World's Smallest BARBIES!

World's Smallest: Barbie 1959 & Barbie 1971 - Super Impulse Toys 2017

I come from a family of collectors. My Dad Collects Coins and Bank Notes, My Mom and sister collect dolls, my younger brother collects Peanuts and Classic TV, and my older brother is into Star Wars and Rock and Roll. (I put them all to shame though with my myriad of collecting obsessions. I only dwell on the action figures here, but I have an abundance of unrelated collections active right now. But I digress). This past Christmas I was back home and my Mom was sharing her newest obsession, World's Smallest. For those unaware, World's Smallest is a line of tiny collectible miniatures of classic toys. She had a handful of nostalgic Fisher-Price toys, each about the size of a quarter, and we were all very enthralled and ready to all start our own collections. Since that first exposure I see them everywhere: Toys R Us, Target, Cracker Barrel, and every little novelty store I come across. There are even blind boxes at Claires! But I wasn't too tempted to buy any until I saw these two Barbies in TRU a few weeks ago.

Amanda Conner - SUPERHERO HARLEY QUINN!

DC Designer Series: Amanda Conner #3 - Superhero Harley Quinn - DCC 2017

Harley Quinn has had a lot of costume designs in recent years. Video games were the biggest catalyst for the changes and most of them seemed like awkward misinterpretations of the character rather than a true evolution. The Roller Girl revamp of 2014 was the first time a Harley redesign felt right for me. It wasn't too long before the movie version became canon and now she seems to alter her looks quite often (and I'm mostly okay with it). Squeezed into those early post-rollergirl changes was this Superhero costume which she donned in order to team up with a brainwashed Power Girl, convincing PG that she was her trusty sidekick to enjoy all the perks of superheroics. It was a fun storyline that eventually spun off into its own title Harley Quinn and Power Girl (which only lasted for six issues, but was great). This figure is one of those gems I never expected to see but makes a really quirky addition to an already insanely-quirky Harley collection. She's my favorite of this series. Let's check out Superhero Harley below!

Rescue Bots 12" QUICKSHADOW!

Transformers Rescue Bots - 12" Quickshadow - Playskool Heroes/Hasbro 2017

I was really shocked recently when I saw a post on TFORMERS about how Walmart was getting a special Rescue Bots display featuring a 12" Quickshadow figure. When this character first appeared in the Transformers: Rescue Bots cartoon last year, I was really excited. She had a cool name, a cool color scheme, and she transformed into a racecar (which seems like a trait typically reserved for the alpha males of the robot world). But my hopes never got that high, because I was well aware of what the action figures for this line looked like. They are blocky little monstrosities with minimal moving parts. It is a preschool series after all. And sure enough, when the first Quickshadow figure was released last Fall, she was just another androgynous brick. Now this new 12" figure isn't a super great representation of the character either, but it is definitely a huge leap in the right direction. Compared to the other 12" Rescue Bots toys, she looks like a bona fied Jessica Rabbit. Let's check out Quickshadow below!

Rock Candy - WOMEN OF MARVEL!

Rock Candy - Capt. Marvel, Thor, Spider-Gwen, She-Hulk, Mystique - Funko 2016

I've had this group of Marvel Rock Candy figures forever but have been delaying posting them out of sheer laziness. I'm really impressed with this line overall and I'm so glad to see it growing in leaps and bounds. It seems like every few weeks there's a new announcement, and I'm already finding myself being very selective with my purchases. If I manage to find the exclusive Gwenpool and Red She-Hulk Rock Candys in the next few weeks I'll want to post on them right away and I didn't want to be caught too far behind with this first Marvel wave. The Rock Candy line started a little over a year ago with a DC Wave and was followed up several months later with this first batch of Marvel figures. I was a little bummed when I realized that, yet again, the Marvel figures must be bobble-heads. But I found that by jamming some tissue up in the head you can make it stay still in a normal position and overall I'm very happy with this group. (I'm still shocked there wasn't a Masked Captain Marvel variant though). Let's check them out!

Splatoon's INKLING GIRL!

World of Nintendo - 4" Series 2-5 - Splatoon's Inkling Girl - Jakks Pacific 2016

It takes a lot to get me interested in modern Video Games these days. I've been over first person shooter games since Doom. I don't have the hand coordination for all the new buttons. And all the new legacy games like Mario, Zelda, and Final Fantasy pale in comparison to the originals (imo). So my fascination with Splatoon is pretty special indeed. Splatoon is a 2015 3rd person shooter team game featuring these cool Inkling characters. They're little elf-like creatures that can morph into squids and blast each other with colorful ink (paintball-style). The Inklings have a variety of different appearances, but they all have domino masks, punky clothes, and cool hair. I especially love when their hair has squid tentacles like this Inkling Girl figure. Another cool aspect of the game are the teams. I'm always a sucker for monochromatic themes so seeing a group of blue, green, pink, or oranged-hued characters all together satisfies some deep aesthetic impulse within me. I love it all. Let's check out Inkling Girl below!

The Walking Dead's SASHA WILLIAMS!

AMC's The Walking Dead: Series 10 - Sasha - Walgreens Exc - McFarlane 2017

With the advent of McFarlane Toys' new Color Top series, I fully expected my Walking Dead collection to grind to a halt. Coincidentally this revelation came to me at just about the same time that I stopped watching the show so I wasn't terribly upset. But at the same time, there were a couple great characters that I felt deserved inclusion in the line before it ended: Rosita and Sasha. There was a digital sculpt of Rosita floating around the internet (which I have a gut feeling will never see the light of day), but I honestly thought Sasha was a lost cause. Then McFarlane surprised us by announcing this awesome figure as an exclusive addition to Series 10 available only at Walgreens. The figures in this series have been hit or miss as far as character likenesses go, but it's befitting that possibly the last female turns out to be one of the best. They are really going out with a bang. Sasha first appeared halfway through the third season and I instantly knew she was a strong and formidable character. Let's check her out below!

Justice League Action 4.5" - WONDER WOMAN!

Justice League Action - Power Connects Series 01 - Wonder Woman - Mattel 2017

It's been a while since there has been a Justice League cartoon on television, and similarly a long time since there have been animated JLA toys in the aisles. When I started seriously collecting toys, I really took for granted that there was always JLA/JLU figures around. I never collected that line myself (because none of the females could stand properly). But now that this new Justice League Action series is hitting the stores I'm realizing the lengthy absence of toys like this. I think the modern age of superhero movies and their merchandise had distracted me. Not to mention the various animated Batman lines. These new figures are pretty great though. The articulation level is unexpected for cartoon tie-ins. And the design is stylistic, but more realistically-proportioned than past efforts. I hope the cartoon and toy line prove to be a success because I would love some obscure secondary characters. I know there have been awesome guest appearances so far. Let's check out Wonder Woman below!

Marvel Legends - DARK PHOENIX!

Marvel Legends - X-Men Dark Phoenix & Cyclops 2-Pack - TRU Exc - Hasbro 2017

I had honestly given up on the idea of a good Jean Grey action figure. I don't know why her character always seems to get second-rate treatment in the toy world. Even her inclusion in last year's (beautiful) X-Men Legends wave inexplicably got a salvaged head from a figure rejected three years prior. It was a dud compared to the newly-sculpted Rogue and Kitty. She just can't seem to win. Now this Toys R Us Exclusive Dark Phoenix has hit the shelves and she looks great. A huge added perk is the surprise inclusion of two alternate heads. I might be wrong, but I think this is the first time a Marvel Legends female has ever come with two heads. And the great thing is that two of those heads happen to look fantastic on last year's green Phoenix. So it's as if we're getting two great Jean Grey figures at once. This makes me very excited for any SDCC reveals in a few weeks. With all the love given to the classic characters lately, I think there could be some awesome surprises. Let's check out Dark Phoenix below!