Tomalak's Toy Chest

Star Trek toys from my collection, and some other stuff

[tomalak2366]

Nacelle Wave 1 - Weyoun

Last, but by no means least, it's five figures in one! Weyoun was one of the main antagonists in the final couple of years of Deep Space Nine, effortlessly becoming a fan-favourite thanks to Jeffrey Combs' magnificent portrayal. So why five in one? Well, Weyoun was from a race of clones. We first meet his fourth incarnation in the episode To The Death, which was also (spoiler alert) his final episode. But he popped up nearly a year later in Ties Of Blood And Water and there was no stopping him. Not even repeated deaths.

This was one of the first figures to get into the hands of fans in late 2025, but unfortunately he did not make a good impression. Nacelle ended up pulling the wave, blaming poor quality control, and vowed to resume shipping only when they had been rectified.

So did their efforts pay off? Let's dive in and explore Nacelle's take on this particularly sadistic and ruthless civil servant.

I'm happy to say the Face Sculps work very well indeed. There's a cheery head, and a rather sterner look, capturing both sides of Weyoun's Janus-like personality.

The smiling face gives us Weyoun in his diplomatic moments, as he attempts to ingratiate himself and win friends by diffusing tense situations and trying to make sure everyone gets along. It's also the perfect head for Weyoun 6, the so-called "defective" clone who seeks to defect to the Federation in the excellent episode Treachery, Faith and the Great River. This is the one in which he memorably samples all the textures known to Federation replicators, eating pizza using chopsticks. Thanks to the bundled accessories, you can replicate this at home! What a time to be alive.

The sterner face is perfect for when he's commanding Jem'Hadar shock troops to murder Damar's family, or preside over the ceremonial offering of Ketracel White to ensure their obedience. As such, he's kitted out with three vials of white, as well as the ornate container. Unfortunately this isn't functional, but looks the part.

Both faces are some of the best in the wave, but share the common issues with a lack of detail and rather thick paint work. Brian Volk-Weiss has talked about looking at different techniques in future waves, including tampo printing. I think the sculpts are fundamentally very good, so I am optimistic future waves will only improve.

The final accessory of note is the headset, which Weyoun and others wear on Jem'Hadar ships in lieu of a viewscreen, and which gave Captain Sisko a headache. This piece isn't quite as successful as Peter Preston's respirator, as it fits rather loosely and awkwardly on the figure's head. At least my example does. Perhaps I could gently reshape it with some hot water.

The final extras are the usual six additional hands. The figure is overall a quality effort, and Nacelle did him proud. He's a sturdy figure, with no issues standing up straight. The costume is very nicely detailed with the patchwork colours and patterns.

The problem with this figure is that he demands company! Most of Weyoun's associates have never received action figures: Damar, the Female Changeling, Thot Gor, or most of the Jem'Hadar, most notably Omet'iklan, played by Clarence Williams III. It also suggests completing the rest of the Combs Cinematic Universe, especially Liquidator Brunt, Shran and even the brutal Detective Mulkahey from Far Beyond The Stars. Surely a sub-theme in the offing.

Well that's it. We'll have to wait the best part of a year for the next wave to land. I'll likely do a final post summing up overall impressions of the wave, a forward look to what's next, and what I'd like to see from future waves.

And I will try to keep this blog going a bit more regularly. I've still got Playmates' DS9 line to finish reviewing, with Odo stuck in my drafts since 2018!

And finally, thanks to my two regular readers for your likes, I'm happy at least someone is reading these!

LLAP

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Nacelle Wave 1 - Tuvix

In the thirty (yes, 30!) years since Star Trek: Voyager's second season, no episode has cast quite the long shadow as Tuvix. Wherever Star Trek fans gather, debate will rage about Janeway's decision to forcibly murder Tuvix/save Tuvok and Neelix (delete as appropriate). Like some Trekkian Godwin's Law, all roads in the Star Trek Universe lead back to Tuvix. Lower Decks even gave him the tongue-in-cheek sequel episode Twovix.

And so it was natural that he would be front and centre of Nacelle's eclectic first wave. Have they given him the just treatment so cruelly denied by Janeway? Let's find out.

I'll start with the head sculpts, for there are two! But whereas Peter Preston and Rachel Garrett came equipped with their death masks, Tuvix has a neutral visage, and a much more emotive, anguished secondary. For my money, this is some of the finest work Nacelle have done to date. Both are excellent, perfectly capturing Tom Wright's nuanced performance, but the second head is the clear winner for me.

The neutral head is very good, and it allows us to make best use of the bundled accessories - a standard boomerang phaser and tricorder, a Starfleet duffel bag, and the pesky symbiogenetic orchid that caused all the trouble.

But the second head really brings this character alive. Together with the extra hands (six in total), you can make Tuvix plead for his life all the way along the Kubler-Ross Curve. From denial, to anger, bargaining and depression. He never quite made it to acceptance.

The rest of the figure is equally good. I'm happy to report none of the issues I found with Garrett. Tuvix is rock solid and stands securely, and he adopt more dynamic poses using the excellent articulation.

The unique uniform is very nicely replicated here - the swirls of Neelix's coat merge with Tuvok's mustard shoulders to give the character his iconic look.

All in all, I think this is a cracking figure. It sums up Nacelle's first wave in that it's a fan-favourite character who had never before been produced as an action figure. But there's also some wry humour in making an action figure of a character who has become something of a meme.

I highly suspect that when they finally make a standard Picard figure in Wave 5, he will come with a facepalm hand. And why not?

I'll finish up with some pack shots. And you don't have to be a genetically-engineered clone to work out which figure will be the focus of my final review of this first wave...

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Nacelle Wave 1 - Captain Garrett

Hot on the heels of Peter Preston, it's the short-lived Enterprise captain who also proves that two heads are better than one.

Yesterday's Enterprise is undeniably top-tier Trek, and Tricia O'Neil left a huge mark on the franchise as Rachel Garrett. Whilst by no means the first female captain seen on Star Trek, she was the first to have a genuinely prominent role in a story, and helped to pave the way for Captain Janeway to follow a few years later. She brings dignity, respect and a flawless aura of command to the role, going toe-to-toe with Patrick Stewart. It is Garrett who makes the crucial decision to take the Enterprise-C back to face certain death.

And yet, no one had thought to immortalise her in plastic, until now. Along with other fan favourites like Weyoun and Jellico, Nacelle have righted that historic injustice.

First impressions are another strong figure. In her tray, she has an extra head, as well as the usual six extra hands, a PADD, TOS movie-style communicator and phaser, and finally a TNG cobra phaser.

Head sculpt is another solid effort. It certainly sells Garrett, especially that angular bob of hairspray and steel beloved of early TNG. I think overall this is on a par with Jellico, in that it's perfect from some angles, but a little bit off from others.

The uniform looks good, albeit it's the rather odd half-way look that simply dropped the belt and undershirt from the Monster Maroons. They look unfinished, by far the worst version of this uniform. But that's not Nacelle's fault. It is flawlessly realised.

Taking her out of the tray, and things get a little bit weird. I could not get her to stand up straight for more than a couple of seconds. The ankle joints are very soft and rubbery, so it's difficult to get the feet at the right angle. To balance her, I had to lean her forward so much that it looked like she was doing bodyweight squats.

Eventually I was able to get her to stand up straight, but it doesn't take more than a passing breeze to knock her over. Again, I would love Nacelle to throw in some simple clear stands with these figures.

Articulation is as we've come to expect. The long uniform jacket is slightly pliable, but it does restrict her hip movement, so I'm not sure how good she would look sitting down. The Nacelle figures also have these hip joints that mean the legs flare and manspread, almost like the old Playmates figures.

But if you can get her to stand, she looks good phasering Romulans.

And finally, that extra head. Just like Peter Preston, we have Garrett's death mask, with a piece of metal lodged in her frontal cortex and her eyes staring vacantly into space. It's macabre and silly and great.

RIP Rachel Garrett, 2290-2344/2366.

I would love to see a proper Yesterday's Enterprise Tasha Yar to go with her, and perhaps even Lt. Castillo. I'm sure Nacelle will oblige if the line continues to be successful.

Next up... another victim of an unfortunate accident.

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Nacelle Wave 1 - Peter Preston

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is almost universally regarded as the best Trek film. Full of iconic moments, from the return of Khan, to the Ceti Eels, the death of Spock, a breakout performance by Kirstie Alley, and Khaaaaaan!!! But it took a very long time to get the right toy line (as pointed out by Mike from Retro Blasting). Playmates made Saavik and Khan, as well as Kirk, Scotty and Chekov in their Generations line. They came back in 2022 with Kirk, Spock and Khan. Diamond Select filled out the main crew and added Captain Terrell for the first time. And now Nacelle are set to complete the speaking characters! Drs Carol and David Marcus are coming in future waves, and I'd be surprised if Joachim isn't on the long list.

But first up, is Peter Preston, Midshipman first class, engineer's mate SIR!

Nacelle have knocked it out of the park with this one. Preston comes in the TOS movie engineering pressure suit, with cadet red collar. It looks great, with the various buckles and clips for hanging tools, as well as those chunky boots and gloves.

Face Sculpt is another good effort, with a clear resemblance to Ike Eisenmann. But you don't just get the one face sculpt...

At first I found him a little tricky to pose, but once I'd correctly aligned the ankles, Pete can strike some surprisingly dramatic poses. He's equipped with the TWOK phaser and weird tricorder and communicator which were only seen in that film. He's got the standard bunch of hands to hold everything appropriately, as well as a couple of engineering tools.

He's also got the emergency respirator, which is a very cool addition. This perfectly sits over his face and plugs into the port on his chest, so he can stay at his post when the trainees a-ran.

And finally, there's a second head to reflect his ultimate fate. This is another great sculpt, with the horrible injuries and vacant stare he gives Kirk on his deathbed in sickbay. It's pretty macabre from Nacelle, but I salute their attention to detail.

And yes, the injured head can also rock the respirator in what is probably the coolest display option.

Could they have done any better? I'm struggling to nitpick here. Maybe a helmet, which was seen in the background of TMP, but Preston never wore one. So I think this is a pretty perfect plastic Peter Preston.

Great job Nacelle. I'd love to see Scotty in the same costume one day!

Next up, another ill-fated Enterprise officer...

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Nacelle Wave 1 - Captain Jellico

Next up, but actually figure 001 in this wave, is Captain Edward Jellico. Memorably played by Ronnie Cox, Jellico was the hard-ass substitute captain who made Riker's life miserable whilst Captain Picard was busy being tortured by a sadistic Cardassian. [And Gul Madred himself must surely be a cert for this line if it keeps going].

In some ways this is the most "standard" figure in the wave. It's a guy in a typical TNG-era Starfleet uniform. But as ever with Nacelle, it's the accessories that give him a fun twist.

The face sculpt is another 8/10 effort from Nacelle. In some light it looks very much like Ronnie Cox, but in others it's a little bit off. But a very creditable effort.

The simple TNG uniform is nicely rendered, with the comm badge and rank pips being the only departure from the red and black. He's got the usual articulation and the complement of space hands.

The fun parts are the accessories. As well as the ubiquitous cobra hand phaser and PADD, he comes with some character-specific pieces. Firstly a spread of his kids' paintings, which he can scrutinise and critique at his leisure. Next a book entitled "Cardassians: Customs and Etiquette", which I don't recall from the episode.

And best of all, the fish tank. Patrick Stewart despised it, the production team regretted it, so Ronald D. Moore finally allowed Jellico to voice the immortal line to Counselor Troi: "Get that fish out of the Ready Room". Nacelle have sentenced Jellico to spend eternity trapped with poor Livingston. It's a very nice piece, which makes one yearn for a Ready Room playset. At least it gives Jellico something for target practice...

This week's very nerdy nitpick: the phaser should be black on the section behind the emitter. And I'd love to see Nacelle include phaser holsters with the TNG figures - it would give some throwback Playmates Wave 1 vibes, and give more display options.

Not much else to say about Jellico. he's another nice figure by Nacelle, and a fan-favourite character who should have been immortalised in plastic years ago. I would love to see his spiritual predecessor Commander Shelby turn up in a future wave, and maybe even Data's nemesis Bruce Maddox to complete the theme.

I'll close with a few pack shots, and a tease for the next figure: we're going back to the movies for an ill-fated young engineer.

[tomalak2366]

Nacelle Wave 1 - Valkris

It's fair to say that when Nacelle announced the line-up of deep cuts for their inaugural wave, few figures caused more eyebrows to rise than Valkris. After all, she was an extremely minor character in just one scene of a film that is somewhere in the middle of the pack according to most fans.

And yet, she was only the second ever female Klingon character seen in Star Trek. She played a crucial role in the movie, establishing Kruge's ruthlessness by executing his own lover, And she's got a great look.

To sweeten the deal still further, Nacelle shrewdly packed in the Genesis Device. Not just the data tapes, not just the control console, but the whole kit and caboodle. The result is, according to Brian Volk-Weiss, the first wave's biggest seller.

But enough preamble, how is the figure?

The packaging continues the standard theme, but it's double the size of the others. The Genesis Device is very nicely displayed alongside the figure.

Breaking her out of her plastic prison, this is another excellent figure. The face sculpt is very good, capturing her subtle cranial ridges, as well as her rather arch eyebrows and ornate headgear. I would maybe have liked to see her glammed up with more eyeshadow, but she would already not look out of place at Studio 54, so perhaps less is more. Her cleavage would send even Ricardo Montalbán back to the gym.

The rest of the costume looks great, with the long, soft plastic silver coat and the chainmail-effect outfit replete with large jewellery. No wonder she always stands in the film, there is no way she could sit down in all that.

Articulation is typical for Nacelle. Her stilettos make her a little tricky to stand up, but the long cloak does help add extra stability. I've found adopting a split stance with one leg forward is best, and gives her a more animated look. She's got the usual eight hands - fist, closed grip, open grip and trigger finger.

Accessories include a disruptor, tricorder, bat'leth and Genesis data tape. The tricorder is better than Archer's as the strap is somewhat flexible, but it still looks best hanging on her shoulder. The data tape is simply a tiny black rectangle, but it does the job. To be very pedantic, the disruptor is the TNG version rather than the Search For Spock edition - the emitter should be different. And of course, the bat'leth sword wouldn't appear until TNG's 'Reunion', six years after the film. But it's an essential Klingon weapon, so I won't complain.

So finally, onto the Genesis Device itself. The control console is a chunky piece of equipment, with the red "COMMIT" label at the top, the iconic aluminium rings below, and the eighties Modern Props-style blinky lights around it. Incredibly, and I wasn't aware of this until I opened it, the console has an action feature! A quarter turn of the control knob pushes the spring-loaded central column in and out. It's a lot of fun.

The Genesis Torpedo is huge! It looks a little like a novelty sex toy, but if you look past that it's a pretty great replica. The case closes around the torpedo, and whether it's by accident or design, the innards can be removed from the clear plexi sheath to allow further examination of the details.

With Carol and David Marcus coming up in future waves, fans and collectors will be sure to want to add this to their shelves. And it helps that Valkris is a very nice figure in her own right. As a fan for whom the TOS movies were really their introduction to the franchise, I am a huge fan of these characters being immortalised in plastic.

Next up... skipping forward about eighty years to the Next Generation.

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Nacelle Wave 1 - Captain Sulu

Review number two, and it's figure 004: Captain Hikaru Sulu from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

I was a little bit critical of the face sculpt on Mirror Archer (see previous review), but I'm happy to say that Nacelle knocked it out of the Quadrant with Captain Sulu.

The packaging is on point. It's the same frustration-free card box with plastic tray, free from any tape or annoying twist ties. There's a great shot of Sulu in signature tea cup pose, plus the usual shots of the rest of the wave.

The face sculpt is phenomenal, especially at this scale. It just gives pure Takei as far as I'm concerned. It perfectly captures this most honourable and loyal of captains. The sculpt really benefits from some soft lighting, which picks up all the detail in his face.

The uniform looks perfect, complete in every detail. The colour is a rather nice rust red, which captures how it often appeared on screen, rather than a more saturated maroon or blood red as it sometimes looked.

Articulation is the same as Archer, so suffice it to say he can do everything you could reasonably expect of him. My example has slightly loose joints at the bicep swivels, particularly the right side. The right thigh swivel is also a little loose. But it doesn't seem to impair poseability.

He's kitted out with the cup, as well as the other standard Starfleet gear and no less than TEN hands. There's a pair each of fists, trigger fingers, tea cup grippers, open and closed grips.

He comes with both the Wrath of Khan-era and Undiscovered Country phasers and communicators, which is nice attention to detail. I will make one small criticism - the assault phaser is a bit small. That thing should be the size of his head!

But if you don't want to equip him with one of those weapons, Sulu will take on his foes with his bare hands.

So, onto that tea cup. Yes, it works perfectly with the two included hands. I realised after taking the original photos that the cup and saucer actually detach as shown on the back of the packaging, although the saucer does have a rather ugly peg.

The best gimmick in the set is the flap! Yes, you can pop off the front of his chest and replace it with the more casual, open look. I hope other Monster Maroon figures have the same feature. Perfect for kicking back with a nice brew as you head home under full impulse power. What could go wrong?

Final Thoughts: This is a lovely figure. It's nicely detailed, and importantly it captures George Takei and the character very well. The accessory load out is just right for the character too. I'd love to see Commander Rand or even Ensign Tuvok to keep him company.

Next up... let's stay with the movies, but spotlight one of the female figures.

[tomalak2366]

Nacelle Wave 1 - Mirror Jonathan Archer

I decided I'm going to do these in a pretty random order, but I'll start with Archer because I have the old Art Asylum Archer and Kirk, so we can do some comparisons!

This will probably be my wordiest review, because I'll talk a bit more about packaging and general impressions of the line.

Packaging is very nice. It's sturdy and protective, but also collector-friendly. It's easy to open, play or display, and then repack like new. Just one seal along the bottom edge which is easily sliced. it's got the generic Star Trek Universe logo, but also the logo from the specific TV series or film along the bottom.

The double layer of plastic means it's not super easy to see the figure in the box, so these are really designed to be opened. But the boxes would also look good stored away in a bookshelf.

Sliding out the tray and everything is neatly arranged. Note there are no twist ties, sticky tape etc.

Face sculpt is... so close. From a lot of angles it's giving Bakula, but the jaw the the nose are slightly off. Mine has a flat tip to the nose which isn't great, but not worth returning.

The face is also a totally different colour to the neck. Worryingly orange. Maybe Mirror Archer was a Trump fan?

The comparison with Art Asylum makes the shortcomings more obvious. I believe AA used 3D scans of Bakula, and as a result it's unmatched. The Nacelle face is softer, rounder. It's not bad by any means, it's just not perfect.

BUT I will say that having looked at the rest of the wave, this one is the weakest. It gets much better from here.

Articulation is phenomenal. Ball jointed head, shoulders, hips; double jointed elbows and knees; swivel waist, biceps and thighs; and ball joints at the wrists and feet too. They enable great poseability, but as with most figures it doesn't take much to knock him over. Nacelle really should include a simple base with these. The figure does have foot holes for third party bases.

Against the Art Asylum line up, Captain Archer towers over his Mirror counterpart, and TOS Kirk is slightly larger and bulkier. Nacelle has much better proportions. I don't have any other 6" figures for comparison unfortunately.

So if you plan to display these together, they aren't far off, but won't be quite right, which fans might find frustrating. It's a little like the 2022 Playmates wave against their nineties predecessors.

Accessories are very nice, and they work really nicely with the various hands, especially the bottle-pouring gimmick. The hands are mirrored, so he's got one each of fist, tight grip, trigger finger and more open grip.

The one criticism I have is the TOS tricorder. The rigid strap means you can only have this hanging off a shoulder. It looks absurd with the figure holding it. The Art Asylum tricorder was perfect, with an adjustable, flexible plastic strap. I hope Nacelle consider improving this for the TOS crew in Wave 3.

Here's come accessory comparisons: AA on top, Nacelle below. They are really very close in size and quality.

Bottom Line: this is a quality product, which has been well-thought out and clearly made by fans, for fans. But there is some room for improvement.

Cheers!

Next up: Oh my...

[tomalak2366]

Star Trek Wave 1 - Nacelle Company

Is this thing on? I've just received a giant box full of Star Trek action figures from the Nacelle Company, and I'm going to have to review these babies.

Little teaser of what's the come...

[tomalak2366]

Corgi USS Enterprise NCC-1701 [Refit]

Hello, is this thing on? I'm reviving this long dormant blog to post photos of this lovely new model.

This is my favourite version of the Enterprise, but hasn't had the best of luck with toys. Playmates never made one in their 1990s heyday. I did have the Micromachines Enterprise-A, and a small die-cast model produced by ERTL in the eighties. In the collector die-cast arena, Eaglemoss could never get it quite right. Their smaller versions of the TMP refit and the Enterprise-A suffered from pretty crude blue transparency insets in the front of the nacelles, and the XL version was a catalogue of errors. Infamously it used the wrong bridge module, the saucer rim was devoid of detail except for some crude name and registry numbers in a comically large font size, and it was missing most of the airlocks and hatches.

I'm happy to say that Corgi has rectified most of those issues with their new model, and produced a really nice version of this ship.

Firstly, the box feels very premium with a foil Starfleet Command logo on the top, and the ship name and line drawing on the side. It hinges open to reveal the model nestled in plastic and with some text in a suitably LCARS style inside the lid.

First impressions were very good! This model has some really nice fine detailing and beautifully crisp paint apps. The name and registry look spot on and are the right size. The bridge is the right shape! The saucer rim has the correct gridlines and airlocks, with the absolutely tiny name and UFP text perfectly legible.

The windows are printed rather than molded so there are no alignment issues. The impulse crystal and deflector dish are painted rather than clear plastic inserts, and look excellent.

The aztec paint scheme is really nicely done. The base paint is a flat grey, with the aztec panels printed with a slight sheen. When the model catches the light it looks awesome, picking up all that detail. Really impressive for this scale.

With all that being said, it is not completely flawless. The most obvious omissions are the officers' lounge windows on the rear of the B/C deck hump below the bridge, and the lack of detail on the torpedo launcher.

You can also see that the impulse engine exhaust is simply printed in flat black, and if we're being hyper critical, the rec deck windows aren't the right shape. Due to the die-cast construction, the nacelles are split down the middle, so it is missing the vertical grey detailing down the front of the intercoolers.

In terms of construction, this thing is rock solid! It appears to be entirely metal, weighing in at 245g and measuring 21cm. That's the same size as the Eaglemoss midsize ships and the new Fanhome line. However, the predominantly plastic Lower Decks USS Cerritos weighed just 180g.

The nacelles are perfectly aligned and there are no issues with parts fitting poorly. There is a small stamp for the legal info, but it is tucked away under the saucer next to a subtly embossed Corgi logo.

I don't love the stand. It's the same one Corgi use for their other Trek ships, and is very light plastic. The ship sits on it well enough with a rubber peg, but I don't think it would take much for it to topple over. I may look for an alternative, or perhaps fit some weight to the base.

Is it good value for money? At £64.99 it is on the pricier side, although die-cast model prices have been climbing dramatically in recent years. The slightly larger Eaglemoss XL Enterprise-A retailed for £49.99 in 2018, but the new Fanhome range now cost £55 each, and their XL models are a staggering £80! I think the Corgi model is better quality overall, so represents fair value for money. If you are a collector of die-cast Star Trek ships, I don't think you will be disappointed.

It's available now from Corgi's online shop, and presumably UK model and toy shops. Unfortunately I believe they do not have the licence to distribute in North America, so you may need to import if you want one.

[tomalak2366]

Major Kira Nerys

Kira was always one of my favourite characters on Deep Space Nine. She was a big departure from Spock and Riker, the dependable first officers we had come to expect. She wasn't especially happy to have to report to Sisko at first, she didn't take any shit and had a very dubious past. She grew a lot over the course of the series.

Naturally she was a core part of Playmates' first wave of DS9 figures in 1994. This whole line is some of Playmates' best work, and the Kira figure is one of the gems.

She comes in the standard cardback and blister packaging of the range, with the figure boxed next to her accessories and a trading card. The card shows Kira's look from the pilot episode, Emissary, with longer, more coiffed hair. Thankfully Nana Visitor fought for a different look for the series, arguing that a fighter like Kira wouldn't care about styling her hair. Fortunately the figure represents this look from the series.

The back of the card gives a rundown of her gear, and a short bio. Unlike Dukat's, this is all good stuff. I'm not sure I'd call Kira "emotionally erratic" to her face...

Once she's liberated from her plastic internment camp, we can see how good this figure is. The likeness is perfect. Unlike the first Deanna Troi and Beverly Crusher figures, Kira isn't heavily made-up, and doesn't suffer from absurdly dainty hands and feet. She's sturdy and built for action, just like Kira should be. The hair is great and the Bajoran nose wrinkles and earring are all there.

The sculpt for the uniform is equally as good, with great detailing on the combadge and rank pin. I love how Playmates used a matte effect on the quilted sleeves, the belt and boots, and left the main part of the costume glossy. It's a great effect and gives her nice contrast.

Like Dukat, she's got a nice set of accessories which are appropriate to the character. Unfortunately they're blue... She's got her unique Bajoran pistol plus a tricorder and padd, plus a duffel bag which we saw her use from time to time. The display stand is a nice replica of the Bajoran comm badge, and there's also one of the ubiquitous trading cards. I never knew what to do with these.

Kira's got the usual 12 points of articulation, which means you can give her some pretty cool, dynamic poses. Obviously she looks best holding her phaser ready to kick some Cardassians off her planet. Go girl!

Next up, Kira's eventual soul mate.

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Commander Gul Dukat

Ah, Gul Dukat. Played to perfection by Marc Alaimo for seven years on Deep Space Nine, he was probably the best villain in all of Star Trek, including Khan. He was complicated, charming, scheming, sinister, witty, hypocritical, caring and reprehensible.

He made his debut in the pilot episode, Emissary, but then surprisingly in retrospect, doesn't show up again until the penultimate episode of the first season, the brilliant Duet. By the time season two rolls around, he's firmly established as a recurring character, but when Playmates got around to planning their DS9 figure line during 1993, they might have been mistakenly thinking he was just another villain of the week.

Perhaps this is why despite being one of the strongest of all lines that Playmates did with their Trek licence, their Dukat figure is alone in looking nothing like the actor who played him. I've heard the theory that he was supposed to just be a generic Cardassian solider, kind of like the first TNG wave had generic Ferengi and Romulan solider figures. Late in planning they must have gotten the nod that Dukat was coming back, and rebranded their figure.

Let's take a look at the packaging. It's very similar to the familiar TNG packaging that Playmates had been using for a while, being a standard cardback and blister affair, with the figure displayed next to a trading card and accessories. The display stand is taped to the cardback in a baggie. Mine came in a job-lot of figures and is not exactly mint condition. But who cares, I'm going to jailbreak him from his plastic holding cell anyway...

But wait a minute, "Commander Gul Dukat"? Did Playmates think his first name was "Gul"?

The back is again pretty standard - other figures in the range, a little rundown of his gear, and a bio of "Dukat, Gul. Rank: Commander". Yep, this confirms it, they think his name is Gul.

There's some other wierd stuff here, like the suggestion Sisko might ask Dukat for advice! I'm not sure that would have gone down well with his Bajoran staff... Besides, Dukat knew nothing about the wormhole. Playmates does this a lot in the DS9 waves - it's obvious they only had a few lines of press release to go from, so they decided to make stuff up to bulk out their cardbacks.

There's also an ad for a DS9 game for Sega and SNES consoles, promising an exclusive mail-away Sisko figure. He might be tricky to find...

Dukat is mostly a great figure. The uniform is spot-on, with a nice green-grey for the armour, and a darker shade for the rest of the costume. The gold detail is sharp, and they've given him the correct creepy corpse-grey skin of all spoonheads. He's even got his communicator moulded on his left wrist, so great attention to detail.

Speaking of heads, it's a great sculpt, replicating the prominent head and neck bones, with lovely shading and detail. I'm just not getting any Alaimo unfortunately.

The accessories are nicely sculpted too, even though they're cast in a metallic blue rather than a more appropriate ochre. He gets his signature disruptor pistol, a more heavy-duty rifle, a data padd and... er... a "field control unit". I don't recognise this prop at all, but the other three are spot-on. Playmates had done away with detachable holsters by this point so Dukat has nowhere to put his pistol when he's not using it, but at least it doesn't have a beam coming out of it.

He also comes with a beautiful display stand with the colourful Cardassian emblem. Oddly, the name sticker is on the bottom of the stand on mine. I don't know if this was the same for all of them. He's also got a trading card, which is nice I guess.

Dukat's got the typical Playmates 12-point articulation, so he's poseable enough for playing with, but he's still robust and stable, and can stand perfectly well unaided. He can hold his stuff and looks great on the stand.

All in all, a very good figure. This would be one of Playmates' best if they'd packaged him as a generic Cardassian. As it is he's hard to recommend as a figure of Dukat, as he doesn't really look anything like Marc Alaimo.

I suppose the benefit is that he can double as any Cardassian, be it Gul Madred, Gul Evek, or Dukat's own subordinate Damar. Since Playmates never got around to making any other Cardassians except for Garak, I guess that's cool.

Next up, Dukat's nemesis...

[tomalak2366]

Welcome!

I'm setting up a place to talk about my love of Star Trek, and 1990s Playmates Star Trek toys in particular. I'm a nineties kid, and Star Trek was my thing. You can keep your Star Wars or your Power Rangers, for me it was the Starship Enterprise.

Fortunately I was a kid during the golden age of Star Trek, from TNG's early nineties heyday to the peak of the thirtieth anniversary in 1996, and back down again. From 1992 to 1999, Playmates produced an incredible range of toys, including the 4.5" action figures, playsets, starship replicas, role-play accessories and more.

They made so much that I never saw most of them. My family didn't have unlimited money, so I had to pick my toys. I focused on the Innerspace line of inch-high figures and ships which folded out into playsets. You got more bang for your buck, and my bedroom quickly became home to a replica of Paramount's Stage 9, complete with the Enterprise-D's bridge, ready room, conference lounge, engineering, sickbay, transporter room and shuttlebay, all fashioned from cereal boxes. I wish I still had photos!

I had a handful of the larger 4.5" figures, but by no means a complete collection. Fortunately, I've now got a job and access to eBay, so let's see about fixing that, eh?

I'm going to start with the brilliant Deep Space Nine line. I only had Odo and the later Captain Sisko at the time, and being a UK fan, these figures were never as popular or easy to find as the first TNG run. I've recently managed to bag a job-lot of figures comprising most of the first wave. My plan is to unbox and review them. I've no idea if anyone will read this, so let me know what you think.

First out of the hat is a certain fascist egotist with delusions of high office...