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Real world article
(written from a production point of view)
Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys logos
Art Asylum and Diamond Select Toys logos

Art Asylum originated as an American toy design house and was founded by Digger Mesch and Donna Soldano in Brooklyn, New York in 1996. For its first five years, Art Asylum designed toys for Hasbro and for Playmates' Star Trek: Alien Combat line, among other projects. [1]

In 2007, the company was acquired by Diamond Select Toys LLC, an affiliated company of Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., the distributor of many Star Trek replicas, toys, novelties, comics, and magazines.

Some later Trek products from the merged company bear the Diamond Select Toys (often abbreviated as DST) brand exclusively. A number of exclusive items have been retailed to the public through Diamond's monthly Previews catalogues and convention booths.

Star Trek releases

TOS, Wave 1 and Nemesis, 7 inch action figure assortments

TOS, Wave 1 and Nemesis, 7 inch action figure assortments

Art Asylum premiered its first Star Trek products in 2001 while it was still an independent toy manufacturer. Releases have included three-inch "Minimates" figures, seven- and eleven-inch action figures, electronic "Starship Legends" starships, and life-sized "role-playing" accessories.

Art Asylum was among several companies that obtained licensing to produce Enterprise products during the initial airing of the series. Art Asylum also produced licensed products from other Star Trek series and films, with the exception of 2009's Star Trek and its sequels.

Art Asylum's toys differed greatly from those of its predecessors due to the use of computer scanning technology at Gentle Giant Studios to create highly detailed sculpts of props, costumes, vehicles, and people. For its line of Enterprise action figures, an innovative material called "Kreaton" was used to conceal the joints on the figures' limbs.

While the first waves were widely available at retail, Art Asylum's subsequent Star Trek product lines suffered from erratic distribution and were often restricted to online sales and sporadic retail availability at specialty shops. Following its acquisition by Diamond Select Toys, the company's Star Trek toys began to receive a wider distribution once again.

Diamond Comics also released IDW's "Star Trek - Green Lantern: The Spectrum War Issue 1" comic book with two exclusive covers in July 2015. It also distributes Eaglemoss Collections' partworks and EMCE Toys' products to retail in a number of countries.

The history and development of the Art Asylum Star Trek line was featured in the "Star Trek" episode of The Toys That Made Us in 2018.

2001 releases

Art Asylum Star Trek phasers

Art Asylum Star Trek phasers

Star Trek: Enterprise: "Broken Bow", Wave 1

Trek Tech

Minimates: 3-inch Figures Wave 1 (Tubed or Carded)

Minimates: 3-inch Figures Wave 2 (cancelled some prototypes may exist)

Minimates: 3-inch Figures Exclusive Offer

Star Trek: Enterprise: "Broken Bow" Deluxe

Star Trek: Enterprise: Away Team, Wave 1

Hoshi Sato in Environmental Suit

2002 releases

Star Trek Nemesis

Borg Assimilation

Star Trek: Enterprise: "Broken Bow", Wave 2

2003 releases

Star Trek (TOS), Wave 1

Reportedly due to a manufacturer error, the Original Series line of action figures was off-scale, slightly smaller than Enterprise and Nemesis assortments.

AVON 3-Pack

Figures available through 2003 AVON Christmas catalog

2004 releases

Star Trek (TOS), Wave 2

Trek Tech

2005 releases

Star Trek (TOS), Wave 3

Trek Tech

"Trials and Tribble-ations"

2006 releases

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wave 1

With the release of TNG, Wave 1, Art Asylum/Diamond Select Toys' Star Trek action figures were released in waves of variants, rather than larger groups of characters. They were also produced in a slightly larger scale than previous waves.

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wave 2

Mail Away Exclusive

40th Anniversary Star Trek

Star Trek (TOS), Wave 4

2007 releases

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wave 3

"Space Seed" 2-Pack

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Wave 1

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, San Diego Comic Con Exclusives

Free with proof of purchase of other 4 SDCC 2007 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan exclusives

20th Anniversary Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wave 1

Ezri Dax action figure

Ezri Dax action figure

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wave 4

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Previews Exclusive

"Star Trek: TOS" Mini-Mates, Wave 1 (release date: 15 August 2007)(red card)

Star Trek: TOS Mini-Mate, Wave 2 (release date: 7 November 2007)(blue card)

Star Trek Minimates: Exclusive (release date: December 2007)

2008 releases

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Wave 2

"Amok Time" 2-Pack

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan "Death of Spock" 2-Pack

Star Trek: The Motion Picture 2-Pack

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wave 5

Star Trek: TOS Mini-Mates, Wave 3 (release date: 22 February 2008 via AFX / 5 March 2008 Comic Shops)(yellow card)

Star Trek Minimates, Wave 4 (release date: 6 August 2008)

Star Trek Minimates, Wave 5 (release date: 12 December 2008 – AFX / 31 December 2008 – Comic Shops)

Star Trek Minimates: "Mirror, Mirror" Box Set (release date: 23 July 2008)

Mail Away Exclusive

Mail Away offer exclusive to the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Alternate Realities DVD set release in September 2008. Free + $7.50 S&H. Figures started shipping December 2008

2009 releases

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wave 2

Worf and Gowron 2-Pack

Mail Away Exclusive

Mail Away offer exclusive to the TOS Season 1 Blu-ray released in April 2009. Free + $7.50 S&H. Figures started shipping June 2009

Sulu as seen in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (blue uniform)

Star Trek (TOS), Wave 1 (Re-Issued 2 Packs)

The figures in these two packs are almost identical to those released in wave 1, aside from slight changes such as Spock's eyes, and brighter sleeve rank insignia and skin color on all figures. Also, Kirk and Sulu's shirts are now a matching color. Scotty and Uhura's uniforms are the same red, and there are variations in phaser colors.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Kirk and Spock 2-Pack

"The Trouble with Tribbles" Kirk and Command Chair

Toys R Us Exclusive

Star Trek Minimates: Exclusive (release date: 6 February 2009 at NYCC / 15 February 2009 (Toy Fair)

2010 releases

Star Trek (TOS), Wave 5

These figures were originally going to be released exclusively by Toys R Us.
After Toys R Us decided to stop carrying new Star Trek figures, this wave became an online exclusive.

Romulan Kirk and Spock 2-Pack

From the "The Enterprise Incident" (October 2010)

Kirk vs. Gorn 2-Pack

Star Trek Pilot Kirk and Spock 2-Pack

Date TBA

Star Trek (TOS), Cancelled Wave

These figures originally comprised wave 5, along with "The Enemy Within" Captain Kirk.
It is unknown if they will be released eventually as part of a different wave.

"Mirror, Mirror" Kirk and Command Chair

Displayed at 2007 conventions, but never released.
Shown at 2006 Comic-Cons, but dropped from TNG Wave 4.
Displayed at 2009 conventions.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Kruge and Maltz 2-Pack

Released for pre-order in May 2009, put "on hold" shortly after.

Borg Wave 1

Was slated for release in May 2009 but was dropped from the Diamond Select Toys Shipping List, was then confirmed to be cancelled on DSTs Website

Borg Wave 2

Shown at 2009 Toy Fair and was slated to be released near the end of 2009 but the cancellation of Borg Wave 1 makes it unlikely this wave will be released

2013 releases

Minimates: Legacy – Wave 1

Minimates: Legacy – TRU Wave 1

Minimates: Vehicle sets

2014 releases

Starship Legends releases

AA DST Starship Legends logo

2002 releases

2003 releases

2005 releases

2006 releases

2007 releases

2009 releases

2013 releases

2014 releases

2015 releases

2016 releases

2017 release

2018 release

2019 release

Future releases

Background information

Above: Art Asylum's phase-pistol

Above: Art Asylum's phase-pistol. Below: Phase-Pistol set to overload in (ENT: "United")

AA DST Klingon Bird of Prey and USS Enterprise-B packaging mock-ups

AA DST Klingon Bird of Prey and USS Enterprise-B packaging mock-ups

Diamond's Enterprise-B model (bottom) in the Picard episode

Diamond's Enterprise-B model (bottom) in the Picard episode

See also

External links