#4078: Captain Christopher Pike

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER PIKE

STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES (EXO-6)

Hey, it’s a Star Trek review, which means it’s time for me to talk about how I’m not *really* into Star Trek.  But, honestly, I’m starting to realize I’m perhaps misrepresenting that point a bit.  I mean, I’m certainly not *as* into Star Trek as a lot of Star Trek fans I know, but, maybe, just maybe, that’s because I spent the first two and a half decades of my life helping run Star Trek fan conventions, which has a tendency to skew your personal accounting of fandom.  By the metrics of some of the most obsessed and dedicated Star Trek fans in the country, all gathered in one space?  Maybe not the biggest fan.  By the metrics of the average person?  I know way too much not to be considered a decent fan.  I have opinions on the movies and shows, and favorite episodes, and favorite crew members, and a lot of toys.  Like, again, relative to others, maybe not a ton, but still a sizable amount.  While the merchandise in my collection has general trended towards to the cheaper stuff, usually, more recently I’ve even started adding some more expensive pieces to the mix.  Back in 2024, I looked at one of EXO-6’s high-end 1/6 scale figures, and now, I’m back with another one of those.  This time around, it’s my personal favorite captain of the USS Enterprise, Captain Christopher Pike!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Christopher Pike from “The Cage” is the 41st figure in EXO-6’s Star Trek Series, denoted “EXO-01-041” on the shipping box for the figure.  He went up for order last year, and has been making his way out to people slowly through the first half of 2026.  He’s directly called out as being from “The Cage” on the box, and his announcement and orders went up during the 60th anniversary of the pilot episode, and his actual release coincides with the 60th anniversary of “The Menagerie,” which worked the pilot’s footage into the show proper, which feels rather appropriate.  The figure stands about 12 1/4 inches tall and, as with all of the clothed 12-inch figures I look at here on the site, he’s got that nebulous “over 30 points of articulation.”

Pike has a single head sculpt, and since this is clearly him from “The Cage,” that’s based on Jeffery Hunter in the role.  Hunter’s likeness can kind of get all over the place when it comes to toys (as the standard Playmates figure showcases clearly with his very cartoony look), but EXO-6 have done a pretty admirable job here.  He’s a very serious Pike, which is ultimately more fitting of Hunter’s demeanor in the role (in contrast to Shatner’s more jovial Kirk), especially in the context of what we see of him in “The Cage.”  Unlike the Data sculpts, I don’t feel this one has any real weak angles, and the likeness is pretty easy to catch no matter how you’re viewing him.  The sculpt here also is a little bit sharper than the two Data sculpts, bringing it closer to Hot Toys, and certainly on par with the better Sideshow offerings.  The paint work is likewise a bit of a step up, going for a generally more lifelike and more accented quality.

Pike has his turtle-necked uniform from “The Cage,” consisting of his tunic, slacks, field jacket, and sculpted boots.  The core uniform is pretty closely tailored to the body, and seems to be a decent match for what Hunter’s wearing in the show.  I appreciate in particular that the pants are a different cut than the standard TOS flared pants, as that’s a detail that’s usually overlooked with the Cage-era uniforms.  He’s even got working pockets!  It’s all topped off with his field jacket.  While the main show just had the crew walking around in their standard bridge attire, the pilot gave them all extra jackets for surface missions, and they’re kind of a rarity in toy form.  Playmates gave one to their 12 inch release, but none of the others, and no one else has done one for Pike since.  This one’s really cool, it’s well tailored, looks the part, and even gets a fancy set of magnetic closures on the flap, so that it be seamless.  The only slight downside is that, to keep him from looking too bulky when jacketed, he ends up looking a touch too skinny without the jacket, but I prefer the jacketed look, so I don’t mind the trade off.

Pike’s underlying body seems to be more or less the same as the one used for Data, which works fine by me.  It’s a perfectly serviceable modern era 1/6 scale body, with a decent articulation set-up, and the uniform hangs well on it.  His skin tone is also a closer match than with Data, which makes for a more cohesive look, should the sleeves creep up during posing.

Pike’s accessory selection includes three pairs of hands (in relaxed, fists, and gripping), a phaser, a communicator, a harness, and a display stand.  It’s a generally basic set-up, but covers the main stuff a Hunter Pike would need.  Maybe some sort of extra head, either of a differing expression, or even a scarred Sean Kenney Pike, but those both feel a bit outside of the norms for EXO-6. Of what’s actually included, the communicator’s my personal favorite part, because I’m just a sucker for that clear communicator design.  The stand is the same as Data’s right down to the transporter pad-based design, and the swap out illustration for the larger combined set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a big Pike fan, especially the Jeffery Hunter version, so I’m always a sucker for a figure of him.  I do, have a running gag of being denied figures of him, though, with my Nana buying me a weird Independence Day alien for my fourth birthday instead of the 9-inch figure, and a whole ordeal where I thought I was getting the 12-inch Playmates figure from my Grandmother for Christmas the year it came out, only to unwrap an Insurrection Worf figure instead (admittedly, not at all a bad figure, just not what I was expecting).  I was, apparently, notified by my father of this figure’s pre-order going up, but I don’t actually recall that happening, which I blame on sleep deprivation, if I’m honest.  Whatever the case, this figure was purchased for me by my father as a Christmas present last year, though he obviously wasn’t there on the day.  That would be too easy for a Pike figure.  But, I have him now, and he’s actually quite cool.  Anyway, there’s over 1000 words about a high-end Star Trek figure from a supposed not-Star-Trek-fan.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0053: Captain Christopher Pike

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER PIKE

STAR TREK (PLAYMATES)

It’s a crazy thing going on here, because not only did I write a Star Trek review earlier this week, but now I’m also dedicating a whole Flashback Friday Figure Addendum to the franchise, which is totally a first here!  I’m keeping in theme with the “Cage” based offering from this week’s main review, with a follow-up on my review of Captain Christopher Pike!

“After a disastrous mission on Rigel VII, Captain Christopher Pike diverted the U.S.S. Enterprise to Talos IV after receiving a distress call from survivors of S.S. Columbia. On the Talosian surface, the landing party found a group of aging scientists and a young woman named Vina. But it was all an illusion.

Vina led Pike into a trap set by the Talosians living underground. Imprisoned in a menagerie, they were to begin repopulation of the surface. Pike learned to fight the Talosians’ mental power, filling his mind with primitive thoughts they could not block.

After discovering that the humans would rather die than be held captive, the Talosians released Pike and his ship. Vina, the only true survivor of the Columbia, remained with the Talosians. The captain recommended to Starfleet that Talos IV be placed off limits.”

Star Trek reviews are certainly a rarity around here. It’s not that I don’t like the franchise, but I don’t know that I enjoy it as much as a lot of other people. What I do like from the franchise tends to be rather TOS-centric. My favorite ship’s captain from the franchise, Captain Christopher Pike, comes from that era, although with some technicalities, I suppose, since he’s not a main captain by the point of the actual show, instead serving as the main character of “The Cage,” the show’s first pilot. When the network didn’t pick up the show based on that pilot, lead actor Jeffery Hunter backed out, and Pike was replaced as captain of the Enterprise by William Shatner’s Kirk for the series proper. Much of the footage from “The Cage” was then worked into the series proper as the extended flashback that makes up the bulk of “The Menagerie,” so there’s at least *some* Pike. That’s better than none. It also makes him a good pick for merch! Yeah, the merch! Let’s look at some of that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Christopher Pike was released in 1996 under Playmates’ combined Star Trek line, which gave a mix of all of the shows up to that point. He was part of the fifth series of that set-up, and was released, alongside a Spock variant, Vena, and the Talosian Keeper, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “The Cage.” The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation. Pike has the line’s standard articulation set-up. Not exactly the best scheme, and I never cared much for those silly v-hips, but it is what it is. They were at least consistent by this point. Pike’s structure is pretty similar to the rest of the standard TOS Starfleet officers. That being said, he’s notably a little skinnier than the others, which I’m not sure is entirely accurate. Of course, it’s not like any of the proportions were all that accurate on any of these figures, so it’s all kind of a toss up. The likeness on these figures were rarely spot-on, and Pike’s not an exception. Playmates did three Pike figures with Hunter’s likeness; this one’s the weakest of those three, but it was, at least, still not a terrible offering. He’s got at least a hint of who he’s supposed to be. The head does seem a tad large relative to the rest of the body, but that was common with these figures. The body sculpt is rather on the basic side; there’s a little bit of detailing on his collar, but he’s otherwise without any real details of note, making him a softer sculpt than even the rest of the line. Pike’s paint work is likewise basic. The eyes are the best work, and the lips aren’t bad either. The hair on mine has seen better days, but that’s not so much Playmates’ fault. Other than that, he’s very basic and very shiny. Pike was packed with his “Starfleet Hand Laser”, communicator, shield, and spear, all molded in the same sort of indigo shade, as well as a display stand. Of all the parts, mine only has the stand these days.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure started out as my dad’s. He got it new, back when I was a kid. I was always fascinated by “The Menagerie” and Pike in particular, so I would borrow this guy all the time, and he wound up taking a bit of a beating. That scuff on the hair happened pretty early on, and it was around that time that my dad realized he wasn’t going to shake me off of this one, so he bought himself a replacement and let me keep this one. Of my meager Trek collection, he was always a favorite of mine. He’s dated and goofy, but I dig it.

This review is one of the slew of reviews I prepped in advance of my daughter Aubrey being born, which ran in the month following her birth, while I was getting pretty much no sleep at all.  As opposed to now, where I get *oh so much* of it.  I did a lot of deep dives into older figures, since it meant I could write them whenever and not worry about them sitting on the shelf for too long before running them.  This one was late in the prep, and was ultimately written about three months before it ran.  With all the prep work, I do still think it kind of holds up.

Missing from the original review were most of this guy’s accessories, which I have subsequently replaced.  So, now he’s got his phaser, communicator, shield, and spear, which are all in the same shade of indigo.  I don’t know *why* they’re indigo, but it’s fine.  It’s also a nice little cross-section of items from his one episode, so I can definitely dig it.

#3359: Captain Christopher Pike

CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER PIKE

STAR TREK (PLAYMATES)

“After a disastrous mission on Rigel VII, Captain Christopher Pike diverted the U.S.S. Enterprise to Talos IV after receiving a distress call from survivors of S.S. Columbia.  On the Talosian surface, the landing party found a group of aging scientists and a young woman named Vina.  But it was all an illusion.

Vina led Pike into a trap set by the Talosians living underground.  Imprisoned in a menagerie, they were to begin repopulation of the surface.  Pike learned to fight the Talosians’ mental power, filling his mind with primitive thoughts they could not block.

After discovering that the humans would rather die than be held captive, the Talosians released Pike and his ship.  Vina, the only true survivor of the Columbia, remained with the Talosians.  The captain recommended to Starfleet that Talos IV be placed off limits.”

Star Trek reviews are certainly a rarity around here.  It’s not that I don’t like the franchise, but I don’t know that I enjoy it as much as a lot of other people.  What I do like from the franchise tends to be rather TOS-centric.  My favorite ship’s captain from the franchise, Captain Christopher Pike, comes from that era, although with some technicalities, I suppose, since he’s not a main captain by the point of the actual show, instead serving as the main character of “The Cage,” the show’s first pilot.  When the network didn’t pick up the show based on that pilot, lead actor Jeffery Hunter backed out, and Pike was replaced as captain of the Enterprise by William Shatner’s Kirk for the series proper.  Much of the footage from “The Cage” was then worked into the series proper as the extended flashback that makes up the bulk of “The Menagerie,” so there’s at least *some* Pike.  That’s better than none.  It also makes him a good pick for merch!  Yeah, the merch!  Let’s look at some of that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Christopher Pike was released in 1996 under Playmates’ combined Star Trek line, which gave a mix of all of the shows up to that point.  He was part of the fifth series of that set-up, and was released, alongside a Spock variant, Vena, and the Talosian Keeper, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of “The Cage.”  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  Pike has the line’s standard articulation set-up.  Not exactly the best scheme, and I never cared much for those silly v-hips, but it is what it is.  They were at least consistent by this point.  Pike’s structure is pretty similar to the rest of the standard TOS Starfleet officers.  That being said, he’s notably a little skinnier than the others, which I’m not sure is entirely accurate.  Of course, it’s not like any of the proportions were all that accurate on any of these figures, so it’s all kind of a toss up.  The likeness on these figures were rarely spot-on, and Pike’s not an exception.  Playmates did three Pike figures with Hunter’s likeness; this one’s the weakest of those three, but it was, at least, still not a terrible offering.  He’s got at least a hint of who he’s supposed to be.  The head does seem a tad large relative to the rest of the body, but that was common with these figures.  The body sculpt is rather on the basic side; there’s a little bit of detailing on his collar, but he’s otherwise without any real details of note, making him a softer sculpt than even the rest of the line.  Pike’s paint work is likewise basic.  The eyes are the best work, and the lips aren’t bad either.  The hair on mine has seen better days, but that’s not so much Playmates’ fault.  Other than that, he’s very basic and very shiny.  Pike was packed with his “Starfleet Hand Laser”, communicator, shield, and spear, all molded in the same sort of indigo shade, as well as a display stand.  Of all the parts, mine only has the stand these days.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure started out as my dad’s.  He got it new, back when I was a kid.  I was always fascinated by “The Menagerie” and Pike in particular, so I would borrow this guy all the time, and he wound up taking a bit of a beating.  That scuff on the hair happened pretty early on, and it was around that time that my dad realized he wasn’t going to shake me off of this one, so he bought himself a replacement and let me keep this one.  Of my meager Trek collection, he was always a favorite of mine.  He’s dated and goofy, but I dig it.

#0081: Captain Pike & U.S.S. Enterprise

CAPTAIN PIKE & U.S.S. ENTERPRISE

STAR TREK MINIMATES

It’s Day 3 of my post-Christmas Review.  For those of you that have been following the blog, it should be no surprise that amongst my assortment of gifts, there were Minimates.  Though in my own defense, there weren’t a whole lot, but there were a few.  It’s another Star Trek Minimates review, though I’ll be looking at one of Diamond’s vehicles for the first time.  On we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

First up, I’ll be looking at the Minimate included in the set, Captain Christopher Pike.  A little back-story for the uninitiated: Captain Pike was the captain of the Enterprise in the original pilot of the original Star Trek series.  He was replaced by William Shatner’s Captain Kirk in the series proper, when Pike’s actor Jeffery Hunter decided to drop out of the show.    Anyway, he’s a fairly popular character, so he’s no stranger to the toy-world.  This is actually his second venture into the world of Minimates, but since the first one was just mediocre, I was glad to see him get a second shot.  Pike is based on his main look from the episode in which he appears.  It’s the look that’s most often chosen, and it’s the one that most people know, so that’s alright I guess.  Pike’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has the typical 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has a sculpted hair piece, collar, and pants cuffs.  These are all well done and suit the character well enough.  I believe that they’re all reused pieces, but they work well enough, so no complaints there.  The rest of the work on the figure is done via paint, which is all applied cleanly and evenly.  The detail lines are all very sharp.  The Jeffery Hunter likeness isn’t spot on, perhaps a bit too old looking, but it’s serviceable.  Pike himself is pretty much an accessory to the Enterprise, but even still, he still includes his trusty phaser.  The phaser looks really cool, and is based on the uniquely designed one that Pike carries in his episode.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

Next is the true star of the series, the U.S.S Enterprise.  This in particular is the version from Pike’s episode, which has a few minor differences from the one used in the series proper.  Since I’m only a moderate Trek fan, I won’t attempt to list the differences, I’ll just say that they’re there.  The Enterprise is about 8 or 9 inches tall with stand, and roughly 4 without, and about 8 inches long.  It’s packaged in four pieces; Saucer, body and each nacelle.  The pieces snap together with a small bit of effort, and stay together well.  The saucer and the body each have a hinged top to allow a figure to be placed within them.  The sculpt of the Enterprise is fairly nice.  It’s done with a nice simplicity, and the proportions have been tweaked a bit so as to better fit the Minimate style.  As with most Minimates, a great deal of the Enterprise’s detail is supplied via paint detailing.  The paint is pretty good, though it’s not quite as clean as the paint on Pike, with a few noticeable scrapes and smudges.  Nothing that ruins the piece, mind you, but enough to be noticeable in comparison to some of the other stuff Diamond has done.  The top of the saucer opens to reveal a nice, miniatureized version of the bridge, depicted via s set of decals.  It would be nice if they were actually painted on the walls, but the decals look good enough.  The main focal point of the interior is the captain’s chair.  It’s a very nice approximation of the chair from the show, and it can rotate within the saucer.  It can also be removed and placed on an extra included stand, in case you want to just display the Captain sitting in his chair separate from the Enterprise itself.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was another Christmas gift from my increasingly awesome parents.  Pike is my favorite Trek captain, so I was glad to get him, and the Enterprise is actually a whole lot of fun.  If you’re just looking for a fun little toy Enterprise that doesn’t cost too much, picking up one of the many variations of this one that Diamond has released is very definitely the way to go!