3 days ago
'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''s Nog gets first-ever standalone action figure (exclusive)
The first Ferengi to join Starfleet is ready to join your toy collection.
Raise your favorite glass, be it bloodwine, kanar, Romulan ale, or prune juice, and sing songs of praise for Nog — the first Ferengi to join Starfleet, who fought so bravely at the Siege of AR-558 (at great personal cost).
If none of that means anything to you, we're envious, as it implies you have yet to watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, one of the finest television programs in the galaxy.
Entertainment Weekly is proud to exclusively debut the "paint master" of the first-ever standalone Nog action figure, created by The Nacelle Company, in advance of its official debut.
Nog, you see, was a recurring character played by the late Aron Eisenberg, who began the seven-season run mostly as comic relief (caught up in wacky schemes like trading Cardassian yamok sauce for self-sealing stem bolts), but over time grew in importance, with his storyline becoming richer as he faced social and physical adversity. The Nog-centric episode It's Only a Paper Moon, a frank look at post-traumatic stress disorder (for which they do not yet have a quick cure even in the 24th century), is considered by most fans to be one of the all-time greats.
Though in the 1990s Trekkies could get some Nog merch if they tried hard enough, the brave young Ferengi never got his full due. (For example, a small Nog figurine came as an add-on in the packaging with the one for his father Rom, played by Max Grodénchik.)
But as with the reversal of Worf's discommendation by Klingon High Council, there is injustice no longer! Unveiling on Friday at Creation Entertainment's annual STLV: Trek to Vegas, where the off-Strip Rio Hotel transforms into Nimbus III and becomes a conclave of Trek enthusiasts from all quadrants, the licensed collectables group The Nacelle Company has sculpted the first standalone Nog action figure in this timeline.
Eisenberg, who died in 2019 at the age of 50, said one of his biggest wishes was for a figure like this to be made from his character, according to his widow Malíssa Longo.
"He'd always been the choking hazard, the accessory to Rom," she said through chuckles in a Nacelle video. "He should be in everyone's home."
Nacelle's rendering of Nog includes the subheading "Favor the Bold," referencing an action-packed episode from the sixth season of Deep Space Nine. Good to see him in uniform, and not dressed like a busboy working for his Uncle Quark.
Nacelle boldy goes deep with their highly curated line. Current models for sale include Peter Preston ("He stayed at his post... when the trainees ran!"), Mirror Universe Jonathan Archer, and, most hardcore of all, Tuvix.
Ken Reilly, managing editor of the premier Star Trek fan site explained to Entertainment Weekly that "Nacelle's approach of highlighting lesser-known characters from across the Trek franchise has already differentiated them from past attempts at reviving the Trek action figure category."
Reilly added that Nog had been largely overlooked by previous licensees, which was a shame because "the character grew from an unruly troublemaker to an inspirational Starfleet officer, representing all that Star Trek's future represents: wanting to better yourself and the world around you."
Preorders will soon become available at Nacelle's website. The company welcomes pitches from fans on which characters should be part of the next wave of figures at startrekideas@ Company Founder and CEO Brian Volk-Weiss personally answers every email, so it's time to hit him with requests for Joanne Linville's Romulan Commander from The Enterprise Incident, but also maybe Armus, the Crystalline Entity, and Thomas Riker's fake beard.
On "Star Trek Day" in 2020, several cast members memorialized both Eisenberg and René Auberjonois in a Zoom conversation. (You may need a moment after hearing what Armin Shimerman says about Eisenberg.)
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
