Review of Captain Kirk's Chair - Star Trek
Sixth Scale Diorama

Introduction

It's been a big week for Quantum Mechanix and their sixth scale offerings based on the original Star Trek.  On Monday, they put up for pre-order both their Khan figure, and their Captain's Chair. I covered Khan on Sunday night, and it seemed appropriate to follow up with the chair asap.

There are a lot of props from classic tv shows that are instantly recognizable...but there aren't many of those that are chairs. There's a few, like the Iron Throne or perhaps Archie Bunker's 'throne', but the Captain's chair from the original Trek is perhaps the most iconic piece of furniture to ever grace the small screen.

Once upon a time, Qmx put their Malcolm Reynolds figure up for pre-order in advance of final production. And then problems mounted. And mounted. And mounted. The delays were almost legendary, and they learned their lesson. Now they only put things up when they are ready to ship, or very, very close.  In the case of Khan and this chair, they are ready to ship, so there's no real 'pre-order'. Just head over to their store or your favorite retailer, and you'll find the Kirk's 'throne' available for around $130.

Packaging - ***
Nothing extraordinary here, but it keeps the plastic chair safe and sound. It's all collector friendly too, and follows the graphical pattern of the other sixth scale boxes.

Sculpting -****
I've mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again. The people working on this line - one in particular - really, really love Trek. More importantly, they GET Trek, something not all fans of any particular property manage to accomplish. The company really puts their heart into these figures, and it shows.

This is a beautiful rendition of the chair, complete with sculpted buttons, switches, and lights. No, the switches and buttons don't move (with one exception), but at this price point that wasn't an expectation. They look terrific, and the style and size is perfect.

The scale of the overall chair looks right to me. It stands about 7 1/2" tall, and Kirk fits neatly on the seat. With a figure standing next to it, everything looks just about right.

The chair seat and back itself are not sculpted plastic, which was my assumption going in. No, these are padded faux leather, just like the real deal. This is important for a couple reasons. First, it always looks more realistic, and certainly feels more realistic in hand. Second, sixth scale action figures have, generally, very bony butts. Put them on a plastic seat, and the results are never great looking. But with a padded seat, the material conforms to the contour of their body, looking much more realistic from any angle.

Let's talk buttons and lights. On Kirk's left is a large black panel with a ton of lights. These all illuminate - more on that in the Light section.  Behind this is a smaller black panel of toggle switches. No, they don't toggle, but they look damn good, and have all those bright funky 60's colors.

Switching over to the right, you'll see another large black panel in front. On one side is five lights, and on the other is five white buttons. No, the buttons don't work, but again - they look marvelous. And yes, the lights do work.

Behind this is a red 'disc' in a slot. Kirk, on occasion, would slide what looked like a floppy disc into this slot. They've put one in there permanently, using it as the switch to operate the lights and sounds. Genius!

Finally, behind this is the speaker/communicator grill. The arm rests are done in fake wood grain, and while the overall chair itself is plastic, it is very sturdy and well built.

Paint - ****
There's not a ton of paint here, but it is all just about perfect.

The gray colored plastic is consistent and clean, with no stray marks or scratches. The wood grain arm rests have a 60's kitsch to them, and the colored toggle switches are clean and neat. It might be a simple paint job, but that doesn't mean it couldn't get screwed up - thankfully, they nailed it.

Articulation - ***
This is a chair, so there's not going to be much in the way of 'articulation'. The chair does swivel though, just enough to add a little anxiety to any pose.

By the way, in the photo below you can see the volume dial and mini-USB port on the lower back side.  More on that in the Sound/Light section.

Light/Sound Feature - ****
The key feature that takes this chair from good to great is the Sound and Light features. I've combined them into one category this time because they don't work independently - you get them both at the same time.

The battery compartment is on the bottom, as is a fairly large speaker.  The three AA batteries are not included. Popping them in is very easy, with no need for even a screwdriver. Once in place, pressing the red 'disc' button on the left side (when facing the chair) activates the four light/sound combos.

For every button press, the numerous colored lights on the right illuminate completely. This does not alter as you cycle through the sounds.

However, the lights on the left do change. Press the button once and you'll get the sound of normal bridge operations - you'll recognize it immediately. All five lights will go on. Press the button a second time and you'll get the hailing frequency for a ship-wide announcement, and only the bright white light in the middle turns on.  Press the button a third time, and the top light turns on by itself, and you get the 'viewscreen scanning' sound, another you'll know immediately. Finally, press the button a fourth time and you get my favorite, the red alert signal. The red light goes off by itself as well.

When I was first playing with it, I wished there was a way to illuminate all the lights without any sound. The sound continues until you press the button again and cycle all the way back to the beginning. On the plus side, this works fantastic for showing someone how it works - the button is super easy to get to, and works smoothly. But it doesn't really allow you to leave it on for any long period, since the noises will drive you nuts.

That's a really small nit though, and they did give you a good option. They provided a volume control and power plug on the back. The volume dial lets you turn down the sounds - technically giving you the feature I want - or turn them up quite loud. The USB port will give you an alternative way to provide power to the chair, including using rechargeable USB power sticks instead of batteries.

Other companies take note - this is the right way to do an electronic feature. Easy to use, easy to swap batteries, easy to control volume, great looking and great sounding.

Fun Factor - ****
Thanks to the cool sounds and lights, plus the excellent construction, this is a very fun extra to have. Plop Kirk down in the chair, position McCoy and Spock around him, and you have a perfect STOS display. Well, almost perfect. Now I just want the entire bridge in sixth scale, plus a Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov to fill things out nicely.

Value - ***
Regular readers know that a score of **1/2 in this category is 'average', and doesn't effect my overall either up or down. Anything extra (*** in this case) has a positive effect.

And the price of $130 does have a slightly positive effect. I've paid that much for other sixth scale diorama pieces that were far less iconic, far less specific, and far less electronic.  The padded seat really sets this one above average in this category, since it was a touch I wasn't anticipating.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. It's well made, with no real chance for breakage or damage with normal use.

Overall - ****
You know the biggest issue with this chair? Now I want an entire bridge. Lights, sounds, working door...aw, man, it would be so cool. I wish I had the skills.

But at least now have the captain's chair, a perfect resting spot for Kirk's booty, and an excellent way to display the core three characters from the original show. The light and sound feature works great, and the overall construction is high quality. And if Kirk is off on a planet (different shelf) battling Khan, Mr. Spock can take the conn!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is, no surprise, at $130.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I just covered the Qmx sixth scale Khan earlier this week, and there's also Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Picard.

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

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