During the first line of Star Trek: The Next Generation action figures from Galoob, we did get a Lieutenant Natasha Yar. Playmates would release their take on the season one chief of security about a year after the show ended, six years after she left the series. I'm glad they did - she was an important character in the early days of the show, defining the crew in surprising ways while having a past that was both horrifying and trivialized. Denise Crosby left the show, giving the chance for the rest of the crew to shine more - and of course, she got an action figure.
The 4 1/2-inch action figure was one of several for Yar in Playmates' line. This one is based on her first season appearance, eschewing the "action pose" sculpting and tricorder holsters of her crewmates. Interestingly, Playmates wouldn't do the entire crew in their debut duds - Dr. Crusher, Wesley, and Riker didn't get season one-specific figures. Worf really doesn't nail that early look, either. Yar gets it mostly right with the distinctive collar, but the front-zipper on her uniform is missing and the pips are a little close to the collar. The color is a little muted, and it doesn't have the weird no-quite-spandex look of the costumes on the series. In other words, it's a typical action figure.
Playmates had a great run on its figures, but they weren't all great replications of the actors or actresses. The women didn't look quite right most of the time - the make-up on the figure looks more like a doll, and the dark roots of her hair were left completely blonde. Given that two-toned hair was something of a rarity back then on action figures, this didn't stand out as unique - a figure having one correct color for hair was an achievement unto itself. The style is right, and while the face is certainly Crosby-esque she could probably have been painted a lot better.
The figure's accessory cache is pretty decent with a Phaser (that she didn't use during season one), a "flashlight," a PADD, and a Tricorder. They're perfectly acceptable accessories, but not necessarily what Yar actually used. This showed Playmates' thought process of the time - more mold reuse, more recycled parts, and more recolors. A later "Transporting" Yar figure would be sold in a uniform the character never actually used on the show, being killed off before it debuted. In situations like this, I'm generally just glad that she has the right sideburns and a uniform that's close enough. An accurate phaser would have been nice, but we never saw one during this figure line's run.
This isn't the best figure in the line - it's probably not the worst, either. You can tell who it is by looking at it, although it's not necessarily the most authentic that she could be. Other Playmates Yar figures fared far worse, though, so take whatever delight you can that this one is consistent with the other season one main cast action figures. I don't imagine we'll ever see another action figure line with the Playmates 1990s' range's depth, so either this figure or the Galoob figure should be your go-to. Or you can just lobby someone to start a new line.
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