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!"

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.

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.

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. 

Is there any movement on the Playmates 6" First Contact figures? That seems like a popular scale but there doesn't seem to be much interest in them at auction.