Articulated Monster Podcast # 79: Other James Hosts

Hey Everyone, I got too tired to host so instead the other James hosted! I just sat back and talked about stuff.

And don't forget, you can always e-mail us articulatedmonster@yahoo.com and we'll answer your questions during the next podcast.

Sy-Klone

Big Lots cheap MOTUC figure scratches my Nostalgia itch since SyKlone is the MOTU figure I had as a kid. I wish this one had the original's action feature, but I guess his lenticular chest and cut waist joint will have to do.

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.

Penguin

Hey, it's the Penguin. Old school comic book Super Powers Penguin, before everyone tried to make him dark and gritty because of the Tim Burton vulgarity version. This Penguin was just a wannabe gentleman who had some cleer umbrella/bird/monocle gadgets. 

But I have trouble justifying buying Mattel figures for full price these days. So good thingario got me this guy for my birthday!

Lego Minifigures series 11

I'm pretty sure that these ever more frequent minifigure series are what's slowly causing my disinterest in Legos. Remember how I was super enthusiastic about Legos? That's no longer the case. And I blame the exhaustion of trying to collect the blind packed minifigures. It's not enough to find them in stock, now I've got try and figure out what's in each bag?

Instead of being happy to buy some Legos I end up being disappointed by my Lego purchases. Even if I get everything I want, the whole process is under a cloud of potential disappointment. And that process, the squeezing, the guessing, that's a tedious process that I now associate with the Lego brand.

Also, the blatant racism is kinda getting to me. The island dude has a bone in his hair? What? I don't demand historical accuracy, but I'd ideally like there to not be a reliance on stereotypes of other cultures. Hair bones should only be used with cavemen.

Scooby Doo minifigures

Character Building, the guys who do the Doctor  Who minifigures, are making Scooby Doo building sets and figures. You can only get Velma and Daphne through blind packs and Shaggy, Scooby and Fred are only available through building sets.

So I tried to get the girls (if you squeeze to identify, they're the only ones with

molded breasts) but ended up with two Velmas. One I gave to Mario.

I also tried to get some monsters. I wanted a Lagoon Creature and let fate choose me a random monster. I was hoping for a Dracula but instead got a clown. An orange clown. It looks like he's wearing a prison jumpsuit.

With no Daphne, I guess I'll have to pretend Amy Pond is Daphne.

Birthday Haul

Here's the toys I got for my birthday.