Toy Talk
Volume XXXIV
By Mark Patraw
Posted on 3/31/14
This is the thirty-fourth installment of Toy Talk, and I'm thirty-four years old, so, um, the planets are aligned or something. In the front row of this group, moving left-to-right, we have: a 2007 DC/McDonald's Legion of Super-Heroes Mano (twenty-five cents "boys dudes" grab bag on 3/19/14); a 2007 Hasbro Superhero Squad Spider-man 3 Sandman (twenty-five cents "boys dudes" grab bag on 3/19/14); a 2010 Hasbro Transformers: Generations Drivetrain (twenty-five cents on 1/14/14); a 1994 Playmates WildC.A.T.s Zealot Kherubim Warrior (fifty cents on 3/26/14); and finally, in the back, towering over everybody else, is a 2002 Ty Teenie Beanie Boppers Paula Plapperstache (twenty-five cents on 3/26/14). If anyone reading this knows more information about any of these items, that I haven't already discussed below, and would like to share, or just chat about toys, feel free to e-mail me and let me know!
This guy has got to be a contender for having the most garish-looking super villain costume ever! He's a 3" (7.6 cm) tall 2007 DC/McDonald's Legion of Super-Heroes Mano figurine. This toy was a tie-in with the LSH cartoon that was airing at the time, but the character first appeared, way back in January of 1967, in Adventure Comics #352. Mano is an Angtuan, from the planet Angtu, and often a member of the 30th century's Fatal Five super villain group. Angtu was a heavily polluted planet, so Mano can't handle breathing the clean atmospheres of most inhabited worlds, which is why he has to wear that silly globe on his head (he and Marvel Comics' Mysterio must shop at the same place). In the original comic book interpretation of the character, Mano could disintegrate anything with his right hand's "anti-matter touch", up to, and including, an entire planet (he destroyed his own homeworld in that fashion). Somebody goofed up on this toy though, because he's holding out his left hand instead of his right (his pose makes me think of The Supremes and their hit song, Stop in the Name of Love). In addition to Mano, this toy assortment also included Superman, Timber Wolf, Lightning Lad, Tharok, Brainiac 5, Bouncing Boy, and Validus. Each figure is also supposed to come packaged inside an attractive book-like case, with a trading card, both of which my loose sample lacks. While those items are nice, I think it would have been better to spend the money that went into making those packages and cards on improving the figures themselves, like adding some much-needed articulation.
Mano's sculpt is simple and somewhat blocky in design, but that's consistent with his animation model. He doesn't have any joints, so you'd better like Mano's pose, because it's never going to change. The red ring under his spherical head didn't get full coverage, but, other than that, the paintwork on the super villain is clean and fairly well applied. When I first inspected this toy, the black design on his purple noggin looked like Japanese kanji to me, so, my initial assumption was that this figure was a character from some anime (I was leaning towards Kinnikuman in particular, as his appearance suggested a wrestler to me). However, once I saw the DC copyright mark on his back, I knew that couldn't be the case. What I thought was a kanji is actually a skeletal visage--it's a bit abstract, but, now that I know what it is, I can see it.
Crap, it's Supes! Mano is in deep, deep trouble . . .
I'm betting that he's cursing the sculptor that posed him holding out the wrong hand.
I've always found the Legion of Super-Heroes comics to be incredibly boring. Compared to the present-day DC Universe characters, their future counterparts just aren't very compelling in my opinion. That said, and even though Mano is a silly-looking character, for some reason, I can't help liking him. I think his costume is one of those "it's so stupid, it's cool" things.
Here's a guy that isn't bothered by a little grit in his shoes! This is a 2007 Hasbro Superhero Squad Spider-man 3 Sandman. Brand-new, this toy was packaged with a Black Costume Spider-man figure, in a wall-crawling pose, but, as this is a loose sample, all I have is the super villain himself (of course, it's always possible that I'll find his missing playmate at some future date). At the top of his upraised fist, Sandman measures 2.8" (7.0 cm) tall.
The sculpt is very dynamic and does a great job of exhibiting Sandman's powers. His left and right hands are shaped into a spiked bludgeon and blocky fist, respectively, and Flint Marko's entire lower body is in the process of forming up from loose grains of sand. Those parts of his anatomy also have an appropriately granular texture, which is a nice bit of detail. The head is too simplistic for my tastes, but, Superhero Squad is a toy line marketed to younger Marvel fans (although many adults, like myself, also enjoy them), so, I can understand why they didn't go for something more menacing or realistic. The face sculpt certainly doesn't resemble Thomas Haden Church (the actor who portrayed Sandman in the Spider-man 3 film). The paintwork is also above average. In particular, I like how the darker brown on the tan sand conveys the idea that it's solidifying into human form. I'd say that Marko's face is probably too pale, in comparison to the rest of his body though--I would have done his noggin in a shade that was closer in tint to his sandy arms. There's an errant streak of green, on the top of his right fist, but, otherwise, I think that the various colors were applied fairly well.
And, yes, I know that the bottom of his base says 2006, but the toys weren't released until the Spring of 2007 when the movie came out.
Sandman has rotating cut joints at the neck and forearms. That's fairly limited, but, given his half-transformed state, it's hardly surprising. It'd be difficult to do anything, in the way of mobility, with the lower body with all of those suspended strands of sand. As I mentioned above, I think that his head would have benefitted from more detail and a darker skin tone, but, other than that, I feel that this is a great rendition of the Spider-man villain.
Comparison with the Burger King Spider-man 3 Sandman toy.
Unlike the Superhero Squad version, the fast food figure does resemble the actor.
This is a 2010 Hasbro Transformers: Generations Drivetrain figure from Mini-cons Series 1. Drivetrain is a reissued/recolored version of the 2005 Transformers: Cybertron Reverb figure that was part of the Recon Mini-con Team 3-Pack (which also included Six-Speed and Jolt). When I first identified Drivetrain, I was a bit surprised to find out that he was a Decepticon, because his design and colors suggested Autobot to me. In robot form, Drivetrain stands 2.2" (5.7 cm) tall. He doesn't have a lot of articulation in this shape, just pin joints in the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. There's still a circular Mini-con port molded on the back of his right arm, which was the attachment point for connecting Reverb to larger Transformers figures back in the day (plugging Mini-cons onto said toys would often activate various action features). In vehicle mode, Drivetrain is 1.9" (4.8 cm) long and 1" (2.6 cm) tall. It looks like a hybrid of a truck and a SUV to me and sports a fair amount of detail. The robot's fists are plainly visible in the truck bed though, which is poor design. The wheels all roll, albeit not very well, on smooth, flat surfaces (like my computer desk). Oddly, they work a lot better on anything with a texture for the treads to grip, like a carpet, which isn't exactly the most desirable of arrangements. Drivetrain isn't a terrible mini Transformer, but there's nothing particularly remarkable about him either. If you don't have one, you're not missing much.
Here we have a 1994 Playmates WildC.A.T.s (Covert Action Teams) Zealot (Kherubim Warrior version) action figure. In 1992, when several of Marvel Comics' most popular artists left the company to form their own studio, Image Comics, Jim Lee (best known for his stints as the penciller of Uncanny X-men and X-men) created the WildC.A.T.s, in collaboration with writer Brandon Choi, as his contribution to the Image label. Zealot, whose real name is Lady Zannah, made her first appearance in WildC.A.T.s #1 in August, 1992. While she looks human, she's actually an alien from another world, Kherum. She, and a number of her people, were stranded on Earth, thousands of years ago, when their starship went down after a battle with their mortal enemies, the Daemonites (who likewise crashed on our planet). The Kherubim are extremely long-lived, so, despite her youthful appearance, Zealot is actually thousands of years old. For centuries, the surviving Kherubim have waged a secret war against the Daemonites (who, despite their hideous true forms, can possess, and masquerade as, humans) on Earth. Zealot is an expert warrior, particularly with edged weapons, her skills having been honed by centuries of battle. She's also stronger and tougher than an average human (she can lift/press about 2 tons) and has some knowledge of dark sorcery. While on Earth, Zealot created a sisterhood of warriors, the Coda, to aid her in her struggles against the Daemonites, but she was eventually expelled from that organization after violating their code during the Greek Trojan War (she spared the lives of unarmed women/children during the sack of Troy and she refused to kill one of her fellow Coda, Artemis, after defeating her in one-on-one combat, both of which are unforgivable acts under Coda law). In modern times, Zealot is, of course, an active member of the WildC.A.T.s organization, a group of superheroes dedicated to stopping the Daemonites from conquering our world.
The Kherubim Warrior incarnation of Zealot is a great-looking figure. Playmate's sculptor(s) captured her shapely form very well and her scarlet costume has a pleasing design. I think her eyes are spaced too far apart on her face, but, other than that, I'm happy with her appearance. Being secondhand, my sample has minor blemishes here and there (some dark specks on her thighs that won't wash off, and a tiny chunk of missing hair on the right side of her head), but she's in pretty good "played with" condition overall. Zealot is moderately mobile; she has rotating cut joints at the base of her ponytail, neck, shoulders, forearms, waist, and hips (V-cut). While that's relatively limiting for a character as athletic as she's supposed to be, at the same time, I also have to remind myself that level of articulation was pretty much the norm for action figures during the time period in which she was produced. I don't have any of her accessories, but a complete sample should include: two Nobelium Sabers (swords), two Valkar Blades (the boomerang-esque things sticking up from her back), a Titanium Coda Clef Blade (an axe-like weapon ), a Halo Communicator (walkie-talkie), a WildC.A.T.s Battle Base, and a Zealot trading card. At the top of her ponytail, she's 6.3" (16.1 cm) tall.
Collectors should take note that Playmates released two different versions of Zealot in their WildC.A.T.s line, this Kherubim Warrior one and a Coda variant. They both share the same sculpt, but the Coda version has slightly different, and more modest, paintwork (her thighs are red, instead of flesh, and the silver elements are done in black). Coda Zealot also came with a Hi-Powered Stun Bolt Rifle accessory that the Kherubim Warrior Zealot didn't. However, Coda Zealot lacks the Titanium Coda Clef Blade and Valkar Blades that came with the Kherubim Warrior version. Both Zealots include the Nobelium Sabers, Halo Communicator, WildC.A.T.s Battle Base, and a trading card, although, naturally, the card is different for each.
The color difference in the flesh-toned plastic and paint isn't as noticeable in person as it is here with my camera's flash.
I haven't read a single WildC.A.T.s comic book in my life. However, I did watch the 1994 cartoon show (which this toy line tied into) fairly religiously when it aired, so, I'm pretty familiar with the main characters. It just so happens that Zealot was always my favorite, and, as you can imagine, I'm quite pleased to add a plastic representation of her to my toy collection. I wouldn't go so far as to call her one of my grails or anything, but Zealot is still a figure that I've always wanted to have.
This is a 2002 Ty Teenie Beanie Boppers Paula Plapperstache plush figure. Her surname is German for "Tittle-Tattle", but more on that later. The Teenie Beanie Boppers are smaller versions [8.3" (21 cm) tall in Paula's case] of Ty's larger Beanie Boppers plush dolls. She's made from polyester fibers, with PE pellets as part of her stuffing, and a PVC-coated internal wire armature (that coating is doubtlessly there to prevent injury to a child should the wire ever come poking through the fabric "skin" of the doll). I really like the addition of a bendable wire skeleton inside of a plush toy as that gives you the poseability of an action figure coupled with the soft look and feel of a fabric item.
Paula's hair is simply magnificent. I'm not sure why, but I've really become enamored with yarn hair lately--in fact, her locks are the primary reason I bought her. Paula's mop is a dark blonde mass of crimped curls that are soft to the touch and can easily be combed out with your fingers. Only half of her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and tied off with a blue ribbon, the rest hangs free, which strikes me as a bit of an odd arrangement, but it definitely looks fine in its natural state. I'd bet real people would look great with yarn wigs too!
Paula's outfit consists of a shiny faux black leather jacket with silver fabric buttons, a rainbow-hued sleeveless top, a pair of sky-blue pants with various words and symbols printed all over them, and a pair of black shoes. All of those elements are permanent parts of her body, except for the jacket, which looks like it's removable, but I opted to leave it on, as I have a suspicion that it'd be a real hassle to get it back on her again. I hid it underneath her coat in these photos, so you can't see it, but Paula also has a pink string loop, coming out of the back of her neck, that you can use to hang the doll from for display purposes.
I'm not sure why Ty did it, but the personal details on Paula's swing tag are in German (the copyright and washing instructions are in English, as is her tush tag, so, I'm doubtful that this figure was actually a German release). Fortunately, with the aid of Google Translate, it was relatively easy for me to figure out what said text says:
Paula Plappertasche [Paula Tittle-Tattler, which, I'm guessing would be the equivalent of our English "Tattle-Tale"]
Geburtstag: 1 April [Date of Birth: April 1st]
Geburtsort: Berlin [Place of Birth: Berlin]
Meine Lieblings beshaftigung: [My favorite preoccupations (hobbies):]
Stundenlang telefonieren, mich verkleiden, Theater spielen [Talking for hours on the telephone, dressing-up, play-acting]
Willst Du mehr wissen? [Want to know more?]
Besuche mich und meine Freude auf www.ty.com [Join me and my friends at www.ty.com]
Group photo of all the Ty plush toys that I currently own.
The animals are nice enough, but Paula is definitely my favorite out of the bunch.
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