Review: Nacelle Toys Star Trek Wave 1 Captain Hikaru Sulu from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
- Mephitsu
- 10 minutes ago
- 9 min read
“Stardate 9521.6. Captain's Log, USS Excelsior. Hikaru Sulu commanding.”
The Star Trek franchise has had a number of action figure runs over the years, including the original Mego figures, ERTL, and most notably its first run at Playmates, which produced figures from 1992 to 2000 across all the Star Trek movies and shows at a 5.5 inch scale predominently. When that deal came to an end, the figures moved to Art Asylum under the Diamond Select umbrella, and the scale move upward to a new 7-inch line that lasted until 2009. Playmates had a second short spell in 2009 for the rebooted Trek movie before McFarlane had a stab at more 7inch figures in 2018, releasing two figures of Kirk and Picard before giving up on the licence. We then headed back to Playmates again in 2022 for a re-launch of their 5.5 inch line, which lasted one full wave before it too was canned. And so we reach 2025, where the Star Trek licence was split, with Master Replicas granted the licence for the newer format series like Picard, while Nacelle Toys would pick up the ability for figures across the original movies and TV series from The Original Series through to Voyager.
The Nacelle approach was to return to the larger scale and more collector focused product, while also picking more obscure characters not necessarily seen before in an action figure line for Trek. The first wave of 8 figures including such characters as Peter Pressman, Valkris, and Tuvix, alongside more recogniseable characters like Weyoun and Hikaru Sulu. That first wave was initially due for release in September 2025, but was pushed back by Nacelle, who were unhappy with the QC on the first factory figures. The wave finally arrived en masse in March 2026.
I personally made an early decision not to go all in on the Nacelle Series due to costs and space, but I did want to cherry-pick some key characters from my personal memories of Star Trek across the 80s and 90s in particular. For Wave 1, that meant that Captain Hikaru Sulu in that iconic movie Starfleet uniform with its burgundy tunic was a must, and it is the figure I will review here to get a feel for the new Nacelle line. The packaging has been established early as following a similar design to most collector lines, with a large window to present the figure. Nacelle has chosen to cut off the top right-hand corner to break up the square box. The base imagery of the box is a red-hued nebula, over which we have the Nacelle logo top left, the generic Star Trek communicator bag logo to the top right, and the source material logo to the bottom rail. In this case, this is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The Character name is added to the right side of the window, with the releases also numbered and Sulu given the 004 designation which is on the opposite side.
Both side panels feature the same image of the figure, and this also repeats on the reverse alongside a short piece of background text that is specific to this version of Sulu and talks about his role as Captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior, the incident on Praxis, and the conspiracy that ends at Khitomer. Under this, we have a classic-inspired visual checklist of the entirety of wave 1, with each image that of the actual figure with its numbering above. Inside the box is a starfield cardboard insert, into which sits the figure tray. This varies slightly from what we are used to seeing on lines like Marvel Legends or NECA, and instead uses a two part inner tray similar to S.H. Figuarts. This keeps all the parts secure without any ties, but does mean in box collectors are viewing the figure through two layers of plastic.
Captain Sulu wears his Starfleet Captains uniform as seen during the events of The Undiscovered Country, and the basis of which had been established across the previous movies back to 1982’s Wrath of Khan. The upper body is cast in a burgundy plastic into which is sculpted the piping, belt, and Starfleet insignia. These are overpainted with black on the piping and belt, and white on the rank insignia on the right shoulder and left wrist, as well as at the collar of the tunic and the end of the sleeves. Gold and silver is applied to finish these rank panels and also on the belt buckle. The finish on these are predominantly neat and tidy, but the belt buckle in particular is a bit messy around the edges. The tunic also suffers from QC issues, with my release having a plastic stain on the back and several white spots where paint from the detailing has splashed on the main costume. There is also an issue at the elbows with different colour plastic used in the central joint, giving a variation between upper and lower arms to the lighter colour of the elbow itself.
As per the uniform design on screen, the trousers are cast in black with sculpted piping down each side overpainted in red. This painted trim is relatively neat, but appears dull as is the result of putting any coloured paint over black, and has some small areas where the edge is not coloured fully. The trousers are flared at the bottom, then tucked into the boots, which are left in the same plain black when they should really be a glossier black to provide some contrast of the transition from the cloth of the trousers, to the harder glossier finish of the boots, therefore remaining accurate to the costumes on screen.
The headsculpt is a reasonable likeness to George Takei as he was seen in 1991 for the release of The Undiscovered Country. Head and hair are sculpted as one piece, and all the hair and facial detail look to be hand painted rather than facially printed like some of the other collector lines. Sulu is given highlights to the skin tone rather than leaving it flat, and the lips and eyes are painted well enough, albeit basic in their interpretation. The hair is plain black and shows some edging issues when viewed up close, with parts of the hairline still showing in flesh colour. There is also more plastic colour variation between the head plastic and the neck plastic, which is lighter.
from left to right: Star Wars Black Series, Marvel Legends, Nacelle Star Trek, NECA
Nacelle originally listed their new line as a 6-inch scale (1/12), but this was not strictly accurate, and the production figures are more of a 7-inch (1/10) scale. You can see here how they line up against similar 6-inch and 7-inch lines. By following the 7-inch format it does mean that Nacelle Toys provides some level of continuation from the original Art Asylum figures and the short-live McFarlane series.
One thing Nacelle have gone very heavy on right from the start is accessories, and you have plenty of choice for displaying your Captain Sulu. There are a number of hand options allowing you to select between clenched fists, open hands, gripping hands, and phaser-firing hands. These swap in and out easily enough with a ridged segment on the peg that holds them securely once inserted.
The gripping hands are utilised for the two included communicators, and yes, Nacelle have packed two, so you can choose to display him with the 1982 Wrath of Khan style, or the one from Undiscovered Country. These are well decorated and include multiple colouring and detailing, including clearly defined buttons and screens.
The next accessory is a shirt piece that allows the uniform to be changed from the fully fastened tunic to one with the front flap unfastened and folded down. This look is sported by Kirk rather than Sulu, but it is a nice touch to see it included and gives an indication that bodies and functionality will see re-use in the future. The section of the shirt is well disguised and clips out from the bottom and can be swapped easily.
Sulu also comes with two phasers that again reflect both Star Trek II and Star Trek VI. The firing hands means you can have Sulu firing either left or right handed, with a good grip on both weapons, including the extended finger we often see as the weapons are pointed. The Phasers are also painted with notable panels and components picked out in white.
The final accessory is very much iconic in terms of Captain Sulu and the Undiscovered Country, his U.S.S. Excelsior china cup and saucer from which he is drinking when Praxis explodes. This comes already attached to its own hand that slots into the right wrist. The cup itself is cast in white with a painted blue rim and clearly printed U.S.S. Excelsior text. It is even half full with the contents painted. The saucer is plugged into the cup but can be detached for different looks, with the open or gripping hands able to be brought across to hold or support the saucer when posed.
The posing of all the accessories is delivered by 20 points of articulation in total, all of which are pinless. The upper body includes a ball joint head, and then a combination of arm movement, starting with the shoulder ball joints, but no butterfly joints. From the shoulders, we then get a bicep swivel, a double elbow joint, and a simple wrist rotation and pegged pivot. The shoulders and elbows are ratcheted and hold positions really well. I found the bicep swivel very weak, and my right bicep will not hold any pose at all after just a couple of rotations; they can also pop out easily.
There is no torso joint, and the waist is simply a rotation with no forward or backward lean. The legs include an upper hip joint, thigh swivel, double joint knee, ankle rotation and ankle pivot. Unlike the arms, the leg joints do not appear to have a ratchet, so I do find the hips too easy to slide out to the side. The knees hold OK for now, but may become an issue over time. The ankle joints work to hold the figure once stood, but take a bit of care to make sure the rotation is in the right place to then engage the ankle pivot. With Nacelle already considering Bridge Playsets, I can confirm that Sulu can just about sit, although it's not perfect with the legs quite spread due to the lower, softer section of the tunic blocking off the movement. This shouldn’t be so much of an issue for the Original Trilogy figures or those from The Next Generation onwards.
For those who display their figures and would like to utilise aftermarket stands, I can confirm the Nacelle line does include peg sockets on both feet that fit into the NECA stands, and for smaller footprint stands, those that are compatible with the original Star Wars Kenner figures.
from left to right: NECA (Black), NECA (Clear), Protech Star Wars Vintage
The Nacelle Star Trek figures are retailing around £29 here in the UK, which is considerably lower than a 7 inch NECA Ultimate figure, which would be comparable considering the amount of accessories included with Captain Sulu. In fact, the accessories probably outshine the figure in terms of detailing and execution. Sulu himself is a good-looking figure, but with flaws I would not expect to see on a collector line, such as visibly mismatched plastic tones, gummy joints, and QC issues with both paint apps and plastic. I am nit-picking, and there is not enough to send the figure back to hope for an improvement, but I would be interested to see how more complex designs than the rather simplistic Starfleet uniforms will fare.
The other issue is the commitment to the line to complete ‘sets’ for collectors, and while Captain Sulu is unlikely to see any other officers from his U.S.S. Excelsior bridge, it would be good to know that Nacelle will commit to a set of the key characters from the 1982-1991 movie series in this uniform, allowing the bridge crew to be assembled in a matching style. The same will be said of the announced Next Generation, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine figures, and while more obscure characters are a brave choice, doing these at the expense of key Trek luminaries may end up being more damaging to the line.
Keep Track of all the Star Trek figures from Nacelle Toys at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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