The Four Horesemen are reviving Skeleton Warriors, because it’s time for the 90s to come back
Toy and Action Figure Thread
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At long last, Denver the Last Dinosaur, the most radical rockin’ dino of them all, is getting a toy…
So my better half and I just got back from Universal Studios' Epic Universe theme park. One of the lands is called the Dark Universe, and is centred on Universal Monsters. Their flagship ride in that land, Monsters Unchained, exits into a gift shop. Of course. Anyway that gift shop has action figures! Most of them are 7 inch NECA figures, that are basically the Ultimate Universal Monsters sculpts with no accessories and some stylistic shading, but they are also selling two two-packs of six inch figures. And as I have a collection of six inch Universal Monsters figures... that was a promising proposition.
The first two-pack is the "protagonist" of the ride, Victoria Frankenstein, great granddaughter of Dr. Henry Frankenstein from the 1931 Universal movie. She comes with her sci-fi crossbow. Her pack-mate is her attempt at a Monster. Who has no accessories. The second two-pack is Dracula, done up in the generic design used for the ride, and one of his brides. Each comes with an alternate "fangs bared" headsculpt.
The first thing that's noticeable is that there's no manufacturer logo on the box. The NECA figures all have the NECA logos, but the only logos on these two-packs are the Universal Studios and Dark Universe logos. One might reasonably assume NECA made these, but the construction isn't very NECA-like, and NECA doesn't do six inch scale anyway.
Quality, it's accepable. The paint does everything it needs to do, and the plastic is perfectly fine. Not cheap feeling at all. The joints are all single jointed, which is a drawback. They're also a bit loose, but nothing that would compromise the figures. The weakest parts of them are the face sculpts. The Monster, Dracula, and Dracula's Bride all make out ok, since they're monsters so any wonkiness in the sculpt can be written off as part of their monsterous appearance. Victoria, however, ends up the worst for it. She's just a normal human, so her subpar face sculpt stands out in a bad way.
I couldn't really deal with Vicky's face, so I swapped it out with a spare female Marvel Legends head with black hair, the comic version of Circe from the Eternals. I've never been an Eternals fan, and just got her because she was essentially a freebie with a Black Knight figure I got, so sacrificing her to make Victoria here a better figure is a tradeoff I'm willing to make. The Frankensteins would approve.
Anyway, at $40 a two-pack that breaks down to $20 a figure, which is a bargain given what most six inch lines go for these days. So I'd recommend them if you have a monster/horror collection you wanna build out and happen to be at Epic Universe.
The first two-pack is the "protagonist" of the ride, Victoria Frankenstein, great granddaughter of Dr. Henry Frankenstein from the 1931 Universal movie. She comes with her sci-fi crossbow. Her pack-mate is her attempt at a Monster. Who has no accessories. The second two-pack is Dracula, done up in the generic design used for the ride, and one of his brides. Each comes with an alternate "fangs bared" headsculpt.
The first thing that's noticeable is that there's no manufacturer logo on the box. The NECA figures all have the NECA logos, but the only logos on these two-packs are the Universal Studios and Dark Universe logos. One might reasonably assume NECA made these, but the construction isn't very NECA-like, and NECA doesn't do six inch scale anyway.
Quality, it's accepable. The paint does everything it needs to do, and the plastic is perfectly fine. Not cheap feeling at all. The joints are all single jointed, which is a drawback. They're also a bit loose, but nothing that would compromise the figures. The weakest parts of them are the face sculpts. The Monster, Dracula, and Dracula's Bride all make out ok, since they're monsters so any wonkiness in the sculpt can be written off as part of their monsterous appearance. Victoria, however, ends up the worst for it. She's just a normal human, so her subpar face sculpt stands out in a bad way.
I couldn't really deal with Vicky's face, so I swapped it out with a spare female Marvel Legends head with black hair, the comic version of Circe from the Eternals. I've never been an Eternals fan, and just got her because she was essentially a freebie with a Black Knight figure I got, so sacrificing her to make Victoria here a better figure is a tradeoff I'm willing to make. The Frankensteins would approve.
Anyway, at $40 a two-pack that breaks down to $20 a figure, which is a bargain given what most six inch lines go for these days. So I'd recommend them if you have a monster/horror collection you wanna build out and happen to be at Epic Universe.
Felix Leiter and James Bond
And here I thought it was like 1960s MIB.Felix Leiter and James Bond
Let's face it. There have to be a LOT of James Bond Jr's out there.
Not my favourite version of The Phantom of the Opera, but still neat.
"No more talk of darkness. Forget these wide eyed fears. I'm here. Nothing can harm you. My words will warm and calm you. Let me be your freedom. Let daylight dry your tears. I'm here, with you, beside you. To guard you and to guide you.""Say you'll love me every waking moment. Turn my head with talk of summertime. Say you'll need me with you now and always. Promise me that all you say is true. That's all I ask of you."
I’m really not sure this is as much a farce as they are portraying it as…
ToyFarce News: Marvel Legends Collectors Furious As Hasbro Makes Figures Easier To Collect With Re-releases
Marvel Legends collectors are reportedly furious following the announcement of recent reissues, accusing Hasbro of ruining the hobby by making previously diff
toynewsi.com
I’m really not sure this is as much a farce as they are portraying it as…
ToyFarce News: Marvel Legends Collectors Furious As Hasbro Makes Figures Easier To Collect With Re-releases
Marvel Legends collectors are reportedly furious following the announcement of recent reissues, accusing Hasbro of ruining the hobby by making previously difftoynewsi.com
Not to you, Steevy, but the article. If anything, re-releases have helped people get around the predatory aftermarket.
I missed the Marvel Legends 20th Anniversary Captain America at retail. He was $100 on eBay. They reissued him though, and I picked him up for $30 at Gamestop. You can make an argument that modern day ML retail prices are too much but it's still a hell of a lot better than $100.
I genuinely haven't seen anyone complaining in collector spaces about this stuff. At all.
Yeah, I've always hated the idea that toy companies have some sort of obligation to maintain the insane aftermarket prices that some rare toys build up. I can KIND of understand if it was originally marketed as some sort of ultra-rare exclusive, but if it was just a case of underestimating market demand or bad distribution that originally created the rarity, why on earth would a company not be "allowed" to make more of their product and sell it to willing buyers?
Todd McFarlane originally refused to reissue figures that were still in demand because "it would ruin the value of the ones already out there," and even he caved with the Vault subline because of said demand. If you're a toy company and there's a demand for your older product, who do you want to see get that cash? You or some eBay scalpers?
On some level, I think part of it is to foster that FOMO mentality. Lines that sell out, or are hard to get, “trigger” something in the collector mind (I’m guilty of it, I’m sure many others are), prompting fans/collectors to buy in more to avoid missing the next sold out figure.
I’ve seen that effect bolster lines like GI Joe 25th, Classified and ESPECIALLY the original Masters of the Universe Classics line. And almost without exception, I’ve seen that FOMO rush cause significant damage to ALL those lines.