Redshirt#7

(continued)

And other uses for the big, huge gap exist, such as the "lets pull Data apart and plug the karaoke machine into him" game 

A back view of the playset

And that's not all folks! This has one more ace up it's sleeve...

This. It doesn't look like much, but if you have the bridge...

...you can do this. That black piece fits under Engineering and the Bridge, and links them. That's why Engineering is so high, to allow it to link to the turbolift doors at the back of the bridge.

Some more shots:

(if you look at pictures of the real Engineering, the main central rim around the articulation frame is white with light. If you look at the core in this pic, you can see how well they replicated that effect)

And to prove, absolutely, 100% certainly, that this is bigger than it appears on the outside:

And one last thing, some recreations of my favourite TNG episode:

 

"I was driving starships, while your great-grandfather was still in diapers! I think you'd be grateful for some help! I'll leave ya to work, Mr. La Forge."

Few! That was an extensive review, I hope you enjoyed that as much as me. But before I go, the conclusion!

Would I recommend it?

Hell yes! It's a playset, it's for the 4.5 inchers, and it's engineering.

Price?

Extremely varying, depending upon country and state of playset. I got mine for a lot, new, but less than what I bought the bridge for, loose.

Playability?

As mentioned earlier, it oozes with it. Scan, fix, blow up, plug bits into Data, flashing lights, sound effects, so, so much you can do with it. I'd say it rivals the bridge for the amount of playability 

My only complaints is that the pool table wasn't made, and that no other playsets where made! They did such a good job, I wonder why more playsets weren't made.

(continued)

Wes checks the alignment of the articulation chamber, or, Geordi's revenge for upstaging him multiple times and turning up years later complaining that his Engineering is a complete pile of trash

And though it may seem it's more complicated, this is how the whole warp core lights up:

A very, very bright light. The instructions give you instructions on how to repair this if necessary

Across from the core, Geordi's office from the other side. Those stickers where such a pain in the backside, it took me 20 minutes to get them right. For the record, that big green line, the two smaller ones, and the three red labels are all stuff you are advised to apply. OK for a kid, hard for Mr Gorilla hands here. 

The power transfer conduits, very nicely done too (no lights, however).

And behind the power transfer conduit, a LCARS panel! It's almost the same (it may even be the same) as the sticker on Geordi's office divider, so I won't repeat the details.

Arooounnnddd the corner (DS9 mention! Whooo! I always try and get one in, some way, some how), we have this big huge gap, with LCARS panel! What, you don't want to see it?

At the top, another of those compartments, and an "emergency override" panel. Some very welcome details! 

So, that's the Engineering playset, without any figures! Here's some figures in the playset (well, I couldn't go this far and give up, could I?)

And, if you happen to own a Traveler figure, you'll realise that you can do this:

It's almost exactly the right width. And while were on this picture, why is Geordi's unique stool so useful? Well, I tried this stool, for a more classic TNG look, and it works fine, except Geordi looks, err, strange, due to the V crotch being viewed from behind . The other stool, the Voyager one that comes with the playset, rests the figure on the top, and overall it looks much better.

(continued after this short break)

(continued)

The sticker on the wall just bordering Geordi's office. From the top, Environment, Propulsion Sys, Antiproton generation, Damage ctrl

And behind the divider, a LCARS panel, one of those hatches that you see getting knocked around in fight scenes, and some labelling.

And across from the divider:

The duty officer's station, again, the LCARS are superbly executed. One of the play features is that it...

...folds into the unit. It reminds me of the dinner trays you get on coaches that fold out of the seat in front. By the way, I should say where you place the little red/orange labels is up to you. Most are dictated to be placed in certain spots such as around the core and in Geordi's office, but a lot are spare, so really it's up to you where you place them.

And now, to the main attraction:

The core! 

Powered by AA batteries!

And now, the effects! The core produces lights and sounds when it's either turned on (power on noise), the big button on the left of Geordi's panel is pressed (emergency warning), or the button on the right (warp core breach, or, as we say in England, brown trouser time). When it's turned on, it automatically produces the power on noise, and if left alone, it'll flash blue and produce no noise. And for the first time ever, my first video:

In order, power on, emergency warning, and warp core breach. 

However, if you'd like Geordi and everyone else to survive the night, you can use the laser bypass tool, above in Geordi's hand to avert the warp core breach by...

...pressing the warp core breach button, and waiting for however long you think Geordi needs to mess himself before you insert the laser bypass probe into the hole by the two buttons, above (this really doesn't sound right)...

This then forces a little piece of plastic down, which flips the manual switch under his console to "off", giving the illusion that he's just averted the warp core breach. When you turn it back on, the process reverses and you can give Geordi hell all over again!

Do you remember the mini Dilithium from earlier? The hatch opens and you can place the crystal inside a small opening, simulating the articulation frame. And to prove it's so spacious...

(continued after this small break)

Thanks reverie! Any suggestions for them are always welcome, in the meantime, however, I have a few more:

#16: Door accident 

#17: Shatnerian acting on the bridge

#18: Transporter accident

#19: Accidental trespass of the Marvel comics toybox

#20: Making Worf break another of his model ships 

#21: Sudden realisation that Playmates never made a Turbolift as he steps through the Turbolift doors

#22: Jamaharon in a shuttle

More to come in the coming weeks

So who here is looking forward to Christmas? And who else has decorated their tree in Star Trek ornaments?   

I haven't put any decorations up just yet, though tonight or tomorrow the tree will be raised, Bird of Prey ornament and all.

And finally, a Christmas song to get into the spirit of things:

A wee bit late, due to a mix up with Eaglemoss, but some pictures of the Runabout and Hideki:

By the way, fantastic pictures Jay K! I believe in the DS9 tech manual it was said that the Hideki was essentially a copy of the Defiant, that it was made with plans of the Defiant or something like that.

Good evening everyone! At last, another exclusive review, that has become an accidental tradition! My plan, initially, was to seek out the strangest folk I could find and review them (as per the suggestion from jpatrik), essentially focusing on the strange and the bizarre rather than the regulars. So I experimented with doing something different, as well as doing something different, by reviewing some of the harder to come across figures, starting with Video Worf, then TNG Sisko, and now, Seven of Nine!

A brief introduction, for those who may be unacquainted with the figure. Toyfair magazine, during Playmates reign, had various promotions where, I believe, you mailed away to get a certain figure (have, you, noticed, that, I tend, to...talk, like a certain, famous, captain with all, these, comma's?). These figures would be reuses of old moulds, with some interesting results, much better than what it sounds like on paper (Piece Of The Action Kirk and this Seven being my personal favourites so far).

This particular Seven was the last Playmates Toyfair exclusive, offered with issue #29 in November 1999 (credit to Newforce for the info) and coming in the last style of exclusive packaging that exclusives would come in, mimicking the larger 12 inch packaging I believe. Even today, she remains popular and still commands a relatively high price on the second hand market.

So the question is, is the figure worth the hype?

To the pictures! 

A front view. Sorry for the blurriness in advance, large amounts of Saurian brandy where consumed in the making of this review (and the Mugatu/Mugato review, for those eagle eyed viewers) so excuse the 1970's BBC special effects. 

In all seriousness, the packaging is fantastic, probably my favourite type Playmates made. It's completely different to your usual Playmates blister package, a nice image of a Voyager flyby, a nice view of Seven inside a window styled in a Starfleet delta, and other various assorted information (and if any of us had even the slightest temptation to swallow Seven, her base, or her accessory, a WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD symbol is present to sooth us in the knowledge that she is indeed dangerous due to "small parts" for under 3's...)

A close up, less shaky and a bit more clearer. Seven is tied down to a blue tray inside, with three twist ties around her waist and her arms (those terrifyingly disturbed fiends at Playmates, they have her tied down!)

A back view. Lot's of various logos, names, addresses, the information from the front and the artwork as well are present, along with some addition stuff about what's in her box and a nice planet graphic in the top right. Overall, very nicely done Playmates.

Seven, post freeing from plastic tethers. Upon opening, along with Seven, we also receive a Voyager style combadge base and a "Borg scanner", more on that later. Seven is a resculpt of silver Seven and a repaint of Blue Seven, with the various lines on her biosuit, her metal clad hand, and a Voyager combage present, it's pretty damn accurate.

A few pictures from Trekcore:

http://trekcore.com/...e/7of9_s7_b.jpg

http://trekcore.com/...ne/ttds_114.jpg

A close up of her left side of her face. I personally think it's one of Playmates best likeness's, with the detail on her eye piece rather impressive.

A view of her right hand side of her face. The head is excellent as mentioned, with her other cybernetic implant done very well and the hair very nicely sculpted. However, I've got a few production problems with mine. There is something strange going on with her neck joint, and the paint on her arm seems to have burst in one area, resulting in a blemish.

A back view. The detail continues on to the back, however, it seems something even more strange is going on with one side of her face. Also, some legal documentation is visible on the back of her leg. Nothing that bothers me personally, but you, of course, may have a different opinion. (Is this where DST got the idea for the legal stuff on the E's nacelles? I kid)

Seven's accessory. It's identified as a "Borg scanner", however, the truth is a little different than that. I've never seen it used as a Borg device, instead, I've seen it used in Mott the Barbers hair dressers as a hair curler, as a device to repair a Pakled ship and I believe the Enterprise C, and, once, used to reattach Data's head. I'm also pretty sure I've seen it elsewhere too.

Seven's range of articulation, one in each leg, one in each shoulder, one in each elbow (sideways), and the head. This became Playmates staple articulation during the last few years of their run, unfortunately. However, it does "aid" the sculpt in certain ways and, it's Seven! Unlike a S7 Nog, Weyoun, Damar, or the female Changeling, we got a figure of her, limited articulation or not, to more or less complete the bridge crew.

3 7's

Would I recommend her?

100% yes. More so than the blue Seven, she represent's Seven in the latter seasons of Voyager, making her a must have if your a Voyager fan to complete your crew. 

Price?

Despite being some 15 years old or so, she still commands a high price. I bought her for £15, the higher end at which I would've paid for her, but I've seen her go for much, much more.

Playability?

Lot's! She's Seven, put her with the Doc or Janeway, have her have fun with Harry, have her go crazy and smash the place up like she did from time to time, beat up Neelix, the possibilities are endless!

I hope you enjoyed the review, if you'd like anyone reviewed specifically, or have any feedback, it's always appreciated! 

A front, boxed view. I always liked and didn't like the warp factor boxes. I like them because I like the design, very nicely done with the curved side, the logo, and the cardboard insert carried over in concept from the cadet's line.

Why I don't like it was because seeing this box signifies the end of Playmates reign, if you know what I mean.

A close up. Nice to see what your getting, not covered up by a card or an insert.

A back view. These warp factor cards prevent any strange goings on, however, the picture of Bev is of the prototype, much like the other Cadet's so far it's painted more than the real article

Her bio. Like the other Cadet's, it's constructed using info from various episodes (Sub Rosa and The Arsenal of Freedom to name a couple).

Her accessories. Full disclosure time, her Bio sensor is MIA, it's a thin, tiny, wrist attachment. When I find it, I'll post an additional picture.

Anyway, from left to right, Radiation mask, sample analyser, and a medical tool belt, which...

...has a removable, er, thing. I use it as a cortical stimulator or something akin to that. 

A front view. Nice detailing on the suit, particularly around the legs. The black strap linked to the tool on herself isn't movable, it's completely static.

A close up. From various angles, she looks, for lack of a better word, startled, but from others, like this angle, the likeness is pretty good.

A back view. I never realised the figure had a pony tail till I opened her. The detail continues around the back.

Cadet Howard with the mask and belt. It seems the Cadet's have universally useless equipment, Worf's Jell-O weapons and white night reconnaissance outfit, now this radiation mask...I think, in a disaster, you'll have more luck with a UV light source or Data's tea set for radiation protection.

Would I recommend her?

Yes, it's a good figure, you can get her cheap, and it crosses one of the list of cadet's to get. However, if you don't like the Cadet's, or Beverley Crusher, you may not like her as much.

Price?

Universally worth it. This one cost £7, not bad in my opinion, and everywhere I've been seems to have her for quite cheap.

Playablity?

What exactly do you do with a Cadet? If you keep to the laws of physics, not much. However, she may meet Cadet Picard...I'll leave it to your imagination.

One last thing, Bev's numbered 000,000. Is that possible?

Any suggestions are always welcomed!

Off topic I know, but just to mention that I received my first two DST ships (the third one fell through at the moment, due to my cash going else where (damn you Amazon for your good deals!) ), and I must say I was very, very impressed.

I'll admit, I haven't bought any DST Trek stuff for a while, because I had some bad experiences with a Riker, Worf, and Soldiers Of The Empire Worf, but I caved in and bought some discounted ships. I had the money, and thought, what the hell! Might as well try them. So I opened them up, and I couldn't believe how good they where. I got the First Contact E, and an original, non cloaked, non semi cloaked, and non landing legged BOP. The E's got one or two things that bug me, the plastic around the nacelles and shuttle bay where a bit loose, and all the legal stuff on the bottom of the nacelles, but other than that, it's pretty damn good. The other, the BOP, is beautiful and perfect in every aspect. The lights, Chang's Shakespearean quotations (the "Cry Havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!" was worth the price itself, just to see how it startled my cat with all the flashing lights. It's now earned the name "Chang's disco ship" with all the flashing lights), and the wings, just fantastic.

I apologise if I caused any offence, that was never my intention, ever, to anyone reading my posts. I can just get really impatient, and it can get damn frustrating as a fan sometimes, somewhat even more now I've seen what you can make.

One more thing, I'm also a pretty big Marvel fan (I've been reading comics since I was about 5, maybe 6) and collected the original Marvel Legends from wave one till about two waves into Hasbo's run, and though I've bought only one thus far, I must say, DST have done some superb stuff with Marvel select. Every time I see my friends collection, or pass Forbidden Planet's selection, I become a little bit more tempted to buy the classic Ultron you've just made, or the classic Colossus. And, though I know a figure of neither of these guys will be made, if ever a Hyperion, Korvac, or a Count Nefaria where ever made, I'd be the first in line to buy them, no matter the price.

Just to throw my hat in the ring, I pretty much agree with everything Jay K has said, I can particularly relate to your last point.

In particular, I can tell you now that I've bought my first two DST ships (since I bought the original AA NX-01 back when it was released), and I'm looking at buying another today. If I heard that, say, a Defiant was coming, I'd more than certainly go out and buy an Enterprise B or a BOP to use as the Lakota and the Rotarran right now, in addition to the other ship I was going to get, rather than sit on the money for the Defiant.

I'd seriously do anything to get any DS9 related ships, Jem'Hadar bugs and warships, Cardassian Galor's, Maquis raiders, Runabouts, the Defiant, DS9 itself, but the sad truth of the matter is I don't expect anyone to produce any noteworthy DS9 merchandise for many years. When we finally got DST DS9 action figures, we only got half the cast (better than Voyager though), hence I don't expect them to touch DS9 or Voyager for years, as companies just don't see them as profitable. I think it's more likely that the first DS9 ship we'll get is a Reliant Saratoga variant exclusive to some shop on the dark side of the moon.

I can see them making a Reliant and a TOS BOP, as they are from TOS, a sure bet for merchandise nowadays, and they're relatively simple to make. Plus, I can think of about three different Reliant configurations (Damaged, Soyuz, and sans rollbar) and a variant of the TOS BOP (remastered or original depending on how you look at it), fitting in with the DST many variants theory.

(DS9 fanatic rant over)

Well, I had a few spare moments the other day, and decided, out of the strange humour in my reviews, that I'd take some random shots of Riker.

As I'm sure you all aware, Riker's ripped uniform has become the stuff of legend, the wave one figure sporting three rips in his uniform. In one of the Star Trek magazines I was reading, it asked the question, "Does anybody have any ideas on why Riker's uniform is ripped?". So then I started thinking, what if I came up with some answers to this long, endearing question?

Without further ado, 

#1 Spot

#2 Bar fight at Quark's

#3 Jamaharon

#4 Jamaharon with a Mugato

#5 Work Place injury

#6 Proximity to Harry Kim 

More to follow in the coming weeks!

Thanks all!

robster

It's Jeff, with Scott and Virgil (not pictured). The rest are being cleaned, like the rest of my action figure collection!

I'm really happy to see the USS Centaur, a lesser known kitbash making it to the big league! I'm now hoping for a USS Yeager and a USS Curry. And the NX refit, very pleased with that outcome, lets all hope for the Titan. 

I've got power!

A bottom view.

A bottom view

Off topic, I took a picture of my "photo studio", as it's come up in a few discussions:

And, based on a discussion earlier in this topic, I snapped my spare Eaglemoss D in half. A few pictures:

Hahaha, giant Riker and Kenobi at helm! It's real strange what kids do to your toys when you let them loose. I love the posing in the second shot, the way the Borg's lunging out of the turbo lift, Geordi's kind of leaning away, and Worf looks like he's showing off, the " You know, I destroyed two Romulan Warbird's last week and wrestled a Borg with one hand, blindfolded." look.

An additional shot:

Latinum!