Following on from the Captain Picard figure, the next Star Trek The Next Generation release from Series 1 of Playmates renewed line is Commander Riker. Riker follows suit with all of Series 1 with a generalised card back design themed around the Star Trek Universe. The card front is personalised with an image of Riker and confirmation of his rank and name. The rear of the card is generic across the whole of Series 1 and includes images of the other figures rather than any series synopsis or character background. A variant retro version of the card exists, recreating the original TNG card backs from Playmates 1990’s line. This retro version tends to be US-specific with the UK market getting the standard packaging options.
While Picard’s head sculpt was relatively impressive, Riker’s is a disappointment. It is much more generalised in looks - essentially a bearded man rather than bearing any direct likeness to Jonathan Frakes. The shaping is all wrong as is the hairline and style and the overall finish is more basic than seen on Picard with no definition of the facial features - it's like two different companies or teams did the heads?
Riker stands the same height as Picard, which is a shame as in the series Riker is of much taller stature. It appears this decision is driven by the direct re-use of the same TNG uniformed body as was used on Picard and that is also used on Data. The only tweak is to the rank pips which are reduced to three for Riker. Like Picard, the body is cast in base colours with painted detail added on the torso to fill in the red panel, and then to the rank pips and Starfleet comms badge. Playmates have decided to put the copyright info for the figures right across the back of the figure which is unfortunate, and I’d have preferred this in a less intrusive position like the inside of the leg - or certainly not as large.
Riker has 13 points of articulation and interestingly has much tighter joints, despite being the same body as Picard. There is no waist joint which does restrict movement to the single joints in the arms and legs, and the ball-jointed head. The ankle rockers do help the figure stand, but you do also get the now standard Starfleet badge grey/silver stand with a single peg that aligns to either of Riker’s feet.
Riker comes with the largest single number of accessories, all of which are very much the same as what we used to see in the 1990s. We have an opening tool case, some tools, a tricorder, a datapad, and a phaser with a red phaser beam included - each of them is cast in grey plastic and lacks any real definition. It is also interesting that Riker’s phaser is much larger than Picard’s despite both figures coming from the same show and having the same hands. Riker can hold the accessories, but most of them look clunky.
After purchasing Picard first, getting Riker was quite disappointing in terms of how different in execution he is. He should have been taller, and bulkier, and the head sculpt needed more work. I can get around the accessories - which we can choose not to use - but Playmates have proved their ability for better scaled and looking pieces with Saru. Reducing the volume and upping the quality would be a good step forward. I hope Riker is a misstep and an exception to the rule, and maybe one day he will get the figure that he deserves considering his standing in the wider Star Trek Universe.
If you are reading this via a 3rd party website that is importing our newsfeed, please come and visit us directly and give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Check out our direct news feed for more action figure news, reviews, and store reports
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...