Son of Darkseid

Kalibak!
























My first ever Collect N Connect figure.

Ah, how sweet it was when I opened that Killer Moth, pulled out Kalaibak first, took a pre-connection photo, then assembled him for the first time. :P

This guy is simply awesome with 21 points of articualtion, same as all the regular figures. He's also the size and height of DCUC Clayface.

He (his left hand, rather) comes with his Beta Club that is almost indestructible and shoots nerve beams of pain! (Ok it doesn't really do that unless you imagine it.)

His torso also comes with a shiny green belt, as well as a sash that has a place for him to clip his Beta Club when he wants to cause pain with his bare hands instead.





















I love how well he is painted too.

Check out the fur, hair, and face that only a mother could love!















Kalibak's ratings!

Character Accuaracy: 9.5 - He's big, he's bad, he looks real mad! (And bestial.) The colours are spot on, and I like how the red detail on his sash goes with the sash's yellow and contrasts with his outfit's green. I can't not love this guy! I should also get a spot as a judge on Project Runway! -_-

Poseability: 9.5 - His head, which has a massive beard, can't turn 360 degrees, but can still turn from side to side. And he can only hold the Beta Club in his left paw because of a clnched right fist--good on big figures cos you'll almost always want them in a punch pose sooner or later. ;)

Aesthetics: 9.5 - Kalibak is so ugly, he's beautiful. Take your pick of his fur, colours, or even teeth, or outfit--there's much to like about him. My only problem with him is a slightly lighter green on his left leg, as well as the same leg not being glued well at the seams. But the slightly off colour is not that noticeable and the seams can be glued back with Superglue.

So all-in-all a 9.5 overall. Great stuff if you can get him--Mr Miracle, Hawkman, Superman, Shazam! and of course, Killer Moth. Kalibak is worth every cent. :)

Here's a shot of my STCC Friday haul!

DCUC Killer Moth: Fancy Pants

Aka DC Universe Classics Killer Moth!

Before you say it, lemme say it for you: who the hell is Killer Moth?!?

And why the hell is he dressed like that?

Well, the card back gives a little background but doesn't go into detail but this is what Wikipedia had to offer:

"The original Killer Moth is a prisoner identified only by his prison number, 234026. While in prison, he reads a newspaper article about Batman and decides to set himself up as the "anti-Batman," hiring himself out to Gotham's criminals to help them elude capture by police. Upon his release, he uses the hidden proceeds of his crimes to build a "Mothcave", modeled on the photos of the Batcave in the newspaper article he read."


Seems to make more sense, no? Maybe.

So as the "anti-Batman," what powers did he have? Well, none. Not superhuman powers, anyway. Here's what he did have, though, according to Wiki:

"Killer Moth’s range of gimmicks includes a moth mobile, a moth signal, and a steel-line, which allows him to swing through the skies. He carries a cocoon gun that fires a stream of sticky threads that can totally envelop a victim. The gun can also fire a grenade."

A gun that fires goo and grenades. Lovely.

And that's what this version of classic Killer Moth comes with, along with a nifty holster to put it in!

Yay!

Finding this guy was tough.

But I needed to get him for the head and torso of the collect n connect Kalibak to go with DC Superheroes Darkseid. Also there would be one more big ass bad guy for DCSH Superman to fight.

So when I stumbled upon him at the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention I was almost all over him. Almost, because the price of S$30 buckaroos was just too steep for a garishly dressed man-insect.

And it didn't help that the guy helping at this store's booth wasn't open to lowering the price. Now here's where I have to thank Vincent, who owns Xeno Hobbiy Workz for pointing out the owner of the store. I also have to thank the owner himself for recognizing a toy collector (ok, not in the strictest sense cos I rip 'em open and play play play) and giving me not one, but two fingers. Meaning $20 bucks. Now I was all over the Killer Moth.

This guy is fun piece to look at no doubt. Moths are supposed to be dull coloured. But not Fancy Pants, oh no.

And I'll just give him an 8.5 straight up.

Why? Cos he's a standard DCUC figure (21 points of articulation) fitted with hard plastic wings and a different head mold.

I wouldn't have gotten him but for the Collect N Connect piece.

At least he's a Batman villian. Oh well, one more nut job for the looney bin. :P

Captain America on Ice!

No, that's not the name of a new Disney on Ice perfromance, but rather Marvel Universe 3 3/4" black and grey San Diego Comic Convention Exclusive Captain America!

Now I wondered why Hasbro decided to come up with a black and grey scheme toy of a character that obviously looks better in his red, white and blue.

And it wasn't until after I decided to snag him at the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention (where he was also offered and a Con exclusive) that I fully understood what this Cap was all about. Here's what I noticed first:

I thought: hey that's cool. They changed the background story from the original realease of the toy. Then I looked over the packaging more closely:




















Hmm. Ice blue background on the front of the card, ice blue background on the back...then why the cheapo light pencils and mainly white sleeve...Even the Marvel logo and Cap's name on the bubble has ice on it--OH WAIT A MINUTE!

This is Captain America when they first found him in suspended animation, frozen in a block of ice!!!

That's why he's black and grey, and in a slipcase and card that looks like a block of ice!

How cool is that?

Now while I've been calling him black and grey, Cap is actually more 5 or 6 shades of grey, depending on how discerning your eyes are, and white.




















And this time, unlike the previous poor paint jobs on the mask beneath the eyes, they painted the detail on right.

And also unlike the first Cap released in this series, which is the Ultimates version, this guy is actually a repaint of the Secret Wars two-pack Capatin America that comes with issue #1 of Secret Wars and the Klaw figure.

The differences with this guy from the Ultimates release are the foldover boots and wide gloves, and the wings on his cowl.

This Cap also has a more rounded 'A' on on his forehead comepard to the Wave 1 version.

And the final difference is the Cap's shield token instead of the standard S.H.I.E.L.D token.

Now I'd normally rip open the packaging to get to the plastic goodness within. But in this instance, I'm gonna keep Cap on his card and in his slip case in suspended animation.




You have to hand it to the people from SDCC and Hasbro--this is a real peach of a collector's item. Get it if you can! :)

DCUC: Rockin' Robin!

So the past weekend was the Singapore Toy and Comic Convention, which saw me add to my collection significantly (in quality at least, if not quantity).

And it all started on Friday when my cousin Byron and I met up for our regular 2-man toy/gaming power lunch. We'd decided to check out Xeno Hobby Works at Sushine Plaza down at Bencoolen Street (It's the white building sorta facing Paradiz Centre) because I'd found out that the sell loose action figures for cheap.

Well, Byron and I are currently on a DC Universe Classics frenzy, so we'd decided to take the hunt down to Xeno Hobby Works. And lo and behold, what did we find? Byron's lose Blue Beetle that he'd been searching high and low for, loose and complete at $18. That's like half the retail price here. As for me, I found Robin:

He wasn't top of my "To Buy" list but there was only one of him left and at $20, complete with Bo Staff, 2 Batarangs and a stand, was a steal.

And I also guess Tim Drake is my favourite of the 3 versions of Robin, like most others. Gotta also love the costume--it makes the most sense comepared to the others

Well, this is how I found him.

But he didn't stay this way for long.































The standard DCUC 21 points of articulation goodness in his teenage-hero-sized body (As opposed to the full-sized male body and female hero molds).

What I really like about this figure is his Bo Staff! I mean yeah, Batarangs are cool, but there are only so many throwing poses you can put him in before you get bored. And check out the detail on this otherwise unifrm silver painted weapon:

I love that they took the effort to put those 2 buttons there (The staff is supposed to be collapsable and equipped with an electromagnetic pulse, just in case).













































Don't worry. The batarang also got some love. ;)





And what's a Batman sidekick if he doesn't use a little hand-to-hand combat?























And what's a Batman sidekick if he doesn't hang out with Bats to practice some Kung Fu poses?





























His ratings!

Costume accuracy: 9.5/10 - Spot on! Even his hair is spiked exactly as he's drawn. :)

Aesthetics: 9/10 - Love the costume, love the face, but I thought the "R" insignia could have been painted better, along with the clasps/bucckles on the front of his costume. The cape is also nice painted.

Poseability: 9.5/10 - As good as it gets for this line. And the stand that comes with him allows for some otherwise unbalanceable poses. Robin needs those poses, so it's great that he got 'em! ;)

Overall: 9.33/10 - Solid figure, great fun to play with. And a definite must have if you've already got Batman (And who doesn't?!) ;)