Previews Picks for October

This post is slow off the mark, partly because I've been on holidays, and partly because this month's Previews offerings are pretty measly. A better title for this might have been "slim pickings for October", because there really isn't much that lights my candle in the Toys and Oddities section this month. There is, however, plenty to poke fun at, so let's get started:

I Want: Battlestar Galactica Series 4 Action Figures includes Adama (finally!), Roslin (finally!) and..... President Lee Adama? Glad to see that the headsculpts for Adama and Roslin are more spot-on than some previous waves, but sad to see that a spot that could have been taken by one of BSG's many deserving supporting characters has been filled by a basically one off version of a character that we're already getting two versions of. Hopefully this means there's alot of life left in the line, because I'm not leaving until I get my Tigh, Baltar, Cally and Gaeta, thank you.

I Wish: Bowen Statues Abomination Statue is another amazing effort from Bowen Statues. Abomination isn't a character I'm going to break my bank for, but dang these are amazing. I also like collecting pictures of these things because it makes my humble purchases look more normal when I show this big babies to my wife. Everyone wins.

I Wish It Was Better: Christopher Reeve as Superman Statue is something that should have been done a long time ago. After the fairly impressive likeness of Lynda Carter in the LC as WW statue one might have expected the DCD statuemeisters to nail Reeve as well, so it's disappointing to see that they've missed the mark. It's nearly there but misses some of Chris' distinctive features. To be fair, not something I would be buying anyway, but it's a shame that the Reeve fans aren't getting quite the joy that the Lynda Carter fans did, because, well..... the Reeve fans tend to be a bit more normal, and it's nice to see the normal people win........

I Wish It Wasn't So Momentous: The LiveWire figure from Superman / Batman Series 1 Gazillion is a BIG DEAL because it's the "First Ever Livewire Figure!!". Fine, great, but I think it says alot that this is worthy of a shout-out in Previews. It's a good design and on my "buy" list, but is it really newsworthy? Meh. Also interesting to see another version of an Aquaman that would seem to be on his way out. Not that I'm ever going to complain about an Aquaman figure, but it is interesting...

I Wish It Wasn't Real: The Spirit Movie 12" Figure - getting a movie figure before we get a comic-accurate figure, particularly after Cooke's excellent effort with this character? Frowns, everyone. Frowns, frowns. Oh plus, the dude looks like he's squatting to take a dump. Nothing is screaming winner here for me.

I Wish I Could Have this for Christmas: Electronic Star Trek Tribble Toy. Come on, who doesn't want a noise-making Tribble!! One of the silliest but most memorable episodes of The Original Series is now this silly but memorable interactive toy. This definitely belongs on my novelty shelf in my office!

I Don't Know What To Wish About: The Tonner Dolls Malificent ...... thing. I know this doesn't fall into the realm of what most of us would be interested in, but I just thought it was worth putting this.. interesting creation here as a visual reminder that the same people who make the Tonner Superhero dolls make.... this. Enough said.

Like I said, it was a bit of a catalogue of yawns this month. At least I'll be saving some money in a few months time!

AFB Previews Picks - September

Yikes, so many weird, wild and wonderful things to report on from this month's Previews. Best get started:

The **YAWN** Award for most boring company in September goes to DC Direct. I'm really not sure what DCD's game plan is at the moment. I think that DCD and I have that in common. After being totally blown out of the water by Mattel at SDCC, DCD really needs some sort of exciting reveal to regain any momentum, and I'm sorry, but 13" Sgt. Rock and Gigantor JSA doesn't cut it, fellas. The 1:6 Scale line is skipping a few beats with Sandman and Sgt. Rock two months in a row. Each will have its fans but something exciting in the mainstream hero vein would be very helpful to keep excitement alive, especially for those of us who have already invested alot in this line.

I'll give them one pip for adding an unmasked head to the Thom Kallor Starman in the Justice Society of America Series One Set. Brace yourselves for much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the scale of this line, especially since DCD is promoting these as in scale with JUSTICE and KINGDOM COME, which aren't even in scale with each other. Oy. I'll be putting mine in their own spot and treating it as a separate collection if it's as glaring as I suspect. It just saves pain.

The one potential bright light in DCD's solicits this month is the Heroes of the DC Universe Green Lantern Bust, which sees DCD taking a page out of the excellent Bowen Bust Series (more on those later) by including an interesting base, giving the mini-bust more height than the earlier JLA Bust Series. I'll be checking this one out, however I do wish that DC would make their busts a bit bustier - err.. bulkier. As with the Women of the DC Universe line, some of the detail of the better sculpts gets a bit lost in the small scale, not to mention they end up feeling like a bit of a rip-off for the price. The second concern is whether or not DCD will see this line through long term, since we've already seen the JLA Cover to Cover series come and go. If only DCD could commit!!!

Still on busts, the "I Want" Award goes to the Bowen Designs Marrina Mini-Bust. While DCD churns out the same 5 characters over and over (and over...), the Marvel Mini-Bust line somehow manages to give us an ever expanding range of characters from the obvious to the obscure. Any fan of the original Alpha Flight would have to be happy with Bowen's recent efforts - I am eagerly awaiting my Northstar and Aurora Two-Pack, and now I have this lovely sculpt of one of my favourite minor characters to look forward to as well. Shame I didn't cotton on to these earlier as the eBay prices for some of the first busts in the line are pretty hair-raising!

Speaking of hair, the "I Know it's a Dolly but it's Almost Okay" Award goes to the Tonner DC Stars Black Canary. DCD could take a few pages out of this book to improve the costume and body sculpt of it's 1:6 Scale Dinah, but at the end of the day, I just can't get what people see in these hollow-eyed, rooted hair Scary Marys. And jeez, does this Tonner version of BC look like a Children of the Corn version of Joely Richardson or what? Spooooooky.

The "Leaping Right Off the Page" Award goes to the Dark Horse Deluxe Savage Sword of Conan Bust #3, simply for the outstanding way that Tony Cipriano has captured John Buscema's classic Conan art. There's a whole series of these if savage statues are your thing. I don't even like Conan (shhh..... don't tell my mate Andrew, he'll deck me!) and I want this statue.

The "I Almost Wish" Award goes to the DST Star Wars 1:4 Scale "Hoth" Han Solo. As much as last month's 1:4 Scale Darth Maul freaked me out, the detail on this fella is just amazing. I can't come at the size tho, especially not considering the extra shipping costs to get them here to Oz. I wonder if devotees of the 1:4 Scale end up feeling like Dorothy with the Munchkins once they've filled their house with these. Ha. Munchkins, Oz...... nevermind.

The "I Really Do Wish" Award goes to the Medusa Painted Statue. It's beautiful, but I have a mortgage. And kids, and a cat, and other fragile statue-unfriendly things. I do wonder with some of these more intricately designed statues how stable they can be, and how long they will last when there must be a fair bit of pressure being put on the support system like Medusa's strands of hair here. I'd be pretty bummed to shell out the zillion pretty pennies required to get an item like this to Oz and then find it broken. Anyway, since Mrs AFB finally let me have the 13" Power Girl, I'm not going to push my luck with this scantily clad hirstute beauty. Sigh.

And finally, the Freakiest Way to Blow Fifteen Bucks Award is a tie between the Ghostbusters Slimer Action Figure and the Barack Obama Six Inch Action Figure. One is a kitschy blast from the past. The other could become a novelty toy of an historic also-ran, but here's hoping people will be buying it to have their own version of the next U.S. Commander-in-Chief right on their desk. That would be cool.

Well, that turned out to be a very bust-y month. Not much happening in the 6" stakes at all. Personally I'd like to see DCD pull something special out next month to get a bit of spotlight back, but there doesn't seem to be much on the cards. Always happy to be surprised!

Until next time...

Previews Picks - August

I thought I'd better get this month's Preview Picks post up while it's still August! I'll blame the distractions and excitement of SDCC for slowing me down. Yeah, that'll do.

Now, good grief, where to begin with the toys and crap in this month's Previews?? There's alot of both, that's for sure. I can't possibly cover it all so I've tried to just get the real highlights and the lowest of the lowlights for you this time around.

The "I Want" Award goes to the Marvel Select Captain Marvel. I'm always in two minds about this line because of the low output which makes it hard to develop the "universe building" feel, but some of the figures are just so damn good. Even though the Good Captain has got some weird stuff happening with his hip cut, he's still the top of my August orders. Even if he is just a big 'ol Skrull.

The "August Cheesecake" Award goes to the DC Direct Mary Marvel Women of the DC Universe Mini-Bust. (phew!). You know, I'm really happy that the Marvel family is getting some lurve, but this Marilyn Monroe pin-up style sculpt is a bit of disappointment for a character that's unlikely to get a go in this medium again. Really hate the face with the closed eyes that really remind me of the New Frontier Wonder Woman blow-up doll toy. Pass with a yawn.

The "Best Continuation of a Line" Award goes to the DST Star Trek Worf & Gowron Two-Pack. I love the way that DST is doing different things like the two-packs which this line to give us as many characters as possible. We get a different version of Worf here plus a small but important player in the Star Trek world. I like this so much it almost makes me not want to harp on about the fact that we still don't have a Tasha Yar (but we still don't have a Tasha Yar....)

The "Best Stalling and / or Death of a Line" Award goes to the DC Direct 13" Sandman Deluxe Figure. Gawd. I mean, even if I was one of the 17 people who is going to be really excited about the fact that DCD is making a 1:6 Scale figure of this dude, I'd be pretty bummed by this version. He looks like the kind of thing I could have put together in a really boring semester of Eighth Grade. Yipes. Why DCD is stalling what could be a fantastic line with diversions like this makes so sense, but then DCD / no sense... it's almost the same thing, ain't it?

The "Quickest Way to Put Your Kids In Therapy" Award goes to the DST Darth Maul 1/4 Scale Figure. Whoa baby. This is one of those toys that is specifically designed to make us regular little dolly collectors feel self-satisfied that we're really not as whacked out as those crazy toy guys out there. Big doesn't really begin to describe this fella. He talks, he makes noises, he can practically do your laundry, and at that scale he has extra super ugliness powers. Not for the little ones. Or, like, normal people.

The "I Wish" Award goes to the DC Direct Watchmen Movie Owlship Scale Replica. Boy, I can't wait for this movie, and I can tell that my resolve to not buy all the stuff DCD is going to churn out for this is going to be whittled away by the time this flick finally premieres. This would be a great prize for any Watchmen fan's collection, and as soon as I rob a couple of 7-11s I am for sure going to order mine. Sigh.

Finally, the "What the Freakin' Heck?!? Award" goes to the Barbie "The Birds" Doll. I just need to say it again: What the Freakin' Heck?!? I really have to wonder who in the world is going to want this thing. What a cruelty that we can now buy Tippi Hendren being attacked by blackbirds (or whatever) in plastic, but we're still waiting for a Reverse Flash in the 6" scale. Oy vey.

And that's the run down for this month. Whether you want to freak yourself out, your kids out or finally prove to your friends that you really are a fruitcake, there's something for everyone this month, so get busy boys, the ordering deadline looms!

Previews Picks: July

It's a bit of a sad statement on my months, but one of the highlights of each 30/31 days is picking up my copy of PREVIEWS and flicking to the Toys section to see what goodies I can't afford for the coming months. With early solicitations etc alot of it's not a surprise but there are always a few goodies in there which make the choosing and budgeting challenging!

In celebration of this pleasant monthly ritual I'm going to post a monthly overview of my picks from the Toys etc. section of Previews each month. It may not match anyone's else's top wants but hey.... it's my blog!

Top Pick: Bowen Northstar & Aurora Mini-Bust Two-Pack
I kid you not, on the day I picked up the new Previews I was thinking how cool it would be if they finally put out a Northstar mini-bust, and wa-lah! Jean-Paul and Jeanne-Marie in one go - even better! If only I'd known my thoughts were going to be so productive, I would've wished for that pony, or at least a better golf game!

These look pretty much perfect. I just hope that they're in scale with the other Bowen busts and not more "mini" because there are two. Cannot wait.

Pick: DCD 13" Supergirl
I'm a big fan of this line (but not addicted, really!) and it's great to see another female character in the line. From the pics I might say this could well be the best female entry in the 13" line yet. The headsculpt is excellent and for me puts a true end to the sculpted vs. rooted hair debate, if there ever was a need for it.

The inclusion of Streaky is great fun, and the lack of a peekaboo hole in the breastal area means Mrs AFB will let this one in the house. Everyone's a winner!

Pick: Previews Exclusive Mighty Muggs Admiral Ackbar
I've already talked about my

developing Mighty Mugg addiction, and this Admiral Ackbar is a must! A double "Grrrr!" then that these aren't available to Australia through Previews. An eBaying I will go.....

Possible Pan: Heroes Action Figures Series 3
I'll hold out final judgement until I see Series 1 in person, but I just can't get into these Heroes figures because the headsculpts just seem sooo off. Some of them are just bad likenesses, but what power is the Peter Petrelli in S3 exhibiting? Super wrinkledness? Super constipationedness? Hrrrmmm. Love the show and I'm hoping they look better in person, but these pics don't fill me with confidence.

You Wish Pick!: 1:1 Thor of Asgard Helmet Replica
As much as I would love this (totally for display - I mean it would just look silly without the hammer...), this little collector just doesn't have a spare $400 lying around. Yeargh.

Those are the main highlights and possible lowlights as I see them. As always, too much good stuff, too little in the bank account.

Ciao!