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(written from a production point of view)
Furuta logo

The Furuta Confectionery Co., Ltd. is a candy manufacturer and industrial supply company that is based in Osaka, Japan and was founded in 1952.

The company produced two licensed Star Trek gashapon candy-toy lines between 2003 and 2006. F-Toys, another gashapon manufacturer, was founded by Toyohiko Furuta in 2001, following his retirement from this company.

Star Trek releases[]

Star Trek Federation Ships & Alien Ships Collection[]

Furuta Star Trek Starship 2

Promo for Volume 2

In 2003, Furuta produced its first small-scale injection-molded plastic models of Star Trek starships and space stations as Volume One of the Star Trek Federation Ships & Alien Ships Collection. Volumes Two and Three followed in 2004 and 2005, respecively.

Notably, aside from producing many commonly manufactured Star Trek starships, Furuta also produced ships that had been rarely touched upon by other licensed companies before. These included a Species 8472 bio-ship and a Prometheus-, Olympic-, and Nova-class vessel.

The models were pre-painted, well detailed for their size, and were "snap-fit" models that required no glue for assembly. Each item included a display stand. All of the standard items were sold in "blind boxes" that did not disclose their specific contents on their exteriors. The first two volumes included a collectible trading card with each model.

Furuta's starships were generally larger than its contemporary competitor Romando which released a Star Trek gashapon product line at about the same time. Konami and F-Toys also produced Star Trek gashapon series in later years.

Item Scale Note
Star Trek Federation Ships and Alien Ships Collection – Volume 1, 2003
Furuta box Vol.1
Blind box Volume 1
Deep Space Nine 1:15700 Furuta Model Vol.1 Deep Space Nine 2003
Galor-Class Warship 1:4000 Furuta Model Vol.1 Galor Class 2003
Klingon Bird-of-Prey 1:1325 Furuta Model Vol.1 Klingon Bird of Prey 2003
Species 8472 Bio-Ship 1:437 Furuta Model Vol.1 Species 8472 Bio-ship 2003
USS Defiant NX-74205 1:1250 Furuta Model Vol.1 Defiant Class 2003
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A 1:2400 Furuta Model Vol.1 Constitution Class 2003
USS Equinox NCC-72381 1:1625 Furuta Model Vol.1 Nova Class 2003
USS Reliant NCC-1864 1:2125 Furuta Model Vol.1 Miranda Class 2003
USS Stargazer NCC-2893 1:2800 Furuta Model Vol.1 Constellation Class 2003
Klingon Attack Cruiser 1:4200 Furuta Model Vol.1 Vor'Cha Class 2003
Romulan Warbird n/a "Secret item" Furuta Model Vol.1 D'deridex 2003
Star Trek Federation Ships & Alien Ships Collection – Volume 2, 2004
Furuta box Vol.2
Blind box Volume 2
Ferengi Marauder 1:4425 Furuta Model Vol.2 D'kora Class 2004
Jem'Hadar Attack Ship 1:1250 Furuta Model Vol.2 Jem'Hadar Fighter 2004
USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (TOS) 1:2175 Furuta Model Vol.2 Constitution Class 2004
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B 1:3200 Furuta Model Vol.2 Excelsior Class 2004
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C 1:4875 Furuta Model Vol.2 Ambassador Class 2004
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D 1:6300 Furuta Model Vol.2 Galaxy Class 2004
Future USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D 1:6300 Furuta Model Vol.2 Galaxy Class alternative 2004
USS Farragut NCC-60597 1:5775 Furuta Model Vol.2 Nebula Class 2004
USS Prometheus NCC-59650 1:2975 Furuta Model Vol.2 Prometheus Class 2004
USS Voyager NCC-74656 1:2700 Furuta Model Vol.2 Intrepid Class 2004
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E 1:5125 "Secret item" Furuta Model Vol.2 Sovereign Class 2004
Star Trek Federation Ships & Alien Ships Collection – Volume 3α, 2005
Furuta box Vol.3a
Blind box Volume 3α
Shuttlecraft Galileo NCC-1701/7 n/a Furuta Model Vol.3a Class F Shuttle 2006
Phoenix 1:263 Furuta Model Vol.3a Phoenix 2006
USS Excelsior NCC-2000 n/a Furuta Model Vol.3a Excelsior Class 2006
USS Grissom NCC-638 1:2000 Furuta Model Vol.3a Oberth Class 2006
Spock n/a Furuta Model Vol.3a Spock 2006
Star Trek Federation Ships & Alien Ships Collection – Volume 3β, 2005
Furuta box Vol.3b
Blind box Volume 3β
Borg Cube n/a Furuta Model Vol.3b Borg Cube 2006
Kazon Raider 1:2105 Furuta Model Vol.3b Kazon Raider 2006
USS Enterprise NCC-1701 (refit) n/a Furuta Model Vol.3b Constitution Class 2006
USS Pasteur NCC-58925 n/a Furuta Model Vol.3b Olympic Class 2006
USS Rio Grande NCC-72452 1:306 Furuta Model Vol.3b Danube Class 2006
Borg Cube & Sphere n/a "Special item"; red LED-illuminated cube; delayed addition after Vol.3 was already released, as is evidenced by the earlier style stand Furuta Model Vol.3b Borg Cube Special 2006

Scale info courtesy of Starshipmodeler

Star Trek Pins Collection[]

Furuta released the Star Trek Pins Collection in 2006 as a gashapon line of enamel pins, featuring twenty unique insignia from the Star Trek franchise. Each insignia pin was packed inside of a "blind box" and came with a display stand.

  1. TOS USS Enterprise Command division
  2. TOS USS Enterprise Sciences division
  3. TOS USS Enterprise Operations division
  4. Films II – VI*
  5. DS9 and VOY
  6. TNG Future
  7. TNG
  8. Cadet
  9. Mirror Universe Starfleet
  10. Bajoran Militia
  11. Borg Collective
  12. Cardassian Union
  13. Vulcan IDIC
  14. Starfleet Medical
  15. Romulan Star Empire
  16. United Federation of Planets
  17. Maquis
  18. Ferengi Alliance
  19. Klingon Empire
  20. TMP (revised patch)‡

* with officer's patch

† also used for TMP Rear Admiral and Films IIVI enlisted and non-commissioned officers

‡ this color was used for the Command and Operations divisions

Background information[]

Gashapon[]

Bandai is the company that trademarked the term "gashapon" for the combination of candy with a toy model, together in a single package. The name is derived from the sound of the cranking of the dispensing mechanism ("gasha") added to the noise that the box makes when it falls out of the vending machine ("pon").

The term "gashapon" has become very common in Japan as a generic term for all manufacturers of these "candy-toys" and has also come to be identified with "blind box" trading figures, product lines of small-scale toys, figurines or models that are sold in identical sealed boxes. Commonly, many gashapon boxes must be purchased to complete a toy series, as collectors will inadvertently purchase many duplicate items.

Gashapon are now commonplace in Japan and many candy companies include toys with their products as enticers, often packaged in such a way that they can be dispensed from vending machines. In the case of some companies, the candy is included so that their toys can be sold on supermarket shelves as food items.

Furuta USS Enterprise carriers

USS Enterprise aircraft carriers

Rarer "secret" or "chase" items are often included in a series to boost sales and are produced in smaller quantities than the regular items in the series. This method of collector-focused marketing has a strong resemblance to trading cards sales methods. Typically, a gashapon line is a single and unrepeated release which can cause the more sought-after releases to become highly valued collector's items.

Warship Collection 1[]

In 2003, Furuta released the Warship Collection 1 gashapon line of contemporary warships which included the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Enterprise (CVN-65) aircraft carriers.

See also[]

External link[]

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