The Macfarlane toy line died they couldn’t even sell Picard and Kirk. Mickey didn’t even come out. The 2009 toy line died a quick death. I think the new toy line will die as well. Star Trek is dead. The franchise is aging out because the new stuff isn’t Star Trek and no kids are watching it
Those pegs are pretty cold. Something has to be put on them to warm them up. Burnham, Tilly, Soji, there will be enough figures to keep these pegs toasty warm for years.
To add to the screw ups, those Generations figures were wearing Uniforms that never appeared on screen, and in fact were never actually made. Paramount cheaped out on the wardrobe budget for Generations and instead played mix and match with the DS9 Uniforms on the TNG crew. Hilariously Jonathan Frakes was wearing Avery Brook's DS9 "Sisko Uniform" and Lavar Burton was wearing Colm Meany's Chief O'Brien suit. Even better they couldn't be tailored to fit as they still were needed for their DS9 actors. Frakes almost pulls it off, but Meany is much much taller and broader than LaVar Burton. Another screw up was in that horrid 1701 release. The Picard Tapestry figure was wearing a Wrath of Khan Kirk era uniform. For Tapestry they redressed the uniforms a bit, just as they did for Yesterday's Enterprise. A big change is the turtlenecks were gone. The real killer items in the Playmates offerings were the ships. Those were fantastic, Well sculpted with lights and sounds. I would kill to have that DS9 in my collection today. Oh and Good News/Bad News. Word just came out Yesterday. Playmates has just gotten a new Star Trek license. So they will be making Star Trek toys again. The Bad News... The license is for the horrid Alex Kurtzman Secret Hideout shows only. So Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds and possible Lower Decks only. No TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT toys :_(
That alternate uniform actually appears in the film. They shot footage in those uniforms for approximately one day. Geordie is in a scene wearing one of them, though he is out of focus. There are also outtakes where he is wearing the uniform as well. You can find them on You Tube. It was decided that the uniforms did not look good on screen. They decided to scrap the uniforms, and use a mixture of the TNG season seven uniforms and the season one DS9 uniforms. Unfortunately, it was too late for the toy company to revert the toys back to the TNG version of the uniform. Some of these alternate uniforms survived, And were sold in the big auction in 2005/ 2006.
The only good thing you can take from that is contractually if you see Picard toy's under this license it means that officially Picard is non-canon to the original Trek just like Discovery.
As to your ship’s request. Eaglemoss has some very nice diecasts and they have a Star Trek line. You might have to go secondary market but you’ll find what your looking for there. Hot wheels of all companies produced some very nicely made ships with the same metal and plastic style. But those are like finding gold these days. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pair about 10 years ago. But if your looking for DS9 TNG TOS ships then your only hope is eaglemoss. If your into modeling Star Trek then I can help there too. Polar lights models recently acquired the old AMT Star Trek molds and they’ve been re-releasing the old kits. I got an enterprise A a few years ago from my brother to replace the one he damaged and my mother threw in the trash compactor. ( of note this is one of about a 1000 deep emotional battle scars on my hull and if you want I’ll get into it another time but for now let’s let old battles be sung about over bloodwine). But anyways Star Trek is going back to the underground kind of fan base it once had. We who bought the toys, the models the figures? We kept it going, as we once did we shall again. Introduce your kids to the show tell them about it, it’s up to us once again to keep it alive as Gene the great bird of the galaxy Roddenberry himself intended. Teach your kids about it as your parents did you. I rediscovered TNG with Ron Moore and I discovered I liked it more as I got older. Embrace your inner nerd my friend cause we no longer have to hide in the closet as we did in school
@@matthewcaughey8898 oh yeah I have an assorted collection of Eaglemoss offerings. But the old Playmates DS9 was spectacular. And just about properly in scale with the smaller scale Eaglemoss ships. With some neat lighting and sound effects. It really was gorgeous for a retail toy offering.
@@andrewtaylor940 I’ve got a playmates defiant that I had to scour heaven, hell and the forgotten realms to find. That’s without question my personal favorite and it’s always on a stand on my desk
The Abrams figure line was a let down. Not only the bridge "playset" was incomplete out of the box by design, it was just a mat with a few structures. Requiring the remaining bridge pieces meant you needed to by the figures, however, at least in my area of Canada the remaining bridge pieces weren't packaged with the figures making it a moot point to collect if you can't get the whole "set" together.
The line of Star Trek phasers Playmates cranked out were very cool. I had a few of them. I did have one of the 6" Picard figures from the Insurrection line. Great likeness of Sir Patrick.
What killed the collector market in the nineties was greed. Trading cards, comics, and toys all fell prey to companies that got the bright idea to screw over their customers with limited runs, exclusives, variants, and chase items. I lived through it and went through the stages of nineties collecting: excitement at seeing my favorites on the shelves, followed by anxiety at not being able to complete my collections, ending with anger and disgust as I quit throwing my money at an industry that seemed to enjoy making me suffer. Greed killed my enthusiasm.
Same here. Same for so, so many of us, I imagine. The industry killed the goose that laid the golden eggs when it soured its hardcore fans on collecting. To this day, they haven't learned the lesson, though, as evidenced by the convention exclusives for toys and the multiple number ones on comics NOBODY reads. They brought it on themselves!
It still continues. Several companies like Figures Inc, McFarlane and Necca all have a Batman 66 license, Kenner is releasing a ton of retro and new style Indiana Jones and look at all the crap variations from Necca- and from Funko-Who needs Batman and Superman as Gingerbread. Expect them to all fall also.
What was with the rips on Riker’s uniform anyway? I don’t recall that ever actually happening for them to base it on a particular episode. Then again, Data didn’t have opening uniform flaps to get at his circuitry either!
When the Indiana Jones line switched from Raiders at Kenner to Temple of Doom at LJN, I was bothered that the scale changed. I did like the fact that Playmates worked through all the series back then. I had hopes they'd look to the UK and make a similar Doctor Who line.
Star Trek has always lagged behind Star Wars in terms of merchandising. One classic example being the fiasco between FASA and Parmount which resulted in the demise of a fantastic line of finely detailed, miniature starships.
I didn't collect this line but remember it well. My local Toys R Us had an entire wall dedicated to it. A friend of mine collected it and I recall him complaining that he could not keep up with the releases. When a line of figures falters and fails, nine times out of ten, it's the company's fault. Just walk into Target now and check out all the Marvel Legends Shang Chi figures on clearance. Even before the wave came out, collectors who saw the preview pictures predicted their peg warmer status. Releasing the figures way before the movie and the fact that they look boring on a shelf was a sure indication of low sales. I'm not sure what contract deals Hasbro has with Marvel. Maybe Hasbro was obligated to make the Shang Chi figures. Whatever the case, you will see them a Five Below this Christmas season.
Just like the new Star Wars movies Nu-Trek is not as widely popular as the ones in this video, Playmates are doomed to poor sales unless they make updated versions of the established shows, I cant see many people rushing to stores to pick up Tilly or Dhaj or whatever her name was.
Wouldn't they just be accused of ripping off Masters of the Universe Origins Toys if they did that? If people are determined to hate Star Trek, giving them what you think they want won't help. As Gillian Taylor said in The Voyage Home: "Who ever said the Human Race was logical?"
@@devmag52 Discovery did so poorly that Netflix refused to bankroll Picard, forcing CBS and Bad Robot to beg Amazon for money to make Picard, and from all reports I've seen and heard, Amazon is regretting that decision as much as Netflix did last time.
The best way to get toys from JCPenney‘s during this time was to order from the catalog. As far as I know I’ve never been in a JCPenney store that actually had a toy department and I’ve been in at least 30 stores during my time growing up.
The JC Penney in the town I grew up in had a tiny toy section, it was one set of 10 inch shelves tucked away in a cluttered corner near the fitting room and was literally a "blink and miss it" department. Hell, even when I knew where it was and was actively looking for it, I'd often walk right past it and have to go back if I was distracted for a second.
Reminds me of what they're doing with Doctor Who Figures, especially the past few years. They only release figures at B&M in the UK and in limited numbers. I don't live in the UK, so I have to pay scalpers online if I want them. I gave up even trying...
Great toyline. The ships and weapons were very well done and quite realistic to the series. I remember that Borg toy that Playmates released for First Contact and how big it was. I used it as a super Borg for my other Star Trek figures. Even back then I thought it was stupid that they released such a large action figure and wondered what were they thinking!
Awe I do remember the "toy section" at JC penny. It was more of an afterthought. It was just a display that would be used for shirts or pants. I did get the transformer Inferno there.
Right ? ...i got " Rockloids' , or wutever those "transforming rock dudes" were called. Looney Tune stuff , or Winnie the Pooh were ALWAYS spot lighted there...baby toys : (
Another gem Junkman! Didn't know about all that behind the scenes stuff. I don't envy Playmates and they're new deal with Star Trek. Matter of fact, dear Playmates employees, don't make any large purchases for the foreseeable future: homes, cars etc. Your Welcome.
It defiantly shows that playmates were in trouble during 1993 onwards. The generation figures were not only poor articulation but they were also in the wrong uniforms. Originally they were correct but production quickly changed the idea to the DS9 ones to save on costs. Same for the first contact line, the Enterprise - E was originally made to early concept ideas. But again it was changed later down the line. By which time playmates had already started to produce the toys.
I'm still only interested in buying Star Trek merchandise from the pre-Kurtzman and pre-Kelvin timeline days. real Star Trek ended in 2005 with the final episode of Enterprise (although I like to pretend it ended with the second last episode since TATV is the worst episode in the history of all Star Trek...)
Good luck to Playmates with their upcoming Star Trek line. With their past choices and Star Trek's current choices, it looks like they're gonna need as much luck as they can get.
I collected the Star Trek line pretty heavily in 1994 but started to lose interest with the Generations figures. Once Star Wars figures started hitting shelves, in late 1995, I dropped Star Trek like a hot potato and never looked back.
You won't find Star Trek on The TV screen nor will you find it in toy aisles. You will find it where CBS and Playmates put it...Six feet Underground. \m/
Character options also did a scale change for their doctor who figure line, going from 5inch to 3.5inch... it essentially killed the production of figures for 7 years
To bad for them I don't want anything to do with any of the bad reboot or STD secret hideout lines. If they want any money they should do something like alien races collection or go back to the Dominion War.
Doctor who action figures pulled the same switcheroo-6 inch action figures then a bizarre, uncalled for shift to 3.75 mid run. I think in the case of the doctor who figs, as with the makers of the programme-they started being cheap once they thought they could get away with it
It is amazing how many bad decisions the marketing group at Playmates made in such a short period of time. I know this is early for the adult collector concept, but what they did defies common sense
I had a huge collection of Star Trek action figures. I'd say about 50 something in total. I also had the Enterprise-D Bridge Playset, The "working" Transporter, The Defiant, DS9, Enterprise 1701, Enterprise-E and the Borg Sphere playmates ships. Also had some Star Trek Micromachines and other stuff. I sold them years ago. Funny thing about the Micromachines though, I sold them on Ebay with a starting bid of $40. There must have been a very rare ship in there or something because the bid ended at about $380 :O
Didn't the Star Wars figures change size for Revenge of the Sith? I think they were a little smaller. I didn't buy figures for that movie, but I had bought some select figures from their relaunch line, then episodes one and two.
I still have most of the Star Trek figures from playmates. Next Generation was on fire!! What bothered me was why Riker was released with a ripped shirt. That just bugged me! I also remember saying First Contact figures were too tall in scale and didnt fit in line with the rest of trek figures
I remember buying the generations toys and thinking how crap they were. I've got tons of the regular figures in my basement and I still have the 1701 D plus the tricorder with me in my bedroom. I wonder why they don't make all the action figure magazines anymore, I loved toyfare and tomarts but I haven't seen them in years.
@@allthehardtimes Simply having a show isn't enough. What are its ratings like? Is it making its money back? Be honest. The only reason Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout haven't been flung out the door is that Les Moonves is an idiot who gave Kurtzman a sweetheart deal, and so they just keep churning out episodes of an extremely expensive show out of vanity and spite.
I remember me and a friend went all the across town to the now out of business Toy Box just to get the first figures . We both bought a full box and a few extras to open . Playmates was on a roll and we went along for the ride . Eventually we both stopped and then began to cherry pick. It seems like the 90s was the decade of over production. Comics , toys and comic book cards where mass produced and almost killed the entire industry. The Star Trek generations lune was a joke especially since the figures where in the uniforms that where dumped at the last second . As for the exclusive figures I didn't get many since they where so hard to find . I still have all my figures and I do look for them at comic cons from time to time .
My friends and I realized they were just body swapping or color changing figures so we did the same. We had Wesley in the Gold uniform within a month of the origional Wesley figure. We did that for Lt. Picard also and Data. We did some more for fun things like season 2 La Forge (Gold on the old uniform line) we even made a Yesterday's Enterprise paint job La Forge (the uniform mess up at thr end led to that) and even a 'cloned Implants' La Forge. Those are the ones I can remember.
I used to collect the Playmates line. Thanks for the video. I remember those missfires at the time. I was one who became disillusioned by the brand I sold my entire collection.
That first contact line annoyed the hell out of me at the time. I had a massive collection at the time. I loved getting the same characters in different uniforms. Then these come out in a different scale. WTF. Pretty much killed it for me. If they made those figures the same scale, they would've lasted longer.
The money they paid is going to extend the contracts for the reboot universe. Without this money we had a chance that someone else would take over. But because of playmates we have about 10 more years of trash reboots....... It's all there fault and everyone should tell them so
Actually Playmates gave funding to Bad Robot/Secret Hideout to have their Star Trek Contract renewed until 2026. Therefore Playmates destroyed Star Trek and may it rest in peace (1966 to 2005).
I collected these figures for a while, but realized that they would never appreciate in value. So I gave them all to kids, knowing that they'd at least be played with. I did like the TOS phaser prop, even though it did not separate the Type 1 from the Type 2. Diamond Select did a lot better with props though, and I own quite a few of those.
The only thing good about the First Contact figs were the better likenesses. I still have a wall filled with autographed playmates figs. I actually liked the transporter series...wish they had made a Dr Crusher figure for that. There is no blue uniform character in that line. Great video.
Would be interesting to know how may toys actually are just that toys and get played with and how many are kept boxed on shelves . Need to start a free the toys campaign.
I have most of the Playmates Star Trek figures in package and on my biggest wall in my house. I love them for that display and would never dream of opening them. It's really amazing how it looks, all split up from series to series side by side. I'm not a totally MOC collector though, the majority of my toys are out of package and displayed but I love the Star Trek about it. Plus, if you ever get an itch to open something on a rainy day it's nice to have some MOC toys hanging around ;)
@@wiictvchannel1112 I managed to collect a lot of my stuff when my daughter was young so one for her one for me hers got played with mine in pack on display now but before were in storage she will get them all when I kacks out
@@stevedenis8292 I love that, I've done the same with my nephew and niece! I'm keeping some MOC doubles around for when they are old enough to open and play with or if they wanna keep it as is. Future collectors!
Great video! In 1993, those figures were the shit! The line got cooler when they moved beyond TNG and DS9, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. We got the Generations and First Contact movie tie-ins, but not the general line. I think it was a problem with their distribution line. Pre-teen me would have loved a TOS shuttle and a Talosian!
I loved star trek tng as a kid but the toy figures too me couldn't look duller if they tried especially when you had turtles transformers ghostbusters toxic crusaders captain planet and a dozen or so other toylines filling up the shelves.
I remember buying the Playmates Star Trek figures for 2 or 3 yrs, then Star Wars figures came back in 1995, so I got more into Star Wars figure collecting. I did buy some figures from DS9 and Voyager but I never could find Seven of 9 and so I basically stopped collecting Star Trek and just focused on Star Wars.
They released her as a half human/half Borg first and then released her in her catsuit but made it ridiculously difficult to buy that version. You'd think they'd have made her more available considering how popular she is.
@@cetialphav3214 I'm glad I stopped collecting them. The quality isn't as good as the Hasbro Star Wars figures. If Playmate plans to relaunch the Star Trek figures, they really have to outdo themselves.
I remember in Toyfare, they showed off a second wave of 2009 movie figures. I was disappointed with the first wave, but the second looked cool. Scotty's alien buddy, Sulu in armor, some larger alien monsters... I kept checking my walmarts over and over and eventually accepted the line was over.
The only ones I bought were the TOS figures, that came in the bridge playset. Five inches... it would have been great to have Kirk fly my POTF2 Outrider
I so was into collecting these. I bought one to sell and one to keep. Only to find out, so many people are collecting..and they put out so much. I just turned to collecting for the love of the industry.
I sold my whole collection when they started this crap… I was mad… so one day after I sold my collection I came across a Thomas Riker on the sale isle of a Walmart in North Mississippi… yep I still have it today..
If only Playmates took a leaf out of the book owned by Kenner/Palitoy for the Star Wars line of figures. That is how it is done, Playmates just botched the whole thing from the very start...
I've always wished I'd collected most of these figures, playsets, and models in the 90s. I'd probably be using them now to make Robot Chicken style mini movies. Funny how greed, complacency, and poor decisions always end up ruining a good thing
I hope so too and just give us more figures of the same style. Nostalgia is big right now and all those "old" toys are making a comeback and selling well.
Playmates making more Star Trek action figures? Anything other than TOS,TNG, or maybe DS9 is pissing money down a hole. Would love some 1:18 classic Trek that could be along the Star Wars guys though
Woah I just had a memories of having a jordie an Data action figures lol, I had totally forgotten till I seen this video! So thanks for helping me get some of my childhood memories back lol :)
I was a kid then and only ever got five figures. Locutus of Borg, Gordi, Worf, Q, and Klingon uniform Worf. But I did get the three main ships, Enterprise D, Romulan Warbird, and Klingon Attack Cruiser. I also got the phaser, tricorder, and that big clunky communicator badge. Other then that I only ever got the Micro Machine ships. I actually repurchased one set when my pug bit a big dent in the Excelsior's saucer section. I kept it as a "Battle Damage Excelsior."
I never did get these figures as a young kid though I did get a few of the ships in my teens to put on my shelves. As I got older I've picked up a few in $2 bins here and there over the years and am looking forward to what they do with the new line. However, I doubt they will improve on things, they will just do like everyone else does and try to milk it dry while being overpriced and making you chase target exclusives and whatnot.
We have Playmate to thank for getting Kirksman a new five year contract so he will continue to destroy Star Trek for years to come. Doesn't matter what they do now, I will never buy a single thing they make ever, for any reason.
Yeah ,exclusives can be very tricky .Some store chains simply aren't everywhere and this can be very frustrating to collectors .l've been trying to collect Classified figures for a while ,but our pegs are clogged with first wave figures ,which we all have ,so the stores haven't brought in newer figures in almost a year now .Pretty annoying.
Now they are killing Star Trek by funding Alex Kurtzman. I have a few of these figures. Some had a weird TNG movie costume that never got used. It’s a bit like the dress uniform at the collar.
I found the Picard Tapestries figure in 1996, at a Toys R Us in New Youk in 1996, just by luck of being there, when it was put out on the pegs. A friend paid me. $40 for it, then resold it for $200 a day later
Will the 2022 line feature TOS figures? This could be a dream come true, especially if they were in 3.75” scale, so we could finally line them up against their Star Wars rivals
@@ThatJunkman all the lines, or all the scales? I’m seeing nothing but six inch Picard verse, with maybe some Discovery, but no love for TOS. My theory is that the license for all those deceased stars makes it more complicated and not worth the trouble.
My understanding is the new line will only focus on the Secret Hideout shows. So STD, Pukard, Even Lower Decks. If they at least had TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise, that might be interesting, but sounds like no.
I think they'll be lucky to sell more than a dozen Mikey Spock action figures.
The Macfarlane toy line died they couldn’t even sell Picard and Kirk. Mickey didn’t even come out. The 2009 toy line died a quick death. I think the new toy line will die as well. Star Trek is dead. The franchise is aging out because the new stuff isn’t Star Trek and no kids are watching it
But she's the "Bestest Evar"
Those pegs are pretty cold. Something has to be put on them to warm them up. Burnham, Tilly, Soji, there will be enough figures to keep these pegs toasty warm for years.
@@cbspock1701 see this is why the axanar series should have been released instead we got an STD
@@thestoicsoliloquies4041 I doubt they’ll have an impact of any significance. Most people loathe these characters or worse, are unaware or indifferent
Fantastic video! The good ole days of collecting Star Trek Playmates.
To add to the screw ups, those Generations figures were wearing Uniforms that never appeared on screen, and in fact were never actually made. Paramount cheaped out on the wardrobe budget for Generations and instead played mix and match with the DS9 Uniforms on the TNG crew. Hilariously Jonathan Frakes was wearing Avery Brook's DS9 "Sisko Uniform" and Lavar Burton was wearing Colm Meany's Chief O'Brien suit. Even better they couldn't be tailored to fit as they still were needed for their DS9 actors. Frakes almost pulls it off, but Meany is much much taller and broader than LaVar Burton. Another screw up was in that horrid 1701 release. The Picard Tapestry figure was wearing a Wrath of Khan Kirk era uniform. For Tapestry they redressed the uniforms a bit, just as they did for Yesterday's Enterprise. A big change is the turtlenecks were gone.
The real killer items in the Playmates offerings were the ships. Those were fantastic, Well sculpted with lights and sounds. I would kill to have that DS9 in my collection today.
Oh and Good News/Bad News. Word just came out Yesterday. Playmates has just gotten a new Star Trek license. So they will be making Star Trek toys again. The Bad News... The license is for the horrid Alex Kurtzman Secret Hideout shows only. So Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds and possible Lower Decks only. No TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY or ENT toys :_(
That alternate uniform actually appears in the film. They shot footage in those uniforms for approximately one day. Geordie is in a scene wearing one of them, though he is out of focus. There are also outtakes where he is wearing the uniform as well. You can find them on You Tube. It was decided that the uniforms did not look good on screen. They decided to scrap the uniforms, and use a mixture of the TNG season seven uniforms and the season one DS9 uniforms. Unfortunately, it was too late for the toy company to revert the toys back to the TNG version of the uniform. Some of these alternate uniforms survived, And were sold in the big auction in 2005/ 2006.
The only good thing you can take from that is contractually if you see Picard toy's under this license it means that officially Picard is non-canon to the original Trek just like Discovery.
As to your ship’s request. Eaglemoss has some very nice diecasts and they have a Star Trek line. You might have to go secondary market but you’ll find what your looking for there. Hot wheels of all companies produced some very nicely made ships with the same metal and plastic style. But those are like finding gold these days. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pair about 10 years ago. But if your looking for DS9 TNG TOS ships then your only hope is eaglemoss. If your into modeling Star Trek then I can help there too. Polar lights models recently acquired the old AMT Star Trek molds and they’ve been re-releasing the old kits. I got an enterprise A a few years ago from my brother to replace the one he damaged and my mother threw in the trash compactor. ( of note this is one of about a 1000 deep emotional battle scars on my hull and if you want I’ll get into it another time but for now let’s let old battles be sung about over bloodwine). But anyways Star Trek is going back to the underground kind of fan base it once had. We who bought the toys, the models the figures? We kept it going, as we once did we shall again. Introduce your kids to the show tell them about it, it’s up to us once again to keep it alive as Gene the great bird of the galaxy Roddenberry himself intended. Teach your kids about it as your parents did you. I rediscovered TNG with Ron Moore and I discovered I liked it more as I got older. Embrace your inner nerd my friend cause we no longer have to hide in the closet as we did in school
@@matthewcaughey8898 oh yeah I have an assorted collection of Eaglemoss offerings. But the old Playmates DS9 was spectacular. And just about properly in scale with the smaller scale Eaglemoss ships. With some neat lighting and sound effects. It really was gorgeous for a retail toy offering.
@@andrewtaylor940 I’ve got a playmates defiant that I had to scour heaven, hell and the forgotten realms to find. That’s without question my personal favorite and it’s always on a stand on my desk
Oh and Data also sported a red uniform in the episode Future Imperfect...but he was only an illusion created by an alien child.
Brings back memories of going to ToysRus back in the day. One side of isle was Star Trek, the other Star Wars.
The only line dividing them, Spaceballs
You can still see that, check out the clearance aisle at Target.
@@TomboyTommy rember the star trek starflet acdsmy zcthion figuresvwith the CD roms
I remember them Trek aisles!
Playmates fans: Too many re-releases and exclusives!
Transformers collectors: You know nothing of re-releases and exclusives...
So even back then figures had store exclusives. Some things never change.
The Abrams figure line was a let down. Not only the bridge "playset" was incomplete out of the box by design, it was just a mat with a few structures. Requiring the remaining bridge pieces meant you needed to by the figures, however, at least in my area of Canada the remaining bridge pieces weren't packaged with the figures making it a moot point to collect if you can't get the whole "set" together.
The line of Star Trek phasers Playmates cranked out were very cool. I had a few of them. I did have one of the 6" Picard figures from the Insurrection line. Great likeness of Sir Patrick.
What killed the collector market in the nineties was greed.
Trading cards, comics, and toys all fell prey to companies that got the bright idea to screw over their customers with limited runs, exclusives, variants, and chase items. I lived through it and went through the stages of nineties collecting: excitement at seeing my favorites on the shelves, followed by anxiety at not being able to complete my collections, ending with anger and disgust as I quit throwing my money at an industry that seemed to enjoy making me suffer.
Greed killed my enthusiasm.
stopped me from buying comics forever
Same here. Same for so, so many of us, I imagine. The industry killed the goose that laid the golden eggs when it soured its hardcore fans on collecting. To this day, they haven't learned the lesson, though, as evidenced by the convention exclusives for toys and the multiple number ones on comics NOBODY reads. They brought it on themselves!
It still continues. Several companies like Figures Inc, McFarlane and Necca all have a Batman 66 license, Kenner is releasing a ton of retro and new style Indiana Jones and look at all the crap variations from Necca- and from Funko-Who needs Batman and Superman as Gingerbread. Expect them to all fall also.
I would love to see playmates just do a line that was all Starships
You gotta love how they just painted over the rip in the shirt for Thomas Riker, as if no one would notice.
What was with the rips on Riker’s uniform anyway? I don’t recall that ever actually happening for them to base it on a particular episode. Then again, Data didn’t have opening uniform flaps to get at his circuitry either!
When the Indiana Jones line switched from Raiders at Kenner to Temple of Doom at LJN, I was bothered that the scale changed.
I did like the fact that Playmates worked through all the series back then. I had hopes they'd look to the UK and make a similar Doctor Who line.
Star Trek has always lagged behind Star Wars in terms of merchandising. One classic example being the fiasco between FASA and Parmount which resulted in the demise of a fantastic line of finely detailed, miniature starships.
I didn't collect this line but remember it well. My local Toys R Us had an entire wall dedicated to it. A friend of mine collected it and I recall him complaining that he could not keep up with the releases. When a line of figures falters and fails, nine times out of ten, it's the company's fault. Just walk into Target now and check out all the Marvel Legends Shang Chi figures on clearance. Even before the wave came out, collectors who saw the preview pictures predicted their peg warmer status. Releasing the figures way before the movie and the fact that they look boring on a shelf was a sure indication of low sales. I'm not sure what contract deals Hasbro has with Marvel. Maybe Hasbro was obligated to make the Shang Chi figures. Whatever the case, you will see them a Five Below this Christmas season.
The toy ships and props were way better than any model available for building.
Except the screws everywhere....
Just like the new Star Wars movies Nu-Trek is not as widely popular as the ones in this video, Playmates are doomed to poor sales unless they make updated versions of the established shows, I cant see many people rushing to stores to pick up Tilly or Dhaj or whatever her name was.
Wouldn't they just be accused of ripping off Masters of the Universe Origins Toys if they did that? If people are determined to hate Star Trek, giving them what you think they want won't help. As Gillian Taylor said in The Voyage Home: "Who ever said the Human Race was logical?"
Precisely. No one is having success with Kurtzman Trek, save for perhaps Mego who have niche collectors who merely want to collect full sets.
@@devmag52 Discovery did so poorly that Netflix refused to bankroll Picard, forcing CBS and Bad Robot to beg Amazon for money to make Picard, and from all reports I've seen and heard, Amazon is regretting that decision as much as Netflix did last time.
The best way to get toys from JCPenney‘s during this time was to order from the catalog. As far as I know I’ve never been in a JCPenney store that actually had a toy department and I’ve been in at least 30 stores during my time growing up.
That's right...Data was only available in the 1994 catalog
Only at Christmas
I remember when all the stores had a toy department, and when they started phasing it out. And replace it with electronics. TVs and stereos.
The JC Penney in the town I grew up in had a tiny toy section, it was one set of 10 inch shelves tucked away in a cluttered corner near the fitting room and was literally a "blink and miss it" department. Hell, even when I knew where it was and was actively looking for it, I'd often walk right past it and have to go back if I was distracted for a second.
Reminds me of what they're doing with Doctor Who Figures, especially the past few years. They only release figures at B&M in the UK and in limited numbers. I don't live in the UK, so I have to pay scalpers online if I want them. I gave up even trying...
I wish they had done a 2 figure set of Professor Moriarty and the Countess Regina Bartholomew
Great toyline. The ships and weapons were very well done and quite realistic to the series. I remember that Borg toy that Playmates released for First Contact and how big it was. I used it as a super Borg for my other Star Trek figures. Even back then I thought it was stupid that they released such a large action figure and wondered what were they thinking!
The phasers looked good, but diamond select phasers were used on Enterprise due to the fact they looked more accurate.
Awe I do remember the "toy section" at JC penny. It was more of an afterthought. It was just a display that would be used for shirts or pants. I did get the transformer Inferno there.
When did J.C Penney have a toy section?
Right ? ...i got " Rockloids' , or wutever those "transforming rock dudes" were called. Looney Tune stuff , or Winnie the Pooh were ALWAYS spot lighted there...baby toys : (
Kind of like Kohl’s toy section today.
@@genesanford9412 lol I remember rocklords I had one as a kid can't remember where I got him from probably K-mart or Cornet (A local store we had)
Another gem Junkman! Didn't know about all that behind the scenes stuff. I don't envy Playmates and they're new deal with Star Trek. Matter of fact, dear Playmates employees, don't make any large purchases for the foreseeable future: homes, cars etc. Your Welcome.
Man those JJ Trek figures really stunk out loud. As always junkman great video keep them comin.
I stopped collecting when the First Contact line came out for the exact reason you mentioned: I wasn't interested in starting a new scale.
It defiantly shows that playmates were in trouble during 1993 onwards. The generation figures were not only poor articulation but they were also in the wrong uniforms.
Originally they were correct but production quickly changed the idea to the DS9 ones to save on costs.
Same for the first contact line, the Enterprise - E was originally made to early concept ideas. But again it was changed later down the line. By which time playmates had already started to produce the toys.
I picked up the 12 inch figures for the JJ movie because they looked really good. NEVER saw them again... I think only some stores got one case.
Not like Playmates ever cared about articulation. It was always too expensive for them.
I'm still only interested in buying Star Trek merchandise from the pre-Kurtzman and pre-Kelvin timeline days. real Star Trek ended in 2005 with the final episode of Enterprise (although I like to pretend it ended with the second last episode since TATV is the worst episode in the history of all Star Trek...)
I have a few of these figures he is talking about.
Good luck to Playmates with their upcoming Star Trek line. With their past choices and Star Trek's current choices, it looks like they're gonna need as much luck as they can get.
I can't even imagine buying any type of Discovery or Picard action figures :\
@@wiictvchannel1112 a gay discovery doctor...just great! Whats his action feature...bending over???
@@wiictvchannel1112 I imagine buying them with about 10 layers of clearance stickers on them.
@@thestoicsoliloquies4041 Haha, and it would still not be worth it!
I collected the Star Trek line pretty heavily in 1994 but started to lose interest with the Generations figures. Once Star Wars figures started hitting shelves, in late 1995, I dropped Star Trek like a hot potato and never looked back.
Had Kai Play Arts been signed on for making the figurines of the franchise the figurines would sell like there's no tomorrow
You won't find Star Trek on The TV screen nor will you find it in toy aisles. You will find it where CBS and Playmates put it...Six feet Underground. \m/
Character options also did a scale change for their doctor who figure line, going from 5inch to 3.5inch... it essentially killed the production of figures for 7 years
To bad for them I don't want anything to do with any of the bad reboot or STD secret hideout lines. If they want any money they should do something like alien races collection or go back to the Dominion War.
Nope. I will not financially contribute to the kurtzman bastardization of Star Trek.
3:05 why does Worf look like he really needs to use the bathroom?
All of that prune juice he drinks.
At the time a friend of mine had a complete set of these things. The 1701 thing broke him and he just gave up on figures completely.
Doctor who action figures pulled the same switcheroo-6 inch action figures then a bizarre, uncalled for shift to 3.75 mid run. I think in the case of the doctor who figs, as with the makers of the programme-they started being cheap once they thought they could get away with it
Even collectors avoid Kelvin timeline figures.
With all the retro lines being released right now I wonder if Playmates will return to their five inch style for the new figures?
It is amazing how many bad decisions the marketing group at Playmates made in such a short period of time. I know this is early for the adult collector concept, but what they did defies common sense
I had a huge collection of Star Trek action figures. I'd say about 50 something in total. I also had the Enterprise-D Bridge Playset, The "working" Transporter, The Defiant, DS9, Enterprise 1701, Enterprise-E and the Borg Sphere playmates ships. Also had some Star Trek Micromachines and other stuff.
I sold them years ago. Funny thing about the Micromachines though, I sold them on Ebay with a starting bid of $40. There must have been a very rare ship in there or something because the bid ended at about $380 :O
That Junkman: It seems that Hasbro is going down the same road as Playmates = poor quality & poor distribution
Didn't the Star Wars figures change size for Revenge of the Sith? I think they were a little smaller. I didn't buy figures for that movie, but I had bought some select figures from their relaunch line, then episodes one and two.
Nope 3.75
I still have most of the Star Trek figures from playmates. Next Generation was on fire!! What bothered me was why Riker was released with a ripped shirt. That just bugged me! I also remember saying First Contact figures were too tall in scale and didnt fit in line with the rest of trek figures
I remember buying the generations toys and thinking how crap they were. I've got tons of the regular figures in my basement and I still have the 1701 D plus the tricorder with me in my bedroom. I wonder why they don't make all the action figure magazines anymore, I loved toyfare and tomarts but I haven't seen them in years.
they dont make the magazine's cause its magazines lol :)
@@ThatJunkman Have you heard of those final faction toys from dollar tree? For a dollar they are actually decent toys.
Well done my friend! Well said!
"Everyone hates this show."
"Great, let's extend its lifespan and make toys off of it."
"...what."
4 season and spin offs id hardly calll it a fail
@@allthehardtimes Simply having a show isn't enough. What are its ratings like? Is it making its money back? Be honest. The only reason Alex Kurtzman and Secret Hideout haven't been flung out the door is that Les Moonves is an idiot who gave Kurtzman a sweetheart deal, and so they just keep churning out episodes of an extremely expensive show out of vanity and spite.
I remember me and a friend went all the across town to the now out of business Toy Box just to get the first figures . We both bought a full box and a few extras to open . Playmates was on a roll and we went along for the ride . Eventually we both stopped and then began to cherry pick. It seems like the 90s was the decade of over production. Comics , toys and comic book cards where mass produced and almost killed the entire industry. The Star Trek generations lune was a joke especially since the figures where in the uniforms that where dumped at the last second . As for the exclusive figures I didn't get many since they where so hard to find . I still have all my figures and I do look for them at comic cons from time to time .
My friends and I realized they were just body swapping or color changing figures so we did the same. We had Wesley in the Gold uniform within a month of the origional Wesley figure. We did that for Lt. Picard also and Data. We did some more for fun things like season 2 La Forge (Gold on the old uniform line) we even made a Yesterday's Enterprise paint job La Forge (the uniform mess up at thr end led to that) and even a 'cloned Implants' La Forge. Those are the ones I can remember.
I used to collect the Playmates line. Thanks for the video. I remember those missfires at the time. I was one who became disillusioned by the brand I sold my entire collection.
That first contact line annoyed the hell out of me at the time. I had a massive collection at the time. I loved getting the same characters in different uniforms. Then these come out in a different scale. WTF. Pretty much killed it for me. If they made those figures the same scale, they would've lasted longer.
I have some of the older figures. I gave up when they no longer "looked" real.
As a fan and collector the Star Trek figures make great dust collectors. As an investment they are a fail. Made more off the Star Wars action figures.
2 days in a row?? Junkman on a roll!!!! ❤
2? Lot more than 2 if you mean videos in a row lol
@@ThatJunkman nah, I think they mean Playmates Star Trek... yesterday was jump the shark...and...yeah.
The 1701 collection killed the toy line
The money they paid is going to extend the contracts for the reboot universe. Without this money we had a chance that someone else would take over. But because of playmates we have about 10 more years of trash reboots.......
It's all there fault and everyone should tell them so
Actually Playmates gave funding to Bad Robot/Secret Hideout to have their Star Trek Contract renewed until 2026. Therefore Playmates destroyed Star Trek and may it rest in peace (1966 to 2005).
No more playmates. I refuse to buy that brand
I collected these figures for a while, but realized that they would never appreciate in value. So I gave them all to kids, knowing that they'd at least be played with. I did like the TOS phaser prop, even though it did not separate the Type 1 from the Type 2. Diamond Select did a lot better with props though, and I own quite a few of those.
Aww man, almost tho. Data wore a red shirt one other time...Future Imperfect. Ok now continue the vid. 😂
The only thing good about the First Contact figs were the better likenesses. I still have a wall filled with autographed playmates figs. I actually liked the transporter series...wish they had made a Dr Crusher figure for that. There is no blue uniform character in that line. Great video.
Thank you for answering the question I've been wondering about for years!! Why most of Tasha Yar figures did not have the 1701 sticker.
I never liked Playmates. Most their action figures looked like they were trying to squat to take a dump
I had most of those back in the day....then sold them on eBay.
Would be interesting to know how may toys actually are just that toys and get played with and how many are kept boxed on shelves . Need to start a free the toys campaign.
I have most of the Playmates Star Trek figures in package and on my biggest wall in my house. I love them for that display and would never dream of opening them. It's really amazing how it looks, all split up from series to series side by side. I'm not a totally MOC collector though, the majority of my toys are out of package and displayed but I love the Star Trek about it. Plus, if you ever get an itch to open something on a rainy day it's nice to have some MOC toys hanging around ;)
@@wiictvchannel1112 I managed to collect a lot of my stuff when my daughter was young so one for her one for me hers got played with mine in pack on display now but before were in storage she will get them all when I kacks out
@@stevedenis8292 I love that, I've done the same with my nephew and niece! I'm keeping some MOC doubles around for when they are old enough to open and play with or if they wanna keep it as is. Future collectors!
@@wiictvchannel1112 nice thats how you practice to be an awsome dad .
New Star Trek figures? Yay. Based on Discovery and Picard? Blah 👎👎
Great video! In 1993, those figures were the shit! The line got cooler when they moved beyond TNG and DS9, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. We got the Generations and First Contact movie tie-ins, but not the general line. I think it was a problem with their distribution line. Pre-teen me would have loved a TOS shuttle and a Talosian!
Only place I ever saw any of these figures was on the pegs at Spencers. Nobody I knew had any.
These figures are the pits. Playmates are a bad joke.
I loved star trek tng as a kid but the toy figures too me couldn't look duller if they tried especially when you had turtles transformers ghostbusters toxic crusaders captain planet and a dozen or so other toylines filling up the shelves.
I remember buying the Playmates Star Trek figures for 2 or 3 yrs, then Star Wars figures came back in 1995, so I got more into Star Wars figure collecting. I did buy some figures from DS9 and Voyager but I never could find Seven of 9 and so I basically stopped collecting Star Trek and just focused on Star Wars.
They released her as a half human/half Borg first and then released her in her catsuit but made it ridiculously difficult to buy that version. You'd think they'd have made her more available considering how popular she is.
@@cetialphav3214 I'm glad I stopped collecting them. The quality isn't as good as the Hasbro Star Wars figures. If Playmate plans to relaunch the Star Trek figures, they really have to outdo themselves.
The Star Trek Generations Playmates figures had an earlier concept uniform which weren't used in the movie.
I remember in Toyfare, they showed off a second wave of 2009 movie figures. I was disappointed with the first wave, but the second looked cool. Scotty's alien buddy, Sulu in armor, some larger alien monsters... I kept checking my walmarts over and over and eventually accepted the line was over.
The only ones I bought were the TOS figures, that came in the bridge playset. Five inches... it would have been great to have Kirk fly my POTF2 Outrider
I brought that too - still have it in fact - pretty much the only ST figures I have but the ships were cool
I so was into collecting these. I bought one to sell and one to keep. Only to find out, so many people are collecting..and they put out so much. I just turned to collecting for the love of the industry.
Ohhhhhh, not THOSE Playmates. I was really intrigued for a minute.
I sold my whole collection when they started this crap… I was mad… so one day after I sold my collection I came across a Thomas Riker on the sale isle of a Walmart in North Mississippi… yep I still have it today..
If only Playmates took a leaf out of the book owned by Kenner/Palitoy for the Star Wars line of figures. That is how it is done, Playmates just botched the whole thing from the very start...
Wait Doomcock told me Alex Kurtzman killed Star Trek. :O
I've always wished I'd collected most of these figures, playsets, and models in the 90s. I'd probably be using them now to make Robot Chicken style mini movies. Funny how greed, complacency, and poor decisions always end up ruining a good thing
Junkman you are prolific and every time I look at your channel I always find another gem of a video to enjoy. I appreciate your hard work. Thanks man!
Thanks for watching them
Hopefully Playmates goes back to the 5 inch scale. And makes better quality than what they did in 2009.
I hope so too and just give us more figures of the same style. Nostalgia is big right now and all those "old" toys are making a comeback and selling well.
Playmates making more Star Trek action figures? Anything other than TOS,TNG, or maybe DS9 is pissing money down a hole.
Would love some 1:18 classic Trek that could be along the Star Wars guys though
Woah I just had a memories of having a jordie an Data action figures lol, I had totally forgotten till I seen this video! So thanks for helping me get some of my childhood memories back lol :)
This is the most detailed and concise video I've seen on the fall of Playmates Star Trek. Good job!
This was a great video. Would love to see more decline-of-the-line type stuff.
I was a kid then and only ever got five figures. Locutus of Borg, Gordi, Worf, Q, and Klingon uniform Worf. But I did get the three main ships, Enterprise D, Romulan Warbird, and Klingon Attack Cruiser. I also got the phaser, tricorder, and that big clunky communicator badge. Other then that I only ever got the Micro Machine ships. I actually repurchased one set when my pug bit a big dent in the Excelsior's saucer section. I kept it as a "Battle Damage Excelsior."
I used to like the Playmates Star Trek figures, particularly the TOS ones, I kind of miss them now.
I never did get these figures as a young kid though I did get a few of the ships in my teens to put on my shelves. As I got older I've picked up a few in $2 bins here and there over the years and am looking forward to what they do with the new line. However, I doubt they will improve on things, they will just do like everyone else does and try to milk it dry while being overpriced and making you chase target exclusives and whatnot.
Am of the opinion that Playmates should follow the Hasbro examples or the NECA examples
Popular characters in detailed figures and at reasonable scale
We have Playmate to thank for getting Kirksman a new five year contract so he will continue to destroy Star Trek for years to come. Doesn't matter what they do now, I will never buy a single thing they make ever, for any reason.
not sure how playmate had a say or do it in it.
Yeah ,exclusives can be very tricky .Some store chains simply aren't everywhere and this can be very frustrating to collectors .l've been trying to collect Classified figures for a while ,but our pegs are clogged with first wave figures ,which we all have ,so the stores haven't brought in newer figures in almost a year now .Pretty annoying.
Now they are killing Star Trek by funding Alex Kurtzman.
I have a few of these figures. Some had a weird TNG movie costume that never got used. It’s a bit like the dress uniform at the collar.
You can find a clutch of these inside the heart of every thriftstore.
Would be nice if mega bloks/construx would have continued, but I guess there just wasn't enough interest.
Great video, you deserve way more subscribers. 🍿👍
I found the Picard Tapestries figure in 1996, at a Toys R Us in New Youk in 1996, just by luck of being there, when it was put out on the pegs. A friend paid me. $40 for it, then resold it for $200 a day later
Lucky
I had the TNG figures but the ships were my main collection as well as the galoob micro machines ships. Enterprise-E my favourite ship.
Will the 2022 line feature TOS figures? This could be a dream come true, especially if they were in 3.75” scale, so we could finally line them up against their Star Wars rivals
I’m sure they will be mixed with all
@@ThatJunkman all the lines, or all the scales? I’m seeing nothing but six inch Picard verse, with maybe some Discovery, but no love for TOS. My theory is that the license for all those deceased stars makes it more complicated and not worth the trouble.
My understanding is the new line will only focus on the Secret Hideout shows. So STD, Pukard, Even Lower Decks. If they at least had TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise, that might be interesting, but sounds like no.
@@jasonschlierman412
Little in the way of surprise, plenty of disappointments