# Exploration set



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I just heard from Jamie on the R2 blog that the Exploration set, along with
the old MPC Titan rocket should start hitting the store shelves any day.

It's a crappy, terrible, rotten, lousy kit. But I'm looking forward to getting it!


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## Guy Schlicter (May 3, 2004)

mach7 said:


> I just heard from Jamie on the R2 blog that the Exploration set, along with
> the old MPC Titan rocket should start hitting the store shelves any day.
> 
> It's a crappy, terrible, rotten, lousy kit. But I'm looking forward to getting it!


the exploration set was part of my childhood, Looking forward to getting it, In the 1970's I bought one at my local K Mart for $2.00


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

I was just thinking the other day that even when I built this set as a kid I really wasn't sure what to do with it. Didn't find it interesting as display piece nor even a toy (my mego communicator and phaser where truely fun trek toys even though they were really far from screen accuarate). 

Glad they brought it back for nostagic value.


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## Shaw (Jan 9, 2005)

mach7 said:


> It's a crappy, terrible, rotten, lousy kit. But I'm looking forward to getting it!


Me too... this is one I just have to have. :thumbsup:


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## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

I'll pass. The nostalgia factor isn't strong enough to overcome the kit's shortcomings. 

If only they would produce accurate model kits of the phaser, communicator and tricorder. There have been a couple kits in the past that were pretty accurate and very expensive. Or, the finished replicas that were even more expensive. But, I think accurate, affordable styrene kits of these iconic props would sell strong. And then all the aftermarket upgrade parts.


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## TrekFX (Apr 15, 2004)

In retrospect, they were pretty silly little things. I remember one of my first attempts at "accurizing" a kit was drilling out all the holes in the communicator lid.

But I recall many a cold, snowy northern NH evening spent "scouring an arctic world for alien foes" with my trusty exploration set in-hand...

Back to the real world... there may be a market for 1:1 kits, but the niche may be adequately filled already with Diamond Select's replicas. The casual collector can just buy and display, the more detail-oriented (and we know who we are!) can disassemble and spruce them up. But then, their communicator is pretty much all off despite (or because of?) all the cool action features.


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## StarshipClass (Aug 13, 2003)

I'm thinking the kit could be used to make screen accurate versions of the animated series' equipage.


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

Sparky said:


> I was just thinking the other day that even when I built this set as a kid I really wasn't sure what to do with it. Didn't find it interesting as display piece nor even a toy (my mego communicator and phaser where truely fun trek toys even though they were really far from screen accuarate).
> 
> Glad they brought it back for nostagic value.


Yes back in the early/Mid 1970's it was cool to be a kid if you were into TOS Star Trek.

I also had those Mego Communicators that were sold as a pair.
They were big blue walkie talkies somewhat resembling the Communicators in shape alone, With the Enterprise command insignia stamped on the outside flip cover and had a standard walkie talkie antenna.

Before those, I had a REMCO Phaser that came out around 1975, Which believe it or not was a little more accurate than the Mego phaser target set that came out a little later.

I think REMCO also issued a Star Trek utility belt set that had what looked like the same exploration set made from the AMT molds.

They weren't accurate and scaled for a childs small hands, But cool at the time.

Toy manufacturing has come a long way.:thumbsup:


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## Sparky (Feb 21, 2004)

spocks beard said:


> Yes back in the early/Mid 1970's it was cool to be a kid if you were into TOS Star Trek.
> 
> I also had those Mego Communicators that were sold as a pair.
> They were big blue walkie talkies somewhat resembling the Communicators in shape alone, With the Enterprise command insignia stamped on the outside flip cover and had a standard walkie talkie antenna.
> ...


AMT, Remco, Mego, South Bend Toy Co., Estes and some others sure did provide great Star Trek goodies in the golden era from the mid 70's to early 80's.
Like the AMT Exploration Set, often rather vague representations of the actual screen space ships and props but man was that period was fun.

If you couldn't find enough sci fi toy action with Trek then (or just had an enormous allowance) well there was Star Wars.


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## spocks beard (Mar 21, 2007)

I almost forgot about the South Bend Toy Co. Star Trek TMP Electronic Enterprise that came out the same year as the first movie.

That was actually pretty cool, And i managed to keep it for years.
And yes, The Star Wars stuff was very cool...And hard to find for awhile to.

The local toy stores in my area couldn't keep enough stock on the shelves to meet the demands for it.

I had a hard time finding any of the original figures.
A lot of people forget now, But after that first Star Wars movie came out it started a reaction something like Beatlemania.

Actually TOS Star Trek had a similar reaction in the mid to late 1970's as well.


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## Bullitt3980 (Nov 29, 2011)

I'll probably buy the set too--now that Im 50 the pieces will seem even more undersize. My buddy and I shared a ST walkie talkie set and we had the phasers that didn't look anything like the show but fired little discs at each other.


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## Dave in RI (Jun 28, 2009)

I still have one of my Star Trek walkie talkies, though I have no idea what happened to the other one. I have it in a desk draw along with my Merlin and Mattel basketball hand-held games that survived the decades.

I too also had the Exploration kit -I think I got it for Christmas one year. Not my favorite kit, but was Star Trek so I liked it fine at the time.


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

The Exploration Set is such a crappy model (but has high regard in the nostalgia area). I remember as a kid how much I coveted that kit.
Due to the fact that it has not been repopped over the years prices on eBay were high about ten years ago.


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## bigdaddydaveh (Jul 20, 2007)

I have a 5-year-old son who needs a Halloween costume. My wife can sew. Nuff said! :thumbsup:


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Megahobby lists it on their home page as a new arrival, but when I try to buy it it still shows as a pre-order.

It must be very close now.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

It's in stock now at megahobby

I just ordered it with the MPC Titan rocket.

Remember to use the hobbytalk discount.


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## jaws62666 (Mar 25, 2009)

Hey Paul, what are the chances of a nice etch set to polish up this old dog.


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Mine came today


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## OzyMandias (Dec 29, 2004)

And how does it look Mach7? What's the new decal sheet like?


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## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

It looks like it did when I got it in the 70's. No changes.

The decals are new. The Balok is color, the communicator is Alpha's moire, not the wavy lines, and the meter looks the same.

I know some folks are working on making the original decals again. I'm not sure if they 
will be selling them.

It's very small, smaller than I remember, but I was alot younger last time I held them!

I'm very happy to have it again.


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## sg-99 (Jan 11, 2009)

A quick vid look at the kit:thumbsup: it is a great and fun kit! I highly recommend it to any modelerr and makes a great entry level glue model for the modelrs who are starting out!:thumbsup:


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