Vulcans in Plastic: Unmade Playmates Designs

eBay user kateunc2 has listed some interesting artwork. They say it was obtained from a Playmates employee.  The artwork is for Star Trek (2009) action figures and ship toys that were never produced. Several of the pieces are Vulcan-related so I'm sharing them here as Vulcans that didn't quite make it to plastic!

This first figure is Spock as he was dressed when he appeared before the Vulcan Science Academy.

I'm not sure about this next one. It seems to represent Spock in his dress uniform from TOS but the reference photo is clearly of Zachary Quinto from the Kelvin Universe.  Does it represent a scene that was conceived for the movie but ultimately cut before filming?

I love this next one! Spock Prime's parka was one of my favourite costumes in Star Trek (2009) and I would loved to add this figure to my collection.

I also quite like this Young Spock design. It's not quite the costume we saw in the final film so perhaps it's based on an earlier design.

I don't care much for these Starfleet Defender designs.

Here's some art for Spock's Jellyfish Ship.

I previously wrote about the Star Trek 2009 figures including an unproduced second wave that would have included Sarek and Spock in his Starfleet Academy Instructor's uniform.  I would guess that the above designs never made it as far as prototypes because I've never seen photos of them like I have of the second wave figures.

It was recently announced that McFarlane Toys picked up the license for Star Trek figures. I'll be interested to see what they come up and whether they might do a Spock Prime in his parka figure!

Vulcans in Plastic: Fighter Pods

The toy license for JJ Abrams' Trek films was picked up by Hasbro.  Frankly, the offerings are not that exciting or impressive.  The first Star Trek toys released by Hasbro are part of their Fighter Pods series. They have already released similar Star Wars and Marvel products.

These are not being marketed heavily.  In fact, they don't even appear on Hasbro's Canadian website.  As far as I can tell there are 36 figures and three launching pods.  You can place the figures into small transparent plastic balls and launch them from the pods at each other.  It doesn't fit well with the Star Trek universe which may be why they aren't being marketed more.

Of the 36 figures, three are Spock.  There are also two Romulan figures which may be of interest to Vulcanologists.  The figures can be purchased individually in "mystery" packages or in small sets as pictured below.

Since I wasn't interested in the pods themselves I sought out just the Vulcan and Romulan figures on eBay.  I found it difficult to take good photos of them because they're so tiny (no more than an inch in height).

From left to right: Spock in his volcano suit from Star Trek Into Darkness, Spock in Starfleet uniform, Spock in wetsuit from Star Trek Into Darkness, Ayel and Nero from Star Trek XI.  The painting and detail are as good as can be expected for something so small.  You'll notice that all of these figures have the characters holding weapons.  I'm bothered by this.  Even the figure that features Spock giving the Vulcan salute also has a phaser.

Overall, these are nothing to write to New Vulcan about.  I suppose the exaggerated features are sort of cute but the emphasis is clearly on action and battle which will appeal more to fans of Star Wars than to Trekkies.

Vulcans in Plastic: Q-Pop Spock

QMX is soon to release a new line of PVC Star Trek figures called Trekkies Q-Pop.  The first wave will include Kirk, Uhura and Spock.  They will be available for pre-order in Q2 of 2013 and you can sign up at the QMX website to be notified of the exact date.

Each figure will come with a display base and a mini-white board with a Trekkies-branded dry erase marker so you can write your own messages.  The figures are approximately 4.5" tall and were designed by Mohammad Haque. Haque or "Hawk" is an artist from Maryland and you can discover more of his work at his official website.

Vulcans in Plastic: Spock Spud

Today, Mr. Potato Head celebrates his 60th birthday, so it seems appropriate to review the Spock Potato Head.

Mr. Potato Head was invented in Brooklyn by George Lerner.  He used to create small face parts and insert them into fruits and vegetables to make dolls for his younger sisters.  This evolved into a kit with plastic and felt face pieces with push pins to attach them to potatoes.  The kit was first released by Hasbro on May 1, 1952.

Eventually, due to the health concerns of rotting vegetables, Hasbro created a plastic body/head as part of the kit.  Over the years, Mr. Potato Head was joined by a Mrs.  The toy gained huge popularity in 1995 with the release of Disney/Pixar's Toy Story.

In the summer of 2011, CBS granted a license to create Star Trek: TOS potato heads.  A two-pack was released with Kirk and Kor.  Six months later, a second two-pack was released with Spock and Uhura.

These collectables are about half the size of the Mr. Potato Head most will be familiar with and they're definitely geared more towards adult collectors than to children.  Anyone looking for a toy that's really playable will be disappointed.

The costume tunic is removable in two pieces and the hair and ears are removable as well.  I wasn't able to remove the face or the arms.  I didn't try to put a lot of pressure on them so it's possible they are actually removable. There's just not many options for mixing and mashing and creating a "funny face man."

But as a collectable statue, the Spock Spud looks pretty cool.  It's easily identifiable as our favourite Vulcan and the TOS theme seems to suit Mr. Potato Head as they both became really popular in the 1970s.  In conclusion, your kids won't enjoy this as much as you will.  But toys aren't really for kids anyway, right?

Star Trek Quogs

Early in 2009 CBS created a new animated Star Trek style which they called "Quogs."  Several products were launched in close succession beginning with GoAnimate's Star Trek Quogs Channel where anyone can create their own animated films using the Star Trek characters.

Here's a brief example I created:

Mission to Vulcan: Part One

There are two characters of interest to Vulcanologists: Mr. Spock and a Romulan.

Following the trend of large scale reusable wall stickers that have become popular in the last few years, LTL Prints has a large selection of Quogs wall stickers available.

Funko also released a series of five inch vinyl Quogs figures including Spock, Kirk and an Orion Slave Girl.

Last, but not least, Armitron released a few Star Trek Quogs wristwatches including this one featuring our favourite Vulcan.

I quite like the stylized design of the Quogs characters.  It seems a logical next step after the original animated series.  I think CBS should have done more to promote them.  I wish that they had also created a new animated series, even if it were just web-based.  I'd also love to have that Romulan as a Funko figure in my collection!

Vulcans in Plastic: Saavik

Saavik was the first Vulcan female Starfleet officer we ever saw on screen. She was played by Kirstie Alley in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and then by Robin Curtis in the subsequent two Trek films.  Two Saavik action figures have been produced and both have the likeness of Kirstie Alley.

The first one was produced by Playmates as part of their Classic Star Trek Movie Series.  The likeness on this figure is terrific!  I apologize for the terrible photos but my camera's not great at capturing small items in any detail.

The details on the Playmates figure are captured well and I love the display bases from this series.  The only possible complaint I have about this figure is the shiny finish that most of the Playmates figures have.  However, that's not a huge detraction and this figure has a prominent place in my Vulcan collection.

The second figure was produced by Art Asylum/Diamond Select as part of their Star Trek II series.

This figure has all the amazing detail you'd expect from Art Asylum and it displays well in or outside its packaging.  It has a nice matte finish which doesn't give it away as plastic at a first glance.

Despite all the great detail in Saavik's uniform and hair this figure does not capture Kirstie Alley's likeness as well as the Playmates one.  I also find myself wishing this one had a display base because it doesn't stand perfectly on its own.

In my opinion, Saavik is a great character that we never learned enough about (some comic books did a good job at expanding her Vulcan-Romulan heritage and relationship with Spock).  I hope we also get a Robin Curtis Saavik figure someday but for now, we can appreciate the fact that Saavik will always live long...in plastic.

Vulcans in Plastic: Star Trek V

Galoob held a license to create Star Trek toys from 1988-1997.  In 1988 they launched the first Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures and later they created a successful line of Star Trek MicroMachines.  But in 1989, they released what are perhaps the worst Star Trek action figures ever made, for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

By 1989, high-end Trek collectables were becoming very popular so instead of standard action figures, Galoob released five "Limited Edition" figures that were more like statues made of rubber: Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sybok and Captain Klaa.  Obviously, the two Vulcan ones are of interest to us here.

Without a doubt, this is the worst Spock figure ever created.  It looks like a Vulcan but nothing like Leonard Nimoy.  The head is disproportionately large and it features one of the ugliest Starfleet uniforms ever designed.

This figure does have articulated arms but, like the others, the feet are mounted to a black plastic base embossed with the film's logo.  The base has a slot at the back to slide in a cardboard backdrop.  The art on the backdrop might be the best feature of this figure.

The Sybok figure is slightly better.  His head is not quite as disproportionate as Spock's and the sculptor did a good job of recreating his costume, albeit in a basic, textureless fashion.

Sybok has no articulation whatsoever.  He reminds me a bit of the giant, hollow vinyl Marshmallow Man figure from the Ghostbusters movie.

Overall, perhaps these are fitting collectables for the Star Trek film that is least popular.  As action figures they are sorely lacking and as higher-end collectables they are also sorely lacking.  Lost somewhere between two worlds, these items are still fairly highly sought-after since not very many seem to have been made.

Stuffed Vulcans

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Vulcans in Plastic: Star Trek 2009

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