A (This counts since it was a massive rework, not just a re-release)

Enterprise NX-01 (See above)

Retro bridge playset

 

Plus restocking older ships and figures, which is just as important as stocking new merchandise.

 

They have the following products coming:
Romulan Bird of Prey

Khan Select figure

Star Trek TNG Corbra Phaser

The two sets of Retro figures

Unknown Borg select (This is what it is, right?)

USS Reliant

 

This is a pretty good amount of stuff for a franchise that has pretty poor selling power, and a company as small as DST. (Comparatively speaking)

 

The Trek line isn't dead, or dying, they just aren't releasing things you personally are interested in. 

 

DST has the sales numbers and marketing research, you don't. They know what they can invest in, and what sells, you don't. 



#124 1701D

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Posted 05 October 2016 - 02:28 PM

Few items released?
 
In the last couple years, off the top of my head, they've released:
Select Picard
Select Worf
Femme Fatales Borg Queen
Femme Fatales Deanna Troi
Star Trek 3 Phaser
USS Enterprise NCC-1701 A (This counts since it was a massive rework, not just a re-release)
Enterprise NX-01 (See above)
Retro bridge playset
 
Plus restocking older ships and figures, which is just as important as stocking new merchandise.
 
They have the following products coming:
Romulan Bird of Prey
Khan Select figure
Star Trek TNG Corbra Phaser
The two sets of Retro figures
Unknown Borg select (This is what it is, right?)
USS Reliant
 
This is a pretty good amount of stuff for a franchise that has pretty poor selling power, and a company as small as DST. (Comparatively speaking)
 
The Trek line isn't dead, or dying, they just aren't releasing things you personally are interested in. 
 
DST has the sales numbers and marketing research, you don't. They know what they can invest in, and what sells, you don't. 


I'm not telling anyone I have sales numbers or that I know what sells and what doesnt.

I'm simply saying the line is dead. It's stagnant, there's no innovation going into it, there's nothing exciting or new about it, it's dull, it's uninteresting and I'm done with it.

Yeah you can rattle off all of the stuff they've released and re released and will at some point release but none of it excites me, the line... it's done, it's fish food, it's outdated and it seems DST have run fresh out of new ideas on how to invigorate it.

There's no argument here Alt, this isn't me laying down facts, it's my view, my opinion on this line. It's done. Sorry you don't agree.

#125 robster

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Posted 05 October 2016 - 11:02 PM

Well I will certainly be asking about STD,and a few other things,at the DST booth,LOL! Who knows,maybe they'll give some info to random people again. lol!

 

J-R!



#126 MisterPL

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 09:01 AM

http://toynewsi.com/...68&itemid=27389



#127 Jay K

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 12:06 PM

Wow, nothing? lol

#128 1701D

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 01:54 PM

Dead and buried... rip DST Star Trek.

#129 MisterPL

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 03:09 PM

http://news.toyark.c...inimates-225458

 

The Romulan Bird of Prey is there. That appears to be it.  :mellow:



#130 Alteran195

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 04:20 PM

Man that BoP loooks good, can't wait to get it.

#131 Alteran195

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 06:33 PM

1701, how can you look at what DST is doing and say the line is dying? Because they aren't releasing massive amount of figures like they did for a decade in the 2000's? Trek isn't selling well enough to justify that kind of investment. 

 

How can you look at the RBoP and not get excited about future ships? We've wanted sculpted in windows again on ships, but they are going a step further with it and giving us LIT windows. I never would have expected something like that from DST, but it opens up exciting possibilities for future Starfleet ships in terms of lighting. 

 

Everything they release is better in some way than what came before. 

 

Each ship they release is better, just look at the NX-01. The sculpt for that ship is ancient, but its still one of the best ships they have made simply because of the massive changes they made to the paint, lights, and sounds. Even other re-releases with other ships typically offer some improvements that fix issues with previous versions. 

 

The Khan select is coming with a damn captains chair, there has never been a Khan with Reliants chair. Not to mention people have wanted them to release captain chair figures again for quite a while. We may be getting a movie Kirk, or Picard in a captains chair down the line. Kirk would be especially easy since the Enterprises chair shouldn't be terribly different from Reliants. 

 

Even Worf was an improvement over Picard. He came with a ton more accessories which gave multiple different display options, which is something people didn't like about Picard. 

 

We're also getting an electronic Reliant, another thing fans have been asking for for quite a while. 

 

Same thing with the corbra phaser, the first piece of TNG Trek Tek which is something we've been asking for. 

 

Even if another company got the Trek license, that doesn't mean it would be handled any different than how DST has been doing it. It would probably set us way back in terms of what gets released because they'd just go back and start with TOS stuff again. 

 

All DST needs to do is communicate better, and shows more product development. Post a picture on Facebook or something showing how stuff is coming along. I still remember old videos they released showing the electronics of the Enterprise D mounted on a wall just to show it off. Give me stuff like that again and I'll be happy. 



#132 Jay K

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 06:57 PM

The windows being lit is great, I just hope it's a new standard feature on ships to come, and not just because the R-BoP is plain.

That effect would be amazing on a Defiant (same bulbs could light the grills, 'impulse engines', and the ventral windows).

#133 Alteran195

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 07:19 PM

I imagine they could light some of the larger windows on the Federation ships, unless it's a smaller ship like Defiant.

Voyager for example has those big sets of windows along the saucer, and some on the secondary hull that could be lit.

#134 Qcjoe

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 07:57 PM

I think the issue stems from never getting answers. Let's be honest about AskDst. It's a complete joke. I think a certain part of the fan base feels taken advantage of. I do how ever appreciate Zach coming in here and taking the fire.

#135 Razorgeist

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Posted 06 October 2016 - 08:52 PM

http://news.toyark.c...inimates-225458

 

The Romulan Bird of Prey is there. That appears to be it.  :mellow:

 

Oooh package shots!!!!



#136 1701D

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 06:17 AM

1701, how can you look at what DST is doing and say the line is dying? Because they aren't releasing massive amount of figures like they did for a decade in the 2000's? Trek isn't selling well enough to justify that kind of investment. 
 
How can you look at the RBoP and not get excited about future ships? We've wanted sculpted in windows again on ships, but they are going a step further with it and giving us LIT windows. I never would have expected something like that from DST, but it opens up exciting possibilities for future Starfleet ships in terms of lighting. 
 
Everything they release is better in some way than what came before. 
 
Each ship they release is better, just look at the NX-01. The sculpt for that ship is ancient, but its still one of the best ships they have made simply because of the massive changes they made to the paint, lights, and sounds. Even other re-releases with other ships typically offer some improvements that fix issues with previous versions. 
 
The Khan select is coming with a damn captains chair, there has never been a Khan with Reliants chair. Not to mention people have wanted them to release captain chair figures again for quite a while. We may be getting a movie Kirk, or Picard in a captains chair down the line. Kirk would be especially easy since the Enterprises chair shouldn't be terribly different from Reliants. 
 
Even Worf was an improvement over Picard. He came with a ton more accessories which gave multiple different display options, which is something people didn't like about Picard. 
 
We're also getting an electronic Reliant, another thing fans have been asking for for quite a while. 
 
Same thing with the corbra phaser, the first piece of TNG Trek Tek which is something we've been asking for. 
 
Even if another company got the Trek license, that doesn't mean it would be handled any different than how DST has been doing it. It would probably set us way back in terms of what gets released because they'd just go back and start with TOS stuff again. 
 
All DST needs to do is communicate better, and shows more product development. Post a picture on Facebook or something showing how stuff is coming along. I still remember old videos they released showing the electronics of the Enterprise D mounted on a wall just to show it off. Give me stuff like that again and I'll be happy. 


Any new company coming into take on Star Trek would start with Star Trek: Discovery. Just as Art Asylum started with Enterprise.

DSTs Star Trek line is dying/dead not because of the product they produce, but because of how they handle Star Trek. It's handled badly and that I'm afraid has killed this line.

#137 1701D

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 06:49 AM

And just because they've lit the windows on the Romulan ship does not mean they're now going to light the windows on every other ship produced. If they do, excellent but when the Klingon Bird of Prey came out with lit windows, the Enterprise B and Excelsior that came out with it had the poorly applied decals as windows.

If DST show me that they are keen to push their Star Trek line and to do something new and exciting with it then great.

Until then though, this line will eventually just crash out like their Stargate and BSG lines

#138 MisterPL

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 09:04 AM

As a frustrated Star Trek Minimates collector, I feel your pain. DST seems to have a huge hard-on for TOS and it's lasted much longer than four hours.

 

They launched 3-inch Minimates with six SKUs of TOS in 2002. It never saw a second assortment.

 

They redid Trek Minimates with the 2-inch bodies in 2007, expanding the TOS selection to 18 SKUs while only offering two from DS9 and one from TNG. That lasted five series.

 

Then they rebooted Trek Minimates yet again in 2013 with two Legacy assortments that had a better SKU balance (2 TNG, 2 DS9, 2 TOS, and one each from ENT and VOY) but the Minimates starship line was exclusively TOS (4 SKUs of Enterprise variants). Legacy never made it to a second assortment.

 

This year they offered an assortment of the TOS bridge crew to retailers. There wasn't enough interest so DST apparently gave up as if they were out of source material. 

 

Of course there's plenty of untapped source material from TOS, both film and television, but DST went the easy route, the safe route, and essentially offered the exact same product they had before in presumably different packaging. Collectors who'd already acquired that crew weren't interested and newbies didn't even know about it because it never even got solicited.

 

I can't help thinking that anything BUT TOS at this point would garner more interest. I'd wager even the same character assortment offered in uniforms from ANY of the six films would have fared better. But there seems to be an unwillingness on the part of DST to take a chance on anything but the original TV show. They might nervously dabble in other eras but they've never gone balls deep with TNG, VOY, et al as they have repeatedly with TOS.

 

That said, Star Trek is not Stargate or BSG. The latter two aspire to have the kind of brand awareness that Star Trek has enjoyed over the last 50 years. My expectations would be much higher for Trek merchandise than those two, and I entertain no illusions that Star Trek is anywhere near the peak popularity it enjoyed when TNG and DS9 were new and TOS was alive and well on the silver screen.

 

A generational shift is here. Original fans of TOS are literally dying off. The Trek their kids enjoyed most took place in the 24th century, not the 23rd. Those kids are now adults brimming with the same nostalgia that kept TOS going for so long. It's time to offer them the tchotchke they'd like, whether it's a block figure version of the crew of the 1701-E or a desk-worthy electronic replica of Deep Space Nine.

 

In short, yes, DST's Trek line needs to boldly go where it hasn't, or at least in a way DST's not 100% comfortable with if they're going to keep this license moving forward.



#139 djc242

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 09:26 AM

Very good point MisterPL.

#140 Razorgeist

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Posted 07 October 2016 - 01:44 PM

 

And just because they've lit the windows on the Romulan ship does not mean they're now going to light the windows on every other ship produced. If they do, excellent but when the Klingon Bird of Prey came out with lit windows, the Enterprise B and Excelsior that came out with it had the poorly applied decals as windows. 

 

Drama aside that actually brings up an interesting point.  Was the Klingon BOP developed first or the Excelsior/Enterprise-B?  I know that BOP was released first.






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