So far,
Mattel has released 4 sets of their
DC Universe Classics action figures. We know which characters are coming out for series 5-7 in the next few months. If you don't, here's a
DCUC checklist for you. Well now there is more good news for DCUC collectors out there. Mattel has just announced which characters will be in their wave 8 set which is suppose to hit stores in the Spring of 2009. There are 7 figures to this set, two of which have variants and of course they all come with a "Collect and Connect" piece. Here's a look at the
DCUC series 8 line up. All of the following pictures are from Mattycollector.com:
Hawkgirl
Gentleman Ghost
Mr. Terrific
Commander Steel
Vigilante
Parademon (Red & Yellow Variants)
Dr. Fate (Modern & Classic Variants)
And your collect and connect figure is.......Standing at 10 inches tall....GIGANTA
A pretty cool set if you ask me. Can't wait.
In other news
My
DC Universe Classics series 4 set has finally arrived at my doorstep. With series 2 and 3, I did one massive post for each set. We'll, for series 4, I've decided that Im going to focus on one figure per post. I haven't cracked them open yet but I have to say that Ares looks like he's gonna be the best of the lot. Wonder Woman does not look too bad either. Look for the first review in a day or two.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for all your DC Mattel toy reviews.
I've only just started collecting the Mattel figures and your reviews have been a great help in helping me decide what to buy. Up until now I've been mostly collecting DC Direct figures. I have the majority of the Hush set with the exceptions of the figures and/or characters I didn't care for.
I also am a Batman fan and I am trying to collect a full set of major Batman character figures hence one of the reasons why I am now turning to Mattel since DC Direct have never released a figure that I liked for Mr Freeze and to my knowledge have never even released a Clayface figure.
Hopefully maybe Mattel will do a Mad Hatter figure too as the only one ever released thus far from DC Direct, from the Long Halloween set, is one that is personally not to my taste. Actually the whole set is not to my liking.
I agree with you about the Mr Freeze Tech Suit figure. The paint job on the helmet, for me, ruins the excellent paint job on his face as it detracts from it. I really wish I had seen your review before buying it but I can always try to get an earlier version of the figure. Are they relatively cheap to get?
I'm more of a collector myself so I have dabbled with various figure lines. I do really like the Kotobukiya and in particular the Yamato Japanese line of figures even though they are smaller. Two-Face is one of my favorites with his plastic giant coin base. I've always liked the Batman: Animated Series suit that he wears (the plain black and white one) which they used for the figure. I also have the Yamato Catwoman as that used to be the only figure you could get of her in her purple costume which is my favorite costume for hers.
Keep up the excellent reviews as I find them very informative and helpful in helping me decide what to get.
Hey, glad to hear that somebody is reading my reviews. Ha! I have a handful of DCD figures as well, but the Mattel's DC toys really grew on me a lot more so a phased away from DCD.
ReplyDeleteAs a Batman fan, Im really hoping Mattel does a Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy, Deadshot and the Commish somewhere down the road but it's also good to see them exploring the DC Universe a bit deeper than Batman & Superman in the next few waves that they've announced.
I keep my eye on eBay a lot for the older figures. Im in Canada, so a lot of these toys are hard to find up here. I've seen the pre DCSH version of Mr. Freeze, which is the original sculpt, go for under $10 recently. If you keep your eye out for it, there are good deals to be found, you just may not find them right away. In my opinion, the newest Mr. Freeze (tech suit version) is the best looking, even with the sloppy looking frost paint on his helmet. I think the older versions have something similar as well.
I have other toys too outside of Mattel's DCUC & DCSH but to consistantly keep up with them all is too expensive really. So I just try to keep up with Mattel for now. The Kotobukiya figures are nice too. I don't have any but i agrre that the Two-Face does look pretty sweet.
If there are any of the DC Mattel toys you're thinking of getting send another comment and if i have it, i'll try and post something on it. Right now I'm working on DCUC series 4.
Thanks again for reading.
Hello again,
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that you haven't had any comments. I like the fact that you try not to be biased with your reviews, as with your Firestorm figure, something which not all reviewers are. I also like the way you photograph your figures. I have seen many reviewers who actually can either make the lighting too bright or vice versa. Mr Freeze is a good example of this. Some photos from reviews I have read of the Tech suit figure are so dark you can't actually tell that there is a paint job on the helmet.
I too have to rely on e-bay and online stores to get a lot of the figures. I live in the UK. London is the major city to buy toys but I live nowhere near it. The nearest major toy store to where I live is a train ride away which is quite expensive so it's just cheaper to get them online in my experience.
I aim to get other DC characters as well (in particular the major ones that I like). However since I have some already such as Wonder Woman and Superman I can't really afford to get more than one version of a character unless absolutely necessary. Poison Ivy is an exception to this as she is one of my favourite characters who I personally think has been littered with only average to alright figures. I actually bought the Hush version by mistake thinking it was the Yamato version off of ebay. I later got the Yamato version but there was still something about the actual figure that still put me off though it has a lovely diorama with two venus fly trap plants and some vines. Most recently I got the latest one from the DC Direct Secret Rogues line and I am happy with it. It's based on Brian Bolland's depiction of her which can be seen on her Wikipedia entry. The figure does look a lot like his interpretation of her.
As Batman is my favourite character as well as also having, what I personally believe, to be some of the best villains and supporting characters from the DC universe I thought I would start with him. I actually have many of them already.
To date my relatively small collection consists of:
All of the Hush set (including the Jason Todd Wizard exclusive figure which I got from e-bay) with the exception of all the various Batman figures from the set, Joker and Catwoman since I have those characters as different figures from other lineups that I prefer. I also don't have Ra's Al Ghul as I'm not keen on that figure and to the best of my knowledge no other action figure of him exists.
I own the Batman, Robin and Joker Yamato figures from Wave 1. Sadly Robin has a problem with his cape though as it's very tacky to the touch. I've had it on display for a few years now and the paint on the cape has never dried properly and has picked up dirt. It's only on the back of the cape so it's not overly noticeable unless you look at it very closely but it's still a problem nonetheless which is a shame as it's one of my favourite figures of the set.
I also own the Penguin and, as previously mentioned, Poison Ivy Yamato figures from Wave 2 as well as Batgirl and Catwoman from Wave 3. I have to admit I prefer the Yamato Catwoman figure to the Kotobukiya one. I also like the fact that most of the Yamato figures have nice little background dioramas. Catwoman is on a roof in front of the skyline. Joker is in front of a safe. Penguin is in front of a sewer entrance and Robin is in front of a ruined building. Batman and Batgirl only have bases shaped like rooftops that you stand them on. Batgirl's has a statue of a bird at the end. All of the figures as well come with little accessories with the exception of Batgirl. Batman has a Batarang. Robin comes with the most accessories consisting of a Batarang, his staff as well as a fire hydrant for the base. Catwoman comes with a whip that attaches to her hand. I prefer to have it rolled up. Penguin has a little plastic duck (an homage to the Batman Returns film) and Joker has a red smiley bomb that you place on his hand as well as a fire extinguisher. The disadvantage to these figures as well as the Kotobukiya ones is that they are proper figures and have no areas of articulation whatsoever. However it really wasn't a problem for me since I was happy with the way they were posed anyway and I buy the figures to collect and display.
With regards to the Kotobukiya range I only own Two-Face as I wasn't keen on the other figures in the set.
Other DC figures I own are also DC Direct figures from different ranges. They are Wonder Woman with her lasso as an accesory which, again like Catwoman, I prefer rolled up (from the fairly recent Wonder Woman series 1 range). I actually got lucky and won a set of figures from e-bay a while back consisting of Superboy (from the Return of Superman set), Nightwing (from the "First Appearance" set) and finally Vixen which was the figure I really wanted from the Justice League wave 1 set. There was also a box set of Teen Titans figures which I got a while back as a birthday present to me since I also really like the character Raven and at the time she was only available in that box set. I believe there might be a Mattel figure of her now in one of their lineups. Do you know if this is the case? My box set consisted of Raven (in her white cloak), Cyborg (in his gold suit), Beast Boy/Changeling (with a green monkey accessory) and Starfire.
Finally I also own all the magazine issues to date of the Eaglemoss DC Superhero Collection of lead figures. These figures are extremely costly since they come out every two weeks but the painting on them is exceptionally good. I'm not sure if you have heard of them but to summarize they are small (around 3 inches) hand painted figures. Each comes with it's own magazine which has information on the characters in question. There have been 18 issues so far comprising of in chronological order:
Batman, Superman, Joker, Green Lantern, Flash, Robin, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Ra's Al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Supergirl, Shazam (aka: Captain Marvel), Riddler, Starfire and Martian Manhunter. The next batch of figures to be released shortly are: Nightwing, Booster Gold, Raven and Donna Troy. There have also been three specials too which are slightly bigger than the normal figures since they tend to be bigger characters. The figures are Bane, Darkseid and Killer Croc.
Thank you for the offer of trying to do a post for some figures that I am intersted in. With regards to that do you happen to have the Cassandra Cain Batgirl, Bane, Orion (either version) and/or Killer Croc? I'm also interested in getting Azrael too but I know you don't have that since I have seen that you are on the hunt for it as well.
Just read your first review of Wonder Woman from the DCUC Series 4 set. It does look nice, although for me the joints are extremely noticeable (which can't be helped really) and detract from the figure since I like to display them.
I'm looking forward to the rest of your DCUC Series 4 reviews. I am tempted to get both versions of the Batman Beyond figure since I do like the look of both of them. I'm also interested in Cyborg since I'd like a figure of him that represents him in his costume that he usually wears as opposed to the one I have.
Sorry for the long post. I hope I haven't rambled on too long. Keep up the good work.
Ya, no comments but the blog is relatively new. I started it a couple of months back but I think Google has just now started listing it. I'm glad you like the pictures. I don't really have any fancy equipment. Just a couple of cardboard backgrounds and my Canon Powershot sd850. The hardest part is to get the right lighting.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at the Poison Ivy from the rogue gallery series. I wasnt sure if she'd match up very well with the DCUC figures...The figure is listed as 6.75 inches tall which is an inch taller than most of Mattel's female figures. I think it might be a bit too big to blend in with the DCUC toys. A male character, you could get away with but Poison Ivy taller than Bats wouldn't work for me. What do you think? Is the figure really that big?
There is another Ra's Al Ghul other than Hush. Its from the Trinity series from DC Direct. I have it and was planning on doing a post on it. Its not bad. He's a bit taller than the DCUC figures too but not by much.
Sounds like you have a pretty good collection. Raven hasn't officially been announced yet for Mattel's toyline but it still can happen. The DCUC series is suppose to run for 2 more years after this year i believe.
I think I've seen the Eaglemoss figures advertised. They sound interesting. Maybe i'll look into them.
I don't have the CC Batgirl figure. That entire set (DCSH series 7) was very hard to find, even in the US and now that specific figure is generally going for more than $30-40 US on eBay. I don't feel that its at all worth that price. I do however, have Bane (Camo Variant), Croc and Orion. Once I've finished with the DCUC series 4, i'll go over those ones next.
Size isn't really a problem for me since I tend to display them in sets but if you want Poison Ivy to go with your DCUC figures then it won't blend in with them. Actually I've just measured it and it's actually slightly bigger than advertised at 6.9 inches.
ReplyDeleteI've just done some searching on Raven. I was remembering it slightly incorrectly. Mattel have started a new line called "Infinite Heroes" which is in a smaller scale than the DCUC series. They are in a 3.5 inch scale and Raven was released in a three pack along with Starfire and Captain Boomerang.
I've also just seen the Ra's Al Ghul figure. That must have slipped past me as I've never seen it before. The Hush figure is, in my opinion, an awful figure of the character but the Trinity one does look a bit better. You don't have to do a post if you don't want to but if you have some spare time please would it be possible to take a couple of photos of it as the pre-production ones on DC Direct can be very misleading. The Black Canary and Donna Troy figures are prime examples of this. They look nice in pre-production form but when I saw them properly I don't think they look half as good. Strangely though I found the Wonder Woman figure is the opposite. I was never keen on the pre-production one but since I saw it cheap on e-bay I took a chance and it looks far better in person.
I do recommend the Eaglemoss collection but they can be expensive. I limit it to characters I like. So far I have liked them all. I have seen the list of confirmed characters and when some of the characters come out that I don't like, such as Plastic Man, I won't be getting them. It helps that quite a few that have come out so far are Batman characters. Bane has the biggest noticeable problem though. His mask is painted black for some reason when, to my knowledge, he has never worn it in the comics. Out of all the figures Batman, Robin and particularly Scarecrow are my favourites. Scarecrow comes with a scythe that easily fits into his hand and a hole at the bottom of the base. The stitches on his costume are extremely well detailed. Riddler is another fan favourite though a lot of fans complained about the lack of question marks on his costume (it's based on his Hush appearance mainly). Personally I always preferred his Hush suit as I always thought the question mark costumes overstated his motive.
I just got a digital camera myself and hope to get it to work with the computer. If I do get it working I can try to take some photos of the Eaglemoss figures if you want but you can find photos just as easily on the net of them. The official site now lists them all up to issue 21 with fairly big pictures of them all.
Thanks for letting me know that you'll be doing a post on those other three figures. I seem to remember reading that there are two versions of Orion (masked and unmasked). Is this correct? I'd most likely go for the masked version but it would depend on the figure.
Hey Geoff,
ReplyDeleteFor me size is a bit of an issue. I don't like to go out and get 3 or 4 versions of the same character (unless its the Bat) So, I do like to display the best of who i have together. Just a preference. I'll probably wait and see if Mattel does give us a Poison Ivy.
I totally agree on the pre-production photo issue. They can, a lot of the time, be misleading.....which is one of the main reasons why i started this blog. Its good to get another consumers point of view on the products you like. I really think a lot of the Hush toys suffered from this problem.
Trinty Ra's is a decent figure. I got it off ebay for like $4 US plus shipping. It was used but still in perfect shape. I've got some pics of him on my harddrive already. I'll see if i can put together a quick post of him too.
The Orion figure that Mattel currently has out right now is Masked only. He is part of DCUC wave 1 and comes with Rex Mason's leg. So that is the benefit to buying that one. There is a modified version of this same Orion figure coming out in a two pack before christmas with a brand new figure that is not part of any other wave, Lighttray. The difference with this new version of Orion is that his helmet is removeable but you do not get the Rex Mason part.
I wouldn't seeing some pics of the Eaglemoss. If you wanted to do a write up on them too, I could post it on this blog as a Guest post if you like. Let me know if you're interested.
Edit last comment - That last paragraph should say:
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind seeing some pics of your Eaglemoss collection. If you wanted to do a write up on them too, I could post it on this blog as a Guest post if you like. Let me know if you're interested.
Hey again Steve,
ReplyDeleteI actually display the majority of my DC figures together too for exactly the same reasons you gave. I have the Hush set all together but if some figures are bigger I display them slightly apart from the others such as the Secret Files Poison Ivy.
I will try to get my digital camera working with the computer this next coming weekend and try to take some photos of the Eaglemoss figures. I tend to find that, unlike action figures, the lead figures are pretty much exactly as you see them in pre-production. I did find Wonder Woman a tad off from the pre-production photo but that isn't one of the best figures of the set even in it's pre-production form.
If I can find some time I might try to do a review for the figures. However I've never really written reviews before for figures so I'm not sure if I'm competent enough. Regardless I'll try to get the photos for you review or not.
Yes that's the Orion figure I think I saw (the one with Lightray). I might get that since it sounds like it should be an improved figure and I'm not a huge fan of Rex Mason anyway.
Great review by the way on the Cyborg figure. I'm really tempted to get that sometime soon since I don't like the gold version I have from DC Direct (to my knowledge he only ever wore that once and for a very limited time). The size will go nicely with the figures too since they are around 6.5 inches.
Hey Geoff, if you can find the time and you want to do the review, thats cool, Id love to post some guest reviews. If not and you're too busy then no worries. Dont go out of your way. As far as writing goes, just talk about what you like and dont like about the item. Im not a professional writer either. Far from it. If you decide to, just let me know and i'll give you my email address. I look forward to seeing the pics. Its been great chatting with you.
ReplyDelete