AA/ DST Spotlight- Battle-Scarred Kirk & Gorn Captain

Item Names: Battle-Scarred Kirk & Gorn Captain
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys



DST released this 2 pack as part of their Classic Star Trek line, with the "all-era-inclusive" style packaging.



The Rundown: Sorry for the delay on this one folks... This pack actually arrived at my local comic shop a couple weeks back, but a certain quality control issue (which we will address later) left me without a sample to open until Diamond could send out a replacement. It's here now though (thus why you are reading this), so let's jump right in!



Of the 3 "Dilithium Collection" action figure two-packs, this set offers the least when it comes to new stuff. The pack consists of a slightly repainted Kirk and an even slighter repaint of the Gorn (is slighter a word?...well, it is now). No new accessories, no new sculpts. We'll start with Kirk and see what's new-



While this isn't the only AA/ DST style "battle-ravaged" Kirk (the previous version is spotlighted HERE), it is the first time he's been done in the "DST" style. By that I mean that he has the incorrect, ill-fitting McCoy-style rubber shirt. I have no idea why all the Kirk figures under the DST banner have used this shirt mold, but I really wish that they wouldn't. The original Kirk shirt mold from Art Asylum was far superior. But I digress...



So Kirk here is pretty much your standard DST Kirk figure rolled around in some dirty paint. DST used the old head mold on this, as opposed the new head used on the Wave 5 Kirk. Bummer. To spice things up a little though, they added a few stray paint apps to simulate his tussled hair. While it's nice that they added a little detailing to differentiate the head, I would have much preferred to see the new head mold used here, if for no other reason than to just add SOMETHING new to this set.



Remember that quality control problem I mentioned earlier? Well here it is. There's something wonky going on with the Kirk's left elbow. My guess is that there was probably an error in the casting on this piece because 2 of the figures we received had the oddly off center molding seen above. Even worse, the third pack I inspected had a plastic piece that ran horizontally across the joint, preventing Kirk from bending his elbow. At the end of the day, I went with this pack as it seemed they weren't going to get any better. While it doesn't look all that noticeable, the elbow joint has very little resistance and is kinda floppy. I don't think I've ever had a loose-joint issue on an AA/ DST release until this figure, so keep your eyes peeled on that elbow if you see this pack in stores (and please post a comment if you experience similar or opposing issues with yours!).



Okay, so Kirk ain't all that hot... The Gorn however is pretty sharp, but that's only because he was great the first time around (his first release is spotlighted HERE). While there aren't any huge differences between the two, if you're a complete nutball like me and you must own every release, here are the slight changes you can expect to see-



This new version has some slight paint differences over the original, most notably his darker gloves and duller gold singlet. I think I may prefer the newer version's paint scheme, but again, it's not enough of a difference to really worry about if you are content with the first release.



The other differences are a bit tougher to spot. The original release of the Gorn featured a very soft rubber "skirt", while the 2 pack version uses a stiffer material. You can also see that they used a darker, shinier green material for the bulk of the figure on the reissue. Not something you'd really notice unless you're into lifting up Gorn skirts though (which, apparently, I am into).



Accessories: Here's the part that frustrates me most about this set. Had DST included the homemade cannon Kirk constructs from the episode, it would have made this an easy purchase for most and wouldn't have added too much production cost for them. But nope. All we get is the standard phaser & communicator for Kirk and the spike & recorder/ translator device for the Gorn. They could have at least included 2 of the recorders so that Kirk could have one too. *Grumble*



It's not often that I say this, but this set is an easy pass for most. I can only recommend it if you don't have the previous versions of these releases. Even then, "battle-ravaged" Kirk is pretty unnecessary for most folks, leaving only the Gorn as a "must-have". So if you don't have a Gorn yet, it may be worth grabbing, but there's absolutely nothing new here to entice long-time collectors. Wait... I guess it's also good for army-building Gorns... Hmmmmm.....

-James