Sometimes, we Trek<\/em> fans claim that\u2019s because we\u2019re all about Big Ideas, instead. Let the other guys have laser swords and ray guns, right? We\u2019ve<\/em> got morally ambiguous applications of the Prime Directive and existential questions about the human condition for fun!<\/p>\n Get real.<\/em><\/p>\n Didn\u2019t Captain Kirk himself tell us (in \u201cShore Leave\u201d), \u201cThe more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play\u201d?<\/p>\n Any look back at five decades of Star Trek<\/em> will show that fans have always wanted Star Trek<\/em> collectibles<\/a>. And that\u2019s good\u2014one might even say \u201clogical.\u201d<\/p>\n When toy enthusiasts think classic Trek<\/em>, two brands beam immediately to mind.<\/p>\n The first is Aluminum Model Toys, or AMT for short. AMT got its license to produce Star Trek<\/em> model kits in August 1966, the month before the series debuted. It was repayment for AMT\u2019s help in building models and sets for the still-developing series. The studio model and full-scale interior and exterior of the shuttlecraft Galileo<\/em> were among AMT\u2019s first assignments. AMT also constructed the Klingon battle cruiser studio model.<\/p>\n In the late \u201960s and \u201970s, AMT sold model kits of the Galileo<\/em> (at a 1:35 scale) and the Klingon craft (1:650), as well as the Romulan Bird-of-Prey (1:650), Space Station K-7 (1:7600\u2014tribbles not included), and the Enterprise<\/em> bridge (1:35), manned by proportionately scaled figures of Kirk, Spock, and Sulu (oh, my!<\/em>).<\/p>\n But AMT\u2019s bestselling Star Trek<\/em> merchandise<\/a> was the Enterprise<\/em> herself\u2014over a million kits, according to Matt Jeffries, who designed the ship and AMT\u2019s version of it. The original 18-inch, 1:650 scale model, issued in 1966, came in a box: 25 molded plastic parts, a decal sheet, and a clear plastic stand. The saucer section\u2019s top and bottom domes lit up, powered by two AA batteries (no, not dilithium).<\/p>\n Source: Memory Alpha Wikia<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n AMT\u2019s Enterprise<\/em> model occasionally appeared onscreen. When \u201cThe Doomsday Machine\u201d script called for the Enterprise<\/em>\u2019s badly damaged sister ship, the Constellation<\/em>, a roughed-up AMT model won the role. Ditto the battle-damaged Excalibur<\/em> in \u201cThe Ultimate Computer.\u201d<\/p>\n AMT has changed names and hands many times, but its Trek<\/em> model kits remain a universal constant. Serious modelers may not think of the finished products as \u201ctoys,\u201d but these scaled miniatures bring hours of delight to fans who assemble and admire them (and maybe \u201cfly\u201d them around the room a little when no one\u2019s looking).<\/p>\n Mego Corporation is the other brand most linked with the original series.<\/p>\n For most of the \u201970s, Mego ruled the Star Trek<\/em> action figure market<\/a>. Its 8-inch scale, articulated, fabric-and-vinyl clad figures reproduced characters from hot properties like Planet of the Apes<\/em>, The Wizard of Oz<\/em>, and both DC\u2019s and Marvel\u2019s superhero pantheons.<\/p>\n In 1974, Mego released figures of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and an anonymous Klingon (who looks most like Koloth from \u201cThe Trouble with Tribbles\u201d). Uhura followed later, bringing some welcome diversity to the line.<\/p>\n Source: MegoMuseum<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Source: MegoMuseum<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Mego also released two waves of Aliens. These figures don\u2019t always look much like the baddies onscreen. One, the water-dwelling Neptunian, never showed up in the series at all! But some now rank as Holy Grails. If you have the admirably authentic Andorian or the super-scarce Romulan (especially<\/em> with helmet), the Great Bird of the Galaxy has smiled on you, indeed.<\/p>\n Source: MegoMuseum<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n Mego produced a Gamma VI playset for its action figures to explore, as well as an Enterprise<\/em> bridge with \u201cworking\u201d transporter chamber (as seen on one episode of The Big Bang Theory<\/em>). Never underestimate the power of a plastic tumbler, psychedelic purple decals, and a kid\u2019s imagination! (A few years back, Diamond Select brought out a reproduction of the Mego bridge playset<\/a>, so you can experience the fun for yourself.)<\/p>\n Trek<\/em> proved very successful for Mego\u2014so much so that, in 1976, it was offered the license for another, new outer space action-adventure property called Star Wars<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mego passed. Cue Figrin D’an on the sad trombones.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ll see in Part 2, Mego hung in there long enough to produce 12-inch and 3-3\/4-inch figures for Star Trek: The Motion Picture <\/em>(1979), but the company filed for bankruptcy in 1982. The franchise\u2019s fortunes were on the rise, but Mego\u2019s trek was done.<\/p>\nStar Trek<\/em><\/strong> Prop Replica AMT Model Kits: All I Ask Is A Small Ship\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Star Trek<\/em><\/strong> Figures: Leggo My Mego!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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