2 year anniversary!

Two years ago I started this blog. It's an anniversary! Long time readers, or people who read through the old entries, will notice I didn't celebrate the 1 year anniversary. That's because I'm lazy. Seriously, you know why this blog will be going on for a while? Because here's a picture of the backlog of toys I need to open.


But this year I hope to start what will be an ongoing (I'm not going to declare annual, I might get lazy again sometime in the future) Anniversary tradition: A list of my Top 5 favorite toys.

Not of the last year, not that have been featured on this site, AND certainly not my favorite toys of all time... No, this list will be of the top 5 toys that I currently own. As the years go on, I hope that the changes to the list will reflect my ongoing changes both in my collection, but also of my tastes. So, having said that, let's begin.

5. Dinosorb the Meteorb
I've already gone into why I love this guy, so I'll just reiterate that this is the perfect combination of transforming toy, dinosaur, and childhood nostalgia to make it one of my favorites that I picked up in the last year. Plus it gets a He-Man toy on this list, always good for the nostalgic toy fan audience.


4. Nixon's Head from Futurama
I know this figure was an accessory to the Zapp Brannigan figure, but I don't care. This is an amazing toy in its own right. Why? Because it's the disembodied head of President Nixon. It's a toy depicting one of history's most fascinating Presidents... but only his head which has been kept alive and got himself elected President of Earth.... Man, Futurama is a great show. But even without all that context... IT'S A TOY OF RICHARD NIXON'S DISEMBODIED HEAD!


3. Archangel Minimate
You knew a representitive of the minimates line was going to show up here eventually. I didn't think it would be so when I bought this guy, but he's become one of my favorite minimates of all time. He is just depicted so well within the limitations of the minimate form. It's a striking use of the complex and simple... and damned if that wingspan isn't impressive.


2. Galactus Mighty Mugg
I love me some Galactus, especially when he's portrayed so ironically adorable! Who's the cutest world eater? You are. But seriously, it's hilarious that they took the character who is supposed to be cosmic and overwhelminingly majestic and created this.


1. Cyberman from Earthshock
They made a very accurate looking toy of my favorite design of my favorite monster from my favorite television show... Hell yes this is my favorite toy right now. I've wanted something like this for almost two decades. And now it is mine in all its glorious glory.


Okay, so that's my 5 favorite toys that I own. And that is that.

What do you think mini-block-figure of Reginald VelJohnson?

2010 Birthday Haul

I got a couple of figures for my birthday a few weeks ago, but since I've got a backlog of toys I've actually purchases in need of reviews (Deathstroke! Transformers Universe Onslaught! Crimson Dynamo!), I'll just discuss the two highlights here.



There are few figures that are still absolute must-haves for me in the DC Universe Classics line, and Martian Manhunter topped the list. He's just hitting stores now, and like a good friend Mario got me one as a present. Except when it arrived in the mail, it was the variant version--the one with the Martian head and the unremovable blade-hand. Luckily, the buyer he obtained it from on Amazon.com exchanged it for the regular version.

There are plenty of DCUC figures I would have normally acquired (Spectre, Mr. Terrific, Wildcat) if not for the blanding, homogenizing effect Mattel has wrought on the line by using the exact same base bodies over and over. Knowing Mattel, I was aware that Martian Manhunter would reuse as many parts as possible, but because he was one of the few truly essential figures for me in the line, I decided long ago that I could live with that. Aside from the all-new head, belt, harness, cape, and boots (which cleverly add height to the figure to replicate the character's towering stature), the lower body is the exact same thing you get with all but a select few DCUC male figures, while the upper body comes courtesy of Hawkman.

Despite the reuse, you could count on it being a great-looking figure, right? Well, kinda--there are some definite issues. The longer shin pieces do make J'Onn J'Onzz appropriately tall when placed next to other figures, but they don't look all that proportionate on the figure itself; the net effect is that his legs end up being too long. Furthermore, the length of the legs and the bulk of the torso piece makes the midsection look too skinny and the arms look positively puny. The figure looks alright in certain poses and these issues do not impact the fun aspect of the figure at all, but I still feel disappointed that Mattel's cheapness has restricted what line sculptors the Four Horsemen can do within the company budget, and has consequently prevented this figure from being the ultimate toy representation of the character.

Despite its faults, I still like the Martian Manhunter figure a hell of a lot. But it's not the most impressive toy-related gift I received this year. No, that honor goes to . . .



Leave to to my brother to present me with the American release of Masterpiece Grimlock as my primary birthday gift this year. Part of the Masterpiece line that deals with creating large-size ultimate interpretations of iconic Transformers characters, the arrival of the Dinobot Commander finally provides me with a figure that can go toe-to-toe with my Masterpiece Starscream. Now, I am a massive Transformers fan, but I've felt progressively let down by Hasbro and Takara's joint efforts on the line in recent years, particularly when it comes to updating old figures, my main gripe being unnecessary changes that end up making the new figures come off as subpar (see Titanium Soundwave's massive crotch piece and Classics Mirage's weird lanky torso with wheels sticking in the air). No such problem are to be found with Masterpiece Grimlock, though: he's a straight update of the original figure from the 1980s, with alterations made to enhance its resemblance to the character's cartoon representation. As with all modern Transformers figures, the new plus-sized Grimlock boasts loads of articulation, and the larger size of the toy accommodates tons of intricate sculpted details. He comes with two weapons--his trademark double-barreled rifle and sword--and features a Dinobot crown (not pictured) that's exclusive to the American release. The figure is loads of fun, and it's one of the few Transformers toys I have where I struggle to decide which mode to display it in.

2009 Christmas Haul (Late, Yeah, I Know)

Yes, it is now November 2010. Better late than never, huh? I got some pretty great stuff last Jesus Day, and since I've taken my sweet time covering these items, I'll try to keep it short here.



Green Arrow here is a gift from Action Ranger Timmy. Only his shoulders, crotch, and upper legs are reused from the standard male base body that Mattel utilizes for these figures whenever possible, so that from the get-go earns the figure high marks in my book. The new details are great, and he's got bonus articulation in the wrists to accommodate fancy archery poses. The only true shortcoming with the figure lies in in its accessory. The arrow is permanently attached to the bow, and the shaft of the arrow is way too short. Regardless, it's one of the best figures from DC Universe Classics.



Mario gave me the classic Ted Kord version of Blue Beetle, also from DC Universe Classics. While there's far more parts reuse going on here than with Green Arrow above (in fact, the head, the belt, and the BB gun accessory are the only pieces unique to this figure), I like it far more. Part of the reason is that when standing at rest Green Arrow is kind of awkward-looking, while Blue Beetle is fun to pose in a variety of positions. While I technically already got this figure when I acquired Green Lantern (same base body, of course) Blue Beetle is a superior figure: he has a more interesting color scheme, the belt makes the midsection look more proportionate, and the head sits higher on the neck, making it look far more realistic than the stump-necked Hal Jordan figure. As a result of all these facets, Beetle here has since become one of my absolute favorites of the line. As a side effect, my satisfaction with the execution here has partly contributed to making me far less interested in buying any further DCUC figures that trot out that same old base body. Come on Mattel, give us more unique sculpts!



Late last year I had another one of my periodic Star Wars phases. Given I was surprisingly short on Imperial grunt forces, my brother provided me with some Stormtroopers. Naturally, these figures use the same mold (which makes perfect sense, unlike in some other action figure lines I could name), but one of them specifically represents a Spacetrooper briefly seen in Star Wars when the Millennium Falcon enters the Death Star hangar bay, complete with breathing apparatus, large rifle, and removable helmet. Whatever, I'll take any canonical excuse that allows me to troop-build without having to by multiples of the exact same figure.



The real prize during last year's Christmas was the brand new AT-ST Hasbro put out, also courtesy of my brother. I wanted one ever since Kenner's Star Wars: Power of the Force line launched in 1995, but it always eluded me for some reason. My disappointment in never acquiring one of the few vehicles from any toy line I still desired was alleviated when Hasbro released this all-new larger sculpt of the AT-ST, loaded with cool features including super-articulated legs, interchangeable cannons, and a bonus AT-ST Driver figure. The cockpit alone (which seats two figures instead of one, as the original version did) is filled with enough fantastic details to make it one of the coolest toys released in 2009. It's certainly impressive, and holds an honored place in my collection, standing right next to my Millennium Falcon (with my Infinite Heroes Batman standing on top of the entrance hatch, funnily enough).

List of unique DC Universe Classics figures

It's really hard to justify getting more than a few figures in the DC Universe Classics line due to Mattel's insistence on reusing body sculpts as much as possible. Once you get one of each of the basic boy types (average male, large torso male, female, teen male, guy in suit), anything beyond that is pretty redundant unless there's a large amount of new tooling or parts.

When the line started, I knew I definitely wanted to pick up core Justice League members, as well as certain other characters that I liked (like some villains or Justice Society members). Sure enough, I got Green Lantern, but having that figure made my later acquisitions of Orion and Blue Beetle (which are essentially the same figures with new heads and different accessories) feel a bit redundant. Not to mention the thighs are used on even more figures I own, including Captain Marvel, Green Arrow, and Hawkman. All this reuse has really turned me off from picking up other characters I would otherwise be open to acquiring figures of, including the Spectre, Mr. Terrific, and Wildcat. It's even more disappointing when comparing these figures to my Marvel Legends collection, which (excessive reuse of the Bulleye body aside) primarily relied on original sculpts for each figure. So after my brother got me the (new to me) Question and (all brand new) Deadman figures, I've pretty much vowed to myself to only pick up unique or heavily retooled DCUC figures.

How many wholly unique figures have there been in DC Universe Classics? Well, here's a rundown, based on the best of my knowledge:

Wave 1:
The Demon
Penguin
Metamorpho (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 2:
Gorilla Grodd (Collect-n-Connect)*

Wave 3:
Sinestro**
Solomon Grundy (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 4:
Ares

Wave 5:
Metallo (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 6:
Kalibak (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 7:
Captain Cold

Wave 8:
Parademon

Wave 9:
Chemo (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 10:
Man-Bat***
Imperiex (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 11:
Deadman

Wave 12:
Mary Marvel****
Desaad**
Darkseid (Collect-n-Connect)

Wave 13:
Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
Wonder Girl

Wave 14:
Zatanna*****
Ultra-Humanite (Collect-n-Connect)*

And for those interested, figures that have enough new parts or tooling to not look like other figures already in your collection:

Big Barda
Cyborg
Deadshot
Deathstroke
Despero
Lobo
Mantis (Super Powers variant)
Steppenwolf

Notes:
*From preview images, it's likely Ultra-Humanite reuses the arms from Gorilla Grodd.
**I've read one review mention that Desaad reuses parts from Sinestro, but I can't verify that. Even then, it would be just the torso, crotch and thighs, as everything else is new and the figure's body is covered in a cloak piece.
***This mold was originally released as a white-coloredSan Diego Comic-Con exclusive, but this version is the one originally intended for release. Even then, only Man-Bat uses this body.
****The forearms and thighs might be reuses.
*****The legs and arms might be reuses from Black Canary.