The Collective: Review DST Wrath of Khan Figures

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is often cited as the best Star Trek film, yet it ironically had very little merchandising and not a singe action figure. That all changed in 2007 as Diamond Select celebrated the 25th Anniversary of TWOK by starting a line of action figures and toy ships. This week TrekMovie takes a look at the entire line of DST TWOK figures, including the latest figures released in the last month.

 

Shock a Khan
Until 2007 the only Star Trek The Wrath of Khan figures were the a 4" Khan and Saavik from Playmates in 1995. But thanks to Diamond Select, there are now fifteeen 7" figures. We have reviews of the latest and previous releases below.


The line of TWOK figures (doesn’t have ‘death of Spock’ pair seen below)
Click to enlarge

NEW TWOK FIGURES FOR MAY/JUNE 2008

Series 2 – Admiral Kirk (Regula I), Uhura, Saavik, Captain Spock  
After months of waiting, DST’s 2nd wave of TWOK figures are available and Trekmovie.com has a first look at their designs.  Kirk in Regula I outfit is perhaps the best of these because of the coolness of the outfit and the likeness of William Shatner. Saavik is very good, especially the toy’s “fascinating” expression.  The DST Uhura may be the most flattering of all versions of the character.  The Captain Spock likeness is acceptable, yet problematic, as its detailing is like a Christmas ornament instead of a DST action figure.  However, the articulation is great because you can have him with his hands behind his back.    


Regula I Kirk Figure & Packaging (click to enlarge)


Uhura Figure & Packaging (click to enlarge)


Saavik Figure & Packaging (click to enlarge)


Regula I Kirk Figure & Packaging (click to enlarge)

BUY
Star Trek The Wrath of Khan Series 2 Action Figures
– Set of 4
$51.19
(available now from
Action Figure Express)

The Death of Spock 2 Pack
Also available now is The Death of Spock two set which includes a radiation version of Spock and a grieving Admiral Kirk.  These variants are also the fourth Star Trek action figure two set joining the already available Geordi and Data from "All Good Things", Kirk and Khan dress costumes from "Space Seed", and Troi and Riker from "Nemesis".


Death of Spock 2 pack Figures & Packaging (click to enlarge)

 

BUY
Star Trek The Wrath of Khan Death of Spock Kirk and Spock Action Figure Two-Pack
$25.59
(available now from
Action Figure Express)

 

PREVIOUS TWOK FIGURES FROM DST

Summer 2007 – Wave 0 –
Sulu, Chekov, McCoy, and Scotty, plus free Genesis Khan
The first TWOK action figures were all exclusives to various retailers at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con in a celebratory debut.  If all four characters were purchased, fans could get from DST a free radiation damaged version of Khan.  The packaging containing the crew figures was excellent, featuring nice images of the film.  One of the things about DST figures that is both a blessing and a curse is their weight.  These are quality figures and they feel that way.  They are more like statues than toys, yet the negative feature of this is that they are not very “play” friendly, especially for younger fans.  However, the detailing is amazing, especially in the costume design.  The radiation Khan is excellent and frankly disturbing, yet if you like your Trek gross, this is the action figure for you.  It is a treat to finally have favorite characters in this designs (the Playmates Toys line was only Khan and Saavik).  The toys also include movie appropriate items such as phasers and communicators.   


The  Comic Con Set is available at Diamond Select for $79.99

Autumn 2007 – Wave 1 –
Regular Khan, Admiral Kirk, Admiral Kirk (variant), and Captain Terrell
The wait for an Admiral Kirk from TWOK was worth it as DST premiered two versions of the character.  A regular version and a variant from the scene after Khan’s initial battle with the Enterprise.  There were many nice touches with these figures.  Kirk included a pair of glasses which was fun.  Khan has a bowl with prongs and Ceti Eels (not pets to be sure!).   Another of the reasons DST should be applauded is their willingness to offer action figures of secondary characters (for example, their next TNG line includes Nurse Ogawa).  Here, Captain Terrell was included which was a great idea.  He is an important character and it is nice homage to actor Paul Winfield.  This was enjoyable line, yet the wait for more TWOK would be a long one.  Kirk isn’t that much fun to play with if you don’t have a Spock by his side. 


Series 1 is available at Diamond Select for $47.97
w/ ‘Double Cross’ Kirk sold sep. for $15.99

Future of TWOK
As of now there are no future figures in Diamond’s Wrath of Khan line announced, but there could always be more. Khan will also be getting his own Mego figure this fall, but that is "Space Seed" Khan and not from Star Trek II.


Coolest thing about these figures:
Creating your own Khaaaaaaaaaaan! scene

 

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Figures ROCK… this takes me back to the Playmates days…. but there look better!

Oh, but the prices….

Oh Wrath of Khan action figures, where were you in 1982 when I was 9 years old and would have enjoyed you so much more …

As I say to my wife,,,

“they are not toy spaceships,, they are replica display models !”

and its figurine,,, not dollies !!!!!

If they sold the little brain worm that goes in Chekov’s ear – then I”d buy ’em!!

I’m not an action figure guy, but these are so much better than the Playmates versions, so the cost isn’t horrible. What are we talking about $12 apiece? In todays toy (er…um…I mean COLLECTIBLE) market, that is considered reasonable.

I just bought the Enterprise A from this line and it is pretty sweet if anybody knows if there is a trick to putting it on the display stand… please tell me

So… you’re supposed to shell out bucks for the Kirk flap open with nephew-flavored ketchup… and then shell out more bucks to get the same Kirk after dry-cleaning?

I love ems. Just need to win the lottery so I can afford a basement.

No question TWOK is the greatest of the ST feature films. I won’t spend any money on toys that my kids are too old to play with, but I’m glad TWOK is still getting that kind of respect so many years later. But I’m with Steve623. Where were these 26 years ago?

I love these figures. I wish DST were doing the figs for the new flick. I really hope the Playmates line is up the the DST standards…. I had no idea Saavik was out. I need that figure. I wish they’d do an exclusive “hair down” Saavik. That would be rad.
#7- I had the same problem with my A, E & the TOS 1701. What worked for me was holding the ship in my hand and just really squeezing it in there. If you have any WD-40 in the house a little spray on the base will help it slide it.

Kirk facial likeness ain’t that great in my humble opinion. Looks like he and Sulu’s features got merged in the transporter.

Arrrrrr…

Whut tha’ hell? Maybe when I wuz nine and would actually have Khan meet Kirkie face ta’ face…

As it stands, I had me a Flash Gordon action figure as a child… silver boots ta’ boot… and endless cardboard ta’ make me spacey ships wit’….

As an adult, I’d only film a “Jason and tha’ Argonaughts” stop-motion style orgy wit’ dese figures… Well, maybe a stop-motion Kirk beatin’ Mr. Roarke film…

Send ’em ta’ Takei fur a wedding gift…

wait… I found Ricardo’s plastic chest at last! (apologies to an actor who had even greater performances)

But God bless tha’ Wrath O’ Khan… a film that skyrocketed Star Trek, and rightly so… we’ll never see the likes of it again…

Arrrrr…

Yes, the Diamond Select figures look great, but it would be nice if the figures came with bases to display them. At least the Playmates Star Trek line came with bases. Also, the prices of the figures scare me off from buying them. Just to buy the Star Trek: TWOK Figure Line would cost over $200.00. I’ll take the Star Trek Playmates line over the Star Trek Diamond Select line. Even at the size of the Playmates line the likeness to the actors was pretty good and they had alot of playsets and shuttlecrafts to go along with the figures. How big and how much would it cost for a Diamond Select shuttlecraft to hold their figures??

WHAT is so difficult about making a figure actually LOOK like who it’s supposed to be?

Scotty looks like he could press a Volkswagon. Where’s the pooch?

“Regula I Kirk with Kung-Fu Forehead!”

Oh yes my Lovelies, Star Trek II is often cited as the best of the Trek films because it bloody well is!

I agree with #11 regarding kirks chops. He does look a bit like a hyrid of a transporter accident.

I do like the Cabaret Singing Kirk though! Quality!

“Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” ;)

Heartily disagree that TWOK was “the best” Trek film. It had probably the poorest production values of all the films, except perhaps V. It was badly cast. Khan and his crew looked like a heavy metal band. The biggest sin is that the main antagonists never even faced each other! About the best thing that can be said about it is that it’s a kitsch classic.

The theatrical version of TUC is undoubtedly the best film, but Paramount has not even made it available on DVD!!!

– Kirk isn’t that much fun to play with if you don’t have a Spock by his side. –

Agreed! They just need to be side by side…(argh, sorry – brooaad hint ;)

Really, the figures are cool and it’s great that after all those years the merchandise is alive and kickin’ and DST is providing a fantastic TWOK line.

Nope. TWOK over TUC any day of the week. Kitsch true but still the best.
TUC is good too but doesn’t have the same impact.
Now if they had stuck ol’ Plummer in a dodgy blonde wig and chucking the odd eel or two down peoples lug ‘oles then maybe it’d got my vote!

“Khaaaaaaaaaaaaan’t believe it!”

:o)

Khan needs his sidekick, the blonde guy who’s apparently the only one allowed to talk and may or may not be his son.

Disgusting, the whole size thing is absolutely–Wrong! There is NO reason these colectables need to be as big as they are. The 3 3/4 size such as the SW line is the best: its the most displayable, the least space consuming and better able to represent the film. However, for those who like there littlle things big, more power to them. I for one won’t even consider this line. I’ve seen them in stores, looked at them closely and see it nothing more than a sad attempt. But, that’s just my thoughts.

size isn’t everything!

now they need to build the bridge of the enterprise so the figures has a place to sit.

Great attempt. Maybe its just the photos but to my eyes they look a little out of proportion. Also no matter how hard they try they cannot get Kirk to really look like Kirk. Until they (or anyone) can master capturing likenesses correctly they are just “toys.” I have all the Playmates and they are good as a collectible set, but as for accuracy, not really. Neither are these ones as I just just pointed out. But good on them for trying. Maybe I am too much a purist. I turrned 40 recently so I have a good few year of Star Trek behind me.

What about the Dr. Marcus clan?

The likeness of Kirk is BAD. The earlier figures in the line seemed to be a closer match to Shatner than the new one.

Kirk’s parka came out really sharp-looking. Nice job!

And to my eyes, the likeness of Saavik seems to be an amalgam of Kirstie Alley and Robin Curtis. It may not be accurate for this particular film, but if it’s deliberate I admire the choice and the work.

They have yet to make a Kirk figure that actually looks like William Shatner. These all look terrible. I’m almost grateful though – if there were good Kirk figures, it would give me one more unncessary thing to spend money on…

no david & carol? :/

#18—-Uh, no. Star Trek feature films have never been better than TWOK. As for Kirk and the main antagonist never having faced each other in the film, they did so in “Space Seed”, when Kirk was 34 years old. Having him fight a hand-to-hand battle with a genetic Superman then was one thing, but doing it again 15 years later would have been disasterous.

We never again were given, as fans of the series, an opprotunity to be thrilled by the appearance of an old foe. I loved every minute of it. We also are never again given the experience of such a tougching moment as the sacrifice and death of Spock. There is also the classic element of introducing one of Kirk’s old flames, this time with the tension being turned up a notch with the realization that Jimmy Boy has a love child. The Space battles are never again as thrilling, the villain is never again so menacing, and there is never again such a connection to the Original Series. TUC is pretty decent (and certainly a nice comeback if nothing else), but doesn’t hold a candle to TWOK–which holds the most “crossover appeal” of all the Star Trek films. I’ll take that over Klingons spouting Shakespeare, their purple blood in zero gravioty, an all too familiar Bird Of Prey sighting, Worf’s granddaddy, and a geriatric fistfight between Shatner’s Kirk and a shapeshifter any day of the week.

“Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Great figures for a Great movie.

I have the battle worn Kirk, McCoy and Khan figures. I even got the battle scarred Khan at Vegas last year in the exclusive plastic, it has great detail.
I love the things like the Ceti Eel and the Ceti Eel pertri dish and tweezers for Khan. Accessories like those are fantastic.

The DST toys I am proud to have in my collection, my only problem is that I don’t have enough space to collect them all.
Would love to collect the Saavik figure, wish they had one of Joaquin, Khan’s number one .

I don’t understand why toys of injured characters are always referred to as “battle damaged.” Is it wrong to be marketed as “injured” Khan or Spock?

Which came first, the Khan one glove on hand OR Michael Jackson one glove???

#35—-Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!

Thankyou Closettrekker. TWOK over TUC is the way I see it.
I must say though that all Star Trek whether it be “good” or “bad” depends peoples own opinions.
I love them all.

Have to agree about the likenesses. To be fair, a lot of time what starts out as a great sculpt gets watered down in the production phase of these figures, but still….. there’s just something way too bland and generic about the faces on these figures.

When you put them next to McFarlane’s movie and sports figures, there’s just no comparison.

Plus I don’t like how stiff and flat the bodies are for the Trek figures either. There’s no attempt at a naturalistic pose like you see in almost every other movie figure.

I want figures of dead Trek characters. Morbid, perhaps…

First I want a “Dead Kirk On Veridian III” figure. It can be a stiff corpse complete with a little trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth and a plastic pile of rocks you can hide him under, or maybe a steel span to lay on him.

Or, how about a “Soran Exploding Missle” figure where not only the missle explodes, but Soran himself becomes dismembered?

OH WAIT how about a “Body Of David” figure complete with a knife stuck in his chest?

And I want the “Transporter Accident Mush” figures of the two crewmembers lost int he transporter in Star Trek: TMP.

Maybe “Regula-1 Hanging Corpses” from TWOK

I want figures of dead Trek characters.

Why are their legs always too long?

I wish they’d finish up the set with Scotty in Engineering Suit, Doctor McCoy in Lab Coat and Drs. Carol and David Marcus. If they did want to continue the line, I’d also like a Joachin figure, Peter Preston and the landing party versions of McCoy and Saavik.

Then, watch out for a Robot Chicken version of ST:TWOK from beginning to end! ;)

I’m not sure about the lack of merchandising. I, for one, have and still use a solid brass keychain from the movie that I purchased way back in 1982. It has the movie Enterprise on it and gets chuckles from folk who see it.

#36 – Yes?

#39 – That’s why the good lord made Sculpey™!

I’ve only been waiting for these figures for over 20 years!!! Finally I can die happy! Now if they’d only make some of them in their Star Trek 6 variations…Hmm…. Or maybe a movie Sarek, General Chang, and others…

#44

You know, I always wondered who made Sculpey. LOL!

Re: #39

LMAO – that’s messed up!

How about one w/ the Admiral that got his face pulled apart in Insurrection?

or a lava burned Kruge from TSFS

Cool!!!

Just ever so slightly off-topic–about the ships. I got the original series Enterprise, and the TWOK Enterprise. I like them both, but I wanted and expected to love them. My problem is the coloring.

Since when was the TOS Enterprise battleship gray?

And since when was the TWOK Enterprise silver?

Both always looked white to me…..

Other than that, they are neat-o models.

Hehe, the Kirk figure should totally be like those talking dolls where you pull a string in his back and he yells, “KHAAAN!”