HOT TOYS OBAMA 2.0

Here is a picture of my repaired Hot Toys Truetype Obama figure raising his repaired left arm. Broken arm and all, he's still one of my favorite figures. Who wouldn't want a mini-Obama for their one sixth collection.

I am still sold on Hot Toys. Their skill in producing face sculpts that look like the characters they are reproducing is unmatched. This Obama is the best sculpt out there. They've got him down from slightly over sized ears to the creased brow and look of concern that he usually wears when making a important point during a speech. Here is a close-up below so you can see what I mean.

The skin tone is not exact. President Obama is lighter toned than the figure and he is missing his beauty mark on the left side of his face just above his left nare.

Boasting 38 points of articulation is awesome but, breaking on the first pose isn't. Over the years Hot Toys has made major improvements on their basic figure and taken the advice of collectors by improving weak joints, changing the plastic composition and offering different skin tones and body types. I am confident that the areas of weak articulation points will be corrected also. Especially since they are going up in price for their basic figures. Hot Toys has a pretty good reputation for delivering top quality products.

AN ALMOST A TRUETYPE BODY REVIEW

Well, I was going to do a comparison between my advanced Hot Toy body and Power Team Elite body but, Hot Toys advance action figure body's left arm broke off with the first pose. I was trying to compare articulation. I guess you can imagine, my ten dollar Big Lots figure won the pose off due to default on Truetype body.

Man, I am so disappointed. The truetype body uses superior plastic composite but, obviously the joints tend to break. I had read about other customers having this problem but, the figure feels so solid that I thought it was some type of fluke. I stand corrected. Hot Toys has made significant improvements over the years but, as you can see from the picture below, there is definitely room for improvement.

I have had to fix Hot Toys before. I usually use crazy glue. It limits the articulation but, it's better than letting him walk around as an amputee.

Anyway, as far as height they are about equal.

As far as face sculpts, the Power Team Elite figure has a rather cartoon  like face. Hot Toys sculpts are always realistic and totally on point for whoever they are representing. I have noticed that almost all the AA sculpts are cartoon like while other nationalities seem much more realistic. Why, I don't know. Just an observation.

I still say that Hot Toys TrueType figure bodies are among my favorites but, if they are going to continue to increase their prices which a basic naked figure is now priced around $48 almost $50 and will be more than $50 with shipping and handling, they need to step up their game. I know that they are considered one of the top or the top 1/6 manufacturer. But really, their newest most improved figure can't take a little posing without breaking a limb? Really??? Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Hot Toys fan but, I won't be buying their more expensive figures. I'll stick to their low end bodies until I feel pretty sure they have corrected their easily broken joint problem.

Later,

Melissa

HOT TOYS DOING GREEN LANTERN!

Hot Toys recently announced Green Lantern as one of their upcoming figures.Green Lantern is portrayed by Ryan Reynolds so I know the likeness of him will be on point. I can't wait to see how they handle the costume which in the movie is CGI. This is going to be a challenge even for the master action figure creators at Hot Toys. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

NIGHTCRAWLER

This is Nightcrawler from  the X-men 2 movie. Believe it or not, he is a 12-13 inch figure with a striking likeness to Alan Cummings, the actor who played the role. Hold on to your wallets...I got this one on clearance for $6. Told you I was a action figure collector on a budget. There are three figures in this series: Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Cyclops. It took me four years to complete this series. I was just not going to pay $75 for Cyclops when he originally cost $15.

In this head shot I took, you can see the facial tattoos and weathered leather look molded vest. the overcoat is made of plastic like material.

Here is a close-up of the figures head. They scanned the actor with a laser of some sort and programed the computer to produce his likeness. Outstanding!!! This series is definitely for display and collectors only. Each figure has very little articulation. Which, is fine by me because the figures really look great. I don't buy them for play anyway.

The costume is film accurate, down to his little striped pants.

Toy Biz even detailed his hands with delicate little lines and monstrous veins as well. Overall, this is one of my favorite X-Men figures.

MARVEL SURPRISE!

How did I miss Marvels announcement about the release of this figure!!!

I found a major surprise at my local Walmart yesterday. While perusing the action figure aisle, I came across MARVEL UNIVERSE GIGANTIC BATTLES GOLIATH VS THOR. I have no idea how I could have missed the release of a two pack featuring a 12 inch Goliath figure.

Here is a picture of the figures boxed. The Thor figure is approximately 4 inches and its actually not the real Thor but a clone/cyborg. The two figure package also comes with CIVIL WAR 4 comic. I am so stoked about this line. The other two figure set comes with Ice Giant and Loki and also includes a comic. I'm on the fence about this one. I don't know if I'll pick this one up. The ICE GIANT isn't a favorite Marvel character of mine.

Man, Marvel really knows how to hit us right in the pocket. Perfect timing with the just released THOR movie featuring the ICE GIANTS and Loki. I am hopeful that these two releases will not be the last. The 12in figures are being marketed differently but, they are MARVEL ICONS! Remember, that line was discontinued. Way to go Marvel! They have found a way to bring back one of my favorite lines.

This series also brought back the tradition of including a comic with the figure too. When the ICONS were first released, they were single figure packs that included a comic. They were priced at around $15. That was a super bargain! I didn't complain though. But, the prices creep up to around $20 with no comic included. Tough economic times. Everybody cutting corners.

This particular set is a Walmart exclusive. I have to say, I was taken aback when I did run across this figure at my local Walmart priced at $32.50. I expect exclusives to be priced a little higher but, I didn't expect it to cost quite that much. As much as I wanted this figure, I passed on it the first time I ran across it. I know $32 isn't that expensive but, considering the original price I just couldn't do it.

Hey, I work hard for my money:) Lucky for me, the second Walmart I checked had the same GOLIATH GI ANTIC BATTLES for $24. I don't understand why one was $8 cheaper. But, I grabbed this one up and saved my receipt. Walmart does price matching so, I should be able to get a second figure for the same price at my Walmart to keep MIB.

The GOLIATH figure looks awesome. He looks like they peeled him right out of the comic and made a 3D version of Bill Foster. The comic character the figure is based on. Marvel nailed his face sculpt. Makes me wonder if they have new sculptors? I don't know how to say this, and I don't mean to offend anyone but, as an African American action figure collector...I've been dying for more figures like this! There aren't a lot of  AA action figures and there are even fewer superheros. Thank you Marvel!!! I am such a major Marvel fanatic. (As if you didn't know:)

Here's a comic pic for comparison.

Action figure review:

THE HEAD

Let's start from the top. The face looks strong, manly and handsome. I love the chiseled set jaw line and his expression says he means business. The slight frown/lines in his forehead directly over his mask, finish the look. The mask is molded and not just painted on which gives it depth. Head articulation is mostly side to side with the ability to tilt down slightly. He can also tilt to the side slightly for the confused dog look. LOL There is no backward tilting so, he can't look up. I love the molded hair. It really looks textured and curly. Almost looks like he sporting a fresh cut. With the face, Marvel even added delicate lines on the lips, giving them a more realistic appeal.  

THE BODY

Like I said earlier, the body is definitely from the Marvel Icon Legends series. How sure am I. Well, if you gently peek under the awesome belt with the huge G on it, you will see another belt with an X under it. Looks like Marvel used Cyclops body with Goliath head sculpt and a new paint job. I'm not complaining. I think it's a great way for Marvel to save dollars while still offering us a new figure. GI Joe did it for years. Offering the same body with a different head and uniform/accessories. The only complaint I have for Goliath is I wish his arms were a bit more buffed to be true to character. Other than that, I'm happy. The articulation is good. He's not super articulated. He has around 28 points of articulation which is more than enough for posing. Right now, I have in a basic heroic stance which does not call for a lot of articulation. (And he looks awesome) The belt is the final touch. Love It!

Here is a pic of my Marvel Icon Cyclops beside Goliath.

My older Icon figures had a major problem with the ball joints not wanting to work. The ball and socket hips were the biggest problem. Turning this way and not that which caused some very unnatural poses and figures toppling over in the floor. My masked Spiderman toppled over and snapped his arm off. (I was able to repair him.)

THE PAINT APPLICATION

The paint job is well done. Even though my figure has one oops on his back with an accidentally small speck of white on his blue on his left shoulder. Other than that, it's perfect. The silver paint on the eyes really pop! You can see the silver from feet away. And I can't believe how flawlessly they did it in such a microscopic space.

There you have it. Can you tell I love Marvel? My favorite figures in my collection are my Marvel Icons and Hot Toys figures. Do you have a favorite line of figures?

Here's my question for Marvel. When are we going to get a 12 inch Storm figure? We got 3 of the big four. We have Cyclops, Wolverine, and Jean Grey. Where is Storm? She would complete my X-Men team!!! Please Marvel! Please!

SPIDERMAN GROUP SHOT

My camera is down so I shot this with phone. Hopefully I will have my camera back tomorrow.

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SPIDERMAN

I admit it. I'm a major Marvel fan. My collection of one sixth figures contain quite a few Marvel characters. One of my all time favorite characters is SPIDERMAN! I have eight 12inch figures and two 18inch figures of Spiderman. The figure I am reviewing today is Marvel Legends Spiderman Icon figure.

Here is a picture of my unmasked Spiderman unboxed.

Close-up of Peter Parker's face.

Another pic from of Spiderman from my collection. That's Roto Symbiote Spiderman peaking over Peter's shoulders. I was shopping on Ebay and saw where someone was trying to pass off this figure for a Marvel Legends Icon. They had removed the original figure and replaced it with the cheaper figure. Be careful people! Make sure you know what you are paying for. I got the Roto figure from Kmart for ten dollars. They were trying to sell it for $50!

I love this line by Marvel but, they stop producing this line. Luckily I got all of the Icons I wanted. (except masked Captain American)

I love my Spiderman figures, all of them but, the one complaint I have is that the ankles are weak and the feet are too small. Neither one of my Spiderman figures can stand for very long without taking a nose dive to the carpet below from their prospective displays. So, I have to pose them in kneeling or crawling positions. Masked Spiderman fell and snapped his arm off. I was able to repair him and he doesn't look any worse for wear. The original price for these figures was around $15. Not bad for a 12inch figure that boast over 30 points of articulation. I just googled this figure and it's going for as much as $124. I'd pay $15 or $20 for this figure but, not much more than that. The most I have paid for one of these figures was $36. And that was my limit. I not only like action figure collecting but, as I have said before, I am also a bargain hunter.

Later,

Melissa