#49: World of Nintendo - Sheik

I'm still waiting for a figure of Zelda herself, but (spoiler alert for a 20 year old game!) since this is technically her, that is pretty cool too. Sheik has had more appearances in the Super Smash Bros series than the Legend of Zelda series that she's from. She's probably not the only character with that distinction, which I suppose is a bit odd. Sheik's accessory is a lyre. Normally for this line, the accessory is inside a box, and is meant to be a surprise. But in this case, the lyre is displayed in the packaging, and called out in the print as well. Maybe there was concern that people don't know what a lyre is.

#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.

#47: Rock Candy - Modern Batgirl

So, it's another line of collectible vinyl figures from Funko, but less stylized. So far as I can tell, the Rock Candy line is only about DC superheroines. It's also I think the first collectible version of Batgirl's most recent Burnside iteration, which is cool (there is a Pop! coming out soon, and both Mattel and DC Collectibles have action figure versions in the works). Not that I really need another line of things to collect, but because it's Batgirl of Burnside, I decided to get it. It's in the 4-5 inch range of height, and completely unarticulated. There's also a stand, without which it has trouble staying upright.

#46: World of Nintendo - Shy Guy

Originally hailing from Super Mario Bros 2, the Shy Guys aren't quite as iconic as goombas or koopa troopas, but I've always liked their look. Not surprisingly, the Shy Guy has very little articulation. The arms are swivel-hinges and the feet are swivels. Really, that's about all you can expect with a design like that. His accessory is a propellor that plugs into the top of his head. I don't remember Shy Guys flying in SMB2, so I'm guessing that's an ability that showed up in a more recent appearance. I haven't played a new Super Mario game since the Gamecube, so I'm kind of out of the loop in that regard.

#45: World of Nintendo - Tanooki Mario

Second to Kuribo's shoe, the tanooki suit is the coolest power up in Super Mario Bros. 3. It combines the raccoon suit's ability of flight with the ability to turn into an invulnerable statue. It was also Mario's first foray into full bodysuit power ups. The original tanooki suit doesn't have the hat brim on it that this figure has, so this is apparently based on New Super Mario 3D Land. But I'm just going to pretend it's the original version, because Super Mario Bros 3 was such a huge cultural landmark. Mario isn't as well articulated here as is the Figuarts version, but it's good enough for the price. Mario's secret accessory is the super leaf power up.

#44: DC Comics Multiverse Batman v Superman - Aquaman

I never got around to buying a Khal Drogo figure, so this is my first Jason Momoa figure. Like the Flash and Cyborg, Aquaman had only a glorified cameo in Batman v Superman. Yet, out of the three, he is the only one who has an action figure already. This is almost a Star Wars level obscure character release, or it would be if Aquaman wasn't already a major character. Except for the fact that he has two hands, his movie look is basically the 90s comics version. Which is probably better for live action than his traditional costume. Seeing Jason Momoa in a scaly orange shirt might be cool, though. Accessory-wise, Aquaman includes a five pronged spear.

#43: World of Nintendo - Gravity Suit Samus

I don't remember if I ever saw one, but I intended to pass on the first World of Nintendo Samus because I already have the much fancier Figma Samus. But I am totally down for a gravity suit repaint. Beside granting improved jumping ability, what I like about the gravity suit is the purple. And this is the Super Smash Bros color variant I always use for Samus. It's a nice looking figure with decent articulation. The secret accessory is Samus in morph ball mode.

#42: Transformers Masterpiece - MP-29 Destron Laserwave

A while ago I was considering picking up the third party version of Shockwave because he is one of my favorite Decepticons, and no Masterpiece version of him had been announced. Then one was announced. I'm assuming that there will be a domestic Hasbro release at some point, but I decided to be impatient and just go for the Japanese release (I wonder how many Transformers geek points one earns from buying Japanese versions of the toys). Just like the original toy, Shockwave's alt-mode is a sci-fi ray gun. It's a pretty good size, just slightly small for my hands. If one wants to display him in this mode, there is a stand.

Shockwave's robot mode is very nice looking. They even did a good job of correcting the too skinny legs problem with the original toy. For accessories, he includes a few alternate hands, some of which are translucent due to the light up feature. As far as I can tell, his chest and the end of his left arm can light up. Batteries aren't included.  Also, there is a smaller version of himself in alt-mode. So that means you can have your Masterpiece Transformers dual wield Shockwave and Megatron. There are also Decepticon logo stickers which I haven't applied yet.

#41: S.H. Figuarts - Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest rock vocalists of all time. If you disagree, you can just leave right now, because I don't need that kind of negativity on my blog. So when I saw there was a Figuarts Freddie Mercury coming out, you better believe that I pre-ordered one as soon as I could. Not surprisingly, this is based on Queen's appearance at Wembley Stadium. I think every figure based on Freddie Mercury uses this look. This is the typical Figuarts quality we're used to, although this is the first Figuarts toy I've bought that doesn't include a stand. There are the typical Figuarts alternate heads and hands, as well as a microphone (with and without stand). This is one the few figures I own that is based on a real person. Obviously, a lot of figures I own are based on people, but they're for the character they are playing, not the person themselves.

Here are the alternate shouting and singing faces for Freddie.

#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.