Your Latest Non-TF Toy Acquisitions

[Skyquake87]

Marvel Legends Death's Head II
I've got a huge soft spot for Death's Head II, despite being much like his predecessor in that there was a great concept at the heart of him, but he was never really written very well and no-one knew what to do with him, leading to some incredibly mediocre comics. This here is an impressive, weighty rendition of Marvel UK's early '90s flagship character, chucked in as part of the GOTG Mantis BAF assortment. Really nice sculpt, with head and tendrils looking good. The metallic blue used for the body is great. I'm not keen on the sticky out leg thingies, which the original comics design didn't have, but were an occasional fanciful doodle on the character during his two years of comics superstardom. Other niggles - I'm not really fond of the simplified jock-strap design the character was reduced to after the limited series and, like every review I've read, I think an interchangeable right arm, rather than a silly pointing left hand would have been better. Still, I'm otherwise pretty stoked that a fairly forgotten take on Death' Head has not only come out in the 'good' action figure size, but has no doubt annoyed a lot of fanboys who'd rather not have had Mantis as a BAF. Hasbro, I salute you!

And Angela makes a good stand in for Tuck

[HeavyArms]

Lego Star Wars 75182 Republic Fighter Tank.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 76079 Ravager Attack.

Both 20% off.

[Skyquake87]

So, I swung by my local Disney store which has been a source of some surprise bargains in their Sale (bunch of 3.75" Star Wars Rogue One figures, Marvel Legends and other stuff) and gave a home to two Diamond Select figures...

Gamora And Rocket Racoon
Marked down more heavily than her teammates, Gamora nevertheless offers incredible value for your £9.99, packing in Rocket , a bunch of weapons and interchangeable hands and a bit of diorama.

The designs are very much based on the recent comicbook relaunch (he says, having picked up that Free Comic Book Day issue) and Gamora looks fab in her white space suit with mesh...bits. Some tidy paint apps round her out. Articulation is good - not Marvel Legends good, but sort of Toy Biz good (after they'd worked out you don't need to pack in sixty million joints on a 6" figure for it to be fun to play with, rather than an ugly mess of uncomfortable looking body parts). Rocket is adorable and also nicely painted and detailed - I especially like his snarl.

Black Widow
Man, there's a plie of these and they're stuggling to shift them at £3.99. Which is a shame, 'cos she's a decent toy. She's got a totally different body to Gamora - its a shade taller and there's no upper torso articulation or an ab-crunch (which she really could have used). She looks tough and her catsuit is nicely done, and I like the boots and fingerless gloves. Less impressed with the nail varnish (unnecessary) and that she's been given trigger fingers ... but nothing to hold, which is a bit of a fail. The bit of diorama she comes with is nice though - smashed up bits of Ultron (I think), with a tiny Ant-Man scuttling about on the ruins behind her.

All in all, two pretty decent figures for a very good price. They do feel like they're using toy engineering from ten years ago, which is the only downside and it's not hard to see why Fordbidden Planet is stuck with piles of these Diamond Select toys - the Hasbro stuff is just so good at the minute - but I am very pleased with them

[HeavyArms]

Lego Star Wars 75158 Rebel Combat Frigate

Lego City 60125 Volcano Heavy-lift Helicopter
Got these two during a 'Buy One, Get One Half-Off' sale at Toys 'R' Us.

Lego City 60160 Jungle Mobile Lab

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 76083 Beware the Vulture

Bought these two from Target during it's 20% off toy sale.

[Tetsuro]

Miss Fritter from Cars 3.

I don't even know why I wanted her. There's only two characters from the new movie I wanted toys of...for whatever reason...this and the new villain whose name I can't even remember. Jackson Storm I think? One thing I do know is that she's heavy. She's almost entirely die cast!

In the other hand, she was also €20 (that's almost £18), sheesh.

[HeavyArms]

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 76082 ATM Heist Battle - Bought this on Sunday after seeing the movie the day before, figured I should have both sets.

[Warcry]

I don't own any yet, and the ones I have seen so far in store (Spidey: Homecoming, Spidey w/ Vulture) haven't struck a chord. There's nothing terribly wrong with them, just nothing super special. The Homecoming one's proportions of torso and arm length looked off to me somehow.

The Homecoming one is one of their weaker recent efforts, I think. I don't think it's awful, but they put out so many Spideys per year that they really need to make them special if they're going to stand out. And the one with Vulture is the Young Spidey mold with less articulation than the adult ones, so again, it's good but not as good as the others.

On a side note, I picked up Moon Knight at Walmart the other day, simply because they had 2, and holy crap he looks really good.

*jealous*

Moon Knight's probably my #1 want right now (though that's because I just got my previous #1 want...), but the Homecoming wave still hasn't been stocked even though the movie's been out for a month now.

The X-Factor one is a good look too. What color combo? I'm not a polished comic-guy, but Google shows me blue/yellow and navy/white? The navy/white looks sharp.

They all look good, but the navy/white was what I was thinking of. That was the Cyclops they made a toy of back in the early 90s, I think, and I always wanted more X-Men toys and never got that one. It would probably work as a straight repaint of the Dark Phoenix one. The only niggle is that the X pattern on the chest would look awkward if you used the ab crunch.

I'd love an X-Factor Jean too. The red/yellow outfit with the same pattern as Cyclops looked really, really good. But for both of them, they've got so many good, popular outfits that I'm not going to hold my breath for any particular one.

Still, I'm otherwise pretty stoked that a fairly forgotten take on Death' Head has not only come out in the 'good' action figure size, but has no doubt annoyed a lot of fanboys who'd rather not have had Mantis as a BAF. Hasbro, I salute you!

My understanding is that Death's Head couldn't be a BAF because he's built on a normal body, while Mantis required so much new tooling that they couldn't reuse on other characters that it was the only way they could budget for her at all. Death's Head, for all his impressiveness, is about 80% reused parts.

Meanwhile, Toys'R'Us finally got these in stock.



Not until after the 35% off sale ended, naturally, but in this case I don't even mind spending full price. They both look great! The dark wash over Cyclops's blue was obvious from photos, but I didn't realize that Jean had the same sort of colour gradients too. In Cyclops's case, it really helps to make a very simple costume pop visually, and gives it a realistic look. It has less of an impact on Jean, whose got a lot more going on visually anyway, but still looks nice.

Dark Phoenix does stand better than the previous one, though not as much better as I'd hoped. She'll stand up pretty well on her own, but as soon as I put her firebird accessory on she starts tipping over. I think I like it better on Green Jean anyway, though, and that one's on a flight stand 99% of the time, so it works out.

I do wish Cyclops came with some accessories of his own, even just a swappable fist for his left hand so he wasn't stuck in optic blast/heroic pointing mode all the time. An unmasked head with his red shades would have been nice, actually. The different head options for Jean are great, but I don't think she quite needed three of them. Especially since the straight-haired option (while pretty) really doesn't fit the character at all. She was Phoenix in the late 70s, after all. She needs BIG HAIR.

But having the same head sculpt twice, one normal and one in "overflowing with dark power" mode, was a stroke of genius. Because it lets you do this!



I'm not on the "green Phoenix has an awful head" bandwagon, not at all. I think the 2016 head was fine. I do like the new head (or rather the new hair) better, but the #1 benefit is simply that it means that I don't have two figures meant to represent the same person with totally different faces.

If they had to include a third Phoenix head, though, it's a real shame they didn't toss in a Rachel Summers instead. She wore this outfit for a while when she was Phoenix, after all.

But if I'm evaluating it on what it actually is instead of what I wished it was, this is a solid 9/10 box set that only loses a point because of Jean's small feet and weak ankles.

Here's a couple more pics, because these figures are just so nice!





I hope we get a couple more figures from this era in the next wave. It's great that they're giving us a good mix of early costumes, 90s Jim Lee stuff and more modern designs, but the Cockrum/Byrne days are where most of my favourite takes on older characters come from.

[Brendocon 2.0]

Mother****er. I'd been resisting that two-pack on the grounds that it's not available over here and the Jim Lee Cyclops has started shelfwarming at retail...

Now I need it.

Git.

[ganon578]

*jealous*

Moon Knight's probably my #1 want right now (though that's because I just got my previous #1 want...), but the Homecoming wave still hasn't been stocked even though the movie's been out for a month now.

Well, all the Homecoming stuff has pretty much sold through at the Walmart that stocked it by me. Don't know if more will come in, but it came and went quickly. Glad I found MK when I did... though I still haven't had time to sit and open him yet.

They all look good, but the navy/white was what I was thinking of. That was the Cyclops they made a toy of back in the early 90s, I think, and I always wanted more X-Men toys and never got that one. It would probably work as a straight repaint of the Dark Phoenix one. The only niggle is that the X pattern on the chest would look awkward if you used the ab crunch.

You're right, that X would look quite out of place crunched over.

I'd love an X-Factor Jean too. The red/yellow outfit with the same pattern as Cyclops looked really, really good. But for both of them, they've got so many good, popular outfits that I'm not going to hold my breath for any particular one.

I saw that one when I did my previous Google search - looks sharp!

Meanwhile, Toys'R'Us finally got these in stock.

Not until after the 35% off sale ended, naturally, but in this case I don't even mind spending full price. They both look great! The dark wash over Cyclops's blue was obvious from photos, but I didn't realize that Jean had the same sort of colour gradients too. In Cyclops's case, it really helps to make a very simple costume pop visually, and gives it a realistic look. It has less of an impact on Jean, whose got a lot more going on visually anyway, but still looks nice.

That's usually the case. I hear stories all the time of Star Wars sales at TRU with practically empty shelves everywhere. If that's the case, just put them on clearance! Don't bother getting people's hopes up. BTW, I understand TRU has been putting the 6" SW Black Series Tie Fighter on clearance for $2 here in the States. $2!!! At that price, I think I'd try to find space for the giant thing!

It's amazing how much a little color wash can go a long way. I have a Shoretrooper from Rogue One that looks pretty amazing simply because he has some sandy-ish battle grime on him.

Dark Phoenix does stand better than the previous one, though not as much better as I'd hoped. She'll stand up pretty well on her own, but as soon as I put her firebird accessory on she starts tipping over. I think I like it better on Green Jean anyway, though, and that one's on a flight stand 99% of the time, so it works out.

Yep. That's why I'm not too bothered by Green Jean's feet on mine. At least on a flight stand I don't have to worry about her starting the domino effect on my shelf!

I do wish Cyclops came with some accessories of his own, even just a swappable fist for his left hand so he wasn't stuck in optic blast/heroic pointing mode all the time. An unmasked head with his red shades would have been nice, actually. The different head options for Jean are great, but I don't think she quite needed three of them. Especially since the straight-haired option (while pretty) really doesn't fit the character at all. She was Phoenix in the late 70s, after all. She needs BIG HAIR.

Accessories is always a complaint of mine when you're paying $20+ a figure. Hasbro seems to do a decent job with the Marvel stuff (mostly), but most of their SW stuff has a only a rifle. No hands, extra heads, Jedi cloaks, or whatever. Don't even get me started on the DC Multiverse stuff. It's sad in this set though, that Phoenix comes with some a few items and Cyclops is pretty bare.

But if I'm evaluating it on what it actually is instead of what I wished it was, this is a solid 9/10 box set that only loses a point because of Jean's small feet and weak ankles.

I've heard it's a good and quite popular set amongst collectors. I haven't seen it out in the wild, but I also rarely travel to a TRU. I'm glad I don't though, since I'd probably pick one up even though I don't need one.

I hope we get a couple more figures from this era in the next wave. It's great that they're giving us a good mix of early costumes, 90s Jim Lee stuff and more modern designs, but the Cockrum/Byrne days are where most of my favourite takes on older characters come from.

It's nice to see them continue to put out the various X-men. I think I'm essentially done with what I wanted, as my team consists of Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, Rogue, Colossus, and Cable. Maybe an Iceman if he goes on good clearance near me. Not pressed to pay over $10 for that figure.

On an acquisition note, I came off vacation this week to releases of the DC Multiverse Justice League! So here was my plan: Pick up Supes, Flash, and maybe Cyborg or Aquaman...

...then I went to Target. Where they had the whole wave. Damn. Batman in his tactical armor looks reeeaaally nice. And Cyborg doesn't look too bad. And I like Aquaman's full set of armor. Do I need another Wonder Woman that is essentially the same as the one I got a couple months ago minus her shield? No, but if I'm getting the other 5, might as well get her to and finish Steppenwolf...

...so now I have the whole wave. Like Moon Knight though, I haven't opened them yet (just got them yesterday). All the sculpting and paint looks fantastic on each figure, from what I can tell through the package. Oddly, it appears that Flash and Aquaman have ball joint hips. Bats, Cyborg, Supes, and likely Wonder Woman all have the old Mattel hip joints. Also oddly (and not as cool), I don't think any of the six have ab crunch joints. Most of their armor would be easily suited to accomodate this, or even better a ball joint like the SW BS figures... but no. CURSE YOU MATTEL!!! And Aquaman? One open fist (to hold his trident), one closed fist??? What sense does that make? On a (hopefully) positive note, Supes and Bats both have cloth capes. I hope they drape well over the back, but on the positive side they should be better balanced.

I'll try to post some pics when I get a chance.

Well, I guess I need to start selling some stuff to make some room.

[Warcry]

Mother****er. I'd been resisting that two-pack on the grounds that it's not available over here and the Jim Lee Cyclops has started shelfwarming at retail...

Now I need it.

Git.

I'd feel bad about that, but I haven't seen a single Jim Lee Cyclops, let alone shelfwarming ones, so nah. Haven't seen Beardlossus either, but at least I can order that one off of US Amazon for what amounts to Canadian retail, shipping included. Still haven't decided if the cool face sculpt outweighs the blah costume choice, there.

But yeah, this set's about as much of a "need it" as it can be for fans of old X-Men stuff. If it helps, some Asian retailers have had them in and out of stock for basically US retail price? And yesterday was the official release date for the thing, so maybe it'll start popping up in UK Toys'R'Us stores.

Well, all the Homecoming stuff has pretty much sold through at the Walmart that stocked it by me. Don't know if more will come in, but it came and went quickly. Glad I found MK when I did... though I still haven't had time to sit and open him yet.

My local TRU got in one case, there was nothing left when I visited except for the extra of the double-packed Spidey, and that's it so far. When they restocked, it was with GOTG stuff. Same thing happened with the X-wave...they got two cases, sold them and then it was on to something else. When it comes down to it, I think they just produce too much product in a year. But with so many movies coming out, and the Spidey and X-Men stuff both driving enough demand to support standalone, non-movie waves, I don't know what the solution is (other than, obviously, to keep making the stuff I like and drop the lines I'm not interested in ).

Honestly, it's a shame that they have to brand the movie stuff as Legends nowadays rather than their own separate toylines like they used to. If the Homecoming wave was wave #1 of its own thing rather than wave #274 of Legends, it would definitely be heavily stocked and it wouldn't be pushing out the waves that came before it, either.

You're right, that X would look quite out of place crunched over.

And even worse if you use the crunch to bend them backwards. But that's the sacrifice you make for getting tons of articulation, I suppose.

BTW, I understand TRU has been putting the 6" SW Black Series Tie Fighter on clearance for $2 here in the States. $2!!! At that price, I think I'd try to find space for the giant thing!

That's nuts. At that price I'd try to justify buying an entire squadron! But alas, no room for even one.

Yep. That's why I'm not too bothered by Green Jean's feet on mine. At least on a flight stand I don't have to worry about her starting the domino effect on my shelf!

Iceman's the one who was always taking suicide dives from my shelf to see who else he could take with him. The only way I can get him to stay put for any length of time is to get him in a crouch. Jean's not as bad as that, but bad enough.

Accessories is always a complaint of mine when you're paying $20+ a figure. Hasbro seems to do a decent job with the Marvel stuff (mostly), but most of their SW stuff has a only a rifle. No hands, extra heads, Jedi cloaks, or whatever. Don't even get me started on the DC Multiverse stuff. It's sad in this set though, that Phoenix comes with some a few items and Cyclops is pretty bare.

You're right, the Marvel stuff definitely does a better job than most other lines. The distribution can be odd, with one figure having five accessories and others having none, but more often than not they do a good job of getting characters the parts they need. Though thinking about it, Cyke and Jean plus two spare heads is the equivalent of a pair of normal retail figures that come with a BAF part and nothing else, so this set could definitely do with a few more accessories!

It's nice to see them continue to put out the various X-men. I think I'm essentially done with what I wanted, as my team consists of Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, Rogue, Colossus, and Cable. Maybe an Iceman if he goes on good clearance near me. Not pressed to pay over $10 for that figure.

Yeah, Iceman is not really worth a full price purchase.

For my part, I'd need at least Nightcrawler, Beast and Storm before I could consider my team "complete", and on the villain side, Magneto, Mister Sinister, Sabertooth and Mystique (Apocalypse can pound sand). And there's a bunch more, probably a couple dozen, that I'd buy if they did them right. Banshee, Syren, Jubilee, Gambit, Shadowcat from the Excalibur days, Meggan, Rachael Summers, a Polaris that isn't terrible, 70s Colossus, Forge, Thunderbird, Cannonball, a non-slutty Magik, Wolfsbane, late 80s Dazzler, Longshot and X-23 all come to mind off of the top of my head, and I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of.

Heck, with Domino and 90s Cable coming in the Deadpool wave I'm even tempted to go buy Shatterstar!

On an acquisition note, I came off vacation this week to releases of the DC Multiverse Justice League! So here was my plan: Pick up Supes, Flash, and maybe Cyborg or Aquaman...

Whoa, wait...that movie's coming out this year? Where does the time go?

But at least they're getting the merch out early, unlike Marvel's movies.

Honestly, I can't say I'm excited by most of the DC movie designs. Wonder Woman is great and Batman is Batman, but all the others seem like they're actively worse than their traditional designs. Flash even manages to look worse than the mediocre TV show suit. Though who knows, maybe they're better in toy form?

[ganon578]

When it comes down to it, I think they just produce too much product in a year. But with so many movies coming out, and the Spidey and X-Men stuff both driving enough demand to support standalone, non-movie waves, I don't know what the solution is (other than, obviously, to keep making the stuff I like and drop the lines I'm not interested in ).

You're right on that. And when things are overstocked and clog the shelves, it's easy to miss a wave or two (or six) simply because they aren't stocked/ordered. One Wal-mart (out of the 5 in my general vicinity) stocked the DC King Shark wave. Everything else was still packed to the gills with old Suicide Squad stuff and the Doomsday wave (and a metric crap-ton of Armored Bats from BvS). With the Marvel stuff, it seems that the popular/short-packed figures sell quick and the others clog and stick around forever. I'm sure it's similar to where you are, and it's frustrating.

I think your solution is the best way to go... except only with what I'm interested in.

Honestly, it's a shame that they have to brand the movie stuff as Legends nowadays rather than their own separate toylines like they used to. If the Homecoming wave was wave #1 of its own thing rather than wave #274 of Legends, it would definitely be heavily stocked and it wouldn't be pushing out the waves that came before it, either.

Somebody on the marketing boards must think that having 'Movie' stuff and 'Legends' stuff separately would be too confusing to the average consumer. It's not like the separate approach works for anyone... or that Transformers does it with no problem.

Or maybe it's retail driven? Stores not willing to sacrifice any more space for another peg of stuff from a very similar line?

Iceman's the one who was always taking suicide dives from my shelf to see who else he could take with him. The only way I can get him to stay put for any length of time is to get him in a crouch. Jean's not as bad as that, but bad enough.

Well, that might be a reason for me not to buy Iceman.

For my part, I'd need at least Nightcrawler, Beast and Storm before I could consider my team "complete", and on the villain side, Magneto, Mister Sinister, Sabertooth and Mystique (Apocalypse can pound sand). And there's a bunch more, probably a couple dozen, that I'd buy if they did them right. Banshee, Syren, Jubilee, Gambit, Shadowcat from the Excalibur days, Meggan, Rachael Summers, a Polaris that isn't terrible, 70s Colossus, Forge, Thunderbird, Cannonball, a non-slutty Magik, Wolfsbane, late 80s Dazzler, Longshot and X-23 all come to mind off of the top of my head, and I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of.

Heck, with Domino and 90s Cable coming in the Deadpool wave I'm even tempted to go buy Shatterstar!

I was considering only what was out in the Legends line right now (not counting and Diamond Select, ToyBiz, etc.). My team is by no means complete, but complete for what there is. I'd be swayed by a good Gambit, Storm, and Nightcrawler for sure. Maybe not Beast though, as classic as he is. The character just doesn't appeal to me.

Whoa, wait...that movie's coming out this year? Where does the time go?

But at least they're getting the merch out early, unlike Marvel's movies.

Honestly, I can't say I'm excited by most of the DC movie designs. Wonder Woman is great and Batman is Batman, but all the others seem like they're actively worse than their traditional designs. Flash even manages to look worse than the mediocre TV show suit. Though who knows, maybe they're better in toy form?

I know, right? It's out in November! I was pretty shocked to see the figures were releasing this early, without much fanfare. It seems it wasn't that long ago that Mattel officially announced them, and sure enough, here they are. I see your point on the designs, as the colors are pretty muted from their traditional comic looks, or like in the case of the Flash, there's just too much going on in the suit. I like it for whatever reason, though I can't explain it.

I have to eat my words from yesterday's 'Mattel is the Devil' rant on a few of the figures though. I had some time to open them up, even though I didn't have a ton of play time. Let's do a quick rundown:

Cyborg: Easily the weakest of the bunch. I had high hopes, but the proportions in the chest seem weird... like the chest is too puffy, or not puffy enough, or the shoulders are wonky... I don't know. It's just off. The lack of articulation doesn't help, having standard old-style Mattel joints without an ab crunch. The sculpt detail is sub-par, with definition of the 'cyborg' parts looking more like shiny rocks. Bummer. The extra gun-ish hand is a bonus.

Aquaman: A slight uptick from Cyborg, but not much. The articulation is the same, and doesn't have an ab crunch. BUT, he does have ball jointed hips! Head movement is minimal due to the hair. And as I mentioned, one open hand, one closed hand. Sculpt detail and paint apps are top notch though!

Wonder Woman: As I thought, a straight re-pack of the WW movie figure, minus the shield. Comes with the Lasso of Truth and her new sword. The bad part? The sword handle is so thick you can barely get it into her hand. The bright side is the figure itself is still really good, and the paint apps / sculpted detail are still well done.

Batman: Pretty standard. The look is really nice, and all the detailing and paint is crisp and very well done. Standard Mattel articulation, with an ab crunch! Joints are pretty tight, and it almost seemed like the movement is hindered a bit. Might have just been the plastic though. No accessories at all. Another major issue is the cape - while it drapes fine, the back of it is covered in vinyl. Pulling out of the package (through the tiny hole it's jammed through) caused the cape to roll, and now he's on a table with a heavy book flattening out his cape.

Superman: Average. Suprised at how 'lean' Supes looks compared to the rest of the wave. He's got great detailing and paint on the suit, with subtle hints of blues, etc. all over. No ab crunch, standard Mattel articulation. The lack of an ab crunch is a real downer, as a proper flight pose is near impossible, even with a stand. Cloth cape, no vinyl side unlike Batman. The face sculpt is pretty good too, but not quite spot on for Cavill.

Flash: Man was I wrong about this figure. So many surprises! There's an ab crunch that I didn't see in the package, and the knees are double jointed! Hot damn! And ball joint hips! And higher thigh cuts! It's almost like Mattel is learning from Hasbro's (and many other companies') years (decades?) of work! Sadly, the ankles are still only swivels, no rockers. Arms are single jointed, and the wrists only twist. But, I will take what I can get, and I hope Mattel keeps moving in this direction, as these minor changes make the figures so much better! Sculpt detail is great, and there are a million paint apps on this figure. All the little silver lines are crisp, as are all the other little details. In my opinion, this is the best pure figure of the bunch (it is entirely possible they blew the wave's budget on this figure).

Steppenwolf: I have nearly zero experience with the character, but he's the CnC of the wave, so now I have one. Nothing shocking to report, but the detailing is great and the paint apps are well done. Standard Mattle articulation. He's pretty beefy and stands much taller than the rest - close to double height. I'm not terribly keen on the way the armor is detailed, as it looks too organic for my tastes. And the eyes are essentially dead, with just bare grey plastic. Would have been nice for some sort of detailing there.

Overall a decent wave. Not terribly jazzed to have shucked out $120 for the set, but I may recoup some of that if I decide to sell of Steppenwolf or my second WW. Might wait until the movie comes out to pass judgement.

Sorry for the long post.

[burnitall]

Picked up a Star Wars Black Series 6" Darth Vader 40th anniversary legacy pack. That's a mouthful. Anyway, Walmart had a ton of them, and they had been knocked down in price to $30. It's not the big seller they thought it would be, and I bet it goes down further. I could probably have got one for less if I were more patient, but no.

The figure itself is pretty damn good. Much improved over the old hangdog looking Vader they started with. Best soft goods of the line, too. You don't have to fight with the cape to make it presentable.

[Warcry]

You're right on that. And when things are overstocked and clog the shelves, it's easy to miss a wave or two (or six) simply because they aren't stocked/ordered. One Wal-mart (out of the 5 in my general vicinity) stocked the DC King Shark wave. Everything else was still packed to the gills with old Suicide Squad stuff and the Doomsday wave (and a metric crap-ton of Armored Bats from BvS). With the Marvel stuff, it seems that the popular/short-packed figures sell quick and the others clog and stick around forever. I'm sure it's similar to where you are, and it's frustrating.

Legends stocking here is odd, at best. They must sell quite well, given how quickly new stuff disappears, but they're usually understocked. Walmarts usually handle them the same way they handle Generations Transformers: they'll get one case, it'll sell through in a day or two and then there won't be anything new for ages. So usually all you have on the shelves is the dregs of 2015/2016 cases (Wasp, Misty Knight, Cottonmouth, Speed Demon, Girl Beetle, Havok and Iceman), and Canadian Walmarts seem to have given up on clearancing old toys or doing rollbacks to get stock moving.

TRU are a little bit better, but still really hit or miss with anything other than exclusives. They've had multiple shipments of the exclusive Groot and get in the box sets promptly and in good numbers (in spite of fandom panics, Spidey/Mary Jane and Cyclops/Phoenix have both been readily available in store and online). But with the retail stuff, less so. It seems like they get everything, but not always on time or in great numbers. And they're not always quick about actually stocking it -- the Juggernaut wave had a "blink and you'll miss it" appearance last year, then a bunch of it showed up last month and went straight to clearance. And I'm sure the same will happen with the two cases' worth of the Absorbing Man wave that just appeared. But TRU actually has sales and puts stuff on clearance when they're obviously overstocked with old junk, so the shelfwarmers do eventually go away and they have room for more newer stuff at once.

Ironically, the quickest place to get Legends these days and the one that gets new waves the most reliably isn't even a toy store, it's EB Games -- but since they're not a toy store, they don't get much volume and if you miss it, they're probably not getting more unless it's an exclusive (they handle the Walgreens stuff up here). Thankfully I've got two literally right across the street from each other so I've got better odds than most.

I think your solution is the best way to go... except only with what I'm interested in.

Well, it actually sounds like there's a fair bit of overlap there, so I think it'd work out.

Or maybe it's retail driven? Stores not willing to sacrifice any more space for another peg of stuff from a very similar line?

There was a stretch there where every superhero or action movie seemed to be getting their own toyline, and almost all of them were unmitigated disasters. I wouldn't be surprised if that's put retailers off from ordering higher-priced items like Legends if they're explicitly branded as movie stuff, so Hasbro just releases them in the catch-all line instead. It seems like Mattel's gone in the same direction with its DC stuff, rolling movie lines up into their big-tent Multiverse brand.

Well, that might be a reason for me not to buy Iceman.

Mine is apparently worse than most. But I can only talk based on my experiences and I wouldn't recommend him unless your heart was set on putting Juggernaut together. And since you returned Kitty I'm assuming that's a no?

I wasn't a huge fan of the look either, mind. I think it looks more like used chewing gum than ice. But I'm sure you've seen it in person enough times to judge whether you like it or not. Mine got tossed into the "customs" bin and got used for dry-brushing practice, though I'm not sure if the end result looks more or less like ice than the original.

Maybe not Beast though, as classic as he is. The character just doesn't appeal to me.

I'm more a fan of the design than the character, to be honest. He's likeable enough in the 90s show but in the comics I mostly feel like slapping him whenever he opens his mouth. I don't know that a toy with Legends-style articulation would do a very good job of moving and posing the way Beast does, though. They'd definitely need to figure out something with the ankles, at least, to get deeper crouches going.

Superman: Average. Suprised at how 'lean' Supes looks compared to the rest of the wave.

I think that's mainly because of the actor it's based on. That's one of the things I like about Cavil, actually. Superman shouldn't be this huge jacked guy, because he's inherently so super strong that nothing on Earth puts enough strain on his muscles to make them get that big. He'd need to regularly go, like, bench press the moon or something to get as bulky as he usually is in the comics.

Flash: Man was I wrong about this figure. So many surprises! There's an ab crunch that I didn't see in the package, and the knees are double jointed! Hot damn! And ball joint hips! And higher thigh cuts! It's almost like Mattel is learning from Hasbro's (and many other companies') years (decades?) of work! Sadly, the ankles are still only swivels, no rockers. Arms are single jointed, and the wrists only twist. But, I will take what I can get, and I hope Mattel keeps moving in this direction, as these minor changes make the figures so much better! Sculpt detail is great, and there are a million paint apps on this figure. All the little silver lines are crisp, as are all the other little details. In my opinion, this is the best pure figure of the bunch (it is entirely possible they blew the wave's budget on this figure).

This one sounds surprisingly good! Assuming the costume doesn't look as bad in plastic as it does in "real life", I may have to think about getting one. I don't own any version of the Flash yet.

Sorry for the long post.

Considering my usual posts, I don't think I can complain...

Picked up a Star Wars Black Series 6" Darth Vader 40th anniversary legacy pack. That's a mouthful. Anyway, Walmart had a ton of them, and they had been knocked down in price to $30. It's not the big seller they thought it would be, and I bet it goes down further. I could probably have got one for less if I were more patient, but no.

Still $70-$75 up here.

If the price does start to drop though, I'd have to think about upgrading.

[HeavyArms]

Lego Ideas 21308 Adventure Time - Not the beast looking set as all of the characters are brick-built instead of some version of the pre-existing figure molds, but since they were designed as such by the fan, there really isn't much Lego could do really.

Lego Star Wars 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack.

[ganon578]

Picked up a Star Wars Black Series 6" Darth Vader 40th anniversary legacy pack.

The Vader in there is amazing! I've seen some posts on other places that people have found them marked down to $10 at Walmart. $30 is still a great price though!

Ironically, the quickest place to get Legends these days and the one that gets new waves the most reliably isn't even a toy store, it's EB Games -- but since they're not a toy store, they don't get much volume and if you miss it, they're probably not getting more unless it's an exclusive (they handle the Walgreens stuff up here). Thankfully I've got two literally right across the street from each other so I've got better odds than most..

Yep. I've found many a figure at Walgreens since quite a few collectors don't even think 'drug store' when they're hunting. It's worked out in my favor plenty of times, even thinking back to when Power of the Force figures were at retail. Sometimes Walgreens just tends to keep older stuff for longer, so I can even get my hands on stuff I had missed out on.

Do you get figure swapping in stores around you? Apparently someone went on a rampage around me recently, buying newer stuff and dumping older, easy to find stuff and returning. Saw a Polaris box with Wasp in it, Wolverine box with some yellow/purple dude in it (not Cottonmouth), a Shatterstar box that looked amazingly like Havok, and quite a few Spidey boxes with Secret War Cap in them. I hadn't seen it in my area before, but both Walmarts and the Target close by had probably half a dozen figures each like that. I have to imagine it was a single dude doing that. Quite irritating.

Mine is apparently worse than most. But I can only talk based on my experiences and I wouldn't recommend him unless your heart was set on putting Juggernaut together. And since you returned Kitty I'm assuming that's a no?

That would be correct. I had thought of putting Juggy together, but I just ran out of steam and desire to do so.

I think that's mainly because of the actor it's based on. That's one of the things I like about Cavil, actually. Superman shouldn't be this huge jacked guy, because he's inherently so super strong that nothing on Earth puts enough strain on his muscles to make them get that big. He'd need to regularly go, like, bench press the moon or something to get as bulky as he usually is in the comics..

Fantastic point!

This one sounds surprisingly good! Assuming the costume doesn't look as bad in plastic as it does in "real life", I may have to think about getting one. I don't own any version of the Flash yet.

Definitely check it out in person for sure. The suit is a little on the busy side, but at least the paint is crisp. If you're not into the design, the articulation system won't woo you, since you have a decent Legends collection.

Also, as I mentioned with Flash, it looks like Mattel is finally learning how to make decently articulated DC figures:

Upcoming DC Multiverse

Double jointed knees, higher thigh swivels, ball joint hips, ball swivel wrists, and it looks like WW & Vixen have torso ball joints. I'm not sold on the whole wave, but I think I may have to put the whole thing together for that CnC Lex. And also just to keep testing their figure improvements!

[Warcry]

The Vader in there is amazing! I've seen some posts on other places that people have found them marked down to $10 at Walmart. $30 is still a great price though!

Even if it was just somewhere around full price for a normal Black figure, I'd grab it right up. Obviously $10 would be amazing, but nothing ever gets discounted that heavily here anymore.

Do you get figure swapping in stores around you? Apparently someone went on a rampage around me recently, buying newer stuff and dumping older, easy to find stuff and returning. Saw a Polaris box with Wasp in it, Wolverine box with some yellow/purple dude in it (not Cottonmouth), a Shatterstar box that looked amazingly like Havok, and quite a few Spidey boxes with Secret War Cap in them. I hadn't seen it in my area before, but both Walmarts and the Target close by had probably half a dozen figures each like that. I have to imagine it was a single dude doing that. Quite irritating.

Batroc?

I would bet it was the same dude, yeah. These assholes can be pretty prolific! It's a shame that retailers haven't tried to figure out a way to stop that. Not only is the person defrauding them, but the shit that winds up back on the shelf will never sell, so they're essentially stealing every sale that the store would have been able to generate from those half-dozen figures' spots on the peg.

It's not something I've run into around these parts. I've heard so many horror stories about it, though. That and people just flat out stealing the BAF pieces right there in the aisle.

But Hasbro's Legends packaging is a thief's dream. It's hard to tell when the boxes have been opened compared to a carded figure, they don't have any pictures of who the figure's supposed to be on the front of the box, and sometimes they don't even have the character's name. And they don't have the ties that a Transformer does, so some asshole could find an empty aisle, slit the tape and pocket the BAF piece in under ten seconds.

That would be correct. I had thought of putting Juggy together, but I just ran out of steam and desire to do so.

While Juggernaut is awesome, I don't think he's anywhere near awesome enough to justify buying three or four figures you don't want at full price just to complete him. Though if the BAF parts are going for a reasonable price on eBay (or the dregs of the wave wind up on super-clearance for $5), it'd maybe be a different story.

Also, as I mentioned with Flash, it looks like Mattel is finally learning how to make decently articulated DC figures:

Upcoming DC Multiverse

Can't say that I recognize any of those looks aside from Wonder Woman, but you're definitely right that they've got better engineering than most of the recent figures.

[ganon578]

Batroc?

Nope. I looked up a picture listing, it was Tigershark.

I would bet it was the same dude, yeah. These assholes can be pretty prolific! It's a shame that retailers haven't tried to figure out a way to stop that. Not only is the person defrauding them, but the shit that winds up back on the shelf will never sell, so they're essentially stealing every sale that the store would have been able to generate from those half-dozen figures' spots on the peg.

It's just odd to me that people will pull that stuff. I felt incredibly guilty just re-taping Kitty to return after having her out of the package. And that included keeping every little piece she came with! At least whoever new buys her will get a nearly mint figure with all the stuff.

It's not something I've run into around these parts. I've heard so many horror stories about it, though. That and people just flat out stealing the BAF pieces right there in the aisle.

It's the first time I've run across it around here. Honestly I was really surprised by it! I think I may have come across a couple figs that were re-taped but complete and in great (like new) condition.

But Hasbro's Legends packaging is a thief's dream. It's hard to tell when the boxes have been opened compared to a carded figure, they don't have any pictures of who the figure's supposed to be on the front of the box, and sometimes they don't even have the character's name. And they don't have the ties that a Transformer does, so some asshole could find an empty aisle, slit the tape and pocket the BAF piece in under ten seconds.

Right on the head. I wonder if it becomes a problem that Hasbro will hear about at some point, and just switch to bubbles on cards so you can't do that without ripping it apart. Deluxe class Transformers are a good example of things you can't tinker with.

While Juggernaut is awesome, I don't think he's anywhere near awesome enough to justify buying three or four figures you don't want at full price just to complete him. Though if the BAF parts are going for a reasonable price on eBay (or the dregs of the wave wind up on super-clearance for $5), it'd maybe be a different story.

Nah, I think I will just stay away and sell off my BAF pieces. I like my little Marvel collection, and I'm more into DC stuff anyways. I saw the Daredevil and Thor: Ragnarok waves in Walmart yesterday and passed on everything, though all the figures in both lines looked great. I understand some of the fandom is really into Ares from the Thor line. Is this some sort of fan-favorite character or something?

I was able to tinker with my Justice League set a little more as well, and I noticed that Aquaman has no thigh swivels! To get around that, his knee joints bend but also swivel. I don't know what to call the joint... ball swivel? It's not my preferred type of joint, but I guess it works. Also saw JL Mera (to go with ol' Arthur) up for pre-order on Amazon, due out in November-ish. For $19.99 and Prime shipping, that seemed good to me. She looks good outside the blatant pins in her hips, but at least I won't have to hunt for her.

Also, I had a chance to open and play with Moon Knight. Such a beautiful figure with all the standard ML articulation. The black and white look is super clean (just like how CW Prowl pops so much) and stands out on the shelf. I'm afraid of losing the little moon thingies though, as they're really tiny and look like cut-off fingernails. I was hoping they would peg in between his fingers a bit better, but it still works. Overall, he's a very nice figure.

[Tetsuro]

SH Figuarts Skyrider & Skyturbo

So I ws supposed to check the tracking for this thing to see where it was a few days back but completely forgot about it, only for the thing to turn up today and I didn't even have to pay any customs for it.

Also I finally opened that Miss Fritter I got a while back and oh boy, talk about a disappointment. She may be mostly die cast but those hollow plastic wheels provide no traction and she's more likely to slide than roll on a smooth surface, she desperately needs rubber wheels - and that stupid stop sign doesn't even fold out properly, I can't see this thing surviving as a child's plaything. It's kind of a shame because the tampos are really nice, especially with all the vehicular puns in the license plates she's covered in. But considering the outrageous retail prices for Cars merch, this one's definitely not worth it.

[Brendocon 2.0]

Picked up the new Marvel Legends Human Torch.

He's okay. I'd like him a lot better if the head was in the same colour plastic as the rest of him and the flame effect didn't just make it look like he's lost an argument with his barber.

Also picked up Dazzler and Sunfire cheap. They are pretty much what you'd expect from pictures, tbh.

[HeavyArms]

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 76076 Captain America Jet Pursuit

LEGO Dimensions Fun Pack - LEGO City

Lego Star Wars 75166 First Order Transport Speeder Battle Pack

I bought them over the last couple of weeks, probably while discounted.