I liked them, I remember mixing all my figures (BSG, Star Wars, Star Trek, Adventure people, etc) and have many cross-overs. I was disappointed they never had an Uhura, Chekov or Sulu . Wished they had made Wrath Of Khan and Classic Trek figures in this scale. I had a few extra Deckers for some reason and I always used them as generic red shirt guys.
I find it intriguing that the Saurian (whom Mego calls a Rigellian) actually has the scooped curve of the actual Rigellian's white robes across his chest, making me wonder if two drawings ended up combined. Also that Captain Will Decker's outfit is based on early photos of his costume tests, when his jumpsuit was yellowish beige. The colour details on Spock's and Ilia's outfits are also based on earlier sketches. The Betelgeusian Chief Ambassador, with his tall black hat, was an impressive alien, wearing red robes with eagles and leopards of real gold and silver thread. You can see him in silhouette, towering over the other extras, in the distance of the San Francisco tram scene. The material came from Cecil B DeMille's extensive stores of bolts of fabric, stored during the 1923 production of "The Ten Commandments". If you take off the Mego figure's plain red robe, he has a dagger hidden in a belt behind him. His face and hands should be painted blue. The suede outfits of the Zaranite were also made from fabric bought for "The Ten Commandments". I added thin leather hoses to the alien's fluorine gas breathing mask. The Zaranite suede costumes, Zaranite breathing apparatus and Arcturian leather outfits can all be seen on other aliens (and humans) in the UFP council scenes of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". The Megarite's robe was used by an extra in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". The Saurian alien design appeared as a regular background character, Linus, in Season Two of "Star Trek: Discovery".
Right there with you, I LOVED this line back then, I still have them (the bridge playset as well) and they are a priceless to me. I played the heck out of them. Happy to see another collector who shares the same memories and appreciates these figs & bridge. Looking forward to seeing more. All of the aliens are Grail items for myself. I've not seen any beyond pics and this vid. Thank you for this episode.
Great video! Lovely line of toys! I was a kid when these came out. I was already hooked on Star Wars and hungry for anything in that scale and of a similar aesthetic. I ate up Mego’s Buck Rogers and Black Hole toys, and got a few from Galactica as well. I wasn’t as invested in Trek, although I think my dad bought me a Spock figure from this line. I knew who Spock was because my folks had a calendar at home where Spock is smiling (!) on my birthday; I was born on February 29th, which means my birthday is “highly illogical!”
TMP was the first movie my mom took me to inside a movie theater. I still recall we had to wait for the blue lagoon to finish before we could be seated.
I love these. I've never owned any of the 3 3/4 figures but I did collect the 12 inch line at one point and still have the Klingon. Probably the coolest looking Mego 12 inch figure ever! I know they lost a lot of profit on these licenses but I applaud Mego for making all of these obscure lines. Nobody would dare make an Ernest Borgnine doll today. The mere fact that one exists is awesome!
The aliens were a great addition to my playtime. It was cool having aliens not associated with Star Wars wandering around the bases I used to build as a kid. I was so stoked for a Wrath of Khan line to come out and was exceptionally disappointed when it didn't. On a side note, the Ertl figures made for Star Trek 3 had phasers and they fit well in the hands of the Motion Picture Starfleet characters.
Even though I was alive and definitely a Trek loving kid back then, something never change, these 3.75" aliens and the 8" second series of aliens eluded me back then. I have good memories of the TMP line as if you wanted pocket sized versions of Kirk and Co. this line was the only game in town and pretty much still is unless you count the forgettable Funko retro figures.
I also had the styrene bridge playset and I liked it back then but it had durability issues. I remember my parents using a lot of glue to nurse it along for the year it survived play before it was eventually thrown out. If it even lasted a year.
I had a few of the figures, as well as the bridge playset which I got on clearance for $5 at children’s palace. The playset was cheap, but accurately recreated the bridge, and I had a lot of fun with it.
My father had a few of these when he was really young, I’m glad to see a wonderfully detailed and concise video about them, there aren’t many on RUclips.
i had several of the first wave, but being in the U.S. never had the chance for the aliens. you didn't miss much, they didn't even have weapons. the sculpts were great, though.
@@ryanbarker5217 You can't possibly be sure if he "didn't miss much." You aren't him. You don't know how he thinks. He could've very well been content with these figures had he gotten his hands on them. Even if they didn't have weapons, he could've used weapons from other figures.
I love it the figures are unique i have all wave one carded except Decker. The 12 inch one are great too. I agree love that enterprise playset had it for years looking for it in a vintage shop reasonably priced
I always wanted these- and REALLY wanted the Star Trek 3 line after a year or so of ST,II playing almost daily on HBO! Never Found any of them though. Today, I'd still love to find that big eyed pink Rigellian/Saturn and alien!
I had the Bridge Crew and Enterprise Bridge playset. I really enjoyed these figures also, even though I was never able to get an Alien figure. Great video and thanks for sharing.
I actually liked the movie, though I'll admit, the second half really slows down. But the first half, with Ve'Ger vs the Klingons, the reveal of the refit Enterprise, the crew reuniting, the wormhole accident and Spock returning was awesome to me. And I liked the figures, and I remember really wanting that second series, and hoped for a third to round out the crew. Though, yeah. I'd have liked the figures to have some accessories. After all, as a kid, you didn't just want to replay the movie over and over, and have adventures beyond it. I felt the same way about my Star Wars figures.
I remember seeing battlestar Galactica for a dollar at the local neighborhood pharmacy... I was so happy almost got all of them ... Loved the cylon. Also got that big comic
Great episode Brick! I have seen a couple of klingons loose at toy shows in austin back in 87-88 and a few of the beatgusina guy and even a carded one but the others I havent seen and I was married to a Star trek toy dealer for a few years and maybe once she had a mego STTMP Klingon and the crew but never the others.Very insightful episode!
By the time The Motion Picture came out I was already a big Star Trek fan. I had the great Mego figures of the crew, the Klingon, and the bridge play set for the series. I got a few of the crew from the movie. Kirk, Spock and McCoy. I wanted the movie bridge, but we never could find it back then in 1979 at any local stores.
Why didn't they ever make playsets of the alien planets of the ST universe? Alien planets are one of a few things ST had over SW. A Vulcan desert survival playset or a Qonos volcano battleground would have been great.
I really wish that this line could have gotten more love. They could have done some 9 point articulation of TOS, and an OG Enterprise bridge set, Galileo Seven vehicle, and even some of the Old school series play sets.
Actually they couldn't. Paramount was restricting TOS merch during this period. It eventually reversed but by that time Mego was out of the Star Trek business.
Loved Mego as a kid! Had most of the superheroes line. Spider-Man was my Favorite! The planet of the apes line was great as well! I think I had at least 5 soldier apes loved the plastic M16 - A1's lol!
01:19 I guess Uhura, Chekov and Sulu weren't invited to this "sorry party" but for some reason, they added two unfamiliar characters like Decker and Ilia.
I love this line. Still my favorite 3.75 Star Trek line. I have all of the first series. But sadly only have the Klingon in the second wave. Maybe one day I can get the rest. I really love to see Mego revisit Star Trek again in 3.75. These 3.75 figures were amazing with great sculpts.
I didn't understand it as a kid but was fascinated with the movie which I saw on Sunday Night at the Movies on ABC..I think. Just some unnamed, unseen alien entity as the foe is different and interesting. I had a few of these figures..kirk and spock. I've got the 12" figures of them on my channel. Thanks for the video!
While not very eye catching, this is a great line of figures IMO. But I'm a Trek guy at heart. So happy to have the entire line in my Trek office at home. But a Wave 3 was needed. Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura got the shaft. Plus as mentioned below a Vulcan Spock and Bearded (Disco) McCoy not to mention Christine Chapel would have been nice. But also throwing in the Ilia Probe and a Thruster Suit Spock would have been epic. The V'Ger probe reveal playset would have been cool as well. Star Trek toys just can't seem to find their footing in major markets. TNG did a pretty good job with Galoob, but the brand still makes similar mistakes today with the mass audience.
Been collecting these over the past year to add to the Kirk and Spock I had as a kid. The Betelgeusian seems to be the hardest to find loose followed by Rigellian. The most commonly found are Zaranite and Arcturian.
In late 1980, I picked up the Marvel ST:TMP comic with an ad for the Trek figures and the US mail order address for "Heroes World". I wrote to them, from here in Australia, seeking the aliens, since I already had Wave 1 and the Klingon. Amazingly, they still had four of the five I needed in stock - but no Betelgeusians. I decided not to frustrate myself over one missing figure and did not place a confirmed order. I eventually paid A LOT MORE for each loose alien, via eBay auctions, in the late 1990s.
Great content once again. I did collect a few of the basic crew and the bridge play set. I also collected the Next Generation/TOS Star Trek playmates figure line as well. But now I find that Star Trek fans (Trekkers and Trekkies) don’t really like collecting the figures as the value in my opinion should be higher but many of the Trek fans have told me they don’t care for the toys. Do you find this in your travels from toy conferences and conventions?
I just recently got into these; owning Kirk, Spock & McCoy. The lack of accessories is the biggest letdown. Even if there's no shooting action in the movie there are phaser guns in it, also wrist communicators and some sort of tricorders.
Had a klingon 3-3/4 inch figure that came with an alien hound type companion. which was reminiscent of Mutt and Junkyard from G.I. Joe (in fact I often used to face those 2 off of each other as Cobra had no equivalent characters at the time) I can't remember which Star Trek film it was from though. I think it was one of the sequels and the klingon was played by Christopher Loyd and Kirk killed the dog alien when he blew up or damaged the bird of prey spaceship. It has been a while since I have seen it.
These should book higher than they are, they're the best and can be used in Star Wars, Buck Rogers and Micronauts or Battlestar Galactica or anything else of that size that either has a space or what have you in their design
The lack of accessories makes these figures look very basic when compared to the equivalent Star Wars range but I think they would have been more successful if the film had been. Maybe we'd even have seen additional waves including Sulu, Chekov and Uhura. I have ten out of the twelve loose (I lack what Mego call the Rigellian and Belelguesean) but my Megarite lacks the cape. I got them all second hand a few years ago.
i loved the toys and the movie. i must have been one of the only kids that loved it and the black hole. also loved tron clash of the titans and indiana jones toys and movies.
imagine TOS figs with buck rogers level of articulation (just with better plastic that wasn't so damn brittle), phasers, communicators, and tricorders. the playsets could have been amazing, and no one kid would pass on a galileo. they have army building opportunities along with a fairly extensive line of aliens given the t.v. show, cartoon, and comics. oh, to have run a toy company in the 70's and early 80's....
I've always believed that Star Trek: The Motion Picture and its Mego toys were unfairly maligned. I watch the DVD of this movie (and The Black Hole) a lot more than I watch Star Wars. That says a lot. I have many warm memories of getting the 6 crew members and the 12" Mr. Spock, and I still have them all. I never saw any of the aliens in any store. Not even Lionel Playworld, and they had everything. I didn't even know they existed until about 20 years ago. I also remember that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the McDonald's Happy Meal's very first license. I was fortunate enough to find the Happy Meal boxes and some of the toys, and even the tray liner. I've bought a bunch of other items including the comics, book & record, the Knickerbocker figures, and the soundtrack LP (that I highly recommend). Does anyone remember the Starfleet spaceship mobile? I remember buying many Twix, Summit, and M&M's to get that thing. I managed to find another one (on Ebay), and it's hanging from my ceiling right now.
The only figure I have from the series with Spock and he still sits on top of my entertainment center next to Luke Skywalker. I was never aware how manycool aliens were produced because we never saw them around Baltimore. But we sure as hell saw ilia. Lionel kiddie City had scores of that figure, the imperious leader from Battlestar, and King Draco from Buck Rogers, at $0.70 they couldn't give them away.
It was funny back when I was first getting into collecting hard core I had gone through the books to look for hard to find action figures and such. My friend and myself had gone to places like flea markets and yard sales and such. We found a seller that neither of us liked. They'd find a loose Star Wars figure with no parts and think they had a figure worth a 100.00$ this was back in 1998. He was trying to be a seller but knew nothing. He had all the aliens in this group. My friend couldn't go with me for that Saturday at a indoor mall that we went to. He had 7.00$ price tag on those figures my friend who was collecting he had the heroes and the Klingon but he didn't have the others. When I got home and traded those figures for ones that I need. We both laughed that this fellow who was such an ignorant person with his attitude of putting on airs that he didn't need to know the books. The next week when my friend was no longer on home confinement for a traffic infraction that made him lose his license we went there and the fellow came up to me and said well, now I know those figures are worth a lot more than what you paid for them. I explained that if you are going to go into something like this it is important to know if you have something that is worth big bucks and just one of many.
I liked these figures and had the first wave but man did I wish they had aliens and some bad guys. I had no idea they made this 2nd wave alien line up until maybe 10~15 years ago. Imagine how disappointing Kenner's Star Wars figures would have been if you could only get Luke, Han , Leia and Obi Wan, and no weapons or vehicles. I would have loved some klingons and Romulans and Andorians, a Gorn of course.
Yeah I wonder if Mego had have mingled the waves if they would have fared better. Probably not, the film's merchandise did not sell well but still.....
I had Admiral Kirk and Spock, because I asked for them that Christmas. But after I saw the movie, my interest went back to Star Wars and that toyline. Several years later, Kirk and Spock were recruited by Cobra and were fitted with helmets and guns to fight G.I. Joe. Let’s face it, Cobra needed warm bodies to fill out their ranks in those early days.
These Figures and the Black Hole Figures in particular sold for 45p that would probably equate to the US’s 99’c back in the day. Mego executives must have had that Cygnus Feeling when they saw the film having invested so heavily? They must have kicked themselves twice especially hard as they passed up on producing Star Wars Figures and Play sets when they had the opportunity? The irony is that Mego might have made a better Star Wars Figure if the Star Trek and Black Hole Figures are anything to go by? I would have loved to have been in the board room. “You know that guy Lucas we said not interested to?” “Yeah?” “You know we said that his movie sounded kind of goofy?” “Yeah?” “Well that Movie has just broken box office records over the weekend-?” “Better phone him back- whose got the license? Kenner? “ “Oh Donald H Duck-“ I wonder who if anyone got fired- like forever!
I don't understand why Mego never released Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. The entire classic crew should have been part of the first wave. I think it would've made more sense to put Decker and Ilia in the second wave. This was a major problem in my opinion.
I was a huge Star Trek fan as a kid. Waited for the movie for years. I wasn't expecting another Star Wars, so I wasn't disappointed by the movie, but MAN were the aliens terrible (other than the Klingon, of course and Ilia doesn't really count). A fan magazine had photos and in-universe descriptions of the new aliens and even as a kid I thought they looked really stupid. The Zaranite was the only halfway decent new alien. I must not have been the only one to think so, since they're barely visible in the movie and never appeared again in the franchise AFIK. It seems like the movie had a redesigned Andorian as well, but for some reason didn't include one in the toy line.
Also, the new no-bake latexes made it possible for Fred Phillips to redesign the Andorians with tapering tendrils and elaborate foreheads rather than the cotton spools used in TOS. (Eventually, miniaturization of remote-control tech made it possible for "Enterprise" Andorians' antennae to move!)
Heya! What is the Guitar Riff in your Intro? Would Love to Know? Also I made a Mention of these Line of Figures in another Comment. To be Perfectly Honest I had no Idea that there was a Second Wave of Star Trek the Motion Picture Figures Until Fairly Recently? I Only Collected the First Wave as that’s all I had Access to in the UK? As Previously Mentioned I am Forever Disappointed that there is no Uhura, Checkov or Sulu? There dose not seem to be an answer? “I REQUIRE THE INFORMATION?” Why were these Figures Never Produced? Is there Anyone Out There with An ?Answer? Mego Went straight into the Second Wave with Aliens, with the Exception of the Klingon who Really Didn’t Have a Walk On Part? I’ve Speculated on one or two reasons but it would be really Great to know a Definitive Answer? And it would Be Even Better if Stan Solo Produced the Missing Bridge Crew Figures? Best
The vintage Mego theme tune is stock music I got from the RUclips library. I'd really like reproductions of the figures Mego didn't make. I'd personally love a security guard, that uniform was cool.
They messed up not releasing the aliens as first wave (with Spock and Kirk). Even if you didn't care about Trek these guys would've been bought right up. Kids love aliens. But, probably for the the best; if they'd been too successful we might have gotten a slow moving sequel with Ricardo Montalbán as a Betelgeusian.
i had Ilia. that was the only figure i had from this...prolly because she was the only one i found. I wasn't into the movie. My Star Trek was the animated series, and later TNG
the figures were terrible, they couldn't even hold a gun from *any* other figures line, but the face sculpts were spot on for the time. you just wanted to throttle the powers-that-be (or were) at mego and shout, 'make the original tv characters and playsets, dummies!' then make sure they came with phasers, communicators, and tricorders, spend the extra nickel and have knee joints (a buck rogers level of articulation would have been amazing, just made out of better plastic), and they could have seriously competed with 'star wars.' there would not have been a single toy-buying kid who wouldn't have owned the galileo, if not the bridge set, too. it's easy to see in retrospect, but wasn't it rather a no-brainer at the time, too? you could minimize your losses by offering exclusives based on TOS with five POPs, clearing out the junk on the shelves and building interest in the new line. granted, kids really don't need two mccoys, but by then they would be on clearance and, hey, cannon fodder is a thing. c'mon, like kids wouldn't send in for a gorn!
Probably wouldn't have hurt to split each wave into 50% human and 50% alien rather than lumping all the aliens to later. They look like good toys despite the dull uniforms the film used. I never read the comics but they might have been a better lore to model the toys around.
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I remember being at a birthday party back then and the kid crying when he opened some of these figures given to him as gifts.
I still have Spock, Kirk. McCoy, Decker. from the 1979 movie.
crying? in disappointment? or freaked out by the alien horror?
I liked them, I remember mixing all my figures (BSG, Star Wars, Star Trek, Adventure people, etc) and have many cross-overs. I was disappointed they never had an Uhura, Chekov or Sulu . Wished they had made Wrath Of Khan and Classic Trek figures in this scale. I had a few extra Deckers for some reason and I always used them as generic red shirt guys.
Always seems like the coolest figures end up in 2nd or 3rd wave- or, the 'rare' wave.
Had Mego made the Star Trek TMP figures as 8", can you imagine these aliens in that scale? They would have been spectacular.
I find it intriguing that the Saurian (whom Mego calls a Rigellian) actually has the scooped curve of the actual Rigellian's white robes across his chest, making me wonder if two drawings ended up combined. Also that Captain Will Decker's outfit is based on early photos of his costume tests, when his jumpsuit was yellowish beige. The colour details on Spock's and Ilia's outfits are also based on earlier sketches.
The Betelgeusian Chief Ambassador, with his tall black hat, was an impressive alien, wearing red robes with eagles and leopards of real gold and silver thread. You can see him in silhouette, towering over the other extras, in the distance of the San Francisco tram scene. The material came from Cecil B DeMille's extensive stores of bolts of fabric, stored during the 1923 production of "The Ten Commandments". If you take off the Mego figure's plain red robe, he has a dagger hidden in a belt behind him. His face and hands should be painted blue.
The suede outfits of the Zaranite were also made from fabric bought for "The Ten Commandments". I added thin leather hoses to the alien's fluorine gas breathing mask.
The Zaranite suede costumes, Zaranite breathing apparatus and Arcturian leather outfits can all be seen on other aliens (and humans) in the UFP council scenes of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". The Megarite's robe was used by an extra in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". The Saurian alien design appeared as a regular background character, Linus, in Season Two of "Star Trek: Discovery".
Thank you for all this in-depth info! I just learned a lot by reading it
The sculpts, especially the classic crew, were fantastic, and have never been bettered at this size!
Right there with you, I LOVED this line back then, I still have them (the bridge playset as well) and they are a priceless to me. I played the heck out of them. Happy to see another collector who shares the same memories and appreciates these figs & bridge. Looking forward to seeing more. All of the aliens are Grail items for myself. I've not seen any beyond pics and this vid. Thank you for this episode.
Cool line indeed! Would love to see Mego redo the 3 3/4” lines like the 8”. Updated playsets would be great too!
Great video! Lovely line of toys! I was a kid when these came out. I was already hooked on Star Wars and hungry for anything in that scale and of a similar aesthetic. I ate up Mego’s Buck Rogers and Black Hole toys, and got a few from Galactica as well. I wasn’t as invested in Trek, although I think my dad bought me a Spock figure from this line. I knew who Spock was because my folks had a calendar at home where Spock is smiling (!) on my birthday; I was born on February 29th, which means my birthday is “highly illogical!”
TMP was the first movie my mom took me to inside a movie theater. I still recall we had to wait for the blue lagoon to finish before we could be seated.
I love these. I've never owned any of the 3 3/4 figures but I did collect the 12 inch line at one point and still have the Klingon. Probably the coolest looking Mego 12 inch figure ever! I know they lost a lot of profit on these licenses but I applaud Mego for making all of these obscure lines.
Nobody would dare make an Ernest Borgnine doll today. The mere fact that one exists is awesome!
Love this episode! I really want several of the alien figures with the Klingon being my favorite.😁👍
Did an excellent job like always friend 👍
Bill
The aliens were a great addition to my playtime. It was cool having aliens not associated with Star Wars wandering around the bases I used to build as a kid. I was so stoked for a Wrath of Khan line to come out and was exceptionally disappointed when it didn't. On a side note, the Ertl figures made for Star Trek 3 had phasers and they fit well in the hands of the Motion Picture Starfleet characters.
I was also stoked for Wrath of Khan figures.
Even though I was alive and definitely a Trek loving kid back then, something never change, these 3.75" aliens and the 8" second series of aliens eluded me back then. I have good memories of the TMP line as if you wanted pocket sized versions of Kirk and Co. this line was the only game in town and pretty much still is unless you count the forgettable Funko retro figures.
I also had the styrene bridge playset and I liked it back then but it had durability issues. I remember my parents using a lot of glue to nurse it along for the year it survived play before it was eventually thrown out. If it even lasted a year.
I had a few of the figures, as well as the bridge playset which I got on clearance for $5 at children’s palace. The playset was cheap, but accurately recreated the bridge, and I had a lot of fun with it.
My father had a few of these when he was really young, I’m glad to see a wonderfully detailed and concise video about them, there aren’t many on RUclips.
These are cool especially the aliens and the "good guys" have pretty spot on likenesses especially for 1979 era figures.
yeah they were sculpted by Bill Lemon, a legend.
The entire Mego Trek line seemed to have eluded my 1980s childhood; shame, I would have loved some of these guys to mix in to my Star Wars scenes.
i had several of the first wave, but being in the U.S. never had the chance for the aliens. you didn't miss much, they didn't even have weapons. the sculpts were great, though.
@@ryanbarker5217 You can't possibly be sure if he "didn't miss much." You aren't him. You don't know how he thinks. He could've very well been content with these figures had he gotten his hands on them. Even if they didn't have weapons, he could've used weapons from other figures.
@@imfsresidentotaku9699 oh, jeez, go smell your own farts somewhere else
I love it the figures are unique i have all wave one carded except Decker. The 12 inch one are great too. I agree love that enterprise playset had it for years looking for it in a vintage shop reasonably priced
I always wanted these- and REALLY wanted the Star Trek 3 line after a year or so of ST,II playing almost daily on HBO!
Never Found any of them though.
Today, I'd still love to find that big eyed pink Rigellian/Saturn and alien!
I had the Bridge Crew and Enterprise Bridge playset. I really enjoyed these figures also, even though I was never able to get an Alien figure. Great video and thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the review! I have never owned any of the Mego ST:TMP alien figures, but they look great.
appreciate your comment, thanks for watching.
I had all these. Great 👍review.
I actually liked the movie, though I'll admit, the second half really slows down. But the first half, with Ve'Ger vs the Klingons, the reveal of the refit Enterprise, the crew reuniting, the wormhole accident and Spock returning was awesome to me. And I liked the figures, and I remember really wanting that second series, and hoped for a third to round out the crew. Though, yeah. I'd have liked the figures to have some accessories. After all, as a kid, you didn't just want to replay the movie over and over, and have adventures beyond it. I felt the same way about my Star Wars figures.
I remember seeing battlestar Galactica for a dollar at the local neighborhood pharmacy... I was so happy almost got all of them ... Loved the cylon. Also got that big comic
Great episode Brick! I have seen a couple of klingons loose at toy shows in austin back in 87-88 and a few of the beatgusina guy and even a carded one but the others I havent seen and I was married to a Star trek toy dealer for a few years and maybe once she had a mego STTMP Klingon and the crew but never the others.Very insightful episode!
By the time The Motion Picture came out I was already a big Star Trek fan. I had the great Mego figures of the crew, the Klingon, and the bridge play set for the series. I got a few of the crew from the movie. Kirk, Spock and McCoy. I wanted the movie bridge, but we never could find it back then in 1979 at any local stores.
Why didn't they ever make playsets of the alien planets of the ST universe? Alien planets are one of a few things ST had over SW. A Vulcan desert survival playset or a Qonos volcano battleground would have been great.
Maybe they would have had the toys been a hit.
I really wish that this line could have gotten more love. They could have done some 9 point articulation of TOS, and an OG Enterprise bridge set, Galileo Seven vehicle, and even some of the Old school series play sets.
Actually they couldn't. Paramount was restricting TOS merch during this period. It eventually reversed but by that time Mego was out of the Star Trek business.
Great line, currently have series one in my collection. It's still one of my favorite Star Trek movies to
I had all the bridge crew characters from this line and polayed with them fondly as a kid.
That's exactly how I picked up my Ilia figure: at a Lionel Kiddie City in 1985, on clearance with one of those big orange stickers on it.
Loved Mego as a kid! Had most of the superheroes line. Spider-Man was my Favorite! The planet of the apes line was great as well! I think I had at least 5 soldier apes loved the plastic M16 - A1's lol!
01:19 I guess Uhura, Chekov and Sulu weren't invited to this "sorry party" but for some reason, they added two unfamiliar characters like Decker and Ilia.
I looked everywhere for Zaranite. First time I saw the actual figure was on this RUclips channel.
I found one in an antique mall last month for ten dollars but a kid had chewed off the hands!
I Love those figures. I was a kid when the movie came out. they should have made Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura. These were Great!
Those aliens are so cool and such a shame they did get a bigger release
My main memory of this line at stores is seeing Ilia on clearance everywhere.
Yup, she was the #1 Pegwarmer of the 70s .
I love this line. Still my favorite 3.75 Star Trek line. I have all of the first series. But sadly only have the Klingon in the second wave. Maybe one day I can get the rest. I really love to see Mego revisit Star Trek again in 3.75. These 3.75 figures were amazing with great sculpts.
Don't' think I ever came across the second wave ; I definitely recall the first wave discounted at our local Woolco store.
Clearly the memo that Kirk had been promoted to Admiral never got through to the advertising department.
That is a very good point.
If I recall, he was only an Admiral at the beginning and he took a voluntary reduction in rank to get the Enterprise back.
I still have Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Decker.
iLove then!!! Awesome video!
Got some of these on closet at child world in 82.I never new about the aliens.wish I still had them.
I had them all with the big set except for the one with the red cape and the yellow alien.
As Spock would say about this video on these classic figure line "Fascinating!".
Saurion/Rigellian would be cool to get since they added one to Discovery in the second season as a crew member.
Mr Linus has been hilarious!
Great review, I just started collecting.
They look like Star Wars figures made by kenner. The capes are almost the same and there is a figure that looks like Sarth Vader
I had the doc McCoy figure. Played him with my star wars toys.
Bones knew how to operate on Wookies?
Not a big fan of Star Trek, but I really liked these figures.
I didn't understand it as a kid but was fascinated with the movie which I saw on Sunday Night at the Movies on ABC..I think. Just some unnamed, unseen alien entity as the foe is different and interesting. I had a few of these figures..kirk and spock. I've got the 12" figures of them on my channel. Thanks for the video!
While not very eye catching, this is a great line of figures IMO. But I'm a Trek guy at heart. So happy to have the entire line in my Trek office at home. But a Wave 3 was needed. Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura got the shaft. Plus as mentioned below a Vulcan Spock and Bearded (Disco) McCoy not to mention Christine Chapel would have been nice. But also throwing in the Ilia Probe and a Thruster Suit Spock would have been epic. The V'Ger probe reveal playset would have been cool as well. Star Trek toys just can't seem to find their footing in major markets. TNG did a pretty good job with Galoob, but the brand still makes similar mistakes today with the mass audience.
Been collecting these over the past year to add to the Kirk and Spock I had as a kid. The Betelgeusian seems to be the hardest to find loose followed by Rigellian. The most commonly found are Zaranite and Arcturian.
In late 1980, I picked up the Marvel ST:TMP comic with an ad for the Trek figures and the US mail order address for "Heroes World". I wrote to them, from here in Australia, seeking the aliens, since I already had Wave 1 and the Klingon. Amazingly, they still had four of the five I needed in stock - but no Betelgeusians. I decided not to frustrate myself over one missing figure and did not place a confirmed order. I eventually paid A LOT MORE for each loose alien, via eBay auctions, in the late 1990s.
I think some of these aliens featured in the ST:TMP promotion Weetabix did in the UK
Awesome
thanks for watching.
Great content once again. I did collect a few of the basic crew and the bridge play set. I also collected the Next Generation/TOS Star Trek playmates figure line as well. But now I find that Star Trek fans (Trekkers and Trekkies) don’t really like collecting the figures as the value in my opinion should be higher but many of the Trek fans have told me they don’t care for the toys. Do you find this in your travels from toy conferences and conventions?
I just recently got into these; owning Kirk, Spock & McCoy. The lack of accessories is the biggest letdown. Even if there's no shooting action in the movie there are phaser guns in it, also wrist communicators and some sort of tricorders.
Had a klingon 3-3/4 inch figure that came with an alien hound type companion. which was reminiscent of Mutt and Junkyard from G.I. Joe (in fact I often used to face those 2 off of each other as Cobra had no equivalent characters at the time) I can't remember which Star Trek film it was from though. I think it was one of the sequels and the klingon was played by Christopher Loyd and Kirk killed the dog alien when he blew up or damaged the bird of prey spaceship. It has been a while since I have seen it.
ERTL made a 3 3/4" figure of the Klingon you're thinking of and it came with his "dog"
These should book higher than they are, they're the best and can be used in Star Wars, Buck Rogers and Micronauts or Battlestar Galactica or anything else of that size that either has a space or what have you in their design
I have 4 of them i love it
The lack of accessories makes these figures look very basic when compared to the equivalent Star Wars range but I think they would have been more successful if the film had been. Maybe we'd even have seen additional waves including Sulu, Chekov and Uhura. I have ten out of the twelve loose (I lack what Mego call the Rigellian and Belelguesean) but my Megarite lacks the cape. I got them all second hand a few years ago.
Cool figures
I like them they were so cool
Very cool, don't ever hear much about these.
i loved the toys and the movie. i must have been one of the only kids that loved it and the black hole. also loved tron clash of the titans and indiana jones toys and movies.
I had all 6 of the Bridge crew in their PJ's, never once saw any aliens in store. Too bad Mego missed the boat on Wrath of khan in this scale. $$$$.
imagine TOS figs with buck rogers level of articulation (just with better plastic that wasn't so damn brittle), phasers, communicators, and tricorders. the playsets could have been amazing, and no one kid would pass on a galileo. they have army building opportunities along with a fairly extensive line of aliens given the t.v. show, cartoon, and comics.
oh, to have run a toy company in the 70's and early 80's....
@@ryanbarker5217 That would have been the most EPIC line of all time to me !
I've always believed that Star Trek: The Motion Picture and its Mego toys were unfairly maligned. I watch the DVD of this movie (and The Black Hole) a lot more than I watch Star Wars. That says a lot.
I have many warm memories of getting the 6 crew members and the 12" Mr. Spock, and I still have them all. I never saw any of the aliens in any store. Not even Lionel Playworld, and they had everything. I didn't even know they existed until about 20 years ago. I also remember that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the McDonald's Happy Meal's very first license. I was fortunate enough to find the Happy Meal boxes and some of the toys, and even the tray liner. I've bought a bunch of other items including the comics, book & record, the Knickerbocker figures, and the soundtrack LP (that I highly recommend). Does anyone remember the Starfleet spaceship mobile? I remember buying many Twix, Summit, and M&M's to get that thing. I managed to find another one (on Ebay), and it's hanging from my ceiling right now.
The only figure I have from the series with Spock and he still sits on top of my entertainment center next to Luke Skywalker. I was never aware how manycool aliens were produced because we never saw them around Baltimore. But we sure as hell saw ilia. Lionel kiddie City had scores of that figure, the imperious leader from Battlestar, and King Draco from Buck Rogers, at $0.70 they couldn't give them away.
It was funny back when I was first getting into collecting hard core I had gone through the books to look for hard to find action figures and such. My friend and myself had gone to places like flea markets and yard sales and such. We found a seller that neither of us liked. They'd find a loose Star Wars figure with no parts and think they had a figure worth a 100.00$ this was back in 1998. He was trying to be a seller but knew nothing. He had all the aliens in this group. My friend couldn't go with me for that Saturday at a indoor mall that we went to. He had 7.00$ price tag on those figures my friend who was collecting he had the heroes and the Klingon but he didn't have the others. When I got home and traded those figures for ones that I need. We both laughed that this fellow who was such an ignorant person with his attitude of putting on airs that he didn't need to know the books. The next week when my friend was no longer on home confinement for a traffic infraction that made him lose his license we went there and the fellow came up to me and said well, now I know those figures are worth a lot more than what you paid for them. I explained that if you are going to go into something like this it is important to know if you have something that is worth big bucks and just one of many.
I used these STAR TREK 3&3/4 inch aliens as STAR WARS troop builders as a kid, for 50 cents a piece.
Sounds like you might be Canadian.
@@BrickMantooth Grew up in ORANGE COUNTY CALIFORNIA. Just traveled allot and my MOM hated to hear me cry.
I liked these figures and had the first wave but man did I wish they had aliens and some bad guys. I had no idea they made this 2nd wave alien line up until maybe 10~15 years ago. Imagine how disappointing Kenner's Star Wars figures would have been if you could only get Luke, Han , Leia and Obi Wan, and no weapons or vehicles. I would have loved some klingons and Romulans and Andorians, a Gorn of course.
Yeah I wonder if Mego had have mingled the waves if they would have fared better. Probably not, the film's merchandise did not sell well but still.....
I had Admiral Kirk and Spock, because I asked for them that Christmas. But after I saw the movie, my interest went back to Star Wars and that toyline. Several years later, Kirk and Spock were recruited by Cobra and were fitted with helmets and guns to fight G.I. Joe. Let’s face it, Cobra needed warm bodies to fill out their ranks in those early days.
Still got my kirk and spock
This is cool .
These Figures and the Black Hole Figures in particular sold for 45p that would probably equate to the US’s 99’c back in the day. Mego executives must have had that Cygnus Feeling when they saw the film having invested so heavily? They must have kicked themselves twice especially hard as they passed up on producing Star Wars Figures and Play sets when they had the opportunity? The irony is that Mego might have made a better Star Wars Figure if the Star Trek and Black Hole Figures are anything to go by? I would have loved to have been in the board room.
“You know that guy Lucas we said not interested to?”
“Yeah?”
“You know we said that his movie sounded kind of goofy?”
“Yeah?”
“Well that Movie has just broken box office records over the weekend-?”
“Better phone him back- whose got the license? Kenner? “
“Oh Donald H Duck-“
I wonder who if anyone got fired- like forever!
To sum up that Star Trek movie, YAWN!
I've grown to appreciate it more as an adult.
However, those toys were and are COOL.
I don't understand why Mego never released Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. The entire classic crew should have been part of the first wave. I think it would've made more sense to put Decker and Ilia in the second wave. This was a major problem in my opinion.
I was a huge Star Trek fan as a kid. Waited for the movie for years. I wasn't expecting another Star Wars, so I wasn't disappointed by the movie, but MAN were the aliens terrible (other than the Klingon, of course and Ilia doesn't really count). A fan magazine had photos and in-universe descriptions of the new aliens and even as a kid I thought they looked really stupid. The Zaranite was the only halfway decent new alien. I must not have been the only one to think so, since they're barely visible in the movie and never appeared again in the franchise AFIK.
It seems like the movie had a redesigned Andorian as well, but for some reason didn't include one in the toy line.
It seems as if they created the new aliens for new merchandising, Paramount believed the movie was separate from the tv series.
Also, the new no-bake latexes made it possible for Fred Phillips to redesign the Andorians with tapering tendrils and elaborate foreheads rather than the cotton spools used in TOS. (Eventually, miniaturization of remote-control tech made it possible for "Enterprise" Andorians' antennae to move!)
Heya!
What is the Guitar Riff in your Intro? Would Love to Know?
Also I made a Mention of these Line of Figures in another Comment. To be Perfectly Honest I had no Idea that there was a Second Wave of Star Trek the Motion Picture Figures Until Fairly Recently? I Only Collected the First Wave as that’s all I had Access to in the UK? As Previously Mentioned I am Forever Disappointed that there is no Uhura, Checkov or Sulu? There dose not seem to be an answer? “I REQUIRE THE INFORMATION?” Why were these Figures Never Produced? Is there Anyone Out There with An ?Answer? Mego Went straight into the Second Wave with Aliens, with the Exception of the Klingon who Really Didn’t Have a Walk On Part? I’ve Speculated on one or two reasons but it would be really Great to know a Definitive Answer? And it would Be Even Better if Stan Solo Produced the Missing Bridge Crew Figures?
Best
The vintage Mego theme tune is stock music I got from the RUclips library. I'd really like reproductions of the figures Mego didn't make. I'd personally love a security guard, that uniform was cool.
Awsome
If only Paramount let them release TOS along with TMP in 3¾. It would have done a lot better.
yes, I believe you are right.
i just found a decker at my local flea market for 5$ the vendor thought it was james t kirk
They messed up not releasing the aliens as first wave (with Spock and Kirk). Even if you didn't care about Trek these guys would've been bought right up. Kids love aliens. But, probably for the the best; if they'd been too successful we might have gotten a slow moving sequel with Ricardo Montalbán as a Betelgeusian.
I agree they should have mixed in at least the Klingon into wave one, kids would have bought that character more than Decker or Ilia.
i had Ilia. that was the only figure i had from this...prolly because she was the only one i found. I wasn't into the movie. My Star Trek was the animated series, and later TNG
the figures were terrible, they couldn't even hold a gun from *any* other figures line, but the face sculpts were spot on for the time. you just wanted to throttle the powers-that-be (or were) at mego and shout, 'make the original tv characters and playsets, dummies!' then make sure they came with phasers, communicators, and tricorders, spend the extra nickel and have knee joints (a buck rogers level of articulation would have been amazing, just made out of better plastic), and they could have seriously competed with 'star wars.'
there would not have been a single toy-buying kid who wouldn't have owned the galileo, if not the bridge set, too. it's easy to see in retrospect, but wasn't it rather a no-brainer at the time, too? you could minimize your losses by offering exclusives based on TOS with five POPs, clearing out the junk on the shelves and building interest in the new line. granted, kids really don't need two mccoys, but by then they would be on clearance and, hey, cannon fodder is a thing. c'mon, like kids wouldn't send in for a gorn!
Kirk looks a little like Cliff Robertson
to be fair, so did Shatner at this point in his life.
Where the second line aliens ever made on US cardbacks ? Made , but never sold ?
I think they were sold in the UK on US cardbacks.
Probably wouldn't have hurt to split each wave into 50% human and 50% alien rather than lumping all the aliens to later. They look like good toys despite the dull uniforms the film used. I never read the comics but they might have been a better lore to model the toys around.
Can any trekkies enlighten me if any of these aliens have appeared in subsequent incarnations of Trek?
The aliens sucked but made okay Star Wars Cantina extras. ;)
Decent figures. Bad Movie.