Random Toys of the Day: Heroclix Midnighter, Apollo and Jenny Quantum

Apollo, Jenny Quantum, Midnighter

A while ago I realized that I've never shared any photos of my Heroclix game pieces outside of a few background appears in size comparison shots, so I thought I'd start to remedy that and take a few of them outside from some photo time.  They're fairly straightforward, so I won't do a full review, but I still wanted to give them some attention.

Heroclix figures are usually around 3cm in height, making them between 1/43 and 1/45 scale (also known as model railroad scale). The game that these pieces are used in is a grid-based board game - there are hundreds of game pieces available from dozens of different franchises. While I'm not a board game person, the variety of character figures that are available means that I have picked up several none-the-less.

Out of the Box: Grifter (Playmates 1993 WildCATS series)

Grifter

I'm back in Toronto for a month, so I may have an opportunity to hunt out a few more retro items, but before I do, I did de-box a few more toys before I left, so I still have some things to share in the meantime.

First up is this Grifter Figure from a series of WildCATS characters that Playmates released in 1993.  In those days, the WildStorm comics imprint was part of Image rather than DC, and a side effect of that is that these figures differ quite significantly from the DC Direct ones that would be released not-quite a decade later.

Of course to be fair, changing styles also account for some of those differences.  This older line had the thicker bodies that were favourites by the artists of the times, so that's one difference that's perfectly in line with the evolution of the characters in the comics themselves.

In the box.

The box itself is designed to mimic the look and colour combinations that were commonly found on the covers of the WildCATS comics.  Which might be a bit dated, but is still very appealing (at least to me - I actually liked it enough that I was conflicted about de-boxing him, and I've never been a MIB/MIC collector).

Included with the figure were four accessory pieces (three guns and a "communicator", which looks like an early 90s mobile phone, and is hugely amusing now because of it), a card with a character portrait on one side and facts on the reverse, and a stand (which is actually quite solid - better than most of the stands we see at this price point).


The figure itself is nicely detailed, with well-sculpted outfit and nicely done hair.  The paint work is almost perfect (within the standard of a mass produced figure at least), and the colours are fantastic - the coat is maybe a little to green to be the character's standard look, but it's bright and crisp and that's good enough for me.

The articulation is standard for the times - 7 points, although the "wrist" articulation is actually at the mid-forearm point - it's rotational, so less strange than that might sound, although it's still not hugely useful for posing purposes.  The hands are set to fit each of the included weapons (and that brick of a phone), and he stands well on his own even off the stand.

On the stand, showing off his gun and phone.

In comparison to The Midnighter from the later DC Direct Wildstorm line.
You can imagine them reenacting the "Grifter and The Midnighter" mini-series here. ;)

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.