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STAR TREK COLLECTIBLES #17 |
Updated: August 31, 2024
By 1974, Mego Toys was quickly becoming a global name in the toy industry. With the World’s Greatest Heroes line already proving to
be a huge success, Mego turned their sights on other licenses from the big and small screens with Planet of the Apes and now Star
Trek, which were both released in 1974. The original Star Trek television series ran from 1966 to 1969 and spanned 79 episodes. In
late 1969, Star Trek began running old episodes in syndication in over 200 markets, which sparked a revival of interest in the show from old and new fans alike. This renewed interest took off like wildfire and even spawned the first ever Star Trek Convention in
June of 1972. Star Trek became so big, the original actors returned to voice their characters in the Animated Series from 1973 to
1974. Paramount’s strategy to syndicate Star Trek was paying off big time and the country was thrust into Trekkie mania. Mego took notice of this and quickly signed a licensing deal for a Star Trek toy line, for an extremely reasonable price. Mego had high hopes
for the line from the very beginning, and put a lot of attention to detail into Star Trek, which really showed with the first series
of figures and accessories released in 1974. Since Star Trek Mania was at a fevered pitch, the Star Trek action figure line turned
out to be one of the biggest selling lines that Mego ever produced. It did well enough that a second and even third series of
figures were released in following years. Star Trek Merchandise exploded into every retail store in the country, and even across
the world, but none of them ever achieved the success that Mego did with their iconic toy line.
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