Mattel Hot Wheels Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise Mattel, 2013
Day #675: June 5, 2013
U.S.S. Enterprise Based on Star Trek (2009) and/or Star Trek Into Darkness
Hot Wheels 2013 New Models
Item No.: Asst. L2593 No. X1630 Manufacturer:Mattel Includes:n/a Action Feature:Sits on display stand Retail:$1.00 Availability: ca. February 2013 Other: 060 / 250
While some version of a Hot Wheels U.S.S. Enterprise has been out and about since 2009, they're usually pretty big and $15-$25. This one is a tiny 3 1/2-inches long, roughly the same size as Hasbro's Titanium Series vehicles from Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica. The quality is significantly lower, but so is the price. It's impossible not to love this for $1.
This particular size of vehicle is pretty unusual for Mattel's Trek license, and it fits in with the normal $1 cars on the shelves. Obviously it's not scaled to them, but it's also $1 and what the heck do you want for a buck? The vehicle is mostly white, with a metal body and saucer with plastic nacelles and struts. The display stand is plastic and unpainted, with a Starfleet symbol on one side and the other largely blank.
As of now this vehicle (which is based on the 2009 J.J. Abrams Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness is still somewhat tough to find - you won't trip over it, but you may find it in a strange out-of-the-way place that is not known for its toys like we did over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. As you can see, deco is limited: the white saucer is slathered in white paint with some grey detail and black lettering. The deflector has a little blue and silver, with the nacelles sporting a little grey and a "NCC 1701" on the sides. There's no blue on the tips of the nacelles, probably because of the cost of putting an all-new sculpt like this into a supremely cheap assortment of toys.
The bottom of the saucer is unpainted and sort of ugly - the white paint coverage is good, but not great, and a painted stamp of "F89" is on there for some reason I don't know. The entire bottom of the ship is pretty much blank, but has some great sculpting. The proportions are good, and the overall design is solid. I can't imagine kids will like this - it's a rotten toy - but this sort of thing is the perfect desk decoration and a great way to do licensed products. An entire line of toys may be a bit much, but a key vehicle as part of another, existing assortment of toys? That's a great idea. No worries about clearances or pegwarmers, this sort of thing should be hugely popular and I'll bet most fans won't even know it was made until they see it on eBay or at toy show at an inflated price.
Since the item is a little cheaper, it feels like a real throwback of a purchase. I honestly still can't believe I just bought a brand-new Starship Enterprise for $1. Mattel has a few other movie and TV items out and about now, like Fast & Furious cars, and I hope they keep ramping this up. I understand why there's an advantage to making collectors chase a piece, but there has to be a market in selling more product. You could throw these in movie theaters and say "Want an Enterprise for an extra $2?" I bet people would bite. I would. I got my money's worth out of this one and I presume you will too.
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