I wish they’d branch out more with their merch and collaborate with companies like Lego instead of some cheap knockoff Lego company for example.
It seems like Star Trek has always had weak merch that kept it relegated to ‘nerd’ status while properties like Star Wars have super popular merch even with ‘normies.’ I have a whole wall dedicated to my nerdy hobbies yet only one or two Star Trek items (even thought it’s definitely my favorite property) because it’s just not very appealing merch. I’m unfortunately not going to buy a Build-a-Bear as a nearly 40 year old man. They keychain is cool but how lucrative is selling keychains? Who do they expect to buy this stuff?
They finally got licensing in place with Playmobil, but only for the really high end collector-niche Enterprise and Klingon ship model play sets. Unlike other Playmobil lines, the Star Trek one doesn’t include the less expensive entry level sets that kids might get as gifts.
And I’m their exact target demographic (adult fan of Lego, huge Star Trek fan) but won’t buy Playmobil sets because they don’t have the quality, look, or appeal of Lego. Seems they’ve bounced the IP around to various Lego competitors over the years with little success.
Our kids were Playmobil’s exact target market at 8 years old.
They saved up gift money to buy the sets, but had to make do with the planetary explorer sets that existed at the time since there were no Star Trek sets.
Not to say that fan collectors might want that kind of thing too, but our kids would have actually played with them.
The BlueBrixx sets look pretty cool, but from what I understand they’re difficult to get if you’re not in Europe.
That’s what I wish for Pokémon. Highest grossing franchise in the world, works with knock-off legos.
Dropping a line to say that the Star Trek: Lower Decks — USS Cerritos Crew Handbook is finally available for preorder in Canada via Amazon.ca.
Previously Titanbooks webpage had sent all North American purchasers to order from the US Amazon site.
I had tried earlier through a local independent comic store with no success. It’s not clear that Titanbooks is set up distribution with independents, or at least not to those across borders.
