#63: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Usagi Yojimbo

Here we are, the last of my birthday gifts for the year. This Usagi Yojimbo figure is one I've been waiting nearly 30 years for. The original Usagi figure was wearing armor, and the more recent version was in an awkward pose due to an action feature. At last, there is an Usagi Yojimbo figure that is articulated and is wearing his standard outfit. I haven't been keeping up with the Ninja Turtles cartoon, but now that it's been responsible for this figure, it has achieved its purpose and can now be rebooted.

#60 LEGO Star Wars Microfighters - Wookiee Gunship (75129)

This was another birthday gift. Since this is a Wookiee who isn't Chewbacca (you can tell because he's completely nude), this is a set based on Revenge of the Sith. But it turns out there is a larger Wookiee Gunship set that's based on Rebels, so maybe not. My Shyriiwook is terrible, I can't come up with an appropriate name for him, so I'll just go with Frank. Frank's bowcaster looks suspiciously like a regular crossbow. I've never had a Chewbacca minifigure before, is this "crossbow as bowcaster" treatment standard for Wookiees in LEGO form? The gunship itself is a fun little build, with adjustable wings and flick out missiles.

#59: Power Rangers Legacy Collection - Green Ranger

My birthday was about two and a half months ago. This was a birthday gift. That's how far behind I am currently. Anyway, Bandai has been putting out these Power Ranger Legacy figures for a while. They're basically the Marvel Legends of Power Rangers, as they're in a six inch scale and well articulated. They even have a build a figure, which for the first couple of series is the original Megazord. The movie reboot wasn't out yet when the Green Ranger was in stores, so I missed out. Fortunately, I was given this figure for my birthday. My only experience with Bandai figures recently has been the Figuarts toys, and while this figure isn't as nice, this does feel like it's by the same company. There is plentiful articulation, and overall the figure feels well made. There are a few accessories: the Sword of Death, the infamous dagger/flute, and a spare set of hands posed for flute playing. If the first series of figures was still readily available, I'd feel very tempted to assemble the classic MMPR team.

#123: Marvel Legends - Heroes For Hire (Ghost Rider)

I should have bought this figure when it first came out a few months ago, because it ended up being pretty hard to find. Probably due to Ghost Rider appearing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., although that is the Robbie Reyes version, and this figure is the classic Johnny Blaze. If nothing else, Ghost Rider is one of the coolest looking characters ever because his head is a skull on fire. Good luck finding a better look than that. Naturally, the best part of this figure is the head. It's translucent orange plastic, with the bone painted on. It catches the light and give Ghost Rider glowing eyes well. Also, the jaw is articulated, which is always a neat touch. There is a chain around his chest, but that's as close to an accessory that's included. Now I just need to find a 1/12 scale motorcycle for him.

#122: LEGO - Birthday Table Decoration (40153)

So this is kind of a weird little set. It's a birthday table decoration. Not a cake topper! The box specifically states that it is for "table decoration only." Basically it's a cake that a jester can pop out of, like you see strippers doing in movies. The jester is a half minifigure (no legs) that sits on one end of a lever. Pushing down on the other end causes the top of the cake and the jester to rise. There are pieces to customize the number corresponding to the age of the person whose birthday is being celebrated, with a range of one to ninety nine. Since it's nowhere near my birthday, I opted to go with 42 for display purposes.

#121: Marvel Legends - The Punisher

Here we go with another Walgreens exclusive, Marvel Legends Punisher. The timing of the release seemed close enough to be cashing in on his appearance in the second season of Daredevil, and he's a fairly prominent character, so why make him an exclusive? I'm guessing is's so that he wouldn't be packaged with a build-a-figure piece, and so more accessories could be budgeted in. They did the same for Deadpool, but included him in a standard retail series, so who knows. Either way, the accessories are where the Punisher really shines. He's got the same bazooka as Deadpool (but no boxing glove), a huge machine gun, an inexplicably white shotgun, and two heads. The head that is attached in the packaging is the Jim Lee style 80s head with a Rambo headband, while the other head makes it look like Frank had some bad seafood for lunch.  Oddly for a guy who mostly uses guns, this Punisher's hands don't have trigger fingers extended. He can still hold them, at least.

#120: Star Wars The Black Series - Imperial Hovertank Pilot

Another new Stormtrooper variant from Rogue One, the Imperial Hovertank Pilot is a Toys R Us exclusive. Except for the paint and the helmet, it's basically the same figure as the shoretrooper. I guess the Death Troopers are the only new Imperial forces that care about protecting their thighs with armor. Oddly, of the new Imperial figures so far, this is the only one with the standard Stormtrooper blaster. I think we only actually see one of these troopers in the movie, so that makes him unique.

#119: Ultimate Spider-Man Minimates - Jet-pack Spider-Man and Squirrel Girl

I've only watched the first season of the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, because that's all that was on Netflix at the time. Apparently, it has improved by including Squirrel Girl so I might have to go back and watch the rest of it. This set is a Walgreens exclusive, and it still continues to seem weird that Walgreens gets so many cool exclusives. While there has recently been a Squirrel Girl Funko Pop, this is the first actual action figure for her. In the show she wears her classic costume, so that's what she's wearing here, complete with weird eye makeup. The packaging calls out that it "includes squirrels!" and there are three of them. They have Minimates style cylindrical heads, even. There are a couple accessories (not pictured) that I am a bit mystified about. They kind of look like ice cream cones, but I really have no clue. Also included is Spider-Man, with a jet pack. It has a nice flame effects piece that doubles as a stand. He also has an alternate "thumbs up" hand and another head with larger eyes.

#113: Star Wars Droid Factory - Mickey Mouse Ears Astromech

The other Droid Factory astromech I got has a white, blue, and silver color scheme yet manages to look completely different from R2-D2. This one has a Mickey Mouse ears hat, which has the Jedi Order logo printed on it.

#112: Star Wars Droid Factory - Sorcerer's Apprentice Astromech

Friend of the blog James went to Disneyworld and got me a couple of the Disney exclusive Droid Factory astromechs. Remember when the Star Wars line did build a figure with droids? That's basically what these are, with the added extra of a special hat. They come in clamshell packages that can be re-sealed easily. One of the cool things is that you get to name the droid yourself, and it includes a sticker sheet so you can add the name to the card in the package. This droid is an astromech with a domed head (an R4?) in dark colors that make it look Imperial. This one has the hat Mickey Mouse wore in the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia, complete with Mickey Mouse ears sticking out.

#48: Doctor Who - Sound FX Special Weapons Dalek

The Special Weapons Dalek is from the Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks" which was basically a 25th anniversary special for the show. The story features a couple different Dalek factions, and the special weapons Dalek is a standout from the standard design. Gone are the traditional eyestalk, plunger arm, and blaster, replaced with one big cannon. As a consequence, the only articulation featured on this Dalek is the up and down motion of the cannon. It also makes noise, and can play either a laser blast, or a laser blast followed by an explosion. The special weapons Dalek wasn't particularly chatty, even by Dalek standards, so it doesn't say "EXTERMINATE" like you might expect.

#40: DC Comics Designer Series (Greg Capullo) - Catwoman

Just to show you how far behind I am with this blog, this is a birthday gift. My birthday was over two months ago. This Catwoman is from the Designer Series, based on the artwork of Greg Capullo. The Snyder/Capullo run on Batman was overall pretty great. Greg Capullo's style looks very cool, and translates well to action figure. Since this is DC Collectibles, the scale is larger than Mattel toys, but at least it will fit in with my Capullo style Batman figure. Catwoman's sole accessory is her whip, which is made from a soft enough plastic that it can function as an actual tiny whip.

#2: Back To The Future Hot Wheels - Time Machine Hover Mode

Remember a couple months ago, when it was the day that Marty McFly arrived from the past? Back to the Future mania was at its highest point in years, and a lot of companies were cashing in. Mattel was no exception, and they released a new version of Doc Brown's DeLorean, this time with the wheels in hover mode. Unfortunately I was never able to find one in a store, but luckily James was able to. This is my favorite version of the DeLorean, so I'm glad I was able to get one. Although the wheels are folded down, there are smaller and functional wheels on the bottom of the car, so it can still roll along a flat surface.

#1: World of Nintendo - Metroid

So there have been more Samus figures in the past couple years than basically the previous 25. Even rarer than Samus has been a metroid toy. Fortunately, there's one in the World of Nintendo line now.
It's one of the deluxe figures, so it's really big. Like, probably too big to really be in scale with anything. But I'm okay with that because it's really cool looking. The only articulation is on the fangs, which is really the only articulation that would be appropriate. The outer layer is a soft, translucent plastic, while everything else is a harder plastic. I'd say this is a very nice translation of a metroid design into three dimensions. Too bad it (and Samus!) is so hard to find.

#87: Militaries of Star Wars - Commander Gree

Running behind on posting about this one, but Commander Gree is a birthday gift from friend of the blog James. Commander Gree is a 1:6 scale figure from Sideshow. Like most figures in this scale, he comes with a nice assortment of accessories. There is an alternate head for if you want to display Gree without a helmet, macrobinoculars, a stand, a blaster pistol, a blaster, a blaster rifle, and an assortment of hands. There are the usual open and closed hands, as well as hands making signals, with varying numbers of fingers held up. Pretty cool for gesturing options. There are even an extra set of feet, with bent toes for posing.

#86: Marvel Legends - Savage Force - Chameleon

If an alternate head is a good way to potentially sell double the amount of a figure, then two alternate heads must be even more lucrative. Such is the case with "Savage Force" (it's a shared slot with Kraven), who comes packaged with Chameleon's head on the body. There's also a head for minor antagonist Hammerhead, and more importantly, one for J. Jonah Jameson. It's got a guy in a suit for a body. With its dark shirt it feels like a better fit for the gangster Hammerhead. But for me, this is a J. Jonah Jameson figure first and foremost. Other accessories include a pistol, an old timey looking tommy gun, and some sort of futuristic gun with a detachable drum magazine.

#36: Batman The Animated Series - The Joker

Another birthday gift, it's the Animated Series version of the Joker. I've been meaning to pick this figure up, as Mark Hamill's Joker is the one I consider the most iconic. Fortunately, there weren't any breakage issues with my figure. Based on looking at pictures of it beforehand, I was worried about how terribly the knee articulation would interrupt the flow of the figure when used, but that turned out to not be a problem. Joker comes with a stand and several episode specific accessories that I don't recall the significance of off the top of my head. There's a necklace, a comb, an ice pick, and a cool 50's style bubble space helmet, as well as a couple of alternate hands.

#35: Total Heroes - Bizarro

My birthday was a couple days ago, and one of my gifts was the Total Heroes Bizarro figure. Total Heroes is the weird DCUC quasi followup line that Mattel came up with that had more simplified/stylized sculpts and reduced articulation for a lower price. I think the only physical retail locations they ended up at were Toys R Us stores. I'm not particularly keen on re-buying many characters again in a slightly different style so soon after the demise of a previous line, but I'm usually down for a Bizarro. Especially when he's in my favorite purple costume. And he has a soft cape!

#116: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates - Leonardo & Foot Soldier

For the Ninja Turtles Minimates line, the Minimates are figures with a twist. They're actually keychains. I'm assuming this is a way to use a licensing loophole, because these are pretty terrible at being keychains. The keychain is attached to the figure by a string loop around the neck. It's pretty easy to remove. In fact, in Leonardo's case the head is really easy to pop off due to the chest piece preventing the head from firmly attaching. But after you get past that, they are regular Minimates. Leonardo has new forearms, lower legs, and a chest piece, so I'm kind of surprised that he doesn't get a new head piece as well, instead getting a headband that fits over the head. The Foot soldier gets what may be new biceps and thighs (they are definitely not standard). Both of them have weapons that can be stowed on their backs. Leo gets his two trusty swords while the Foot soldier gets a sword, a dagger, and a sickle. Leonardo gets a sewer cover base while the Foot soldier's is clear plastic.

#115: DC Universe Classics - Ultraman

Remember a couple years ago when Mattel released the Crime Syndicate five pack? Well, somebody wanted to trade their Ultraman from that set for the DC Collectibles version. So they bought one, swapped it out of the packaging, then returned it to Toys R Us. Then I received it as a Christmas gift. As an evil alternate universe version of Superman, Ultraman's main appeal is that he is kind of Bizarro-ish. So I'll be keeping this one in the package, for the story it tells.