The Action Figure and Toy Collecting and Discussion Thread!

[OdoWanKenobi]

Nice, man.

NYCC brought us a few reveals in the DC Universe Club Infinite Earths area. Three more figures for next year were revealed: Red Hood, Captain Marvel Jr., and Huntress. I'm pretty jazzed about these. Huntress has been topping fans' most wanted lists for a very long time. Marvel Jr. rounds out the Marvel family. Red Hood is going to be the Grant Morrison Batman & Robin version though, which is really not the version most people want. It's still a good looking figure, and I'll still be happy to have it, but I wish it were the Under the Red Hood or even the New 52 version.

So, that makes our 2013 lineup so far:

January: Saint Walker
February: Phantom Stranger
March: Elongated Man
April: Larfleeze
May: The Flash (Wally West)
June: Red Hood
July: Captain Marvel Jr.
August: Huntress

Four more left to announce, but so far next year's subscription is kicking this year's ass, and this year has been great!

[cooleddie74]

Yeah, every other line and franchise seems to be getting a lot more attention than Star Wars at this year's NYCC, but that's cool for the folks who love and collect those. I'm happy for ya...I hope you eventually score all these new DC figures when they finally hit.

I'm thinking that any big Star Wars reveals for 2013 will be saved for the end of the year or the New York Toy Fair, which should happen sometime around February. Did you check out the link to the pics of the Wave 4 Movie Heroes figures that just showed up in Singapore? That will be the final assortment of SW action figures with the Darth Maul packaging design...after this we kick off the green Yoda theme for the new year along with the redesigned Legacy/Droid Factory cardbacks.

[OdoWanKenobi]

Ghouleddie74 wrote:

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I'm happy for ya...I hope you eventually score all these new DC figures when they finally hit.

I don't have to worry about scoring them. Club Infinite Earths is a "figure of the month" club. I'm already registered for it, and will receive each figure in its assigned month. Mattel has split DC Universe into two parts. There are two retail lines. DC Unlimited will focus on the big name DC characters done mostly in New 52 style. The other, Batman Unlimited, will be strictly Batman and related characters. Club Infinite Earths is their online only subscription club that is the way for collectors to get the more obscure DC characters. The subscription period for next year has passed already, but most of the figures should be available for day-of-sale. Those are always in really limited quantities, though. It's always a good idea to just buy the subscription.

[cooleddie74]

Oh, that's right. You mentioned Club Infinite Earths before and I forgot how it works for members. That must be a really great feeling to know you're guaranteed the new figure you're looking for each and every month...I wish Hasbro had that sort of program for Star Wars figures, but there are just waaaay too many new figures in a given 12-month period and you'd have to pick and choose the "best" or most popular ones to offer in such a manner. SW collectors rarely agree on what's the "best" figure at any given moment in time, and if it's left up to the company altogether they might pick one that collectors might not be too hot for.

[OdoWanKenobi]

Oh trust me, DC fans are just as hard to please. There's plenty of people that deride Mattel's character choices. Nerds will never be satisfied, no matter what. Especially since CIE will only have 12 figures a year, a slot in the sub is seen as precious. Some people, if they are unhappy with one figure are ready to write the whole thing off. Me, while I may not have interest in every figure that they bring out, I'm still happy to have them to fill out my shelves. And hey, sometimes seeing an awesome action figure of a character has actually made me interested in the character and I go out and read them.

A club like that for Star Wars isn't really out of the realm of possibility, though. Hasbro is doing the same thing with Transformers and G.I. Joe. If those are hits, maybe a Star Wars one could be in the future.

[cooleddie74]

OdoWanKenobi wrote:

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A club like that for Star Wars isn't really out of the realm of possibility, though. Hasbro is doing the same thing with Transformers and G.I. Joe. If those are hits, maybe a Star Wars one could be in the future.

I suppose Hasbro could always try such a concept by skipping over any and all mass retail figures no matter how scarce and/or popular and offering brand new, exclusive figures that will only be available through their special online club (and, of course, later on through sites like eBay though they wouldn't mention that) and would never see the light of day at retail. That way there'd be no messy and controversial fan's vote for the super popular or hard-to-find retail figure that they'd like to see offered online to the exclusion of others that might actually have a wider fanbase but just didn't get enough votes.

If the figure Hasbro offers in such a club is one you definitely can't get anywhere else until vastly overpriced copies start trickling onto auction sites then they can offer anything and it'd be successful. SW fans might bitch about a character if they can walk into a Walmart or Toys 'R' Us and find it, but if their only option to complete their collection is the figure Hasbro chose to sell online that particular month then a lot of them will keep their voices down or mouths shut just to get the new figure they need to flesh out their displays.

[OdoWanKenobi]

Ghouleddie74 wrote:

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I suppose Hasbro could always try such a concept by skipping over any and all mass retail figures no matter how scarce and/or popular and offering brand new, exclusive figures that will only be available through their special online club (and, of course, later on through sites like eBay though they wouldn't mention that) and would never see the light of day at retail. That way there'd be no messy and controversial fan's vote for the super popular or hard-to-find retail figure that they'd like to see offered online to the exclusion of others that might actually have a wider fanbase but just didn't get enough votes.

That's exactly what their G.I. Joe and Transformers clubs are, and what Mattel's Club Infinite Earths and Club Eternia (Masters of the Universe) are. The figures here aren't picked from the retail lines, they are exclusive figures made strictly for these clubs. Mattel does offer very limited quantities of each through MattyCollector on their monthly sale day, but they always sell out within hours. Also, the club subscribers do get an exclusive figure that is never offered through MattyCollector.

[cooleddie74]

We'd be better off with an official Figure Club rather than having Hasbro pawn off exclusive figures like the upcoming Jocasta Nu onto a site like Brian's Toys that jacks the price into the stratosphere and into the realm of eBay numbers (just one of her will cost you about $35 including shipping and handling) and doesn't exactly have the most sterling reputation with exclusive items to begin with.

[OdoWanKenobi]

After many years, a dream figure of mine has finally been made. NECA's Gordon Freeman belongs to me:



My other new acquisition today. Derpy makes a new friend:

[cooleddie74]

Derpy!

[OdoWanKenobi]

This month from DC Universe Club Infinite Earths, we have two lovely ladies. The monthly figure for October, Poison Ivy, and the quarterly oversized figure, Elastigirl.


Both are probably the best female figures to come out of this line. I'm pretty pleased.

[cooleddie74]

If anyone here wants to pay exorbitant amounts for the final wave of the Vintage Collection (Wave 16, the online exclusive case assortment) it's just hit eBay from domestic sellers who got access to them. The official domestic release date for the wave isn't until sometime in November but some East Asian countries have gotten these in their retail stores (in U.S. packaging) and some have drifted across the Pacific a little early.

$60 for a new Emperor's Royal Guard, and before shipping and handling? Yeah. Thanks but no thanks. I'll wait.

[laika]

Apologies, this is a bit unrelated, but I've been keeping an eye out for the Curiosity Hot Wheel (I collect Hot Wheels...well used to..getting back into it now) and I can't seem to find it. I've seen it online but I like the thrill of actually searching and then finding it.

[Kira's Mom]

Had a bad headache today, and now I'm feeling hyper and silly. So Clint and Tasha had some more adventures...

Looking for comfy chairs...even master assassins need to sit down now and then...





More decorating for Halloween. BooQuack.



This one was inspired by some fan art on Tumblr- Clint and Tasha go to the State Fair and win at all the games because of their shooting skills.

[OdoWanKenobi]

Haha. Love it. They are a carnival game operator's nightmare.

Today in their adventures, Derpy and her new friend Headcrab travel to Metaluna where they make another new friend: