{"id":15675,"date":"2011-12-07T00:01:53","date_gmt":"2011-12-07T06:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15675"},"modified":"2011-12-07T01:25:48","modified_gmt":"2011-12-07T07:25:48","slug":"dc-classics-com-young-justice-red-arrow-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15675","title":{"rendered":"DC Classics.Com Young
Justice Red Arrow Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Do you have toylines that you keep buying, but you\u2019re not sure you should? Young Justice six-inch is that way for me. I enjoy the show and I\u2019m always down for some DC Comics figures, but I find myself constantly questioning if this really is a toyline I should be collecting.<\/p>\n

My biggest hesitance with the Young Justice line is a simple one for most collectors to understand: team completion. It\u2019s one of those fun little disconnects<\/em> between a toy company and a toy collector. They want to keep us hooked by not finishing the very subgroups that we wish to complete. The way I see it though, the main team isn’t<\/em> a subgroup here. Mattel needs to plow through the core cast and get Superboy and Miss Martian (didn’t Mattel already screw us around enough when it came to getting Martian Manhunter?) sooner rather than later. Looking at the lineup for the next three waves though, it appears Mattel is dead set on holding core team members back. And combined with how the line is selling (not well here), I find myself asking, do I want to get these if I’m not going to get a shot at getting all six?<\/p>\n

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Still, I’m the first to admit that I’ve kept buying (so far). I snagged Robin & Artemis early, and snapped up Aqualad the one time<\/em> I ran across him. After that though, looking at the offerings of those aforementioned next few waves – Red Arrow (2), Sportsmaster & Solar Suit Superboy (3), Kid Flash & Guardian (4), and Batman (5) \u2013 I kinda balked. Solar Suit Superboy & Batman don’t really do much to in terms of team building. I resolved to pick up Kid Flash and then hold off on the rest. Then Mattel came along with a bundle…<\/p>\n

My intention to not purchase Red Arrow was interrupted by a deal at the Shop.Mattel.com. All four 6\u201d Young Justice figures in a set for the low price of $40. And with a trusty coupon code and free shipping, it came out to just $36, or $9 each. Vault was looking for the hook up on Artemis & Aqualad, so I could get Red Arrow for cheap and have a Robin leftover to boot. <\/p>\n

As you can imagine, resolve tends to go out the window in such a scenario. <\/p>\n

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* – I also have to point out how delightful an experience I had from Mattel Shop. No crazy WSOD, a free shipping deal, and a coupon code. Oh, and did I mention that I placed this order from Mattel Shop about an hour after my November Mattycollector order? Both shipped UPS, but the Shop Mattel order got here a week earlier<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Okay, so that\u2019s how I came to own this figure I wouldn’t have bought otherwise. Now, I might as well get to talking about it. The sculpt uses the same basic buck as the recent Legion set with a few notable additions. Green Arrow\u2019s hands are carried over for their archery goodness. Roy also sports new, chunkier feet, a soft plastic belt\/thigh holster, a new torso with sculpted costume details, a quiver, and a new animated-style noggin’. <\/p>\n

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All of that combines to make for a top notch figure with mostly sculpted detail. The belt and thigh holsters add a nice extra layer and don\u2019t restrict movement while the sculpted harness on his torso prevents the figure from looking too bulky. <\/p>\n

I really like the head sculpt, but mostly because it’s not too animated. My biggest beef with this sub-line is that decision to make these DCUC compatible, but with animated head sculpts. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but I think giving these guys more realistic head sculpts and leaving the animated designs to the 4\u201d line would have really helped both lines. <\/p>\n

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Articulation is what we\u2019re used to since Red Arrow sports what is essentially the standard compliment for a DC\/Mattel figure. There are some changes though. One, the range of the neck is a little more than were used to with some nice tilt and the use of Green Arrow\u2019s hands brings ball-jointed wrists into the mix. I know, I know, archers keep their wrists straight when firing, but let\u2019s face it, these figures couldn\u2019t get into anything close to a good archer\u2019s pose without the ball-jointed wrists to compensate for the lack of range in the arms and torso. <\/p>\n

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I didn\u2019t have too many paint issues with the Red Arrow, but that is primarily because of molded colors. There was some general fuzziness on the few paint lines, particularly the longer right glove and the boot tops, but nothing I\u2019d go crying to customer service about. Like Robin, I wish the figure wasn\u2019t as pale, but that\u2019s more about matching the animation than it is an issue. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Red Arrow\u2019s primary accessory would have to be his base. I have a love\/hate relationship with the Young Justice bases. I really don\u2019t need them and I don\u2019t think Mattel is really designing them effectively. There are cool little features I appreciate. Red Arrow\u2019s base features a wanted poster for Sportsmaster that his arrows can be plugged into (similar to Artemis\u2019 base). It also features a loose compatibility with Robin\u2019s base in that the dimensions are the same and they kinda look alright sitting next to one another \u2013 but they don\u2019t connect. <\/p>\n

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Coincidentally, I think that\u2019s the biggest flaw with these bases. Imagine if each figure featured a piece of a giant training room playset or if an upcoming third figure featured a third (cornerless) section of rooftop that could be placed between these two? How cool would that be? There\u2019d still be issues \u2013 the bases aren\u2019t designed to snap together and the colors on Red Arrow\u2019s and Robin\u2019s are somewhat compatible, but don\u2019t exactly match. I guess I don\u2019t mind the bases, but I wish the folks at Mattel would be more effective in how they used them. Until then, these bases end up in a box while the figures are on display. <\/p>\n

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Red Arrow also included his bow and four unique arrows. There are some cool features here as well \u2013 the bow could be strung with some fishing line if you\u2019re so inclined and the bow features two clip-on spots for the arrows. That last part is pretty cool, I thought. How many times do we see these guys loading up two or three arrows on their bow? Sure, it\u2019s ridiculous, but it looks damn cool and this figure can pull it off.<\/p>\n

Alas, not all is well in accessory land. Remember how I mentioned Red Arrow\u2019s arrows could be plugged into his base just like Artemis\u2019 could be plugged into hers? Here’s the dumb part \u2013 they didn\u2019t make the pegs for the different sets of arrows the same size. That\u2019s just stupid.<\/em> Whether you\u2019re a toy collector or a wee tot, you\u2019re going to want those arrows to be cross-compatible and the Mattel designers not realizing that or not making it happen just blows my mind. Shouldn’t Mattel have the best of the best designing these figures. Shouldn’t they catch obvious little things like that?<\/p>\n

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Overall, despite a few warts, I actually enjoy having Red Arrow here. Would I have picked it up at Target for $20? Well, I can\u2019t say that I would have. He’s definitely one of the better figures in the line so far. And I appreciate the sculpt and accessories even though the arrows and the base have obvious, overlooked issues. <\/p>\n

But the biggest thing for me is that Red Arrow isn’t part of the team. He’s a cool anicillary figure and I’d feel a lot better about picking up figures like Red Arrow and Guardian, or villains like Sportsmaster, if I knew we were going to get a regular Superboy & Miss Martian for sure. Mattel (& DC Comics) have taken a lot of enjoyment out of collecting DC figures of late. And not getting a complete Young Justice team out in the first five waves? That just seems to continue the trend. I’ll never say never when it comes to the prospect of Sportsmaster or Guardian reviews here at IAT, but Mattel\u2019s conventional wisdom (dinosaur business practices?) towards team completion is making this a hard line for me to stay excited about. <\/p>\n

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For more DC reviews, check out our
\n DC Universe Classics Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you have toylines that you keep buying, but you\u2019re not sure you should? Young Justice six-inch is that way for me. I enjoy the show and I\u2019m always down for some DC Comics figures, but I find myself constantly questioning if this really is a toyline I should be collecting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":15780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[6,34,10],"tags":[15,665,20,1292,909],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/arrTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-44P","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17905,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17905","url_meta":{"origin":15675,"position":0},"title":"Truetorial: Mattel Rips off the DC All-Stars Band-Aid (Updated)","date":"April 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"News of the (ideally temporary) demise of DC comic-based figures at retail has been circulating for a few days. With Young Justice canned, the DC Classics line moved almost entirely online, and DC Comics\u2019 basic inability to market their wares, it\u2019s not the best time to be a DC collector\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truetorial"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20335,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=20335","url_meta":{"origin":15675,"position":1},"title":"Ask Mattel August 15th & Link Round-Up","date":"August 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - August 15th Edition DCClassics.Com Asks: Did the Death staction have enough of an impact that Mattel will look into moving forward in that scale? It did very well, but how and if this line will continue has not been decided. MOTUClassics.Com Asks: We know that Granamyr can't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19992,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19992","url_meta":{"origin":15675,"position":2},"title":"DC Classics.Com Club Infinite Earths Rocket Red Review","date":"August 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I have no idea what to write about Rocket Red. I\u2019ve got twelve pictures to work around and I don\u2019t think anyone\u2019s going to stick through two pages of me bitching and moaning about how this figure annoys me. I like to have fun with toys, but this guy\u2019s a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15651,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15651","url_meta":{"origin":15675,"position":3},"title":"Ask Matty December 1st Edition","date":"December 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - December 1st Edition DCClassics.Com Asks: We're ecstatic about Starman's alternate noggin', but now we have to ask what about Jay Garrick... y'know, ol Flash 1? Will his value be kicked up a notch like Thom Kallor with old and young heads? Although Jay Garrick will not include\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17559,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17559","url_meta":{"origin":15675,"position":4},"title":"Ask Mattel March 15th + Link Roundup","date":"March 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask Matty - March 15th Edition DCClassics.Com Asks: When are the newest DCUC 2pks (Yellow Hal & Blue Kyle, Red Azrael & Battle Damage Batman) expected to hit TRU shelves? They have already shipped so it is up to Toy R Us at this point! DCClassics.Com Asks: The 6\" Young\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ask Matty"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16352,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16352","url_meta":{"origin":15675,"position":5},"title":"DC Classics.Com Young Justice Sportsmaster Review (19 Pics)","date":"January 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve gotta be careful what I say about Young Justice. I sometimes get in the mindset that I want to stop collecting the 6\u201d line, but I hesitate to say it aloud because, seemingly inevitably, a new Young Justice Review keeps popping up here at IAT. This time, it\u2019s Sportsmaster\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15675"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15675"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15790,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15675\/revisions\/15790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}