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By NoisyDvL5, on February 8th, 2010 |   I’m ambivalent on the Mattel/Wal-Mart partnership. I really don’t care if they keep getting exclusives or not. I live practically on top of Wal-Mart HQ and have dozens of stores within a reasonable driving distance, but that doesn’t make it easy to find the exclusives. I didn’t get DCUC5 first hand. I had to buy the Giant Man figures and Nemesis figures while traveling in other states. And I know that even though DCUC10 was easier to find for a lot of fans, the bad taste DCUC5 left in the mouths of most collectors is still fresh enough that even I cringed at the announcement that DCUC14 would also be exclusive to the retailer. But I’m not writing about whether there should or shouldn’t be Wal-Mart waves today. That ship has sailed, so I’m moving on too. But I do have a problem with some of the figures that go into Wal-Mart waves.
Wal-Mart exclusive DCUC waves don’t have variants, at least none of them have so far. That’s a good thing. Two less figures to have to track down at an exclusive retailer is a nice relief from what can be an untenable situation. And I’m not suggesting that they should start putting variants in those waves either. But I would like to see Mattel chose the figures in a variant wave more carefully. If a figure can or should have a crucial variant, then it shouldn’t be in a wave that doesn’t support variants. (More…)
By NoisyDvL5, on February 6th, 2010 |  One of my favorite sites for the latest toy news, ActionFigurePics.Com, is reporting on the contents of ToyFare #152 (hitting newsstands this week). You can check out AFP for some news about an upcoming wave of Marvel Universe, Iron Man 2 figures (with some awesome comic-based character choices), and DC Classics 14.
The issue of ToyFare confirms the wave fourteen lineup that was found on Wal-Mart’s inventory system late last year: Alan Scott, Obsidian, Hourman, Gold, Kamandi, Zatanna, Tyr, and the Collect & Connect Ultra-Humanite. The figures look fantastic and although we don’t know the variants yet, I’m hoping for a Perez version of Zatanna’s costume to be one of them!
While you’ll have to check out the magazine for images, you can check out our updated DC Classics Visual Checklist by clicking on our obnoxiously large DCUC logo…
In other DC Classics news, Toy Guru is reporting on the AFI Forum that Mattel is planning to make Wave 12 available to fans on MattyCollector.Com this March! We’ve added this news to our MattyCollector.Com Release Calendar.
Update: The Fwoosh has confirmed from Toy Guru that wave 14 is indeed the Wal-Mart wave for this year. Boo.
By NoisyDvL5, on February 5th, 2010 | This suggestion comes to us from IAT reader, AllMindsAboutEverything. So a quick thank you to him and an encouragement to anyone else with a character for this article! We will read them, and though we can’t do everyone, we do appreciate hearing your ideas! A link for submissions will follow at the end of the article and we’ll try to remember to include that every time going forward.
Now, I have to admit upfront that I’m not a big Power Rangers fan. I’m not down on them. I could say that I’m too old – I was thirteen when it started and the ship sailed without me. But being old isn’t a defense since some of the older IAT writers, Rant & Vault specifically, are older than me and they both love it. Enough that I’ve sat through many plot recaps and discussions about a show I didn’t want to watch! Still, they loved it, they’re my friends, so I have respect for it even though it’s not something I care about.
As a toy collector, I can not deny the brand that is Power Rangers though. Make of it what you will, but those toys have held onto their four feet of pegspace for so long that plenty of my favorite lines have lived and died next to them at the store. Seventeen years – that’s staying power. Since I wasn’t paying close attention to the toys, I assumed that Bandai had made just about every character. I mean, I know some character inevitably gets skipped, but AllMinds informed me that there isn’t a Rita Repulsa. That blows my mind.
If you’re not familiar with Power Rangers, Rita Repulsa is THE villain. There have been plenty of bad guys in their seventeen years, but she’s their main foe for the first three years (appearing in 119 episodes) and then making return appearances sporadically throughout the subsequent series. This is Transformers without Megatron. The X-Men without Magneto. The Joes with no Cobra Commander. A toy line without the main villain for seventeen years! Can you even imagine? I say that’s well worth our attention. (More…)
By NoisyDvL5, on February 4th, 2010 | I admit it. We forgot that we didn’t finish up our wave elevens reviews. It’s been known to happen a time or two. But, we have it today, our fifth and final wave eleven review… the Question, Deadman, and uh, Deadman (sorta). You’ll see what we mean…
I’m not sure what tier I’d put these two characters in. Both characters have been around for awhile (both were created in 1967), but only Deadman has been with DC that whole time. Deadman was created by Arnold Drake (co-creator of the Doom Patrol) and Carmine Infantino (co-creator of the Silver Age Flash), but he became most popular under the direction of Jack Miller and Neal Adams in the seventies. Despite being the product of those comic heavyweights, Deadman has worked best as a supporting character throughout his publication history. Mostly, he’s limited by his back story and powers. In life he was Boston Brand, a trapeze artist who performed as “the Deadman” that was killed in the middle of his act. His spirit lives on thanks to a fictional Hindu Goddess that gives him the ability to take control of the living. Basically, he has to be someone else in order to interact with other characters or accomplish much of anything; otherwise he’s intangible and invisible. He’s always been one of the characters I like to follow, so I’m happy to get a figure of him that’s in-scale (the DC Direct version was a giant).
The Question was a Charlton Comics character for the first sixteen years of his publication. He was created by the legendary Steve Ditko (think Spider-Man). Originally, the Question was an investigative journalist with a bit of a ruthless streak that solved crimes as a superhero and then reported on them in his secret identity, Vic Sage. When DC comics acquired Charlton characters, they were going to use the lot for the Watchmen series but changed their minds and added them to the DC Universe instead. Alan Moore went on to create Rorschach in the Question’s image. Meanwhile, the Question was given a spot in the DC universe proper (and a trench coat!) by Denny O’Neil and Denys Cowan. He remained active in the DCU until “52” where Renee Montoya became the new Question. Technically though, this figure isn’t either of those versions. The look for this figure seems to be at least partially inspired by his recent JLU appearances where he was given a paranoid flair and quirky personality. The JLU colors look great on the final figure though, so I can’t complain too much. Also, I think this is a first in the history of DC Classics reviews – two all-new sculpted bodies in one review. Yeah, we didn’t believe it at first either. (More…)
By NoisyDvL5, on February 3rd, 2010 | Matty posted some updates on the MOTU Classics line in the news section of MattyCollector.Com…
Hey Toy Fans,
They say when it rains, it pours, and they ain’t kidding. We’ve had so much news in the last week on our 2/15 sale, we’re just going to roll it all into one big story. So here’s what’s up…
February 15th Sale is Moving to Tuesday, February 16th
Turns out we were misinformed when we posted on Facebook that our sale would be staying on Monday, February 15th. Our customer service team does indeed have the day off (although a skeleton crew will be available) and because we have so many hotly anticipated items going on sale, we’ve decided it’s better to push the sale to Tuesday, February 16th to ensure we have the support we need for a smooth sale.
SUBSCRIBERS, PLEASE NOTE: Your standard monthly “renewal” notice will still be automatically sent on February 15th, but all orders will begin shipping on February 16th (including subscriptions).
Wun-Dar™ Shipping April 15th
Even the Power of Grayskull™ can’t save our shipping conundrum… we just found out we’re not going have our full quota of Wun-Dar™ figures in time to ship with the 2/16 sale items. Rather than split shipments so some subscribers get him in February and some in April, we’re going to hold all Wun-Dar™ figures and the Eternia® maps for mid-April shipment with Evil-Lyn®. Rest assured, although it’ll be a little later than we thought, your subscribers-only Wun-Dar™ and Eternia® map are coming!
Battle Cat® Shipping Costs
Many fans have asked if it will cost more to ship Battle Cat® because he’s bigger and heavier than other figures, and the answer is yes. Our standard figures weigh about one pound, while the beefy Battle Cat® tips the scale at over two pounds. The additional cost for shipping will depend on where it’s shipped and the shipping method. When you purchase him, you’ll see the actual charge in your cart before the final check out.
Subscribers-Only Savings on Battle Cat®Along with the guarantee of getting every main MOTU character each month, and the exclusive Wun-Dar™ figure and map of Eternia™ coming in April, we promised some cool stuff when we offered our 2010 Club Eternia™ subscriptions. Subscribers, keep an eye on your inbox, because we’re going to send you an exclusive coupon code good for $8 off Battle Cat®! Just enter your code at checkout and $8 will automatically be deducted from your total order as long as there’s at least one Battle Cat® in your cart. (Please note: each subscriber will receive ONE coupon good for a total of $8 off, regardless of the number of subscriptions you have or the number of Battle Cat® figures you purchase.)
Okay, that’s enough news for now! Oh wait, one last thing… we launched our Fan Forums this week, so come meet your fellow toy collectors and talk toys!
—Matty via (MattyCollector.Com)
By NoisyDvL5, on February 3rd, 2010 |
By MisterRant, on February 2nd, 2010 |  I have to say that I was really excited for Toy Fair 2010. While I do look forward to the unveiling of the thousands of dollars of stuff that Mattel is going to have me buying this year, they aren’t the reason I was excited. I was rather enthusiastic over what Playmates was going to show us. Why Playmates you ask? Well, because Playmates has the Star Trek license. (More…)
By NoisyDvL5, on February 1st, 2010 | 
You know the drill. You get up and you think you could get lucky today. You get ready and put on some nice clothes so you can at least feel presentable if you happen to get checked out. You hop in the car and travel to whichever place you’ve deemed best to satisfy your desires. You arrive with giddy anticipation. It’s now or never, you tell yourself as you round that last corner. What awaits? Will it be great joy or intense dissatisfaction?
Anything can happen on a Toy Run… (More…)
By NoisyDvL5, on January 29th, 2010 |
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Twice a month, Matty answers questions about the different toy lines offered by Mattel. These are those answers…
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By NoisyDvL5, on January 29th, 2010 | Sometimes as toy collectors, we can look across our displays and, no matter how many toys we have, only see the ones that aren’t there. They are the missing figures. The characters toy companies never got around to, never thought were important enough, or worse – the figures companies felt the need to show us at comic-con in the “We’re Never Gonna Make These” case…
Anyone that’s read our Blackest Night reviews knows that I have a love/hate relationship with DC Direct. A fully realized DC Comics toy collection has long been a dream of mine. When DC Direct started with Swamp Thing & Wonder Woman in 1998, I made a commitment to have a complete set of DCDs. I kept that up until summer 2004 when I started picking and choosing. Since then, I still add a few DCD figures to my toy collection each year. There are some beautiful figures in there, but what finally soured me on DC Direct was what we weren’t getting.
If there is one thing DC Direct is good at, it’s leaving fans wanting more. Fans never got the “big 7″ JLA in the same style/scale. Fans never got a full set of the Endless. Fans never got a complete group of Titans from any one era. Fans never got a good Zatanna (despite three attempts). And fans never got Watchmen figures based on their comic looks.
The difference between Watchmen figures and the other things mentioned was that we actually got to see the Watchmen figures. DC Direct had them on display at the 2000 San Diego Comic-Com. They debuted a Comedian (w/ alternate heads to capture his three main looks), Silk Spectre, and two versions of Dr. Manhattan with varying degrees of translucence, but were unable to bring them to market. It’s complicated. (More…)
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