342 replies to this topic

[Razorgeist]

Eh Id rather they just make the Protostar as is.  The way it transforms would just make the ship way too cumbersome and distorted in toy form.

[bgiles73]

Im wondering how they will do the Protostar bridge on the ship. Will it be clear and will they sculpt out the detailed bridge stations with tiny sculpted crew seated at the stations? That would be sweet! Maybe they could do a 3D hologram picture kinda like what they had on Hasbros B.A.T. figures chest! It is a really cool and unique bridge design and it will be disappointing if the area is just clear with a light up feature and no attempt at trying to create the look from the show.

[bgiles73]

https://twitter.com/...KePUSISOIDHF0QA

[Alteran195]

Oh, two Protostars one with fold open interiors? Interesting.

[RizzoPSU]

Interspace series is back, lol

[Razorgeist]

That second one isnt the protostar its the Enterprise-E!

[RizzoPSU]

Those nacelles are kinda goofy and there seems to be writing of sorts on the side of the saucer? Also, "TrekTec" enabled for figures and 2ft long?!

[Razorgeist]

I would guess that the 2nd one (clearly a cardboard mockup) is supposed to be a playset type toy  while the first one is a classic playmates style ship toy. 

[bgiles73]

I was chatting with Keith Varney of the YouTube Look at My Star Trek Toys channel and he raised a good point. Im not sure if these are in fact a Playmates Toys release. He went ahead and forwarded that question to Playmates. There was no Playmates branding on any of the products on the slide in that CBS presentation. I guess when Playmates replies back we might know something!

[Destructor!!!]

The more-accurate image of the Protostar from that video is a concept art approval drawing, look at this screengrab from Prodigy winning a production design emmy:

 

source

[Morgan]

Who asked for the Innerspace series back, of all things?

[bgiles73]

If they would do those again with figures articulated at least as much as Hasbros Mission Fleet figures those would be really cool to bring back. I just hope that it doesnt take from the main five inch line whatever it does.

[MisterPL]

Who asked for the Innerspace series back, of all things?

 

The void left by Eaglemoss? That and the success Jazwares has been enjoying with the Star Wars Micro Galaxy Collection has probably caught the attention of someone at Playmates looking to offer smaller vehicles to the mass market. 

[Morgan]

Eaglemoss, though, already did 95% of everything that was made, to a much higher likeness standard. These "opening" ships were never scaled properly back in the way (while PM ignored all sorts of shuttles and runabouts it could have tried to make to scale) and it seems to want to do that again.

 

Which is fine, tbh. But I wonder where the demand will be coming from this time around?

[MisterPL]

In my experience, demand is most likely coming from the retailers. If they see little Star Wars ships with 1" tall figures selling well, the corporate toy buyers will ask other manufacturers to do likewise.

 

Especially with another sci-fi boy brand, they'd probably go to Playmates and say, "Hey, can you make these for Star Trek?" As a manufacturer, that's one of the sexiest things you can hear from a retailer because it's a guaranteed order.

 

That doesn't mean the SKUs will sell through, of course, because the demand didn't begin with the end consumer. The idea might have merit but if something runs afoul, the retailer can blame the execution. Similarly, the manufacturer can blame the licensor. "Sorry but CBS wouldn't let us launch the line with more in-scale vehicles like shuttles and runabouts. They insist the money's in starships so..." Yeah.

 

Playmates can try to play Brand Manager, pitting what the retailer wants against what the licensor demands but that's a delicate tug-of-war, especially if the licensor already has a relationship with the retailer. Either way, the manufacturer is just the middle man, a position that has its challenges.

[Alteran195]

People here know these toys are geared towards kids right, not collectors? I absolutely played with the opening ships and things as a kid, and kids probably still do today. 

 

Comparing Playmates line to anything Eaglemoss did is stupid, they are targeted at completely different audiences. 

[MisterPL]

Playmates has a broader market than Eaglemoss but I wouldn't say they're "completely different audiences." Obviously both lines were/are aimed at Trek fans who collect vessels of a certain size. As long as they look good on a shelf, adult collectors won't mind if they open up to reveal a Klingon kitchen playset or whatever. Many might even get nostalgic over it.

 

It's the Trekkies who are anal-retentive about scale (like myself) who might pass on a starship with a saucer that flips open like a cockpit with room for one figure. But again, if it looks as good as Eaglemoss, is readily available, the price is right, and is a ship I don't have, I'm probably adding it to my collection.

[Morgan]

Fellas, let's recall that Pmates hasn't even done the Enterprise-A or the Reliant in large-scale, electronic form. 

 

I certainly hope we'll see that at some point, before any other stuff like another Innerspace line. (Okay, just the Reliant already).

[MisterPL]

Hopefully the old NCC-1701 performs well enough at Target, Walmart, and Amazon that Playmates is comfortable moving forward with the category.

 

Otherwise, it's not hard to imagine any or all of those retailers saying, "Those don't move for us. You know what's been moving? Smaller ship with 1" figures!"

[Razorgeist]

Fellas, let's recall that Pmates hasn't even done the Enterprise-A or the Reliant in large-scale, electronic form. 

 

 

Reliant I could see as who knows how long DST will take to get theirs out.  But AA/DST already did a damn near perfect version of the A I'd rather see them tackle something new.  The Akira has featured prominently in Picard and now prodigy I'd like to see Playmates take a stab at that.