The AFB Podcast Episode 165: DBZ Xenoverse Future Trunks Statue / Kotobukiya ArtFX 1/6 Batman Statue / Hot Toys Stormtrooper

Episode 165 of the AFB Podcast is live at iTunes and is now available for direct download! Download and subscribe to the podcast at iTunes now! 

This week, join Scott, Adam and Justin for all of the latest news and reviews!

This week, our Toys of the Week are:

• The Dragonball Xenoverse Travel Edition Future Trunks Statue

• The Kotobukiya ArtFX 1:6 Scale Batman Statue

• The Hot Toys Star Wars Episode iV Stormtrooper

If you don't use iTunes, you can download Episode 165 here now! Click on the link to listen, or right click to save the file! The podcast will always be available from the “Podcast” tab here - but if you can subscribe and give us positive ratings at iTunes, that will help us greatly! 

The AFB Podcast is also on Stitcher Radio!

Have a listen, and please give us some feedback at podcast@actionfigureblues.com - we might even read out your feedback on the next show!

Happy listening!

News Covered in this Episode

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   1. Hasbro Marvel Legends “G.o.t.G” 5-pack Entertainment Earth Exclusive
   2. Comicave Studios Animatronic Hulkbuster - submitted by JROD-HD on reddit
   3. Mezco Mortal Kombat Series 2 6” figures up for preorder submitted by MainMan804 on reddit
   4. Justice League Gods & Monsters Figures - submitted by timtamtommy2
   5. Four Horsemen Gothitropolis Raves SDCC exclusives up for order
   6. Four Horsemen Gothitropolis Ravens up for sale if you’ve got spare organs
   7. The Phantom Pop Vinyl
   8. The Funko Pops no one asked for - Superbad & Talladega Nights
   9. Funko AoU Scarlet Witch Pop & Agents of SHIELD “Agent May” Pop
   10. Age of Ultron Minimates Wave 2
   11. Lego announces two new large Star Wars buildables
   12. Anovos Productions LLC - Replica Star Wars helmets
   13. Monogram - Age of Ultron paperweights
   14. Phicen ⅙ Action Figure - Z-Girl and 4 Tigers
   15. Sideshow Arkham Joker Premium Format statue up for order
   16. Hot Toys “Spacetrooper” ⅙ scale action figure
   17. Star Wars Celebration - Super Shogun exclusives

Hot Toys Star Wars Announcement - Han Solo and Chewbacca!

It's been a long time coming, but Hot Toys have finally announced their follow-up to their first Star Wars figure, and it's a set that looks well worth the wait.


The Hot Toys Han Solo and Chewbacca figures are going to be released both as a set and individually, and in true Hot Toys Style, they look truly amazing!

Go to the Sideshow Website to pre-order the Hot Toys Han Solo and Chewbacca now!

Hot Toys Star Wars Bespin Luke Skywalker Deluxe Figure Review

It’s been more than a year since Hot Toys announced that they were going to produce Star Wars figures in 1:6 Scale, and that the Hot Toys Star Wars Bespin Luke Skywalker would be the first figure in the line. It’s been a long wait for the release of this figure, but after a bit of delay it’s now hitting the shelves. I was lucky enough to be home today when this delivery arrived, and I am quite sure the delivery driver thought I was more than a bit mad as I really couldn’t contain my excitement to be receiving this much-anticipated item. 

First off, let’s just say this was well and truly worth the wait. Hot Toys couldn’t have made a better start to their Star Wars line. I honestly can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun and so many geeking-out moments while unboxing and photographing a toy. The immense quality of the product aside, a large part of this giddiness has to do with the nostalgia element, and I think this is going to be a figure that brings many collectors into the Hot Toys fold.

We’re quite used to seeing swap-out heads and multiple hands and accessories with these figures, but with the Bespin Luke release Hot Toys have taken this to an entirely new level by including two entirely separate figures in this set - regular Luke and Battle Damaged Luke. It’s a real credit to Hot Toys that these figures can be displayed alongside each other - I for one am not great with lots of swap out pieces and am happy to pay the extra cost for another True Type body to be able to have the whole set on display. 

The likenesses on both of these figures are excellent. I’m not quite as sold on Battle Damaged Luke’s likeness, mainly because the hair is a little off. The hair on both of these figures is removable in order to operate the PERS eye movement system, and while this is a great feature I think that the separation of the hair and head makes the hair piece a little thick and therefore not quite as natural looking. I’m still a bit gun-shy about using the PERS much - mainly because I fear them getting stuck in some sort of horrible cross-eyed frozen pose, so that’s all a bit lost on me, but it is a very clever feature that takes these toys beyond glorified Ken dolls to something collector-worthy.

Regular Luke and Battle Damaged Luke sport the same base outfit in “before” and “after” states, and impressively each have all of their own pieces and accessories. The basic jumpsuit is great and very nicely constructed, with great wear and tear for the Battle Damaged version. There is some great detail in the pockets and seams, and the boots on these figures are beautifully constructed. My only complaint with the clothing is that the jackets tend to ride up a bit and create a collar that is too high and overwhelms the neck. 

Very impressively, each Luke has his own blaster and his own complete belt with holster and all accoutrements. The only thing that the two Lukes have to share are the lightsabers in this set. There are one each of “off” and “on” lightsabers.

One thing about the minute detail that Hot Toys goes to with its pieces is that I always seem to have something break or come apart when I’m unboxing these toys. In this instance, the hook that you can hand the “off” lightsaber on came off of Regular Luke’s belt as I was connecting it. I think this can be easily repaired - as long as I don’t lose the tiny thing first!

Of course, Battle Damaged Luke isn’t really about some torn clothing - it’s all about the stump. This has been incredibly done, with a number of options for display. Battle Damaged Luke comes with a complete right arm, and then a swap-out stump. This was actually quite easy to do once I looked at the construction of the inside of the stump arm - it takes a bit of bending with  firm, steady hand, but the material is flexible enough to remove the complete arm without needing to heat it.

One the complete arm is removed, you can attach the regenerator to help Luke start to heal, or you can attach the stump and really have some fun! One great touch which I wasn’t expecting is the inclusion of the severed hand with connects to the stump wrist with a magnet. This is simply super fun - and you can’t help but have some silly fun and games with the whole stump scenario - the severed hand is such a great inclusion!

This is the Sideshow Exclusive version of the figure, which comes with the very creepy “Luke’s face inside Darth Vader’s decapitated head” extra piece. It’s very well done, and comes complete with a bloodied stump on Darth Luke’s neck. A very fun and beautifully crafted exclusive inclusion.

I haven’t photographed the large diorama with light-up features that comes with this set. At present I won’t be displaying this piece - I have a move coming up in the next few months and no real Star Wars space as yet -  and so I thought it best to leave the diorama pieces in their original state until I’m ready to have it on display. From all the photos I’ve seen, it’s huge and supports the weight of one of the figures. Definitely something I’ll look forward to having on display sometime in the future. 

The one surprise in all of this for me is that as yet we don’t know what is coming next for this line. Hot Toys have said that this is line they want to get exactly right, and indeed if they continue such a deluxe format of delivery it will be good to be able to spread the cost out, but I’m hopeful for some news on the next character soon. Having recently jumped off the Hot Toys bandwagon for superhero movie toys, mainly because the volume and pace of the output was too much to keep up with financially, I think a line like this is going to be much more my speed, and the collecting the most iconic versions of these characters at this level of quality is something I can very much see myself getting into.

The Sideshow Exclusive version of this figure is still up for order at Sideshow. If you haven’t grabbed one already, I would recommend doing so quickly - I can’t imagine this staying in stock for long!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the November AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

Almost Magic – DCD 1:6 Scale Zatanna

Nearly called this “13 Inches of Magic”, but that just…. didn’t sound right.

After the debacle that was the 13” Wonder Wompus – er, Woman, I was very concerned when I went to pick up my pre-ordered DC Direct 13” Zatanna from my LCS today.

The good news is that, while they seem to have used the same material that was used for Wondy’s headsculpt, which seems to differ from the rest of the line, it works much better here. The differences between the photos in the packaging and the final product are still very clear – the eyes in particular are painted very differently, but the overall composition of the face  in the sculpt is better, giving it a very reasonable likeness to “Zee”, as we know her.

DCD was always going to struggle with Wonder Woman, due to the fact that her costume (or lack thereof) exposes all of the inherent weaknesses of the female 13” buck. Zatanna is a step ahead in that her costume covers most of these up – however the awful, awful pelvis / hip joins are still on full display. Any character with a brief-style costume falls short here, with the end result being an adult-diaper look that is less than attractive. It also causes the legs to looks scrawny and bowed. Ugly, fugly.

Thankfully, Zatanna still has a good deal going for her. Her costume is well constructed, and her top hat provides a few display options. It fits nicely in her head but can also be held in one of her three sets of swappable hands. Interestingly, these three sets (fists, open / snapping fingers and hands that can hold objects) are all white gloved, unlike the flesh coloured hands shown in the packaging photos. One set of those would have been a nice option to include, but Zee still scores well in the accessories department. As well as the hat and extra hands, she comes with a magic wand (which looks dreadfully  lose-able, so I’m not even bothering with it), a white rabbit (which comfortably fits in her hat, although it’s too heavy for her to hold as she does in the packaging pics) and a copy of her book. Good stuff.

This is a welcome addition to the DCD 1:6 Scale Line, although without an apology Wonder Woman it will never be complete. I do hope at the very least DCD addresses the headsculpt material issue and rectifies this – with the frailties of the female buck design, what’s on top has alot to make up for!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the November AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

The Golden Age Comes to DCD’s 13” Line

I’ve had a bit of a break from the DC Direct 13” line – between characters that haven’t caught my imagination, the increase in the cost and the delays that have been plaguing so much of DCD’s product these days – so I was very much looking forward to the arrival of the Golden Age Flash figure. I’m happy to report it’s very much worth the wait.

The presentation of the packaging of these figures is usually a bit bland for my tastes, and this is no different. I’d like to see a juxtaposition of photos of the actual figure with pictures from the comics to create a more dynamic look as opposed to photos of the figure only, which is what we have here. It’s a bit of a yawn, however I do like the display window and the fact that the packaging allows you to open and inspect the figure and repackage if desired.

Turning to the figure, kudos to MA-centric DCD for presenting Jay Garrick in his prime. The headsculpt is excellent, as is his removable helmet. The helmet fits nicely with the aid of what seems to be a magnet. One of the best headsculpts in this line.

Jay’s outfit is excellent – not sure what it is about this particular design, but the dreaded bicep and thigh cuts are not as obvious on this figure as they have been on many of the past efforts in this line. Whether this is by chance or design, it’s a very good thing. His belt is not attached to the outfit – I didn’t realise it was out of whack until it was too late to retake the photos – oops!

All I can say is that I am very hopeful that Jay Garrick won’t be alone as a GA character in DCD’s 13” line for long! In his SDCC Interview with AFI. Georg Brewer foreshadowed and Alan Scott figure, which would be very welcome – along with Wildcat, Dr Fate and any other Golden Age JSAers! Bring them on!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the October AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

DCD’s 1:6 Scale Line goes Beyond the pale…..

Cornerstore Comics has an advanced solicit up for this new addition to the DCD 1:6 Scale Line…….

Now obviously many of us out there have been keen to see the 1:6 Scale line go in the direction we thought it was heading when it started – a 1:6 Scale JLA for starters and then moving on to the B list mainstream heroes. So first of all, from the perspective of someone who wants to see that continue – ARGH!

Having said that, I’m not as anti-Batman Beyond as some (I even bought and like his unmasked DCUC figure), and believe it or not, I’d actually consider adding this figure to my collection – if it didn’t look like someone’s Eighth Grade Home Economics Project.

I mean, I remember back in Year 9 we had to make a marionette (it was quite fun actually) and I made one of Mon-El and my project looked better than this. Seriously, this pic looks like a turd’s turd. The head is wrong, the chest is wrong, it’s all just…….. wrong.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the actual solicit will be better and that he’ll come with an unmasked head etc., but still, it’s a disappointing use of the 1:6 slot for that month, another confusing message about the direction of the line and a 99% chance of a pass for me.

Oh, and did I mention this pic looks like a turd’s turd?

AFB’s 2008 Round-Up

The year is coming to an end, and that calls for a round-up of the best and the rest in the superhero action figure world for 2008. I’m sticking to the figures that have been featured in the pages of AFB this year, so you may not agree with my takes in all of these categories, but hey – it’s my blog! Let’s get started:

Custom of the Year: Choosing between my customs is like having a favourite child, but the one that I acquired this year that my collection absolutely couldn’t live without would have to be the MA JSA Liberty Belle done by the  amazing Lars. My custom MA JSA is well on the way, and Liberty Belle is the gem of the roster and one of the absolute gems of my whole collection. Best custom I featured that I don’t own (unfortunately) would have to be the custom MA Bulleteer from the Doosh Custom Con. Love it and want it.

Best 6” Scale Figure: Mattel DC Universe Classics Aquaman (Series 2) The flesh tone is a bit off, but this is by far and away the best ever plastic representation of the King of the Seas, and one of the strongest efforts in the DCUC line to date. Great to see Aquaman getting such respect in plastic – now if only the same could be said about the comics! Runners Up: DC Direct New Teen Titans Jericho, Mattel DC Universe Classics Wonder Woman, Marvel Legends Ronin (great figure of a not that great character), DC Direct Justice Captain Cold. Also am a big fan of the Marvel Legends Union Jack that I picked up this year but who never made it up onto the site.

Best 6” Wave: Mattel DC Universe Classics Series 2: A diverse line-up, solid sculpts, good QC and a kick-ass Collect & Connect figure, DCUC Wave 2 had it all, even if some of the variants didn’t come until the end of the year. This wave is where DCUC really began to show what it was capable of. Only a blue-faced, slightly wonky Harley Quinn kept it from absolute perfection. Gorilla Grodd, Superman Red & Blue and an amazing Aquaman more than made up for it. Runners Up:  DC Direct New Gods Series 1: In all their Kirby goodness, who could go past Orion, Mr Miracle, Darkseid and Lightray for the one of most enjoyable 6” wave of the year? DST Battlestar Galactica Series 2 gave us Starbuck, Kat, Helo and an amazing Cylon for some great, non-superhero fun. Mattel DC Universe Classics Series 3 could have taken the prize if not for scale issues: a less tall than intended Sinestro and a worryingly small Robin, but this was still an excellent set of figures.

Best 1:6 Scale Figure: Sticking with what I’ve collected, I’m going to have to give this to the recent DC Direct 1:6 Scale Black Canary, a favourite character and by far the best female in the DCD 1:6 Scale line. The extra screamy head was a huge bonus. If the headsculpts just looked a bit more like Dinah and bit less like Michelle Pfieffer, it would have been near perfect (still would have had those pesky thigh cuts though). Naturally, the clear overall winners are the amazing 1:6 scale figures that Hot Toys is putting out at the moment, like the Batman range and their Iron Man. Oh to have the funds. Runner Up: DC Direct 1:6 Scale Joker.

Best Roster Completion: DC Direct New Teen Titans Series 2: We love having complete teams on our shelves, and few sights could be sweeter than seeing the Wolfman / Perez New Teen Titans all together in one place. The addition of Robin, Terra and Jericho made that possible, and DCD has to get some thanks for that. Not only were these much wanted characters almost perfectly sculpted, they were also in scale with the original NTT series from DCD’s much smaller years. A job well done.

    Announcement of the Year: Mattel DC Universe Classics Series 8: Any questions that I had about just how far the DCUC line could go were answered when Series 8 was announced. Gentleman Ghost? Adrian Chase Vigilante? The sky is no doubt the limit here. Now it’s going to take a Legionnaire or ten to make me totally happy of course, but the announcement of Series 8 actually made me believe that just might happen. Runner up: the Mattel Justice League Unlimited Legends of League 6-packs announcement: Vibe, Steel, Crimson Fox and B’wana Beast?? Hello!!

Line of the Year: DC Universe Classics. Like I said earlier, the sky really does appear to be the limit with this line. Distribution and a few pesky QC issues aside, this line carries the hopes and dreams of a great many DCU fanboys and girls on its plastic little shoulders.

Company of the Year: Mattel. DCUC, JLU, Infinite Heroes, Brave & the Bold. Mattel has taken the DC license and given us DC fans more loving than we could ask for, with some honey thrown in for Masters of the Universe collectors as well. The level of fan interaction and the launch of mattycollector.com all just add to justification, if any more was needed. Long may these halcyon days last!

An epic post for what really has been an epic year. Thanks for sharing it with me, and I look forward to bringing you more fun in 2009!

The Lovely Ladies of the 1:6 Scale

As I mentioned previously, part of my Father' s Day Swag were the 13" Power Girl and Harley Quinn figures from DC Direct. After a brief stay in hospital (who knew the middle ear was so important??) I've now got a bit of extra time on my hands so I got a chance to unpack them today, and I wasn't disappointed.

Now you might remember that I had previously posited that owning the 13" PG was going to be out of the question. I made the silly mistake of running the idea past Mrs AFB and she balked at the idea of allowing PG's peekaboo hole into a home with two impressionable young girls who aren't really into the Barbie stage yet (and never will be if we can help it!).

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of PG's peekaboo hole or her overendowed depiction either, so I wasn't too fussed, but there she sat on the shelf at my LCS, taunting the completist in me, and once I learned that a 1:6 Supergirl was on the way I knew I had to build up the Superman family in the same way that the Batman family is coming along nicely (if a mishmosh of eras). I know a guy who does the most amazing DC 1:6 customs, so I'm going to ask him about doing a SA Power Girl outfit for my Kara. Good enough for Mrs AFB, and hey, it was Father's Day, so she was mine!

As with all of the DCD 1:6 Scale figures, Power Girl looks much better when you get her out of the box and pose her. She's very sturdy on her feet and can take a number of poses. She comes with two extra sets of hands for greater flexibility. I like the headsculpt, always a fan of the sculpted hair as I certainly wouldn't buying these if they'd gone for the rooted option. It's a very MA Power Girl hairstyle, but that goes with the costume. And the boobage. (Sorry, had to use that word once.)

The issues with this figure makes it very clear why DCD hasn't produced a Wonder Woman in this scale yet. Foremost is the bare limb situation, covered here (quite literally) by flesh coloured stockings. There are two issues with this - the first is that the stockings wrinkle at some points creating a saggy elephant skin-like look, and the second is that the joins between her hips and legs are far from seamless, and really expose the weakness of the stocking system. The resulting effect is that her legs look to small for her body. Ugly fugly.

Very nice detailing with blue leather gloves and boots and nice touches with her cape, belt and sash. No accessories to speak of, unless you count her enormous... well, I said I was only going to use the word once. All in all I am very happy to own this figure, but will be happier if I can get her some SA duds.

As for the most recent addition to the ranks of the female DCD 1:6 scale figures, Harley Quinn is a laudable effort at a strange and often confusing character. The weaknesses of the standard body system are apparent here, as you would imagine Harley being a much slighter lass than Power Girl, and yet in this scale they are the same size, although Harley seems less generously endowed in the breastal regions. (This scientific observation was triangulated by independent comments from each of my two daughters, who independently said "This one's boobies aren't as big as the blonde girl's are they?" or something like that. If there is a "Teen Body Female" to come, it would have been nice to see Harley done in that form, as it would put her more in scale with her Bat family friends and foes.

Harley's costume is very nicely put together, with ruffles around her wrists and leather shoes. Her head is all molded plastic, which is a bit of a shame, as the opportunity of a fabric costume around the head, while potentially less durable, would have been more consistent with the way the line has been done. Likewise her mask, which is painted on and not removable like the other masks in this series.

Harley's two main accessories are her mallet and her gun, and unlike the disappointing recent DCUC version she can actually hold them. The grip on the mallet is a bit looser than I'd like, but it does hold. She comes with two additional sets of non-accessory holding hands.

Harley is also very stable on her feet and accepts a range of poses, although the mallet over the head pose is rather precarious both from the perspective of balance and because of her loosish grip on the silly thing.

I am still saving up for my glassed-in display cabinets and so looking forward to displaying my 1:6 Scale figures loose, as the Batman family is very well represented, and Harley is a more than adequate addition to the line.

That's Part One of my Father's Day haul: Part Two is BSG Wave Two which I will attempt to review shortly. All up it was a very good haul and I'm certainly not complaining!

Until next time!

What rock have I been under??

Speaking about other addictions I don't need, I'm already regretting running across some examples of Hot Toys 1:6 Scale figures at tompop and AFHub today.

I don't know how I've managed to miss pics or news about the Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Iron Man which is coming out in October. I only discovered this today when I read about the Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Iron Man Mark II which has just been announced!

These are absolutely gorgeous. with battery operated lights and features and interchangeable heads. They are modelled on Robert Downey Jr. which is a bit of a minus for me - nothing against RDJ, I'd just prefer they were comics based as opposed to movie based.

I haven't been that wild about the Hot Toys TDK Joker or movie Spirit (ugh!), but I could certainly be tempted to fork over the major moolah required for one of these babies.

Except I won't, because I can't, because.... well, my children need to eat..... and, well, that's important, right?

... isn't it?

Not such a Joke after all.......

I was pretty disappointed when the DCD 1:6 Scale Joker was solicited, as the headsculpt didn't work for me at all. The eyes, and those teeth! I know my feeling were mirrored by many according to the opinions I heard "across the boards".

If you are in the same boat, I do recommend that you have a close look at the actual product, as I felt completely differently about this figure when I saw him in person.

After a run of dreary, unimaginative boxes for this line, this is a happy improvement. A pattern of playing card icons and shades of light green make it fun to look at. Interestingly Joker and Harley Quinn are pictured together on the inside.

As for the head - I have heard mixed reviews and I think this is a case of "love it or hate it". Personally I love what's been done with it. Joker's eyes are looking off to the side in a sneaky, cheeky sort of fashion which makes the figure work for me. The teeth don't bother me in person, however in my own photos his face photographs more harshly. Again, he needs to be seen in person for you to make up your own mind.

I'm not sure if this is the younger teen body that's been used or another sculpt, but he is slightly shorter and less bulky in the chest than Batman. The suit didn't seem to be super removable, but from what I could see he seems to have the same flesh tone throughout for anyone that wanted to, for instance, recreate his Hawaiian outfit. Don't quote me on that, I'm not big on undressing my dollies. Not these days anyway.

While the suit on the 1"6 Two-Face was a bit of a disappointment. the outfit on this figure is really quite exquisite. He has what must be a hand sewn vest underneath his lined jacket. The green shirt underneath has faux buttons and he has a small rope bowtie and a flower on his lapel as finishing touches. The coattails of his jacket have a small wire in them to keep them stiff and in place. It is probably the most detailed of the 13" outfits so far. My only complaint about the outfit is that his trousers are perhaps a little long and so bunch up slightly around his legs. The level of detail almost justifies the hefty price point. Almost.

Accessories are slim. He comes with a great scale version of his cane which has lots of potential, but this winner is poorly backed up by what looks like it's meant to be a squirting fish and some flimsy cards.

One disappointment for me is the lack of extra sets of hands as we have come accustomed to with the figures in this scale. It limits posing and accessory holding opportunities. I suppose it is possible that this is where the savings were made for the exquisite sewing of Joker's costume, so I won't complain too much.

As for Joker's mate Harley Quinn, I saw her in the store and left her there. I think I'll own her eventually but I have a feeling she's going to be a 1:6 scale shelfwarmer so I'll look for her on sale eventually. Altho Australian Father's Day is coming up, and I get to buy all my own presents.......

Black Canary 1:6 Scale: Score!

Well, the first item on my Christmas list has already been decided! The fourth female in DCD's 1:6 scale and personally most awaited female character: Black Canary!

Although I'm sure its inclusion will please some collectors, I'm not sure why they chose to put the mask on her for the main solicit shot. Good to see it comes off and she looks great underneath it. Better yet, this figure comes with an interchangeable head so that we can have her in scream mode if desired!

I'm also very happy with the decision to go with sculpted hair vs. rooted. And to imagine I was actually considering buying Barbie as Black Canary if this hadn't come along!!!!

Disappointments: personally I'd prefer a BA version with a blue costume. The hand / wrist joins look a bit clunky - it makes her look like she's wearing a flesh coloured skivvy. The angle that he knee joint is sticking out yet makes me wonder if posing is going to be a problem with the fishnet stockings. At least her costume will cover up any of those horrible mid-limb cuts they insist on including with these.

This solicit couldn't come at a better time for me, as I was just beginning to wonder if the 13" range was running out of steam with only villains on the immediate horizons. I haven't been collecting the bad guys because I do have a mortgage, and because I've been disappointed with the MA versions of classics like Bizarro and Joker (those teeth!) that have been solicited.

For the true Black Canary fanatic such as myself, December will be a bumper month from DCD as we'll be getting her in the JLI as well as in the magnificent 13" range.

The shopping list has begun!!!!!

Mmmm..... Teen Bodies............

Just a funny way of saying that the new "Teen Body" for the DCD 13" (or I guess not quite 13"...) line is a winner with me. Of course it could be no one other than Robin to premiere this line, which is certainly very heavy on Batman and his supporting cast and villains!!!

Here's the rundown: The packaging art is the same ho-hum blandish stuff that alot of these boxes seem to have become. I'd really like to see a bit more done with these. Inclusions are fairly basic - the ever useful extra pairs of hands (I often wonder where mine are...), stand, a grappling hook, and two masks, one black and one green. The masks create a couple of gripes for me: firstly with two masks being provided, it would have been nice to have one with white-filled eye slits, which is how I would have preferred to display him. Secondly, Robin's bangs on the right side of his face come down just a fraction too far so that the mask doesn't sit quite straight on his face, creating an ongoing source of irritation for anal-retentive OCD-ish collectors like myself.

Robin's costume is well-done overall, although something like the scaled effect on Aquaman's top could have been used to get his briefs looking more like what we see in the comics. Nice detailing with hand-stitching on his tunic, and his boots are just great.

Due to Robin's bare legs, I expected the (in my opinion, unnecessary) thigh cuts to really bug me, but they stand out much less in flesh tones that they did on the green of the Martian Manhunter. Of course, it could be because the legs are skinnier - this is the Teen Sculpt after all!!

I am still working towards an enclosed display space so that I can have these on show out of the box, and I can't wait as they really do take on a life of their own once they're free from their little prisons. As soon as I got this guy out of the box he became one of my favourites in the line, and I was sad to have to put him back.

One would assume that the Teen Body Sculpt will be used again - while a SA Aqualad would be my dream, Kid Flash (Wally West SA version) would be my next realistic choice. Bring it on!!

Nightwing - Not Bad!

Long time no post – AFB’s “real life” has been a bit too “real” lately!

Back in January I was pretty unhappy (along with most of the collecting community) about the solicited headsculpt for the 13" Nightwing. This was adjusted by DCD, but unlike most of 13" line I didn't place a firm order for this one at my LCS.

Now October is AFB's birthday month (mark your calendars for next year please....), and with not much else happening DCD-wise around my birthday I decided to at least look this one over when it came in.

The verdict? Well, it's far from terrible. In fact, some aspects are pretty good, and the longer I’ve had him the more he’s growing on me.

A nice range of useable accessories are included, no plastic cats here. The highlight of these is the inclusion of both blue and black masks which attach easily and tightly. From inspection it doesn't look like they're magnetic like the Hal Jordan mask, but they’re not going anywhere. The headsculpt really is a genuine improvement over the craptacular one solicited, but it still doesn’t really evoke Dick Grayson.

On the not so great side, the plain black body suit really accentuates all the negatives of the 13" body sculpt. The funny ridgey leg thing (sorry for the technical terms) doesn’t look great on any of the guys, but it really sticks out here. Bleccch.

The packaging design is pretty pedestrian, a far cry from some of the more creative and eye-catching design work done on the Shazam! and Aquaman packs for example. The "action" shots look like something some Year 9 IT students did up in Photoshop in one lesson. Perhaps the good graphic designer was sick that day?

The bottom line is this looks great alongside the other Bats 13”ers, (thankfully my friend Shaun at The Fortress of Testicular Fortitude as taken some great shots and they look quite good together) but on its own it’s an average effort. Weird then that for some reason I quite like it. Just goes to show that collecting isn't all rational!

Oh hey - I totally forgot to mention that this is first 13"er I've taken out of the box to have a better look at - I definitely like this one better out of the packaging - maybe when Mrs AFB comes through on her promise of moolah for anti-dust display cabinets he can be out permanently!

Until next time.....