Subject: Deanna Troi
Species: Human/Betazoid
Rank: Counselor/Cowgirl
Assignment: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D
Profile: Stardate 48271.5 Deadwood, South Dakota. The site of a wild west holodeck fantasy set on Earth in the 19th Century, unfortunately programmed by a notorious pervert and Worf’s idiot son. A stranger by the name of Durango wanders into town. Durango is really Counselor Troi, who has entered the Holodeck to join Sheriff Worf in the quintessential western saga which, again, was programmed by an idiot and a pervert. The Holodeck program created by Worf’s son, Alexander and his friend, Reginald, malfunctions. This strangely wasn’t due to their incompetence, but due to the fact that Captain Picard yelled at Geordi and Data for interrupting the recording of his new space clarinet mixtape. The corrupted programming on the Holodeck spawns multiple Datas with the simulation. Geordi wanted to get back at Picard, so he plugged Data’s brain into the Enterprise, and replaced all recreational activity and food with cat poetry and Friskies. Meanwhile, on the holodeck, Troi unfortunately didn’t get to do very much.
Wild West accessories:
* Sure-Shot Rifle (we legally can’t say ‘Winchester’)
* Six Shooter Revolver
* Ring of Jail Keys (pretty sure Troi looked at these once in the episode)
* Showdown Time Clock (Worf looked at this clock once, which is good enough for Playmates)
* Bonus: Starfleet Action Base
1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango, a Toy I Never Has as a Kid
I’ve loved Star Trek for as long as I can remember. If some evil warlock cursed me by making me choose just one franchise I could enjoy for the rest of my life, I would choose Star Trek. As much as I love GI Joe, Transformers, Exosquad, Marvel, DC, L. Frank Baum’s Oz, Gundam, Macross, TMNT, and 70s/80s sitcom Taxi, I’d choose Star Trek every time.
The first Star Trek experience I remember was watching The Wrath of Khan with my father in his trailer in rural Idaho. The scene with the space earwigs in the space helmet scared the piss out of me, but I came back for more.
A little later on a much better man, my grandfather, got me really into Star Trek. We watched reruns on daytime TV, and watched new episodes of Deep Space 9 every Sunday. By 1993, I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation every day after school. I was also getting into the accompanying Playmates toy line.
By 1994, GI Joe was winding down and I was much more into the Star Trek toys than I was into the plastic military men I’d been on countless adventures with since 1989.
My estranged father sent me a big tackle box for Christmas that year, hoping it would prod me into sharing his love of fishing. That year, I also received several toys from the Star Trek: Generations line. I used the tackle box to hold those toys and their accessories. Generations was a huge event for me, and 1994 was my first big year for Star Trek toys. I couldn’t get enough of them.
I still love them to this day. If I had to rank things, the Playmates Star Trek range would probably be in my top 10 (if not top 5) toy lines of all time. The toys were brilliant because they had to cater to both kids and collectors. For collectors, they made sure the character likenesses were great and gave each figure a stand, to ensure maximum display potential. For kids, they crammed in (mostly) functional articulation and fun accessories. There was a huge range of characters from every series up until Enterprise.
I was still hardcore into Star Trek toys until my eighth grade year. At the time, I lost interest in Star Trek: Voyager (which was the first show my mom ever let me stay up past my bedtime to watch, three years earlier), and fell to peer pressure. Kids at my middle school were merciless to anyone who liked Star Trek, or really most “nerdy” pursuits that weren’t Nintendo 64 or Playstation.
Then, I lost all of my Star Trek toys in a house fire.
In college, my interest in the toys was rekindled. I saw that they were dirt cheap on eBay, and built my current collection. But, as a kid and as a college student, I never owned the 1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango figure.
That all changed recently, when my friend Figure Fan Zero sent me this figure, along with Worf and Data from All Good Things.
I haven’t reviewed a Star Trek figure on this site yet (though I did review a vehicle), and this does seem like an odd inaugural review for one of my favorite toy lines.
But I appreciate that FFZ sent me the figure, and I decided we should get weird right off the bat. After all, what is Star Trek if it isn’t weird?
Let’s take a look at Troi dressed in her cowgirl best.
1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango Review
The 1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi figure comes from the episode A Fistful of Datas, which is a holodeck episode from TNG’s 6th season. Some people hate the holodeck episodes, but I tend to like them. When you have a show as serious, dignified, intense, dramatic, and existential as The Next Generation, you sometimes need a break for some laughs. And, credit to the show’s creators, the holodeck is a brilliant concept to provide those laughs.
With Star Trek, we love the characters enough that we’re just as happy to see the characters just hang out as we are to see them in a complex, death-defying situation. And that speaks volumes about the show.
Troi is sometimes a bemoaned character, but I’ve always liked her. It’s interesting to me that the Federation saw fit to station a counselor on the Enterprise D, but it makes sense. After you’ve seen the infinite horrors of deep space, you’re going to need someone to talk to about it. And, if your wife and kids are on board the ship with you, you’re going to need to talk to someone about your interpersonal issues, as well. Troi is a great character– she’s smart, empathetic, charming, and funny. But she also doesn’t take shit from anyone, least of all that lothario William “T” Riker.
In A Fistful of Datas, Troi plays the role of “the mysterious stranger,” who is a total badass with a lever-action Winchester rifle. And, although she gets some good lines and gets to smoke tobacco products in front of a child, she unfortunately doesn’t get much to do in the episode.
Oh well. Onto the figure.
Some people say the likenesses in the old Playmates Star Trek line are cartoony, but I disagree. I showed this figure to my friend Herb, who has only a passing knowledge of Star Trek, and he recognized her right away– even dressed as a cowgirl. This figure unquestionably looks like Marina Sirtis. The outfit is also fairly accurate to the show, at least after Durango takes her coat off. The pattern on the pink shirt is nice, the leather pants and pistol holster look good, and the hat is spot-on to what she wore in the episode.
Here she is with some of her accessories:
The 1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango figure comes with her Winchester rifle, a revolver, a ring of keys, a clock, and a figure stand. The only one of these accessories she can actually hold is the key ring. I had to use poster tac if I wanted her to hold anything else. But, these are generally appropriate accessories.
So, she can’t hold her accessories, but I have a few other nits to pick. One is the articulation. For the time, it was spectacular, especially considering the price point. And it’s still not bad. But the hips are cut in a ‘V,’ meaning the figure’s legs move sideways when you move them forward. Consequently, it’s tough to get the figure into many dynamic poses– or even a sitting pose! If you’ve handled these Star Trek figures, you know exactly what I mean.
My other complaint comes from a more recent development. The articulation has always been there, but the slime factor has not. Here’s the thing: the plastic used on these old Playmates Star Trek figures breaks down over the years. That means whether you open one fresh from the card or find one next to the pile of Coors cans in your Uncle’s basement, it’s bound to have some plastic residue “slime” on it. The plastic starts a mild degradation process, leaving an unpleasant film on the figure.
Luckily, you can easily wash it off with warm water and dish soap, and the toy will be just fine. It’s annoying, though. No one likes doing dishes, and no one likes to think about doing dishes when they’re trying to play with a Cowgirl Deanna Troi action figure.
Here’s some knowledge and wisdom from my friend Barry B. (follow him on Instagram here), who has some good advice about plastic degradation:
You are quite correct about playmates plastics leaking their plasticizers over time. Also this will bond with dust and make a layer that wont scrub off easy. I have a few gundam msia with that issue, as well as a couple exosquad figures with a dust cake layer, so try to dust off any displays frequently. Hasbro tends to feel sticky when their plastic breaks down, playmates feels slimy. I find putting the toys in a ziplock bag then letting them sit in hot as hell water for about 30 seconds does help the plasticizer to absorb back a little, then take it out and clean it off well does the trick, for me at least.
Despite the flaws that encompass the entire toy line, these are still the best Star Trek toys ever made. Mega Bloks is the only other line that comes close, but they don’t have the character library to pull ahead. The Playmates toys’ likenesses, accessories, and playability can’t be beat. The cherry on top? For the most part, they’re still dirt cheap. You can build a nice collection for under $100.
And Durango here is a fine example of a Playmates Star Trek toy.
Verdict: 1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango is a niche toy from a niche toy line. She’s not a modern figure with a bunch of bells and whistles. Still, she looks great and is a fantastic representation of the character as she appeared in a fun episode of the TV series. If you like the Playmates Star Trek line, you’ll be happy to have her. Likewise, if you’re a Deanna Troi fan. Otherwise, you can probably skip this one. I like her quite a bit, though. Mildly Recommended.
Additional Resources:
- Durango at Figure Realm
Closing Thoughts on 1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango
I must confess, coming up with interesting photos for this review was a challenge. I’m far too lazy to build a holodeck set, and I don’t have any of the old Playmates Star Trek playsets. So, I had to get a bit creative.
So, I looked for a green screen app and found Green Screen by Do Ink. I’m still learning how to use it, but I’m reasonably pleased with the results. It’s only a $3 app, and it’s super easy to use since it’s made for children. I really recommend it.
So, thanks for reading my 1995 Star Trek Deanna Troi as Durango review.
Do you like the old Playmates Star Trek line? If so, what’s your favorite weird figure variant? Let me know in the comments!
The Dragon Fortress 
Cool review. I too had playmates star trek figures. Until star wars came back hard in 95-96.
Im admittedly more a star wars fan while my parents, oh man, my parents are huge trekies. My mom use to make starfleet uniform costumes for people before her Parkinsons started acting up. Her coatunes were highly screen accurate and a few examples are still seen around at conventions. She has a substantial boxed collection still for as far as I know. All the playmates, all the galoob, the playsets, shuttle,phazers and so on.
You are quite correct about playmates plastics leaking their plasticizers over time. Also not this will bond with dust and make a layer that wont scrub off easy. I have a few gundam msia with that issue, as well as a couple exosquad figures with a dust cake layer, so try to dust off any displays frequently. Hasbro tends to feel sticky when their plastic breaks down, playmates feels slimy. I find putting the toys in a ziplock bag then letting them sit in hot as hell water for about 30 seconds does help the plasticizer to absorb back a little, then take it out and clean it off well does the trick, for me at least.
And lastly. I worked at a friends anime weeaboo store for a month. A guy brought in a lot of star trek as a consignment. The lot was huge. Over a dozen storage bins, a half dozen boxes. The ships sold pretty fast. The figures, not so much. And there was literally 150+ picard in generic space suit from one of the movie lines.
Ill keep a lookout for some of the playsets. I saw the transporter playset for 15 loose but in decent shape during my last comic book hunt. I tell them they should pay me for taking that junk out of their hair and they usually give a discount if I buy a few things.
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Thanks for the knowledge! I put your advice about plasticizers up in the body of the post. I hope that’s okay.
And that’s awesome about your Mom making such cool costumes and being into Trek. My Mom only really likes horror movies, movies about dogs, and movies starring Richard Gere. My Stepdad doesn’t like anything other than right wing cable news and The Patriot starring Mel Gibson.
Those Star Wars POTF 2 figures were big for me, too. I’m not sure they really made me get out of Star Trek, but I was very into them as they were the first SW figures I ever had the opportunity to own. I know it’s not POTF2, but I loved that the Galoob Action Fleet line was in in scale with Star Trek Innerspace. That made for some fun crossovers.
I’ve seen exactly what you mention with the ships vs the figures. Our local “vintage” toy shop got in a giant lot of Playmates Trek stuff from a lady who just got divorced and had to sell them off. The ships went pretty quick, but the figures are still sitting there. Doesn’t help that the store wants $15 a piece for them, though. Yikes.
And thank you! That transporter set is so cool. It was pure magic to me as a kid, even after I figured out how it worked.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, as always!
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Still cheap is right. I know an antique mall where you can buy Playmates Trek MOC for $5 to $6…20 years or more after their release! They have hte 8 or 9 inch ones, too.
Like Cuda said, the ships are still sought after, though.
Troi figures tended to be inaccurate to Marina Sirtis’ actual height, as she’s not very tall.
I had a bunch of the Playmates line. I opened them, making them even more worthless. But I started to lose interest when certain figures were hard to find, then they pulled the 1701 fiasco (a few figures only had a production run of 1701). Then they pulled the 6-inch nonsense, why not make a scale just bigger than everything that came before?
The v-crotch design was idiotic, given lead character who spend a lot of time sitting in chairs on the bridge.
I never understood the brightly colored accessories, either. They took a ninja turtle approach to something aimed more at adult collectors. And like the v-crotches, they kept doing it.
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I never realized Ms. Sirtis was on the shorter side. But then again I always imagine everyone on TV being taller than me for some reason, and then they almost always turn out to be way shorter than me. Is that weird? It’s probably weird, but I’ve thought that was since I was a kid.
I was out of the line when the 1701 figures hit, but that was the set that had Tapestry Picard, right? Cool looking figures. I wonder how hard they are to get now. The 6″ thing was SO LAME. After I saw First Contact, I wanted everyone in those cool new uniforms (plus Zefram Cochrane) for my collection. But when I saw they wouldn’t fit in, I never bought any. Who the crap made THAT stinker of a decision?
It’s hard to defend the v-hips, but at least when they got to the Voyager line they added thigh swivels, which helped the characters sit nicely. But the accessories got even worse then– even the phasers and their beams would be one solid color! Who wants a bright orange phaser with a bright orange beam??
The accessory colors seem odd in hindsight. But back then, that’s just the way Playmates did things for every toy line. I definitely don’t mind the accessories coming in dark blue, gold, black, dark green, or even sometimes purple. But silver is ideal for sure. I do find it tough to use the more strangely colored accessories in photos.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
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They back peddled in the 1701 thing and remade the figures in a boxed set, but even then there were still some other short run figures that were hard to get (Data in a red uniform was one, he’s still worth a lot on after market).
The last Deep Space Nine figures they made were also 6-inch, I remember passing them by on clearance even. And at the time I was huge fan of that tv series, too.
I think the best 5″ scale subset (before they merged into one) was the original cast movie series. It ended too soon. It’s strange the whole original crew didn’t get figure of their Wrath of Khan-onward uniforms. They sort of goofed by making the motion picture uniform ones, because while they were good figures, they weren’t as iconic.
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*GASP* He’s had the plastic break down on some MSIA figures? Crap! I didn’t think those were old enough yet! I didn’t want to have to worry about those!
*ahem* Anyway, as for the topic at hand: I’m surprised at how good the figure looks, and totally not surprised that she can’t hold anything. It would have PISSED ME OFF when I was a kid, though. More so then nowadays, when I’m a full-on collector! That was just one of my old pet peeves, back then. “Why would they even give them these accessories if they can’t hold them?!” was a frequent yell of mine.
Other than that, she looks cool! Took a hell of a lot more awesome pictures than I thought she would.
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“Not being able to hold accessories” was my biggest toy pet peeve until I was maybe 19. It’s still one of my bigger pet peeves, but I’m more apt to find ways to get around it now instead of considering the toy RUINED. But I think we were probably pretty similar in a lot of ways when we were kids. I remember being really unhappy at the 2000-era ARAHC GI Joes because Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow couldn’t firmly grasp their swords. Now I don’t mind so much, but it’s still always something that screams at me from the back of my brain.
And thanks for stopping by/commenting! She did turn out to be a pretty fun toy.
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Hi, I wouldn’t say all my msia have had plasticizer leakage, however a few sure have, namely my rick dias black, my extended hiyaku shiki, and a few other imports from the zeta movies msia era around 06-08. Most my us releases from the early 2000s seem fine, but it has been a while since I did a thorough check.
Ah, one exception, my us real types. Seems maybe the silver paint they used is likely to become tacky, namely one guntank and guncannon real types. Although both of those were moc for a decade+ when I opened them.
Thats a big factor, the gasses not being able to escape so they build up layers on the outer plastic layer. So I do advise against storing them inside of plastic containers, or anything airtight. As much as I like the tacklebox for toys, its kind of bad. (Ever notice the smell from opening an old tacklebox full of toys? Thats the gasses being stored inside the box).
One last bit, there is no way to tell how plastic will break down over years, slight differences in paint apps, runs of plastic mix and such all are contributing factors. Nothing lasts forever, but you can do much to keep it lasting.
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Whew! Well my black Rick Dias and extended Hyaku Shiki are both in great shape still, so it seems like my setup is going good so far. They’re pretty aired out, being stores in some drawer bins. I did a little look through and I can’t find any others that are slimy or sticky.
Funny you mention the tackle box, though! Mine used to be kept in there waaaay back before my collection outgrew it and I got this friggin’ art-supplies tower of drawers – just for the accessories, anyway. …I got way too many MSiA.
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I only have one figure from the whole of Playmates TNG line, one solitary Worf. Its not that I can’t find them, there in every shop £10 carded! They just fall under that ‘nice, I’ll keep that in mind’ thing and then I promptly forget them! I’ll try to do better next time!
Playmates didn’t have to go all out for TNG, but they did and its utterly brilliant. Even if I cant remember when Picard wore an orange pinstripe suit, but I’d buy a toy of it!
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Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, George!
If you do the whole eBay thing, I’m sure you can find them much cheaper than £10 a piece in lots. That’s how I rebuilt my collection, and it probably averaged out to between $2-$7 per figure, except for stuff like the Borg Queen.
And they really did go all out for TNG, and to a lesser extent for TOS and DS9. There’s just so much cool stuff available. I’m sure the orange suit Picard was a variant, and I haven’t seen it. Thought it sounds right up my alley! I had one of the Dixon Hill episodes on VHS as a kid, so I loved both Data and Picard in their noir detective outfits. I probably need to get those again!
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