2014 - Warpo · 2014 SEPTEMBER ISSUE Newsdesk KickStarter Custome Corner Reviews SPECIAL FEATURES How Hasbro Created Jabba the Hutt’s Throne Roaom… Do You Need More Display Space?

2014 SEPTEMBER ISSUE

Newsdesk

KickStarter

Custome Corner

Reviews

SPECIAL FEATURESHow Hasbro Created Jabba the Hutt’s Throne Roaom…

Do You Need More Display Space?...

Blast from the Past:

BATTLE STAR GALATICA

Designed, produced & published by: Colin Dorman

Articles by: Colin Dorman, Alex Shaw

Reviews supplied by: Michael Crawford

http://www.mwctoys.com

Email:[email protected]

Graphic Designer:Rollen Camello

[email protected]

Advertising enquires, pleasesend to the above email address. Action Figure Resource Website:

http://action-figure-resource.com

If you have anyquestion, queries or remarks

about any of the articlesplease contact me.

If you are interestedin advertising in

the AFR magazineor website please

contact me for a rate card.

Not only that, but there seems to have been a backlash against the traditional boy/girl split in toy aisles

recently. There are two examples in this month’s News section but also Disney/Hasbro had to back

track on their decision not to produce any female characters from the new Star Wars movies and not

to release any more Princess Leia figures after a girls complaint and petition went viral.

There are two things that strike me most about these complaints:I) They seem to be originating from the children themselves, whereas previously its generally been

the parents, and in particular the mothers, who have complained about the portrayal of women in such

mediums.

II) They aren’t asking for more women characters portraying traditional womens roles but more

female super-heroes, adventurers, inventors and scientist etc. Also they are looking for more ‘realistic’

role models, rather than the tradition slim, curvy Barbie or curvaceous Tomb Raider type figure they

are looking for more realistically proportioned figures and dolls.

Hi, Do you remember when collecting action figures was

considered geeky and exclusively a male pastime? In fact if

you even mentioned comics or action figures to your girlfriend

you would probably have ended up being a virgin for life! But

now it seems things are changing, not only has the hobby

become acceptable it’s even gone main stream just look at the

numbers the San Diego Comic Con attracted recently.

If you a regular reader you will have read last month’s I Am Elemental feature, on a new line of female super-heroes figures specifically targeting girls along these lines.

Personally, I think it’s great because the more girls who get interested the more lines we will see being released, and hopefully, and the more variety.

Als, to have more interaction between boys and girls in the toy aisles as well as at play can only be a good thing, and will help promote a betterunderstanding between the sexes.

But what do you think?

Should girls and boys be encouraged

to playtogether more?

Should there be no gender separation

between toys?

Newsdesk….Kickstarter… • AmazingHeroes • LegendofCthulhuCustom Corner… • Jin’sBasicFigurePaintingGuide • HowOneManisTurningActionFiguresintoArtSpecial Features: HowHasbroCreatedJabbatheHutt,sThroneRoom…DoYouNeedMoreDisplaySpace?...REVIEWS: • DeluxeDarkKnightBatmanDarn&Joker • Mandroid,GreenGoblinandGroot • GremlinsS4:Penny,DooDah&Brownie • TNMT-Leonardo • GaurdiansoftheGalaxy:Gamora,Nova&IronMan

BLAST FROM THE PAST:

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA • Mattel • Trendmasters • JoyrideStudios • Konami • Majestic • DST • Checklists

NEWSDESKALL THE LATEST NEWS AND GOSSIP STRAIGHT TO YOUR DESKTOP!

Are you Read For Some Pop! Football by Funko?Are you ready for some football? The NFL Preseason kicked off yes-terday and Funko has secured the rights to make NFL Pop! vinyl fig-ures. For hardcore football fans, a couple of nights of game day isn’t enough; that’s where Funko’s Pop! football vinyl figures come in.

You can now enjoy your favorite NFL players every single night of the week (no not like that). Funko has you covered with everything from the Superbowl Champions the Seattle Seahawks, to the Green Bay Packers and 17 other teams in between. All in all they have 26 different all-star players for you to select from. The only one missing is a 12th man figure. Come on Funko!

Each of the figures stands about 3.75″ tall and comes with his own removable helmet. They are packaged in a collector friendly window box package.

These figures start shipping at the end of October!

In just 4 short years, Funko hasbeenabletotaketheworldbystormwith their cute line of Pop!VinylFiguressellingover17millionpieces.Many retailers already offer ex-clusive versions of everyone’sfavorite characters, but whowould have ever thought thatWalmart wants to join the fun?Well,theydoandtheirfirstFun-koPop! exclusive is going tobeablackandwhiteDarylDixonPop!vinylfigure,whichshouldbeavail-able in stores around the now!DependingonyourWalmart,youmayormaynotbeabletofindthisfigureinthetoyssection.Though,FunkosaysthatyoushouldbeabletofindhimandotherPop!’sonaspecial The Walking Dead pal-let in the electronics departmentof Walmart stores nationwide.He stands about 3.75’’ tall andcomes packaged in a characterspecific window box package.He’snotcurrentlyavailableontheWalmartwebsite,andit’sunclearifhe’s justgoingtobesold instoresor will later be available on theirwebsite. Keep your eyes open!

Walmart Exclusive Black and White

Daryl Dixon Pop! Vinyl Figure

FUNKOS’ MAGIC:THE GATHERING

LEGACY

Jace Beleren,

Garruk Wildspeaker,

Ajani Goldmane,

Nissa Revane

Chandra Nalaar,

Liliana Vess,

FunkoPop!Vinylfiguresare3.75inchtallsuperstylizedvinylfigures.

FunkoisalsoexcitedtoannouncethattheyhaveteamedupwithtalentedsculptorsatGentleGianttocreateFunko’snewLegacyCollectionlineof6inch,deluxeactionfig-uresfeaturing20+pointsofarticulationandremovableaccessoriesforages14+.SettoreleaseinAugust,theMagic:TheGatheringPlaneswalkerswillbeamongthefirstLegacyCollectionfiguresreleased,andyoucanexpectthesameiconicPlaneswalkersasthosereleasedinPop!Vinyl.

ThefirstseriesofPop!Vinylfigures,settoreleaseinApril,willfeatureiconicMagic:TheGatheringPlaneswalkers

Each of the action figuresmeasures about 6-inches tall and comewithcharacterspecificaccessories.Theyalsofeatureover20pointsofarticulation,verysimilartothealreadyreleasedGameofThronesLegacyCollectionfigures.

ThenewBookofLifefiguresdefinitelyhaveodddesigns,whichmightbeinterestingwhentheyaretranslatedintoactionfigureform.

FunkoisalsogoingtobeproducingasmalllineofTheBookofLifePop!vinylfigures,includingthecharactersLaMeurte,Xibalba,Ma-ria,Manolo,and“ManoloRemembered”.

TheimageoftheManolovariantisn’tquiteavailable,likelybecausethefigurecouldpossibly spoil thefilm.Thesefiguresarecurrentlyavailableforpre-orderhere.

“From producer Guillermo del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez comes an animated comedy with a unique visual style. THE BOOK OF LIFE is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn

between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must

face his greatest fears. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, THE BOOK OF LIFEencourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future.”

FunkohasjustannouncedthattheyaregoingtobeproducingTheBookofLifeLegacyCollectionactionfiguresandPop!Vi-nyls,whicharesetforreleasethisSeptember.

Forthoseofyouwhohaven’theardofTheBookofLife,20thCenturyFox,viaIMDB,haswrittenupabriefparagraphaboutthemovie:

The Book of LifeLegacyCollection

ActionFiguresandPOP!Vinylscomingfrom

FUNKO

Based on this very movie Funko is going to be producing two lines of merchandise. Some might only consider the Legacy Collection figures to be part of a series, as there is only going to be three fig-ures, consisting of Xibalba, Mano-lo, and Maria.

Well,it’snowofficial.MarvelfanshopingtoaddsomeX-Men:DaysofFuturePastactionfigurestotheircollectionaregoingtobesorelydisappointed.ZachOat,themarketingsupervisorforDiamondSelectToys,hasconfirmedthattheMarvelSelectMystiqueactionfigurehasbeencancelled.

Thenewscomesfrom,whereZachansweredafan’squestion about when hewould see Mystique. Zachresponded with, “Mystiquehas been canceled. Unfor-tunately, Jennifer Lawrencedeclined to participate.”It’s pretty sad that Jenni-fer Lawrence didn’twant tobemade into an action fig-ure. She could have beenpropelled to X-Men: Daysof Future Past stardom be-ing the only action figureevermadefromthatmovie.

Fansofthemoviedon’tneedto be totally disappointedthough, as Diamond Se-lect Toys has is going to bereleasing DOFP Mini-mate line this fall. Thesewill be the only toys re-leased based on the movie.

No X-Men: DAYS OF FUTURE PASTACTION FIGURES WILL BE MADE

”3A is thrilled to announce its collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC En-

tertainment. The Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes as you’ve never seen them before! Ashley Wood has envisioned a new uni-verse where the villains have won.

The rebirth contingency plan is initiated – Steel Age. Robotic

versions of the fallen heroes are forged. Constructed to wage war on crime. A new League to carry

on their legacy of Justice.”

If you have been paying at-tention to what ThreeA has been doing recently, you probably already know that they have secured some big license deals with companies like Marvel, Transformers, and now DC Comics. They have just announced their collaboration with Warner Bros.

Consumer Products and DC Entertain-ment, allowing them to make robotic versions of all of your favorite DC Comics characters. They have only released one image so far, which ap-pears to be a teaser for a Steel Age Batman sixth scale figure.

ThreeAAnnouncesSteel AgeBatman Sixth Scale Figure

Disney’s Perfect Answer to BarbieIs Doc McStuffinsELIANADOCKTERMAN@EDOCKTERMAN

WhowouldhavethoughtthatDisney,thecompanythatmadeitsnamewith a parade of Caucasian princesses whose waists weresmaller than their eyes,would set the record for thebest-sellingtoylinebasedonanAfrican-Americancharacter—andthatthisparticulardollalsohappenstobeagirlwho’sinterestedinscience?Butit’strue.MerchandisebasedontheDisneyJuniorTVcharac-terDottie“Doc”McStuffins,ayounggirlwhoplaysdoctorwithherstuffedanimals, grossedaround$500million last year.DocMc-Stuffinsisamiraclenotonlybecauseshe’soneofthefewpopularblackdollsonthemarketbutbecauseshealsohasinspiredallsortsofyounggirlstodonstethoscopesduringplaytime.

Inanerawhentoystoresaredividedevermorestrictlyintoblueaislesforboysandpinkaislesforgirls,mostoftheSTEM(science,technology,engineeringandmath)toyshaveendedupintheblueaisle.Girls,ontheotherhand,arestuckwithchemistrykitstocreatetheirownmakeup.

Thismayhavehadanimpactongirls’desiretoentertheSTEMfieldsandonthenumberoffemaleengineersintheU.S.A2009pollofchildrenages8to17bytheAmericanSocietyforQualityfoundthat24%ofboyssaytheyareinterestedinacareerinengineeringwhileonly5%ofgirlsare.“Wantingtobeadoctororarchitectorcook,thatreallybeginswhenyou’reyoungandwalkingaroundwithastethoscopeorplayingwithanEasyBakeoven,”saysRichardGottlieb,CEOoftoy-in-dustryconsultingfirmGlobalToyExperts,toldTIMEinNovember.NoSTEMtoysforgirlsmeansfewergrown-upfemalescientists.Asparentshavebeguntocomplainaboutthedearthofsciencetoysforgirls,oldcompaniesandstartupsalikehaverespondedwithvaryingdegreesofsuccess.Buoyedbyaviraladcampaign,GoldieBlox,anengineeringtoydesignedforyounggirls,flewoffthetoyshelveslastChristmas.

ThebuildingblocksandaccompanyingstorybookstarringablondegirlnamedGoldieaimedtomakeengineeringmoreappealingandaccessibletogirlsraisedonboyTVcharacterslikeJimmyNeutronandDexterfromDexter’sLaboratorywithoff-the-chartsIQs.Meanwhile,Legocameoutwithagirls-onlylineoftoyscalledLegoFriendsafterfindingin2011that90%ofitsconsumerswereboysandmen.Seeinganuntappedmarket,theycreatedanentireuniversecalledHeartlake,featuringteengirlswhowearalotofpinkandworkinpetsalons.Butthankfullyoneofthecharactersalsohasaninventionworkshop.TheDanishmanufacturerhasalsorecentlyissuedalineoffemale-scientistLegosinresponsetofeministcomplaintsaboutLegoFriendsseenextstory).

Andthenthere’sBarbie.DespiteMattel’srenewedeffortstotellgirlstheycan“beanything”—dressherinanastronautsuit,businessattireorabikini—Barbiestillhasanimpossiblefigure,feetdesignedforhighheelsonlyandplatinumblondehair.Girlsthinkaboutlooks,notoccupation,whenplayingwithBarbie.Soit’snotallthatsurprisingthatstudieshavefoundthatDoctorBarbiedoesn’tmakegirlswanttobedoctors:girlsages4to7weremorelikelytoidentifyambitiousoccupationsas“boysonly”afterplayingwithaDoctorBarbiedollfor10minutesthantheywereafterplayingwithMrs.PotatoHeadforthesameamountoftime.WhichiswhygirlssodesperatelyneedtoyslikethosefromDocMcStuffins.Theshowfeaturesnotonly7-year-oldDottiebutalsoherdoctormomandherstay-at-home-dadandhasbeenendorsedbyorganizationsliketheArtemisMedicalSociety,whichsupportsphysiciansofcolor.

Anecdotally,theNo.1ratedshowamongkidsages2to5isalreadyhavinganeffect:arecentNewYorkTimesarticleonthedollincludedinterviewswithlittlegirlswhoarewearinglabcoatstoschool.IthelpsthatDottieisn’tjustdressingupasadoctor—likeBarbie—butisactuallymimickinghermomandtreatinghertoys.

Youcan’tbewhatyoucan’tsee,whichiswhyDocMcStuffins’(andGoldieBlox’sandtheLegoFriendscharacters’)actionsmattermorethantheiroutfits.

Thekit,whichincludesatelescope,alabset,anddinosaurfossils, cameabout thanks toLego Ideas, aprogram thatencourages customers to submit suggestions for futureproducts.Though Lego has long trumpeted themselves as genderneutral (see the ad below), they began to tailormore oftheirproductstogirlsin2011.Butnoteveryonewashappyaboutit.Theonslaughtofgen-deredLegosinspiredaChange.orgpetitionthatgarneredtensofthousandsofsignatures,demandingthetoyman-ufacturer “stop distinguishing between toys for girls andthoseforboys,”

The new Lego kit comes a few months after 7-year-old Charlotte Benjamin chastised the company in a handwritten letter for their lack of smart female toys.

“IloveLegos,”Charlottewrote,butsaidthereare“barelyanyLegogirls.”Whenshesawthesetsatthestore,shenoticedallthefemaleLegosdidwas“sitathome,gotothebeach,andshop,”whilethemaletoys“savedpeople,hadjobs,evenswamwithsharks!”Thelittlegirl’sletterwentviral,withthecompanyitselfrespondingafewdayslater,tellingCharlotte,“Wehavebeenveryfocusedonincludingmorefe-malecharactersandthemesthatinviteevenmoregirlstobuild.”LegowrotethatitwasconsideringafemalesetjusttwodaysafterCharlotte’sletterwentviral,thoughit’spossiblethatwasjustacoincidence.

Kids will be able to role-play as a paleontologist, astronomer, or chemist with Lego’s female-centric new Research Institute play set.

Thekitwascreatedbyactual geophysicistEllenKooijman,accordingtoLego.

Lego Creates Female Scientist Set Months After 7-Year-Old Girl Called Their Female Toys “Boring”

I have to say I really like the look of them and despite the fact that they are prototypes (aside a fully painted Stormtrooper) you can still see a lot of detail in all of them; it’s rather stag-gering. I especially like the look of the Stormtrooper as his out-fit, which is sculpted beneath his armor, looks like an actual piece of the outfit as they have sculpted creases into it. You can see the same on the Darth Vader figure. I’ve seen Revolt-ech figures before and they entice me though I have never picked one up but I have to say their upcoming figures and these Star Wars ones really interest me and I am really keen to see what their interpretations of the other iconic characters would look like.

I am guessing that these will cost around $50-$60 and will be released sometime later this year or in the spring of next year. I must say the Force looks strong with this line. I expect The Iron Man figures to be released sometime later this year.

Revoltech has released more images of their upcoming Star Wars action figures. They are only at prototype stage at the moment and no release date has been given but they have revealed Darth Vader, Storm-trooper, C3PO & R2D2.

They have also released more images of their upcoming Iron Man figures.

It’s good to see that some other companies aside from Hasbro are picking up the mantle to produce different scales of Star Wars Figures and I must say they look really good and slightly stylized, of which I have no problem with i.e. The Stormtrooper looking thinner and Vader’s cape and skirt looking a bit on the bulky side.

Revoltech’s UpcomingStar Wars and Iron Man Figures

Toy “R” Us Exclusive Colored Sin City Movie Action Figures on the way, New Streamlined PackagingSinCity:ADametoKillForisgoingtobeintheatersonAugust22nd,2014andthefirstassort-mentofSinCitySelectMovieactionfigures,basedontheoriginal2005featurefilm,isinstoresnow!

Intryingtokeepthefilm’strademarkblack-and-whitecoloring,theactionfiguresofmaincharactersMarv,HartiganandNancywerepaintedblack-and-whiteandfeaturemultiplepointsofarticulation,detailedaccessories,andadisplaybase.DiamondSelectToyshasalsojustan-nouncedapairofToys“R”UsExclusiveColoredSinCityMovieactionfigures.

Ifyouareoneofthosepeoplewhopreferstheworldinfull-color,Marv(MickeyRourke)andHartigan(BruceWIllis)arenowapairoffull-coloractionfiguresinToys“R”Usstoresacrossthenation.Allpackedupinmorestreamlinedpackaging,MarvandHartiganeachincludetheiruniqueaccessoriesandthesamehighlevelofarticulationthatyoucanexpectifyoupickeduptheSinCitySelectSeries1figures.Boththenewblack-and-whiteandfull-colorfiguresweresculptedbyJeanSt.Jean.Youcancheckoutsomenewimagesoftheblack-and-whiteSeries1figures,aswellasthenewToys“R”UsExclusiveColoredfiguresbelow.Staytunedforinfoonthefull-colorfigureofJessicaAlba’sNancy,aswellasSinCitySelectSeries2!

By popular demand, the future of law en-forcement gets the deluxe treatment! Robocop has a new look, and some of the most requested acces-sories from the fan and collector commu-nity. The Jetpack, as seen in Robocop 3, at-taches to the figure’s back and comes com-plete with a cannon arm, just like in the film.

As a bonus, we have also included the Co-bra Assault Cannon from the original 1987 film! The cannon is compatible with this figure as well as all of NECA’s previous Rob-ocop figure releases.The 7″ scale figure it-self sports an all-new deco to reflect the character’s bluer col-or scheme in the se-quel films.

Robocop Deluxe Roocop Action Figure with Jetpack and Cobra Assault Cannon

Roocop Action Figure with

Threezero, the Hong Kong based action figure manufacturer, has announced they have acquired the Last Man Standing ac-tion figure license. Not many details have been given about the figure(s) they are going to be producing, but Threezero promises to reveal more images and details soon.Confused as to what LMS actually is? Here is some more info about the graphic novel from Nerdist.

“Last Man Standing, or LMS, takes place 600 years in the future, in an alternate universe and is about Gabriel, this invincible soldier, who’s been created to help win a war Earth got itself too deep into with Mars. After Gabe wins the war,

he comes back down to Earth and is celebrated as this incredible hero. From there, he becomes

somewhat of a celebrity, a Superman of this sto-ry, but then it all takes a quick turn.

Gabriel is framed for an atrocious crime, by a terrorist organization known as Pandemonium

and their leader, Dante. He is then sent to Level-9 Facility, where he’ll spend the next nine years in the worst prison of all time. Once Gabriel breaks out, only then does his true story begin, and the

lies and twists unravel.

“As for the entire series, it’s a story of mine I’ve been crafting over the past two and a half

years. I want it to be a graphic novel series, but start it in a non-traditional type way. Where most comics start off with a first issue, this

starts off with a 230-page bible of a book, Kill-book of a Bounty Hunter, that sets up the entire universe of the LMS world. But not only that, the audience gets an incredibly deep perspective on the protagonist, Gabriel, and what his plans are

now that he’s escaped from Level-9.”

– Dan LuVisiNow you know!

Threezero Announces ‘Last Man Standing’Action Figure License

New collectables Bomtanka fuses marbles with Top Trumps By Robert Hutchins

Editorial:Thesehavenothingtodowith action figures, but if you’re acollectorwatchout for these. If thecreatorcanfindabigenoughback-erthesearegoingtobehuge.InfactIwillgonoutonalimbandsaythatthiswilbeTHEplaygroundhit,thenew pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Ba-kuganall“rolled”intoone!

Withtenoriginalcharacters tocol-lect,Bomtankaisarangeofmixandmatchablespheresthatcanbepulledapartandputtogethertomakeupto100newpersonalities.

The age-old game of marbles justfounditselfa21stCenturysparringpartner,thankstotheeffortsofonetoy inventor and his new collect-ables,Bomtanka.

Withtenoriginalcharacters tocol-lect,Bomtankaisarangeofmixandmatchablespheresthatcanbepulledapartandputtogethertomakeupto100newpersonalities.Evil Orange Eye, Dazzling DarcyandSharkToothfeatureintheline-upofBomtankaRevoltans,acollec-tion of baddies hell-bent on takingoverEarth.

Fighting for Bomtanka Dynasty(those charged with protecting theplanet)isEyeballGreeny,FrenchPi-rateandMaxRelax,amongothers.Each character comes with a statscard,canbemixedtocreateanynewcharacter and then played with ina ‘marblesmeetsTopTrumps’ stylegame.

Bomtankaevencomeswithitsownappgame,nowavailableontheAppstore and follows the classic Goodvs.EvilSlingshotplay.

Butdespiteappearingtohaveevery-thinginplacetobeanewplaygroundcraze, these collectable characterswon’t be rolling across schoolyardsjust yet. Bomtanka creator JohnCattermole toldToyNews thathav-ingdesigned,testedandhad20,000blindbagsofthecharacterscreated,marketing the pocketmoney rangeisa“stepintotheunknown.”

“I have done all the stuff I knowabout in product design,” he ex-plained. “From my experience, it’squitehardtobreakthroughthetoplevel of retailers, unless you have aTVshow.”

Cattermole first embarked on hisjourneyintothetoyindustrythreeyears ago,whenhis son challengedhim to design a new toy. Together,fatherandsondesignedBomtankas,andtwoweeksagohisfirstshipmentof 20,000 arrived fromChina.Anddespitehavingbeentoldbyvariouscompaniesthatinordertosell,toysneed a tie-in TV show,Cattermoleremains determined to prove thissuggestionwrong.“Some of the biggest collectablesto havemade it big, such asCrazyBones,followedasimilarpathofnothavingaTVshow,”hesaid.

“When I was at prototype stage, Iwent to see some big manufactur-ers.Theysaidthereweremanytoysthatfellbythewaysidebecausetheydidn’thaveaTVshowtotickallthetouchpoints.

“Butthereareplentyofexamplesofsuccessfultoysthatdidn’thaveaTVshow.”

Having passed all the EN-71 test,Cattermoleisnowsearchingforre-tailers to takeup thestockhimself,andbelieves that the blendof edu-cationandcollectability,opensupavastrangeofretailers.

“In my mind, I would like to seeBomtankasinplacesliketheNaturalHistoryMuseumorNational Trustshops. The game gives them thateducational element.”What startedoutasahobby,hasnowgrownintosomething much larger for Catter-mole,whoisnowdeterminedtoseeBomtankashitthetoyshelves.

“Thenextstep isabigoneforme,”he continued. “I am taking a threemonthbreakfromthedayjobandIamgoingtostepintotheunknownof marketing and see where thatgoes.

FreshMonkeyFictionisproudtoannounceAmazingHeroes,ourfirstseriesof4.5"retrostylesuperheroactionfigures.

Amazing Heroes: Retro Style Super Hero Action FiguresbyBillMurphy

Imagine you’re a kid in the 1980s, surrounded by action figures of every movie, TV, and comic book character you can imagine, all brought to life in molded plastic.

Now imagine you’re the weird kid, like me, who was in to that lost corner of comics, the dusty back issues from the 1940s the other kids never heard of--The original Daredevil. Stardust, the Super-Wizard. The Black Terror. Silver Streak. Then throw in a long-lost toy line like Captain Action.

Let’s just say my homemade figures of these guys got me laughed at on the playground. Lots. Flash forward thirty years and I’m now a grown man who knows how to make real action figures, one who has found more weird kids like me who love that lost old stuff.

You know, the stories where men were men who fought for what was right, heroes who put down dic-tators and villains bent on subjugation. They weren’t just super heroes, they were AMAZING HEROES.

Inspired by our childhood toys, we now hope to create action figures based on these heroes of yesteryear in an all-new, 4.5” retro line. You can help us achieve our dream of seeing these four-color heroes become plastic icons with this Kickstarter for Amazing Heroes. Our goal is to make a Vintage Superhero Action Figure line that is reminiscent of the action figures from the ‘80s, but that features these colorful and popular Gold-en Age heroes.

For most of them, it will be the first time they’ve ever gotten the action fig-ure treatment!

With his striking black cos-tume with skull and crossbones, The Black Terror first busted out in 1942. When pharmacist Bob Benton is exposed to ex-perimental vapors, he becomes an unstoppable crimefighting machine, along with his side-kick Tim. The best of the ear-ly Black Terror stories were produced by the team of artists Mort Meskin and Jerry Rob-inson, after Robinson helped create Batman’s trademark at-mosphere.

Wielding two powerful boo-merangs thrown with expert skill, the duo-toned Dare-Dev-il was created by Jack Binder as a yellow and blue mute su-perhero in 1940’s Silver Streak #6. Promptly retooled by future Plastic Man creator Jack Cole into the red and blue dynamo with the spiked belt, he fought both Hitler and the monstrous Claw. Dare-Devil took on a kid gang of his own, and became one of the greatest successes of the Golden Age.

Stardust, the Super Wizarddebuted in the pages of FoxPublications’FantasticComics#1 inDecember,1939,createdby cartoonist Fletcher Hanks.Populated by grotesquelydrawn characters, Stardust isthe epitome ofwonkyGoldenAgecomics,asheuseshismag-ic-likepowerstotransformanddecimatehisenemies.

WeevengottheteambehindCaptainActiononboard,andthey’relettinguscookupanofficialfigureofthegoodCaptain,whoishimselfamasterofdisguisesogreatthatheregularlytakesontheappearanceofothersuperheroes!CaptainActionwasthefirstsu-perheroactionfigure.Hewaspartofagroundbreakingmulti-li-censingdealwhenhedebutedinthe1960s.HewasoneverythingfromHalloweencostumestocardsetsandnowhe’sbackwithanexcitingarrayofnewcomics,books,figures,andmore.

CreatedduringwartimebyChineseAmericanartistChuHingin1944theGreenTurtlewasthefirstAsiansuperhero,brieflyappearinginBlazingComics.ThecharacterwasrevisitedbyGeneLuenYang(AmericanBornChinese)andSonnyLiew(MyFaithinFrankie)intheiracclaimedgraphicnovelTheShadowHero(FirstSecondBooks).

WhoistheBlankSlate?ThismysterymanwithoutanoriginhasfacedtheGoldenAgeDare-devil.Alongwithhisequallypoweredmindlessminions,thisblankspectralfigurecantakeontheappearanceandpowersofanyonehe’sfighting.

WhileTheAmazingHeroeswillbeaperfectadditiontoanycollector’sshelf,they’llalsobejustaswelcomeinyourchild’stoybox.Myfiveyear-oldsonhasbeenthebesttestmarket.I’malwayscatchinghimeyeingtheprototypesandaskingmewhenhecanplaywiththem.Sotomakesuretheyoungerfansgetthemostoutoftheirplayexperience,thebackofeachpackagewillfeatureacomicstripdetailingtheadventuresofourAmazingHeroes.ThrowinourdigitalAmazingHe-roesHandbookandkidsandadultsalikewillgettoseetheseheroesintheiroriginal,four-coloraction!

Everything’sinplace:wehavetheprototypes,thepackaging,andtheplan.Nowallweneedisthefunding,whichiswhereyoucomein.Whileeverythingissculptedandreadytogointoproduc-tion,westillhavetotacklethemanufacturingcosts.Wehaveanestablishedtoyfactorylinedup,butweneedthefundstobeabletohitthestartbuttonandgetthisretrolineofheroesrolling.

We’vealsocomeupwithsomecoolrewardsforeverylevel!Herearesomehighlights(seefullrewardslistbelow):

Everycontributionover$5getsaPDFoftheAmazingHeroesHandbook.Writtenbycomicshis-torianChristopherIrving(GraphicNYC/LeapingTallBuildingswithphotographerSethKushner,andTheBlueBeetleCompanion)withcoversbyTomFowler(MADMAGAZINE,MYSTERIUS,HULK:SEASONONEandVENOM)andMitchBallard,thehandbookfeatureshistoricalinfoandoriginalGoldenAgestories.

Whileeachfigurecosts$18,ifyoubuyasetofallfiveAmazingHeroesyou’llonlypay$80.

OryoucangetaDeluxesetof6figures,includingthelimitedGreenTurtlefigure(limitedrunof300)for$100.00.

Sincewe’resureyou’vehadyourownheroesinmind,wecanevenprofessionallycustomizeaheroforonly$300--usingourstandardbodyandheadoptions.

Wealsohaveasetof4figuresinKickstarterExclusivelimitededitionvintage-stylecardbacks.Therewillonlybe25setsproducedandtheywillneverbeofferedagain.

TheWonderlevelgivesyouachancetobuy300unitsofaGoldenAgehero.We’llneverreleasethisheroagain,givingyouanexclusivefigure!Youcanpick1herofromalistofclassiccharac-terssuchasLashLighting,BlueandYellowDare-Devil,Vulcan,orTheLiberator.At$3,500,thatcomesouttolessthan$12afigure.

Finally,theInvinciblelimitgetsyou300unitsofyourowncharacterat$13afigure!We’vealsogotsomegreatKickstarterExclusivestretchgoalsplanned.

Thefirst,atthe$35,000mark,isanexclusiveChampionofMarsfigure,basedontheclassicsci-encefictionhero.You’llbeabletoaddhimtoyourorderfor$18(includingdomesticshipping).

Thesecondstretchgoalof$45,000unlocksaveryspecialoffer.Everyonewhoordersall5Amaz-ingheroeswillreceivetheSilverStreakactionfigureforFREE!.Forthoseofyouwhodon’tknow,SilverStreakwasaspeedstercreatedin1940byCaptainAmericaco-creatorJoeSimon,whowasthen(likeDaredevil)takenoverbythebrilliantJackCole,whogavetheherohissnazzyredcos-tume.

InterestedinlearningmoreabouttheseAmazingHeroes.GobackanddiscovertheadventuresoftheseGoldenAgeheroesattheAmazingHeroesWebcomicorcheckoutthecomicbookarchiveatourofficialsponsortheDigitalComicsMuseum.

Thankssomuchforhelpingusout,andbesuretokeepcheckinginwithusforupdatesoverthenext40days.Visitusonlineatwww.freshmonkeyfiction.com.Followusonfacebookatwww.facebook.com/FreshMonkeyFiction,andontwitter@freshmonkeyfic.ThanksagainforsupportingAmazingHeroes.Wewelcomeanyfeedbackyouwanttosendourway.

Pleasenote:All theproduct images shownthroughout theKickstarteraremockups. Wewillstrivetoproduceafinishedproductthatmeetsorexceedsthequalityoftheseapproximations,butpleaseunderstandthatthefinalproductissubjecttochange.

Thanks

-FreshMonkeyFiction

TomBradleywww.tomsplat.blogspot.com

ChristopherIrvingwww.christopherirving.com

MarcieKlingerwww.marcieklinger.com

TomFowlerwww.bigbugillustration.blogspot.com

BillBurnswww.billscustoms.com

PierreKalenzagawww.airmaxanimated.com

MattCauleywww.ironcowprod.com

EdandJoeatwww.captainaction.com

SteveCarterwww.man-vs-tank.com

SeanRourkewww.seanrourkeeditor.com

AnnSidenbladwww.rawrztoys.com

MegMorris

JasonGeyerwww.toyotter.com/blog/

DannyNeumannwww.cantinadan.com

KristenMeinhold

JoeAmarowww.joeamaro.blogspot.com

MitchBallardwww.comicartfans.com/gallerydetail.

asp?gcat=28519

Fortheirartisticinspiration:

DanPickettwww.actionfigureinsider.com

CraigOwenwww.zicatoys.com

DaveLeewww.castawaytoys.blogspot.com

SpyMonkeyCreationswww.spymonkeycreations.com

GeorgeGasparwww.octobertoys.com

Our CollaboratorsThis project would not be possible without the hard work of these amazing folks.

For their artistic contribution:

Growing up in the 70’s and80’swewere immersed in roleplayinggameslikeDungeons&Dragons and Call of Cthulhu.We always felt that Lovecraft’sworldsweredeservingof theirownactionfigurelineandwhatbettertimeperiodthanthelate70’s /early80’swhenhisworkfirst began itsmodern-day re-surgenceandthegoldenageforactionfigurecollectibleswasinitsprime.

TheresultisourinterpretationofwhatamajortoycompanyinthaterawouldhavedonewiththesecharactersandhowacreativeteamoftheperiodwouldhavetranslatedH.P.Lovecraft’sstoriesintoamass-marketchildren’stoyproperty.

LegendsofCthulhuisa3.75”actionfigurelinebasedonsimilarfiguresofthelate70’sandearly80’s.ThisisthefirstretroactionfigurelinebasedontheworksofH.P.Lovecraft.We’vetakengreatcaretodesignthesefiguresinawaythat’struetothetimeperiod,withappropriatearticulation,awesomeaccessoriesanddecoconsistentoftheera.

Our initial line-up will include 4 figures based on archetypes from the HP Lovecraftuniverse:

• Spawn of Cthulhu: Extraterrestrial worshippers of the Great Old One known as Cthulhu. Figure Specs: 3.75" tall, swivel head, jointed arms and legs Accessories: Necronomicon (book), snap-on wings

• The Cultist: A member of the Cult of Cthulhu, an organization ofhumans working to hasten Cthulhu’s return to power on earth.Figure Specs: 3.75” tall, swivel head, jointed arms and legsAccessories: Staff, dagger, ceremonial mask

• The Deep One: An immortal undersea creature that serves only the all powerful Cthulhu.Figure Specs: 3.75” tall, swivel head, jointed arms and legsAccessories: Spear

• The Professor: Adventurer, investigator, and the unfortunate hero whose journey brings him to the edge of madness.Figure Specs: 3.75” tall, swivel head, jointed arms and legsAccessories: Revolver, Cthulhu idol

Figureswillcomepack-agedinaKickstarterexclu-siveblistercardthatWarpohas spent much time andconsideration to ensure anostalgic experience. Weknew the package artworkwouldbecrucialtomakingthisasuccesssoweenlistedKen Kelly tohandpaintthefrontandbackofthecard.

Back of Packaging

Warpohascreatedsomeincrediblerewardsthatincludesomuchmorethanjustthefigures.We’vetakengreatcaretoincludemanyitemsthattoymanufactur-ersoftheperiodwouldhaveproducedtopromotetheproperty,suchast-shirts,coloringbooks,plasticcupsandmuchmore.

Warpoishasacombinedexperienceofcloseto20yearsinthetoyindustrydoingproductdevelop-mentanddesignandhavebeenhardcoretoycollectorsforevenlonger.

Warpoisnotinterestedinremakingorreissuingoldtoysorlicensesbuttheirgoalistocreatebrandnewproductandtellbrandnewstoriesthathaven’tbeentoldbefore…butcanstillsitsidebysidewithalltheoldtoysyoucollectandlove.

http://www.jinsaotomesdangeroustoys.com/guides.html

Jin's Basic Custom Figure Painting GuideWelcome to my newly revised painting guide! Let me take a moment to apologize to ev-eryone who has used square-jar enamel paints on soft plastic and ended up with a sticky,

never-drying, toxic mess. And to those of you who used Apple Barrel/Folk Art acrylics that are made for porous surfaces like wood or plaster and flake right off of plastic. I wish I could have

gotten this guide out to you sooner. But don't give up! Read on and I'll set you on the right path to choosing the correct paints.

PerspectiveTake a moment and think ‘comic book’ in your mind. Upon each page you’ll see different shades of color, shadows, sparkling highlights, and all the details that the artists convey while drawing their characters. You’re going to do the same thing but on a 3D object. Let’s say you want to paint Deadpool’s colors. Don’t just think “I’m going to paint him red and black.” Think about the different shades of red his suit would be in the comic. Remember you’re painting something that’s only about 6 inches tall so you won’t get the shading and details unless you paint it on, just like you’re painting a picture on canvas.

PreparationYou can’t just take a figure out of the package and start painting it. You need to wash your figure with warm soapy water first. When a figure is made in the factory they use an oily lubri-cation on the plastic so the joints don’t lock up. This stuff will keep your paint from sticking to the figure and you need to remove it first. I suggest using Ivory or Dial liquid soap and a soft nail brush to get in between the joints. Remember your action figure was designed to withstand being flushed down the toilet by a 3-year old, washing it won’t hurt it a bit. Your next choice is to primer the figure or just paint over the factory paint. Depending on your preference, either can be done. I don’t bother with primer but if you want to use it, the high quality sandable automotive primer won’t make your plastic tacky and works great. Krylon and Plasticote are good brands of sandable automotive primer.

BrushesYour best bet are soft, natural bristles. There’s an amazing set of Detail Brushes on Amazon that I’ve purchased and love. Stay away from the shiny black plastic bristle with white handle brushes sold in the model aisle. Testors makes some nice paint brush sets but look at them and make sure they’re quality. The brands I use are Artist’s Touch, Artist’s Loft, and Expresso that can be found at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s Crafts, and sometimes JoAnn’s.

PaintsDo NOT use enamel paints. They will leave your figure tacky as the chemical reaction dissolves the soft plastic over time releasing toxic fumes. You can use enamels in hard plastic (transform-ers in most cases) but they take a very long time to dry.

Krylon Fusion takes seven days to cure to full hardness and Testors Enamels at least five. Nev-er use them on Marvel Legends or anything with soft plastic parts. I use Testors Model Master Acryl, Tamiya spray Lacquers, and Formula P3 by Privateer press. These are probably the best paints for customizing figures out there.

Other paints you can use are Citadel/Games Workshop, Vallejo Model Color, and War Games paints. These need a primer coat or basecoat of Testors/P3 for them to stick properly to bare plastic however. You will also need to topcoat Games Workshop to keep it from wearing off. The Vallejo Acrylic Varnishes are excellent brush-on, clear topcoat sealers and come in gloss, semigloss, and matte. Thin these down with just a little bit of water and they can topcoat seal any acrylic paints.

PVC Chinese factory paints:

These are super toxic while in liquid form and banned in the USA paints. Oddly enough all of your action figures are painted with this type of paint because it’s apparently harmless once dry (unless loaded with lead, hah). It’s also the strongest, most durable figure paint but as mentioned next to impossible to get here. It can be painted on virtually all plastics including soft rubber.

Lacquer Paints:

Second strongest type of paint. The brand of choice is Tamiya Spray Lacquer with [For Plastics] on the label. (designated TS- then a number next to it) There’s other lacquer brands out there but can have varying effects on plastics such as making soft parts sticky.

Try them at your own risk. Lacquers cannot be used on soft rubber. Great for base color coats on a figure. Acetone/thinner washup only. Takes only 3 hours to fully cure and are the best for base coats for your Transformers.

Acrylic Paints:

Third strongest paint and the overall choice for customizers. Comes in the most shades/gloss sheens, can be mixed, airbrushed, hand-painted on, and all painting techniques can be used. Beware of cheaper brands like Folk Art and Apple Barrel as they are not meant for plastics and require both a primer and a sealer. Use only hobby acrylics such as Testors Acrylics and Formu-la P3 because stick great to bare plastic. (Games Workshop paints don’t stick to bare plastic well unless you primer but they do have a great color selection) Water washup and CAN be used on soft rubber but you need a few drops of raw liquid latex for them to stretch properly. Takes about 2 hours to fully cure but dry to the touch in minutes.

Enamels:

This is the weakest of the paints, makes soft plastic and rubber sticky. Generally used only for styrene plastic model kits and polycarbonate RC car bodies and is only safe to use on the hard plastic torsos of action figures and hard plastic Transformers.

Testors, Krylon, and Rustoleum spray paints take 7 days to fully cure and will pick up a lot of dust/lint during that time because they remain tacky to the touch. Use only if you have no other available options, or want to cover a large hard plastic area at once cheaply.

Now with that out of the way I’ll turn you over to Spidey who will take you through the basic painting steps.

Important Painting Tips!Usemultiplethincoatsinsteadofonethickcoat. This not only gives a super smoothlook to the finished product, it also helpswithdurability.

Thinningyourpaintiseasy, justaddafewdrops of filtered/distilled water and mixthemupreallywell.Igiveallmyfigures2-4coatsdependingonhowmuchthebasecol-orshowsthrough.Thiswillgiveyousupercleanpaintapplicationstooondetailssec-tionslikeeyes,lips,etc.Almostallmypaintsarethinneddowninthejarbeforeuse.

Stiryourpaintswelleachtimeyouusethemiftheybecomeseparated.Iusetheotherendofmypaintbrushwithcolorslikeskintones,yellows,allmetallics,andearthcolors.

Many testors base colors like black/white/red/bluesdon’tseparateeasily,butIstillgivethoseashake.Avoidshakingpaintsthatyoucanseewherethey’veseparatedandbecomewatery.Stirthosefirstandthenshakethem,otherwiseyoucouldendupwithbubblesonyourfigure.

When using a lighter color than the basefigure(sayyellowontopofablackBullseyebody)putacouplecoatsofwhitedownasabasecoatorprimer thefigurewhite.Darkbase color showup through thepaint andunlessyou’regoing fora reallydarkshadeofyourmaincolor,whiteoralightgreyisthebestbasecoat.

Normally Idon’tneed to sealmy customsbut for those of you who want that extraprotectionagainsthandoils/dust I recom-mend ‘KrylonCrystalClearAcrylic’ spraysealer.

Either thematte or satinworks but I findGlosscanbetoothicksometimes.IusethisonTransformersandMarvelLegendswhenneeded. However do NOT use it on softrubber!Thismeans you need to cover uporremoveallsoftrubbercapes,hoods,col-lars,etc.EveryotherplastictypeI’vetriedisfinebutitwillmakethosesoftrubberpartssticky.Tamiyaalsomakesa sprayLacquersealerthatworksgreat.

Asmalldropofrubbingalcoholinawashcanhelpthewashsticktothefigurebetterif you find thewash is beading up on thesurface.Thealcoholhelpsbreakthesurfacetensionof thewashso it adheresbetter insomecases.Peopleoftenuseadropofwin-dexaswell.

Whenyouarepaintingfleshtonesuseverythin coats. You can pre-mix skin tones oruse the wash-method. For the wash startwithabasecoatofTestorsLightFlesh(myfavorite)andoncedrydoawashofTestorsSkinToneTintWarmoverthat.

AnotheroptionistomixsomeBurntSien-nainwiththeoriginalfleshtoneandmakeawashofthattoputoverthebasefleshcol-or.Eitherwayyou’relookingtodeepenthecolorofthefleshbyuseofawash.MixingsomegreeninwiththefleshhelpswithItal-ianskintone,andsomeorangehelpswitha tan tone. I keep about 8 different fleshtones from Testors and GamesWorkshoponhand.

Matthew Rex is a designer working atDisney Interactive, which is a job thatwouldkeepmostofusbusybuthehasaninterestinghobby,turningrun-of-the-millretailactionfiguresintoworksofart.RexcaughtmyattentionwhenhepostedsomepicturesofhiscustomTeenageMu-tantNinjaTurtlesworkonTwitter,andIhad toknowhowhedid it.Hewaskindenough to sit down with me and sharemore images, as well as his process.ThenicestthingIcansayisthatthisisamanwhocantakeinexpensiveversionsofMi-chael Bay’s awful character designs andmakethemlookcompletelybadass.

The processForreference,thisishowtheretailDonatellotoylooksoutofthebox.It’snotaterriblesculpt;it’sjustbasedonanalreadycontroversialdesign,andthere’sonlysomuchyoucandowithatoyyoucanbuyforunder$10.It’stimetogettowork!Workspace

“Thesuppliesdefinitelycostmorethanallthefigurescombined,”Rextoldme.Thiswasthelisthesentover: •GamesWorkshop/CitadelPaints(bases,details,washes,dry,matte/satin/glossvarnishes) •amultitudeofdifferent-sizedbrushes(standardbrushes,washbrushes,drybrushes,detailbrushes) •X-Actoknife •superglue •600grainsandpaper(forsandingdowntheweapons) •plasticprimer(theplasticthattheweaponsaremadefromresistspaint/glue) •craftribbon(forreplacingall‘fabric’wrappingsonthefigures/weapons) •craftchain(forMike’schains,weaponchains) •craftaluminumwire(forDon’scables) •tweezers(forhandlingsmallerpieces) •metallicSharpies(forweapondetailing) •Dremeltool(drillingholesforchainsinweapons,trimmingplastics) •washcloth(forwipingdownwashes,brushes,etc.)

Thefirststepistostripthecharactersofallaccessories;everythingispaintedindividually.Rexappliesabasecoatofpaint,andribbonisgluedwhereitwouldexistontherealcharacter.Referencematerialswerehardtocomeby,butafewpublicitystillsandthemovietrailershelped.Afterthat,heappliesseveralwashes.IhadtoadmitIwasunfamiliarwithafewoftheseterms.“Doing a ‘wash’ is a technique to bring out details in the sculpt. Typically a wash can be done using wa-tered-down paint or special paints made just for doing washes,”heexplained.

How one man is turningaction figures into artByBen Kuchera,www.polygon.com

Youbrusha“liberal”amountofpaintoverthefigure,anditfillsallthesculpt’sfinedetails.“From there, de-pending on your intended result, you wipe the paint from the surface area of the figure, leaving it to stay only in the crevices. Depending on how much you want to ‘stain’ the surface, to give it some of the color from the wash, you can make the wash thicker so some of it stays on the surface when you wipe it off. Doing this essen-tially gives the piece depth by adding the illusion of depth and shadows where there was none before.”

Anothertechniqueisdry-brushing,whichissortoftheoppositetechnique,butoftendoneintandem.Asmallamountofpaintisplacedonabrush,andthenyoudabitontodifferentareas,oruseveryquickstrokestoapplypainttothesurface.OneofthebestplacestoseetheresultsofallthesetechniquesaretheTurtles’finishedshells.“Their shells started as a solid piece of brown plastic with no paint involved,”Rexexplained.

“First you add a wash, letting all the dark paint seep into the cracks and detail of the sculpt. Applying thick-er washes helps stain the surface and give the shell a range of color. Lastly, dry-brushing in lighter shades of brown helps bring color back to what became a pretty dark shell after the washes,” he continued. “You can actually see the different layers of process here. A new base coat, a wash to fill in the cracks and then the lighter color to help add highlights back to the shell.”

Shellpaint

“Knowing when I’m done is largely a personal decision,”hesaid.“The figures aren’t 100 percent accurate to the movie, and chances are, they never will be. I am in the process of trying to figure out a solution for Don and Raph’s glasses. I may end up needing to sculpt them from scratch, or just not worry about it.”Sohowmuchtimedoesthistake?

“I would say I did one figure per session, and a session usually lasted around four hours. Donatello took the longest at a little over five hours, because of all the gear he has,”Rexsaid.“The weapons were all done sepa-rately in their own four-hour-ish session. I’ve added little things to each figure here and there since they were ‘done,’ so it’s probably fair to say 5-6 total hours each.”

Noticethedetailontheweapon,fromthemetallicpainttotheactualclothwrappedaroundtheweapon.Thisiswhattheweaponlookedlikeoutofthebox.Thefinishedproductslooklikeworksofart,andindeedRexusedtosellhisfinishedcharactersincollegetosupporthistoyhabit.Thefinishedfigureswentfor$120to$300each.“I would say it took a good month or so of practice before finally starting to get it. What’s nice about doing this style of customizing is mistakes are kind of hard to make,”hetoldme.

“A lot of times, if you’re doing a project that involves ‘weathering’ something — making it look worn, bat-tle-damaged or beat up — you are using a lot of techniques that support the existing paint. In a lot of cases you won’t be re-painting completely, you’re just adding in a lot of detail. The best thing you can practice on are things you want to look beat up, because you can take a lot of liberties and make a lot of mistakes without it ever looking like it.”

Thereisnoplantosellthesefigures,andRexsaidheregretssellingmanyofthefigureshepaintedinthepast.“When the TMNT movie figures were first announced, my head immediately went to ‘making those look cool would be a really fun project!’ so I did it. The only goal I had was to make something I was happy with and proud to display,” hesaid.

Missionaccomplished.

JabbatheHuttisthefirstfigureinHasbro’sStarWarsDeluxeBlackSeries.The6-inchactionfigurecomesinareplicaofthecharacter’sthroneroom—completewithspaceforlastyear’sSDCCexclusive,HanSoloincarbonite!—andincludesJabba’shookahandhiscacklingsidekick,SalaciousCrumb.

Itwaseasytochoosewhichcharacterwouldbethefirsttogetthe6-inchtreatmentinthenewDeluxeBlackSeriesline.“Jab-ba’ssortofanobrainerfor‘deluxe,’”SamSmith,SeniorProd-uctDesigneroftheStarWarsbrandatHasbro,says.“He’ssuchaquintessentialStarWarscharacterandweknewhewouldbeawesomeatthisscale.”

MAKING THE BLACK SERIESJabba’s Hookah

How Hasbro Created its 6-inch Jabba the Hutt Action Figure By Erin McCarthy

Photo reference forJabba’s Hookah.

No matter which characterthey’remakingafigureof,theteamalwaysstartsbygatheringreferencematerial.Usually,thatmeansamass-ingasmanyphotosofthecharacteranditsaccessoriesaspossibletoen-surefilm-levelaccuracy.

“Many of the classic archival items are based on image turns rather than 3D scans or renderings [of puppets] since the costumes are delicate and, in most cases, require a person to be in them to capture the images,”Smithsays.“Insteadwereferback to themanyon-setpho-tos, film screen shots, and Lucas-film-approved reproduction art. Insomecases,therearesomanyimag-esandpiecesofreferenceouttherethatyoustarttonoticesubtlediffer-encesinfeatures,accessories,etc.

HereweworkcloselywithLucasfilmtoensurewearereplicatingtheap-proved,on-canonelements.”

Afterdetermininghowmucharticulationthefigurewillhaveanddecidingonitsfeaturesandaccessories,alltheinformationtheteamgatheredgoestothesculptors,whodevelopamodel.

“Thisisaclosepartnershipthatconsistsofalotofbackandforthandatten-tiontothesmalldetails,”Smithsays.

“We’vealsomovedtoacompletelydigitalsculptenvironment.Inthepast,wewouldgothroughalotofwaxstages,buteverythingcreatedforHasbro’sStarWarsBlackSerieshasbeendonedigitally,whichmakes theprocessmorefluid.”Duringthisperiod,theteamisinconstantcontactwithLucas-filmforinputandapprovalsateachstageofthefigure’sdevelopment.

Photo Reference for the Frog in Jabba’s Hookah

After the final digital sculpt isapproved, the team develops a“tooling copy”—an initial proto-typeofwhatwillhopefullybe thefinalfunctioningactionfigure,andwhichservesasablueprintforthefinalfigure—with itsHongKong-based factory. “During this stage,wearedevelopingdeco[i.e.,paint,graphics, etc.] based on painstak-ing review of reference,” Smithsays.

Finerdetails,likeafigure’seyes,arepainted, while larger areas of thefigure,likelegsinpants,aremold-ed in a certain color plastic, anddetailsareappliedinpaint.

Graphics are applied in a processcalled tampo printing; they’retapped or pressed onto an itemwithasoft-tipped,automatedarm/finger.

“Whendecoisapprovedandwehave our final paintmastermod-el,”Smithsays,“wethenhandthemodelovertoourfactorytorepro-duceitinaconsumerformat.”

The process consists of multiplerounds of reviews to ensure thatthefigureisanaccuratereplicaofthe approved model; Smith saysthat during this time, the team isevaluatingthemoldlayoutandcol-ors,draftangles,decoapplication,soft goods application, and eventhepackaginglayout.

OnceHasbroandLucasfilmhaveapprovedapre-productionsamplefromtheactual line, theyproceedwiththefinalproduction.

Afterthefinaldigitalsculptisap-proved,theteamdevelopsa“toolingcopy”—aninitialprototypeofwhatwillhopefullybethefinalfunction-ing actionfigure, andwhich servesas a blueprint for thefinalfigure—with its Hong Kong-based factory.“During this stage,wearedevelop-ing deco [i.e., paint, graphics, etc.]basedonpainstakingreviewofref-erence,”Smithsays.

Finerdetails,likeafigure’seyes,arepainted,whilelargerareasofthefig-ure,likelegsinpants,aremoldedinacertaincolorplastic,anddetailsareappliedinpaint.

Graphics are applied in a pro-cess called tampo printing; they’retappedorpressedontoanitemwithasoft-tipped,automatedarm/finger.

An image of Jabba's sidekick, Salacious Crumb, from the movie.

Hasbro's 3D sculpt of the Crumb figure.

Besideshissheerawesomeness,therewereafewotherreasonswhyHasbrochoseJabbatobeitsfirst6-inchfigure.“He’sbigenoughtoworkwithinthescaleandcreateacommandingpresencewhenplacedalongsideourother6-inchfigures,buthe’snottoohugelikeaRancor,whichwouldn’tfitonshelfatyourlocalretailer,”Smithsays.“Wealsolikethatheallowsthe6-inchlinetobreakthetypicalhumanoidform.ApartfromR2-D2allofourpreviousofferingshavebeenbipeds.”

AndbecauseTatooine'sslug-likekingpinlovestochatabouthispalaceandcarbonite-encasedconquests,thefig-urealsoprovidedthedesignersafunopportunityforanactionfeature:WhenyoupushdownonJabba’sarm,hismouthmoves.Topullitoff,“hiswholeupperbodyneededtobesculptedfromasofterrubbermaterial,”Smithsays.“Wealsoinstalledgearedlinkagebetweenhisarmsocketsandthemouthtogettheeffect.ButthisisHasbro’sStarWarsBlackSeries,soitwasn’tenoughtoincludethisfeature.Wehadtoincludeitinawaythatstillallowedthearmstoarticulateforthekindofdisplayflexibilityourcustomershavecometoexpectfromtheline.”

PHOTO REFERENCE FOR JABBA THE HUTT.

JABBA’SCLOSEUP

The explodedsculptoftheJabbafigure.

Thefigures in theDeluxe line includeoversizedaliensandfigureswithvehiclesand,Smith says, “Scale is thebiggestchallenge.Wehavetogeneratepackagingoffofthetallestanddeepestcharacters.Biggercharactersalsomeanheavierplasticweightandrequireamoredefinedcenterofgravitytoensuretheywilldisplayandarticulateproperly.”

Andthenthere’sthedetails;6-inchfiguresjusthavemoreofthem.“Atthisscalewecanreallyrunwildinawaythat3.75-inchesdoesn’tafford,”Smithsays.“Hairespeciallygetsmuchmoreattentionanddetailtoensurewe’regettingtherighthighlightsandpatternsthatnormallywouldn’tbeincludedinsmallerscales.Surfacetexturesaremoreintricatebecausetheycanreallybeseenandappreciated.Wealsotrytogetmoreweatheringandwearonthefigurestogetclosertofilmaccuracy.”

Therearemoredecoops,orpaintapplications,thanonthe3.75-inchfigures,andmoretampohits,too.Andthere’smuchmoredetailonalloftheaccessories,frombucklestobuttonstoblasters:“Ablasterin3.75-inchmayhavebeeninasinglemoldedcolor,”Smithsays,“butin6-inch,weaddthefinerdetailsthatreallybringitalltogether.”

Inall,makinganewfigureisaprocessthatinvolvesanumberofdesigners,engineersandproductmanagers,asculptingteam,themodelshop,afactory14timezonesawayfromtheHasbrocrew,andbrandingandmarketingteams.“Ittakesavillage,”Smithsays.“Avillageofsuper-obsessedStarWarsfans.”

IfyoumissedthisatComicCon,butstillwantoneofthesesetsforyourself?You’reinluck!AlimitednumberofHasbro’sComic-ConInternational2014specialedition“Jabba”setsareavailableonHasbroToyShop.comfollowingtheconvention.

Need MoreDisplay Spacefor YourAction Figures?

Mattel IntroduceANewandUniqueHangingActionFigureDisplay

Collectorsare forever looking fornewand interest-ingwaystodisplaytheirtreasures.Dioramas,glassorpolycases,backdrops,shelvingsystems,andplaysetsareimplementedinanattempttoaddsomeperson-alityandexcitementtothebasicactionfigurelayout.

Mostcompaniesknowthis,andafewhaveprovidedvariousdioramapiecestohelpcreatethatambiance.FortheirMastersoftheUniverseClassicsline,Mattyhas gonebig at times - likewithCastleGrayskull -andverysmallatothers,aswiththeindividualfigurestands.

Thislastmonth,theyhittheballsomewhereinbetween,releasingthenewWallDisplaySystem.Theideaisprettysimple:createsomesmall,plasticshelvesforthewallthatincludeaMOTUCthemedbackdrop.

Theycomepackedtwotoabox,willrunabout$25atMattyCollector,andarecurrentlyavailable.

Itcan'tgetmuchmorebasicthanthis,butitworks.Thesecomeinasimplebrownbox,withtheMattylogoandname.Insideyou'llfindtwobacks,twocardboardinsertswithdif-ferentMOTUCgraphics,andsixshelves.

YoumightnoticetheboxsaysthatMattyCollectoris'WhereCollectorsareKing".Isuspectthatifthisweretrue,there'dbealotmorebeheadingsintheMattyrealm.

Thesearedesignedtobeusedonawall,notsittingonadeskorshelfthemselves.Ishotthephotoswiththemsitting,sinceIwantedtoquicklyswapthebackersandnumberofshelvesasIworked,andthat'snoteasytodoonceit'smountedtothewall.

That'sbecausetheydon'thangonascrewasyoumightexpect.Instead,youscrew them inat the topandbottomthroughaholeineachlocation.Thatmakesitverysturdy,butabitmoredifficult to easily remove from thewall.You canuseVelcrowallhangerstoo,ifyoudon'tmindthebackoftheunitstickingoutabitfromthewall,butitwon'tbequiteassturdy.

SinceIdidn'thavemineonthewall,Ihadtousesomethingtohelpsupportthebase,andyou'llseemycellphoneifyoulookcarefully.Assemblyiseasy-poptheholecoverscutinthebackercardsup,slipthecardintothebackoftheassem-bly,andsnapinthenumberofshelvesyouwant.Voile!

AsIsaid,therearetwobacksandsixshelvesincludedineachbox.Thebackersactuallyhaveroomforfiveshelveseach,butit’sunlikelyyou’llusethatmanywithoneunit.

Thereasonisspace,ofcourse.Withallfiveinplace,you’llonlyget2-3inchesofheightbetweenthem.ThatmeansallbutthetopshelfwillbereservedforLegomini-figuresorHotWheels,orsomethingelsequitesmall.

Withthreeshelvesinplace,youcaneasilyaccommodate4-5”figures,twotoashelf.ThatwouldincludeSimpsons,Trek,TMNT,andmanyotherrecentlines.FortheintendedMOTUC,youcangowithatwoshelfarrangement.Thisisalsousefulbecausethetopshelfdoesn’tneedtobeattheverytop-youcandropitdowntothesecondslot.Thisgivesthefiguresabitmorestability,aswellaslookingbetter.Eachshelfhasfourpostsincluded,twolargerandtwosmaller.ThelargerworkwellforMOTUC,butyoucangetmostfigurestoworkwithoneortheothersize.

Thelastoptionisasixthscalefigure.Youcanuseoneshelf,andifyougowiththeverybottom,thebackoftheunitandthefigureshouldbejustaboutthesamesize.It’snotwideenoughtocreateanyextremeactionposes,butyoucanstandafigureinasimplepose.Withtheunitscrewedtoawall,theshelvesaresturdyenoughtoholdsix4-5”figures,orfourMOTUCfigures.

Itwillbecrowded,buttheweightwon’tbeanissue.For$12.50,you’regettingaprettybasicshelfthatcandisplay2-4MOTUCfigures,orvariousothernumbersofsmallerandlargertoys.Thedesignandmaterialisprettybasic,makingthatatoughsellformostpeople.

ACTION FIGURE REVIEWSAll reviews kindly supplied by Michael Crawford

http://www.mwctoys.comDC Direct 13" Deluxe Dark Knight Batman and Joker

Whentheexpectationsforamovieareextremelyhigh,itcansometimesmeancertaindisappointment.Theyarejustmoviesafterall,andnottheanswertothemeaningoflife.Toomuchanticipationmakesittoughforafilmtoliveuptotheaudience'sexpectation,andcanhurtafilmasmuchashelpit.OnefilmwithatonofanticipationandexpectationisTheDarkKnight.ChristopherNolan'sfirstshotatthecapedcrusader,BatmanBegins,hadtheluxuryofmoderateexpectations.Folkswerecertainlyinterestedinseeingit,buttheywereholdingtheirbreath,hopingitwouldbegoodbutnottoosure.Thistimearound,theyexpectperfection,andthepreviewsandtrailershavethemsalivatingforwhatcouldbethegreatestcomicbookheromovieeverdone.See,that'swhatIcallexpectations!

Everybodyandtheircousin'sbestfriendjumpedonthelicensethistimearound.Mattelisdoingtheregulartoysofcourse,butcompanieslikeHotToys,KotobukiyaandDCDirectareshootingforthehigherendcollectiblesmarket.TonightI'mlookingattheDCDirect13"DeluxeBatmanandJokerbasedonthefilm.ThesefollowinthebasicDCDDeluxeline,butaredifferentthanalmostalltherestinthattheyarebasedonrealpeopleversionsofthecomicbookcharacters,ratherthancomicbookversions.Theonlyprevi-ousDCDDeluxefigurelikethatwastheBatmanBeginsBat-man,whichwasaveryweakentryintothehighendmarket.HotToyswillalsobedoingapair(withothergoodiestocome),buttheirfigureswillcost$130andup.ThesetwofromDCDrunabout$80atmostretailers,andareavailablenow.Ihavesometerrificsponsorsuggestionsforpickingtheseupattheendofthereview. DCDirectDeluxe13inchDarkKnightBatmanactionfigure

Thesetwoaresomeofthenicerboxesinthelinesofar.Thegraphicsaregood,withaveryniceincorporationofthemovielogoandgeneralfeel.Whilethere'snotatonoftext,there'sareasonableamountofbackgroundinformation,bothonthebackandontheinsideofthefifthpanel.

Theboxisalittleweak,bowinginevenwhenithasn'tseenanytimeontheshelf.Theyalsohaveabittogoiftheywanttobetruly'collectorfriendly',withstilltoomuchtapeandtoomanytwisties.Butit'snottoobad,andIfoundputtingthembackintheboxforstoragerelativelyeasy.BothfiguresalsocomewithaCertificateofAuthenticity,asomewhatuniquesituation.Theyaren'tnumberedhowever.

Packaging

Whenyou'resculptinganewfigurebasedonanewcharacterinanunseen-andusually,unfinished-movie,gettingthesculpttobescreenaccuratecanbetricky.Becauseofthelongleadtimesnecessarytoproductanysortofpopculturecollectible,"screenaccurate"doesn'tevenexistwhenthesculptorsgetstarted.SowhileIhaveafewnitswithmyJoker,I'mgoingtocutthemsomeslackhere.Mostofmysculptingissuesareprobablyduetothefactthattheywereworkingoffearlyversionsofthecharacter.Likethehair.It'stoomatteddownhere,andnotwaswavyaswhatwe'veseeninthetrailersandpreviews.Thecolorisofftoo,butI'llgettothatinthenextsection.

However,theLedgerlikenessundertheJokermakeupisdefinitelytopnotch.There'salsoareallynicerealsimtotheskintexturingandwrinkling,particularlyinthisscale.Andanotherhugeplus-nobendyhands!Hehassculptedhandsmadeofhardplastic,withextrasetstoboot,designedtoworkwiththevariousaccessories.MyonlyothernitwiththeJokerheadsculptisthescarring,orgeneralylackthereof.Hedoeshavethedamagedandmisshapenlips,andtheselookspoton,butthescarringonhischeekswherethered'lipstick'smileispaintedonismissing.Nolan'sversionoftheJokerhasatrulygruesomevisage,andI'malittledisappointedthatsomeofthatismissinghere.TheBatman'sheadsculptisarealmixedbag.ThelikenesstoBaleandtothecharacteringeneralisquitegood,butIthinktheymeanttoputthisonacompletelydifferentbody.HelookslikeBeetlejuiceaftergettinghiswishfor'alittlehead'.Superheroestendtohavepinheadsinrelationtotheirsteroidinflatedtor-sos,butthisisridiculous.Hisheadisevensmallerthanhisneck,aconditionnormallyreservedonlyforthetrulydeformed,likeElijahWood.

I'lltakeabouthisbodyarmoraspartoftheOutfitsection,butIdowanttoincludehishandshere.Thepairoffiststhathewearsintheboxsufferthesameproblemasthehead.Theylookliketwotinylittlenubsontheendsofthesehugearms.Unfortunately,youronlyotherchoiceistogowiththeGodawfulbendyhands.Thesearescaledalittlebetterthanusual(thefingersstilllooklikesausages,butit'smorelikebreakfastsausages,notJohnsonvilleBrats),buttheyworkaspoorlyastheydidwitheverypastrelease.Batsstandsabout131/2"tall,notevenincludingthepointyears.TheJokerisabout121/2"tall,makinghimaboutahalfinchtallerthanRobin.

BATMANJokerSculpting:

PaintingDCD has certainlyupped thequalityon thepaintworkwiththisline,andtheJok-er is a fantastic example. He'snotperfect,buttheworkhasagritty,realisticfeeltoit.

The white skin tone is offsetwith a wash that brings outthedetails in the skin, and theraccooneyesandredsmilearedonewithanintentionalasym-metry,tomimicapersonpaint-ingtheirownface.Theeyesareverystraightandclean,andtheybringoutthesculptedintensityofhisgaze.

Thehaircolorseemsashadedarktome,butit’snotamajorissue.There’salsosomeissuesalongthehairlinewherethewhiteisridinguponthesculptedhair,butthisisobviousonlyfromcertainangles.

Batsdoesn’thavethesamelevelofdetailwork,buttheydidanicejobwithwhatwasnec-essary.Thelowerface,includingthelips,isverywelldone,withawonderfulshadingoftheskintoneandglossy,cleanlips.Hiseyesarestraightandcleanaswell,makingtheheadlookveryrealistic.

Thesuithasanicecombinationofmatteblackandglossblacktogiveitsomevisualpop,andhethankfullylacksthesortofgray‘bra’thatwesawontheMattel12”version.Theme-talliccolorofthebeltoffsetsthedarksuitnicely,althoughitdoesseemthathavinghisbatbeltbethebrightestthingonhisbodywoulddrawalotofgunfiretothatarea.

I’mnotsureI’dwantfolksaimingatmycrotch.

Batman'sbodyistheusualDeluxesuperherobody,withalltheexpectedjoints,andalltheexpectedproblems.Thetightfittingandbulkysuitdoesn'tallowformuchposing,anditforces thearmsandhands to staybelowchestheight.ThelegscantakedeeperstancesthanIexpected,butupperbodyisquiteconstricted.

Theteenyfisthandsstayinplacewellenoughbecausetheyarehardplastic,buttheawfulbendyhandsfalloffwhenyoubreathon them.Thebendyfingersactuallyworkeda littlebetterthanusualthistime,buttheyaretoosausage-liketoappearrealistic.

BATMANJokerActiculation -

Whatdowehaveherewith the Joker? Is this anew body? While therewas some suppositionthat it might just be theRobin body with somelegextensions,I'mnotsosure that's the case. Theproportionsaretoogood- itdoesn't seem like thelegs, arms and torso areout of scale with eachother.In fact, the body looks surprisingly good whendressed!Someonewhoismoreinterestedinstrip-pingtheJokernekkid-Harleyperhaps?-caninves-tigatefullyandletusknow,butIthinkthiscouldverywellbeanewbody.

Evenifitisjustacreativere-useoftheshorterRob-inbody,Ihavetosaythattheydidagreatjob.Thebodyisn’tonparwithsomethingliketheHotToysTrueType, but there’s an improvement here overthestandardDeluxemusclebody.Ofcourse,onebigplusisthelackofbendyhands.Whileitstillhasthecutwristjointsonly,thehardplastichandspoponandoffbetter,andmoreimportantly,theystayonbetterwhenyou’reposingthefigure.

Sincethisfigureiswearinglowcutshoes,youcanactually take advantage of the swivel pin anklejoint,aswellasthecutjointalittlefurtherupontheankle.Hadtheshoesworkedabitbetter(moreonthatintheOutfitsection),hewouldhavebeenabletotakesomeevenmoreradicalposes.

Themostnotably improved jointhere (whichwealsosawwithRobin)istheballjointedneck.Youcanget the Joker’shead intomuchmore realisticandlifelikeposesbecauseofthisballjoint.

TheBatmanhasagoodballjointednecktoo,withanexcellentrangeofmovement.However,becausehehassuchapinhead,andsuchahugeneck,theheadcanlookawkwardposedatsomeangles.

ToooftenwiththeDeluxeline,thefigureslackintheaccessoriesdepartment.OccasionallyyougetaGreenArrow,butmoreoftenyougetaBizarro.Thankfully,theJokerisoneofthebestequippedfiguresintheseries.

Hecomeswithtwoextrasetsofhands;apairofopen,gesturinghands,andapairoffistedhands.He'swearingthegrippinghandsinthebox,andthissetofthreenicelysculpted,nicelyproportioned,HARDPLASTIChandsworkgreat.Theyswapeasily,theystayinplacewhenyou'reposinghim,andtheholdtheaccessoriesquitewell.Theoneexceptiontothatisthegun,sincethegrippinghandsdon'thaveanextendedindexfingertoputinthetriggerguard.That'saminornitthough,sincetheydoworkextremelywellwiththeknives,andafterall,thosearetheweaponsofchoice.

Speaking of the knives, there are three very different bladesincluded.There's a largeBuck orKabarstyle,amediumdou-ble edged dagger style, and a small straight razor style.Thescaleon these is a little small, but the sculpts and paints aretopnotch.Ialreadymentioned his otherweapon, a handgun.It'saverynicesculptcomplete withseparateclipandmovableslide.Thescaleandproportion tohisbodyisbetterherethanwith the knives, and it has a greatpaintjobaswell.

Wenow from the trailers that theJokerisinvolvedinabankrobbery, and wears a clown mask. They've included thatmask,madefromafairlyhard plastic.Becarefulputtingitonandtakingitoff,sinceitcould damagethefacepaint.It'sheldinplacewithapieceofelastic, andwhile it lookedwayover-sizedtomeinphotos,Icanlive withthelargesizeinperson.HeistheJoker,andthatmeans playingcards.There'sasetof15included, all scaled extremely wellanddecoratedwithterrificgraphics.They'rea little tough forhimtohold,butifyoupacktwoor three together itworks better.

Batmanisn'taswelloutfitted,andseveralofhisitemsappeartobestraightre-usesfromtheBatmanBeginsfiguretheydidafewyearsago.Hehasthegrapplinggunonceagain,aswellasfourbatarangs(insteadof2)moldedfromtheoriginalrelease.There'salsotheBatphone/remote,whichfitsonhisbeltinback.

Thegrapplinggunfitsonhisbelttoo,justlikeitdidbefore.Hecanholditinhisbendyhandifyouworkatit,butsincethearmscan'treallyposehigherthanhismid-section,there'snottoomuchyoucandowithit.It'sthebestaccessoryoftheset,however,anditdoeslookgoodonthebackofhisbelt.Well,itwouldifyoucouldseeit-thecapecoversitentirelyofcourse.

Hisonlynewaccessoryiswhatappearstobesomesortofrestraintorcapturedevice,orperhapssomethingheusesonhisarm.It'scalledthe"pneumaticwrangler"onthebox,hintingattherestraintangle.Icouldn'tfigureoutexactlywhattodowithitwithouthavingseenthemovie.Iunderstandthereuseofaccessories,sinceI'msurehe'llreuseboththebatarangsandgrapplingguninthenewmovie.Butthatkindofre-use,inconcertwithapricetaglikethis,shouldmeanMOREaccessories.Jokerputshimtoshame,andthat'snotright-he'sBatman!BothfiguresalsocomewiththestandardDeluxedisplaystands,butyouwon'tneedthem.

BATMANJokerAccessories -

WhilesomeoftheDCDDeluxeoutfitshavebeenextremelynice-seetheGreenAr-rowforanexample-theyhavealwaysbeengeneralysimplistic.Superheroesbynaturetendtostickwithfairlybasicattire.

ButtheJokerlet'sDCDshowwhattheycandowiththisline,andtheydohimupright.There'stheouterlongcoat,sportjacket,vest,andshirt,alldonewiththehighestqualitymaterialsandstitching.Thelongcoatevenhasanylonlininginthegoldish/bronzecolor!Theyfitwell,althoughwiththatmanylayersyou'reboundtogetsomebunchingaroundtheneck.Thathappenshere,particularlyaroundthebackoftheneckandshoulders,butbecauseLedgergivesthecharacterabitofaroundedbackandstoopedshouldersinthefilm,thisbunchingupoftheclothingactuallylooksmoreaccuratetothecharacter.

ThetailoringisalsoAgame-justlookatthepantsandhowtheyhangandfitaroundhispelvis!Becauseallthebuttonsandpocketsareproperlyscaled,andbecauseoftheexcellenttailoring,hetrulydoeslooklikeanactualperson.That'shardtopulloffinsixthscalewiththismanylayersofclothes.

Hisoutfitisfairlyintricateintermsofcolorsandpatternstoo,andfromthestillswe'veseensofar,theymanagedtogetitprettyclose.Theshirtpatternlooksa*little*different,butthatmightjustbemyeyesplayingtricksonme.Idothinkthetieisasmidgebig,butit'smuchclosertorealitythansay,Shaun'stiefromtheShaunoftheDeadreviewlastweek.Abigreasonforthisisthematerialtheyusedismuch,muchthinner.Myoneareaofissuewasonhisshoes.Notthesculptorquality,becausethoseareasareexcellent.Infact,whilethelacesthemselvesaresculpt-edonthetopoftheshoes,thetiedbowatthetopisactuallylaces.Itblendsperfectlywiththerestoftheshow,andaddsanotherdimensionofrealism.No,it'snotthequalityoftheshoes,butthefit,atleastonmine.Theleftshoedoesn'treallyseemtofitonthefootproperly,causingittoleantooneside.Thismakesitalottoughertogethimintoagoodstandingposethanitshouldbe,andIfoundthattobefrustrating.

TheBatmanhasmanymorecostumeissuesthantheJoker,andendsupbeing similar to someof the early releases.Yes, the suit ismorecomplex,andthistimetheywentwithatightclothnylonundersuit,withtherubberyspiderweblikearmoroverit.Thatwasprobablythebestidea,butitdidn'texecuteallthatwell.It'stheweirdproportionsagain-thethighsareHUGE(it'shardtotellthatinphotoswiththeblack legs against the black cape, but trustme, they'reHUGE), thebootsareHUGE,andfromthewaistdownheseemswiderandlargerthanfromthewaistup.Hiscapehasawirerunningalongeachedgetoimproveit'sposability,butthematerial theychosefor it israthercheap.Theyusedavelvettypematerialfortheoutside,withanylonlining.

Thevelvetissimilartowhatweseeinthefilm(atleastitwasinBat-manBegins), but thematerial theywentwith is the type that rubsdownveryeasily,creatingflatshinyspotsonthevelvet.It'salsoabitcrinklyandstiff,certainlymoresothanmoreexpensivevelvet.Thequalityofhissuitoverallisn'tterrible,butthewonkyproportionsreallyruinthelook.ThisisaweirdlookingBatman.

BATMANOutfit - Joker

TheJoker,forallhisderangedappearance,wouldactuallymakeagoodtoy.Thecostumeissturdyenoughforbasicplay(hemightloseabuttonortwo),andtheaccessorieswillonlybreakunderdirectandhostilepressure.Sure,youcouldputaneyeoutwiththoseknives,butthat'sthekindofactionfigureaccessorieswehadwhenIwasakid,andIstillhaveonereasonablygoodeye.

TheBatmanwouldbemuchmorefrustratingformostkidsduetothelimitedarticulationandgoofyappearance.

Nokidisgoingtothinkthosehugehamshehasforthighslookgood,andthoseGodawfulbendyhandsareworthlessandannoying.

You’llspendaround$80ontheJoker,similartoahighendSideshowfigureoralowendHotToysfigure.Andforthefirsttimeinthehistoryofthisline,I’mgoingtosayhe’sworthit.

He’snotaspecialvalue,andnobodyisgoingtothinkhewascheap.Butyouaregettingclosetowhatyou’repayingfor,atleastinthecurrentmarket,andIwon’tbehittinghimupatallinmyownOverallbasedonhisprice.

Ican’tsaythesameforBatman.Withthere-usedaccessories,andthelessthanstellarappearance,youaren’tgettingan$80figure.

$50?Sure,andhe’dscoremuchbetteratsuchapricepoint.

Butthereisnowaythisguyisworththeextremepricethatthey’vestartedchargingfortheDeluxeline.Theoth-erupcomingfigures,likeSupergirl,aregoingtobeinasimilarboat.

BATMAN

BATMAN

Fun Factor -

Value -

Joker

Joker

I love the Build A Figure concept. Since I'm generally a completist, it's almost like I'm getting something for free - almost. And when the right character is chosen, particularly the larger, more im-pressive ones, all the better. It's not just Marvel Legends that employs the BAF, and they certainly didn't invent it. Other companies do figures, playsets, dioramas - if you can do it, it's been done. But Toybiz and then Hasbro made it a mainstay in the action hero market with Marvel Legends, and they continue the tradition with the great success.

Their three pseudo movie ML series released so far this year - Captain America, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy - all have a BAF. Rather than do them individually I figured I'd hit them up as a trio tonight. For the Guardians, Hasbro selected the largest member of the team to be the BAF - Groot. Since coming up with accessories for this guy would have been tough, and since he is the biggest, it makes complete sense.

Under the Captain America license, they went with the robotic Mandroid. We've never seen this par-ticular comic styled version on screen, but we did get a bunch of robots that were sort of, kind of, Man-droids in Iron Man 2.

Finally, there's the Green Goblin with the Spider-Man series. This is the Ultimate version of the Green Goblin, so if you were looking for something a bit more classic, this ain't it.

As usual, you create these figures by buying all six figures in each wave, and while it's getting tougher to find Black Cat and Black Widow, it's still possible to complete all three of these right off the pegs.

The Three BAF's

Mandroid, Green Goblin, Groot Hasbro

I have to give Hasbro some major props here - these are the only mass market toys out there right now with completely collector friendly packages. You can open these up - carefully - without even cutting a piece of tape, slide the tray out, remove the figures and accessories, and put it all back togeth-er later, no muss, no fuss, no damage. While there aren't any twisty ties or rubber bands (yea!), there are a couple pieces of tape holding the smaller accessories safely in the plastic tray. You can ditch the tape however, and the accessories will remain in place under normal handling. I didn't include a pack-age shot this time, but you can always reference back to the earlier review of the Guardians.

I’m not a regular reader of the Ultimate titles, but I gotta say that I’m digging this Hulked out Gob-lin. And the comparison to the Hulk isn’t merely because of his size - you should recognize that torso and those pants wearing legs, since they have been re-used from an earlier Hulk figure.

The expression is snarling and mean, with some excellent detail work on the mouth and spikes. Overall it’s a cool design, and it’s a very different look for a classic character. Mandroid is sweet as well, partic-ularly if you like robots. The detailing is appropriate for a metal exterior, and his size fits in nicely with the normal ML Iron Man.

Remember, these are all done in a 6” scale, but that makes them all larger than 6”. For example, Groot comes in at almost 9” tall! Goblin and Mandroid are between 7” and 7 1/2”, making them much larger in height (and volume) than the normal ML figure. They might pale in size when compared to some early BAF”s (see the last photo for an example), but they are still hefty figures. Groot has the most overall detail, with a very cool texturing on his bark exterior. Trees and plants are always very difficult to do with realistic texturing - it often comes off heavy handed or cartoony. Not so this time, and Groot matches up with his on screen look pretty well.

The paint work is well above average for a mass market release, although there isn’t a ton of small detail work on any of the three. Green Goblin has the most, particularly around the teeth and bony protuberances. Groot has the least, with an all over brown broken up with just his eyes. Mandroid falls in between, and I love the chest logo. All three have a nice consistency to the major colors.

These are Marvel Legends figures, and that means (usually) great articulation. Green Goblin is my fa-vorite of the three. The pin/disc style ball joint at the neck works better than usual, with some good tilt and lean action. The ball shoulders and hips, as well as the double pin knees, pin elbows and ankles, cut biceps and thighs, and cut/rocker chest and pin/rocker ankles all work terrific. Mandroid is very sim-ilar, but lacks the wrist and thigh joints. His neck isn’t as easy to work with either, since the true ball is very deep in the armor. Groot is also nicely articulated, especially when you consider the tree bark de-sign. He lacks the cut thighs, his knees are only single pin, and the ankles don’t quite have the mobility of the Goblin’s, but you’ll still be able to get some very nice poses out of him, including deep stances.

Packaging -

Sculpting -

Paint -

Articulation - Goblin - Mandroid - GrooT

When it comes to BAF's, it's normal and completely acceptable for there to be a big old Bupkis in this category. They are themselves accessories, after all, and getting anything extra with them is not the expectation. Therefore, any score here - even a half star - is a big plus. Groot doesn't come with any extras, as expected. No problem there, but it's worth noting. Mandroid has his removable black cannon that attaches to his right shoulder. You can ditch it if you prefer the slicker look. Green Goblin actually comes with three extras - his flames. There's one for each arm, as well as one that drapes over his shoulders and back. These are made in a translucent orangish/reddish plastic, and add a nice devilish look to the overall design. The back flames fit nicely, but I did have some trouble getting the arm flames to attach and rest properly over the forearms. Not a big deal - I finally found a look I liked - but more work than you'd expect.

Accessories - Goblin - Mandroid - GrooT

This is an interesting category for a BAF. The only way to buy them independently is on the secondary market, where prices fluctuate daily. To buy them at the store, you have to purchase an entire wave of Spider-man, Captain America, or Guardians

of the Galaxy for a whopping $120. If you don't care about the other six figures, that's a lot of money. However, there's another way to look at it - these figures are 'free'. If you're already buying the six fig-ures, you're getting these as a bonus.

That's the two extremes - either you wanted all six and the BAF was a freebie, or you only wanted the BAF and it cost you $120. I'd guess 80% of collectors will fall someplace in between, and it will vary with each figure. For example, if you wanted Groot, you probably wanted Rocket, Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax. Nova and Iron Man? Well, it's unlikely Nova will be wearing that costume in the movie, and even less likely we'll even see Iron Man on screen (although we haven't heard much about the end credits yet...), let alone in the comic based armor. Picking up those two depends more on your desire for the comic versions, making Groot a $40 purchase for a lot of people.In the end I went with a slightly below average score, based on my desire for the various figures in each of the waves. Your mileage is going to vary, and vary quite a bit.

A ll three of these are terrific action figures, with excellent sculpts and articulation. The large size makes them ideal when battling the smaller ML's in the sandbox, and adds some variety to the collector's display as well.

Fun Factor -

Value -

When a film becomes a hit - and then a classic - it's usually due to theexcellent direction, writing, and acting. With the now classic Grem-lins, it's not. That's not to say all three of those aspects aren't great. Joe Dan-te is a fine director who did some of his best work here. And as far as I'm concerned, Fast Times at Ridgemont High made Phoebe Cates a perma-nent favorite. But while all the usual suspects did their jobs at the top of their craft, Gremlins is really a movie all about, and stolen by, the title char-acters. Take that, Godzilla.

Word is a remake is in the works. No need to get too excited yet, since they've been discussing this for years, either as a remake or as a sequel, and nothing has come of it yet, but it is true that the chatter has intensified this year. While I have nothing against sequels, prequels, remakes, re-adap-tations or reboots per se (too often people want to hate them right up front, when in fact they can be done well), I think this is the wrong proper-ty for it. To do a property justice, there needs to be something you can do to improve on the original. With a mov-ie like Gremlins, there simply isn't. It's not that deep of a story, so better ac-tors won't add a whole lot. And CGI Gremlins? No thanks.

I will be happy to keep buying action figures based on the original Grem-lins designs, however. NECA seems happy to oblige, at least for one more series. Mogwai versions of Penny, Doo Dah and Brownie are currently shipping, and will cost you about $13 each or so, depending on the retailer.

Penny, Doo Dah & Brownie- Gremlins NECA

PACKING -***1/2

Sculpting -***1/2

I like clamshells, although collector friendly they ain't. You'll need a sharp blade to extract the little bug-ger, but this type of packaging is very resistant to peg wear, storage damage, or store theft.

The insert has the spooky shad-ow of an evil Gremlin, and I like the simplicity of the design. The large bubble also shows off the figure nicely, for the MOCer's in the crowd.

The sculpt improved this time around, with a little better detailing in the fur on the torso. If you remember, I complained about the almost smooth texture on Haskins and Stripe, but here we get a little more definition in the hair. It’s not quite at the same level as the face and limbs, but it’s decent, and actually makes sense - there’d be more flattening and matting of the hair on the chest.I love the detail work on the faces, especially Penny. The fur texture looks great, and they’ve done three slightly different pairs of ears as well, adding some more personality.

I did knock off slightly here for the deep set eyes. This is necessitated by the moving eyeball function, but it’s a tad extreme.

These are about 3 1/2 inches tall, and all three stand great on their own.

PAINT -***1/2 The paint work is clean, with a nice fading transition between the fur colors on all three Gremlins.

Brownie is my fa-vorite in this cat-egory, because he's so unique in terms of color.

The tiger stripes on Penny are inter-esting as well, and even Doo Dah has enough variation in his pattern to make him stand out on the shelf.

The eyes are very sharp and clean as well. There’s the occasional stray mark here or there on the fur, but it’s the exception rather than the rule.

ARTICULATION -***

Accessories - Bupkis

These have quite a bit of articulation considering the chubby design of the source character. There's a very good ball jointed neck, and you should have no trouble tilting and leaning the head in very realistic ways. Both ears are also articulated, allowing you to in-clude a bit more personality to every pose.

The moving eyes feature is still here of course, but it's not as bad as in previous releases. It's been my sore spot with this line so far, but they've done a much better job this time getting the eyes to a) move together and b) stay in one place. They still track off slightly from time to time, but if you play around with it a bit you'll get much better results.

The arms have ball shoulders, cut elbows and cut wrists. The legs also have ball hips, but these (like the elbows and wrists) really amount to cut joints due to the restrictive nature of the sculpted fur.

You won't get any fighting stances out of them, but that's not in their nature. You will get some very cute looks, and the improved eyes are a big plus.

Sadly, none of these three comes with anything extra. I wasn't a bit surprised, since none of the mogwai have had any accessories so far, but it's still a smidge disappointing. Of course, some of that disappointment is offset by the pleasure of getting a decent action

figure for less than $15.

Fun Factor -***1/2

Vaue - ***

While they don’t have any accessories, the decent articulation makes them a ton of fun to play around with.

While the lack of accessories is a bummer, the $13 price point (or so, depending on where you pick them up and if you buy the set), is pretty good right now. With the Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black running $20, finding something this good for quite a bit less is actually refreshing, even if they are a little lacking in the extras depart-ment.

LEAONARDOLEAONARDONINJA TURTLE PLAYMATES

There are only a handful of action figure lines that have lasted through decades. When it does happen, like with Barbie,

Masters of the Universe, or G.I. Joe, it tends to happen because the company and the line are one and the same - it's not licensed from someone else. I can think of only two excep-tions: Star Wars, and TMNT.

Playmates has managed the TMNT line for more than two decades, and have produced hundreds of figures based on various car-toon and movie incarnations of the heroes on a half shell.

It's no surprise that the new film coming out in a couple weeks has it's own set of toys as well, based on the very unique new appear-ance.

I’m checking out Leonardo tonight, sent to me by TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles.com, a terrific site for fans of all things turtles.

The figures are flooding into stores right now, featured on end caps at retailers like Toys R Us, Target and Meijers. Expect to pay around $8 - $10 for the singles, depending on the retailer.

PACKAGING

SCULPTING

The packaging is sharp, with clean lines and an interesting die cut back-er. There's text on the back along with photos of the first series, and while it's not the easiest to store (corners tend to get damaged on odd shaped card backs), it's not too wasteful.

There's not a ton of personalization, which is a bit of a let down for me. They do have the one photo and name on the interior front paper slip, but that's about it.

I'm not sure if I dig the new turtle designs. I suspect I'll have to see them in action in the movie before I can pass final judgment. These are...creepy. No doubt about it, but once the on screen personality kicks in, we might find them so ugly they're cute.The designs do allow for plenty of small detail work in the sculpt, however. There's even some texturing on the skin, and the details on the inner and outer shell are particularly nice.They used a softer rubber for the hands, which is a smart move. It allows you to put the weap-ons in his hands easily, but it's not so soft that he drops them, perfect for kids.These guys are a 5" scale, with Leo standing right about there. Scale-wise, they'll fit in with other 5" lines, but style-wise they are definitely different.

PAINT

ARTICULATION

The paint work is solid, particularly for a mass market toy. There’s a little bleed and slop - check out the whites of the eyes or the bone pattern on his chest armor - but for the most part the various colors are clean, consistent and sharp. With the more realistic sculpts (I supposed you could call them that) comes a more turtle-like paint scheme. The body and armor is a lot of greens and browns, with a dash of col-or thrown in here and there for visual interest. Nothing super cartoony for these ninjas. Leo has the blue mask, setting him apart from the others.

The sculpt and design reduces the amount of poten-tial articulation to some degree. For example, the thick torso means there's no ab-crunch or waist joint. You have to depend on the ball hips and ball knees for creating the stances. There's a ball neck,

but the post is quite short, making tilting and lean-ing a tricky proposition. There's ball shoulders and elbows too, but without cut wrists, the arm poses are limited, particularly with the swords.

ACCESSORIESEach of the Turtles has his

trademark weap-on. For Leo, it's his swords.There's two included of course, as well as a remov-able soft double scabbard that

attaches to a hole in his back. The

swords are pretty basic, but they look good, and the scab-bards attach easily. It's nothing fancy, but it's decent for

play. If you pop off the head you can also remove the

scarf, so I suppose you could count

that as an accesso-ry as well. Not an exciting one, but one nonetheless.

FUN FACTOR

VALUE

I wish the articulation was a smidge better - if so, I'd go up on this score. They have captured the screen look, and the style and accessories add to the play value. But with some restricted and missing joints, it's not quite as much fun as it

could be.

How many action figures are less than $10 these days? You can find these under $9 at certain retailers, and that’s a damn good deal.

Hasbro

Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel Legends

Gamora, Nova and Iron ManABOUT

T W O WEEKS AGO, I

COVERED THE FIRST THREE FIGURES IN THE

MARVEL LEGENDS GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY WAVE - ROCKET RAC-

COON, DRAX, AND STAR-LORD. I WANTED TO ALSO COVER GAMORA, IRON MAN AND NOVA, BUT

WHEN IT CAME TO FINDING THEM ON THE SHELF, THERE WAS A HOLD OUT. NO, NOT THE CHICK...IT WAS NOVA! NOT

SURE WHY HE'S POPULAR, OR IF HE'S JUST VERY SHORTPACKED RIGHT NOW, BUT I FINALLY MANAGED TO DIG ONE UP YESTERDAY.

I'LL ALSO COVER THE BUILD A FIGURE WITH THIS SERIES, GROOT, BUT I WANT TO DO HIM WITH THE OTHER TWO BAF'S THAT HASBRO HAS RELEASED THIS YEAR. I'LL HIT UP ALL THREE SHORTLY.BACK TO THESE THREE. GAMORA IS OBVIOUSLY THE ONE MOST FOLKS WILL WANT ASAP, SINCE SHE'S A) A FEMALE AC-TION FIGURE, A RARE BEAST IN THE COLLECT-ING WORLD AND B) ONE OF THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE GUARDIANS.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ROLE IRON MAN WILL

PLAY IN THIS FLICK, IF ANY, ALTHOUGH WE HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH ABOUT END CREIDTS. AND NOVA? WE ALL KNOW THE RUMORS - HE'LL BE PLAYED BY NONE OTHER THAN NA-THAN FILLION, MAKING ALL THE FANBOY DREAMS COME TRUE. WHILE IT'S UNLIKELY HE'LL BE WEARING THIS COMIC BOOK BASED COSTUME, YOU NEVER KNOW - OR AT LEAST IF YOU'RE LIKE ME AND YOU AVOID SPOILERS, YOU DON'T.THESE GUYS (AND GAL) ARE HITTING STORES LIKE TARGET, TOYS R US AND MEIJERS RIGHT NOW, AND RUN ABOUT $20 EACH. OUCH.

Packaging - ****

Ididn’tgivethesepackagesenoughcreditlasttime.It’sfartooraretoseemassmarketpackagingthatisactu-ally,truly,nolie,andcollectorfriendly.Thereisn’tevenapieceoftapetocut.Youcaneasilyslipthefigureout,encounternaryasingletwistietieorrubberband,pophimoutoftheplastictray,andpophimbackinagain,anytimeyou’dlike,easypeasylemonsqueezy.IthelpsthattheyalsoshowoffthefigureandBAFpartverynicely,andhaveashotoftheentirelineupontheback.

Sculpting - ***

Thesculptingisreasonablygood,buteachfigurecomesupjustabitshortinonewayoranother.Forthoseunfa-miliarwithMarvelLegends,thesearedoneina6”scale,andshouldfitinprettywellwithanyotherlineinthatsamescale.

Oddlyenough, I think I likeNova thebest. Itdoesn’tlook anything like Fillion under the mask, but then,noneof thefigures look likeexactmatcheswith theiractors,andthisisatechnicallyacomicbookversion.Idolovethesuitdesignanddetailthough,andhisover-alldesigncreatestheleastinterferencewithhisarticula-tion.Sadly,theverysoftplastic(theyareVERYsoftthistime)effectsthestaronhisforehead,makingittooeasytoendupbentandmisshapeninthepackage.You’llbeable tofix itover time,but rightoutof thepackhe’lllookalittleweird.WhichbringsmetotheonlypartofhisdesignIdon’tlike-thebigsupernovastaronhisforehead.Howdoesthisthingnotmakehimcrosseyed?Paintasymbolonthehelmet?Greatidea.Makeonethatlookslikeadeadstarfishgluedtohisforehead?Notsogood.

IronManhasauniquelookhere,withsomeveryfunkyshoulderarmor.Havenofear,theycanbepoppedoffandonprettyeasily.

Thechestdetailisparticularlycool,andIdon’trememberthearcgeneratoreverlookingquitesomuchlikeadaisy.GamorasuffersfromthesameproblemallMarvelLegendsladiesdo-skinny,ganglylimbs.Thesculptandarticu-lationdon’tworktogetherparticularlywelleither,makingittoughtofindaposethatshecanmaintain.

Sheispretty,butnotasuniquelookingasonscreen.Sheshouldbedropdeadgorgeous,butasyoucanseeinstillsfromthefilm,thefunkycheekbonesandridgesovertheeyesgiveheranalmostalienappearance-theydidn’teventrytosculptthis.Wimps.Overallthefiguresarereasonable,butnotexceptional.Toomanyshortcutsonthesculpts,andnotenoughattentiontodetail.

Paint - ***1/2

Thepaintworkisverynice,butitshouldbeconsideringthepricepoint.

Gamoraisparticularlywelldone,withverycleaneyesandmakeup.Sheissur-prisinglyrealistictoo-she’sobviouslyatoyinamacrophoto,butfromadis-tancelooksmuchbetterthanmostfiguresinthisscale.Eventhereddishtingetoherhairworks.

Theydoslop itupa littleonhercostume,butit’snotterriblework.Likewise, Nova and Iron Manhavetheoccasionalspotofbleedorsloppycutline,butoveralltheworkiscleanandneat.Ireallylikethe eye popping color of Nova’ssuittoo,whichcouldhaveendedup corny,but instead lookspret-tybadass.Dropthesillystarfish,andthiswouldbeagreatlookingensemble.

Articulation - Nova, Iron Man ***; Gamora **1/2

Thebiggestproblemhereisnotthenumberofjoints-allthreearereasonable.Buttheplasticisalmostrubber,especiallyonIronManandNova,makingthemfeelcheapandsusceptibletodamage.TheyhavealltheusualMarvelLegendsjoints,includingaballneck,ballshoulders,cutbicepsandthighs,doublepinelbowsandknees,cutwaist,ab-crunch,pinandrockerankles,andballhips.Iwasabitsurprisedthatnoneofthem-notevenGamora-hadanywristarticulation.EDIT:I'mtoldNovadoes,butmineseempaintstuck.Thesoftplasticthroughoutmakesitriskytobreakthemfree.

Shealsolacksthecutwaist,andherabisnotacrunch,asitcanonlyturnandtiltveryslightly.Shehastheballneck(lessrestrictedbythehairthanIexpected),ballshoulders,ball/pinelbows,cutthighs,doublepinknees,andpin/rockerankles.Thehipslooklikeballs,butaremuchmorerestrictedthanotherfigures,andmakeitdifficultforhertotakedeepstances.

Infact,it'shardtogethertoevenstandformorethanafewseconds.Thesmallfeetdon'thelp,buttheoveralldesignofthearticulationjustisn'tverycompatiblewiththefigure'scenterofgravity.BothIronManandNovahaveoneotherareaofarticulation-theirshoulderarmor.AsImentioned,notonlycanyoumoveIronMan's,butyoucaneasilypopitoffandonagain.Nova'sisn'tsupposedtocomeoff,butitdoesmoveupandcleanlyoutofthewayofevenhigharmposes.

Fun Factor - ***1/2

I gave the first three the full four stars here, butthesofterplasticonNovaandIronMan,alongwithGamora'sinabilitytostandonherownverywell,knockstheoverallplayvaluedownahalfstar.They'restillfun,butasmidgemorefrustratingthantheearlierthree.

Value - **

Twentydollarseach?Doubleouch.WhileI’mhappytostillbegettingMarvelLegends,particularlymoviebasedones,andtheBAFsarealwaysaniceadditiontothecollection,thepricepointisreallybecomingakiller.

AccessoriesGamora ***;Nova, Iron Man **1/2

Everyfigurecomeswithapart forGroot, theBuild-A-Figure. My standard score forafigurewithjusttheBAFpartandnothingelseis**1/2,hencethisscoreforbothIronManandNova.

Gammiegetsabitbetterscorebecauseshecomeswithherfunkyinterstellarlookingsword.

Unfortunately,shecan'tholditparticularlywellineitherhand,butfutzwithitenoughandyou'lleventuallygetittostay.

That'swhattheymakepostertackfor,isn'tit?

INTAGEA C T I O N F I G U R E

Battlestar Galactica

Why are Battlestar Galactica Action Figures So Hard to Find?I was about ten when Battlestar Galactica first premiered on British television and I was completely mesmerized and transfixed by it. In fact, the very next day I dragged my old man (father) down to the local Toys R Us store to get me some

of the new Mattel Battlestar Galactica action figures.

However in the 1970’s, unlike today, toys like these were made to be played with, not collected, so most ended up being trashed after months play. This is the main reason why they are becoming increasingly difficult to find, coupled with the fact that there are more and more collectors, like myself, who are trying to replace

their vintage Battlestar Galactica action figures from their childhood.

They have also become more popular recently due to the new re-booted TV sries, which I also loved. Even the newer DST (Diamond Select Toys) seem to be becom-ing increasingly difficult to find, which is probably due to the fact that even though these were mass produced there was generally only one production run for each

series. Also the series has been finished for for a while now,

so DST have stopped releasing figures, yet at the same time demand has been steadily increasing. Despite all this values seem to be fairly reasonable and sta-ble at the moment which I think is due to this being a small niche and the fact

that although demand is gradually increasing there is still and adequate, although decreasing, supply of the figures. It is my firm believe

therefore, that over the coming years we are likely to see these continue to rise in value, especially for the vin-

tage Mattel figures, as more collectors try to back track on their collections and replace the

figures they lost in their childhood So... How many were made? What

were the exclusives?What are the rarest

figures?

The figures…Battlestar Galactica Action figures first appeared in 1978, a year after the release of Hasbro's popular Star Wars line of figures. But could Mattel duplicate Hasbro’s success with their line of Battlestar Galatica figures?

After the huge, and unexpected success of Star Wars in 1977 many film and TV companies jumped onto the "sci fi" bandwagon trying to duplicate it. One of the best of these, and more memorable, was Battlestar Galactica, a Uni-versal studios TV series that premiered in 1978.

Battlestar Galatica boasted similar effects to those seen in Star Wars, probably because John Dykstra, head of special effects on the Star Wars movie, worked as a producer on the show (an argument that eventually ended up in court). Another element that was "copied" from Star Wars’ success was Universal Stu-dio’s line of merchandise produced to coincide with the launch of the show. One of the most popular of these was the line of 3 ¾ inch Battlestar Galactica figures from Mattel. These early figures were very crude by today's standards, with lit-tle resemblance to the actual characters portrayed and lacked in both detail and coloring.

However, despite its success the show was cancelled in 1980. Richard Hatch tried to re-launch the series in 1998 which ultimately failed but Universal Television be-came set on the idea of a new re-imagined miniseries which eventually made its tv debut in 2004.

This new and "re-imagined", as it become known, Battlestar Galactica introduced many new elements and twists (Starbuck is portrayed as a girl rather than the swashbuckling, romantic playboy of the original series) without straying too far from the original concept, and as a result has attracted a large and loyal following of fans.

Mattel’s Battlestar Galactical Figures Mattel’s original line of Battlestar Galactica ac-tion figures was released in 1978 and consisted of Starbuck,

Adama,

Daggit (the robot dog),

two Cylons (silver and

gold),

Lucifer,

Boltar,

Boray (a pig headed creature),

Ovion (a fly-like alien)

and the Imperious Leader

(a rather dull pink alien).

These figures weren’t up to the standard and quali-ty of the Kenner Star Wars figures, however over the course of time, and par-ticularly since the start of the new “re-imagined” series has resulted in a resurgence of interest in new Battlestar Galactica figures and merchandising as well as stimulating the market in the old vintage Mattel figures, which can still be found at very rea-sonable prices.

The first series of Battle-star Galactica figures was sold in 6 and 4 figure gift sets as well as the regular individual blister packs.

The second series of Bat-tlestar Galactica action fig-ures was released in 1979 and included the original figures from series one as well as four new figures:

Sidenote: It is often the case with older figures, such as these, it is the weapons that often prove to be the most difficult to find, although the figures themselves are relatively easy to acquire.

In 1979 Mattel released of two 12-inch figure Battle-star Galactica figures, a Colonial Warrior figure and Cylon Centurion Figure.

The Colonial Warrior was based on the original mold from Mattel’s Major Matt Mason’s Captain Laser fig-ure and came with a laser beam, scanner device and Arial and the Cylon had the added bonus of a manu-ally operated moving red eye and glowing chest.

Both these figures have become extremely hard to find in mint condition with their boxes intact, so are worth keeping a look out for. Later, in 1980, Mattel also introduced a limited edition mail away Gold Cylon offer, in which you had to send in four proofs of purchase from any of the four figures in the series to get.

Mattel also produced five Battlestar Galactica ships, three which were based on ships featured in the show, and two made up ones. These were a

Colonial Viper,Cylon Raider,

Colonial Landram,

Stellar Probe,

and Scarab.

Initially each of these came with missiles that could be fired but after a child died from swallowing one they were replaced, so the ear-lier figures have become somewhat of a rarity.

The Colonial Viper was one of the best models that Mattel released and looked exactly like it did in the show and came with a small 2” viper pilot figure.

The Scarab was one of Mattel’s “made up” vehi-cles and was never actu-ally featured in the series. It came in 3 main parts, the command module, drive section and rocket launcher.

The instruction sheet also wrongly labeled the figure that came with these ve-hicles as a Cylon. Another vehicle released by Mattel that had nothing to do with the show was the Colonial Stellar Probe 30 which was based very loosely on the Colonial viper.

The Stellar Probe, like the Scarab, had nothing to do with the show and con-sisted of the command module, main body,

wing unit, tail, thrusters, adapter, nose cone, and lift-off assembly.

The nice part with this fig-ure is that by interchang-ing the parts you could make up to eight different vehicles.

As with the Scarab there are two variations of this vehicle available, a grey version with firing missiles and a non firing version.

Artwork on the box also contained a picture of an early prototype Colonial figure with white arms and a red body rather than the final all red version which was released.

The Colonial Landram is probably the hardest Bat-tlestar Galactica toy to find, with the exception of the Battlestar Galactica it-self, of course.

The Colonial Landram was released in 1979 and was the last of the Mattel ships to be released and then only in Canada.

It was built to the same scale as the other ships and, as with the others, was available in both a non missile firing and a missile firing version.

There were two types of wheels available for the Landram, caterpillar tracks and plain wheels, in the same style as the Scar-ab, it also came with two small warrior figures that sat inside the cockpit. One of these sold on Ebay for $2,025.00 in 2006.

The Viper Launch Station came with the runway, two launch-able vipers, two laser turrets,

solar sensors, catapult grip, and two raider tar-gets. This is one of the more difficult items to find, particularly in mint condi-tion with all the pieces in-tact and often sell more than $60

Then we have the Holy Grail of Battlestar Galacti-ca collectibles, the one that everyone wants, The Bat-tlestar Galactica Command Ship. This “ship” was to feature electronic sounds, launching vipers and was a massive 22 inches in length! It was, however, never released as it was deemed to be too expen-sive to produce and sell and hence why you will probably never see one for sale.

However, at least one prototype DOES exist and sold on Ebay

for $5,100.00 in 2006.

After the Mattel figures nothing new was released until 1996 when a company called Trendmaster released a new series of 12-inch BattlestarGalactica action figures.

The initial series included four figures, a Cylon Cen-turion, Cylon Commander, Imperious Leader, Star-buck and later a limited edition Stealth Cylon figure (which was just a normal cylon in black). Each of these figures was also available as a talking ver-sion and was based on the comic book, rather than the TV series, that was produced by Richard Hatch and his friend in the late 90's.

The Imperious Leader looked as he does because the comic featured Glen Larson’s original concept of the Cylons being a lizard race that had become cyber-netic warriors. (In the TV series they were all turned into robots because they were not allowed to have the heroes killing live beings on a show that kids would watch.)

These figures remain reasonably collectable but had some major flaws, for example Starbuck and Impe-

rious Leader were unable to hold their weapons, and the Imperious Leader’s mask kept falling off.

Trendmasters Battlestar Galacticaaction figure

In 2005 Joyride Studios released a set of six 6-inch Battlestar Galacticafigures in two series: Cylon Centurion,

Cylon Raider, and Colonial Viper, in the first series and Apollo, Starbuck and a Cylon Commander in series two.

Although the Cylon figures in series one had really nice sculpts they were more like a statue than true action figures, as it only looked good in its base pose, although some of its' limbs are artic-ulated. Also the "red eye" is only represented by a blob of red paint rather than a plastic red eye.

The series two figures suffered from the same fate as the Centurion in se-ries one. All three of these figures are great sculpts with good paint jobs but are again more a kin to statues than action figures.

Each of these figures came with a removable helmet and gun which could be fit-ted in the leg holster.

Joyride Studios Battlestar Galactica action figure

Konami of Japan released a set of miniature Battlestar Galactica figures in 2005. These "trading figures", as they are often referred to, are very popular in Japan. Each figure is packaged in a "blind" box so it is impossible to tell which one you are getting until you open it, much like a pack of trading cards or collectible card game.

These Battlestar Galactica trading figures were based on the original show and featured a Cylon Warrior, Cylon Commander, Cylon Base-star, Cylon Raider, Viper, Galactica, Atlantia, and Pegasus.

The Atlantia, Pegasus and Cylon Commander figures were much harder to come by than the other figures as they were produced in

much smaller numbers and have become more collectible andvaluable.

Each of these miniature plasticfigures were from 2" to 5" long.

Konami Battlestar Galactica action figure

2005 also saw the release of Majestic Studio’s highly detailed Limited Edition Battlestar Galactica figure which featured a Cylon Centurion, a Cylon Commander, Apollo, Starbuck, and Adama.

These figures have become highly collectible and are con-sidered to be among the best Battlestar Galactic figures to have been produced over the years with their excellent sculpting and careful atten-tion to detail as well as 7 to 12 points of articulation, each figure stood approximately 7" high and included accessories.The Cylon Centurion figure had detachable armor as well as a nice fabric body suit and came complete with a rifle, gun, sword, and stand, the only minor fault with this fig-ure was that it was missing the "skirt".

A an identical gold version of the Cylon Commander was also produce as a Tower Records exclusive in the USA. One of the few faults with these figures is that Ma-jestic possibly tried to cut corners to save money on the packaging and therefore the figures featured on the box often didn't match the figure inside.

Later, in 2006, Majestic released a Space Toys exclusive Apollo and Starbuck figure set. This special edition boxed set of 12" collectible figures, based on the "Experiment in Terra" episode from the original series, was limited to only 500 sets. In this ep-isode, the characters' uniforms and accessories, from their Viper helmets down to their boots, miraculously turn white when in the presence of this protecting white aura. The figures in the boxed set display an amazing attention to detail with each uniform, including guns and accessories, reproduced in pure white.

The deluxe packaging featured a unique white flapped window box in a clear acetate sleeve, each set was also individually numbered and came with a 'Certificate of Authenticity' that was personally autographed by actor Richard Hatch, who portrayed the lead central character, Captain Apollo.

Majestic Studios Battlestar Galactica action figure

Diamond Select Toys announced a licensing agreement with Universal Studios in January 2007 based on the new re-imagined series.

There were three series of figures released between 2007-2009 with a fourth series (see checklist below) scheduled to be released in 2009 but it was put back several times before finally being cancelled in 2011, much to the disappointment of its many fans. There were also numerous Comic-Con ex-clusives, store exclusives, special editions and two-packs released.

Most of the main characters were produced during the brief tome these fig-ures were produced as well as many of the minor characters, with the ex-ception of Guis Balter and President Roslin.

Mattel Figures

Gift Sets 1978

Six Figure Gift Set Series 1 1978

Commander Adama

Cylon Centurian

Daggit (Brown)

Daggit (Tan)

Imperious Leader

Lt. Starbuck

Ovion

1978 Series 2

Baltar

Boray

Cylon Commander

Lucifer

Vehicles

Colonial Scarab

Colonial Stellar Probe

Colonial Viper

Cylon Raider

Diamond Select Toys

TheBattlestar Galactica Checklists

1978 Playsets

Colonial Viper

Colonial Stellar Probe

Colonial Landram

Cylon Raider

Viper Launch Station

1979 12-Inches Figures

Colonial Warrior

Cylon Centurian

Trend Masters1996 Basic Figures

Cylon Centurion (Black)

Cylon Centurion (Silver)

Cylon Commander

Imperious Leader

Starbuck

Vehicles

Raider

Viper

Joyride Studios2005 Basic Figures Apollo

Cylon Commander Cylon

Starbuck

2005 Vehicles

Colonial Viper

Colonial Viper (Blue Squadron)

Cylon Raider

2005 Majestic Cylon Centurion Cylon Comander Apollo

Starbuck

Adaman

Diamond Select ToysSeries One (2007)

The first wave of action figures on display in prototype form at the February 2007 Toy Fair trade show included: Number Six in her red dress, Lee "Apollo" Adama in flight suit with helmet, gloved and ungloved sets of hands, and Chief Tyrol in green fatigues.[2] Also announced (but not shown) were a second version of the Chief (possibly in his orange jumpsuit) and Hotdog (expected to reuse the flight suit body created for the Lee Adama figure, but with Hotdog's head). Advance sketches shown in January 2007 at the UK ToyFair indicated that an alternate flight suit body was considered that would have featured an unzipped collar.[3] Pending licensor ap-proval, the first wave of figures will be in stores summer 2007 (and the Chief Tyrol variant will be available online exclusively from DST).

•Lee"Apollo"Adama(FlightSuit) •Six(RedDress) •Brendan"Hotdog"Costanza(FlightSuit) •CapricaSix(Blacktop/pants)(PreviewsExclusive) •Karl"Helo"Agathon(GalacticaDutyBlues)(ActionFigureXpressExclusive) •ChiefTyrol(Fatigues)(DiamondSelectToysExclusive) •SamuelAnders(ResistanceFighter)(FYE/Suncoast/BigBadToyStore.comExclusive)

Series Two (2008)The second wave was initially teased as being "a Cylon, a drug runner, a Cylon-lover, a prophet, a wife, a witch, and a wingman", the latter three being retailer exclusives. Diamond subsequently identified the initial four char-acters in wave two as follows:[5]

•Kara"Starbuck"Thrace(FlightSuit) •Louanne"Kat"Katraine(FlightSuit) •CylonCenturion(insilver)(Image) •Karl"Helo"Agathon(RaptorGear)(PreviewsExclusive)

Series Three (2008)The third wave features characters from the special episode Razor. Their packaging is colored blue in contrast to the standard red that has been used for all other releases up to this point. The word "Razor" is printed in red below the 'Battlestar Galactica' title located at the top of the package.

•William"Husker"Adama('FirstCylonWar'FlightSuit) •KendraShaw(PegasusDutyBlues) •GuardianCylon("Pilot"modelinsilver) •GinaInviere(lightbluelabcoatwithblacktop/pants)(PreviewsExclusive)

Series Four (CANCELLED)The fourth wave was to feature various military and political leaders. Originally, the characters listed for pre-ordering included Admiral Adama (Galactica Duty Blues), President Roslin (Presidential suit), and President Adama (Presidential suit). Admiral Cain (Pegasus Duty Blues) was listed separately as a “Previews Exclusive” addition to this series. A mustached Admiral Adama was going to be released as a ‘case topper’ to promote re-tailerstobuyinbulk(case=6figures/2ofeachcharacter+casetopper)butwaslateraddedtothewave.InlateNovember 2009, it was announced that Gaius Baltar would be replacing Presidents Roslin and Adama. In 2010, the mustacheless Admiral Adama was released as a “Toys R Us” exclusive. The wave was officially cancelled early in 2011.

Convention ExclusivesThese are limited edition figures and have event logos printed on the cardboard label photos (lower right corner) inside of their packaging.

•"ValleyofDarkness"CylonCenturion(variantinsilverwithbloodstainsasseenintheepisodeValley of Darkness) (2007 San Diego Comic Con exclusive) (Image)

•"Stealth"Cylon(variantinblack)(2009NewYorkComicConexclusive)(Limitedtounder1,000pieces)

Toys R Us ExclusivesThese figures were only available through "Toys R Us" stores and website. Unless noted, they have a silver cir-cular sticker on the bubblepack depicting the TRU backwards 'R' with the word "exclusive" circling it in three places. Wave 1 (rare) •Lee"Apollo"Adama(GalacticaDutyBlues) Wave 2 William "Husker" Adama ('First Cylon War' Flight Suit) (Identical figure to "Razor" version but with redpackagingandbacksideshowsotherToys'R'Us/ToyRocket.comExclusive)(NoToys'R'UsExclusive sticker)

•BattleDamagedCylonPilot(variantinmattesilverwithblackdamage) •CylonWarriorCommander(variantingold) Wave 3 •Samuel"Longshot"Anders(FlightSuit)(Image) •BattleDamaged"MortarPack"CylonCenturion(variantinmattesilverwithattachedmortarpack and cracked "head") (Image) •"CivilWar"CylonCenturion"(variantinmattesilver)(Image) Wave 4 •NewCapricaBoomer(Faintbluejacketwithgrayshirtandlightgreenpants) •RedStripeCylon(variantinsilverwitharedstripepainteddiagonallyfromtheleft"shoulder"tothe right "hip" on front and back) (Also available at BigBadToyStore.com at a higher price) •OffDutyApollo(Fatigues)

Wave 5 (1 Adama for every 3 Cylons in a case)

•CommanderWilliamAdama(GalacticaDutyBlues)(NoToys'R'UsExclusivesticker)(Image) •StealthWarriorCylon(variantwiththesamepaintcoloringasthe2009NewYork Comic Con exclusive) (Image)

Two Packs

Characters with special relationships were paired in these sets.

•Apollo(PegasusDutyBlues)&Dualla(Fatigues) •Leoben(Greenpatternedshirtwithredpants)&Starbuck(Fatigues) •Boomer&Athena(BoomerisinGalacticaDutyBluesandAthenaisinRaptorGear.)BattleDamaged Cylons(variantinsilverwithblackdamageandcracked"head")(ActionFigureXpressExclusive) •Tigh(GalacticaDutyBlueswithEyePatch)&Gaeta(GalacticaDutyBlues) •RedStripeCylon(variantinmattesilverwithredstripe)&CylonWarrior("Soldier"modelinsilver with black damage) ('Daybreak' 2 pack)

Other Figures

These are additional figures from the line that were released individually.

•"Downloaded"CylonCenturion(variantwithsuper-shinyexteriordepictingthenon-combatCylons seen planting trees on Cylon-Occupied Caprica from the episode Downloaded) (2007 San Diego Comic Con Battlestar-themed party exclusive)(Limited to 500 pieces packaged in polybags) (Image) •"NewCaprica"CylonCenturion(variantinshinysilver)(FormerlyavailableatThinkGeek.com) •CylonWarrior("Soldier"modelinsilver)(ToyRocket.comexclusivewithblue"Razor" packaging and title.) •GuardianCylon("Pilot"modelinsilver)(Identicalfigureto"Razor"versionbutwithredpackaging and different photo in front lower right corner and pictures of 2-packs on the back) •CylonCommander("Pilot"modelingold)(PreviewsExclusive)

Signed EditionsSome figures were available with the depicted actors' hand-signed autographs on the packaging.

•Six(RedDress)(Signedonbackofcard)(Image) •Brendan"Hotdog"Costanza(FlightSuit)(Image) •ChiefTyrol(Fatigues)(DiamondSelectToysExclusive)(Giveawayforparticipantsofthe2008SanDi ego Comic Con annual Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive in partnership with Aaron Douglas and Diamond Select Toys) (Limited to 750 pieces) (Image) [6]

ComingNextMonth• SpecialFeature:Will3DPrintingMarktheEndforActionFigures?• BlastfromthePast:IndianaJones• CustomCorner:Jin’sBasicGuidetoCustomActionFigures• KickstarterProjects• Reviews• Andallthelatestnews+gossip!

Documents

2014 - Warpo · 2014 SEPTEMBER ISSUE Newsdesk KickStarter Custome Corner Reviews SPECIAL FEATURES How Hasbro Created Jabba the Hutt’s Throne Roaom… Do You Need More Display Space?