#17: Doctor Who - The Other Doctor

Going to Gallifrey one inspired me to fill out my roster of Doctor figures. Since there is no proper 12th Doctor figure in the 5 inch line, I went with the "other Doctor" figure. Since John Hurt won't license his likeness for other lines (NECA creatively released a figure of his character from Alien with a facehugger covering his face), this is the best way to get a John Hurt figure. It's a pretty good likeness, although the likeness on the interchangeable Paul McGann head isn't as good. The sonic screwdriver is included, but it sadly can't be holstered on his bandolier. Also included is the Time Lord weapon, the Moment. I'm kind of surprised this wasn't released as a two pack with a figure of Billie Piper as the Moment's interface. That would have been cool.

#16: Doctor Who - Ace

For the second year in a row, I went to the Doctor Who convention Gallifrey One and bought an action figure based on one of the actors that I also got an autograph from. Ace was the Doctor's final companion in the classic series, so although she has appeared in the audio series, she's never had an onscreen departure from the TARDIS. The figure is a nice representation of Ace, they even duplicated all the patches and badges for her iconic jacket. Naturally, she includes the baseball bat that she used to destroy a Dalek from her most iconic scene. 

Ace has one of the largest assortment of accessories from the Doctor Who line. She includes alternate arms so she can be displayed without her jacket. There's also a removable backpack, RPG launcher, and some canisters of nitro-9, one of which can be plugged into the backpack as if it's sticking out from the top.

#15: Funko Pop! Movies - Smaug (The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies)

The chiefest and greatest of calamities has never looked so cute. On the whole, the toy offerings for the Hobbit movies have been fairly weak. Of course, I wanted a Smaug of some sort, but the "standard" figure was an 80 buck web exclusive. So the Funko Pop! version seems like a good compromise, being way cheaper. I'm really surprised at just how cute Smaug ended up after the Pop! treatment. There's something about that expression that reminds me of a dog begging for a treat. I originally thought that the black mark on the chest was a paint issue, but apparently it's on every figure. I guess it's meant to represent the weak point in his armor, but I thought that was on the left side of his chest. There are a couple variants, one is gold, and one has reptilian eyes, rather than the standard Pop! style black.

#14: Figma Ghost In The Shell - Kusanagi Motoko: S.A.C. ver.

Here it is, only February, and this is my second anime Figma. Stand Alone Complex was my introduction to Ghost In The Shell (I didn't see the original movie until afterwards), and it's one of my favorite anime series. Major Kusanagi is the main protagonist/poster woman for the series, so she's the first to get the action figure treatment for the line. I'm not sure if the rest of the team will get made, but I'm assuming that Batou would be the next in line. The Major is the standard Figma, in that the figure is very well articulated, and looks good. There is the usual assortment of hands included, as well as a stand. The Major has two hairstyles, one with the hair at rest and the second with the hair swept to one side. There is a handgun and a machine gun with detachable silencer also included. Her three interchangeable expressions are yelling, stern, and one with a slight smile.

Now I really need a Tachikoma...

#13: Marvel Legends Infinite Series - Maidens of Might (Captain Marvel)

For the longest time, I only knew Ms Marvel as the character that Rogue absorbed her superpowers from. Recently, she's had a bit of a renaissance, taking on the title of Captain Marvel while getting an awesome re-design and headlining her own title. Fortunately, Hasbro didn't waste too much time in getting her made into plastic. Unfortunately, this is still a hard figure to find. Hasbro may have had a bit of a rough start when they started making Marvel Legends, but they've improved considerably since then. Captain Marvel's base body may have no sculpted details on it, but it looks good and is well articulated. The head is a great presentation of Carol's masked look, complete with the distinctive faux-hawk hairstyle.

There's also an alternate unmasked head, and a glob of energy that fits over either fist to represent energy based attacks. As part of the Allfather build-a-figure wave, Captain Marvel includes Odin's unhelmeted head, axe, and cape.

#12: Transformers Robots In Disguise - Grimlock

So there's a new Transformers cartoon coming out, and I believe it's in the same continuity as Prime. But the important thing is that Grimlock is in it, so there's a new Grimlock for the second time this year. I guess the new trend in Transformers toys is for them to have simpler transformations, to the point that the instructions are printed on the card rather than including a sheet. Grimlock goes from robot to dino in ten steps. It's actually kind of a refreshing change of pace from some of the toys that have felt like they were needlessly complicated. And it's not so simple that it feels insulting. This feels similar to the classic Grimlock transformation, where the dino legs become the robot arms and the robot legs become the dino tail.

In dino mode, Grimlock looks like the love child of Godzilla and the Dragonzord from the original Power Rangers. It's got the more upright stance of the 80s original, and while that's not scientifically accurate, I can appreciate it being G1-y. Also, the dino has three fingers and a thumb, so obviously this isn't going for any kind of realistic T. Rex look. There is a lever in the back of the head that opens the jaw, which is held closed by a spring, so he can't be posed with his jaw open unless you wedge it open.

Robot mode is pretty cool looking. I really dig the black and green color scheme he's sporting. He doesn't include any accessories. I haven't seen the cartoon yet, so he may not use any weapons. My only complaint is that he's a little on the small side. It's weird having a deluxe size Grimlock, he seems like he should always be a voyager scale toy. Either way, it's still a cool Transformers toy.

#11: LEGO Star Wars Microfighters - AT-AT (75075)

I got a couple of the ships from the first series of Microfighters, and I like the aesthetic of chibi-fied versions of iconic Star Wars vehicles that include a pilot minifigure. For the second series, the AT-AT interested me the most. Basically, this is the cutest version of the AT-AT that I've ever seen. It looks like an adorable little puppy. I hope the next series has a version of Slave I in it. These do seem to be released in "pairs", like this series has a snowspeeder to pair with the AT-AT, and there isn't really anything to pair with Slave I. Unless they do the prequel version, but I'd prefer the original Slave I. I guess we'll see.