Spock It To Me!

The Diamond Select Star Trek figures have been turning up at that good old place "where a kid can be a kid" lately, and though the line is mostly older Art Asylum things rehashed, I'm glad to see the Star Trek logo on the pegs at any store right now. For one reason or another I missed out on this Spock figure back when Art Asylum first released it... or maybe I skipped it on purpose. (Can't remember.)

With many of Art Asylum's Star Trek figures I've been unimpressed when it comes to facial sculpt and build quality, but I regretted not getting this Spock when it first came out. Seeing it at Toys"R"Us this week pushed me into taking a chance this time around, but I'm not sure that I've made the right choice.



I probably only own two or three of Art Asylum's figures, but the few that I have are good. In general, I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of their choice to use a soft rubber covering on the torso area of their figures. I've a feeling that the material wont hold up very well in the long run, and there's something to be said for how creepy it feels as well.

The figure of "Commander Spock" that Diamond Select is marketing via the mainstream retail world, is visibly no different than the old version of this figure. The current packaging that they've cooked up is hardly memorable, making the line seem a bit like it was rushed to market. The Kirk figure that they've put out along with Spock is bland, and features one of the worst facial sculpts that I've ever seen. Spock's sculpt is better I think, but the toy lacks in many ways of its own.



Firstly there's the price point. This figure retails for around thirteen dollars, and feels easily like it should be two or three dollars cheaper to justify its mediocre quality. The paint job is less than perfect on all of the Trek figures that I saw, which is something that's mirrored by a fairly lackluster build quality as well. It strikes me that if I should try and switch out one of the optional hands, the wrist will snap and break because the plastic is too weak. Combined with the fact that the left shoulder on my figure is loose and barely holds up its arm, I'm starting to wonder if Toys"R"Us is now magically able to diminish the quality of a vendor's product simply by being involved with them.

I'd always rooted for Art Asylum, but found their approach to marketing the Star Trek brand to be confusing. When I saw that Diamond was helping to promote this line and other Star Trek products, I hoped for the best. But at this point I'm not seeing improvement. It's the same random quality in new packaging that's managed to find its way onto the shelves at a different store. (Sort of.) I'm thankful that I don't have to haunt random junk-cluttered shops, or order exclusively from faceless online retailers, but I'd be a great deal happier if all involved would push for a product that does justice to the Star Trek name.