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.

Token Blonde Barbie

Since the Fashionista line came out, I have been throwing out blonde playline Barbie heads. I have head molds identified with Barbie (the character) but none are blonde, except for one which I have styled with a big bun limiting its versatility. I know that if I have to pick a mold for a current quintessential Barbie, I'll pick this 2010 closed mouth head mold. I had to repaint it, of course. I have to balance the Barbie-ness with my taste. That means a little less perky, less makeup, but still Stepford material.

Something for the blue moon

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?