Five Stars for the All Stars

Well, I'm not really giving them five stars, but it sounded good, so I ran with it.

Being a big fan of the Morrison / Quietly All Star Superman, I've been looking forward to one half of All Star Series One. Originally we were to have an all AS Batman & Robin wave, which would have been easy to pass on since I look on that series like I look on all train wrecks. Then a mixed series was solicited with Superman, Super Lois, Batman and Wonder Woman, who was eventually replaced with Batgirl, since WW's AS comic still hasn't hit the stands.

The packaging of this series resembles that of the Showcase Presents figures - plastic box style which is quite good looking but may be on the big side for those who like to store MIB. The artwork is nicely done, and like the Showcase figures, the insert opens out to promote upcoming DCD waves - attractively done and a nice touch.

These figures are a mixed bag. Superman is the pick of the wave. The headsculpt is brilliantly done, capturing the Quietly art perfectly. I have heard complaints that the figure is too barrel-chested, and can only think that these people have never read the comic, since he's a perfect capture of Quietly's art on the series. While the barrel-chest is comic accurate, it does make him a bit of challenge to pose, as there's really only one angle that allows him to stand on his own. Ankle articulation, not included, would have helped greatly with this.

I'm normally not into figures based on one-off characters, but for Super Lois I'll make an exception. This is a fun figure, but unfortunately the facial features aren't captured nearly as well with this figure, which may be the sculpting or may be the paint apps, which seem slightly off just on her face. The rest of the figure is well sculpted, although her left leg is a little bit bowed in a manner reminiscent of many of the JLU figures, She stands easily on her own.

For those that would like DCD to push past its normal BVP stylings, the All Star Batman may fit the bill. This figure is sculpted in a hunched over, ready for battle or perhaps about to take off running pose, and does this in a much more successful manner than the INFINITE CRISIS Batman. His cape is furled out and the effect is actually very visually pleasing, which is good since this pose is the only option - there's no waist articulation to go for anything more upright. Paint apps are very solid on this figure. It's a shame the comic never came up to this quality.

Batgirl is an interesting figure is for no other reason that it is a really different body type that might make customisers happy in doing younger female characters. The splayed cape and flowing hair actually work for this figure, making it a bit more substantial, as she is quite tiny. This is in scale however and scale is in fact quite good across the line. Paint apps are again solid here, and fans of the character should be well pleased with this effort.

Oddly enough, one of my favourite things about this was is the stands, which are good-looking, small circles. I'm normally a nazi for figures standing on their own, the reason being that I like to pose my figures in groups without metres between them due to the usual ginormous DCD bases. These bases are more substantial than the tiny Kingdom Come ovals, but still don't take up much more than the circumference of the figure, allowing them to still be posed close together. I like.

Thanks for reading and looking. While you're here, two quick pointers - firstly, the AFB Cafe Press store is now open - see previous post for details, and if you look over to the right there is a DCUC poll up - please vote!

Until next time....

Open for Business!

Partly because a few of you have asked me about it, mostly because I want the gear myself, Action Figure Blues now has a Cafe Press Online Store!

It you want shirts, hoodies, mugs or some of the most amazingly silly gear you could possibly imagine with the groovy new AFB logo emblazoned on it, head on over to http://www.cafepress.com/af_blues and buy to your heart's content!

The shop has not been set up as a profit generator. Any small profits made will be used for site costs. It's just there for anyone who might enjoy the products - so enjoy!!

Until next time....

The Lovely Ladies of the 1:6 Scale

As I mentioned previously, part of my Father' s Day Swag were the 13" Power Girl and Harley Quinn figures from DC Direct. After a brief stay in hospital (who knew the middle ear was so important??) I've now got a bit of extra time on my hands so I got a chance to unpack them today, and I wasn't disappointed.

Now you might remember that I had previously posited that owning the 13" PG was going to be out of the question. I made the silly mistake of running the idea past Mrs AFB and she balked at the idea of allowing PG's peekaboo hole into a home with two impressionable young girls who aren't really into the Barbie stage yet (and never will be if we can help it!).

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of PG's peekaboo hole or her overendowed depiction either, so I wasn't too fussed, but there she sat on the shelf at my LCS, taunting the completist in me, and once I learned that a 1:6 Supergirl was on the way I knew I had to build up the Superman family in the same way that the Batman family is coming along nicely (if a mishmosh of eras). I know a guy who does the most amazing DC 1:6 customs, so I'm going to ask him about doing a SA Power Girl outfit for my Kara. Good enough for Mrs AFB, and hey, it was Father's Day, so she was mine!

As with all of the DCD 1:6 Scale figures, Power Girl looks much better when you get her out of the box and pose her. She's very sturdy on her feet and can take a number of poses. She comes with two extra sets of hands for greater flexibility. I like the headsculpt, always a fan of the sculpted hair as I certainly wouldn't buying these if they'd gone for the rooted option. It's a very MA Power Girl hairstyle, but that goes with the costume. And the boobage. (Sorry, had to use that word once.)

The issues with this figure makes it very clear why DCD hasn't produced a Wonder Woman in this scale yet. Foremost is the bare limb situation, covered here (quite literally) by flesh coloured stockings. There are two issues with this - the first is that the stockings wrinkle at some points creating a saggy elephant skin-like look, and the second is that the joins between her hips and legs are far from seamless, and really expose the weakness of the stocking system. The resulting effect is that her legs look to small for her body. Ugly fugly.

Very nice detailing with blue leather gloves and boots and nice touches with her cape, belt and sash. No accessories to speak of, unless you count her enormous... well, I said I was only going to use the word once. All in all I am very happy to own this figure, but will be happier if I can get her some SA duds.

As for the most recent addition to the ranks of the female DCD 1:6 scale figures, Harley Quinn is a laudable effort at a strange and often confusing character. The weaknesses of the standard body system are apparent here, as you would imagine Harley being a much slighter lass than Power Girl, and yet in this scale they are the same size, although Harley seems less generously endowed in the breastal regions. (This scientific observation was triangulated by independent comments from each of my two daughters, who independently said "This one's boobies aren't as big as the blonde girl's are they?" or something like that. If there is a "Teen Body Female" to come, it would have been nice to see Harley done in that form, as it would put her more in scale with her Bat family friends and foes.

Harley's costume is very nicely put together, with ruffles around her wrists and leather shoes. Her head is all molded plastic, which is a bit of a shame, as the opportunity of a fabric costume around the head, while potentially less durable, would have been more consistent with the way the line has been done. Likewise her mask, which is painted on and not removable like the other masks in this series.

Harley's two main accessories are her mallet and her gun, and unlike the disappointing recent DCUC version she can actually hold them. The grip on the mallet is a bit looser than I'd like, but it does hold. She comes with two additional sets of non-accessory holding hands.

Harley is also very stable on her feet and accepts a range of poses, although the mallet over the head pose is rather precarious both from the perspective of balance and because of her loosish grip on the silly thing.

I am still saving up for my glassed-in display cabinets and so looking forward to displaying my 1:6 Scale figures loose, as the Batman family is very well represented, and Harley is a more than adequate addition to the line.

That's Part One of my Father's Day haul: Part Two is BSG Wave Two which I will attempt to review shortly. All up it was a very good haul and I'm certainly not complaining!

Until next time!

Save the Aquaman Hoodie!

Okay, not Action Figure news, but close enough. The Point has an online campaign to save the Aquaman Hoodie, promised by 80sTees.com but then pulled from sale. Apparently they have offered to reconsider if 200 people promise to preorder. The Point's campaign has 112 members at the moment, so obviously we need some more Aquaman fans to join the fight.

Now, you need to do this because, well, I WANT MY AQUAMAN HOODIE!!

Come on, be a sport. I've been sick after all.

Father's Day Haul

For some reason, while Mother's Day is the same here in Oz as in the U.S., Father's Day is the first Sunday in September as opposed to the U.S. date earlier in the year. Plays havoc with remembering the day for my American-based dad.

Anyhoo, while I will get detailed reviews up eventually, I thought I'd post my Father's Day haul, all pre-purchased by me of course since Mrs AFB counts comic shops as no-go zones. This year I got the DCD 1:6 scale Power Girl (finally!) and Harley Quinn and Series Two of the Battlestar Galactica figures, minus the SDCC Exclusive blood-splattered Cylon which is coming from a mate of mine.

Oh, I also got the obligatory cute cards and school crafts from the young ones, who apparently both love me because I'm silly and buy them comic books, and I'm very reassured to know that the eldest would love me even if I was a Hippo. Hope she's not trying to tell me something...

Hope you enjoy - and just warning that I may be quiet for a little while as I've just come out of hospital with a nasty middle ear thing - the world was spinning for all the wrong reasons!

Until next time!

The paint fairies have smiled on me, but gee that's a short neck....

First off, I love Cornerstore Comics. It's pretty painful trying to collect a line of toys that isn't being distributed in Australia without having to resort to eBay, and Cornerstore is in a league of its own in terms of reasonable shipping to international customers. Thanks CSC. Long may the love affair continue.

It's always interesting having to wait for your figures when other people have them - you get to listen to all the discussion, praise and complaints, and by the time they arrive I am poised to go through the list of potential faults with an eagle eye. DCUC Wave 3 certainly provided alot of those, what with lots of complaints about paint apps, scale and of course, will I or won't I get the elusive long-neck Sinestro variant??

I was happy to discover that I'd received the case I wanted - masked Deathstroke and classic Sinestro - alas I received the regular short-necked version. Pretty sure that long-necked bugger is an urban myth.

I like the packaging of these figures, and the way that there are some consistent themes running through all of the Mattel DCU products, however I could do without the preposing of the DCUC figures. On one level it makes for dynamic looks in the box, but since they can't stand up in those poses, it also makes it hard to get them out and hard to get into a standable pose. Some of the joints are stiffened in those strange positions as well, and it can take awhile to actually work out how to get the little fellers erect. Wait, that really doesn't sound right. You know what I mean. I'm also hating on the little plastic bands that are hard to remove from wrists etc. because they can get caught into the join between the wrist and arm. Seems unnecessary when they are so tightly packed into the mold anyway.

The figure of the wave is Deathstroke. Excellent detail like the scales on his torso and his thigh straps could easily have been painted on but are sculpted and add to the texture. He comes with an amazing range of weapons, including a staff, a sword with functioning sheath and a gun with functioning holster. Groovy-ness. Paint is perfect, everything works, and he's well articulated, not bow-legged like some of the others.

A close second is Hal Jordan Green Lantern. For some reason this reminds me of the Super Powers Hal, which was one of my first superhero action figures along with SP Aquaman. I think this is because this is a really classic representation of the character. This is one of the figures I have heard the most complaints about in regards to paint, but both of the GLs in my case were perfect again.

Nightwing is also a solid figure, but does demonstrate some of the limitations of a line reusing bodies in that he is a bit too tall and bulky, especially when you stand him next to Batman. It worried me more in photos I saw than it does in person. I love the inclusion of the holsters for his staffs on his back which gives display options if you don't want him holding one or both. Nightwing has a bit of the leg problem that more profoundly troubles Robin and Sinestro - his legs aren't quite tightly enough aligned to his hips which causes his legs to bow a little bit when posed.

Having been disappointed with the DCD Batman & Son Robin in his new costume, I have been looking forward to the DCUC version. I would definitely put this above the DCD version, but they share the two annoying traits - his cape is just a tad too long which effects posing (this is much worse on the DCD version), and he is shorter than I'd like. Actually the DCUC version is quite short, and this is exacerbated by the bowed legs - loose hips thing I mentioned earlier, which this figure suffers from the worse. If his legs were more tightly fastened he'd be a tad taller. I'm cool with this scale as long as DCUC's other teen heroes are in line with him, but it's shorter than I imagine him being in my own little mind. Paint apps again are spotless. He comes with two batarangs and a staff that is a bit too long and bendy for easy posing, but I must confess I have little patience for such.

While Robin is shorter, poor Sinestro is the runt of the litter. For all the negative press this figure has received, the scale doesn't bother me, but I do wonder if this is a production issue despite Mattel saying its intentional - otherwise its a whole new body again. Ah well. If you look on the back of the card you can see there have been changes since the promo photo, as he's pictured with no white collar and a proper neck. Unless that's the variant of course! Sinestro does prove I have been truly blessed by the paint fairies, as his apps are also excellent, and he doesn't have any of the shoulder rub many people have talked about. I think this may be caused by the preposing thing as it took a fair bit of work to get his arms into normal position.

Finally, there is the amazing Collect & Connect figure, Solomon Grundy. This is the SG figure we've been waiting for and blows all earlier versions out of the water - good thing too because otherwise he could just step on them - he's huge!! It's good to see that Mattel is moving towards some bigger C&C's, gives hopes for characters that really should be huge like Chemo, Colossal Boy, Atom Smasher, etc.

The quality being put out by Mattel for a mass market line is really exceptional. Having been burned before, it's taken me time to allow myself to get excited about this line, but the reveals at SDCC certainly have given me hope for it's longevity. That is, of course, assuming that we get the first Legion figure soon!

That's all for now, I'm off to find a box for Sinestro to stand on so he doesn't feel so intimidated by Hal. If you see a "long-necked variant" anywhere (actually I'm sure someone's trying to pass one off on eBay) be sure to let me know!

AFB has a new look!

If you're logging on to AFB today you'll notice a new banner - many thanks to my great friend apokolips from the Doosh (warning: not always safe for work) for his design work.

I did love the original banner, which was designed by another Doosh denizen, Coffee Joe, and will try to find another way to use it. Many thanks to both gents.

apokolips also designed this smaller "AFB" logo which is going to come in handy shortly when the AFB Cafe Press store opens - more about that shortly!

Let me know what you think, and thanks for all the feedback and encouragement - I enjoy bringing the blog to you and it is good to know you enjoy reading it!

What rock have I been under??

Speaking about other addictions I don't need, I'm already regretting running across some examples of Hot Toys 1:6 Scale figures at tompop and AFHub today.

I don't know how I've managed to miss pics or news about the Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Iron Man which is coming out in October. I only discovered this today when I read about the Hot Toys 1:6 Scale Iron Man Mark II which has just been announced!

These are absolutely gorgeous. with battery operated lights and features and interchangeable heads. They are modelled on Robert Downey Jr. which is a bit of a minus for me - nothing against RDJ, I'd just prefer they were comics based as opposed to movie based.

I haven't been that wild about the Hot Toys TDK Joker or movie Spirit (ugh!), but I could certainly be tempted to fork over the major moolah required for one of these babies.

Except I won't, because I can't, because.... well, my children need to eat..... and, well, that's important, right?

... isn't it?

AFB Previews Picks - September

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time...

More Infinite Fun

Since it seems doubtful that the Infinite Heroes line will ever reach Australian retail stores, I'm stuck eBaying them since I decided I was addicted. Thankfully I've been able to find them as Buy It Now items at reasonable prices with cheap shipping - they are small after all, not that that would stop your less scrupulous eBay seller from ripping off a poor international buyer on postage prices....

My latest additions are Shazam! (golly I wish we could call him Captain Marvel again...), Guy Gardner, Adam Strange and Professor Zoom. I have a separate package with Atom (why Ryan Choi??) and Black Hand coming soon. These are my first single figures and I really love the whole hand packaging - very fun and innovative.

Photos I have seen of these just don't do them justice, and mine probably don't either. The detail on these are just fantastic. The faces may not photograph well but they really are very good. Shazam / CM and Guy in particular are excellent. The paint apps are spotless and the detail on things like Guy's vest and Shazam / CM's cape are very impressive.

Impressive also is the fact that we've already seen two never before made characters, Weather Wizard and Zoom, made in this line. I only hope that the interesting character selection doesn't dampen sales for lack of a "name", because I intend to collect these little buggers for as long as they're made.

Until next time!

Justice 8: (Almost) A Perfect Goodbye....

The Alex Ross JUSTICE figures have been a pretty divisive series of toys - fitting being based on an artist who is such a divisive character in the comics world! I don't know if I fall so much into the "love" side of the "love them or hate them" debate, but I definitely appreciate these as a standalone line of figures - definitely not for mixing or matching with your other toys.

After two disappointing waves in 6 and 7, which offered two armoured figures and only two new characters each, a new wave featuring four new sculpts was welcome news, even if one was Toyman, but we'll get to him later.

After a week's unexplained delay - and do you notice that when this happens DCD never communicates about it?? - I was pleased to pick up my Wave 8 figures yesterday, but was laid so low by the blinking flu I didn't have the energy to do much more than look at them and put them aside before I crawled into bed. Thankfully a new day and a major cold and flu drug cocktail found me with enough energy to do the unpacking and photographing thing today. (But hey, kids, drugs are, like, bad for you and all......)

The JUSTICE packaging has remained consistent throughout, but I was pleased to discover inside that whoever did the packing seemed to resist the urge to follow the practice in previous waves of strapping the figures in with twist ties at two-inch intervals - never fun to have to complete a puzzle just to get your toy out of the box! Most of these just had a twist tie around the waist which is more than enough to secure the figure inside the bubble. On the other hand I was sorry to see that the JUSTICE bases had remained the same - handy things if you don't mind displaying your figures two metres away from each other - why these had to be so big I'll never know!

As much as I love the Batgirl in this wave I'm going to have to rate Captain Cold as the top figure because of the detail included. His head is fully sculpted underneath his hood and his face is sculpted underneath his glasses. On inspection it almost looked like the hood could be removed but I didn't want too pry too much for fear of causing any damage. Other details like a functional holster for his gun with a usable snap make this a winner. He does, however, seem a little too tall when compared to the other figures in the wave and the other JUSTICE villains. But hey, this is DCD and this is JUSTICE. Scale schmale.

Batgirl is a thing of beauty. I'm a big Oracle fan but I have alot of nostalgia for the Babs Gordon Batgirl and she is looking at her best here. The lines are sleek and the paint apps are excellent. There's not much articulation to he had: her head is stuck in place by the sculpting for her hair and her hips and legs have limited movement that will still allow her to stand - a difficulty with the heavy plastic capes. She comes with a small batarang which does fit into her right hand. I would love to see this figure re-released with the traditional blue and grey Batgirl colours - it would become the ultimate Batgirl figure in my eyes.

Supergirl is another decent addition to the line. Paint is not quite as solid - her eyebrows are a bit heavy, she has a white mark on her upper right chest and something about the way her neck strap (collar? whatever those things are called) makes it look a bit strange. Her "S" symbol also seems a little bit too far to the left. These are little nitpicks at what is basically a great figure. Again, her sculpted hair means there's no neck articulation and any posing is precarious because of her cape. She is nicely in scale, being shorter than the other female figures.

And then.... to Toyman. This is the type of figure that I wouldn't mind having in the line, IF all other possibilities had been exhausted. But to think that this is likely the last JUSTICE wave, having Toyman in place of Metamorpho, Atom, Aqualad, Mera, Riddler or Robin makes little sense, except that it gives in to Ross' conceit of redesigning everything in his own image by using a version of the character that exists nowhere else. While it looks like some thought has gone into it, it's a pretty uninspirational figure, especially with all the ridiculous strings hanging off it that just get in the way when you're trying to pose him. While he does stand up easier than I thought he night, the whole thing comes off feeling a bit cheap.

If not for this last figure, I'd say this was a great way to farewell what has been a comprehensive and overall well produced series of figures, all criticisms of Rossisms aside. As it is, in my view there's certainly at least another wave in this, and I'd love to see DCD come back and give a greater sense of completion to it all. If only DCD's track record on giving fans a sense of completion gave be more faith that this might happen!

Giganta's not such a big deal.....

I am very lucky in that despite living in Oz I have a friend from one of my message board haunts who for the past few SDCCs has taken my wishlist of exclusives and helped me out with the ones I've wanted. When putting my list together and counting the pennies (welll 5 cent pieces, that's the smallest coinage we have here...) I decided against getting the Mattel Giganta exclusive because my interest in sticking with the JLU line was waning. Once I saw the amazing JLU reveals at SDCC however, I regretted that call as it was clear there was alot of life in the line yet!

My problem seemed solved when Mattycollector.com came online, and it seemed like a good way of trying out the new store as well so I decided to give it a go. I didn't have any problem with my order, and the international shipping was extremely reasonable - thank you Mattel!!

For those still waiting for their Mattel purchase or those wondering, I've included a pic of the packaging Giganta came in just so you have an idea of the quality. I thought this was well shipped, fresh new box with plastic air cushions and a wrap around the item giving a fair bit of protection. It all seemed fairly crush-resistant, so the packaging gets the thumbs-up from me.

As for the contents, if someone hadn't pointed out to me after a previous post that Giganta wasn't a 10" figure, I would have gotten a shock at her size. I guess I had just assumed that the large Giganta would be a 10" figure in line with the 10" JLU line, even though her actual height has probably been mentioned in lots of places. I was a bit disappointed to hear this, but on seeing the actual height of the figure, it makes sense - the 10" line is its own line and would have been TOO big to put against the smaller figures as a giant character.

I'm keeping this in the box at the moment as I don't have JLU display space until my new display units come online (read: I can afford them, but Mrs AFB has said the house has to get painted first) later this year or early next. The display box is good looking and has been designed so that you can slip the figures out of the bottom to inspect them and then put it back together for display.

As I'm keeping this all together at the moment I can't comment on articulation etc but it all looks to be standard JLU. .Her head does have a basic turn despite the length of her hair. I can't say the JLU version of the character is my favourite - I don't get how she stays all nicely made up when turns giant, but it is a passable version of the cartoon character. My two main criticisms would be that in the larger version, her head seems a bit too big for her body, hardly the scary baddy type, and I would have preferred the figure to have a "meaner" look on her face - she looks too nice!

Overall, my first online purchase from Mattel gets a big thumbs-up - even if the first product didn't turn out to be as big as I thought it was!

Not such a Joke after all.......

I was pretty disappointed when the DCD 1:6 Scale Joker was solicited, as the headsculpt didn't work for me at all. The eyes, and those teeth! I know my feeling were mirrored by many according to the opinions I heard "across the boards".

If you are in the same boat, I do recommend that you have a close look at the actual product, as I felt completely differently about this figure when I saw him in person.

After a run of dreary, unimaginative boxes for this line, this is a happy improvement. A pattern of playing card icons and shades of light green make it fun to look at. Interestingly Joker and Harley Quinn are pictured together on the inside.

As for the head - I have heard mixed reviews and I think this is a case of "love it or hate it". Personally I love what's been done with it. Joker's eyes are looking off to the side in a sneaky, cheeky sort of fashion which makes the figure work for me. The teeth don't bother me in person, however in my own photos his face photographs more harshly. Again, he needs to be seen in person for you to make up your own mind.

I'm not sure if this is the younger teen body that's been used or another sculpt, but he is slightly shorter and less bulky in the chest than Batman. The suit didn't seem to be super removable, but from what I could see he seems to have the same flesh tone throughout for anyone that wanted to, for instance, recreate his Hawaiian outfit. Don't quote me on that, I'm not big on undressing my dollies. Not these days anyway.

While the suit on the 1"6 Two-Face was a bit of a disappointment. the outfit on this figure is really quite exquisite. He has what must be a hand sewn vest underneath his lined jacket. The green shirt underneath has faux buttons and he has a small rope bowtie and a flower on his lapel as finishing touches. The coattails of his jacket have a small wire in them to keep them stiff and in place. It is probably the most detailed of the 13" outfits so far. My only complaint about the outfit is that his trousers are perhaps a little long and so bunch up slightly around his legs. The level of detail almost justifies the hefty price point. Almost.

Accessories are slim. He comes with a great scale version of his cane which has lots of potential, but this winner is poorly backed up by what looks like it's meant to be a squirting fish and some flimsy cards.

One disappointment for me is the lack of extra sets of hands as we have come accustomed to with the figures in this scale. It limits posing and accessory holding opportunities. I suppose it is possible that this is where the savings were made for the exquisite sewing of Joker's costume, so I won't complain too much.

As for Joker's mate Harley Quinn, I saw her in the store and left her there. I think I'll own her eventually but I have a feeling she's going to be a 1:6 scale shelfwarmer so I'll look for her on sale eventually. Altho Australian Father's Day is coming up, and I get to buy all my own presents.......

A Blast from the Past, err.... Future! Err... Past...

I was only just waxing lyrical online somewhere today that I used to own all the original Mego Star Trek Figures (I don't know how Uhura's tunic kept coming off, honest!!) and I even owned the Enterprise Bridge playset, and how much it would all be worth today blah blah blah...

Imagine my surprise then when I flick over to AFI to discover that DST and Emcee Toys are releasing a Retro Enterprise Bridge Playset! Apparently this is it pictured, but you'd swear it was a vintage original because it looks like it's stepped straight out of the 70's!

I made a purely financial decision not to collect the new Retro Cloth figures, and my only relief about that now is that if I was buying them there's no way I'd be able to resist this amazing playset. I don't really do playsets, but the pure nostalgic value alone would overrule.

Sadly I can't blame an overzealous mother for not having the original set with me to this day. My parents never throw anything out. I was never rough on my toys as a kid, but if I recall properly that playset just got so much attention that it got loved to death, the flaps came apart, the plastic frayed from the cardboard and it was finally decreed it had reached its end.

Ah well, I know this re-release it going to make alot of fanboys very happy!

The Miniheroes Zone

After my latest post I've found there's a new forum of mini-figure enthusiasts gathering out there, and I thought I'd give them a plug.

The Miniheroes Zone can be found at http://miniheroes.proboards104.com/index.cgi

Pay them a visit!

Like I need another addiction.........

I've been checking the mail with some eagerness every day at the moment waiting for my Mattyonline parcel to arrive (come on Giganta!) so I was pretty stoked to finally get a parcel notice yesterday. Waiting for a parcel at my local Post Shop is a real labour of love because it's always so crowded after work, so I packed my water bottle, muesli bars, extreme weather gear and a porta potty (this game is not for the faint hearted, brothers) and braved the queue.

The only fun thing about going to the Post Shop after work is that they lock the sliding doors at 5pm and then one of the workers has to stand there and be abused by all the people who were running late and stand there pointing at those of us who are inside still being served and shout and spit and stuff, while we stand there smug in our on-timeness and eat and drink our well prepared waiting provisions and pretend we can't hear their vain protests.

In fact there were so many abusive and pointing people yesterday that I was so busy being smug I nearly missed my number when the computerised voice finally called it, so it was a breathless trip to the counter to hand over my parcel slip to the gum-chewing attendant who was just really ready to go home. My first indication that perhaps Mattyonline hadn't come through was the size of the parcel she brought out: right away I knew it wasn't long enough for a JLU 10" figure. The whole time I was signing for it I was trying to think about what it could possibly be - it was from the US but the address meant nothing.

It wasn't until I opened the box that I remembered I'd decided to try Infinite Heroes and made an eBay purchase on the weekend, which means that my parcel got from the US to me in around 5 days. My Mattyonline parcel was apparently shipped on 2 August, but I'm not getting nervous. Yet.

My deflation turned to excitement as I had a look at my eBay score - the Flash / Mirror Master / Weather Wizard Infinite Heroes 3-pack. It has "Crisis" on it which I'm not sure I get, unless it's referring to the state of the DCU, but that's okay.

So, to the figures (that was a longer than usual "How we got the figures" riff, sorry!). I'd taken in from scale pics I'd seen on the web about how small these fellas are, but I was still surprised by just how small they are! These are not JLU size, they're a peg down from that.

I like the packaging of this line. It has similar features to tie it in to DCUC but it's own feel, and I like the "universe of figures in your hand" or whatever the tagline is with the little plastic hand behind the figures - it looks classy and is carried over in the 3 pack as well as the singles.

The early prototype pics of these figures had alot of us worried about the quality of the line, but if these three are anything to go by, that was for nothing. The detail on these little dudes is amazing. Little details that you might have expected to be painted on, like the sticky-out things on Mirror Master's helmet, glove and belt ridges, and the wings on Flash's feet, etc, are all sculpted.

Paint apps are also very solid. Flash's chest symbol is a well applied decal. Mirror Master has a small paint rub on his left hand that seems to have some from the packaging. There is perhaps a tiny bit of bleed between the green and yellow on Weather Wizard's gear but you have to look very close to see it. There is just an impressive amount of detail for figures this small. The articulation is also impressive with arms, legs, elbows, knees and the ever useful 360 degree waist twist.

One little complaint is that the hands all seem sculpted to hold accessories yet none of these figures have them - Mirror Master's guns are sculpted into his belt. I guess it's the most cost effective way of casting the standard body so that accessories can be held when they are included, but I found it made posing limiting. For instance, when I wanted to pose my little guys with their arms flailing in the air in horror of the giant Flash, Weather Wizards's open fist ended up in front of Flash's groinal area in one shot, and it looked just.. well, wrong.

The joy in these, if you are to take to them, of course, is in the universe building, and after this trial I am on the road, in fact have already ordered the singles I can find on the web (if only Mattel would distribute these to Oz!!). After the disappointment of the premature death of DC Minimates, with the stench of the corpse of DCD Pocket Heroes still in the air, one would be forgiven for being gun-shy in investing emotionally and financially in yet another line, but if the dedication to line completion Mattel has shown to JLU is anything to go by, even a cynic like me can feel reasonably confident that this line will be around in some form for an enduring run. There is already a very impressive list of characters in the pipeline.

For me, these are a much unexpected but happily received hit, and I expect they'll find a niche not just with collectors but at retail as well as they look very accessible to a range of ages of kid. The combination of singles and 3-packs is also appealing, and here's hoping this line gets some Web Exclusives so that we add some more obscure characters to the field.

Mattel just seem to be hitting a six on every ball (which is Cricket terminology for "hitting every ball out of the park" for you baseball fans) at the moment. Thanks again guys, and here's to a truly Infinite Universe for Infinite Heroes!