The AFB Comment of the Month Contest Begins!

I love putting this blog together, and I love getting feedback about what people think about the toys and opinions that have been posted. The stats I get from Google tell me we get some very healthy traffic here, and so I’m keen to get people talking as well as reading!

The establishment of the AFB Forum has been one great way of getting discussion going, and if you haven’t joined in yet I’d encourage you to jump in and have a go – we’re having a blast, and seem to have a knack at getting the discussion off track in record time!

I’m wanting to see the discussion happening here on the blog as well, and so as I briefly mentioned a couple of posts ago, starting with June 2009, AFB is partnering with Mike from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff to bring you the AFB Comment of the Month Contest! In basic terms, at the end of each month, I’ll be randomly selecting (in some super scientific method, I assure you) one valid comment (see below) from that month’s post to receive their choice of one of two pre-announced figures on offer from Mike’s amazing store. Hopefully this will help generate some of the same fun discussion on the blog that we have going on the forum.

Here’s some basic contest rules:

• every genuine comment on a post from the calendar month will be eligible for receiving the prize. I’m going to stick to my own time zone and call it at 23:59:59 Australian Eastern Standard Time – best to comment often and comment early
• if my super scientific randomizer comment selector system chooses an Anonymous comment, I’ll skip it and go again – you need to leave a name, a link, your AFB Forum username or email addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner. Blogger comments allows you to do this.
• you will be given a choice of one of the two figures on offer from the month’s contest – figures will be in their original packaging
• figures will be sent by first class mail within the US (Mike is sending them, remember) and first class international to any overseas winner. An overseas winner can elect to chip in for Priority Mail or Insurance, but otherwise we can’t take any responsibility for a parcel that doesn’t arrive – after this is coming out of AFB’s  not dreadfully deep pockets!

As for June 2009, I am pleased to announce that the two figures available for your choice of prize are the Yellow Dr Fate from DCUC Wave 8 and Live Wire from Superman / Batman Series 7 (provided this is released on time).

Since we’re all over the place and I’m posting this just as my June is about to start, the contest starts now, so comments on this post are the first eligible posts for the first ever AFB Comment Contest!

Thanks for making this little pursuit a great deal of fun, and I hope you enjoy this little way that I can give back – and thanks heaps to Mike for agreeing to partnering with me in this.

Okay, enough of me, get commenting!

DCUC Wave 8: Too Much!

I got my DCUC Wave 8 Master Case from CSC at the start of the week, but the combination of a busy week and the inability to decide which figure was my favourite delayed my review until the weekend.

After taking the figures out the box, looking them over carefully, and letting them sit for awhile, I’ve decided that my favourite figure is definitely Hawkgirl. No, the Yellow Fate. No, Mr Terrific. No, Vigilante. No….

Bottom line is, this is the most amazing wave of figures I have ever seen. I fully admit I started off as a DCUC doubter, unsure of where the line would go, how committed Mattel would be to delving deeply into the DCU, etc., and while my belief when hit even greater heights when the first Doom Patrol member or Legionnaire appears, when I hold an Adrian Chase Vigilante in my hands I really believe Mattel when they say no one in the DCU is off limits.

Mr Terrific is an outstanding piece that captures the character well. The structure used to suspend his T-Spheres is excellent. I’m ordering another of these so that I can take that horrific DCD Total-Justice style Mr T and either melt it down or give it to the Salvation Army or something.

Commander Steel and Vigilante are both just faultless. Each one became my favourite as soon as I unpacked them. The metallic look for Steel works well Vigilante just looks like he leapt off the page – perfect. I’m getting an extra of each of these – Steel for the MA JSA shelf and Vigilante for the Teen Titans shelf.

Gentleman Ghost was certainly one of the most exciting and surprising additions to the line, and while I’m delighted to have him on my shelves, the colour effects used to make him look translucent at the bottom don’t quite work for me – I get the idea but I personally would have preferred him all white. The effect used to structure his collar, glasses and hat is amazing and makes him a winner overall.

I would have preferred to see Granny Goodness or Desaad in place of the Parademons if we needed  another New Gods character, but these turned out to be much more fun than I was expecting and I’m glad to have them.

I reviewed Hawkgirl and the MA Dr Fate when I got them from MikeS, so all I’ll say here is that sadly the MA Fate is the stinker of the wave and perhaps the stinker of the whole line. Many of my online compatriots were campaigning for this figure to be all gold, and it should have been. The yellow / gold combo is a downright mess. The all-yellow version, on the other hand, is a really impressive figure and works brilliantly. The only criticism I have of both figures is that the eye slits are black instead of white, but that’s being picky.

Giganta is the tallest DCUC C&C – and it’s great to see the line treading into the territory of the Marvel Legends BAF glory days. I had a bit of trouble snapping her legs in properly, but we got the re, and she’s impressive. The pack-in mini-Atom is a nice bonus. I would have said he should have come with the Wave 5 item, except I still can’t find the bugger for a reasonable price, so at least I have him.

Again, this wave is by far the best DCUC wave to date, but also I’d have to say one of the best waves of toys I’ve ever seen. So many different things to enjoy, such variety, and perfect paints apps to boot. Not quite sure what’s coming up that could top this for quite awhile!

You can look at the full range of pictures at Facebook and discuss DCUC Wave 8 at the AFB Forum.

It wasn’t in the plans…..

….and yet somehow I now own Wolverine and the X-Men figures! I’ve mentioned before here that after a long toy drought here in Oz, the fact that we’re now getting some dribbles at retail makes it hard to resist the thrill of the find, and I certainly fell victim to that today, in a totally innocent browse in between getting my car serviced (well, trying to, they mostly just doofered around) and another appointment.

Lo and behold, there was a nearly full set of what I guess is Wave One of the figures from the latest animated X-Men series, which I have to say I’m enjoying greatly. I hadn’t planned on these for reasons I’ll discuss in a moment, but I blame three things: 1) I don’t get to buy toys at retails very often (see above) 2) Nightcrawler comes second only to Aquaman in my book and I find it pretty hard to resist Nightcrawler toys and 3) I didn’t realise they’d made a Forge figure, and he’s one of my favourite characters from the cartoon, despite his portrayal being so different to his comics persona.In the end I picked up all the heroes available (I only need to find Cyclops) and left Toad and Avalanche – I would have bought Magneto if they’d had him.

Hasbro is certainly making the most of the Marvel licence when it comes to the 3/34” scale. The figures bear some similarities to the Marvel Universe figures but are fairly close to the animated stylings. The smaller figures are basic but pretty functional, but the bigger figures, Colossus and Beast, are a bit clunky and awkward to pose. Colossus’ arm  articulation seems to be linked, so when you move one arm the other moves as well. He’s the hardest to pose and with his little pin head probably my least favourite. Each toy comes with a decent range of accessories – something Mattel could really be doing a better job on with Infinite Heroes, hint hint.

Now that I’ve fallen victim to this line, I’d hope for at least a few of the female characters – I’m surprised we didn’t get at least one of Storm. Kitty or Rogue in Wave 1, but then again I realise I am not in the “suitable for ages 4+” target audience for this particular series. But hey – I can hope!

There’s a full photo set of these at Facebook, and you can chat about them if you like in the talkback thread at the AFB Forum. 

Batman goes bust!

The latest mini-bust in the Heroes of the DC Universe line is Batman. Before buying the Green Lantern bust I wasn’t committed to this line – Aquaman was always a lock of course – but after being so pleased on the effort done with Hal I decided to give the upcoming busts a go.

Batman is not a disappointment. Bats is poised ready to sling a batarang which is strung with firm wire.  His cape is draped over his right shoulder and is well constructed. He’s poised above a grey gargoyle type thing which nicely juxtaposes the golden gargoyle the Women of the DCU Batwoman mini-bust uses as her base.

Bats is posed with a typically grim expression (lines on the mouth could be cleaner) in a dynamic pose that matches the other busts made and coming in this line. I have commented that some of the Dodson wave of the Women of the DCU busts are a bit too much on the coquette-ish side for me, and it struck me that it seems a bit sexist that the guys get these dynamic poses with accessories like batarangs, tridents and bows and arrows, and Marvel Marvel (ahem, I mean Shazam! Mary – urgh) gets wind blown up her skirt. Maybe the cheesecake works for some, but I prefer the statues like the Batwoman version that present our heroines in the same powerful, respectful manner.

As I said when I reviewed the Green Lantern bust, one manner in which I hope this line does mirror the Women of the DCU line is by giving the B list characters their moment in cold cast resin. I hope DCD sticks with the line long enough!

You can see a wider range of pics at my Heroes of the DCU Photo Album at Facebook or chat about this in the Heroes of the DCU discussion thread at the AFB Forum!

Enjoy!

The AFB Comment of the Month Contest is Coming!

That’s right, folks! Giving in to the intense peer pressure of several other excellent blogs, AFB is taking up the super original idea of a Comment of the Month Contest! Good news, yes – the great news is the AFB contest is being co-sponsored by the amazing Mike of Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff!

It’s simple – starting in June 2009, one commenter each month (sensible comments only – no one-liners or sillies) will be randomly selected to win a choice of one of two items on offer from Mike’s online store. I’ll be announcing the two available figures for June and some more technical rule-ish stuff on June 1.

For the moment, many thanks to Mike for helping us out. To get ready for June, you can do two things – get bust commenting, and have a look at Mike’s amazing shop to make sure he gets some business out of doing us a good turn!

To help us organise our prize selections, have a go at the poll at the right – let us know which lines you’d most like to receive a prize from!

More details to come soon!

AFB’s Brisbane Haul

Back from a work trip to Brisbane (Queensland for our overseas readers), and my oh my, how did I make out! Most of it is the fault of AFB Forum Member Toy Guy, who lured me to his LCS and tempted me with toys galore.

Just to give an overview: I got the Jim Aparo Batman B&W Statue for a great price, the Captain Britain mini-bust for an okay-ish price (but I thought I needed to help him out, with his title being cancelled and all….), a number of Legends and Select figures, the Jason Firestorm (which Toy Guy had pre-bought for me) and in a last minute excitement, the Batman: Brave & the Bold Blue Beetle with Bug!!!!

Some of these will get individual reviews, but for the moment you can see the picture array at Facebook .

Happy happy!

Technorati Tags: DCUC,Mattel,Batman,Statues,Marvel Legends,Marvel Select

 

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?

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.

We’re back online!

That was quick! Server migration is finished and the AFB Forum is back up with conversation flowing!

See you there: http://actionfigureblues.smfforfree.com/index.php

Cheers!

AFB Forum Maintenance

For our AFB Forum Members, SMFForFree has advised that they are migrating servers this week and as such all of their forums will experience a short downtime. AFBForum is currently offline, however we expect this to be a brief outage.

Anyone with urgent AFB business (like, toys and other urgently important stuff….) can contact me at scott@actionfigureblues.com

I will let you know as soon as we are back up and running!

JLU Legion – Order Early and Order Often!

The first JLU Legion figures are now available for order at mattycollector.com – Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Cosmic Boy and Brainiac 5. I am definitely looking forward to having these little Legionnaires on my JLU shelf!

Mattel has made it clear that if we want to see any more Legion JLU figures, this set has to sell well – so do this Legion fan a favor and order a set (or three……).

Please?

 

AFB’s FCBD Haul Part Two

When I displayed my greedy haul from Free Comic Book Day I also mentioned that faithful AFB Forum Member dozymuppet was also my man on the ground at the Sydney sales, keeping an eye out for some mini-busts he knew would be on sale. I’ve been trying to collect the whole range of Alpha Flight mini-busts, and through a few phone calls on FCBD,  dozy managed to help me out with Sasquatch and Puck. The AFB Network certainly came through for me big time on that day!

Here they are in all their glory, along with all the the Alpha Flight busts I have to date: Snowbird, Marrina, Northstar and Aurora. They make an amazing bunch, don’t they? Now I just need to tick Vindicator, Shaman and Guardian (I know, good luck on that one…) off my list to have the collection complete.

There are some expanded photos at Facebook along with individual shots of the earlier busts.

If you want to revel in my glory you can discuss this at the existing FCBD haul thread at the AFB Forum!

Thanks again, dozy!

The Happiest of Days for the Aquafan…..

ign.com has the breaking news about some new statues coming out from DC Direct next year. The DC Dynamics Statue line has one statue in particular that is going to interest this Aqua-fan………

It’s great to see DCD doing some of the stuff that Bowen has been nailing out of the park for years for Marvel, and I know that the collectors of bigger statue are going to be eating these up. They look fabulous. Batman bursting out of a slew of bats is pretty amazing….

The US $195 price tag (*gasp* *choke*!) means that I will certainly not be collecting this as a line, but I’m already working out which organ I can live without and hoping that the Aquaman statue is released around either Christmas, Father’s Day or my birthday, because it is SO going to be mine!

Many thanks to AFB Forum member Faithful Butler (FB) for the heads up! Between the upcoming Heroes of the DCU Aquaman Mini-bust I’m doing quite well out of DC in the Aquaman department. Now if we could just get that 6” Aquaman wave that’s been begging to be done for years underway……

You can discuss the new DC Dynamics line at this thread at the AFB Forum.

Two Steps Step Closer to DCUC 5!

Collecting shouldn’t be this hard.

I could own all of DCUC Wave 5 by now if I was prepared to pay ridiculous eBay prices and shipping, and sell a kidney from each member of my family. And donate my body to science.

Since I’m not prepared to do that, and because  I am good boy and set my snipe limits and walk away from eBay, it’s taking me a loooooong time to get this rassin’ frassin’ retailer exclusive wave. All made worse that a friend found me a Riddler ages ago and it went missing in the post. Grrr.

Happiness then, when searching for something else, to find someone selling Riddler and Amazo who obviously didn’t know the going rate and had them as cheap Buy it Now items. Happiness even more, that they actually arrived in the post!

I’ll save the Wave review until I finally have Atom and Eradicator (Black Lightning was my only one to this point) but I had to give a progress report. After my eBay success with Nova and Tigra I’m on a roll!

Until next time!

A Dribble of DCUC Wave 8!

My full case of DCUC Wave 8 for Cornerstore Comics is still a while away I’m sure, so I am picking up a few extras from my good mate and AFB Forum Member MikeS of Mike’s Comic-N-Stuff – I plan to buy an extra Commander Steel and Mr Terrific (to replace the horrid DCD version) for my MA JSA collection when they come in, but for now I have the “Gold” Dr Fate which doesn’t come in my case and an extra Hawkgirl just because I knew she was going to be awesome, and I just wanted two of her!

First to the good Dr – I have to say I think the “Modern” Fate is going to end up down at the bottom of the DCUC faves list for the simple reason that the mixture of gold and yellow is just horrid. I’m sure at some point Mattel said this one would be all gold and he really, really should have been because this mish mosh of a figure is just a big disappointment. I see many customs coming. Even I could probably fix the yellow gloves but turning the yellow cape gold is beyond me. If it annoys me enough after sitting on my shelf for awhile I’ll send it off to one of my capable customising friends for fixing. I think it shall. Obviously a removable helmet would be the ideal here, but in this case we don’t really have the hint of eyes underneath which is a shame.  On a nice note, his power Nabu-whatever symbol lightning doo-hicky thing (I know, I’m a walking comics encyclopaedia) is cool.

Hawkgirl has been one of my most highly anticipated figures in this entire line to date, and while I am not disappointed, there are two drawbacks. One is that her flesh tones differ significantly from Hawkman’s. Hawkgirl has the more muddy tones of the S2 Aquaman than the brighter flesh tones of the S6 Hawkman, so the two don’t stand together as nicely as I’d like. This is more noticeable in person than in pictures.

 The second niggle is that due to something about her stance and the lack of neck articulation due to her sculpted hair, it’s challenging to pose her looking straight ahead, so she tends to be looking down with her mask covering her beautifully sculpted face. More work required in this but I found I couldn’t accomplish it even with her standing in her base.

Neither of these things take away from this being the best Hawkgirl ever, even beating DCD’s lovely original Hawkgirl with removable helmet for me, just by a smidge, however I expected this to be my new front runner for 6” female figure of the year, and I’m afraid the DCD New Gods Big Barda still holds that slot.

Looking forward to getting the whole case so that Giganta comes together – Wave 8 has been one of my most hotly anticipated waves of any line this year and while I have had some niggles hear I suspect the overall review when the arrive is going to be raves plus!

You can see more photos at Facebook or discuss this in the DCUC Wave 8 thread at the AFB Forum.

Until next time!

Meet Marilyn Marvel!

While I tend to focus on figures, I actually enjoy collecting mini-busts and the occasional statue, and I keep meaning to show them off here – soon, I promise. What I will start doing is trying to do a better job of reviewing them as they come in.

I hadn’t planned on buying the DCD Women of the DC Universe Mary Marvel mini-bust because of the Marilyn Monroe style pose and cheesecake-y style that plagues some of the Series Two busts in this line, but when I saw it in person it appealed to me more than I expected, and my LCS kindly ordered it in for me.

Note the box is labelled “Shazam! Mary”, not Mary Marvel – not sure what all the avoiding calling the Marvel Family the “Marvel” Family is all about, but it’s annoying.

As for the bust, it features a fun clear lightning yellow base, and the feature that nearly put me off – Mary holding down her dress Marilyn-style. Off key for what I’d like to see for this lovely heroine and a sad reminder of the dreadful mess that’s been made of the character in recent times. The flowing hair and cape are nice touches, but the closed eyes add to that Kewpie-Doll style cuteness that a few of the Dodson sculpts have an element of.

I must remind myself this could be much worse of course – this could be the freaky pink hair version!

This line must be applauded for the depth of character selection – we have Phantom Lady and Mera coming up this  year, for heavens’ sake – and obviously this piece ended up being something I felt shelf-worthy, but I’d probably rank it on the bottom of the pile of Series Two of this line overall. I’ll have to get the whole gang out (yes, I own them all…..) for a photo-study soon so you can judge for yourself!

In the meantime, enjoy, and remember that the politically correct term is “Shazam!”, not “Marvel”, Sheesh!

Conquering my Nemesis

Don’t me started on retailer exclusives. I know our friends Stateside loathe them, but for us abroad they are just a nightmare. Unless we can find a kind friend to grab one for us, we face either deprival or eBay scalpers. It’s a good test of collector self control. This I still don’t own most of DCUC 5, etc. etc.

When I am forced to eBay for this kind of thing, I set my price, set my snipe, and walk away. I miss out on alot of auctions, but sometimes get lucky.

And so it was, that after another Marvel Legends Nova and Tigra slipped through my snipe, I was most surprised to received a second chance offer at my price I was prepared to pay. The winner had become an unregistered bidder and the seller obviously didn’t realise he could have gotten much more for them. My gain!

Criticisms: Nova’s blue is too deep for me, and Tigra’s headsculpt is the typical blank ML female face instead of the something a bit more fierce which would have been fun. However, while these are by no means figures that reflect the heyday of Marvel Legends, they’re both great additions to the line and two of my Top 10 I really wanted to see done before the line gasps its’ last, which I suspect it has.

Now it’s just Black Bolt, Beast and 1st Appearance Daredevil to  go! I could care less about Nemesis so won’t be chasing Punisher to be sure.

Until next time!

AFB’S 2009 Free Comic Book Day Haul

I quite happily tell anyone who will listen that FCBD is one of my religious festivals, and usually manage to keep it as clear as possible, however today was a full one with a couple  of FCBD obstacles: morning netball games and an afternoon birthday party for the eldest AFB-ette. Thankfully I had huge support from my “crew”:

First off , Mrs AFB let me nick off from netball as soon as it was finished so I could do the rounds. This started with a very unsatisfactory visit to the city where the CBD Comic Shops “sale” consisted of a teeny, tiny little table of sale items, with everything else at their usual high prices. Blah. Small purchase only.

Secondly, to my LCS, Dee’s Books & Comics, where I knew that AFB Forum member Tyroc had already put aside Blackest Night for me to ensure I got it, and where there was the kind of great service and storewide sale  you expect on FCBD.

My spoils required a box for me to carry them away in and include as pictured (mostly from Dee’s a small handful from the non-sale): the DCD 1:6 Sinestro and GL Corps figures (much wanted but at sale prices), the DC Life & Death of Ferro Lad HC, JLA Showcase #3, the Hulk Vs. DVD, the next two volumes of Y; The Last Man in TPB, two Superman figures which were worth having on sale, and in some ways the most exciting of all, my copy of Barry Lyga’s “Wolverine: The Worst Day Ever”, which we’ll be talking more about shortly as Barry has granted AFB an interview on his work!

And finally, a huge FCBD hoorah to AFB Forum member dozymuppet, for taking a shopping list with him to his Sydney LCS sale, ringing me to confirm prices and organising shipping – an act of mateship above and beyond the call of duty that will not be soon forgotten! Looking forward to that parcel and subsequent review.

So this evening, we’re having a competition between who is most excited with their new toys: the birthday girl or Mr AFB – and I’m pretty sure I’m winning!

Here’s hoping your FCBD is equally successful!

Boys can Bust it out too!

After the lengthy and successful Women of the DC Universe Mini-Bust series, it’s nice to see DC Direct giving the guys some attention as well, through the new Heroes of the DC Universe Mini-Bust Series. We already know that Superman, Batman, Darkseid, Aquaman and Green Arrow are on the way, but the first cab off the rank is Green Lantern, and I was lucky enough to pick him up last week.

This mini-bust is based on Carlos Pacheo artwork and is a striking pose. This is a spotlessly done piece that to me looks more expensive than it really is – always a plus! The only criticism I would make is that the outstretched arm makes posing him a little  limiting, but that’s a small thing. It’s nice to see something dynamic as opposed to just static.

As you can see from the Hal / Jade comparison shot, the GL bust is in scale with the Women of the DCU Busts, which makes sense but was not something I was going to assume when it comes to DCD’s track record in the scale area. Another plus for what looks to be a promising line.

While my main men Aquaman and Green Arrow were obvious locks, I was on the fence about collecting this line, but decided to give Hal a chance, and on the basis of this excellent mini-bust I am now on board, although I probably skip Darkseid. I’m just hopeful that this line will explore the same depth that the Women of the DCU line has and go past the obvious to the B-list and hopefully beyond. Imagine Metamorpho or Elongated Man in this line – that would be happiness in a manly mini-bust kind of way!!

You can see the full picture set at Facebook or discuss this at the AFB Forum.

Until next time!

Arise, Colossal Boy!

It’s well documented here that Jackknight has been doing an amazing job of helping me complete my Silver Age Legion, and when I saw that he’d made himself a SA Colossal Boy in “upsized” form, I knew I had to have one too!

Isn’t he amazing? I doubt you’d ever guess that the base is a Marvel Icons Human Torch!

We have a few Subs and assorted baddies to go before the collection will be complete in my mind, but having Gim there towering over the team makes it feel like The Legion is really in my toy room!

And here they are: the Andy Legion collection as they currently stand. I need some levels to make  everyone visible, but I hope you’ll agree they are an impressive collection, and I have Jack to thank for most of them.

You can can search “Legion” or “Jackknight” for more of Jack’s great work on AFB.

Until next time!

DC Infinite Heroes in Oz!

The true tragedy of having such a drought of retail based superhero toys here in Oz is that when you see something, the chance to experience “the find” can cause you to buy stuff that you normally wouldn’t. Kind of like a dog licking up the crumbs under the table when their dinner dish doesn’t get filled.

And so it was, as I was racing the aisle of my local Toys R Us trying to tick items off the birthday list of the youngest AFB-ette, that I did a double, well triple-take as I spied some DC Infinite Heroes on the pegs. I’ve seen these imported in comic shops, but not at retail.

And so it is, that after buying a few of these and swearing them off due to distribution, eBay costs and lack of articulation, I now own four more: Black Lightning, Spectre, Dr Fate and Green Arrow. I also now have a hankering for more. Curse you, Oz toy drought , creator of the hunger of the chase!!!

It’s very hard not to evaluate these tiny chappies against Marvel Universe, and in many respects they don’t come off well. These four I picked up are still the older articulation I believe, and they are very static - much more is needed to make them as dynamic looking as the MU figures. Having said that, in some cases the amount of articulation on such light plastic in MU can make the figures a bit unwieldy, whereas the DCIH Heroes are certainly firm on their feet.

Other complaints: accessories are basically non -existent with this line, although Green Arrow does come with his bow. Paint wise these pale to the MU figures – my Dr Fate is particularly sloppy.Also, this line is certainly all about the Modern Age, and it’s a bit of shame to get MA Dr Fate, Atom and Spectre (not to mention ANOTHER MA Black Lightning!!) without their more classic counterparts – perhaps these will come eventually, but there have been some odd choices in the start-up of this line.

Regardless, I now have a big enough batch that I feel compelled to add to the gang, and particularly check out some female figures to see how they fare against the Marvel Universe Ms Marvel when I get my hands on her (in the collector’s sense, of course…)

I’m certainly not in with this line boots-and-all in the same manner as Marvel Universe, but this unexpected find has resurrected my interest somewhat, so I’d say you’ll be reading about some more DCIH purchases in the near future.

You can chat about this fabulous find at the DCIH thread at the AFB Forum.

Until next time!

DCUC Reveal at AFI – Power Girl

Mattel is continuing to advance the standard of the 6” retail female figure – Wave 4 Wonder Woman was a huge step forward, Wave 8 Hawkgirl looks to be amazing, and the already announced Black Canary from Wave 9 looks incredible.

To make it even better, Mattel has given the folks at Action Figure Insider an exclusive look at the DCUC Power Girl figure from an as yet unannounced wave. She looks amazing, and while she has her trademark peek-a-boo hole she isn’t overly busty which I am pleased to see. It means Mrs AFB will let me display her!

Have a gander at the AFI announcement for the full story and more pics. 

Wild About The Boy

As you know, due to my total lack of fine motor skills, as much as I would like to customise figures myself, I am stuck with commissioning the works of others. Thankfully I know some really talented people!

A while ago I made mention of a custom Bronze Age Wildfire that was was being made for me by the very kind Dr Terrific. I’m pleased to report that our favourite Legionnaire in a containment suit arrived in Oz this week, and I couldn’t be more excited or amazed with the results.

The base is the Crisis Earth Two Superman, not that you’d ever guess unless you saw them side by side. The effort, time and craftsmanship the Doc has put in to this one is unbelievable, right down to his little but very detailed Legion Flight Ring, which is on the correct finger and everything.

In the same way that the amazing Jackknight has been working on finishing off my Silver Age Legion, Doc is going to be working on the Bronze Age. Next up is Dawnstar, and the WIP can be seen here at the AFB Forum. 

Enjoy!

Seventh Heaven

After an extended wait for my DCUC Wave 7 figures due to Cornerstore Comics’ delays due to their credit card hack dramas (which I thankfully avoided) and other supply dramas, (Poor things, I really feel for them as they have always done the right thing by me, especially in terms of international shipping costs etc.) I finally got shipping notice that my case was on the way, and was very pleased to find a parcel card in my box today. I really couldn’t wait to get home to rip the box open and get these pictures underway!

First off, Atom Smasher is amazing. This is the first time I can recall opening up boxes and putting the BAF together before taking out and examining the individual figures. I had just had to get Al assembled and then stood in belief that I actually had an Atom Smasher BAF standing in front of me. He’s well articulated and there’s lots of room for fun posing when I get the chance. From the sounds if it Giganta is going to be  even taller, so all I can say is she’s going to be amazing if she’s going to be taller than this marvel!

In the same way that I think DCUC has produced the best Aquaman and arguably the best Batman 6” figure, I think the Flash from this wave could well be in the same category. None of DCD’s Flash efforts have been close to perfection – this one is almost it. He works well in standing and running pose, and comes with a stand to assist.

As much as I personally would have liked Big Barda to have a bit more of the “Big” in her, there’s no doubt that in many ways she’s the figure of the wave. Her costume is beautifully detailed. I may come back and do some comparisons of size etc later on, but for now the figure deserves to be allowed to stand as a very, very nice piece.

Booster Gold is great fun – looks very good in a flight stand! The structure with Skeets zooming out from behind him is a nice touch. Excellent paint job, and nice job on his goggles. After some earlier confusion about whether or not the Booster and Barda variants were going to be produced for these lines, I ended up getting both. Their futures are uncertain – being slightly underwhelmed by Barda’s size had me set on selling her, but if these do go on eBay it will be minus the BAF pieces, because I’d love another Atom Smasher to go with my MA JSA as well as my DCUC collection! Nice touch: the poses of the variants are different from the originals (you can see this is in the expanded photo set on Facebook (link below).

Captain Cold is very well done. Very nice detailing on his outfit, and groovy juxtaposition to Flash and Kid Flash in this wave. He has a holster for his ice ray gun which looks like it should close, but I can’t make it so. As for Kid Flash, while his size isn’t as big an issue as I’d anticipated, he’s still the pumped-up runt of the litter of this wave. While he’s overly muscled, he makes a fine SA Kid Flash, but I’m still not happy with this teen body type.

I’m not sure why we were so lucky as to get another Aquaman within 7 waves, and the infamous “camo” uniform at that, but it’s amazing to see him here and to a degree shows the lengths that Mattel is prepared to go with this line. Whatever you think of getting this figure (I am of course overjoyed), I’ll take Camo Aquaman over “Ultra Mega Armor Superman” any day.

The only QC quibbles I have here centre around the otherwise wonderful Blue Beetle figure. He has a small paint smudge on his chest, but more disappointingly some package rubbing has scratched his left goggle. Still, he stands tall amongst an excellent wave. One other small thing – Aquaman has a stiff neck – must be from trying to keep track of all those stripes.

With Wave 8 already hitting eBay, I’m hoping for less of a DCUC drought than I’ve been through while waiting for this wave, and with 8 being “the wave” for me in many ways, I really can’t wait!!

You can see an expanded photo set at Facebook, and check out the DCUC 7 talkback thread at the AFB Forum , which starts off with my initial ideas of how I might photograph this wave, Be warned, it wasn’t a pretty (to some) idea. Personally I think it could have worked…….

I gots little Wolverines….. teeny weeny ones…….

..and you know, they’re really not that bad.

Yep, I believe that with the advent of these tiny creatures we are witnessing the slow and painful death of the Marvel Legends 6” line. No, I do not like it. I’ll just get that out of the way first.

That being said, these little fellas are fun, because in some aspects they are quite good quality for their scale (and some not), and I get the sense that in a very short period of time I’m going to have a pretty awesome mini-Marvel Universe.

 Never thinking these would arrive in Oz, I ordered the two Wolverines, Gambit and Deadpool from overseas, and then when they did show up here I picked up Logan and Sabretooth as well.

Nice touches: all three Wolvies have different headsculpts – even the two costumed ones are more than just repaints. Deadpool has a lot of gear and it all fits somewhere. Sabretooth’s cape is really quite groovy.

Annoying points: Gambit is on one level the best figure of the lot in terms of detail and character accuracy, but mine at least will not stand on his own or hold his set of bodgy cards. All the Wolvies come with a sword which is so not Logan to me. Apart from Sabretooth’s tree stumps, all the accessories are from Flimsy City. Wobble Land. I know it’s the 3 3/4 scale, but these swords and stuff don’t need to be quite so cheapo, do they?

Also, unlike the Marvel Universe figures, not all of these have ankle articulation which makes them harder to pose. That earns an official AFB Frown.

Still, these are fun, and when put together with the Marvel Universe figures it gives a sense of where these lines could go and the scope of what we could have in a short time. If the 6” line really does get cut short, does it make up for it? No.  But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun!

As I feared…….

Oh, ick. 

Let’s just hope this pic from CBR means they bring him back at the end. At least he’s Arthur / Orin and not Tentacle Man.

And PLEASE no action figure of this, because my Aquaman OCD could cause me to have a conflict seizure…….

If it was anyone but Johns writing this I would be flapping my little Aqua-fins in a freak-out frenzy right now. :0)

Wonder Twins Powers Activate!

The announcement that Mattel would be making Wonder Twins Zan, Jayna and Gleek in the DCUC line was met with a mixture of joy and derision in the online collecting world. Superfriends fans were delighted, those that wanted DCUC to be comic characters only were not so happy. Superfriends was ultimately responsible for my love of comics, so while I won’t go so far as to say I was in the joy group, I’m definitely happy.

Mattel’s made it official today with the unveiling of their SDCC Exclusives, which include the Wonder Twins as the DCUC exclusive. It’s a great set, which also includes a pail of water with Zan’s face in it and Jayna in the form of an eagle, plus Gleek.

Go to Matty’s Facebook Photo Albums to see the rest, which include a JLU Green Lantern 3-pack including a civilian  Hal Jordan, Infinite Heroes Anti-Monitor and a MOTUC He-Ro!

Great news about the exclusives is that they are going to be available online after SDCC, except for Gleek. If you want the purple monkey, you have to get him in the SDCC pack, as the Wonder Twins set on mattycollector.com will be primate-less. I’m actually happier for buy a set without him, but if this fills you with a sense of outrage, just search “Gleek”at your favourite engine to find hysterical fanboys shrieking about this everywhere.

“Form of, a big baby!”

Can’t wait for my Zan and Jayna!

You can discuss this at the AFB Forum!