FANtastic Exclusive 2009 – Round 2

March 17, 2009 | Poe

Round 2 of the FANtastic Exclusive voting has begun and, sadly, the Blue Gargoyle didn’t even make the bracket. Ouch.

I don’t have a clear favorite now, but I like the Phantom Trooper, the Celestial Zodians, and the Ministry of Hunters. I really hope Wolfbat and Raven don’t win, because I’m tired of the anthropomorphic, dark fantasy-style FE figures. I’d be relatively happy with any winner other than those two.

Unfortunately, I suspect Raven is going to win, because I think the FE voters are heavily weighted toward MOTU collectors and fans who became familiar with the Four Horsemen due to MOTU2K. There’s been a strong epic fantasy/sword-and-sorcery bias in the FE voting since day one.

Custom Batman photos

March 17, 2009 | Poe

As much as I like the black-and-gray DCSH Batman, he’s a little too buff to be my perfect Batman. I’ve been fiddling around with a custom Batman figure for ages, and recently I made a couple changes that may finally have made him cool enough to be my current “standard” Batman until such time as DCUC offers one with a pouch belt and black bat symbol.

His upper torso and arms come from the TRU exclusive Batman; the head, pelvis, and legs are from a DCUC Batman (and yes, could use some paint touch-ups, I know); and the belt and cape are from an Alex Ross Justice Batman.

What do you think, sirs?

Odds ‘n Ends

March 17, 2009 | Poe

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  • Mattel’s Facebook page is back. It currently offers such goodies as in-package pics of Mer-Man and Zodac (along with Zodac’s new bio, which I think nicely ties together all the various incarnations of the character) and the Ultraman & Alex Luthor two-pack. Love the face sculpt on Ultraman, but seriously, does anyone really want that Alex Luthor? He’s sculpted well, but he just looks so…goofy.
  • Even I was surprised Faker sold out in a mere three hours. Mattel did warn that quantities were limited after NYCC, but nonetheless, that’s amazing demand for what’s basically just a repainted He-Man. While a lot of fans have been predicting that the increased production on future MOTUC figures will backfire, that’s not looking likely at the moment–at least, not with Mer-Man. Zodac will be the true test, since he lacks Mer-Man’s popularity, number of accessories, and alternate head.
  • The next review I write will be my 150th toy review. As such, I’ve decided to center a contest around it. Look for a post about that this week or next.
  • If you missed it, be sure to check out my overview of some of the action figure display stands on the market today. How did you guys like this article? Would you like to see more pieces like this?
  • Skeletor, much to his chagrin, is still taking your questions for round 2 of Ask Skeletor.
  • Loved How I Met Your Mother last night. The whole thing with the nightshirt was priceless. And I’m quite glad Laura Prepon is gone, because she was so obviously not the mother and I have no interest in sitting through yet another long-term relationship everyone knows won’t work out (a la Robin).

Toy review roundup (via Fanmode)

March 16, 2009 | Poe

fanmode-copy Artemis reviews the Diamond Select Toys Star Trek Deep Space Nine Colonel Kira Nerys Previews Exclusive figure. Excerpt: “… she’s up to the standard I’m looking for – not perfect, but very good …”

Newton Gimmick reviews the Character Options Doctor Who Vashta Nerada Suit Creature figure. Excerpt: “… it does look a lot like a Scooby Doo villain …” (See also.)

Newton Gimmick reviews the Character Options Doctor Who Supreme Dalek (Vespiform Wave version) figure. Excerpt: “The Supreme Dalek is the biggest and baddest Dalek in all the land, so he makes an excellent addition to your collection.” (more…)

Ask Mattel > Mid-March Edition

March 16, 2009 | Poe

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Poe: The Matty Mattel Facebook page has been very good about updating collectors on the status of various toy lines. However, not all collectors have Facebook accounts. Would it be possible for these updates to be cross-posted on Mattycollector.com?

Mattel: Ideally we would like to do this, but believe it or not it is a bit more complicated to update MattyCollector.com’s news page due to unforeseen legal issues which is why we started using Facebook. We highly recommend that if fans want the latest info they register for the Facebook page. (more…)

Stand! (in the place where your figures are)

March 16, 2009 | Poe

As action figures have become more poseable and dynamic, collectors have been looking for ways to pose their figures in more than just the typical “soldier in formation” look. Other figures simply tend to fall over a lot (looking at you, JLU). So it’s not surprising a number of action figure manufacturers and third-party companies now offer a range of ways to get your action figures looking their best.

This is just a quick overview of some of the better-known display stands available for 3 ¾” and 5″-7″ figures. (more…)