Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "The Enterprise Incident"

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "The Enterprise Incident". Great stuff from Jack Donner in this one...

AA/ DST Spotlight- "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" Communicator

Item Name: "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan" Communicator
Manufacturer: Diamond Select Toys



DST released the TWOK communicator in their standard "universally branded" packaging in 2011.



The Rundown: Originally shown way back in 2009, the DST "Wrath Of Khan" communicator replica has finally arrived! DST have released a pretty solid array of prop replicas so far... How does their TWOK communicator stack up? Let's check it out!



Before we get down to it, I should probably state that I've never been a huge fan of the TWOK-style communicator. For a film that was set and produced years after the original series, it seemed that the props should have taken a step forward design-wise. That's what made the look of this prop seem so out of place to me. It really felt like a downgrade of the TOS communicators; the TWOK comms were larger, bulkier, and less attractive. Maybe that's all just me though.



Love or hate the design, DST did an AMAZING job capturing it here. I'm not an expert on props, but from what I can tell it seems like all the small details from the screen version are included, right down to the notation on the interior of the flip cover. Not only that, but DST actually made the design functional- incorporating all the activations for the electronics into the existing switches. The lower dial turns the communicator on and off, while the upper switches it into its different modes (more on that later).



Located on the back of the communicator is a small button and the battery housing (it runs on three "AAA" batteries). Yeah, I know. That's a big obtrusive trademark slapped on there. Do I wish it wasn't there? Sure. But I understand that it had to be done, and I'd rather it be on the back of the communicator than stuck on the front somewhere. Enough about that though- I wanna press that button!



The button on the back activates the comm's sound and light features. Again, I'm no prop expert, but I seem to remember the actual prop also had a small, slightly off-center circular button on the back. If I'm not crazy and there actually was one back there, then kudos to DST for including it here! If it didn't, then I suck at remembering stuff.



Depending on which mode you are in, the button on the back will activate different functions of the communicator. If the upper lever is in position 1, you are in "regular function mode". Press the button on the back, and the communicator will play one of the many phrases stored inside it. If you want to hear it play all the voice clips in a row, just hold the button down for three seconds and it will automatically cycle through them.

Position 2 puts the communicator into "screaming Kirk mode". In this mode, a press of the button will activate the "Khaaaannnn" clip. Hold it down for three seconds, and and the scream will keep repeating over and over with a brief 1 second pause in between each one.

The third position activates the "hail-back function". In this mode, the back button has no effect; The function starts automatically when the door is closed. The communicator will chirp until it is opened. Once opened, the communicator will play it's first "hail-back" phrase. Close it back up after that, and it will chirp once again. Open it up again and it will activate the second "hail-back" phrase.



So that takes care of the sounds... Now what about the lights? Glad you asked. The communicator is equipped with three different lighted areas. There's a small red light located on the instrumentation panel, and a lighted area on the top and bottom of the comm. The lights on either end of the communicator will pulse to the sound of each sound clip, with the bottom light illuminating for Kirk lines and the top blinking for everybody else.

Phew... Did you get all that? If not, here's a video showing off what this puppy can do:



Pretty impressive, eh? Overall, it's a very solid replica... but I do have a small complaint about the lights. If I recall correctly, the lights on the TWOK communicators were red, not blue like this DST version. Here's a pic from the film to show what I mean-



See the lights at the base? Red. Again, I am not a prop expert, so I guess it's possible that the communicator also had blue lights, but it seems like red is the more definitive color so I am a little baffled why they went with blue. Are any prop experts out there reading this that would like to chime in on this one? I'd love to know the reasoning behind this color choice!



Even with the color issue, I'm still pretty happy with this toy... and that's saying a lot since I was never a fan of the design to begin with. DST has proven time and again that they can produce high quality prop replicas at an affordable price, and the TWOK communicator is no exception. The translation of the design is top-notch, and the electronic features ROCK. A worthy addition to your staple of Trek Tek goodies!

While I managed to buy this at my local comic shop just this morning, most sites still have them listed as preorders. My favorite online Trek retailer New Force Comics has it available HERE for the low price of $32.99! At that price, you might as well buy 2, hire a friend, and form your own little landing party....

Hey.... I'm 2 Years Old!

That's right peeps... 2 years ago today (well, it was actually yesterday), I made my first post here at "A Piece Of The Action"! Though I haven't kept up the pace I started at the beginning, I still thoroughly enjoy sharing stuff with all you folks out there. I hope you guys have as much fun reading the entries as I do writing them... And stay tuned, because we just entered the terrible twos! Tantrums await!

Playmates Spotlight- Lieutenant (Commander?) Uhura ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

Figure Name: Lieutenant Uhura
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Uhura was released carded as part of Playmates' Classic Star Trek Movie Series.



The Rundown: Now here's a figure that really surprised me when it was released. Uhura in her TMP uniform!? I never would have thought that Playmates would have done this uniform before releasing a TWOK-style Uhura. But they did, and I of course bought it. Should you? Read on...



The figure is constructed in the same basic manner as all the Playmates releases. Uhura features a good range of articulation, allowing you to pose her in a ton of action poses like "welcoming the Admiral aboard!" or "opening haling frequencies!". One small gripe-



Uhura has some ITTY BITTY hands! Since she doesn't come with a lot of large accessories, this isn't too big of an issue... but there's now way she's holding that tricorder anytime soon.



Since the crew was a smidgen older by the time the cameras rolled on TMP, Playmates had to do a few new head sculpts for these releases. I think they did a fairly nice job of capturing Nichelle's likeness here... especially her new hairdo! I'm actually surprised that this head was only used once...



...since all it takes is a parts swap and some paint to make a perfectly fine TWOK Uhura! Sigh. I wish Playmates had just had one more year of releases. I have no doubt we would have seen all the classic crew in these uniforms given time. But I digress.



Uhura's uniform is very nicely detailed, with an impressive display of the lines and accoutrements unique to the "Motion Picture" costumes. There is one glaring error though. Can you spot it? Here's a hint-



See anything different there? Sure ya do-



Uhura carried the rank of Lieutenant Commander in TMP, and thus has one solid and one broken rank braid on her sleeve. The figure only features one rank braid, making her a Lieutenant. Even stranger, the package lists the figure as a Lieutenant! So in some ways, the whole thing is correct unto itself... but inaccurate when it comes to representing Uhura's look and rank from the film. Playmates made the same sort of error on their TMP Sulu, giving him Commander rank braids instead of the correct Lieutenant Commander braids. These errors got me thinking...



Perhaps the Sulu and Uhura TMP figures actually started out as bodies for Decker and Ilia? How cool would that have been!?! I guess we'll never know for sure, but it does at least make customizing a bit easier.



Accessories: Uhura includes a tricorder, wrist communicator, PADD and a piece of V'Ger! Collect all 5 TMP style figures and build your own miniature V'Ger! Here's a shot of it completed:



Pretty nifty... but incredibly small.

And here's her box bio if you'd like to read more. It is a bit on the inaccurate side though, since Uhura was already part of the crew under Decker's command BEFORE Kirk returned to the Enterprise.





Rank issues aside, Uhura is still a really cool figure. If you're a sucker for the crews' look from the first film like me, Uhura (and the rest of the figures from the set) may be right up your alley. Just like most of the other Playmates 4.5" figures, you can get this one fairly cheap nowadays, so I really can't think of a reason not to buy it. What else are you going to spend your money on? Candy? Candy rots your teeth. 4 out of 5 dentists agree that Uhura does not rot your teeth. So go buy her. Your teeth will thank you.

Mego/ DST Combo Spotlight- Captain Kirk

Figure Name: Captain Kirk
Manufacturer: Mego Toys Corp. (Original), Diamond Select & EMCE Toys (Reissue)



Kirk was released as part of Mego's initial wave of Star Trek 8" figures.



The Rundown: I've covered a lot of Kirk figures here in the past 2 years. Playmates, Art Asylum, Diamond Select, Ertl, Palisades, and even Galoob (yuck)... If you're doing a line based on Classic Star Trek, the one character that absolutely MUST be made is Kirk. He is the mainstay essential to a complete collection (although I personally believe Spock and McCoy are just as necessary). Well, today we take a look at the grand-daddy of Kirk figures: The Mego 8" Captain Kirk figure!



It's tough for me to imagine what it was like for a kid watching Star Trek during its original run. As a child, most of the shows I loved had toylines tied to their existence. G.I.Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, Masters Of The Universe... all of my favorite movies and television programs had a large assortment of toys with which I could create my own adventures. Not so with the original Trek. True action figures of Kirk & crew didn't materialize until the mid-70's, with Mego stepping up to the plate and producing an entire range of toys based on the syndicated show (and also seemingly the animated series). Of course, Kirk was an obvious choice for the initial series of 8" action figures...



Unless you're a Morg living on the surface of Sigma Draconis VI for the past 35 years, you are probably familiar with the style of Mego figures. Mego used the buck system before there was such a thing as the buck system- Essentially using a standard body type and outfitting it in different ways for different characters. The body is held together with rubber bands, allowing for a large range of movement.



The only truly unique aspect of the figure itself is the head... but what a head it is! I love this sculpt! It's a great blend between actual Shatner and the animated version of Kirk. The sculptor really nailed Kirk's bravado here with the slight smirk on the face. Hide your Barbies, because this Kirk is just oozing with machismo...



For the time and the price point, the outfit is very nicely handled. Kirk has the correct number of rank braids on his sleeves, and the black collar is actually a separate section of cloth instead of being just colored that way. The only real issue I have is with the delta shield. Much like the Mego superheroes, the symbol is just a small sticker stuck to the chest. I understand that there were certain limitations back then though, so this can be chalked up to a product showing its age.

So overall, pretty awesome Kirk figure... but something puts this one slightly ahead of the pack. A feature missing from most other Kirk figures. A characteristic synonymous with Kirk...



That's right baby. This Kirk can go shirtless. Bask in the manliness.



Oh crap... I was so focused in getting Kirk's shirt off that I almost forgot this was a combo spotlight! If for some reason you don't want to track down an original Mego, DST and EMCE toys are your huckleberries! For the low suggested retail price of $17.95, you can get yourself a brand spankin' new Mego-style Kirk figure! He's pretty close to the original, with just a couple of minor differences-



Most notably, the shirt on the reissue version of Kirk is much brighter than his original. The delta shield is the same separate sticker style as the original (mine has apparently just lost its luster over time...). While a loose original Mego Kirk will run you about the same price as the reissue, you may want to snag one of these as well. With both Mego-style Sulu and Chekov only being available as reissues, you'll need this Kirk to have all the uniforms in the same matching shade of yellow.



Accessories: Both the original version and the reissue include a phaser and communicator, plus a belt to holster them on. I'm a sucker for weapons' holsters on figures, so I've always been a fan of the Mego "landing party" belt.



If you don't own a Captain Kirk Mego, shame on you. Even if you aren't a fan of the Mego style, every Trek toy fan should have one of these in their collection for sheer historical significance alone. Well, that and he is just plain awesome. You can find nice loose examples fairly cheap (owing to the fact that the figure was produced in pretty large numbers back then). Watch out for that symbol though! Or if the shirt is missing the delta, just chuck it and let Kirk's pecs out to play. You won't regret it... and neither will your female figure collection.

Star Trek The Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras- "Elaan Of Troyius"

Here's all the extras from the Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition of "Elaan Of Troyius". If you've never heard of the lyrics Gene wrote for the theme music, this one may be for you...

Apieceoftheaction.net Beams Up To StarTrek.com!

A couple of weeks back, the staff of StarTrek.com contacted me about joining their guest blogging team. They wanted me to do much the same thing that I do here: Review classic Star Trek merchandise that fans might remember from their childhood, or that perhaps they'd never even seen before. I could cover things that I already posted on my site, or stuff that I hadn't covered yet- as long as the entries stick to the more vintage or rare items. After picking my jaw up off the floor, I hastily agreed and sent off a few possible items for my first posting. The staff and I agreed that an update on my post focusing on the unproduced Palisades Captain Kirk & Gene Roddenberry action figure set would make an interesting introductory article...



The post just went up this morning, so please head over and check it out HERE. For old readers of my page, the info may be something you've seen before, but there a few new tidbits included for ya. If you're fairly new to my page, I hope you get a kick out of seeing more about this lost gem! Easily, one of my favorite pieces in my collection...

Trading Card Spotlight- Star Trek The Motion Picture (Topps)

Item Name: Star Trek The Motion Picture Trading Cards
Manufacturer: Topps



The Rundown: If you were a big name action-adventure/ sci-fi film in the late 70's or early 80's, odds are that Topps made a trading card set based on ya. The company tackled everything from "Harry and the Hendersons" to "Rocky II"... so of course they once had their hand in producing trading cards based on Star Trek. Topps released 2 sets based on the Star Trek brand: a 1976 set focusing on the original series, and a set in 1979 tied into the motion picture. In Tarrantino fashion, I'm going to review them out of order and start with the latter set today...



With TMP expected to bring in audiences comparable to Star Wars, it's not surprising that Topps produced a set based on the film. What is surprising though is the quality of this product! The set consists of 88 cards and 22 stickers. The cards feature an incredible selection of imagery on their fronts. From the standard publicity shots seen above...



...to awesome set pictures like this one. Since TMP is probably the biggest visual feast of all the classic Trek films, Topps had a lot to play with here. What makes the set great is that instead of just plastering images directly from the film on the cards, Topps mined a bunch of imagery from the actual production as well, leading to some fantastic unintentional "making of" shots. For example:



Here's a shot from the film showing the alien probe invading the bridge. Now let's take a look at the trading card from the same scene-



Same deal here, only now we can see the actual light used on set to simulate the brightness of the probe! Seeing this production stuff has always been a real treat for me, so finding these gems on the cards was the cat's pajamas. My fav of the bunch though has got to be this one:



In this shot from the making of the doomed transporter sequence, you can actually see the actors filming their parts (which were later obscured by the effects). How awesome is that? If you said "pretty darned awesome", give yourself one gold star.



The set also includes some cards of things either missing from or barely glimpsed in the film. A sizable number of the cards are devoted to the aliens designed for the film, while others...



...provide detailed views of the ship models used for filming. The whole set is like a miniaturized production gallery! Had I owned these as a kid, the imagery on the fronts alone would have kept them miles away from my bike spokes.



On the back of each card in the set, you get one of two things. Most of the cards in the set feature puzzle pieces to complete large pictures from the film, with completed versions shown on some to give you an idea of what you're supposed to be making.



A lesser portion of the backs actually feature a writeup of some sort. Some have bios on the folks involved in making the film, some tell a bit of the story, and a couple just relay quotes from the actors. I wish there were a bit more of these in the set instead of so many puzzle parts, but I understand that the puzzles were standard fare back then.



Before I move on to the stickers, I should probably mention the promotional version of the card set. As you can see by the different numbers printed on the cards above, there are actually 2 versions of this set out there. Well, I take that back- there are actually a total of 5 versions that I know of. There's the standard 88 card set, plus 4 sets shortened to 33 cards used as a tie-n with a bunch of bread companies.



With each specially marked loaf of Colonial, Kilpatrick, Manor, or Rainbo bread, one would receive a Topps TMP trading card. The bread sets consist of 33 cards culled from the original 88, with numbering changed to reflect their shortened tally. The backs were also altered, eliminating the puzzle pieces and adding each company's respective logo. Got all that? I hope so, because it confused me just typing it out.



Back to the regular set... Each pack of cards included 1 sticker, with 22 individual stickers compromising the full set. The imagery used here is mostly the same used on the cards... only now it's stickier.



Just like the cards, the stickers include some really cool production imagery. One of my favs of the set is the Saurian sticker pictured above. Creepy!



As a huge fan of the visuals seen in TMP, I absolutely love this set. There's just SO much cool imagery here that I can't say enough good things about it. Some sellers try and get top dollar for a complete set with stickers, but if you are patient, you can sometimes get it in the $20 range. At that price, I'd definitely recommend a pickup. Just watch out for those bread sets! You'll be missing out on 55 cards worth of awesomeness if you blindly acquire one of those...