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Saturday, January 31, 2015

JANUARY 2015 CONTEST !!! Win TWO FREE carded figures of a 3 inch Mumm-Ra and Anakin Skywalker !!!

This month's contest you can win TWO 3.5 inch scaled carded figures . They are a Star Wars Anakin Skywalker figure and a ThunderCats Mumm-Ra figure , based on his mummy form . Anakin looks kind of animated . Here are pics of the figures that YOU can win .

Now this month's TRIVIA QUESTION involves three different answers for three different pics.
                                          Here's the  TRIVIA   QUESTION   
( 1 ) Give the names of the figures / characters each set of feet and ankles belong to . Also what are the names of the toy series for each pic ? 


You have 30 days to come up with the correct answers . Contest expires March 1 , 2015 since February only has 28 days . As always the first correct answers win !!! Give your answers in the comments section below . GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE !!!

Friday, January 30, 2015

Here's the ANSWER to the December 2014 Contest !!!

Unfortunately no one came up with a correct answer for the December 2014 Contest .Today is the last day for the correct answer to last month's/ also last year's contest question . The prize was to be a Marvel Legends carded Hope Summers figure . First a look at the December 2014 Trivia Question . Here it is .
NOW  HERE'S  THE ANSWER
A DC Direct Black Manta figure based on the Alex Ross Justice series . Here's more proof .
Good luck to everyone in tomorrow's contest for the month of January !!!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS - Lizard Man Review !!!

I finally got a Masters of the Universe Classics subscription . Previously I would just purchase my Classics figures in person or from online sites such as Ebay and online action figure stores . Lizard Man is a character that I have wanted as a toy since he was introduced . Way back in the 1980s Filmation toon . He appeared in the episodes subtitled " She-Demon of Phantos" and " Song of Celice ". You can watch the episodes Lizard Man appeared in on Youtube . Here is a link to "She-Demon of Phantos" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsYiRW_NOzk . At the time of this writing the "Song of Celice" is divided into two parts on Youtube, however you can still view the episode by typing in the name of the title in Youtube's search engine .  Lizard Man is also another character that was created by the Filmation cartoon company and not by anyone at Mattel . I wanted him as a kid, but to have him as an adult is nice . A very long wait for Lizard Man however the wait is worth it .


I love the brown mailing boxes these MOTUC figures come in . They are hard cardboard that are sturdy and convenient for storage of small items . As for Lizard man's bio, two tidbits of information from it that I find notable are his friends giving him the nickname "Lizzie" and him facing discrimination because of his genetic connection with the Snake Men . As for being called Lizzie, I'm going to call him that for the remainder of this review instead of Lizard Man , less words to write by calling him Lizzie . Now on to the action figure itself .




He may not be a realistic looking figure because of his cartoonish nature and appearance , however I think he is a cool looking figure, as he is very colorful with a bright vivid blue and green color scheme . Perfect execution by the Four Horsemen, making Lizzie look as if he jumped out of the cartoon into plastic form . But as always with the Horsemen they almost always add their own little details to the cartoon figures that were not present in the toon . If you pay close attention to the comparison pic comparing the toon to the toy , you'll notice that the toy has just a little bit more muscle definition . Also notice that his neck collar has no stitches in the toon but does as a toy . The Horsemen also gave him buttons for his belt which he did not have in the toon . Plus the toy's neck have lines not present in the toon . So even though Lizzie is basically drawn in the toon , the Horsemen did their best to add a little realism with their own details , to a figure that got his public debut as a cartoon character . Other than that , everything else is down pat to the character, even the facial expression. Great job Horsemen !!!
                     My only gripe about Lizzie is that I among maybe some
other collectors feel that he is too tall . If you notice that in the cartoon he is obviously a lot shorter than everyone else. Just look at him standing next to Man-At-Arms and Teela in a still pic I snapped a picture of from the toon .
As you can see he barely comes above both of their shoulders . I feel like the toy should have been the same height . However this flaw can be fixed by bending his knees , since Lizzie's knees seem to be bent a little in the toon anyway. And I have proof that the height problem can be fixed by comparing Lizzie to a Thunder Punch He-Man figure in the pics below .


As you can see with knees straight Lizzie is about the same height as He-Man , but when you bend his knees the top of Lizzie's head comes up to He-Man's shoulders . So if you want him to be the same height as he is in the toon , you'll have to display Lizzie with his knees bent .
As for Lizzie's tail , before getting the figure I thought it was going to be similar to Whip-Lash , however that is not the case . Lizzie's tail has no articulation , plus it is not the same mold as Whip-Lash as the comparison pic below will show .
A good thing about Lizzie's tail is that it does indeed help him stand properly for balance. Now on to Lizzie's accessories, with neither one actually belonging to the character .
Lizzie is one of several MOTUC figures that comes with accessories that do not belong to him . The sword belongs to Skeletor which he has held in some episodes of the Filmation toon . The jewel piece is the Diamond Ray of Disappearance from the Filmation pilot episode with the same name .  A unique feature this piece has is that it glows in the dark . Plus it is specially made to fit into the open right fist of any MOTUC figure . I tried taking pictures of the Diamond Ray in darkness with no success . It is very difficult to get a nice picture of an item so small in the dark . If you want to see pics of the Diamond ray glowing in darkness, you can check out the Fwoosh's review of this figure at www.thefwoosh.com or Pixel Dan's review of the figure on Youtube . I love both accessories by the way I think they are cool . ( NOTE ) On the back of the packing their is a little note at the top right hand corner about making the glow feature work . I'll repeat what it says just in case if you can not see the writing from the pic . It says the following - Glow-in-the-dark feature will last longer if you do not expose this product to intense heat or direct sunlight for prolonged periods of time . Place the gem box approximately 5 feet ( 152 cm ) away from a light source for 30 seconds . Placing the gem box closer will not intensify the "glow-in-the-dark"feature .
                           Now back to the issue with Lizzie's height . Below are comparison pics
displaying him with his knees straight and bent .

Look at how much of a difference bending the knees can make . Almost a full inch difference . With knees fully bent he is right at five inches tall compared to being six inches standing straight . One last noticeable feature about Lizard Man are his hands. They are webbed just like a real lizard's hands are. With a filmy looking translucent plastic between the fingers. A very cool look in my opinion .
                                                 FINAL   THOUGHTS
( 1 ) ARTICULATION - Lizzie has basically the same articulation as any MOTUC figure with the exception of ab crunch . He has no ab crunch .

( 2 ) STANDING  ABILITY - Stands perfectly due to the fact the tail solidifies the balance even more .

( 3 ) WHAT  I  LIKE  BEST  ABOUT  THIS  FIGURE ? - The accessories he comes with, the bright vivid colors of the figure and the translucent film between his fingers. Not to mention the positive sense of closure of finally having an action figure of a character that I have been wanting since being a kid in the 1980s.

( 4 ) WHAT  I  LIKE  LEAST  ABOUT  THIS  FIGURE ? - Too tall for Lizard Man however like already mentioned this problem can be fixed by bending his knees .

( 5 ) WHAT  COULD  HAVE  BEEN  DONE  TO  IMPROVE  THE  FIGURE ? The cloak could have been removable , give him the ab crunch , and make the tail articulate . However I am cool with my Lizard Man figure and is not bothered by the lack of these features .

( 6 ) GRADING  SCALE  - With the FIGURE ONLY - I give it a 9.5 on a scale from one to ten . The minuses are for the missing features I discussed in Final Thoughts # 5 . Even though I am not bothered by the lack of these features, implementing them onto the figure would have made it better in my opinion . As for the FIGURE combined with the ACCESSORIES , a PERFECT 10 !!!

( 7 ) FINAL  ANALYSIS - It feels great to finally have a figure in my collection that I have waited a long time for . Not only do we get to add a figure to our MOTUC collection that many of us have wanted since childhood , but also get a chance to add some more Filmation artifacts to the collection as well .






Monday, January 19, 2015

Action Figure Imagery Salutes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Action Figure Style !!!

In honor of this great man on this holiday that celebrates his birthday, Action Figure Imagery pays tribute by displaying toys in his likeness . I originally did not know there were action figures of him. ( NOTE ) These are NOT my pictures. They belong to the website of the toy company that made the figure . I do not own this figure in my collection and did not have time to purchase it in time for this review .However even though I don't own this figure, I had to pay tribute to the Dr. King Holiday action figure style .  Here are the pics .






Even though I do not own this figure, everything about it look wise is spectacular . The figure looks so realistic looking , you can even see the curls in his hair . Amazing work by this company, which I never heard of before until recently . The accessories he comes with are very detailed too I see. That Holy Bible looks great, just like the real thing . And I love how the podium is done with the extra microphones .
Like I already mentioned, I never heard of the toy company before. If the average toy collector saw this Dr. King figure without seeing the company name, they would probably think it was from the company known as Hot Toys . Hot Toys , the same company that has similar celebrity figures to this one. For those of you whom may not know , Hot Toys have "12 realistic action figures of NBA stars Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, just to name a few. This Dr. King figure looks as if he is made from Hot Toys , but he is not .
If you wish to purchase the Dr. King figure you may have to go to Ebay or Amazon.com . Unfortunately it looks like you can not purchase the figure from the company's website. However if you want to visit the site not just to learn more about the Dr. King figure but other figures as well , you can visit www.did.co .
In my opinion , this Dr. King figure can also be used as a work of art rather than as a toy . Imagine how this figure would look inside of a glass china cabinet . In my opinion this figures makes a great decorative piece as well as a toy .
Now on to another Dr. King toy product, if you consider this a toy .
Should Bobble Head Dolls be considered toys ???  Although I think the Bobble head looks okay , it is not as cool looking or realistic looking in my opinion,  as the Dr. King 12 inch figure already mentioned in this article . Speaking of the figure, I think it does indeed looks like the actual man . Good luck in trying to get this figure for a great price however, from the looks of certain Ebay auctions you may end up paying a little over a 100 dollars for it . The figure looks great but the prices not so much .
That's it for now folks. What better way for an action figure website to honor this great human being other than using toys that display his likeness ?  Hope you enjoyed the article .

Sunday, January 11, 2015

NBA HEROES - Kobe Bryant Review !!!

This review here is a review of " FIRSTS " . This Kobe Bryant figure is the " first " sports action figure to be reviewed on this site . In the "first" month of this new year 2015 . This is also the "first" figure to be reviewed on this site that I did not purchase in person . I won this figure off of an Ebay auction . These NBA Heroes figures came out about four months ago , however I just not to long ago discovered their existence . Plus these figures are very hard to find in person, I had to go to the internet . To go along with being an action figure fan, I am also an NBA basketball fan . So to get this six inch scaled Kobe Bryant figure is a real pleasure . ( NOTE ) I know that this is a 2014 action figure, however 2015 is still young at the time of this writing. and not much 2015 toy stuff has arrived just yet but will . Plus I do not want to go long periods of time without bringing you readers any content to read for your entertainment . Now on to the figure.


As you can see Kobe is joined by other NBA stars such as LeBron James , Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony , and Blake Griffin . Even though these are sports figures , the company that made these figures, Jazwares was mostly aiming at kids it seems when they made these. Trying to turn these NBA players into super heroes , thus earning this toy line the name " NBA Heroes " . Even Kobe's bio on the back is a fictional one, not discussing his basketball career or accomplishments but instead the bio explains the use of the super hero accessories he comes with to fight crime . Speaking of the accessories , here they are .
Kobe comes in with the above accessories . A hooded cape , a visor , a basketball , and some mechanical arm attachment used as a weapon to shoot the ball . I was surprised that the ball has almost the touch and feel of a real basketball . You can even press your thumb down on it and squeeze it . Now for a look at Kobe out of the packaging with just the figure only without the accessories.


I am very pleased with this figure. Jazwares did a great job. As you can see he is right at the six inch mark , however I wish he was at least 6.5 inches tall, since the real Kobe Bryant is 6"6 in height . If the figure was 6.5 inches instead of 6 inches, this would be more realistic to his real height . For example , if a player is 7 feet tall I feel like his action figure should be 7 inches tall . A 6 foot even player's figure should be 6 inches tall , etc . and so on . I love the realism with this figure . Not just with the figure but with his accessories. The NBA logo is located on the top of the back of his jersey and on the right upper thigh area of his trunks / shorts . The jersey itself looks like a real NBA jersey and is probably made out of the same material as the real thing . It certainly looks as if it is . Now for a couple of looks at the figure without the jersey .

I'm glad Jazwares did not go to the extreme with the look of the body . This is what an average basketball player's body is supposed to look like. Muscular with a slim build, not overly buff like super hero or wrestling figures . Since NBA players are playing a fast paced sport, it makes sense to have a slim muscular build . I'm not sure if you can notice in the pics, but if you look real close you can even see veins running between the figures chest and shoulders. What a very cool realistic effect . I also like the effect that the flash from my camera is making, giving off the illusion as if Kobe is sweating . Very cool effect and very realistic . The figure does not have any of Kobe's tattoos but I'm okay with that. I assume Jazwares did not have the extra time to apply them onto the figure. ( NOTE ) In order to remove the jersey, you must temporary remove his lower right arm and raise his left arm . There are instructions that did not come with the figure that explains how this is done, but I'll get to those instructions in a moment . For now, here's a look at Kobe being displayed with the accessories .



Given above are several different looks of Kobe with the accessories . Cape and cowl only , cape and vizor only , cape, vizor and arm attachment , and vizor only . Now on to the instructions on how to assemble everything. As I already mentioned, these instructions do not come with the figure. To gain access to them you must visit Jazware's website at www.jazwares.com . Once there go to the " Action and Gaming Toys " category , click on NBA Heroes and select the " How To " feature for the instructions . I've downloaded and scanned Kobe's instructions for you below. For better higher quality copies you may want to visit Jazware's site and download the instructions yourself.

The only thing I don't like about these instructions is that you have to remove the figure's lower right arm to both remove the jersey and attach the mechanical arm attachment . Removing the lower right arm is not easy, you'll have to put some strength into removing it but at the same time be gentle so that you do not tear the arm peg . Here's a look at two more accessory pieces that come with the packaging. The NBA Heroes logo and the Los Angeles Lakers logo representing Kobe's team .
As always here at Action Figure Imagery , one thing that I love to do is compare action figures with other toy lines . So here is a look at Kobe standing next to two six inch scaled figures from other toy lines . A WWE Elite Mattel Mankind figure and a Marvel Legend Agent Venom , whom I've reviewed last year on this site . And to keep things basketball related , I've even posed him next to an old Dennis Rodman figure from the WCW Toybiz series .

As you can see, despite being in six inch scale, Kobe is almost dwarfed by Mankind and Agent Venom . Plus Dennis Rodman is listed at 6"7 when you Google him and Kobe is listed at 6"6 . Therefore their action figures should be about the same height. Rodman should not be towering over Kobe . Which also means that Toybiz made the Rodman figure a little too tall, he is almost seven inches . Now you can see why I wish this Kobe figure was just a little bit more taller than he is, but not by much .
Finally , a comparison shot of the figure and the real Kobe Bryant . Judge for yourself to see if this figure really looks like the real person in the pic below.
For me the eyebrows, shape of his head and ears are spot on . The rest I'm not to sure about . Like I mentioned earlier the figure does not have Kobe's tattoos.
                                                 FINAL     THOUGHTS  
( 1 ) ARTICULATION - The figure is said to have 19 points of articulation . Very good articulation at that. The arms and legs move up and down and outward . Knees and elbows bend,great up and down head movement, etc . If you want to display him in some basketball poses, some b-ball poses may require a flight stand . For these b-ball poses I recommend a flight stand . Shooting, rebounding , and blocking shots. For stealing the ball or passing the ball does not require flight stand assistance .

( 2 ) STANDING  ABILITY - You'll have to position his legs just a little to get him to stand in that proper stance without falling . He stands great once you do .

( 3 ) WHAT  I  LIKE  BEST  ABOUT  THIS  FIGURE ? The realism of the figure. The Jersey , the shoes, Kobe himself looks like the real thing despite missing the tattoos . Plus the 19 points of articulation makes the figure very fun to pose .

( 4 ) WHAT  I  LIKE  LEAST  ABOUT  THIS  FIGURE ? I do not like the idea of having to remove his lower right arm to remove the jersey or to place on the arm attachment . The good news is at least the arm can easily snap right back on . Also it is kind of difficult to get his arms to go straight up into the air , making things awkward for shot blocking or rebounding poses . Also as I mentioned earlier I wish he was just a little bit more taller so that he can fit in better standing next to other six inch scaled figures from other lines .

( 5 ) WHAT  COULD  HAVE  BEEN  DONE  TO  IMPROVE  THE  FIGURE ? Ease some of the restrict upper arm movement . This way so we do not have to remove the lower right arm to remove the jersey or place on the arm attachment. Also this would make rebounding and shot blocking poses easier to pull off .

( 6 ) GRADING SCALE - Here I go again with split grading scales. With the FIGURE ONLY , I give it a 9.8 . Excellent action figure,the only minus is for having to remove his lower right arm to remove the jersey and to attach the arm piece. Not to mention the tightness of the upper arm movement . With FIGURE PLUS ACCESSORIES a PERFECT 10 !!! The jersey, the hooded cape, the basketball and the vizor are all super cool in my opinion . I'm not too crazy about the arm piece but it's okay . I think it'll make a great custom piece for a fictional custom made character .

( 7 ) FINAL  ANALYSIS - As I've already mentioned , I'm both a fan of basketball and action figures, so purchasing this Kobe Bryant action figure was a no brainer for me. Plus I am very pleased with how the figure came out, I wish Jazwares would make more NBA Heroes . I would like to see them make a Dwight Howard NBA Hero figure along with retired greats Michael Jordan and Shaq . It's nice having this 5 time NBA Champion and future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant figure in my collection however . Plus I prefer these NBA Hero figures over the McFarlane NBA figures which are almost like statues instead of action figures. Even if you do not like basketball but like action figures, I suggest you give this figure or other NBA Heroes a try out in your collection . You will not be disappointed .