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The figure
currently featured is of Keiko O'Brien,
the wife of "Chief" Miles O'Brien and a
background fixture in both The Next
Generation and Deep Space Nine for many
years. Given the longevity of the
character and the character's close
relationship with a title-credit-billed
character, it's not surprising that
this figure had long been near the top
of many collectors' 'most wanted'
lists. I always joked that Keiko would
come with a molded plastic one-color
"baby Molly" accessory if Playmates
ever produced a figure. That didn't
happen and instead she came with
"teacher" equipment for her DS9
school-marm stint. That phaser probably
quelled most classroom disputes. The
figure was released in the "Warp Factor
4" series of figures in 1998 and should
have been a great figure; It was
requested by collectors, had decent
articulation, and was produced in
sufficient numbers.
Unfortunately...
Keiko
suffered from both "paint deprivation"
and "action pose syndrome." While a
little effort was made to give her
blouse a slight gold sheen and the
facial deco is adequate, the figure is
basically all black with flesh colored
hands and face. Whoopee! The prototype
pictured on the packaging had several
more paint operations (of course) and
ended up looking much more like the
actress (and much more interesting),
even though it appears to be from the
same mold. On top of this, the figure
is posed in a wide stance with its arms
open. This would be OK, except for two
things. One; the figure lacks the usual
bicep articulation which means the arms
are always spread wide and can't pivot
in toward the body. Two; In spite of
added articulation between the knee and
hip, the hip articulation forces the
legs to splay even further than most of
Playmates' figures when put in a seated
position. The figure can't 'sit'
normally even with the extra
articulation. Obviously, this Keiko
won't be teaching any modesty courses
at DS9. My Keiko figure was purchased
at the Target in Mason City, IA (the
home of Meredith Willson, known to you
as the composer of "The Music Man" and
"The Iowa Fight Song") on the way back
from the 1998 IBA
Convention.
While the
figure suffers from the problems griped
about above, it is nice to at least
have a Keiko figure. Although they
still managed to screw it up, I can
appreciate Playmates' token effort at
meeting the collector's demands. This
figure is still relatively new and has
not increased in value significantly.
Unopened, Keiko will fetch an average
of $7.00 on the secondary market.
Opened and intact, the figure will
average $3.00. Keiko features
articulation at the neck, shoulders,
elbows, waist, hips, mid-thigh, and
knees.
Keiko O'Brien
is a completely original sculpt and has
not been re-used to create any other
figures (and probably won't be in the
forseeable future).
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