Star Trek Minimates Wave 2 - Chekov and Sulu
Diamond Select Toys return to the Star Trek well for more Minimates, now shrunk to 2" and packed 2 figures to a set instead of their original 3" wave. Wave 1 was a big hit and now wave 2 looks to fill out the bridge crew, starting with 2 popular characters, Chekov and Sulu.
Packaging
The same style blister card as the previous wave, only this time the colour of the backing card has changed from red to blue. The back of the card features mugshots of the characters in the wave and all the usual indicia and legal blurb we've come to expect. While the blister card helps you see the quality of the toys you're getting it does leave less to write about when it comes to reviews.
The Figures
Chekov
Ensign Pavel Chekov. Brought in during TOS (the original series) second season to appeal to the teen demographic of that era. Chekov also helped cement the concept of a future united mankind, as at the time TOS was first aired his home country Russia, was very much the enemy of the Western World. Chekov served as navigator aboard the Enterprise, as well as auxilary science officer.
Facially, let's be blunt, it looks nothing like Chekov. The hair is too big and stands too far off of the head. A fair attempt has been made at recreating the fringe sweeping across from a side parting but it's not worked. Chekov's also been given heavy black eyebrows where they should be brown. The face is so bland and non-descript that even the hardiest Trek fan would be pushed to recognise him from just the head alone.
The uniform is the simple Star Trek TOS coloured shirt/black trouser combination. Much like the rest of the series decoration is very sparse. There are a few hints of body definition, the collar detail, and the Starfleet emblem on the breast. As Chekov's only an ensign he doesn't even get a gold band on his cuffs. Something very apparent is the difference in colour tone between Chekov's chest and arms. On the first wave all of the'mates were cast in white and then painted. This ensured an even tone to the paint apps. On this 'mate the arms, while the same colour as the chest have a darker tone to them. I think that's a bit poor and it lets the figure down.
Chekov is accessorised with a phaser and communicator. These are the usual gadgets that we have seen in the last wave, so while it is good to have them, they aren't very exciting. Sadly the packaging was far too small to include a wessel of any kind. Let alone an nuclear one.
In conclusion, it's nice to see the character as he's an essential part of the bridge crew, but it's a bit of a let down.
MMC Score - 4 out of 10
Sulu
Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu was Helmsman (essentially the pilot) aboard the Enterprise during Kirk's first five year mission.
Compared to the Chekov 'mate this has a much better likeness. Although the shape of a Minimate head doesn't really lend itself to the features of George Takei the designer has really had a good crack at him. The eyes have a hint of epicanthic fold, there's a suggestion of Sulu's razor sharp cheekbones, but it's the inclusion of the chin dimple that helps sell 'Sulu'. They've also had a much better stab at the hair and tried to make it as Sulu-like as possible.
Like Chekov and the other Federation Trek-mates the body is a tad dull. It's accurate to the uniform in the show and when the figures are placed together they do look good. Unfortunately on an individual basis they could be taken as a bit boring. There's nothing to jazz the figures up - a hint of definition around the chest block and that's it. At least Sulu fares slightly better than Checkov as he has the gold banding around his shirt cuffs to denote his higher rank. Sulu's chest and arms are cast in coloured plastic so just like Chekov his arms are slightly darker and glossier than his chest. One nice touch though, is the use of a slightly different skin tone from the west European crew members this is apparent on both face and hands which at least displays some attention to accuracy and detail.
Sulu is accessorised with a phaser and tri-corder. Again, these are the same as the wave 1 accessories.
In Conclusion: I do like the 'mate, but really it's nothing to write home about.
MMC Score - 6 out of 10
Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan
Back to Star Trek Reviews Index