The new player

The license to manufacture toys for DC characters have been transferred to Spin Master. This has made me excited enough (though not that much) to blog about it. I might start collecting this line. The version of this company works well (but not perfectly) with my 4-inch Marvel toys. The old company's version did not.

I'm not wishing the license to manufacture toys of Marvel characters to be transferred from Hasbro. The new company will just reproduce the popular characters which I already have. There is no point in getting a new set. 

I fear that Spin Master will just replicate the same mistakes of their predecessor. One of which is the absence of female characters. There was none in the 1st wave but the 2nd wave might include Batwoman and Wonder Woman. They also just market these toys for boys. They could have included a girl in the 2-in-1 Batmobile package. They decided to just use two boys. I withheld myself from buying the Flash because his built is the same as that of Superman. I was expecting a lighter built on the speedster's body. The lack of variety in the body size is a problem.

We cannot expect Spin Master to be a game-changer. They're just a new player in the same old game.

Affirmation

If there is one delusion I like about dolls, it's the idea of world peace. You don't have to deal with real world problems. The toughest problems you'll tackle would be how to match pieces of clothing and which doll will fall in love with whom. No unequal pay issue. No protests against tyranny. Doing so will be frowned upon by other hobbyists.

Dolls offer the luxury of escape. You have no right to ruin that.

You can paint a picture with diverse characters living in harmony like it's the most natural thing. It's either you're making a statement against the current situation by proposing another possibility, or you're totally out of touch with reality so some issues are not reflected in your pictures, statements or imagination.

Nobody is expecting you to use dolls other than a form of escape. You are not letting anybody down.

You can't expect yourself to change the world, at least not with dolls. You're just a person who has enough worries. Let more powerful entities do it; like letting toy manufacturers move their toy operations out of China in response to the threat that country poses. Just go ahead and keep playing with toys, make dresses, paint or whatever it is that you do.

Don't mind me. I'm rarely here with you.

Remainders Assembled

I made another figure based on one of the remaining MCU characters. This time it's Nebula from the Guardians of the Galaxy. Although I'm not really a fan of the GoTG series, I like Nebula. I like how she has transformed from a villain to a not villain after resolving some daddy issues. 

The three females above are customs (OOAK in the doll lingo). I used different techniques in each. Captain Marvel was just a repaint. I made Okoye by gluing different cut plastic pieces. The details on Nebula was done using clay.

The Rocket Raccoon I have is too cute. He came from a GoTG My Busy Book. I'm thinking of making a less cute custom but I don't like him that much. Another character that remained after the Thanos snap is Valkyrie. I have the same feelings for her as Rocket so I might make her or not. Maybe the upcoming Endgame movie will help me decide.

Carroll and the RoadBots

Finally, I had a chance to take (and edit) pictures of my Transformers-type toys. The Alteration Man will retain her name, Carroll. The other two will now be named Master Grey and Lancerbot.

It's been a while since I played with these toys, I forgot how to transform them. I had to search for YouTube videos. I also posting the transformation guide for the three toys. In case I loss the hard copies, I can find a backup in my blog.


Land Cruiser

Lancer Evolution VIII

RC 1100

Alteration Man Carroll

I had Transformer toys as a kid. I guess that is why I don't feel like collecting toys related to that toy line. This is my 3rd Transformer-type (by "type" I mean it doesn't belong to the official line) toy, however. I only bought it because it works with my 1:18 scale dolls. 

Google showed me that this is a copy of the Transformers Movie Deluxe Arcee toy from 2007. She's an Autobot. Good to know but I don't really care about the original character. For now, she's (yes, the Alteration Man is a she) Okoye's ride. I like the orange-purple combo going on, don't you?

A photo shoot with my other Transformer-type toys should be upcoming.