Skelanimals HARLEY QUINN!

DC Skelanimals 3" Vinyl Figures - Series 01 - Marcy/ /Harley Quinn - Toynami 2014
 
I've been impressed with Toynami's Skelanimals line since I first discovered them many years ago at a Hot Topic.  This was before skulls became a popular mainstream design motif on kids' clothing so it was something of a shock to see a plush cat skeleton.. especially a cute one.  I intended to buy them for all my friends' little babies, but every time I either couldn't find them or had second thoughts about their appropriateness for a 2 year old.  I actually just wanted one for myself, but couldn't justify having a stuffed animal amongst all my "super mature" collectibles.  Then at Toy Fair last year I finally saw a perfect Skelanimal for my picky sensibilities:  The Harley Quinn 3" Vinyl figure.  It took forever for her to be released and ever longer for me to find her in store, but she was worth the wait.  Now I can't wait to get all those upcoming DC Hello Kitty products so she's not so lonely in her adorableness.  I didn't realize till I had her in my hands that the 5 figures in Series 1 are all existing Skelanimal characters dressed up as DC Heroes.  In this case Marcy the Monkey is dressed as Harley (the curly tail tipped me off).  Let's check her out!

Ninja Turtles Movie Figures - APRIL O'NEIL!

(Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles - Basic Series 1 - April O'Neil - Playmates 2014
 
I have a feeling that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that will continually reinvent itself.  I'm not a diehard fan by any means, but I'm still excited for the new movie.  I love all the classic cartoon toys coming out.  And I definitely love the original comic figures.  Not to mention all the weird animated and live action versions in between.  Seriously, I can't imagine what a TMNT superfan's collection might look like.  I'll bet it's pretty awesome though (my favorite color is green!).  April O'Neil has become such a classic pop culture lady.  A modern Lois Lane in a yellow coat.  I sometimes imagine myself amassing a whole shelf of canary-hued journalists, but alas, I only have three.  This newest toy depicts Megan Fox as April in the upcoming live action film.  When I found her in the stores this week, it was the first good look I had of this figure.  The blurry pictures on the internet up till now made me think she was going to be a larger deluxe figure, but in actuality, she's a 5" basic figure with limited (but good) articulation.

Guardians of the Galaxy - GAMORA!

Marvel Legends: Infinite Series - Guardians of the Galaxy - Gamora - Hasbro 2014

Very few movies in the past few years have created such intrigue for me as the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy.  When they first announced the movie a few years ago, I thought it would bomb.  Then I started reading the new comic and I suddenly saw potential.  But then I saw the first preview of the movie and it had a very unexpected tone - which I actually really enjoyed.  The newest Marvel Legends: Infinite Series is a Guardians of the Galaxy themed assortment with a Groot Build-a-Figure.  I love Groot.  Tree-people thrill me.  So of course when I found this wave in the store this afternoon I had to splurge and get the entire wave.  While I'm a little bummed we didn't get Nebula as a second figure, I am surprisingly impressed with this Gamora figure.  In the comics, Gamora is the daughter of Thanos (adopted) and has earned the title of the "deadliest woman in the galaxy."  I guess we'll see if those details are the same in the movie.  This figure turned out a lot better than the solicitation pics made her out to be.  I felt her face look flat and uninteresting in those pics, but in person she looks pretty great.  Let's check her out below!

Kickstarter: VITRUVIAN H.A.C.K.S.!

Series 01: Greeks (Spartans vs Gorgons) - Boss Fight Studios 2014

So last week I funded my second Kickstarter campaign.  This one is different than my first one (I Am Elemental) because it can potentially be much more expensive, but more likely has the potential to be an unprecedented value - thanks to the numerous stretch goals.  If all the stretch goals get met, there will be 39 unique figures (including 16 differently-hued blank bucks - and 23 unique sculpts).  Plus four additional weapons packs to spruce up those bucks.  The first series is an ancient Greece theme with a variety of Spartans up again Medusa and an army of Gorgons.  The female-centric antagonists are obviously the focus of this post.  There are 11 female figures sculpted and 8 colored female bucks (again, only available if all the stretch goals are met).  The Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. (Highly Articulated Character Kit System) is a line of 4" scale action figures with easily separated body parts for endless customization potential.  As of today, there are 15 figures unlocked, with 20 days of funding remaining.  Here's hoping that everything gets unlocked!  Let's check them out below.

Transformers: Prime ARCEE Miniature PVC Figure!

Transformers: Prime Miniature 3" PVC Arcee figure - Unknown Manufacturer 2014
 
I've been seeing this little figure popping up on eBay from Chinese sellers (listed as a "cake topper") for quite a few months now.  I saved it in my Watch list and kind of forgot about it.  Then a few weeks ago I finally took the plunge.  Not that it was much of a plunge since I only paid a few dollars total.  I'm really glad I did get her though because it turns out that she's a very fun and detailed little figure that just happens to be in scale with the Heroes of Cybertron figures from the early 2000s (a massive perk in my opinion).  I often find myself pondering why this version of Arcee is getting so much merchandising.  I boil it down to the fact that she's finally a headline character.  She's surprisingly featured in every graphic for the cartoon.  But I also think a big part of it has to do with the fact that she's blue now.  As comfortable as toy companies seem to be getting with female characters in "boy" toy lines, I think pink characters will continue to suffer the same old exclusion for many years to come.  I'll take what I can get though.  Pink, Blue, Polka Dot, whatever.  Let's check out Arcee below!

KRE-O G.I.Joe LADY JAYE (with Lego Hair)!

G.I.Joe Kre-O - Kreons Blind Bags Series 3: Lady Jaye - Hasbro 2014

As much as I have been loving the Kre-O mini-figures over the past few years, a major bone of contention for me has been the hairpieces for the G.I.Joe ladies.  Scarlett's hair was a masculine looking bit of plastic that barely stayed on her head and Baroness's hair is ill-formed and keeps "squeezing together" to rise up off of her scalp.  The most recent travesty has been Lady Jaye: who just doesn't come with hair at all.  Instead she comes with her trademark cap that her vintage figure wore (despite the fact that any hat-wearing interpretations of Jaye have always had plenty of her signature brown wisps showing from underneath).  This Kreon version is just weak.  Way back when I reviewed Scarlett and Jinx, a reader mentioned that people have been using Lego parts to replace Scarlett's awful hairpiece.  Luckily I remembered this and immediately began searching for a good hairpiece for Lady Jaye.  It took a lot of research, but I think I hit the jackpot.  Check it out below and let me know what you think.

Funko POP! DC Heroes HARLEY QUINN (VARIANTS!)

Funko POP! Heroes - Metallic, GITD, B&W, and Hammer Harley - Funko 2013

Variants are one of my biggest weaknesses.  There's nothing I love more than lining up a bunch multicolored (but otherwise identical) figures on my shelf.  I realize how OCD that makes me sound, but it's totally true.  I reviewed the standard release Harley Quinn Funko POP way back in September and it's taken me this long to review all the variants.  The main motivation to finally post these figures is that any day now I will find the new Hot Topic exclusive Arkham Asylum "Nurse" Harley and I won't want to review them out of order.  The variants shown in this review are exclusives to various online retailers, brick and mortar stores, and comic shops.  They're pretty easy to come by (unlike the Batgirl variants from a few years ago).  I hope the upcoming Arkham asylum POPs (Harley and Ivy in particular) get a wide distribution.  I've usually had good luck finding Hot Topic exclusives, but so far this newest lady is eluding me.  Let's check out all the current Harleys below!

Alien ReAction ELLEN RIPLEY!

ReAction Figures: Alien - Ripley - Super7/Funko 2013
 
Few things in the action figure world have made me as giddy and nostalgic as Super7's amazing ReAction line.  This is literally a concept I have been hoping for since I began in this hobby 12 years ago.  For the uninitiated, or those living in a cave, ReAction is a line of modern action figures done in a vintage style.  To make it an even sweeter deal, this initial Alien series is made from original unproduced prototypes from the late 1970s.  The future series are not derived from actual prototypes, but they stay very true to the vintage style.  Upcoming waves I'm especially excited about are Firefly, Terminator, Pulp Fiction, and Universal Monsters.  After the initial solicitation of the Alien line (at $20 each), Super7 formed a partnership with the fine folks at Funko for the production and distribution of ReAction Figures.  This meant lower prices and the chance to actually find them in a brick and mortar store.  I'm sure access to Funko's numerous licenses was a huge added bonus as well.  Let's check out this retro Ripley below!

The Women of INDIANA JONES!

Marion Ravenwood, Willie Scott, Elsa Schneider, and Irina Spalko - Hasbro 2008

The fourth movie in the Indiana Jones series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, was pretty much a dud.  I personally loved it, but the box office numbers and diehard fans didn't share my appreciation.  One positive thing that definitely arose from that film, though, was a major resurgence of Indiana Jones merchandise in the toy aisles.  In one short year we received figures based on each film in the series (and in multiple formats, too!)  Just like the famed "Bond Girls," the women in the Indiana Jones films are really integral parts of the plot.  Whether they play a vile villain, a tough ally, a devious double-crosser, or a typical damsel in distress, each character is very memorable and really set the tone for each movie.  It was hard for me to get on board with collecting these figures when they were first announced because I knew Hasbro would never produce all four ladies, right?  Wrong.  Each of the ladies received a 3.75" action figure as well as a 2" figure in their Adventure Heroes line (not to mention all the Lego minifigures produced).  Let's take a look at all these amazing figures below!

WWE Superstar VICKIE GUERRERO!

WWE Basic Series 38 - Superstar #21 Vickie Guerrero - Mattel 2014
 
I love a good apology figure.  It's rare when a toy company realizes an attempt they made at a product was sub-par and takes another go at it.  The first Mattel Vickie Guerrero figure was way back in Series 13.  I had been hunting her down ever since I saw her photo on the back of some of the (shelfwarmer) males in her wave.  The image was of Vickie herself, not the toy.  (Note: Wrestling toys are the one genre I'm ignorant about.  I know which superheros will hit the shelves a year in advance, but with these WWE toys, I'm just a blissfully ignorant toy aisle browser).  Anyway, when I finally found her, I instantly knew she'd be the first figure I skipped.  I was excited about Vickie as a figure because she didn't look like the rest of the Divas.  She was slightly older, had short hair, she looked tough, and she looked like a "real" woman.  The figure was haggard though.  Her face looked like she was sneezing and she was wearing a rubber removable shirt that made her torso look awkward and bloated.  So last week when I discovered this new version of Vickie with all the problems corrected, I was ecstatic.  Let's check her out in detail below!

Funko POP! - Disney's MALEFICENT (Movie Version)!

Funko POP! Disney #77 - Disney's Maleficent (Movie Version) - Funko 2014

I am dying to see the Maleficent movie.  I actually thought I was going to see it this past Friday but was outvoted and went to see X-Men instead.  I'll get my way one of these days and bask in those surreal landscapes we've been teased with in the trailers.  The film looks magical.  Even if it bombs, I'll still love the art direction.  Also, it doesn't hurt that I've been a huge fan of Elle Fanning ever since I saw her in Super 8 and Somewhere a couple years ago.  I found this Funko POP weeks and weeks ago in TRU.  I truly stumbled across her since she was on an endcap in the doll section facing the kids' toys (i.e. far from the action figures).  If I wasn't searching for Kre-Os on that particular trip I never would have known this was released.  And of course as soon as I purchased it, I discovered an (identical-looking) Hot Topic Exc Glow-in-the-Dark version.  Oh well.  This figure is great though.  When I saw it at ToyFair this past Winter I knew I had to have this POP next to my animated version.  Let's check her out in detail below!

Kre-O Transformers Prime ARCEE!

Transformers Kre-O - Autobot Command Center Playset - Hasbro 2013

This little lady took quite a while to hunt down on eBay.  I've been seeing the super-expensive ($49.99) playset at Toys 'R Us since this past fall, but it seems like every set goes on sale except for this one.  The Autobot Command Center is themed after the Transformers: Prime continuity and includes 5 Kreons - most notable for me being the Prime Arcee in her cool blue design.  None of these Kreons appear to have transforming features - I guess that's why the Blind Bag figures are also labelled as "Micro-Changers" and these aren't.  It's no worry though because I personally feel that the vehicle modes for the Kreons are a little forced.  This Arcee is arguably the most feminine of all the femots we've seen in this line so far.  She has feminine lips, eyes, and chest design.  None of the others hit all three of those points.  (Although the G1 Arcee gets some girl-points for being all pink).  She's my new favorite Kreon for sure (at least until that cool looking Blackarachnia comes out).  Let's check Arcee out in detail below!