Since the Art Asylum/DST figures of Janice Rand and Christine Chapel seem to be stuck in perpetual limbo, I really wanted to highlight these two notable characters. Christine Chapel was the head nurse under Dr. McCoy in The Original Series. She had a great backstory of joining the Starfleet with the ulterior motive of finding her fiancé who had gone missing from an expedition five years earlier. She also developed an unrequited love for Spock during her time on the Enterprise. Janice Rand was Yeoman to Captain Kirk on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. She predictably developed a romantic connection to Kirk which was never fully realized. Both these characters (and of course the amazing Uhura) epitomize The Original Series to me. Their hairstyles and outfits are wonderfully dated in a futuristic kind of way, and their portrayal of strong, intelligent, female crew members paved the way for many great characters to come. From 1992-99, Playmates created a huge library of 5" figures based on all iterations of Star Trek. And these three ladies are my favorite of the bunch. Let's check them out below!
Lieutenant Uhura
Classic Star Trek - Bridge Box Set - Playmates 1993
Nurse Christine Chapel
Star Trek: Series 1 - Playmates 1996
Yeoman Janice Rand
Star Trek: Series 1 - Playmates 1996
Both Rand and Chapel came with a slew of accessories. Sometimes in black, sometimes in a bright garish color (blue mostly). I couldn't find any of their accessories for these photos, but check out the cardbacks (swiped from eBay) for accessory lists.
All three of these figures were released in "Transporter" variants. Meaning that their lower bodies faded into translucent plastic (with embedded glitter) to mimic the transporter beam effect. They also came with light-up bases to complete the effect. Nurse Chapel and Yeoman Rand were Target exclusives in 1999 and Uhura was part of the basic series in 1998.
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Time for some Group and Comparison Shots!
Cheers!
I remember my parents mail ordered that classic bridge set for me around 1994 I'd say. It was still a little while till Christmas, so I snuck into my parents room & grabbed the shipping box from under their bed. Made a little hole in the box, big enough to get a glimpse of Uhura & a couple of others. Christmas couldn't come soon enough!
ReplyDeleteIt was very cool when we finally got Chapel & Rand in figure form. Rand is kinda like Tasha Yar, often overlooked due to their early departures from their respective shows.
Quite a few females left Trek:
Number One - fired (came back as Nurse Chapel)
Rand - fired
Tasha - quit
Beverly - fired (and brought back)
Pulaski - fired
Jadzia - quit
Kes - fired
Star Trek did have trouble with their leading ladies! lol
I think you're extremely lucky to have parents that actively supported your hobbies. My Dad used to buy me comics and Pez, but he's get mad if I opened them ("because the guy at the flea market told him that's the only way they're worth anything") - blah.
DeleteIntersting about the fates of all the female characters. I knew about several of those, but I had no idea it was so consistent. It seems like it should have a poltergeist-style urban legend surrounding it :)