More adventures in cheap plastic
I once bought some second-hand action figures of two of my favourite superheroes. I always intended to make it a little collection of superheroes to have on top of a shelf somewhere (shh, it makes me happy). But then I sort of got stuck trying to choose which figure to get next.
Meanwhile, the line that had produced my Beetle and Booster figures (DC Universe Classics) ended due to economical trouble (whether this was due to the company's terrible sales model is up to debate). Whoops. But THEN it returned under a different name (Signature Collection) and I thought, "Hell, why not throw a few bucks their way".
And a little photo story, because I'm a big child.
THE END, everybody back on the shelf.
Elongated Man is the first figure I've bought brand new, he sold out fairly quickly from Matty Collector (the adult-oriented Mattel site, and I don't mean that kind of adult-oriented).
It's interesting comparing him to Booster Gold and Blue Beetle from earlier in the line - his balljoint neck is a lot more limited, and the movement in his hinged ankles are a joke (and uneven, for some reason). On the other hand, replaceable hands (just the one) and a scale magnifying glass that actually magnifies!
I kinda wish they'd used his other, white-and-purple costume to set him apart from Plastic Man, but I don't agree with the majority of the collectors who felt cheated because Ralph didn't come with the same additions as Plas. They're both stretchy superheroes, but changing into specific shapes is more Plastic Man's domain, while Ralph usually stretches to reach something or escape from something, etc.
I'm fine with the one stretchy hand, which is beautifully sculpted, by the way. The face, not so much - though it looks a little better in person. I think the expression they tried to go with was "wide-eyed wonder". Fun fact: When Elongated Man debuted in the sixties (as a supporting character to the Flash), his looks were based on Danny Kaye's. There's not much of that in this sculpt, obviously, but I have a thing for redheaded superheroes (Blue Beetle is actually a redhead too.)
And an odd coincidence. I own three superheroes figures, and they happen to be the three different standard bucks (body molds) Matty uses:
Booster's the buff buck (used for Superman, Batman, etc.), Beetle's the standard (or small) buck (The Flash, Green Lantern, etc. - though even hardcore collectors have trouble telling it apart from the buff one), and Ralph's the skinny one (Deadman, Sinestro, the Scarecrow, etc).
Collectors have their wish list of characters they want to see made as action figures.
I've come to realize I'd love some sort of Executive Line - all the DC characters that don't run around in spandex, but are big personalities in the superhero comics even so. There's Sue Dibny, for one, who was an official member of the Justice League at one point. Also Maxwell Lord (though they'd probably give us the blah villain version), and oh, Amanda Waller (who was actually made as a Justice League Unlimited figure back in the day).
But now I'm back to where I was: Whichever figure would it be appropriate to get next?
Meanwhile, the line that had produced my Beetle and Booster figures (DC Universe Classics) ended due to economical trouble (whether this was due to the company's terrible sales model is up to debate). Whoops. But THEN it returned under a different name (Signature Collection) and I thought, "Hell, why not throw a few bucks their way".
And a little photo story, because I'm a big child.
THE END, everybody back on the shelf.
Elongated Man is the first figure I've bought brand new, he sold out fairly quickly from Matty Collector (the adult-oriented Mattel site, and I don't mean that kind of adult-oriented).
It's interesting comparing him to Booster Gold and Blue Beetle from earlier in the line - his balljoint neck is a lot more limited, and the movement in his hinged ankles are a joke (and uneven, for some reason). On the other hand, replaceable hands (just the one) and a scale magnifying glass that actually magnifies!
I kinda wish they'd used his other, white-and-purple costume to set him apart from Plastic Man, but I don't agree with the majority of the collectors who felt cheated because Ralph didn't come with the same additions as Plas. They're both stretchy superheroes, but changing into specific shapes is more Plastic Man's domain, while Ralph usually stretches to reach something or escape from something, etc.
I'm fine with the one stretchy hand, which is beautifully sculpted, by the way. The face, not so much - though it looks a little better in person. I think the expression they tried to go with was "wide-eyed wonder". Fun fact: When Elongated Man debuted in the sixties (as a supporting character to the Flash), his looks were based on Danny Kaye's. There's not much of that in this sculpt, obviously, but I have a thing for redheaded superheroes (Blue Beetle is actually a redhead too.)
And an odd coincidence. I own three superheroes figures, and they happen to be the three different standard bucks (body molds) Matty uses:
Booster's the buff buck (used for Superman, Batman, etc.), Beetle's the standard (or small) buck (The Flash, Green Lantern, etc. - though even hardcore collectors have trouble telling it apart from the buff one), and Ralph's the skinny one (Deadman, Sinestro, the Scarecrow, etc).
Collectors have their wish list of characters they want to see made as action figures.
I've come to realize I'd love some sort of Executive Line - all the DC characters that don't run around in spandex, but are big personalities in the superhero comics even so. There's Sue Dibny, for one, who was an official member of the Justice League at one point. Also Maxwell Lord (though they'd probably give us the blah villain version), and oh, Amanda Waller (who was actually made as a Justice League Unlimited figure back in the day).
But now I'm back to where I was: Whichever figure would it be appropriate to get next?