The History of Action Figures – or, How we arrived at 3 3/4 inches

The original 12 inch Gi Joe figures, offically the first action figure on the market, was created using a twelve inch scale due to the success of Barbie. In Japan, Takara licensed the Gi Joe mold, but after sales were lackluster on war toys, made him into a science fiction hero called Henshin (Change) Cyborg.

HENSHIN SITE

Due to space concerns in Japanese households, as well as the cost of massive vehicles and playsets for 12 inch figures, Takara reduces the scale of their sci-fi line to 10 cm, or 3 3/4 inches for Americans. This line is known as Microman.        MICROMAN SITE

Microman begets Micronauts, and at nearly the same time, Star Wars toys are released in the same scale  (there may have been a line that beat all of the known ones to market that evolved out of solid lead figurines meant to interact with scale trains, but this is still being investigated).  The success of these lines have spawned dozens of series in the 3 3/4 scale. There is no other scale where Hawkeye from M.A.S.H., Duke, Vincent from the Black Hole, Ash Williams, and Optimus Prime can team up to battle evil.

One of the lesser-known, for reasons which become clear very quickly, lines of 3 3/4 figures in the 1980′s and 90′s was a series of figures based on the long-running British television “programme”, Doctor Who.

Doctor Who chronicles the continuing adventures of an alien Time Lord who calls himself, simply, the Doctor. He travels throughout time and space in the TARDIS, a time-travelling machine stuck in the form of a 1960′s British police box. The Doctor would solve mysteries, confront monsters, aliens, and arrogant British people who sold out their own race for personal gain(this must have been a large part of the cultural zeitgeist in the 1960′s and 70′s, based on the number of times is plays a part in the Doctor’s adventures), or just generally having adventures. He usually travels with a companion – which in the context of the show, allows us to relate to a character that is particpating in the adventures or, in the most base instances, to ogle a hot British chick as she screams at creatures. The show started in 1963, and ran continuously until 1989, before a successful resurrection in 2005.

A small manufacturer of model railway trains, Dapol obtained the license for Doctor Who toys in 1988. I believe they were hoping for a Star Wars-sized success, but it was not meant to be.

For one thing, Dapol was a company similar to you and I running a toy company – a very small office of people. A sculptor who was…not quite up to 1988 standards. A level of funding which did not allow for the release of more than five figures in a wave, and a spacing inbetween waves that stretched into years.

Additionally, Doctor Who is not as action-oriented as the successful toylines of the time. The show was usually about brilliant character actors, man-in-suit monsters, or fantastic landscapes created on a budget more than fighting or battles, and would be hard to translate into a children’s toy line. To recreate one serial of Doctor Who, you would need, in most cases, the Doctor, his companion, the TARDIS (police box), the location, the monster, the humans of the story…much of this could be covered up with imagination, but it would be a difficult task with the limited number of offerings available from Dapol.

But, in any case, nothing will sum up what ultimately led to the relative obscurity of this line better than a picture:

In this picture, you see both the best figure they ever put out – a Dalek, the most well-known of the Doctor’s enemies – and the worst – a Time Lord, another member of the race that the Doctor was part of. The Dalek is relatively accurate to the original prop. It has both the suction cup hand and laser; the distinctive designs of the Dalek, affectionately called a “pepper-pot” by UK fans, are captured as best 1988 sculpting and manufacturing could do.

The Time Lord, on the other hand, features a body sculpt which is not that bad. Tampos of the Gallifreyan crest on his chest are well-done, and the ornate outfit is reminiscent of the original design. But the head sculpt…Timelords were played by British actors, stern men. The smiling goof here would have been laughable in the first wave of figures – but this was a figure that was produced as part of the third wave of figures, TEN YEARS after the first wave was produced. Yes, the Time Lord figure is from the same year McFarlane was producing life-like sculpts of X-Files characters, the US Godzilla was warming shelves everywhere (but in a highly detailed sculpt), and G.I. Joe reached a new level of paint detail in the TRU exclusive packs. It’s hard to think of another figure where the head sculpt so completely ruins the rest of the figure – but keep reading…

The release order of the figures was different than how I will be presenting them here; anyone interested in more information about the production order should check out this site:  TheToyBox .

Additionally, I have one of every character released except for the Melkur (an obscure monster from a 4th Doctor episode). There were over a dozen variations on the Dalek, a number of variants on the Time Lord, and a ton of other color variants for special events and to correct errors.

First up, the good guys:

From left to right: 4th Doctor (played by Tom Baker on the show, the best known Doctor until the recent revival), 3rd Doctor, K-9 (green variant from the Anniversary set), 7th Doctor, Mel, and Ace.

Again, the sculpts and paint are just not up to snuff for 1988 standards…and when you consider the 3rd Doctor was released in 1998, it is even more baffling. Is Mel the most unattractive female figure of all time? Or Ace – yes, Ace is supposed to be a girl. Sophie Aldred, who played Ace, has become a very beautiful woman – but this figure does not reflect it.  Er, on the positive side, the K-9 figure is pretty much perfect, other than the fact that he is GREEN. I did have the grey one at one point, which matched the TV appearance, but sold it. The articulation is consistent – T-crotch, knees and elbows, shoulders and hips, head.

Left to right: Cyberman, Tetrap, the Master, Sontaran

Okay, the Cyberman is pretty good – and if he had Gi Joe-style shoulder articulation, I think he would be a figure pretty highly in demand. The other three…not so much. Google a Sontaran – your little brother might be a more proficient sculptor than whoever did the work for the Sontaran shown above. There was also a Sontaran Commander with a different color scheme which I did not get, which uses the same sculpt; this is okay, because all the Sontarans are clones. But I refused to drop what, at the time, was $20 on another figure that looked like this.

Left to right: A 1984 Silurian, Sea Devil, classic Silurian, Ice Warrior

These guys were pretty good. They reflect the original make-up designs for the characters. The articulation in the waist has switched to the “1990′s Toy Biz girl figure” swivel crotch, mostly due to the thickness of the legs.

They could be new Lunartix aliens, for those of you inclined to include other toylines with your Joe figures.

And we come to the lynchpin. When you mention Dapol Doctor Who to a long-time collector, this is probably what he thinks of. Davros – the creator of the Daleks. An evil man who prolonged his own life with technology. The sculpting is not bad. It looks like Davros. But here is one little, teeny-tiny problem – DAVROS ONLY HAD ONE ARM! A large thing to overlook, in my opinion.

There was one massive shining spot for the 3 3/4th collector in this line, if they were a Who fan:

THE TARDIS! Please note: the bottom and top of the TARDIS are in storage, so I did not have them for this picture. This set was available in two versions – one with a sound chip of the classic “wheezing engine noise” heard when the TARDIS dematerializes, and one without.

However, there was one final set, only offered once in the 25th Anniversary gift set: the TARDIS interior with console.

 

 

It is thought that this item would have been released again, if not for a fire at the factory which destroyed the molds for this item after the first release.

The TARDIS walls can be reconfigured in a few different ways, so you can make it to your liking. The console is fairly nice. The column rises and falls with 2 double AA batteries, and one panel lights up. One thing though…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dapol being Dapol, they screwed up yet again, releasing a console which had FIVE sides instead of the SIX seen in every episode of Doctor Who for about 25 years at the time this was made.

The playset is the key piece of the entire line, since it was one of the few items only produced once.

For collectors, there are four card styles for the figures:

1. Black cards, celebrating the 25th Anniversary and featuring the logo of the 7th Doctor.

2. Rainbow cards, with the 4th Doctor logo

3. Blue cards

4. Blue cards, now smaller and blister packed.

More info on the packaging variants here: Dapol Project . I even learned a few things when I found this site.

In summation, I hope this will bring some attention to a forgotten 3 3/4 line, and hopefully people can find a figure or two that fills the unscratched Doctor Who niche in their collection.

Discuss here!

Popularity: 19% [?]

Line: DC’s Infinite Heroes Name: Joker Year(s) Available At Retail: 2008/2009 Stores Available In: Most Stores Now One-18th would like to present to you, DC: Infinite Heroes’ Joker. Arguably one of the most important characters and recognizable characters in all of DC, it’s nice to see DC giving him an action figure in their new 1:18th line.  So, does this figure do the evil clown prince of darkness justice?  Find out below.
I love packaging.  I personally think each package should be somewhat unique to the figure it’s holding.  Not only does it make for a more interesting package, but it also makes looking for the figure on the pegs easier.  Unfortunately, DC doesn’t feel the same way.  Still though, the package design is unique and interesting, as the bubble that houses the figure is in the shape of a hand.  Other than that, the front of the package is incredibly boring.  As you can see above, the only thing that differentiates this package from any other is “THE JOKER” and “FIGURE 20″.  It bores me.  There is, fortunately, some life on the back.On the back of the DC Universe Infinite Heroes (DCIH) package, there’s a short breakdown of the character, a “Power Score”, and a drawing of the character.  It’s not incredibly dynamic, but it’s something unique to the character.                                    I do like the drawing of the Joker.  It gives him an over-exaggerated smile that he’s known for, and it’s something that the action figure tries to emulate, as well.
Let’s get on with it, shall we?  We get something that’s a little better than the typical DCIH figure.  Starting with the top, and working down, we get a stylized head with tossled hair and that evil grin that fits the Joker.  The hair is extremely well detailed, with it coming up to two points, to give the Joker a devil-ish appearance.  It even has a lock of hair coming out seperate from the face to give it more of a wilder look.  The paints apps on the face are extremely well done.  The eyebrows, eyes, and lips are well done, with no real bleed-over.  the Joker has some gray ‘eye shadow’ to emphasize the eyebrows and eyes.    The face is extremely long, to exaggerate the smile and devilish look, and can give the impression that it’s a bit on the small size.  But, it really fits, size-wise, it’s just the over-exaggerated smile and chin that gives the impression that it’s a small head.  Don’t get me wrong, they use a unique head sculpt on a standard body, so there is SOME head-to-body size issues.  But it isn’t as bad as it looks.  The problem with the exaggerated chin is that it restricts head movement.  You can only turn the head so far, due to the chin being restricted by the vest.  The only issue I had with the head is my head had a paint error on the back side.  It looks like someone thumped him in the back of the head with a paintball.  I’m sure a little touch up with the paint will cure all, but it’s my only gripe with the head.  This also gives you a chance to see a profile of the head.  You can see the eyeshadow and lock of green hair that I was referring to earlier.  They really did a great job of sculpting the Joker’s head, that’s for sure. You can also see the eye shadow I spoke about earlier.  The whites in his hair are not missed paint apps, they are glare.  Other than the yellow on the back of the head, it’s a perfectly paint application.
Moving past the head sculpt, is not as overly detailed.  The Joker comes in a suit with an overcoat, undercoat and striped pants.  The overcoat and undercoat is one piece, molded as a soft good that’s seperate from the main body.  Unfortunately, without doing damage to the jacket, you cannot remove it from the figure.  On the overcoat, comes the Joker’s flower that he’s been known to wear.  The flower is pretty weak.  A circle raised up on the jacket, and petals are cut into the circle.  The paint application is pretty lazy.  They painted the circle yellow (the same as the hair goof on mine), and kind of thickly applied.  The petal detail was almost lost in the heavy paint application.    The overcoat also sports tails that add nice style points to the figure.  With the overcoat being in soft plastic, the tails are very flexible, but not poseable. The overcoat has some wrinkles and folds in it, but nothing I would call overly detailed.  The arms have full range of motion at the shoulders.  The overcoat does not hinder movement at all in that regard.   The shoulders have a basic joint that only allow forward motion.  While the Joker’s arms can’t swing from side to side, his arms can go to an almost 45% angle.  The hands are soft, but not overly so.  He can firmly grip a gun, or the cane he came with, and the hands do not stretch out of shape.  The paint application on the wrists and hands was pretty thick.  They thought enough to match his sleeves with his orange undershirt, but the paint was sloppy.  Still though, the orange contrast of the sleeves to the purple of the jacket is a nice touch.  On the undershirt, the green tie is nicely done with no real paint issues.  He has side-to-side motion at the stomach, and the undercoat does a great job of covering the joint. They put a nice touch on the pants with the stirrups going around the shoes.  The paint job is continued on the bottom of the feet (often a place where there are no extra paint apps).  The paint job on the shoes and stirrups are nice and clean.  Very well done.  As for construction, as you can see, our Joker here has a T-Crotch.  The legs can go up to a 45 Degree at the hips.  There’s no additional joint that the 6 inch DC figures have to rotate the leg or to move the leg out from the side, so you’re only looking at a straight up and down motion.  The knees have a clean, simple joint that is firm enough to not buckle under weight of the figure.  There is an issue with the construction of the Joker, as his rear prevents his legs from going straight up and down.  So, to make him stand, you have to have the upper and lower legs at a slight angle.  Otherwise, if you have his legs straight up and down, his torso with be bent forward.  It’s no a huge deal, but I would have thought they would have caught that before production. One of the few DC Infinite Heroes figures to have an accessory, Joker comes with a black cane.  There’s a design on the head of the cane, but damned if I can figure out what it is, exactly.  Kind of disappointing, as I was hoping for a small Joker head that has been seen with the Joker on other occasions.  The plastic used is a good, sturdy, hard plastic, so you won’t have to worry about this cane being warped out of the package.  As far as accessories go, it’s a fitting one.  Kind of boring, but fitting. The only different accessory I could think of would be a big prop gun.  So, should you get this figure?  If you’re a fan of the character or Batman-related figures, you should go out the door and get this figure right now.  It’s a good addition to those of you who have a Batman figure collection.  The look of Joker with his stylized sinister, psychotic smile and glossy glare in his eye is a great portrayal of the character.  If you’re a fan of action figures, I’d still get this figure.  It’s a solid portrayal if you want a Joker in your 1:18th scale world.  The hinderence with this figure, is the curse of the DC Infinite Heroes.  Articulation.  In a time and day where figures have advanced arm and wrist articulation, and leg and foot articulation, or even heads that can bob up and down, this figure fails, like the rest of the line.  But, it is a solid figure.  I recommend it.
More pictures of DC Infinite Heroes Joker: I was so excited at the news of the release of this figure, being a huge Batman fan, I was able to acquire a test sample from overseas of the DC Infinite Heroes Joker.  When I got it in hand, the sample got me excited to see the actual painted figure.                                               Detail of the backside of the figure:                                                         Here is a comparison of the Dark Knight 1:18th Joker figure to the DC Infinite Heroes Joker figure.  While the Dark Knight Joker has quite better detail overall, the head suffers, as it looks like a big rubber cartoon mask.  Either they decided not to go with a Heath Ledger head sculpt, or they didn’t get the sculpt done before his passing.  Also, the articulation on the DK Joker is SEVERELY lacking, even compared to the DCIH Joker.                                         For size comparison, you can see how DCIH Joker stacks up agaist a VvV G.I. Joe figure, and a 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe figure.  He’s a little bit taller than both, but that’s primarily due to his stylized head sculpt.
Thanks for taking the time to read the review on DC Infinite Heroes’ Joker!  You can discuss it here!

Popularity: 17% [?]

As a long time wrestling fan there are few personalities that don’t make an impression on me from the bygone days of wrestling.  One of the guys who really stuck out is Razor Ramon.  For those of you who aren’t as versed in the wrestling world let me pause and give you some background.

          Razor was also known as Scott Hall in his stint in WCW as part of the hugely popular NWO.  He gained his first bits of notoriety in the WWF as Razor Ramon.  His character was often called “The bad guy” and he tried to live up to that name in his interviews.  Razor was an all time favorite of mine even before the NOW days so when the announcements were coming that he was being made for the Build and Brawl series I was kind of ecstatic. 

          Of course this is not the first time Razor has appeared as a figure.  Most of them have been in another scale however.  One of the best ones from a different scale was from Toy Biz during the high points of the NWO.  He had great articulation and looked dead on like Scott Hall.  He wasn’t perfect but was good none the less.

          First and foremost let me get the bad out of the way first.  While I like the Build and Brawl series one major complaint I have of it is the scale issue itself.  For example Undertaker (Who is somewhere around 6’ 10”) should not be as tall as Rey Mysterio Jr. (who measures around 5’ 5” in lifts).  I would have probably bought up more of these figures if there was a difference in size for many of them.  However I try to keep my Build and Brawls down to those wrestlers who are around the same height (5’10”-6’5”).  I think honestly if this wasn’t already an existing issue with Jakks Pacific I would be really upset.  The Height issues have kept me away from many of their offerings in the larger scales.  However 1:18^th scale is a

big draw for me and I couldn’t avoid one of my all time favorites in that scale. 

          The Figure itself is fantastic.  Jakks seems to be reusing many bodies for these figures, but they have done a great job of mix and match to make the figures distinct enough that is not as big a deal.  This figure has a clenched fist.  While fists are generally a turn off in a figure, in this case it allows for Razor to do his trademark “Shaking fists” stance when he first enters the ring.  

One of the major wins for this figure is the amount of detail that is one it.  Apparently reusing molds has helped Jakks throw more money into paint as Razor is detailed all over his trunks and even his knee and elbow pads with his trademark razors.  Also the old “Razor” is blazed across the front of the trunks.  While most might find the colors garish (Purple and gold) you have to remember that this character came about in the time of Doink the clown, Yokozuna, and other bright and colorful characters.  As such his outfits often reflected this tone of the WWF which was long before the black and white (or red) he had while in the NWO.  My only guess why they went for the Razor persona over the Hall persona would be a possible copy write issue or maybe even a desire by Vince McMahon himself not to acknowledge the years of WCW in which Razor was a huge part.  This was before WWF “got the F out” and copped an “Attitude” and even before ECW had everyone thinking “EXTREAME!”  It was a simpler time with simpler characters.  Razor also sports his trademark spit curl in the front as well as his constant 5 O’clock shadow.   His face likeness is as close to any I have seen on a figure of this scale.  He has his trademark arrogant sneer and looks ready to fight.

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His articulation is great as is all the Build and Brawl wrestlers.  This is a place where I feel this line shines as the articulation is great while being unique.  He has wrist (up and down) forearm (swivel) elbow, bicep (swivel again) shoulder, neck, chest (up and down), hip, dual knee and ankle articulations.  A major point that must be brought up is that the elbow and knee pads do hinder movement somewhat.  However, molding them as part of the figure is not a realistic option and without the pads the figure loses a great deal of flavor.

          However it is in articulation that some bad points of the figure come up.  First is the ankles, I am not sure why but in this entire line I have had issues with the ankles up and down motion.  Most of my build and brawls have trouble standing up as the ankles tend to end up in a way that forces the figure back and thus falls down.  This is made worse by the fact that there is no kind of peg hole in the foot (in other words no kind of stand can help).  The other problem is in the bicep swivel as the joint tends to be fragile (as I discovered when I broke my Triple H’s arm during a fight with a transformer).  If you are aware of that weakness its not a big deal, but if you are not it can be a problem only solved by repurchase or Krazy Glue.

Also I am not sure if its my figure or if this is common with Razor but I have noticed his left knee pad keeps wanting to fall off.  Again not sure if this is common to this figure or just one in a million flaw but felt it was worth mentioning.

          The other fun point of this figure is what he comes with.  With a lot of the Build and Brawl wrestlers there is something to be build (Ring, Stage, Cage ect).  This can be very problematic for a guy who only buys a few of these as he is left with parts he has no use for.  This is my problem as I only pick up 2-3 of these per wave.   This time the wave it is the “Money in the Bank” match. 

          Razor comes with a briefcase which has many, many uses for any 1:18^th scale collector. 

You can hand it off to Destro for money in an arms deal.  Give it to Indiana Jones to hold a rare small artifact.  You could even give to Boba Fett to hide a contract.  The possibilities are pretty broad for it.

          The other accessory is the ladder for the “Money in the Bank” match.   This is the perfect accessory for Razor Ramon.  For those who don’t remember, Wrestlemania X opened with what has been called one of the greatest matches of all time.  It was a ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental title.  Razor won the match and it has been referred to as the standard by which all ladder matches have been judged since (As well as the rematch at that year’s Summerslam in which Shawn Michaels won).  This is why this accessory is perfect for Razor and (in my opinion) makes Razor Ramon the best accessorized figure from the Build and Brawl series thus far. 

Overall (on a ten scale) I would have to give this figure a 9 (with a minus one for the aforementioned articulation issues).  He is a must have for any fan of wrestling, and maybe even for those who are not. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discuss here!

Popularity: 25% [?]

Posted on Toynewsi.com:

A new set of pictures from the 6-pack DC Infinite Heroes set – Mallah’s revenge.  The set includes 1:18th Robin, Arsenal, Cyborg, Raven, Mallah and the Brain.  Pictures can be seen here.

Popularity: 12% [?]

“There are things that go bump in the night.

          We are the ones who bump back.”

 

Near the end of the great 90′s comic book boom/bust, Mike Mignola released a groundbreaking comic series about a demon destined to destroy the world,  who instead became mankind’s chief defense against mystical monsters and otherworldly creepy crawlys and his buddies in the Beureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.

 

The series finally gained mainstream notariaty with 2 major motion pictures released in the new millenium. The most recent, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, opened in 2008 to big money, favorable reviews, and brought us our first set of 1/18th scale Hellboy figures courtesy of Mezco! Today we’re gonna take a look at the titular hero Hellboy!

 

Mezco released 4 figures in Wave 1 of their Hellboy II figures: Hellboy, Liz Sherman, Wink the Troll, and Johann Kraus.  These figures were available in a 4 pack and also available packaged as single figures at retail.  In addition, Mezco released an exclusive SDCC variant Hellboy that featured a new head, shirted torso, and “Big Baby” accessory.  We’re gonna be takin’ a look at the SDCC Hellboy today.

 

 

 

First off, Mezco did a fantastic job capturing the feel of the movie version of Hellboy in this figure. The base body is fairly simple featuring black pants and shirt with approriately chunky engineer styled boots. The arms are molded to appear like jacket sleeves and look very nice. Personally, I’m not a big fan of 1/18th scale cloth soft goods, since they never seem to capture the motion and look of cloth at normal scale. The flip side is that plastic is often rigid and hampers movement. I’m happy to report that the duster is made of a soft plastic/vinyl and moves extremely well, while maintaining a very authentic cloth look.  His tail fits perfectly through the “tails” of the duster.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

There are 2 key items in any Hellboy sculpt:  The Head and The Right Hand of Doom.  Now heads, especially 1/18th scale replica heads, can be a mixed bag.  Some come out reasonably well, others not so much.  Thankfully, Mezco comes through with a dead on representation of Ron Perlman’s Hellboy.  From the slightly narrow deep set eyes, to the unmistakable chin and nearly lipless mouth, the headsculpt is near perfect.  Now granted, it’s easier to mask inperfections on a almost cartoon like demon visage as opposed to say . . . an actual human face, but Mezco has done something really special here.  From the samurai top knot to the sanded down horns to his signature soul patch, there is no mistaking who this is.  The SDCC variant features a head sporting one of Hellboy’s trademark cigars with a slight grimmace.

 

 

The detailing continues with the famous (infamous?) Right Hand of Doom.  The movie version of Hellboy took the basic design of the comic hand and embellishes it with all sorts of arcane imagery in the form of spirals and swirls to go along with the rocky-cracky exterior.  Mezco does a superb job of recreating that in 1/18th scale.  A slightly darker shade or red than the rest of the body combined with a black wash really accentuate the detailing on the hand.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accessories are sparse although very well done.  The SDCC Helboy comes with a round stand with a BPRD symbol on it (sticker), his ‘Samaritan’ pistol, and ‘Big Baby’ – uh – shotgun thingy.  The stand is pretty non-descript and doesn’t really do too much to help the figure stand.  A slightly longer foot peg might have been in order.  Hellboy’s big feet make it not too big of a problem – unlike with Liz and Johann.  His Samaritan pistol is solid and fits the holster very well.  It also fits his hand perfectly and securely.  The exclusive piece is the ‘Big Baby’ gun featured prominently during one scene of the movie.  Think a cross between a shotgun, gatling gun, and grenade launcher and you get the idea.  It features 2 really cool gimmicks.  One is that it actually opens like a breech loader should.  The second is the superbly done sling, made of the same material as the duster and actual metal rings.  The ‘wood’ handle also features the ‘Big Baby’ pin up style art, as seen in the movie.  Really the only thing I would say is missing would be a spare Right Hand of Doom molded in a fist to recreate those fight scenes, but that can be remedied if you purchase the normal release Hellboy.  Speaking of which . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As you can see, the only real difference between the two is the headsculpt, the shirtless torso, and the right hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So, now the real question when it comes to 1/18th figs . . . how’s the articulation?  Well, it ain’t microman levels of insane articulation, but all in all Hellboy doesn’t disappoint.  He features:

 

   

 

 

 Ball Joint Neck

Ball Joint Shoulders

Bicep Swivels

Left Arm Elbow Hinge

Left Wrist Swivel

Right Wrist Ball Joint

Hip Ball Joints

Hinge Knees

Hinge Ankles

Tail with 2 Cut Joints

 

The only real point of missed articulation is with the right elbow.  While I understand why it would have been difficult to include it there because of the Right Hand of Doom, it is none the less missed all the same.  Joints are the appropriate level of tightness – loose enough to move without fear of breaking the joint, stiff enough to hold the position.

 

 

 

As we all know, there is 1/18th scale, and then there is 1/18th scale.  Not all figures are scaled the same.  So how does ol’ Red stack up to other figs?  Well, I’d say alright.  He looks about the same size as say a GI Joe 25th Anniversary styled figure – which is to say he might actually be slightly underscaled.  To me, Hellboy ought to be a hulking brute of a fig, so he actually seems just a triffle short.  Thankfully his muscularity and overall bulkiness offsets this a bit and he blends in fairly well with most 1/18th scale figs.  He’s definately a welcome addition to the 1/18th world of toys.

 

 ”Demon Cowboy Samurai . . . I trump anything you got pal.”

 

“I’ll talk to him . . . but I don’t think Guierrmo needs any robots for the Hobbit.” 

 

“What kinda name is Snake Eyes?  You seem more like a Sally.” 

 

All in all, this is one of the best looking 1/18th scale toys you can own.  Accents like the detailing on the boots, the belt and working holster, the multiple layers to the duster, and really accurate fabric “wrinkling” make this a superb sculpt.  Paint is crisp and subdued without being boring.  Articulation, while not all-atar status, is certainly in line with what is expected for a 1/18th scale toy by today’s standards.  Hellboy, and specifically the SDCC Exclusive, gets 14.53 Yo Hos! out of a possible 17.38 .  In other words, get off your rear and track this fig down if you don’t have one yet!

Popularity: 13% [?]

Spotted on Ebay by The Commander from coilclub.com:

Movie Baroness

DVD Set Cobra Commander

Red Vizor BAT

Discuss them here!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Thanks to Yoho Joe from 1-18th.com, HasbroToyShop now has the Marvel figures up for preorder.

Black Panther
Bullseye
Daredevil
Torch (Flame on)
Torch (Flame off)
Iron Man (Blue armor)
Iron Man (Red/Gold armor)
Punisher
Silver Surfer
Spider-Man
Wolverine (X-Force)

Go get’em if you want to pre-order.  Just a note, that the street date is rumored to be March 1.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Up for review today is the Microman “Wrecker Set” – Signa Sally & Signa Ruly.  I picked this set up from BigBadToyStore last week.  The set interested me from the beginning as the characters had a Superhero outfit look to them.  I know nothing about them other than what pictures I’ve seen on various web sites.  So, I figured I’d give it a try.

Packaging.  Let me start off by saying that I love package art.  And in terms of package art, they did a pretty nice job as a whole.  The weakest point, unfortunately, is the front of the box. This set has a lid that opens to reveal the figures.  On the outside of the lid, the The DVD kind of kills is, graphically speaking, but it’s a bonus to the set, as I see it.  It’s 100 times better than some of the DVD bonus packages we’ve seen here in the states where they actually just tape a DVD box or sleeve onto a package.  At least this set here incorporates the DVD into the set.

Opening the lid up on the package, that’s where this set really looks pretty.  Fastened by Velco, it opens up to reveal the action figures in a window box, and two young Asian girls on the backside of the lid.  The photos of the girls have a scanned “autograph” from each girl, as well as a brief description or details under each picture in Japanese.  What it says, I do not know.  But it looks pretty.  The figures are translucent orange and pink, with white portions, and gold, black, and silver details.  They each come with a sword that resembles a lightsaber, with colored blades matching the figures main color.  Also packed in was an alternate chromed ‘alien’ head, with painted eyes that match the figures colors.  You can also see behind the figures the assortment of different hands the figures can be interchanged with.

The back of the box is pretty attractive, as well.  Up on the top left, it shows the material force figure showing the pieces to the figure, points of articulation, and a few poses.  The Top right shows instructions on how to assemble one of the pieces that comes with the “Signa Ruly” figure.  Also, includes are images of the figures in various poses.

When you get a typical Microman, you get a whole mess of accessories.  In this case, you do not get a lot, but you get some.  Each figure comes with: the previously mentioned sword, alternate head and interchangeable hands.  Also included are figure stands for the girls and trading cards with the girls’ photos.  The back of the trading cards are blank brown cardboard, so nothing really exciting there.  Also included is a ribbon type of item that attaches to a handle similar to the sword.  So, by my wonderful brilliant deduction, I’m guessing that the sword can loosen up to form some sort of whip-type device.  I prefer to call it an extra ribbon-of-death device.  The figures come with shoulder pads (the pink one had it’s left shoulder pad upside down.  I left it as it was out of the package).  Each of the girls had a chrome arm attachment that I assume is a communicator or something to that nature.  Also included on the figures are black and silver ankle attachments.  In other Microman figures, you would have had to put these on yourself, but both the shoulder pads and ankle attachments were pre-assembled.  Also included in the set was an advertisement for other Microman figures.  I love this part of it.  Reason?  Looking at all those figures makes me want to buy them.  What can I say?  I’m an easy mark.

In looking at these figures, they’re identical in every way, minus main color and the torso piece.  Signa Sally has the “Small” Torso Piece, whereas Signa Ruly has the “XL” Torso Piece.  Each figure is molded in either a Orange or Pink translucent plastic, with paint similar apps, head to toe.  The paint applications are nice and clean, and the lines are sharp.  Gold and black stripes decorate the body, and the white is nice and bold.  They definitely have a Power Rangers/Superhero look to them.  The hands are in a molded white, and have a varied range of movement, depending on which hand set you use.  The helmeted heads that the figures come packaged with are not bad.  They are chromed, with chrome painted faceplates and crest of the helmet, with Sally in orange and Ruly in red.  In person, I thought the helmets were a little on the small side, but not ridiculously small.These figures come in the MicroLady v.2 body, which is more petite and more frail than the v1 body.  They have an extremely good range of motion, what Microman’s known for, but the parts and pieces of these figures are fragile.  Not so much fragile in the sense that they’ll break, they seem sturdy enough in that regard.  However, the figure’s limbs do pop off if a little extra effort is put into moving pieces or applying the alternate head or hands.  Just be aware of that.  They don’t break, you just put them back in the socket or on the peg, no damage, no foul.

In replacing the head, as you can see in the picture, the necks have a ball joint.  Just to let you know, those helmets heads were on TIGHT.  I’d say there might have had a little paint making it a challenge, but the helmets were tight.  Remember what I said about too much effort will make things pop off?  In trying to remove the helmet, I separated the torso, and both arms came out of socket.  I popped the pieces back into place, but yeah, I split it in two.

Here, you can see the alien head is a bit bigger than the helmet head.  Personally, I think I like the alien head a bit better, and the colored eyes really top it off.  My short history with Microman, this is the first one I’ve seen with colored eyes, and it really sets the head off.  There’s also a colored jewel in between the eyes.

As you can see, Microman is about the articulation, and poses.  I put these girls in these poses a couple of days ago, and they’re still firmly set in those positions.  The joints are tight and pretty fluid.  In the picture, you can see Ruly holding the aforementioned “Ribbon-of-death”.In summary, these are really great action figures.  The Microman body style is a little different if you’re mainly collecting US figures (G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Indy Jones, etc), but once you get used to the style, it’s a great, fun and unique body type.  I will say this, if you’re looking to getting a Microman for the first time, do not start with a MicroLady v2 body.  That was my mistake.  I wasn’t used to the frailness of the body type, and it turned me off of it for long time.  After I picked up a v1 body, and got used to the style, then I had a better appreciation of the v2 figures.  If you’re seasoned to the Microman and MicroLady bodies, I definitely say pick this up when you can.  The designs of the bodies are stunningly bold and clean, and the heads are sharp with the Alien heads being vivid with those painted eyes.

Popularity: 15% [?]

GalacticHunter.com has two bits of news this morning.

     A new packaging design is displayed for Clone Wars figures, celebrating it’s second season.  Gone is the helmet design that has been on the Clone Wars packaging.  Now it’s replaced with a character’s image in the upper right hand corner.  Read more here.

     Also, new hi-rez image scans of Clone Wars Wave 5 are also available.  Included are Jar-Jar Binks, Rocket Battle Droid, 41st Elite Corps Clone Trooper, and Kit Fisto.  You can see them here.

Popularity: 12% [?]

HasbroToyStore is showing the new Marvel 1/18th scale figures as coming soon.  Currently showing as ‘Coming Soon’:

Black Panther
Bullseye
Daredevil
Human Torch (& Variant)
Iron Man (& Variant)
Punisher
Silver Surfer
Spider-Man
Wolverine

Watch for these to go up for live pre-order any day now.

Thanks to MaxPower here at 1-18th for the find!

Popularity: 11% [?]