Hellllooo Nurse!

  This is my first review for the Trektoy forums, so please be gentle.

  Before I begin, I wanted to share my criteria for judging an action figure.  There are 6 main categories that I feel make a great figure.  They are as follows:

1.        Sculpt/Likeness – who wants an action figure that you can’t identify?

2.        Paint Applications – nothing can ruin a figure more than bad paint or slop.

3.        Articulation – it’s not an action figure if it just stands there looking at me.

4.        Accessories – how the heck can I play with a figure if they have nothing to do?

5.        Stand-ability – I know it’s a bit of a weird category, but I do like to display them.

6.       Packaging – This isn’t really for me (cause I open), but it’s important to others.

  I will be judging each of these categories on a scale of 0-5.  A ‘0’ indicates a complete fail, while ‘5’ represents the ultimate in action figure greatness.

  For my review, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a TNG series 5 Nurse Alyssa Ogawa action figure.

  Lt. Alyssa Ogawa (played by Patti Yasutake) was one of the chief nurses aboard the Federation Starships U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D & NCC-1701-E. She made 16 appearances throughout the television series and two movie appearances in Generations and First Contact.  Nurse Ogawa was a trusted member of Dr. Beverly Crusher’s medical team and was even called upon to give staff briefings in Crusher’s absence.  It wasn’t uncommon to see sincere compassion or a welcoming smile on Ogawa’s face.

 Let it be said that DST loves TOS, but I can’t think of a bigger tip-o’-the-hat to TNG than this figure.  Let’s face it, although endearing, she wasn’t on the radar a lot.  I think it took a lot of courage on the part of DST to produce her.

  So, let’s begin:

1.      Sculpt/Likeness

I have to say, this is one of DST’s better attempts.  I am not saying she’s perfect, but she is darn near to it.  The face, while maybe a little long, is fantastic.  Fans of the show should be able to say, “Nurse Ogawa” with little trouble.  I love the fact that DST went with a smile for her expression.  I think it reflects Ogawa’s character well.  Smiling action figures weren’t much of a success for DST with the Buffy line, but here, they nailed it.

  I wasn’t able to find many screenshots of Ogawa’s hair, but one that I did find, indicates that the hair is fairly accurate to some of her early looks (ie not movie appearances), although a bit too thick in the back.  Her uniform/body is a re-use of the season 7 Beverly Crusher figure.  While this puts her a bit on the tall side, I don’t think it detracts from the figure too much (argue all you like - LOL).  As I look at the figure closely, it is the little details that catch my attention – the wrinkles in the uniform, the individually sculpted fingers, the zipper on the back, etc.

While I wouldn’t have missed these things if they weren’t there (until one of you yahoo’s pointed it out), they do add to the finesse of the figure.  The communicator badge may be a little over-sized, but again, it’s a minor flaw.

4 out of 5 delta shields in this category.

2.      Paint Applications

Okay, I have to admit that I now own two of these figures.  Both have little-to-no paint slop and that makes me a very happy man. Even the comm. badge, which has to be a booger to paint, is well done.  I do wish that DST had chosen a more olive color for Ogawa’s face to match Yasutake’s complexion better (she is Japanese after all). The teeth are a nice addition to the face and are painted very well within burgundy lips.  The eyes are a bit dull, but in no way make the figure look bad.  It’s nice that the blue department color matches well with the other science uniforms in the season 7 series, and it’s the little touch of the glossy paint on the boots that help add to the beauty of this figure.

One thing that I am glad for - DST corrected that hideous omission of black from the shoulder articulation that was a glaring mistake on the Beverly Crusher figure (good job DST on that one!).  It does make a big difference in the look of the figure.

4 out of 5 delta shields in this category.

3.      Articulation

This is one area in which most of DST’s figures shine for me.  If I count correctly, Ogawa comes with 16 points of articulation – ball-n-socket at the neck, hinge-n-swivel joints at each shoulder, high upper arm swivel joints, hinge joints at the elbows, swivel joints at the wrists, swivel joint at the waist, hinge joints at each hip, hinge joints at the knees, and hinge joints at the ankles.  These bits of articulation are just enough to make her very dynamic without being distracting.  The hip joints are rather obnoxious though.  If you bend the hips into 90 degrees of anatomical flexion, to seat the figure, the legs spread wide and look rather obscene.  A simple mid-thigh swivel joint would have remedied this and added to the overall fluidity of the figure.

3 out of 5 delta shields in this category.

4.      Accessories

Ogawa’s accessories are not very plentiful, but are very character appropriate.  She comes equipped with a Starfleet medical away team case, a standard hypospray, a dermal regenerator, and a Mark-VII medical tricorder.

There is nothing unique about these accessories.  They can be found along with the two Beverly Crusher figures and with Julian Bashir, but she is a one stop place for medical-only accessories.  Despite their lack of uniqueness, I love these items.  Again, it’s the little details that catch my eye.  The buttons and displays on the tricorder, the touches of color on the hypospray, and the caduceus on the away team kit are fairly nice.  I also like the fact that the away team kit comes with a semi-moldable strap.

3 out of 5 delta shields in this category.

5.      Stand-ability

This category is a little hard to ‘grade.’  You’d think either a figure stands or it doesn’t.  I’m here to tell you, you are wrong.  LOL. In the instance of Ogawa, for example, we have a little awkwardness that tends to be a bit annoying.  In an attempt, I think, to make the Crusher figure a little sexier, DST added a slightly elevated hip on the figure’s right side.  This means that in order to get the figure to stand, you have to flex the hip joint and bend the knee slightly.  As Ogawa uses the same body, we have the same problem.

Does she stand?  Yes.  Does it annoy me?  Yes.  Also, AA/DST had/has a bad habit of not including stand holes in the bottom of their figures’ feet – even when producing stands for said figures.  So, standing-wise, she can do it.  She just doesn’t do it as well as I would like.

3 out of 5 delta shields in this category.

6.      Packaging

Ogawa comes in the non-uniform TNG packaging that we saw before Paramount changed things up.  She is blister-carded on a uniquely shaped card.  The colors are blues, purples, and blacks – with a faint star drop in the background.  The figure is prominently displayed in the center of the packaging with the accessories fairly visible to the lower left and right of the package.  The words Star Trek The Next Generation display boldly across the front and the figures name appears just below her.  A montage picture of Data, Riker, and Picard graces the top right corner.

The back of the card displays character pictures for each of the figures from this series: Miles O’Brien, Nemesis Beverly Crusher, Nurse Ogawa, and Ro Laren on the right of the card.  On the left is a blurb about TNG, the words Star Trek, and the DST logo.  Bottom right displays all the copyright info.

Overall the packaging design is a little drab, but its cool enough. I think the use of such low-tone colors doesn’t draw much attention, but MOC’ers will relish in the display-ability.

3 out of 5 delta shields in this category.

  Overall, I love this figure.  She looks amazing and was a unique addition to the character line-up for the TNG line.  I for one recommend her to even casual fans because she happens to be a well-designed and very displayable piece.

Review Summary:

1.      Scuplt/Likeness – 4 out of 5 delta shields

2.      Paint Applications – 4 out of 5 delta shields

3.      Articulation – 3 out of 5 delta shields

4.      Accessories – 3 out of 5 delta shields

5.      Stand-ability – 3 out of 5 delta shields

6.      Packaging – 3 out of 5 delta shields