One Spock, Two Spock...

Seeing as how the Playmates Star Trek toys have been lingering on the pegs for a while now, and seeing as how I'm still trying to decide if I like the new film or not (maybe I'll figure it out by the time they make the next one), I thought I could at least decide on a couple of recent Spock figures.

There was a point in the '90s when I would have bought any figure that Playmates Toys had made of Mr. Spock. To say that I'm a fan of the character is an understatement, which is why I'd gone for these two even before I'd seen the film.

Playmates has released figures in three different sizes: a "Command" collection of 12-inch figures, a "Warp" collection of 6-inch figures, and a "Galaxy" collection of 3-3/4-inch figures. Though they seem nice, I've yet to pick up anything from the 12-inch Command line. Perhaps it has something to do with wishing that Playmates had stuck with their old 9-inch line of cloth costumed figures, or maybe it's just that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the range of sizes in general.

Warp series Spock comes on a very "Trek" looking card that boasts a "fully articulated and poseable" figure inside. Generally speaking, I like the card design well enough. If anything it's a little plain, as aside from using the scale-like texture of the new uniforms as a background image, you'd never know it was related to the new film. The card backs are even more generic, with no special text or information about the character... which is a tad boring, but not terrible.

The figure itself has some good and mediocre elements. The sculpt is very good. The face is handled well, and mine was neatly painted. The rest of the figure is fairly simplistic, but Playmates pulls it all together solidly. They've chosen to go the route that Art Asylum has gone when it comes to the uniform shirt, by using a flexible rubber material. I've never been a huge fan of the idea, as I'm assuming that it will start to fall apart in time, but it's a novel concept, and they've made it work here. All seams and joints are connected tightly on this figure, and what little (very little) paint detail there is, is clean and smudge free.

This "fully articulated and poseable" figure is, quite honestly, not as fully articulated as it could or should be. I can understand and even appreciate how Playmates has opted for a sturdy and simple figure design, with an emphasis on having it cost less than other toys in this class, but there are one or two things that I would have liked to see them do differently. In particular, I'm not a huge fan of the figure's hip articulation. It's a very simple hinge joint that allows for front to back movement, but I would have preferred a ball-joint. Similarly, the neck is a simple left-to-right swivel, and it would have been nice if there was just a little more range at the base of the neck.

6-inch Spock comes with some very basic accessories as well. A nice addition is the choice of right hands--one to hold a phaser, and one to give the Vulcan salute--that snap in and out fairly well. Also included is a belt to hold the phaser and communicator. The two accessories are simple but work well, and can be held in the figure's hands easily. The only failure here that I can see is the terrible latch that Playmates has designed into the back of the belt. It's weak and tends to snap loose with very little effort, making it something that could potentially irritate both kids and collectors.

On the whole I'm happy with this figure. Playmates could have focused on increasing detail and articulation with this Warp size, but seeing as how they might have easily passed on a 6-inch figure all together, I'm pleased that they decided to pander to those of us who enjoy it.

It's pretty obvious that the 3-3/4-inch Galaxy collection is where the bread and butter is though, and Playmates has pushed out a range of figures and playsets to take advantage of all the eye candy that the film offered up. The packaging is exactly the same as the Warp line, which is again somewhat boring, but I can appreciate their wanting to be clever and save money by being somewhat generic. Little Spock comes packed with all kinds of accessories and Enterprise bridge parts, and if there was anything that I could genuinely criticize about the packaging, it's that it all looks a bit cluttered and random hovering around the figure.

Given that the 3-3/4-inch Spock is nearly an exact duplicate of the 6-inch Spock, but smaller, most of the same observations apply here as well. The only significant differences are that these Galaxy figures don't use the rubber torso idea, and that the accessory belt doesn't have a crummy latch, as it pulls up and around the waist. Those pleasant differences aside, the figure still has the same kind of limited hip articulation, but it's less of an issue for something this size.

Ultimately the 3-3/4-inch Galaxy collection figures are a much better deal when it comes to play value. They share the same solid build quality, and good if not great sculpting and detail that the larger figures have, but in a fun "pocket-sized" form. I think Playmates could have improved the articulation just a little to make the figure more poseable, but I can also see how it wouldn't make much difference to the average kid. I'd like to have seen them make the hands from a more rigid plastic, as they would hold the included phaser a little better, but more than likely soft plastic for small parts was a safety issue, so again, it's not a huge problem.

Packing in parts for the bridge playset was a clever idea, and though I may or may not eventually get more figures from this line, it's fun to have the optional pieces. I'm also somewhat amused by the included figure stand. Though I sort of wish that the peg was offset and not centered, I'm pleased that playmates included it, and that they've added a removable clip so that kids (or adults I suppose) can wear it like a badge. Now that's fun... silly, but fun.

And if anything, "fun" sums up what Playmates has brought to the Star Trek brand over the past decade. In retrospect, many of the earlier Playmates figures bordered on being downright weird looking, but they've always been fun to collect, and even more fun to play with.