Batman Legacy - Catman

Time to finish up my review of Mattel's Batman Legacy Wave 2 set.  If you missed them, I've already reviewed Golden Aged Batman and Batgirl.  Click on the links to see those reviews.  This review will be on the third and final action figure of the set, Catman.

The first thing you'll notice is Catman essentially looks similar to Batman.  Mattel is basically using the same body sculpt for this action figure as it has used for all the DC Universe Classics and Batman Legacy versions of Batman.  Clearly the detail is different but basically, he the same size as Bats. 

The differences are the Catman is supporting a longer cape, the belt is more of a leathery look and the cowel is slightly different that Batman.

Close up, you can see Catman's eyes under his cowl, unlike any Batman action figure which all hide Batman's eyes (painted white).  Catman's head sculpt is good.  Cleanly painted blue eyes and we're seeing more DC action figures supporting a some stubble on the face (Captain Boomerang for example).  It looks good.  Catman's paint job is really good as well.

As far as accessories go, Catman is the only action figure in the Batman Legacy Wave 2 set that comes with something other than an action figure stand.  As seen below, Catman comes with to hand held claws.  I'm actually not sure if I've placed them correctly in his hands but they are pretty cool and fit well in his hands. 

There is nothing new here with articulation.  If you have any of the DCUC Batman figures, Catman has the exact same articulation.  Mattel has not changed anything here or added either of the new elbow or knee joints.

Overall, Catman is cool, and he is a good addition for you Secret Six fans out there (including Bane from Wave 16 and Deadshot from Wave 9).  Although Catman is clearly not one of the main Batman characters, it is nice to get someone new instead of seeing another Joker or Riddler.  I'm still waiting for a Ra's Al Ghul, a new sculpt Scarecrow and many more Batman Baddies from the Rogue Gallery.  Mattel, are you listening??
Anyway, go out and buy this bad boy.  Collectors won't be disappointed.  

 If you can't find these Batman Legacy action figures in at your local toy stores, then eBay is your best option.  with Wave 3 coming out very soon, you can expect to find some decent deals on these wave 2 action figures. 

To find Mattel's Batman Legacy action figures on eBay, click here.

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Bane on eBay, click here.

To find Mattel's DC Universe Classics Deadshot on eBay, click here.

Thanks for coming back and checking out this review. Be sure to check back with Action Toy Review for more DC Universe Classics, DC Universe All-Stars and Batman Legacy action figure news, previews, info and reviews.

Batman Legacy - Batgirl

It will be interesting to see where Mattel takes this Batman Legacy toy line, and how long it will last.  So far, we haven't seen to many new characters like so many people have been hoping for.  Wave 2 has been out for a while and wave 3 will be released shortly, so I figured its probably a good time to start finishing up my Batman Legacy wave 2 action figure reviews.  So today's review will be on Batgirl.

I mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of the female body sculpts.  For you new collectors out there, know they very skinny compared to the male characters.  With the exception of  Wonder Woman, Big Barda and Hawkgirl from the DC Universe Classics toy line which are all very good action figures and a bigger body type.  These smaller female characters though have very skinny arms and legs, so sometimes, they are packaged so tightly that it abnormally bends plastic and warps their arms and/or legs.  Other female characters of similar build to this Batgirl action figure are Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Cheetah, Donna Troy and Star Sapphire. 

So my main problem with this Batgirl is, due to the packaging, she comes out of the box with her right leg abnormally warped as you can see below in the picture on your left.  The legs and arms are so thin that plastic bends so easily.

As you probably know, we've seen this Batgirl action figure before.  It was originally released as a two pack with Batman in the DC Superheroes toy line back in 2007 or 2008 and then re-released again in another two pack with Azrael.  This Batman Legacy version is just a repaint. 

Here are look at Batgirl from all angles.  You can see the warped right leg above.  Other than my issues with the body size, it really is a good looking action figure. The hair is sculpted really well but it does restrict the head movement so you cannot get full use of the neck joint.  Other than that, the articulation on this action figure is what you would expect.  All the usual joints are here including the hip joints which Mattel has occasionally exclude from certain female action figures (Black Canary and Zatanna for example)

I definitely like the paint colors better on this version, than the previously released Batgirl action figure. For the most part the paint job on this action figure was fairly clean except for a small area around her nose where the black paint has smudged over the line a little. 

The original Batgirl action figures in both the DC Superheroes toy line and the DC Universe Classics toy line both included a small batarang for Batgirl which fit into the small slot molded in her fist.  This time around in the Batman Legacy version, you do not get any weapons of the sort.  The only things included with this action figure are a mini-poster and the action figure stand seen in the picture below.

Well, Batman fans will be happy with this action figure.  Hopefully not to many of you will have the same problem I did with the warped leg because that is mainly the only flaw here.  A Batman collection isn't complete without a proper Batgirl action figure. 

To buy Batman Legacy action figures on eBay, click here

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DC Universe Classics - Captain Boomerang

Flash villains have gotten very little love from Mattel in regards to the DC Universe Classics action figures (and maybe with good reason). We have only seen a handful of Flash related characters up until wave 18, specifically Gorilla Grodd in Wave 2 and Captain Cold in Wave 7.  Now that DCUC wave 18 is out, lets take a closer look at Captain Boomerang. 

 Pretty cool sculpt.  Right off the bat you're gonna notice that Captain Boomerang has the newer elbow and knee joints giving him more flexibility.  More on that later.  The sculpt of the character is pretty cool.  The jacket is a separate piece but does not come off as the boomerangs across his chest keep the jacket on

 Captain Boomerang's scarf is sculpted so that it looks like its slightly blowing in a breeze.  The body frame size used is the slightly skinnier body parts similar to Thaal Sinestro, Creeper and Deadman but the detail work in the actual sculpt is definitely all unique. 

The DC Universe Classics head sculpts are 99% of the time, amazing and Capt. Boomerang is no different.  Pretty sweet sculpt right down to the stubble on his face and detail work in his toque. 

Captain Boomerang's paint job is not too shabby.  No really issue except for some paint missing from the inside of his left hand which I didn't even notice until i sat down to type out this review. 

  
 Mainly due to the newer knee joints, Captain Boomerang has a slight height advantage over the DCUC action figures that do not have these new knee joints.  Above, I've compared Captain Boomerang to Flash.  

  As far as accessories are concerned, besides the Collect and Connect head and waist pieces of Apache Chief that comes with Captain Boomerang, the only other thing you get is one, plain ol' Boomerang with no special detail what-so-ever and fits rather loosely in either of his two hands.  Not only that, the boomerang is made of a very limp rubber and bends too easily.  Boooooo!!!

  Captain Boomerang's strong point is definitely articulation.  As mentioned, he has the newer elbow and knee joints which add a little bit extra movement.  All other joints are pretty standard.  Neck, biceps, wrists, abdominal, hips, thighs and ankles.  All joints were in great working order and too loose or tight. 

 Overall, if you're a Flash fan, then guess what?..... You're gonna want Captain Boomerang.  It is really a great looking action figure despite another fail by Mattel in the accessories department.  Seeing as he is only the 3rd Flash villain to be released at this point, you're gonna wanna snatch this bad boy up.  Luckily for Flash fans, DCUC wave 20 will also include another Flash villain, Reverse Flash, coming in 2012.

Sculpt - 9.5

Paint - 9

Accessories - 1

Articulation - 9.5

Fun - 8

 

For those of you having trouble finding these DC Universe Classics action figures at your local toy store (like me), eBay is a very good source for finding these collector items.  Check out the links below:

To find the following DC Universe Classics action figures on eBay, click on the appropriate link:

To find Captain Boomerang and other DCUC Wave 18 action figures on eBay:

Captain Boomerang

Black Vulcan

Bronze Tiger

El Dorado

Samurai

Toyman

Apache Chief

To find other DC Universe Classics action figures on eBay - click here

Thanks for checking out Action Toy Review.  Check back later for more info, news, previews and reviews on Mattel's DC Universe Classics and the upcoming DC Universe All-Stars action figure line ups.

DC Universe Classics - Scarecrow (Sinestro Corps)

DC Universe Classics Wave 17, aka the Rainbow Lantern wave was certainly not my favorite set.  I like Green Lantern and I also enjoyed The Blackest Night comic series but I wasn't a big fan of Mattel devoting an entire set of action figures to what was really, a second string set of characters from TBN story.  Like really, how long did we see Scarecrow as a member of the Sinestro Corps?  Well, apparently long enough to get his own action figure.  We did get a Scarecrow action figure from Mattel about 4 years ago in the DC Super Heroes toy series.  I'm sure Batman fans would agree, we need an upgraded version.  Since it appears we will not be getting a new regular Scarecrow action figure in the near future from Mattel (fingers cross for something in the Batman Legacy series), I decided to bite the bullet and pick a Sinestro Corps Scarecrow.  Lets take a closer look.:

Out of all the DCUC Wave 17 action figures, Scarecrow is the only character that has not had a previous action figure released in the other DC Universe Classics toy line.  So even though he is a Lantern action figure, I still wanted to have him. 

This is a completely new sculpt in comparison to the DC Super Heroes Scarecrow (left) from head to toe. Sinestro Corps Scarecrow has thicker body parts and is less lanky than the DCSH version. 

Wave 17 SC Scarecrow looks exactly like the Blackest Night version of the Scarecrow so fans of the comic series will love this action figure, but the best part, by far, is the head sculpt on this action figure.  One of the best head sculpts I've seen in a while. 

Close up, you can see the great detail work on Scarecrow's head.  His yellow eyes are very cleanly painted and are very creepy looking.  His mouth is also highly detailed and well painted.  The hat has an old beat up look which is great too.  My one minor complaint is the rope around his neck could've been painted a different color than his mask, but oh well.  A great job overall.  Paint job is also great.  There was plenty of room for error and slop here, especially in the face but Mattel has put out a good job on this one. 

Scarecrow also shines in the Articulation Department.  All the usual DCUC joints are included and since Scarecrow's jacket is opened, his abdominal joint is not restricted, unlike what we've seen on some other jacket supporting DCUC action figures.  Scarecrow also supports the newer double elbow and knee joints for extra flexibility.  I find the newer knee joints add a little bit of height to these action figures, so compared to the characters from the older waves, Scarecrow is just a tad bit taller. 

The only accessory that comes with Sinestro Corps Scarecrow is the standard issue Yellow Lantern and of course the CNC piece of Anti Monitor. 

So, my ranting about the rainbow lanterns aside, this Sinestor Corps Scarecrow action figure was a good purchase.  Like I said, the head sculpt a is pretty amazing piece of work and I would love to see it re-released on a regular Scarecrow action figure somewhere down the road, perhaps in the Batman Legacy toy series.  (fingers crossed)

Sculpt/Design - 9, Paint - 9, Articulation - 9.5, Accessories - 5, Fun - 7

Best place to buy your very own DC Universe Classics action figures: eBay. 

To find DC Universe Classics - Sinestro Corps Scarecrow on eBay - click here

To find the DC Super Heroes Scarecrow on ebay (good luck) - click here

Other DCUC Wave 17 "rainbow lantern" action figures on eBay:

Wonder Woman

Hal Jordan (White Lantern)

Hal Jordan (Black Lantern)

Flash

Atom

Lex Luthor

To find other DC Universe Classics action figures on eBay, click here

Thanks for checking out Action Toy Review.  Be sure to check back for more news, info, previews and reviews on your favorite DC Universe Classics action figures. 

Batman Arkham City Action Figures - Two-Face

The much anticipated follow up video game to Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, is about to hit stores in a few and it looks amazing!  People who are games and/or collectors may be interested in Mattel's new Arkham City action figures which are part of the new Batman Legacy toy line.  Lets see how the Arkham City action figures measure up to the DCUC standards we've come to know.  This review will be on Two-Face for the Batman/Two-Face Legacy Edition two pack. 

When these toys were revealed earlier this year, I was intrigued.  Its Batman after all and that's right up my ally.  Two-Face is a bit of a hit and miss but all in all not a bad action figure. 

This version of Two-Face reminds me of a cross between the Batman: Animated series as well as Two-Face from the Dark Knight.  He is supporting the black and white suit which has a lot of holes burn marks and looks very cool. 

The head sculpt looks great too with the burnt side, of course, stealing the show.  Close up you can see better detail. The paint job is also pretty good. The transition lines between the two black and white are quite defined with no real areas of sloppy painting to be seen. One minor complaint about the paint, the Harvey Dent side of his face and hands could use a bit of shading but this is a main stream, mass market toy so i guess i can't have it all.

As far as articulation goes, if you're use to Mattel's DC Universe Classics action figures, than you may be slightly disappointed here.  Two-Face has most, but not all of joints we normally see.  Missing in action are the ball shoulder joints, abdominal joint and the ankle joints.  Out of the box, most joints were in fine working condition.  One hip joint was a little looser than usual but all others were functioning properly.

As you can see above, Two-Face is holding on to his trademark coin which is part of the action figure's mold and is not removable.  If you look closely you can make out detail on the top part of the coin, however the bottom side is faceless. 

Comparing Arkham City Two-Face to Mattels' DC Super Heroes Two Face (left) and DC Universe Classics Two-Face (right), you can see that Arkham City Two-Face is slightly bigger and also thicker than
the DCUC figures.  This may be a turn off for some people who are particular about scale and mixing in your DCUCs with your AC action figures. 

As you can see comparing a DCUC Batman to Arkham City Two-Face, two face is slightly bigger than the Dark Knight. 

Overall, The Arkham City action figures are really cool looking and on their own they stand up really well.  If you're going to compare them to Mattel's DC Universe Classics, then \articulation and scale are going to be slight concerns.  At the end of the day though, you have some really nice looking toys that are worth collecting if you are a DC Comics or Batman fan. 

To find Batman Arkham City action figures on eBay, click here

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