DC Action League Series 4

Love these figures. Would have preferred if there were less of them with outstretched arms. Its tougher to display them.   

Batman Vs Bronze Tiger

Batman is the same figure as the one released in Series 2. Great figure. He is still the only character to feature ball and hinge shoulders. 

Bronze Tiger was to have been released in the Batman: Brave and the Bold Action League line but wasn't. Great that he eventually made it. I'm not sure that if its the same figure as the one that showed up online.  Anyway, this is a decent figure. Pretty good paint and detail. Like the tiger stripes at the top of his gloves and boots. And also the teeth painted on his face.   

Martian Manhuinter & Deadman

Like the sculpt of Martian Manhunter. Unfortunately, the pants spoils the look for me. I'm probably just too used to him being in trunks. I also don't mind the full body costume but this just puts me off. He looks more like a pirate to me. His cape weighs him down and he tends to fall backwards. To counter this, just extend his arms outwards.

Deadman is a nice figure. He's made mostly of translucent plastic, giving him a ghostly appearance. Theres some nice detail on him like the wrinkles on his face. His feet are sculpted together and there are some waves around them. To me, it seems like he has just risen from the ground and the waves are his abilities in action. Due to the collar, you can only turn his head a little either side. 

Professor Zoom Vs The Flash

Professor Zoom is the same figure as the Flash from Series 1, except that he's wearing reverse colours. Having the two racing side by side makes for a good display. 

You can tell that this Flash is again Barry Allen from the style of his belt.  I like his thinner face compared to the Series 1 version. He comes with a whirlwind accessory which can be placed on his outstretched arm. Its a pretty cool accessory as thats one of the manoeuvres he uses. The feet are warped on my figure and he has trouble standing.  

Arkillo & Sinestro

Sinestro comes in his Sinestro Corps costume. Wonder when they'll release him in my preferred classic costume of blue an black. He has the same pose as the White Lantern version which was released in Series 1. This figure is smaller though. I like the shade of red used for his skin.

Arkillo is a bigger sized figure and is well sculpted. Like the teeth. He looks mean and cute at the same time. He's a great addition. 

 

 

The Lantern figures in the line so far. There's also a half green half blue Hal not pictured. The Guardian came in a Green Lantern movie pack.  

This is another great bunch of figures. Next up is Series 5 which is the Flashpoint wave. I don't usually like characters in costumes outside of my preferred versions. I doubt I'll be getting the whole wave this time. 

Check out the figures from previous waves:

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Masters of the Universe: He-Man

This year is the 30th Anniversary of Masters of the Universe. Thought I'll do a post on the main versions of He-Man from the various toylines.    

Starting with the vintage figure from the 1980s. Love this figure. Played with it a lot. The sculpt screams "powerful", it has great accessories and it was pretty hardy. It could withstand rough play. He could double up as Prince Adam too since they look the same. For me back then with the armour removed he was Prince Adam, and when he changed into He-Man, I just put the armour back on. But doing that repeatedly meant that the tabs on the back of the armour broke. The armour is pretty flimsy. The bands on his wrists are unpainted. Have gotten used to them so I think I prefer them as they are. The legs of the figure are held together by a rubber piece. Unfortunately it has become brittle and has broken due to age. He is now supported with blu-tack. He came with a power sword, a battle axe and a shield.

Articulation. The head and arms can fully rotate, and the legs can be lifted up and down. He has an action feature. Turn his waist either side and and it'll spring back to the front, enabling him to punch someone.

I didn't like the New Adventures of He-Man cartoon, but I still got the figure. The body is okay but the head is off. He looks more like an angry Arnold Schwarzenegger than He-Man. I quite like the H buckle on the belt, even if its not show accurate.

Articulation. His head can be rotated fully, hips have peg and hinge and knees have hinge and swivel. The knee joints are very thin and there's a worry they might break. He has an action feature. Turn his waist side to side and his arms will move up and down. You can get his arms to stay in certain positions.     

His accessories include the power sword, a shield, a helmet and armour. Here's how he looks like fully equipped. The shield is pretty cool. A Green Lantern might swipe it from him next time.

In 2002 we got a new Masters of the Universe cartoon and toyline. Love the cartoon. The stories were better, there was more action and we got to know more about some of the characters. He-Man got an updated look while keeping some of the vintage elements like the armour style, loin cloth and furry boots. The figure is well sculpted. It has a good likeness to his appearance in the cartoon. Would have preferred a more natural expression instead of the gritted teeth he's spotting. I think his arms are a little too big and out of proportion. He comes with a power sword, battle axe and shield. The sword is unique as part of the hilt can be rotated to unleash the power as part of his transformation like in the cartoon.

Articulation. The head can be rotated, shoulders have ball and hinge, wrists have swivel and hips have ball and hinge. There's an action feature at his waist. Twist his waist and it'll spring back to the front. 

NECA continued the modern line in the form of mini-statues. We got characters not previously released by Mattel. He-Man was released as a SDCC exclusive. He's similar to the 2002 version but here he's wearing the vintage costume and colours. I like this figure a lot even though he's a statue. He's sculpted to hold aloft his sword. Together with his wind swept hair, you get the idea hes just tranformed into He-Man, or heroically leading his allies into battle. His eyes are whiter than usual. (close up pic at the top of the post) To me, its like there's power flowing through him. He's painted very well. There's different colour tones on his skin. He comes with a power sword, a shield, a battle axe and a base. The power sword is more like the original version instead of the 2002 version.   

This next He-Man is from the Masters of the Universe Classics line. The figure I got is a reissue which I think is better as it does not have the "red eyes". This is a nice figure. He's back to his original look. Seeing him brings back memories. The sculpt is great and he's got improved articulation. His hands seem to be a little small though and I don't like the bigger size wrist armor on his left arm. Though its designed to be like the original, would have preferred it to be the same size as the one on his right. The figure stands near 7". Would have liked if he were in the 6" scale, then he could properly go up against the likes of Superman and the Hulk. He comes with two power swords, one whole and one half versions. Both are painted similarly. I don't like the two tone grey. He also comes with a battle axe and a shield.

Articulation. Hes got a ball jointed neck, ball and hinge shoulders, bicep swivel, single jointed elbows, wrist swivel, ab crunch, waist rotation, ball and hinge hips, high thigh swivel, single jointed knees, swivel at the top of his boots and hinge ankles.  

The various Power Swords. My favourite is the one produced by NECA, which is the second one from the right.  

By the Power of Grayskull!
Thanks for viewing!

WWE Rumblers (Various)

The various WWE Rumblers I have picked up over the past few months.

Shawn Michaels was my biggest want after I bought my first batch of Rumblers. Managed to get him recently. He's got a decent likeness. He reminds me more of "blueblood" Triple H, especially from the back view. He's posed performing "Sweet Chin Music". He stands well despite being on one leg.

The Big Show is a bigger sized figure as you would expect. He's sculpted with two possible finishing moves. The chokeslam and the knockout punch, though its with his left hand. 

Rey Mysterio is one of my favourite figures. Being short and stumpy adds to the cuteness of it. I think only Hornswoggle is shorter than him. The tatoos on his body are nicely done. He's missing several though. 

Evan Bourne looks a bit like Fonzie. He's another short figure but he's slightly taller than Rey Mysterio due to his hair. The figure is leaning backwards. He's sculpted with double peace signs and he's ready to go "Air Bourne". He has slightly different articulation, there's swivel at the top of his boots. Its quite pointless though, rotating the boots makes it harder for him to stand.  

Santino Marella. Like this guy, he's pretty entertaining. Stay clear of him, he's going for "the Cobra".

Randy Orton is a decent figure. He looks a little like John Cena. The tatoos on his arms are well done.    

He can do his signature pose well.

Edge has a good likeness. He is posed poised to "Spear" someone. Without the ring ropes, he looks a little awkward, especially with regards to his right hand. 

Small to big. Nice that there is size difference between the figures.

Love these Rumblers. I saw that the Rock has been released with John Cena in the US. Will be looking out for that. I hope Mattel gets round to releasing figures of older superstars like Bret Hart and Stone Cold.

WWE Defining Moments Bret "Hitman" Hart

He's the Best there is, the Best there was and the Best there ever will be. He's Bret "Hitman" Hart.

Bret Hart is one of my favourite wrestlers. I really took to him after watching the 1993 King of the Ring. I saw him before in previous tag team and singles matches but it was those three matches that left a strong impression.

Out of the package, Bret is all set to make his entrance. He's got his shades and jacket on. The jacket is really nice. Its soft and leather like, and the logo and lettering on the back is sharp.       

He comes with the Canadian flag. It is made of paper. You have to be really careful with it as it gets creased easily. The flag is a little loose in his hand but he can hold it decently.  

Also included is the old WWE Championship belt. Great detail on it. The design is sculpted and you can make out the wording pretty clearly. Its also real shiny. The straps buckles well and the belt fits nicely on his waist.    

On to the figure itself. Hes got a good likeness. Hes got a natural expression with a hint of a smile on his face. I especially like the hair. The few strands over his forehead are quite distinctive. There's paint rub and visible black marks on the shoulders of my figure, not happy about that. His attire is dominantly black. The pink outline and the logo on his singlet are well done. The design on his tights is cool, but the paint application for it appears and feels rough. The paint on his tights is not as glossy compared to his singlet.     

The reflective surface of his shades is just a sticker. The sides of it are already peeling off, due to it being carelessly put on.   

Articulation. His head can be rotated. His hair doesn't really hinders it and a full rotation can be done easily. There's ball and hinge shoulders, bicep swivel, single hinge elbows, swivel and hinge wrists, ab crunch, waist rotation, peg and hinge hips, upper thigh swivel, double jointed knees, swivel at the top of his boots and ankle hinge. 

Some shots of the "Excellence of Execution" in action.

This is a great figure which I'm unlikely to replace for some time.