Universal Monsters Minimates, Wave 2

So last year they release minimates based on the Universal Monster movies the Wolfman and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. This year it's Dracula and Frankenstein, so they're pretty much blowing their big load right now. As with last year there are direct market releases (Comic book stores) and Toys R Us releases. The Direct Market gets two sets, each devoted to a different movie and containing four figures each. Toys R Us gets four 2-packs, including the black and white variants of the main monsters. I got the other three packs.

Dracula and Van Helsing: Van Helsing looks a little dull, like an old man who wants it to be warmer. Fortunately Dracula is looking rather iconic. He will seduce your fiance and drink her blood. Because, you know, swarthy foreigners... man... historical xenophobia. Am I right, folks?

Frankenstein's Monster and Doctor Frankenstein: The doc's surgical gown is surprising detailed, but other than that, he doesn't look like anything but a generic dude. Sadly he's also taller than the Frankenstein's monster minimate. How does that work? They even gave the monster bigger shoes to match the movie design. Dang. I hope they make Munster toys and get it right.

Bride of Frankenstein and a Villager: The villager is the exclusive in this wave. Sadly, no hunchback was released this time around. But on the upside they gave the villager a pitchfork AND a torch! Everything you need to build up an unruly mob. Of one guy. A mob of one guy. Igor could have taken him out. Actually because of the hair, I think the Frankenstein's Bride might be my favorite character in the set. You can't beat that hair.

Articulated Monster Episode 17

Break Room with Pat

I don't know when it was that I got into the Cubes line of action figures, but I've had a tendency to buy them and not open them. But no longer. The Cubes are 3 inch scale figures that are of office drones. They each come with a cubicle and accessories depicting the world of a generic office. The kind that was in the movie Office Space. Or Dilbert.

Let's start with Pat, who comes with the Cubes break room. After the initial offering of interchangeable cubicles, set 5 (this one) began showing other depressing parts of the corporate office world. Like the break room. Seen here with a water cooler and whatnot. I love this stuff. I've worked in places like this. I've seen the bulletin board with the minimum wage information. I've seen the donuts.

Look, clearly the figures aren't that impressive, but holy hell those accessories are awesome. Where else other than Playmobil are you going to get a 3 inch scale coffee pot? That I can then try to wedge into Captain Kirk's hand?

CYBERMATS!!!

OMG! They're making lifesized cybermats!

Well, I know where 25-60 of my dollars are going.

Big Time Spider-Man and Iron Fist

Seriously, why did I buy these?

For Spider-Man? I've got a ton of Spider-man minimates already. And this costume only appeared in 4 issues. Sure Marvel's really gotten into this costume, putting it on a lot of the faux Spiders from Spider-Island and as alternate costumes in video games, but the costume itself has had minimal impact on the comic. (Not like the black costume.) But I will admit that it looks cool. (In the comics it has tech in it that makes the wearer invisible and sound proof. So no one can detect him.)

And I've already got an Iron Fist minimate from the original Iron Fist/Power Man 2-pack that featured the characters in their iconic 70's garb. Sure this is the new Iron Fist design with the whole "Mystical Hong Kong Fantasy Martial Arts Action Epic" vibe that Matt Fraction created. You can tell he's bad ass because his fists are taped up and he's not wearing the plunging v-line spandex or the baby booties anymore. This is a grimmer and gritier Iron Fist for a new era.

Am I that much a sucker for cool costumes that I'll buy two figures of characters I already have in my collection already in much more iconic costumes? Am I really that superficial/a collector?

Doctor Doom

Now, you see, this is why I hate plastic capes. They don't allow for much articulation and as a result, when you get a toy like this Marvel Select Doctor Doom it means you can't have him sitting in his throne while he's wearing the cape.

It almost makes the throne a pointless accessory. Fortunately the cape slips off in this case, so you can have him sitting down. More toys need to have removable capes. Hell, the Super Powers line that everyone fetishizes all the time had both cloth capes that were removable! I also like Doom's alternate hand, the one that has him holing up a grail to toast to his victory.

But what is Doom without his cape? So I chose to pose him standing up, with his cape on. That does mean I'm left with a giant Throne with emblazoned with the letter "D." I wonder if I can repurpose it with another character.

Hal Jordan... still sucks...

As I've said on multiple occasions, if I had to get a Hal Jordan figure and display it, it would probably be the Movie Masters version since you can pretend he's actually Ryan Reynolds given a power ring. Having said that, I found one clearance, picked it up, and I can now say that the toy is shit and you shouldn't buy it if  you have the chance.

Where to begin? To start with, since this is a Movie Masters figure its smaller than the other DC 6 inch figures. Next, the articulation on the arms is crap. It has cut wrists, hinge elbows, and ball and pin shoulders, but the range of motion you get out of them is almost non-existent. I tried to get the figure to do a bicep curl and here's as far as I could get it.

That's as far as I could get that elbow joint to bend. Oh, and I was trying to get the shoulder to rotate so the arm stuck out 90 degrees from the torso. As you can see that did not happen. Yeah, the shoulder joint didn't really work either. It's like the figure as the illusion of joints. Lame.

Skip this one if you can. Unless you want it as a statue. Although then you'd be better of just buying a statue.



Current Rainbow Corps Collection
Green Lanterns: 14 (I'm seriously thinking about removing the Movie Masters toys from the display.)
Sinestro Corps: 6
Red Lanterns: 3
Star Sapphires: 3
Blue Lanterns: 2
Orange Lanterns: 1
Indigo Lanterns: 1
Black Lanterns: 1

Blue!

G'Nort

So let's talk about my second favorite Green Lantern. His name is G'Nort. Back in the day he was a giant talking Dog who was incompetent and a green lantern. Actually that was the point. You see there was a group of people with power rings who called themselves Green Lanterns who were giving the corps a bad name. Some of them were incompetent, others were idiots using their powers to move furniture. And it all turned out to be a plot by the Qwardians to ruin the Green Lantern name by giving unwitting aliens Green Lantern rings and letting them loose on the Universe.

Guy Gardner stopped them, but he ended up befriending G'Nort and recommending him to the Green Lantern Corps. G'Nort was accepted as a rookie under Guy's supervision and thus became one of the great comic relief figures of the DC Universe. Because he always defeated evil, just not very well. And everyone found him annoying. So he fit right in the JLI comic books. And then DC Direct made some figures based on the JLI comics.

The thing is, G'Nort has been drawn differently by every artists. He's always a giant dog, but the way that is depicted varies wildly. So any interpretation is as good as another. The one this figure is based on is the one by Kevin Maguire, and is not my favorite. But it's a G'Nort figure. Who cares whose favorite it is.

Articulation is pretty slim. No wait, leg, or feet articulation. But in exchange for that you get a tail that can sort of be spun around in its peg and a mouth that can open and sort of look like a tongue panting.

Current Rainbow Corps Collection

Green Lanterns: 13
Sinestro Corps: 6
Red Lanterns: 3
Star Sapphires: 3
Blue Lanterns: 2
Orange Lanterns: 1
Indigo Lanterns: 1
Black Lanterns: 1

Articulated Monster episode 16

Ep 16 is up!




If you want to follow along in our news segment:

Mego Style Borg & Picard
http://www.startrek.com/article/first-look-diamond-goes-retro-with-picard-and-borg

21 new toys r us stores opening
http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/13084.shtml

Universal Monsters series 2
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/universal-monsters-series-2-gets-carded

2012 Lego sets
http://www.fbtb.net/2011/08/25/2012-exclusives-set-list-ucs-r2-d2-and-b-wing-included/

Deluxe Leadfoot transformer
http://www.allspark.com/content/view/9378/20/

GI Joe Collector's Club figure is footloose
http://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=9&itemid=17648

DCUC Subscription Club is happening, with Metron and expensive figures
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/mattel-gives-fans-a-dc-universe-club-infinite-earths-update

Halo Wave 6 announced
http://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=14&itemid=17677

JEM?
http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/main/hasbro-announces-new-york-comic-con-debut#more-41725

Go Hastings haul pt. 2

I also got some t-shirts but those aren't toys, so let's continue.

DALEK SCIENTIST AND 11th DOCTOR

Bright orange Dalek. You will love it. It is also the last of the rainbow Daleks I needed, because the White one is boring. But more importantly, it comes with an 11th Doctor variant. Him without his jacket, when he's in full "chips are down" mode. I don't know why, but I'm loving most of the 11th doctor variants. With the other Doctor toys I've seen the variants as annoyances since the costumes were of only minor differences or of costumes that didn't really reflect a iconic moment for the character. But with the eleventh Doctor many of his costume changes have lead Matt Smith to act in unique ways because he loves playing with his environment and what he's wearing. Put a fez on him and he'll become childishly in love with it. Every new costume or accessory let's Smith access another aspect of the 11th Doctor's wildly shifting moods and personality.

So having the Doctor take off his jacket is his way of rolling up his sleeves and preparing to do really hard work. Something he considers really important with no room for error. Like the Daleks. Which explains why he was paired with one in this two-pack.

Eleventh Doctor's Crash set

I'm also not a big fan or regeneration variants. Usually they're just one Doctor's head on the sculpt of another Doctor's body. Boring. They did do an 11th Doctor regeneration figure with Matt Smith's head on a 10th Doctor body. It was pretty lame. Smith is a pretty skinny dude but the 10th Doctor body with his head looks like a bodybuilder with huge pecs.

Meanwhile the 11th Doctor's first full episode was pretty awesome and he spends most of it wearing the rags of the 10th Doctor's costume. The look even earns a nickname: the Raggedy Doctor. It wasn't until well into the 5th season that I realized how much I enjoyed the 11th Doctor and realized I liked all his costume changes. So I wanted a Raggedy Doctor figure but he only comes in this two-pack with a figure I already had. Fortunately the Go Hastings sale meant I could get the two pack for less than a single figure.

That sale was awesome.

The figures are what you would expect, although the rolled up sleeves changes the position of the cut joint from wrist to mid-forearm. But since the sleeve is positioned differently the joint is joined at an angle so using the joint makes the Doctor look like he has a broken arm.

Go Hastings Haul pt. 1

Hey, so I got an insanely good coupon from Go Hastings.com. From what I can tell it's a mid-west Media store. I'm assuming it's like a Sam Goody or a FYE. Or a Borders? I really don't know, but they have an online store which actually sells Doctor Who toys, so hey, let's jump in that!

I picked up a bunch of stuff like...

Saint Walker

With the realization that the likelihood of getting DCUC figures of characters I want for a reasonable price has basically bottomed out, I'm now more willing to fill gaps in my collection with DC Direct figures. Which is why I picked up this ultra cheap Saint Walker. (Under $5.) Now I have the main representative of the Blue Lantern Corps. Sure he's only got 9 joints (neck, shoulders, elbows, knees, t-joint hips), cut shoulders, and the lantern comes apart really easily, but I'm not paying $30 for him. At least the sculpt is in scale and pretty good. Although the lack of joints is starting to get to me. Not even cut wrists. Hell, I'd probably have taken the waist cut.

Current Rainbow Corps Status

Green Lanterns: 12
Sinestro Corps: 6
Red Lanterns: 3
Star Sapphires: 3
Blue Lanterns: 2
Orange Lanterns: 1
Indigo Lanterns: 1
Black Lanterns: 1


Dalek Strategist

I have been wanting more of the candy coated rainbow Daleks from Season 5. Something about how garish and sleek they are appeals to my sense of ironic appreciation. Especially with all the people decrying how much they hate the design. SCHADENFREUDE! So if you're getting one of the iDaleks then you've got to complete the primary color pallet and get the blue one. Something about it just shouts, HEY KIDS! BUY THIS TOY!

Ironsides Dalek

Military green Dalek. Undercover Dalek. Awesome.finally, a must have Dalek variant.

Autobot Jazz

Sometimes I wonder if the reason everyone is reviewing the Jazz figure from Kre-O is because it's the cheapest one to come with a Jazz minifigure that isn't Mirage. Because who cares about Mirage? Jazz sounded like Scatman Crothers and everyone remembers him fondly. Me, I actually enjoyed the toys but I was never really into the cartoon. Or the comic. (Although the three issue Dinobot arc early on was AWESOME.) So I guess I liked the Transformers as a concept rather than as characters. So I got Jazz to try out the Kre-Os and to get a Transformer minifigure that isn't Mirage, because Mirage looks weird. If that means I follow the crowd then so be it.

As building blocks, the Kre-Os are the sturdiest non-Lego I've encountered. They're not quite as hardy as Legos, but they're the closest anyone has come yet.

As for the Car and Robot that you can build. They both look great. But I'm REALLY disappointed that both modes fail to use all the bricks that come with the set. When I finished the car mode I had six or seven pieces left over and when I finished Robot Mode I had sixteen completely different parts left over. And some of those parts were freaking huge. You know, like the windshield, and the doors, and two of the wheels. It's like every excuse Michael Bay had was true. You can't fit all the pieces of Vehicle mode into Robot mode.

Which sucks, because why the hell not?

But minifigures based on the Transformers? Awesome.

Super Scooter

I've been sitting on a few Muppet Toys for a while and after finding that Super Grover figure, I've decided it's time to open them. One of the ones I was searching for was Super Scooter. If I remember correctly this costume is from the Lynda Carter episode where some of the Muppets decide to become Superheroes and learn how to fly. To that end Super Scooter comes with a ladder to jump off of and a book which basically took its lesson from flight from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It is awesome, combining my love of the Muppets with my love of superheroes. I'm really digging the low budget interpretation of Scooter's costume. You can easily see his normal clothes underneath his vest. Actually the helmet, with a lightning bolt going all the way through it ala the arrow through the head, is pretty elaborate for this homebrew costume.

It almost makes me want to make an official "Hero" costume for my "Action Ranger Timmy" blogging persona.

If you're going to have an Injustice League you're going to need some Joker

Seriously, if you mention the top DC Villains and Joker isn't in your top 2, then you're wrong. So I seriously need the Joker to beef up my shelf of 6 inch DC Villains. (It's sadly sparse compared to my hero shelf and my Rainbow Corps shelf.) Yes, I picked up a Mad Love 2-pack, but before I open that I should probably address the Joker &  Harley figures I already have... Well actually Harley's going to be placed in the closet to one day be taken out if I have a friend who REALLY digs Harley and has a birthday coming up, and the Joker I just opened.

Because the Mad Love Joker is in a Tuxedo, or something approximating that, I decided I still needed a traditional colors Joker, even if they do share the same face. (Or does that make it better? Now you can pretend he just changed clothes. Or his clothing was sprayed with black paint.)

Now in recent years the Joker has been turned from the clown prince of crime, a criminal doing it in style, into a homicidal lunatic with varying levels of sanity, and considered deadly chaos. I'm not sure I like this change, but story wise, it tends to work. Still this figure can be scary if looked at in the right angle.

Cheetah

Hey, it's Golden Age Cheetah! The inspiration for two generations of fetishes. Seriously, that damn Superfriends cartoon probably screwed up the fantasies for millions of young men. Oddly enough this toy gives her a cleavage plunge in her costume that it didn't originally have. They've pretty much Catwomanned-up this figure.

She doesn't need a cleavage baring costume! Stop trying to further pervert the former youth of yesteryear!

Yeah, I've got nothing more than that. I just got her because I wanted a top tier female villain figure and there aren't that many of those in the DCUC line. There's barely any female villain figures in the line at all. What, Harley Quinn and if you're feeling generous then Catwoman and Silver Banshee, although Banshee was technically part of the Superman/Batman Public Enemies Target line.

American Patriotism! From German toymakers

I finally found the Playmobil minifigures and was able to find the only one I wanted. Thank goodness for the telltale top hat!

UNCLE SAM! I wonder if this could count as the DC character as well.

Sharkboy

I've never watched TNA wrestling so I'm not familiar with the Sharkboy character. For all I know he could be a jobber. But I did see an MTV documentary about prowrestling back in 2000 that talked to wrestling school students, one of which was working on developing his in ring persona: Sharkboy. So it's nice to see that he made it.

Of course that's not enough to get me to buy an action figure. What really sold me, aside from the $5 sale price, was his ridiculous/awesome costume. The luchador shark mask is worth the price of admission alone. Add in the name emblazoned across his tights like an 70's plastic apron that came with a cheap Halloween costume you bought from a drugstore. That is amazingly cheesy/ gaudy. It's like a stereotype of how a pro wrestler should look. How can you not love that.

And shockingly, it has amazing articulation. It's articulated like a Marvel Legend figure, with double joint knees. That makes Sharkboy seem like a very flexible wrestler.

Batgirl

When they first announced Batgirl I was excited, because they said she came with a Motorcycle. Well I found a Batgirl at Toys R Us, and is there a motorcycle?

No there freaking is not. Instead there's a cheap mini-poster and a base with a peg that doesn't fit the figure's foot hole so it has absolutely no ability to keep the figure standing up. 

This sucks. Batgirl needs some wheels.

TAKE THAT, STUPID REBOOT!

(Oh and watch out for paint issues on these figures. The face can be pretty sloppy. I've seen noses that are almost completely blue.)