The Collective: First Look At Big Kirk April 9, 2008
by John Tenuto , Filed under: TOS, Toys , trackback
Captain James T. Kirk is bigger than life and now, his action figure is too. Diamond Select Toys today provided the first image of their new Ultimate Quarter Scale line Kirk action figure, first reported by Trekmovie.com from Toy Fair in February. See below for details and full size image
The 19″ figure will feature a deluxe display stand, electronic sound effects, phrases from the show, cloth costume, and articulation.
(click to super size)
The Kirk figure will be released sometime this Autumn, followed by a Spock version. No details yet on pricing.
Not the first 1/4 Trek
While Kirk represents the first DST 1/4 scale figure, the previous licensee, Sideshow Collectibles, released four 18-19” Trek figures from 2004-2006. Sideshow’s versions of Kirk, Spock, and two Seven of Nines featured excellent detailing. However, these limited editions figures ranged in price from $200 to $275. While perhaps not as detailed, the DST version is probably going to significantly less expensive.
Sideshow Kirk
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Comments»
looks nothin like him lol
Soon we’ll be “pining” for a whole new version. [ducks]
Yes. Seems they are doing a generic Kirk so you could see the figure either way, Shatner or Pine ;-)
When will the life size one be available?
Wow. Awful. lol but at least it’s the right color of shirt.
The action figure has no shoulders, fat calves, and giant rank insignias on his sleeves. He looks like he’s wearing farmers’ rainboots. Diamond Select artists should study some human bone structure and the episodes to perfect JTK’s proportions.
Perhaps it’s a 21st century stylization of 1960’s Kirk. Checking his Blackberry while he warms up his phaser. Needs work.
19 inches? Now he can hit on Barbie!
That’s horrible. I would never buy this.
# 7 Only if Barbie is playing the part of a midget. Barbies are about 12 inches tall.
Not nice at all. Judging by the collar of the uniform, his neck must be about 17 inches long…..
Looks nothing like Kirk
All in all a bit of a shame. But maybe this is just a prototype and not the finished product.
The hair’s right, and the uniform’s right - but I agree; whereas DST usually provides rather high quality, they imperatively must improve that figure.
After the improvements have been implemented, I also want a life-size version.
Looks like a cross between Sean Connery in Diamonds Are Forever, and Martin Milner from 1-Adam-12. Also the feet and boots are too fat. Everyone knows Shatner has skinny legs. Didn’t you see Boston Legal last night?
19″ — so, now there’s no place to hide the fact that you’re a geek whose girlfriend headed for the hills long ago.
Nice idea, but…
… maybe they only looked at pictures of Shat’s stunt double during fight scenes of TOS…
Man, those boots are made for walkin’.
No disrespect to either party, but this Kirk looks strangely like an older Wesley Crusher.
The Spock figure can use my cat as a sehlat. The scale would work. Could use a grapefruit spoon for a lirpa, too.
looking at that close up, it looks like his boots are on the wrong feet.
As far as the scale goes, 1/4 scale figures are becoming popular with collectors. I do like that his insignia appears to be on leatherette, and not a sticker like on the Megos.
For me? nah. Now, if they make a 1/4 scale Enterprise to go with him, …maybe!!
Kinda looks like the Animated Trek Kirk. Perhaps the person who molded this Kirk like Anime too much too.
#9 - Maybe, but we all know that wouldn’t stop Kirk…
that is pretty goofy looking
I like the original 1/4 scale Sideshow version better, but neither of them look like Kirk to me. None of the statues they produce look much like the characters either, and the action figures haven’t been dead-on like they were the Enterprise days either. Is it really hard to capture Trek actor likenesses? Lucas doesn’t seem to have this problem. Maybe Trek should have had more outfits with full faced helmets!
… the sideshow Kirk looks like Quark disguised as Kirk…
those darn Ferengi!
Thanks again, John, for the news. I get more collectible news here than I do on the Art Asylum board I lurk (they won’t let me sign up for some reason). From the looks of this sculpt, I’m glad I collect ships and tech and not figures. It really looks like a Kirk bust I saw. And I didn’t like that one either.
OK DST, let’s get with the new BSG ships. I got money burning a hole in my pocket. (hint, hint)
Please remember
this pic is of a PROTOTYPE - the actual figure could look MUCH different for better or worse.
In toys, often the prototype is improved upon before the actual shipping, so make your judgements on whether or not to purchase said figure on the ACTUAL figure, not the prototype.
25 - where does it say this is a prototype?
Here’s what I wonder - is the concern that the figure doesn’t look like KIRK or that it doesn’t look like SHATNER? I think we’re beginning to enter into a period where the artists are trying to create a look for the character but not necessarily a likeness of the actor, pointing to the fact that the characters have a life and presence beyond the actors who played them. I think this rings true given that we are about to have a second generation of ordained actors stepping into the parts. I also don’t believe the goal is necessarily to make a figure that looks like it could get up and walk around the room. It looks to me like there is a bit of artistic license being taken to generate something unique, and not just another Shatner/Kir figure like all the others.
27 - ease up on the Tranya… :)
More like “Big average looking dude in a yellow shirt holding a phaser.”
Doesn’t look like him at all. and it creeps me out.
Actually, on second look it’s…
BIG GEORGE BUSH
27 Mike:
And what kind of business decision would have led to that? At these potential prices, the clientele is us.
Why not just wait until May 2009, and make Kirk look like Chris Pine?
Also, his body is out of proportion and lacks shoulders. Perhaps it’s artistic license, but it ain’t my cup of tea.
Will, if this is a prototype, then DST did themselves a disservice in releasing a picture of something they planned to improve on. I remember a prototype picture they released of the WNMHGB 1701 that had bent nacelle pylons and a sagging deflector dish. It looked horrible and the collectors were up in arms.
Mike, making a “action figure” or “statue” that doesn’t resemble the actor who played the character is also a bad business move. If they’re trying to make a sculpt that could pass for both Pine and Shatner, they could get into a licensing dispute.
Looks like a BIG Captain Action dressed like Kirk… Sheeeeesh!
I hope Shatner is getting money for this ’cause we know Paramount/CBS is!
lets hope they brush up on human anatomy before the final one is done
first of all let me say,that im sure it will be way overpriced,what all these toy and collectable makers need to realize,is these things should be cheap now, in 20 or 30 years they may be worth what they are charging.second,this kirk figure doesnt look like kirk,its too skinny,and it looks like george bush sr.
I don’t know if anyone noticed this…. but in the top image, when you blow it up… it looks distinctly as though the figure’s boots are on the wrong feet.
Not real dignified, that.
Looks like some of the enesco star trek crap from the 80’s when any trek merchandise would do.
#27
The XI figures will resemble the XI actors. All TOS figures and original films figures continue to resemble the original actors, as they are the only ones to have portrayed the characters during that era, and the actors do have likeness rights, as John Tenuto pointed out a couple of threads ago. Having said that, there is no limitation to your personal imagination - you are free to imagine the characters as whoever you want to imagine them.
I am getting one of these as a Garden Gnome!
Nineteen Inches?? Quarter scale??? There’s no way William Shatner is 6′4″!!! :)
What would be the pricing on this? I would say by the look of it, it should be under $30, and then significantly discounted after inventory buildup.
I mean, the message is: put out either a wonderful, perfect product or none at all.
The Sideshow Kirk looks better, but seems emaciated and angry. And I pity the fools who paid those prices for a depiction of some unknown guy in a Kirk uniform.
I collected Trek and Marvel dolls when I was in gradeschool in the 1970’s. I was happy with the Mego dolls of the time, and do not think either Diamond Select or Sideshow hold a candle to those figures.
TEAM AMERICA WORLD POLICE II: THE WRATH OF KHAN!
Pitiful. Simply pitiful…
It seems more generic than the 9″ playmates line back in the 90s. They should’ve consulted with DC Direct; there 1/4 scale line rocks!
Man… if one thing remains constant in the universe, it’s the fact that Shat is one hard likeness to capture. Good sculpts of Kirk are far and few between. I’m torn between the cloth uniform and a sculpted uniform in a more realistic pose. Cloth is great if you do it right. Sideshow’s uniform was great, but sadly, they used oversized heads that were out of proportion to the body and it looked goofy. Sideshow’s Spock sculpt was particularly good….but like Kirk, the head was too big for the body.
Oh well. If these are affordable, I’m there. If they ‘re anywhere close to the cost of the Sideshow figures I’ll have to pass.
Wow. That looks exactly like Charlie Sheen.
That Sideshow figure looks like about anyone EXCEPT Shatner!
Wow.
Awful.
: (
Captain Adam West, maybe?
Randall… I did notice that (see my post above)
I just figured Kirk had just shagged a local alien babe, got dressed in a hurry, and was calling the Enterprise to get him out of there before the alien’s big brother caught up to him!
Doesn’t look anything like Captain Kirk (or William Shatner) from the 1960’s!
For my money, there hasn’t been an accurate sculpt of a Trek Classic character since the Mego’s of the 1970’s, and they were based on the Animated Series
My guess is, the reason that none of these figures look like their “Actor” counterparts, is that they would have to PAY an additional licensing fee directly to the actor. By making the character (figure) look generic, they avoid that additional cost. I believe Nimoy (and maybe Shatner) had a law suit that addressed this issue at one time.
Come on toy makers, pony up a few extra bucks and make these things look right! You’ll sell more product and that alone will make up for the extra cost, and then some!
TK
Diamond Select should know how to make accurate phasers and communicators — but the ones being held by this figure aren’t at all accurate. Why make a figure BIGGER if you’re not going to make it MORE ACCURATE and MORE DETAILED?
I thought the actors sold away the rights to their likenesses long ago to PP to license them as they saw fit.
Homely.
I think they need to bring in Todd McFarlane to do these. His company knows how to do likenesses. In an era where McFarlane Toys has set a new benchmark for action figures, there is really no excuse for something so poorly done. Why is it so difficult to model a likeness of William Shatner? No one has done it very successfully in my opinion.
Is it possible that Diamond Select has the rights to Captain Kirk — but not to William Shatner’s likeness? Seriously.
The sculpts are poor at best. And get a load of that uniform fit. Terrible.
Back to the drawing board.
Mego’s Kirk action figure is over 30 years old and that company’s face sculpt was far superior to this….stuff.
Oh God, it’s Tony Blair!!!!!!!
Ah, 52 said it first. Sorry for the repetition. But the idea still makes sense to me!
YYYYeeeecchh!
Sad…
Looks more like George W
rather than James T
I really don’t know how they were even able to show these figures. I’d be too ashamed of their quality (or lack thereof!).
Yikes, I know Shatner’s is a hard likeness to achieve, but that is one of the worst I’ve ever seen!
And why is it, that even when these companies get the head likeness right, they never seem to bother to make the REST of the body look accurate? Most actors have totally different builds, but they always use the same skinny little body on these figures.
why oh why are proportions so darned difficult to get so as they at least look human?? My MEGO’s were better!
Looks like a fan at a convention dressed as Kirk.
Diamond sucks harder than Hasblo….and thats pretty damn hard.
looks like George Bush’s head on Adrien Brody’s body.
Re: #46 Star Trackie
“….but like Kirk, the head was too big for the body. ”
That describes Shatner after two Emmys.
The bottom one looks like Billy Bob Thornton because of the way how his eyebrows are shaped. :)
I actually think the bottom one looks more like Bruce Greenwood than Shatner. Maybe they can recycle it for the Pike figure…
At that scale I’d expect a far better resemblance, better fitting clothes, etc. If that were a 4″-6″ figure it’d be passable … but when you’ve got such a large scale to play with there’s really no excuse …
Eew! It looks nothing like him! I think I prefer my life-size cardboard Kirk.
The Mego Kirk looked more like Jonathan Harris (Lost in Space) than William Shatner.
The man has a very difficult face to not only sculpt, but to draw as well. I think maybe it will take computer rendering software to get his proportions right, I dunno. Dang Canadians! ;-)
Weak.
hahahas, these comments are hilarious.
This figure is HORRIBLE.
#4
as long as the shirt is removable and pre-torn.
and if youy order now. we will include the green wrap around tunic. :)
maybe you could stand him up against locutus.
#32
c thats what i was thinking.
they could be preping now. wee already know what pine looks like. they could get the doll ready now, and wiat for the movie to get the uniform and any handy tech pieces.
looks terrible. But remember, DST is the company that totally screwed up the “puppet ANGEL” dolls that looked nothing like the one from ANGEL.
How hard was it for them to make a doll look like a puppet?!?!?
It looked like Abe Vigoda!
“Please remember this pic is of a PROTOTYPE - the actual figure could look MUCH different for better or worse.”
Not in the case of DST. They only release the official photographs once the design has been approved by the licensor. So, this is it. Albeit, this one in the photograph is painted carefully by hand, rather than by workers on an assembly line, but, this is the approved sculpt. And DST does not care that it looks nothing like Kirk. They really don’t. However, usually when people on forums decry a figure or statue as looking like crap, dealers refuse to order it, and the figure is then canceled due to “lack of retailer interest.” DST blames retailers, they never take the blame themselves.
79: Hopefully, we can then kill this abomination before it streets. It’s aimed at fans with deep pockets, and not kids.
And the fans say…it sucks.
It is a shame when manufacturers obviously don’t give a damn about what their (potential) customers think when designing and putting out items like this figure.
Don’t companies like these have some kind of marketing department or public relations that test the target groups reactions to their intentions?
You can just imagine the meeting that got this approved for final manufacture. Or if not, here is how I think it went….
MD of DST walks into the Head of marketing’s office….
“Hi John, how’s the 1/4 scale Captain Kirk figure coming along?”
“Well Greg, we have the final prototype ready for you to look at.”
“Great, let’s see it!”
John unveils the 18” figure from under a small sheet on a nearby desk.
Greg looks at it for a few moments and says, “So, when are you showing me Kirk?”
“That is Kirk, sir.”
“I may not be a Star Trek fan, but even I know that does not look like William Shatner in the 1960’s. And look at the tunic, it makes him look like he has no shoulders and a giraffe’s neck! Never mind the legs look like tree trunks.” Greg takes another look.
“Are his boots on the wrong feet?”
“Well,” Says John “We were going to do a full likeness of the actor, but when we found out how much it would cost to make a computer 3D model from old photographs of that period, we decided that it would be more cost effective to just make it up as we went along.”
“Jesus Christ, man. It doesn’t look anything like him!”
“The hair is the right colour.”
Greg is beginning to turn purple. “The uniform top is the right colour too, but it’s bloody useless if his own mother wouldn’t recognise him!”
“Our research indicates that the demographic of people who will be buying this will not mind the minor deviation from likeness.”
Greg is now in full apoplectic mode. “How the f**k did you come to that conclusion?”
John replies,
“My brother has a friend that knows a guy whose next door neighbour lives in his parent’s basement, so he must be a Star Trek fan. He never goes outside and therefore has to get all his memorabilia by mail or Internet orders. So as long as we keep the printed and Internet images of the product fuzzy enough, we’ll be fine.” He continues on.
“We can also put a likeness disclaimer in very small print on the bottom of some sheet somewhere that we ship with the doll and no problem… Anyway, we’re talking about Star Trek fans for God’s sake, what are they going to do about it? Start a letter writing campaign?” John starts to laugh at his own joke.
Greg, who has now calmed down a bit, says
“Of course, what could happen is that a picture of this finds itself in the public domain and gets ripped to shreds by the very people we want to buy it. Then we don’t sell anything and our reputation goes down the toilet.”
John suddenly stops laughing and gulps rather loudly.
The End (I hope)
#2
Robin Curtis once threw a wadded up gym sock at me at Starbase Indy. I’m throwing it back at you now.
hahahahahahaha!
As a Shat fan, I’m amazed at the number of figures that have been produced (as JTK), and equally annoyed that none have ever looked like him. My favorite is likely still my old beat up Mego from when I was kid (I bought the Kirk with paper route money, my buddy Rob bought the Spock- and the pair vanquished many a Gorn atop a dirt pile in our respective back yards…). I digress-
That old Mego, based as it was on a cartoon, still had an attitude and vibrance that looked more like Kirk than the extremely poor figure above (DST- what’s with the eyes? They look like they’re about to meet).
One note: there’s a company (still think it operates) called Scifimetropolis- they have a .com- they’re the company that produces the Lost in Space action figures. (Want to see the absolute hands-down best head sculpture ever done? See the Jonathan Harris/Doctor Smith figure-even better in hand than the photographs) Back in 2005, they did up some prototypes of Kirk and Spock- pictures still on their website. The clothes and articulation were quickly cobbled together, BUT look at the faces, especially Kirk- it’s as close as I’ve ever seen, even as a prototype. Pity that the company didn’t get the license to do them- died on the vine.
The figure above is awful. If your going to do a figure that so big it needs it’s own chair at the table, get it right.
Looks more like a young John Larroquette than Shat…!
#83…. I looked at their stuff.. you are right! This figure of Dr. Smith is awesome…
http://www.scifimetropolis.com/actionfigures/smith/thumbs/smith%20hires21.htm
OMG! Check out thier Kirk prototype! It does a flying-scissors kick to the ones here!
http://www.scifimetropolis.com/actionfigures/startrek/thumbs/Proposed%20Kirk%20prototype.htm
AND SPOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.scifimetropolis.com/actionfigures/startrek/thumbs/Proposed%20Spock%20prototype.htm
All good except for the terry-cloth towel material for the tunics… :)
Yeah, the Scifimetropolis figures are awesome–but they’ve never been able to produce anything beyond their first three Lost in Space figures. Those are fantastic, but they announced at least half a dozen others (including Will Robinson and the Robot) that I’ll wager will never see the light of day.
Even if this figure looked great, I have NO interest in quarter scale figures–they are ridiculously big. I love the 12-inch scale and have been waiting for years for someone to do Trek right by that scale. It looks like Gentle Giant studios has the rights, or at least HAD the rights, to do 12-inch figures–they had a Picard prototype at Comic Con a couple of years ago. But I’ve seen no serious movement in that area. I would think they could pull off a good likeness though.
The term “sideshow KirK’ is perhaps the reason it looks like it does… maybe it’s supposed to be a “freak!”
At the very least it looks more like Mike Nelson of MST3K than Shatner.
The new one looks like Martin Fry from the 80s band ABC.
The old one’s got a big noggin on ‘em.
I’VE GOT IT!
It’s Michael Meyers!!!!!!!
It’s James Brolin…