Mego Dr. "Bones" McCoy

Dr. McCoy (Bones) (Item No. 51200/3), chief medical officer and third-in-command of the Starship Enterprise, as portrayed by the late DeForest Kelley. The head sculpt on this figure is a beautiful likeness of the actor, only slightly entering the realm of caricature.

It captures simultaneously the character's pragmatism and humor. Oddly, though, the sculptors at Mego reserved the "one-raised-eyebrow" look for Bones, and not for Spock, where it would have been much more at home. The figure came outfitted in a blue tunic and black cuffed trousers. The tunic was detailed with a black neckband, two gold foil rank stripes on each arm, and a silver foil insignia. (This insignia is particularly problematic for loose collectors, as it consists of a stiff adhesive gray backing and a whisper-thin sheet of silver foil. This backing is almost always found on the tunic, as it is well-glued onto the fabric. However, the foil is delicate and typically curls, tears, and/or falls off after even five minutes of play time.) A blue tricorder, black utility belt, blue phaser and blue communicator served to complete the ensemble. (McCoy and Spock are extreme examples of Mego economy run amuck, in that they are, from the neck down, COMPLETELY IDENTICAL.)

The Dr. McCoy figure went through four distinct face incarnations. The first was a Type 1 head (lighter flesh) with light-pink detailing on the lips, and chocolate-brown hair/eyebrows (left). The next was a Type 1 head (lighter flesh) without lip paint, and with chocolate-brown hair/eyebrows. The third head was a Type 2 head (darker flesh) without lip detailing, and with chocolate-brown hair/eyebrows. The fourth and final head was a Type 2 head (darker flesh) without lip detailing, and with black-brown hair/eyebrows (nearly the same color as Scotty's hair/eyebrows) (right). This fourth head appears ONLY on "Blank-Back" specimens. The first is certainly the rarest, while the third is, by a sizable margin, the most common.

Here we have a Dr. McCoy on a "5-face" card.

Dr. McCoy on a "6-face" card with the name in white lettering.

Here we have a Dr. McCoy on a "6-face" card with the name in green lettering.

Here we have the infamous "Blank-Back" Dr. McCoy Sears re-release (Item No. 91221/3). "Blank-Backs," being later releases, were notorious for the inferior plastic used in their manufacture. Luckily, it seems that this specimen has been spared the all-too-common fate of a broken leg (or perhaps it simply hasn't been shaken enough yet to reveal the flawÉ). Also note the "white-edged" foil insignia, presumably heat-sealed (an insignia method Mego began implementing in the late 'Seventies).

Here we have an interesting transition piece: a "Blank-Back" Dr. McCoy with the more traditional two-part foil stick-on insignia. Again, note the broken legÉ.