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Hey it's that list we didn't publish in time last year.
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00:00Look, if there's one thing you know about me, it's that I flipping love a Star Trek model.
00:05I love them. I love them.
00:07So that's why I was basically asked to present this video.
00:10Because think about it. Who better?
00:13Wait till you see the follow-up video.
00:15I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are 10 Star Trek toys that we loved.
00:21Number 10, the official Star Trek helmet.
00:25Ah, the official Star Trek helmet, or, you know, Spock's helmet, if you will.
00:30Is as notorious as it is hilarious.
00:32It's the ultimate in so bad it's good.
00:35Sure, the toy has absolutely nothing to do with Star Trek, or Spock.
00:40Aside from having the words plastered all over the side of it.
00:42But, like, does it matter?
00:44Time itself has been the judge, and it has ruled, no.
00:48Thanks to Star Trek Lower Decks, the Space Fun Helmet is now canon and in-universe as collectible in the
00:55infamous Collector's Guild.
00:57Perhaps more appropriately, it's part of the contraband of One Beckett Mariner.
01:01The history of the helmet is about as odd as you might expect.
01:04In Netflix's The Toys That Made Us Star Trek, in the late 1960s and early 1970s,
01:11the toy company Remco effectively started label slapping Star Trek and Astro on anything.
01:16To give a sort of a Star Trek Astro buzz, and to, you know, tie in with demand from fans
01:22from the show.
01:22We've got the Star Trek Astro buzz ray gun, and the Star Trek Astro tank as well.
01:28Let's not forget the bug-eyed Star Trek Astro helmet.
01:31There may be another list coming where I go into a little bit more details about them.
01:35In 1976, the Enco Industries followed suit and came up with the iconic disaster that is the Star Trek Space
01:45Fun headset.
01:46And it wasn't just Spock that you had to go with.
01:49There was decals for Kirk and McCoy and Scotty as well.
01:52In a final twist, and frankly one that pushes this into the Toys We Loved category,
01:59in 2019, Ethan Peck did an unboxing of this helmet for StarTrek.com.
02:05The toy no longer wears the wearer.
02:09Spock wears it.
02:11It even came with vintage tissue paper, Peck noted as well as he opened the box.
02:15Ultimately, this is one of those pleasantly charming toys that, quite frankly, it's hard not to love.
02:21Number 9. Star Trek Action Figures by Mego
02:25In 1974, Mego released its first series, or wave, of Star Trek action figures.
02:31You had Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Mr. Scott, Klingon, and Mr. Spock.
02:36The Lieutenant Uhura figure was actually only added to the face cards by the end of 1974.
02:41By all measures, and to be fair, in 1974, Mego had actually created decent action figures
02:48that were fully poseable of Star Trek characters, which was a first for the franchise.
02:54Riding high in the Plastic Fantastic, Mego launched a second wave of Star Trek aliens in 1975.
03:01More or less, often less, faithful to the franchise, the first one included Cheron,
03:06Cheron, which was a metaphor, of course, for Beale and Lukai from Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,
03:11and the Keeper, which was basically Balok's puppet, but just a white or orange robe on it.
03:18The Gorn figure...
03:20Now, that one took the most license.
03:22The head was a reuse of Mego's earlier lizard figure from Marvel's superhero line,
03:28and the body was General Ursus from Planet of the Apes.
03:32The outfit was suspiciously similar to the one worn by the Klingon on their earlier figure.
03:38The first run of aliens also included a Neptunian in a bathing suit.
03:43Released in the second wave of aliens in 1976, you had an Andorian, the Romulan, Talos,
03:49and for some reason, a Magato wearing clothes.
03:52From action figures to action playsets and accessories,
03:56Mego's run of Star Trek toys in the 1970s include the now legendary USS Enterprise action playset,
04:02that memorably came with the spinning transporter,
04:05the same one that was broken by Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory.
04:09How could we forget the E.K.B.E.L. iconic Mego's Star Trek Tricorder,
04:12Communicators, Command Console, Mission to Gamma 6,
04:17Super Phaser 2 Target Game, Telescreen Console, and Star Trekulator.
04:22Number 8. Star Trek action figures by Playmates.
04:25Now, the nostalgia is really starting to kick in here.
04:28After Mego and now Playmates on the list, we've already got more goats than a colony from Bringloid 5.
04:34Jack, I'm really annoyed at you for that joke.
04:36I'm Irish and you know why.
04:39Founded the year the original series was first broadcast,
04:41unknown for their Cricket Doll and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise,
04:45Playmates didn't start making Star Trek merchandise until the early 1990s.
04:49But as noted in the toys that made us Star Trek, Playmates did something revolutionary.
04:55They actually marketed to Trekkies.
04:58Appealing to fans?
04:59Pshaw.
05:00With the accuracy, detail, and diversity of their action figures,
05:05Playmates literally changed the game.
05:07You could get, of course, all of your main characters,
05:10but you could get a variety of ones that only appeared in one episode.
05:19I would say who was asking for this, and yet here it is in my hand.
05:24Before Plastic Paris and his Salamander babies,
05:27the first released Next Generation action figures in 1992.
05:30The first wave had Picard, Riker, Troy, Geordi, Worf, Data, the Klingon Gowron, a Borg, a Romulan, and a Ferengi.
05:41You didn't get Beverly Crusher until the next wave.
05:45From 1992 to 1999, Playmates brought out over 400 Star Trek action figures from across the series,
05:52returning briefly in 2009 with a set from the Kelvin universe,
05:56and then again from 2022 to 2023 for Star Trek Discovery,
06:01a reissue of some of the Next Generation action figures,
06:04and a limited run of Star Trek Prodigy action figures.
06:08Unfortunately, it looks like that might be it now for Playmates for the foreseeable future,
06:13who have ceased production on Star Trek figures as of 2023.
06:18Number 7. Star Trek Replicas by Playmates
06:21We're getting more of those sentimental feelings of the past, as Palana Torres once put it.
06:25The memories of Planets Forbidden all come rushing back,
06:30standing in front of all those toys, going,
06:32Ah, if only I had money.
06:34There is little that is as fun as standing in a shop and hitting the Try Me button.
06:39Now, of course, if we were lucky enough to get any of those toys,
06:41we hang on to them as if they're about to beam away.
06:44Playmates didn't just make action figures, but they made replicas as well,
06:48and with all due respect to Mego,
06:50these replicas were pretty meticulously faithful to what was seen on screen.
06:54For example, none of the Playmates' communicators made a deafening siren
06:59that would cripple any nearby Ferengi.
07:01Plus, they weren't blue.
07:03The Playmates' replicas looked and felt as if we were playing with the real thing.
07:08In 1992, as part of the Star Trek The Next Generation collection,
07:13Playmates first released a personal communicator,
07:16Type 2 phaser,
07:17and a tricorder TR-560.
07:19All came with authentic sounds from the show.
07:22The same year, they also launched the Shuttlecraft Goddard,
07:25the one that was loaned to Scotty.
07:28And, of course, the Enterprise D itself,
07:30complete with light-up warped nacelles and bussard collectors.
07:33Effectively, this was early ASMR for Trekkies.
07:36From then on,
07:37Playmates will go on to make more types of playsets and action figures
07:41than you could shake a Klingon painstick at,
07:43which they've actually reproduced,
07:44but only in action figure size.
07:48Number six,
07:48classic Star Trek video games.
07:51Star Trek has a checkered history when it comes to video games.
07:54Moreover, a video game might not count as a toy per se,
07:57but as it says in the holodeck safety manual,
08:00near perfect makes no difference.
08:02There might be quite a few pretty terrible Star Trek games out there,
08:06but then there is also a whole legendary heap of them.
08:10Um,
08:13how up-to-date is your CD-ROM?
08:15We've actually done a review on the 10 best Star Trek games,
08:19so make sure that you check that out as well when you finish this video.
08:21There are many among the team who spent an almost indecent amount of time
08:25of their youth whiling away the hours on Star Trek Starfleet Command.
08:29You may have shared the keyboard with a friend,
08:31one taking the helm while the other takes ops.
08:33And a whole host of contemporary ships that were added to the third edition of this game,
08:38like the Akira,
08:39the Defiant,
08:40the Intrepid,
08:40Galaxy Nebula,
08:41and Sovereign classes,
08:43felt like you were getting to fly those ships yourselves for the first time.
08:47Starfleet Command has also managed to feel kind of fresh with ongoing mods,
08:51and especially with this 2016 Gold Edition.
08:54Some on the team,
08:55and not least the writer of this article,
08:56love Star Trek Armadas 1 and 2,
08:59Star Trek Voyager Elite Force,
09:01Star Trek Voyager Elite Force 2,
09:03and Star Trek Bridge Commander.
09:05To single out Elite Force 2,
09:07this game opens with Voyager still inside the Borg sphere before escaping into the Alpha Quadrant,
09:12and then the game continues aboard the Enterprise E.
09:15Number 5.
09:15Star Trek Bluetooth-enabled replicas by the Wand Company.
09:18If any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguable from it,
09:23then the Wand Company truly does do magic.
09:25Their sorcery would have blown the mind of any Trekkie in the 1960s,
09:31and what's impressive is that they've managed not to do it once,
09:34but twice,
09:35with a third on the way.
09:36To start with,
09:37the Wand Company's Bluetooth-enabled original series communicator
09:42is a work of art.
09:44It balances its majestic 21st century technology with its mid-20th or 23rd century design.
09:52Made using 3D scans of the last known hero prop in existence,
09:57this communicator is a fully functional Bluetooth handset
10:00that can be paired with your mobile device or used as a mobile speaker.
10:05For phone calls,
10:06yes,
10:07you do flip it open to answer.
10:09And,
10:09in my opinion,
10:10it's worth,
10:11for that alone,
10:13it's worth the price tag,
10:15if there were any still available to buy.
10:17Before the communicator,
10:18the Wand Company made the Star Trek The Original Series
10:20Phaser Universal Remote Control Prop Replica.
10:25Type 2 with a removable Type 1.
10:26This is a supremely beautiful recreation,
10:29that's also very handy if you're watching Star Trek.
10:31If you happen to have a King's Ransom handy,
10:34you can still get one online,
10:35particularly on the resale sites.
10:37It is,
10:38however,
10:38no longer in production.
10:40Now,
10:40what's supremely exciting is that the third one we mentioned,
10:44is that the Wand Company is currently working on the Original Series Tricorder Replica,
10:50which will actually be able to scan,
10:52record and analyze.
10:54Number 4.
10:55Star Trek Model Ship Kits by AMT
10:57The relationship between Aluminium Model Toys, AMT,
11:01and Star Trek predates the debut of the Original Series in 1966.
11:06AMT cut a deal with Desilu Studios and Gene Rodnery before The Man Trap had even aired.
11:11The studio got help with their sets,
11:14and AMT got the exclusive to produce model kits.
11:17This meant that AMT would go on to build the full-scale interior and exterior of the Shuttlecraft Galileo that
11:26was used for filming.
11:28Even with that,
11:29they didn't release their own Galileo 7 Shuttlecraft model kit until 1974.
11:33The first model that they released was,
11:35of course,
11:36of the USS Enterprise,
11:37which was released in 1966 and was massively successful.
11:40The second model kit that they released was the Klingon Battlecruiser,
11:43the D7,
11:44which was released in 1968.
11:46And there's actually a fascinating story here.
11:48You see,
11:50AMT were the ones who commissioned the design of the Klingon Battlecruiser,
11:55because,
11:55quite frankly,
11:55they wanted more model kits to release,
11:58which means that because of this toy company,
12:01we have the Klingon Battlecruiser as we know it today.
12:06Matt Jeffries designed it as an out-of-hours project for AMT,
12:10and, of course,
12:11it went on to appear in the show.
12:13In the decades since,
12:14AMT have produced more model kits than Scotty could swear at.
12:19They've brought about everything from Deep Space Nine,
12:21to Voyager,
12:22to Cardassian ships,
12:23to Romulan ships,
12:24to almost all Federation starships,
12:27to even Kazon Raiders and Maquis Raiders as well.
12:31Although now owned by the same company,
12:33Round 2,
12:34it was Polar Lights,
12:36not AMT,
12:37that released the first round of ships from Discovery,
12:39such as the Shenzhou,
12:41the Discovery,
12:41the new look Enterprise 1701 as well.
12:45Number 3,
12:46Star Trek Model Ships by Eagle Moss.
12:48Sad face.
12:50If, like Captain Picard,
12:52you've got angry Moby Dick hands,
12:54and prefer your models to be pre-made,
12:57rather than build them on the spot,
12:58then you've probably known about Eagle Moss
13:01and their line of Star Trek models for quite some time.
13:04I may have highlighted some of them at some point or another on this channel.
13:09In fact,
13:12look, I'm going to be straight with you.
13:14Eagle Moss going into administration
13:15was one of the best things that could have happened to my wallet.
13:18This was a relative newcomer to the Star Trek toy game,
13:21because Eagle Moss,
13:22they only debuted their Star Trek line back in 2013.
13:26Originally as a British-based Fortnite magazine,
13:28it quickly became a worldwide fan favourite.
13:31To be fair,
13:32the level of detail for the price that you're paying was incredible.
13:36Not only that,
13:37but the diversity of the ships that were on offer.
13:39Of course you had your Enterprise-Ds,
13:41your 1701s.
13:43You also had the Antares,
13:45which was only seen in the remastered original series.
13:48You had ships like the Altair.
13:50You had the Aventine.
13:53And,
13:53before it was ever seen on screen,
13:55you had the Titan.
13:56Now,
13:57not only that,
13:57but they also did Excel versions,
13:59they did dedication plaques,
14:00they did books,
14:01they did the little Spock book of mindfulness as well.
14:04And then,
14:05in a case of Toy-ception,
14:07these would actually appear in the show.
14:10For example,
14:10if you look at Picard's study in Star Trek Picard,
14:13you will see the Eagle Moss model of the Primalian battlecruiser sitting on his shelf.
14:19Now,
14:20while Eagle Moss themselves are no longer trading,
14:22a lot of the old stock is being sold off by Master Replicas,
14:25who themselves are continuing other licences.
14:28And,
14:29as of the recording of this,
14:31another company has picked up the license,
14:33with teasing images of perhaps some Titans and Stargazers now leaking online.
14:40Number two,
14:41app-enabled interactive Tribble by Science Division.
14:45In this case,
14:46the only trouble with Tribbles is not having one of your own to play with.
14:48Unfortunately,
14:49for the creature that loves to proliferate,
14:51these ones are out of stock,
14:53and the company that makes them Science Division has said they won't be making any more of them.
14:58Sadface.
14:59This is a story of fans,
15:01furballs,
15:02family,
15:03and inspirational small business enterprises that resulted in one of the best Star Trek toys ever made.
15:10The tale of Tribbles begins with Kaylee,
15:12a Trekkie through and through,
15:15who grew up both entertained and inspired by Gene Roddenberry's creations.
15:19Kaylee had dreamed of owning their own pet Tribble,
15:23and later in life with husband Jay,
15:25converted to Star Trek,
15:27finally,
15:27that is the sign for a good marriage,
15:29they decided to make that dream a reality.
15:32She decided to teach herself the code programming language C++,
15:36and designed all of the artwork for the accompanying app in Elkhars.
15:39The couple got CBS on board,
15:41and the rest was just a matter of avoiding any poisoned Quattro Triticale along the way.
15:47First available for 2019,
15:49the Science Division Tribble was a glorious faux fur purring delight that had three modes.
15:55You had at ease,
15:56you had on duty,
15:57and you had watchdog.
15:59It would either purr or trill when petted,
16:03it would be on the lookout for a friend or a Klingon,
16:05or just let out a scream whenever it was moved.
16:07The husband and wife would blow dry and backcomb every one of these by hand,
16:13and it's a little surprise then,
16:15in a video sent to the duo Tribble Innovators,
16:18the late Nichelle Nichols loved hers.
16:21Number one,
16:22Tri-Dimensional Chess Set by the Noble Collection.
16:25There are a couple of chess sets available out there,
16:29one of which being the two-dimensional chess set,
16:31based on the Star Trek The Next Generation,
16:34by the really useful Games Company Limited and Crown & Andrews.
16:38Apparently 1999 is now vintage,
16:39which makes me feel horrifically old,
16:41so thank you Amazon for that product description.
16:441999.
16:45To quote Miranda Hart,
16:46that's only just happened.
16:48Three-dimensional chess sets are actually an idea that predates Star Trek by almost a century.
16:54It's German chess master Lionel Kisaritsky,
16:57who's credited with the idea of having invented cubic chess in 1851.
17:02This was developed into space chess,
17:04with unicorns,
17:05by Ferdinand Mack in 1907.
17:09There's even a world Tri-Dimensional Chess Federation.
17:12Nevertheless,
17:13it's the Star Trek version,
17:14originally favoured by Spock and Kirk,
17:16and then of course later by Data,
17:18Troy,
17:19and the rest of the Enterprise D,
17:20that's the most iconic.
17:221975's Star Trek Starfleet technical manual dedicates two pages to Tri-Dimensional Chess
17:28and the Regulation Tournament Board.
17:30It gives some basic rules as well.
17:32One fan,
17:33Andrew Bartmuss,
17:34took this and ran with it,
17:35designing a full functioning game with a full set of rules.
17:40This is something that is very much still available,
17:42and something you can pick up,
17:43if you're not terrified by the fact that it's Tri-Dimensional Chess.
17:48I still go with Two-Dimensional Chess.
17:50But it is a little bit expensive,
17:51so, you know,
17:53be sure you're dedicated.
17:55But I think if you're going to buy a Tri-Dimensional Chess set,
17:57you probably already are.
17:58So have at it and have fun.
18:01That's everything for our list today, folks.
18:02What did you think?
18:03Let us know in the comments below.
18:04Thank you so much to Jack Kiley,
18:05who wrote the original article upon which this is based.
18:07Make sure you give him a follow over on Twitter,
18:09at JackKiley74656.
18:11And of course,
18:12you can follow myself at Sean Farrick,
18:13and follow Trek Culture,
18:14at Trek Culture on Twitter,
18:16and Blue Sky,
18:17and TikTok.
18:18And we're on Instagram at TrekCultureYT as well.
18:20Until I see you again,
18:21make sure that you live long and prosper.
18:22Make sure that you are kind to yourself,
18:24and kind to others,
18:25because you know what?
18:26You deserve it.
18:28Thanks again, everyone.
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