Monthly Archives: May 2014

Action Figures For The Questioning #006: Boxed Set

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Action Figures For the Questioning

I’ve been in the action figure world for about 20 years.  So, it’s safe to say I’ve got a fair bit of knowledge on the terms that tend to be thrown around by collectors with little or no explanation as to what they mean.  I generally try to explain a concept on its first appearance on this site, but much as Stan Lee once said to assume every comic book was somebody’s first, I too must assume that every review on this site might be the first to be read by a new visitor.  As such, I’ve decided to put together a guide to some of the more frequently used terms and names that might show up.

BOXED SET

BoxedSet

What is it?:

A collection of figures, typically based around a theme of some sort.  Generally refers to a number of figures greater than three.  It isn’t uncommon to see re-releases or a large amount of part re-use in such sets.  Frequently used to release lesser known characters, as packing them with better known characters means the average buyer will still buy them.

#0209: Stargirl

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

STARGIRL

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

Stargirl

If you liked yesterday’s Aquaman review, you’ll be happy to know I’ll be taking a look at yet another DC Universe Classics figure today. This time around, it’s Stargirl, who is most commonly known for her association with the Justice Society of America. She’s one of DC’s better characters in recent years, and if you’d like to know more, you can check out her entry in the Backstories section, here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Stargirl was released in the 19th series of DC Universe Classics. The series was themed around the Justice Society, so her inclusion makes sense. Stargirl stands about 6 inches tall and features 25 points of articulation. Astoundingly for DCUC, Star Girl is almost an entirely unique sculpt. Only her forearms and boots are re-use, hailing from the 90s Supergirl from Mattel’s earlier line DC Super Heroes. The body sculpt is pretty decently done. She’s well-proportioned all around, and looks appropriate to the character. Sadly, the head doesn’t fair as well. They tried to give her a grinning expression, and she ends up looking a bit like the Joker. I’ll give them credit for trying something different, but it just didn’t work out. The paint work is all very clean, and I really like the metallic blue they used, but the head is once again hit the hardest. The paint on the teeth makes the sculpt look even worse, which is really sad. Stargirl includes her cosmic staff and a piece of series 19’s C-n-C, STRIPE. The staff is a nice piece, though it’s been molded in clear yellow for some reason, and she has a little bit of trouble holding it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Stargirl was picked up for me by my Dad. He found her in the store and knew I’d been looking for one, so he bought it for me. I know I kinda ragged on her, but I honestly don’t think Stargirl’s that bad a figure. Sure, the head sculpt leaves a bit to be desired, but I’ve seen worse and the rest of the figure is handled very well. Plus, it’s a character I like, so I’m just glad she got a figure at all.

#0208: Aquaman – Camouflage

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

AQUAMAN – CAMOUFLAGE

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

Aquaman(Camo)

Aquaman tends to get a bad rap. People are very quick to label him as “lame” or “stupid.” Now, I’m not one to tell people they aren’t true fans, or say my opinion is law or anything, but I feel like people that write the character off like that aren’t really looking at the character too closely. I mean, the guy lives at the bottom of the ocean. Dude’s gotta be super-jacked! Certainly not the kind of guy I’d want to make fun of.

That being said, in the 80s, Aquaman got a mini-series where he was given a new costume to replace his classic orange and green look. It was water camouflage.  It was lame. It was stupid. And, it was one of the versions of the character released in Mattel’s DC Universe Classics. “Ethan, if you think the costume is lame and stupid, why do you have an action figure of it?” Because shut up, that’s why!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Aquaman was released in the 7th series of DC Universe Classics. He is in the aforementioned “Aqua-Camo.” The figure is about 6 ½ inches tall and features 25 points of articulation. He’s built on slightly larger male buck, which fits the king of the seas, I suppose. His head is reused from DCUC’s previous Aquaman figure. Yes, he was a total re-use figure. At least the reused parts are good pieces. The head sculpt is definitely one of the line’s stronger pieces. It has just the right amount of nobility and heroism that should be present in the king of Atlantis. One thing I did notice is that he has a slight mutilation on his face that results in some lines that shouldn’t be there. I actually like the look, as it kind of look like some cool scarring, but I imagine not everyone would be so thrilled. The paint work is pretty good. They’ve replicated the design of the suit very well, and it does really pop, which is always nice. It has a few fuzzy lines here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary for a DCUC figure.  Aquaman includes a trident and a piece of the series’ C-n-C, Atom Smasher. This is my first Aquaman I’ve reviewed on the site, so I’m gonna address this here: what is up with the tridents? Aquaman pretty much never carries a trident, and yet every single Aquaman figure’s got his friggin’ trusty trident!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I purchased this figure for two reasons: I wanted to finish Atom Smasher, and the basic Aquaman was hard to find. Seriously, I’ve never actually seen the regular Aquaman in person. The series he was in was pretty much impossible to find. So, I had to settle for true blue here. He’s actually not a bad figure, even if I’m not the biggest fan of the costume. He also adds a nice splash (heh!) of blue to the JLA shelf.

Action Figures For The Questioning #005: Bleed Over

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Action Figures For the Questioning

I’ve been in the action figure world for about 20 years.  So, it’s safe to say I’ve got a fair bit of knowledge on the terms that tend to be thrown around by collectors with little or no explanation as to what they mean.  I generally try to explain a concept on its first appearance on this site, but much as Stan Lee once said to assume every comic book was somebody’s first, I too must assume that every review on this site might be the first to be read by a new visitor.  As such, I’ve decided to put together a guide to some of the more frequently used terms and names that might show up.

BLEED OVER

BleedOver

What is it?:

A result of poor application of paint on a figure.  Bleed over is when paint goes past it’s intended stopping point.  It is usually evident by looking at sculpted boarders between colors, or possibly a painted line detailing a boarder.  Generally seen as making a figure look cheaply made.

#0207: Supergirl & Bizarro

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

SUPERGIRL & BIZARRO

DC MINIMATES

Bizarro&Supergirl

Goodbye! Today, me no am reviewing figures from my least favorite toyline ever, Minimates. Me no am happy to be reviewing Minimates. They am terrible! Figures today not come from DC Minimates, a line which had too many series. Figures am two minor characters from DC’s least popular comic, Superman.

THE FIGURES NO AM THEMSELVES

Figures no am from 6th series of DC Minimates. They no am from near end of line.

PRETTY LADY S GIRL

Supergirl no am Superman’s cousin. She am very old lady, who am left on Argo, capital city of Krypton, which am destroyed before Krypton exploded. Supergirl am very tall figure, not based on normal Minimate body. She no features 14 points of articulation and am 2 ½ inches short. Supergirl have three old pieces. They no am right for the character. They am too skinny. Pieces am sculpted very rigid. Paint am okay. This am very bad. There am no interesting details. Supergirl’s face am very calm, and am same as others. Supergirl am well accessorized with nothing.

ME AM BIZARRO

Bizarro am original Superman. He am greatest hero ever and am great friend of Superman. He am not based on classic Bizarro, which am terrible! Bizarro am no based on minimate body, and no have normal features. Bizarro no have three sculpted pieces: hair, cape, and belt. Cape and belt brand new pieces and hair am re-use. Pieces no am good for figure. Am terrible representation of character. Bizzaro’s paint am no good. This am very bad. Slop am everywhere. Bizarro’s face am no detailed very well. He am very sad looking. Me Bizarro am include “Bizarro #1” necklace, which other Bizarro’s no am included. Me am happy about this.

ME AM THREE HALVES OF THE EQUATION

Ethan sell Bizarro and Pretty Lady S Girl from distant comicbook store, Cosmic Comix. Me no get them when they am unreleased. Me no am like them. They am terrible figures of characters. They am no important characters to Superman.

 

Confused?  This post was written in Bizarro speak.  If you’d like a translation, click here.

Guest Review #0003: Supergirl & Bizarro

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Guest Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

The  following is a guest review written by my brother, Christian Wilson.  Enjoy.

SUPERGIRL & BIZARRO

DC MINIMATES

Bizarro&Supergirl

Ahoy! This is life. Sometimes you don’t know where you’re going but you know where you’ve been. And that’s all that love’s about. But love is not about the Bizarro & Supergirl Minimate Tupac from probably the 6rd of 8 series of DC Minimates (Because why wait any longer!?). The rippling abs and pectorals before will be put to action immediately. Get ready for the BOON!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These figures are like midgardians. Weak and tiny! As they both originate from Superman Descent (Yeah, that’s a thing I made up with mah brain powers), they both sport some Supes logos. These characters are like the stuff you’ve seen before only more backwards.

SUPERGIRL

I wouldn’t have put her first, she’s just boring, but cool at the same time! Supergirl sports a lady skirt, and some differently sculpted hair. Along with the cape, much work was clearly put into to this thing(if you will). There’s more than 6 articulation points and this makes Supergirl undesirabley angry for some reason. Just look at that face! If you would like to learn more about this robust lady of the lake, look her up on Wikipedia cuz I ain’t gonna draw her.

BIZARRO

This figure am horrible! That was bizarre speak for this figure’s is awesome! The character is captured well in his classic uniform and not some Smallville CW sh*t like before. This figure uses lots of parts from Superman surprisingly. With the exception of the paint being purplish and the backwards S in his chest, this figure is mostly the same but different in a good way. Like the Dred Scott Decision of 1857! If you would like to learn more better about this backwards guy, do as listed for Supergirl above!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ethan bought it on a day some years ago. Bro.

#0206: Iceman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ICEMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS

IceMan

It’s not a line I have fond memories of in hindsight, but when it was brand new, I was all about ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends. It was THE line to collect in the early 2000s, and it offered “hyper-detailed” versions of classic characters. Looking back, there are a few gems from those early lines, but most of the figures just end up looking like an oddly shaped mess. A very well-articulated oddly shaped mess, but a mess nonetheless. Today’s figure comes from the latter group.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iceman was released in the 8th series of ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends. He’s a little over 6 inches tall and features 44 points of articulation, which is a lot. However, like many of the ToyBiz era ML figures, a lot of this articulation cancels itself out. I think this was when ToyBiz was more interested in jamming in articulation just because they could. Iceman has a new head on a body re-used from the Black Costume version of Spider-Man in Toybiz’s Spider-Man line around the same time. The body worked okay for Spider-Man, but it just seems really strange looking for Iceman. The proportions are very strange, especially around the shoulders, where he has 6 joints on each side. It just doesn’t look right. The head sculpt is pretty good, but it seems weird seeing it on that odd body. The paint work is a bit uneven. They’ve gone with a blue airbrush technique, but it looks different from piece to piece. This gets rather distracting when the figure is completely assembled. Iceman came packaged with a display stand that looked like a damaged sentinel hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Believe it or not, I was actually pretty excited for Iceman at the time of his release. I was working on an X-Men set-up at the time, so I guess I was excited to get such a key player. If I remember correctly, Iceman was a gift from my parents, I think for Valentine’s Day. Yeah, my parents used to buy me toys for Valentine’s Day. There really was no escaping the collection, was there?

Action Figures For The Questioning #004: Articulation

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Action Figures For the Questioning

I’ve been in the action figure world for about 20 years.  So, it’s safe to say I’ve got a fair bit of knowledge on the terms that tend to be thrown around by collectors with little or no explanation as to what they mean.  I generally try to explain a concept on its first appearance on this site, but much as Stan Lee once said to assume every comic book was somebody’s first, I too must assume that every review on this site might be the first to be read by a new visitor.  As such, I’ve decided to put together a guide to some of the more frequently used terms and names that might show up.

ARTICULATION

Articulation

What is it?:

Each point of movement on a figure is considered a point of articulation.  A figure with 20 points of articulation can move a different direction in 20 places.  Too much articulation can ruin the aesthetic of a figure.  Too little can limit the fun factor.  It is preferred that it not be too tight or too loose.

Example:

Movement in neck, shoulders and hips are the standard points of articulation.

#0205: Hal Jordan, Sinestro, & Abin Sur

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

HAL JORDAN, SINESTRO & ABIN SUR

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED

IMG_1737

It’s no secret that I’m a pretty big Green Lantern fan. Due to this, I own a metric ton of Green Lantern crap. Good or bad, I own it. There is, however, one Green Lantern item that I will never, ever, own. That is the Hal Jordan Green Lantern figure based on the character’s brief cameo in the Justice League Unlimited episode “Once and Future Thing.” Mattel decided to give this figure out as a gift to a number of Warner Brothers executives one year. I believe the number of figures in existence is in the low three-figures. Unsurprisingly, the figure rarely shows up on the aftermarket, and when one does, they go for prices far beyond what someone like me can reasonably pay.

So, I was bummed. I mean, Hal Jordan was one of my favorite characters of all time, and I would be unable to own him in the primary DC scale of the time. What a bummer! Then came the set I am reviewing today, offering me another chance at the character. No, it’s not the same, but it’s something, so I’ll take it.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Hal Jordan, Abin Sur, and Sinestro were released as part of a San Diego Comic Con exclusive three pack, meant to sort-of promote Justice League: New Frontier. Hal and Abin are based loosely on their appearances there, and Sinestro is based on his GL look in the comics. All three feature swappable heads, to allow Hal to be displayed in either of his GL uniforms. It’s debatable as to whether it works or not.

HAL JORDAN

Hal is presented here in his Ferris Aircraft-issued test pilot gear. He stands just shy of 5 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. He features a brand new head and legs, along with the basic medium build torso and arms and a coat add-on previously used on Mr. Terrific. The head looks pretty accurate to what Hal looks like in New Frontier, so that works. The re-use all works appropriately as well. The paint work is okay, though there are some fuzzy lines in a few spots.  Hal has no accessories, unless you want to count Abin and Sinestro…

ABIN SUR

Abin Sur is presented here in the GL uniform he wore in his original appearance. This was a bit of a contentious point amongst fans, because it’s not the design he sported in his appearance in the Animated universe. It was done to facilitate the Hal Jordan thing, but I guess I can see the annoyance. Abin is built on the medium build body with a brand new head. The head is a bit big for the body, but overall it looks nice, and the medium body was the best of the bucks Mattel used for this line. The paint is serviceable, though it also still has a few fuzzy lines.

SINESTRO

Sinestro is shown here in his GL uniform, which he never actually sported in any of the animated material, but they wanted to do the interchangeable heads thing, so there it is. Sinestro is a complete re-use. He’s built on the same medium body as Abin, and shares a head with the previous Sinestro figure. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The paint is nice and clean, cleaner than the other two, in fact, which is something I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up off of Matty Collector following SDCC. It was mostly painless. It’s not the same as the super rare Hal, but this set isn’t too bad. It provides a perfectly fine version of Hal, and Abin and Sinestro are pretty cool too. It’s not a thrilling set, but it is cool for someone who’s a fan of Green Lantern, which is a bill I fit. Yay.

#0204: New Mutants Magik & Warlock

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

NEW MUTANTS MAGIK & WARLOCK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Warlock&MagikWarlock&MagikAlt

Marvel! Minimates! Marvel! Minimates! Marvel Minimates! Yep, another Marvel Minimates review today. This time around, I’ll be taking a look at two of the New Mutants (well, technically three), an offshoot of the X-Men. The characters are Magik (or, “New Mutants Magik,” because branding) and a combo figure of Warlock and Cypher. If you’d like to know a little bit more about them, check out Magik’s backstory here, and Warlock and Cypher’s here.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released as part of the 9th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates, and was released to coincide with Diamond’s New Mutants boxed set.

NEW MUTANTS MAGIK

Magik was one of the more prominent members of the team, and ended up being one of the few to move to the X-Men proper. She’s depicted here in her New Mutants uniform, so she fits in with the others. Magik is built on the standard Minimate body, which means she sports 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. She has a sculpted hairpiece and a shoulder pad. Both pieces are new to this figure and look spot on to her comicbook counterpart. The shoulder pad is a bit loose, but it looks good when it sits properly. She also features gloved right hand, which is a re-use. The paint work is a bit mixed. The detail lines are nice and clean, and I quite like her sly expression, but the base paint is a bit sloppy. Magik has two accessories: a fiery sword and a stand that replicates her teleportation abilities. They are both new pieces, and they are great additions to the figure.

WARLOCK

Now, the figure that is actually two figures in one. This figure not only represents shape-shifter Warlock, but also the team’s resident brainiac Cypher. It’s a nice idea, given the closeness of the characters and the fact that Cypher might not be the most exciting figure on his own.  Warlock/Cypher is built on the basic body, just like Magik. He features five newly sculpted add-ons: head/mask, gun arm, claw arm, torso, and left foot. Warlock had an always changing look in the comics, but these seem to do the job well enough. He also features a torso extender, which is reused from a modern Battlestar Galactica Cylon. The paint is similar to Magik, in that the detail lines are nice and clean, but some of the more base paint is a bit fuzzy around the edges. Still, the detail work is impressive, especially at this scale. Warlock includes a hairpiece, hands and feet to allow you to display the figure as Cypher, which is a really cool option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set is actually one of the few TRU exclusives I didn’t have any trouble tracking down. Just found it in my local store one day. If I recall correctly, I was even asked what Minimates were by the woman standing behind me in line, which was cool. I really like this set, especially because it features my three favorite members of the New Mutants, especially Warlock. In a sad twist of fate, Warlock is actually one of the few Minimates I’ve ever lost, misplaced somewhere between my dorm room and home. I ended up having to get a replacement (for quite a mark-up) from Amazon. But, it was definitely worth it. I really like this set, even more than the boxed set it was meant to augment.