DC Super Hero Girls Roller Derby Bumblebee

Being opened today is a playline doll from the Roller Derby release of the DC Superhero Girls by Mattel. This doll is the last of the three toys that I picked up at the Samko/Miko warehouse sale in Richmond Hill, ON last month.

I've talked about the action figure versions of the DC Superhero Girls before, but this is my first time picking up one of the fashion doll-type releases.  While the action figures are more in-line with my general tastes, the dolls do have a charm that I think can cross over between both fans of the figures and fans of playline fashion dolls.

The gimmick of the Roller Derby Roller Derby release is that each doll comes with a pair of rollerskates, a helmet, and a sportier version of their standard outfit.  In Bumbee's case this included moulded bright yellow socks, which limits the versatility of the doll but does mean that the socks won't droop with play (which does tend to be an issue with playline - and even some collector - dolls).

Out of the Box: DC Super Hero Girls Bumblebee

The DC Super Hero Girls are a cartoon that involves teenaged versions of heroes and villains from DC comics in a high school setting.  Full disclosure: I haven't watched it, but even so it's been hard to miss the merchandise.  Mattel has put out two versions of the six main characters (Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Harley Quinn) - an action figure and a fashion doll (which is being branded as an action doll).

This line seems to be bringing up a lot of the old discussions about the line between dolls and action figures (and about gendered toy marketing), which I'm thinking about making a separate post about, since it's such a huge topic.  But in the meantime, let's take a look at the action figure version of Bumblebee. I'd actually planned on picking up Batgirl, but they'd actually sold out of every other figure at my local store - although they still had all the dolls, which makes me wonder if the figures are benefiting from more of a crossover market.

Out of the Box: Justice League Dark John Constantine (DC Collectibles)

Being unboxed today is the action figure counterpart to the John Constantine statue that I opened a couple of weeks ago.  As mentioned in that post, I do own the old DC Direct figure, but as he's in storage back in Canada I won't be able to compare the two directly.  That said, I can confirm that this new figure has much more detailed sculpting and much more impressive articulation.

As far as I can tell, this wasn't a terribly popular release: I first noticed this guy at my local comic book shop about a year ago with an asking price of $25USD, and he seems to have languished there ever since.  Every now and then I'd consider picking him up, but having been disappointed in the quality of DC's figures before I held off, until I noticed an online sale that had him listed for a 66% discount.  Even then I waited a week before clicking the buy button - but in the end I gave in and this review is the result!

Packing Tip #1: Start with the easy ones!

I always feel like the best way to get started on something is to tackle something easy - that way it looks  like something solid has been accomplished practically before you start.  And that's why I always start by packing my DC Comics/Vertigo Preacher statue:

Height Comparisons Across Doll and Figure Lines

Earlier this morning a co-worker asked me about the relative sizes of BJDs with American Girl dolls, and at almost the same time I read Vanessa's question about the size of MA's International Travel Friends relative to playline dolls over on Black Doll Collecting.  And since a couple of weeks ago I also received a PM on Den of Angels asking about Teen Trends to MSD comparisons, I decided that I've amassed enough comparison photos to warrant it's own post.

First up is the Travel Friends/Playline line-up:

Back Row (L-R): Disney Classics (Li Sheng), Barbie (Princess of South Africa), Monster High (Clawd Wolf)
Front Row: Bratz (Cameron), International Travel Friends (Namaste), American Girl Mini (Ivy)

 The AG comparison:

 

 

L-R: Iplehouse EID model body (Chase), American Girl Cécile,
Illusion Spirit mini (ZhuQing), Monster High (Jane Boolittle)

The Teen Trends comparison:

L-R: Volks SD13 Long-leg body (Irvin), Soom ID51 (London),
Illusion Spirit Mini (ZhuQing), Teen Trends (Deondra)

And finally, a larger one:

Back Row: Angelheim Elderheim Angelo, Volks SD13 Irvin, Souldoll Vito Rouse, American Girl Cécile
Row 2: Iplehouse JID Boris, Ellowyne Wilde Lizette, Monster High Clawd, Girls of Many Lands Neela, AG mini Samantha
Row 3: Sideshow Toys Krycek, Hot Toys Wolverine, PlayArts Commander Shepard, DC Direct Tali, Figma Yukiko Amagi
Front Row: Hasbro/Marvel's Greatest Battles Captain Britain, Star Wars Black Series Mace Windu, Heroclix Pete Wisdom

Out of the Box: DC Direct's Planetary & The Authority

Planetary's The Drummer
The Planetary figures included a stand
with the comic's logo.

We've all heard the saying "vote with your wallet", and that's always one of those dilemmas when you collect anything that's related to a particular property - when the first tie-ins are released, do you need to buy them to show that there's a market for that property?  And is that true even if the product isn't that great?

That was my dilemma back in 2001, when DC Direct released three figures from the Wildstorm series Planetary and then again a year later when they released another four from The Authority.  As with an unfortunate number of DC Directs figures from that era, the figures have minimal detail and less-than-ideal articulation, but as with any property that hasn't had any non-comics merchandise, there's always a temptation to pick them up anyway.

I initially decided to compromise and pick up one figure from each release - Snow from Plantary and the Midnighter from The Authority (those two would spend several years as desk decor at my office).  In 2007 I came across the rest of the series on sale at ComiKazi (my local comic shop when I lived in Calgary), and picked up another two.  I'm still on the fence about these toys, but I can't lie - they've grown on me.  And hey, at least the Authority figures aren't in the terrible costumes from the new DCU versions of the characters!

The Midnighter & Apollo from The Authority
This release didn't include stands.

Elijah Snow from Planetary.
This figure is currently in storage, so this is an old photo
of him at my desk at work.  Amusingly, two different co-workers
mistook him for the Glad Man.

Out of the Box: The Normandy Crew (DC Direct's Mass Effect series)

L-R: Grunt, Mordin, Tali, Thane

I mentioned having unpacked one of these figures (Tali) back in January, but now they've all been put out on display - I suppose I missed them!

Unlike the higher-priced (and higher quality) Play Arts series that includes many of the same video game characters, DC Direct's Mass Effect line are fairly simple figures.  Each has a reasonably (but not spectacularly) sculpted face, a single weapon accessory and a simple black stand.  The figures and weapons are sturdy (they were packed loosely for the move and all arrived intact), but the stands are surprisingly flimsy for such simple pieces - two of my four broke in transit.

Mordin: Probably the best figure in the series

The quality of the figures themselves varies: Mordin and Grunt look solidly like their in-game counterparts and can pose fairly naturally.  Tali is reasonable, but is painted with non-game colours while Thane is well-sculpted, but awkwardly posed, and isn't articulated enough to compensate for that awkwardness.  There were several other figures in this series that I passed on altogether because they were both poor likenesses to the characters and awkwardly posed (I had the opportunity to buy the Miranda figure for $5CDN and still stayed away).

Grunt and Thane, with weapons

If these figures hadn't been released more than a year prior to the Play Arts line, I probably would have skipped over them entirely due to the poor quality of all but a handful of the figures (and in retrospect, I should have skipped buying the Thane figure).  But ultimately this is a case where my fondness for the franchise overcomes my dislike for the actual products in question - I keep the toys on display because I more because I loved the game series than because I consider the figures to be works of art on their own.  Still, the ones I have do work as talking pieces, so at least three of them will be staying on display.