Figure Name: Captain Spock
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys
Captain Spock was released as part of Playmates short lived 12" line as a limited edition KB Exclusive. (Sorry no boxed pic)
The Rundown: Oh how I wish for a high-end Classic Star Trek 12" line. Imagine how great a line from Hot Toys would be! For now though, pretty much the only option we have at this scale is the Playmates 12" line. It doesn't hold up so well to today's standards, but there are a few gems in the lot. Spock here is pretty decent, but is not without problems.
The outfit isn't too bad for the time. Sure, it looks a bit cheap by today's standards, but compared to the uniforms on the classic crew 12" figures, this one is far superior. The flap on the shirt even opens up (though it took some double-sided tape to keep the flap down). The biggest bummer is the painted on insignias and such. Having those as separate sculpted pieces would have probably cost way too much, but man would it have improved the look.
The head sculpt is pretty decent. The top of the head looks a bit bulbous, but the details on the face are really nice. It's probably one of the best head sculpts in the 12" line. Rumor has it that the TWOK 12" figures almost didn't make it due to Nimoy balking at the original sculpt on this, forcing Playmates to go back and improve it to the point you see here.
ARGH! Why? Why must Playmates do this? Why are most of their Spock's stuck with the "live long and prosper" hand? It severely limits the posing capabilities of the figure. Not that he's all that poseable to begin with...
Accessories: Spock includes a pair of radiation gloves to squeeze over his mitts. They aren't particularly well made, nor do they fit all that well. I would have preferred a TWOK style phaser...
Box bio:
So he's not particularly great, but he is probably one of the best of the 12" line. The head sculpt is nice, and the outfit is pretty decent for the line. You can get this one for a fairly reasonable price nowadays...and without a nicer 1/6th scale line to chose from, this is your only choice at a 12" TWOK Spock- unless you go the custom route.
-James
Nice review. I remember when these got as low as $4 each (for TWOK Kirk and Spock) at KB's online shop. They finally sold out at that price--this was a number of years ago, of course. I liked these, but the head sculpts (particularly on TWOK Kirk) was not good for me.
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