Review: Diamond Select Khan Figure and Romulan Bird of Prey Impress

Diamond Select Toys earlier this year added to their Select Figures and Starship Legends lines with Khan from Star Trek II and the Romulan Bird of Prey, respectively. We got our hands on them, and were thoroughly impressed with both.

Art Asylum first began releasing Star Trek action figures, starships, and role playing items in 2001 before being acquired by Diamond Select Toys in 2007. As many collectors will recall, Art Asylum/DST were quite prolific in there release of numerous seven-inch action figures in the 2000s. Virtually every series was covered, minus Voyager. Beginning in 2013, DST pivoted and began releasing Star Trek figures as part of their Select line of diorama sets, which they had previously used with other licenses.

Khan Select Action Figure Diorama Set

Diamond Select’s latest release in their Select figure diorama line is Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. DST previously released the classic “Space Seed” fight between Kirk and Khan in the engine room, Spock and the Horta, TOS Kirk, Star Trek: The Next Generation Picard standing over a Borg, and a TNG Worf. While the Select figures are not as articulate as the seven-inch line, each figure comes with a number of interchangeable body parts that can be used to pose the figure in different ways that easily fit into the diorama they come with.

DST’s Khan Select figure

As you can see in the above image, the figure comes with the captain’s chair from the U.S.S. Reliant. With the included interchangeable arms and legs the Khan figure can be posed to recreate iconic moments from the film. You can have the genetically superior figure standing in a pose reminiscent of his viewscreen conversation with Captain Kirk after ambushing the Enterprise, or seated in the captain’s chair, replicating many shots from the film as he and the U.S.S. Reliant faced off against the U.S.S. Enterprise.

“Khan…I’m laughing at the superior intellect.”

The interchangeable heads give you a choice of one with Khan looking calm, and another of him looking enraged, such as when Kirk taunted his superior intellect, and ordered the Reliant to follow the Enterprise into the Mutara Nebula. While the overall figure is sculpted perfectly, unfortunately the detail in his face is off from Ricardo Montalban’s look in the film. The figure looks to be wearing far too much eyeshadow.

Detail on the two heads included with the DST Khan Select figure

One bonus for the new figure diorama set is the included captain’s chair can be used with other figures. Since the Reliant bridge set for Star Trek II was a redress of the Enterprise set, the chair works just fine DST’s previously released Admiral Kirk figure.

Kirk Takes Command, use the Reliant captain’s chair with your other figures

Overall, I find this to be my favorite figure yet in the Select line. The color of the captain’s chair is a little off and should be a light grey, and as mentioned before the face sculpt isn’t optimal. However, despite these flaws, I absolutely recommend this figure for any collector. The Diamond Select Toys Star Trek Khan Select Action figure sells for $23.99 and can be purchased at Entertainment Earth and other retailers.

Packaging for DST’s Khan Select figure

Romulan Bird of Prey Electronic Starship

The latest addition to Diamond Select Toy’s Starship Legends line is the Romulan Bird of Prey, as seen in the original Star Trek series episode “The Balance of Terror.”

DST’s Romulan Bird of Prey

This new Bird of Prey is is a real gem, and it is only the second TOS ship released by DST, the other is of course the U.S.S. Enterprise (and variants).

Diamond Select’s Bird of Prey and Enterprise Face Off

What has impressed about DST’s starships is the fact that their quality, craftsmanship and technology seem to improve every year, and that is evident with this new offering. This new Bird of Prey makes for a perfect companion for DST’s TOS Enterprise.

DST’s TOS ships side by side

While the Starship Legends line is not manufactured to scale, the Bird of Prey is large enough to appreciate its every detail, especially the painting on the ship’s ventral side.

Nice attention to detail for DST’s Bird of Prey

The most impressive aspect of this ship has to be the LED windows. While DST could have simply lit up the warp nacelles and plasma torpedo launcher, they went one step further. When I first showed a picture of this ship all lit up to a colleague here at TrekMovie, he could not believe it was a DST ship.

Lighting for DST’s Bird of Prey reveal the ship, even under cloak of darkness

It is very impressive that DST managed to make the windows, and the warp nacelles for that matter, so bright without the light bleeding through the ship’s plastic. This had been a problem with earlier DST releases, and it makes one wonder how amazing the many incarnations of the Enterprise would look with light-up windows.

DST’s Romulan Bird of Prey with the lights on

Another impressive features of this electronic ship are the sound effects and dialogue from Mark Lenard’s Romulan Commander as seen in “Balance of Terror.”  While Mark Lenard is known for playing Spock’s father Sarek, his excellent performance in “Balance of Terror” can often be overlooked. The dialogue included when you press down on the ship’s canard is not limited to action scenes and sound effects, but it also includes humanizing moments that made Lenard’s portrayal of Kirk’s Romulan antagonist so sympathetic. You can hear the various  sounds and dialog in the demonstration video below.

If you collect these ships, or are simply a TOS fan, DST’s Romulan Bird of Prey is a must-have. The Diamond Select Toys Star Trek: The Original Series Romulan Bird of Prey Electronic Starship sells for $59.99 and can be purchased at Entertainment Earth and other retailers.

Packaging for DST’s Bird of Prey

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