South Bend Spotlight- Official Starfleet Belt, Buckle, & Insignia

Item Name: Official Starfleet Belt, Buckle, And Insignia
Manufacturer: South Bend



This puppy was released to stores way back when "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was still showing at your local theater...




The Rundown: Ah, South Bend... Why couldn't you do just a few more Trek products? Your Electronic Phaser Guns are some of the coolest phaser toys ever made, and your Electronic U.S.S. Enterprise was WAY ahead of its time. Oh how I wish you had released just a few more things... Wait- What? They did do something else!? A belt buckle and insignia pack!?! You don't say! Well, we have to to take a look at that ASAP! Like now!



While it still carries the South Bend logo, these goodies from Milton Bradley's sub-division lack the electronic features that usually accompany that brand name. Who cares though... look how much fun those kids on the packaging are having! No way did they get made fun of at school.



The set includes all the stuff you need to turn an ordinary shirt into a screen-accurate TMP uniform. Let's start with the insignia; It basically a white plastic delta shield with painted lines that you stick to your shirt. I know exactly what you're thinking- "But James, I don't want to ruin my nice blue turtleneck by putting pin holes in it!" Well, South Bend has your back.



Instead of pointy pins protruding precariously from the back of the insignia, South Bend went a much safer route. Included with the set is this nifty white plastic bar...



...which fits neatly into a recess in the insignia's back. Place your delta shield on the proper spot, reach under your shirt, press the plastic bar into the recess, and you're good to go! No messy pin holes, and no danger to your tiny digits!



Next we have the belt. Ummmm, yeah. It's clear plastic belt with a bunch of holes in it. You know... just like the movie. Moving on.



Lastly, we have the coolest item of the trio- The belt buckle! When you open up the box, this is how you'll find your belt buckle. Looks pretty plain without that sticker on it, doesn't it? I wonder how I'm supposed to get that on there...



Oh! So that's how you do it... thanks South Bend! You're a life-saver!



So I just peel the label off of here...



... and stick it right on here.



Now THAT is a belt buckle! But the buckle isn't there just to look good. Quite the opposite. This thing was multi-tasking before we even knew what multi-tasking was. Check the box-



Yeah, that's right. It has a freaking thermal sensor to detect alien presences. Or warm fingers. One of the two.



How's it work? Glad you asked. Place a finger (hot or cold) along the sensor strip for a few seconds, just like I am in the picture above.



Now move your finger away and use the chart from the box to determine whether you are hot or cold. I am apparently hot. Well, I can't argue you with that South Bend... but when does the whole "detecting alien presences" thing start?.... Hello? South Bend? Hello? *Crickets Chirping*



Okay, so let's forget about the alien presence detecting- The buckle still has something else to offer! You might notice a little tab at the top of the buckle. Snap it open and you'll find an "Official Starfleet Identification Card".



To be filled out in the presence of a senior official I'm sure, the card lists important things like your name, rank, and the designation of the ship you are serving on. Since the TMP uniforms didn't look like they had much in the way of pockets, I bet being able to store your ID in your buckle came in pretty handy at the Starfleet bars.



And that's about it. While the set lacks the electronic extras of their South Bend brethren, this is still a pretty cool pack. While I don't think there's any need to rush over to eBay and snag one (they typically run around $40-$60 in box), it might be nice to have if you already own the other South Bend items. Since only a few Star Trek items were released under this brand, putting together the entire range could make for an interesting display....

South Bend Spotlight- Electronic U.S.S. Enterprise

Item Name: Electronic U.S.S. Enterprise
Manufacturer: South Bend Toys



South Bend released this Enterprise right around the time of the release of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"



The Rundown: In case you haven't noticed, I've been on a bit of an Enterprise kick lately. Today, we'll look at one of the rarer Enterprise toys- South Bend's Electronic U.S.S. Enterprise! This is one toy that was truly ahead of it's time.



Here's how the Enterprise looks when you get it. The pieces all plug into each other so that you can form the Enterprise... or any other ship design you can come up with using the parts! As a kid, I would have probably left it as the Enterprise most of the time, but it would have been cool to disassemble it and pretend I was doing the refit. A really cool feature!



That's the ship in it's main configuration as the Enterprise. It's a pretty large toy, measuring around 19" from the tip of the saucer to the end of her nacelles. The toy is pretty detailed for it's time, copying the lines and shapes of the movie model pretty well.



If there's one place where this ship really lacks, it's in the paint. There's no painted details on her at all. Instead, South Bend went the decal route. It's a toy from it's time though, so that's pretty standard. I do wish they'd have included a sticker for the deflector dish. It looks odd without any detailing.



The bottom of the main saucer has a bunch of speaker holes in it. It's not a huge distraction, since it's not usually visible. Why are there speaker holes you ask? Why because it's an ELECTRONIC U.S.S. Enterprise of course!



There's a little red dial at the back of the saucer. When you turn the dial, the ship emits a running noise. The sound gets more and more high-pitched the farther you turn the dial. When you get to the end of the rotation, the ship starts making a phaser noise and a little red light blinks at the top. The sound can get a little annoying. Hear for yourself:



So we've looked at the Enterprise in her main configuration... Now let's take a look at the variations suggested in the instructions:



This is what they label as "Scout Class". You make this one by taking the main dish and attaching one nacelle to the bottom.



Next we have the "Transport/ Tug Class". This one is the dish with the 2 struts and nacelles directly plugged into it's sides. Interesting to note how similar this one is to the U.S.S. Reliant- long before the release of "Star Trek II".



Here's the "Experimental Class I". Getting closer to the Enterprise here, with just a switched position of the nacelles and struts. I really dig the look of this one.



And lastly, this is the "Experimental Class II". Again, just a switch on the nacelle/ strut positioning. This one looks like an ugly duckling. Who'd want to fly in this? Not me.



Accessories: The ship comes with a translucent red base. The base has the TMP-style Star Trek logo across it. Pretty cool for a base...



It's too bad this one is a bit on the pricey side because it's one of the coolest Enterprise toys out there. The whole "build your own" concept is something totally unique and really sets this ship apart. If you do decide to go after one, be sure to watch out for yellowing and missing stickers as the ship is prone to both. Oh, and since the ship doesn't show up very often, have your wallet ready because this one will set you back anywhere from $100-$200 for a nice complete version!

-James

South Bend Spotlight- Electronic Phaser Guns

Item Name: Electronic Phaser Guns
Manufacturer: South Bend Toys



South Bend released this boxed set of 2 "Phaser Guns" way back in 1979.

The Rundown: Do you like Star Trek? Of course you do! Do you like Lazer Tag? Of course you do! Well, do I have the perfect item for you! The South Bend Star Trek Electronic Phaser Gun Set! It's a prop replica! It's a game! No, it's BOTH!



South Bend was one of those "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" companies that snagged a piece of the Star Trek action (hee...piece of the action) when the first motion picture came out. The South Bend company was a sub-division of Milton Bradley and was usually used as the brand name for their electronic toys. The brand name was used on these phaser guns, a really neat version of the Enterprise, and a sweet belt buckle/ insignia combo.



The back of the box pretty much explains the deal here. You get 2 phaser guns for you and your friend to reenact your favorite phaser battles from Star Trek The Motion Picture (oh wait...there weren't any). The box lists these as being for ages 6 to 11, so you only had a 5 year period where you could play with these apparently. How do they work? Glad you asked!





The phasers work by shooting a beam of infrared light (which they go out of their way to stress as being totally harmless) into the opposing phaser's receiver. When hit, the opposing phaser will respond with either a ricochet, or an explosion sound:



Kinda neat...but it seems to be totally random if you hit or if it ricochets. Even the instructions say "there may be as many as 3 ricochets before an explosion is heard". Guess it's luck of the draw...



As far as accuracy goes, we have to remember that these are toys. The shape is right though, and it's a passable job for something designed as a game and not a 1:1 replica. Funny thing is that you never really see the phasers in TMP, so when these were actually on shelves most folks had no idea what they were based on.



Just like their Enterprise, the South Bend Phasers aren't that common, so if you're looking at picking up a working set in good shape, be prepared to shell out a little cash. They are a cool oddity though, and are actually pretty fun to play with. Take that V'Ger!

-James