Rustin's Spoils of the Week #171, Part 1

This was one of those weeks that is pretty much exactly why I started Spoils of the Week! I was out traveling for work and it just worked out that pretty much every store I walked into, I walked out of with a mighty haul! Walmart had the 4" Batman figures on clearance for $5, Toys R Us had two new series' of Minimates in and a Barnes & Noble had the Firefly figures and a bunch of ReAction, and then there is all the other random scores and purchases that turn up every through out the shopping experience. Plus, this was the week right after SDCC 2015 so it was really exciting to get a couple things I missed out on or that were announced there! So, please join me on a very enthusiastic, very excited Spoils of the Week!

DST - Aliens Minimates: Hicks & Warrior Alien
HicksI was really excited when DST announced (or mentioned, rather - I don't get why they keep these TRU lines secret until the last minute) a Toys Я Us series of Aliens Minimates, but sadly they are just repacks/pre-packs from Series 1 & 2 with no changes other than pairings. I already have two sets of Series 1 but decided to go ahead and get this one for a third Hicks, to display his bandaged head too (as well as armored and jumpsuit looks), plus, one can never have enough Xenos.

DST - Aliens Minimates: Hudson & Screaming Alien
HudsonHudson is effectively identical to Hicks and Wierzbowski save for his face art and hairstyle, neither of which particularly scream Bill Paxton, though, resulting in this feeling like more of a generic marine. It would have been cool if they'd included an alternate head with "Game Over, Man" expression, like the NECA figure. The Xeno is identical to Hicks's but now with a closed jaw (the jaws are separate pieces glued on). And, as a really cool hidden bonus, this set also includes the facehugger piece that fits over a 'mate head - it's a good fit but tight on the head, so no hairpieces allowed here (thus leaving characters with a giant hole in the top of their head).

DST - Aliens Minimates: Vasquez & Battle Damaged Alien
VasquezThe Xeno has a smattering of green paint on the torso and upper arms indicating blood. Vasquez is a personal favorite amongst the Marines so I am quite jazzed to get her. She gets unique torso armor and her signature smart gun. The gun is really cool, but the measurements are off, so it doesn't really line up well with her hands. It's so detailed in sculpt it actually looks weird in her arms - oh, you dear, sweet constantly schizophrenic Minimate aesthetic! She gets two hair pieces, both with her iconic headband but one with the smart gun eye piece. The set also comes with a chestburster, complete with peghole for a standard Minimate base!

DST - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates: Donatello & Norman
Donnie/normanThe new heads (one with blank eyes, one with anime hearts) honestly do add a lot of value for those with the Series 1 figures (or who had to buy a case of series 2 in order to get a full set and not miss out on the shortpacks). Norman has a painted-on Kraang under his suit piece and a cool gun. He also gets a Kraang proper (since practically no one could have the Series 1 Kmart exclusive), which is a Minimate head on a tendril base! The set also comes with two little slices of pizza and a cool, but un-hold-able, cannister of ooze! Series 1 had a variant translucent Leo and this series gets a translucent Donnie. It's cute and fun, and a hassle/implausibility to complete the team in this style since they were all chase variants.

DST - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates: Leonardo & Splinter
Leo/SplinterLeo is the same as series 1 from the neck down but here include not one, not two, but three heads, including a surprise bandana-less head under a droopy pizza headpiece! He comes packed with Splinter, who turned out well enough but certainly with some confusing elements. Under the black and white highlights, his cranial fur is the same purple as his costume rather than brown - it's the kind of thing where something seemed off but once I noticed it I can't un-see it. It's also weird that they didn't use the shorter "kid" legs and forearms to make him a bit smaller. He comes with a katana (same as Leo's) and his translucent green cane. There's also a neat grapple gun and a really fun pizza box, complete with the guy in the art redone as a Minimate!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates: Michelangelo & Casey Jones
Mikey/CaseyMikey follows the trend of same but for the heads, now with pupil-less eyes and smiling eyes. The set includes his skateboard, a full pepperoni pizza and a little "ice cream kitty." And then there's Casey. I'm still not crazy about this design but he is so loaded with goodies it's impossible not to live this Minimate! He get's interchangeable hood-with-hockey-mask and hair pieces, a regular head and a warpaint head; alternate hockey gloves and regular hands; and a removable bandolier with shoulder pads that holds two hockey sticks and a baseball bat (all removable) of the back. I just.... the options, the combinations... this is so awesome!!!!

DST - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates: Raphael & Anton Zeck
Raph/BebopThe Donnie set gets the "TRU Exclusive" sticker even though Anton Zeck is wholly unique and exclusive. So... too bad you missed out on him, I guess, since he's "human Bebop" and "human Rocksteady" is a chase exclusive to blind-bag series 3. Oof. He's neat, and I dig the Tron suit more here than on Bebop. He's a pretty simple 'mate - all paint save for the unique headgear. Raph has battle and anime heads, like his brothers. The set also comes with three throwing stars, two slices of pizza and Raph's pet non-teenage, non-mutant turtle. Despite having the exclusive character this is ultimately the weakest set in this series, or rather the others are so awesome they vastly outshine this one.

Funko - Legacy, Firefly: 2, Jayne Cobb
JayneI've never understood the popularity of Jayne. Whatever fun the cliche "brute with a heart of gold" might have been was lost in Adam Baldwin's youth, unimpressive bulk and all-around poor acting. And then, this douchebag goes off and effectively fathers "Gamergate"... I was so tempted to pass on this figure as a result of both those reasons... but, you know me - I'm a slut, especially for team completion... The figure, though, is pretty good. Nice (though soft) sculpt and good paint, the likeness is dead-on. Articulation is good, but crazily he has the least amount of motion-range for his head so that joint is basically just a swivel though it works much better as a balljoint on all the other figures. The biggest problem with him is that the knees joints are fairly weak, which means he falls over unless in "perfect standing" pose. That's damned annoying because he's pretty well poseable (except for the hips which are limited but really squared off butt cheeks stopping any backwards movement). Both hands are trigger-fingered so he can hold both guns well, just looks silly with the knife and can't two-hand-hold the rifle.

Funko - Legacy, Firefly: 3, Kaylee Frye
KayleeKaylee's mix of youthful naivety and industrial know-how is so great! The figure is pretty darn good, but seems about 15-25% underscaled to the rest of the line, which is kind of annoying. I can kind of see Jewel Staite in the face but it seems too narrow and boy-howdy does she suffer from "lady hands" - they're so, so, so tiny! I think the issue with the figure is that she's proportionally narrower than Staite, so that's what makes her feel so "off." She comes with a solitary wrench as an accessory... but really, what she needs is her parasol. I imagine she's scaled right for a drink umbrella, but still. I wish it wasn't the case but she's the weakest figure in the series despite being relatively good.

Funko - Legacy, Firefly: 4, Hoban Washburne
WashWash! The beginning on an endless love affair with the genius of Alan Tudyk! The figure is a bit dumpy looking but what can you do with that costume, really? The printing on the shirt is perhaps the most intricate/accurate tampo ever. Articulation is good, though he suffers the ever-present 6" plague of balljoint elbows despite double hinge knees. I understand the thinking, but it's so frustrating when it comes to posing! If one joint gets double-hinges it has to be the elbows! He comes with his dinos (yes! my obsession with toys of toys continues to be fed!!!) and they turned out excellently! I can't really figure out the magic equation to have them fit into his hands perfectly but I'm sure I eventually will; plus he looks pretty funny without them, which leaves him with gropey "I'm a'gunna git ya" hands. And speaking of looks - godDAMN that likeness is spot-the-eff-on!

Funko - Legacy, Firefly: 5, Zoe Washburne
ZoeHer likeness is good, but not as strong as the boys, and they let her be her - so no tiny hands or sexed-up proportions here! She comes with a handgun and a sawed off rifle which fits in a holster. The holster isn't glued to her though, despite a strap being sculpted and painted on - it's kind of annoying, really, but maybe it helps with poseability? Like all the figures, her glutes don't allow for and back-swing motion which has a surprisingly limiting effect on poseability. Like the rest of the series she too suffers from weak knees, which really impacts poseabilty and is ultimately my biggest problem with the line.

Funko - Legacy, The Rocketeer: The Rocketeer
RocketeerThe sculpt is nice, but a bit too soft in details, especially the front panel of the jacket, which is inexplicably a separately tooled piece glued on. Articulation is pretty good, but double-hinged elbows would be appreciated and while the mid-thigh on the "aviator pants" look odd, it does help with posing; and fortunately he has normal butt cheeks. He comes with a little gun, which has a nice drybush over flat black paint job to give it some life. The rocket pack and helmet are sculpted perfectly - however, it is kind of weird they didn't sculpt/paint the jaw under the helmet and it would have been nice if the exhaust ports had more of a recess/hollowness to them. The neck has a double-ball-and-socket, aka barbell, joint which is nice but doesn't let the figure look straight up! I mean... come on. But in all honestly it's the unhelmeted head that kind of ruins this figure for me. Who wants an unhelmeted Rocketeer!?!? All I see when I look at that head is wasted tooling and paint dollars.

Funko - ReAction, The Fifth Element: Leeloo
LeelooAs previously mentioned I am a big fan of The Fifth Element so these figures are a dream come true, plus they seem to be selling well! I found all but Korben at the same Barnes & Noble as the Firefly figures and decided that now was finally the time to make this happen! Leeloo, here, comes in her trademark orange silicon V outfit. It captures the costume and character well enough given the ReAction aesthetic. She comes with her beloved Multipass (though it's painted solid silver, it would have been nice if the "card" part of it was painted white or yellow) and an Element Stone!

Funko - ReAction, The Fifth Element:Leeloo (Straps Costume)
LeelooIt's hard to say which costume is more iconic for Leeloominai but I imagine the so-called "Straps Costume" might just eek out the Fholston Paradise, Orange V one. The figure has the same head and hair (the hair is a separate piece, glued on) as the other Leeloo. She comes with another stone and Korben's gun ("Ekto gammet!") which is a surprising and cool bit of attention to detail!

Funko - ReAction, The Fifth Element: Mangalore
MangaloresAgain, built off of the wonky base body, but he's an alien so it's a bit more justified, plus all the sculpted details help distract the eye too. He comes with a Managlone handgun and a Mangalore rifle - too cool! Aside from the body's proportions I quite like the sculpt and the paint. Indeed, my only complaint is that there isn't a "sunglasses" variant to help me further battle build out my team, "for the Corps."

Funko - ReAction, The Fifth Element: (The Diva) Plavalaguna
PavalagunaI gotta admit, I've never really been too fond of the Diva Plavalaguna, but she sure is iconic. My main issue has been the impossibility to tell were he clothing begins and her body ends - I mean the dress is so clearly a dress but it's the same color and texture as her skin. Plus the tendrils just seem goofy and fake while the curved head is too Twi'lek-y. Ultimately her design just doesn't work for me. But whatever, she's still pretty cool man! I really appreciate that they made her skirt one solid piece rather than two legs since the skirts V-out so much and look pretty bad. She comes with a stone, but sadly no storage space for it. Perhaps a variant if there's a series 2 (god I hope there's a Series 2!), along with a Tuxedo Korben.

Funko - ReAction, The Fifth Element: Ruby Rhod
Ruby RhodWOW! I really can't believe they did Ruby Rhod! He's a major character, to be sure, but seems like such the "forgotten Beattle" of the movie, but here he is - and he turned out great! The leopard pretty jumpsuit turned out wonderful! He even comes with his microphone cane and no fire, "I mean, I don't have fire, I don't got matches, Korben." Man, now we really need a Series 2 to get him in the rose outfit (and Mandechewans!!!)!

Funko - ReAction, The Fifth Element: Zorg
ZorgGary Oldman at his goddamned finest is now a toy in my home!! He comes in his finale/Fholston outfit which is kind of odd since Korben and Ruby come in their pre-Fholston clothes, plus the pinstripes here aren't as striking as the iridescent orange - but you know what? The costumes are the same but for the colors so that's just a repaint away! I was very curious to see how they'd handle his "hat" and I am quite pleasantly surprised to see it is cast in clear plastic for ultimate accuracy! That really is going above and beyond, in my book, considering the style and aesthetic of ReAction! And, guys - we have a toy of the ZF-1!

Funko - ReAction, Jaws: Brodie
BrodieHoly crap, man... I'm still not totally sold on the ReAction format but it's really the best fit for the property at the moment, and these figures turned out pretty all things given. Here we get Brodie in his "you're gonna need a bigger boat" outfit. There's a couple iconic looks for him and this is certainly one, plus it compliments the other costume choices. Interestingly, to allow for such deep-set eyes under the glasses frames, the glasses and forehead are a separate piece glued on to the head - it works pretty well. He comes with his pistol and the rifle - good, logical choices, though I would have enjoyed a bucket and scoop to go with the iconic line. I do wish the skintone was more tanned, like Sheider in the movie, though.

Funko - ReAction, Jaws: Hooper
HooperA good compliment to Brodie, but the lighter colors of his outfit make me wish there was a bigger height difference between his shirt and jacket as they sort of bleed together here. I do kind of wish he was smiling since Dreyfus/Hooper was such a goofy kid, but this works. His glasses/forehead are a separate piece which is noticeable around the hairline (at least on my figure). He comes with a camera which he can hold or hang around his neck.

Funko - Jaws: Great White Shark and Quint, Final Battle
JawsWhat's even the point of going to SDCC anymore if photos of new reveals are posted within minutes, panels are live-tweeted and now exclusives are available at nationwide chains? This is a pretty fun set, though. Quint is the same as his carded figure but has an all-new hat-less head sculpt and a machete, not to mention a nice little smattering of blood. Interestingly, the blood on the shark appears to be a tampo print rather than just brush-flick. The shark is much neater in hand than I expected; a really nice sculpt and with heavy plastic so he has some good heft to him. This also means, unfortunately, that he's front heavy and can't balance on his fins for a nice display pose, alas.

Funko - ReAction, Star Trek: Gorn
GornMan, I don't know what it is about ReAction, but the more monster-y a character is the better the figure turns out! This guy is just gorgeous. It really feels like a figure from the '70s - a really nice balance of detail and smoothness. He comes with the little obsidian spike from the episode, which is neat. I'm just so taken by the figure, I think I'll have to get a second!

Funko - ReAction, Star Trek: Scotty
ScottyWoohoo: six down, one to go! Scotty uses the same base body as all the guys and comes with the same phaser as Kirk and Sulu. I kinda wish he'd come with the tricorder just to double on it, but ya can't go wrong with more phasers. I appreciate that he has the same dull red as Uhura but I'm still really disappointed in that color choice for the figures. His head seems a little too big, which is apparently a consistent issue with the line, but I only really notice here.

Funko - ReAction, Star Trek: Vina, the Orion Woman
Orion Slave GirlWait... where's Chekhov? This figure is increasingly annoying to me. Yes, Chekhov didn't join the show till Season 2 so if we're going to miss a guy it makes sense to be him, but he's still a core member of the bridge crew, goddamit! And instead of him we get effin' Vina!? She's from the damn pilot, she never even met this damn crew! Sure a "green chick" plays into the pop culture awareness of the show - but more than the seventh member or the crew!? Or Klingon? Romulan? Andorian? Or any other more relevant, but still not as important as Chekov, characters? It's just really annoying because it presumes there'll be a third series.

Funko - ReAction, Taxi Driver: Travis Bickle
Taxi DriverI had to get this figure on principle alone. Like The Goonies figures this seems like something that works best on the card, so I'll leave him there for now. The paint and sculpt are the standard simplicity of ReAction which is good enough, I suppose. They do lack the personality of the Mystery Minis or the Pop!, but... whatever, I'm just into the source material enough to buy in anyway. I totally get why they did "mowhawk Travis" but it seems very odd to me that they didn't "normal" Travis too (as shown on the card). It'd just require a new torso front half and a new head... Ah well, it's still neat enough to have an official Travis Bickle toy!

Stay tuned for Part 2, in which we continue this most ridiculously epic of hauls weeks!

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9 Responses to Rustin's Spoils of the Week #171, Part 1

  1. Scott says:

    I bought Mal from the Firefly line but he broke in 3 places and the shop wouldn't take him back. 🙁

    • clark says:

      It sounds like that shop just doesn't want to deal with the manufacturer's return policy. You can probably email Funko directly for a replacement.
      I still haven't picked up one of these legacy figures, even though I really want that rocketeer, because I also hear he has those clear plastic joints and overall QC problems.

      • Scott says:

        Does Funko have a UK customer service who could replace it? Hugely disappointing to wait so many years for a half decent Firefly line only for it to break apart in my hands upon opening the package.

        • symbiote1982 says:

          If you're in the UK and the supplier is refusing a return you need to contact trading standards and reporr it, it's illegal to refuse return of defective goods even if shops think they can make their own rules they can't.

      • Battle Catman says:

        BOTH my Rocketeer's legs sheared off at the thigh swivel.

  2. Mysterious Stranger says:

    I preordered some 1/10 scale figure stands from BBTS just for our Firefly figures. They are basically the same stands that come with Hot Toys figures but scaled down for 5-7" figures.

    I've enjoyed Adam Baldwin's work, especially as Jayne Cobb. It was when he started a stupid Twitter "feud" with Wil Wheaton that I started to see the man behind the art. They say you shouldn't meet your idols and this why. I still appreciate the work he's done but as a person I have no interest in him. Still had to buy both the regular and Previews Exclusive Jayne figures though. His "cunning hat" is iconic.

  3. Noy Tazi says:

    Splinter should be taller than the Turtles and around the same height as Shredder - an either/or situation in Minimates. But he's definitely not shorter.

    The human figures and Mutagen chases are only a novelty for so long. Between uneven distribution and Zach Oat's constant 'whatever/deal with it/my friends think I'm right' attitude, I'm pretty much done with Minimates. And, for that matter, any other line with obnoxious people representing them. What should I call it? "The Pixel Dan Clan?"

  4. BanzaiBoB says:

    Love! Love! Love! My Rocketeer figure - gave him (and my Firefly figures for that matter) a nice hot bath before trying to move any joints. Only Zoe's left elbow sheared off). Both Jane and Zoe have wibbly knees though.

    So glad Funko is tackling 5th Element - though I can't quite pull the trigger on the re-action ones. I am liking the look of the upcoming POPs though. (Please, oh please - Legacy figs, Funko... c'mon!).

  5. Boot Hill says:

    What's up? How's life? What's new by you? When can we expect to see more Spoils? I miss my fix!

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