{"id":32755,"date":"2016-03-30T08:31:33","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T13:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32755"},"modified":"2016-12-07T00:12:51","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T06:12:51","slug":"fresh-monkey-fictions-amazing-heroes-series-1-1-5-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32755","title":{"rendered":"Fresh Monkey Fiction’s Amazing Heroes
Series 1 & 1.5 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> Nostalgia is a funny & powerful thing. Culturally, there\u2019s a push forward, for innovation, for betterment and it impacts everything. Nostalgia rears its head in our little culture corner, the action figure world, by as an onslaught of bigger & more complicated versions of the same toys we played with a quarter-of-the-century ago. There are more-detailed sculpts, there\u2019s increased articulation, there are sharper paint applications. And we seem to gobble these up with abandon.<\/p>\n

But nostalgia isn\u2019t done with us. Nostalgia goes both ways for a lot of us. While I gobble up MP Transformers, DC Classics, & Marvel Legends, I still keep & display my G1 Transformers, my Super Powers, & my Marvel Secret Wars. I just can\u2019t quit those old toys. There\u2019s an inherent charm to them, to their limited articulation, their sorta-detailed paintwork, and their weird, and sometimes unhelpful, pre-posing. It\u2019s that charm, working with nostalgia, that turns those things into something worth replicating. It creates a market for throwback articulation & sculpts to go right alongside our hyper-articulated modern toys. <\/p>\n

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Fresh Monkey Fiction<\/a> is one of many companies taking advantage of that nostalgia boon right now and they did it in a unique way, taking inspiration from Mattel\u2019s Secret Wars toy line. The figures use a buck body that captures the soft musculature and bent knees of those vintage figures. Newer \u2018kids\u2019 might scoff at this look and say, \u201cyou had to be there\u201d, but I\u2019d assure them that had they been there, receiving the IAT newsletter, they would\u2019ve been reading about how awesome, and unfortunately abbreviated, that toy line was. Have no doubt.<\/p>\n

When FMF offered to send over some review samples of their new nostalgia toys, the 10-figure strong Amazing Heroes line, I took them up on the offer to see if they were able to capture that Secret Wars charm. After playing around with them for a few days and taking pictures to share, I can say that not only did they capture that old charm, they\u2019ve worked in some of that innovation too with some great head sculpts and sharper paint. <\/p>\n

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And then there\u2019s the packaging. Normally, packaging is destined for the garbage bin, but Amazing Heroes earns a reprieve thanks to a few key points. Firstly, they are resealable, the figures can be removed and returned without tearing up the packaging. Better still, the cardback designs are vintage-inspired and feel like something in-line with the era. What really surprised me, was the alternate cardbacks. The standard design features eight figures in thumbnail, but the alternates include a set of modern art and a set of \u201cgolden age\u201d art. The golden age art hit me hard. I included a picture of the Captain Action one above \u2013 there\u2019s just something about having that vintage artwork, large & in charge, right next to the figure that really sings to my own sense of nostalgia. <\/p>\n

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The figures FMF included in their sample package were from Series 1: Black Terror, Daredevil (no, not that one), Captain Action, Stardust, Green Turtle, & Blank Slate, and Series 1.5: Champion of Mars, Silver Streak, Madman, & John Aman Amazing Man. Many of these characters are older golden age characters that have fallen into public domain (Madman, Captain Action, & John Aman Amazing Man are licensed). Many of these characters I knew and was familiar with, but it\u2019s been cool to rea up on a few of these guys that I really had no idea bout before. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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All the figures share the same body and I was surprised to find that many of the figures share heads. Normally, I\u2019d count this as a knock, but this line gets away with it. I didn\u2019t even notice until I was really getting into the pictures and taking stock. I don\u2019t know how to explain it, but if you look at the group shot, it just doesn\u2019t stick out to me the way it did with Modern G.I. Joes & other lines that have tried it in the past. One thing that helps is the head sculpts are all really sharp. I like the Black Terror\/Amazing Man\/Stardust head the best of the four sculpts, but the bald sculpt, and the parted hair sculpt, and the Madman (that guy just needs his own), all look great. And again, the various changes in skin tone and hair color do a great job of disguising the reuse. <\/p>\n

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The paintwork is fairly sharp throughout and the line barely takes advantage of the leeway nostalgia would provide \u2013 a little unevenness or slop would be understandable, but it\u2019s hardly there. The paint turned out really well. Articulation is full throwback, 5 POA with swivels at the neck shoulders, & hips. It\u2019s more for decoration and heavily-imagination fueled play, but the figures all stand and look great, though it might take a little bit of tinkering to stand them up without the \u201cSecret Wars hunch\u201d. It can be done and if you\u2019ve been practicing on SW figures for years, you\u2019ll have no problems. <\/p>\n

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There are a few extra bits peppered throughout the line to get the details right. Captain Action needed his hat, of course. Mad Man has cuffs for the illusion of gloves. Black Turtle, Champion of Mars, & Green Turtle needed capes and a little more 80s goodness creeped in with cloth capes that use sewn-in c-clips to stay in place around the neck. The capes are a really nice material, easily better than what we would\u2019ve gotten back in the day. A few figures also have add-on armors. Champion of Mars & John Aman Amazing Man share a chest harness while Daredevil has his classic spiky belt. All these add-ons are well sculpted and fit in with the line while giving it more depth beyond the basic buck. <\/p>\n

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Four accessories are included throughout the figures (most don\u2019t really need anything). Champion of Mars has his sword (accessory, chest harness, & cape \u2013 this guy is almost deluxe!), Captain Action his pistol, & Daredevil his boomerang. Again, really nice sculpts, and all three can be held well. There\u2019s also Blank Slate. He includes a white slicked back hair head that can be changed out for the included bald head. This guy I want to draw attention to because I didn\u2019t realize he\u2019s the line\u2019s only villain, loosely based off an old Daredevil issue. I had thought he was just a customizable figure (which he totally still could be). <\/p>\n

Overall, I have to say FMF did a really bang-up job capturing the old SW flare and then using some modern innovations to get improved head sculpts and the great packaging ideas into the line. The figures were initially part of a successful Kickstarter, but they are available for pre-order at the Fresh Monkey Fiction store<\/a> right now and BBTS has a few of Series 1 in stock<\/a>. And keep an eye out for Series 2 on Kickstarter here soon. Thanks again to the folks over at Fresh Monkey Fiction for sending these along for us to take a look at!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \t

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