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The Best Toys of 2023 (The First Half)
746 Plays2 years ago
We are half way through 2023 which means Erik and Dave are counting down their top 10 toys of the year so far! From Wrestling and Marvel to Bandai and McFarlane Toys, listen and see if any of your favorite toys from the first half of 2023 made their list!
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Theme Music is "Game Boy Horror" by the Zombie Dandies
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Transcript
Introduction to Summer Activities and Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
The summer is here. That means outdoor festivals, comic-cons, and the perfect weather for toy hunts. As the weather heats up and you're out there enjoying yourself, stay hydrated with our show's sponsor, Liquid IV. Liquid IV hydrates two times faster than water alone and three times the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks, and it's easy to use. Just rip open a pouch, pour one of their delicious flavors into a water bottle, and shake it up.
00:00:30
Speaker
With sea berry, strawberry lemonade, concord grape, lemon lime, pina colada, tropical punch, watermelon, guava, and more to choose from, there is a flavor for everyone. So whether you're on that long toy hunt, spending 10 hours on your feet walking your favorite comic-con, or getting your sweat on, stay hydrated and healthy with Liquid IV. Get 20% off when you go to liquidiv.com
00:00:56
Speaker
and use code AICPOD at checkout. That's 20% off anything you order when you shop better hydration today using promo code AICPOD at liquidiv.com.
Meet the Hosts: Eric and Dave
00:01:17
Speaker
Are you ready, kids? Get your parents' permission, check your mailbox, and grab your shopping cart. It's time for the Adventures in Collecting podcast. I'm Eric. And I'm Dave. Welcome to Adventures in Collecting, where we talk toy news, culture, and hauls, along with our journeys as collectors. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Adventures.
00:01:46
Speaker
in collecting. Hi. Dave, it's that time of the year again. Yeah, Eric. Hey, is there a lead to Barry? Dave, there isn't. Could you imagine that? Nope. Our guest this week is a lot of toys. Yeah.
00:02:06
Speaker
I already hear the fast forward buttons being pressed. No, no, no, no. Hopefully not. Yeah.
Midyear Top 10 Toy List Tradition
00:02:14
Speaker
So, uh, it's, it's June of, as we record this, it is, uh, we are, we are nearing the middle of June. No, we're nearing the end of June of, uh, of 2023, which of course means we're halfway through.
00:02:30
Speaker
Uh, the year and, uh, it's our, our new kind of annual tradition. I don't remember when we started doing the halfway through. I honestly don't, but, um, last year was it last year? It might've been last year, but I think it was for the second year that we did a top 10. Everybody loves a good list. Everybody buys it up. It'll be in the description. You'll find them. We buy a lot of toys. Uh, lots of toys come, come across our.
00:02:59
Speaker
our paths these days. So why wait until the end of the year to do, uh, to do a top 10 list? You know, it's, it's more fun to do one halfway through the year and then compare it to what, uh, to what you have at the end of the year. It's always a little fun to see, you know, uh, who ends up staying on the list. You know, those, those January, February pickups that, uh, that fall to the wayside. What moves around?
Rules for the Top 10 Toy List
00:03:24
Speaker
What did you change your mind on?
00:03:26
Speaker
Yeah. Because I think I moved stuff around last year. So let's put out some ground rules. First and foremost, collectively across the two of us, we are not doing honorable mentions this year. We're going to keep this tight or as tight as we can. So it is 10 releases. Now, we both have slightly different
00:03:52
Speaker
Personal rules to these to these top ten. So I'll do mine first Dave So this year for my top ten I am keeping it to individual figures. So In the past I've I've included, you know box sets, you know kind of releases Vehicles
00:04:16
Speaker
This year I am not doing that. I am doing individual figures. So yes, that means that inevitably when the his tank arrives, the his tank this year for my list will be ineligible as it is a vehicle. I would have to pick a figure from that release. So I'm
Toy Release Timelines and Personal Preferences
00:04:36
Speaker
keeping this year's list to
00:04:40
Speaker
Specifically to two figures two individual figures so i have i have a hard top ten select they are ranked it's not like i have a number one and then nine. Figures tied for second i have i have. Thought about this i've been keeping a list since january i'm sorry that's that's how i'm structuring my top ten this year.
00:05:07
Speaker
Um, I like to do the Dan Larson rules. Um, if it is something that I was given, I would have had to have wanted to buy it. Um, toys that were released within the year. Um, those are my two big ones that I enjoy from, uh, Dan's Dan's list. Um, and the other one that I'm doing is I like, sometimes it's hard to be like,
00:05:35
Speaker
if it's a line which figure from this line is the best when it all just like is really one thing I think I did that with the Fortnite Micros yeah and you've done it with the the Marvel the Marvel Legends as well yeah the past the three and three-quarter legends I think if something is if a series or a line needs to be
00:05:59
Speaker
highlighted and congratulated. I think it should be, but if there ever is an individual standout, then we'll go with that. But if it's something where it's just kind of amazing across the board, then we mentioned that. And you did mention another part of the rule too. It is something that has to have been released, shipped in 2023. So not like,
00:06:27
Speaker
you waited until 2023 to get something that came out in 2022. Like one of the things that will be on this list for me, um, you know, it's kind of a, a teaser is something that I had pre-ordered for quite a bit of time. And, um, and it didn't, you know, I pre-ordered it back in 2022 and it shipped in, uh, in 2023. So I know, I know some people and Britt Baker, the one year were like controversial, but they should have been on shelves and
00:06:56
Speaker
then falling near you, but that's when ringside got them. Yeah. Yeah. So there are a couple of things on my list that I know for a fact. People had in hand towards the end of 2022, but I did, did not get them. Like, and it was not by no fault of mine. If I could have gotten them sooner, I would have loved to have gotten them sooner, but, um, you know, they did officially ship from the place that I preordered them and I, and I got them in 2023. So I'm counting, I'm counting that.
00:07:26
Speaker
And I'm, I'm hoping I'm right. Like I lost six, not six months, like four months due to injury. So I, my time is it does just barely exists. I'm hoping I'm within this year. I believe I am. Well, well with that Dave, why don't, uh, why don't you start us off with your, with your number 10?
Top 10 Toy List: Number 10 Picks
00:07:48
Speaker
Okay. Um, I believe, um,
00:07:57
Speaker
The doors set at best with this is the end. In this case, it's the end of a line. I consider this the last one because it was the first to be like this, and it just so happens to be a very big favorite of mine.
00:08:22
Speaker
uh, near and dear to my heart, something I love very much. And it's, it's delightful. It's a delightful, uh, figure. It is the Hasbro Marvel legends, three seven five ghost rider with hell cycle. It's just sleeping, Dave. It's at rest. It's at rest. It may come back. If it does, then I take all of this back, but I still love this. Figure and bicep bicycle motorcycle.
00:08:50
Speaker
to uh... put it into my top ten cycle cycle I actually finally saw one of these in person at Target like very recently yeah they're still showing up and I only have one three and three quarter Marvel Legends just because I love the Hulk and I didn't have a gray Hulk in my collection so I was like ah this is an easy way to get a gray Hulk on the shelf um really cool line you know they
00:09:20
Speaker
I think they really kind of started to hit their stride and then, you know, kind of got the rug pulled out from underneath them, you know, as these the way these things go. But, you know, like if we were getting one vehicle, we were probably going to get more. Yeah. Yeah, I think probably the especially with. OK, do we have to say spoiler alert at this point? Spider-Verse has been out long enough, especially with like Spider-Verse, you know, and like the car, the buggy.
00:09:50
Speaker
Being in the movie, I'm sure that would have been an accessory of vehicle at some point, maybe the fantastic car. There definitely were options that would have fit very nicely into that retro line. And thanks to Steve, I did get that running change. There we go. I did find that storm. An update a few weeks later, months later. Yeah, I ran out and got that immediately afterwards.
00:10:16
Speaker
you completist. All those, yeah. So that takes us to my number 10. My number 10. You know, it's interesting. With with my number 10, I kind of feel like not to not to quote the, you know, Heath Ledger
00:10:35
Speaker
Joker, but like, uh, I kind of feel like, uh, uh, a dog who's chasing a car and doesn't know what to do if, if, if he caught it, um, because something I have always wanted in, in my collection, you know, once I kind of went from three and three quarter scale to starting to collect, um, you know, six inch scale figures, I really wanted an Indiana Jones figure. Uh, it, you know, that kind of fits in with that. And, you know, this year we got the.
00:11:03
Speaker
the birth of the adventure series, which is Hasbro's answer to Marvel Legends and the Black series for Indiana Jones. The only one I have from the series is Raiders Indie. And it's great. I love it. There are some things that
00:11:27
Speaker
I would like to improve down the line. I think I'm definitely going to look for a custom kind of wired whip for him at some point. The plastic one just kind of doesn't do it for me. It's a little too static. But the likeness is awesome. The details, it's got that black series and Marvel Legends kind of touch to it, which is awesome. But to my point, kind of at the top of this, the reason why it's number 10 is
00:11:56
Speaker
I kind of don't want anything else from it. You know, like it's, it's like, you know, the, the thing that I would want, you know, in terms of like display and play and fun. If you think about it, like, Indy doesn't really beat up the main bad guys of the movies, right? Like he doesn't beat up tote. He doesn't beat up, uh,
Exclusive Toys and Challenges in Collecting
00:12:20
Speaker
bellock. He doesn't beat up, uh, you know, uh,
00:12:25
Speaker
Donovan, you know, he beats up thugs and
00:12:32
Speaker
World War II bad guys. And I just don't see them making those figures for very obvious reasons. So I'm kind of like, okay, I guess I could have them beat up Hydra soldiers as the next best thing. So, you know, uh, I think, I think with Raiders, Indy, like I'm, I'm kind of done. I am getting short round too. I have him pre-ordered. Um,
00:12:58
Speaker
And you know, I think that's it. I think that's it for me I think that's kind of a real quick in and out on that that line unless no Henry senior You know, I thought about it the thing is that Indy so like the Raiders Indy looks very similar to the the Temple of Doom Indy, you know just kind of like the jacket sure ants if I get
00:13:21
Speaker
Henry, I have to get the Indy that goes with him too. And then now I have two Indies and it's just like, I don't know. He doesn't wear that. The same jacket in that movie. He wears more of like a, I almost want to say like a bomber style jacket. It's not that I don't know. All right. I don't know. I'm a, I'm a stickler when it comes to little things like that. So yeah, I don't know. But that's my number 10, uh, Indiana Jones. Great figure.
00:13:50
Speaker
Um, this next one is the first, um, first instance of, I'll say a line being mentioned on my top 10. Um, and this one for me was like a, a obvious potential home run and it was, um, we got some new characters that had never been made before. Um,
00:14:18
Speaker
Lots of great stuff. And the downside to it is that it's not available every- like you have to go out of your way to get it. And that's led to some of the parts of the series being borderline impossible to find. But I have people on the lookout every time they make their way to the delightful place known as
00:14:48
Speaker
Walt Disney World. I am of course talking about the Super 7 reaction figures Disney parks exclusive Tron series. Headed to the grid. Um, those light cycles. Can't find them. I think they were there the first weekend. I mean,
00:15:12
Speaker
Makes sense that those would be the first things to go, you know, especially considering they're being sold at a ride called light cycle run. So, you know, it's, it's the iconography from the film. So, yeah. And there are only, there are only, there are characters that are only available with the light cycles too, which is cool. So hopefully they could, you know, you get a, a rerun of those. I mean, as long as the ride is, you know, they're in popular, I have to imagine that they want merch to stock there. I mean, Mark, you know,
00:15:41
Speaker
Marvel Legends continues or Marvel Legends. Excuse me Hasbro continues to stock the the Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Multi-pack at the you know exclusively at the rod so and those black series multi packs are in Yeah, galaxy's edge as well. But yeah, it's you know, you hope that at some point we get legacy in there So it's it's really cool to see well, we know
00:16:08
Speaker
You know, having talked to Brian, uh, Brian Flynn from, from super seven, of course, uh, he's a huge Tron fan. You know, he said it on the show, his two favorite franchises, you know, are Tron and, and Star Wars. So, you know, one would hope that he would continue to, you know, to get figures out and, and maybe even, uh, you know, add some Tron figures to that, uh, that ultimate slime. Yeah, I am certainly on board with more Tron though. And I can't wait to go on the ride.
00:16:38
Speaker
Me too. Uh, the next one for me is also kind of a throwback of sorts. Um, and something that, uh, that caught me completely off guard and very honestly, very, very could very well could have been, you know, a kind of a.
00:16:55
Speaker
instead of being an individual figure, a line. But it was easy to pick just one figure from this line. Again, not one that I'm going super deep into. I think I'm actually done with my most recent pickup. We'll see what Wave 3 looks like. But the boss fight
Nostalgia and Quality in Toy Collecting
00:17:14
Speaker
studios, Popeye Classics, Popeye the Sailor Man.
00:17:19
Speaker
picked this up picked up Popeye again I'm a huge Popeye fan it's probably my favorite like I don't know what you call it non big comic house comic cartoon I've always loved him you know since I was a kid was the only way that
00:17:40
Speaker
I ate spinach was if it came out of the one with the Popeye logo on it. Uh, so I picked up the figure, absolutely loved it. Ended up, uh, going back and saying, okay, let me get Bluto. So that way I have somebody for him to fight. Uh, it was awesome that I went back and got olive. And, uh, and then I actually, just the other day from our, uh,
00:18:01
Speaker
from our friends at Chubsy Wubsy Toys picked up Wimpy. But Popeye is an awesome figure. You get two head sculpts, removable hat, the crushed can, the hands, the fists. He's got all the articulation you need. And honestly, it was my first ever experience of the Boss Fight Studios product too. It was the first ever Boss Fight Studios figure that I ever had. So it's always interesting to see
00:18:31
Speaker
You know when you when you buy into a new brand kind of like their their approach to toy making you are the details a little softer a little you know are they a little more. You know what like which way do they skew we are their paints a little more mad at a little shinier so it's it's always interesting you know buying a figure from a new.
00:18:51
Speaker
you know, brand for the first time. And I, I was completely blown away with the experience from packaging the figure, uh, the colorway, uh, you know, the, the different types of paint, the articulation, just a super cool figure that does everything you need a Popeye figure to do, uh, without looking creepy, which is, which is really easy to do for a Popeye figure. Very, very easy to skew too real. And you know, he, he's, he's terrifying. So, um, really great job. Uh, that's my, my number nine.
00:19:24
Speaker
You hear that knocking? I do. Who is it? The Forbidden Door has opened, Eric. Oh boy. Has it? Yes. In honor of the Forbidden Door opening, we have the Storm Collectibles Ringside exclusive Minoru Suzuki. He is incredibly jacked for Minoru Suzuki. However,
00:19:54
Speaker
It is Minoru Suzuki, therefore a figure that was highly anticipated for me. It's the usual storm collectibles. Yeah, it looks like you stepped out of Tekken. Yeah, that usual storm collectibles style. Yeah. Similar to Jushin Thunder Liger, you have the
00:20:19
Speaker
You have his greatest rival in Minoru Suzuki, so they are in that same scale and in that same world. But Ken still live in the world of your other wrestling figures. And to have another legend, and the face sculpt is off the charts. It's so good. Both of them, right? He's got two, right? Because he has a tongue out. He's got a chase, yeah. He's got the chase in the white gear, but I got the standard.
00:20:50
Speaker
normal Minoru Suzuki, just black trunks, black boots. Murder grandpa. Yeah. Yeah, no, I mean, I haven't gotten a chance to see yours in person yet. Um, the pictures all look great. You know, there's something that's like really, there's something that's really nice about those storm collectibles figures. Like they really do have that kind of premium feel to them the way that they're kind of like, I don't want to say like,
00:21:18
Speaker
I guess it is rubberized like they have a lot of like soft kind of feel to them. It gives them an ability to be more fluid when they move. Yeah. Yeah. I mean the back when we first
00:21:34
Speaker
You know, did our first ever list and it's still honestly still, I still think it is a, it's one of the few perfect figures that I have is their storm collectibles. Bane. I mean, when they, when they hit a figure the right way, I mean, it's just nothing. Yeah. Liger is fantastic. Yes, it is. And I actually have one of my own now. I ended up getting the green one. So yeah. Awesome figure. Um, one of these times you got to bring him over so we can, we can have some fun with him and him and Moxley.
00:22:03
Speaker
in the lightbox. That'll be fun. So where does that take us? My number eight? Yes. So my number eight is actually... is it? Yes. It is my newest... second newest pickup. Like, very, very, very recently added to the collection. A figure that I loved as a kid. It was actually... I played with it so much that the version of it that I have right now
00:22:33
Speaker
from the original version of this figure from like 1997, 98, is missing every accessory. Every piece that was clued on has falled off. Spikes are missing. Has falled off? Falled off. What did I say? Falled off? Has fallen off. Has fallen off. That goes with bicycle for me. Bicycle. Falled.
00:23:03
Speaker
I was trying to think of the thing that I said when we had Heather's boyfriend on the show that I'm now forgetting. Para-dig him. Can you para-dig it? Dr. Para-dig him. Dr. Para-dig him. No, so McFarland toys, medieval spawn. So just a super cool
00:23:23
Speaker
Figure they made him a big old chunky boy Like he is in the modern books, but he's not a deluxe figure So this is definitely one of those like how much plastic can I cram into the package for? $25 or $23 whatever it goes for now Absolutely awesome figure you get you get a sick sword you get a giant like war hammer
00:23:47
Speaker
he's the new design which he is in the comics and the storyline that's going on with uh with medieval spawn recently i don't know if i'm like totally caught
Unique Features of Recent Toy Releases
00:23:56
Speaker
up but most recently is a really fun storyline so i'm not sure which person is supposed to be under that armor um there is the reason why it is so low on my list um
00:24:10
Speaker
as awesome as it is and as well as it moves and you know and everything in the textures it's missing a lot of paint there is uh... there's a lot of gray plastic on this uh... figure that is just not painted and there's like a really cool sculpted detail on there and this is usually something that mcfarlane toys doesn't miss usually it's like oh my god i can't believe they took the time to actually like put a throw a dark wash on this but this might be one of the
00:24:39
Speaker
Few figures that I I might customize. I might just hit some of this with a dark wash to bring it out because there's just there is a lot of unpainted plastic, but medieval spawn. Welcome addition to the the the gallery of the ever growing gallery of spawn variants on my shelf. Loved him as a kid, loved him as an adult. All right, my number seven I have in my hands, I picked him up.
00:25:07
Speaker
Just because I've been playing with them the past couple days. This is one where there have been a lot of really cool figures that have come out in this line, I think, this year and maybe towards the end of last year too. Some of them were ones that were mentioned and talked about, but I feel like this figure kind of went under the radar. I don't remember it being announced. I just remember kind of seeing it one time.
00:25:37
Speaker
and going, oh, that's really cool. I want that. Like, that's a character I enjoy and I'd like to pick it up. So I'm heading into the Zero Point with the Hasbro Fortnite Victory Royale series of punk. He's an anthropomorphic pumpkin head. Now, kind of,
00:26:07
Speaker
Most recently been Chrome Punk in the game. Really cool. Comes with a gun. Comes with a couple baseball bats. His back bling that you could put the baseball bats in. Cool, good articulation. The one thing that I don't love is that the arms don't go out anywhere. They just kind of turn.
00:26:36
Speaker
You might have to heat that up they should Okay, maybe I do Because I was really hoping to get him holding the bat behind his head like over his back shoulder Yeah, I mean he's he's definitely he definitely has the ball jointed shoulders it's just some of these some of the newer and this is your this goes towards your
00:26:58
Speaker
I don't want to say inexperienced with newer Hasbro figures, but like with a lot of these pinless joints and the type of plastic that's being used on some of these kind of like hoodie. Like it's a really cool figure. It is black and orange. He's got cool high tops. Um, could potentially be from, from, at least from the way that it seems, you know, nothing, no official word or anything yet, but it seems like that line might be
00:27:25
Speaker
might have or might be running its course so potentially could be disappointing because there's a whole array of just characters that exist that it's a never-ending stream yeah I mean it's thought that I would have gotten into fortnight super huge it's it's actually blows my mind that you're into it now more than I am I'm like
00:27:51
Speaker
I don't want to say I'm moving away from it, I still play it from time to time, but I definitely, my last figure was clearance ghost meowcels, and I think I'm good. Yeah, this is my favorite one. Sludge was really cool, but I think Punk is like my favorite one. Sludge is Red Ripley, right? Red Ripley, yeah. I also have Blue Ripley, I just like that translucent.
00:28:20
Speaker
To my point, some of those slimmer figures, like even, you know, I have the Spider-Verse Miles here, because the joints are so small in order to make the figures sturdy and have these kind of small, pinless joints, just sometimes the shoulders, the knees get a little frozen. Just, it's like par for the course. Yeah, the knees are a little tight. It's par for the course.
00:28:46
Speaker
You know, just if you blow dryer hot water, you don't have to do it like every time. You just do it the first time and free them up and then, you know, they're kind of good to go. All right. So where are we now?
Nostalgic Toy Series and Designs
00:29:00
Speaker
Seven? You're number seven. My number seven. Okay. So my number seven is a figure that has is very
00:29:13
Speaker
closely attached to a meme these days. This is a film tie-in figure, iconic character, huge kind of gamble payoff for Illumination Studios. Mario Brothers was a huge, huge hit. They knocked it out of the park. They kind of broke the video game curse, as it were.
00:29:42
Speaker
But the figure in that line, and as cool as the line is of their kind of Jack's Pacific's Mario Brothers movie line, they're a little bit larger than the five-inch Super Mario figures. I think these kind of come in at six inches. But the deluxe,
00:30:02
Speaker
to scale your six-inch scale bowser figure uh... is my is my number uh... my number seven i got this before i saw the movie uh... as well as mario luigi impeach uh... i just love the design of them and i figured hey you know even if this movie tanks and it's terrible uh... you know i have kind of versions of the figures that are or versions of the characters that are beautiful they're well done they represent the characters very well and then i open bowser
00:30:32
Speaker
And he has a light and effects feature where you pour a little water in the back of his head and he actually breathes like steam and he's got an LED in the back of his mouth that turns the steam red and it works.
00:30:50
Speaker
really well. Not only that, like most of, you know, if you think of in the past, you know, especially when we were kids, like the gimmicky toys are usually kind of nerfed in terms of mobility. You know, the ones that are gimmicky usually kind of just stay in one spot, stand there and they can't really do a whole lot. This has fully articulated arms and legs. You know, yes, he's a giant turtle monster. So his torso and his head are kind of
00:31:20
Speaker
blocked and look for looking forward but you can really kind of get him into some fun positions between the tail articulation and the arms and legs. And not to mention the price point of it was like ridiculous for what it was I want to say it was like.
00:31:35
Speaker
It's been a while now since I got it, so excuse me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure he was only $39.99, you know, he was only 40 bucks. I think he was like 40 bucks. And there's a lot of plastic there for $40. I just think it's a great value, great design. And then of course, you know, once I saw the movie and the movie was, you know, absolutely blew my doors off. You know, Jack Black is Bowser.
00:31:58
Speaker
Um, you know, it's just very, very good. Uh, try to figure out a way where I can put him on display because he is very large, but, uh, it's, it's an awesome figure and, uh, and that's my, my number seven. Um, my number six is another series. Um, and I feel like it's another one that needs to just be applauded for what it is and for what it's become. Um,
00:32:27
Speaker
You know, you mentioned it before, and this is one that I had some of these when I was a kid. I at least had three that I remember. And it was one of those things where when I found out these were coming out, I needed to pick them up because mine might still be around, but like the fact that I can get like new ones and
00:32:57
Speaker
have them exist and the fact that they were made based off of somebody's originals. What a story. Yeah, what a story, right? And the fact that we've got new characters in that style. It's just really cool. And that's the Hasbro Kenner style Indiana Jones retro series.
00:33:22
Speaker
Yeah, uh, shouts to Chris Rife. Yeah, right. I don't know what it's reefer Rife, um, on the Hasbro team. He kind of does all of those retro ones. So like he does the star Wars one and now he does the, um, the indie one. But they are, there's something real that is like really special about them. I haven't pulled the trigger on any of them yet. That's one where.
00:33:48
Speaker
I know they already announced Henry. I think they might've announced Indie too from Last Crusade. And Sala, I believe. I might get the pair of them in that version just because I never had any of those. My only touch point with retro Indiana Jones figures were those kind of atrocious Temple of Doom, LJN ones. I only had one of those.
00:34:15
Speaker
Yeah, but I've seen other, I've like seen other ones. I've seen like the, I feel like I've seen the swordsman. I think it was how, how they, how they word it or like thuggy guard maybe. Um, but, uh, I, uh, I don't know. There's, there's something special about those figures. And like you said, seeing the new ones, like seeing short round out there now, like in that form factor, it's just, it's, it's very cool. Right. Very, very cool.
00:34:43
Speaker
How deep do you think you're going to go on those? I mean, how deep can they go? I mean, that's, that's the, not to get too sidetracked here, but that's kind of the interesting thing with Indiana Jones, right? Like, you know, sure. They can make every version of Indy and which they seemingly so far are at least with the adventure series, you know, map room and club Obi-Wan and, you know, uh, hypnotized.
00:35:16
Speaker
Five. Eight. Eight different big retro ones. Yeah, you got the three. You have two. Isn't it six and two? You have three different Indiana Jones figures, right? You have. Well, so far that are out. The last crusade ones are not out everywhere yet. Yeah. OK, I thought you were counting those two. Yeah. So no, that's three more. So yeah. So if you count those four, I think if you count those, it's nine.
00:35:47
Speaker
Yeah. But, like, you know, they could technically start to do retro figures. They haven't really done any of the villains. So, like, they could do, you know, Donna Bellock and Took and the outside of the original run. I'm saying like they didn't do they haven't done like Donovan. They haven't done Brody. They haven't done Brody's not a villain, but I'm just thinking of other characters they haven't done.
00:36:15
Speaker
I mean, they did the guy with the little fez for, uh, from, from, uh, they fight on the boat. I can't think of his name. They did him an adventure series. So, I mean, anybody that's kind of that they'll, they'll do in that other scale, you know, I wouldn't be surprised, you know, if they show up in, uh, in the retro. I mean, we'll see it's molar on would be amazing. That'd be an amazing retro figure. And technically you could do, yeah.
00:36:45
Speaker
One is enough. Just give him the removable head gear. All right, so where does that take
Special Toy Stories and Experiences
00:36:53
Speaker
us? To number six for me? But I definitely don't think I need a Shia, a Shia Labou. Oh, you don't want a mutt? You definitely need a mutt. No, I'm good. You sure? I think I'm good. You good without mutt? Yeah. What if he comes with monkeys, though? I'm good.
00:37:11
Speaker
What if, what if for San Diego Comic Con, the, the retro exclusive is Indiana Jones in a refrigerator, but it's on card.
00:37:22
Speaker
And you don't actually get to, you don't get to see Indiana Jones. It's just the refrigerator. And it's like, no, he's in there, but you got to open it to see him. And there's, and there's a, uh, ground hog next to it or whatever, or gopher. And it would be great too. If like the Indiana, the figure is actually refrigerator and in CGI gopher. And instead of being an Indiana Jones figure inside the refrigerator, the refrigerator has the articulation and you just get like an indie slug that just kind of like fits into the refrigerator.
00:37:52
Speaker
That would be funny. That would be amazing. I don't know if they'd do that. I would buy it. That I would buy. Just because it's... Yeah, I'd buy that. Alright, number six for me. This is a figure that... I did not think I'd be buying another version of this wrestler. Because I think every time
00:38:22
Speaker
Alright, so let me take a step back here. So, please do. In 2019, when we were at Toy Fair, I don't know if I have told this story on the show before. I've definitely told other people this story. I don't know if I've said it on the show.
00:38:42
Speaker
Um, I had not watched wrestling in a very, very long time. Um, at all, I did not know what an AEW was. Uh, I, I was aware of the company jazzwares and of, you know, and toys, but I, I, again, like did not, did not know what an AEW was. Didn't know that there was a comp a wrestling competitor. Like that's how far removed from wrestling I was. So I'm at the show Matt toy fair in New York and I,
00:39:12
Speaker
get an appointment at the Jazzwares booth. And there's this call sheet on the wall that lists the wrestlers that are going to be in there. So I take a picture of the call sheet, and I send it to Dave, who couldn't be there that day. Damn it. You were probably better off, to be honest. Maybe. I mean, I don't know. You probably would have had better questions to ask them.
00:39:41
Speaker
But the two people that were there that day were Kenny Omega and Adam Page, who at the time, again, I had no idea. They were tag champions at AEW. And they were showing off the first wave of the arrival figures. I believe it was the first two. No. Hangman was series two.
00:40:04
Speaker
Series two. Yeah. Uh, first two series one and two series, first two waves, um, were there in prototype form. And the first person that I got to talk to was Kenny Omega. And this was his first figure. And again, like I knew nothing about his, his kind of at this point, like, I guess you could say storied history, right? Cause he wrestled around the world, you know, in Japan and everywhere.
00:40:25
Speaker
No idea who this guy was. Like the best wrestler in the world at the time. Like literally I had no idea who he was. The only thing, you know, Dave gave me the primer of like,
00:40:36
Speaker
He's one of the best wrestlers in the world, if not the best wrestler in the world at this moment in time. And, you know, he's tag team champions with Hangman, Adam Page, and they're both there and they're both getting figures. This is the first time they've had action figures. That was my primer. And the way that Kenny talked about his figure, the way that he talked about the business, the way that he talked about the community as collectors, it literally like really made me want to go home and watch wrestling. And I did.
00:41:05
Speaker
Right. So when these figures initially came out, I, I could not be, I could not find them, you know, in the, the, you know, series one, I did eventually get the rerun of series one. And I, I made sure that I got a Kenny Omega figure, um, because of just kind of this moment. And I, I love that figure. I still think it's the best figure in that wave. Um, and every time jazzwares has done Kenny Omega, you can, you can, you know,
00:41:34
Speaker
You could say that some character, or excuse me, not character, some talent have had better treatment than others, you know, in terms of just kind of end result. Um, you know, in terms of like, whether it's gear or likeness or, you know, what have you, but every time they do Kenny Omega, they do him justice. He's an awesome figure. And after the, I guess we'll call it, um,
00:41:56
Speaker
The belt collector, you know heal promo Kenny figure then like the colorful shirt and the top knot and the glasses and everything It's like I'm good. I've got every version of this guy that I need I've got like two or three awesome ring gear ones I've got you know, I've got a promo one for pictures. I'm good. I've checked my my Kenny box I'm good and then the Walmart Supreme figure shows up And with the with the black leather jacket the red and
00:42:25
Speaker
ring gear, the V-neck shirt, the glasses, the two different head scopes. It's literally, if it's not my favorite, it's first of all, it is definitely my favorite AEW figure to date period from jazzwares. And again, going back to that original story, like it just, ah, just such a good figure. But for me, it's
00:42:48
Speaker
In terms of a supreme figure, it's everything a supreme figure should be. There are so many different looks and combinations you can get out of the pieces that come with this figure. Depending on whether he's wearing the jeans or whether he's wearing the ring gear, the shirt, the jacket, the shirt and the jacket, the different heads, it's just
00:43:07
Speaker
It's an absolutely stunning, stunning figure. You had all the facial looks of Kenny at the time with the mustache or the sideburns or the... So that's what's interesting though. So that's the regular Supreme version. This one only comes with two heads.
00:43:23
Speaker
All right. So you only get you get one with like darker facial hair and then you get one with like a five o'clock shadow. So you still do get to kind of like versions of him. But you don't get the many looks of Kenny like you do in the in the other one. But the I feel you get a more versatile apparel packing with him. You do need an impact title to go with it.
00:43:48
Speaker
Yeah, you really do. But, uh, awesome figure. So number six, shout out to, to, uh, jazzwares magic and the team over there for absolutely crushing it. Um, sorry for the long winded story, but I felt like I needed a little bit of context. So number six, Kenny, Kenny Omega Supreme, uh, Walmart edition.
Show Sponsors and Promotions
00:44:07
Speaker
And now a word from our sponsors.
00:44:15
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:45:25
Speaker
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00:45:43
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:47:00
Speaker
and use the code AICPOD12 to get 12% off your order and free two-day shipping. Shop today to get the best deal ever. And now back to the show.
Unique Toy Styles and Contributions
00:47:18
Speaker
So number five, it's a wonderful time to be a wrestling toy collector, I feel.
00:47:30
Speaker
Mattel and Jazzwares doing excellent work with WWE and AEW, respectively. But what's great about wrestling is there's a lot of storied characters. And, you know, some of those characters are legends, some of them are
00:47:57
Speaker
Independent wrestlers some of them are independent wrestlers that go on to be big TV stars and this happened to be the case with this one and It's one of those figures that was you know, kind of a long time waiting but ultimately came out this year And was made to kind of
00:48:24
Speaker
quickly or at least kind of released quickly as its own series for a very good reason, which was to help the wrestler depicted as the figure. Prior to this wrestler getting signed, had broken his leg and was out of action and the proceeds for this figure went to that wrestler. And this wrestler has gone on to be easily
00:48:54
Speaker
Wrestler that kind of crosses over. He's a funny mainstream. He's a phenomenon Yeah, he really is a phenomenon Of course, I'm talking about Danhausen. I'm talking about Danhausen From the zombie sailor toys wrestling heels and faces line If you pre-ordered you got the extra like jar of teeth and the
00:49:19
Speaker
all the extra bag of human money, real human money. Yeah, a bag of human money. I mean, it's Danhausen. It's what's not till everybody loves Danhausen. And if they everybody knows, at least is aware of, there is a person in wrestling named Danhausen. He's had a New York Times article written about him. He's got coffee. He's he's everywhere.
00:49:48
Speaker
And it rules because he really is this kind of DIY phenomenon. And it was cool to see him get a retro style figure. And now there's more chances for him to show up on the list at the end of the year, because there's there's this jazz where jazz where's one's coming. Yep, I'm I am I am very excited for that hook housing pack. Very, very excited.
00:50:15
Speaker
Yeah, so he's got the cape like and it's it's just such a well done figure. It looks great in the package. Yeah, well. All the props to the zombie, I was going to say zombie zombie has yet to miss. He has yet to miss. No, he has not. He has not missed. Good job, Josh. We love you. Number five for me.
00:50:46
Speaker
I don't know what else to say about this figure other than the fact that the bar was already pretty high on this figure's representation in my collection. One of my favorite Marvel Legends that they've ever made in kind of that MCU arena is the Tom Hardy Venom. And then for Let There Be Venom,
00:51:12
Speaker
uh, Tomashi nations and bond. I took a stab at it and absolutely just crushed it. Absolutely blew my doors off, crushed it. Um, I love the slight like blue purple tint to the figure. Um, was a very subtle change that they made between
00:51:32
Speaker
the first Venom movie and let there be carnage. I think say what you will about both of those films. I think that I will die on this hill that the first one does not get enough love. The second one is riddled with problems. But I think the Venom and Carnage
00:51:54
Speaker
character designs are are fantastic and I can watch Tom Hardy be be venom like literally all day just watch him act against himself like an absolute lunatic is is amazing the figure is great and it comes with what is single-handedly one of the most insane accessories an action figure
00:52:16
Speaker
in my collection comes with, and it is not even for the venom figure. It is specifically made for Bondi, Tamashii Nations, their SH figure. It's body coon figures, which are literally just like blank slate figures.
00:52:31
Speaker
that have a couple of 5mm orts on their backs, swappable hands and stuff. They gave you the symbiote thing that connects on your body coon figure to make it look like Venom is coming out of their back and yelling at them in the face, which is just amazing.
00:52:51
Speaker
You know a little bit of blue tack and you can have some fun with that on some other figures as well But uh, yeah, so that's my what are we number five? Uh is the sh figure it's tamashi nation's bond. I let there be carnage It's funny that that was your number five This is my last instance of doing I would say like uh
00:53:20
Speaker
grouping something together.
Anniversary Figures and Celebrated Releases
00:53:23
Speaker
Okay. Um, a while back, not too long ago, um, there was a really neat event that went on, um, that went on in New York and, um, one stop on a world tour, but really the only place like on the East coast, if not in the United States where
00:53:50
Speaker
I think they have one on the west coast. There was one on the west coast in LA one. I don't know if it happened yet or, but, but yes, it's the only East coast stop. The only East coast stop for the Tamashi nation's 15th anniversary world tour. And at that stop, they had some exclusive figures and they're not generally, there's something that I can enjoy. I enjoy the work, the beauty, um,
00:54:21
Speaker
the scale, everything about those figures, but they're not something that I've necessarily had as part of my collection. And I felt this event was like the perfect time because there were exclusive figures that I was like, okay, these are something that I want and I can kind of limit it to this. And it is of course for the current greatest animated movie that's ever been produced. Amen.
00:54:52
Speaker
And that is, of course, the SH figure arts, Tamashi Nations, Bandai, 15th Anniversary World Tour exclusive, Spider-Gwen, and Miles Morales. They're great figures. They look like they just leapt right out of the film. Down to Gwen's high tops to Miles, there's kind of like a
00:55:22
Speaker
kind of awkward face that he has that's really cool. Um, the thing that I enjoy about the figure arts figures is kind of how they're built in a way. Like when it comes to changing heads and changing faces and, you know, changing the eyes on, on masks, like it's really cool. Yeah. They're,
00:55:46
Speaker
They are premium figures. Absolutely. They are statues. They are works of art. They are every bit of deserving of the price point that they are.
00:55:58
Speaker
Yeah, and the good news too is if you're listening to this and you didn't get a chance to attend this pop-up event or another one pop-up experience in your area, these figures are getting standard releases as well, and they are identical to these 15th anniversary versions, just the 15th anniversary. Different packaging. Yeah, different packaging. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, which is really cool because it's a nice little sleeved package.
00:56:29
Speaker
Which is nice. So, Miles, Gwen, and 2099 are all available for pre-order currently. And we, if you're listening to this now, live, new, adventuresincollectingpodcast.com forward slash links, you can find them on Amazon right now. They're all up for pre-order. Yeah. So.
00:56:55
Speaker
But yeah, like these are something special for a movie that's something special. God, that movie is so good. Shout out to my first kind of real experience with Figuarts Figures. Dave, my next pick is I think is a little... I think it's a little controversial. Okay. And I almost feel bad putting it on the list. And I took it off the list, I put it back on the list, took it off the list, put it back on the list.
00:57:26
Speaker
Um, um, this could have been a couple of different figures from this, this line, uh, this line has had a really strong first, first half of 2023 down to who is my newest figure, not medieval spawn. My newest figure is, is ultimate edition Seth Rollins. And as good as Seth Rollins is amazing figure.
00:57:52
Speaker
I, it could have very well have been ultimate edition. Andre, the giant is his wave mate. Another absolutely incredible figure. Hell, it could have been ultimate edition. The bad guy razor Ramon, uh, which was another amazing ultimate edition figure. But you know, at the end of the day, wrestling has more than one real family. Um,
00:58:21
Speaker
Ultimate Edition Mattel Creations exclusive Cody Rhodes. I'm a Cody guy. I just, I am. I love him. Again, getting back into wrestling, you know, the time I got back into it, you know, seeing him and AW and, you know, watching him come back to WWE.
00:58:46
Speaker
I'm just, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a Mark form. I am full, full admittance. And, uh, you know, I, I purchased like, like you did as well. We each have our, our orders through Mattel creations of, um, of Cody. Um, but following WrestleMania, uh, the folks at Mattel, uh, shouts to our, our very good friend of the pod, uh, Steve Ozer and Mattel.
00:59:13
Speaker
We're kind enough to send some early samples of the early production samples of Cody out to some folks. And, you know, we were fortunate enough to find ourselves on that list. And it's just, it's such a cool moment, you know, that, that return and him showing up to, you know, to wrestle Seth and everything that's happened kind of since then.
00:59:37
Speaker
Um, it's just been, it's been a remarkable watching that journey. And there have been previously, you know, to this figure, some really good Cody Rhodes figures, the, the AW Supreme Cody Rhodes is a fantastic figure. Um, you know, uh, but there is just something for me personally, my, my personal opinion, there's something for me. The way that the Mattel face scans hit when they're, when they get the right facial expressions.
01:00:07
Speaker
And I just think it's the best Cody Rhodes figure that they've made. I do think, you know, if we're going down the road of kind of like saying, you know, opinion wise, I think the hard shell coat was probably the way to go, the way that the Supreme figure did it, the way that they've done like Bret Hart's jacket and things in the past with the arms. Yeah. Shinsuke. The hard shell coat, just kind of the way that it sits. Rhonda.
01:00:36
Speaker
I think that probably would have been the better approach, but that's not to say that the soft, good ones that they provided with the plastic feathers are scales on the shoulders. It's just, it's an incredible figure. I absolutely love it.
01:00:53
Speaker
And like I said, I just, I think the whole presentation of it is amazing that the special box that it comes in, um, just across the board, uh, even the shipper, you know, when you open the shipper, it's like, he's back, you know, it's just, it's, it's really, um, it's, it's really well done. I, I, I can't wait for everyone else to get theirs once a Mattel creation start shipping them out. Um, but yeah, that's my, uh, my ultimate addition. Uh, Mattel creations Cody roads is, uh, is my number four.
Detailed Reviews of Iconic Figures
01:01:24
Speaker
Well, you know, you mentioned Cody and it's from WrestleMania when he returned and it's, you know, captures a moment in time. And what's really great about wrestling figures is sometimes they capture a moment in time. And there's one specific series, non-WWE, that's really good at capturing moments in time. And
01:01:54
Speaker
You know, this is definitely one of a very memorable match. Um, dare I say the best dog collar match. Tell me when I'm telling lies. It is the jazzwares, AEW blood and guts, ringside collectibles, exclusive CM punk versus MJF dog collar match. It is hands down, I think.
01:02:24
Speaker
It's a great MJF figure. It's the all-time best CM Punk figure. You've really come around to the bloodied figures. Because it's so well done, it's not just like, let's just kind of splash paint at a wrestler and make him bloody. Like those old legends back in the day.
01:02:52
Speaker
Um, this is really more of like we have this opportunity to capture something and do it in a way that respects the event and respects like the match in a way where, okay, maybe this wouldn't work on a store shelf, but it works somewhere.
01:03:18
Speaker
And I think the same can be said for that, those defining moments that just came out with, with bruised Cody and with Hell in a Cell mankind, where that's not going to fly on a store shelf, but it's for someone and it's for somewhere. And that's the really cool thing with these blood and guts match sets where you have this, this incredible match that occurred and
01:03:47
Speaker
you have the ability to recreate it in some way. And I think another really cool thing is just how it's constructed. Like the dog collars, you'd expect them to be like this breakable thing. You pop the heads off and the collar is just a piece. Yeah, I've seen some unbelievable photos, shouts. But it is hands down the best CM Punk figure that's been produced so far. The likeness on it looks insane.
01:04:16
Speaker
with the matted down hair and the bloody face and the screaming, I think the screaming face is my favorite one. Yeah, so shouts to Tony's RS on Instagram. He was one of the collaborators with our Austin 316 photo collab back in March. He took an insane, insane series of photos with the two figures. I think Rinkside actually,
01:04:42
Speaker
Shared them. So a lot of you probably saw one of the best mjf so far too Yeah, I mean walmart one's really good too, but they're they're They nailed the expressions. They absolutely nailed the expressions. They needed to they they they stuck the landing on it So plus I think this is the first time we've had cm punk in those like shorts and like the long shorts Right in the throwback shorts. So for now Which he wore for the mesh. Yep
01:05:09
Speaker
Alright, so my number three takes us back to Bondi and Tamashi Nations. This was a figure that again kind of surprised me. One I was looking forward to only because I had a glaring deficit of this character in my Dragon Ball Z collection, but I was not expecting to kind of like
01:05:33
Speaker
love this figure as much as I ended up loving it. So SH Figure Arts, Dragon Ball Z, the boy from the future trunks from Dragon Ball Z. Specifically, you know, this is from the Cell Saga. What's really great about this figure is it's a two in one. So usually with, you know, modern SH Figure Arts figures, you're either getting a Super Saiyan version or a D-powered version of a character. You don't get two
01:06:03
Speaker
unique heads to swap. You just get kind of different faceplates. With this you get his depowered purple noodle hair, purple spaghetti hair, and then you get his super saiyan hair. And what's really nice is you get kind of swappable bangs so that way you can have things look like they're being blown up
01:06:29
Speaker
He's like powering up for like a more angry face. You get kind of the brooding face The way that the sword works. It's just he's he's stacked He's an absolutely stacked figure has everything that you would need to kind of represent that figure and the nice thing Something that they've been doing recently with these figures is kind of Giving you additional incentives to buy other characters So the for instance the D powered head, you know with the purple hair
01:06:58
Speaker
While it only comes with one expression, you can take the faceplate off, which very likely means that some figure down the line or maybe an accessory pack will come with some additional expressions for him, which would be awesome. But a super, super cool figure. The colors just really pop. The new articulation scheme.
01:07:20
Speaker
I don't have the original SH figure arts trunks from a few years ago, but I've seen some photos and some videos comparing it, and it's an unbelievable upgrade for those of you that might be on the fence. But I absolutely love it. I was expecting his wave mate and his dad, Super Saiyan Vegeta, to be the one that would have found his way onto my list, as that's my favorite Dragon Ball Z character, or my second favorite.
01:07:50
Speaker
But yeah, the SH figure arts, Boy From the Future trunks, that's my number three. So my number two, it was a figure that was my number one for most of the year so far. It may even slide down from number two to number three, like that Blood and Guts dog collar match, it's like kind of like two and two A, to be honest.
01:08:20
Speaker
But this is one where when they first announced it and first announced the wave I was like whoa Finally like this is what why I started collecting this line for and You know definitely checked something off the wish list And then you got those first glimpses of it and it was like alright the rest of these are cool But this one is like the this is the standout
01:08:49
Speaker
This is the one that's like, okay, it's the home run of the wait. And then you got it in hand and it was like, yeah, this is pretty spot on, perfect, fantastic. And it is McFarland DC Multiverse, the Dark Knight trilogy, the Joker. Such a good figure. It's like, it's a small, like one of the things that I always appreciate
01:09:19
Speaker
when it's like okay here's a movie character here's a wrestler or here's a person and it's just a small statue of that person like it's a small version of that person and that's that's the case here it's it's a small version of that Heath Ledger Joker this is another figure that in the past like literally in the in the past like or I want to say like three or four weeks has like fallen on and off the list
01:09:49
Speaker
as I've been making it. Because I too, I was completely blown away by the figure. I think it's the best version of the Heath Lighter Joker that has ever been made in figure form. NECA did a pretty good job a few years ago. For 25 bucks. Yeah, it's so good. And I'm really excited that the heist, the bank robber one is coming out.
01:10:19
Speaker
I mean, they can do so much more because there are so many characters they've not done from the films so far. Yeah. I mean, you can do bank robber Joker, nurse Joker, like there's nurse Joker would be unbelievable. Oh, man, that'd be so good.
01:10:39
Speaker
There's so many you can do. You can do like Prison Cell Joker, where his makeup's a little messed up and he's got no jacket. Yeah, he's got just the vest and the shirt on. So that way you can do the hands together. Yeah, or the, you know, with the Batman figure. The interrogation scene. Never start with the head. Yeah, there's so many, there's so many iconic versions.
01:11:10
Speaker
Honestly, what would be a really cool like Comic Con set? I know they don't, they haven't really done like box sets for the movie figures so far, but like a nurse joker with like a Harvey Dent in a hospital bed. That would be amazing. I don't even need another like Harvey, but just give me like a, or give me Harvey. Yeah. Oh, that's true. Gordon. Yeah. We haven't had a commissioner Gordon at all in that line. So.
01:11:38
Speaker
Wow. Catwoman, like there's so many you can do. Catwoman, Rache, they could do Liam. Rachel Dawes, yeah. Liam Neeson. No, Rache Agul. Oh. Yeah. A scarecrow without the mask, just like a Cillian Murphy figure. Mm-hmm. Yeah, they have options. They certainly have options. There's a lot that can be done. Lucius Fox. Michael Kane.
01:12:09
Speaker
Yeah. A little Alfred action. The size of tangerines. I just always think back to that fall on your sword. Yeah. And I think that one. All right. So this takes us to my number two. And my number two, you know, takes us to the line I collect more than anything else, which is Star Wars, the vintage collection. And this figure just
01:12:39
Speaker
was one I'd been waiting for. We've been teased by watching the Black Series version of this figure get released twice, and then carbon collection, or whatever they call it, the fun, metallic. Oh, carbonized? Carbonized, thank you. And then the credit collection, which is the end credits, colorized sequence version.
01:13:04
Speaker
It's like dammit just give us give us this character in the vintage collection and it's one of the best figures they've they've ever done so shouts to Emily and the team over there, but From the Mandalorian the heavy himself his story has been written pass this Just like
01:13:22
Speaker
The way that a deluxe figure should be presented in the vintage collection. He's just, he's big. He's got big accessories. He's got his, he's got his little blade. He's got his giant blaster. He's got, uh, the laser shield for his, his forearm. He's got blast effects for his, uh, for his jet pack. He's just, he's loaded and he's huge for like a vintage collection figure, which is, which is awesome. He always, he scales really well.
01:13:47
Speaker
and he has the new articulation system so you know for those that have been collecting vintage collection for a long time know that to get your older vintage collection figures to move their legs outward you have to like rotate them and then move them out and then rotate them again so that way the knees line up the right way yeah you don't have to do that anymore these new figures they have those nice like barbell hips so you can just
01:14:14
Speaker
swing their legs like like an action figure should be able to um so you know it was just it was nice to get that figure get him on an all new sculpt you know get him with the new tech um just really really really really good figure um and he actually in like
01:14:30
Speaker
Akismet Star Wars Moment he actually arrived on May 4th, which was which I thought was was really fun And that was like one of those Amazon. Hey, he's raving early. I think he was supposed to he wasn't supposed to come to like June But he arrived May 4th, which I thought was was really nice. So that's my number two Paz Vizsla now Before you hit your number one Let's take a quick moment
01:14:59
Speaker
I know this was very last minute, but we did put a post up on our Instagram.
01:15:07
Speaker
in lieu of us having a guest, we asked our followers, you know, just what was your favorite, you know, what was one of your favorite action figures of the year so far. So we got a couple of answers. Just going to read through them super quick.
Followers' Favorite Figures of the Year
01:15:24
Speaker
Give a couple of shout outs here. So at Mike underscore W underscore four to one.
01:15:30
Speaker
the, uh, NECA Mirage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles four pack. So, um, Target exclusive hitting a little bit early. Um, but that, uh, that four pack is, is awesome. Seeing some great pictures of it. Uh, love, you know, all, all the love in the world for the turtles. Um, let's see, that's another one here. So, um, the, the Nick collectibles, um, at the Nick collectibles.
01:16:00
Speaker
Indiana Jones adventure series map room indie so the one with the staff and the Yeah, the disguise so another another cool Figure there, and then I'm just gonna pick one more here Jada toys are Ryu So the the Street Fighter those Street Fighter figures man. I've I've seen the way that they the way that they move and the way that uh
01:16:31
Speaker
that everyone's been photographing them. They look fantastic. I know Jade is kind of new when it comes to the world of action figures. Obviously they've been making some pretty sweet diecast stuff for a long time. Um, but, uh, yeah. Oh, you know what? Here let's, well, I'll throw in one more. So we do have one that comes from us on Twitter. So we're starting to get a little bit more of a, of a, of a reaction to stuff on Twitter. So we'll, we'll shout out one of our Twitter followers here.
01:16:58
Speaker
Um, at Pintel guy, the, uh, Mezco one 12 collective, uh, GI Joe Destro. So very, very cool. Um, so thank you again to everybody that submitted, uh, your, your, uh, your favorite toys of the year, as always make sure, uh, Dave is going to tell you what to do here. Actually, make sure to smash that follow button and hit those likes.
01:17:28
Speaker
and follow us on Twitter and leave reviews when you download your podcast, when you're listening to this episode on your favorite podcast locations. And take part in the stories when we say we're having a guest or in this case when we have no guest and want to know what your favorite toys of the year so far were. Work? Were.
01:17:57
Speaker
But definitely subscribe to the YouTubes to smash that button and hit the little alarm so that way you know when we have a new video. All of those things. So it's at AIC underscore podcast and as Dave so eloquently put it and puts it week after week, make sure you're following us on Instagram, Twitter, all those places.
01:18:21
Speaker
Because we're always, we want to hear from you. We want to hear from you when we want to talk about what you want to talk about on the show too. So with that, Dave, hit us with your number one.
Top Picks and Final Thoughts
01:18:34
Speaker
So I mentioned my absolute love for when figures look like just shrunken down versions of the person they're depicting. And I think this is
01:18:50
Speaker
the height so far of being able to do this for this line. Hands down, I think the best figure in the history of this line. And I'm not just gonna say it. I'm gonna sing it. Oh.
01:19:21
Speaker
Burn it down. Seth Rollins, Mattel, WWE Ultimate Edition 17. I mean, three of the most perfect face scans you've ever seen, including like that, you know, cheese ball grin that Seth has. The Seth screaming face, so you could have him like singing along with the crowd.
01:19:51
Speaker
When he first comes out, there's like the stern Seth Rollins face where he's just like completely just stone faced and ready to fight. One of the best soft goods robes that I've ever seen included with a wrestling figure, just hands down like
01:20:14
Speaker
Just A plus, plus, plus stuff from Bill and Steve and Robert and everybody over at Mattel who do the WWE figures who create and market and design and just pour all their love and appreciation into them. Like this is, it's one of those ones where when you saw it on display, it was like, well, all right, that's the hand painted.
01:20:41
Speaker
prototype or that's the, you know, paint master or even just like the sample of it. And then you get the actual figure and it's like, Oh, this is off the charts. Good. Yeah. I mean, like I said, had it for me, had it not been for that Cody figure, Seth would have been on my list. I mean, that one face sculpt, the, the, the kind of like neutral face we've, we've seen that they've been using that, that face sculpt or a face scan for a while.
01:21:12
Speaker
It's got some different hair attached to it this time around but yeah, I was gonna say the hair is dead It's still a really good face and but those other two it's Yeah, he's he's a perfect example of
01:21:27
Speaker
Oh, look, I have I almost wish it was the face on the side of the page. That's that's the one that they needed. They needed the smirk in there. Yeah. But it's but it's it's the best one since Roman, I think it's it's unbelievable. And like I said, his wavemate, I don't know if you've gotten Andre yet, but Andre is ridiculous. Oh, it's it's fantastic. But I mean, it's like the thousand yard stare on that Andre is amazing.
01:21:52
Speaker
But like, you know, you're comparing anything to this one at this point. Yeah, this is definitely the new. It's the new. It's the new standard for for the ultimate. So. Oh, and I want to mention this to just real fast.
01:22:11
Speaker
We talked about Cody before. Mattel, like I said, was kind enough to send us one in advance, which means that I still have the one that I ordered is coming, which means it's going to go to you guys, the listeners, the followers. We're going to put him up for a giveaway. Once mine comes in, we're 100% going to pay it forward. I'm not going to put that up on the aftermarket or anything.
01:22:37
Speaker
we are going to use that as our giveaway for whatever month that is once it arrives. So definitely keep an eye out for that because that figure will not be made available again to purchase. So yeah, if you didn't get a chance to order one coming in late, maybe didn't have the funds at the time, whatever the case may be, we're going to make one available to you as a giveaway. So keep an eye out for that.
01:23:07
Speaker
Now onto my number one, speaking of giveaways, this was one of the first figures that I received in 2022 or 2023, excuse me, all the way back in January, Walmart exclusive of this figure. And we did end up using it as a giveaway because at the time I was like, ah, you know, do I really want this? Do I really, I really don't think I need this. A lot of people seem to have seemed to really want it and didn't get a chance to get it. And I sat there and I looked at this figure for a month.
01:23:36
Speaker
And we had all, I had already committed to it being the giveaway, could not obtain another one. And by the end of the month, I was really, really sad that I had to put it in a box and send it away. Um, it has been an absolute banner, uh, year for Spider-Man, uh, in general, you know, Spider-Man figures with, especially with Marvel legends, uh, you know, Hasbro pulse, the exclusives, the VHS two packs. I can't believe that I have an, an Aunt May and a Doc Ock with.
01:24:06
Speaker
You know, uh, with, with, uh, tentacles, um, you know, the, the, the symbiote Spider-Man carnage two pack. There's just, there's, there has been a slew of amazing Spider-Man figures, unintended, um, you know, including the Spider-Verse figures. It's just a lot, but there has also been what I think is the greatest Spider-Man Marvel legends figure ever made period on the best body, the best paint, best deco.
01:24:37
Speaker
I'm talking about the Spider-Man, the animated series, cel-shaded Spider-Man. I mentioned it before, you know, there are very few figures in my collection that I consider to be perfect, like would not change a thing about them other than like, I wish he could get up and walk around on his own. And this Spider-Man is perfect.
01:25:02
Speaker
is perfect it comes with a bevy of hands so you get fists you get you know the splayed out hands you get you get the the flip hands it moves like no other spider-man figure prior to it they've they have used this body on
01:25:19
Speaker
The Amazing Fantasy was at 15, the debut Spider-Man with the darker colorway. So we've seen this body since, but seeing him in this colorway with these blues and reds, with these eye lines, with the subtle cell shading and dark lines on him, the positions that he could get into, it's just
01:25:47
Speaker
It's perfect. It's the perfect Spider-Man figure. He's also a slightly smaller scale than the previous, like, super articulated, like, that new body that they were using. So, you know, he is kind of more of that, like, teenager body, which makes him scale a little bit smaller with some of the bad guys, which I think is amazing. Yeah, it's my number one figure because I think, like I said, I think it's the best Spider-Man figure they've ever made.
01:26:16
Speaker
I don't think they'll stop making Spider-Man figures obviously, but it's going to be really hard to bump this guy off my list. I'm really, really curious to see what the back half of 2023 looks like because it's going to be really, really tough. And this is coming from somebody that primarily collects MCU figures. This figure
01:26:38
Speaker
So good that it actually like burst the door open on like well I guess I need some comic guys for him to go with now because I can't just have one comic cartoon spider-man, so Damn you Dwight And Ryan and Dan Stevie You know just absolutely fantastic amazing spectacular amazing friendly
01:27:06
Speaker
Spider-Man figure, Marvel Legends. That's it. So that's our list. Yeah. So as we mentioned, we'll take this list. And at the end of the year or beginning of 2024, usually we do it in January.
01:27:30
Speaker
We'll compare this list to that one and we'll see what changes, where things stand come 2024. There's always that one that gets in under the wire that's like the disruptor.
01:27:50
Speaker
And if, if the first half of 2023 has, if we've learned anything from the first half of 2023 is, uh, there's a lot of toys. So, um, you know, and then a lot of great in the back half, you know, is the, you know, includes the holiday season, you know, uh, the, the end of summer, you know, kind of summer rush with toys. So, uh, stay tuned. There's a, there's a lot coming. So, uh,
01:28:16
Speaker
I think with that, Dave, the only other thing that we should do is send everybody home. Yeah. Enjoy the second half of the year, everybody.
01:28:29
Speaker
Thank you for hanging out with us today. Subscribe, rate, and review this podcast wherever you listen, and then tell your friends to do it. Thanks also to Joe Azari, the golden voice behind our intro. Learn more about him in the show notes. Our music is Game Boy Horror by The Zombie Danes. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok at adventuresandcollecting and on Twitter at AIC underscore podcast.
01:28:56
Speaker
Stop by and say hi. Show us your hauls and photos. Tell us your toy stories. Maybe we'll talk about it on a future episode.
01:29:16
Speaker
This has been a non-productive media presentation. Executive producer Frank Kablaui. This program and many others like it on the non-productive network is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives license. Please share it, but ask before trying to change it or sell it. For more information, visit non-productive.com.