Random Toy of the Day: Aurora & Northstar (Toy Biz)

I'm back on my regular schedule next week, so today will be the last of these mini-posts (at least for now!).

Back in the late '90s, Marvel published the "new" Alpha Flight with a set of characters that was largely different from the '80s series.  And then, as that series was wrapping up, Toy Biz brought out a series of toys based on the '80s series.  Seems like strange marketing to me, but having started reading the old series and the new one concurrently, I did end up buying the full line of toys (the line consisted of three two packs - the twins that you see here, Snowbird and Puck and Sasquatch and Vindicator).

The rest of this series is probably still in my mother's basement, but the twins here have been moving around with me, and even though they're not he best quality figures, they are part of my permanent collection.  And at some point I will try to figure out what I did with their teammates.

Random Toy of the Day: Captain Britain (Eaglemoss)

Today's mini-post is a reveal about the latest addition to my Captain Britain collection.

This Captain Britain figure is from Eaglemoss Publications' Classic Marvel Figurine Collection, which was a magazine series of Marvel characters accompanied by hand-painted lead figurines.  The Captain Britain issue/figure was issue #21in the series.

The figurine is posed in a very simple stance, but it's colours are deep, and it's richly painted, so it still makes for an eye-catching display piece.  Some of the paint on the base of mine has chipped, but since I'm the second owner of it, that was something I was expecting (and it's something that would be easy enough to repaint).

This is the first figure from this line that I've picked up, but I'm impressed enough that I don't think it will be the last!

Random Toy of the Day: Hiccup (Spinwork's Defenders of Berk mini line)

Another day, another holiday mini-post, and another nod to a summer movie that I've not yet seen!

Up today is this tiny Hiccup figure from Spinmaster's How to Train Your Dragon: Defenders of Berk line (a tie-in to the TV series that spans the time between the two movies).  The figure is designed to fit in with the mini-dragons that were released and as such is about half the size of a standard action figure.

As one might expect of a tiny playline toy, the detail on this figure is minimal, but is there is actually quite well done - the textured fur vest and the different shades of green do a nice job of capturing the look of the character, and the doll can hold the sword and shield accessories.  It's also worth noting that pre-HTTYD2, this was the only Hiccup figure that included the prosthesis.

The figure is also jointed not only at the shoulders, neck and hips but also at the knees, which gives it surprising pose-ability.

Random Toy of the Day: Disney Classics Maleficent

When I picked up Li Shang (for my planned Jade Empire custom), there was a buy-on/get-one sale at The Disney Store, so this Maleficent doll came home with me as well.  I've always been fond of the character (somewhere - probably in storage - I have plush dolls of both the human and dragon version of the character), and I'd heard that these dolls were better articulated than most dolls in this price range, so I figured even if I didn't like her out-of-the-box look she'd still be a solid project base.

In the end I decided that I did like the doll as-is, even though the outfit is clearly that of a play doll. Even with the unfinished edges on her robe, the deep colours just make it appealing.

And of course there's a new movie about the character in cinemas now, so it's a timely character to share (I haven't seen the movie - I actually haven't seen any of the summer movies yet - but it's on my list).

Random Toy of the Day: Cyclops and Dark Phoenix (Marvel's Greatest Battles Comic Pack)

Dark Phoenix and Cyclops

I'm on holiday this week (and last), so rather than ignore blogging altogether, I thought it would be fun to share some toys that I love but don't have much to say about either because I've posted about similar toys before or just because they're fairly basic.

Up first is Dark Phoenix and Cyclops from one of the Greatest Battles Marvel Comic packs (my Captain Britain figure from this line appears on my Captain Britain wall).

As is standard for this line, they're small, but well-articulated and with a solid amount of detail. 

New Arrival: Makie 3D-printed Doll

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I ordered a custom doll from Makie.me, and today he arrived!

 He's an interesting toy (I'm not sure whether to call him a doll or an action figure - he seems to be right on the dividing line): very light, very well jointed, and a little strange about the face.  He's also fairly sturdy; the packaging was quite minimal, and he still arrived in perfect condition.

The accessories are a bit hit-or-miss.  The eyes (which are easily changed out) are lovely, but the clothes are very basic and not well-fitted.  The hook, is the same quality as the body, but is white rather than matched to the body (which it was in the creator).  The wig is a standard quality fur, but ends at such a high point on the head that it makes the doll look as though he's experiencing male pattern baldness (it was also adhered to the headcap, although it wasn't too difficult to remove).

The rabbit (a freebie during the sale period), which is unjointed, has lovely light-reflecting red inset eyes and is quite cute for such a simple figure.

The shipping tube

The backboard.  He was tied to it with ribbon
but was coming loose when I opened the tube.

Out of the box, showing off a pose.
The hook is to the right.

The rabbit. 

With the hook on.
He stands on his own quite easily.

Doing some yoga.
The posing and balance on this figure are excellent.

From the online creator.

 Overall, I'm pleased with this figure (or doll - it's hard to know which is right with this guy), but he doesn't quite resemble the doll from the creator quite as much as I'd hoped.  Erasing the pink lips will probably help that quite a bit.

The character inspiration.

Still, he's clearly similar, and some of it may be the faceup (he's painted, but it's fairly light), and the whole experience of custom ordering a doll like this (and the fun of playing with the character creator online - I spent a silly amount of time tying to get this guy to resemble my second Warden from Dragon Age: Origins) are well worth the price.

I'll have to share more of him once I've changed his hair and paint!

Out of the Box: Nightcrawler (various versions)

1996 Toy Biz Nightcrawler

I noticed a few Nightcrawler fans commented on my shelf post, so I thought I'd give this guy a moment to shine.

The figure seen in those displays is from a 1996  line from Toy Biz called "Light Up Weapon Classics".  As as the name suggests, this version of the character came with a light-up flaming sword (which I believe I still have, but it's gone into storage along with the Gambit and Psylocke figures that I also had from the line).

This figure has the classic red-and-black costume and the traditional haircut.  The toy has 9 points of articulation and a battery in its back, which powers the sword (you can see the holding spot for it in the figure's right hand).

This seems to be the figure that I see the most custom and repainted versions of, so I think there must have been a lot of these on the market at some point.

Even though this is the only Nightcrawler figure I have

Sales photo, since mine
is in storage.

on display, he's actually not the only one in my collection.  I also have the 1997 "WaterWars" Nightcrawler (as the name suggests, he came with a water gun), which is currently in storage.  That figure is a less attractive toy (it's clearly designed for play rather than display), but the standout feature is that it actually has Kurt in his late-1990s Excalibur look, with the short hair and the goatee.  Since Warren Ellis' run on that title was what got me into superhero books, I've always had a fondness for that incarnation of the character.

And finally, I also have the 2004 "Twist 'Ems" movie-tie in wind-up toy (with functional walking motion), which is small and silly, but also has a surprisingly detailed face sculpt that genuinely looks like that epic make-up job from X-2.  I'd actually thought I'd put that one in storage as well, but it turns out he was actually in my craft box, so here he is:

Comic and movie Nighcrawler, together.