Hot Wheels' new small USS Vengeance crashing into cities near you now

Hot Wheels' latest model Star Trek starship, the small-scale (toy-car sized) version of the USS Vengeance, is starting to show up around the world now. The ever-diligent Hot Wheels fans at T-Hunted have been lavishing this release with coverage, including releasing Mattel's official images of the new model:

T-Hunted also posted the rendering of the ship used on the packaging:

And having got their hands on the real thing, posted a photo of the actual packaging too:

On top of all that T-Hunted have also posted a review of the ship, showing it in comparison to the previously released same-size USS Enterprise model. Check out T-Hunted to see how they compare.

New TNG bluray trailers

CBS have released new trailers for the next Star Trek: The Next Generation bluray releases. Coming later this year will be the season six box-set, and stand-alone feature-length edit of Chain of Command.

UPDATE: Higher res cover to look at, via Amazon's listings:

Here are the trailers:

IDW adapting The City on the Edge of Forever teleplay as comic series

IDW have just announced their next Star Trek comic series will be a five-part adaptation of Harlan Ellison's original screenplay for The City on the Edge of Forever.

The series will be adapted by IDW writing regulars Scott and David Tipton, with painted artwork from J.K. Woodward; the same team that brought us the TNG/Doctor Who crossover last year.

Each issue will feature covers by Juan Ortiz, creator of the TOS retro print series, who, based on the issue one cover (pictured), appears to be going for pulp fiction style.

There will also be variant covers by movie poster master, Paul Shipper, who recently did the covers for the Khan series. UPDATE: IDW editor Chris Ryall has posted Paul Shipper's art for issue one. He noted the title design may not be final:

And further update, StarTrek.com have posted three pages of J.K. Woodward's amazing interior art:

The series will start in June. Continue after the jump for the full text of IDW's press release:

Star Trek Magazine #49 details

Things From Another World have added listing for issue 176 (UK)/49 (US) of the Star Trek Magazine. This edition will be focusing on Khan, both versions of which adorn the regular cover. Beverly Crusher is featured on the Previews Exclusive cover, to highlight a feature interview with Gates McFadden. Here are the covers and description:

One year on from Star Trek Into Darkness and our perception of Star Trek's greatest villain has been changed forever. In this issue we take a fresh look at the exploits of Khan Noonien Singh and ask if his actions were ever justified. Starfleet's involvement in Project Genesis also comes under the spotlight as we explore the organization's sometimes dubious role in galactic affairs. Gates McFadden speaks about life aboard the Enterprise-D in an exclusive new interview, and we celebrate Star Trek's guest stars in a new feature, 'Short Hops.' Available in Newsstand and PREVIEWS Exclusive editions.

Mondo's new TOS episode posters

It's been a year and a half since Mondo last produced a Star Trek poster, but it will be worth the wait, as they're returning with two cracking new designs today. Both new designs are TOS episode posters. There's Arena, by Matt Taylor, which focuses on the Kirk/Gorn fight. The 20" x 36" print will be available in an edition of 175.

What Are Little Girls Made Of? meanwhile gives a whirlwind tour of the entire episode, in landscape format. The 24" x 18" print by Kevin Dart will also be available in an edition of 175, or a more limited Thai variant, of 85 prints.

Both posters will be available at a random time on Thursday 6th March. They normally sell out within a few minutes, so if you want either of them you'll need to watch Mondo's Twitter like a hawk for the on-sale announcement. You can see some closer details of both designs on Mondo's blog.

Haynes Manual jigsaw puzzles

Haynes have released a series of jigsaw puzzles, utilising the cross-section images from their technical manuals, including both of the cover images from their Star Trek books, the USS Enterprise 1701 and Klingon Bird of Prey. As well as featuring the primary images from each book, the puzzles also appear to highlight details, blowing up sections of the images to scrutinise them in greater detail. Both puzzles are one-thousand pieces, and at the moment only seem to be distributed in the UK.

This isn't the first time new uses for the Haynes Manual images have been found, a whole range of merchandise has followed the books, including T-shirts, wallets, and posters. Rick Sternbach also has examples of his artwork from the book among his behind-the-scenes offers on eBay. Check out my Haynes label for a look back through my previous articles with Haynes products.

Skele-Treks update: T-shirts and packaging

Last summer Neca announced the birth of a quirky new Star Trek sub-brand, Skele-Treks; a range of skeleton-like Star Trek characters inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead. The designs by Spanish artist Javi Molner for Maya Studio, are to feature on toys, clothing, accessories and more. So far only toys have appeared, in the form of three five-inch tall figures, and two series of six two-inch figurines.

Now the line is now starting to diversify as promised, with Your Favourite T-shirts now listing six Skele-Treks T-shirt designs, two for each of the first three characters; Kirk, Klingon, and Borg. For the most part they are pretty run-of-mill character and caption designs, but there is one stand-out garment, featuring a full-bleed monotone rendition of the Borg:

I've not come across any other Skele-Treks products so far, but from what was announced, I expect they will follow a similar pattern to the other quirky Star Trek sub-brands, Quogs and Trexels, and will be popping up on all sorts of things over the coming years, as licensees find suitable applications.

Continue after the jump for a look at the packaging of the Skele-Treks toys so far released:

Latest from DST: Phasers, figures, and ships

Diamond Select Toys have recently revealed some new Star Trek toys, and hinted at more to come. At the recent Toy Fair they displayed their latest prop, the Search For Spock phaser, which will be out later this year. Image via Toy Chest News' coverage of DST's display:

DST also announced two other products, but didn't have them on display: The next Star Trek Select figure will be a companion for Captain Picard, a bat'leth wielding Worf. They did have some artwork on display for this, which Man of Action Figures got a photo of (and I have straightened up).

Also announced was a second Star Trek bust bank: Captain Kirk will be joining the already available Mr Spock (who was on display himself).

Beside the phaser and Spock, also representing Star Trek was DST's newest starship, the USS Excelsior, which should be out any day now, and the USS Enterprise-A, which is being revamped for re-issue soon.

DST have also revealed, in their latest Star Trek Q&A, that they are working on two new ships for release this year. They're keeping the identities of those ships under-wraps for now, but have ruled out Voyager, Enterprise-C, and Borg ships for the time being.

Books bits: New covers, new books

Here's the latest Star Trek book news, starting as ever, with some pretty pictures. Two new covers have recently been revealed:

StarTrek.com have released the cover for David R. George III's new The Lost Era novel, One Constant Star. The Enterprise-B focused novel is due in June, and features a cover design in exactly the same style as the original Lost Era series from all the way back in 2003 - A series I hope to catch up on before June, as it includes another George Enterpise-B book, Serpents Among the Ruins. 

Here's the blurb if you've not caught it yet:

As Captain Demora Sulu leads the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-B on a mission near Tzenkethi space, they explore Rejarris II, a planet that cannot be explained. A strange structure on the surface could hold answers…but chaos erupts when a landing party transports down to study it. An officer is horribly injured and communication fails with another, and Captain Sulu deems the planet too dangerous to continue exploring. She decides to leave Rejarris II, but not until she can retrieve her lost crew member. When contact is also ultimately severed with the captain, a threatening Tzenkethi force suddenly appears. Could the Tzenkethi be behind the mysteries on the planet, or the disappearances of the two officers? And will the Enterprise crew be able stand up to them long enough to discover the fate of Captain Sulu and the other missing crew member?

"Once, John Harriman commanded the Enterprise-B, with Demora Sulu by his side as his first officer. Eight years after stepping down as a starship captain—in the wake of the Tomed Incident—Harriman now serves as an admiral based out of Helaspont Station, on the edge of the Tzenkethi Coalition. When he receives a mysterious message from Rejarris II, Harriman realizes that he might hold the key to finding his former crewmate. In choosing to help recover Demora Sulu, though, he could risk losing everything he holds dear. What price is Harriman willing to pay to attempt to rescue his longtime friend.

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.

The other new cover is for something more whimsical, the new parody children's book, Fun with Kirk and Spock. The new cover, released by Simon and Schuster, features Kirk and Spock apparently about to inflict their fun on Khan. The cover also reveals the book's author, Robb Pearlman, who's previous credits include several other novelty, comedy, and/or children's books. As an editor he has also worked on the Star Trek sticker book, Stuck on Star Trek, and oversees Rizzoli's Star Trek calendar line.

Here's the blurb, the book is due in April:

See the Enterprise. See the Enterprise go boldly. Go Go Go, Enterprise! Go Boldly! Join Kirk and Spock as they go boldly where no parody has gone before!

Since the 1930’s, the book Fun with Dick and Jane and its various adaptations have helped children learn to read. It’s inspired several parodies and movie and television references, but none as amusing as this clever spoof, written with Trekkies in mind! The characteristic simplicity of the classic book is used in Fun with Kirk and Spock, delighting Trek fans with creative sequences and humorous illustrations.

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.  

Continue after the jump for more books news, including details of TNG, Titan, and TOS titles from Dayton Ward, James Swallow, and John Byrne.

Parallel Lives part 2 preview

Out this week was issue thirty of the Star Trek ongoing comic series, the second part of the Parallel Lives story, which sees the Enterprise crew encounter gender swapped versions of themselves from another alternate reality.

I thought it was a pretty fun story, but could have done with another couple of issues to allow something more to happen than "hi" and "bye". Anywho, if you've not picked it up yet, here's a seven page preview (continues after the jump):