"Are the current batch of Art Asylum ships better than the old Playmates toys from the 90's as far as sculpting, details, etc.?"

Yes, by a wide margin.  I have them all, and the new Art Asylum ships are the second best in my collection.  For the TV series Enterprise (it's sad that I now have to specify which one: I mean the NCC-1701) I'd order them as The Master Replica, Art Asylum, the recent Polar Lights version, Franklin Mint, and then the Playmates Version.  For the Movie versions NCC-1701A, I'd rate them as the Bandai, the Art Asylum, the large Polar Lights (depending on your model making skills), and then Playmates.

Hey John, Have you ever seen the Medicom figures from Japan? They do mostly Anime, and Japanese live action heroes, but they do have some American Licenses like Batman Begins, and Cyclops and Wolverine.

The figures are fantastic, and miles above some of the stuff offered here.

http://www.mwctoys.com/REVIEW_012706a.htm

Well, the Cyclops is the "belts and pouches" version, so you may not like that one, but the detail, and craftsmanship in these beats the hell out of the 13" DCD stuff.