Star Trek is one of the most enduring and well-loved science fiction franchises of all time. It has spawned four television series, nine feature films, comic books, toys, books, etc, etc. And, let's not forget the devoted fans - the Trekkies (or is it Trekkers?). Whatever the case, unlike Star Wars creator George Lucas, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry did not forget about Asian Pacific Americans in this classic series. In fact, one of the most notable things about the series is its multi-ethnic casts.
But, interestingly enough, Mr. Sulu was not released as part of the early Star Trek toy lines released by Mego, ERTL or Galoob. The first Asian Pacific American Star Trek figure was produced by Playmates.
Here are some of the toys that I have:
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu Classic Star Trek Movie Series 1995, Playmates Star Trek The Motion Picture Individual Figure Lt. Hikaru Sulu (played by George Takei) is a legendary Asian Pacific American character both in television and film. This was one of the first roles that featured an Asian Pacific American in a non-stereotypical role. Sulu appeared throughout the original series run and through a six film franchise landing him eventually as Captain of the Excelsior. In the film Star Trek: Generations, his daughter Demora was introduced. Sulu's impact in the Star Trek Universe was incredible with Sulu even having sponsored Voyager's Commander Chakotay for Starfleet Academy. This figure has Lt. Sulu in his Starfleet uniform as seen in Star Trek the Motion Picture.
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Keiko O'Brien Star Trek: Warp Factor Series 4 1998, Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Individual Figure Keiko O'Brien was played by one of my favorite Asian Pacific American actresses Rosalind Chao. Originally, she was introduced as a botanist named Keiko Ishikawa who served on the Enterprise-D in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. She and Chief Miles O'Brien were married by Captain Picard. Eventually, both characters moved to Deep Space Nine where Miles was assigned as Chief Operations Officer. The figure is actually really nice and looks somewhat close the character (better than some character to toy interpretations that I've seen). She sports a black jumpsuit with vest and comes with Starfleet Thermal Bottle, Desktop Monitor, Starfleet Type II Phaser and Starfleet Action Base.
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Ensign Harry Kim Star Trek: Voyager Series 1995, Playmates Star Trek: Voyager Individual Figures Ensign Harry Kim (played by Garrett Wang) signaled a return for Asian Pacific Americans to the bridge of a Federation Starship. Kim newly graduated from Starfleet Academy when he got the assignment to serve as Operations Officer on the Starship Voyager. A Harry Kim action figure is actually pretty difficult to get ahold of (believe me, I tried). After searching through several online stores and finding I was one step away from getting the last one, I finally got ahold of him on eBay. But, I'm glad that I did. He's a nicely done figure.
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu Collectors Series - Federation Edition 1997, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series Individual Figure This figure has Lt. Sulu in his Starfleet uniform as seen in the classic Star Trek series.
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu 12" Collectors Series 1999, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series Individual Figure This is actually the nicest of the Sulu figures out there. The packaging is really nice and slickly designed and the figure is well sculpted. A very fitting tribute to the an Asian Pacific American hero.
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu 5" Classic Transport Series - Target Exclusive 1998, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series Individual Figure This figure was released only in Star Trek stores and is part of a transporter series that features the characters in mid-transport. The figure lights up to simulate the transportation. This figure, as well as Chekov, were Target Exclusives and limited to a run of 10,000. Very cool.
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu 5" Classic Bridge Figures 1993, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series Individual Figure This is a cool find a won on eBay. The figure is actually from the 5" Classic Bridge set that includes Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Chekov, Scotty, Uhura and Sulu. What the seller did was take each figure, mount them on a reproduction of the original ad for the set and had the actors sign it. So, this one is signed by George Takei himself. While, probably not worth as much outside of the set, its really well packaged and priceless to me because of the signature as Mr. Takei is a personal hero of mine for both his pioneering television work as well as his philanthropic work in the Asian Pacific American community.
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu Huntsville Convention Exclusive 1996, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series "Where No Man Has Gone Before" - 1966 Pilot Episode Individual Figure This figure was exclusive to the Huntsville Star Trek convention and features Sulu as he was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. In that episode, he wore a blue shirt, signifying that originally he was a science officer. He was head of Astro Sciences in this particular episode. Only 10,000 of this figure was made and was sold exclusively at Spencers Gifts in Huntsville at the time of the convention.
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Lt. Hikaru Sulu Collectors Edition - Special 30th Anniversary 1996, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series "Where No Man Has Gone Before" - 1966 Pilot Episode Individual Figure For the 30th Anniversary of The Original Series, Playmates toys released 9" figures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Lt. Commander Scott and Lt. Sulu from the 1966 Pilot Episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The figure is basically the same as the Federation Edition Sulu, except he's sporting the blue science officer uniform rather than the gold command one. The back features a short synopsis of the episode.
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Security Chief Sulu 9" KB Toys Exclusive - Mirror, Mirror Line 1999, Playmates Star Trek: The Original Series "Mirror, Mirror" - Episode 39 Individual Figure The "Mirror, Mirror" episode (number 39) is one of the most popular episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. It featured Captain Kirk, Scotty, Uhura and Dr. McCoy accidentally switching places with counterparts from an alternate reality. Instead of the USS Enterprise being a ship devoted to space exploration for the benign Federation, it is a war ship in the service of an evil empire. Amongst its crew is Security Chief Sulu, a conniving individual seeking to find the captain's weakness just to advance his rank. The toy features Sulu as he was in the episode with red shirt and golden waist sash. His weapons include the Mirror Universe Agonizer, used to punish other people, as well as a knife and a phaser. This figure was exclusive to KB Toys and was limited to 7,200.
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The following are items I still need to complete the set. If you notice any other items that should be added, please e-mail me.
- 5" Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu (30th Anniversary Assortment)
- 2" Pewter Sulu
- 5" Harry Kim & Species 8472 (Star Trek Voyager)
- 9" Ensign Harry Kim (Collectors Series)
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