Category Archives: Reviews

Review – Uncle Sam with Doll Man – DC Universe Signature Collection, Mattel

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Mattel DC Universe Signature Collection Uncle Sam with Doll Man Action Figure

This has been a really good year for DC figure fans. We’ve gotten a lot of surprises with the inaugural year of Mattel’s Club Infinite Earths DC Universe Signature Collection. One of the most surprising character choices, however, comes in the form of this review’s subject: Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam is a character that’s been around in comics since his first appearance in National Comics #1 in 1940, and was created by none other than Will Eisner. He was originally published under Quality Comics and spent most of his time punching various foreign leaders in the face. His rights would eventually be picked up by DC Comics sometime later along with several other characters from Quality Comics and they were put together in their own team called “The Freedom Fighters”. We also get one of the other Freedom Fighters included with this set, Doll Man.

Uncle Sam’s DC Comics origin portrays him as the pure embodiment of the “Spirit of America”. He’s supposed to be a spiritual entity created through an occult ritual by the Founding Fathers of the United States. They bound the spirit to a magical talisman and merged him with a dying soldier during the Revolutionary War. The spirit bonds with new physical bodies after the old one dies, making the hero Uncle Sam basically invulnerable. He’s also been known to have super strength and enhanced speed, among other powers he’s demonstrated over the decades.

Uncle Sam is a character with a very loyal following in the comics, but surprisingly has very few action figures made of him. It’s great to see Mattel give he and Doll Man the spotlight with the DC Universe Signature Collection. Join me as I determine if this Uncle Sam figure is a worthy start to Mattel delving into the Freedom Fighters.
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Review – Masterpiece Optimus Prime – Transformers: Masterpiece, Hasbro (35 Pictures!)

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Transformers Masterpiece Optimus Prime MP-10 Hasbro Toys "R" Us Exclusive

The Transformers Masterpiece series has been going very strong for nearly 10 years now. It’s a line of very high-end Transformers figures where each character is designed to be somewhat of a mix between their vintage figure and their model in the G1 animated series. They always feature a lot of articulation, accessories, and play features, making them not only great collectibles, but also genuinely great toys as well. Because of the high amount of engingeering, and the size of the figures, these are not cheap action figures. They can range from $80 to almost $300 depending on the character and if it’s a Takara or Hasbro release. This brings us to the figure we’re taking a look at today.

Takara released their MP-10 Optimus Prime back in 2011, but Hasbro released their version just this year as a Toys “R” Us exclusive. This just came out a couple of months ago and has been extremely hard to find, since each store only gets in usually two at a time. Regardless, he’s highly sought after right now and called by many as the definitive Optimus Prime action figure.

Because this set requires a lot of information, I will be changing up the review format to better accomodate the amount of text and pictures involved. So join me as I take a closer look and see for myself if this really is the Optimus Prime figure to own.

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Review – Super Powers Penguin – Batman Unlimited, Mattel

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Batman Unlimited Super Powers Penguin Action Figure From Mattel

If there’s one thing Mattel has been great about with the DC license, it’s making sure they give the fans as wide a character and figure selection as possible. One of the things Mattel has been doing with DC Universe Classics is to remake the original Kenner Super Powers figures, updated and fit in with the other DCUC figures. Some fans hate the Super Powers updates, but a large part of them, myself included, absolutely love it. Super Powers was a staple 80’s action figure line, and seeing it represented with updated sculpts and articulation is pretty amazing. The figure I’ll be reviewing today is Super Powers Penguin. Based on the face sculpt, one could think of this as simply a Silver Age Penguin figure, but to my knowledge Penguin never wore a blue suit in the old comics, but feel free to correct me in the comments if I’m wrong.

So without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the Batman Unlimited Super Powers Penguin figure and see if he’s a worthy update to the vintage figure, and if he makes a good addition to your DC collection.

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Review – New 52 Batgirl – Batman Unlimited, Mattel

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Batman Unlimited New 52 Batgirl action figure from Mattel

It’s been a good year for DC fans. We got a great first year with Mattel’s DC Universe Signature Collection via Mattycollector, and we have two new lines at retail: DC Unlimited and Batman Unlimited. While the Signature Collection will focus on more fan demanded classic characters, both DC and Batman Unlimited will focus on the big guns, and not much else. These figures are, for the most part, New 52 inspired, which brings us to the figure we’ll be looking at today: New 52 Batgirl.

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Toy Reviews From Around the Net – December 10th-16th, 2012

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To celebrate the world not ending, enjoy this list of reviews from around the net for December 10th-16th, 2012. This week the list includes twenty-seven different sites and features eighty-nine reviews!. The reviews are all categorized by major brands, independent releases such as Onell or Spy Monkey are listed under the “7th Market” heading, and smaller brands are grouped together under Miscellaneous. Huge thanks to NoisyDvL5 at itsalltrue.net for starting this and helping to make the toy community grow.

Continue after the jump for the full list, and remember: The offsite reviews do not necessarily reflect the views of me or Mint Condition Customs.
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Review – Elasti-Girl – DC Universe Signature Collection, Mattel

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DC Universe Signature Collection Elasti-Girl Action Figure From Mattel

Say what you will about Mattel as a company, but one thing they seem to be doing right with the DC Comics license is their character selection. Outside of things like Minimates, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more diverse character selection than I have with DC Universe Classics. It’s been especially true ever since they’ve started the DC Universe Signature Collection for their Club Infinite Earths online subscription. They’re really trying to give fans the characters they want to complete all the teams they started years prior.

And with the release of Elasti-Girl, fans now have the complete Doom Patrol in their collection (sans Niles “The Chief” Caulder of course [the one shown in the photos is a custom by me]). So let’s take a closer look at the last team member to join the Doom Patrol in DCUC form.

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Review – Robocop with Spring Loaded Holster – Robocop, NECA

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NECA Robocop with Spring Loaded Holster Action Figure

NECA has been celebrating Robocop with its action figure line for a little while now. So far we’ve gotten three other versions of Robocop (including an homage to the old Night Fighter Robocop from the 80’s). This one marks the fourth, and I’m sure many fans will argue that this is the way NECA should have done Robocop the first time. By this point we’ve gotten so many versions of the main guy that it has fans telling NECA “Stop. Or there will be trouble”. No doubt, it would be great to get some other characters from the movie, but this version of Robocop is not to be overlooked. This one is like the original release of Robocop, except he has a spring loaded holster in his right leg, to match the movie.

So join me as I take a closer look at NECA’s Robocop with Spring Loaded Holster, and see if “I’d buy that for a dollar!”. I’m sorry, I’ll stop that.
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Review – Mekaneck – Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel

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Masters of the Universe MOTUC Mekaneck Action Figure From Mattel

Mattel manages to spread out the characters in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line by having an equal amount of the more popular characters with the lesser known characters. This is a great business strategy, and makes it even more exciting when one of your favorites finally shows up. Mekaneck is one of my top 3 favorite MOTU characters (the other two being Man-E-Faces, and my absolute favorite which is Rio Blast), and it’s grea to finally have him in the line. He’s without a doubt an essential character to the Masters of the Universe mythos, being that his was one of the figures released early on, when MOTU was still a new brand.

So join me as I take a closer look at Mekaneck and see if he’s lived up to the expectations of many fans.

MEKANECK
Heroic Human Periscope!™

REAL NAME: Orius

Injured in the Battle of the Avion during the Great Unrest, Orius was brought by Duncan to Castle Grayskull where he was healed by the Sorceress. The magic spell replaced his neck with an ever-expanding mechanical construction made of microscopic nanites. By increasing or decreasing the number of nanites in his body, Orius gained the ability to grow his neck to almost unlimited length. Taking the code name Mekaneck, he served the royal household as a loyal member of the Masters of the Universe, using his amazing periscope neck to spy on the evil enemy.

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Review – Black Mask – DC Universe Signature Collection, Mattel

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DC Signature Collection Club Infinite Earths Black Mask 6" Action Figure Mattel Batman

One of the surprises from the DC Signature Collection online subscription is the inclusion of the classic Batman villain Black Mask. Before signing up, we knew we were getting Poison Ivy, but we had no idea we’d be getting another Batman Rogue in the first year, let alone Black Mask. The reaction to him was definitely somewhat split. Many fans loved the way he looked, while others were disappointed that we weren’t getting the original look for Black Mask in figure form. While it certainly would have been cool to get an alternate head for him of his original look, complete with the fedora and Tommy gun, I’m actually happy with the version they decided on. It’s definitely more well known and has gotten more exposure as the look for Black Mask, so it’s easy to see why they picked it. So now that he’s been released, join me as I take a closer look at the DC Signature Collection Black Mask action figure.

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Toy Reviews From Around the Net – December 3rd-9th, 2012

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These are the toy reviews around the net for December 3rd-9th, 2012. This week the list includes twenty-nine different sites and features seventy reviews!. The reviews are all categorized by major brands, independent releases such as Onell or Spy Monkey are listed under the “7th Market” heading, and smaller brands are grouped together under Miscellaneous. Huge thanks to NoisyDvL5 at itsalltrue.net for starting this and helping to make the toy community grow.

Continue after the jump for the full list, and remember: The offsite reviews do not necessarily reflect the views of me or Mint Condition Customs.
Continue reading →