AFB: Now Braver and Bolder!!!

The retail gods have once again smiled on AFB. Thanks to a tip-off from AFB Forum Mod fishmilkshake (yeah, I know…) I managed to find Batman Brave & The Bold’s Plastic Man and Green Arrow at our local Target, and thus wrap my B&B Wave Two – I’ve already found and reviewed Atom and Sportsmaster.

These two figures just reinforce BTB&B as a very fun line for kids and collectors alike. The fun of the animated series comes further to life with the addition of new characters, particularly Green Arrow, who provides some of the comic relief in the series.

I like the way that the style chosen for each character in the series isn’t bound to current continuity: for instance a SA- styled Green Arrow alongside a MA Blue Beetle, Aquaman in his classic costume with a beard, etc., just adds to the mish-mash fun of the series.

I’m getting used to the holes in the joints of these figures, especially when they make sense for holding props, accessories etc, which is the case of both of these figures. Neither of their accessories quite hit the mark, however: Green Arrow can’t hold his bow, rather it sits on the outside of his arm, and Plastic Man’s stretched out arm doesn’t rest neatly over the small arm, meaning that his original hand is still visible. I doubt that matters to the target audience for these toys, but it’s a bit of a bugbear for the collector.

The enjoyment in this is going to be in the growing collection – with the new characters previewed at SDCC it looks like that will continue for a while to come. All up – more cartoony goodness in what is turning out to be a very fun line to collect!

You can see more pics on Facebook, chat about this on AFB Forum, and comment on this post for your chance to win the September Comment of the Month Contest.

The Brave and the Bold World Expands!

After the great excitement of finding Mattel’s Batman: Brave & The Bold at retail in Oz (and getting a “DVD backup” of the series from a loyal AFB Forum member), I’m a firm fan of the show and the line, so when I spotted two figures from Wave Two cheaply on eBay I jumped at the chance.

I’m pleased to say that Atom and Sportsmaster are now mine, and here they are in all their glory. Sportsmaster has a groovy sports-weapon launcher thingy, and Atom has a….. well it looks like a bunch of grapes on a stick, but hey, I’m sure as heck not collecting these for the accessories!

Both have the trademark bizarre holes at all the joints so that you can attach accessories anywhere etc. In fact if i got really bored I could probably use the accessories to make a daisy chain of all my B&B toys, that would be pretty……

The other figures in this wave are Green Arrow and Plastic Man, and I am going to be doing my best to wait for them to show up here instead of eBaying for them. Really.

Okay, I give myself three days. These are just too fun!

You can check out the Brave & the Bold Photo Album at Facebook and discuss these fun toys at the existing Brave & the Bold thread at the AFB Forum.

What’s happening for you in the 3 3/4”(ish) World?

After having been firmly in the 6” and 1:6 Scale World for years apart from a bit of JLU dabbling, I now find I am collecting a bunch of tiny critters: JLU – Batman: The Brave & The Bold and Marvel Universe, with a bit of dabbling in DC Infinite Heroes.

I’m awaiting a few figures from the Wolverine 3 3/4” line (the comic accurate figures only) an d really looking forward to Series 3 (not one but two Ms Marvels!), and thought this was a good subject for the latest AFB Poll – which 3 3/4”  (or thereabouts) lines are you collecting ?

Click over to the right to have your say!

More Brave & The Bold Fun

I had quite a fun Canberra Day long weekend visiting my in-laws, because the weather was nice and I also discovered that one of our local supermarket chains is stocking the Batman: Brave & the Bold singles. Remember from my last B&B review that this is the first Mattel DC product to be seen on Aussie shores in ages, so “the hunt” has had little joy for a long time. Mrs AFB was so happy for me she actually let me scour every outlet in the area while we were there in hopes of finding the one Series 1 Single I’m missing: Blue Beetle. I didn’t end up finding him, but the journey was fun.

There was a reward waiting on my return, however, because AFB Forum member forestlite had kindly found the Kanjar Ro & Blue Beetle 2-pack and Aquaman Deluxe Figure for me and sent them to Oz from lovely Hawaii.

This version of Kanjar Ro will do for me – fun for him to get a figure but I wouldn’t have shelled out what they’re asking for a single pack here for him. He has a gun thing which snaps in to his wrist but looks like it should be able to be held in his hands – couldn’t get it to work here. 

Blue Beetle has a snap on flight pack / wing accessory that snaps into his back. His colouring is different from the more traditional colouring in his single pack, so of course my Blue Beetle lust is not sated. Still, it’s fun to have him with the team.

And as for Aquaman, my dear Aquaman…… this is a figure bought out of love. His outfit is groovy – his “weapon / armour” is completely perplexing, but I do realise this is the kind of thing that’s made for the kiddies! Needless to say I’ll be displaying him without the “groovy gear”.

The designs are what they are. I could do without the big holes everywhere, but I still think these are quite fun. I like the size – a bit more substantial than JLU, and they’re easy to pose (except Aquaman in his funky gear thing, that’s a nightmare).

So, good to have “the team” as it stands, and I am looking forward to some of the additions to this line like B’wana Beast and Sportsmaster. I’m planning on sticking to the singles – even thought I just saw on eBay they’ve made a Blue Beetle with his bug ship.

I do not buy vehicles….. I do not buy vehicles……

More pics at Facebook and chats in the AFB Forum Brave & Bold discussion thread.

Batman: The Brave & The Bold – in Oz!

A funny thing happened to me today – I actually found some Mattel DC toys at retail in Australia!

It’s been so long since I’ve had any success that I really don’t do the toy rounds anymore. All there ever is is movie stuff, wrestling figures and the occasional Marvel Legends stuff. This day, however, I just happened to be returning something and thought I’d have a forlorn look at the toy aisles at Kmart, and when I turned the corner and saw an Aquaman on the pegs my stomach literally did a flip-flop.

There in front of me were four pegs full of Batman: Brave & The Bold figures! Being an OCD Aquaman completist I had been trying to find the Aquaman and Black Manta from this line with cheap shipping on eBay somewhere, to no avail.

Today, I managed to get these two plus Batman and Red Tornado for a really reasonable price. I left Kanjar Ro for budget reasons and was sorry there was no Blue Beetle there, as I’d really like to have him. That may be an eBay job, I guess. I’ll keep an eye out now that I know they’re in town.

These figures are a fun, different take on the DC toy. They’re chunkier and well articulated for their size, and represent the cartoon depictions well. I can imagine them being a hit with the mum & dad market, and with the expanded range that’s coming (B’wana Beast!) they’re going to be a hit with me too.

Aquaman is my favourite here. I like the mix of his different looks in this interpretation! Bats is nice and solid, and Black Manta is suitably creepy and well done. This is an odd place to get the first early SA-ish Red Tornado, but he’s fun too!

One dislike – the weird circular indentations at all the joints. I guess it’s a stylistic thing, but me no like. It’s a small quibble though. Each one has a fun, snap on accessory or extra piece. Aquaman has his trident, and the other three have wings or tornado-y things that fit in their backs (those circular holes again). Aquaman’s trident is a bit loose in his grip but he can still hold it.

I bought more of these than I’d planned just out of the shock of actually finding them here, but no regrets – these are going to find a place on my shelf somewhere, and the ones I can’t find are going on the want list! I just hope that the cartoon does well and that Mattel makes a good commitment to fleshing out this line. I’ll be there!

As an added bonus, here’s a look at my “Aquaman shelf” with these figures added. This isn’t all my Aquaman stuff, but it’s most.

You can see more photos at Facebook or discuss this at the AFB Forum.