Ask Mattel – Answers for August 1st, 2012

Mattel Mattycollector Logo

Brandon Gibbs asks: In the reviews of Rocket Red for the DC subscription, he appears to be much larger in comparison to a standard figure than he has been to regular characters in virtually all his comic appearances. Also, the particular RR design seems to be between the original JLI Dmitri version most people favor and the current DCnU version. Can you talk a little about the design choices for Rocket Red so fans will understand why these elements were chosen?

This was completely a choice from the Horsemen and Mattel design in order to maximize shared parts and deliver a unique figure.

 

 

Troy asks: Considering the key role Emiliano Santalucia played in creating the Classics line for MOTU, would it be possible to get some kind of credit for him on the packaging, such as ‘Created by Emiliano Santalucia’ – even if it is only on the white mailers under the MOTU logo.

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Voltaire Makes Me His Human of the Month!

Alright, now this just made my entire year. Voltaire put up a video newsletter on his Youtube page for July, and made me his “Human of the Month”, and talked about the custom I made for him and even shows it off, as well as mentions me by name and my website URL. Yeah, this is really awesome. Check out the video:

Voltaire, if you’re reading this, then I hope you have fun playing with yourself.

New Custom Action Figure Shows That I’m Batty

I’m really terrible at Bat-related puns, aren’t I? Don’t tell me, my ego is fragile. Anyway, it does elude to my newest custom action figure. The newest addition to the showcase is a movie concept for John Blake from the Dark Knight Rises as Nightwing. Don’t worry, it’s not a spoiler, but after seeing the movie I just couldn’t get the concept out of my head, so I had to make it.

You can view the entire gallery and description by clicking on the photo below. I even wrote up my own little story for incorporating John Blake as Nightwing into the Nolan Batman movie universe. And if you’re interested then you can bid on this custom right now on eBay. Don’t forget to tell your friends who you think might be interested.

 

Custom 6" Dark Knight Rises DC Universe Classics Movie Masters Nightwing Robin John Blake Concept Action Figure

 

Thanks for looking.

New Custom Action Figure – Aurelio Voltaire

This week’s new custom is of the gothic folk musician, Aurelio Voltaire! For those who don’t know his music, here’s a couple of links below to check him out, and don’t forget to click on the image below to see the full set of photos for the custom Voltaire figure, as well as some more info regarding the musician himself.

Voltaire.Net

Lair of Voltaire on Youtube

Voltaire on Facebook

Custom Aurelio Voltaire Action Figure Gothic Folk Singer Black Unicorn

Thanks for looking!

Review – Tygra – Thundercats (6″ Modern), Bandai

6" Thundercats Modern Tygra Action Figure Lion-O Cheetara Panthro Mumm-Ra

The current fate of the Thundercats toy lines from Bandai are dubious at best. With the show being moved from Friday evenings to Saturday mornings, and with not much news coming out for the second season, and the latest waves of the 3 3/4 inch and 6 inch toy lines being near impossible to find anywhere, fans are left wondering if it’s just the end of the Thundercats.

According to Bandai themselves, the toy lines are not cancelled, and they have no plans to cancel them any time soon. Likewise, WB has said that the second season has been ordered and they are currently recording the episodes now. Still though, with how haphazard the toy line property has been handled, it doesn’t leave much confidence in fans. This figure in particular, Tygra, is possibly the hardest Thundercats toy to find. He’s from the 6″ modern toy line, and with him he completes the four main Thundercats in 6″ form. Because of this, he’s of course highly sought after. But due to distribution problems, or perhaps due to stores just not ordering any cases with him in it, means the best way to find him is to pay a high premium on the secondary market.

Try as I might to wait to find him in stores, I just couldn’t hold out any longer. I broke down and bought him on the secondary market. I just couldn’t wait to complete my main Thundercats team in the 6″ scale. Yes they still need to make Snarf, Wily Kit, and Wily Kat in 6″ scale, but to me as long as I have the four main cats I think I’ll be ok for now.

Tygra is definitely the best 6″ Thundercats figure released so far, but is that saying much? Was Tygra worth the wait? worth the price? Keep reading to find out!

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Review – Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael – 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Playmates (21 Pictures!)

2012 Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TMNT Leonardo Michelangelo Raphael and Donatello Action Figures

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is back, thanks to the combined efforts of Playmates Toys and Nickelodeon. After Kevin Eastman sold off his rights to TMNT to Nickelodeon, they’ve been putting together a brand new CGI cartoon. It’s due out this fall, but the toys are just now trickling into stores. So the time is nearly upon us for full on TMNT excitement, and to help with that I’m reviewing all four of the turtles today from the basic line of figures.

Join me after the jump to find out if the new figures are worth the excitement!

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New Radical Custom Action Figures!

This week I have a whole set of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures that I’ve customized with realistic paint jobs to help bring out the beautiful sculpts. Each figure has been hand painted from head to toe with washes and dry brushes and several shades of various greens and yellows to really help bring the new figures to life. I’ve also customized and painted all of their weapons, and given Michelangelo’s nunchucks and kusarigama real metal chains. I’ve done the same thing with Donatello’s trisected bo staff.

Click the photo below to check out the full set of photos, and be sure to scroll all the way down to see some comparison shots of the customs next to the original factory figures to get the full effect.

Also, if you’re interested in them, I have this whole set for sale on eBay in one lot, so bid often and tell your friends.

Custom Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figure Set

News – NECA Toys Sneak Peek at Robocop with Spring Loaded Holster

NECA Toys 7" Robocop Action Figure with Spring Loaded HolsterToday, NECA Toys posted on their Twitter account a sneak peek image of an upcoming Robocop figure with a functioning spring loaded holster. They said it’s a sneak peek at what they’re showing off at San Diego Comic-Con, but it won’t be a convention exclusive. It’s supposed to hit retail around September.

continue after the jump for a larger picture.

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W.I.P. It! – Custom Cesar Romero Joker

Custom DC Universe 6" Cesar Romero Joker Head Sculpt Work in Progress Action Figure PicHello there, and welcome to the newest feature on Mint Condition Customs: W.I.P. It! For those who don’t know, the term “W.I.P.” is used in customizing circles. It’s an acronym standing for “work in progress”. I’m going to use this new feature to highlight my past work and give you a closer look at the process I use for creating my custom action figures. I’ll post photos and have a write-up discussing the process as well. I’ll make this a Friday feature. I may not have one to post every Friday, but if I do it will only be on Fridays, for future reference.

For my first W.I.P. It!, I’ll be highlighting my custom Cesar Romero Joker action figure. I feel this is a good one to start off with, since he required a massive amount of work to be done on his head to get him to look like Cesar Romero.

Join me after the jump to get an in-depth look at my creation of the Cesar Romero Joker figure.

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