Mego’s “Star Trek” line was “officially” based on the live-action series in syndication in 1974, but the Mego designers appear to have referred repeatedly to The Animated Series for inspiration.  It’s not difficult to imagine why frugal, economical Mego would choose a property like “Star Trek” to exploit as part of the company’s eight-inch action figure line.  Since most of the crew wore the same basic uniform–and used the same weapons and equipment–Mego anticipated minimum design cost combined with maximum utilization potential–a win-win situation if ever one existed.  In fact, so high was Mego’s confidence in the line that they took the unprecedented step of creating specific lower-leg tooling for the male crew members.  The Starfleet-issued boots were incorporated into the figure itself, saving countless lost pairs of Mego footwear at the hands of careless children–as well as eliminating one more step in the assembly process. Additionally, Mego had impeccable timing when it came to picking up the “Star Trek” license.  With a pittance of an investment, they bought into a virtually dead property that was in the throes of rebirth and rediscovery by a whole new legion of fans–fans clamoring for anything with the words “Star Trek” on it. … Continue reading Star Trek