2018 saw the first releases from McFarlane in a brand new 7 inch scale Star Trek line. The first two figures saw the two iconic Enterprise Captain's of Kirk and Picard launching the line - although at the time of writing this is still the only two figures we've had and the future of the line is unclear.
I must admit I have been sat on this figure since December 2018, the reason being it arrived missing the stand from the sealed packaging. I have then been in this endless runaround with McFarlane saying they do not send out parts and to return it to the retailer, and the retailer saying the pack was sealed insisting it shouldn't come with a stand and refusing a refund. Having not found another reasonably priced Kirk I have finally given up and opened the figure for the review.
Please note that I borrowed the stand from Picard to complete the review.
Packaging 3/5
McFarlane do not seem to have settled on a preferred packaging type, and despite using the window boxes heavily recently with Color Tops and Fortnite, they return to carded blister for this line. The shape and colour is very appealing with the colour at the very top indicating which of the CBS Star Trek shows the release is from - yellow being the Original Series. The only artwork on the card front is an illustration of Kirk peeping in from one side and the character is named on a sticker on the front of the blister. The figure is visible fully in the blister with accessories surrounding him - the stand should sit behind the figure.
On the card back we have images of the two figures released to date - Kirk and Picard - and under this illustrated images of Michael Burnham and the Original Series Spock who are meant to be the next releases. There is then an image for a 1:1 scale phaser which has also been scrapped.
There is room for some background history for Kirk, but this has not been explored by McFarlane.
Paint & Sculpt 5/5
Kirk is sculpted really well and is a better likeness than Picard with a real look of the 1966 William Shatner. This is not face print technology, but the face is shaded well and painted neatly around the eyes and lips.
The costume is faithfully represented including the Starfleet badge and the seams around the chest and shoulder, and those gold trims around both sleeves.
Accessories 4/5
Kirk has a number of accessories included, starting with a 1966 era Phaser. This is very nicely done at such a small scale with lots of painted detail. It slots into the hand that comes fitted to Kirk and can be posed in a shooting position.
We also have a larger phaser rifle, which is also well designed and even has a spinning central barrel. Checkout the colours on the control panel! You will need the larger grip hand for this but be really careful swapping this as McFarlane use a very tiny and very fragile wrist ball joint - I am not sure it will stand up to any rigorous swaps and I don't know why the McFarlane designers stick with this design after so many issues on the Stranger Things figures.
We also have a communicator which is meant to slot into the first smaller grip hand, but the fit is poor. It is best served sat slightly to the side in the wider grip. Like the phasers the communicator is very detailed for its size - although it isn't hinged like the real prop.
The final accessory, assuming it is there, is the circular stand. This has a Star Trek design on it in black but in gloss, which looks stylish. It has a single peg that corresponds to a single hole on the figure on the right foot.
Articulation 3/5
I do not expect a huge amount of articulation from McFarlane, but they are getting better and learning the more they do in this sort of scale. Kirk has 14 points of articulation.
Head : ball joint neck
Body : waist swivel (locked in place)
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single joint rotating elbow, ball joint wrist
Legs : T-Joint Hip, single joint knee, ankle rocker
This articulation really makes Kirk quite stiff in the posing as the legs look off when posed in anything other than a neutral stance thanks to that older style hip. The knees also do not bend enough for kneeling or action stances. The ankle rockers are also very week and wobbly and even with the stand, Kirk likes to lean forward and eventually fall over - another common trait with McFarlane.
The waist joint is virtually useless as it will not turn at all, so we are left with a head that can rotate to either side and arms that can get up and out to some shooting poses, or holding the communicator ready to contact the ship - but not up to his head, and kind of half way out in front of him.
I don't expect a huge amount of articulation on Trek figures, they are not overly action orientated. But had McFarlane put in a double joint elbow and a better neck joint it would have opened up many more options.
Summary
This is a brilliant looking figure that will display really well in a neutral stance. It has great accessories, that can be held but not necessarily posed in a way that looks natural. Articulation is an issue particularly the weak ankles that make the figure a real risk of shelf diving, even with the stand (assuming you get one).
Like Picard, I score the Captain James T. Kirk figure from McFarlane a 3 out of 5. And while I do worry about the future of the line, I do hope McFarlane can stick with this and give us some more key characters.
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