I'm a sucker for little Transformers collectibles, especially if there is a diverse character lineup. Some past favorite lines include Kre-O, Tiny Titans, and Tacticons. I was pretty obsessed with all of them. Between 2017 and 2020 there was a fun (but frustrating) line called Tiny Turbo Changers. They stood out because they actually transformed, they were inexpensive, and prolific.. I believe they released 100 different figures. The reason the line was frustrating was because of distribution. Most of the waves I really wanted were only released in Canada. Luckily I have friends up North who could hook me up. Flash forward to 2026 and the last thing I expected was for the Tiny Turbo Changers to be rebooted. I think all 15 new figures are repaints of the old ones, but luckily the three females have pretty distinct deco changes so I was excited to pick them all up. I even appreciate the weird attempt to differentiate between Arcee and Elita-1 with the same mold. Let's check out the Tiny Turbo Changers ladies below!
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Mini-Figures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mini-Figures. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Transformers - ELITA-1, ARCEE, & BLACKARCHNIA!
Friday, August 18, 2023
Transformers Earthspark - ARCEE & HASHTAG!
Nine years ago I was just starting to dabble in Transformers and the Generations Arcee was a gamechanger figure for me. As the first official G1 Arcee figure, she opened the pink floodgates and nine short years later I have 20 official Arcee figures (and 12 unofficial 3rd Party figures). After being unmerchandized for her first 28 years, that is an amazing shift. Of course, with all the fancy deluxe figures, there are also a fair share of more generic offering. But I love them all no matter what. These Tacticon Mini Figures are tiny toys with simple transformations. They can stand freely, but also function as finger puppets (as shown on the packaging front). They have a quality similar to a fast food toy, but a good one. I was excited to get an Arcee and was happy she has such a great facesculpt. This is the first product of her from her Earthrise design. It's also awesome to see Hashtag merchandized. I don't know much about her but she's a cool looking character. Let's check out Arcee and Hashtag below!
Thursday, August 17, 2023
D&D Mini-Mates - SHEILA & DIANA!
As the releases of Diamond Select's Marvel Minimates line has slowed in recent years (due to sheer character exhaustion imo), I'm so happy to see so many other popular licenses now getting the Minimate treatment. It started with the ThunderCats way back in 2012. But since then it's been a growing roster of classic properties like Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I.Joe, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Transformers. But my favorite of the non-Marvel properties has easily been the Dungeons & Dragons Animated Series set(s). This cartoon was an iconic, but underrated and under-merchandized staple of 80s animation. Due to the 2023 live-action D&D movie, there was a burst of popularity for the vintage show which gave us the first real action figures for these amazing characters. Between the Iron Studios statues, the Hasbro action figures, and these Minimates, I am extremely happy. Now the DST Venger statue opened the door for even more. Let's check out the D&D minimates below!
Monday, July 25, 2022
MOTU Minis - EVIL-LYN!
Well SDCC just wrapped up yesterday and the Masters of the Universe product reveals were plentiful. Masterverse and MOTU Origins predictably got the lion's share of attention, but there were also Fall Guys toys, Mega Construx playsets, Mondo figures, and Iron Studios statues as well. It was really a great show for MOTU fans (especially considering that Power-Con is just 11 days away with potentially even more reveals). Something that bummed me out though was the absence of any Eternia Minis products. This line has been exciting for me since the beginning, and I think there is a lot more potential for it. Hopefully they squeeze out a few more waves because they are fun, cheap, and fill in the long time gaps between the collector-focused figures. This Evil-Lyn is the fourth figure from the Netflix CGI He-Man show. She was a bit of a surprise since all the previous cardbacks showed only three characters, but then she popped up already in-stock on BBTS as a bonus 4th character. Let's check her out!
Thursday, July 21, 2022
World's Smallest - ARCEE!
I'm becoming really obsessed with the current merchandizing trend of tiny action figures in tiny packaging. Lately there are a lot of options. The Mini Brands from Zuru Surprise have two general toy waves plus a Disney specific wave (that includes mini Marvel and Star Wars action figures). Super Impulse has the Micro Toy Box line with inexpensive figures from Power Rangers, He-Man, and Transformers (among others). Even the new Sgt Slaughter G.I.Joe Classified 6" figure comes with a miniature packaged version of himself. But the originators of this genre, and still the highest-quality on the market, are the World's Smallest Micro Figures from Super Impulse. These are the only ones that are intentionally removeable, articulated, and accessorized. I have 45 of them in my collection and I'm craving more. I never expected Arcee to be included in this line, but she and Teela are now my favorites. I'm hoping next for Scarlett and Baroness, but I'll take anyone. Let's check out Arcee below!
Sunday, February 27, 2022
MOTU Minis - SORCERESS!
The Eternia Minis line thrills me. Something about collecting them reminds me of those miniature ThunderCats PVC figures with removable weapons that I loved as a kid. They are so tiny and fun. And I love that they are now branching out into new iterations of the MOTU franchise. The original Mattycollector line had Vintage He-man, She-Ra and 200x designs. The modern store versions also incorporate both vintage and 200x, as well as Masters of the Universe: Revelation and Netflix's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (hopefully She-Ra gets included soon!) They keep adding random additional characters with no preamble. I just ordered the CGI Evil-Lyn on BBTS yesterday. According to the cardback, Evil-Lyn is a single 4th addition to the CGI lineup. Which to me seems odd - having 3 additional characters then two months later adding a 4th. But it keeps me on my toes and I'm always googling to see what's next. (C'mon Princess of Power!) Let's check out Sorceress below!
Friday, December 24, 2021
MOTU Minis - SORCERESS & MERCENARY TEELA!
I love the surge of Masters of the Universe products hitting the shelves in recent years. I never thought I would see a dedicated MOTU space in the toy aisles of the big box stores, and suddenly there are five unique toy lines (Origins, MasterVerse, Eternia Minis, He-Man Animated, and Mega Construx). Plus a new Imaginext XL line coming soon. So far the only line that blends all the different iterations of He-Man has been the Eternia Minis. It started out as a continuation of the Mattycollector MOTU Minis line, but has quickly shown potential to be so much more. There has been figures from the Vintage line, Revelation, and the new Netflix CGI show, along with vehicles and playsets. I hope this line continues because I want to see so many more characters included, and I would especially love to see that old Mattycollector Snake Mountain playset finally released. These two figures mark the 5th and 6th ladies in the line, and there's at least one more on the way. Fingers crossed the momentum keeps going!
Sunday, August 8, 2021
MOTU Minis - TEELA!
I always thought Teela was the most interesting person in Masters of the Universe. Other characters had their entire bio defined by their name or action gimmick. But Teela was layered and kept surprising us throughout the series. Even at first introduction, a female Captain of the Royal Guard is unique and intriguing. Additionally, her duty of protecting the feeble Prince Adam kept her right in the middle of the action. Later we learned she wasn't Duncan's biological daughter but rather adopted under mysterious circumstances. Later still we learned that the Sorceress is her mother and she's predestined to assume the mantle next. Like I said, she's a very dynamic character and was always in need of further tales. In fact, there should be an entire series focused on her. I predict the MOTU fandom would be thrilled about such a great gift and rally behind the creators praising their efforts and talent and demanding more. These fans are always appreciative and able to see the big picture and that's what I love about them.
Sunday, May 9, 2021
MOTU Minis - EVIL-LYN & ANTI-ETERNIA TEELA!
Back in 2014 I was really excited about Mattel's Masters of the Universe Minis line. There was something very fun and colorful about these small articulated figures. The only problem being that there were no female figures officially released (She-Ra found her way to eBay), and they were pretty expensive. If I remember correctly they cost 20 bucks plus shipping for a 2-pack. They were exclusive to Mattycollector and just never gained enough traction to continue beyond the first few releases. But then last year, buried in all the initial MOTU Origins news, was the announcement of these new Eternia Minis. They were priced right, they would see retail distribution, and there were multiple assortments coming right away. The first two waves were blind-boxed in in Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain containers. This third assortment is packaged on individual hang-cards, and I'm curious to see how future releases will be handled. I fully expect a Sorceress in the next year. Let's check out the minis below!
Thursday, October 29, 2020
World's Smallest - TEELA!
One of my favorite new obsessions is the Micro Action Figure sub-line from Super Impulse. These show up under two of their product lines: World's Smallest and World's Coolest, and include miniature action figures of the most iconic toy lines of all time like G.I.Joe, Transformers, Mego Horror, Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and of course Masters of the Universe. These figures are roughly 1.25" tall in packaging that measures 2.25" by 1.75". They feature tiny accessories and several points of articulation (usually just arms and head). While I generally predict female characters to be scarce in lines like this, I was pleasantly surprised (read: ecstatic) to see Teela offered right off the bat. My only wish now if that there might be a second wave of MOTU Micro figures. TMNT and Power Rangers are licenses that could be reasonably be considered complete with only a single assortment, but having only four MOTU representative is just cruel. Let's check out Teela below!
Monday, September 30, 2019
Mini-Mates SPIDER-GIRL (ANYA CORAZON)!
It's been a long time since I've given a single Mini-Mate its own review. Instead, I stockpile them and review a whole bunch at a time. But over the years, my favorite personal theme in my Mini-Mate collection has been the vast assortment of Spider-Ladies. There have been so many, in fact, that I didn't even realize that my absolute favorite Spider-person, Anya Corazon as Spider-Girl, hadn't been included yet. (She is such a great iteration of the Spider-Girl mantle and I really hope she gets another solo series some day). I love that Diamond Select Toys does such deep-dives into character selection. I actually have faith that we will many more Spiders down the line: Scream, Agony, Mania, Lady Spider, Charlotte Ritter, Spider-Woman in her modern costume, and maybe even a Valerie Spider-Woman from Electric Company. If anything, DST has proven that the sky is the limit. I'm really excited to see what new product they will show in a few days at NYCC. I'll be there with bells on. Let's check out Anya below!
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Pirates of the Caribbean - CARINA & SILENT MARY!
I haven't seen a Pirates of the Caribbean movie since the original way back in 2003. I enjoyed it immensely, but whenever a sequel came out, I was just completely uninterested. The only one that really tempted me was On Stranger Tides because of my obsession with mermaids, but I never actually made any effort (besides drooling over the Legos). Most of the toys never really appealed to me either. They changed companies a lot over the years (NECA, Disney, Zizzle, and Jakks Pacific, etc), but I managed not to pick up a single item until these little Imaginext-like figures showed up for the Dead Men Tell No Tales movie. I'm a sucker for preschool-style action figures, especially when they're themed after more grown-up properties like movies and comics. The main female in the line was Carina, the headstrong altruistic astronomer. But the second female is actually the masthead from the haunted Silent Mary ghost ship. I haven't seen the movie, but I really hope she comes alive. Let's check them out below!
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Early 2018 Collection of MARVEL MINI-MATES!
I could rant on forever about my love of Mini-Mates. If you can embrace the Lego-like blocky style, you will find this line to be the most collector-focused and thorough series out there. The obscure character selection and team-building rosters are like nothing I have ever dared wish for. I look forward to every interesting release and I can't wait to see what else the future brings. I have waxed poetic about Minimates over and over again, so I am just going to put my wishlist in writing. As far as spider-ladies, I would love Mania, Lady Spider, Scream, Madame Web, Madam Web (Hostess), Animated Anya Corazon, and Agony. Outside of the Spider-Verse, I would love Namora, Namorita, Jocasta, Skids (and Rusty), Hellcat, Sharon Rogers, Red She-Hulk, America, American Dream, modern comic Sif, Binary, Hebzibah, and a new Firestar. Whew. Now let's see how many of these come to fruition in the next few years. Most are a longshot, but so was Madame Masque, so there's hope. Let's check out the newest batch below!
Friday, March 23, 2018
MOTU Mega Construx - TEELA!
Ever since Mega Brands was acquired by Mattel back in 2014 there has been speculation and fan demand for Masters of the Universe in the Mega Blox line. Although the Barbie and Hot Wheels brands are the superstars of the Mattel portfolio, MOTU easily has the most fervent fans. A few years before, Hasbro unveiled their own brick-figure line, Kre-O, and had success introducing their most famous brands into the style (like Transformers, G.I.Joe, and Trolls). So when Mattel joined the brick-party, fans wanted the same treatment. Surprisingly, Barbie and Hot Wheels Mega-Blox came out pretty much right away, but it took a few years for this new Mega Contrux Heroes assortment to be unveiled which contains random characters from properties like Star Trek, Aliens, Futurama, and of course MOTU. It was actually originally reported at SDCC 2017 that only He-Man and Skeletor would be made, but a few months later at NYCC, they thankfully showed off a new Beast-Man and Teela. Let's check her out below!
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Justice League Mighty Minis - WONDER WOMAN!
One of the most impressive things about about the toy world is that, generally speaking, the products keep improving. When I think of what Marvel Legends and DC Multiverse figures looked like just a few years ago versus today, it's pretty amazing to see how much the quality has progressed. And it's not just those prominent action figure lines. The oversized 12" figures get better and better. And the little 2" Mighty Minis haven't been slacking off either. This Justice League Wonder Woman figure is leaps and bounds better than its Batman v Superman predecessor (similar to the improvements in the Multiverse and basic figures between the two films). I was so underwhelmed with the BvS Mighty Minis that I didn't even have new releases on my radar until I saw a pic of this one on Instagram and knew I had to have it. Surprisingly I followed a tip and found them right away at Best Buy. I'm a huge fan of tiny action figures so adding her to my collection was a no-brainer. Let's check out Wonder Woman below!
Monday, December 4, 2017
Late 2017 Collection of MARVEL MINI-MATES!
Photographing small toys is a bit cumbersome for me. My photo tent is set up for 6 inch figures, so when it comes to the little guys I have to construct a stage of sorts to ensure they're properly lit. So out of laziness I tend to pile up a bunch of tiny figures and photograph them all at once. Mini-mates are a prime example of that. This post will collect all the Mini-mates I've picked up since May (when the Guardians of the Galaxy waves hit). Included will be Spiral, Hela, Gwenpool, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Black Cat, Proxima Midnight, Spider-girl (Petra Parker), Medusa, and White Tiger. Diamond Select Toys really haven't been skimping with character selection. It seems like every couple months there is some heavy-hitter heroine on the shelves. Plus I love having yet another reason to stalk all my Walgreens stores. I hope Mini-mates last a long long time and I will keep buying them as long as they keep this level of character diversity up. Let's check out this newest batch of Mini-mate ladies below!
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Mini-Mates - DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN!
I started collecting Mini-Mates when these ladies were already long gone off the shelves. But when I finally discovered them years later, I was instantly covetous yet instantly disappointed because the set was selling for roughly $300 on eBay. I set up a Saved Search for years and just assumed it would never happen for me. But then last year I snagged a set loose for about $20 and I was ecstatic. (Now they go for around $75 and I can't explain the fluctuations). Desperately Seeking Susan is one of those quintessential 1980's movie that I desperately wanted to see as a kid but was never allowed to. And although I had an amazing childhood, I seem to spend my adult life making up for not being spoiled by collecting anything nostalgic to me. For some reason this set makes me want an entire 80's themed Minimate collection. I can imagine a Pee-Wee, Cyndi Lauper, Boy George, Elvira, Grace Jones, Michael Jackson, etc, etc. I would buy them all. I hope DST reads this. Let's check out Susan and Roberta below!
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Mini-Mate Women of GUARDIANS of the GALAXY V2!
I just bought my tickets to go see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 this Friday and I'm getting pretty hyped up. I've managed to accumulate a decent amount of merchandise from the movie already. Lots of Funko stuff, Marvel Legends, animated spin-off figures from Hasbro, etc. But the first figures I actually picked up were these Diamond Select Mini-Mates. Mini-Mates never fail with Marvel movie products. Even movies that are mysteriously never fully merchandised (like any of the recent X-Men films or Dr. Strange) will get a full lineup of characters in Minimate form. This GOTG2 series was actually the first time I saw that Ayesha would be in the movie. I was first exposed to Ayesha when she was known as "Her" (the counterpart to Adam Warlock aka "Him"). It's funny how there will be a Marvel Legends Adam Warlock (who I'm not sure is even in the film) but Ayesha is left out. At least DST will always give us a full roster. Let's check out the Gamora, Nebula, Mantis, and Ayesha below!
Friday, April 14, 2017
Justice League Action Mini HARLEY QUINN!
For some reason this 4th set of Justice League Action Mighty Minis is extremely difficult to find. I feel really bad for the folks trying to assemble the Collect-n-Connect Darkseid figure (because the legs included in the set are rather integral to his imposing stature). This Harley Quinn figure was a surprise for most toy hobbyists and I actually think she was unknown until people saw the cardback in the stores. In the cartoon she looks very different; with red eyes and spiky costume details; but I think that funky design in this scale would look like a mistake so I'm glad they chose the classic look. She seems to be popular in the cartoon so hopefully she gets a figure in the upcoming 4-5" line. I always love a unique Harley toy. And who knows, there are lots more interesting heroines in the series that are well-deserving of toys: Poison Ivy, Star Sapphire, Faora, Killer Frost, Cheetah, etc. I hope the series and toy lines are a success because the designs are pretty cool. Let's check out the Mighty Mini Harley Quinn below!
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Justice League Action Mini WONDER WOMAN!
DC Mystery Minis have a lot of potential. They're inexpensive, the character selection is great, and they have great playability (with all the mix-and-match body parts and all). My only problems are that the female figures could really use some semblance of a neck in their design, and more importantly, there should be more females in general. Between the BvS, Batman Unlimited, and these Justice League Action lines there have been around 45 unique character variations so far (including 12 Batmen), but only 4 of those have been women (and three of those have been Wonder Woman). There should really be a Batgirl, Supergirl, and Catwoman at the very least. Any who knows, maybe the Wonder Woman movie merchandising will have some surprises and we'll see a set dedicated to all the Themyscrian ladies, and I won't even begin to speculate on all the goodness the Gotham City Sirens movie might bring us. I'm relentlessly hopefully about this stuff. Let's check out this new Wonder Woman Mighty Mini below!
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