Star Trek Minimates Wave 5 - Commander Decker and Ilia Probe
Star Trek wave 5 sees a welcome cross section of characters from all across the Trek spectrum. Unfortunately the series wasn't a big seller possible due to the much criticzed over use of TOS characters and wave 5 was the final wave (for now).
Packaging
The familiar blister pack has a dark blue backgound featuring the usual starburst. The inlay card has its usual headshots of TOS-era Kirk and Spock. Nothing new here.
The card back features a large ensemble photo of all characters in the wave.
The Figures
Commander Decker
In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Willard Decker was supposed to be the next captain of the USS Enterprise 1701 and oversaw an extensive re-fit. Due to an emergency Admiral Kirk once again took command of the ship demoting Decker to the rank of commander. Decker wasn't pleased.
Decker's a fairly bland character and this is a fairly bland looking Minimate. It's fair to say that the look of actor Steven Collins has been captured as well as possible though the hairpiece looks a little off.
It' might be that it comes a bit too far forward at the sides and makes the head look a lot bigger than it should.
The body is really quite dull, that's because it's a faithful representation of the uniforms from the motion picture, and they really were quite dull! I'm not even sure what colour that is, but I know it's dull.
There's little to draw the eye on this figure. Minimal chest definition, a hint of collar. There's a small silver Starfleet emblem on the left breast and what appears to be some kind of a sporran on the lower part of the tunic. Faint bands on the wrists are the only other decoration. He doesn't even have shiny shoes! Oh and major points deduction for the way the detailing on the back doesn't line up. Very disappointing to see in a modern Minimate.
Decker is accessorised appropriately enough with a movie-era phaser.
In Conclusion: A weak choice.
MMC Score - 5 out of 10
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Ilia Probe
Originally a Starfleet Lieutenant, Ilia served aboard the refitted Enterprise as navigator but died on her first mission after being converted into raw data by the entity 'V'ger'.
V'ger sent a probe - in the shape of Ilia - aboard the Enterprise which for the crew was a tad unsettling.
Facially this is not a bad looking 'mate at all. You'd have thought capturing the likeness of a bald woman would be fraught with difficulty but it seems here that the minimalist approach has worked.
It's not a bad attempt at all, I can really see the features of Persis Khambatta here and that surprises the hell out of me. I think the proportions of the eyes and mouth are spot on and the delicate lines
of the cheekbones and eyebrows make for a nice frame. Even the ears, represented by the simplest of lines, work well on this face.
Onto the body and unfortunately there's a re-use of the Star Sapphire neck piece to represent Ilia's high collar. It doesn't work very well as it interferes with what should be a smooth line but at least the designers have bothered to include the grey lining of Probe Ilia's outfit and the small 'gemstone' that sat at her throat. The rest of Ilia is fairly plain, with a white chest block and arms, along with a white skirt piece which looks to be specific to the character, but they are as detailed as they need to be. The chest block would also be a good starting point for a Princess Leia custom. The skirt piece on closer inspection is a really nice piece. It has textured folds and a nice wavy look to the hem. It's a lot nicer looking than the boxy skirt piece we so often see on Marvel and BSG characters. One major gripe though is that the skin tone on the collar piece doesn't match the skin tone on the head, hands, and legs. That's really quite poor.
Ilia has no accessories.
In conclusion: One of the nicest looking Trek Minimates. But the selection of Ilia over other, much needed, characters is a surprise.
MMC Score - 7 out of 10
More pictures
Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan
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