DCUC Wave Four Progress

After finding out that the cases of DC Universe Classics Wave 4 weren't complete waves, I decided to cancel my preordered case and just wait it out, picking up bargains or favours from US based friends when I could. Helps that there really is no figure in this wave that I'm desperately anxious about getting, and that I'm not hung up on getting the Collect & Connect Despero in a huge hurry after getting DC Direct's superior effort.

Progress to date: Wonder Woman, Variant Captain Atom (something for the Kingdom Come collection), and Batman Beyond, which has been purchased solely for C&C purposes, but actually looks like a fine figure.

I'm watching a cheap Ares on eBay and haven't come across a good Cyborg yet. When I say cheap, the issue for me is the price of shipping to Australia. This is a big sticking point especially with the Aussie dollar being pretty weak against the USD at the moment. Some of the prices people quote for shipping to Oz from the US are just outrageous - upwards of $50.00 AUD when in reality it costs around $18.00 AUD. Yikes!

All said, this bunny is happy to wait patiently to make the set complete. While I'm not really bothered about Artemis I do want to pick up a regular Captain Atom eventually. I'm not even thinking about chasing Wave 5 at the moment. I'm only really after Atom and Black Lightning, now that I've seen the pics of the actual products.

That is not to say, of course, that I wouldn't be open to any loyal AFB reader helping me out with any of the other figures from the Wal-Mart wave, because you know that I do have OCD and will want them all eventually. Call me!

Until next time!

Desperate for more like this....

When DC Direct produces a figure like the Despero from the new Superman / Batman Wave 6 Jillion, it really makes you realise how much dross they're putting out these days. Not that we need too much reinforcement of that fact.

I wasn't tempted by the three other figures in this wave, which is shocking, I know, as who could live without a Superman with extra melted head? Well perhaps when the melted head looks better than the normal one....

I might have considered the Green Lantern from this line but the "holographic" GL logo doesn't appear to come off. I may have a look at it, but I'll wait to see what the GL box set looks like this week before deciding. Not surprisingly, the Superman, Batman and GL figures are all pegwarming at my local shops while the Desperos are long gone.

While I'd much prefer a FA Despero figure (maybe some day as a single? Probably a DCUC one.) rather than the seriously roided-up look, this is an impressive figure. He's around the size of the GL Kilowog and cuts an imposing silhouette with his huge arms. Takes a little bit of posing to get him standing upright, but he's basically very sturdy on his feet.

The paint apps on mine are very smooth. The head is a bit smallish but the facial grimace is suitably menacing. I don't have a lot of comic book appearances of this version of Despero, but I'm sure I've seen him sans the black pants?

I'm still really loving the packaging of the new DCD singles - especially the promo shots of upcoming waves on the fold-out inside. I just wish they'd make the sheet a bit more sturdy as it's hard to get out of the pack without tearing.

So just the one sale for me from this wave, but a very happy one. Also happy as it takes the pressure off my collection of DCUC Wave 4 (which is story for a later day) as I'm not wild about their version of Despero presented in the Collect & Connect for that wave.

Until next time!

Waiter, there's a hand on my Hawkgirl....

I just popped over to AFI and noticed a conspicuous hand behind that very lovely Hawkgirl figure.

Hello Mr. Hand!!

So far, the DCUC figures have a really good track record in terms of posing and standing, so I know I shouldn't freak out, but.....

I hope this doesn't mean that Hawkgirl can't stand on her own. I want don't want to have to prop her up with one of those weird looking blue stands Mattel is selling....

Unless of course Mr. Hand comes as a pack-in.......

Some GA Goodness for the DCD 1:6 Scale!

After veering in confusing directions with a scad of movie tie-ins, a Gaiman Sandman and a welcome by many but out of place in terms of character selection Sgt. Rock, the DC Direct 1:6 Scale line shows signs of getting back on track in spectacular fashion with the unveiling of the Golden Age Flash Deluxe Collector's Figure.

Hooray for the JSA! Hooray for the Golden Age! It's a great decision on DCD's behalf to feature the character in his prime. Throw in a wrinkly-faced, grey-temples extra head if you must, but make mine the first and best thanks! Hopefully this is a pattern that will be followed with the other original JSAers. I'd say Alan Scott Green Lantern is a sure thing, along with Dr Fate, Wildcat and Spectre. I'd be very pleased to see Hourman, Dr Mid-nite and co as well.

It seems that this line is focusing less on team completion and more on characters that DCD thinks will sell, so I'm just buying what I like. I'm glad to see that the long dry spell that was looming for me with this line after Supergirl is finally going to be broken, and it really couldn't be broken by a better character.

Let's hope this is a sign of good things to come for a line that has a great deal of potential. Next to the Legion, the JSA is the team I have most wanted to see represented in this line, and I do hope we at least get a couple of the other stalwarts like Alan and Ted to make a bit of a display.

Big Bad Toy Store has the figure on sale already - thanks to BBTS for the photo.

Not Such a Secret Anymore...

The recent Secret Files Wave is hardly breaking news anymore, but I have been wanting to blog on it as it contains two of DCD's better figures in recent times, so I'll just stick the piccies up and only blather on a lil' bit.

I am really liking this new packaging with the sealed plastic edges and inserts which open up to advertise upcoming waves. It's a very durable format for the MIB collectors and not prone to bent edges and other calamities like the old carded backs.

Poison Ivy is a fabulous figure. For starters, she stands up easily on her own unlike her Hush or Justice counterparts despite her long flowing locks, which can sometimes cause figures to topple easily. The colours are strong, paint apps are good. I'm not wild about the crap in her hair, but I'll live with it. I especially like her strong facial expression - this is one fierce baddy!

Two-Face is almost excellent. I'm not as put off by the colour choices for his suit as some, but his finger-in-the-light-socket hair is a bit of a clanger. This is all irrelevant, however, as this figure has what might just be the coolest accessory ever: Two Face's flipping coin with amazing simulated flipping action! Unfortunately I would also put this in the Top 10 Easiest to Lose Accessories of all time list - mine has already gone missing twice after various shelf dives - it's a bugger to find in carpet, I'll tell you that.

These are of course on the taller side, but they don't look out of place on my Batman Villains shelf. Not worth losing too much sleep over the scale thing these days.

I passed on the Joker in this wave because I have the version from The Killing Joke box set. I initially passed on the Hugo Strange as well, but the completist in me went back for it. If I get sick of Hugo it can always be a better Batman, and God knows I don't have enough of those!

Certainly not a stellar wave, since two of the figures were repeats from the KJ box set, but we did get two excellent to semi-excellent figures out of it, and DCD these days that's worth noting.

Until next time!

Here's a Challenge for you, DCUC!

After this amazing Legion shocker turned up at Newsarama in the preview for the Adventure Comics Special Featuring the Guardian, am I the only one that thought how cool it would be to see a Tellus figure somewhere, maybe as a DCUC Collect & Connect?

Or maybe as a regular figure with a Quislet pack-in?

Yeah, I might have been.

But it would be SOOO cool......

DCUC Announces THE Wave

Wave 8 is it, folks. For me, it's "The One". Not because it contains any of my favourite characters - it doesn't. Not because it delivers any of my personal "Holy Grails" - it doesn't.

For me, DCUC Wave 8 is solid proof that the sky is the limit as far as this line goes. I know, alot of people have been saying this for ages, but I've been waiting for something out of the ordinary to really convince me, and this wave is undoubtedly it.

Gentleman Ghost is amazing, that Hawkgirl is a thing of beauty, Commander Steel is great as are the Parademons, however it's the Adrian Chase Vigilante that really sells me on the idea that no character should be ruled out of this line. As a classic New Teen Titans fan Vigilante means something to me, but he's a big stretch in the Modern Age toy world. His presence, along with the lack of a Superbat character in this wave, have me sold.

I love Wave 8 so much I'm willing to set aside the absence of a Legionnaire and the poor ratio of female characters to call this the best DC toy line ever, and it's only so young. How DC Direct could be pipped at the post on this many first-time characters is just mind-blowing.

What do you think? Check out the new poll on the right to have your say.

For me, this rocks. One of each please!

A Thong By Any Other Name........

Remembering, of course, that here in Aussieland a thong is something you put on your foot....

I am such an Aquaman tragic that people frequently buy me weird Aquaman things. A couple of weeks ago I got am email from one of the amazing ladies that run my LCS advising me that Target had DC thongs (translating to "flip-flops" for our American fans and "jandals" for our South African brethren) and that I should get my Aquaman-loving bootang down there.

Resisting the urge to race down there straight from work that day and try on Superhero footwear in my daily workwear of suit and tie, I instead took the whole fam in casual gear on the weekend and we had a grand time trying on Batman, Joker, Robin, Superman, Flash and Aquaman thongs. My girls were most put out that Wonder Woman and Batgirl were not represented!

In the end I went for my main Fish Dude because, well, he's my main Fish Dude, and then Flasher because his thongs were the next coolest.

So whatever you call your open-toed casual footwear, you should be jealous of mine, because they're the coolest!

DCUC Poll Closed.... Wave 7 Wins!

The "Which DCUC Wave are you most looking forward to..?" Poll is closed, and the clear winner, by a huge margin, is Wave 7!

Excellent choice, folks, since that was mine as well. Any wave with Camo Aquaman is going to get my vote.

Bring it on!

Thanks to AFI for the photograph.

Marvel Legends on Aussie Shores!

It's been ages upon ages since I've seen any Marvel Legends at retail here, so imagine my surprise to come across it in two stores in the same day! Needless to say a little (and slightly embarrassing. but hey that four-year-old kid probably won't remember it as an adult and need therapy or anything...) happy dance took place.

I managed to come across all of the Hulk Wave, and also all of the current ML 2 packs. From this I snagged King Hulk and Absorbing Man and the Ronin / Elektra 2 - pack. I had planned to buy She Hulk as well, but sadly she looks more like a Medusa In Rags figure - surely those are snakes on her head, not hair, right? I couldn't believe I passed on a figure on one of my favourite heroines, but I had to, and I'll be the first to say I usually don't let anything like principles stand in the way of my buying choices..... ahem....

I'm also mad keen on the Doc Samson figure, but I have it on the way from a friend, so I left it there, a bit sadly. (It is coming, right mate?)

Hasbro has been a pretty good job of killing the Marvel Legends line, but these are not that bad. King Hulk cuts an impressive figure and his headsculpt really nails the character. He took a bit of time to pose and doesn't stand 100% steadily.

Absorbing Man is a long awaited figure for me in the ML line. He's nearly there - I would have liked the facial expression to be less blank and a bit more snarly like the drawing on the package. His ball and chain are well executed.

I'm not a mad Elektra fan, nor a mad Ronin fan, but I am a mad Clint Barton fan, thus my desire for this 2-pack. The Elektra has alot of the elements of what I don't like about ML females; the gangly legs and awkward poses. I don't have the original ML Elektra to compare this to but I doubt it would come up to scratch. Ronin is an excellent piece, very good paint apps, etc. The only issue is the Clint Barton head, which looks a bit too big for the rest of the figure.

These are old news in the toy world, but noteworthy for me because we actually have some recent Marvel Legends back on our shores - here's hoping for more soon!

Hello Creepy People.......

I'm very grateful for every reader AFB has, but recent research has discovered that some of you have landed here through rather bizarre means.

I use Google Analytics to keep track of the number of site visitors, what they're looking at and by what means people get to the site just for my own interest and to see what is most popular. The majority of readers arrive either direct through feeds or the URL, or through links from the sites I frequent and post my reviews at, however about 25% arrive through a search engine, some intentionally and some I would expect not so much.

Looking at the breakdown of search terms for the current month, the #1 term is not so surprisingly "Action Figure Blues" followed by various derivations thereof. The next 25 or so are various toys or toy lines that people are searching for reviews on (Batman, Iron Man, DCUC and Mighty Muggs rank very highly).

It's what comes behind those logical ones that are really interesting, and I just had to share two of the more bizarre ones from this month. I took a screenshot to prove I wasn't joshing you:

Yes folks, I'm pointing to #34, "Lynda Carter" thighs and #37, "sat on her face". Yikes!

Naturally I had to work out where on earth these two terms exist on my blog, especially that last one, since I do try not to be too family un-friendly.

A search for Lynda's thighs come up blank, both on the blog and on the web trying to find an AFB reference. No idea where that one came from or how it got here. For the record, I think Lynda Carter's thighs are nice. Well, when last I saw them.

As for "sat on her face", which I couldn't believe was actually there, it happened back in 2006 when I gave the Michael Turner Supergirl the Action Figure Tragedy of the Year Award. And fair enough too, so I 'm going to have to cop to that one. Methinks the searcher didn't find what he/she was looking for in that instance. I guess you never know......

Anyway those two gave me enough of a giggle that I just felt I had to share. Some people and what they search for on the internet, right? But hey, whatever gets you here!

Mighty Muggs get the Custom Treatment, DC Style

It's a Mighty Muggs kind of day!

The fantastic Lars, well known to readers of Toyfare and father of some of my favourite customs like my MA Liberty Belle , has turned hand to customising Mighty Muggs with amazing results.

This John Stewart Green Lantern is all kinds of groovy and an excellent argument for why the DC Characters should get the MM treatment. (Sadly unlikely considering the Hasbro / Marvel alliance).

The base could be one of the new blank Mighty Muggs that MM customisers are eating up, but it looks like a clever repaint of a Mace Windu MM to me.

You can see more of Lars' work at his blog.

I want, I need. And Aquaman must be next....

A Prime Example of a Great Mighty Mugg

...or are they called Mighty Muggs even when there is only one?

Anyway, have you seen this? Transformers Mighty Muggs! Or.. Mugg. The teacher in me wont allow myself to make a plural sound for a single thing. Well, it's Optimus Prime anyway folks!

I don't think this is brand new news, but I just caught up on it, and even though I'm not a huge Transformers fan (loved the recent flick but was never into it when it was first around - think I might have been a bit too old..) I think it's groovy. TNI has the info. He comes with his fusion cannon weapon, which I assume is a must since TNI is excited about it.

If only life could be a bit easier by making Mighty Muggs available to Oz via Diamond. Some are around in retail, and thankfully Aussie online store Casefresh (great Aussie source of all things Hasbro) seems to be stocking the lot, but I really hate hunting for things. Having said that, this little Mugg / Muggs might be worth the effort!

JLU Geeky Goodness

Oh mommy.

Where, oh where do I go to make sure I get my Vibe and Steel figures, in fact maybe more than one of each? And where is my Gypsy Mattel?

Great to see Mattel giving some plastic love to the Detroit League, and very impressed to see B'wana Beast and Crimson Fox make it to 3D as well.

Check out the article at AFI for all the details.

JSA and Legion Custom Glory

It's been awhile since I've had any new customs grace my shelves, but when I saw the amazing job that my friend rodkeith did with customs for Elastic Lad and Johnny Thunder, I knew I had to have my own, and was thrilled that he was nice enough to oblige!

These fantastic looking pieces are actually a simple but clever headswap between the DCD Jimmy Olsen and JLA Elongated Man figures. It's really very effective - puts a Jimmy head on a stretchy dude, and with a bit of shaving the Ralph head makes a very respectful Johnny Thunder.

From the outstanding standard of the paint job on these figures, you'd never guess that they are from someone who has only recently started customising. They look just as smooth and clean in person as they do on screen. The lettering for Elastic Lad's chest emblem is unbelievable!

If you travel over to one of my favourite online hangouts, Critical Mess, you can see how these developed, and you can also check out rodkeiths utterly amazing Black Orchid custom as well!

Until next time!

Previews Picks for October

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Face I Almost Recognise: BSG Series 2

I've got a few posts backed up at the moment, and while it's school holidays here (school in Oz is broken up into four terms of 9-10 weeks each with a 2 or 3 week break in between each except for Summer (Dec-Jan) which is a much longer break) there's alot to be done around the house, and in a couple of days I'm on double Daddy-duty as Mrs AFB is going off for a work thing, so I'm going to try to teach the kids to garden so that I can catch up with all this toy stuff. Presently they are enthusiastically into weeding, but can't yet discriminate between between plants and weeds. Wish me luck.

First cab off the rank of backed up toys is Series Two of the new Battlestar Galactica figures. This series features Starbuck, Kat, flight gear Helo and a non-blood-splattered Cylon (my blood-splattered Cylon just arrived today with my SDCC Exclusives, watch this space, but wasn't around at the time of photographing).

The good: There is good consistency across the line so far, with everyone pretty much in scale (most accomplished by sharing body sculpts, but hey, whatever gets you there.) The pilot uniforms are particularly detailed. The figures are all easy to pose and stand well on their own. Each of the figures, even the Cylon, comes with extra sets of hands. I particularly like the hands with playing cards that Starbuck and Kat come with! Starbuck also comes with a cigar which is another fun accessory.

The Cylon figure is brilliant, although I did find it a little hard to get him/it to stand upright. It cuts an imposing figure above the other characters.

The bad: with the amount that DST is saving by reusing bodies in this line, you'd think they could really pay attention to the headsculpts and make sure they're spot on. Kat is the best likeness here by far, and I'd put Helo up there too if he didn't have that vacant stare. It's a shame that Starbuck, much like Apollo in the first wave, disappointingly misses the mark. It's encouraging to see that the sculpts for Adama and Roslin (Wave 4) look to be much more spot on, but it's a shame to have two of the biggest characters in the series practically unrecognisable.

The range of characters covered so far in this series, including supporting characters like Hotdogs and Kat, speaks well for the future of the line, although "President Lee Adama" in Wave 4 seems like a bit of filler. I'm very hopeful for a Wave 5 consisting of Baltar, Tigh (with eyepatch variant) and perhaps Cally and Gaeta before we see this come to an end.

I just hope I can recognise them.

Some big blank-faced dude stole Thor's costume!

I haven't bought a Marvel Select figure in a while, mostly because I'm not that into Zombies, and have been keen to see the brand get back to mainstream characters. They seem to be doing it in a big way by starting with the big guns - Thor, Iron Man, Hulk and soon Captain Marvel and the new Captain America.

The relaunch of Thor hasn't really caught my imagination, but I don't mind the new costume with it's groovy chain mail bits, so I thought I would re-enter the Marvel Select world and give him a whirl.

The packaging of these figures is always attractive, with a range of character specific artwork. It's a bit on the big side for storing MIB, which is how much of my Marvel Select collection is kept since I only have DC stuff on my home shelves until I eventually get my new display system. Solely for the purposes of recording and research, I decided to open Thor up. I might take him to my shelf at work to entertain the masses.

The figure itself is more than adequate. He stands sturdily and is easy to pose both on his own and on his parapet type base, which muggins here finally discovered has a peg for easy posing after a bit of fiddling around. Well actually missing it all together and wondering why Thor wouldn't stand evenly on the base and finally discovering that it was because he was standing ON the peg. Doh.

This dude has biceps and thighs that should each have their own postcode. This is comic-accurate, but means that manipulating his arms takes some times so as not to look too strange. He comes with his hammer Mjolnir and holds this firmly both at his side and raised.

As well as his cape and hair, many aspects of his uniform, such as the top of his boots and his skirty thing, are made of a softer plastic which adds texture to this substantial figure. His helmet is not removable, which one might have expected for a figure at this price point.

While paint apps are solid overall, there are a few disappointing spots, chips on his left hand and on his neck. The apps on hair are either really washed out, or trying to indicate that Marvel's resident Norse God seriously needs to condition once in a while and get rid of all of those split ends - either way it's ratty.

The one "miss" for me is the facial expression, which is more blank surfer dude than angry Son of Thunder. It did cross my mind that maybe this is a figure of the construction worker that dressed up as Thor in "Adventures in Babysitting" - remember that movie? (Spent ages trying to find it when I came to Oz only to discover it has some weird-ass different title over here. Hate that.) Anyway, that's who he looks like. A snarl or imperious glare would have worked much better for me.

Still, it's good to see Marvel's heavy-hitters get a slot in this great series. I am really looking forward to the two Captains in the coming month, and seeing what else is to come. I just hope they make the rest of them with the real character in the uniform, and not some stand-in schmuck!

Until next time....

Mighty Muggs Customs are Mighty Fine!

I have to confess I'm not a huge Power Rangers fan, even though I have a friend who is married to one of the original TV Power Rangers. Shame on me.

Still, I AM a big fan of Mighty Muggs, and I could almost be tempted to bid on these custom Mighty Muggs Power Rangers over at eBay - only 11 hours to go at the time of posting!

I'm assuming that these have been done with the blank Mighty Muggs bodies that I imagine Hasbro is going to make a small fortune on on their own from all the keen MM customisers out there. I'm sure you'll agree these are quite good - it took a moment for me to work out that they were in fact customs.

Enjoy, and if you're quick you might even get a chance to put in a bid!

Until next time....

Batgirl Scale Comparison

A few folk have asked me for a comparison of the scale of the All Star Batgirl figure to some of DCD's other more diminuitive tykes.

Here they are: Damien (ack! I know!), Wonder Girl, Terra, TT Robin and Dick Grayson Robin in the background to give you a bit of an idea.

Yep, she's small!

Until next time.....