Star Trek (Playmates)
(1992 – 1999)

Click These Links to See Individual Star Trek Pages

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The Star Trek: The Next Generation television show was a huge success and brought Star Trek back to audiences in a big way. It seemed only natural that a new toy line would be released for it, and it was in 1988 by the Galoob Toy Company. It turned out to be a disappointing line to say the least, and Next Generation toys ceased to exist before the second season was even released. Enter the Playmates toy company. Playmates had been having MASSIVE success with their new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line, and now turned their attention towards the dormant Star Trek franchise. The Next Generation television series was a success from the very beginning, but it gained mega status as the show went on. Playmates realized Star Trek already had a huge fan base, so with the right design, production lines and marketing, they felt they could turn around the bad luck that been plaguing Star Trek toys since the late 1970’s. They were absolutely correct, because in 1992, Playmates would begin a very successful eight year run of some incredibly well-done, and fun action figures and accessories. For its initial release of Star Trek products, Playmates focused on action figures based on The Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The figures were 4.5″ tall, which allowed Playmates to pay more attention to likenesses and details. That focus on The Next Generation continued into the next year (1993) as well.

The year 1994, was a great year for the Star Trek franchise, and an even better year for Star Trek fans. In addition to the already produced Next Generation action figure line, the Playmates toy company also released lines based on the brand new television series, Deep Space Nine and the new movie, Star Trek Generations. Both, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, were having massive success with big television ratings, and the toy lines were also selling very well. The Generations movie was a different story though. It was considered a moderate success at the box office, but fan reaction was mixed. The toy line also saw mixed results with many of the figures warming peg hooks for many months. For the following year in 1995, Playmates spread the love across several various Star Trek mediums including the The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, The Classic Series and the brand new show, Star Trek Voyager. It was the biggest year to date for Playmates and Star Trek. A new series of mixed characters was introduced that included figures from all Star Trek mediums, as well as the continuation of their 9″ figure series.

For its fifth year of Star Trek products in 1996, Playmates once again produced items across several various Star Trek mediums including the Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager and the new movie, First Contact. The amount of products released didn’t match the year before, but it was still another big release year. The second wave of Mixed Series products consisted of 18 brand new figures. A new Starfleet Academy line was released with four new figures and another wave of 9 Inch Collector figures hit the shelves as well. In 1997, Playmates continued action figures from the Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. The amount of products released didn’t match previous years, but it was still a big year. The third and final wave of Mixed Series products consisted of 11 new figures. Another new 4.5″ figure line called Warp Factor was introduced with 16 figures, as well as new Warp Factor 9″ figures as well.

Things were beginning to change in 1998, with sales beginning to slow down and a certain other Science Fiction franchise called Star Wars posting huge retail sales numbers. A new live action Star Trek movie called Insurrection was released in 1998 with the Next Generation cast, but it floundered at the box office. Once again, Playmates released several new products from various Star Trek television mediums, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager and the Original Series in mixed assortments lines, such as the Warp Factor series. For their final release in 1999, almost every item was an exclusive to a retail store or site. This made collecting the final products a bit more difficult. Sales continued to decline and the last live action Star Trek movie, Insurrection, being a disaster certainly didn’t help. Star Trek Deep Space Nine came to and end in June of 1999, leaving only Star Trek Voyager. Playmates decided that it just wasn’t enough to merit a continuation of the toy line so it came to an end. During its eight year run (1992 to 1999), Playmates released some truly amazing and high quality products. Their figures were fun, and it was obvious they paid attention to detail. When you think of iconic toy lines from the 1990’s, most collectors name Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the Power Rangers, but Playmates’ Star Trek line should definitely stand with their head held high because they finally showed what a great Star Trek line could be by realizing its potential and bringing it to life.

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