I was recently participating in a discussion about flight stands and decided my 17-year-old post on the topic deserved a mild update.

My favorite flight stands are the ones that come with Mezco One:12 figures. Big and sturdy and can hold heavy figures high up. 

Second is probably Bandai stage act; they’re not that strong and can’t hold heavy figures, but they’re extremely versatile. I can use them to have a Transformers car slightly off the ground due to an explosion, or holding blood splatter effects in place.

Third are those McFarlane flight stands – they’re functional, but only if the joint isn’t too loose, which it is I’d say half the time. And they’re really only good for “hovering” poses. 

Fourth would be the NECA dynamic flight stands. They’re relatively strong, but the part that attaches the clip to the stand is quite fragile, and the clip can’t really be positioned very well. 

Last would be those Hasbro ones – too big and chunky and obtrusive. You can’t suspend your disbelief when you’re using them.

Discuss on Bluesky or email me

• That’s right, we’re back baby! There’s still a lot of renovations to do around here, but for now PGPoA is up and running and may even be occasionally updated.
• It’s SDCC season, and we appear to be living in the worst of times (politically) and the best of times in terms of action figures. While many of the larger companies are delivering great products (admittedly at higher prices), we are seeing some significant new smaller companies enter the market with some impressive products and licenses.
• For example, Fresh Monkey Fiction recently combined with BigBadToyStore to create the BigBadWorkshop toy company. Reading between the lines, it seems like BBTS is now underwriting select FMF ventures, such as Operation: Monster Force and the Naughty or Nice Collection. And one of the cooler things I’ve seen so far is they are apparently developing a line of 1/12 scale NPC figures (credit to Luke Thompson – check out his blog, it’s cool). I love this idea, and I suspect many collectors of various 6″ lines will too. As Luke notes, the price will be key, though I’d probably spend more on these than a lot of people might. I just wish there were 1/10 scale options as well – my McFarlane Batman Year One figure needs crooks (and crooked cops) to whale on.
• Boss Fight spent last week teasing a new line of Hellboy action figures, only to stop abruptly with a sign-up page and leave us hanging. I went nuts for Hellboy from about 2004-2006, and Mezco’s Comic Hellboy line was one of my favorites from that era. I’ve got BF’s Red Sonja and I like it, so here’s hoping their Hellboy line is as good or even better.
• And on a related note, that new Hellboy line got me thinking about 1000Toys’s Hellboy figures, and then on to the competing 6″ Street Fighter action figure lines by Jada Toys and Storm Collectibles. The Jada Toys figures are similar to Marvel Legends figures in sculpt, articulation and accessories, whereas the Storm Collectibles figures are more on par with what you see from Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line. Now, Marvel Legends and S.H. Figuarts have been battling it out for over a decade now, mostly with Marvel movie figures, but it’s always been an interesting question to me how you decide which to get. For example, you can get the Jada Toys Blanka for $35, or the Storm Collectibles Blanka for $110. By the same token, the 1000Toys Hellboy costs $150, whereas I expect the Boss Fight figure will probably be between $50-$70 (based on their other licensed 1/12 figures like Red Sonja, though it’s obviously possible they won’t go the 1/12 route). So the question is, if the cheaper figure gives you ninety percent of what you’re looking for from a figure, is it worth $70-$100 to get that last ten percent? Obviously this is going to be based on a lot of factors – one’s budget, how much of a fan you are of the property, and so forth. But it remains an interesting question to me, whether these tiered action figure lines represent the future of the hobby.

Another month, another massive hit to my wallet courtesy of Masters of the Universe Classics. It seems like ages ago that Pixel Dan reviewed Mosquitor (it was about a month). Sometimes I feel like those previews diminish my excitement for a figure…it’s as if it’s already old news by the time the sale happens. Hell, Dan’s already reviewed Ram Man.

Also for sale this month is Procrustus, the Eternian god found in a two-page appearance in a vintage minicomic who I never, ever thought would get an action figure; and, of course, Granamyr, the largest figure in the line and again, something I don’t think I ever expected would be made into a toy.

Oddly enough, I think I’m most excited about Procrustus…I just love his Ray Harryhausen-reminiscent design, and the Horsemen’s sculpting here is fantastic. Granamyr is one of those toys I’ll have to judge when I have it in hand. It should be noted that Granamyr is evidently running late and hasn’t arrived at the warehouse yet, so even though you can order him today he won’t ship immediately.

DC-wise there’s Platinum & Tin, as well as Lead, and a JLU three-pack of Dr. Destiny, Toyman and Firefly. Or was that offered before?

Then there’s the usual assortment of other items. I keep considering picking up a set of flight stands but they always seem to be sold out.