Got a few spare minutes here, thought I’d post…just for fun, really.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I tend to prefer a single action figure of a character in his “iconic” look, rather than a number of costume variations. This is because I view my toys not as collectibles but as characters, and to have two Batmen next to each other, well, it breaks the illusion that he’s Batman and not just a toy. (more…)
We’re back with another round of questions for Mattel’s “ToyGuru.” (I tried to think of a particularly nerdy question for Paul to mock, but I kept coming up blank.)
PG: The second wave of DC Universe Classics appeared at Targets across the country several weeks earlier than they arrived at other retailers, including online retailers. Was this a one-time occurrence, or should those who pre-order the figures from online retailers generally expect to receive their figures some time after they appear at retail? (more…)
Picked up the latest issue of ToyFare this week. In the tradition of all uninspired stand-up comedians, let’s see what’s in the news this month…
Cover: Iron Monger from Hasbro’s Iron Man movie line. I have to admit, he looks totally awesome, though I’m wondering whether those hips are ball jointed. Haven’t seen any of these figures in stores yet, but that makes sense since the street date is the 23rd.
Inside cover: Ad for Diamond Select’s second wave of Battlestar Galactica figures. The Cylon looks badass–that’s going to be a hot seller. It looks like they may have fixed up Starbuck’s face a bit, but she still looks more like that woman from Stargate SG-1 to me.
Page 9: Who’s Mandalore the Indomitableâ„¢? I’m way behind on this Star Wars Expanded Universe stuff. Last thing I remember is Kyle Katarn and those badass Darktroopers.
Page 10: Ill-favored N2/Mirage Toys made a Mad Max line that actually wasn’t so bad. (more…)
Captain Collector over on AFTimes has used his magical networking powers to score a full set of DCUC wave 2–and they look great.
I’m particularly pleased to see Grodd isn’t nearly as tall as I was thought he would be. That’s pretty much in line with his size in the comics (I’ve got a whole Poe’s Point planned on the topic of oversized gorillas in fiction). Check out the link and enjoy the pics.
All apologies for the relative dearth of posts these last few weeks, but I seem to be in a dead zone toy-wise. (more…)
NOTE: I tend to write very long, intricate reviews, so I’m going to break this one up by posting the reviews in regular text and the “flavor text” in italics. If you just want to get right to my assessment of the toys, skip the italics. If you want to be fascinated by engaging, brilliant prose, read Tender is the Night. But if you want to read some mildly interesting commentary on the action figure industry, then by all means read the italicized text.
Back in the 1980s, Kenner produced a fondly-remembered action figure line called Super Powers, which featured DC heroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, as well as more obscure characters such as New Gods Orion and Darkseid. At the same time, Mattel–home of Barbie and the then-hugely popular Masters of the Universe line–put out a line of Marvel superhero action figures called Secret Wars.
Fast-forward twenty years. Last year, Hasbro (who absorbed Kenner in the 1990s) took over the Marvel license from ToyBiz and resumed production of its long-lived line of six-inch figures, Marvel Legends. Mattel, on the other hand, had already gotten the Batman and Superman toy rights, and last year they secured the rights to the entire DC comics pantheon. After some growing pains–their Batman line morphed into the combination Batman/Superman DC Superheroes line, and then into DC Universe Classics–Mattel hit their stride with their own six-inch superhero line. So now the roles have been reversed–Kenner/Hasbro now plasticizes Marvel superheroes for the mass market, while Mattel gives us six-inch totems of Superman, Batman, and…Etrigan? (more…)
As with many hobbies, the rise of the Internet has allowed the average action figure collector to understand the intricacies of production, sales, and distribution more than ever before. Fans track and discuss case mixes, variant ratios and shipping schedules. They have favorite sculptors and designers. And with projects like the Four Horsemen’s FANtastic Exclusive, they even get to participate in the development process.
Of course, this heightened awareness also provides collectors with an insight into the sort of issues one would never consider. For instance, we’ve long known that most American toys are manufactured in Chinese factories (for better or, in some recent cases, worse). But what perhaps you weren’t aware of is the fact that, for a week or two in February, all those factories close for the Chinese New Year–meaning the toy companies have to push as much product through as possible before then to avoid serious delays. (more…)
The Four Horsemen have hit yet another roadblock on their quest to get quality figures of the 2007 FANtastic Exclusive, Ramathorr, into the hands of collectors.
The new factory was finally able to take possession of the molds recently and inspect them in preparation for production. During their inspection they’ve noticed that some of the molds have a small amount of surface rust because the previous factory had left them sitting, un-oiled and uncovered for an extended period of time. This surface rust is not enough that it will weaken the quality of the detail in the figures, but it is enough that all of the molds will need to be thoroughly cleaned and greased before they can begin running the new batch of figures. […] It now looks as if we may be able to have the product in our warehouse and be able to begin shipping everything out in mid to late March. That is if nothing else rears its ugly head. Please keep your fingers crossed, bear with us, and we’ll update you as often as possible with any further developments.
I own a Ramathorr from the first production run that a friend of mine got me at last year’s San Diego Comic Con. I can vouch for the multiple QC problems these figures have–very loose joints, poorly glued tusks, weapons that won’t fit in their holsters. I suspect the Horsemen will offer some sort of replacement deal for those who already got a Ramathorr or one of his variants, but I decided to just order another one off their website. They’ve already taken enough of a bath on this thing as it is.
Some good photos of the “Movie Masters” 6″ Dark Knight line (sculpted by the Four Horsemen) have leaked (intentionally or not?) to the Web. For now, I’m just going to link to another site that has them, until I’ve got confirmation from the Horsemen or Mattel that it’s okay to post them here.
Also, Entertainment Earth has a bunch of Dark Knight, including the Movie Master figures, up for preorder. There are some new photos, but I’m skeptical about how much information EE really has–for instance, the photo for the Movie Masters figures is the old prototype photo that came out last week, and the product description says “Each case includes 4 individually packaged Action Figures which may include: Batman, The Joker. (Subject to change.)” Hmmmm…
I do believe the May release date, though. That’s the usual release date for a July blockbuster toy line.
Toy News International has posted a photo of the Batman figure from the upcoming six-inch line based on The Dark Knight. The line’s sub-title is apparently “Movie Masters,” which presumably means it will cover more than just this one film (and possibly non-Batman films such as Superman Returns and Justice League).
Over on their FANtastic Exclusive forums, the Four Horsemen are a bit uncertain whether the photo is definitely of their prototype or not, but they do offer this tidbit about the figures: “They match up in both scale and articulation with the DC Universe Classics figures. The articulation is really well hidden in that figure.”
More details about the Movie Masters line will be revealed at Toy Fair next month. Along with DCUC and the NECA Ninja Turtles, this is one of my most-anticipated lines for 2008.