Poe’s Point > Some DCUC Repaint/Retool Possibilities

February 23, 2009 | Poe

Apologies for the awkward title, but I couldn’t think of a better way to explain what I mean. Everyone knows that a big part of what allows Mattel to produce such a diverse selection of DC Universe characters in their DCUC line (however difficult said figures may be to find at times) is that most figures re-use molds from previous figures; that is, Batman and Superman have the same basic body structure in their torso, shoulders, and thighs, but Batman has his spiked gauntlets, scalloped cape and capsule belt while Superman has his spare belt, streamlined boots and squared-off cape.

A fun game that’s emerged among DCUC fans is to guess what figures will be made from existing body molds. For instance, just about everyone knew that Gentleman Ghost was based on the same body type as the inevitable Joker figure (in fact, the body mold was created with this in mind). While the line has two or three “skintight spandex superhero” bodies that can be used for any number of heroes and villains, what I’m more interested in is the unique shapes–like that of Gentleman Ghost/Joker. (more…)

Poe’s Point > A Reviewer’s Manifesto

February 17, 2009 | Poe

che_skeletorRecently, I was taken to task in the comments section of one of my figure reviews. The commenter believed I am generally too lenient on the figures I review, and that my grading system did not reflect the actual quality of the figure. In my response, I explained I review figures based on the idea that I’m reviewing it for those who would be interested in this particular figure, not objectively against every action figure ever made.

The analogy I used was movies: can a movie like Finding Nemo be objectively compared to Citizen Kane? One could try, but if I wrote a movie review where, in my head, I’m constantly thinking to myself “Would someone who thinks the Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever like Finding Nemo?” the end result would be pretty damned weird, and probably unreadable. No matter how great a film it is, Finding Nemo is a film intended for a young audience, while Citizen Kane is not, and trying to review one based on the other for the purposes of making a recommendation to someone strikes me as silly.

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Poe’s Point > MOTUC Sells Out?

January 13, 2009 | Poe

heman_beastman-22There’s been some mildly heated discussion regarding Mattel’s decision to pull Beast Man and He-Man off Mattycollector prior to Skeletor‘s release on Thursday. For the record, here’s what Mattel had to say about it:

As visitors may have seen, both He-Man and Beastman are now sold out on Mattycollector.com. We knew a few days ago we were running low and with only a few hundred units left, we wanted to close down sales so we can have just handful for NYCC and SDCC to help spread the word on this amazing toy line at the summer conventions. (after all, the more fans we can get, the more units we can sell and the more tooling dollars we can get to tool bigger and better figures!)

We won’t have every 2009 MOTU figure available at the shows, but we actually produced more of these two figures in particular to help gauge sales. And now that we have a good idea now of how many MOTU fans are out there we can adjust future figure production accordingly.

Skeletor goes on sale at 12:00 Eastern this Thursday. (as does the DCUC Adam Strange and Starfire 2 pack and the Infinite Heroes stands). We are also working hard to get a monthly subscription service up and running for MOTUC to take us through December. (at which point the subscription for 2010 will cover Jan- Dec figures of that year).

I’m not naïve–I know Mattel hasn’t exactly won the people’s trust with their issues with DCUC and so forth. But I don’t quite get why this has made some people so suspicious. Mattel has been warning the figures would sell out for weeks. (more…)

Poe’s Point > Suggestions for the new DCUC 2-packs

December 19, 2008 | Poe

mat11450In my previous post, I mentioned the DCUC two-packs Mattel is soliciting. In order to get made, there has to be enough fan interest. Here’s a quick reminder of what the two-packs include:

Batman vs Clayface – Batman will be in his black and gray costume with “mud splatter” effects. Clayface will be an exact reissue of this hard to find figure.

Superman vs Brainiac – This is proposed as a standard Superman figure (Eradicator head on the Wave 6 Superman body with red heat vision eyes) vs. Classic Brainiac (green head) with an all new head and coller piece. Brainic will come armed with Luthor’s gun from the 2007 figure.

Supergirl vs. Luthor – This will be a reissue of the Blue outfit Kara Supergirl and the power suit Lex, but perhapes with a little surprise in the accessories!

Golden Age Hawk Pack – Two new figures to start your golden age collection.

Here’s my 2¢: Mattel could easily drum up more fan interest–and pre-orders–if they make a few simple changes. (more…)

Poe’s Point > A call for help (DCUC 5)

November 23, 2008 | Poe

It pains me that I’m reduced to this, but I must ask you, dear readers, for some assistance.

As you know, I’m an avid collector of DC Universe Classics. And as you may also know, there is a wave exclusive to Wal-mart currently in stores. I had a deal arranged to get a set, but it fell through.

You can’t order the wave online, unless you’re willing to pay outrageous eBay scalper prices. And for some reason, there simply are none in Massachusetts. I’ve visited seven different Wal-marts in the past week and found no sign of them. I did find one Sonic Arm Cyborg at Kay-Bee Toys, which I’m happy to trade, if anyone’s interested.

So I’m putting the word out: if you live near a Wal-mart and come across this wave, would you be willing to pick up a set for me? I’m willing to pay cost, shipping + a bit extra for your effort, or alternatively, I’ll make you an excellent deal from my trade page. (more…)

Poe’s Point > Dear Mattel, please fix DCUC’s distribution…

November 19, 2008 | Poe

…because I just can’t read another post about how people can’t find them.

I’ll admit it, I’ve had a relatively easy time of it with DC Universe Classics. I’ve pre-ordered every wave (except the Wal-mart exclusive Metallo wave) online, and they’ve all arrived in a timely fashion. If there have been any variants I’ve wanted and didn’t get in my cases, I’ve bought them on eBay or traded for them at reasonable prices. For the Wal-mart wave, I paid a fellow collector (at cost with shipping) to buy them all when he found them at Wal-mart and ship them to me. (more…)

Poe’s Point > A Decade of eBay

November 3, 2008 | Poe

This weekend marked my ten-year anniversary as a member of eBay. A young Poe first signed up on November 1, 1998.

For some obsessive reason, I’ve kept archives of thousands upon thousands of emails from my college years onward, but I apparently didn’t start doing that until my junior year. The earliest item I can find is from May 1999. It was an Emperor’s Royal Guard figure from the 1990s Power of the Force Star Wars line; I remember having a SW renaissance around that time, largely driven by videogames such as Jedi Knight and Rogue Squadron. (more…)