Trek Action Figures To Return In November

After an absence of more than two years, Viacom is planning to relaunch the Star Trek action figure line in 2002. But to celebrate Star Trek's 35th anniversary, the company will first release two very special toys this year November.

According to Issue #49 of ToyFare Magazine, Viacom has contracted action figure Palisades Marketing to produce two special limited-edition figures specifically for the 35th Anniversary. The company will be producing a double pack containing a 6" figure of Captain Kirk in his Captain's Chair, with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry standing to one side with his hand on the chair.

The set will be released in November, and will be available for a price of under $20. Only 35,000-50,000 sets will be released, which should be quickly sold out to collectors eager to get their first new Trek action figures in 2 years. Palisades president Mike Horn promised the magazine the figures will "blow the doors off any Trek toys we've seen before."

After the release of these two figures, it will be quiet on the Trek action figure front for a little while longer, but ToyFare also reported Viacom is planning a "huge relaunch" of the toys for 2002. This will coincide with the release of Star Trek X as well as Enterprise's second season, so this is likely also when fans can expect the first Series V action figures.

For most of the 1990s, Trek action figures were produced by Playmates, which released hundreds of toys between 1992 and 1999. At the end of 1999, the company's license expired, and Playmates chose not to renew. It is not yet known which company Viacom will grant the license to produce toys from 2002 onwards.

Palisades Marketing, who will be creating the two 35th Anniversary figures, are experienced mostly in creating toys based on video games. It has produced action figures for games such as 'Resident Evil' and 'Final Fantasy,' but also produced several figures based on the film 'Reservoir Dogs.' The company's official web site can be found here, which now also includes a press release on the toys containing a bit more info.

The original report on this can be found in the Buzz section of the September 2001 issue of ToyFare, which you can subscribe to online by following this link. Thanks go out to 'jimjustplainjim' for sending us the contents of this article!

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