Rick

Best figure of the set. I just wish his expression was more apathetic. But the look of the figure, the level of articulation and the accessories are all totally boss. Hooray!

God, I love this show.

Mr. Poopybutthole & Snowball

Mr. Poopybutthole is a good representation of the character, although I am saddened by the lack of joints. There are only 5 and they're the most basic, but I suppose for the size of the character that is to be expected. 

However I really like the Build A Figure (BAF) for this wave, Snowball in his walking suit. It looks great, although the movement of the joints is limited due to where they are blacked. You get a couple of degrees of movement, but these ball joints might as well be cut joints.

Also, while I was trying to attach one of the arms, it broke apart where the forearm connects to the bicep via the tiny plastic plug. Fortunately it isn't glued to the bicep, but inserted into a small hole, so I can kind of fix things without glue by reinserting the plug, but it's something to worry about since it can fall out again. It's those little things that prevent me from singing the praises of this line. These small quality control issues that you wish didn't happen or wonder if it's just your figure.

Mr. Meeseeks

I am shocked how well the Mr Meeseeks figure turned out. These simpler figures are pretty awesome. I'm not totally sold on Funko as a maker of straight out action figures, but something like Mr. Meeseeks makes me feel better about the possibilities. There's a good number of joints, the price point is reasonable and the figures are good representations of the source material.

Although his hands have trouble holding his gun and golf club accessories. 

Birdperson

Out of all the Rick and Morty figures the one I'm angry at is Birdperson. It's a great looking figure and the articulation is what I like, but the hip joints are so loose that I can't get him to stand properly 95% of the time. 

When the X-men movie came out they released a Professor X figure that had leg articulation but the joints were intentionally so loose that it was impossible for him to stand. It was a clever joke. Here it's just super annoying and makes me angry at a figure I otherwise would have loved. 

Boooo!

Morty

The character from the Rick and Morty figures that is the most affected by the translation into three dimensions is Morty. His character design in the show, which needs to be simple enough for animation, is fine, but when realized into an action figure he has no neck. And his whole torso is a single boring tube. And his bulbous eyes.

It's just weird to hold in your hand. I just realized that the picture, from the right angle, don't look that bad. So just in REALITY is it weird.

Weird Al

Remember when we all thought that the Transformers Animated Wreck-Gar figure would be the closest we would ever get to a Weird Al Yankovic figure?

Well that's no longer the case. Continuing my pattern of only getting one figure per wave, it's the Weird Al figure of the Simpsons 25 greatest guest star line. I considered the Buzz Aldrin figure, but like every time, I decided that I couldn't justify paying for more than one figure so I had to go with the one I wanted most.

Minimate Monday: Big Bang Theory

They made minimates of the main cast of Big Bang Theory. All 7 cast members over 2 sets of 4, with variants of breakout character Sheldon in each set. I'm a minor fan of the show, but the chance to own a Mayim Bialik minimate is too tempting to ignore. Also, the acessories! 

Hands holding Chinese food, chopsticks, and sodas! Build-a-couch... Actually, the couch is weird. The back of the packages say to collect both sets to create the couch, but each set has a full 3 seated couch but it's designed to be modular so you can combine the 2 couches however you want.

The minimate designs are actually pretty great likenesses of the actors. And the clothing is very well designed. Even if I hated the show I could use these as nerd/civilian minimates.

These are Entertainment Earth exclusives, but I was able to save a few dollars and pay no shipping by getting them on e-bay. Hopefully that didn't screw up the chance for future series.

Surf's Up Joker

I didn't even know this was a thing until I saw it on a peg at Wal-Mart. And when I did I snatched it up so it could go up on my wall next to Surf's Up Batman.

Minimate Monday: Munster Coach with Herman Munster

I'm not huge into minimate vehicles. I was once, but after having some in my hands, I realize that they're pretty serious shelf-space hogs and don't contribute that much to a display. That said, I will still pick them up if they come with figures I want.

Such is the case with the Munster Coach which comes with the only Munster minimate... well there's the black and white variant but I'm not counting that. Basically they only made Herman Munster, the patriarch of the clan and who has so many accessories hanging around his neck that his head won't stay on with any reliability. Shame, it's a nice head sculpt and the alternate head is nice. But overall... the inability of having a head stay in place kinda kills my enthusiasm.

Stephen King

Series 3 of the Simpsons 25 Greatest Guest Stars is out. I've been waiting for this wave since they announced the line-up, and while I'm tempted by Penn & Teller and Leonard Nimoy, it was the Stephen King figure that originally got me excited and so of course that was the one I purchased today.

Making an action figure of an author is rare, usually it's done ironically. (I'm looking at you Accoutrement Toys.) Potentially it's done for a very small but dedicated collector's market. But you know what never happens: releasing the figure of the author in a mass market line. But the most popular and prolific storyteller of the modern age changes that. And I am glad.

Also, he comes with a book. Which is meaningless to me since I have no plans of opening this thing. It goes on the wall with my other 2 figures from this line, which is really setting up an odd trend for me. I wonder if I'll buy a single figure from Wave 4 not because I want it but out of habit.

Glen Rhee

It's Glen Rhee, the popular Korean-American survivor of the zombie apocalypse as depicted by Steve Yuen in the AMC television show the Walking Dead. I don't watch that show, but I've read the comics their based on and I don't care it's an action figure of a heroic Asian-American male. The fact that it's so rare in this culture is... you know what, rant for another day.

This is a Macfarlane toy, and these days that means a lot more than it used to. Pretty good aritcuation, everything I would want except the lack of a torso joint. But damn, this is a really good likeness of Steven Yuen. It also comes with some great accessories, like a bloody pipe and an alternate head of Glenn's beat up face for when he gets tortured and stuff.

He comes with other accessories, like a couple guns, a knife and a flak jacket, but what I really love is that these figures are actually in scale with the 5" line of Doctor Who figures, which means they can share accessories.

Peri is ready for anything.

Follow Up

I'm a slave to my collector's impulse.

Simpsons Lego Blind bags suck and why do they do this to us?

So, since the Simpsons Lego minifigures cost more than other Lego minifigures, are still blind packed, and have unique headsculpts that make them look not less like Lego minifigures and more like knock off block-figures, I am not excited about the Lego minifigures. (The sets I'm on the fence about.)

My problem is the same that I have with some of the newer minimate propeties, where they change the head sculpts so much that they lose some of the characteristics that are intrinsically unique to the minifigure design. If all Lego minifigures have certain elements that define them as a minifigure, then changes to that could drive away people who are attracted to those elements. (And apparently I am one of those people.)

And while the Legoized versions of the Simpsons from the Simpsons Lego special may not look as nice or accurate as the figures that were actually made, I sort of respect them more as being more representative of what a Simpson Lego figure should look like.

And that's my really long way of explaining that I'll probably skip over most of the Simpsons minifigures, although I will pick up a Homer and a Bart out of curiosity and Grandpa Simpson because I mistook the bags when I was trying to identify the figures while squeezing them. But heck, I'll take him if it means I have three generations of Simpson men.

I'm torn on whether I'll get any of the other minifigures (although I kinda want a marge for the sheer batshit insanity of the design) but I may have to wait for them to be on sale. (Although, Toys R Us charges the same $4 they've always charged for minifigures, Target has upped the price from the previous $3. But Toys R Us does buy 1 get 1 40% sometimes. Bleh. Numbers.)

Lady Jaye

I swear I always thought her name was Lady Jaye until the internet corrected me about a decade ago. So anyway, I picked up this figure because 1) it was on sale and 2) I was wondering how Kre-O would handle a female Kreon. And now I have my answer: NOT WELL.

Whereas other block figures usually heavily emphasize painted curves or try to feminize the face, Kre-O has instead decided to pull back and apply those more subtlety, which is a problem on a tiny block figure. With no long hair piece (or any hair piece at all, which means Kre-o's Lady Jaye is meant to be rocking a bald head) this figure very much looks like "guy with really red lips."

Also, this is the first time I noticed the expanded ends of the arms to allow for the insertion of the hand pegs. It makes it look like the figure has flesh colored wrist bands... or a swollen wrist that really should be looked at by a medical professional.

Also: Why the hell do I keep getting Kreons? They're never satisfactory.

Lucy Lawless

I found the second series of Simpsons celebrity figures today. I was tempted to get the Roger Daltry, but ultimately webt for the standout: Lucy Lawless in her Xena costume. I owned a Xena figure back in the 90's, but I got this figure not out of nostalgia, but because I really liked Lucy Lawless' appearance on the Simpsons. Especially the way she had to keep reminding people that even though she was dressed like Xena, Xena was a character she played on television.

It resulted in two great lines: "A wizard did it." And of course:

"Xena can't fly!"

"I told you, I'm not Xena. I'm Lucy Lawless."

That second line alone is pretty much why I bought this figure.

Things I want that were shown as a thing at Toy Fair 2014

4" Twilight Zone figures

 (picture via Toyark.com)

1 Big Bang Theory figure with it's apartment diorama

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Skeletor's staff as a plush toy

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Jay and Silent Bob minimates

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Kill Bill  minimates

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Sin City Minimates

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Booker Dewitt figure from Bioshock Infinite

  (picture via Toyark.com)

six inch scale Jabba the Hutt

  (picture via Toyark.com)

talking Strax plush toy

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Also... LEGO SIMPSSONS MINIFIGURES ARE BLINDPACKED GODDAMNIT!

  (picture via Toyark.com)

Neca Simpsons figures

So now that I've seen the Neca 25th Anniversary Simpsons figures, the Celebrity Guest wave 1... I gotta  say, not impressed. For $11 (which seems oddly affordable due to the ever increasing cost of action figures... sadly) I wanted more. And I certainly wanted better sculpts.

The only figure I wanted from this wave was Tom Hanks, but now seeing the figure... it doesn't look like Tom Hanks... it doesn't even look like the Simpsons version of Tom Hanks. It looks like generic background Simpsons character in suit. Here's both the 5" version and the minifigure version.

I thought the Yao Ming figure was better done, even if you can only really tell who he is because of the basketball and the fact his sweater says "YAO."

Actually, the best sculpted figure was the James Brown figure, which I'm not talking about here because I actually bought it and might go over it at a later date. But knowing me, probably not.

Ultimately, I think these figures are a step down from the Playmates Simpsons figures. The Neca versions are too angular and sharp, losing some of the cartoon feel. Also, it's really only of interest if you want an action figure of a celebrity done in the Simpsons style, which seems like a really niche market. But these are nicer than the Macfarlane Simpsons, since these are actual action figures and not stationary dioramas with no play value.

The Flintmobile

The picture pretty much says it all. It's a Hot Wheels car of the Flinstones car. It has 4 wheels hidden in the stone wheels and there is an empty space in the floor where feet would go through.

Stargate SG-1

Y'know what, I don't care what they really call it. Ever since they announced the Best-Lock Stargate brick sets the only thing I ever really wanted was a brick built Stargate. Of course the big costs more than I'm prepared to pay, so isn't it nice that at Target in their Stocking Stuffer section they have a smaller set with a smaller Stargate and control device.

Also, worst likeness of Macgyver ever.

Shit wait, is this the size of all the Stargates in all the sets? If so, that sucks. I was hoping for one that was fricking massive. Still, not bad.

It's a knock off Lego brand so the bricks aren't as solid as they could be and some of the connections are a bit loose. The Stargate is solid, but it's a loose connection. The plate is so flimsy that bricks won't stay attached to it. 

Also, all the Stargate symbols are printed on it, not a sticker. The control panel's a sticker, but not the Stargate. Neat!

Riddler

Making a well articulated Riddler figure? I'm there.

This Batman '66 Classic figure of Frank Gorshin as the Riddler is pretty good. A lot of articulation, a pretty good likeness, but dang is it scrawny. Sure, Gorshin was skinny, but look!

So obviously not in scale with the DCUC figures.