Once again, Playmates proves how beautifully and delicately they can sculpt and paint a mass-produced figure. While the other girl in this line (Princess Thundar) is no slouch, Dale is an absolutely adorable, teen-dream cutie. Not well articulated, but a very swell-looking girl, and the futuristic "skateboard"-ish stand/vehicles they come with actually roll without falling over. Super-nice job, too bad Playmates lamely decided to only pack one per box, making her a target of those stinky speculator types.
Coming from the Hercules line's last gasp, this scuplt is -- believe it or not -- one of the most realistic portrayals of a human female yet. But only because Cory Everson, the actress who played Atalanta (and former Miss Olympia -- five times, I think) really is as buff as any ToyBiz action figure. This figure certainly looks like her more than any Xena fig ever looked like Lucy Lawless, that's for sure. A really neat figure. (And one that is showing up in Kaybees, despite it's supposed exclusive release to Universal and the direct market, by the way.)
I expected great figures for the human characters after seeing the great job they did on the Kangaroos, and I was not disappointed! Barbarocious is one of the greatest figures I've seen in a long time. The facial sculpting is great, and the design is wonderful (although it seems to be incredibly faithful to the movie, so the costume designer should really be getting credit here). They even reproduced her spider-web cape in a tranparent plastic -- she's absolutely stunning. Elysia doesn't fare quite so well, but only because next to her evil counterpart she's, well, boring. But the detail in both sculpting and paint on both of these figures is just amazing. And they've even done things like have fully sculpted legs, which are jointed at the hip, under these big skirts -- I think it's amazing, everyone always does that lame solid-skirt-with-feet-attached thing. Let's hope this company stays around for a long time and doesn't leave action figures like Tyco did.
Well, I like her, but she's definitely another one in the long line of Kenner's women from films who look like men when they're made into toys ...some hair coming out of the back of the cowl might have helped -- or they could have used the mask-only design perhaps. And her weapons are a complete joke. But still, I like her. It's Batgirl, after all.
This second Batgirl in the movie line is way cooler than the first. Same basic silly outfit, of course, but this time in metallic blue and silver tones, with a detachable cloth cape, and a visor added to her helmet/cowl that looks pretty neat. And I actually really like her silly bike -- normally I hate all big accessories and vehicles and just junk them, but this one is neat enough (and faintly reminiscent -- note I said "faintly" -- of the TV Batgirl's bike) that I kept her on it. And she does both fit neatly into the seat and grip the handlebars, which I was surprised by! It's a shame she's not articulated at the knee -- but all in all this is a really nice little figure and bike.
More Batgirl!! I was glad to see that the final doll actually looked like the one I'd seen last year, and not the hairless version that'd been shown in magazines all over the place. It's too bad the doll was designed before the character was redesigned (given a mask instead of a cowl), but that's okay, the cowl just makes her look more like the traditional Batgirl. The outfit is kind of odd, because they tried to recreate the rubber costume in spandex and vinyl, but it generally works (and is very well-made). The doll is posable and while it doesn't look like Alicia Silverstone by any stretch, it's still pretty cute. Kind of weird overall, but I'm very fond of her.
Okay, "Wind Blitz" batgirl, whatever...the point is, Kenner's finally made the Batgirl figure everyone's been waiting for -- almost. Instead of making either the original version or this season's version, they've made up an all-new costume for her, some sort of wetsuit-look in black and pale grey. Not horrible, but kind of silly. She herself is really cute, however, and they have cleverly made this figure without any mold lines so they can repaint it to their heart's content. Unfortunately, the lack of mold lines exacerbates the painting problems here -- no-one seems to have seen a figure with a really clean paint job. Sculpturally, however, she is right up there with Harley -- realistic, stands well, cute and appropriate pose. When they repaint her in her real costume (and you know they will -- Kenner never met a repaint they didn't like) she'll be stunning.
I would have to say that ToyBiz has reached a new high in the stupid pose sweepstakes with this figure -- she does at least stand on her on, but in this bizarre, knock-kneed pose that makes her look as though she's been in line at the ladies' room a little too long. The basic torso is sculpted pretty well, but other than that -- not only are her legs idiotically posed, but her hands are huge, and the transition from human-to-venom face on her head is pretty bad. All that said, I have to admit I find her kind of interesting in a freak sort of way. Look before you buy!
The first Catwoman that can actually stand up! While I think the Legends designs are usually really stupid, here's one that makes sense and looks really cool. What you're supposed to do with that jerky Egyptian Batman she comes with I don't know...
This is possibly the best 12" doll of a character that has been made since the Superqueens. (Well, actually she's 11-1/2"...) The version here is the purple-and-black costume Catwoman's worn with little variation in the comics for some time now -- certainly not my favorite design, but pretty nice-looking. The execution of the costume is a little weird -- the gloves and boots are molded as part of her body, and her outfit simply stops when it meets them. But the effect works. Her face is beautifully sculpted and painted (I saw no variation in the quality of the paint jobs either), with hair cascading out the back of the mask exactly as it does in the comics. She isn't fully articulated, but is certainly more posable than a Barbie. Her body really impressed me -- not only is it nothing like the standard Barbie clone everyone else seems to use, she actually has a thicker waist and smaller chest, giving her an idealized but humanly possible physique -- something she doesn't have in the comics. Winning best figure of 97 hands down so far! (And the 12" Batman she comes with in the box set is actually nice enough to keep or give away.)
Oh, I mean, "Space Ninja Deathbird", guess Deathbird's not good enough anymore...while this character is not anyone I care about, the figure is really cute. Nice sculpting (very good proportions for a change), great color scheme, and even a nice attempt at an interesting action feature -- there are pegs in the backs of her arms, which slip through slots in her wings, so as you raise and lower her arms, the wings move with them. Unfortunately, it's impossible to do this if she is wearing her arm cuffs, which happen to actually be attached to her outfit permanently. You can snap off the entire "armor" outfit to make the wings work, or -- do what I did and just snip the little tubes that hold the cuffs on her outfit and trash them. Now she's pretty cute!
For those of you that haven't seen her in your area, later shipments of the "light-up" X-men assortment were repainted, with Psylocke being repainted and released as Elektra. The figure actually works better as Elektra than as Psylocke, which makes you realize just how much the "new" version of Psylocke owes to Elektra in the first place..
While I'm not familiar enough with the character to know how accurate this is, the figure itself is pretty nice -- it's amazing how every re-use of the Medusa mold so far has looked better than poor Medusa did herself! The color scheme is so great they couldn't have gone wrong, and it makes for a striking figure, whether you know who she is or not.
Part of the "Manga Spawn" series, Goddess was also called "Manga Angela" and "The Goddess" in many reports. But according to her packaging, it's actually the less formal "Goddess". A pretty over-the-top figure, complete with wings and of course -- giant feet. (Although they're both huge for a change.) She's quite impressive. I found her difficult to stand because of the extra weight in back, but putting her staff in her hand seemed to give her enough weight in front to balance her and she's standing fine now. I just wonder why she looks so sad?
At long last, the most-awaited action figure of the last few years has finally shown up -- and fortunately, she doesn't disappoint! The painting errors seen in the prototype have been fixed, and the sculpt is amazing! It took a bit of work to stand her up, but she does stand, which is a first for BTAS girls. And if you have trouble standing her up, just link her left arm through the Joker's right, and they're on a date! Or, link her and Ivy, and see them hold each other up as they go on a crime spree! Definitely one of the best action figures of all time.
Of the entire Robotech line, this is my favorite piece. The small figures are, shall we say, not the best sculpting or painting jobs I saw in the 80s, and several figures only vaguely resemble the characters they're supposed to represent. But the 12" dolls are some of the best 12" representations of any character. The faces are very faithful, capturing the character's anime looks, and the outfits are nicely made. Lisa is my favorite because she both most closely resembles the on-screen character, and she is an amazingly well-made and pretty doll.
This villainess in Bandai's newest import line is goofy but really great -- she has a freaky quasi-insect/crustacean design (vaguely mantis-like), is really nicely made, and she has the greatest action feature which really has to be experienced, not described. Suffice it to say that you can amuse yourself for hours during tv commercials with her spinning blade action -- "Mix my salsa, Horribelle!!"
Her weapons are overdone, and her clamp-on bustier is junk, but the figure itself is amazing -- probably the prettiest female face Kenner has ever pulled off, realistic sculpting (as opposed to the usual flayed musculature you find in the TJ line), a modest and attractive outfit, a nice pose, easy to stand -- a figure so perfect, in fact, that of course it had to suffer and get stuck in the last wave of the series, which apparently is going to have a very limited release. Sad or what?
This is the "probe" version of Ilia (from the first movie -- oh, I'm having flashbacks of yawning), which at first I was a little shocked at, until I remembered that the "sexy" version of Ilia was actually the probe that V'ger sent back to the ship, and wasn't "really" Ilia at all. Or something like that. Anyway, here you have a beautiful, up-to-Playmates'-highest-standards representation of the "probe" Ilia, making the little Mego figre of her feel awkward and embarrassed. Really swell.
I don't know what happened to Trendmaster's ballyhooed Jeannie line, but it seems that all that remains are a few polly-pocket-style playsets and this doll from an FAO exclusive set. The doll is so cute, it's shame it hasn't come out in regular stores. An extremely cute face for a non-Mattel doll, and while she is an 11-1/2" doll, for once someone didn't clone Barbie's body. (It is pretty close though.) The outfit is elaborately made and very well put-together. She's even got underewear on! Her shoes, however, bite. An absolute must-have for any Jeannie fan. (The doll, by the way, came with a Jeannie-bottle-styled magic 8-ball, and it all came stuffed into a white cardboard box. No packaging whatsoever! And in case you were wondering, no, she doesn't talk.)
This Jubilee, while in a goofy outfit, is so much better than her previous ToyBiz incarnation, you might not believe it was the same character. Her face is excellent -- possibly the best overall face on a ToyBiz girl yet. Her feet are also huge though, and she's in a bizarrely contorted "I-couldn't-possibly-stand-up-this-way" position. Still cute, though.
While she's a little reminiscent of the Best of the West line, coming in at about 6" tall and solid as can be, she's a very cute figure, with great accessories and a surprisingly expressive face. Upper-body articulation is weak, but the lower body is jointed at the knees and ball-jointed at the hips, allowing for some pretty good poseability.
Of the four girls recently released in the Starting Lineups line, Olga is the one who most borders on actually being cute. (I think it's the little ponytails.) All four (Olga, Nadia Comaneci, FloJo and Jackie Joyner-Kersee), as most SLUs, are not really posable, and are more statuettes than figures. And all four have very mannish and inaccurate faces. But, for sports fans or those who'd like to encourage their daughters into athletics, the appearance of these figures is a major first.
Is anyone else over this whole "extreme" fad? Anyway, I'm reviewing these Kylies together because they are virtually the same figure -- the only difference being color scheme, accessories and a slight variation in the head sculpt (Deluxe Kylie is smiling, regular Kylie just sort of...smirks). Actually not bad, considering it's from Trendmasters who have brought you such great likenesses as the humans from ID4 and MIB (that's, uh, sarcasm) -- she's kind of cute and can stand on her own with some work. Her heavy black makeup and facial features make her look sort of like an older, evil, Lydia Deetz. I don't know what's with the football gear, though....anyway, the sculpting is decent, the articulation is nice, and while the regular Kylie is okay, the Deluxe Kylie is a really cute figure. (PS: Don't be confused by the unusable accessories, no-one I know can make them fit onto anything either. This is the company that packaged a fashion doll with shoes that didn't fit, after all...)
From the "Astralborgs" sub-series, this is actually one of my current fave figures. She really looks feminine, has a great color scheme, is totally posable, and has this complete Jack Kirby look to her face and hand gestures. A super-cool figure.
Well, she's quite the buxom lass, but at least she was sculpted last year before Toy Biz lost most of their good sculptors. The face is nice (although I've seen wide variation in the paint which makes her look very different) and the body is proportioned correctly in a big-breasted- super-heroine-kind-of-way. The costume's a bit silly, the accessories are insane (futuristic Jai Alai?!?), her action was engineered backwards and her hair is so big she falls over. But all the same, she's one of the most attractive Toy Biz girls so far. (To make my [opened] La Luna stand up, I put her on a W.I.L.D.Cats stand and bent her knees slightly. No toppling yet.)
Ah, the "Dabo" girl. Whatever. In anycase, maybe she's just an intergalactic blackjack dealer, but she is a really nice figure -- a great sculpt, her face is actually very pretty and while her skirt has a tendency to pop off (Bad Dabo girl!!) the body's been done very nicely and realistically. She doesn't fit onto her stand too well, but you can't have everything.
Well, they're getting there...this Leia isn't exactly cute or pretty, but she's way more attractive than the monstrosity they released as the first "new" Leia. And, who really cares what her face looks like, anyway, when you can pop her little helmet on and turn her into the cool chick bounty hunter Boushh! I still prefer my old Boushh Leia, but this one is a really nice updating. No costume change, just a more "modern" sclupting job.
Otherwise known as "Slave Girl" Leia. This is easily the best Leia yet in the new series. The sculpting on the body is great, and about as realistic as you can get in only 3-3/4". Posed nicely, stands easily -- her only accessory is the collar and chain, which don't really fit that well, but she looks just fine without them. The costume is nicely detailed -- the skirt panels, front and back, are only attached at the waist. And the paint job is well done, also. And now to the face -- oh my god, she's actually almost...cute!! They decided to look at a photo instead of a monkey this time, apparently. Still not pretty, but then again, you can't often call a Kenner-sculpted female "pretty". And this is pretty close.
While she certainly doesn't compare to the original 12" Leia, this one is a pretty good job, especially when you look at some of the other 12" characters they've done. Her face is pretty close, and almost pretty at that; her outfit is detailed and (seemingly) accurate; her hair is styled perfectly (and heavily glued so it won't get messed up the way the original doll's did); and she's even got decent articulation (especially in the arms) -- and a gun! Her outer clothes actually come off, but warning -- her tights and boots are apparently glued on somewhere, don't attempt to remove them. The only real flaw is her humongous feet, but careful arrangement of her dress can hide that. Overall, a good job.
I wasn't too whooped up about the other figures in this line, but Lily was worth the wait. one of the best female figures in quite some time, and especially well done for a non-regular character. The likeness is remarkable, and the figure has real personality (and a sassy pose)!
Playmates and their amazing sculpting come through once again on this line -- while I could care less about this idiotic movie, I can't help but be attracted to the figures! (Marvin the Martian's rocket is a must-have!) Lola, an obviously made-up token female, is nonetheless adorable, and well sculpted and painted. The line isn't articulated much more than SLUs are, but the poses are so well-designed you don't really mind. Very cute.
The idea of duck-faced humans kind of scared me, but this figure is actally incredibly cute! Leave the accessories off though -- they don't seem to fit well, and look awkward and bulky. Little articulation, but at least the figure is really well posed and sculpted. Great paint job on the face, too! I'm really glad to see the recent sports-oriented girl figures and dolls come out, and Mallory's a great addition to their ranks. (Note: the figure was changed significantly after the original photo was released -- hair is different, "jacket" is gone, color scheme is now purple with some green.)
In a weird marketing move, Mattel recently repainted the original Mallory figure and quietly dropped her into shipments of the new "Extreme" MD line. She allegedly is difficult to find, but most people seem to have seen none or several, so I think it's more likely that she's simply not shipping everywhere. She is readily available at Disney Stores at the moment if you're looking, though. In any case, I think this is a case of a repaint far surpassing the original deco job -- she's now in a great-looking black and white outfit, with details in metallic teal, purple and yellow. The accessories are still useless, but they're in very pretty flourescent colors now. Definitely cool.
This figure falls in that grey area -- an androgynous alien in an extremely female body. The figure comes with a Martian head, which you cover up with the "human girl" disguise. The figure is actually a little goofy-looking, but is pretty remarkable. Definitely intended for the adult collector -- play value is about nil, and the included eyeball ring is almost too big for me! I sure would be disappointed if I was a kid who got this, but I doubt any kids are actually getting this figure.
The really neat Reboot line was cancelled after one series here in the US, but 3 more lines (and several accessories) have come out in Canada in the last year, each featuring a new Dot. First came the Color-Change Series' Dot -- a nice repaint of the original figure in black and white -- the white bodice allegedly changes to blue in warm water, but I tried every temperature and nothing happened. She looks great anyway. From the CD-Rom Series, we have Dot in her slinky red dress from Enzo's birthday -- the dress is actually fabric, and looks great! The other repaint are really well done too. Most recently came the Binome Series -- featuring Dot in a cool red-and-blue uniform from one of the game episodes. New details have been added (new hands for holding her gun, and an intricate eyepiece), and the paint design is swell as always. It's unfortunate that we're missing out on these great toys here!!
Uch, uch and double uch!! Medusa has been my favorite Marvel character since I was really little, so I was really excited that they were going to make a figure of her. (I think the only other Medusa item ever made was a 7-11 cup!) So was I ever disappointed at the bad sculpting on this figure. The body is okay, and the outfit is the one being used on the TV show, so it's pretty close to the original Kirby costume. But her face! From the front, she's okay-looking, but from the side you can see just how bad this sculptor was. "Horse-faced" is indeed the best you can say about her. And her hair is idiotic -- shoulder-length hair, and a twirling-hair-stand-thing. (Apparently, she can walk while her hair is under her feet.) If it was my decision, I've would have made a Medusa with inter-changeable hair instead. As this is probably the only Medusa figure that will ever be made, Inhumans/FF fans will have to settle for this one. But what a shame...
I would have to say this may be the best-looking female figure ToyBiz has done yet. Once you've tossed the armor out, you've got a wonderfully sculpted figure of a classic Marvel character in a costume recognizable to those of us who don't follow the books anymore -- and while she's stuck in her pose, at least it's a nice pose! Great hair and face, and nice, realistic body (aside from overly large hands and feet). Her skirt is detachable, in order to get the armor on, but it makes for a more realistic design on the skirt. Definitely in the running for my fave of the year.
Apparently this is some future or imaginary episode where everyone's older (and Dr. Crusher married her Jean-Luc), which must have been challenging to the sculptor -- how to make Gates McFadden look old without offending her. But it's been pulled off very well -- she looks older, but good. Other than that distinction it's still basically Dr. Crusher in another outfit though.
Surprisingly enough, the two versions of Ivy (single and two-pack) are really quite different, with totally different sculpts! The singly packed ("Jungle Venom") Ivy is a incredibly realistic sculpt of a human female (I'm amazed every time I look at her how "real" her body look), in a cute pose, suggestive of personality. Her face, unfortunately, has Kenner's usual harshness, but it's great to see a female figure that doesn't look like too much plastic travelled to the chest area. The two-pack version (packed with "useless metallic" Robin) has an interesting design on the body, complete with transparent sections (huh?). The paint job on the two-pack Ivy makes her look slightly prettier, and while her pose is more static, the decorative effect makes up for it.
This Ivy comes in a 2-pack with a re-dressed Batman and may be a TRU exclusive. Now, she's become kind of infamous online as "the ugliest figure ever". But the truth is, she's not even close. She's a really cute and well-made doll, with a decently designed and executed interpretation of the basic movie costume, gorgeous dark pink hair with a coronet braid, great articulation and a well designed and painted face makeup. Here's the deal. She's a doll. I don't mean a dressable 12" poseable figure. I don't mean she's gorgeous. I mean she's a 100% girl's doll. (She most closely resembles the big-headed Hasbro Jem line from the 80s, interestingly enough.) So far every single guy I've seen express an opinion has loathed her, and every single girl I've talked to has loved her. So you can see how this is all breaking down. Basically, I think "doll" looks are just weird and foreign looking to guys, and they also probably resent being "forced" to buy what is so obviously a girl's toy. But girls all welcome her to their doll collections with open arms, myself included. I wish that she was compatible with the 12" Batgirl and Catwoman, and I think her feet are way too big (and if you've read much of this site you know how I feel about that) but other than that, I think she's great and if they make more dolls like this, I'll be happy to get them.
I was prepared for the worst -- but they've really started getting these accessories down! The sword fits into her hand and then lights up -- and you can even change the batteries! She's a grat sculpting job, realistic proportions and faithful to the actual character. I could do without the windswept hair and weird grimace, but she definitely deserves a place of honor in any collection.
Even nicer than the light-up Psylocke. Looks like this may be the original head and hair mold that people seemed to like, but I can't tell for sure. The color scheme is again, really nice (purple and black, with lavender hair!) but her weapons system doesn't fit well at all. And what's with the cape? A cloth cape is a nice idea, and it looks great in the package, but once the figure's liberated the cape doesn't work at all! I dub this line the "throw out all the accessories line", but at least after you do, you're left with two really nice figures.
Not quite as good a job os the Storm, but still pretty nice. The hair is pulled off pretty well, and the costume is as close as you could get to the current version in a doll. The "booties" don't quite fit though, and look very socklike. Her face is also a little over-sculpted -- she looks rather harsh. But I like her anyway. (I still don't know who on earth came up with those "civilian outfits" -- yikes!)
This time, Rogue gets to be a repaint of someone else for a change! (As opposed to being everyone else's base figure). This Rogue (part of the TRU-only "couples" 2-pack with Gambit) is actually a repaint of the GenX White Queen figure. Amazingly, it really works. The costume's pretty good (especially if you squint a little so you can't see the outlines of the corset!) and the face and hair are actually just about perfect for her old look -- much closer than the previous Rogue figs have been. She comes in some awful shapeless cloth thing that makes her look like she's in the middle of getting a dye job. Run, do not walk, to the trash can and get rid of that thing!
A new Rogue sculpt! Amazing! Although she's a little...well, the best description I've heard was that she looks like a "really pissed-off Reba McIntire". She's in her Age of Apocalypse outfit again, and is totally posed -- not much action here. The action in this line is just putting the titular monster armor on the figures -- personally, I think the "monster" version are god-awful, and tossed the pieces already. I couldn't even get Rogue's armor on to see what it looked like -- the body pieces kept falling off, and the mask wouldn't go on. But, then again, I wasn't all that motivated to try. A nice sculpture, albeit not much of an "action" figure.
This is barely an action figure -- her arms do move up and down, but that's about it. Nice sculpt though, and even looks vaguely like the real Sable. Sable's the third female wrestling figure to be made (all managers -- boo!) and is actually the best one yet.
At last!! The Scarlet Witch figures everyone I know has been hoping for! And amazingly enough, she's in her original (and only cool) outfit, mostly very realistically sculpted (that hair is a wee bit too much), sort of able to stand up under her own power, and even has a cloth cape! Of course, she does come with the stupidest accessories I've ever seen, has black nostrils (maybe it's very polluted where she lives), and for some reason, is out of scale (along with the other Avengers) with the rest of the Marvel universe! Even her poor brother's a midget next to her. For fans of the character this is great, but for play value I think it sucks. Still, she's Wanda, and she's very cool.
Poor Shard. She looks eternally surprised and confused by the huge equipment she's supposed to carry. The rooted-hair ponytail is a nice try, but since it actually is a huge plug coming out of the bald part of her head it looks about as goofy as her facial sculpting. The figure itself is well-made and articulated, but the overall effect is kind of...lame. Poor Shard.
Well, she's better then the rest of this wretched figure line -- unlike the pinheaded versions of the Hulk, she's somewhat realistically proportioned, and while she seems out-of-scale, she's actually not big enough to be in scale with other Toy Biz figures! She's in an unattractive squatting stance, which doesn't help -- but she can stand up (always a plus). Sculpting a lock of hair across her face was a bad call -- it just makes her look crosseyed. However, the worst offense on this figure is the major fashion crime (and innacurate for the character) white lipstick!! What were they thinking?! Not as disappointing as some Toy Biz figures, but not one of their best, either.
I was really surprised to see what a difference a repaint makes -- the little piece of hair in her face still makes her look cross-eyed, but other than that the improvement here is amazing, mainly due to the nice FF uniform and dark green lipstick.
Toy Biz is continuing to prove that they can recycle figures like no-one on the planet with yet another line of new characters made from old figures. First up: Wolfsbane -- a repainted Deathbird with really scrappy-looking fake fur glued here and there. Not a bad representation of the character, but pretty skanky in three dimensions. Young Ms. Marvel -- this is not Carol Danvers, but the Thing's girlfriend (not Alicia) from the miniseries. Too obscure for me to know, really, and a pretty goofy (Phoenix-based) figure to boot. Marvel Girl -- in the great X-Force uniform, really nicely painted onto the good ol' Spiderwoman body. Pretty swell. Dazzler -- not too successful -- it's a half-hearted attempt at her original roller-disco queen outfit, but doesn't really come close. (Black Cat head on clear IW body) Tigra -- easily the highlight of the set. A really jazzy paint job on the Black Cat body, and just a cute figure overall.
This is a figure I thought had been cancelled until I stumbled on a dump of 2/$5 VR toys at KayBee. It's based on the "battle grid" outfits from the show, and Kaitlin actually looks like a girl! It's a very cute figure, and certainly was the right price. Only problem -- the most stupidly planned action I've ever seen! Her power-kick, which is a nice Super-Powers-like action, unfortunately involves a loosely-jointed knee, which prevents her from standing up at all!! I solved this problem by carefully rubber-cementing (it's removable!) her to the stand from a Playmates' Star Trek Vash figure. No gluing of the "broken" knee was required.
I like how they call them everything but a doll -- but this is an absolutely wonderful doll line so far. (Well, the girls anyway...) Storm comes with her white animated series costume, as well as a green "casual" outfit that looks even more like a superhero costume than her white one! The body is your basic Barbie knock-off, so she can actually wear clothes made for other fashion dolls if you want her to be incognito. The head is a beautiful sculpting job -- and the painting job is great. White hair is rooted in Storm's classic widow's peak, and while it could have been thicker, it still looks great. A great companion for your 12" Mary Jane.
From the new ToyBiz line of Mego-styled 9" figures (a generally impressive line for it's detail and low price point) comes this best of all Storms. She's dressed in her very first black-and-yellow "here's my midriff" costume, complete with that cool tiara and those weird thigh-high boots. The base figure is excellent in both sculpt and articulation, and the costume has been made in much better detail that I would have ever expected. I can't say enough about this figure -- you must have one, and you must give one to eveyone you know.
This line's girls are both extremely cleanly sculpted and painted. The costumes are like nothing the characters really wear, of course, and the accessories are silly -- but the figures are very nice. Storm has a Dale Arden-type outfit (bare midriff, little gloves, short sleeves) in a really nice blue/gold color scheme. She's in a relatively normal pose, and her hair (possibly the most outstanding feature) is a great interpretation of the way Storm's hair has always been designed. Her body is quite normal (ideal-normal that is) in proportion -- except for her feet! These feet are unbelievably huge -- in reality, the toes of those shoes would be completely empty -- she looks like she's got size 17 shoes on a size 9 foot. (Size 9 is just a guess, she's a big girl after all.) The feet plus her huge hair mean that once again a ToyBiz girl cannot stand unassisted. Hello, ToyBiz! how about some cheap generic stands for these figs already! Update: the 2nd version of this figure, in the accurate-to-the-comics weird bob hairstyle has come out, and while I love the hair on the 1st one, the 2nd is actually the cuter of the two.
Here we have the "classic" outfit version of Storm (the white one), on a newly sculpted figure! The sculpting is really great, as far as her looks go -- but as usual, goofiness abounds! Her attached cape clamps to her wrists -- and it's flexible, but doesn't stretch, so your choice is to either leave her hands by her side, or have these weird things projecting at her sides. The articulation is pretty good (ball-joint shoulders, knee joints, and rotation at hips and waist) -- but what's the point, when she can't move her arms?! The base she comes with is huge and kind of cheap-looking -- fortunately she can stand up without it (rotate her upper body to her right a bit and she'll balance just fine). It has "great play value" but actually -- it's so lame! I had to try it -- it barely squirted water, and only in little spitty bursts. I think a kid would be pretty annoyed by it. Still a nice figure, though.
MacFarlane Toys seem to be finally falling asleep at the wheel on this one. While she's very cute, and an interesting design, the quality control on these figures seems to be universally non-existant. Hair ragged and chopped off, or stuck together with glue, joints painted shut, incredibly sloppy painting job...this is really one you need to examine before you buy to make sure you get a passable one.
Basically, other than the really slight uniform change, these look exactly like blown-up versions of the same Troi and Crusher they pretty much always do. The articulation is just as good, but I really don't know why they made these figure out of scale (they're 6", compared to the usual 4-1/2"). I guess this'll be the final straw for those Trek completists already understandably peeved over the limited edition nonsense. The figures themselves are perfectly alright, although it's not the prettiest Deanna Troi I've seen from Playmates. The make-up's a bit heavy, and Crusher's hair is her familiar shade of red -- even though she's now a blonde. These figures are really nothing special unless you're a devoted fan.
I've been a fan of this line of Mego-like posable dolls all along, but they've definitely hit a new high with this Uhura! The outfit is reproduced faithfully (and yes, there're red panties under the dress), and the face and (molded) hair have been sculpted beautifully! The likeness is excellent, and Uhura's go-go "look" has been captured, from the goofy space bouffant to the huge earrings. By far the best one yet.
The basic Venus' main difference from the deluxe version is the lack of shorts. Also, she's been made out of a very flexible plastic, which is great for play value but will make her much harder to stand for any length of time. Still no eyes, which freaks me out. Like her pricier counterpart, not an incredibly exciting figure, but great for collectors or fans of the Turtles line.
After over ten years, a girl turtle has actually been added to the line-up! This is the deluxe version of the figure -- she comes with more clothes on, and a freaky rocket-powered skateboard of sorts, which doubles as a stand. This whole line is not really up to Playmates' usual high standards -- both sculpt and paint job are less than detailed, and the paint's actually quite sloppy -- but it's nice enough, and the character's been designed really nicely -- my favorite touch is that the ends of her mask are braided into a long braid down her back, making her look pretty much like a girl turtle. Great if you're a fan of the line; nothing to get too excited over otherwise.
Vina, from the original pilot, in her illusionary disguise as an "Orion Animal Woman" (a.k.a. "green girl"). No wonder Captain Pike wanted to go back to Talos!! This figure is even more well-made than Dale -- in my opinion this is the best-made figure Playmates has done in any line. Articulation was sacrificed for her pose, but the result is so charming and natural you just don't mind. Now, if only they would have made Number One...
The idea of a MichelleYeoh doll was pretty exciting -- but unfortunately the reality didn't quite live up to my hopes. The sculpting on the face is actually not bad, but the generic body they're using is rather gawky. And the jumpsuit she's wearing looks like it's easily 10 sizes too big!! It's not even close! No accessories, but a completely useless "stand" come along with her. She has possibilities, maybe with a new outfit she'd be pretty teriff. But right now...well, at least she's nowhere near as bad as that James Caan, I mean James Bond doll they've got in that line.
First, let me just say that as someone who doesn't read modern Marvel books, I cannot accept this as an incarnation of Janet Van Dyne. For one thing, Janet wouldn't be caught dead in an outfit this goofy. But, putting that aside, this is actually a pretty cute figure. The pink/orange/blue color scheme actually works, and the design is pretty nice. Ball-jointed shoulders and hinged elbows are a plus; but v-jointed hips and soft plastic legs make her pretty difficult to stand. The snap-on wasp armor is pretty goofy, and doesn't stay on well (although the bug you make out of the pieces is cute) -- I just left her wings on. I still would rather have any of the Wasp's classic outfits, but this is a neat figure nonetheless.
Well, she looks nothing at all like Lucy Lawless, but this figure's cute nonetheless. Sculpted way better than the 1st 5", but what's up with the cranky face? The changeable outfit is a pretty cute gimmick, which along with the lavendar box is presumable to encourage little girls' interest -- if, of course, they actually get to see this on a shelf! The "Warrior Princess" outfit is once again blue, but molded nicely. The "civilian disguise", which you may recognize from an episode of the tv show, doesn't seem to fit my Xena too well, and in fact made her look, well, really fat. I'm just hoping Toy Biz floods stores with these eventually so that little (and big) girls everywhere can have their very own Warrior Princess.