The Mandalorian - BO-KATAN!

The Mandalorian - Bo-Katan Kryze (Limited Articulation Figure) - Hasbro 2022

Limited Articulation figures are a very interesting trend in the modern action figure market. I presume that the big toy companies wanted to tap into the dollars being "stolen" by the knockoff and bootleg market by producing their own lower-budget, lower-quality, and limited-articulation figures. I personally love these figures. They show up in weird places like grocery store checkout lines and drug stores and they tend to look pretty great since they are using simplified, re-scaled versions of the collector lines. The main downfall for me is that they very rarely include female characters. The only ever female ever made in the Star Wars assortment was Rey back in 2016. The inclusion of Bo-Katan was a surprise and also a foretelling of her prominence in the Disney+ Star Wars Universe. So far, only the A-Listers ever seem to get recognition in these discount lines. And after seeing The Mandalorian Season 3, I can see that prediction was correct. Let's check out Bo-Katan Kryze below!

Marvel Basic Series - SHURI!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Shuri & Vibranium Blast Sunbird - Hasbro 2022

Don't worry, no real spoilers. I just saw Black Panther: Wakanda Forever earlier tonight and I loved it. The legacy characters that I felt didn't get a chance to shine in the first movie all got their moments, and the new characters introduced were all perfection. Best of all, I felt that the 161-minute runtime allowed for more of Wakanda to be featured as well as the Dora Milaje (both things I felt didn't get enough lingering focus in the first movie). An amusing takeaway was that I think Hasbro could easily fill another whole Marvel Legends wave with great looking characters. At there very least there could be a few more 2-packs. This Basic Series Shuri figure was one of the first pieces of merchandise released for the movie. There is a second "Battle Action" basic series figure of her in stores as well, but her arms are awkwardly re-posed. But this one with the Sunbird vehicle is a classically-posed, simply-posed figure like we used to see with every MCU film. Let's check out Shuri below!

G.I.Joe Basic Series - BARONESS!

G.I.Joe Limited Articulation Basic Series - Baroness - Hasbro 2022

To me G.I.Joe product has always been firmly anchored in Hasbro's 3.75" action figure line that began in the early eighties and continues to this day (with just a few gaps along the way). But in the past few years there have been a handful of new product lines that can not be overlooked: The 6" Classified line is one of the most popular collector lines out there; the Super7 Ultimates look amazing and I can't wait to get the first wave in hand; the ReAction figures are giving us great animation-accurate sculpts in a retro toy style; and finally this Limited Articulation line (at stores like CVS and FiveBelow) is giving us the discount evergreen solution that all the other big licenses seem to get, but G.I.Joe has always missed out on. These figures aren't for everyone. They only have three points of articulation: shoulders and neck. And they have weapons permanently sculpted into their hands. But the designs are fun, they are very inexpensive, and they display well. I can't wait to get more. Let's check out Baroness below!

Beast Morphers - YELLOW RANGER!

Power Rangers Beast Morphers 9.5" Basic Series - Yellow Ranger - Hasbro 2019

As much as I love Limited Articulation Figures, I must admit I had almost zero interest in this Beast Morpher Yellow figure.  But then I got the Captain Marvel figure and had a ridiculous panic that I didn't have any other 9.5" figures to display her with. I swear the only aspect of life where I have a Fear-of-Missing-Out complex is with toy collecting. Because I've found that once you miss one of these bargain-line figures and they disappear from the shelves, they can be some of the hardest collectibles to find in the secondary market. The reason I didn't originally like her is purely because of the unnatural pose. Her semi-squat leg stance and her awkward cocked-arm pose were just off-putting. I'm also not the hugest fan of the Power Rangers Beast Morphers theme, but the fact that her helmet has a bunny face on it with slicked back ears just gets me every time. I just hope future figures like this have a more standard pose like the Marvel ones or all the various 6" bargain lines. Let's check her out below!

Basic Series - CAPTAIN MARVEL!

Marvel Comics 9.5" Basic Series Assortment - Captain Marvel - Hasbro 2019

One of my favorite things to collect in recent years are limited articulation figures. Describing these can be difficult, because they aren't knockoffs, and they aren't "basic" figures like we see in Target to support a superhero movie. Instead, these are branded items (this one is from Hasbro) that often re-use sculpted details from the collector lines, but they have extremely limited articulation and a low price point (usually $3.99-$9.99 depending on scale). These are produced for discount markets like Family Dollar and Big Lots, but often show up in grocery stores and Wal-Mart checkout lines. Historically they have been a 6" scale, but recently there has been a shift to 9". What I love about collecting these is that they are a true challenge. They are rarely announced, they have sporadic distribution, they don't have a consistent name, and all this is quadrupled for the female characters. This Captain Marvel hit stores in the 2019 Holiday season, but I was unaware of her existence until a reader emailed me last month.

Marvel Limited Articulation BLACK WIDOW!

Marvel (Avengers) - Black Widow (Limited Articulation Figure) - Hasbro 2018

Hasbro has really been impressing me with their non-collector lines. The Titans Series and the animated-style basic figures have been great. I've been waiting forever for them to include a female figure in their limited-articulation Marvel line, and it finally happened. I figured the inaugural heroine would be either Gamora or Black Widow, and I was right, Black Widow started popping up on eBay and Instagram in January. These limited articulation figures are found at places like Dollar General, Family Dollar, Walgreens, Big Lots, and the checkout lines at Wal-Mart. They look similar to the main collector lines, but they are slightly smaller and they only have three points of articulation (Neck and Shoulders). Black Widow has been elusive. She is shown on the packaging in the Wal-Mart assortments, but she doesn't actually appear to be included. I drove myself nuts hunting for a week, before resorting to eBay. Black Widow looks amazing. The sculpt is really terrific and she will make a great addition to any collection.

Transformers Limited Articulation STRONGARM!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Strongarm (Non-Transforming) - Hasbro 2017

I've been stalking Walgreens like crazy lately looking for the new DC Imaginext Series 3, Marvel Legends Medusa, all the exclusive Marvel Mini-Mates, and a million other goodies. I'm pretty lucky to live in an area where I have 24 Walgreens in a pretty small radius. (I just discovered one 12-mile stretch of road where there are 6 Walgreens evenly spaced in a row). Anyway, in all my recent hunting, I made a handful of really cool discoveries including this limited articulation Strongarm figure from Hasbro. I've seen DC figures, Marvel figures, and Star Wars figures in this inexpensive format, but it's rare to find a female character. I see them in stores like Family Dollar, Big Lots, Boscovs, and now Walgreens. I don't have high expections for future females in these lines, but I think at the very least we might see a Black Widow, Gamora, or Wonder Woman eventually. It's tricky because figures like these aren't advertised anywhere.. they just kind of show up in stores. But I'll be looking. Let's check out Strongarm below!

Star Wars The Force Awakens - REY!

Star Wars: Force Awakens - Rey (Limited Articulation Figure) - Hasbro 2016

There has been an interesting trend in recent years where the big toy companies (Mattel, Hasbro, Bandai, etc) have been maximizing their profit potential by offering lesser-quality versions of their hot sellers to discount stores. These assortments almost never include female figures so I haven't paid much attention. But then I was strolling through Big Lots back in November (the day after election day if I recall correctly) and I found this pretty stunning little figure for $6. She only has four points of articulation (neck, shoulders, and waist), but she has a unique scale (somewhere between the 5.5" Black Series and the 6" Elite Series), and a great sculpt. I'll totally keep my eyes peeled for similar figures in the future. I've read a lot of vitriol aimed at these figures from the collecting community, but you won't hear that from me. I think they're pretty sweet. In fact, if they do a Leia I'll be ecstatic since it will probably have only sculpted clothing (Yay for no cloth!). Let's check out the limited articulation Rey below!