TRIBUTE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2014 - ACTION FIGURE STYLE . HIA Toys Bessie Coleman figure . Tribute to some other black notable action figures.

As we all know the month of February is not only known for Valentine's Day but the whole entire month is dedicated to African American history, better known as BLACK HISTORY MONTH. So how can an action figure website pay homage to Black History Month? By reviewing over black action figures that's how. This article is a two way review. The first portion of the article will review over an action figure based on a real life person . Bessie Coleman , the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in America . The latter portion of this article is just strictly reminiscing over a few various notable black action figures over the years.  First up is a review of the Bessie Coleman action figure. The company that made her is called " History in Action Toys ", better known as hia toys. You can purchase this figure among others at www.hiatoys.com .

As you can see the figure comes in some neatly designed packaging. I've had this figure for a long while now so forgive me for not having a pic of her while she's still in the packaging. I've owned this figure long before I created this blog . The front of the packaging is actually a door stuck together until you pry it open to reveal the figure inside. Also there is a nice informative bio on the interior. Once you remove the figure from the packaging I think she is very well done. Nice sculpt, decent articulation. My only disappointment is that I was hoping that she was around six inches tall, however she is actually right at seven inches tall just about. A little bit to tall for me as I prefer mostly figures in 6 " scale.

Other than the height disappointment, I actually like this figure. She comes with some nice accessories. My favorites are her goggles and removable scarf. An alternate head is her pilot head , and she comes with a map and a flight booklet.

The above pic is from Hiatoys, not me. I've made note of this is because I either lost or can not find two of her accessories. The accessories that I lost are the map and booklet. Hopefully I'll find them someday. But as you can see I still have her alternate head, goggles, and scarf . The following pics are comparison shots of Bessie with and without the goggles, using both heads.

Besides Bessie, there are two other historical African American figures ready for purchase on the hiatoys website. They are the two men Benjamin Banneker and Mathew Henson. I don't remember why I purchased the Bessie figure first but I plan on buying the other two figures someday. For those of you whom may be wondering if Bessie's goggles can fit on the heads of smaller six inch figures , I've displayed a pic below of an Aqua-Man variant figure with the goggles. ( NOTE ) If you want a perfect fit with any smaller figure you may have to adjust the strap on the goggles just a bit. Even though the pic makes it look like a perfect fit they were very loose on Aqua-Man.

                                                  FINAL   THOUGHTS
(1) ARTICULATION - Bessie's articulation is excellent. She can move her arms up and down and outward. Elbows bend. Wrists rotate all the way around. Knees bend. Ankle pivots. Legs can move up and down and slightly outward. The only complaint about the articulation is there is somewhat of a strict tightness in the upper thigh near the crotch area . This minor flaw somewhat limits her sitting pose ability.
(2) STANDING  ABILITY - There are no balance issues. The figure stands very well when positioned correctly.
(3) WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT THIS FIGURE ? I like the sculpt, the jacket, the scarf and goggles the best.
(4) WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT THIS FIGURE ? There is nothing that I dislike about this figure.
(5) WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE TO IMPROVE THIS FIGURE ? I just wish she was just a little shorter, so that she can fit in with many popular 6" scale toy lines.
(6) GRADING  SCALE - On a 1 to 10 scale I give this figure 9.5 . The minus is for my displeasure about the height scale. The other minor flaw such as limited sit posing does not merit a lower score.
(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - Other than the accessories, there is a lot to like about the Bessie Coleman action figure. The articulation is nice. Good facial sculpt. The figure is sturdy, made of hard plastic preventing breakage. The jacket is made of a hard rubbery plastic, and customizers can remove it and place it on another figure. But the biggest aspect of all with this figure is that the company HIA Toys took time out to honor Bessie's legacy by making an action figure of her. Not just with Bessie but the other figures as well. Kudos to HIA Toys for these figures.
                                         NOW ON TO PART TWO  OF THIS ARTICLE . 
A  LOOK BACK OVER THE YEARS OF SOME NOTABLE BLACK ACTION FIGURES FROM MAJOR TOY LINES . 
                  Two toy lines that this article will pay tribute to when discussing notable black action figures are Masters of the Universe and G. I . Joe . First let's discuss the black action figures from the world of He-Man, MOTU . Also I will pay homage to some black figures from DC and Marvel, along with some WWE Mattel black action figures.
                          NOTABLE  BLACK FIGURES FROM  MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
(1) CLAMP-CHAMP - Champ has the honor of being the first ever black Masters of the Universe action figure, way back to the vintage line in 1987 .
(2) NETOSSA - Although she's technically a Princess of Power figure, however the MOTU Classics toy line combines all aspects of the world of He-Man.
(3) DEKKER - Man-At -Arms mentor and trainer.
(4) GELDOR - From the vintage mini comic called the "Secret Liquid of Life", in the comic he looks black however when you purchase the figure he almost looks somewhat bi racial .
                    NOTABLE BLACK FIGURES FROM G.I. JOE
(1) ROAD BLOCK - Played by the Rock in G. I. Joe Retaliation . Since the Retaliation movie he is probably the most popular black Joe character because of the Rock's fame. Even though RIP-CORD was originally a caucasian character Rip was black in the first Joe live action motion picture film. RANGER is another notable black Joe character from the early days of the franchise in the 1980s.
                                         NOW TAKE A LOOK AT SOME DC BLACK ACTION FIGURES
FROM OVER THE YEARS. At this point, I've decided to not bore you anymore with words and just display pictures. ( NOTE ) Not all black figures will be displayed, just a select few to give you an idea of who's available. This is a mixture of some DCU Classics and DC Direct.

The last two are Black Manta and Natasha Irons. NOW TAKE A LOOK AT SOME MARVEL BLACK ACTION FIGURES OVER THE YEARS .

For those of you whom may not know, Miles Morales is the new Spider-Man in the Ultimate Marvel universe. He is of bi racial descent of black and Latino.
                          NOW HERE'S A  LOOK AT SOME BLACK ACTION FIGURES
FROM THE WWE MATTEL TOY LINE .

These are just some of the black action figures that you can purchase from these above mentioned wonderful toy lines. There you have it folks. Action Figure Imagery Toy Reviews tribute to Black History Month 2014 - ACTION FIGURE STYLE .