https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-action-figures-playmates-retro

Sadly 5 inch scale like they used to be.

Paraphrased from Day of the Dead: "When there is no more creativity in the toy aisle, the Retro will walk the land..."

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I stick very close to 1:18 scale and have for decades, but there's no way I can pass on these. I've wanted well-articulated movie-uniform Trek figures for..well, forever (although I did love those straight-arm ERTL STIII figures as a kid), and even if they're an inch taller than I would have preferred, they're coming home with me. Fingers crossed that the line lasts at least long enough to get through the core crew, Saavik, Kruge, General Chang, and maybe Captain Terrell.

(And, in my most unrealistic fantasies, an entire set of TMP uniforms, too)

I did a set of the "missing" TMP figures (Sulu, Uruha, Chekov, and even M'Ress), matching them to the toy colors. The Mego 1:18 figures were fantastic, although the lack of articulated knees is bothersome.

I saw these at SDCC.... the problem is they actually aren't "retro." They are the same scale as the old Playmates figures but don't have the same design. They wouldn't mix with the classic figures. It's like putting new sculpt joes next to vintage o-rings...they don't really look right.

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I would love to see those customs! I'm almost finished with a custom project involving those Mego 1:18 TMP figures, too, and updating the articulation to include jointed knees is what prompted me to do it. It's one of my favorite vintage toylines, both for nostalgia reasons and because they're just really good-looking figures.

I got a handful of the new Playmates figures through Amazon this week. They only had Data, Kirk, Michael Burnham, and Saru in stock, for whatever reason. Weird scale aside, they're pretty cool figures. The articulation is good, except at the waist: the torso and hips are one solid piece. The likenesses are OK: not exceptional (the sculpts feel a tad soft), but not awful, either. The sculpting on the bodies is pretty decent, too, with one exception: Data's arms are weirdly short and his hands are too small, which throws all of the proportions way off. The accessories for Kirk and Data seem to be reused from the original Playmates line (or have been remolded), so they leave a little to be desired, but the Discovery phaser and tricorder are much better. I'm happy to have these, and I'm hoping they keep the line going.

I'm sorry, but no. Playmates has never improved upon their game from way back, remember the Terminator Salvation figures? Those were literally the same quality as their ST:TNG figures from THE 90'S. They really, really need to step up their game.

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