Happy New Year!!! And what better way to start 2018 then by taking a week off and uploading some lists!

Last year, I pussied out on doing my traditional lists of Favorites & Disappointments in favor of a more generic rambling collection of thoughts on the year. I think I was just burnt out on the whole End of Year lists thing, and also burnt out from work in general. But this year I thought I’d return to tradition, because APPARENTLY EVERYBODY LOVES THESE GODDAMN, INSUFFERABLE END OF YEAR LISTS!!! Seriously, the Internet is fueled by them, and who am I to go against the grain? Also, because this year work was pretty good and I didn’t feel nearly as stressed out. Of course my ulterior motive is that by prepping this the weekend before, I can take a whole week off from bloggery, or at least spend that time getting ahead on some content.

So, if you’re new to this whole thang, here’s the deal. Tomorrow and Wednesday, I’ll do my Ten Favorites in two parts, and Thursday and Friday I’ll do my Ten Disappointments. Then I will fall into the Jameson-fueled Odinsleep for the weekend and be back to start a whole new year. If you grew up in the 80’s, you may remember those clips shows that sitcoms used to do when they ran out of budget. Well this is the same thing retooled for Internet Toy Bloggery.

You want rules? Well, I have a few loose guidelines to help streamline this process. I try to keep each toy line confined to one slot on each list. This prevents the higher price point stuff sweeping all my Favorites, or some piece of shit line from monopolizing the Disappointments. And yes, note this is my Favorites & Disappointments and not Best & Worst. The distinction is that I can only include what I purchased and reviewed this year, and I’m generally not going to buy something that I think is going to be bad. As a result, not all of my Disappointments are going to be truly terrible, just things that didn’t live up to my expectations when I made the purchase. Also, if there was something really great or really horrible released last year and I didn’t buy it or review it, it’s not going to be found here.

So come on back tomorrow and we’ll get cracking with my FigureFan’s First Five Favorites!

For every yin there is a yang. You cannot have the light without the dark. And sometimes I buy toys that suck. It doesn’t happen all that often, because I try not to throw my money at things I don’t think I’ll like, and I don’t do review samples. The challenging thing about my Favorites list is to take 250-some Features from the year and chop them down to ten stand out toys. In this case, the challenge is to come up with ten things that really let me down. In that regard, I guess I’m rather lucky. So, let’s grab our poking sticks and have a go at that turd bobbing in the punch bowl. And since Transforming robots took three spots on my Favorites list, we’re going to kick this list off with…

Transformers Combiner Wars Menasor by Hasbro: Combiner Wars Menasor is almost as bad as Superion is good. Now keep in mind, I’m talking about the combined mode, because I liked the individual Stunticons quite a lot. But once you cobble those babies together you get a terribly proportioned monstrosity that just wants to crumble into a big mess. He looks like an old man robot wearing his pants too high. I honestly think The Go-Bots Puzzler might be a better combiner than this thing. It didn’t help that I absolutely hated shooting this figure for the Feature because it would not stand up in anything resembling a decent pose and it scratched up my backdrop from falling over so many times. If you still want more reasons to hate him, Blackjack will not even peg into his chest the way he’s supposed to. BLAH!

Magic The Gathering (Legacy Collection): Jace Beleron by Funko: I almost didn’t bother putting Jace here on this list, seeing as how I didn’t have any expectations for this line, I’m not someone who plays or follows MTG, and I just bought these figures because they were cheap and looked interesting. But I was actually impressed with enough of the other figures in this assortment that I decided he warranted being called out. Afterall, a shit figure is a shit figure, and this guy is just terrible. It’s hard to believe any toy company was trying to get $20 for this steaming pile of plastic.

Marvel Legends: Ultimate Spider-Woman by Hasbro: Yeah, you knew this was coming. When you consider how many Hasbro figures I bought in 2015, it’s probably not that terrible a track record to have a couple of them break. But that doesn’t mean I’m any less pissed about it. Not much else to say other than, “Oi, young lady, you look ‘armless!” 

GI JOE 50th Anniversary Arctic Ambush by Hasbro: Hasbro’s other QC snafu for me in 2015 was this little “Arctic Ambush” set. The BAT figure’s head literally twisted right off when I tried to swap it out for the battle damaged head. This one was particularly disappointing, as I was getting a real craving to do some new GI JOE Features and I was planning to cover the whole 50th Anniversary line over the Summer. Then this happened and I still haven’t opened up the other 2-pack I got. I quickly moved the JOE focus over to Sigma Six and had a much better time. All in all, this Feature was kind of a sad allegory for the state of the JOE license.

Star Wars Black IG-88 by Hasbro: Out of the first five entries on my Shit List, Hasbro has taken four spots (and I’m not done with them yet!). That doesn’t sound so good, but keep in mind, I buy a lot of Hasbro figures, so try to keep that in perspective. Honestly, this one is better classified as a true disappointment, rather than an actually bad figure. The 6-inch Black Assassin Droid isn’t terrible, but with his soft bendy body and his inability to stand straight, he’s not all that he could have been. In fact, he feels a lot like an up-scaled version of the Vintage Collection figure. IG-88 was a great opportunity to use the larger scale to make a better figure and quite frankly Hasbro, you blew it.

That’s enough of my pain for one day. Come on back tomorrow and we’ll wrap this whole thing up with my Final Five Disappointments of 2015.

Welcome back my friends to the Toy List that never ends. Come inside, come inside. Actually, this one is about to end right after I serve up the last five entries in my savory list of Favorites of 2015. It would hardly be a fitting send off for Club Eternia if I didn’t get in an MOTUC figure and it just so happens, that’s what’s coming next…

Masters of the Universe Classics Queen Grayskull by Mattel: Over the course of the year, I’ve had a few picks from MOTUC to land on this list. At one point, I was sure it was going to be Ninjor. Later, I thought Saurod. And every last figure from the 200x Sub was worthy of consideration. As it turned out this winged lady swooped in and grabbed the brass ring just before the buzzer sounded. I can’t put my finger on exactly what makes this figure sing for me, but it’s probably the striking outfit and the way they did the wings. I loved The Sorceress’ character design in the MYP cartoon and this figure captures it brilliantly. As I’m sure I said in the feature, this is a figure that I’d be happy to stand on my shelf even if I wasn’t collecting Masters Classics at all. I also thought it a very sly way to give Matty a particular nod. During it’s run, I can’t think of another action figure line that produced so many female figures and I respect that.

Transformers Unite Wars Superion by Takara: Oh, don’t look at me like that. Yesterday we had a Masterpiece Transformer and a Third-Party Convertobot. This slot is taken by something more mainstream and is in keeping with the spirit of my completely arbitrary rules. And while I did get these in the one-shot giftset and would be totally within my rights to include all the figures here, I’m actually mainly giving the nod to the combined form of Superion himself. And yes, I realize that I picked Superion over Titan Class Devastator. It was a close call, believe me. I wanted to go with Devy just because it’s such a friggin miracle that we got something like that, but this was a case of size doesn’t matter and I think Superion just impressed me more as the overall best combiner that Hasbro has yet to deliver. While I went with the Takara version, I’d like to think Hasbro’s would have landed on this list too, had I decided to go that route.

Star Wars Black Kylo Ren by Hasbro: It was a spotty year for Star Wars Black. The line has produced mostly average figures and very little that we haven’t seen (or couldn’t have been) done just as well or better in the 3 3/4-inch lines. If it hadn’t been for The Force Awakens figures, I doubt anything would have been considered for this list, but two stood out: The First Order Stormtrooper and Kylo Ren and to be honest, I went with Ren mainly because of his garment. The soft goods on this figure are absolutely fantastic and could never have been pulled off as well in the smaller scale. And that right there to me should be the whole reason for this line. What’s more, I had him on my desk for a long time and kept picking him up and playing with him long after many figures were relegated to the display shelves.

DC Comics: Zatanna Bishoujo Statue by Kotobukiya: If you honestly thought there was a chance in hell that a Bishoujo Statue wasn’t going to land somewhere on this list, then you don’t know me very well. I added quite a few of Koto’s Bishoujo Statues to my collection in 2015 and every one of them was excellent. I tried not to overthink this one and just surveyed my 2015 acquisitions and went with my heart. In the end, the battle for this slot came down to an old fashioned DC vs Marvel slug-fest with Wasp in one corner and Zatanna in the other. Both statues are adorable, and both capture the character of their subject perfectly. I tipped the scales in favor of Zatanna only because of the enormous amount of extra work that went into her sculpt, but really, both of these ladies are winners.

Terminator 2: Ultimate T-800 by NECA: The fine folks at NECA have been doing some amazing stuff lately and I’ve added many of their figures to my shelves in 2015. This relatively new “Ultimate” series of figures has quickly become a new favorite of mine and while it casts a wide net over both horror and action genres, I’ve been grabbing up every one they release. When I featured the T-800 from T2: Judgement Day, I knew right then and there that this figure was probably going to wind up on this list and here we are a couple months later and that sentiment hasn’t changed. Great packaging, beautiful sculpt, multiple portraits, tons of great weapons, and a ridiculously low price point of around twenty-one bucks. This figure is simply fantastic work and a superb value.

Deadpool Sixth-Scale Figure by Sideshow: With their Sixth-Scale GI JOE line dead, I haven’t picked up a whole lot of Sideshow figures this year, but one that I did certainly earned a spot on this list. The early shots of Sideshow’s Merc With A Mouth impressed me so much that I pre-ordered him the day he went up, despite the crazy Hot Toys-caliber price tag. A full year later and I was grinning ear to ear as I set him on my shelf amidst my Marvel Hot Toys figures. No buyer’s remorse here. With a great outfit, solid weapons, and some fun accessories, this figure hit all the right points. I’m not even mad that Hot Toys will likely be revealing their movie-based version of the character any month now. I’m not ruling out double-dipping, but I honestly think I’m going to be content with Sideshow’s version representing ‘Pool in my collection.

And that’s all the good stuff. But before calling it a day, I wanted to give an honorable shout out to Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.

Yeah, I had a little spot of bad luck with Legends this year that reserved them a spot on my naughty list. SPOILERS!!! But, I was actually surprised after compiling this list of Favorites that no single Marvel Legends figure made the cut. The truth is that I thought 2015 was a wonderful year for the line. Hasbro delivered a wide array of characters and very few figures disappointed. That having been said, there just wasn’t a single figure that stood up and screamed, “I’m worthy of your list!” Of course, keep in mind, that I’ve yet to get to the Hulkbuster Build-A-Figure, and he will likely be an early contender for the 2016 list.

Alright, enough with the kittens and rainbows. Come on back tomorrow with your hip boots and a shovel and we’ll start digging through the shit…

And so, here we go! You need only wade through the 250+ Features that I published in 2015 to know that I bought a lot of figures last year. And not just figures, but also statues and maybe some ships and vehicles along the way too. Hammering all that plastic into just ten particularly impressive releases was not at all easy. It never is. But here are the first five acquisitions that made me particularly happy in The Year of Our Lord Two-Thousand and Fifteen! And the first item on the list is…

Doctor Who Quarter-Scale RC K-9 by Character Options: The release of quality Who toys was few and far between in 2015, mostly because of Character Options’ questionable decision to go to that crappy 3 3/4-inch line. Nonetheless, there was one piece that I picked up, which I feel was not only essential for my collection, but met my wildly high expectations. Originally released many years ago, CO re-released this glorious quarter-scale version of K-9 with a new set of sounds and voice clips from the Classic Series. It was a double blessing, as the original had gotten crazy expensive and hard to get. And I actually prefer this classic version anyway. While I haven’t given up my dream to one day own a full sized replica of The Doctor’s faithful companion and best friend, this sure makes for a great place holder until that happens. This K-9 looks amazing and it’s so awesome to have all the voice clips from John Leeson. Bonus… It’s fun to chase the cat with it! I wouldn’t quite call it a grail piece, but it’s one that I was longing after for many years.

Legends of Cthulhu by Warpo Toys: Some may cry foul and say listing four figures in one slot is a cheat, but considering this wave of figures was offered as a single Kickstarter Reward and I reviewed them all in one shot, I’m going with it. Still got a problem? Take it up with The Great One himself. Besides, if I were really cheating, I’d have thrown the 12-inch Great One in here too and even though it fully deserves to be, I’ll try to adhere to my own arbitrary rules. This wave of figures is like a Perfect Storm of Awesome and while I’m still waiting for product from other earlier Kickstarter’s (*cough* Boss Fight Studios *cough*) Warpo’s Kickstarter ran like clockwork and delivered promptly. Everything came together perfectly, from the sculpts to the packaging and the wonderful ret-conned world that Warpo spun around them. It’s a pity their Krampus Kickstarter didn’t get funded, but I have a feeling these folks are going to spring right back into action with something even better.

Transformers Masterpiece Ultra Magnus by Takara: 2015 was not a busy year for me and Masterpiece Transformers. The only two releases on my radar were Ultra Magnus at the beginning of the year and Tracks, which I have yet to pick up. Nonetheless, even if there were a dozen releases to contend with, it’s hard for me to believe any one would have beat out Magnus. I originally thought I might have to pass on this guy for budgetary reasons, but I was ultimately able to squeeze him in with some money I got for Christmas last year and I’m so very glad I did. Sure, at close to $200 he was expensive, but in every way he lives up to the name “Masterpiece!” I may have picked him up just a few weeks into the year, but he’s been lighting my darkest hour ever since.

Guardians of the Galaxy Star-Lord by Hot Toys: I added a number of great Hot Toys figures to my collection in 2015. All were from Marvel properties and all but one from either Guardians of the Galaxy or Winter Soldier. The odd figure out was the Diecast Iron Man Mark III Armor, but since I haven’t reviewed him yet, he will fall in with next year’s contenders. In the end, the Hot Toys slot came down to a battle between Falcon and Star-Lord, both superb figures, and it was damn close, which is fitting because my love for these two movies is so damn close as well. I went with Star-Lord in the end, mostly because he’s just more of an iconic character to me and they nailed him perfectly, but it could have gone the other way. Had I been willing to be a little more lax on my own rules, I would have gladly included Falcon on this list too.

Warbotron by Warbotron! While I have since toned down my 3rd-Party Changebot buying, the first half of 2015 saw some truly great releases. Close runners up for this slot were Fansproject’s Volar and Sigma-L. You could argue it wasn’t a fair fight, with Warbotron being the sum total of about $500 worth of figures, but how the hell could I not pick Warbotron as the one shining example of 3rd party awesome in 2015? This figure is huge, reasonably solid, and makes for an awe inspiring display piece. There were a few hiccups along the way that made my faith in this project wobble a bit, but in the end Warbotron delivered and this was one gestalt that did not disappoint.

And that’s the First Five Favorites of 2015. Come on back tomorrow and we’ll polish off the list!

Ugh, is it this time again? REALLY??? I’ve long since come to the decision that I don’t like doing these lists. I started doing them partly because they feel obligatory, and partly because I’m so busy in the final days of December and early January that I need to roll out what they used to call a “clips show” to carry me while I deal with real life issues. That and lots of booze. Yes, I’m coiffing a hefty tankard of Jameson right now. Wheeee! 

What are clip shows? Dammit I’m old! You see, before we had VCRs to record shows… What’s a VCR? Alright DVRs or Netflicks or Tivo or whatever you young’uns use today to view your damn programs! Sitcoms used to save money by coming up with some flimsy excuse to have the characters remember all the crap that happened to them in previous episodes. This allowed the network to film about ten minutes of footage and pad it out into an hour so they could all take a breather, smoke some cigars, snort cocaine off hookers, or do whatever it is TV Execs used to do in the 70’s and 80’s. And since chances are you didn’t have a copy of the whole damn season at your fingertips, you got to go along for the romp and remember all those fun times, like when Arnold almost got molested in the back of the bike shop. FUN! Speaking of fun, here’s a fun fact: The last actual clip show that I can remember was an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Weird! ANYWHO… I didn’t want to do it, but I’ve done it for the last three or four years so there’s no point in stopping now. Let’s kick start this mutha…

Y’all should know the deal now: Two lists based on purchases throughout the year. One comprised of my sweet and savory Favorites and the other populated by those damn dirty Disappointments. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!! The good stuff will be split between Tuesday and Wednesday and the rest between Thursday and Friday. That’s right, it doesn’t actually start until tomorrow. I lured you in under false pretenses. Just like that old guy in the back of the bike shop! LOLz! Oh yeah, these lists are also already completed and in the hopper, so the ridiculous amount of Jameson that I plan on continuing to consume during this week ahead won’t get in the way.

Are there rules, you ask? Sort of. I try to rule out the same toy line appearing more than once on each list. Hasbro Marvel Legends and Hasbro Star Wars Black, is therefore OK. Transformers Generations and Transformers Masterpiece can also both inhabit the same list. I also try to be as diverse as possible without locking myself into categories. For example, yeah all the Hot Toys figures I got in 2015 are going to stand out, so to avoid them clogging up the whole thing, I try to narrow it down to just one and let the other players have a chance. The idea here is to compile a healthy cross section of my collecting habits for the year. Also, each list is in no particular order, because doing that would vex my OCD to no end.

That’s it. Come back tomorrow and cast your glims on the my First Five Favorites!