Review of Scotty - Star Trek The Original Series
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I love Trek - all Trek. Yes, even the Abrams universe, and most certainly Discovery. But my one true love will always be The Original Series. It introduced me to science fiction and space, and I have no qualms in telling you that everything I know about leadership comes from the lessons of James T. Kirk.

One of those holy grail lines that I never ever expected to see in sixth scale was my beloved characters from TOS. But Quantum Mechanix came along and made me a happy collector, releasing the holy trinity of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, adding in the most critical villain in Khan, and spicing it up a bit with a chair for Kirk.  Oh, and if TNG is more your thing, they did a terrific Picard as well.

But the bridge crew isn't done. I know it's asking a lot - an awful lot - but I need all seven key members of the bridge.  We are now one step closer to that dream with the release of Montgomery Scott, or Scotty as he will be called from here on out.

This guy is just starting to ship, and will run you about $170 at most retailers.

Packaging - ***1/2
They've altered the look of the box a bit, and managed to improve on an already solid design. Everything inside is collector friendly of course, and the package is sturdy and well made. There's no COA, but this isn't marketed as a limited edition.

Sculpting - ****
Man, I thought the Kirk was good. This likeness of James Doohan is fantastic, capturing the shape of his chin, cheeks, and lips perfectly. You can pop this head off the body and hand it to anyone with even a basic understanding of Trek, and they'll recognize him immediately.

There's lots of realism here to go with the superb accuracy. The skin texture looks great, and there's just the right amount of wrinkling and creasing for his age at the time.

A complaint with some of the others, particularly Spock but to some degree McCoy, is the face sculpts were too harsh. They were accurate, but they were also slightly exaggerated in terms of wrinkles and folds, making the final product look harsher than it should. The pre-production sculpt on Scotty looked the same way, and I assumed it would end up with the same flaw as the other two.

That is not the case. This is one of those rare occasions where I believe the final production sculpt turned out better than the prototype. And that is not easy to do.

They didn't go crazy with the expression, giving him a curious, perhaps concerned look without going overboard. It works for the character and most poses.

The hands are sculpted in the same poses as the other releases, but he does have one hand sculpt all his own - more on that in the Accessories section.

He stands about 12 1/4" tall, and will fit in terrific with the other releases.

Paint - ***1/2
We saw some issues with Khan and his production paint work - no such problem here. The paint work is also softer, not as harsh as McCoy and Spock, and that goes a long way to creating the perfect likeness.

The eyes are clean and sharp (and appear to be about the right shade of brown), the lips and eyebrows are distinct but not extreme, and the hair color looks good. I do wish there was a little more detail in the hair paint which might have brought out the stranding a little better, but it's a really minor nit.

The terrific paint work continues on to the accessories, where there is some amazing small detail work. Qmx is mastering the production paint process, and I'm definitely a happy camper with this overall result with this release.

Articulation - ***1/2
The body is similar to the previous releases, and you should be able to get natural poses.

The head and neck are a one piece design, which is great for the sculpt and paint, but less useful with the articulation. Still, the ball joint at the torso allows for some decent tilt and lean, so you can add some personality to most stances.

The shoulders, wrists, and elbows can take any arm pose, and there's no restriction from the costume.  The chest and waist can turn and tilt as well, breaking up any straight lines and creating more realistic looks.

The hips, knees, and ankles are all unrestricted as well. The leather boots allow for rocker movement as well as front to back movement in the feet.

Accessories - ****
There's a decent number - and just as important - the quality of each piece is quite high.

He comes with a nice assortment of hands of course. He's wearing a set of relaxed hands in the box, and you can swap in a set of fists, and two sets of various gripping hands. These work nicely with the different accessories, and they swap easily. They're a little oversized, but that's a pretty common situation in this scale.

There's one more hand that's pure Doohan - a right missing the middle finger. While serving in the Royal Canadian Artillery in World War II, James had the finger shot off. He hid it well on the show, although there are scenes in which it's still visible. Including it here was a nice nod to not just the character, but the actor himself.

He also comes with the Phaser, which is actually the type 1 and type 2 phasers combined. You can pop off the smaller phaser, just like on the show, and you can use one of the tight grip hands with it.

He also has the standard communicator, which flips open to reveal the detailed interior. The flip top is stamped metal, which enhances its accuracy. The tri-corder opens of course, with both the flip top and opening front. Inside is more of that insane sculpt and paint detail.

Both the phaser and the communicator attach to his waist via magnets. This includes both the type 1 and type 2 phaser as well. This didn't work great with the first release or two, but they're using strong enough magnets now to keep them in place even during normal handling.

Finally, there's a basic display stand. It won't be necessary to keep him upright, but it's nice for consistency.

Outfit - ****
The outfit consists of the tunic, pants, and boots. There's not a lot here, but getting it right is critical.

Let's start with the shirt. The emblem looks good, and the tailoring is excellent. They've padded up the shirt a bit to add a little beef to the chest and torso, and it looks good on him.  The red is accurate as well, although it's hard to tell for sure in photos. Red is a tough color to photograph - the shade can be altered by the light source quite easily.  You'll have to trust me - they nailed it.

The tailoring on the pants is excellent as well, and the metal used with the magnets are placed appropriately. The bottom of the pant leg fits over the top of the leather boot, which is form fitting and accurately designed right down to the zipper on the side.

It's not complicated, but it's a costume that everyone recognizes and has to be perfect to pass muster.  It's clear they love this license, and they are showing it the kind of attention it deserves.

Fun Factor - ****
Okay, all on his own he's not quite as much fun as he is in the group. Combine him up with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and you'll have one fantastic STOS display!

Value - ***1/2
These figures are pushing top end quality overall, yet they are coming in at bargain prices.  Scotty is just $170, and I can guarantee his production numbers are nothing like what we're seeing with figures in the $250 range from other companies.  These are an excellent value based on today's market.

Things to Watch Out For -
Getting the top of the tri-corder to roll open can be tricky. Take your time, and don't use too much force. Otherwise you should be good to go, and I had no fears of breakage or damage with any other piece.

Overall - ****
I'm in Star Trek heaven. I didn't think Qmx could do better than they did with Kirk and Spock, but I was wrong. Scotty is terrific, a great value, and a fantastic addition to the bridge crew.  We just need Sulu (who we have seen a prototype of), Chekov, and Uhura...and they will prove to me that nothing...absolutely nothing...is impossible!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth also is at $170, but they have free shipping.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've looked at Qmx's other Star Trek releases, including Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Khan, Picard, and Kirk's command chair.

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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