Review of Captain Picard - Star Trek The Next Generation
Exclusive Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I love Star Trek - always have. While it was on prime time when I was very young, it wasn't until the Original Series hit reruns and I watched every evening at the start of the 70's that I was truly hooked.

I'm going to be honest here, since we have that sort of relationship, you and I. Nothing will ever replace STOS for me. And yes, Kirk is the the greatest Starship captain of all time. But that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the quality of The Next Generation, and Picard was a captain's captain, a much more realistic and appropriate person in temperament and style to helm a Starship and boldly go.

A lot of that is due to the man behind the character, Patrick Stewart. As time has gone by, I've come to a greater and greater appreciation of him as an actor, and perhaps more importantly, as a person, and this has strengthened my approval of Picard.

In 2014, Quantum Mechanix began their move toward sixth scale action figures, showing off another great sci-fi captain, Malcolm Reynolds, at SDCC that year. The following year, they expanded to include Captain Picard, showing off the prototype at SDCC, but the delays on Reynolds became historic, and that figure took a looonnngggg time to get released. When Qmx did get back to Trek, it seemed like Picard took a back seat to STOS, and they released Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to much critical acclaim. Next Gen fans were sad.

But the good Captain was never far from the hearts and minds behind this series, and they just put him up for pre-order last week. This is important because Qmx doesn't do pre-orders way in advance of figure manufacturing - when it goes up for order, it's ready to go. This is clearly true with Picard, because the figure I'm reviewing tonight is a production figure, not an early release. These should be in your hands very soon.

There are two versions, the regular and the exclusive. You can pick up the regular at various retailers for around $180, but the exclusive (which includes one more accessory) is only available through Qmx's online store for $200.

Packaging - ***
Nothing earth shattering about the box, but the artwork is attractive and mirrors the style of the earlier TOS releases. This is a slip cover over a window box, with a double set of trays holding the figure and accessories. Everything is collector friendly of course, with no damage necessary.  The exclusive includes a large sticker on the front declaring the special accessory.

Sculpting - ***1/2
There has already been much debate about this portrait, and much of it has been negative and based on photos and video alone. But, much like Reynolds and McCoy before him, once you get the figure in hand your opinion is very likely going to change.

This is an excellent likeness, from the eyes to the nose to the lips to the chin - it's spot on.  Even the shape of the head, with the slightly pointed crown, is all Patrick Stewart. And while all those areas are critical, I think it's the eyes, and the emotive expression in those eyes, that really sells this guy.

There's a nice, realistic skin texture as well, and while some people may say he looks too old, they really went for a look toward the middle of the series. I think they nailed it, giving you a look that covers the broadest period of time possible.

I do have a couple minor nits. First, I'd like a little more detail in the hair, particularly around the back of the head. They skimped a bit on the strands, and while you won't really notice unless you go looking, it's an area I always pay great attention.

The other oddity is the base of the neck, where it flares out a bit. This flaring can make it difficult to get the tight collar up around the throat properly. You'll probably pull the head off on purpose (there's a plastic wrap around the neck that comes off easiest if you remove the head, although you can cut it free) or pop it loose by accident (it's not a super tight fit), and getting the collar up over the bottom of the neck is a little frustrating. Perhaps they added this flare to keep the collar looking good when properly situated, but getting there can be annoying.

Those are my only nits, however. This is a sculpt that, in hand, will make you very, very happy, particularly if you're a big fan of the character.

He stands just under 12" tall, which seems about right for the character.  We'll need a Number One to fully appreciate whether they get the scale correct or not.

Paint - ***1/2
There's not a ton of paint operations here (at least not on the figure itself - we'll talk about the amazing accessories later), but the work on the face is excellent. The subtle shading of the eyebrows and lips, along with the dead on straight, clean, and realistic eyes work with the sculpting to create a beautiful portrait.

The skin tone is excellent as well, and with so much uncovered skin, that's pretty important. Even the tiny eyelashes look terrific. However, like the sculpt, I have two nits, and they focus on the exact same areas.

First, there's that hair again. Gray hair, like blonde hair, is very hard to do with paint. Getting the shading and color to look realistic is a major feat. They've done a good job here, but it could still be slightly better.

And yes, the second issue focuses on the neck. As I mentioned earlier, there's a plastic wrap around the neck to prevent any bleed of the clothing dye into the porous skin. Unfortunately, mine wasn't wrapped all the way down to the base, and there are red splotches on the bottom section of the neck. On the plus side, the collar (when properly pulled up) covers these spots, but I still know they are there. Collectors by nature are a bit OCD, and we always know these things are there, lurking just out of sight...

I'm hopeful that this sort of staining won't occur longer term while the figure is on display. This normally happens only when the clothing is new and the head sculpt fresh - as the dye sets longer term, it's less likely to stain.

Articulation - ***1/2
While the underlying body isn't the best on the market, it does have plenty of articulation, and the engineering allows for very fluid, natural stances.

The ball jointed neck gives you plenty of tilt and lean action, but I did find that the joint was a little short. You'll want to ensure the ball post itself is standing up perfectly straight within the neck when you pop the head on, otherwise it may seem to pop on but pop off again too easily.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists, give you plenty of tight arm poses, and allow the elbows to hang close to the body. The ab-crunch and waist joint are a little restricted by the tunic - more on that in the Outfit section - but you should be able to get some movement out of them. The hips, knees, and ankles work smoothly, and are tight enough to hold even deeper stances long term. There's enough rocker action in the ankles (with the ball turned in the right direction) to keep the feet flat on the ground, and the pants allow for plenty of movement.

My only real nit is with that neck, and with the wrists posts. They pop out of the forearm a little too easily, but the hands do remain on the smaller posts without issue.

Accessories - ****
While I'm happy to proclaim this the best Picard portrait we've ever gotten in any format, it's really in the Accessories that Qmx totally crushed it.

Let's start with the hands. He comes with 5 pairs - fists, tight grip, gun grip, wide grip, and relaxed. These various grips are designed to work with the other accessories, and the fit is excellent. One is even specifically designed for the perfect "Make it so" gesture! There's one additional flat right hand, perfect for holding the PADD, making it 11 hands in total. There's only one set of wrist pegs, but I had no worries about breakage or damage when I was swapping. A couple extras would be a nice add, nonetheless.

I mentioned the PADD, which looks terrific and fits neatly in the hand provided. Even better are the tricorder and phaser, which include holsters.

With the TOS figures, the phasers and communicators attached to the pants with magnets. The power of these magnets was enough for the smaller items, but couldn't quite keep larger items in place, or through more than one layer of cloth.  That issue is not a problem here. There's a very strong magnet that holds these tricorder and phaser holsters to the body on the front of the pants. They snap tight, and won't fall off easily. The tricorder and phaser then slip inside these holsters, and look fantastic. While this isn't a look you'd call standard for Picard, I think I'll be keeping both of these on him in my display.

Of course, they look great outside of the holsters as well. The phaser is nicely sculpted and painted, properly scaled to this figure, but it's the tricorder that makes your eyes pop. It comes in two pieces that fit neatly together, making it appear to be folded closed, and allowing it to fit in the holster. These two pieces than snap together, again thanks to a strong magnet, to create the open look. The level of detail is quite impressive, and this is the sort of accessory that garners a 'wow'.

The regular release also includes a clear cup, filled with Earl Gray of course. Again, one of the hands can hold it properly, giving Picard his trademark class.

The regular finishes up with a basic display stand, cut in the shape of the TNG emblem. You won't have to use it to keep him standing long term, but it's nice for consistency sake.

The exclusive includes one more item for a $20 price increase. He comes with the larger phaser rifle. Again, the sculpt and paint are great, and it fits in a two handed pose extremely well. And while I didn't include a photo showing it, the top does flip up. It's this sort of outstanding attention to detail that makes the Qmx Trek figures so impressive.

Outfit - ***
The one area where I'm a little disappointed is the outfit. It's not a major problem, but it is the one area where I thought they could improved.

The pants look great, and are held up with suspenders under the tunic, and held down with straps across the bottom of the foot. This gives the pants a nice, tight fit, and the tailoring is quite good. Of course, they have the V cut at the front of the foot, and the underlying boot looks terrific, complete with zipper up the side.

I know the people involved with these figures are crazy fans, and so I have no doubt that the red and black colors on the tunic are correct, or at least as correct as they can possibly be. And I'm also sure that some people will say they aren't red enough or they are too red, or it's too bright or not bright enough - at least it won't be as controversial as Kirk's 'yellow', or whether Han's coat is blue or brown.  I'm quite happy with the shade of red we have here.

The tunic has both the rank insignia on the collar and the communicator on the breast. Both look great, no issues there.

The tailoring and fit on the tunic is where I start running into some issues. First, it's quite short. Looking at some stills and watching a couple episodes this last weekend, I can see that it was short. On screen it tended to blend into the pants though, making it less noticeable. The other problem on the figure is the pants are quite high, with a long waist. I think that makes the shortness of the tunic more obvious and a little odd in appearance.

This length of the pant waist is improved by putting the holsters in place on the front. They create a better visual blend between the top and bottom, and hide some of the expanse of the pants. He doesn't look awful without them, but I think he looks better with them.

The tunic is also padded, adding a little bulk to the chest and stomach. It's not extreme, and it smooths out the torso, hiding the underlying anatomy and joints. I think people would have had less to complain about with the Spock and McCoy figure had they done something similar.  But I'm not a huge fan, since it also mucks with the tailoring a bit.  The shoulders don't sit quite right, and the puffiness means you have to futz a lot more to get the sleeves and collar looking good.

The sleeves do cover the wrists though, even in most bent arm poses, which is always a big plus. Overall I like the costume, but there were a few areas where the tunic could have been improved.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
This might not seem like the most 'fun' figure - hey, he wasn't the most 'fun' captain - but with a decent underlying body and some fantastic accessories, there's all sorts of posing and re-posing potential here. He doesn't have any of his own crew to match up with (yet), but he can always hang out with other Trek characters or other sixth scale licenses.

Value - ****
The regular release is just $180.  That's for a licensed, high quality, high end sixth scale figure.  The current market average is around $220, a whopping 20% above the suggested retail on this guy. Many of the figures you see at $220 right now, like the recent Hot Toys Black Panther, have far fewer extras, and a much larger production run. This guy is a steal, even for the exclusive at $200. Remember, you're getting a pretty cool extra accessory!

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I mentioned that getting the neck back all the way inside the collar can be tough, so take your time, and even avoid taking the head off if you can. Otherwise you should be good to go.

Overall - ***1/2
This figure went up for pre-order last Friday, with marketing photos and some 'Asian dealer takes a phone photo with flash right out of the box' shots to go along with them. Now, sometimes - sometimes - these early photos are accurate, and we can form opinions based on them. But 8 times out of 10, what we end up finding is that in hand, the figure is much, much better than these early photos and videos might lead us to believe.

That's exactly the situation with Picard. In hand, under normal lighting, this portrait will make you a very happy Trek fan. I still have a few nits to pick, the biggest of which revolves around the tailoring and fit on the tunic, but Hell - I always have nits to pick.  It's kinda my thing. That doesn't mean you shouldn't recognize real quality at a more affordable price, something that is hard to come by these days.

While he's a mighty fine figure on his own, we really do need to get one or two more - at least - key players to go along with him. While I'm sure that Number One is high on many fan's list, it's Data and Worf that are coming next, and I'm really jonesing for pair - make it so!  Oh, c'mon, stop your groaning, you knew that was coming...

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ****
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- the only place to get this exclusive with the extra phaser rifle is Qmx, where he can be had for $200. They also have the regular version at $180.

- Entertainment Earth comes in at $180 as well, but offers free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Qmx Trek sixth scale figures include the Original Series Kirk, Spock, and McCoy with Scotty and Sulu scheduled to join them.

If you're looking for smaller figures from TNG, check out the work by Art Asylum/DST, like Beverly Picard. They did some amazing stuff.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
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