Prepare for a monster of a Q&A with this extra-long Star Trek edition! Find out what ships might be flying into stores near you soon, which classic Star Trek figures might be re-released, the fate of Star Trek Minimates and more as DSTChuck answers more of your pressing Star Trek questions. Some questions are nice, some are naughty, but all of them get answered.

David Ellis:
Any chance of bumping up the retail cost of these figures so we can get some new character specific bodies like AA of old and NOT the generic bodies you use? Plus I love the new base you’ve done with the new Wolverine figure, any chance that love can be spread to Trek? As a Trekkie I want the highest quality so that it can be displayed. I think many Trek fans want this too and I would bet my last British Pound that if you made figures that were on par with the likes of NECA and MEZCO you’d be selling more - since you are a company that seems to be in many comic book shops like Forbidden Planet rather than in mainstream high street shops I think putting the price up for these figures would not be such a bad thing to do but the quality and detail has to be there to justify the price. I’ve no problem paying £15 for a NECA figure - and would not think twice about paying that for a DST Trek figure if they were as good. Another question(s): 1) Toys R US in the UK doesn’t seem to be stocking any of your items, what’s the reason for this? 2) Any new pics of the Enterprise D and its packaging going up on this site soon?

DSTChuck: David, we have tried that a little bit with the Borg wave - they are all new sculpts with a little higher retail. We’ll have to see how pre-orders come in. As for Marvel Select, I have to be honest with you - that line sells about 3 times what a good Trek figure is selling now. We just don’t see that happening with a Trek figure. Regardless of sales we try and make the best figures we can and sometimes we re-use parts as a way of extending out a line that might not be selling at a top level. Many of the licenses we have are niche.
1) If a retailer is not stocking a DST product it’s because they chose not to carry it. Our sales guys are told to pitch to everyone.
2) We’re VERY close on the D let me see if I can get some package shots up on the blog when our sample returns.

Dave Cordes: Why was the ST: III Kruge & Maltz 2-pack cancelled? I was really looking forward to this. The sculpting really looked superb. Will it still get released further down the road? I want this!

DSTChuck: We were very excited about that two pack as well but unfortunately the pre-sales on this item were so low there was no way we could go forward with it at this time.

Shaun Baer:
Once again…no real question. I just got my Star Trek: The Next Generation Wave 5 and I’m extremely impressed. Specifically, I think the Ensign Ro is top notch. Right now my display case (yes, I have one) is not assembled so my figures are packed…but Ro is out on my desk. Just an excellent likeness. I can’t wait for the DS9 set! Oh…and my usual plug for a Yesterday’s Enterprise Tasha Yar and Guinan two-pack. I’m looking forward to the Toy Fair press to see if there are any surprises there!

DSTChuck: Glad you like them and sorry again for all the delays that project encountered. If I ever write a book it will be several chapters. We are very aware that there is interest in both those characters; we’re just not sure it’s enough to go forward with them. Neither character is far from our thoughts when we line plan.

David Ellis:
I bought a lot of your DS9 figures the other day. I also bought the electronic Kirk in his chair. Needless to say after reading this rant, I wasn’t really blown away by any of them. It seems you’re relying to heavily on the fans automatically buying your items because we’re Trekkies.
<Rant edited for space and lack of a question>
What happened to the good old days when Digger oversaw things and Art Asylum was a company on the fore-front of figure design using the latest scan technology the best sculptors and painters in the business and some of the best and new materials in the business and continuing with a dying series of figures based on a dying TV series; Enterprise - they still kept the bar high.
<More rant-editing for space>
I am disgusted at your lack of creativity when it comes to new figures. Since you’ve had the license you’ve re-used countless bodies and body parts. You claim to say that you can’t justify the cost of producing a new mold because Trek doesn’t sell? I say that’s complete rubbish - Star Trek doesn’t sell because the sculpts and paint and detail are sub standard when put in a shop next to a fantastic piece by NECA, Hot Toys or Mezco, Trek is over looked because there isn’t enough variety in your lines - its all variants this and re-used bodies. I mean how many Original AA Kirks are we going to get before you actually decide to do a new and exciting sculpt?
<still more editing for space>
If you produced less, hired some really well known talented sculptors and painters you could rival NECA, Mezco and Hot Toys but at the moment your barely beating Hasbro which begs another question? What are you? Are you a specialist toy company or are you a company with an identity problem? Your licenses suggest you’re specialist but I don’t think the quality of many of your products lives up to this either. Bad times DST. Rant over.

DSTChuck: Ok before I get into this question I need to re-state if only for my own sanity. PLEASE limit these questions to ones we can answer, folks. We’re not going to say in here .. “wow here is our whole line plan,” but we’re happy to speak with the fans and give them some insight they may want in to how we do things. If you’re not interested in that then by all means it’s cool, just don’t read this section of the blog. If you don’t like the products we make, we wish you did but it’s cool if you don’t. We’re not just going to paste random rants up here, there has to be a real question in there. If you want to rant to fans about something you think we did wrong, there are lots of other places on the web for you to do that. OK I think I found some questions in the above post to answer.
1. WOW, so sorry you do not like the Kirk in chair, to be honest we’re very pleased with the added sound effects. If you press the button on one side then the other they are in sequence and you can re-create an entire dialogue or the setting that allows for Kirk’s opening monologue. Everyone seems happy with it when they press it on the one on my desk. I am not sure what other features you were expecting. I can assure you in NO conversation I have been a part of have we said, don’t worry you can mail this project in because Star Trek fans will buy anything. Frankly the sales on Trek are such that we need every order we can get to keep it viable.

2. Digger has not been a part of the day to day activities of Art Asylum for MANY years. If you are referring to Nemesis and Enterprise sales, perhaps you will recall that sales on those were as good as their last wave of planned Trek TOS and that they had to cancel figures and never finishes those three lines.

3. Many of the painters, sculptors and project managers that worked on Trek still work on Trek- most have been there for the duration. I am not sure how you can theorize that our statements are rubbish unless you have seen the sales reports and the P&L. What I can tell you is, as you say AA (when they started) did ALL new figures every time and, well they were forced to stop making Trek products due to low sales and financial losses. We just do the best we can with the best information we have. Every single person here would love if every Trek figure sold over 10K pieces and we could do all sorts of wonderful things with the line.

4. I believe Mezco and Hot Toys make great products and I am sure if we charged as high a retail for a 1/6 doll as Hot Toys we’d be able to add more features but for 80.00 SRP we think we’ve crammed as much as possible into the UQS line. As for Mezco maybe you can ask them how sales are and how profitable their lines are — I don’t know the answer. Maybe you do???

Matt Wright:
Hi there I’m a big fan of your Star Trek action figure and ‘Starships’ lines! My question is this: What is the likelihood of the production of “In a Mirror Darkly” figures, since there has been a starship devoted to the episode? It seems, save for some possible scaling issues, that it would only be a matter of some head-switching. And, though its c-g appearance wasn’t so hot, it could be an opportunity to make an episode-specific Gorn! Thanks so much Matt Wright

DSTChuck: Right now we have not thought about the primary figure line past the end of this year. We’re anxious to see how TOS Series 5 does.

J.B.:
Hi DST, a few questions for you:
1) is there way possible that the 2nd Borg wave can be produced simultaneously with or consecutively after Wave 1 to (a) avoid excessive prolonged delays between releases and (b) so the factory will use the same color paints for the alcove pieces, therefore making a better looking product. (ex. you could tell the difference in the stargate pieces between waves 1 & 2)
2) Is the Capt Sisko figure that comes with the Defiant chair the a re-release from wave 1 or will it be different? Since many people complained that your 1st Sisko figure was too small could you please make a new head & torso compatible with the Picard body parts so we could have (a) a more scale accurate Sisko and (b) a lot of people will purchase extra sets to kit bash a movie style Picard.
3) Even if you can’t release specifics, are you working on a way to release Bajoran Kira and Quark to complete the DS9 Crew?

DSTChuck:
1)The thinking in breaking them up was to give consumers time to recover the expense of buying all the figures as well as to keep as many Trek parties happy as we could. We will keep an eye on the paint. That’s a very good point.
2) It will NOT be a strict re-issue of the series 1 Sisko.
3) We’d LOVE to do those figures but right now we don’t have any idea how to do it without losing a bunch of money. We have to assume sales will be similar to those of Odo.

Alexander Hof:
Taken from February 9, 2009 : Ask DST #24
Andrew LaRue: The Kirk and Spock TMP 2-packs turned out awesome, especially with the surprise of the Toys R Us exclusive version!
1) There are different versions??? Could you please elaborate.
2) Are there going to be different versions released compared to the previous Art Asylum ones?
3) And one final Q…per the January 15, 2009 : Ship Date Update!, the Star Trek DS9 Worf & Gowron Action Figure Two-Pack is sched to release on 02/18. Is that still the case or has it changed?

DSTChuck:
1) YES there are two unique versions of the Trek TMP 2-pack, one for TRU and one for all other retailers.
2) Right now it looks like due to timing issues we’re going to have to go with the old AA design for the TOS re-issues.
3) Due to some warehouse delays the Worf / Gowron two pack did not make it out on the week we expected it would but it should be in stores 03/25/09.

Alexander Hof: At one point there was mention of some sort of costume collection item/card of Chief O’Brien that would be coming out with/after the DS9 Series 2 figures. Any update on what happened with that?

DSTChuck: There was one costume card packed with every case of STDS9 series 2.

Kevin Gomolchak: I’ve seen that there is going to be a re-release of the TOS action figures utilizing the sculpts from Art Asylum. Are they going to use the same rubbery shirts that have been annoying collectors, or are they going to have molded, hard plastic shirts?

DSTChuck: We really did discuss changing them to solid torso and at one point it looked like that was going to happen but right now I can’t be sure.

Josh Moline:
Dear DST, I feel like we are in a failing relationship, you and I. I am a fan of 24th century Trek (Voyager, DS9, TNG), and each time I read the Trek round of Ask DST, I feel like I repeatedly get poked in the eye or smacked around. “No plans for…., No interest in….., Buyers have no interest in…., Not likely to make….., Not being considered….” If no one has any interest in anything from those series and eras, why are there always so many questions? Why do previous incarnations of things, like say Playmates version of the USS Voyager going for hundreds of dollars on online auction sites? The lack of consideration for the Trek I know and love really got me thinking about my collecting habits. Based off previous answers, it seems I’m not likely to see a Voyager crew( was really really hoping for that), or even the rest of the DS9 crew, a Voyager or Defiant, or any 24th century Trek technology replicas. Everything seems to be Classic, Classic, Classic, Kirk, Kirk, Kirk, which quite frankly does not interest me in the slightest. So, as painful as it is to me, I’ve decided to make a clean break. I’ve canceled my pre-orders for what little 24th Century trek was left to come out, (Borg series and Enterprise D), and decided to take up some other collecting hobby to fill the painful void. I hate being strung along week after week with the Trek I am interested in getting no love, and simply can’t take the anticipation of hoping for some new announcements, only to be let down again and again. I bid you and your company adieu. I’ll check in from time to time, but only to see, I suspect, how new Classic Trek this-or-that is being made. I had a great time. I got a lot of nice TNG, and some nice DS9 figures, plus the Enterprise E. My only hope is that one day the interest in more modern Trek incarnations is what it allegedly is with the Classic right now, and I can see more of what I’m interested. Thanks for the memories DST!

DSTChuck: We’ll Josh I am very sorry to have hurt you, that was not my intention. I do think we have shown the 24th Century lots of love in the years we have been creating Trek collectibles. It’s always a balance when you are dealing with so much history and so many different fans. I think when we started and created the TNG and DS9 waves the TOS fans were very upset as well. In fact TOS is the FIRST full TOS figure assortment DST has worked on. We have lots of 24th century stuff planned for 09, the Borg waves of figures, the Sisko in Chair, the Worf and Gowron two pack - the long delayed Ent D and AGT just to name a few. We’re of course doing a good bit of TOS this year as well due in no small part to the fact that there is a new TOS movie out this year. I respect your decision and we very much appreciate when fans decide to spend their hard earned dollars on DST products, but I think maybe in this case we deserve a second chance…

Sam English:
Howdy folks, I just saw the fantastic Sisko with Defiant chair. But I have to ask, why does the Sisko figure have eyebrows…again? I gathered it was a mistake with the original DST Sisko, but seeing it here again I have to wonder if it is a design choice made by your team? It does seem very odd to give a man eyebrows when he has none. I sincerely hope if DST do ever manage a Guinan action figure, they will pay particular note to her lack of eyebrows. Thanks & have fun. Sam.

DSTChuck: Howdy Sam! Glad you like the Sisko command chair. Please rest at ease the Sisko shown was not the final product!

Ryan Moran:
Hello… I have a few questions to post. With the release of DS9 2 and TNG 5, I have noticed that the facial coloring is quite pasty.
1) Each of the previous lines had different shades on the faces, why did these guys look so sickly?
In a couple of the Q&A sessions, fans of your products are expressing what figures that they’d like to see and PAY for should they be released…
2) In your answers, you stand by the the fact that your buyers (I am assuming retailers) are not interested in Voyager crew, other DS9 cast, and TNG regulars like Guinan, Yar, Palaski, and a lab coat Crusher with new hair molds. However isn’t it more important to satisfy your fans and consumers, and not the retailers?
3) Some of your answers in the Q&A are very elusive, and seem to skip a real answer… kind of defeating the purpose of a Q&A session don’t you think?
4) The Art Asylum bulletin boards was a great place for fans of the AA/DST work to get together and talk about upcoming projects, and what they wanted to see. Yes I know there is a blog, and a Q&A session… but this is not the same as the community of fans that once was. Why was this taken down and never put back up? Was it too much freedom of speech?
Lastly I guess all that we have to look forward to this year are the dreadful Borg figures… at least we have 7of9… Thanks.

DSTChuck:
1) Ryan, each time we do a figure or a production run more paint has to be ordered and mixed in fact if we have an order increase during production sometimes we need to order more paint. That process allows for some variation. We do have someone on site that does reviews of production pieces and some are sent here for review, we do the best we can to make sure the figures look as good as we can. I’ll be sure we pay special attention to the skin color next round.
2) Ryan, it’s a very hard balance. We really sell to the buyers and if they think fans do not want an item, any item not just Trek then the fans will never get a chance to see that item on shelf. That’s not just DST that’s any toy company. The buyers have a hard job, they really can only make a mistake (IE buy too much or too little) the fans can affect the system by telling stores or retailers what they want or buying like products to show there is interest. We have done many projects here that have not made much if any money in an effort to do what we can to show there is demand or to satisfy something that seems to us as a “must have” for the fans.
3) The Q&A are not meant to be an all covering marketing component, they are a chance for fans to look inside the working of DST/AA and get an idea why some decisions are made. If we gave a straight answer to everything, we’d have announced everything we’re doing for the year at the first question. Can’t do that, can I?? Some answers would require a longer answer than a format like this is just not conducive to. We’re also not going to “throw anyone under the bus” in something like this. I have always said the Q&A will only be as good as the question the fans send in. Be creative in what you ask and read the ones that have come before — there are ways to get hints out of me. Also sometimes the news is not good — but it’s an answer, right?
4) Ryan, I think your view of just how friendly and constructive the old AA forum was is a matter of opinion. DST does not want to sponsor or police any forum, we’ve said that from the start and we came up with this site as a way hopefully to let fans in on what we’re doing and be a part of the process. I hope some have enjoyed it as much as we have. As for free speech (which in a way is an oxymoron isn’t it) how can your speech be free if AA is paying for the site and policing it? There are many other GREAT forums out there that are fan sponsored where fans can freely talk and exchange ideas and have an organic community without the interface of the company.

Geoff Miller:
Have you ever considered making a model of the Galileo 5 from star trek V the final frontier?

DSTChuck: Sorry to say that’s not one that’s been in our discussions of the next few ships.

Richard Smith:
Hey DST, was wondering if you could settle an argument. Do you have anyone working for you from when Digger used to run Art Asylum or is it all new sculptors and painters working on Star Trek now and is that the reason for the “inmates” list of people who had worked on a toy - gone from the back of your toys? Plus when did DST actually take over the Star Trek license? I’m guessing it was after TNG series 1 and the DS9 Trials & Tribulations line because they still have Diggers “inmate” list on the backs of each figure? Thanks!

DSTChuck: Richard, yes there are many of the same folks involved in the process of making Trek. However Digger has not been involved in the day to day operations of Trek or AA for years, in fact I think he only worked with the first Enterprise products. It’s just DST policy not to allow a credit box, we’re all a big team here (Baltimore, Olive Branch, New York, Hong Kong) so a credit box listing every one it takes to make a toy would fill up the whole back, and since no one part is more important then any other part, we choose to not list any “Staff”. DST was the lead on TNG1 and Tribulations.

Wayne Zachary:
I have been watching the coverage from Toy Fair and I must say I am impressed with the line up coming, including the USS Excelsior which is slated for this fall . Please give us light up warp grills unlike the unlit Enterprise E’s warp grills . Can we expect variants of the Excelsior? Such as…. NX-2000 (With Transwarp failure sounds and Scotty saying “Up your shaft” NCC-2000 (With Captain Sulu phrases and sound FX) And if we are very good maybe an Enterprise B with the refit add ons And maybe even a Nexus damaged variant Keep up the good work!! The Enterprise D looks sweet , I can’t wait till she arrives!!!!

DSTChuck: So glad you like what we have planned, we’re very excited for Trek this year. We’re planning some variants to the B class, we’re just not sure how many or which ones yet.

Wayne Zachary:
Ooops , in all my excitment and haste , I forgot to ask the most important question before I hit send . In previous Ask DST blogs it has been implied that the next electronic starship from you would be an alien ship. Is this still going to happen in the 2009 year or will the big ship for 2009 just be the Excelsior?

DSTChuck: Yea I got in some trouble for that! We HAD planned for it to be an alien ship and in fact we were well on the way to having a prototype when the digital build just fell apart. It was not dense enough for the output so we had to go back in and rebuild it. We’re well along but it looks like the Excelsior will in fact be the next ship.

D C:
According to the Art Asylum Memory Alpha Wiki, there have been plans to release a season 3 Sisko with mounted baseball and phaser rifle and a season 3 Dax with orb and Trill symbiont. These items were not displayed in Diamond Select’s New York Comic Con exhibit of its 2009 Star Trek line. The only DS9 figures present there were the Dukat and Sisko 2 pack, Worf and Gowron 2 pack, and Sisko in the Defiant Command Chair. Does this mean that the season 3 Dax and Sisko figures have been cancelled, or might they still be released late this year or next year?

DSTChuck: I believe the ones you are referring to were made up as possible retailer exclusives that ended up being canceled due to lack of interest. We never say never here so if there end up being some interest or we can get creative, those figures still could come out.

Rob Daniels:
Hey DST, I’ve collected your last 2 waves of DS9 figures and love them. I’d really love to see Kira in her Bajoran uniform instead of the Starfleet one she wore like 3 times. Any chances? Also, where’s Quark!? My main question though is about Voyager. I know there’s a 7 of 9 coming, but where in the heck is the rest of the crew? I NEED a Janeway figure! Not to mention The Doctor, Belanna, Chakotay, Tuvok, Paris, Kim and Neelix! Voyager rocked, and I want to know how much longer I’m going to have to wait until they get the DST magic touch! Thanks for all you do for us Trekkers.

DSTChuck: Rob, for SURE we’d LOVE to do those two figures, they are very close to a “must have” for your DS9 collection. We just don’t know if they are viable based on the sales we’ve had on the DS9 figures we’ve done, including the all new sculpted Odo. We’re thinking all the time of a way to get them out so there is hope, but… Right now we do not have plans for a dedicated Voyager line, but that does not mean some day we won’t make them or we won’t come up with two packs or something to get Voyager out there.. just not now.

Richard Smyth:
Just been looking at all the amazing things coming out over the course of this year and a bit of next, Loving the new ship(s) choice. Just a few “Q’s”
1) The USS Excelsior looks stunning as does the Big “B” - is that your prototype or a model kit made for representation purposes only?
2) Will the Excelsior be in my stocking for Christmas or will it be a late 2010 birthday present?
3) Will you definitely make the Salt Vampire and will it be made from the old Art Asylum prototype?
4) Who do you have sculpting your TOS series? Is it the guys who did them for Art Asylum back in the day?
5) Any possibility of putting out more TOS waves (perhaps some unique characters.)

DSTChuck: Richard I love your interest BUT I have to limit these questions <Note originally Rchard sent in 16 questions? Feel free to send some more in for next time though!>
1) Thanks, the one showed at TF was a combination model kit and prototype.
2) I think we’d all agree it’s a BAD idea for me to give a date for a ship until we’re 100% sure, right ??? This is the trap we fall in, everyone wants to see new stuff and as soon as we show it they want to know when they can buy it. We’re going to take it nice and slow with the Excelsior this time.
3) That’s our 100% intention BUT as you can see from the lack of pictures at Toy Fair, we have not FOUND the original AA sculpt!
4) Patrick Piggot, and yes he has done most of the Trek figures we and AA have done.
5) Yes more TOS is POSSIBLE if the sales are strong, but this wave was very much intended to be a “thank you” and a “we listen” to the fans of TOS that felt AA left them a little short , so we tried to do all the top fan choices we could in this wave.

John Mitchell:
I have to say, the Excelsior and Enterprise B look great. I just have a couple of quick questions.
1. Are they to scale with any other ships such as the Enterprise A or the Enterprise E?
2. When you made the choice to do these two ships, what made you choose them over any other ship, such as the Reliant?

DSTChuck:
1) There is a size relationship with the other ships but not really in true scale. If we did that the Defiant when we did her would be VERY small…
2) Reliant has been and is under consideration.

Carter Olsen:
Art Asylum/DST, I have a question regarding your Star Trek line of figures. I have heard rumors that you will not be producing Voyager figures. Is this true? I mean, I’ve seen the 7of9 prototype, but what about the rest of the crew? All of the other series have been given a chance, so I certainly hope it’s just because chronologically Voyager has not been gotten to yet. I would love to see Janeway and B’Elanna and The Doctor, as well as the rest of the crew. I know a ton of Voyager fans who did not necessarily fit the Star Trek ‘click’ but watched the show, and would collect the figure line. When are they coming? Thanks, Carter O.

DSTChuck: It’s not that we don’t like Voyager and it’s not that we have said we’re NEVER going to make figures from Voyager. It’s just that we have our figures planned for this year and for later years we’re just not confident we can commit to a full range of Voyager figures at this time. The Trek universe is very deep and fans all have their areas of interest, it’s a difficult thing for us to balance.

Anthony Gambello:
Any chance of further repaints of the TOS Enterprise like as the ISS Enterprise from the Remastered series or the Defiant NCC-1764? Or maybe even versions in clear plastic with the electronics removed such as the cloaked Enterprise from “Enterprise Incident” or a clear green “Phased” Defiant from the Tholian Web” And instead of the tired old battle damage variants with the Excelsior you could make the USS Hood from several episodes of DS9 & TNG, or the ISS Excelsior from the game “Shattered Universe” With the Enterprise-D you could make the USS Yamato or Capt Geordi LaForge’s USS Challenger in the VOY episode “Endgame”) I figure if you gotta do a redeco, a canonical ship beats plain old boring painted on battle damage any day. What do you say?

DSTChuck: We still have some TOS 1701 in stock but when the time comes to run more we have been considering other versions we could run at the same time. As for the other ideas with the D — lets let me get some D’s out there before you guys kill me at the next trade show before we announce more versions.

Scott Pollock:
Why did you cancel the ST III klingon 2-pack? I was really looking forward to it.

DSTChuck: We were VERY much looking forward to it as well — I mean come on! Two 80’s sitcom stars as Klingons! Unfortunately the pre-sells from retailers were less then half what they needed to be to make it a viable project.

Frank Kark:
I recently heard that your company was putting the Star Trek Minimates line “on hold”. While I know this is not a definite cancellation, I’m told that it makes it very probable. I have been collecting Minimates from this line since they were first made in the newer format, and while I may not collect that many other Minimates, I am a big enough fan of these that I wanted to let you know how the I feel about this, and offer some suggestions. I may not know exactly what sales numbers are on any of the five series or the “Mirror, Mirror” boxed set, I’ve picked up that the first two sold moderately to very well, the third sold very poorly, and the fourth and fifth have sold very well. Let me offer some compliments, as well as some constructive criticism
<edited for space >
Now here’s my suggestions for what I think you can do to bring this line back and make it more popular:
1. Only a small group of collectors buy these, possibly because only a small amount know about these. Short of handing out fliers and magazine ads, you need to make these more widely available. I suggest you try to get Toys R Us to carry these, along with your other Star Trek products. With the new movie coming out, people are going to be interested, and don’t forget that selling Marvel Minimates in Target and TRU was part of why those became so popular.
2. Quit TOS from the main line. By which I mean the main characters. As series 3 proved, no matter how popular Kirk, Spock, and co. are, people will only buy them so many times. Now, obviously, there are several aliens that would be very popular, but I think they would do much better in boxed set format.
<Edited for space>
If you just play your hand right, you’ve got potentially one of the biggest toy lines on your hands. All I ask is for you to think about what I said. –Frank

DSTChuck: Frank, first of all I want to thank you for taking the time to send such a well thought out question, sorry I had to edit some of it but two pages might have been a bit long for the blog format. Let me do the best I can to address your concerns. I do want to say that the folks working at DST are not perfect and it’s not to say there are not ideas out there that could work that we might not have thought of or considered BUT we do try to think of all sorts of ways around a problem before we cancel an item. Many times by the time we cancel an item or a line we’re pretty far down the line and have spent a great deal of money on a project. As for who our sales guys try to sell Trek too.. I want to make it clear to everyone, they offer Trek to anyone, anywhere that will listen SO if you think the store you frequent should stock Trek and they are not tell them to order it, we sell and ship world wide to all stores - as long as there is an order to fill! I am not sure where you received your sales numbers since we don’t give that out, but I’ll break a little with policy here and give you some insight… Lets say for the sake of argument series one sold 1K cases, then I can tell you series 2 sold about the same, series 3 sold half of that and series 4 sold 1/3 of what series one sold. Both series 3 and 4 are still in stock and in fact series 4 very heavily in stock. I can promise you if series 4 had sold VERY well as you say then we’d have looked at series three as a one time anomaly perhaps due to timing or product mix. However Trek MM were on a clear downward trend, further called into focus by the fact that fewer stores were buying wave three and four which leads us to believe they were seeing the same trend at retail. Why did series 1 and 2 do so well, maybe it’s as you say it was a strong mix, maybe it’s because of the concentration of TOS. Might be timing or the fact that it was new, I wish I knew why but what I can say is sales on the line declined rapidly. It’s not retired it’s just on hold to see if we can come up with something that works — maybe even include some of your ideas.

Joseph Blostic:
I see you have a new Star Trek Enterprise D coming out in March. I was wondering if you have plans to complete all of them. Enterprise B and Enterprise C are not available at this time. Any plans in the future of adding these, thank you.

DSTChuck: We debuted our Enterprise B model during Toy Fair and we’re going to keep making ships as long as you fans keep buying them!

Andrew Lehtola:
With the current release date of the Tricorders (Medical and Science) coming out in March, when will we see working prototypes? Are these still on schedule for March or will this get pushed out again? How about a look on how the TWOK phaser will function? Isn’t this to be out in March as well?

DSTChuck: We showed working samples to buyers at press at Toy Fair in February. We don’t have any more shows coming up but we’ll put some progress pics on the blog for you and I’ll see if Robert can do one of those cool movies. The TWOK phaser we showed at Toy Fair was a “work as” sample but I don’t think it will be ready to be in stores for March. It’s going to need some more fine tuning.

Justo Fajardo:
Hi, I’m wondering if you could tell me what scale your Enterprise 1701-E starship legend toy is made in? Is it 1/1500 or some other scale? I know it’s a strange question but I’d appreciate any help you can give. Thanks!

DSTChuck: There is no exact scale to the ship but it is around 1701-E which is 1/1400 or something.

D C:
I am submitting this comment to express my admiration for Diamond Select’s sculpt of their Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax “Trials and Tribble-Ations” action figure. Please send my compliments to those who created this figure, especially the sculptors (listed on the box as Patrick Pigott and Peter Kelly). I believe it has captured the appearance of a human actor better than any action figure based on one that I have ever seen, and those responsible for it should be commended for that. I want to thank everyone involved with the creation of this figure for putting so much effort and care into crafting the details of its appearance and accessories so accurately. I am very pleased with both! Out of the many action figures I’ve bought over the years, it is definitely one of my favourites!

DSTChuck: Thanks so much for the kind words, I’ll be sure to let the team know how much you enjoy it!

Derrick D:
Where is the Enterprise D?? I want photos. Everything should be complete by now. It is supposed to be in stores next month. Don’t tell us you’re going to delay that <edit> thing again.

DSTChuck: We’ve shown lots of photos and showed a working sample at Toy Fair in February. I’ll see about getting graphics to shoot some in package shots for the blog. They should be getting loaded on a boat very soon.

Andrew Lehtola:
I am a big fan of the Trek Tek pieces. I was quite excited to hear you would be releasing the TWOK communicator to go with the TWOK phaser. I am hoping there will be a ST:III phaser and communicator in the future. I am also quite excited about the geological tricorder. My question is what are the features of the geological tricorder, and can you provide a screenshot of what the screen will show?

DSTChuck: The geological is still in early development and we do not have the screen shot done yet. Sorry, but glad your excited about it. It was lots of fun looking over all the episodes and finding something that was only used on the show once.

Tom Smith:
Now that original series Kirk and Spock figures have been re-released to Toys-R-Us, are there plans to re-release the rest of the crew?

DSTChuck: We hope so , were looking to bring back the bridge crew as long as sales hold up. We’ve heard from fans that they wanted a chance to pick these up again, or for new fans pick up for the first time.

Ed Davis:
hi, can you please make the star trek (tos) original bridge, you already have kirks’ chair and after the center console the rest of the bridge repeats its’ self, chairs and wall mounted work stations and the sliding doors to enter exit area.and the front center viewing screen….it would be so cool to have the bridge for the action figures…thanks

DSTChuck: I am sorry while that would be lots of fun, we just don’t think something that expensive to develop is viable right now.

Tim Bendicion:
First of all, I’d like to thank you so much for finally making the Enterprise-B and the Excelsior. These are my 2 favorite ships. Now that we have most of the Enterprises, do you have plans to complete the set with the Enterprise-C? It would be nice to be able to display all the Enterprises together. Also, have you ever thought about releasing the captains for the ships? ie. Captain Sulu for Excelsior, Captain Harriman for Ent-B, and Captain Garrett for Ent-C. Maybe in 2-packs or Captain’s Chair? I’d love to display the captains in front of their ships.

DSTChuck: We’re going to keep going with the ships and captains in chairs as long as sales hold strong.

Nelson Pinheiro:
Hi friends, How are you? I wonder if you have plans to launch action figures characters from the Classic Star Trek (Original Series l and 2) to: Mugato, Kane (the Klingon), Nurse Chapel, Trelane, Mudd, Salt creature Thanks

DSTChuck: I am fine, thanks for asking I hope you are well. Some of the ones you are asking about will be part of TOS 5 as for the rest (other then Mudd) we’ll just have to see how wave 5 does.

Eduardo Mello:
As a big fan of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, I would like to thank you for the Kirk/Spock TMP two-pack. I got both the regular and TRU exclusive and loved both. The only problem I noticed was that Kirk’s legs in the regular two-pack look a bit wonky. But anyway I have noticed that the original ST movie has increased in popularity over the last few years, perhaps because it has aged better than some of the later movies. So my question is, are there plans to release more TMP figures (considering that 2009 is the movie’s 30th anniversary)? How about an Ilia/Decker two-pack? Or how about the wrist communicator? Thanks for the opportunity!

DSTChuck: Hey its all our pleasure , its been fun to try and do some figures from every movie. I’m just not sure if we’re going to be able to go back and do another one from TMP but you never know. Sorry to say though we have no plans for a wrist communicator for our role-play line.

Naisu Baddi:
I’ve heard that Amazon.com will have an exclusive “The Trouble with Tribbles” Captain’s Chair with Captain Kirk in August. Will the Kirk included with this item be the same as the newly sculpted season 1 Kirk that Art Asylum plans to release this upcoming August, or will it be the Kirk included with the previous command chair set?

DSTChuck: Yes that is true and no it will not be the same Kirk as is part of TOS 5. I am not sure if we’ve settled on the final paint for their Kirk though.