The Collective: Hallmark and Kurt Adler Gearing Up For Star Trek Christmas 2009

Hallmark and Kurt Adler have announced new items sure to Trekify your winter celebration experiences. Starting October 10th, the second round of Star Trek Keepsake Ornaments from Hallmark are available during the "Ornament Debut Weekend" at local Hallmark stores, and Kurt Adler continues its Star Trek line with statues, lights, stockings, and Christmasy figures.


 

Two Hallmark Ornaments Debut This Weekend

By visiting local Hallmark stores October 10th, fans could acquire two new Star Trek ornaments for 2009 during "Ornament Debut Weekend." The first is the "Starfleet Phaser" which features light, voice, and sound effects. You too can set your phaser on overload to help have an explosive holiday celebration! This item is available for $18.50, and it is a nice companion to last year’s "Communicator" ornament.

 
TOS phaser ornament


[Phaser ornament video on Hallmark.com]

To commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Hallmark also has a very limited edition of an "Ilia" (actually, Ilia Probe) ornament. This is only the third limited edition Trek ornament Hallmark has ever released (the others being 2007’s limited edition Uhura and 2009’s San Diego exclusive Uhura in yellow Starfleet uniform). You should check with your local stores as different stores get different amounts of these limited ornaments (for example, our Hallmark store only got 4 of the limited Star Wars "Greedo" ornament that was available this July). Some stores allow you to fill out a "wish list" and they will reserve certain ornaments, so it could be worth stopping by on Friday to see if your store does this.


Ilia Ornament

Already Available
These two new ornaments join three already released ornaments for 2009. The San Diego exclusive Uhura ornament is already selling on the secondary market for more than $100, making it the second most expensive Hallmark Trek ornament, second only to the very first USS Enterprise ornament from the early 1990s. Hallmark stores should also have "The Menagerie" ($28) and "Klingon Battlecruiser" ($32) from The Motion Picture ornaments, both of which have been available since July.


[Menagerie ornament video on Hallmark.com]


[Klingon ornament video on Hallmark.com]


Comic Con exclusive Uhura ornament

 

Other Hallmark news
For 99 cents, you could send a very funny Star Trek themed birthday e-card from Hallmark’s website. One e-card features Kirk and Spock, the Enterprise, and attacking cupcakes! Check out this card at hallmark.com

Or, you could have Spock calculate the results of your birthday experience.

 

There are also Star Wars and Indiana Jones e-cards available.

Kurt Adler’s big Star Trek Christmas 2009
Have Yourself a Trekkie Christmas with The Kurt S. Adler company, who last year released Star Trek Christmas statues and nutcrackers to great sales and good fan reception. They have a new line of products for 2009. Many of these are or will be available through Toys R Us and Walmart websites. Combing the Kurt Adler items with Hallmark ornaments should make it possible to completely decorate your tree with Trek this year! The classic Trek Christmas items for this year are:

Star Trek Disk Christmas Indoor Light Set
The first Star Trek Christmas light set in almost 15 years (the previous set was sold at Spencer Gifts), this 10 light set of disks features images of the entire classic crew and are available now at Walmart.com for $20

Star Trek Kirk or Spock Light Sets
In addition to the disk light set featuring the entire crew, there will be two other light sets available this year, one with images of Kirk, and one with images of Spock. Price is unkown, but probably similarly priced as the other light set.

Star Trek Captain Kirk 7" Fabric Mache (Farbriche) Christmas Statue
A compliment to last year’s Spock statue, this is an incredibly fun statue of Kirk (in his iconic ripped shirt) getting a new shirt for Christmas. The statue will be available from Toys R Us for $54.99.

Star Trek Felt Stockings.
There will be several varieties of Christmas stockings available, with images from the Enterprise to Spock. The Enterprise stocking will be about 20 inches long and Spock’s appliqué stocking is 19 inches. Both have plenty of space for action figures and other goodies! These will sell for about $15.

Star Trek Light Up Water Tube Transporters
Perfect for winter celebrations, these water tubes feature Kirk and Spock suspended in water, with red, green, and blue LED lights to provide both transporter simulation and Christmas cheer! These are available as a 3.5 inches Kirk and Spock set, or in 6.375" versions or Kirk or Spock individually. Price is not known yet.

Star Trek Tree Topper
Delta shields surround Spock in this Bethlehem Star tree topper featuring lights. Price isn’t known yet. 

Look for these Kurt Adler Star Trek items to start showing up at Wal-mart, Target and ToysRUs.com in November. 

More Star Trek merchandise news coming soon

 

 

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Does the console of the Uhura ornament light up?

And . . . I think we’ve hit the bottom of the barrel on Trek Christmas Ornaments.

Oh come on, Enterprise, you know everybody wants a bald chick for decorate their Christmas tree.

Will they be making a 1701 ornament from the new movie?

Hey, usually the Hallmark stuff is all we get! This is actually kinda fun! I like the gift socks!

The Spock tree topper is cool, but I think I’d rather have a lighted Enterprise on top.

Ilia on my tree!!!

4

Next year, Craig.

Wow…the phaser, Pike in a chair, Iliea, the Kirk/Spock light set….a lot to get. A lot to irritate my wife with.

an observation….looks like the final released version of Pike in a chair has been made to look a little less gruesome…the facial features. Maybe it’s just me.

these ornaments are cool, love to get them all

Would love to have the statue of Kirk getting a new shirt for Christmas

A minor flaw with Hallmarks Uhura. I only saw her in a gold uniform in the Where no Man has gone before, actully the second pilot for NBC. Gold is command and she does not get that until the movies. Red is for Operations personal. And blue is Science.

So how long until someone makes Illa appear as Captain/Commander Decker saw her when she is returned from V’gers scanning. And will the ornament then come with the Delta sex promoting sent/phoneme.

The Klingon ship is by far the best ornament, IMHO. A little off topic, but I can’t wait to see the Robby The Robot ornament.

Don’t laugh. One of the first Hallmark Trek ornaments of TOS Enterprise is worth a lot of money to collectors…if you can still find one.

#15 – Yup. Sold mine a couple of years ago for nearly $100 I think. I was glad to as well, as it was fugly. The one released 3-4 years ago was much nicer (and cheaper).

Yeah, I remember that TOS Enterprise. I thought it looked like crap when it first came out, of course it’s worth like 200 bucks.

“A minor flaw with Hallmarks Uhura. I only saw her in a gold uniform in the Where no Man has gone before, actully the second pilot for NBC.”

Uhura wasn’t in Where No Man Has Gone Before. She wore gold only in The Corbomite Maneuver and Mudd’s Women. After that she was a lady in red.

And the HMS/AA/DST phaser design just keeps on going…

He he he… I got my phaser early because of my “connections” at Hallmark.

Star Trek Christmas ornaments… most illogical ]8-)

Beautiful – all of them, and the “Kirk gets a new shirt for Christmas” one is a riot! :))

That Kirk statue is great, but why so bloody expensive?

I hope that is just in the USA, because if I see it at Toys R Us and its more than 20 euros im not getting it.

I like the Spock tree topper.

Wonderful collection! Hoping the entire crew will trekify. My trr inyears to come. Keep the ornaments coming!

I think the Kirk statue is hilarious… but, not 55 bucks worth of hilariousity. Come on!
They’re all fun. I just wish the prices were realistic.

Just got My Ilia ornament! I was one of the first two people in the store this morning and we were both looking for it! Only 2 left now at that location. Now how about a Saavik ornament?

I went to mine this morning. I got there about 4 minutes after they opened. I didn’t see any at first, but I finally found the last 2 they had. So I bought those two plus Robby the Robot ornament.

One word of note is that Ilia comes packed in tissue paper. So it can be a tad difficult to repack it back in the box.

Oh and the price for Ilia is $15 U.S.A. and $19.99 Canada.

I’ll look for Robby the Robot! That rocks, and is vaguely ST-related.

#14- I’m thrilled that you like the Klingon ornament. I presented the idea to the product development team at Hallmark over many years. Finally, both CBS/Paramount and Hallmark thought its time had come. I enjoyed sculpting it.

#17-Sorry you didn’t like the first Enterprise ornament from Hallmark. The entire project was a compromise. Original concept drawings depicted the saucer draped with holiday garland and Santa popping up out of the bridge dome. My wife (Tina Hacker) and I convinced them to take a more realistic approach to the design. To make matters worse, poor Enterprise had to fit into a shadow-box merchandiser in the Hallmark stores. I had to squish all of the dimensions together and thicken the saucer to house the electronic circuit board. Even so, it sold like crazy and set the stage for an entire fleet to emerge over the years. Since I sculpted the original ornament, I was grateful to get the assignment to sculpt a more accurate version for 2006. I’m glad you liked it better as I intended.

Lynn-

I am surprised to see you posting here. Thank you for the response to the above posts about how and why the first Enterprise ornament had to be a compromise. I am in product development, so I can totally understand!

The work you’ve done for the Star Trek ornaments has been terrific!

Would love to see how you go about building the masters.

I ran out and got my Ilia Probe right away this morning too- I dont really like the ornament hook in her head(ouch cant help but think of Hellraiser-HAHA) but oh well..also….why doesnt the probe Crystal light up and she said say something from the movie like eliminate the carbon units infesting enterprise…heheh…..

#31-Thank you for your kind words, Nelson. I’ve been observing this site for a long time, but I didn’t start posting until after I retired in (2007). Fortunately, Hallmark still likes my work and I am invited to submit ideas and sculpt new ornaments from my home studio. I’m an “old world” sculptor who hand carves the master patterns from a synthetic wood-like material named RENSHAPE. Then I fabricate surface details with polystyrene and epoxy. Skills and tools from my former career as a Master Engraver are utilized to render grid lines and fine line details. Of course, in recent years I have benefitted from digital files that are available from the licensor, but 3D digital rendering on such a small scale has been limited with the available technology. In the end, I still have to render the surface by hand and add all the small details.

I scooped my Ilia ornament last weekend when I found one of my local Hallmark stores putting out all the new ornaments early. I’m glad I haven’t had a hard time finding these ‘limited’ ones so far.

Can’t wait for the Abrams-movie Enterprise next year .. I think I’ll pass on the Captain Kirk as well as the ‘Amok Time’ Kirk and Spock.

I think the best looking starship ornament is the Enterprise D. It looks fantastic, and I still have it. Really nice ship.

#35-Thank you. It’ one of my favorites too. That conjures up another inside story. The master pattern I sculpted for the “D” looked great, but I happened to be visiting the manufacturer during its development and discovered that the production tooling was extremely poor in quality! Everyone at Hallmark and Paramount agreed that it had to be redone. Hallmark hired another tool maker to complete the project and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we saw the excellent results. The original (bad) tooling was mechanically reduced in size and used for a Willitts, Star Trek water ball (some call them snow globes). Willitts was a subsidiary of Hallmark at the time. Unfortunately, the lensing effect of the water ball made the poor quality version look even worse than it would have as an ornament. Willitts probably wishes they could have used the tooling that ultimately produced the Hallmark ornament, but it was in use. Much later, a competitive company (somehow) latched onto the good quality ornament tooling and manufactured numerous, unrelated products with it. I have some of them and you can see evidence where they welded over the hole where the ornament hook and LED were originally installed on the top surface. Paramount didn’t have a problem with it since it was a good quality rendering. I don’t know if Hallmark did any legal follow up on the matter. I was just a little ticked off that a competitor benefitted from my handy work without paying for it. Still am.

#33- Lynn, Thanks for the description of your process. I’m very familiar with RENSHAPE. I’ve worked with many model makers doing product design models back in the old days. Now we’ve all moved to 3D CAD files where models are often a mix of traditional machining and SLA or all SLA from our CAD files. It’s quicker and more accurate, but it’s a lost art now too.

For what you do, and the scale of the pieces, it makes sense to do the fine work by hand. I’ll be taking on a model that way myself from a machined part from my CAD files.

I hope you’ll keep on doing more ships for Hallmark!

#37-You’re welcome, Nelson. I’ve already sculpted the J.J. Enterprise ornament from the “09 movie which should be delivered to Hallmark stores in mid July, 2010. The project started as an SLA rendering, but the results were problematic. I ended up sculpting and detailing every surface by hand to make it right. In truth, I “am” the old days. However, I’m happy that in the event that technology is inadequate, Hallmark continues to value my skills to make quality Star Trek products.

I have the Kirk/Trouble with Tribbles ornament and it’s the best Trek-related item I have ever seen. If you get a chance to get one, don’t hesitate.

Lynn, it’s a pleasure to meet a true artist. Thank you for your contribution to the world of Star Trek.

#38- Hey Lynn! Cool, you sculpted the new Enterprise, not my favorite design, but I’ll be sure to add it to my collection!

Regarding SLA’s, I’ve seen some of the newer machines that output a finer resolution and while much better then the steps from each of the layers you see from the older SLA’s, I don’t think you’ll be out of a job!

I find the new technology ever more interesting. But when it comes down to it, every project I’ve been involved with still needed a human to do the finish and detail work and any post operations. There’s still a lot of the art involved with the human touch.

I look forward to more ships of the line from Hallmark by your hands!

…and another year goes by without a Trek menorah.

Thankfully.

#40 & 41-It’s been my pleasure to make these little contributions to the Trek universe, especially since I’m also a fan. I’m grateful to Hallmark and CBS/Paramount for giving me the opportunity to blend my enthusiasm for Star Trek with my skills as a sculptor. Sometimes it doesn’t even seem like work…well, almost.

TOS everywhere I look!! I love it!!

#38

Hallmark is very smart to value your sculpting skills. Some of the best ornaments I own were sculpted by you. I cannot wait to buy the new Enterprise next year. I saw a photo of it from Comic-Con and it was a thing of beauty… I can only imagine how great it will be in person. You have many Trek fans here I can assure you and the new Klingon ship from this year is definitely one of my favourites. The detail you are able to put into the ornaments is amazing.

#45-Many thanks, Baily. I always try to put as much detail into the ornaments as the cost managers will tolerate. Actually, I have sculpted all of the Hallmark, Star Trek ships ornaments except the TOS Shuttle from 1992 (sculpted by Dillard Rhodus). In the early years, Paramount would not allow Hallmark to publish the name of their sculpting artists on the retail packages.

#46
How cool for you to be here posting about the process of these ornaments. I only collect the ships every year, and am still missing the original E, completely sold out before I could get my hands on one back in high school. But I have the shuttlecraft and all up to last year’s ornament. Finally glad to see the Klingon ship. Been waiting for that one. Also for the JJprise next year. Would a Star Trek IV alien probe be feasible with sound effects and a ‘retractable/spinning ball’? I don’t know why I want that one, but it sure would be cooler than a Borg cube (which you made look good, by the way, with the subtle backlighting). Also out of curiosity, was the alternate future version of the Enterprise D a modified “D” from 1993 or was it a brand new sculpt?

Looking forward to many more Star Trek ships in your retirement.

#47-One never knows what ship will show up on your tree. I would love to sculpt every vessel ever seen in Star trek if I live long enough. I’m guessing that the success of the ’09 movie will jettison everything else out of the airlock in the near future.

Yes, in a way the Enterprise D from “All good things” was a modification of the 1993 ornament. Hallmark allows us to keep the original sculpts in our personal, artist portfolio. I still had the the “D” but it was badly scarred and broken from the product development process. After putting “humpty” back together, I was able to sculpt the third nacelle and all of the additional shapes and details that were needed to complete the modification. Paramount sent me some great photographs of the modification stages of the original studio model that was used for filming.
Even though my master pattern had some original elements from 1993, Hallmark had to build all new production tooling to manufacture the ornament. They only keep their tooling for a couple of years and then it is recycled.