Crossing a Collecting Boundary: via Cable

I had a long hiatus from comics, from the time I left home in 1988 to around 2004, during which time I kept a sporadic eye on my first love, the Legion, but wasn't aware of anything else happening in the comicverse. When I "came back", I had a lot of catching up to do: not only did I miss out on an extreme number of shoulder pads, costumes with pouches and foil embossed variant covers, but the introduction of a lot of new key players, particularly in the X-Verse. Some I came to quickly love, some I came to quickly detest and some I just couldn't relate to. I'd put Cable in that third category. He'd been rescued from Liefeld-esque hideousness by the time I met him, but having missed his introduction I'd always struggled to understand his place in the X-Men World until the recent Messiah War storyline.

It was a big surprise, then, when I happened upon the full-sized Cable (Modern) Statue from Bowen Designs, that I liked it so much that I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I passed it on two separate occasions, but on a third viewing I found myself taking it home. I love Bowen Mini-Busts but have stayed away from the Statues to try and avoid that particular slippery slope, but had recently decided that the Modern Emma Frost Statue would be my first. Much to my surprise, Cable has beaten her to the punch!

Plainly put, this is just an extremely impressive looking statue. I really like Cable's stance, the colours used, and his very cool guns. This is a beautifully designed and painted piece. His techno-virused left arm is well done - nice and shiny, which is set off nicely by the use of mostly matte paints on the rest of his costume. It's a tall statue - 16" to the top of his raised gun.

There is some assembly required. Cable's guns are separate pieces which include his hands, which slot in at the wrists and are cleverly held in place with the use of magnets. The guns are impressive looking pieces with a bit of a worn look - they've clearly seen some action! The base is also a separate piece, with just one attachment, a long peg from the left leg which goes into the base, while the right foot rests atop the raised section of the base. A peg in the right foot wouldn't have gone astray - I was surprised to find the statue is a tad wobbly. Nothing drastic, but surprising for the price point.

So, my personal ban on FS Bowen Statues has been broken early than I planned. Sadly I've had to re-box Cable momentarily as he's too tall to fit on any of my shelves in their current configuration. Ah well, it was time for a refit anyway!

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Until next time!

Battle Cat Blasts In!

I have a distinct memory from early teenagerhood of being in a toy shop and having a choice between the original Masters of the Universe Battle Cat and something superhero-y which has long passed my memory. I never had a huge MOTUC collection, and superheroes always would have won out, but I have often looked back and regretted not grabbing poor old Cringer's more amazing alter ego, not that I managed to hold on to any of my now-vintage MOTUC toys. All up, however, it made an enough of an impression that when the chance to own Battle Cat again came around, I was very keen to have it, and in fact did the very silly middle aged collector thing (detailed here) to procure it.

Once I'd sailed my bizarre journey on the Digital River, I then had a postage and shipping drama to endure, which I won't bore you with. The happy end to the tale is that a pair of Battle Cats - one for me, one for a friend, arrived safely in the end. Good thing too - this is an extremely fun creature!

On one level this fella doesn't look that different from the vintage toy that I held in my hand as a young(ish) tacker, at least my memory of it, but the thought that's been put into the redesign of this piece is amazing. As an owner of many cats over the years, it really struck me how much the articulation of this modern Battle Cat makes his movement like an actual cat. He's so articulated that it took some time to find poses that work and keep He-Man balanced. Plenty of options here for different poses and display choices.

The harness and saddle are very nicely detailed, although He-Man doesn't really sit on it much better than what I remember of the original (I did get to play with my friend's Battle Cat, even though I never scored my own). The only niggle is that either his neck is a bit loose, or his headdress is a bit too heavy for his head, because his head droops slightly. Not enough to take any of the shine off of such a fun piece!

Now that I have Battle Cat, it's definitely time that my Masters of the Universe figures get their own shelf in my display, instead of hanging out on top of the shelves. Would've loved to have grabbed some of those surprisingly elusive display stands to add to the display, but I missed out on those. Better that than having missed out on Battle Cat!

I don't think I have the energy to deal with the tension of many more Mattycollector sales, so I personally would be happy to sign up for an all-in subscription that includes the quarterly figures as well. I'd rather have the problem of selling off ones I mightn't want than having to get up in the middle of the night and scramble for the ones I do. Let's hope Mattel makes that happen for the 2011 sub!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the AFB March Comment of the Month Contest. ** Become an AFB Fan on Facebook for a special second chance to win this month only!

Until next time!

DCUC Wave 5 is Coming Back on May 17th!

Mattycollector.com has some great news for fans of DC Universe Classics who missed out on the Wal-Mart Exclusive Wave 5 - it's being reissued as a boxed set of 5 individually carded figures which include the Metallo Collect & Connect Pieces.

Here's the news as reported by "Matty" himself:

"Back in 2008, we released Wave 5, which was an instant success and subsequently pretty hard to find. If you missed your chance, mark May 17th on your calendar, because Wave 5 is coming back!

This release is identical to the one in 2008 − same package, same decos, not a single change to the figures. Like all our boxed sets, these are individually carded figures packed into a single box. The set has the five figures you need to build a 9” Collect and Connect™ Metallo figure. Take a look inside and you’ll find these classic characters ready to rock your collection:

• Eradicator
• Black Lightning
• Amazo
• The Riddler
• The Atom

Don’t want to miss your shot at this fan-favorite? If you’re not registered yet for emails, click here and I’ll send you a reminder. You can also follow me on Twitter where I post reminders.
−Matty"

This is good news, and a good show of faith from Mattel to try to assist collectors to complete the line. I look forward to watching eBay prices for the original Wave 5 figures plummet accordingly!
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Until next time!

The Marvel Universe expands - somewhat....

Hasbro continues to pump out the figures in its Marvel Universe line, and amongst the latest half dozen IronSpideyrene variants, there are a couple of new characters and a relevant new version of one that's already been done: Luke Cage, Black Widow and Thor (Modern).

Thor is the pick of the bunch. Great amount of detail in the modern costume, which I quite like. The face isn't a huge improvement over the Secret Wars version - the nose is a tad too big, but this is a good looking figure for the scale. Only small issue here is that one of Thor's helmet wing thingies is slightly askew, but only noticeable on close inspection.

Black Widow is one of the better female figures in the line. The head and face are still a bit lacking in detail for what can be done at this scale but par for the course on what Hasbro is producing across it's various lines. Her eyes aren't painted as level as they could be. She's got a great rifle accessory and her belt and bracelets are nice touches. Next to Thor and Cage she looks puny, but they are the bigger males in the line. A nice addition, but I am definitely looking forward to the 6" version which is coming out later in the year.

I'm not a huge fan of the Modern Age Luke Cage, although realistically I wouldn't expect him to be wearing the tiara anymore. Still, I much prefer the plain black tank top and jeans to the funky cap and hideous oversized necklace thingy, but displaying him without them has its own issues, especially on his back, where the top is barely painted on, quite a mess really. His arms and legs are also strangely mottled, and it's not clear if that's for effect or a production problem. A needed figure for the New Avengers display, but I'm glad he's tall, so he can be stood at the back.

It's nice that they've started to include stands with the newer waves of these figures, but they're a bit big, and annoyingly branded with the character name which makes it harder for us OCD sufferers to swap them around and use them for the characters that need it the most.

All up, while I'd prefer to be collecting my Marvel U figures in 6", I am enjoying collecting this line, and look forward to more new characters to come!

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Mattel Public Enemies: Enemies Indeed

It's been a long time coming, but thanks to various trades, eBay purchases and the kindness of forum friends, I've managed to assemble Waves 1 and 2 of Mattel's Target Exclusive Public Enemies Series, mostly to put together the Brimstone Collect and Connect figure. I'll get to the Brimmy shortly, but let's look at the regular figures first.

I'm less hostile towards these DVD tie-in figures than I was when they were first shown, because if nothing else they are very faithful to the representations of the characters in the Superman / Batman: Public Enemies animated film. Still, the decision, if it was a conscious one, to make these figures in a slightly larger scale to the DC Universe Classics line is really perplexing, and makes most of them pretty useless in terms of cross-display with the DCUC figures.

Silver Banshee and Major Force are the only two figures that have much of a chance of making it into my display, but each has some detracting issues. Banshee may be a tad taller than her DCUC counterparts, but she's still got those horribly skinny upper arms, and also has loose ankles so she tends to fall over on her face alot. Major Force's main issues are colour scheme (accurate to the DVD but not his most common appearance in the comics), a very exaggerated animated face and being a tad tall to pair with archenemy Captain Atom. I'll deal with this last one with flight stands and keep my hopes up for proper DCUC versions of both of these worthy characters.

Black Lightning is pretty pointless as he's been done better and more comic accurate, and Icicle... well, my dog needs a new toy. He might be a dead ringer for the animated version, but the animated version's crap. Mega lost opportunity to do something better with this one.

As for Brimstone? He's certainly not going to the top of the list of my favourite Collect & Connect figures anytime soon, but he's adequate. Unlike most of the DCUC C&Cs, his head is not a separate piece, but joined with the torso, and the figure suffers from the lack of detail in the headsculpt. The slightly translucent material in his limbs is a fun addition. Overall - happy to have him in the back of the collection, but he could have been done better.

So that's the rundown on what I hope is a one-off experiment from Mattel, unless they can find a way to produce figures that make collectors happy, or at least don't tease us with unwanted versions of characters that have yet to be made in the DCUC line.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest. ** This month only, an AFB Facebook Fan will be randomly selected to receive a second prize, so be sure to become one of our Facebook Fans!

Until next time!

Vote on the New Marvel Universe Exclusive

..and then when you get one, send one to me, please!!

After last year's "successful" Nick Fury Marvel Universe Exclusive (so successful in fact that I still don't have one, and am not inclined to sell one of my kidneys to get one on ePay), Marvel and Hasbro are offering us a chance to vote on which figure people will be able to scalp - um.. receive as an exclusive for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited Subscribers.

The choices are: Archangel (X-Force Uniform), Ms Marvel (Karla Sofen version) and Norman Osborn in H.A.M.M.E.R. gear. As someone who is a big fan of X-Force and not so much of Dark Reign, Archangel is my pick for sure. We'll see what the poll has to say. I couldn't find any indication of whether or not the exclusive will be available to non-U.S. suscribers, so that's a wait and see as well.

Here's the link to the poll. Remember: Vote early, vote often and vote Archangel!

You can discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post for a chance to win the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest!

Until next time!

DCUC Wave 14 - Up Close

Mattel has released up close pics of DC Universe Classics Wave 14 at Facebook. This is the Wal-Mart *sob* Exclusive *sob* for 2010.

A few thoughts:

I'm really excited about Alan Scott and Obsidian appearing in this line, but not sold on the open-mouthed headsculpts - must be a father and son thing. It's a personal preference thing, and while it's good to see The Horsemen experimenting with doing something different, I just think it looks weird. Still the overall figures look great - Obsidian in particular is smashing and I hope him appearing in his classic form opens the door for more Infinity Inc. members down the road.

I've read comments about the decision to paint the inside of Hourman's cowl yellow instead of the black we might have expected. Well and good if Mattel checked on what the colour is supposed to be, but it's almost always been drawn either as black or with a shadow, so it looks weird. I suspect this will be an oft-repeated custom change for those that want it to look right. Still, it's Rex Tyler, and it's great to see the GA JSA getting so much love.

As for the other figures: Gold's face doesn't look quite right to me - a bit small or something, but the metallic finish and snap-on attachments look fantastic. Kamandi looks a little more like Kamandi here, but without a truly Kirby-esque headsculpt he still looks a bit more like a generic shirtless construction worker than the Last Boy on Earth. Zatanna's hat is a separate piece - hoorah! She looks great, but I'm still not sold on the yellow vest thingy. Tyr looks great, and while I know he's there for Super Powers nostalgia, he's a Legion villain and that's how I'm counting him.

Ultra-Humanite can only be described as Ultra-Badass. I'd love to see him in scale with the other figures, but regardless he looks amazing, and I can't wait to have him. Which, of course, will be all the more challenging by the nature of my geography, but I was very fortunate to have some great US based help in getting Wave 10, and if the distribution is on the same level I should be able to be looked after by the same great friends again. I sure hope so - despite the nit-picky points above this is a wave I'm greatly looking forward to!

You can see the full set of pics at Matty's Facebook Page, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest. ** Remember - this month only an AFB Facebook Fan will be chosen for a second prize, so if you're not a Facebook fan - become one now!

Until next time!

A Bevy of Bowen Busts!

Oh, to have the budget to buy every Bowen Statue and Bust I like, and the room to display them!

With most lines I collect, I tend to have some sort of parameters to keep things in some semblance of control. With Bowen's Marvel products, I try to focus on Mini-Busts of Avengers, Defenders and X-Men, which casts a pretty broad net, but does keep me away from quite a number of great looking pieces that would be otherwise hard to resist. As well as collecting current releases, I love keeping an eye out for reasonable deals on past pieces, and I've managed to snag three recently: Polaris, Jack of Hearts and She-Hulk.

Polaris' iconic green costume is one of my favourites, and it's captured beautifully in this bust. I love the dynamic pose that has been sculpted for the Maid of Magnetism. Lovely paint work here is highlighted by a nice metallic sheen on her bodice and headpiece which adds depth and texture. A Marvel Masterpiece indeed!

Last seen as a corpse being used to Disassemble the Avengers, Jack of Hearts is looking in much better shape in Mini-Bust form. I can only imagine what a bear it must have been for the sculptor to create all the detail on his costume, but it's been done brilliantly. Once again, a combination of metallic and flat paints adds to the depth. The blue used on his sleeves and skullcap is a tad dark for my liking, but doesn't stop this bust from cutting an imposing figure.

Finally, an Avenger with a much more distinguished career: She-Hulk. She's captured here in my favourite version - with Byrne-style hair and her well-known purple and white bikini. I like the pose and most of the sculpt, but her waist is perhaps a tad too improbably thin - but don't tell her I said so! The base is also a tad rudimentary compared to Bowen's efforts in it's more modern pieces. Very nice paint work makes for a great piece overall.

So AFB's Bowen shelves are a tad more full, and yet adding these characters just makes to holes for their missing teammates more obvious! I dare say you should stay tuned for some more additions!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest! ** Remember - this month there is an extra prize for an AFB Facebook Fan, so if you're not a Facebook Fan of AFB, become one now!

Until next time!

Blackest Night makes a Brighter Day for DC Direct

In theory, DC Direct should be able to produce a line of DC Universe figures that would blow it's competitors out of the water. Access to the entire DC Universe and the above-retail price point that allows unique sculpts could be quite an arsenal, but the potential for DCD to deliver a consistent plastic DCU has long been squandered, and so the best to be hoped for from the company is decent Modern Age product that can be worked in to a wider collection of the solid classics Mattel is producing. BLACKEST NIGHT is certainly a cash cow for DC Comics and DC Direct is capitalising on this with pretty good results, and of course the odd heartbreaker thrown in. Wave Three is now out, and here's the rundown:

Larfleeze, alongside Atrocitus and Kry'b from previous waves, is an example of everything DCD can do right. A fantastic, unique sculpt not tied down by common bucks, and an unusual, new alien character with whom scale isn't as major factor. A beautiful headsculpt that captures the King of Greed perfectly, with groovy elongated arms and the requisite orange lantern. The Glomulus pack-in is icing on the already delicious cake - and Glomulus is even articulated! Magic stuff.

As AFB's #1 Aqua-fan (yeah, I know AFB is me, but we've had fights about this one, trust me) I was only going to consider the Black Lantern Aquaman figure if I knew that Blackest Night was the vehicle to his return to the land of the living. Now that the BRIGHTEST DAY teasers suggest strongly this is the case, I'm happy to have this on the Aqua-shelf as a "phase" Arthur went through. Great sculpt here - the face is truly horrid and the legs are bowed in. Very nice zombie - er, Black Lantern work.

Star Sapphire is a rehash of DCD's most recent release in the Green Lantern series, so I'm passing on it, but - ooh..... her purple sections are transparent and glittery! What the heck? This figure isn't setting the world on fire, but as a member of the seemingly inevitable DCD Rainbow Lantern Corps she'll do fine. For some reason this version is quite easy to stand, where as the GL version is topple city. Go figure.

Oh, I mentioned DCD's standard dose of heart-wrenching calamity? Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you Arisia, long neglected in plastic Green Lantern Corps member, and the uber-disappointing trainwreck of the wave. Apart from the unsurprising fact that scale-wise she'll stand too tall against many previous DCD GL releases, the quality on this figure is lacking. It looks like orange-ish coloured plastic has been used here instead of paint, and that impacts on the feel and quality of the finished product. Nice to have, but instead of finally having one of my grails in my hand, I'm left hoping DCUC gets to Arisia soon. Far from surprising, but painful just the same.

Still, DCD's BLACKEST NIGHT efforts are giving us some great sculpts of some significant Modern Age characters that will work in a GL display for years to come, and I'm grateful for that. I'm not going the Black Lanterns in a big way, but there's some goodies to be cherry picked here. It's just a shame to have to cherry pick from something that should be such a better big picture.

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the AFB March Comment of the Month Contest! ** This month AFB's Facebook Fans have an extra chance to win - so become one now!

The Beauty, The Beast and The Boneface

Mattel's Masters of the Universe series continues to pump out the releases, and there's a new batch that have made it over the seven seas safely to my shelves. All in a short space of time, I received Adora, Beast Man and Skeletor. Not close enough though: with Adora on subscription, Beast Man up for re-release on the same time and Skeletor a few days later, I paid three lots of shipping for these - frown!

I don't have the same nostalgia for the Princess of Power characters as I do for He-Man and friends, but Adora fits in He-Man's world, so I'm very happy to have her. She looks great - very clean paintwork and nice colours. The only concern I have here is how she compares scale wise to the male figures. She's taller due to the guys' bunched up pose, but she also seems a little bit bigger all over, so just looks a touch out of place.

I've heard lots of great things about Beast Man, but nothing prepared me for how great this figure is in person. Great colours, great scowling face, and fabulous, fabulous costume pieces. The whip is great fun and creates lots of possibilities for posing. I can see that this figure is very quickly going to become one of my favourites in this series.

With Skeletor finally in my posession, I feel like a real Masters of the Universe collector now. I've never seen the first release, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I was surprised by the amount of green under the yellow on Skeletor's face. That's my only query here, sculpt and the rest of the paintwork are great, and the fun range of accessories are much appreciated. Very happy to be able to stage the requisite He-Man and Skeletor battles!

All up, more Masters of the Universe fun, and I'm keen and ready for more! I just received my Battle Cat, so the MOTUC diorama is about to expand greatly - pics and review soon!

You can see more pics at Facebook, discuss this at the AFB Forum, and comment on this post to enter the March AFB Comment of the Month Contest. ** Remember - it's Orange Month at AFB, and in celebration one commenter AND one AFB Facebook fan will receive a prize.

Until next time!

AFB goes Orange for the March Comment Contest - Bonus Chance for Facebook Followers!

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on last month’s blog posts. Congratulations to “Prowl26” for being our winner! Mr. Prowl – – please get in touch with me – probably easiest to do so through the AFB Forum – just log in and message me (“Andy”). Once we hear from Prowl his choice of either DCUC Wave 12 Iron or the Secret Wars Thor & Enchantress Two-Pack will be on the way from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff.

Now to March’s Contest: on offer are two great prizes, either the Marvel Select Thing or the Blackest Night Wave 3 Larfleeze figure. As a bonus to AFB's Facebook followers, one commenter AND one FB follower will be chosen for prizes this month! If you're not a follower of AFB on Facebook, become a fan now!

A few bits and pieces:

• 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, as long as your profile is not set to private – check your settings.

• 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 all this is coming out of AFB’s not dreadfully deep pockets!

Once again, thanks to Mike for making this all possible for us, and here’s to another happy month of commenting!

Until next time!

DC Direct Makes the Most of Maquettes

I haven't given DC Direct's DVD Maquettes much thought, seeing as I generally like to collect comic versions of characters, but a couple have caught my attention recently and have ended up added to my collection. I'm going to take a look at two tonight, and the first is the Owlman DVD Maquette from Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

With many of the main heroes featured in this DVD having already appeared in the Maquette line, it makes since to feature one of this story's central villains in the piece for this film, and Owlman is a great choice. This maquette comes in three pieces: main statue, base and gun. Even so, it's a big box, due the fantastic cut of Owlman's cape. His animated costume is extremely good looking and lends itself to a dynamic sculpt. His costume is basically in greyscale, and yet it's a very eye-catching piece. The pose, the angle of the gun, the sweep of the cape all make this a very enjoyable piece that sits happily amongst my comic-inspired Batman busts and statues. A big win in my book!

While we're talking DC Direct Maquettes, let's also take a look an earlier release: the Green Lantern: First Flight DVD Maquette. It was a chance eBay bargain on this piece that got me started on the Maquette train. Finding this on eBay at such a great price was a good lesson that you can often find statues at good prices on the secondary market shortly after release - I just need to learn not to jump right away on pieces I'm not 100% sure about, or wait too long on ones I really want, because after awhile they get way too cost prohibitive when you count in the shipping to Oz.

As for the maquette: once again we have a nice dynamic sculpt, with GL actually stepping onto the base with one foot off to the side. The paintwork here is a great, with a metallic green adding to the texture. One odd thing I find about some of DCDs busts and statues is that they're often photographed in promo shots at an angle that's not quite possible to replicate in real life, at least on a flat service. This is the case here, with Hal looking more skywards in person than in the pics. It's a small quibble with what is an otherwise fun piece.

That's me and DCD Maquettes for the moment. I certainly don't see myself buying every release, but it is good to know that they can be fun purchases for the right character!

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

Until next time!

Power Girl joins the ranks of the Cover Girls of the DCU

It says something about the quality of a line when each successive release becomes your new favourite. That's the case for me when it comes to DC Direct's Cover Girls of the DC Universe Statue Series, with new release Power Girl in stores this week.

Power Girl is a bit infamous in my household. While Mrs AFB still gets her Aquaman confused with her Greens both Arrow and Lantern, much to my distress, she can spot a Power Girl from a mile away, or "those boobs!", as she usually exclaims. Therefore, any Power Girl-related purchase must be carefully considered, and possibilities for strategic placement of said item scoped out before display. Once I saw the consistent quality of this line, however, this purchase was a no-brainer - I dare say it's not usually the brain that influences Power Girl merchandise purchases!!

While some of DCD's busts differ greatly from the sketches that they're based on, this statue captures the Adam Hughes art that inspired it beautifully. The sculpt of the face is a little different from the cover, but it still works very effectively. The sculpt of this statue is excellent and the paintwork is spotless. The cape is a selling point in itself. It flows beautifully a quite an angle without impacting on the balance of the statue at all. Beautifully done, and a wonderful touch to compliment a great piece.

I'm still on the fence about the upcoming Harley Quinn statue, but as the line has been so strong and the Poison Ivy statue looks so brilliant, I'll probably want to keep a complete run! There are certainly worse things to collect!

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

Until next time!

Lord Darkseid, how could I forget thee?

As some of our astute commenters pointed out, I failed to say anything about the Darkseid Collect & Connect figure in my review of DC Universe Classics Wave 12. My bad!

In my defense, I'm a little discom-blog-ulated at the moment due to a technical issue. I just got a new laptop at work (yay!) and for some reason I can't reinstall Windows Live Writer (boo!). My whole way of blogging has been challenged, so I've been trying different blog editors without alot of joy. I'm using Qumana at the moment, but if anyone has a better suggestion, I'm open.

Anyhoo, Darkseid. I for one wasn't super excited about Darkseid being announced as the C&C for this wave, since I was pretty happy with the DC Superheroes version and would have rather seen a new character being done. Additionally, Jack Kirby never drew Darkseid super-big, so I don't see a giant sized version as a great companion to the other New Gods done in this line. I've got nothing against the modern age, but when it comes down to it, give me the classics version please.

Still, this version is very well done, and has a place in the display. The detailing on his boots is awesome and he's very well constructed. As for the craggy lines on his face - maybe there's a little bit too much detail there. I actually like the headsculpt overall - my one complaint about the DCSH Darkseid was that his head was a bit too small - no such issue here.

I don't think I've changed my mind about preferring that a new character got a shot at the C&C treatment for Wave 12, but this figure definitely has a place in the collection and is worth the effort of tracking down individual pieces to build. While my preference is for the less-giant version, this does look great.

My apologies to Darkseid and all of his fans for the unintentional snub!

Until next time!

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DCUC Rolls on - and just gets better! Wave 12

Looking now at the wide array of characters covered in DC Universe Classics, and the amazing range of figures and impressive Collect & Connects we've enjoyed over the last few years, it's hard to imagine I was ever skeptical about what this line. Perhaps it was being burned by DC Direct that caused my cynicism, but the promises made by Mattel at the outset of DCUC, specifically about the scope they hoped to cover within the DC Universe, just seemed to good to be true, and while I collected the line from the beginning I adopted a "wait and see" attitude before joining the cheer squad. Needless to say, twelve waves later, the overall quality of the figures plus some inclusions that have given weight to that "nothing in the DCU is off limits" promise (Killer Moth, Gentleman Ghost, Robotman) I'm happy to be a card carrying DCUC cheer squad member!

The highlights here for me are Golden Age JSA members Spectre and Dr Mid-Nite, and the first member of the Metal Men to grace the series, Iron. I am a big Spectre fan and was never satisfied with the glow-in-the-dark DC Direct version. The glow-in-the-dark feature was always meh to me, and the skin tone never looked right. This one corrects all of that, and the headsculpt is excellent. I would have preferred a Crispus Allen variant instead of DCUC's own glow in the dark version, but a Crispus version would be an easy mod, so I'll hope for its inclusion in a boxed set somewhere down the road. Dr Mid-Nite is the best version of the character so far - very happy this turned out to be Dr Charles McNider, but again I am hopeful for a Pieter Cross version down the road. I did have a bit of trouble getting Hooty to sit properly on Dr M's arm - a magnet attachment would not have gone astray

Desaad and Copperhead are both serviceable versions of the characters. I haven't been buying the Super Powers redesigns of the New Gods, but Desaad was the same as he is in the comics, so I am glad to have him. I'm not wild about the lighter orange neck on Copperhead, as it only appeared in the JLU cartoon and not the comics, but his headsculpt is excellent, and it's great to have him in this scale.

Eclipso is a nice surprise - the initial photos weren't particularly impressive, but the facial features I didn't like so much in those pics are much better in person - his ears might be a tad longer than I'd like, but the maniacal smile is just right.

As much as I love this line, no wave is perfect, and unfortunately it's Mary Marvel's (uh... Batson......) fate to be the dog of the wave, quite literally, as her headsculpt is really awful. She looks less like an adolescent girl and more like the middle-aged star of a 70's sitcom. Strange really as the female headsculpts overall in this line have been excellent. Add to that my usual complaints about the skinny arms on the DCUC females, and I can only give this a bare pass. A sad blotch on what is overall an excellent wave.

And as for Iron........ oh, where to begin? This fellow is certainly in the running for 6" figure of the year, and one of my favourite figures in the line. He's shiny! He's metallic! He's blue!! A perfect sculpt, great design, and the option of either fists or snap-on attachments all make for great fun. Bring on the rest of the Metal Men!

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

Until next time!

A Trip on the River Digital..... My Battle for Battle Cat

3:55am (AEST) Phone alarm goes off. Wake (somewhat), put on glasses, open laptop and then lie back down while it finds the wireless network.

3:56am Dog decides it is morning, scampers about excitedly for her breakfast and walk. Ignore dog.

3:57am Internet is connected. Open Chrome, go to the Mattycollector page, and get the white screen of death. Lie down to let the 3 second refresh mechanism do its thing.

4:01am Remember that the 3 second refresh doesn’t work in Chrome. Sit up, close Chrome. Open IE. Curse Mattel for making me use IE.

4:02am Get the white screen of death in IE. Lie down and wait.

4:04am Remember that I will need my code for my Battle Cat discount.

4:04am Debate $8 vs. having to get up again.

4:06am Remind self of how much I spend on toys. Open Gmail and get my discount code.

4:08am Decide that Matty is looking far too bloody cheerful for 4 in the bloody morning.

4:10am Dog hasn’t got message. Show dog the time. Dog licks clock.

4:16am Matty Store loads. Sit up. Click on “Buy Now” for Battle Cat. Get the white screen of death again. Lie down.

4:21am Battle Cat page loads. Put two in cart. Actually get to the order page. Enter discount code. Get the white screen of death.

4:22am Try to keep sitting up for fear I’ll fall asleep. Check forums and Facebook to see how others are going.

4:23am Grow weary of listening to people who didn’t have to get up in the middle of the bloody night complain. Lie down again.

4:29am Wife wakes, looks at clock and tells me I'm crazy. I can't disagree. Wife goes back to sleep.

4:34am Begin to lose resolve, contemplate selling my soul to eBay for Battle Cat.

4:35am Decide I hate scalpers more than not sleeping. Stay sitting up.

4:39am Assaulted by dog, who is still awake. Throw pillow at dog. Miss.

4:42am Order page loads again. Place order, log in, and payment is confirmed. Shed a small tear of frustration and relief.

4:43am Close laptop and go back to bed. Dog is dismayed. Ignore dog.

4:45am Hand licked by dog. Pull sheet over my head and go to sleep.

6:00am Alarm goes off. Apologise to dog that morning walk is not going to happen. Hit snooze. 5 times.

6:45am Get up and get in shower. Consider drowning self to avoid having to go to work.

6:46am Wonder which is more insane, Mattel’s ordering system or the collector that got up in the middle of the night to battle with it. Decide that I win.

Have a tale of woe to share? Tell it on the AFB Forum, or comment here to enter the February AFB Comment Contest

Until next time!

Marvel Secret Wars Series 3: The Great, The Could've Been Great and the Downright Awful

While I have no particular love for what Hasbro is doing with the Marvel License, the idea of a line dedicated to the original Secret Wars miniseries is something I have a great deal of time for. There is a nod to collectors in these two-packs, as there's no current property to fuel sales, and there are some fairly C-List characters in the mix. While we've had the repeat characters that feature in the Marvel Universe world, they've come in a satisfying '80s style, four colour look that reflects the art of the miniseries very adequately.

The disappointment with this line has been the sporadic quality control, and this frustration is extremely evident in the third wave of three two-packs, which contain both the absolute best and absolute worst of what Hasbro's 3 3/4" Marvel figures have had to offer so far.

Wave Three includes Mr Fantastic & Ultron, Hawkeye & Piledriver and Thor & Enchantress.

There's very little "Fantastic" about poor Reed Richards, or should we say his teenage nephew Nigel, who just happened to be wearing Uncle Reed's uniform on the day he was called to model for this figure. To make matters worse, it looks like Ben Grimm sat on the poor tacker's head, so the end result here leaves alot to be desired. Scale fail in the extreme, and a squashed head to match. Fail to the max. On the flipside, Ultron is awesome, despite a left shoulder pad (well, prong.... metal thing....) that keeps popping off, this is a great figure. The advantage here is that there's no facial features to juggle with of course, but apart from that the detailing and sculpting still put this a step above the rest. It's a win that *almost* negates the Mr. Not-Fantastic debacle.

Hawkeye is extremely well done, and certainly the best accessorised of all of these figures so far. He has a smirk on his face, but from the photos on the packaging it at least looks like that was intended. His uniform is very detailed and his gear is (bow, quiver, arrow) is great. A big winner. Piledriver is another great addition to the Wrecking Crew (although I'm a bit concerned we haven't had news of Wrecker himself yet...), but I really hate the blue wash over the white in his uniform, especially since one of the thing I've liked about this line is the plain colouring reminiscent of the style of the comics at the time.

Thor and Enchantress are quite good figures, in fact Enchantress could have been the best yet of the MU females (limited though they are), if not for the wonky paintwork on her eyes. Instead of the Asgardian beauty she should be, she ends up looking more like your cross-eyed cousin Ethel with the unfortunate facial hair problem that is only allowed out for family weddings. If I was a customiser I'd be doing an eye repaint quick smart. Thor is well done, and I love the plain colours and 80's styling here. Again the face it a bit of a letdown, but this is still a nice addition to the line, and a good template for the Modern Age version that's coming up in Marvel Universe.

Overall, I'm happy to have these in my collection, but it's hard not to look at them and think of what could have been with a little more QC.

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

Until next time!

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The King of Atlantis Set to return!

In the most exciting news to come out of DC in well, ever, Aquaman is coming back in Brightest Day!

The DC Blog has a full take on plans to put Aquaman and his supporting cast centre stage in the DC Universe. This isn't action figure news (yet), but it's Aquaman, and that makes it blog-worthy in my view!

There's much happiness in AFB land today!

AFB is Certified Geek!

There's a fun new blog out there called Certifiably Geek Blogs, which awards blog with a "Certified Geek" label based on the recommendations of fellow bloggers. Many thanks to Tom at Freak Studios for passing on the Certified Geek banner to AFB! I promise to wear it with pride!

Part of the "rules" of Certified Geek is that I now must pass the banner on to two fellow bloggers. This was a no-brainer for me, as I needed to look no further than to two members of the AFB Forum family!

First up is TV and Film Toys, put together by "Engineernerd". I met Eng through Twitter and we at the AFB Forum greatly enjoy his reviews. More to the point, some AFB Forum members seem to live for the great guessing games that TVFT run - great fun, and a more than deserving "Certified Geek" recipient.

Second is someone who I consider to the be godfather of toy reviews: Michael Crawford at MWC Toys. Michael's reviews are the best - so well photographed, documented and scored that you can be left in no doubt about the item at the end of the review. Michael's attention to detail and passion for his craft is second to none. Thanks for being an inspiration!

Many thanks to Certifiably Geek Blogs, Freak Studios, and everyone out there that makes this such a fun and rewarding thing to do!

Until next time!

Heroes of the DCU Busts - Back in a Flash!

Somehow I missed that with Green Arrow, we said goodbye to Carlos Pacheo's run as designer of the Heroes of the DC Universe Mini-Bust series from DC Direct. Perhaps, like most of Pacheo's characters, I had my eyes closed.

Anyhoo, it's Gary Frank's turn, and first up is the Scarlet Speedster himself, The Flash.

Frank has a very distinctive artistic style, and the truth of his sketch is captured very well in the sculpt overall, although the jaw is more square in the final product than the angular version in Frank's design. The other question I have is whether or not the arms are actually a bit long, as the left elbow seems exaggerated, but it's hard to tell without being able to extend it.

Paintwork is rock solid, and the base here is dynamic, fun and make sense, and all this makes Flash a great addition to the line. This has been a fun series to collect - I've made a budgetary decision to collect the Heroes only at this stage and not the Villains counterpart line. What I'm really waiting for, though, is for this line to start delving beyond the A-List and deliver a few of the lesser known or oddball choices that we've seen in the Women's Mini-Bust line. Time will tell if this line lives that long.

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

Until next time!

A Blast from the Past - Made in the Present

I have a few vivid memories of childhood disappointments. There was being cut from the Little League team and dropped back down to Pee Wees, which pretty much ended my baseball career, there was being sold into a forced marriage in the school playground at the tender age of 8 (a long story), and then there was repeatedly begging for and being denied Mego Super Heroes. I was obsessed with super heroes of all kinds, and spent many an hour lusting over Megos of various descriptions in the toy aisles of various K-Marts throughout my youth, but I think my parents just saw them as dolls and therefore not fitting toys for their little boy. It’s a loss I’ve long bemoaned, especially whenever I look at the price of a genuine MOC Mego Aquaman on eBay. *sob!*

Mattel is bringing the sexy back in their Retro Action DC Superheroes line, which started with the Mattycollector.com exclusive Green Arrow. I was only too keen to order this and very happy when it arrived on the slow boat a few days ago. Green Arrow looks like great fun. The headsculpt is very well done – a modernised version of what would have been once upon a time. As for the body, I like the fact that it isn’t overly updated. The gloves and boots retain that chunky original feel, and the overall proportions don’t seem to have altered at all.

The magic for me in this line is in the reproduction packaging, which comes complete with a bit of “fading” to give it that genuine feel. Thus at this stage I don’t see myself unpacking these – although Green Arrow is very tempting because he comes with some great accessories I could play with, and it does bug me that his archer’s cap is rolling around in the bottom of the plastic bubble. Nevertheless, I’d hate to lose the retro feel of the packaging, and I doubt I’d hold the same affection for these if they were displayed loose, so I’ll hold off at least for now.

I don’t see myself collecting the whole line, but favourite characters Aquaman and Green Lantern are a nostalgic must. Everything else will be on a case by case basis. I’d sure love the Teen Titans in their original Mego glory!

In my view the only way this could have been improved upon would be to have some sort of resealable packaging so that the figure could be inspected or displayed but then repackaged to retain the retro feel. I guess it wouldn’t really be retro if it didn’t have the good ‘ol rip-off bubble!

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

Until next time!

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Bowen Busts Galore!

After a long wait, Bowen Designs has released two new mini-busts which I’m excited to add to my collection. Bowen does a great job of giving us not just the A list of Marvel characters, but the odd surprise as well, and this latest pair delivers both.

As a big fan of SQUADRON SUPREME, I was delighted to see the Hyperion Mini-Bust solicited, and this doesn’t disappoint. Paintwork here is perfectly done, and I love the flow of his cape. The only quibble I might have here is that his mouth seems a wee bit small, but hey, some folks have small mouths I guess. Nothing could take away the excitement of having one of the lead characters from one of my all-time favourite stories. I own the classic Nighthawk, but I am probably going to have to pick up the Squadron version that’s been gathering dust at my LCS sooner or later to go along with this great piece.

Cable isn’t a favourite character of mine, but as I am trying to focus my Bowen collection around the X-Men / Avengers / Defenders (bring on Valkyrie please!), he’s a needed element. Having said that, this bust is great looking and I was surprised by how much I liked it. There is fantastic detail here in his costume and weapons.

Cyclops isn’t a new bust, but it’s one I’ve been eyeing for some time, and I finally managed to snag it on sale while on holiday in Brisbane. This is probably Cyclops’ most iconic Modern Age look, and worth having even if there aren’t many other busts from this era. There is a bit of rough texture on the body that makes the paintwork not look as smooth as it could – quite unusual for a Bowen Bust. The pose and facial expression really works, however, and makes this a very welcome addition to the collection.

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

Until next time!

AFB Comment of the Month Contest – February 2010

First off, thanks to everyone who commented on last month’s blog posts. Congratulations to “demoncat” for being our winner! Demoncat – as you don’t have a Blogger profile I can’t email you – please get in touch with me – probably easiest to do so through the AFB Forum – just log in and message me (“Andy”). Once we hear from demoncat his / her choice of prize will be on the way from Mike’s Comics N’ Stuff.

Now to February’s Contest: on offer are two great prizes, either the DC Universe Classics Wave 12 Iron or the Thor / Enchantress Two-Pack from Marvel Universe Secret Wars series.

A few bits and pieces:

• 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, as long as your profile is not set to private – check your settings.
• 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 all this is coming out of AFB’s  not dreadfully deep pockets!

Once again, thanks to Mike for making this all possible for us, and here’s to another happy month of commenting!

Until next time!