(Picture editing courtesy of #photogrid)
I have done these posts before in my previous blog. To start things right in my new domain, I might as well talk about what 2017 brought me this year! Now I did a quick break down of what puts these figures above the list:
Accuracy: Did this figure capture the likeness of the source material?
Price: Regardless of the price paid, did it meet its overhead price? Enough bells and whistles to justify its price tag?
Availability: How rare is this figure? Was it hard to get?
Preference: Of course some of my fandom does come into play.
Without further adieu, here we are with my highlights for this dead and gone year! Hope you all find this fun and perhaps give you some insight to purchase or pass these figures, if you have yet to cross that bridge.
Marvel Legends
As the months came and went for this year, I continued to struggle between puchrasing and not purchasing. Most average collectors know that Hasbro has been dishing out the Legends faster than Jamie Mardox can multiply so for me, I just had to do a lot of passing. Admittedly, my choices this year isn't exactly an awe-inspiring catch, but since ML will always be a big part of my collection, I still have to highlight the 'winner'.
It's pretty obvious that Angela was going to take this. She came with the most accessories, the most details, and she was unique. The plethora of Spider-Men we were getting just wasn't going to make the cut. Even the Spider-B*tch didn't offer anything to the table to even come close to touching what Angela offered this year as a Marvel Legend (she even topped off her McFarlane counterpart from way back when!).
Imports
The imports flourished in numbers a lot more than they did last year. We have some familiar imports in my roster, but this year, Mafex came to the picture and offered some new things to my collection. So who took it? Before I do that, I feel as if I need to go over a brief summary on each figure, so bear with me.
Elsa (Figma): She was definitely one that I anticipated since 2016. I wasn't at all surprised that she came to the import line up considering just how popular Frozen(she) is. Accurate to her film appearance, offering some pretty Elsa-like accessories, and my very first 'eye articulating' figure, Elsa really was a great addition. As a fan of Frozen (of Elsa), I am really pleased; oh she came with Olaf too. The biggest downside of this figure is the price. She definetly was the heftiest of them all. While she comes from a juggernaut of a film and company, I don't think she offered that much to warrant an overhead price.
Kiritsugu Emiya (Figma): This figure I was also looking forward to. The character in the anime is probably one of my favorite Fate characters to date, so to have him in Figma form is definitely a plus. He comes with a ton of accessories. Articulation is nothing short of delivering what we expect from Figma. The accuracy to the character is definitely there. The amount of fun factor as a poseable figure and for photoshoots are impressive. The biggest con for me is some lack of details in the paint job, more notably his hair.
Samus Aran (Figma): This Figma isn't exactly top on my list; I wasn't expecting to get her, but she came with a decent price and looked sharp from promotional images. When I finally got a hold of her, I was niether disappointed nor was I overly excited. Figmas have a way to hit my geekdom spot, and Samus did just that. She is accurate to her source material and highly poseable; definitley a nice looking figure. This Figma's biggest drawback is that she has very few accessories--for a Figma, that is underwhelming and borderline disappointing.
Harley Quinn SS (Mafex): Mafex is a brand new toyline for me this year. And while that my be the case, I feel right at home with what this Harley Quinn Suicide Squad figure had to offer. Interchangeable hands, head, a good amount of accessories, pretty good articulation that does a decent job to hide the joints, sharp/clean painjob, and the likeness from the source material. In a saturated market filled with Harley Quinns, this figure doesn't underwhelm in my opinion.
Harley Quinn Club Dress (Mafex): I just mentioned about the over saturation of Harley Quinn figures from 2017 (nothing short of credit from the Suicide Squad movie from the previous year) and here I am with another Harley Quinn figure; another Mafex too! This beauty doens't come with as much accessories as her 'regular' Harley Quinn does, but it does do an 'add-on' feature. A scheme that allows the value of this figure to have some relevance; basically, buy this figure, add another alternate head to the previous Harley from Mafex. While this looks pretty accurate to the movie adaptation of Harley, the 'baggy' look of the dress makes her look a bit 'thicker' than the actress. Also, bare flesh makes it hard to hide the joints/ for some people, that is a total turn off.
Chun Li (Bandai Tamashii Nations): Another toyline within the imports realm. I have had nothing but good experience with this company and seeing them produce one of my favorite SF chracter compelled me to get this figure on my collection. Once again imports pulled through with the amount of accessories (hands and faces), the articulation, and the clean/accurate paint job; and yes, there are many interations of Chun Li--do take note that whether you picture SFV/IV or SF II Chun Li, this one looks like a Chun Li figure. And another plus with this figure: she comes with lightning kicks effect and stands.
Iron Man Manga Realization (Bandai Tamashii Nations): Alternate versions of the Armored Avenger is always welcome. Make him a samurai from Feudal Japan, even more of a plus! Despite it being part of the Bandai Tamashii Natinos, he comes with less accessories, but he is bigger in size, lots of care into the detail, and the accessories that he does have is true to what a Samurai Iron Man would be. Unique and definitely a great addition to my Hall of Armor!
It was a hard decision with this one. While some of the figures I just talked about didn't exaclty have the chance to steal the yearly trophy, I will say three came to mind. I had to really dig deep and refere back to the 'factors' of what makes a figure stand out and deserve the slot. Suffice it to say, I'll have to give this one to Kiritsugu Emiya. I would have given it to Elsa, but I feel as if Kiritsugu came with more for the price tag. More accessories, more poseability, his attire doesn't hinder his articulation, and yes, the lower overhead value does help.
Statues
This area of my collection received a few noteworthy additions. Bishoujo will always make an appearance since they have a good streak of putting out awesome characters. The thing about statues is that there is always a big chance that there are new comers from different companies and 2017 was no different. So here are the nominees. Again, I'll briefly talk about each one.
Asuka Langley Shikinami (Hobby Japan?): Despite this plugsuit (and this movie overall) not being a fan favorite, I can't resist having this thing. Nor do I think it's a pretty bad looking suit, so that means it's a pretty good looking statue. It's a must have for me!
"Chucky" (Bishoujo): Genderbend a classic horror character? Not just any kind of genderbending--bishoujo the heck out of her! I wasn't totally sold on this series of Bishoujo, but seeing this gal in person, I have to say that I was compelled. The cute but sexy pose, the hidden knife, the vibrant colors, and the alternate faces really does turn horror into beautiful. Good job, Kotobukiya!
Elsa Coronation (Bradford Exchange): A coronation dress merchandise of Elsa is hard to find; simply because people are far more enamored by her 'Snow Queen' attire; however I am one of the few that love her coronation dress more than her uber popular outfit. So when I saw this statue, it was a must buy. This figure does fall in line with the 'adult collection' with its price point and fragility. While it might not hit every single good note with my usual statues, it is a great addition and the likeness with Elsa is there.
Elsa Frozen Fever (Disney Showcase): I'm not that big of a fan of Elsa's Frozen Fever dress, but I am an Elsa fan so this is a must. It's just like the Coronation Elsa in terms of not my typical collectable statue, but it does fit my 'Elsa shrine' section of my room so she is a must. The pose is a reguarly used pose and the likeness is not dead on like Elsa; but it's adequate enough for any Elsa fan to have in their collection.
Harley Quinn Arkham Knight (Yamato USA): I'm very aware that this year was an over saturation of Harley Quinn figures in all genres of my collection. The statue department was not spared with an addition of a Harley Quinn. This one, however, is the less popular Akrham Knight costume of Harley. While I'm not a big fan of that costume myself, one thing that really attracted me to this piece is the choice of posture. Definitely something unique, sexy, and still 'strong'. While she seems a little calm for Harley, that expression: blank but still lethal, really adds to this statue. A great addition to my Harley shrine.
Spider-Gwen (Kotobukiya): Another statue that has a sclupted pose that just causes the eyes to gravitate towards its direction! This Spider-Gwen statue from Kotbukya is indeed a fine catch. I love that pose! Its a clean statue with one of those magnetized stand with a design that pays homage to the character. Offering a maskless (not so accurate, though) head, this one is for every Spider-Gwen fan!
I really ventured out with this part of my collection but to me, Bishoujo once again manages to take the top slot with the genderbend Chucky. Kotobukiya just has a way with their Bishoujo line. Clean paint with the pretty faces, the sexy and fan service pose, and not to mention the unique take on a horror character... this one has all the right ingredients to make it the best catch for my statue collection of 2017.
THE ONE: Bowen Spider-Woman
It's no secret that Spider-Woman is my favorite Marvel Heroine. She has been 'with me' for such a long time and it only makes it right for me to try and capture every merchanidse available for her. A long time ago, I saw this Bowen Statue of her and I knew I have to have her in my collection. Well after years and years, I finally had the funds to catch this holy grail! Having this one in person, I have to say, it is as enamoring as the promotional shots. It really does lean on that sexiness that Jessica Drew's character always has with that pose. She's not overly sexual with the said pose, but it is provocative and all the while, it still plays on her Spider-y esque nature. The gargoyle (hold ing its own as a base with its own details and awesome sclupt) can be easily assumed as some decoration from a high above building, so with Spider-Woman sitting on top of it so casually, it really does symbolize her comfort zone and powers with heights. So I can go on with how awesome the sculpt, how clean and vibrant the paint, and so on, but overall this is a must for me, and any Spider-Woman fan.
Afterword
In conlcusion, 2017 was a pretty healthy year for my collection. Obviously this isn't everything I hauled, but considering this is a New Year and a new domain, I wanted to do a quick recap of last year before moving on to 2018. And 2018 looks promising indeed! There are already some things on my preorder and I have some plans for this blog to help it become what my old domain used to be, BUT BETTER! So here's to the new year!
Until Next Time!
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