Top 30 Toy Finds of September 2014: 16 thru 20

TOP 30 NEW TOY FINDS OF THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2014

(16 thru 20)

At the end of each month I, Brunpuppies, will put together a list of the toys that I acquired over the course of the month. The number of entries will differ depending on just how many toys I got in that month. The order of the list will be based purely on my personal opinion of the items and is in no way definitive. I'm sure you the reader will have you own favorites and I am open to hearing about them in the comments section.

September's toy list continues with…

20. G.I. Joe Retaliation Cyber Ninja Action Figure (Hasbro)

Riding the high from the awesome G.I. Joe figures I found at Five Below stores over the last few months, I was excited to find another Joe figure at TJ Maxx for under 5 bucks. This Cyber Ninja doesn't come as loaded with accessories as some of the other Retaliation figures I got, but it's still way more than you get with other 3-3/4" lines nowadays. This figure itself it pretty cool looking and it has a bit of a Tron vibe to it. I do wish that the helmet hat some kind of paint application to it. As it is, it looks a bit plain and unfinished. The other thing that bothers me about this figure is that the legs seem a little short or maybe the torso is too long. I don't know why but it just seems off.

As "army builders" go, this one is pretty good. A group of these would look cool together, but i think it might be even better if each member of the group was sporting a different highlight color. As far as I know these only come in light blue though. I'm not sure if I'll come across another one any time soon, but for now, it's a fitting addition to my Cobra shelf.

19. World of Nintendo Legend of Zelda - Link Action Figure (Jakks Pacific )

Had I not gotten a Figma Link earlier this year, I think this may have scored higher on my list. I'm not saying that this is crappy in comparison.  Not at all. It almost seems like it's a shrunk down version of the Figma figure. I just mean that I wanted a Link figure for so many years that some of that excitement was used up when the dry spell was first broken.

This action figure is awesome in it's own right. It has fantastic articulation, especially for a 3-3/34" scale figure. (Yes the knees bend, which is a question I first had when I saw it in the package.) The sculpt and paint look great and have no issues that I can think of. The same can be said about sword, scabbard, and shield. 

If I'm going to come up with any sort of problem with the figure, it's that the scale doesn't really work with the Super Mario characters from the World of Nintendo line. That's not such a big deal because they are such different styles, but that may bother people planning to do a Smash Bros. display. The figure does however look good with other 3-3/4" scale figures and I'm sure in future series, there will be more characters to scale with Link.

18. Indie Spotlight Comic Book Heroes The Tick Action Figure (Shocker Toys / GBJR)

I saw this figure years ago at this point (back when it was still called Shocker Toys) but I passed on him because I was short on money at the time. I never ended up seeing him again and every time I tried to find him online, I just came across the Mucus Tick variant. Recently this series of figures has shown up online so I was finally able to get his along with Dick Tracy. I definitely like Tick more than Dick. (Such a strange sentence to have to write.)

I'm very happy to have such a great plastic representation of this character in my collection. I was a big fan of the cartoon and I've read a bunch of the comics and really liked them. This figure has a good sculpt, great articulation, and he's scaled perfectly to fit with 6" scale figures. The accessories are fun, although the fact that the extra set of hands that hold the stop sign are just the same as the regular fist that come with the figure except they have holes in them, does seem a bit lazy.

I do have a few issues with the figure however.  I'm fine with the majority of the figure being cast in color, but the one part that is painted, the face, looks very sloppy. Plus the paint chosen for the skin tone looks far too yellow. The other problem I had is that I can't switch the extra head with the one it came with because the barbell shaped balljoint in the neck always pops out of the torso rather than that head like it's suppose to. Luckily the head that is on there is my preferred head sculpt, but I would have liked to have been able to get some photos of the other one on the figure.

17. Toyfare Exclusive Mobile Fighter Gundam Translucent Shining Gundam Action Figure (Bandai)

In the late 90's, early 2000's, making colored clear plastic versions of things was a trend that I hated. I don't mean with toys, but with everything. I seemed like everyone was trying to copy the iMac aesthetic. Now that we've gotten away from that, I think I can enjoy this figure more.

This came from the same comic store I got my other Toyfare exclusive last month.  I'm sure they got it from the same person's collection. It's odd to have a Gundam that I didn't build myself because every other one I have is a model kit. This figure is a filly assembled action figure and it's even smaller than the 1/144 models I've made. Not by too much but enough to notice when they are side by side. I think it's possibly 1/160 scale.

The articulation on this figure works well. It's what you can expect for most Gundam action figures. I like all the accessories and alternate body parts it comes with. I don't know enough about Gundam to know why it comes with one extra hand that's green though. All different colored plastics are vibrant and make the whole toy look very interesting. I think I might look into getting a light-up base to make it really pop.

16. Pokemon Monster Collection Ash Ketchum & Pikachu Action Figure Set (Takara Tomy)

I missed out on the whole Pokemon craze. I think I was in college when it first became a big thing and it definitely wasn't something that interested me at all. I've never played one of the video games or watched a single episode of the cartoon, and the toys never looked pretty boring to me. Yet I'm very aware of it's incredible popularity and I think it's great that it's brought so many people so much joy. Out all the characters that exist in this property, I think the only ones I can name off the top of my head are Pikachu, Ash, and Squirtle. If I was to start collecting the line, this set alone would complete two thirds of that collection.

I'm not sure how this caught my eye, but I know on that on that particular day I was looking to give something new a chance.  I'm glad I did, this is a surprisingly cool set. Pikachu is arguably the most iconic Pokemon and this particular one looks great. He's just solid PVC and has no articulation, but I think in this case, that's okay. Ash on the other hand is a fully functional action figure. He has a ton of articulation and it all works well. The paint and the sculpt look spot on based on my limited knowledge of the characters. These two fit in great with my 5" to 6" scale collection and I'm really glad I got them on a whim.

Be sure to come back for TOYS 11 thru 15.

Click below for:
TOYS 21 thru 25
TOYS 26 thru 30

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