Marvel figures

Wow. Why is Hawkeye so maniacally happy?

And I found both versions of Beast... but who really wants Gray Beast? Does that version of the character have a fan base?

Zygon, smaller

A 4 inch Doctor Who figure! Also a Christmas present. The 5 inch Zygon was one of the best figures of the whole line and this is the same for the 4 inch figures. And with ball jointed shoulders, it has more articulation than its 5 inch, cut joint counterpart.

Alien

My friend Bruce gave me a ReAction alien figure. Not sure if I'm going to keep it in the box or not. Unlike other Reaction figures the lack of articulation is more than made up for in design. Also, there's an action feature. If you pull I the top of the head there's a switch that can deploy the inner mouth proboscis. It's why the head has a rubber band around it, to prevent that piece from popping off and flying everywhere this giving potential customers the impression that the toy is broken.

Ash and Pikachu

I played Pokemon X/Y through to the final boss and then gave up from doing any more because of how frustrating the game became to me. I don't want to fight another low level pokemon, thanks. I've already caught a dozen of that Pokemon. WHY CAN'T I GET A PSYDUCK! But from what I remember, you play a generic character that isn't named Ash Ketchum. But hey, they did make a Pokemon X/Y Ash Ketchum figure wearing some Pokemon X/Y style clothing that I bet he wears in the cartoon if I still watched that. (I'm not that young. Yes I used to watch the Pokemon cartoon, but I used to watch the show in high school and college out of a weird love for all things Psyduck.)

So in a confluence of events: I had a coupon that expired soon and a desire for more Nintendo figures when I spotted this 4 inch Ash Ketchum figure. Hey neat, I thought. I've wanted an Ash figure in the past but they've either had horrible articulation or looked horrible or were out of scale with what I was collecting at the time. This one is decent and has a surprising amount of articulation. There's ball jointed hips and shoulders, some knee and elbow joints, and a ball jointed neck. Unfortunately there are no ankle  joints, so posing becomes a little difficult. Is it too much to ask for cut joints at the ankles so that I can balance what I can do with the ball jointed hips? Also, why can't he hold a pokeballs? Why is there no pokeballs accessory?

The Pikachu is not articulated and only can sit on Ash's shoulder because the backpack has a hole to plug-in his foot.

And sadly, this is not in scale with the other Nintendo figures I own. I mean, looks how Ash towers over Link... I know Link is supposed to be part elf or something, but no.

Doctor Who, Series 3

So after my little bout of buyer's remorse I opened some of the Walgreen figures I picked up. Specifically the 10th Doctor figure, the Asylum Dalek, and the Genesis of the Dalek exclusive.

The 10th Doctor is pretty good for this scale, although I'm disappointed that the stripes on his pinstripe suit are implied by carved lines on the plastic and not given any blue paint, but I'm sure it would have looked horrible if they had done it. This is him in his coat, which was never my preference for 10th Doctor Toys (I preferred the suit) but it's pliable enough to allow plenty of movement, and hey, 3.75" scale 10th Doctor. It's a surprisingly good likeness for the scale, much better than the 11th Doctor figure which hinted at the idea of the 11th Doctor rather than trying to recreate his face in this scale.

The Asylum Dalek is pretty much exactly like the previous Dalek from this toy line, but with a red marking on it to designate it as "insane." The paint also gives it a grungier look to imply it's inattention to Dalek grooming.

I was surprised by the Genesis Dalek, rather than a repaint, it's an entirely new sculpt. Everything on it is simpler to reflect the lower budgeted time the character represents. I'm wondering if they just used the models for the 5" line and had the manufacturers shrink it to scale. It's pretty dang nice.

Buyer's Remorse: Dalek Edition

Finally found the third series of the Doctor Who 3.75" figures, only at Toys R Us rather than Walgreens. It's cool to see Toys R Us carry Doctor Who stuff, but they're charging $5 more than Walgreens... Although Toys R Us is still cheaper than other places I've seen previous waves at.

And unlike Walgreens, Toys r Us is carrying Wave 2 and a wave of 5 inch scale Daleks. The 5" Daleks cost the same as the 3.75" ones, which is... I don't even have the words.

But it allowed me to finally collect the last of the rainbow colored Dalek designs from season 5.

Of course buying all this stuff ended up pricier than I had expected. So I'm probably going to return some of it, especially if I find the same figures at Walgreens for cheaper. Seriously, some Walgreens have the figures on buy 1 get 1 half off, which makes the average figure half the cost of what Toys R Us is charging... Of course it's difficult to find any at Walgreens so it's a tad moot...

Oh, but I did find two Daleks after checking 5 Walgreens.

Amy Pond

Walgreens is going to carry Doctor Who toys. Part of me thinks this was part of their plan to reclassify thaelves as a British company to avoid paying taxes. But now that the tax dodge was cancelled due to fear od mass boycotts, I can look forward to being able to buy Doctor Who merchandise in a physical atore that isn't Hot Topic.

So far all I've been able to find are some aonic screwdrivers and 3.75 inch Amy Pond. Surprisingly, she features more articulation than her 5 inch counterpart or any other Doctor Who figure in this scale. She has a bicep swivel, ball shoulders, cut wrists, knees, cut ankles, and a head that isn't hampered too much by te sculpted hair. It's a shame that so many joints on plastic in this scale makes the figure feel very flimsy. i keep expecting to tear it apart every time I twist a joint. I feel like half the cut joints are falling out of their sockets. That's the biggest downside. As a plus? The face sculpt isn't horrible.

Fair trade-off? You decide.

Clara Oswlad

Lord, I am displeased that the latest companion figure is not in sale with the others. 3.75" figures lack the detail I liked in the 5" line. Oddly, it has pretty good articulation, (12 points, as opposed to the 5 points te Cyberman has) although it returns to the early days of Character Options Doctor Who figures with cut shoulder joints.

But I like the character and the figure is decent, so I picked this up. Maybe I can pretend she was hit by a shrink away.

TARDIS

Oh, I bought another TARDIS, but at least this time it's scaled for 4 inch figures. Because really, I bought it so I could do scenes like this.

Unfortunately the left door on mine won't stay open. It makes the click sound but the spring forces it shut the second I let go. Sad. Otherwise, it's awesome. 

Oh and a friend gave me the Character Building TARDIS, which is very poorly designed. Just structurally, it's not designed to be a firm build.

It's just those four flimsy pillars and 4 panels representing the walls followed by a roof. If you dropped it, the thing wouldn't just break apart, it would explode into its individual bricks.

 

Cyberman and Psycho Pirate

So I picked up a couple 3.75" figures over the last few weeks. Among them: the Cyberman and DC Infinite Heroes Psycho Pirate figure. Psycho Pirate only because it was insanely cheap at a Tuesday Morning which had some MattyCollector stuff.

Surprisingly, the better figure is the Psycho Pirate. 

The Cyberman has 9 points of articulation, mostly hinge or cut joints with limited movement. Psycho Pirate has 14 points of articulation, including a waist cut which the Cyberman does not. End result: a limited amount of poses for the Cyberman. Which is a shame since I love Cyberman figures.

The 3.75" Doctor Who Range is proving to be a big disappointment compared to their old 5" line. Especially since the price isn't changing to reflect the diminished figures. (Diminished as in smaller size and lower quality.) Thank goodness the Classics line is staying 5" 

Dalek

3.75" scale Dalek! It's exactly like the 5 inch Dalek but smaller.

Well, the bolts on the base aren't painted but the same articulation, same sculpt, etc.

Dapol Cyberman

I wasn't into toys when Dapol made Doctor Who toys. Nor was I when I found them in a comic book store in the mid 90s. Then when I started getting Doctor Who toys, particularly cybermen, a few years ago they cost too much. So imagine how pleased I was to find one at an acceptable price on ebay and I wasn't outbid.

The figure isn't impressive compared to Modern sculpts, but its primitiveness does call up some nostalgia for old-school 4 inch lines. Plus it's a 80s Cyberman, my favorite design.

Toy Show Haul (pt. 2)

Let's continue on our little tour of what I picked up at the San Jose toy show on Saturday.

Another thing I forgot to bring up in the gashapon box was a Green Lantern miniature. It's Hal Jordan and his arm falls off fairly easily but it's a build a kit, so an easy fix. What's most interesting about the figure is the angry grimace the figure has. Almost like he's pissed off that he's constipated or something. My animosity towards Hal Jordan means I find this hilarious.

Next up was a Superhero Showdown Doctor Doom. This is essentially Marvel Legends in the 4-inch scale, which is awesome because 1) I'm not so enamored with the Marvel Universe 4-inch figures, and 2) it's cheaper. It even comes with better accessories than the Marvel Universe figures. That's a real firing cannon strapped to Doom's wrist. And a stand that holds him up by plugging into a hold in his back.

And of course the reason I'd want a 4-inch doom? Because of all the ridiculous accessories that are available in this scale.

Moving on, I was shocked to find a couple 3-inch minimates in a vendor's clearance box at the price of 3 for $5. Well there were two of them anyway, so I had to get a regular sized action figure to fill out the quota. But that does mean I was able to get a Dr. McCoy 3-inch minimate to round out my big 3 of the Star Trek crew. I didn't know that they came with Star Trek puzzle piece bases, but cool!

The other 3-inch minimate was an Ozzy Osbourne werewolf, which is awesome because it's both a minimate of Ozzy and of a classic monster! I haven't even opened it because of... well it's actually pretty awesome but it's also something I might consider giving to someone as a gift or possibly to hold onto in its new status. I expect this to last maybe a month.

And last, for this installment anyway, is a... is it a Marvel Legends toy? I'm not sure. But it is a Marvel toy of Movie Spider-Man. I picked this up loose, but it came with the original diorama and a billboard that doesn't fit with the base but I think I could nail to a wall. Meanwhile this figure is pretty awesome, featuring the full articulation of the best Spider-Man toys from the Legends line. It also has some pretty damn awesome accessories. A newspaper machine! Street signs! Traffic lights! A sewer grating!

Seriously, it's pretty damned awesome.

US Agent

US Agent is like the version of Captain America the way people who don't like America think Captain America should act. Essentially he's like every 80s stereotype of Americans with super powers. He hates Commies, loves America, and actually has American Rage against his percieved enemies of America. Before he tried to be the new Captain America, he called himself Super Patriot.

They kind of made him look like Bill O'Reilly, and I got to say, I sort of think they're personalities are similar. The difference: US Agent isn't as perverted as O'Reilly.  And say what you will about O'Reilly and US Agent, they both love America.

Happy July 4th everyone.

Red Ranger has to explain to Jeff Goldblum that he can't be the new Black Ranger

This picture is in direct response to Dan's challenge. Of course I only have 2 Power Rangers, so I had to improvise and create my own Power Rangers team. Action Ranger's Power Rangers?

Either way, ball's in your court now Dan.

Oh snap! If I had the crappy Comissioner Gordon figure from the Infinite Heroes line I could have made him... COMMISSIONER ZORDON!

Deluxe Light Cycle: Sam Flynn

Why would someone who has never seen either Tron movie buy a lightcycle toy from the new Tron movie line? Answer: 1:18 scale lightcycle. Who will drive it next?!

The Yellow Ranger Shows You How To Ride Like A Lady

It is important to maintain proper posture at atll times.

Crazylegs

What? Dude comes with three small guns and that's it? For a Pursuit of Cobra figure that's pretty disappointing. For a 25th Anniversary figure (which, let's face it, that's what this really is despite what the packaging wants to tell you) that's par for the course.

I'm pretty disappointed by that. If I wasn't having mad Crazylegs nostalgia because the original toy was one of the few GI Joes I owned as a kid I wouldn't have gotten this.

But the nostalgia is there, so I did.

Pink Ranger

Since I really like my Yellow Ranger figure, I figured I pick up another Power Ranger figure one day. When they were on sale. Then the day came where I saw them at a discount store, so I looked through the figures and decided that the Pink Ranger was the best sculpt of what they had. (Paritally beacuse all the dudes had Green Ranger shoulder pads for some reason, and really large hands.) After getting the figure out of the packaging, well, I dunno. For the most part it's almost as awesome as the Yellow Ranger, but that skirt restricts the leg articulation something awful. Which would be fine if you didn't want the figure to sit down, but half the reason I like figures in this scale is the possibility of puting them in vehicles and looking ridiculous.

The figure comes with a spinner top type thing with a battle coin that you can swap out. It's fairly ridiculous, but it works well in that when you pull the rip cord and launch the top it spins for a long time. It's kind of neat and a damn sight better than the weird eagle claw base that came with the Yellow Ranger.

But let's get to the real reason I picked up this figure. It was for pictures like this:

Outdoor Adventure

So I returned that tiny 1:18 motorcycle to Wal-Mart and picked up another Adventure Wheels vehicle, this time the unnamed ATV which I'm going to assume should be called what the only other TITLE FONT words on the box say: Outdoor Adventure, Off-Road Adventure. Whatever, it's an ATV and it's supposed to be in the proper scale. And it damn well better be. I saw a GI Joe ATV at Ross the other day and I realized that it was actually just a repainted vehicle from this Adventure Wheels line. Well, they added a gun, but other than that, exact same. So really for you're paying an extra $5-10 if you want GI Joe coloring. Oh, and I guess it comes with a GI Joe figure, but is that really worth the extra amount of scratch? No. (Unless you REALLY like Leatherneck.)

Because this ATV comes with a figure too. It's a generic guy in a helmet (helmet doesn't come off) who looks sort of like the Stig from Top Gear dressed up to be a Midwest forest guy. I guess, I don't have a lot of experience with Midwestern people. Either way it's a pretty bland figure which is sadly a better constructed and better articulated figure than anything in the new Green Lantern 4 inch line. (Those things suck. Possibly even more than the DC Infinite heroes which they are clearly based.)

As for the ATV, it does what I want. Which is to say it's a damn ridiculous vehicle for my 3.75" figures to be riding.