Tag Archives: Janice Rand

#3967: Janice Rand

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

JANICE RAND

STAR TREK (PLAYMATES)

Well, I’ve officially run out of Playmates Star Trek figures based on “The Cage” and while I could easily use that as a reason to stop doing Trek reviews, I’ve decided to not…do…that.  Because I’m nuts, or something.  I’m sticking to the Classic Trek side, though, because that’s where I feel the most comfortable.  I’ve looked at all of the core crew members, as well as one of the more notable recurring crew, Nurse Chapel.  I haven’t looked at the other most notable recurring crew member, Janice Rand, who was a pretty notable character until her actress Grace Lee Whitney was suddenly let out of her contract halfway through the first season.  Despite her abrupt departure, Rand still made an impact, and that makes her more than worthy of the action figure treatment!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Janice Rand was released in the fifth “mixed assortment” of Playmates’ general Star Trek line, the same assortment that included Chapel.  The two of them served to round out the bridge crew set from earlier in the line.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 12 points of articulation.  Her articulation scheme is almost identical to that of Chapel, with the standard line set-up and the more restricted hip joints due to the skirt.  Rand’s sculpt is unique to her, which is somewhat surprising, given it’s the same uniform as Uhura, but it was totally new.  The exact layout of her uniform is slightly different, but it’s accurate to how it looked on the show.  The head’s not a pitch perfect Grace Lee Whitney likeness, but it’s close enough to sell the general idea of who she’s supposed to be.  Certainly, it’s as close as most of the other figures in the line got, especially when it comes to the classic Trek characters.  Like Chapel, she avoids the big-headed-ness of the earlier figures in the line, which is always a plus.  Her color work is basic but generally well handled.  The red on her uniform is a little darker than the color used for Uhura and Scotty in the boxed set, for not particularly clear reasons, but internally it works fine.  Rand is packed with a phaser, a tricorder, a communicator, a data pad, and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Chapel, I didn’t have Rand as a kid, but I do remember my dad getting one for his collection.  I ended up snagging this time in mid-2018, at the same time as the Spock from “The Cage.”  I got both of them loose without their accessories, but as with Spock, I was able to find her accessories after the fact, and here she is in all her complete goodness.  She’s not quite as strong a figure as Chapel, but she’s still a better figure than the core crew set figures, so that’s not so bad.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#0881: Captain Kirk & Yeoman Rand

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

CAPTAIN KIRK – “THE TROUBLE WITH TRIBBLES” & YEOMAN RAND

STAR TREK MINIMATES

Kirk&Rand1

Star Trek has had rather a storied history with the Minimates brand. It was one of the earliest licenses Art Asylum picked up (back when the figures were on the much larger 3-inch bodies), and it’s a license that DST and AA do really try to keep going. The era of the show with by far the most representation is The Original Series, which not only got the entire main bridge crew, but also a few variations of the “power trio.” Today, I’ll be looking at one of the variations of series lead Captain James T. Kirk, along with one of the show’s less prominent regulars, Yeoman Rand.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released in Series 5 of the first 2-inch Star Trek Minimates line. Series 5 was the last series of the line, and this was actually the last TOS set to be released.

CAPTAIN KIRK

Kirk&Rand2This was Kirk’s sixth (and final) Minimate, but it’s probably his second most important look to be released. It’s officially titled “Trouble With Tribbles Kirk,” signifying that he’s based on the episode of the same name. Of course, there’s not really anything that makes him specifically from “The Trouble With Tribbles,” so he’s really just a basic figure of Kirk in his “casual” uniform. The figure is 2 ½ inches tall and has the usual 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard ‘mate body, with add-ons for the hair and the pant-cuffs. Both these pieces are re-used from the first Kirk ‘mate, which is certainly a good re-use. They’re noticeably more geometric and less detailed than later pieces, but they certainly fit with the rest of the line. The painted details are pretty sharp. By the end of the original line, the figures had actually started getting pretty detailed. Kirk’s whimsical expression was a nice change of pace, and the details of his uniform are nice and sharp. There are some nice subtle touches, such as the shoes being shinier than the rest of the blacks. Kirk included a basic phaser, a communicator, and a phaser rifle. What he does not include is a single Tribble, which seems like a missed opportunity.

YEOMAN RAND

Kirk&Rand3Rand isn’t as well remembered as other cast members from the show, due to her being written out and pretty much never mentioned again following the show’s first season, after only appearing in 8 episodes of the show’s run. Also, not in “The Trouble With Tribbles,” making this an odd pairing, but hey, at least she got a ‘mate. She’s built on the usual body, with add-ons for the hair and skirt. The skirt is the same piece used for Uhura and Chapel, which keeps the uniformity going, even if it is oddly boxy. The hair is unique to Rand, and does an alright job of translating her hair from the show into the ‘mate aesthetic. The details seem a little rough and unfinished, truth be told, but it’s not terrible. The paint on Rand is pretty clean overall. The face is a bit generic, but doesn’t look unlike Grace Lee Whitney. The rest of the details are fairly basic, but what’s there is sharp. For some odd reason, the arms are painted red, rather than being cast in red plastic. In addition, the paint doesn’t seem to have held up very well to time, resulting in some slight scraping here and there. Rand was packed with a tricorder and a data pad.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just before Record & Tape Traders started their downhill turn, I found these two, along with the rest of Series 4 and 5, as well as several other lines of Minimates, at a pretty large discount. I was never a super faithful collector of Trek Minimates, but ended up with a full set, which included this pair. They’re not super exciting, but they’re a pretty solid offering, and probably one of my favorite sets from the line’s original run.