40 thoughts on “NoisyDvL5’s 2013
Highlights & Disappointments”

1. Highlight — Masked Jungle Hunter Predator from NECA. Even if mine barely moves, he still looks great.

   1. My favorite Predator is still the blue one, but the figures are pretty similar! Are you just having trouble with the articulation?

      1. Hi Noisy — sorry, I only just saw your reply!
         The main issue (if I recally correctly) is that his left arm won’t bend at the elbow. Maybe a stiff knee joint too?

         His hip joints are weak, so he won’t stand up for long, but some online reading (and my Lava Planet Predator) seems to indicate that this is a common problem with the NECA Preds across the board. Don’t know if you’ve encountered the same problems.

         Nonetheless, I’m very happy with him – the sculpt and paint were both excellent. Now if only I could find a Masked City Hunter that wasn’t outrageously expensive…

2. Sorry to hear about the bad stuff in your personal life. For me, 2013 was tuff, but thankfully not as bad as 2012 which turned out to be my worst year ever since 1987. Two close relatives that go way back are not doing well. One has her colon cancer in remission (She bought me the Sears Cantina w/ Blue Snaggletooth back in the day) and the other is on dialysis.

   Life is precious. We can’t enjoy all the cool stuff we collect without good health and the folks we love around us.

   Disappointments:

   5. The Decline & Fall of Action Figures at Retail.
   4. DCUC R.I.P.
   3. G.I. Joe: It’s looking more like 1994 again.
   2. Digital River = Cancelled Castle Pre-Order.
   1. Marvel Universe R.I.P.

   Honorable mention: Star Wars’ Vintage Collection goes on hiatus.

   Highlights:

   5. NECA Does Arnold Schwarzenegger Right.
   4. The Castle IS out there! Maybe in 2014.
   3. Star Wars FINALLY joins the 6″ Inch Club!
   2. After 30 years… Kwinn!
   1. The Return of the Tomahawk!

   Honorable mention: Figures Toy Company brings back 70’s Mego!

   1. Thanks, Clutch. I hope for the best for you and yours this year.

      I should’ve put some more on Joes into the article. It seems like a good time for the Club, but I’m not sure what’s going on at retail. It’s a shame.

3. Basically the same feeling on the disappointments.

   DCUC taking its swan song was indeed sad. Part to blame thanks to nu52 if ask me. I won’t go into a rant but Shining Knight and Winged Victory 2013 SDCC is what shoulda happened not what we got.

   Prices and distribution really did kill the action fig market. Many times went on the hunt and found nothing but bare pegs or old dust covered stock. (I mean thick dust with dinged up packaging) Shopping two cousins and man that was tough in MU and WWE (scalpers to blame there.) I never saw any other Joes except that red ninja and Zartan. (Also a box that looked like a mouse got a hold of it and chewed its way into the box.) Those Ultimate figs I woulda snatched up if saw plus Kwinn and a few others.

   Highlights: Well I never got into some of the items you guys have but alot of Neca items really did catch my eye. Never thought I would want a mostly blue fig before but fun memories of the game made me.want that Jason. Just price and what saved caused me to have to pass. (Now dunno if gonna have a show to go to)

   Masterpiece Transformers, the TFs love to.have and I blame Soundwave for all of that.

   Yeah my list isn’t much but will.say the in the middle is the Jetfire fiasco with the Joe/TF set. The people who own the Robotech liscense in the states screwed that fun yet, I still wanna see transformers as Joe/Cobra vehicles that transform. I am still holding out to see it happen. Optimus as a Rolling Thunder, Starscream a Night Raven, oh how fun this would be.

   1. Shining Knight & Victory would’ve been awesome! I think the nU52 does play a role in that it eliminates the source material behind what we enjoy. If I’m not enjoying these characters monthly, my affinity for them does lessen to a degree. It also doesn’t help that the figures seemed to be the only thing included in the loony mandate. So much licensed stuff comes out old school that it makes me wonder why the figures couldn’t just keep going along.

      And count me in for Joe/TF crossover items. I’d love to see ’em!

4. Mattel can go die in a fire for this 4 inch crap they’re pushing out. Have waited my entire life for a Christopher Reeve Superman. Mattel made a weak as whale piss 12 inch version. Forked out for Hot Toys.

   Now they forego 6 inch scale and instead serve up 4 inches. Absolutely ridiculous.

   I look forward to MOTUC ending so I never have to deal with this imbecilic company any more.

   1. I think I’ll miss MOTUC when it goes just because it’ll be weird to no have the repetition of a (usually) cool figure coming my way every month.

      Dropping down to a 4″ line is killer on my enjoyment of the movie figures, yeah. I just hope they’ll still be kickass enough to buy.

5. Great article! You hit most of what I consider hits and misses for 2013 too.

   1. Thanks, mk!

6. I agree completely with your disappointments, although the MOTUC one I can actualy understand the reasoning behind. I have resigned myself to the fact that we’ll probably never get Quakke and Illumina.

   1. Yeah, I don’t blame Mattel for that, reality was going to catch up with the subscription eventually. Just sad to see finally see it! I still have hope for the concept guys though.

7. NECA is killing me, they’re like heath ledger’s butt, i just can’t quit them! the upcoming additions to the Pac Rim line look to answer the exact issues i had w/ the first wave, and even the wave 2 figs were a step up. we’re getting an ED 209 to go along with their nearly flawless murphy, and they gave us the spider gremlin AND included a stand with him to keep him upright… mattel, at a higher price point, couldn’t be bothered with that for the sky sled. now we have pred vision dutch, and we’re getting a windrix, which is one of the sweetest gestures i’ve ever heard of in addition to being a kick ass toy. all while maintaining a retail presence, and reasonable prices… they’re the anti-mattel.

   to boot, DCC is stepping up its game very effectively with recent arkham figs, and that crime syndicate looks to kick mattel’s offering right in the H crotch. if they hit with good articulation, and address their QC consistency, i expect to see a lot of DCC reviews around here in 2014.

   the third party folks are OWNING!! we have the emergence of 3D printers allowing us to get things like the new DC sword for he-man, or a movie havok staff, to skyrim weapons and riot gear for customizers at a semi-affordable level, we have the monkaa guys, and the mordles, and the osm, and the power lords, and the robo force, and the realm of the underworld and huge number of TF teams cranking out some incredible work. accessorizing it at all time high too, we have what now, 5 teams working on stuff just for motuc, to round out your pieces or make new characters? how nuts is that?

   1. I don’t know about DCC… I only buy two books from that company every month when I used to have a hard time keeping it under twenty. That said, I can still see snagging a few. That new Orion has already caught my eye…

      1. Not to be dismissive, but you’re not the only dc guy they have to sell figs to, a and you’re not the only reviewer. I’m still kind of mystified that you haven’t pulled the trigger on any of the arkham figs, as they’ re not only spot on character models, but that 3rd gen bats might be the best articulated batman yet offered… You weren’t in the least bit intrigued? I agree with you that nu52 designs might be tough sells, But DCC isn’t just offering nu52 designs. I would think on innovation and character likeness alone, you’d have pulled the trigger by now… Perhaps we should seek your sister? Yes, your feelings have betrayed her as well. if you will not be turned, perhaps she will.

         1. I think my sister might be even less likely to buy DC product than myself.

            I haven’t really paid attention to the Arkham figures because I’m more “done” with Batman villains than DC at large. It’s not a negative thing or a bitter grudge; I guess it’s just that I went through the years where the only DC toys were the latest take on Gotham’s Rogues. It might be why I never even missed them too much as they trickled out in DCUC. So the Arkham figures just aren’t something I really look at for my collection. There is surely some cool stuff pouring out, but I have the toys I want for most of the characters.

            It’s like if your favorite band switched to a genre you didn’t like. They’re the same guys, the quality eventually catches back up, but it’s still a genre you don’t like.

            1. admittedly, i’m a batman guy, so the arkham figs/games have a certain appeal to me that they apparently lack for you… i get that. i would still recommend the arkham games to you, as i think they’re the single best translation of the comic world into another medium, far superior to the batman movies, for example, and i think even better than batman TAS because it’s interactive.

               so yes, i’m poised to be predisposed towards the figs… but you know me, i HATE crappy toys with a passion, toys that are not designed to be played with, but instead to stand around like fancy nerd hummels. DCC for a long time flew well under my radar because their QC was crap. but over the course of that line, they’ve cut their teeth on articulation, and are slowly producing work that rivals or exceeds industry standards. that’s cool. they’ve worked on their QC, and are producing pieces who’s parts stay together in more than a stiff breeze. that’s a big leap forward. i’m amazed, as a toy guy, that you (or your “sister” vault) haven’t been lured in on nothing more than the toyetic quality, to see how much (or if, no prejudgements) the improvements are real or delusional fanboy dreams. on that alone, i’m up for the crime syndicate grouping, they look good, they’re post improvements in QC, and show serious articulation… and they’re not batman.

               what’s more, you have invested in DCC figs prior, when they were lanterns or whatnot, but when they were still kind of crappy toys. the new and improved output doesn’t tickle your interests? i don’t know how to feel about that homes. hell, that new swamp thing isn’t my taste in designs, but i’m beyond titillated by the execution of that fig. i want him bad, i just lack the coffer depth at the moment.

8. NECA is way overhyped and I find it disappointing that regular critics of Hasbro, Mattel et al give them a pass on things like QC, distribution and character repaints. The very people who accuse collectors of being clouded by nostalgia are in fact just clouded by their own interests and tastes. Still, I am very grateful to them for the latest E.T. (and, to a lesser extent, Gremlins) offerings. But would I want them on every license? A resounding hell no.

   Also, I think MOTUC is still tops in the mainstream market, despite the so-called scaling back. Have we ever seen a toy line that looked to deliver on its original promise (in this case, all vintage figures reproduced)? I think it’s too bad we’re missing out on some concept characters (I desperately want that Snow Man concept from the Power and Honor Foundation book) but no line delivers our every whim and desire, and when push comes to shove, vintage is its bread and butter and these are the calls that are rightly made. And while I really wanted Darius, too, I am overjoyed that we’re getting Mara over Tuskador. What a sausage fest NA is! Why are we not celebrating Mara instead of claiming a rigged and/or faulty vote?

   1. I haven’t had any QC issues or distro problems with NECA, so I haven’t had a reason to complain… yet. 😀

      As for the NA vote, it was faulty. Even if that one person who cast the tie-breaking vote out of the some-50 people that voted at Toy Fair after Mattel forgot to bring the ballots to the panel had voted for Tuskador instead of Mara, it would still have been a dumb idea on Mattel’s part. I only hope that those 26-27 people who got to decide for the thousands of subscribers at least knew what they were voting on!

      1. Instead of saying “claiming” I should have said “dwelling on,” because I firmly agree with you. I detest the convention votes. They should be done as it was with Geldor, through the subscribers.

         1. Is it really dwelling on in an 2013 retrospective article? 🙂

   2. Why exactly is NECA overhyped? You mention QC, distribution, and repaints but then you don’t elaborate.

      1. In my experience (Gremlins, E.T., Robocop, Rocky IV) I have had a broken neck on Gremlins II Giz, broken hydraulic (?) on one of Robocop’s legs (the Robocop before they gave him the spring-loaded holster, btw) and the usual stuck joints, slop paint, flaking and basically all of the other ills that come with mass-produced toys.

         I’ve answered honestly, because I also want to point out that what are always bemoaned as “quality control” issues and the rest are things that, while they bother me, are things I accept as just part of the beast. I just see a lot of folks online willingly overlooking the stiff articulation (and I’m not talking about tight joints) and odd construction of much of their stuff. I think there’s a lot of groupthink in the criticism of Mattel and Hasbro while NECA seems to avoid it (at least as of late). My guess is that it is simply because their aesthetic and properties suit some folks who have otherwise grown tired of properties like MOTUC and so it’s easy for them to see only the positive in NECA and the negative in the rest.

         I guess I could elaborate on the overhype claim, but I think I’ve mostly summed up my perception. And I’m by no means a hater. Like I said earlier, I’ve collected a lot of their ’80s stuff over the last couple of years, especially E.T. I LOVE them for giving us the figures from that movie that they have. But they’re no better, and maybe worse, depending on the beholder’s eye, than any other toymaker today.

         That’s all. 🙂

         1. I really appreciate your response. The only line I collect is MOTUC but I will pick up the odd figure mainly for the different accessories that come along with it. So I grabbed a couple of the NECA team fortress figures and in all honesty, while the sculpt was good looking, the plastic however, felt on the brittle side. Plus, the articulation was head-scratching, its balance was off, and the paint application didn’t blow me away. But on the positive side, I was able to find it at retail! So my guess is that this is the main reason people overlook these deficiencies. But I agree: I’m also seeing the same things you are observing in that most reviewers don’t seem to hold these negatives against the company.

         2. If I reviewed one of the Terminator figures I own, I’d blast it for the lower half being unposeable. That’s why I don’t really review them I guess. I’d rather spend time on figures I really get a kick out of! Which means you’re mostly going to get the reviews where I’m satisfied and happy when it comes to NECA as opposed to DC or MOTUC where I sluggishly feel like every one needs reviewed for the archives & checklists.

            The only QC issue from the selection of NECA figs I’ve bought that I know if is the Red Alien’s hip being fused and breaking (mine didn’t thankfully), but I really haven’t had any issues in the Predator or Alien lines. That said, I’m not the best person to do a case study on anyway as I rarely take Hasbro or Mattel to task on some QC issues if they strike me as “stuff happens” issues.

            I think my impression from NECA is largely formed by Randy Falk and the overall direction they’re going – they’re doing fun things. The NES figures. The Kenner versions. The Sgt. Windrix figure bought them some huge affection too (and I have an R2-KT here at the house too, props to Hasbro for that one!) NECA is, or at least appears to be, being more innovative. Hasbro again gets props there for some of the newer articulation and craft into recent Joes, but a lot of the Transformers just seem weak. MOTUC is a great toy line and sometimes TG and the fans take it to seriously. Like it forgets to be fun. DCUC completely forgot how to be fun. NECA just feels more like they’re making toys (which admittedly is completely opposite if you Dutch next to He-Man) and having fun doing so. I guess to me too, is that I don’t care about Aliens and Predator as much as I love MOTU or DC, but NECA is making me a lot happier as a toy collector than Mattel is at giving me the totems from my favorite properties – if that makes sense?

         3. It depends on your experience obviously, but I will say, having bought NECA toys across many properties in the last 6 years, and the bulk of the mouth stuff, the ratio of QC issues, fig for fig, bears out in NECAs favor as probably 30%? And I’ve had, by anecdotal proof, better than average motuc luck. Take for example the motuc defective ankle… I have maybe 10 figs with prohibitively floppy ankles, where the fig can’t even stand. That doesn’t exist in my NECA collection at all. My worst NECA fig can stand up. I haven’t had a catastrophic breakage in either line, and of fused joints, my toy biz XMC figs have the most of any line I’ve bought. Between NECA and motuc, only motuc presented me with a fig that needed more than 20 minutes to free up a frozen limb. NECA also, in the one time I’ve needed customer support, been responsive and swift to act. I’ve been satisfied with motuc support, but that was in the early, ask no questions days. But I would not be truthful if I said they were unique or exceptional in how things were handled.

            I also think, when it comes to creative use for the buck body, NECA has done much better with creative reuse of parts. The gears of war fig not only made better use of parts to create unique looks, but us a revised, improved buck partway in… 6 years of motuc and we’ve been upgraded top eh hole less ankles… Sometimes.

            I get that some folks might be offering NECA an easy pass on some things they deserve criticism for, but by in large, that’s because when they gave us the ED 209, there was no “who does that?” Video to punctuate the occasion.

   3. I agree w/ you. I love NECA and for one I think they certainly have earned a degree of the hype they receive. But you hit the nail on the head about the critics of giving them a pass when they’d nail Mattel and Hasbro to the cross for much less.

9. One big disappointment for me, in addition to the DCUC and MOTU ones you listed, has to be: Lego exclusives.
   These are getting worse, with accusations of the distribution at SDCC being rigged this year, ignoring the fact that we need to stop the practice of SDCC exclusives altogether. Was anyone happy with the way Boba Fett was released by Hasbro, either?
   Then, Mr. Gold was an worldwide insult to every kid who’s been collecting every minifig set since collection #1.
   TLG needs a “don’t be evil” reminder for 2014…

   1. I will 100% back you up on that one. Captain Marvel? Black Spidey?* LEGO definitely blew it with those. I think I just found out about another one that I didn’t even know of. It’s annoying. And, yeah, Mr. Gold. Not cool.

      * – The Black Spider-Man costume is the most gorgeous and awesome costume in all of comics. I have a slew of it in various figures… but not in LEGO form due to it being that dummy exclusive.

10. …but…but I love FoC Grimmy…flaws and all!

    1. I am happy for you! I definitely think just about any toy can be someone’s favorite and I’m glad someone loves him. I sold mine and I hope he ended up somewhere similar to your home. 🙂

       1. I don’t know if I will sell the one that I have, but it’s definitely a huge disappointment. I know there’s only so many ways you can make a dinosaur transform but the engineering on that one is just really poor. Plus the plastic feels really cheap and brittle.

    2. Love it? I respect one person’s opinion, but I’m just kind of at a loss. Big disappointment, IMO.

11. My only gripe with any Grimlock today. Where’s the other Dinobots!?!?!?! Slag, Snarl, Sludge and Swoop need new poseable figs c’mon Takara/Hasbro!

12. 2013 kinda crushed my collecting spirit with the demise of the DCUC/CIE line.

    I thought the 6″ Star Wars would carry me, but the latest release wave with Han Solo turned me away. Han just looked like a lame, plain figure in a larger size. I’ll continue with the SW 4′ scale and get only the figures I need. Meanwhile, I’ve turned to making DCUC figures that I want in my collection on my own. I’m enjoying it and it keeps me busy and the figure money I usually spent put to good use.

    I’m still hoping Matty will try to do some SDCC exclusives, but I doubt it.

    It will be interesting to see what Toyguru is doing in a couple of years when the MOTU line runs out. DCUC could have gone on for years with the right marketing.

13. Disappointments:

    Castle Grayskull has to be the top of that list. From my POV the only thing Mattel did right was hiring the Horsemen for the job, but I think literally every step of the way, every other move they made was wrong. I’m glad for fans that it’s out there, but the whole situation could’ve been handled better, resulting in a superior final product. And I think once the “WOW HUGE CASTLE!” sheen wears off, in a few years it won’t be as well-received as it is now.

    Another MOTUC disappointment has to be the overall increasing blandness with the line. Yes in character selection (way too many Filmation figures) but in execution as well, as the interpretive elements that we once saw in this line all but came to a screeching halt. A few nice figures here and there like Mantenna made for not a t

    1. Damn hitting enter button! 😀

       That should continue… Not a total wash of a year, and especially since I’m a subber for 2014 (another source of annoyance and disappointment) I really have my fingers crossed that the excellence of Two Bad and Blade will be the standard and not the exception.

       Another BIG (I wish) disappointment for me was Playmates utter incompetent execution on Classics Bebop and Rocksteady. Two of my most anticipated figures this year, and I just couldn’t bring myself to buy them. What a shame, those sculpts were just what I was looking for. It’s possible I’ll get them eventually to go with some older TMNTs but sheesh.

       Definitely have to echo the lament of DCUC’s fade and you aisle lameness. I equate the two because along the odd TF or grabbing cool new Joe figs, DCUC was really the only “perennial” mass market line I could look forward to seeing. DCUC deserved much better, shame on all involved.

       HIGHLIGHTS!!!!

       Definitely NECA as a whole but the Gremlins and stuff from the first Predator movie was tops for me. I think I have what, 6 Dutch figures??? LOL Also props to the Ultimate Joes, and the solid SW Black figs I picked up for letting me dream again of 6″ RAHs. Finally getting to dip my toe in the modern TF MP waters with the excellent Soundwave. Definitely some great stuff this past year.

       #1 highlight I gotta give it to The Ravens. Not only did we get an awesome glimpse into the true toy making talents of the Horsemen, the way the collector community rallied around the project to blow it out of the water renewed a lot of my faith in toy collectors. And I’m absolutely biased since those are figures I had direct input on more than anything else ever created, but attempting a degree of objectivity, I just don’t see how anything in 2014 will top those just as sheer awesome figurecraft. But I’ll be happy to be proven wrong!!! Bring on 2014!!!!! 🙂

14. I don’t have the classics Bebop & Rocksteady yet, what’s the problem?
    Noisy, will we see a review of this duo soon?

    1. They look great but they totally butchered the scale!!
       They’re like shorter than the damn Turtles!!!!! >(

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