Figure: Nemesis Crusher
Wave: TNG Wave 5
Released: January 2009
Body style: Tall Female FC/Nem uniformed body style (aka DS9 Wave 1 Dax)

   Nemesis Crusher represents all that is right with DST and all that is wrong with DST at the very same time.  This figure may have caused the most debate of any figure released thus far by DST.  For starters, the wave itself was endlessly delayed to the point where a good majority of people thought that it would never see the light of day being that many of the characters were tertiary characters and also the fact that Nemesis Crusher has always cursed waves dated way back to the Playmates days.  On top of all this, we also have the great hair debate of 2008.  The prototype was pictured with a hairpiece that looked very similar to the S7 Crusher but had a newly sculpted bang that more closely resembled her hair style from the movie.  It was also pictured as having her classic strawberry blondish hair that was much lighter in tone from the S7 version and also had numerous blond streaks to make it match even further.  Needless to say after the Nemesis Troi debacle, this figure was being lauded as one of DST’s best works.  However that all went right out the window when the first boxed images started to appear.  Gone was the newly sculpted hairpiece and in its place was the old S7 version.  Images of Nemesis Troi began to haunt people’s dreams and many were forced to relive that nightmare all over again.  Even worse, when the figures actually started shipped also gone was the screen accurate strawberry blond hair.  In its place stood a darker red hair color that was more reminiscent of her early season appearances. I was about to pull my own hair out!  Yet, this figure had something that the S7 Crusher lacked.  Many criticized that figure’s facial paint application because it was uneven at parts and differed many times from figure to figure.  This Nemesis Crusher, despite it not being screen accurate, probably was the best Crusher figure ever produced by any toy company.  It captured Beverly perfectly.  This dichotomy shows why people are so frustrated with DST as a company, but also still love their product and buy up most of what they can get their hands on.  So with no further adieu, lets get to review (sorry for all the rhyme today….I swear its just happening as type!!).

   Surprisingly this is only the second DST action figure I am reviewing so I will start with the packaging.  I am very thankful that they chose to go with the standard TNG styled packaging and not the new packaging style that Paramount has dictated be used on Trek products coming out to coincide with the theme for the new movie.  To me this packaging is a bit bulky but DST for some reason prefers the bulky style.  The main blister is essentially an oval that displays not only the figure well but also the accessories.

   This figure utilizes the “tall female body style” first created for the Wave one Dax figure.  The legs tend to position the figure to make it as though she is leaning to the left which is a bit strange from a sculpting point of view.  I also know that the arms on both the Nemesis styled figures and the S7 styled figures do have trouble staying put at the bicep cut of articulation.  I’ve had one arm (usually the left is the worst) fall off entirely and many the joint shows light from behind.  I’ve bought a number of Dax’s for customizing and all seem to have this general problem so I’m thinking it’s a design flaw and not just a coincidence.  The sculpt also gives the figure a very straight up and down look as if she is standing at attention.   This is different in comparison to the male figure that even though they have a vertical posture, there is usually a little hint of movement in the sculpt.  The figure itself has 16 points of articulation but in essence it is more like 15 because the hairpiece does not allow movement.  The points include 2 ankle, 2 knee, 2 leg, 1 hip, 2 wrist, 2 elbow, 2 bicep, 2 shoulder (which have a hinge and not just a ball socket), and the neck.  One problem I have with this figure is that the articulation and sculpt make it a very stiff or robotic figure.  There’s just not many “action” poses that can be accomplished because of the long arms and how they were sculpted.  On top of that the fat style of hands is nice for a lineup picture, but they don’t carry accessories well and really don’t add much to the figure’s look.  I prefer the curved hands that Troi came with because there’s just more you can do with them.

   The paint scheme is solid on this figure. There’s really nothing overly noticeably wrong.  With the figures that use a flat black, I have been having issues with the packaging twist ties rubbing off little stripes of the flat black and exposing a more glossy finish when the figure is removed.  I guess that’s just part of the game in today’s market and its only noticeable if you look closely at the figure.

   The head on this figure is just really a good capturing of the likeness of Gates McFadden.  Even though its not screen accurate to the Nemesis movie, it still is really a great job. The airbrushing of the cheeks is done perfectly.  The eyes and expression may be a bit too stoic for what I would imagine of Crusher but are still very nicely done.  The hair itself is a reddish brown but the thing that really makes the hair pop are the gold highlights put in.  I was really surprised to see those when I opened the figure and honestly if it weren’t for them I probably would have a completely different take on the figure because something so little does add so much to the overall look.

   The accessories in TNG Wave 5 took a turn for the worse.  They are still better than what most companies put out, but are of noticeably lesser quality than DST’s previous releases.  I thought that DST cut back on many paint washes for some, they switched from paint apps to stickers for others, and they also had some weird choices of what to put with what figure.  For instance Beverly came with a great new medical bag that is really well done.  She also had a “dolphin” phaser and two padds. Surprisingly she did not come with a medical tricorder which really surprised me.  Overall her accessories were on the same level with previous DST releases. 

   In conclusion, despite the obvious flaws in hair choice/color, this really is a nice figure.  I was very angry at first when I found out about the inaccurate hair and then even more angry when they went with a very dark reddish brown color.  I was really mystified as to what DST was thinking.  However, this figure has really grown on me.  The great paint applications really sold this figure and made it a standout in the overall lineup of the Nemesis figures which have had more than its fair share of screw-up’s.  From a customizer’s point of view, this Crusher head will probably be the one that is used the most because of its overall capturing of the likeness.  So in a one little figure I think we have a microcosm of what DST is all about, both what we love and what we hate about them.

Positives:

Beautiful paint apps on the head/hair

Cool Medical bag

TNG styled packaging

Negatives:

Not screen accurate

Issues accessories being held by the hand

Slight lean to the left

Issues with bicep swivel joint

Rating: out of 5 stars.

Click here to see what those hands are good for.

As Always,

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