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Bandai Co., Ltd. (pronounced BAN-dye) is a Japanese corporation specializing in toys, games, models, and videos. They are best known as the company responsible for toys sold in the US which are based on Japanese properties such as Godzilla, Gundam, Tamagotchi, Sailor Moon, and Power Rangers and the US animated Teen Titans series.
Founded in 1950 to produce tin toys, Bandai has become the world's third largest toy producer (right behind US companies Mattel and Hasbro) with holdings and subsidiaries all over the world. Recently, Bandai merged with video game developer and producer Namco (best known as the makers of the Pac-Man video game) to become Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc.
Bandai was the exclusive UK and European distributor of the Playmates Toys line of Star Trek toys and action figures. The company marketed the figures in two versions. For the UK, French, and Spanish markets, the figures were released on the similar blister cards to the US and Canadian releases (see left). Uniquely, for the German market, the figures were released in "Windowboxes", small clear-fronted cardboard boxes (see right).
Unreleased Star Trek V: The Final Frontier video game
Bandai was also the maker of the Pair Match electronic game, which was seen on episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The company also produced a Star Trek V: The Final Frontier video game for use with the Nintendo Gaming System but this was not fully completed or released to retail.
Star Trek starship model kits
During 2003 and 2004 , Bandai produced a small line of Star Trek model kits. These kits featured pre-painted snap-together models with lighting kits included. What made these kits remarkable was that these were Bandai originals, in no way associated with, up until then, traditionally-licensed model kit producers AMT/Ertl or Revell-Monogram, and were molded in different scales. Bandai's designers were given access to the original studio models for their research and had input of Star Trek designers John Eaves, Rick Sternbach, and Doug Drexler, whose comments were included in the instruction sheets, resulting in highly accurate model kits. Unlike many original Japanese productions, which are normally intended for the home market, these kits were from the beginning conceived as international releases as the instruction sheets are composed in five languages.
| Star Ship Model Kit Line | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Scale | Issue | Item No. | Notes |
| USS Enterprise (refit) | 1:850 | 2003 | 116192 | |
| USS Enterprise-E | 1:1700 | 116424 | ||
| Enterprise NX-01 | 1:850 | 122721 | ||
| USS Enterprise-A | 2004 | 124915 | Essentially a re-issue of 116192 with decals for sister vessels | |
| USS Voyager | 131434 | Small production run, making this release quite rare | ||
    
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Star Trek Deck Building Game
In 2011, Bandai announced the release of a new Star Trek card game, the Star Trek Deck Building Game. The "Premiere Edition", a "complete-in-the-box" three-hundred-card game set in the era of Star Trek: The Next Generation, was released on 7 October 2011.
External links
- Bandai.com - official US web site
- Bandai at Wikipedia