Quantum Mechanix 1/6 Star Trek TOS Kirk and Spock

[stickman]

Thanks SilverStar. The magnets are very weak, hopefully that will be corrected on Bones and the rest. The phaser and communicator never worked well on my figures. I forget if you have to use the included belt. I've been keeping my eyes open for some stronger magnets I can replace these with.



Here's the captain is enjoying the holiday season.

 

[SilverStar17]

Very nice!

Yeah, the phaser has utterly no problem finding the magnet on the right hip (at least on the Spock figure), it'll go right to it. However, the communicator just wouldn't magnetize anywhere on the left hip. I even used a larger magnet on both the Spock and Kirk figures to see if I could locate the magnet on the left hip of each figure, but even a larger magnet won't find it.

 

[davejames]

The magnet for the communicator is on the back left hip of my figures, and that's where I always remembered them pulling it from on the show.

 

[Astra]

Yeah, there's no magnets at the left hip. The instructions are wrong. Someone posted once the updated instructions in here. There's the magnet at the right hip for the phaser, and there are two magnets left and right of the zip at the back for the communicator.

My phaser stays better on Spock than on Kirk. At first I thought they had forgotten the hip magnet for my Kirk, but then I realized it depends on which way the pants seam goes. One side sticks out a bit and so it's difficult to find the right place as the phaser magnet is a bit inside.

stickman, I love both your pictures! Great ideas and also nicely staged and photographed!

 

[The_Darkness_Predator]

Ha! Especially love the crossover pictures!

 

[stickman]

Thanks everyone. In case you don't venture over to the the Star Wars Holiday Thread, here is a full shot of the Captain / Princess escapade.

 

[Sybeck1]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Sybeck1/Mobile Uploads/20160815_214802.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/Sybeck1/Mobile Uploads/20160815_215021.jpg

Proper placement per the Star Trek Tech Manual

 

[Pixelpiper]

Images not showing up. Don't use Photobucket - use Flickr instead as it's free with 1TB of storage and it always works.

 

[Astra]

I can see them when clicking the links. You just need to copy the link with the IMG in front.

 

[mattinglymint23]

Nice shot of Kirk and the princess. Love these Star Trek figures!

This Should be in the leia thread but I feel the ht Leia really deserves a body upgrade especially in light of the recent revelations that about her and a certain smuggler in episode 4. The knee joints don't really do her justice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SilverStar17]

Yeah, there's no magnets at the left hip. The instructions are wrong. Someone posted once the updated instructions in here. There's the magnet at the right hip for the phaser, and there are two magnets left and right of the zip at the back for the communicator.

My phaser stays better on Spock than on Kirk. At first I thought they had forgotten the hip magnet for my Kirk, but then I realized it depends on which way the pants seam goes. One side sticks out a bit and so it's difficult to find the right place as the phaser magnet is a bit inside.

stickman, I love both your pictures! Great ideas and also nicely staged and photographed!

Thanks for this info!

Was able to attach Spock's communicator right in that spot. Magnets there actually seem to be stronger than the one at the right hip where the phaser is attached.

 

[Astra]

Thanks for this info!

Was able to attach Spock's communicator right in that spot. Magnets there actually seem to be stronger than the one at the right hip where the phaser is attached.

You're welcome!
The communicator's back is flat, so the magnet attaches more easily. With the phaser, the magnet is a little inside, and that little space makes the difference. I am still thinking how I could get it out a bit more. Then again, for the kind of pictures I do I don't often need phasers.

Here's a trick: I use the communicator to find the magnet at the hip so I know where to put the phaser.

 

[Monte Williams]

View attachment 302375

Can I ask who manufactured the old Kirk figure? Thanks!

 

[tflockj]

The "old Kirk" was a figure that I put together from a number of sources. The head was from Warriors Gate Productions, the body was a TTL loose body, the uniform was custom made by someone who uses (used?) the handle ffolkes75. He also painted the head for me. The boots were from the Hot Toys Sleepy Hollow Ichabod Crane figure. So it was cobbled together from a lot of sources.

Tom

 

[Monte Williams]

The "old Kirk" was a figure that I put together from a number of sources...

Bummer, I thought it looked pretty sharp and might be a more affordable option, ha ha ha. Bang-up job, man!

 

[Monte Williams]

Nostalgia lies. I firmly believe that. It can convince us that a show has held up magnificently, when in fact it has aged terribly, or perhaps, worse still, was never any good in the first place.

So what's this have to do with Star Trek?

Simple:

I just watched the original series from start to finish.

For the first time.

I was a first-time viewer sitting down to binge all three seasons (and now the animated series) with absolutely no prior affection for the franchise. Indeed, I spent a good number of years playfully mocking my Trekkie friends.

So... objectively speaking?

It's a stone-cold masterpiece.

And now I'm trying to decide which Trek toys to pursue.

I bought a couple of the Diamond Select figures at the start of my epic marathon. They looked pretty good, although the somewhat gloppy paint apps on the faces obscure the stellar sculpts. Combined with the limited articulation in the legs, this left me cold.

I really want to get the old playmates Bridge set, but I am also tempted by these two figures you enabling bastards have been celebrating throughout this thread. They are not within the bounds of my usual budget, but they seem to be worth saving up for.

My chief objection? The wrist joints. Those things are bastard-ugly, and they don't look especially sturdy, although Michael Crawford in his review suggested that the hands swap out fine, so I'm sure they are solid. I still hate the look of them, and wish they'd gone with something more along the lines of Hot Toys or NECA wrists.

Still... this show has consumed my life these past few months, as my long-suffering friends on Facebook can attest... these two figures might be a nice way to cap off this experience.

 

[DVD1]

I enjoyed reading your comments , and it was nice to see that a first time viewing of this 60s classic can hold up so strongly.
Me, I grew up with it on the BBC - first through Black n White and then again (for first time again, so to speak) in colour when my parents got out first colour tv.
Throughout all that, and beyond, I had my regular Christmas annual - then there were the mego (Palitoy in the U.K.) figures. Later still, I chased down every Playmates figure. Those were cool to get.
In all of this though, these two QMX figures beat everything else, and I would have these over any and all of the other earlier offerings.

They are simply stunning, and the best Trek figures I've ever owned. I'd recommend that you find a way to get them, and when you do, you'll sit through those three seasons all over again.

 

[Monte Williams]

I wrote on Facebook just a moment ago: "I kinda want the more cartoony old playmates figures instead, but figures that look this good do a lot of the heavy lifting for a photographer; I don't know that I've got the chops to photograph the Playmates figures well."

I feel like I almost can't go wrong, photographing these two outdoors!

I grew up with it on the BBC - first through Black n White...

I recently read a quote in the Fifty-Year Mission book suggesting the show was shot to look good in black and white or color, so I watched the next episode in black and white, and it looked magnificent. (It was "And the Children Shall Lead", and while I think the black and white actually improved it, strangely, I also think it's a generally misunderstood and underrated episode).

 

[Astra]

I'm a first time watcher as well! The first "Star Trek" I watched last year was "Into Darkness" on TV, mainly for Benedict Cumberbatch. And then I figured I ought to go back and start properly at the beginning, to understand all the little in-jokes and homages. I grew up in East Germany, we did not have TOS on our TV screens in the Seventies. And later with all the other Trek series in the Nineties, I never caught on either. For many years I was dedicated to "Stargate" instead. And like you I thought it was way too late, that you had to have grown up with it to appreciate it. For example, I never will even attempt to get into the original "Dallas" either, it is a show of its time.

But within the first couple of TOS episodes I was also hooked. And all my friends were like "Nice of you to finally join us". I thought I was the last one.

I did start looking for figures immediately but found only the Playmate ones online and while you appreciate their comic look, I prefer my figures more realistically so I did not get them. Then, in May 2015, we were in Cardiff and went to the Forbidden Planet there. I only wanted to accompany my friend, as I already had all "Doctor Who" toys I would want. It was there where I stumbled about the new Select line, Spock with the Horta and Kirk with the console and Khan. I'm always a sucker for figures that come with a lot of accessories. I had to take them out of the box in my hotel room, as otherwise they would have not fitted into my suitcase.

Now I also have bought all the other available Diamond Select figures. It's kinda funny because ten years ago they were also advertised on my "Stargate" figure leaflets but never in a million years I would have thought of ever buying them. Kinda getting full circle here.

The downside for these is that some are very rare and also expensive. The upside for the Playmates is that they have many more characters and uniform variants available than the 7" ones. And that bridge. I got at least the Galileo shuttlecraft even though it is too small for my figures.

And I also have bought the Mega Bloks sets that came out last year. They're like Lego and so I have a small bridge if I want to play with it. There is also a transporter room set and some smaller ones.

And, in case you don't know, there is now a third option to consider: Mezco 1:12 They are smaller than the Diamond Select figures, but also come with real clothes and the faces are pretty good for that scale as well. And lots of accessories and hands for changing like an 1:6 figure.

But I wholeheartedly agree with DVD1. If you can afford it, get the QMX ones. You will certainly not regret it. They photograph so easily by themselve on every angle. I have yet to see a bad picture of them. And people who do this longer than me all say that this is the best Kirk they've ever had in 50 years. Nobody before got his likeness right.

It may take a few years until we will have all the characters plus the red movie uniforms (you will go on to watch the original movies after the animated series, right?) so if you are eager to have a big collection of characters to play with you still may want to get a smaller line in addition.

There is no turning back now, at least for me.

 

[Monte Williams]

I'm a first time watcher as well! The first Star Trek I watched last year was "Into Darkness" on TV, mainly for Benedict Cumberbatch.

That's awesome! Despite this being the fiftieth anniversary, I reckoned I might be the only person exploring the show for the first time this year!

Meanwhile, as for Into Darkness, a friend showed me the opening scene from the first film in this current reboot series, and its intensity and hard-hitting action impressed the hell out of me (although I never got around to watching the film, oddly enough); I thought, "This is much better than that stodgy old show."

Now I don't know if I will like the reboot movies, once I get to them!

And like you I thought it was way too late, that you had to have grown up with it to appreciate it. For example, I never will even attempt to get into the original "Dallas" either, it is a show of its time.

That's actually a very apt comparison, in terms of a show being too much of its era to appeal to modern sensibilities.

And all my friends were like "Nice of you to finally join us".

Ha ha, same here!

I did start looking for figures immediately but found only the Playmate ones online and while you appreciate their comic look, I prefer my figures more realistically so I did not get them.

Actually, I share your preference for the most part; I love NECA figures, whereas something like Funko ReAction, while I understand the appeal for others, does nothing for me. Same with the recent trend in 1:18 figures of vintage-style five-points-of-articulation simplicity. Not my thing.

But the slightly caricatured quality somehow works for the Trek license, for me, to some degree, added to which I love the idea of getting the entire main crew in one fell swoop. Even if Quantum Mechanix produces the entire crew in their sixth scale series, there is no way I can afford to buy them all. I'd probably spring for Bones and then reluctantly call it a day.

Again, though, I fear I wouldn't get any good shots of the Playmates figures. I only kept two portraits of my Diamond Select Trek figures, and neither is very good.

I stumbled about the new Select line, Spock with the Horta and Kirk with the console and Khan. I'm always a sucker for figures that come with a lot of accessories.

Oh man, I was eyeballing those in Hastings in the weeks leading up to its sad closing. Never ended up pulling the trigger, but I kind of wish I had, although I tend to prefer neutral poses and expressions rather than the scene-specific approach, 'cause I enjoy creating (or at least suggesting) new stories with my toy photos rather than struggling to recreate an existing image.

Still, that Horta is cool, and any Enterprise backdrop piece is to be coveted.

Have you seen the new Trek Barbies? They look pretty fun for what they are, but man, Mattel put together a Bridge set just to serve as a backdrop in their promotional images, and it is absolutely hauntingly good. I want it so bad, ha ha ha.

Now I also have bought all the other available Diamond Select figures. It's kinda funny because ten years ago they were also advertised on my "Stargate" figure leaflets but never in a million years I would have thought of ever buying them.

I remember seeing them in a mall, in some video game store, and despite caring not at all for the property I found the figures quite arresting.

I got at least the Galileo shuttlecraft even though it is too small for my figures.

Hell, it's too small for the figures for which it was intended, if scale is important to you. But I still kinda want one; I could use it in the background of photos.

And I also have bought the Mega Bloks sets that came out last year. They're like Lego and so I have a small bridge if I want to play with it. There is also a transporter room set and some smaller ones.

Oh hell yeah, I am trying so hard to resist those! I have only ever owned a few Mega Bloks figures, and I wasn't able to do much with them, photo-wise (which is my shortcoming, nothing to do with the quality of the figures), but I still want the Trek Mega Bloks.

Have you seen the Biff! Bang! Pow! set? It's the crew in the style of those old Little People toys from the '70s, all in a Bridge playset made of wood!

And, in case you don't know, there is now a third option to consider: Mezco 1:12 They are smaller than the Diamond Select figures, but also come with real clothes and the faces are pretty good for that scale as well. And lots of accessories and hands for changing like an 1:6 figure.

Yeah, I've been reading and rereading Michael Crawford's reviews. I'm not sure I like the cloth shirts, and the wrists look kind of awkward like the Quantum versions, but a friend is kindly sending me his Spock to check out. I am afraid of the result, although it'd be easier and cheaper to collect the whole crew in that scale and price range. Plus someone suggested there might eventually be a Bridge playset...!

(you will go on to watch the original movies after the animated series, right?)

Oh, indeed. Alas, they are not streaming on Netflix (sharing screengrabs on Facebook has been much of the fun for me), but a generous friend recently sent me several of the films on DVD, so at least I'll get to see them!

After that I will dip a wary toe into the various other TV series.