Assembled

I'm not very interested in getting or making a Quicksilver figure so for me, the Avengers have been assembled.

This moment deserves a class picture before they will be broken apart in "Captain America: Civil War".

Vision

After recent toy sales left and right, I expect some toys to run out of stock. Imagine my surprise when I saw the 4-inch Vision from the second Avengers movie peg warming. I have been hunting this toy for months now, checking the same shelves of different toy stores every chance I can.

I wanted a Vision figure and after the first few weeks of searching, I decided to just make one. I didn't like how it turned out so I didn't blog about it. I wanted to change the cape print for one. I was designing the print this afternoon and plan to test it tomorrow. But there's no need for that now.

It has crappy articulation but I might be able to make a better one now that I have better parts. That is if I'm not busy or lazy. For now, I'll just enjoy it, as is. I'm sure Wanda is.

Doc Ock

This is the first toy I've bought after all the changes I have to deal with. The dust hasn't settled yet and that means uncertainty. I just want things to seem like normal, hence a blog entry.

Doc Ock as Superior Spider-Man said, "...being a super hero is like being mad: one does the same thing time after time and expects differing results." The thing is, even if you try to do the same things over and over like a routine, life can still lead to unexpected outcome. And no matter how hard you try to restore a former routine, some things can't go back to the way it was.

White Queen

There's an upcoming 4-inch action doll for Emma Frost from the Marvel Infinite Series line. I can't say I'm excited about it. Most of my X-men are in their vintage costumes and the modern Emma won't fit in. I decided to create my own Emma Frost as the White Queen from the Hellfire Club using Psylocke as the base. I wanted her skin to be fairer so she was painted all over.
 

I have been putting off this project because I couldn't get the parts I want, specifically the heeled feet from the Baroness (G.I. Joe). I also used the Baroness' hair. I just made it shorter. I also had difficulty in repainting the small face. It's hard to keep the small eyes from looking derpy, especially if the face mold is not all that pretty to begin with.





Although the action doll could use some more polishing and detailing, I decided to take pictures right away. I can't be sure when I can go back and work on her again.

12-inch Pattiz Special Forces Figure

It looks good in photos but it really has poor quality. This 12-inch action doll by Pattiz has a nice packaging which can make the uninformed (read: me) think that it is worth at least US$22.



It came with a lot of props but there's nothing interesting for me, except for the two extra pair of hands. No doll stand was included. The first thing that made me think of not buying this is the skin tone. It's grayish.



There are other variants, although I only saw three. There are no other ethnicity available. I picked this one because I thought it came with beige footwear. I later found out that it's black haphazardly painted with beige for a distressed look. The paint left a sticky feel.



This body isn't versatile. There aren't many heads that can be compatible with this body. Making this figure stand is also a challenge. It has loose joints at the knees and ankles. The plastic feels brittle and light. It looks okay from the front.



The back tells another story. The screw holes could use plugs to make it look more pleasing but this toy probably wasn't design for nudity. It seems like it has double-jointed knees making it kneel nicely but no. It has one hinge on the knee but the back of the upper leg has a groove. I thought it was ingenious although the sculpt could be made more smooth.



The doll is good looking. There is enough articulation to make it look like the doll is a model who knows how to work it.

The doll also came with playscale money and I thought of using it for a literal money shot.



I may have enough fun taking pictures of this doll but I don't think I'll be buying anymore.

Mad Titan

Inspired by...



and

Clone Marvel Universe Thanos

Thanks to Hasbro, clone manufacturers realized that toys with poor articulation can sell, especially for the 4-inch line. Clones of the Marvel Universe action dolls are being sold for half the current price of the poorly articulated ones, like the 4-inch Age of Ultron line. I have seen clones of Hawkeye, Nick Fury (both the black and white) and Black Widow. I passed up on them because I already have the Hasbro version (except for the shouting white Nick Fury). I bought this clone Thanos, though.



It has poor articulation. For the price of about US$4.50, it's a good deal, especially for a non-Thanos fan like me. He'll just be used a few times and then stored, anyway. It's impractical to buy from the secondary market with their unreasonable price. Plus, there probably will be a movie version of the character later on. We can just wait for that, right?


It's easy to take apart but it's a little hard to put back together. I won't be taking it apart anytime soon.

Here's a comparison picture with the Juggernaut.



With the Hasbro 4-inch line going away (although Hasbro is denying it), it's good that clone manufacturers are ready to take their place.

The Tale of Two Sales

I'd like to think that if the head is okay, chances are, the limbs are okay as well. In the big picture, Hasbro is doing well while Mattel sales are still low. I wonder how the local distributors of these brands are doing. 

Playkit is the local distributor of Hasbro while Richwell is for Mattel. Recently, both distributors offered discounts on some of their older products. Most of the discounted products were release internationally in the middle of 2013. That was two years ago. Toys arrive locally late compared to other countries. The rainbow Barbie Fashionita arrived at the local toy shelves at the end of 2013. Playkit was rumored to have issues with the local customs. The Marvel Universe figures came later, in the middle of 2014.

The big discount made me buy another item for full price, as a form of gratitude.

Even if the rainbow Fashionista doll have been in the local toy shelves longer than the Marvel Universe figures, the later are being offered with a larger discount (over 60%). The former has a measly 30% discount.

Playkit maybe the smaller company of the two local distributors. I'm saying this because Playkit doesn't even have its own official site outside FB. I'm also guessing that unlike Richwell, Playkit doesn't have enough budget to pay for shelf space for an extend time. That is why they have to drastically lower the price because everything must go, to save on shelf space expense.

I didn't really need all the discounted toys I bought. I got them for parts, to be used in future custom projects. Discounts are about making people buy things they don't really need. If they truly needed the product, it would easily disappear from the shelves, no discounts needed to motivate the buyers. But Playkit also made me buy another item at its original price. I was trying to wait for it to be discounted before I get it but then the other items were being discounted. The illusion that I got big savings (from the discounted items I don't need... yet) made me think that it's okay to buy another at full price. It's something Richwell wasn't able to do, because in my mind, the savings were too little.

Hasbro is doing well compared to Mattel. I'd like to think that the local distributor's success contributed to the international brand's success. I can't be sure which local distributor (Playkit or Richwell) is doing better, but I'm sure a lot of my toy fund has been going to Playkit lately.

Ant-man

It's okay, I guess. When the highlight of the movie is cameo of another character, what other compliment is more appropriate?

The best part of the movie is the appearance of Falcon and the fight scene between him and Ant-man. Of course, the lead character of the movie wins. This movie is all about making the viewers like Ant-man after all. Had Ant-man been a stand-alone movie with no tie-up to the Avengers, it would have been a flop. With the help of the Avengers, it has been doing okay in the box office, although it's still one of the lowest earning Marvel movies.

That fight scene made me take my Falcon doll out of storage and re-enact the scene. I don't have the movie version of the Ant-man doll but the red suit (of the comics version) makes the small figure pop out. 

I'm still on the fence about buying the 4-inch doll of the movie version Ant-man. I don't like the giant ant it is packed with. It's bigger than the doll so it probably the main contributor for the high price. I'm expecting the Ant-man doll to be re-issued along with the toys for the upcoming Marvel movies like Captain America: Civil War or the third Avengers movie. I may have to wait until then. There is no rush. It's not like there are other good scenes in the Ant-man movie to re-enact with toys, right?

Avengers: Age of Ultron All Star 3.75-inch Scarlet Witch

I love-hate this action doll. There is no other movie Scarlet Witch action doll in this scale, so there.



I'm looking forward to Hasbro's quarterly sales report. A lot of people who liked the 4-inch action dolls have been ranting and cutting their purchases. I don't know how this reaction affects Hasbro. We'll see.

*You're not even two-faced...grrrr!!!

At least, I didn't have to make my own. Her look is temporary, anyways. She'll have a new look in her next movie. I hope she gets a better action doll in this scale by then.

I thought I'll have a hard time buying her. Luckily, she was a lot easier to find than Black Widow but more difficult than Hawkeye. I got her at SM department store just this weekend. That's 3 months after it was released internationally and about 2 weeks after it was released locally.

Hell no, Hasbro!

The lack of attention on the 4-inch Marvel action dolls by Hasbro could be taken as a tactic by the company to make the consumers buy more of their other products, specifically the Legends line. Previous releases of the 4-inch version had collectors torn between those and the Legends line. That could spell a split in the sales. Hasbro decided to release less of the 4-inch line and adding salt to injury, they have reduced the articulation.



They also have a 2.5-inch line but for people like me who thinks smaller is better for a miniature world, brick minifigures are better options. They are a lot cuter, too. They also have a bigger universe from DC to Marvel to manga and even TV series characters! With those 2.5-inch Hasbro figures, well...good luck with that. People only want them for their elaborate playsets, something the brick toys can definitely offer.

So no, Hasbro won't be taking my money. Instead it will go to the Chinese companies who manufactured these knockoff Lego toys which we'll call bootleg-o. These companies initially started copies of the Lego products but they have already started releasing their own designs. You should expect people from the upcoming Superpower to have some ingenuity otherwise they wouldn't be able to gun for world supremacy, right?



Now, let's see if Nick Fury here can assemble the X-men.

Modern Family

I think it's cool that the Storm siblings were re-imagined to have different ethnicities.

Don't expect white Barbie to have non-white siblings. Barbie maybe fashion forward but she's not exactly progressive.

Black Widow

"The result is an overdue character exploration for Black Widow that still manages to reduce the baddest bitch in the MCU to a shell of a superheroine who’s sad she can never be a complete woman."
- Jen Yamato

Having taken a few courses from the Natasha Romanoff Academy, I have learned (though I still need years of practice) to use my emotions to my advantage. Tears can be used to manipulate people, to make them do your bidding, or at least catch them off guard by creating an illusion that you are vulnerable. Sensuality, too. To do that, one must not be controlled by the notions of sex that the society/religion has propagated. It's taking control and following your own notions of your sensuality. Nick Fury thought that she'll do a good job in assembling the Avengers.

In one scene of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bruce Banner was in drama queen mode about his inability to have a normal family life. Everybody knows what happens when Bruce cannot control his emotions, right? It's a good thing that Natasha was there to provide emotional support for the most emotional Avenger.

She painted a picture of herself as a vulnerable person having no ability to bear children. And it's okay for her and that she can still have a relationship despite that. The sadness was used to get the message across that she can relate to Bruce, that he can trust her because she has made herself relatable to him. If you ask me if who I'll choose between Black Widow and Hulk, I'll go with the Widow. She's in control. That is why she's in charge of the big guy and his lullaby. Yes, Iron Man can make the Hulk sleep with Veronica but Natasha does it with so much less destruction.

I don't agree that the Black Widow character was reduced, but I do agree about what Jen Yamato said about the lack of female superheroes and the lack of female action dolls. Marvel and the toy companies like Hasbro is the villain in that story.

I still like the movie but Hawkeye should have died. That will be more dramatic. Plus, Jeremy Renner called Natasha a slut. I'm not hating or anything. Hawkeye did die a number of times in the comics. As for Chris Evans, I expect Captain America be killed in his 3rd solo movie or at least turn over his shield to someone else. That happened in the comics, too.

Marvel Cinematic Universe Action Dolls

It was the first Avengers movie that got me collecting 4-inch action dolls. A lot of them became peg warmers so they were sold cheap. I didn't know back then that buying other characters wasn't going to be as easy. Three years later and weeks after the second Avengers movie, I'm still enjoying my action dolls from 2012. There is no Barbie doll that I bought in 2012 that connects with me in the same way.

Marvel Universe (4-inch) scale Hulkbuster

Ever since watching the second Avengers movie, I have been hunting for a Hulkbuster toy that blends well with my 4-inch action dolls. I almost bought the old figure from the Iron Man movie but toy reviews weren't kind to its size. (Men and the size of their toys...) I figured, I can wait for the movie figure even if there wasn't any announced for release. Maybe next year...

The waiting paid off. It's not a licensed product but I don't care. It will just be a prop or plaything for my Hulk. It's not a major character. It's not like the Hulkbuster will appear in another movie in the future. Aside from the small size of the licensed toy, the higher price also kept me from buying it knowing that I won't be using it as much. This unlicensed Hulkbuster is a better choice for me.

comparison shot

This toy costs less than half of the current local price for the fully articulated 4-inch figures. It has more than 5 points of articulation, the standard for the 4-inch movie figures. Even with the limited articulation, posing it with my Hulk action dolls is still fun.

The shoulders can rotate 360° but the arms cannot be raised sideways. The elbows can be moved by just about 45°. The knees can be moved by about 90°. The helmet can be flipped open to show a human head but it doesn't look anything like Tony Stark (not pictured). The hips are ball and socket joints and they are really loose. The legs can be removed and returned from the hip joint.

This Hulkbuster looks good from the front but the manufacturer skimped on the back paint details. The holes for the screws don't help the aesthetics either.

Before I forget, upon opening the package, the toy had an unpleasant chemical smell which lasted for about a day. Or maybe it's still there but I just got used to the smell. Who knows? Talk about dangerous toys. It's a risk I'm willing to take. It's not like I'll be handling this toy for a long time. Like all toys we accumulate, it will be in storage most of the time.

 

This figure is about $5.50 in a toy store at EDSA Central. A local eBay seller is selling it for about $5 while another sells it for less than $7. This is sold for only $2.60 in Divisoria.

Daredevil

One thing I like about the Daredevil TV series on Netflix is that they're not trying to be pretty nor be cute.

Razyera, isn't that hoarding?

The Wasp action doll has been a peg warmer that is why it has been offered for  a reduced price of PhP500 locally. Unlike other characters, the Wasp toy sold out after the price reduction. I thought it was normal because it can be used as base for a customized female character since there are few female characters. When I saw an online seller (Razyera) posted a lot of Wasp toys, I figured that it was possible that the toy was hoarded. The ad posted above is only for local buyers who could have bought the toys themselves locally had the toy not been hoarded.

Hoarding is different from reselling as the latter helps in the distribution. We know that toy manufacturers can't reach everybody. Resellers help alleviate the distribution problems. If a well distributed toy is hoarded, it prevents others from accessing what should have been an accessible toy.

Yes, I know a lot of people do it. I don't mean to single out this specific seller but I figured I needed an example. More than hating on possible hoarders, I'm curious on how to deal with them. Sure, ignoring them is an easy thing to do but it feels like a big cop out. It's not something we learn from the superheroes that inspire us.

Is the collecting community a society that allows opportunistic people to propagate? I know we have no right to keep them from doing what they are doing. I guess we can just talk about them and serve as warning to others, make a blacklist of sorts on which people to avoid even if they are offering some good deals. This blog will be my blacklist.

Support System

A "stand" is used to help a doll stand. What do we call something to help a doll seem to fly, float or levitate? A fly, like the insect? Float, like with the root beer? Levitate? Let's just call it the support system, for now.

I have been seeing these in toy blogs I follow and I have been wanting to have some. It would be nice to use these in a toy tableu for the flying, high-jumping or levitating characters. I was lucky to find one at a secondary market.

The packaging comes in a completely foreign Asian language as shown above. I have no idea about the manufacturer nor is there any readable instructions on how to use it. I guess part of the fun is making sense of the parts and customize the assembly based on your needs.

I was able to set it up to support two action dolls, with a few parts to spare. Although the support system is made of light plastic, it can carry the weight of the figures without moving at the hinges even if I left the setup for a couple of days.

A pack of the support system costs about US$5 locally. It's about the same price as a Kaiser doll stand for playscale dolls. While the Kaiser stand is durable since it is made of metal, this clear plastic support system is more versatile. I just wish that it came in a resealable box or plastic bag. There are too many small part that one can easily lose.

Resurrection

I was supposed to gather all my action figures characters that supposedly died and came back to life and take a group photo but that takes a lot of setup and cleanup time. I settled with Spider-Woman instead.

Discounted

March is when new toys get released locally both from Hasbro and Mattel. In the Mattel lineup, I only wanted resort Grace. The rest can wait until sale season.  With Hasbro, I want a number of Marvel Infinite Series figures both from last year and this year.

Local Hasbro distributors are doing the same gimmick once again of creating an illusion that there is a low supply. They did this with the Avengers movie figures back in 2012. They did this last year with the later waves of Marvel Infinite Series figures. And now they are doing it again with the 1st wave for 2015.

They just display a few pieces on the shelves to create an illusion that they ran out of stock, that a lot of collectors are panic buying. In a lot of toys stores I went, I asked for the Beast action figure and the sales clerks are trained to say that it was the first to ran out and that I should just get the other figures left. That was two weekends ago. Although I wanted what was left on the shelf, I don't want it that bad. I can wait for the sale so I left without buying. Luckily I was able to get one, and at a discounted price to boot.

In the collecting scene, the word "rare" is often misused. A lot of times, the rarity is controlled by the distributor and not the manufacturer. Just because it was made scarce in one location, Marvel Infinite Series figures are rarely rare. It just means that some other location got more shipment. And sometimes buying from that location is cheaper than buying locally. That is how I got my Sandman figure, from a secondary market at a discounted price.

I am not falling to the local distributor's trick once again. They created an illusion that the Ares, Valkyrie and Red She-hulk figures were rare. I was forced to get them at a secondary market. Although I got them at a price lower than the local distributor's original price, the distributor lately offered it at a much lower price. I should have waited but no, I became emotional about the low supply and the illusion of rarity.

Lessons learned.