Toy Show haul

Went to a toy show and bought some stuff: here's what/why?

Hot Toys Iron Man Mk4 from the Iron Man  2 series. Guy was selling some Hot Toys for original asking price. So I finally got an Hot Toys Iron Man in the classic suit design, which I've wanted for years. Something about the intricate machinery design at this scale is appealing. The big selling point was the articulated fingers.

Guy had some insane deals. Black Widow Hot Toy for $100! But I could only afford this guy. Glad to have him.

Also picked up a used Storm Shadow to fill out my 1:6 scale Cobra army. Some times the cheap Hasbro figures are a better value than the $200 Sideshow ones. Especially when I don't actually want the Sideshow Storm Shadow, I just want to collect a cobra team in 1:6 scale.

A Meanie Babie because I thought it was cute/amusing. No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

And I also got Virus Attack Mr Freeze, which is Mr Freeze's internet crime avatar. Or.... You could pretend, like I plan to, that he's 1:6 scale Mr. Freeze post-losing his body. 

That show could be so weird when it wanted to.

Doctor Doom

They made a Titans figure of Doctor Doom, even though he doesn't have a movie tie-in! A cheap 1:6 scale Doctor Doom is great, even with the Titans series limited to cheap plastic and 5 points of articulation.

I figure I can pose him next to my Marvel Legends Icon figure and pretend he's a Doombot. You know, a crude imitation that is easily identifiable but very much a primitive version.

Martha Jones

I've been picking up the Big Chief 1:6 scale Doctor Who figures, but the Amy Pond figure, despite some early excitement, was a disappointment once the production head sculpt was revealed. It was so bad that Big Chief had to offer a free replacement head with a new sculpt. It was better, but still not as good as the prototype they originally showed off. Unfortunately neither available head resembles Karen Gillan, and at $200, that was enough for me to pass.

But I still wanted a 1:6 scale figure of one of the Doctor's companions. That pretty much meant I had to go with this figure from Character Options only wave of 12 inch figures. (They still make RC daleks in that scale.) Impressively, rather than just making larger versions of their 5 inch figure, Character Options made an all new Martha with more joints than her smaller counterpart and gave her very impressive cloth clothing. The faux leather jacket is particularly impressive. And at 1/6 the coat of the Big Chief figures, much easier to bite the bullet and purchase. 

Destro

I'm putting together, very slowly, a 1/6 scale assembly of decent Cobra figures. Unfortunately this is a whim and I'm not into paying $200 for a figure when it's just to fill the ranks, so that means many of the Sideshow figures are out unless I really like what they did with the character.

That mean's Destro's out because I think the head sculpts on the Sideshow Destro figures look horrible. I want a Destro that reminds me of the 1980's cartoon, not one that looks like his head is made of a multitude of plates stitched together. No thank you patchwork Destro. There's only a few 1/6 scale Destro figures, and since most of them were designed to cost under $20 they tend to look like a $20 12-inch figure, you know, with the plastic sheen, articulation and dimensions of a barbie doll.

But then there's the Destro that was released for the Rise of Cobra movie. Which has what may very well be the best head sculpt of any Destro ever. It's not ball jointed but due to the GI Joe design, the neck is so it's essentially a ball jointed head for posing purposes.

The suit isn't bad either. Shoes are a little disappointing, but I'm pretty sure I can find better 1/6 scale shoes. The gun is what I expect for a mass release 12-inch figure from Hasbro, but I expected that going in. The one thing Sideshow really has going for it is the accessories, when they bother to include them.

And since this is a Rise of Cobra figure, this is also a Christopher Eccelston 1/6 scale figure, so it has a Doctor Who connection. That doesn't mean anything, but I feel like I'm obligated to mention anything Doctor Who related at this point.

Abe Lincoln riding a Tauntaun.

Harley Quinn

Okay, Sideshow 1:6 scale Harley Quinn figure.

I picked this up because 1) They're not going to make a Harley Quinn Hot Toys figure any time in the near future and 2) I'd like to collect a bunch of 1:6 scale Batman villains in "movie style." There's that Medicom 1:6 scale figure but that looks too stylized and cartoony. This Sideshow isn't as "photorealistic" as the Hot Toys sculpts tends to be, but it's close. The face is too smooth. It lacks the fine detail, although one could just say she's wearing a LOT of makeup.

Still, compared side by side next to a Hot Toys figure, the Uncanny Valley becomes a lot more obvious. The nose is too perfect and the eye paint isn't as "taxidermy" perfect as the Hot Toys figure.

It's a small complaint though. On the upside, I love the articulation, even her jester prongs on her hat can be moved around and posed. The cuffs and neck frill are soft plastic to maintain shape, which is a cool idea. Also, second head:

The main downside I see is that her hammer accessory is so heavy that if you put it in her hands it has a tendency to yank the hands out of their sockets. I'm half worried it will tear the arm out, or even worse, break the elbow joint. So that's a big worry.

Tin Man

Let' get this out of the way, this figure looks good. It's a pretty damned nice interpretation of the MGM Wizard of Oz version of the Tin Man. I think they released this line of figures for the 75th anniversary of the movie and most of them look screen accurate. To the point that I would not be shocked if you told me these were made by Sideshow. (This only applies for the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow. The female figures in this line look like Barbie dolls with surprisingly accurate face sculpts.) The use of plastic for the entire thing means it is head and tails above the older "cloth costume" version of the Tin Man that Barbie released a few years ago.

This would be an amazing figure except for one thing: The articulation is so horrible as to be non-existent. This is the worst case of impotent joints that I've ever seen. The sculpting of the plastic over the joints restricts articulation to the point that it might not even exist. Take a look at the knee articulation. Here's the knee straight.

And now here's the full extent that the knee can bend.

Wow. This means that the figure can pretty much stand straight up, and that's it. So that's the pose he has to stay because even with all his joints, the figure can't move. He is frozen into a pose. Seriously, might as well put in a sound chip where the figure murmurs "oilcan" because its just as frozen as the character in that moment. Unless there's some ridiculous solution where you have to put oil on the freaking figure.

And this is all a shame, because it really is a nice looking figure. Dig how good the likeness is: they simulated the way the make up was applied to the actor's face so that small bits of the human skin underneath broke through around the eyes.

Such a missed opportunity for a great figure.

Emperor Palpatine

 I picked up this older Kenner 12 inch Emperor figure because I really wanted a 1:6 scale Palpatine, but every other one available looked completely inaccurate. Even the expensive sideshow one. So I went with this figure which hits that just right place of looking close enough and being relatively low priced.

I got it on ebay, so I wasn't certain what kind of articulation it had, but I'm pleased with the result: elbow joints, ball wrists, etc.

The Baroness

So hey, Sideshow toys fairly expensive Baroness 12 inch figure has been released.

I bought it. This is actually only the second 12 inch Baroness figure ever, and the first one doesn't really count because it was the SDCC exclusive 12-inch Sarah Palin Baroness that Hasbro made for the Rise of Cobra movie. This new Sideshow version (bought from Sideshow directly to get the second bonus head) is based on the original Real American Hero toys/cartoons/comic books. That's the more iconic version of the character.

And of course I've been interested in collecting good 1:6 scale GI Joe cobra characters. Well, sorta. I've only got 3. Because I've never been interested in the Major Blud look and I'm not a fan of the Sideshow Destro design. Also, it turns out Cobra Vipers are hella expensive on ebay.

But Baroness... if you're trying to create a patchwork Cobra 1:6 scale collection you need a Baroness. Which is probably why I did buy the Rise of Cobra one when I found it on sale at a comic book store. So now I own both Baroness 12 inch figures...

Let's compare:

Boxes: The boxes are quite different. The Rise of Cobra box is nicer, but it's also a SDCC Exclusive so they probably classed things up for that reason. The Sideshow box looks like it's designed to be disposed of. Very utilitarian.

Rise of Cobra Baroness:

Not many accessories with the Rise of Cobra Baroness. She also doesn't really look like a GI Joe villain. She looks like a generic "lady in leather coat" character from a low budget action movie. And she's designed to wear that coat always, because underneath is a sleeveless faux leather leotard. It's odd that in the promo print included with the box the character has sleeves on her leather jumpsuit, so that's the implied design, but in practice I guess sleeves under a leather jacket was too much for Hasbro. 

As for the head sculpt, this looks ALOT like they just rescaled the sculpt from the 4 inch figure. Because that looked like Sarah Palin and this really looks like Sarah Palin. 

And while I'm glad the hair is sculpted, I'm not at all happy with the design they went with for the hair. Because it's clearly designed for one pose and one pose only. Turn the head even a little and it looks ridiculous.

You'll notice I'm holding the figure up in that picture. That's because there's no stand and the figure isn't the greatest at standing up by itself. I blame the ridiculous heeled shoes they included. They look like Monster High's ridiculous heeled shoes, but are probably less practical. Also, the leather trench coat design is ridiculous. Why would a coat break up into sections like that over the legs? To provide leg mobility? Then you would just wear a leather jacket, not a trench coat. I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it does.

Sideshow Baroness: 

Meanwhile the Sideshow Baroness stands up quite nicely. The figure is covered in a shiny black body stocking which nicely simulates the look of the black leather catsuit you always assumed the Baroness was wearing. But they also included armored plating for the chest, legs and arms, which means this figure looks exactly like the art on the original figure's filecard.

And oddly, since this is depicting a cartoon version and not a live action version, the head sculpt looks more realistic than it's Rise of Cobra counterpart. Especially with how they sculpted the hair. And the glasses? Totally removable. And there's even a second head sculpt in case you want that wind swept look to her hair.

There's even a second pair of more traditional looking glasses that the Baroness is sometimes depicted wearing, so you can make her wear the style you prefer. Because people have fetishes about that kind of crap. You also get 8 alternate hands to make the poses seem more realistic/awesome. 

There's a few more accessories that come with the figure although not many more than the Rise of Cobra figure. The sideshow firearms are more detailed and look more realistic though. And there's a stand included to hold the figure up. And the interior box art is also very pretty.

Ah man....

Ah man, Hot Toys announced on Facebook that they've got an Alfred (Michael Caine) figure and he only comes with a ridiculous Batman Armory set, so the whole thing's going to be mad expensive. Especially if they make you also buy a Christian Bale figure too. The way they worded the posts makes it unclear if the Armory comes with both figures or if you can also get it with only one of the two figures.

I'm willing to pay good money for a Hot Toys Aflred, but not $600.

Deanna Troi

Oh man, the Playmates 1:6 scale Star Trek figures. I wish I had been into 1:6 scale when they originally made these. Depending on when in the production line you got them, they could be pretty good or ridiculously crap. (I remember rumors of a 1:6 scale Mugato which was just a giant plush figure with no internal plastic to let it hold a pose.)

What's even better, is that the 1:6 series were based on themes rather than series. So Troi here is from the "Women of Star Trek" wave. The back of the box doesn't talk about Troi at all, just about the history of the Star Trek franchise. So weird.

The figure itself is pretty impressive for something I assume cost $20 when it originally was released. The uniform is pretty amazing for a cheap 1:6 scale figure, certainly much better than the one on the Dragon figure of Data I looked at earlier this week.

The articulation is pretty basic, but serviceable. Ball shoulders, hips and waist; Knee and elbow joints; Cut wrist and neck. The neck joint is made moot by the hair though.

Sculpting is good, with a decent likeness and sculpted hair (which, as I said, prevents the neck joint from doing anything). Her boots are sculpted onto her legs, but I don't care. It's not like I'm going to dress this up in anything other than this uniform. For a basic 1:6 scale figure this is great. I really want more like this. But for that I'd either have to scour e-bay or have a time machine to take me to 10 years ago.

Oh, and here's a look at the difference between Dragon's Star Trek accessories and Playmate's, keep in mind these were both made for 1:6 scale Star Trek figures.

Data

So Dragon made some Star Trek The Next Generation figures a while back. For $35, they look pretty good, although these days you'd be lucky to find them for that much. And for $60 the likenesses look horrible.

Except for Data, so I picked him up for about $30. Data's pretty simple to get down, a blank expression, and if you make him less detailed, it works for a character that isn't supposed to look quite human. Unfortunately as a 1:6 scale figure this thing kinda sucks.

Let's start with the accessories. The holsters for the tricorder and phaser, as well as the comm badge, all are meant to be placed on the uniform using adhesive backing. Basically these are stickers. At this scale I don't mind if you sew them on, but nope, you better hope the adhesive is strong enough and won't wear away. And holy crap is it difficult to get the sticker back off the tiny comm badge. I dropped it and thought I lost it a couple dozen times.

Also, what's with the horrific 1:6 scale version of Data's pet cat Spot?

Onwards! The uniform is ill fitting, and if you raise his arms it causes the mid-drift to be exposed because this  isn't a poorly fitting 1:6 scale jumpsuit, but a poorly fitting shirt and pants.

The articulation is pretty good, with plenty of joints, but the figure seems predisposed to this weird slumped over pose. And the plastic feels pretty flimsy. I'm afraid its going to snap on me.

Overall, not a bad 1:6 scale Data figure for cheap, but you better be willing to live with the downsides.

Hulk, 12 inch Titan series

So, hey, you may have noticed that Hasbro has been putting out some budget 12 inch figures of some of their bigger properties. For about $10 you can get a 12 inch figure with limited articulation and many other budget features. I got a gift card to a department store and decided to pick one up to see what they're like.

I went with the Hulk because he's bigger than any of the other figures and with cut wrist joints he has 2 more joints than most of the other figures. And unlike the Star Wars clone trooper, his hand doesn't have a 6 inch rifle permanently sculpted in his hand.

The sculpting is pretty cartoony, but that's to be expected. This is basically the budget 3 inch figure blown up to 12 inches.  That means all the joints are cut joints. And almost impotent joint in the case of the hips since the articulation is impeded by the sculpted buttocks. You read that right, the sculpt of Hulk's caboose prevents the legs from moving more than a few centimeters.  Fortunately that's just enough adjustment to improve a minor balance issue, but not much more.

Oh, and to save on plastic costs, the figure is hollow. 6 inch figures feel heavier than this figure.

My other issue is one of scale. The Titan figures are slightly shorter than other 12 inch lines. Check out how Hulk, one of the bigger characters in the Marvel universe, compares to the Marvel Legends Icon version of Dr Doom who should pale in size next to the Hulk.

Final verdict: good for the price if you want something low budget for kids that play rough or just to stand up somewhere. Otherwise they're less functional than a cheap Barbie doll. I might use Hulk for a background extra if I do a diorama, but that's it. I could be convinced to use these figures to team build a 12 inch team when other figures in the line aren't appealing to me.

Egon and Ray

Big Lots! had this 12-inch Mattel 2-pack for $30. How could I pass? Now I can give Abe Lincoln a proton pack!

Toy Sale

Went to a parking lot toy show. It was fun and I ended up buying a lot of Mattel stuff... I'm clearly a masochist. But I also picked up a mr Burns figurine with his brain scoop for a quarter.

RC Dalek (12 inches)

My brain is problematic sometimes. I picked up this 12" RC Dalek on ebay for way too much because I wanted a Dalek that is vaguely 1:6 scale. As you can see, it towers over the puny 5" Dalek that has so far been a staple of the Character Building Doctor Who line.

I haven't even put batteries into this ting. I just like looking at how large it is.

And here it is next to a 1:6 scale figure.

Yes, it's even larger than the 1:6 scale Clone Trooper. So it's not in scale, unless you want to believe Daleks are physically imposing... which fortunately I do.

Unfortunately the electronic inside the Dalek control how the eyestalk and head piece move, so those parts are stuck in place until you turn it on. The plunger and gun arm are manipulatable though.

Autopsy Gear Dana Scully

I've been trying to get this Autopsy Scully figure for a while, but I never was able to get it for a price I liked on e-Bay. So imagine my surprise when I saw it at a Doctor Who convention for exactly what I wanted to pay for it.

SOLD!

Because it's Agent Dana Scully in her Autopsy gear. If I was only going to get one X-Files 1:6 scale figure (and that might very well be the case) it was going to be this one. Because Autopsy Scully is one of the greatest variants for a toy figure ever. It seems like this character appeared in this garb every other episode, because for some reason she didn't trust anyone else to run an autopsy on a dead body that may or may not have been killed my people with paranormal abilities. So hey, that deserves to be honored as an action figure!

The figure's accessories are based on her props from these autopsy scenes. They include a human stomach, her safety goggles and a mini-tape recorder for her to report her findings into.

The likeness isn't dead on, but for $30 it's good enough to get the idea across, and with Autopsy Scully, that's all I ask.

Huh, Luke's hand

One day I'll write about the more premium of the 1/6 scale figures I've been picking up, but until then, just the odd picture or so.

Oh hey, GI Joe news I'm excited about

According to the Hot Toys facebook post, we're getting Hot Toy figures of the Rock, Bruce Willis and that Storm Shadow actor. I'm looking forward to this. Mostly for the Rock, although maybe for old man Bruce Willis

Decapitron

So Decapitron is from the Puppet Master horror movies. His name isn't a reference to him decapitating people, it's a reference to his ability to swap out his heads. All the Puppets in the Puppet Master movies have the soul of a person the Puppet Master originally knew, and Decapitron, introduced in Puppet Master 4, is one of the most powerful because it houses the soul of Andre Toulon, the creator of the puppets.

Decapitron comes with three heads, because that's what he had in the movies. In the package he's got the head of the Puppet Master himself, Andre Toulon. The other heads are a robot head that allows Decapitron to shoot electric bolts at people and a blank "off-mode" head. I think. I only saw 20 minutes of Puppet Master 4.

The first thing I checked on Decapitron was the joints. Cut joint wrists were the first disappointment. The Cut neck joint was kind of disappointing too, but more common on this scale. Although once I began to play with the interchangable heads, the cut neck made sense. At first I thought the shoulder joints were cut joints, but after playing with it for a second I realized that it was actually the jacket restricting the joint movement. A little rejiggering revealed a more typical ball joint.

As for the interchangable heads. Unlike other 1:6 scale heads, where you're meant to pull them of a peg, these ones have a weird tab system. Well, look.

Oh, and incidentally, this is one of the smaller 1:6 scale figures out there. Here's what it looks like compared to a sideshow clone trooper.