Tag Archives: Data

#3779: Lieutenant Commander Data

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER DATA

STAR TREK: UNIVERSE (PLAYMATES)

I’m apparently keeping this Star Trek thing running.  And also this Data thing running.  So here we are.  But for today’s review, I’m jumping a ways ahead…while also back.  Back in 2022, Playmates picked up the Trek license for the third time, and this time around tried to do the thing everyone said they wanted, which was more figures in the same scale as their original line, but with some modern advances in sculpt and articulation.  It was a valiant effort, but…well, like so many Trek lines, it didn’t really have legs.  We got a small handful of figures from a few different themes, and Data was amongst the Next Gen figures.  So, two three years after the fact, here’s that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lieutenant Commander Data was one of the eight figures that launched Playmates’ Star Trek: Universe line.  All of the figures were on the same Universe card outside of the US, but domestically, the “retro” figures were put on retro inspired.  Data and the other two Next Gen figures were released in packaging replicating their original Playmates releases.  Like Data’s original Playmates figure, he’s based on his post-Season 3 version of the standard uniform, which is really the “classic” Data look.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 21 points of articulation.  He’s a little taller than the vintage Playmates Trek, and the articulation is completely different.  There’s a lot of universal joints in play, and he also gets wrist and ankle movement, which wasn’t present on earlier figures.  He does lose out on waist movement, which feels a little bit like a step back.  That said, he can at least sit down, which is an improvement across the board.  The sculpt is an interesting approach, because it feels like it’s aiming to sort of capture the retro stylings, but it’s not quite a match for how they used to do things.  Most notably, the hands are really small.  Like “look like they should be on a 3 3/4 inch figure” small.  Not sure why they’re so small.  The head is okay; it’s not unlike Brent Spiner, but I can’t really say it looks more like him than the vintage one did.  Data’s paint work is generally not too bad.  It’s very basic, and the collar is notably pretty sloppy, but it generally gets the job done.  Data is packed with a phaser, tricorder, diagnostic testing unit, and display stand.  They’re modeled on the accessories from the original release, so the phaser has the permanently attached beam, and they all have hand holds attached.  In this day and age, not having the beam be removable feels like a real missed opportunity.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve had no shortage of opportunities to get most of the vintage Playmates Trek run, so I wasn’t in dire need of any of the new ones when they hit, but I admired Playmates giving it a try.  One of the Datas fell off the card at work, so I snagged that one, since it was a Data and all.  And then I pretty much forgot I owned it for a year and some change, which isn’t the sort of thing you should do.  I finally unearthed him, and here we are.  I think I might have been part of the problem?  Or, maybe Playmates was?  He’s a weird figure for sure, but I feel like if the line had gone further, there could have been some cool stuff.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3774: Professor Data

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

PROFESSOR DATA

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (PLAYMATES)

Oh wow, more Star Trek?  So soon?  Could that possibly be right?  It seems it is.  And, when it comes to Star Trek figures specifically in my collection, a very surprisingly high percentage of it is Data, something I’ve touched on in the past.  Data’s incarnation of the franchise, Next Generation, was kind of drowned in finales and wrap-ups, but the first wrap-up, within the show proper, was “All Good Things.”  It gave us a glimpse into a possible future, and brought with it the potential for new variants of the main characters, which is something toy companies love.  And me personally?  I gotta have that Data!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Professor Data was released in Playmates Star Trek line in 1997.  He was after the line had switched over to one more all-encompassing set-up, though his set did include a handful of other “All Good Things” figures.  Since two of Data’s three looks in the finale were just general designs from earlier in the show, they went with his extra future-y, dressed down, professor garb.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  He’s got all the traditional articulation for the line, for better or for worse.  His jacket further restricts the waist and hips, but it’s honestly not much of a loss.  Professor Data uses the standard Data head (since Data doesn’t actually age the way the others do, he’s supposed to just look the same).  He’s got a new body sculpt, which has some kind of off proportions, not uncommon for the line.  He does seem particularly wide and squat, and his arms seem a touch long.  In general, he also feels a little boxy.  He’s also a bit devoid of texturing, which is a shame.  That said, he fits right in with everything that Playmates was doing at the same time.  His color work is decent enough.  The hair line’s a little sloppy on my figure, but that’s the only notable issue.  I actually really like the pattern on the jacket.  Professor Data is packed with a display stand, as well as a tray, teapot, teacup, and decanter, all in a dark blue.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy holds the record for the longest I’ve searched for a Star Trek figure.  Admittedly, it was really just him and the Gorn that were really on the list, and I managed to get Gorn a while back.  I’ve been looking for this guy since some time in the early ’00s, and I just never managed to find him.  I don’t know why, because it’s not like he’s crazy rare or anything, but I just never seemed to land in front of me or be in the collections I was looking through.  Thankfully, a large Trek collection came through All Time last year, and I finally had the chance to snag one.  He’s goofy, and a bit silly, and perhaps not the greatest Data, but I’m quite happy to finally have him.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3583: Lieutenant Commander Data

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER DATA

STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (EXO-6)

Fun FiQ Fact #0062:  I saw Star Trek: First Contact in the theatre on opening night as a guest of Star Trek writer Howard Weinstein.

Though I owe my very existence to the franchise, my personal relationship with Star Trek is a bit hit or miss.  I dig the original series, and some of the movies, but I find a lot of it to be rather unapproachable.  Of course, the flip side to that is that the things I like from Star Trek are things that I *really* like.  Case in point, Star Trek: First Contact is just genuinely one of my favorite movies, period.  Like, not even just under the “Star Trek” heading.  I just really love it, and I especially love Data’s role in the movie, to the point that he’s been cemented as one of my favorite parts of the franchise, despite me generally being iffy on Next Gen as a whole.  But Data?  That guy’s pretty darn cool.  Cool enough that I’ve got, like, so many figures of him, and yet it’s still not enough.  Well, you know what, here’s one more.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lieutenant Commander Data was the inaugural release in EXO-6’s Star Trek Series, hitting in 2021, just in time for the 25th anniversary of First Contact.  While it’s on one hand a bit surprising that they didn’t start with, say, Picard, it’s not a complete shock, I suppose, given Data’s popularity within the franchise.  I’m certainly not complaining.  The figure is a little under 12 inches tall and he’s got the usual “over 30 points of articulation” we see on the 1/6 scale figures that don’t have visible articulation.

Data gets two separate head sculpts for this release.  The one he comes wearing is the standard Data head.  It’s got a really strong likeness of Spiner, specifically Spiner in First Contact.  I found the likeness to be stronger when viewed from his right, but it’s not like it’s unrecognizable the other way.  The second head is the one that truly solidifies this as a First Contact figure, as it’s his appearance from the climax of the film, after he’s received a skin graft from the Borg in their attempt to turn him to their side.  It’s a great recreation of his patchwork design, maintaining consistency with the standard head, while also getting his adjusted look from the movie down pretty much on point.  While neither head is quite Hot Toys level in terms of sculpt or paint (especially on the paint, which is a little thicker), they’re still both very strong, and a truly impressive offering for a first try.  I’d have also loved a third head from after he gets the skin graft melted off, but I don’t want to be greedy.  The patchwork head will suit me just fine.

Data is sporting his uniform from First Contact, which is, of course, the redesigned uniform that he and the rest of the cast would wear for their final three films.  They’ve always been my favorite look for the cast, and I think they make for a good counterpart to the Wrath of Khan uniforms for the original series cast.  The uniform here is decently handled, if, again, not quite Hot Toys level.  The main suit is all one piece, which I’ll admit surprised me, especially with the follow-up Picard figure getting a two-piece set up.  However, I doublechecked, and that’s what it’s actually supposed to be, so it’s accurate.  The tailoring on the black part is good, but the grey section is a little bit bulky and not quite as sharp in its shaping as the full-scale uniform.  It’s far from terrible, though.  The gold collar is part of a full tunic under the suit, which is again accurate.  It’s a good fit, but you do have to take a little extra care in making sure it doesn’t slip too far under the jumpsuit when swapping the heads.

Data’s underlying base body is pretty respectable for a non-Hot Toys 1/6 offering.  It has good proportions, and handles posing well.  It doesn’t feel like the joints are too loose or he’s going to break, and the parts that are supposed to swap out are easy enough to do the swapping on.  The biggest issue for me is the skin tone just being completely wrong for Data, which is a real issue when you’re doing any posing that has his wrist joints visible.  Had they at least gotten a slightly closer color, it wouldn’t be as bad.  Also, this is again probably me being a bit greedy, but it’s a shame that the right forearm doesn’t have the skin graft detailing to complement the alternate head.

Data gets a nice little selection of extras, which includes four pairs of hands, his Mark II phaser, his tricorder, magnetic holsters for both of those, a larger phaser rifle, and a display stand.  The hands give us relaxed, fists, and a variety of differing grips to correspond with his accessories.  The phaser is basic, but nice, and the tricorder’s got magnets in it to keep its connections hingeless, which is fun.  The stand looks like a transporter pad, and also get’s an extra swap-out illustration for the combined set-up with the other figures.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I loved First Contact, and I was particularly obsessed with Data’s looks from the end of the movie, for which there were no official toys.  I had to make do on both his patchwork and cybernetic appearances, usually resorting to sticking silly putty on figure’s faces.  I finally got the cybernetic look from DST, but the patchwork look was still absent, which just didn’t seem right.  I remember this figure going up for order, and I remember coming very close to ordering one, but it wasn’t the time for me to be ordering expensive figures.  When All Time got its very big recent collection in, I saw a number of the EXO-6 Trek figures, but I wasn’t sure Data would be among them.  What a fool I was.  He wound up being some sort of joint early birthday/father’s day gift from my parents.  Even they’re not entirely sure.  I think the main point was just getting me a First Contact Data I didn’t already have.  I won’t argue with that.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3346: Cadet Data

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

CADET DATA

STAR TREK: WARP FACTOR (PLAYMATES)

So, umm, apparently I haven’t reviewed any Playmates Star Trek here on the site since back in 2017.  Wild.  I mean, I don’t have a ton of them or anything, but that does still feel like further back than I’d expected.  I mean, I guess that’s what happens when you get ruled out on being a fan of the franchise.  Like, I just didn’t like it enough, so I guess I don’t really count?  Yeah, that’s definitely it.  Well, I’m still gonna review some figures occasionally, even if I’m some sort of dirty non-fan.  So, here we are.  When Playmates first started with Star Trek, all of the shows were divided up into their own lines, and there were even a few more on top of that.  The Next Gen line got its own brief spin-off in 1996, Starfleet Academy, which dud figures of that show’s main cast as they might have appeared during their academy days…ignoring the fact that they’re differing ages would mean that most of them, you know, wouldn’t have interacted at all.  But sure.  The initial spin-off ran only one series of four figures, but three additional figures were folded into Playmates’ Warp Factor line, which served as their main Trek line, servicing all parts of the franchise.  Amongst that second round was Data, a character that canonically didn’t actually look any younger in his Cadet days…but he gets a new outfit!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cadet Data was released in Series 3 of the Star Trek: Warp Factor line, in an assortment which also featured the Cadet versions of Troi and Crusher, as Mirror Spock and Edith Keeler.  As with all of the Academy figures that Playmates produced, Data’s design isn’t based on anything actually canon or anything, and instead just sticks Data in this new looking thing.  The first assortment all got cool descriptors for what exactly the purpose of the new suits was supposed to be, but that was dropped for the second round.  Alas, no cool explanation for this one.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  He’s sporting the standard articulation scheme for the line, which always had its pluses and minuses.  The upper half is decent, especially on the arms, but the hips are unfortunately those weird v-hips, which make it virtually impossible for him to do much other than stand or sit in some sort of weird split configuration.  Since Data was unaging, this figure used the same head sculpt as most of the standard Datas for the line; it had an okay likeness of Brent Spiner, and was honestly a pretty respectable piece across the board.  The rest of the figure’s mold was an all-new affair.  He’s wearing some sort of jumpsuit, with some webgear.  It’s all rather basic, and fairly unassuming.  His proportions do have him just a little smaller here than on other figures of the character, but that was true of the line as a whole; the figures kind of slimmed a bit as they moved along.  In terms of coloring, Data is quite monochromatic.  The outfit is a very dark brown, accented by a slightly lighter, but still rather dark brown, with some grey for the gear.  It’s not terribly eye catching, but it does honestly look pretty cool.  Of course, it also has him read a bit more as Lore than as Data, but that’s a minor thing.  Data was packed with a wrist communicator, two styles of phaser thing, a tricorder, and a Starfleet Academy display stand.  Mine has lost everything but the display stand.  Typical of those careless cadets, out there losing all their stuff.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember finding the first series of the Academy line somewhere in some bargain bin as a kid, and being frustrated that there was no Data.  This was before the internet was quite as expansive a resource as it is these days, so I didn’t actually know about this figure until seeing him in one of the included booklets with another figure from the line.  And then, you know, I found him at my usual go-to vendor at the local cons, and, well, here we are.

#0435: Data

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

DATA

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (PLAYMATES)

Following its presence at Mego in the late 70s, the Star Trek license struggled to find a home. Most of the movies didn’t get a dedicated toyline (aside from a very strange offering of figures by Ertl, based on Star Trek III). Galoob held the license for two short series based on Next Generation, but a third never materialized. Then, with the release of Generations, Playmates, best known for their definitive work with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, picked up the license, and provided the largest selection of Trek characters that is ever likely to be offered. After having decent success with Generations, they moved on to figures based on the entirety of Next Generation.  Today, I’ll be looking at their second take on Data.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Data was released in the first series of Star Trek: The Next Generation figures. Following the one offered in the Generations line, this is the second figure of the character that Playmates offered. Data is based on his appearance in the middle seasons of the show, after the uniform had evolved a bit. The figure is just shy of 5 inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation.  As far as I can tell, Data’s sculpt is unique to him. It’s possible that he may share one or two parts with some of the other crew members, but I don’t have any to compare. For the time, it’s a pretty good sculpt. It’s simple, but not in a bad way. The Brent Spiner likeness is good. The proportions are a bit off, though; he’s definitely got a case of the monkey arms. The sculpt of his right arm is also disrupted by the addition of the flip up panel to reveal his inner workings, but that’s a cool enough feature that it’s worth it. The figure also featured a bulky phaser holster on his leg, but that could easily be removed, leaving a mostly unnoticeable peg-hole on his leg. Data’s paint is pretty decent, and it’s certainly good by early 90s standards. Everything is clean and well applied. A slightly less shiny finish would have been nice, but that’s another “true to the time” thing. Most of my Data’s accessories have been lost, but I’m pretty sure he had a phaser, a tri-corder, and a stand. The phaser is rather laughable because it had a molded beam that wasn’t removable, meaning the holster was pretty much useless, and he was left with this lightsaber looking thing. To make matters worse, he can’t even hold it properly!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was the third version of Data I ever got. It was a figure I had wanted for a while, mostly because I really liked that flip up panel on his arm (I’m easy to please). I ended up getting him from one of the toy dealers at Shoreleave, for $5, I believe. This figure actually got me into a little bit of trouble, because I went down to the Dealer’s Room without my parents’ permission (I was like 7, and they were very much in the right on being mad. Shoreleave’s Dealer’s Room is no place for a lone 7 year old). Some kid’s sneak out to go to parties, I snuck out to buy action figures. There was no way I was escaping this lifestyle…

#0332: Data – First Contact

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

DATA

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

DataFC1

Star Trek movies have a tendency to be rather hit and miss. The shows all have their loyal fanbases (even Voyager and DS9, much to my own amazement), but the movies tend to be very polarizing. There’s the common adage about the odd movies being the bad ones, which sort of works (well…if you overlook Star Trek VI and Insurrection). Two movies that support this theory are Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact. In the case of the latter, I think the movie is even better than the show that spawned it, and it remains one of my favorite movies to this day. Around the time of Nemesis and Enterprise, Art Asylum picked up the license for Star Trek and began doing figures of the current stuff. When Art Asylum merged with Diamond Select Toys, DST took over the line and changed up the release method a bit, doing just 2-3 characters at a time, with multiple character looks released different places. Today, I’ll be looking at Data, based on his look from First Contact.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DataFCWilsonData was part of series three of Diamond’s Star Trek: The Next Generation line. This particular variant of Data was released as a Previews Exclusive, meaning he could only be gotten by placing an order for series three through Diamond Distributers. The figures stands about 7 ½ inches tall and features 16 points of articulation. The figure is based on the character’s appearance in First Contact, specifically the final 10-15 minutes of the film, after the human implants given to him by the Borg are destroyed. The figure’s sculpt is a mix of unique and shared pieces. The arms below the shoulder, and everything below the waist are shared with the regular series 3 versions of both Data an Lt. Barclay. The figure gets a new torso and shoulders to represent his movie uniform, as well as an all new head sculpt to represent his “exposed” look. The body is pretty good, though not perfect. The legs are skinny, and the slightly odd positioning of the feet, coupled with the lack of any sort of swivel joints on the legs, makes the figure difficult to stand correctly. The hands also seem a bit on the large side, but they aren’t terrible. The head sculpt bears a passing resemblance to Brent Spiner, but it’s not as close as some previous sculpts. The mechanical part of the head is superb, very accurately recreating all the exposed circuitry seen in the movie. It’s the highlight of the figure, which is good because it’s also the selling point. The paint on Data is clean and well applied. The skin seems just a bit thick, but it’s not too bad on a robotic character like Data. Data includes an alternate head, an alternate arm, a hair piece for the extra head, and a transfer tube of some sort to be plugged into the head. The extra head is mostly unscathed Data, with a removable piece of hair exposing some more of his circuitry, and the extra arm features a rolled up sleeve, exposing even more circuitry. The head is pretty nice, and swaps pretty easily. I can’t tell whether the likeness is improved or made worse by seeing more of his face. The arm is nice, but for the life of me, I have no idea how you’re supposed to swap it out. The regular arm he comes packaged wearing is very definitely not coming off.

DataFC2 DataFC4 DataFC3

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

One of the earliest movie-going experiences I remember is going to see Star Trek: First Contact with my parents. I was four at the time. I think I had seen an episode or two of the series, and I’m pretty sure I had seen Generations. I definitely knew Data was my favorite character. In preparation for the movie, my Dad bought me the Data action figure from the Playmates First Contact line. I clutched that figure tightly through the whole movie. One thing I always lamented was the figure’s lack of extra head for the look from the end, which was long one of my favorite looks. For years, I would make use of silver silly putty or duct tape to customize my own. I was thrilled when Diamond announced their own version of the look, but I never really got a hold of the figure. At local con Shoreleave this summer, one of the dealers had a large table of DST Trek figures, all marked $15. I saw Data under a few other figures, and after some encouraging words from Super Awesome Girlfriend (have I mentioned that she’s really supportive?) I decided to finally get one. It’s not the greatest figure ever, but I really like the look, and it’s a pretty great representation of it!