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Should Playmates make a Star Trek: Lower Decks line?


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#21 Gothneo

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Posted 22 July 2020 - 07:05 AM

TMNT isn't a property I collect... but the buzz I've read seems to be generally positive about the the way playmates has handled and upgraded that line. So I don't doubt they *could* modernize and do an updated 4" scale trek line... I just wonder if they want too... and if you update the sculpts, styling and POA on the line... will longtime collectors of the original line want to mix and match?

 

Hasbro has done a pretty good job (finally) of upgrading most of the original ToyBiz Marvel Legends... to a point that I've purchased many of the Hasbro versions and sold off the ToyBiz version... that should be Playmates goal. Sell me a better product than before... and better than DST. 



#22 Morgan

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Posted 22 July 2020 - 08:25 AM

There are no new films on the horizon. New content is behind a paywall. Publishing is dead. Is there a game? 

 

All that said, it seems like we're the ones sustaining action figures and it's largely out of habit. Our favorite toys have gone the way of vinyl records. People buy them out of nostalgia or novelty, depending on their age.

 

Yup, that's the thing: In the future, everything will be behind a paywall. How one even learns of these Trek series existing without being Extremely Online seems more difficult than in the 1980s or something where you thumbed through TV Guide in the checkout aisle. Now you have to sign up for streaming, given them your credit card, feel pangs of guilt or ambivalence while paying for it.

 

I don't even know if the intended audience of action figures is into action figures these days, aside from the Marvel stuff which seems to have some momentum in stores. Everything else is niche stuff marketed to '90s kids: various McFarlanized items for $29.99 a pop.



#23 bgiles73

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Posted 09 September 2020 - 11:38 PM

Six episodes in and this show seems to be pretty well liked. My kids have sat through some of the episodes and have shown more interest in these cartoon episodes than any of the other Star Trek shows before. Over on thefwoosh.com they are now discussing Star Trek action figure possibilities with more enthusiasm. No announcements about toys for Star Trek Day but Lead Product man at CBS J Van Citters tweeted that big plans were coming for Star Treks 55th Anniversary next year.

#24 Gothneo

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Posted 12 September 2020 - 10:19 AM

it seems like we're the ones sustaining action figures and it's largely out of habit. Our favorite toys have gone the way of vinyl records. People buy them out of nostalgia or novelty, depending on their age.

 

I don't even know if the intended audience of action figures is into action figures these days, aside from the Marvel stuff which seems to have some momentum in stores. Everything else is niche stuff marketed to '90s kids: various McFarlanized items for $29.99 a pop.

 

Vinyl is still made... and they charge more than ever for it... and people still actively trade, collect and seek it out... but it is a niche, yes nostalgia, but there are some (misinformed) audiophiles that just believe its better.... also there are select rare recordings that you can only get on vinyl. 

Marvel and Star Wars have managed to hang on by re-selling better versions of the same thing (and they have lots of media)... maybe Playmates and AA/DST are the pinnacle  of trek toys? But would it be so bad if the hobby was mostly about aftermarket items? Morgan does a fantastic job at scanning and writing up playmates auctions. 



#25 Whirlygig

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Posted 23 September 2020 - 01:51 PM

I would say, not until we know whether the show has legs or not.  We know toys won't drive Trek interest.  But we know good shows can drive toy interest.  Too early to tell if it's good.  And I don't want to buy an incomplete line with no plan for how it will fit into any other line I already collected.  Cartoony, glossy, 5 POA figures?  Not really interested.  Figures that resemble the toon but realistic faces to fit in with other figures (see also, what Black Series did for toon/comic characters) ... interested.

 

By the way, I don't know what you're reading about TMNT.  Playmates hasn't managed to do anything at all commendable with TMNT whatsoever.  The buzz is about other lines from NECA, Super7.  Playmates' own attempt at having a deluxe line were received poorly due to loose joints, weird fingers/toes, a short run, and inaccurate likenesses to anything they could possibly have been wanting to represent.  Their basic figures also went downhill into laughable.  Playmates can't do much right at all right now it seems.



#26 bgiles73

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Posted 28 September 2020 - 05:15 PM

Im not reading anything about TMNT I still collect Playmates TMNT and Ben 10 as well as Godzilla Vs Kong. I happen to like the glossy cartoony look and I find that they have improved upon the articulation without abandoning their overall style in designing toys. Maybe its personal tastes, but I would seriously love to see a return of Playmates Toys Star Trek. Im aware that NECA and Super7 are both killing it with their own versions of TMNT and I have no resistance to that! So much the better that I have other options for what I want to collect. I hope Star Trek can once again enjoy that level of popularity. Retro Style toys are seeing a comeback Star Wars (Kenner molds), Ghostbusters, Masters of the Universe Origins (Mattel molds new articulation), Mego and several others. I see no reason Playmates Toys Star Trek should be left out, especially when so many have been tooled and would benefit from minimal articulation tweaks.




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