I'm going to start off with a number of figures my brother picked up for me over the last few months, but only got around to sending me with my birthday gifts, so I might as well in include them in this post.
First up is the Jawa & WED Treadwell Droid. I always like adding Jawas to my collection. The Treadwell Droid is a nice addition to justify the cost, since Jawa figures are so small. The Jawa comes with one accessory--a tiny canister--that is meant to fit in its hand (and apparently did quite easily for the original release of the figure last year), but the right hand has since been resculpted so it can no longer hold it. That especially sucks because it's one of those accessories that can get lost easily if one is not careful.
Action Ranger Timmy previously posted about his General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy figure from the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra line. Now I've finally got one of my own. It's a great figure, and possibly the best I've gotten in a long time. The only flaw is there's an odd disparity between the two halves of the head sculpt. The left side is a dead-on likeness of actor Dennis Quaid. The right side looks oddly more like Harrison Ford.
Now to make many of you jealous. Yes, that is Man-Bat from the Wal-Mart exclusive wave 10 of DC Universe Classics, the wave that many collectors are going insane trying to track down. I've been waiting for this figure back when it was supposed to be released as part of the DC Superheroes line over two years ago. It's always great to get a new Four Horsemen DC character sculpt, and this figure really demonstrates how hampered the toy-making team is by having to rely on reusable base bodies as much as possible for the line.
Yeah, Playmates' toys for Star Trek weren't all that great, but I figured I'd at least get the 6-inch scale Spock. Above the waist the figure is fine; the head has a good Zachary Quinto likeness and the arm articulation is pretty good. However, is seems as if rest of the figure was designed to replicate a straight vertical line as much as possible, which robs the figure of character.
Now onto actual birthday presents. My brother got me the Toys 'R Us reissue Insecticons set. I love Generation One Transformers figures, and I've wanted these forever. They were reissued in Japan a few years ago and I could've got them back in for import prices, but I figured they'd eventually get a domestic release. I was right. These are great figures: they are fun to transform back and forth, and they contain more articulation than the average 1980s Transformers. I was also struck by how shiny these things looked out of the box (both the chrome and the plastic). I was almost afraid to touch them.
Mario got me Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars Legacy Collection. Prequel Obi-Wan is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, and as a result I own five figures of the character as portrayed by Ewan McGregor, the most versions of any Star Wars character in my collection. On the other hand, none of those were the classic Alec Guiness portrayal. I had no interest in getting that version in plastic form . . . until I saw this figure. Originally intended for an Obi-Wan-themed Evolutions set that got cancelled, it's one of the best Star Wars figures in recent years, and the best version of the character from the original trilogy. The only problem I have is that the head balljoint on my figure is really loose.
Finally, my friends Janie and Francesca decided to combine two of my favorite things in the world (cats and Transformers) when choosing my gift. The result? Ravage from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. This is actually the first figure I've gotten from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Sure, the alternate mode is crap (it didn't even appear in the movie), but who gets this for that? It's a robot cat!
