Figure Name: James Kirk
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys
30's Kirk was released by Playmates on their Warp Factor Series cardback.
The Rundown: When Playmates switched to the Warp Factor Series card, they started pulling back on the articulation of the figures a bit in favor of more "dynamic" sculpts. Sometimes it worked, like with Kirk here. Other times... not so much (*ahem* Intendant Kira).
Kirk's sculpt is based on his appearance from "The City On The Edge Forever". The fact that we got not one, but THREE 4.5" figures based on that episode is awesome for me. "City" is my all-time favorite Trek episode, so having these guys in my collection is a pretty big bonus.
The head sculpt is the same used on all of the Playmates classic Kirk figures. Unfortunately, the paint job is probably the weakest of all the Kirks. Playmates sometimes went a little heavy with the worry lines on Kirk's forehead, but it's the direct opposite here. There's no lines at all on the forehead, leaving the face with a totally blank expression. Like the old saying goes "you don't know what you got 'til it's gone..."
As mentioned earlier, there's not as much articulation on Kirk as there is on your standard Playmates Trek figure. Kirk only has 5 points of articulation, so posing is very limited. Still, I like the sculpt and the body looks good so I can deal with it. There's much more detail here than on some of the better-articulated Trek figures, so there's a definite trade-off. The pose is pretty dynamic, making Kirk look "action-packed" even while serving coffee at the mission.
My biggest gripe on the figure is the paint. The picture on the back of the card shows the prototype for Kirk, complete with flannel shirt. However, when the figure went into production Playmates eliminated the black paint app from the shirt, changing the shirt to plain red. Kind of a bummer, and a little on the cheap side.
Accessories: Kirk comes with a display stand (not pictured), a phaser (in all black), a pot of coffee, and a mug.
Box bio:
Looking back over this, I feel like I'm really coming down on this figure. I really do like it, despite a few flaws. It's a figure that I never thought would happen and I'm really glad to have it. I for one don't think we'll ever see a company do Kirk in this attire again, and I applaud Playmates for taking chances and doing stuff like this.
-James
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