...part 1 available here.

In part 2 of my toy exploits, I will be covering the new 'Star Trek' action figures and playsets.  With all the madness and hype surrounding the new film I was surprised to see such a small display at my local target. 

Granted, economic times are tight and I'm sure this applies to retailers as well, but to not have all of the figures available on the day of release is interesting.  I was able to find both of the current playsets which are reviewed below.

The Figures

I found 7 of the current figures available.  Here's a quick break down of who I found: Cadet Chekov, Cadet McCoy, Original Spock, Pike, Scotty, Spock, and Sulu.  Still missing in action are Uhura, Kirk (although he came with the bridge), and that evil, evil, Nero.  Each figure comes with a small plastic stand, accessories, and either part of the bridge or transporter room.  Here's the catch, there are only 10 figures currently in release and 18 spots on the bridge and 4 spots in the transporter room for these pieces.  Now, either, you'll have to buy duplicates of the current figures to fill out your playsets or Playmates will release more figures in the future.

Let's hope they release more figures.

Each Starfleet figure comes with a removable utility belt and Phaser.  Cadet McCoy has a hypospray and both he and Chekov include a data tablet.  Spock and Original Spock have interchangeable hands complete with Vulcan Salute. 

The stands for all of my current figures are either a gold or silver delta shield with the exception of Original Spock who comes with a circular disc.  Each stand (except Original Spock) has a clip that slides into the back giving you the ability to attach it to an article of clothing. 

The build and paint quality of the figures is marginal.  Once I opened spock I noticed that his face was either scratched or the paint from his hair dripped on to it.  Looking back at the photos of the packaging I could see the blemishes so, unfortunately, it came from the factory that way.  There are also a few paint problems on other figures.  Scotty, for instance, has paint from his delta shield on his shirt. 

For being fully articulated, I found it extremely hard to move each joint.  I felt like I was going to break Sulu when trying to bend his legs and torso to sit him in a bridge chair.  I accidentally pulled Spock's arm out of socket and declared a medical emergency. Fortunately it snapped back into place.

For the majority, the likeness of each figure is pretty good.  Sulu, Spock, Original Spock, Chekov, Kirk and McCoy look close to the actors they are based on.  Scotty and Pike on the other hand aren't even close in my opinion.

The Transporter Room

On to the playsets. Included in the Transporter Room set is another scotty action figure (Yes I have 2.  I was thinking of painting a goatee on one and calling him Mirror Scotty), the transporter pad, transporter room floor plan playmat, a control console and chair, and transporter 'tube'.   This playset is by far my favorite of all the new toys.  The single coolest part of the playset is the transporter device itself.  Who doesn't love beaming up and beaming down over and over again. 

To operate the transporter, you attach a figure to the blue disc on the transporter pad.  Then, you push the delta shield button to active the light, slide the 'tube' over the character, and hit the button again.  Here comes the good part, the light slowly fades out to a transporter sound effect and the figure de-materializes and disappears.   You can then remove the 'tube' from transporter pad and place it on a flat surface.  Once there, you hit the delta shield button and your figure re-materializes.  You can then push the small buttons on the side to release the figure and viola beaming accomplished.

This playset isn't without it's problems.  The transporter room floor plan playmat is a bit on the cheap side and my console that scotty sits behind doesn't work quite right.  The buttons on the console are supposed to work the transporter device when it's docked with the pad.  Mine only worked once.  Maybe it's user error, but it still didn't work after pulling the unit apart and re-attaching it.

Is the transporter room fun?  Heck, yeah!  Will I still keep playing with it after it's on display?  You know it!  Like I said before it's definitely my favorite out of the new Star Trek toys.

The Bridge

Last but not least is the nerve center of our lady Enterprise, The Bridge.  First off let me say that the bridge costs the same as the transporter room.  With that in mind, if you only have enough money for one playset go for the transporter room.  For me, The Bridge is lacking in several ways.  First, the floor plan playmat is really cheaply made.  It comes out of the box creased and rippled and it's also very slick.  Trying to stand a figure on it's surface is nearly impossible.  Secondly, the playset seems more like a gateway drug to get you to buy more figures to complete the set.  Out of the box and setup The Bridge is pretty barren. 

On to the good stuff.  The detail for the individual pieces is pretty good.  The view screen is large and it's insert is well printed and glossy.  The conn and helm are nicely detailed plus the captain's chair swivels.  Oooh.  Here's an interesting note, out of all the figures currently in my collection Kirk (that came with The Bridge) is the only one with his Phaser set to stun.  All of the other figures are set to kill.  Kind of ironic.  Speaking of Kirk, he's the one with the least amount of quality control issues.  I think maybe the individual figures were rushed into production to meet the April 19th delivery date.  Just my two cents.

Conclusion

After hours of inspecting and 'playing' with the new Playmates Star Trek toys, all and all I have to say they are fun  And, isn't that what it boils down to.  Sure there are some quality control and cheap material problems, but for the cost I couldn't really expect much more.  If you're a Trek fan and like to collect, these new 'Star Trek' toys would be a worthy addition to you collection.

If you would like to see different pictures of any of the toys I've reviewed, please drop me a line here.  I'll be happy to post a supplemental to this series.