Tag Archives: EXO-6

#4078: Captain Christopher Pike

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

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.

#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.