I’m a bit TOS fan. Oh, TNG is fine, and Enterprise, DSN and Voyager have all certainly had their moments. But for me, TOS will always be the one true Trek.
I’m also a big minimates fan. Yes, I do like Mez-itz better in the land of mini figures, but that’s not to say I don’t like the uber-cute nature of these little blocky figures.
So it was a no brainer that I’d be picking up the new Star Trek TOS minimates from Diamond Select. There are three regular two packs – Kirk and Vina, McCoy and Scotty, and Pike and Spock. There’s a fourth variant set that includes Scotty again, but a ‘dress uniform’ version of McCoy. These have hit online retailers over the last couple weeks.
“Star Trek TOS mini-mates: Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Pike and Vina”
These guys might look familiar to you. That’s because Art Asylum did do a set of TOS figures back in the very early days of minimates, but they were in the 3″ scale, not this new 2″ scale. So yes, you have to buy them all over again, and these don’t fit in with the old versions size-wise.
Packaging – **1/2
The packaging is the new basic card bubble stuff you’ve seen with the DC minimates line. I like it because it’s nice and small, but on the downside, it’s not particularly attractive. Still, it does job 1 (keeping the figures safe) relatively well.
Sculpting – ***
Sculpting is not exactly the strong suit of minimates. The style is supposed to be fairly basic and consistent, with only minor sculpt additions and changes (like the hair), and unique paint work.
The Spock is perhaps the most distinctive and easily recognizable, although they did a better than expected job with Pike. I don’t know that Kirk looks all that much like Kirk, and Vina is fairly generic, but Scotty and McCoy benefit from fairly distinctive hair styles.
My only complaint with the sculpt is the goofy added flairs on the bottom of the pants. Yes, they had bells on those pants back then, but these are too over done and look odd. I pulled them off Kirk in some of the photos, and I think he looks far better without them.
Paint – ***1/2
The key to good minimates is great paint. The tampo style paint work on the eyes, lips, and various ‘wrinkles’ in the clothing make all the difference in recognizing and distinguishing the characters.
Vina’s paint job doesn’t make her all that less generic, although the green skin is pretty much the giveaway. Most of the characters have fairly distinct expressions, and Scotty is downright depressed. Again, Spock seems to do the best in this department, but overall the paint work is extremely clean and well done. That’s critical for the success of the design.
Articulation – ***
Minimates have a ball jointed neck, shoulders and hips, along with pin elbows and knees, and cut wrists, waist and ankles. It’s pretty decent articulation in this scale and style.
One of the cool features is that the body parts all come apart, allowing you to mix and match if you feel the desire. This usually includes hair pieces, so even Shatner can try on new looks…just like in real life.
Accessories – ***
All the two packs come with three or four accessories, depending on the set.
Spock and Pike come with four accessories – the tricorder and regular phaser, which come with a number of the other figures, along with the very specific old style phaser for Pike, and the very unique extra hand for Spock, posed in his well known greeting.
Kirk and Vina only have three accessories, all for Kirk. Again, there’s the commonly used phaser, and the communicator, but Kirk also has the very specific phaser rifle. It fits well in his hand (as do all the accessories), and looks great. Too bad Vina doesn’t have anything, but that would have been pretty tough.
McCoy and Scotty have two of the common phasers, and the common tricorder and common communicator. Even with the reuse, these are pretty handy.
Fun Factor – ***1/2
If there was a kid that had any idea who these characters were, they could actually have a great time with these guys. These are really toys first and foremost, which is what makes it tough to sell them to the adult collector market. Still, there’s enough big kids out there who like actual toys that the minimates market has been able to survive, particularly with the Marvel and DC lines. Whether they can pull that off with the many other licenses they have – like 24, Back to the Future, and these – remains to be seen.
Value – ***1/2
You can get these basic six characters for around $18 at a lot of retailers. At just $3 each, that’s a great value. Most of the Marvel and DC stuff is running slightly higher, closer to $4 each even when you buy them in sets.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. Take some care with the tricorders, as they pop off the shoulder straps a tad easily, and once they do, they come off way, way too easy.
Overall – ***
I’m a fan of TOS, and I’m a fan of minimates, so it’s no surprise I like these. Oh, they aren’t for everyone, especially of sculpt and accuracy is your game. If you like toys though – especially toys like Lego or Playmobil – then you’ll really enjoy these. It also helps that there is such a wide variety now of 2″ minimates, allowing you to put your TOS figures with Jack Bauer, Marty McFly, or Buffy Summers.
Where to Buy –
There’s plenty of online options:
– Alter Ego has the set of 6 for $17.82, and they are in stock.
– CornerStoreComics has the two packs for $6 each, or the set of three two packs for just $16. They also have the full set of eight figures, including the ‘chase’ variant, for $30.
– Amazing Toyz has the same excellent prices, and they are also in stock.
Related Links:
You can check out a guest review of teh 3″ versions from a few years ago right here.
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