Invasion of the Body Snatchers

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

So I was all hyped about the latest DC Direct figs "Justice series 7", & when I got them home I realized that the John Steward GL was the very same GL they used to make Hal Jordan.

 

Matter of fact its so obvious that John's body was originaly used for Hal's 1st that it looks like Hal is in disguise as John! DC's cornner cutting doesn't end there either. the 13" male figs all have the same body too.

 

Normaly I wouldn't make such a fuss about something like this but let's be real here, these 13" figs cost a butt load of cash$$$! I just got my hands on a 13" Cat Woman & surprise surprise, they used the "Power Girl" mold", or is it vice versa???

 

Well either way its still the same cheap corner cutting gimmick & frankly i'd like it to stop. if I'm gonna be shelling out up-wards of $90 for a single figure, i'd like it to be just a lil more custom & unique. I don't think that's unfair to ask. do you?

[Cloud]

Err.. No! You can check the 1:6 figures and usually the toy companies used the same body since the body will be covers by clothing or costume so there's not point in doing a new body like a normal action figure. Same with the Catwoman figure. It's the first DCD 13" female character and that's going to be the standard body for the line. The breast part is a seperate piece I think so that Batgirl will have smaller breasts and Powergirl have a more "powerful" one.

 

As for the Justice series 6 figures, Gorilla Grodd and John Stewart aren't really new figures. John Stewart is a reuse of an old John head and a Hal Jordon body. It doesnt' even look right with the other figures. Grodd is an old body with new head.

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

Err.. No! You can check the 1:6 figures and usually the toy companies used the same body since the body will be covers by clothing or costume so there's not point in doing a new body like a normal action figure. Same with the Catwoman figure. It's the first DCD 13" female character and that's going to be the standard body for the line. The breast part is a seperate piece I think so that Batgirl will have smaller breasts and Powergirl have a more "powerful" one.

 

As for the Justice series 6 figures, Gorilla Grodd and John Stewart aren't really new figures. John Stewart is a reuse of an old John head and a Hal Jordon body. It doesnt' even look right with the other figures. Grodd is an old body with new head.

 

 

 

 

yeah I know, I was just hopeing for something a lil "less standerd". like I said the things cost a butt load.

 

Or! if they are gonna use the same mold, then the price should be way lowered. I see no point in paying top knotch dollar for mass manufatured product.

[Nightwing1219]

yeah, the prices on the 13"-ers are way too high. as far as i know, all the adult males and females have the same bodies, with robin having a new one (that will probly get reused), and the previously mentioned different boobies @smilepunch@

 

the retail should be 50, max. not the 60-70 for the regular ones, and the 90 or 100 theyre charging for joker (who looks like he might have a new body). if you shop around, you can usually get the 13"s for under 50, usually in the 40 range. i paid 40 for my superman and nightwing, and my dad bought me batman (black) batgirl (gray) and catwoman, and paid between 20-40 for each of em. i want joker and harley, but wit the retail being about 180 for the pair, that's a little too rich for my blood

[MrBlisterfists]

The way I see it is this:

 

better to corner cut on the characters with similar builds, so that when a character with a unique torso (Aquaman, Rex Mason, Clayface, etc.) comes up, they can devote that money to new tooling, to make a spectacular figure.

 

this practice is nothing new, they've been doing it since the dawn of the action figure.

 

to complain now is more or less the sound of a broken record.....

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

I was able to get my hands on a deluxe 13" Superman (you know with the Clark Kent cloths & is limited to 5000), & only paid $90 for it. & considering opening bids for it start around $200 I think I lucked out.

 

& thanks for reminding me about Robin! your right, w/him having a less developed teen like body he's sure to have a new mold. Joker too!

 

let me ask you guyz a question & gimme you honest opinion. The new GL, do you think it would look better if the John Steward head had a "hight & tight" traditional Marine hair cut? To me dude just doesn't look right w/a mini fro.

[Nightwing1219]

well justice took place in the silver age, when John had the 'fro goin, so it makes sense for the figure to have that. he was only in Justice for like a page in-costume. I'm too lazy to get up and check the book but im like positive he had that hairstyle in the comic. altho it is lazy to reuse the entirely same body, they could have at least swapped out the arms or somethin

[Henker]

I don't mind it. When the company saves money they can afford to make more characters overall.

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

I don't mind it. When the company saves money they can afford to make more characters overall.

 

 

 

 

"when the company saves money", "i don't mind them cutting cornners if it means more money to make better figures later".

 

Hmmm, *taps finger on desk*. You know I just got done preaching to one of my buds about how the American economey never realy climbed out of the crapper after 9-11, so I kinda feel a lil hypocritical saying this but, none of these major corperations like Mattle/ Hasbro, are no ware near "dire straights"!

 

believe me I'm sure every VP either drives to work in a car that's 100k & up, or is driven to work in a limo. these are not young & up coming Co. Its not going to kill there bottem line to crank out new molds a lil more often than they currently are.

 

I know one thing for sure. if & when they go to do the WW 13" they damn sure better gimme a new EVERYTHING!! & if they realy wanna make it sweet, then i'd give my 1st born away if they did the secreat identity clothing thing like they did with Clark Kent/Superman. OMG! I would just die & go to heaven if WW came w/Diana Prince cloths.

 

I'm thinking a 2nd head would have to be included. you know, a Diana Prince head who's hair is up in a twist or bunn. I'm guessing the WW head would have a lil too much hair to be twisted up by hand & would end up looking sloppy.

 

Oh yeah, not only do I want a 2nd head, but also it would be nice to see her back in high heels. its been a while sence WW has been seen in heels. they kinda jerked me the Cat Woman when they gave her thoes combat boots. it didn't look bad or anything, I just got a thing for sexy fem-fatals in high heels.

[muppethost]

Um...sorry, but that's the way toy companies work. If they can recycle parts, and therefore make more product, and more characters for us to buy, then they will. I know that it's always fun and exciting to have a new body mold, but usually it's just a new head...if you're lucky. This is nothing new. Look back at the old Mego figures...back then we were lucky if the character had a substantially different costume! I, personally, would rather have them devote more time to the costumes and head sculpts, than worry about radically different body molds.

Now, having said that, I am glad that Robin will have a new body type...as he should.

As for the female form...I hope that they work out some of the issues they've been having before they put out Wonder Woman. One thing I'd like them to change is giving the female form a slightly longer neck...not freakishly long, mind you, but I think that Catwoman, Batgirl and Power Girl all look like they are hunched up! Flash had this problem too. In all those cases it may have been just because of the costumes covering the necks. Maybe WW won't have that problem because of the bared neck. I know DC Direct wants to make sure they've got a decent female body before they bring out WW.

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

You make some good points. & yeah i'd like to see some kinks worked out to before they do WW.

 

You know is it just me or does a lot of times (not always, just sometimes), does WW come out looking a lil like a transsexual? like in the case of the new Justice Boxset. you gotta admit girfriend was looking just a lil man-ish.

 

Stuff like that & a few more thing need to be worked out before they try to do Wonder Woman.

[ElizabethxLockhart]

You know is it just me or does a lot of times (not always, just sometimes), does WW come out looking a lil like a transsexual?

 

Oh I know what you mean...and that alone has caused me to pass on quite a few ww figures! the new ww is currently my fave as far as DCD. I'm just waiting to see what mattel comes up with for their version of her.

 

as far as reusing bodies, IMO sometimes it can be pulled off with a few figures...but then it gets annoying, kinda like a certain line that currently has atleast 6 figures out with the same exact sculpts, very identical and crap covered with bad paint jobs all around...go figure

[CajunBatman1974]

You know is it just me or does a lot of times (not always, just sometimes), does WW come out looking a lil like a transsexual?

 

Oh I know what you mean...and that alone has caused me to pass on quite a few ww figures! the new ww is currently my fave as far as DCD. I'm just waiting to see what mattel comes up with for their version of her.

 

as far as reusing bodies, IMO sometimes it can be pulled off with a few figures...but then it gets annoying, kinda like a certain line that currently has atleast 6 figures out with the same exact sculpts, very identical and crap covered with bad paint jobs all around...go figure

 

 

I take it that you don't like Mattel's DCUC figures. I'm glad that you are in the minority. I really like those figures alot. Yeah they do share some parts, but when a figure is required to have a new scuplt, they are second to none. I don't think any company has done this more than Toybiz, and now Hasbro with their Marvel lines.

 

As far as WW figures looking like a TS, well that's a matter of perspective. For that to be the first thing that comes to mind when you see her figure, well that's a different problem for a different board.

 

You have to remember that WW is an Amazonia, which are believed to be large in stature, stronger, not as feminine as the average woman. She is a warrior from an Island where men are forbidden. That alone would make any woman rough around the edges. Does that mean looking like a TS? I would think that would make one look like a woman that is seasoned in battle physically and mentally.

 

That's the look I think a lot of sculpters are amaming for with statues, or figures of Wonder Woman.

 

Make sense?

[ARROW]

I don't mind it. When the company saves money they can afford to make more characters overall.

This is really the most logical argument.

 

The question: Is re-using bodies wrong?

The answer, in the form of a question: Is seeking profit in a business endeavour (by cutting costs in production) wrong?

 

There's only one answer to THAT question....

[MrBlisterfists]

Mattel has ALWAYS reused bodies, look at:

 

MOTU

Secret Wars

Justice League Unlimited

Batman

 

jeez, to act surprised that they're doing it NOW is ridiculous, it's been the name of the game since day one.

 

Hasbro did likewise. It didn't hurt a damn thing to reuse bodies in any of those lines, why?, because despite the re-use, they managed to crank out several diverse characters, and not once did that character suffer for it, at the time.

 

yes, EVERY SINGLE MOTU figure shared the same torso, but the characters were so vastly different, and had such vastly different stories/histories/etc, that the fact that they were all the same didn't matter, and it doesn't matter here either, because these are STILL some of the best 6" figures ever.

 

as far as Justice Goes, I say So much the better, I hate Alex Ross anyway, so I don't care.

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

At'a boy Cajun batman! Champion the rights of trany wonder women every where. hehehe. Dude don't mind me I'm just busting your stones. Hell I think its great you dig WW when she looks like a he-she, CHICKS WIT D*CKS, CHICKS WIT D*CKS!!!

 

Ok ok, jokes over. On a more serious note, there a problem with your logic about why you think its ok for WW to look like she's got a package. Its true she is very powerful (neck & neck w/the man of steel some would say).

 

But Diana was crafted by the gods them selves. & one of thoes gods was Aphrodite! Who we all know to be the godess of beautiy. See that's why is SOOOOO damn hard to cast her in movies let alone draw or sculpt her for a fig.

 

On one hand you need to convey that this is a woman that can lift a sherman tank w/out breaking a sweat, & on the other hand she also has to look noble, pure, graceful, & just a lil innocent.

 

Pulling off this combo is'nt easy! that's why sculptors like Alex Ross screw it up from time to time.

[SUPREMEQUEEN]

I don't mind it. When the company saves money they can afford to make more characters overall.

This is really the most logical argument.

 

The question: Is re-using bodies wrong?

The answer, in the form of a question: Is seeking profit in a business endeavour (by cutting costs in production) wrong?

 

There's only one answer to THAT question....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, let me clarify what I'm talkin about. Its not that I'm that dead set against repaints or recycled bodies, its just that this perticular GL is'nt even that!

 

There's no repaint any where!!! Its like they just ripped off all the unused Hal heads & popped on John heads. its like EVERYTHING ELSE IS THE SAME! The way he's holding his right fist like he's about to power up the ring. the creasing & wrinkeling of the glove, its all from Hal's mold.

 

John doesn't realy ware gloves & his eyes are green from being exposed to the power of the ring for so long. I guess I just look at the fig & have these demented flash backs to when my sis would body swap her barbies.

 

I always thought that was kinda gross. So when they did that to John (my fav GL), it kinda burned me a little.

[Cloud]

yeah, the prices on the 13"-ers are way too high. as far as i know, all the adult males and females have the same bodies, with robin having a new one (that will probly get reused), and the previously mentioned different boobies @smilepunch@

 

the retail should be 50, max. not the 60-70 for the regular ones, and the 90 or 100 theyre charging for joker (who looks like he might have a new body). if you shop around, you can usually get the 13"s for under 50, usually in the 40 range. i paid 40 for my superman and nightwing, and my dad bought me batman (black) batgirl (gray) and catwoman, and paid between 20-40 for each of em. i want joker and harley, but wit the retail being about 180 for the pair, that's a little too rich for my blood

 

I agree that the 13" are a bit too expensive. as Michael Crawford's Toy Review pointed out, the changable hands still won't hold and falls off easily. DCD has made like 7-9 figures already and the problem is still not fixed. I would say $50-60 is the right price for these.

FYI, the new Robin body is shorter and thinner than the usual male body. It's intend for teen figures like Robin,Aqualad,etc. Thin characters will be sharing the teen body as well such as the up coming Joker.

[ElizabethxLockhart]

I take it that you don't like Mattel's DCUC figures.

 

Me? I totally love the DCUC line and looking forward to what's next! and couldn't be more greatful to Mattel for Making collecting "Fun" again..unlike a certain current company, that i keep hinting at...and sure it's obvious by now which one I mean

 

But yeah, i'm getting off topic so..carry on