Getting brand new packaging, however, are the final two figures of the first wave, mostly because they’re new characters: Discovery’s Saru and Michael Burnham. Inspired by Discovery’s early-season costumes (before its time-skip into the 31st century), they’re the only figures so far of any of the series to come from Trek’s CBS-All-Access-turned-Paramount+ era of shows.
The new figures, whether redoing old characters or taking on new ones, seem to be very evocative of Playmates’ ‘90s-era Trek figures, albeit with more modernized articulation and slightly larger (the old figures were predominantly 4.5″-scaled). It’s an interesting play, considering that Trek fans got burned on more collector-focused action figures when McFarlane’s own Star Trek line puttered out after just two releases. But if Playmates wants to lean on memories of the ‘90s, it’s going to have to dive deep into Trek’s huge backlog of characters, just like the old figures did. Where’s my Vedek Bareil action figure?
The first wave of Star Trek Playmates toys is due to hit online retailers in July 2022, and physical store locations in the fall, ahead of a second wave in 2023.
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