18 Toy Finds of November

18 TOY FINDS OF THE MONTH OF

November 2014

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.

November has been fairly modest month for toy collecting compared to my last few, although I did come across a few really great finds. I started the month by going to Rhode Island Comic Con which I enjoyed quite a bit last year. This year was a different story. The even was waaaay oversold and overcrowded. I have literally never seen such long lines in my life. Consider just the month before, I was able to just walk into (the far superior) New York Comic Con without dealing with a line for entry, I don't think I'll be returning to this Con next year. I did manage to score a few deals though.

I'm going to keep my comments fairly short, because the holidays and work have kept me really busy lately. Hopefully after the New Year I can get back to doing reviews and more detailed lists.

Let us begin with...

18. Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Bebop and Rocksteady Action Figure (Playmates)

I was very excited when I found out that Bebop and Rocksteady would be a part of the Ninja Turtles Nicktoon show. When the new character designs were introduced, I had not real problem with them, I was just glad they were a Rhino and a Warthog. Then the action figure photos of the the two were released by Playmates and I thought they looked pretty good. At the beginning of the month of November, I happened to be in a Walmart as an entire case consisting of just Bebop and Rocksteay was being put out on the sales floor. I'm always happy to have several figures to choose from so I can get the best looking figure. It's a good thing too, because a lot of them had terrible paint jobs.

As usual for this line, these two figures are, under-sized, under-painted, and under-articulated. At this point I've made peace with the fact that this line will never be at the level I would like it to be, I'm just happy to have little plastic representations of characters from one of my all time favorite cartoons.

17. Wildlife Wonders Wolf Figurine (Safari Ltd)

I love the Game of Thrones action figures from Funko and I felt that what my display really needed to go along with these figures are some direwolves. This figurine of a wolf seemed to be the best fit that I've been able to find so far. The sculpt is really great and fits in well with the GoT line. This will do just fine until Funko does some (hopefully articulated) figures of their own.

16. Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Robotic Foot Soldier Action Figure (Playmates)

I really like the fact that the new Ninja Turtle cartoon has both human and robotic Foot Soldiers. It is yet another nice call back to both the original cartoon. It also creates an opportunity to have some variation in the army-builder figures in this toy line. I'm sure I'll get one or two more of these if I ever see them on sale for a good price.

15. DC Comics Total Heroes Green Lantern Action Figure (Mattel)

Another Justice League member to add to the roster. This line is really growing on me. I can see why it's not very interesting for many collectors, but it's pretty great as a straight up toy line. These are defiantly figures I would have loved playing with as a kid. This Green Lantern doesn't offer much that's new in terms of sculpt (it uses the typical male body for this line), but it does still look the way the character should. He comes with one accessory, a green double ended ax "light-construct", but personally I think it's kind of lame. I would have preferred a big clip on fist or a mallet, but I guess it's better than nothing.

14. Lord of the Rings Trilogy Super Posable Smeagol Stoor Fisherman Action Figure (Toy Biz)

Every time I get an old LotRs figure, I'm amazed at just how well done they were. As cool as the Star Wars Black and Game of Thrones Legacy figures are, Toy Biz are making figures that were up to the same level almost fifteen years ago! Sure they were also doing Marvel Legends at the time, but this is the line that required them to capture actor likenesses along with great sculpts and useful articulation. They didn't always hit the mark (none of the Aragorn figures ever seemed to look like Viggo Mortensen), but some, like this Smeagol figure, were pretty damn good. There is no denying this looks like Andy Serkis. The figure as a whole is pretty nice, the only thing I don't like is how awkwardly pre-posed  the hands are. Far from a deal-breaker though.

13. Game of Thrones Legacy: Arya Stark Action Figure (Funko)

Arya is one one of those characters from the show that I have always liked, but as the series progresses, I like her more and more. I'm very happy to have this figure although I'll admit it's not a terribly exciting toy. It also doesn't seem like a terribly good value when you consider how much smaller of a figure this is than other characters in the line, yet she costs just as much. Regardless, I'm glad to have another Stark family member to add to my collection.

12. Wolverine Marvel Legends Infinite Series Sabretooth Action Figure (Hasbro)

For the most part, I completely ignored this line.  The only figure I really had any interest in was Emma Frost, but she seemed to be impossible to find a a reasonable price. Normally a Puck figure would be a "must get" for me, but the size and proportions just seemed wrong to me and since he was a Build-A-Figure, it required me to get some figures I didn't really want. Both the Wolverine and Cyclops figures from this line had costumes I already had figures of and the Sabretooth didn't seem necessary. Luckily I found him at a rock bottom clearance price and picked him up only to find that I liked him quite a bit. This may even be my favorite Marvel Legends Sabretooth. We've seen this particular body used for a number of characters in the last few years, but it really seems to work well with this particular figure. It's great when a figure surprises you like this. 

11. Marvel Infinite Series Death's Head Action Figure (Hasbro)

This is just one of those characters I've always though looked awesome. Honestly, I wish is was a 6" Marvel Legends figure, but for now, this guy will have to do.

10. World of Nintendo Super Mario: Wario Action Figure (Jakks Pacific)

I've always been a big fan of hero's evil counterparts, so it's no surprise that I was excited to pick up Wario. I'm not all the familiar with the character other than the one Mario Party game I have for the Wii, but that appearance was enough to win me over. I love that his design in just basically an exaggerated Mario; he's more overweight, his mustache is crazier, but is clothing is very similar, just in different colors.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what other characters will be made in this toy line.

9. SpruKit LBX Emperor Action Figure Model Kit (Bandai)

I just love putting together these Sprukit model kits. This wasn't my favorite build, but it resulted in a good looking figure none the less. I just hope we get some more DC figures soon and I'm really eager for the Star Wars line of action figure model kits from Bandai.

8. DC Comics - The New 52: Teen Titans Red Robin Action Figure (DC Collectibles)

I may not be in love with this character design, but this figure is still pretty nice. I really wish the figure was just a little bit shorter to fit in better with some of the other Batman related DC Collectibles and I wish the wings had some articulation, but those issues don't bother me too much. On the plus side, the paint is better than a lot of DCC's latest offerings and this figure also seems less prone to breaking than most too. I was also happier with the articulation than I expected to be. Bottom line; I'm happy to have another member of the New 52 Bat-Family.

7. Star Wars The Black Series Darth Vader Action Figure (Hasbro)

I realize this isn't the Darth Vader figure that everyone dreamed of, but I don't think it's nearly as bad as many people make it out to be. My only issues are with the look of the helmet and the fact that it's so soft and the fact that no alternate hands came with the figure. I'm perfectly fine with the body and unmasked head, and I have no issues with the soft goods clothing.

6. Planet of the Apes Classic Series Gorilla Soldier Action Figure (NECA)

I had said that I was going to hold out until the Gorilla Soldier two-pack came out rather than get this figure, but I found him so cheap at the Rhode Island Comic Con, that I just had to pick him up. He's probably my favorite from this first series of Classic PotAs figures. I'll probably still get the two-pack because the gorilla figures all look slightly different and I love to army build. I think I may just display them at some point facing off against a squad of Star Wars Stormtroopers.

5. DC Comics Designer Series: Red Hood Action Figure (DC Collectibles)

I'm really considering getting another one of these figures. I like both interchangeable heads a lot and think the figure looks good as either a Red Hood gang member or the gang boss. The variety of a of accessories allow for a number of display options. The basic body has seems to be the same as the Riddler's and the upcoming Two-Face figures with a few modifications. Personally I'm fine with this because it looks really good. I do wish it had just a little more articulation, but I can live with it as is.

4. The Walking Dead Comic Series 3 Rick Grimes Action Figure (McFarlane Toys)

I've been trying to avoid the comic based series of Walking Dead action figures and just focusing on the TV show based ones, but this Rick is just a figure I had to grab. It's a great looking figure that's very true to the source. The sculpt, articulation, and paint are all excellent and for a guy with only one hand, he comes packed with lots of weapons to lug around. I'm very glad I picked him up, but I hope I can restrain myself from getting more comic based figures.

3. Ultra-Act Ultraman Gaia (V2) Action Figure (Bandai)

As awesome in quality as the other Ultraman figures I've picked up (although strangely smaller), this figure also just as cool. I may not like the character design as much as the others, but the incredibly awesome energy effects accessories make up for it. I really wish more American toys came with stuff like this.

2. Batman 1989 Video Game Appearance Action Figure (NECA)

As soon as I saw this figure announced I new there was no way that NECA wouldn't somehow find a way to release this figure in the movie colors, but that didn't stop my from getting this wildly colored figure. This is really the first video game colored figure that NECA has done that I've had any interest in (although the upcoming Rambo one looks like the Contra figure I have always wanted), and I do not regret getting it. I find the color shading to be really fun and it's a fantastic departure from the usual Batman figure on my shelves.

The figure is really well done and the sculpt, articulation, and overall feel is just perfect. This figure is going to be amazing in the movie colors when that figure is released. Based on the fact that the armor and the vowel are all separate pieces, I wouldn't be the least surprised if we got a Batman Returns version too.

1. The New Batman Adventures: Batman Action Figure (DC Collectibles)

Mine didn't break.

It seems like there are MANY people that can't say that about their Animated Batman figure, which is unfortunate because other than quality control issues, there is no reason not to love this figure. This may very well be one of DC Collectibles best figures yet. It defiantly takes the prize for best accessories as far as I'm concerned. The look of the sculpt and the amount and range of the articulation is perfect. I absolutely love the fact that this fits in well with my 6" scale figures. 

As along as this figure never ever breaks on me, it will remain one of my top favorite Batman figures. I'm almost afraid to play with it though. No one should have to feel that way about a toy. I hope all the QC issues get resolved before the next series.

That's it for this month. Short but sweet.