Well for the most part anyway. Either they are new on card but released some time ago, or they're loose/used. :)
Breakaway:
Got this guy at the local China Square Central flea market last week for only S$16. The only other thing I got on the day was DCUC Classics BAF Kalibak's right leg. That only cost me 3 bucks. Nice. Now for the final piece of Drkseid's adopted sun--the torso! (that comes with Killer Moth.) Wherever am I gonna find that in Singapore? Heh.
Here's what I got today:
A loose Brianiac! from the DCUC predecessor DC Super Heroes line. For only S$10.
And a DCUC Cyborg for only $15 without the BAF Despero part.
Both of hockwyi from Ebay Singapore. Thanks for the good deal. ;)
I have a ton of stuff I wanna talk about, the first of which is a monster of a toy--ROTF Optimus Prime. Then I still have Marvel Universe 3.75 inch Red Hulk and DC Universe Classics Unmasked Batman Beyond. And I haven't even gotten to the stuff above.
As a kid, I always wondered why they couldn't get Transformers toys to be cartoon accurate. Take Ultra Magnus for example. The G1 toy as so poor in terms of articulation it wasn't funny. He was basically a white repaint of the G1 Optimus Prime toy, with a car carrier that transformed into his rather immobile frame (read--he had no real legs whatsoever).
Enter Fansproject, who claim to be by the fans, for the fans. And I agree! Check out their Powered Commander set for Henkei Optimus Prime!
What's this, you say? Well, it's basically power armour upgrade for your Henkei Optimus Prime that'll make him look like Ultra Magnus in the early test shots/promotional trailers for Transformers: The Animated Movie.
Check it out:
Sweet, huh?
One thing I really wanted to do with this guy after putting him togther is to take him apart, minus the Prime toy, so that those of you thinking about getting him know what you're in for. And also before I got this guy (and I always wanted to get him based on the pictures of him I've seen) I couldn't find any site that showed you exactly what you were paying for. So here it is:
Yup folks, that is one Big Frickin' Gun, more popularly known among fans as a BFG (I know what you're thinking, you Roald Dahl readers. ;])
But the Powered Commander is simply not just bits of armour. It also can transform into a trailer mode. But it sorta cheats. Why? Cos the pieces come apart and are clipped together with tabs and slots. I do have to say, though, that the tab/slot part of the toy is particalurly well done. That means most everything fits snugly when clipped together. :)
So if you're trying on the PC armour on your Henkei/Universe Prime for the first time, be wary that the pieces fit nicely, and if it deosn't seem to fit snugly, it probably wasn't meant to fit there.
The set also comes packed with a Henkei-like comic that doubles as instructions, as well as a sticker sheet and a bag of small round plastic bits, of which purpose I'm unsure of. Haha. Maybe they're their for kitbashing or repair purposes.
Here's how I rate this toy:
Show Acuracy: 9.5 - You can't really miss the colour scheme on this, so pretty accurate based on a commercial.
Poseability: 9.3 - He loses lots of Prime's flexibility in the arms after the armour is donned--the shoulder loses a ratchet joint to move the arm up and away from the body. And of course the forearms are now more restricted because of the clip on hands/forearms.
But the one important thing that is not lost is his leg flexibility. Heck, the guy even has adjustable foot plates that allow him to have his feet flat on the ground even when his legs are apart. And he leg flaxibiliy is so important in order to pose Magnus with his huge upper body bulk and the BFG.
Aesthetic: 9.7 - Powered Commander is just awesome to look at. From the head sculpt, to the shoulders and even the trailer mode. Why can't hasbro have made a Magnus like this before now? ;)
Overall: 9.5 - The only reason that it doesn't score higher (ok besides the upper body poseability) is that his colours sorta clash. Red, black, blue and yellow? And really, Prime doesn't need any Power Armour. I'll just let Nemesis Prime wear it for now. ;)
Size compasison next to Universe Ultra Magnus (w/o Power Armour of course. ;])
Oh and I didn't put any stickers on PC cos I thought he'd be too "chromed up" with any more silver. He looks great as he is right out of the box. :])
Funny how the toys I seek the most happen to fall into my lap. Well, Sometimes, at least. It certainly was that way with DC Universe Classics Clayface!
He sure looks like a pile of crap. And that's what makes him so awesome! Originally released in the DC Superheroes line (predecessor of the DCUC Classics), he's just been re-released (no, not from Arkham) in a new DCUC 2-pack with black and grey mud-spattered Batman!
Walking to my usual haunt on Sunday afternoons at China Square Central, Mel and I stumbled upon him in a loose toy tray in one of the toy shops. (Well okay, Mel saw it first--she usually sees them rare ones cos she walks ahead of me, But she never knows that they're rare. It's almost as if she's keen to get at the toys just to hand them to me. It's true. ;P)
Picking it up, she was about to say something about Clayface's shitty demeanor when I said, "Hey! Clayface!" Turns out she was about to tell me, "It's Chocolate Man!"
So without hesitation I asked the store owner how much he was selling it for. "$25," he said, and with a shake of his head, "I dunno why the guy wanted only the Batman..."
All right then! All mine then! :D Cos you see, the DCSH version of him usually sells for S$40, and I already have the Batman of my dreams in the DCSH blue/grey Bats, so I was lukewarm about buying the 2-pack just for Chocolate Man. I mean Clayface. And the reason he's so sought after (besides his looks) is his articulation:
Head: Swivel, but can't turn 360 degrees cos some of his "clay" gets in the way. But turns side to side reasonably well.
Shoulders: Swivels as well, but 360 degree rotation.
Arms: Here's the beauty of this figure. His arms are molded out of rubber, so no joint. But they have bendable wire in 'em so they can me "molded" into whatever pose you desire. I did not know this before! Sweet!
Chest: Hinge
Waist: Swives 360! Nice!
Hips: Swivel and hinge, but motion is limited bue to excessive (But nonetheless beautiful) bits of clay.
Knees are hinges, but ar elimited to 70 or so degreee bend.
Feet: Ball joints!
So 13 points + bendy arms. Not too shabby for a pile of poop! ;)
Here's how I rate the guy:
Character Accuracy: 10/10 - Looks perfectly like the Matt Hagen Clayface out of the Batman Animated series. I like that they varied the size of his upper body with regard to his lower half.
Aesthetic: 9.5/10 - Just awesome! From the detail of his teeth to the extra bit of clay molded onto his upper torso and hanging uder his left arm, and down to his one baby toe, Hasbro seem to have done the perfect thing in just re-issuing the figure. They got it right the first time, so if it ain't broke, why fix it? ;) Gotta also love the rubbery molding of his fingers/hands--perfect for holding up, oh say, an arch enemy? (And tossing him around, of course.)
Poseability: 9.5/10 - While his regular joints are so-so, his bendable arms just way make up for them. I can imagine many would love to twist them and turn them every which way but I'm wary of bendy bits on action figures. I have some vague memory of having a Mr. Fantastic and a Hulk Hogan, both of whom I maimed because I over-bendied them. :( And in this case we don't want shapely shit to become limp lumps...
But I'm sure responsible bendy-ing should go a long way towards preserving Clayface. :)
Overall: 9.5/10 - I just can't put him down! He's fantastic to pose with Bats, just as Supes was with Mongul or Bizarro. I mean, I have my favourites when it comes to the Good Guys, but I seem to love lots of them baddies!
So get this guy if you can find him. And if you don't have Batman, even better, since they only now come in a 2-pack. And if a little thinner rub down can get rid of Bats' shit stains, all the better. If not just hand the man a roll of toilet paper. He's gonna need it every time he squares off with Clayface. ;)
Yes, I know. On the box his name's Shazam--but that's actually the name of the immortal wizard who grants little Billy Batson his power. It's due to the copyright/naming/trademark issues that DC has with Marvel Comics--the latter has their own Captain Marvel.
Let's check out his origins:
The thing I love about Captain Marvel is that in a day and age when Superheroes have to be dark and gritty in order for them to be more human and thus relatable to us, good ol'Captain Marvel's retained the good, wholesome character and image of his.
Just look at his good old fashioned pearly whites, combed-back hair, and square jaw.
This guy puts the original Big Blue Boy Scout to shame.
Cap may have been a Fawcett Comics' knock off of Supes (They've both got the same powers except for x-ray/heat vision and super breath) but after DC bought Fawcett over some time ago, Cap's character has grown by, well, remaining stagnant.
You see, the more and more other characters like Batman and Superman get acquainted with their dark sides, the more Captain Marvel's wholesome virtues stand out. If you haven't seen Justice League Unlimited's "Clash", then you ain't seen nothin' yet! ;)
And I also guess Captain Marvel was one of those heroes who boys didn't have to grow up to be--you could just say a magic word and become a Superhero. It's gotta be every litle boy's dream, especially when they had a TV Series in the 80s. Check this out!
And as if that weren't enough, the had a cartoon series too!
Talk about a blast from the past!
Well, here's how I rate this awesome, awesome figure!
Character Accuracy: 9.5 -Wholesome 60s look (jaw, hair, teeth, blue eyes) - check. Bright red and yellow colour scheme - check. Fancy schmancy half-cape and collor with gold rope fastener and trimming and fancy flower designs, check. Gold button and Star Trek Enterprise-like uniform top - check. Foldover yellow boots, yellow belt sash and gold bracers - check. Now that's a whole lotta accuracy. ;P
Aesthetic: 9.5 - At first glance, he's your classic design/colour scheme. But closer examination shows a lot of detai in the sculpt. There's a nice yellow wash on his boots, creases in his belt sash, veins in his fists, a slight red wash for his red parts, and a slightly more bronze paint for his flowers, which are sculpted and painted, and not just painted on.
And where Supes, Bats, Lantern, or even Flash have abs, Captain Marvel's got wrinkles in his suit to reflect a looser costume and thus more consevative look. And he's even got those below the sash. And weirdly enough, though his head is supposed to look more "classic" and more "Momma's Boy" than Superman, it actually has more character.
(A portrait right out of the high school yearbook!)
Poseability: 9.5 - Hey, what can I say? Standard DC Universe 21 points of articulation, and with extra molded parts like the cape that don't get in the way. :)
Overall: A wholesome 9.5! - This character deserves a toy like this. Now I've got to get Black Adam so they can have a throw down. Oh, and the rest of his family (Mary Marvel and Freddy Freeman) would be awesome too!
And I almost forgot--Captain Marvel (or Shazam. Bleargh.) comes with "Collect and Connect" Kalibak's left leg. And since I have the left arm and club that came with Superman, and DCSH Darkseid, I have a little itch to want and complete his son, Kalibak. :P
