NewAge - CHRISTINE!

Legendary Heroes No. 48C - G.G.I.D. Commander Christine - NewAge 2022

I am going to go out on a limb and say that this Commander Christine from NewAge Toys is the best Elita-1 figure in my collection. The sculpt, proportions, and coloring are all perfection. The only downfall is that I wish she were scaled larger. As a small 1:18 scale figure, she doesn't fit in with the bulk of my fembot collection. However, if the third party market has taught me anything in the past few years, there is a decent chance that some other toy entrepreneur will release an up-sized version of her. I now own four upsized 3rd Party figures (Generations Arcee, Iron Factory Windblade, Kingdom Airazor, and Blue Bolt). It's a great trend that I hope Christine falls victim to. You'll see in the final picture of this post how she compares to all the other Elita figures. There something about her that is more reminiscent of the original cartoon than her predecessors.  The white parts of her body appear soft and organic while the pink and coral parts look hard and robotic. I always liked that dichotomy in the original fembots. 

Dr. Wu - AMIE!

Dr. Wu No. DW-MS30 - Amie (3rd Party Arcee) - Mechanic Toys 2022

Hot on the heels of yesterday's review of the Maschinenmensch figure from NewAge comes this eerily similar Amie figure from Dr. Wu/Mechanic. Both figures are well-designed and of very high quality, but it was just surprising to see two 1:18 scale Arcee homages released from different companies within a few months of each other. Another great thing is that each company announced five retooled variations of their respective molds to give us collectors a ton of options. Each company included an Arcee, Nightbird, and Paradron Medic, but the other three for both companies were unique. I'm also very excited for the Elita One homage from Dr. Wu shown in convention slideshows this past Summer and I hope this trend of retooling continues. I'm always surprised that these 3rd Party companies don't see the potential in a Chromia, Firestar, and Moonracer trio. Elita often gets some attention, but if for nothing else other than color variety I would hope the others would be considered. Let's check out Amie below!

NewAge - MASCHINENMENSCH!

Legendary Heroes No. 48 - G.G.I.D. Warrior Machinenmensch - NewAge 2022

2022 was a pretty crazy year for 3rd Party fembots. My count may be off, but I think there were around 16 new figures in twelve short months. I personally purchased ten and had a lot of difficulty choosing which variants to buy. NewAge Toys created this fantastic Arcee mold (named Maschinenmensch) and promptly announced five additional releases using the same general buck. The name Maschinenmensch is German for 'robot' or 'machine man.' I'm familiar with this word because it is often tied to the robot Maria from the 1929 German film Metropolis, which to the best of my knowledge is the first representation of a female robot in popular culture. So giving this name to an Arcee homage seems very appropriate, even if it's a mouthful. The NewAge mold is very impressive and has great proportions. Legs and arms in particular tend to look off at this 1:18 scale, but you could easily convince me that this was a deluxe or masterpiece sculpt. Let's check out Warrior Maschinemensch below!

MOTU Origins - TEELA & ZOAR!

Masters of the Universe Origins - Teela (200x Version) & Zoar - Mattel 2023

I get nervous about the future of the Masters of the Universe Origins line. When it first launched a couple years ago I was excited and hopeful about all the good characters that could finally get the vintage treatment through this line. At the very least I thought we would see Queen Marleena, but I was secretly hoping for a whole Princess of Power lineup. But instead we keep seeing the same four molds used multiple times: Teela, Evil-Lyn, Sorceress, and She-Ra. Don't get me wrong, I love every figures I've bought in this line so far, I just can't help but feel to the potential of this line is being squandered to save money on new molds. This newest Teela figure is exclusive to Big Bad Toy Store and features Teela in a 200x-inspired deco. This figure is surprising because she actually has a retooled head with a ponytail and a different tiara. It's a subtle difference from the 2020 Teela, but it really give her that extra 200x feel. Zoar, on the other hand, in 100% vintage toy inspired. Let's check out Teela and Zoar below!

Transformers Earthspark - SKYWARP!

Transformers: Earthspark - Warrior Class Figures - Skywarp - Hasbro 2023

I love the inclusion of female Seekers in the Decepticon ranks. For quite a few years, we only had Slipstream, but in the past few years we were introduced to the newly gender-inconsistent Nova Storm and Skywarp. And in the new Transformers: EarthSpark series, they are both decidedly female. Unfortunately, these characters will rarely get a unique sculpt so they have historically mostly been simple repaints of Starscream. And this new Skywarp is no exception. So I made a quick edit to this figure. To me one of the most prominent features of Skywarp in EarthSpark is her dark lips and wicked grin. There is also a precedent for giving this (male) mold a darker lip to feminize it. The Slipstream figure from a few years ago used the same Starscream mold but had a slightly red lip and looked great. The sculpt itself it pretty androgynous, so the tiniest detail can make a big difference. I took my smallest brush and darkened her lip and suddenly she looked like Skywarp from the show. Let's check her out below!

Transformers EarthSpark - ELITA-1!

Transformers: EarthSpark - Warrior Class Figures - Elita One - Hasbro 2023

I love that Elita-1 is an established character in the Transformers: EarthSpark cartoon on Paramount+. Her role in 2020 War For Cybertron series on Netflix propelled her to the forefront of Transformers lore. I had been a fan since her first appearance in 1985, but then she spent 35 years in relative obscurity. Arcee was simply a more popular character with a color scheme that was too similar (and God forbid there be two pink fembots). But Elita had a certain provenance and natural leadership in her character that couldn't be hidden forever. She's had modern appearances in cartoons and comics and in the past five years she has had four unique action figures made (unlike previous toys that were "Elita in name only"). Her role in Earthspark isn't super prominent. I believe she only appears in two episodes, but even in those brief scenes she was true to the Elita I became obsessed with as a kid. I'm glad the licensors saw fit to make a toy of her, even if it is a simple Warrior Class. Let's check her out below!

Transformers EarthSpark - TWITCH!

Transformers: EarthSpark - Deluxe Class Figures - Twitch - Hasbro 2023

I've been watching Transformers: EarthSpark on Paramount+ for a few weeks now and it's pretty impressive for a number of reasons. The premise of the Terrans, essentially "raw" Transformers that are neither Autobot nor Decepticon, is a great concept. I'm not too far into the series and I still wonder which of the new characters will be good or bad. Another amazing thing about the show is the number of female Transformers. The modern Transformers TV shows typically have a token female Autobot and/or Decepticon, but Earthspark features seven in the first season: Elita-1, Arcee, Skywarp, Nova Storm, Frenzy, Hashtag, and of course Twitch (there's also the first official non-binary Transformer, Nightshade, who will have a Deluxe toy in the next wave). Twitch and her brother Thrash are the focal point of the series along with their human friends Mo and Robby.  Twitch in particular stands out for what I see as a (wonderful) retro design reminiscent of Orbots or GoBots. Let's check her out below!

BendyFigs - HARLEY QUINN!

The Noble Collection - DC Comics BendyFigs – Harley Quinn - Noble Toys 2022

With all the popularity of Harley Quinn in the last decade, keeping up with her merchandising can be an unsurmountable task. There are so many versions of her costume now it's hard to keep track. Even this Bendyfig line from The Noble Collection has three very different Harleys in production. One positive side-effect of oversaturation though is that it forced me to pick a favorite look. And that is without a doubt her original jester costume. I didn't watch any of the Batman cartoons in the 90s so I was pretty unaware of her charms until I started reading her first solo comic series from 2000. Needless to say I was hooked. She was quirky, dangerous, unpredictable, and all-around fun. Plus I give her major credit for re-introducing me to Poison Ivy, who was a character I was very lukewarm about from her comic appearances in the 70s and 80s (but is now one of my favorites). This Bendyfig was my first classic Harley product in a long time. Let's check her out below!