As every child who has fought a duel with a flashing light sabre knows, you can’t have more fun than with space toys and perhaps a Tron Legacy Costume. TV show and movies offer lots of opportunities to adults too. Of course, we call them models or collectibles! Since George Lucas practically invented the concept, movie tie-in merchandise has been just as important to the producers as ticket sales, if not more so. The most successful of the science fiction franchises is Star Wars and Star Trek. Long may they battle.
Both have a range of action figures, space vehicles and trading cards. There are also beautifully made chess sets. Star Wars covers the classic space toys from the original trilogy together with the recent prequels. It’s successfully entertained two generations. Dad and junior can fight it out as Hans Solo and Anakin Skywalker. Original toys from the 1970s in good condition with the box intact may be worth quite a bit of money. As each film comes out, the collection grows. There are figures of Jedi Knights, Chewie, Yoda, Luke Skywalker and a Tusken Raider. You can own the lightsabre belonging to Darth Vadar or Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Emperor Palpatine’s staff. There are various vehicles such as a Jedi Starfighter, a Snowspeeder and Luke Skywalker’s Imperial Chopper.
Star Trek developed a cult following in the 1960s and fans were heartbroken when the original TV series was cancelled. The franchise was saved when movies and more Trek shows followed.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise have continued creator Gene Roddenbury’s vision. This has given fans a lot of space toys to collect. Various models of the Starship Enterprise have appeared over the years. Another favorite is the Klingon Bird of Prey and the Borg Cube. The captains all appear in action figure form; the original Captain Pike, Captains Kirk, Picard, Janeway and Archer. Mr. Spock, Worf and Data are also popular. Captain Jean Luc Picard also appears as Locutus from the episode where he morphs into one of the Borg. One of the more bizarre space toys is the little, furry pet known as tribbles. These animals had their own storyline in an episode from the first Star Trek series, called The Trouble with Tribbles. They caused a lot of trouble indeed, as they would not stop breeding. Hopefully the replicas for sale don’t present the same problem, although it might be safer just to own one of them. Tron paved the way for Star Trek and Tron has been making a huge come back with the latest Tron Legacy movie and Tron Legacy Costumes.