This week saw the passing of Robert Fletcher at age 98. If you don’t know the name, you definitely know his work. Nobody creating the 20th century’s view of futurism through clothing was more influential than Fletcher, who created more Star Trek costumes than any other designer, including William Ware Theiss before him and Robert Blackman after him. The maroon costumes worn by bridge officers in the first seven Star Trek movies were designed by Fletcher, and are likely the most beloved of all Star Trek costumes by fans excepting possibly the original series bright Starfleet tunics. Scotty’s radiological suit is also a classic, along with the Klingon uniforms, which were probably the most enduring, used with little modification from Star Trek: The Motion Picture throughout the entire runs of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. The open-chested costume of Ricardo Montalban’s Khan? Also Fletcher. The widest reach outside genre fans that Star Trek ever achieved was Star Trek IV, and even those who don’t care about science fiction recall the robe worn by Leonard Nimoy’s Spock and the pink shell outfit worn by William Shatner as Kirk when they returned to walk the streets of San Francisco, managing to save a pair of humpback whales on the journey. Again, costumes designed by Robert Fletcher. He also created costumes for another sci-fi classic: The Last Starfighter.
Star Trek and its stories continue on.
By way of new stuff, in the “old is new again” context this week online megastore Entertainment Earth began taking pre-orders for a new retro series not from the movies featuring the original Enterprise crew, but from Star Trek: The Next Generation (which, if you’re paying attention, featured costumes primarily by Robert Blackman). We’ve talked at length over the past decade about Super7’s line (formerly sold by Funko) of ReAction Kenner-style retro action figures. Those familiar with Star Trek action figures will find the new line closer to that of the early, rarer Galoob line than the Playmates larger figures that dominated the market for years (and can now be found in vintage toy stores everywhere, generally for about $2). Check out all the new designs, and the new cardbacks, and pre-order them at the below links.
This is Super7’s second foray into Star Trek, releasing an original series line we previewed here at borg more than 6 years ago (still available here at Amazon). The first wave consists of six figures from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which was initially expected on the heels of the classic series waves. It seems pretty obvious from this odd inaugural assemblage of characters (the Captain, the kid, the Klingon, the android, the alien bartender, and a background, movie version of The Borg) that Super7 expects at least another wave to follow (Riker, Troi, Geordi, Dr. Crusher, etc.). Super7’s first Star Trek line did not gain even remotely the traction Playmates toys found back in the 1990s. So get ready to catch only a few waves as they arrive, or expect to track them down in the aftermarket later.
Learn more or pre-order figures at Entertainment Earth now only at these links: Picard, Data, Worf, Guinan, Wesley, The Borg.
Playmates’ huge line of figures were slightly larger at 4 1/2 inches, and with more points of articulation. The Super7 figures follow the 3 3/4 inch Kenner style consistent with the rest of their licensed figures in the series. So figure you can use them with the vintage Kenner Star Wars playsets.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
