NYCC Day One Wrap-Up

There a number of sites doing comprehensive coverage of the New York Comic-Con, so as usual I’ll just worry about looking at what interests me.

Day One saw mostly existing stuff on display with the bigger announcements to come later. Mattel’s Ghostbusters line was there for the viewing, and fans of that property are going to be well pleased – the 12” figures are beautifully detailed. It made me wonder if Mattel will ever look at 12” DC Universe figures – if this is an indication, they would be well done.

In my area of interest, the most exciting reveal on Day 1 was the DC Direct Women of the DC Universe Mera Mini-Bust. This is the first time DCD has done a Mera item, and she looks excellent. I’ve actually started collecting some of these mini-busts (haven’t got around to blogging them yet) and while some in the line go too for into cheesecake for me to enjoy, the Mera mini-bust looks more realistic and right on the money. Alongside her, it looks like Aquaman and Green Arrow are both getting mini-busts in the DCD Heroes of the DC Universe line, and they both look amazing. Many thanks to Action Figure Insider for the look.

Still on DC Direct, we got a look at the History of the DCU line, and the figures look very promising. In particular, the Batman looks like he might just be “the” Batman we’ve been waiting for all these years. A site I’d never visited before, Cool Toy Review, had this excellent shot of a figure I will look forward to with great anticipation. It’s exciting to see DCD experimenting with a bit more articulation. Here’s hoping this line becomes a comprehensive representation of the DCU.

On the Marvel side, we got a huge preview of the upcoming Hasbro Marvel Universe 3 3/4” scale figures, which reinforced my view that these are going to blow Infinite Heroes out of the water. Well, Mattel is certainly killing the 6” retail line for superheroes with DCUC, so perhaps it’s okay if Marvel heroes are reigning in this smaller world. Here’s hoping these land in Oz – a good chance since there is a lot of Hasbro product here at retail. If so, this may become the scale in which I collect the Marvel Universe. Time will tell!

The raspberry award goes to the news that the Justice League Unlimited Amanda Waller figure will be a Target Exclusive. We have Target here, but they don’t carry this line so it’s eBay for us. I understand retailer exclusives are a necessary evil in today’s market, but gosh they make it hard for the overseas collector.

That’s my take on Day 1 – definitely looking forward to some reveals tomorrow!

The Return of the New Gods

First off, I have to confess that this post has been delayed by a good twenty minutes while I looked for one of the stands from these figures which went missing as soon as I opened them. After going through all the mess and searching the room, I realised I had placed it in my mouth for a moment while I have toys and packages in my hands, and, you guessed it…… it was still there. Oy.

Anyway…. I had the whole set of DC Direct’s New Gods Series 2 on order, but when I got to the LCS, I just couldn’t commit to the Superman. While we could all think of other New Gods that could have taken that slot in the wave, there’s certainly a good argument for a Kirby Superman, but when I saw him, that just wasn’t it.  Not sure if it was the slightly too large head or what, but I put him back. My LCS is very good about that. Heck, I buy enough – they darn well should be good! 

Superman may have missed the mark, but the other three figures are dead on. Big Barda is,  quite simply, a masterpiece. It’s a long way to the AFB ‘09 Round-Up, but if this doesn’t take out 6” female figure of the year, that means there’s something very perfect coming our way between now and then. She is a dead-on Kirby creation in every way, and the detail is amazing. This is so good that I need extras to replace the old DCD Big Barda in my JLA display and for a Birds of Prey display, because it just puts the other one to shame. The only thing that could have made it better was a removable helmet or extra head, but this is such an outstanding figure that that certainly isn’t a complaint. She comes with her Mega Rod.

Metron is also an outstanding figure. I’d say this uses the same base as Orion / Lightray / Mr Miracle, so Metron is a bit broader than you’d make him if you were starting from scratch. It is, of course, a crime that he comes without his Mobius Chair, which could have been packed in to the wave in parts or even sold separately if need be. I expect a rash of customs to pop up on the internet shortly.

DCD’s take on Kalibak is a good counterpoint to the BAF Version in DCUC Wave 6. He’s more the upright version, very Kirby, and works well. The only thing I noted was that once I put the whole series together, he’s taller and bigger than Darkseid, and I kind of imagine Darkseid looming over them all. That may not be comic accurate (and if not I am sure one of you will tell me) but that’s how I picture it!

With all the biggest guns spent, it’s hard to imagine who would anchor another wave, but with so many great characters and the outstanding quality of this line, having a few more of the key characters to round this out would be excellent.

We give DCD alot of stick for what they get wrong, so it’s only fair to also point out what they do well. These really are quite wonderful. I just want more!

The Watchmen Arriveth!

I’m not unboxing these quite yet, simply because I’m not sure if I’m going to keep them, so just a quick pix and post.

What I can see without unpacking: Rorschach is short. I know he’s supposed to be a bit smaller than the rest, but he really looks diminutive in the box. Not just shorter, but on a smaller scale altogether. Not sure if that is going to work for me. I’m also a bit cheesed off about the “unmasked variant” for this character, when really it should have been a packed-in extra head. I like the character enough to buy both IF the figure is good enough, but I can’t see buying two of these.

The detail on the costumes is excellent. Nite-Owl is my clear favourite. The Ozymandias figure makes me think I might not be liking the film interpretation so much. Silk Spectre looks great – a really faithful comic book interpretation.

The packaging is really nice – I was expecting the modern clamshell DCD seems to moving towards, so getting the classy boxes for these, with great design work, is a really nice bonus.

I’m not going to get the older versions of the characters, so only planning on getting Dr Manhattan and the Comedian from future waves, and I may wait until I see them to decide if the series is worth opening up. It’s the Rorschach scale thing that’s killing me here…..

The Final Frontier gets a few more Friendly Faces

While nothing in DST’s Star Trek line has ever reached the near-perfection that was the Original Series waves from Art Asylum, these toys certainly continue to do the line, and the show, a high degree of justice. The latest series of Star Trek: The Next Generation figures from DST features some of the show’s most loved recurring characters: Miles O’ Brien, Ensign Ro Laren and Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, and the Nemesis version of Dr Beverly Crusher.

Ensign Ro is the pick of the crop and also the Previews Exclusive, which I actually managed to get in first for at my LCS this time (usually I have to wait for the ST ones, not sure why..). The visage of the lovely Michelle Forbes is well captured here, although either her neck could have been a bit longer or head a bit smaller to make her proportions look perfect. It’s still my favourite in the wave.

O’ Brien is afflicted by the weird leg thing that often smites the men in this line. For starters, there’s huge gap where his little plastic package should be. Let’s just say, I don’t wanna go to the future, ‘cause it shrinks your junk! Apart from that “little” issue, the legs look a little small in relation to the torso, and bow a bit oddly. This seems to happen sporadically with the male figures in these waves, and while it doesn’t detract too much, it could be better. The Miles headsculpt is very good (although it looks like it’s being repeated in the DS9 wave, instead of giving us an older Miles which would been nice.

Ogawa is a bit of a disappointment, as her facial features aren’t realistic at all and appear quite cartoonish. I think it’s the large toothy smile that tips this over the edge into caricature. I’m sure this wasn’t the intention, but it doesn’t come off well and doesn’t mesh with any of the other figures in the line stylistically. She does, however, come with an array of groovy and different medical-type accessories.

Crusher is a bit of a meh add-on, although it’s nice to see more Nemesis figures. I never ended up with the Data and Geordi figures that match with this film, though, so it’s not a complete set. Will need to work on that. Bev’s headsculpt is a bit off - the eyes seem to be staring a bit blankly and the sunken cheeks don’t sit right. She’s also an equal height to Ogawa which doesn’t ring true.

Like most of the DST figures, these come with a wide range of accessories, in fact so many it’s a bit overwhelming. O’ Brien comes with a fun Bonsai tree, which almost makes up for the fact that I couldn’t get Ro to hold any of her accessories, because her fingers are a bit gooey and I was worried they’d snap off if I pressed too much further.

Overall, the first three figures are pleasing additions to the ST:TNG line. I’d certainly like to see Guinan, Yar and Pulaski to round it out, but you’d have to think this series is probably drawing to it’s close.

The best news is that with my new display system, I actually have room for these figures to be on display. It’s all still coming together (too much “real life” getting in the way at present..) but I promise pictures soon!

Here’s hoping…..

…that you got your Masters of the Universe Skeletor if you wanted it, because it’s sold out on Mattycollector.com!

News from Mattel on DCUC Waves 6 and 7 Variants

I logged into my Facebook this morning and saw this little nasty from Matty Mattel (complete with typos):

Hey gang,

Two quick updates for those fans who order their DCUC figures through online retailers.

We have been working all year to bring better distribution to the fans and one of those strategies was to offer all DCUC figures "open stock" to the online retailers. (meaning online retailers can order solid case packs of any 1 figure).

Although we had the best of intensions, we did hit a minor snag. The variants for Waves 6 and 7 were unfortunately not produced for the open stock orders. They are still available randomly distributed in the standard retail case packs (which are also available to online sellers). But for reasons way beyond our control, we had a mess up and the variants will not be available open stock until Wave 8.

We sincerely appologise to any fans who were planning to order the variants this way. We are activly working with our plants to ensure starting with Wave 8 that the variants will be included in open stock orders. Any cancelations of variant orders for Wave 6 and 7 is the fault of Mattel and not of any trusted online seller!

And on the "awesome news" front, we were able to redirect the remaining stock of the previous Wave 4 KB exclusive figures "Maskless Batman Beyond" and "Sonic Arm Cyborg" to online retailers. Both figures are available at 5 of each per case. Ask your favorite online retailer for availablilty today.

Okay, that is a lot of updates for one day. Keep those emails and posts coming! All of us at MattyCollector.com can't wait to meet all the fans who come out to New York next month!

Matty

I guess that means my order at Cornerstore Comics for the variant Barda will be cancelled, and that that figure, along with the Superman and Booster Gold variants are going to become scalpers’ wet dreams and collectors’ nightmares. Boo, hiss.

I am way too into this line to be swayed by this, but with the impossible to find Wave 5 (especially for us overseas dwellers) and the issues that seem to be plaguing the distribution of Wave 6 to online retailers, it’s a shame to see that there’s more issues with 6 and already issues with Wave 7.

It has to be said, at least they are communicating about this - I can't really imagine DCD fronting up in the same manner! Here’s hoping Mattel can get this sorted out soon!

Is the distribution of DCUC impacting on your enjoyment of the line? Have your say in the new AFB poll to the right!

Together forever - in plastic

Their love story on the TV show may have come to a tragic end, but at least Lee Adama and Anastasia Dualla can remain together in plastic, thanks to this Battlestar Galactica 2-pack from DST.

I’m sold on this line of figures because I love the series, but I’ve never been sold on the headsculpts in terms of resemblance to the characters – I think they’ve nailed Helo and maybe Tyrol but not come near many of the others, although I have to say that from the solicits for Series 4 that Roslin and the Old Man look pretty good. The Apollo headsculpt, however, is off the mark for me, although it seems to work better than the last version (if it is in fact different..) and sadly the Dualla headsculpt looks alot more like “generic African American woman” than the lovely Kandyse McClure.

It’s a shame the faces don’t quite hit the mark, because the bodies on this line of figures are very solid. The detail on    the uniforms is brilliant and they pose well and stand easily.

One of the most outstanding features of figures from DST is the wide range of character-specific accessories that come with each figure, and this two-pack has a great range, including Dualla’s headset (not that I’ve worked out how to attach it) and Apollo’s grandfather’s law book which plays an important part in one episode. There’s also a bunch of officialish-looking Galactica documents and folders and a pair of boxing gloves for Apollo.

These two make impressive additions to the BSG collection, and I’m looking forward to the Boomer / D’Anna 2-pack, Series 4 and the recently announced Starbuck & Leoben 2-pack to add to it further. Not planning on getting the Razor series at this stage – blasted budgets and the like!

I’m trusting there’s going to be a Series 5, since the collection isn’t going to be complete without Tigh and Baltar at least…. and I might suggest Gaeta and Tori?

Until next time!

Display progress

After a brief hiatus for a family holiday, the AFB display renovation has been back in full swing. To this point, the collection has been packed up, the old open shelves removed, the old furniture in the study / display room removed and sold and the room has been painted courtesy of Mrs AFB and her holiday renovation bug.

Last weekend a mate drove me to IKEA in his big people mover and helped me face the perils of self serve furniture and bring home five display cabinets, ten glass doors and one sofa bed. I then began the happy adventure of assembly.

A day and a half later, with only minor wailing and gnashing of teeth, we have an assembled sofa bed and cabinets ready to be filled with toys!

Grabbed these photos of the completed cabinets – one set of three and one set of two – and thought I’d post them as a progress report before the displaying begins. I do imagine my collection will come close to filling its new home, with a bit of room for expansion.

Will check in later with the finished product!

On second thought….

I know I trashed the Blackest Night figures the other day, but having seen the pix of the second wave, I think it’s only fair to add a couple of things:

• At least DCD is getting event figures out closer to the event – this is better than FINAL CRISIS or 52 figures that came out way after the fat lady had sun – of course these early solicits mean spoilers ala the E2 Superman spoiler, and from the shape of that cowl you gotta think that’s a zombified J’onn J’onzz that’s been blacked there
• GREEN LANTERN and Geoff Johns are two of the best things going at DC at the moment, so there’s a good chance that BLACKEST NIGHT won’t stink up the place, so tying in with this event may well be a smart thing
• And at least it looks like someone read my last post and gave us a MA John Stewart, although I have to say I’m not sold on the face here.

…and that’s the final work on BLACKEST NIGHT and associated merchandise from me for now, except to say that if they make a Black Lantern Aquaman figure I am going to be in a real bind…….

If you have a spare two grand lying around…

…then why not check out this life sized Superman on eBay?

If your friends and loved ones aren’t totally clear on the fact that you’re a geek, this will clear it up in no time fast, and take up a heck of a lot of room in your house at the same time.

Bid fast and bid often!

Sadly, the little old lady is not included.

Oh, sigh……

Hip, hip hooray. That house of innovation, DC Direct, is releasing a line of Blackest Night figures, according to this preorder solicit at Cornerstore Comics. Yawn, yawn and yaaaaaawn.

I’ll give DCD a tick for soliciting event-based figures before the event for once, and for the fact that the wave includes three characters new to plastic, but….. really? At the same time as Mattel is exciting us with characters like Adrian Chase Vigilante and Killer Moth?

You know, I’ll probably buy some of these because I am a mad Lantern fan, and as I’m loving what Johns is doing with that world, Boodika at least has a place in that display, but it’s a Green Lantern display that still doesn’t have Arisia or Katma Tui or a non-artist specific MA John Stewart for that matter.

It certainly makes sense from a marketing perspective to link in with big events, and Blackest Night is certainly being built up to be big, but couldn’t they at least throw us serious collectors a bone with something like a Classic Boodika variant?

Nah. Too creative.

Yawn.

 

'

Strange and Starfire are headed to Oz

After doing a bit of time zone calculating, I worked out that if I logged on to mattycollector.com when I woke up on Friday morning here in Oz I’d be just in time to get in on the DCUC Adam Strange and Starfire 2-pack which is now up for pre-order.

This is the third order I’ve made from mattycollector, (Giganta last year and some stands last week) and I’ve had no hassles despite reports I’ve read elsewhere. Best of all is they offer first class international shipping which means a much cheaper shipping cost than most other sites, as long as you’re willing to take the risk of uninsured post, but when there’s a $40.00 difference in price, I’m risking it in this case.

Really looking forward to getting this set, mostly for Strange – I was sorry to see that Starfire in the pack still seems to have the uni-boob thing happening – I had hoped this would have been sorted out when so many people commented on it from the solicit pics.

Nonetheless, I’m hoping this is the start of great things to come from Mattel via their website. If only they’d make their regular product available as well!

A much needed break and a bit of withdrawal

AFB is currently on a much-deserved and needed family holiday, so the blog is on a bit of a break as well. I only have internet access through my phone and I've never posted to the site this way before, so I don't know how this is going to turn out format-wise, but hey, it's an experiment.

Holidays have lots of positives - lots of relaxing, reading and swimming (it's summer here in Oz), however it has one major downside -between the holidays and my travels I am missing three weeks of trips to the LCS, thus delaying my likely purchases of the Jade Mini-Bust,JLA Series 3 and DS9 Series 2 (which I think is coming out now). A nice slug to the bank balance when I get back!

This of course means nothing is happening with the room renovation at the moment. The painting was all done before we left and the big bed is up on eBay (going to replace it with a day bed), but have to wait a few days after we return to work out exactly how we're getting the new shelving down to Canberra, so it'll be little while before the gang is back in action. Best to have them packed away while we're gone - I'd hate for the housesitter to play with them! Pics to come once we get it done.

In other news, we got an Xbox 360 before we left. It's "for the kids"of course. And I just know they want to play Lego Batman. Of course they'll probably whip my butt on that just like they did with the dodgy games we got with the system. But..... it's Batman.

Finally, we saw "Bolt" a couple days ago and I think it is officially my new favourite kids movie. Loved it.

Back to toy news soon. Just have to take the kids for a few more swims first!

Until next time!

A fun way to spend New Years’ Day

If you’ve been following my Twitter tweets (http://twitter.com/afblues) you’ll know that I’ve been spending the day packing up my action figure collection (the portion that is on display) in order to prepare to paint the room they live in. Under the terms of the AFB marital agreement as defined by my Domestic Coordinator, my geek gear is strictly limited to one room of the house, the study / spare room / IT Hub / action figure room, and that room has been nominated by the DC for painting these school holidays. as  our “test run” to see if we paint the rest of the place or get someone in.

The upshot is that once this is done, I’m getting rid of the shelves the gang have been hanging out on and getting a full-on display case from IKEA. This has been decided by the DC, who thinks that something with doors will make it easier for her to pretend that the geek gear does not exist. (Don’t get me wrong, Mrs AFB is basically very supportive of my hobby / habit. It just works better if she doesn’t have to look at it.) I’m in two minds about whether or not the doors are going to obscure the figures too much (they’ll be clear glass with very small edging) but I think the DC is going to win on that one.

So, just for the record and posterity and nostalgia and all that, here are some pix of my display as it was from 2005 – 2008, and then a sad photo of their current sad state, which should hopefully only be for a month or so. I only have my DC Direct and DC customs on display at present. 1:6 Scale figures are still in boxes due to dust,etc etc. The new display system (which will run the full length of one wall and around the corner of the next) should allow me to display them loose and also find space for DCUC, JLU, Infinite Heroes (if I keep up with them) Marvel Legends, Star Trek, BSG, etc.

Something to look forward to I guess – after the shelf removal, patching of holes, preparing to paint, painting….

Sob.

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!

DCUC Wave 4 Squeaks in to 2008!

 When I found out that the cases of DCUC Wave 4 didn’t contain full waves, I decided to cancel my pre-order and be uncharacteristically patient, collecting the figures I wanted and the figured I needed to build the Collect & Connect, rather than ending up with extra Wonder Women, a WW variant I’m not really interested in and still needing a piece of Despero.

It took a bit of hunting through eBay listings with ridiculous international shipping prices and eventually a little help from some online friends, but I managed to collect the five figures needed for the Collect & Connect, including the variant Captain Atom.

Initially I wasn’t rapt about the character selection for this wave, but in “the flesh” most of them are growing on me. Wonder Woman is a breakthrough for 6” female figures at the retail price point with this level of articulation. This is am excellent body sculpt that really looks female, with a detailed face and an excellent hair sculpt. She stands well and isn’t too bendy like Harley Quinn or many of the Marvel Legends females.

For a character I don’t really care about, Ares is now my favourite of the wave and one of my top figures in the line. The detailing of his armour is excellent, and the paint job on this figure is impeccable. His weapons are all a bit floppy as are his legs, which makes posing more challenging.

Cyborg draws the short straw paint-wise, with white flecks on his chest marring the QC here. His armour is well designed, but the facial expression is a bit flat. His extra attachments are a great addition and fit well. Height-wise he really makes the Robin from Wave 3 look very silly. Not sure where DCUC is going with those teen characters.

The Variant Captain Atom always looked a bit frantic to me in photos, but it works in person better than I expected. I’d much rather have seen a Ditko version as the variant, but an addition to the Kingdome Come display isn’t all bad.

I wasn’t really wild about the Despero Collect & Connect, especially with the great version that just came out from DCD, but this version is better looking than I imagined. His legs took a bit of effort to connect. His weapon snaps on to the strap on his back, and 

Batman Beyond really isn’t on my radar as a character, and while the execution is good here paint and sculpt-wise, he seems a little overtall to me. Meh.

DCUC is quickly becoming a must collect for me, despite distribution issues, eBay scalpers and a few worrying QC issues. The group shot gets more impressive with every wave!

Wave 5 is going to be a big challenge to collect as we have no Wal-Marts here, so it’s going to be another case of working my hardest to be patient! I’m mostly after Black Lightning and Atom, and have to say that Riddler looks pretty poxy, but knowing my OCD tendenices when it comes to figures, I dare say over time I’ll collect the lot to make Metallo!

Seven of Nine is fine, but….

I’m hoping the appearance of a not-very-Jeri-Ryan-looking Seven of Nine in the upcoming DST’s Borg Series 1 doesn’t mean that we’re not going to see a Voyager line from DST.

For that matter, are they going to finish off the DS9 line? This is all important, because I may actually be getting room to display my Star Trek figures soon, and I want a complete a set as possible.

Is it me, or does this Seven of Nine look a lot more articulated than previous DST Star Trek figures? Not sure I like it.

Whatever the case, I’ll be all over these Borgs. Just hope I have some Voyager crew to with them….

Amanda Waller for JLU!

Got to the Mattycollector.com website for a new JLU tidbit: Amanda Waller will debut in the line in 2009!

Is this line ever going to stop??  I hope not!!

I’m all for a version of Waller in the 6” (well, 4 1/2” for her) line, maybe as a web exclusive: no Suicide Squad display will ever be complete without her.

Many thanks to Mattel for the late Christmas present!!

Is this Wild enough for you?

I mentioned a few posts back that someone was making a custom Bronze Age Wildfire from the Legion of Superheroes for me. My custom Silver Age Legion is almost complete – I should have some group shots as soon as I get some minor repairs done on a couple of figures – so it’s time to start on the Bronze Age, and I can’t think of a better first entry than this.

Normally I don’t blog on customs until I have them in hand, but this is just too good to hold on to! Huge kudos to Dr. Terrific from Critical Mess for what I am sure you will agree is an outstanding effort. You can track the development of the figure by looking at the whole thread here.

We’re thinking of doing Dawnstar next – I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Merry Christmas To All!!!!

Here’s hoping that your holiday is everything that you want; that you are surrounded by good company with  good food and festivities and that you have the opportunity to make the day a special one for those you love.

Whatever gifts you give or receive, it’s the people around you, the relationships, that will last the longest. Make sure you treasure them today – be thankful for them!

And thanks to you folk out there – for indulging me in this little window into my hobby which provides me with a much needed escape hatch from my “real” life, which is a great one, but, well…… real.

Oh, and of course I hope that your stocking is stuffed with amazing toys! Look forward to sharing with you what I score!

By the way, I totally had this DC Christmas album. Can’t remember a thing about it except the cover, but I know I owned it. Ah, memories…….

All I Want for Christmas…..

It wouldn’t be Christmas without wishlists, so I thought that just in case Santa is reading I’d put my top five toy-related wants out there. I’m going to stay away from pipe dreams like Legion figures (*sob*) and Hasbro getting Marvel Legends back into form or Georg Brewer and Dan Didio being hit by the same bus or asteroid or resigning and running away together , and stick to things that should be more attainable:

#5: DC Direct Power Girl and Huntress Statue

I had hoped this might be under my tree last year, but the budget (and the exchange rate) weren’t in my favour. Still have hopes that this one might actually end up in my collection some day. Two of my favourite DC ladies in one hit? It’s the stuff of (bad, bad…) dreams.

#4: DC Direct Tim Bruckner Aquaman / Green Arrow Statues

I love both of these characters, and I can’t separate these two amazing statues (Green Arrow pictured) from Tim Bruckner and DC Direct.   They run about $200 US which at the moment is about $350 AUD, and since Mrs AFB is totally against selling one of the kids for toys (I know!), it looks like these are just wishes at the moment – but they’re pretty awesome wishes…..

#3: Legion Flight Ring

As much as I love Aquaman, I love the Legion. Maybe more, actually (but don’t tell Arthur). I wasn’t in to the collecting  game when the Legion Flight Ring came out, or I can assure you one would be adorning my right middle finger. I should say I was a might disappointed when I read the disclaimer on the box thingy that the ring does not enable the wearer to fly, but….. it’s still a Flight Ring. When the exchange rate gets itself sorted out (again, the whole no selling kids rule, blah blah blah….) I’m seriously going to have to eBay this baby.

#2: Mego Aquaman

Did I mention I love Aquaman? I’ve always considered the Mego Aquaman to be the Holy Grail for my Aquaman collection, but never had the bucks to pick one up, plus it seems there’s alot of phony or partly phony ones out there. Some day.

#1: Proper Mattel distribution to Australia

This is by far the biggest ask, but it’s also my biggest wish: that Mattel’s DC products find distribution to Oz so that I can get my sticky fingers on DC Universe Classics, Infinite Heroes and JLU without having to eBay and deal with international shipping scammers and exorbitant exchange rates. Mattel is where it’s happening for DC figures at the moment, and I want my part in it in an easier way that I can at the moment!

Well Santa, there’s my wishes. “Course, if any of my loyal readers want to make any of these dreams come true, I could hardly knock back your generosity, My mother raised me with manners, after all……

Until next time!

Groovy AFB Gear!

If you enjoy the blog, why not stop by the AFB Cafe Press store and get some groovy AFB goodies! Everyone who I know who has some (and that would be me, mainly) absolutely raves about them!

Enjoy!

Santa visits AFB!

Well, a Secret Santa that is.

The DOOSH (which to some stands for Domain Of Online Social Hooligans) has a very active customiser community, and they have a great tradition of a Secret Santa Project where members post their top 5 custom wish list, and then another customiser is assigned to choose one of the characters from the list and make a Christmas Custom wish come true! The whole project is coordinated by Doosh Mod Jackknight92 who is responsible for all of the Silver Age Legion customs featured in these pages.

I am already on record as confessing to having pretty dodgy fine motor skills, so I know I couldn’t customise anything to save my life! I am, however, a great patron of the custom arts, so I get Jack to make my custom “gift” so that I can take part.

You can look at the 2008 Secret Santa Project thread here, but beware – if you travel outside that thread, not all regions of the DOOSH are work safe, or normal human being safe for that matter. You have been warned. Seriously.

Here’s a sneak peak of my Secret Santa gift, which arrived yesterday and will be up at the DOOSH tomorrow. It’s Amazing Man III from the current JSA. I’ll have to wait til its been posted at the DOOSH to find out the recipe, but it’s very cleverly done. I imagine that cape must have given the customiser a few fits! Once it’s all been revealed at the DOOSH I’ll be sure to give the customiser credit here.

I was especially pleased to see that Amazing Man fits in perfectly with my MA JSA display, which also features customs of Liberty Belle, Stargirl, Maxine Hunkle, Danger and Wildcat by the amazing Lars.

Oh, and speaking of customs, you might like to check this thread out at my other online home, Critical Mess. A dude is making me a BA Wildfire to make up for making fun of my mum. Really. All in (mostly) good humour of course!

Hope your Christmas stocking has similarly yummy things in it this year!

Marvel Universe to tower over Infinite Heroes?

If the test shots of the upcoming Marvel Universe figures from Hasbro are anything to go by, it’s safe to say they’re going to be giving Mattel’s DC Infinite Heroes line a run for their money.

I’m a big fan of the 3 3/4” scale and a fan of the Infinite Heroes line (although I’m way behind in my collection as it’s all eBay for me – there’s no DCIH distribution to Oz), but the detail and articulation on the MU figures really looks like they’re going to leave DCIH choking on their dust. I know that Mattel is boosting the articulation on the newer releases of DCIH, but the detail on faces, etc and the individualisation of the sculpts still looks far superior on the Marvel Universe figures.

I’m definitely going to be collecting these, especially if they get distribution to Oz, which is quite possible. I just hope they don’t put too many nails in the coffin of the DCIH line, as the last thing we need is to end up with another pocket-sized DC line with limited character selection gathering dust at the bottom of our collections!!

By the way, I am now truly converted to Windows Live Writer – it’s very user friendly, has sorted out the photo problem (as far as I know – please let me know if you’re still having trouble) and talks easily to Blogger. I highly recommend it.

Until next time!

.......yM hO

Speaking of DC's beautiful ladyfolk, Big Bad Toy Store has this amazing Adam Hughes Zatanna Statue up for preorder, which means we'll see it in the next DC Direct solicits.

I. Want.

Just in time for my birthday, too! Well, a little bit early, but I've never been good at waiting!