Star Wars 3.75" Black Series - REY (JAKKU)!

Star Wars: Black Series (3.75") - Rey (Jakku) - Walmart Exc - Hasbro 2015

In all the hub-bub leading up to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I was never able to find a 3.75" Rey in the stores. I heard woeful stories from many a Dad trying desperately to find a Rey figure before Christmas.  It's a shame there wasn't more product on the shelves leading up to the holidays. I personally didn't find this figure until January 8th, so I feel your pain.  There are actually two 3.75" Rey figures (so far) in her Jakku outfit. The other version (the "Starkiller Base" version) is slightly shorter and much less articulated, but at a quick glance they are very similar figures. From the comparisons I've seen online though, I think I made the right choice in grabbing this one. It should be interesting to see what new costumes Rey gets in the upcoming films.  Like Leia, I think she's destined to have a variety of unique looks throughout the course of the series. So because of that hunch, I'm going to slow down my Rey purchases.  The three I have will have to tide me over. Let's check out the 3.75" Black Series Rey below!

Diamond Select HARLEY QUINN Bust!

Batman: The Animated Series - Harley Quinn Bust - Diamond Select Toys 2015

One of the most exciting things for me at last year's Toy Fair was the new line of Batman: The Animated Series products from DST. Namely their mini-busts of Batgirl, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. I used to be a action figure purist, not even bothering with high end collectibles like statues and busts. But eventually I started to cave with the early Covergirls and Women of the DCU lines. I'm still pretty selective, mostly because of budget and shelf space, but I'm now addicted to the idea of having all my favorite characters represented in mini-bust format.. and especially having every possible version of those characters. I already have seven different Catwoman busts and I don't even have the animated one yet (and I'm predicting we'll see a Michelle Pfeiffer one eventually). This is my fourth Harley and I'm expecting many more. (In fact, I'm willing to bet there will be a Suicide Squad line revealed in the next few weeks). Totally digging the BTAS love lately. Let's check out the animated Harley bust below!

Wild Kratts - MANTIS POWER AVIVA!

Wild Kratts - Crawlers Set - Mantis Power Aviva - Wicked Cool Toys 2015

The Wild Kratts is a PBS Kids show that is now in its 4th season. I've been noticing the toys at TRU for years and was always intrigued by the animal themed costumes (and realistic animal accessories).  At some point I googled the show to discover if there were any female characters I should be keeping my eye out for (all of the toys seemed to be focused on the main two Kratt brothers in their Blue and Green animal power suits). Sure enough I discovered the character Aviva and found lots of pictures of her as purple-hued animals from the cartoon. I figured they would have to make toys of her eventually. A few months ago I discovered two versions of a civilian Aviva had been released.  Of course they were included in expensive boxsets and weren't all that interesting looking.  I wanted her in an animal form! Then my wishes were granted with this cool Mantis Power Aviva figure. These figures are small and unarticulated, but I think they are just great. I'm just hoping we see Aviva (or Koki) in more animal forms!

PEZ Batman v Superman - WONDER WOMAN!

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Wonder Woman - PEZ 2016

I'm a collector of many many things. I usually just tell people that I collect hobbies. My first collection of things that I paid for (ie.. not rocks or bugs) was PEZ dispensers. I started when I was in middle school by buying a Smurf dispenser for 79 cents at a drug store in the mall. In a matter of months I had a line of them on the windowsill by my bed. Skip forward 25 years and I have a little over a thousand with custom display cases. I'm still really into them, but I stopped being a completist about 10 years ago. I still buy almost every new dispenser I see, but I don't go crazy with exclusives, chases, and foreign releases any more.  It's pretty rare when two of my hobbies overlap, but when they do I get very exited. Just like every other plastic medium, female characters often get unfairly left out out of the mix. Sure, there are lots of girl-centric lines like Princesses, Barbie, My Little Pony, etc.  But the girl characters in most of the other licenses never see the light of day. Let's check out Wonder Woman below!

Marvel Legends SPIDER-GWEN!

Spider-Man Legends - Absorbing Man Series - Edge of Spider-Verse - Hasbro 2016

Woohoo Spider-Gwen! Marvel has created a lot of great female characters over the past few years, but Spider-Gwen has my favorite design of them all. Her comics honestly haven't thrilled me, but I do find them enjoyable. This action figure however is simply the bee's knees. Something about the prototype from SDCC had me a little scared about the execution of the hood and overall styling. But the version I found in Toys R Us this afternoon is perfect.  I simply can't get over the roster of perfectly executed Spider-Ladies we've received in the past few years. Seemingly out of the blue I suddenly have a dedicated Spider-shelf.  And if the rumors are true, we should be seeing figures of Ashley Barton Spider-Girl and Silk in the next Spider-Man wave. Toy Fair is going to be pretty exciting this year! Plus there's a good chance there will be figures of Lady Thor and Wolverine in the mix, too. Hasbro is killing it lately and I hope they keep the momentum going. Let's check out Spider-Gwen in detail below!

Batman v Superman - WONDER WOMAN!

Batman v Superman - Basic Series 01 - Wonder Woman - Mattel 2015

It's funny that I found this figure so much more difficult to track down than the larger Multiverse version. It seems like all my stores are overstocked with Batman, Superman, and Aquaman... like literally more than a dozen of each... but Wonder Woman is nowhere to be found.  I eventually picked her up at the Walmart in my parents' hometown while visiting last week (and surprisingly they had about 10). I haven't seen her anywhere since either. As expected from a movie-based basic line, her articulation is nothing to write home about. I count 11 points of articulation - which doesn't seem half bad at first, but her hips and shoulders are just straight forward swivel joints so the range of motion is severely limited. Despite that though, this is a really fun little figure. We almost never see females in non-collector lines. Hopefully future characters will see this treatment as well. Let's check out the basic assortment Wonder Woman in detail below!

Transformer SDCC Exclusive COMBINER HUNTERS!

Transformers Generations Combiner Hunters 3-Pack - SDCC Exc - Hasbro 2015

This review is long overdue. I've had this oversize 3-Pack stored under the end of the coffee table in my man cave until last week. I kind of dread reviewing Transformers because I always try to transform them with little or no luck. I'm normally great at this kind of stuff. I'm kind of an origami prodigy and I'm the go-to person to decipher Ikea instructions.  But something about these plastic transformations foils me almost every time. This Combiner Hunters 3-Pack was a great way to re-release three of the amazing female Transformers that graced the shelves in 2014: Arcee, Chromia, and Windblade. All three characters have pretty dynamic repaints and new accessories. It's crazy how much my Transformers collection has grown in the past 18 months. It went from practically non-existent to taking up several (small) shelves. Hopefully there will be some more. I've decided to skip Victorion, but I'm looking forward to the female character in Rescue Bots! Fingers crossed for Toy Fair! Let's check out these three below!

Arkham Knight Figural Keychain - HARLEY QUINN!

Batman: Arkham Knight - Collector Series Keychains - Elephant Gun LLC 2016

These new figural keychains from Elephant Gun are going to be a fun new obsession of mine.  I knew they were on the horizon but didn't realize how nice they would be until I saw them in person at Hot Topic last week.  The detail in the sculpt and paint apps is pretty impressive. Elephant Gun has historically been known for amazingly geeky car decals.  I you want a superhero family lined up on the rear window of your minvan, Elephant Gun is the place to go. I'm especially excited about the DC Bombshells series of keychains that are already starting to trickle out. I'm not a big enough fan of the Bombshells design to splurge on a statue, but for a 3" tall little figurine I'll gladly accept them into my collection. This Harley is smaller than an Eaglemoss, but larger than Heroclix. It's an interesting size. Last year at Toy Fair NY they showed off some product in the Wonderland Toy Co booth so hopefully I'll find some new goodies on display next month. Hopefully a Catwoman and Poison Ivy in this style at the very least.