{"id":16020,"date":"2011-12-26T01:01:15","date_gmt":"2011-12-26T07:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16020"},"modified":"2011-12-30T04:44:23","modified_gmt":"2011-12-30T10:44:23","slug":"vault-review-diamond-select-universal-monsters-dracula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16020","title":{"rendered":"Vault Review: Diamond Select Universal Monsters Dracula"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Since my local toy watering holes aren\u2019t being cooperative, I\u2019m running a bit low on domestic toys to review.\u00a0 But I did uncover a couple of Diamond Select figures from my to-do pile.\u00a0 Today\u2019s review focuses on the retail version of their Universal Monsters\u2019 Dracula.<\/p>\n

I think I mentioned this in my Frankenstein review, but I\u2019m pretty surprised that DST chose to do both Dracula and Frank in one wave.\u00a0 These are arguably the two most popular characters in the line, and I really expected them to be spaced out a bit so they could carry their own wave.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course one reason they might have put them together is because Dracula is the first figure that doesn\u2019t actually look like his Universal counterpart.\u00a0 Apparently it\u2019s notoriously difficult (or expensive) to acquire the licensing rights from Bela Lugosi\u2019s estate in order to use his likeness.\u00a0 Instead of dragging out the inevitable, Diamond bit the bullet and chose a more generic looking Dracula.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have some mixed feelings about this choice.\u00a0 This figure will never be a true Universal Monsters Dracula, which means the collection will never be complete.\u00a0 On the other hand, this figure looks an awful lot like the actor who portrayed Dracula in the 1987 movie Monster Squad, which is one of my favorite movies from when I was young.<\/p>\n

This figure also has a variant head from the comic shop exclusive.\u00a0 Instead of mouth closed, this Dracula is baring his fangs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The bodies are both the same and are sculpted wearing a full tux with tails, because Drac is always stylish.\u00a0 There\u2019s some really nice detail work on his shoes, and they even added that classic giant pendant around his neck.\u00a0 His cape, which can be removed (notice the glue spot on the back of my figure) is billowing in the wind.\u00a0 Something that\u2019s a bit annoying is the painted watch chain on his vest.\u00a0 It looks kind of tacky with all the sculpted bits around it.\u00a0 Continue to page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Like the rest of the figures, Drac\u2019s articulation is minimal.\u00a0 His head is a ball joint.\u00a0 His shoulders are swivel\/hinges, while his waist and wrists are swivels.\u00a0 This makes him good at gesturing, but not much else.\u00a0 What he really needs are some hinged ankles though.\u00a0 I can\u2019t get my figure to stand up without the use of a stand or leaning him against something.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0This is a pretty large problem that knee joints would have easily fixed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The comic shop exclusive Dracula comes with a large black wolf as an accessory, while the retail version only comes with a base.\u00a0 The base itself is a nicely sculpted chunk of earth with rocks scattered about.\u00a0 Behind where Dracula stands are two gravestones, the larger of which is in a state of crumbling.\u00a0 Neither tombstone seems quite big enough though, especially when compared with the figure\u2019s prototype.\u00a0 I\u2019m also annoyed with the placement of the peg holes, which are too far apart for the figure to use both at the same time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This figure has quite a few annoying problems, but I think the worst is its inability to stand unaided.\u00a0 With all the insane engineering feats that have been accomplished in the toy industry, standing issues are a problem we shouldn\u2019t be dealing with in 2011.\u00a0 If I had to do it over again, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d buy him.\u00a0 At the very least I would wait for clearance, because he does look rather nice squared off against my Simon Belmont.<\/p>\n

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

Since my local toy watering holes aren\u2019t being cooperative, I\u2019m running a bit low on domestic toys to review.\u00a0 But I did uncover a couple of Diamond Select figures from my to-do pile.\u00a0 Today\u2019s review focuses on the retail version of their Universal Monsters\u2019 Dracula.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16021,"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":[34,10],"tags":[1309,750,1308,471,1310,1311,718],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/udracTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-4ao","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15460,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=15460","url_meta":{"origin":16020,"position":0},"title":"Vault Review: Diamond Select’s Frankenstein","date":"November 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Another Halloween has come and past, which means another wave of Universal Monsters figures and Minimates from Diamond Select.\u00a0 I\u2019m starting off with Frankenstein because I have a particular annoyance with his figure and I want to get him out of the way. I\u2019m not sure who\u2019s the more popular\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/frank6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9572,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=9572","url_meta":{"origin":16020,"position":1},"title":"Vault Review: Minimates Universal Monsters Wave 1","date":"September 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m a big fan of the classic Universal Monsters. Whether it was playing Castlevania, or watching great movies like The Monster Squad; I couldn\u2019t get enough of Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, the Mummy, or the Gill-Man. So when Art Asylum released these in Minimates form, I was definitely sold.","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19531,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19531","url_meta":{"origin":16020,"position":2},"title":"DoomKick.com Reviews: Monster Fighters Vampyre Hearse #9464","date":"July 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Day Two of Guest Review Week rolls on with a look at Lego Monster Fighters from the resolute DrRampageo! Doc recently launched his newest site, Doomkick.Com, and can often be found here in our comments section and forum. Only seemed right to put him to work! Have at it, Doc!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lego"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9860,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=9860","url_meta":{"origin":16020,"position":3},"title":"Vault Review: Diamond Select’s Creature from the Black Lagoon","date":"October 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This year, along with the great Minimates sets, Diamond Select Toys is also releasing the first action figures in their Universal Monsters line. I\u2019ve been waiting for these guys ever since they were first revealed at Toy Fair all those months ago. But was the wait truly worth it?","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10069,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=10069","url_meta":{"origin":16020,"position":4},"title":"Vault Review: Diamond Select’s Wolfman","date":"November 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Even though Halloween is past, that doesn\u2019t mean we're down with our spooky figure reviews! I\u2019ve got one more of Diamond Select\u2019s Universal Monsters toys to look at. I\u2019m ending on The Wolf Man, one of my favorite characters and a nice conclusion to the first wave of figures.","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9970,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=9970","url_meta":{"origin":16020,"position":5},"title":"Vault Review: Diamond Select’s Mummy","date":"November 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"As we covered last week, Diamond Select Toys is jumping into the Universal Monsters franchise with the Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Mummy. I was excited to pick up the Mummy at my local comic book shop, but little did I realize that DST would get me to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16020"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16020"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16092,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16020\/revisions\/16092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}