I just went down a rabbit hole watching all the animated appearances of Zatanna I could find. Since she is not typically thought of as a character who associates with Batman or Gotham City, I have wrongly thought for ten years that this was a Bruce Timm design from Justice League. (I say 10 years because this sculpt was originally released by DC Collectibles back in 2016). But when I compared her to the Justice League Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl figures, the scale and style didn't match. So I came to the conclusion that this figure is indeed a representation of her single-episode BTAS appearance in 1993 (S1E50 "Zatanna"), despite appearing in at least 7 episodes of Justice League Unlimited (FYI I believe she wears a white bowtie in all her JLU appearances). The TNBA stand this figure comes with further confused me. I watched Zatanna's single BTAS episode twice before I realized she was the dark-haired plainclothed wedding guest sitting with Jason Blood. (Like I said, quite the rabbit hole tonight).
UNITING ALL WOMEN OF PLASTIC
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Television. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Batman the Animated Series - ZATANNA!
Monday, July 20, 2026
Digimon - SAKUYAMAN!
This figure has been a holy grail of mine for many years. She is one of the scarce female characters in the 6" line of original Digimon characters from Bandai. She's a popular character and it's almost impossible to find her complete for under $100. Technically, she is a genderless being, but the genders in this franchise aren't exactly subtle. My favorite thing about her is the fox/kitsune motif to her design. Beyond her fox armor and belt buckle, her characters has four tubes attached to her belt (unseen on this figure) that contain four Kuda-gitsune spirits (aka Tube Foxes) representing the elements of Fire, Water, Wind, and Thunder. These colorful fox spirits wrap around her from four directions and make the figure look super awesome. Coincidentally, these fox spirits are the missing culprits of the "incomplete" figures you see all over eBay. I picked up my Sakuyamon loose, and the fixes seem pretty firmly attached (except for the yellow one that pops off), but my previous owner might have glued them for safety.
Friday, July 17, 2026
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - TEELA!
I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of the character designs from the 200x Mike Young Productions He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. With Teela in particular, the impossibly-long gravity-defying ponytail seemed extremely silly. And her blue shoulderpads were an odd departure from her typically-simple color palette. That said, I really appreciate when an action figure is a good representation of an animated design. And this Cartoon Collection Teela is a great example of that. There have been a few Teela figures from this show in the past, but they didn't look anything like the source material. But this one looks really good and actually makes me like the 200x animated design a little more. I even splurged on the Mondo preorder after I felt my judgement waning. I'm now surprising myself by looking forward to the Sorceress figure coming in Wave 6 (and I always felt like her redesign was the most tragic). Here's to changing opinions! Let's check out Teela below!
Thursday, July 9, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - LADY JAYE!
Lady Jaye has always seemed like one of the simpler characters to be made into a cartoon-accurate toy. She has a classic 2-tone green military uniform, a short haircut, and her signature weapon is a classic (looking) javelin. But her first figure inexplicably had a hat, a single-color bright green uniform, and they turned her simple javelin into some sort of gun. It was still a great toy and probably the best of the vintage female figures, but you never realize how off it was until you see this new Super7 ReAction+ version. Before this, the closest thing to a vintage-style cartoon-accurate Lady Jaye was her 5th version from 2006, but that was in the era where all the figures had disproportionately small heads. This new figure is perfection. It makes me excited to see their take on an update Scarlett - who suffered the most from the limitations of the 80's toy design. If this Lady Jaye and the previous Jinx are any indication, she will be great. Let's check out this classic Lady Jaye below!
Monday, July 6, 2026
Masters of the Universe - KITTRINA!
This time last year I posted the first review from my Altaya figurine collection. That was Dree-Elle, which I was excited to open because I had just gotten my Mondo Dree-Elle in the mail. That fateful day opened the floodgates and I knew I would have to finally open and photograph all 20 of the MOTU figurines I had purchased (of 77 total). The lone straggler of all those post was Kittrina, the fan-favorite single-episode character from The Cat and The Spider (1984) where she grappled with Teela and flirted with Battle Cat - all while sharing screentime with Webstor, who was introduced in the same episode. Despite her C-list status and minimal screentime, she is very much a fan-requested character. The funny thing is that both figures of her so far (the 2020 Super7 figure and this 2024 Altaya figurine) are pretty odd and lackluster. The main reason I delayed this post is because she is my least favorite of all my Altaya purchases. I'm probably too critical though. Let's check out the long overdue Kittrina post below!
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Transformers Cyberworld - AIRACHNID!
Transformers: Cyberworld is a YouTube web-series that began in 2025 and currently has 36 five-minute episodes (with a Season 2 premiering sometime this year). I've personally only ever watched these episodes in preparation of posting a review for the toys, so I don't have a lot of context for this toyline. Both the toys and the show itself are heavily geared towards young kids. Not necessarily preschool (like Rescue Bots), but not quite the audience for the G1 cartoon or other recent (slightly more mature) iterations either. Despite it being a YouTube show with a very limited cast of characters, there have been at least 23 Hasbro action figures so far, including Elita-1 and now Airachnid. Plus I recently noticed a collection of Cyberworld figural keyrings from Monogram. So this show is definitely getting peculiar merchandising push. I hope the upcoming Season 2 introduces more female characters, because a this point they've made toys of everyone. Let's check out Cyberworld Airachnid below!
Monday, June 1, 2026
Armorsaurs - PRISCA!
I'm a little sad that this is last Armorsaurs figure I will be reviewing for the foreseeable future. This line hit the market fast last month and has significant shelf space in both Target and Walmart in the US. MGA was smart to fill the void left by the absence of modern Power Rangers shows. The last Power Rangers show was Cosmic Fury in 2023, and that show wasn't merchandized. Hasbro seemingly bought the franchise and then scuttled it. 2024 was the first year in 30 years without new Ranger content/product. And coincidentally, that final unmerchandised Cosmic Fury season featured a female Orange Ranger (Fern) that I was really looking forward to adding to my collection. So this Aquatech Prisca figure from Armorsaurs is especially satisfying since she looks like spiritual successor to the neglected Cosmic Fury Orange. I know there is supposedly some big Rangers reboot coming, but dare I say that the biological dinosaur element in Armorsaurs adds a dimension that is more exciting than Power Rangers.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
Armorsaurs - PALOMA!
When 3.75" action figures have translucent parts, my mind instantly goes to MicroMan toys - specifically the resurgence of products in the early oughts. For the first time since the original prolific toyline began in the 1970s, there was an abundance of female characters. They all had translucent bodies and an abundance of metallic armors and weapons. I was rather obsessed with them and managed to collect nearly 20 ladies. But they were very expensive and tricky to display, so I made to sad decision to sell them all. Now twenty years later, these Aquatech variants of the main five Armorsaurs pilots take me right back to that early fascination with the small lollipop-colored toys. I know these toys have only been on the shelves for a few weeks, but I'm already very excited to see what the future of this line holds. I hope they keep a steady stream of new figure variants coming, and maybe even new characters is the show introduces them. I could easily get hooked. Let's check out the Aquatech Paloma below!
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Yo Gabba Gabba - FOOFA!
I walked into FiveBelow last week and was overjoyed to find this small articulated Foofa figure. Believe it or not, I've wanted to add this character to my collection for almost two decades, but was unable to find a toy that wasn't plush or a simple PVC figurine. I love flower-themed characters, weird preschool properties, and I was obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba! in my early thirties. If you're unaware, this show was bizarrely cool. It was created by musicians... specifically alt rock indy/punk band members who wanted a better show for their kids. Kidrobot designed the character models and awesome bands regularly appeared doing original kid's songs in their unique styles. The characters even went to Coachella 15 years ago when it was still cool. My favorite band appearances/songs were The Faint, The Killers, and The Shins (Youtube them!). The show was just fun. Foofa is the token girl of the five main characters. She is a pink "flower bubble" and I always loved her design. Let's check her out below!
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Armorsaurs - PALOMA!
I've been aware of MGA Entertainment toys for many years. They've been a major player in the pink aisles for years. While I wasn't personally wowed by their flagship Bratz, I was thoroughly impressed by the design and production of several other projects like Novi Stars and LaLaLoopsy. A few months ago I learned of their newest foray into the action figure market, Armorsaurs, and was really excited. Their previous "boy" lines like Ninjombie, Alien Racers, and Shrek just didn't appeal to me. But this new sentai-like action dinosaur line was just my speed. The kismet thing is MGA started their toy journey in the 90's with the Power Rangers license (making a variety of branded handheld games) so this seems like a return to form. I love that the main lineup of Armorsaurs pilots have two female characters.. and they each ride a velociraptor (a decidedly aggressive choice that I greatly appreciate). The whole line is very tempting. Let's check out Paloma below!
Monday, May 25, 2026
Armorsaurs - PRISCA!
In October 2025 a new live-action/CGI hybrid show premiered on Disney called Armorsaurs. I best describe it as a mash-up of Power Rangers and Dino-Riders. In this world, the ancient dinosaur extinction event is described as the dinosaurs all being "taken" by alien forces... only to be used in modern time invasion of Earth with advanced armor and tech (or maybe the invading dinos are completely robotic...it's hard to tell). There are five teen pilots recruited to pair with five earthborn (a'la Jurassic Park) dinosaur steeds. The pilots have a rare genetic anomaly that lets them telepathically connect with birds... and now dinosaurs. The show is based on South Korea's 2021 Armored Saurus. All the Armorsaurs action sequences are CGI and "human" unmasked scenes are live-action. I haven't proved it, but it appears that some/most of the CGI scenes are reused from the Korean show. It seems Korean toyline never produced pilot figures, so this new MGA line is very exciting. Let's check out Prisca below!
Saturday, April 11, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - DAINA!
Super7 has given us yet another unlikely neglected character from the original G.I.Joe cartoon.... Daina. As young superfan of the G.I.Joe cartoon in the 80s, I loved the episodes when the Joes would clash with the soviet heroes, Oktober Guard. They were only in two episodes (about a year apart). The first was an episode about alien abductions called The Invaders and the second was the famous Arise Serpentor Arise. I always lean toward Sci-Fi themes (as opposed to straight-forward military plots) in my G.I.Joe fandom, so these stories were some of my favorites. The Oktober Guard's lone female member, Daina, was a standout. She was reimagined as a blonde mercenary decades later in the comics (which is where all her previous toy decos come from), but this raven-haired, sherpa-lined sharpshooter version from the cartoon was always my favorite. She is just the latest addition to the deep-cut characters in the Super7 Reaction+ line. I can't wait to see who's next. Let's check out Daina below!
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Three's Company - CHRISSY SNOW!
One of my earliest TV memories is a random episode of Three's Company where the bubbly blonde Chrissy Snow (brilliantly played by the late Suzanne Somers) injures herself while wearing roller skates in the bathtub. I forget if she breaks a leg or an arm, but I feel like she's in a cast for the rest of the episode. This stood out to me because it was the first time I ever saw an adult doing something irresponsible while an audience laughed. I distinctly remember darting my eyes back and forth from the screen to my parents wondering why they didn't think this scene wasn't dangerous, scary, or bad. It's a lesson/distinction we all must have learned early on, but Chrissy burned this into my fragile young psyche and I remember it clearly. Of course I saw a million examples in the following years; Jerry Lewis, Dagwood, Amelia Bedelia, Inspector Gadget, etc - it's a trope that know no bounds. Chrissy Snow was the breakout character of the show, with Suzanne Somers appearing on a whopping 50 magazine covers in 1978.
Monday, March 30, 2026
Three's Company - JANET WOOD!
Three's Company was a super formative show from my youth. It originally ran from 1976-1984 and was in regular syndication for many years after. I awkwardly find myself circling back to the show in the midst of first-date conversations -- it was that level of formative for me. I truly never expected to see action figures from this show, but I shouldn't be surprised by anything these days. The show was an American remake of the British show Man About the House - both about three platonic roommates (one man and two women) living their young single lives, hiding from their landlords, and getting into hijinks with their flirty neighbors. Joyce DeWitt played Janet Wood, a petite quirky florist who was portrayed with the air of a tomboy (at least in comparison to the bubbly blonde Chrissy), but beyond the short hair and boyish nightshirts, she really wasn't a tomboy at all. Of the three figures in the line (so far... c'mon Ropers 2-Pack!), she has the worst likeness, but she's somehow still instantly recognizable.
Monday, March 16, 2026
ALF the Animated Series - RHONDA!
ALF: The Animated Series (1987-89) was a prequel spinoff to the extremely popular live-action ALF primetime show (1986-90). While I wasn't the biggest fan of ALF overall, he was hard to avoid in the era of 5 television stations. Plus, as a young kid, the humor was just raunchy enough to make me laugh. I was aware of the animated series but only have vague memories of it (there was also another series, ALF Tales). Mostly I remember ALF's home planet Melmac having the feel of 50s diner, which I thought was a really unexpected choice. But the strongest memory was the new design of ALF's girlfriend Rhonda. Her outlandish pink hair and doo-wap outfits were very fun (and a far cry from her bland live-action appearance the year prior). But surprsingly, I had nearly forgotten all about this show until last Summer when I walked into a vintage seaside toy shop while on vacation and found this little PVC of Rhonda. The rush of nostalgia for this little piece of plastic was palpable. Let's check out Rhonda below!
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Masters of the Universe - QUEEN MARLENA!
One of my favorite bits of Masters of the Universe lore is the origin story of Queen Marlena. As a kid, I certainly didn't watch the episodes in order, so even though her backstory was first told in the second episode (Teela's Quest), it was a late revelation to me when I eventually watched it. Captain Marlena Glenn was an astronaut/pilot from Earth who travels off-course and crash-lands on Eternia. She meets Randor, they get married, and then she gives birth to the twins Adam and Adora. The fact that the two main heroes of the franchise are secretly half-Earthlings was my favorite piece of trivia as a child (and will probably be a story point in the upcoming movie). I love that this new Cartoon Collection Queen Marlena figure continues the MOTUC tradition and has the option to be displayed as Captain Glenn (sort of). This Queen Marlena is perfection to me. For a character who appeared in the majority of episodes, she has been really neglected in the merchandising department. Let's check her out below!
Friday, February 27, 2026
TMNT Dimension X - APRIL O'NEIL (IN SPACE)!
I recently found myself combing through my old external harddrives looking for a spreadsheet I used to keep of all my MTG Cards. I never found that spreadsheet, but I did find tons of old photos intended for blog posts that never came to fruition. I now plan to pepper them in throughout the year.. most likely at the end of the end of the month when I feel I won't make my (self-imposed) post quota. These posts will be amusing because I pretty much dislike all the figures (there was a reason they never made the cut after all). But time has softened my disapproval. I now appreciate this April O'Neil figure for the sheer absurdity of the "in Space" trope. Four Ninja Turtles and a reporter floating around in zero gravity... it's pretty amusing. But on a more genuine note, I truly do appreciate female astronaut action figures. Even if they are nonsensical. "Astronaut" is one of the tags I rarely get to use on this site, so I'll jump at the chance to add another. Let's check out Space Comrade April below!
Monday, February 9, 2026
Batman Classic TV Series - CATWOMAN Bust!
I'm pretty obsessed with the mini-bust format. In the early 2000s and throughout the 2010s, these were everywhere. Bowen Designs, Gentle Giant, DC Direct, and Diamond Select seemingly had releases every month. Plus several companies came to the game late like Monogram and Eaglemoss and produced some great pieces. But unfortunately, since 2019 almost all production seems to have ceased - with the exception of Diamond Select who was still occasionally releasing Star Wars and Gargoyles busts until just a couple years ago. My favorite character to collect in this format was Catwoman. I believe I have 12 different mini-busts representing a variety of her incarnations over the years (surprisingly there were never Pfeiffer or Golden/Silver Age representations - two glaring omissions). I excitedly bought this Julie Newmar Batman '66 bust when it came out 11 years ago, but was pretty disappointed in the paint quality. The difference between the paint masters and the production version was simple, but impactful. The solicitation photos looked decently like Julie Newmar (not great, but close enough).
Sunday, February 8, 2026
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - EVIL-LYN!
I remember when the Mike Young Productions He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated series started in 2002. At the time, I had no television stations and relied on DVDs and VHS for my entertainment. I think I was able to get a few episodes pirated through Limewire or WinMX, but I honestly wasn't super impressed (and I still have never watched the whole series). I had first learned about it because I had some coworkers who were coming back from their lunch break with action figures from the show. I was super curious. My true adoration came later that year when Image Comics started publishing a comic based on the animated designs. I distinctly remember seeing a splash page of Evil-Lyn and being captivated. I loved the "bony" details added to her costume. She seemed more sinister and imposing. And of the three main females of the series: Teela, Sorceress, and Evil-Lyn, hers is the only redesign I liked. It's great to get another version of her in plastic. Let's check out Evil-Lyn below!
Friday, January 23, 2026
Super7 Reaction+ O-Ring - ARCTIC SCARLETT!
In the second episode of G.I.Joe, The M.A.S.S. Device Part II, Slave of the Cobra Master (September 1983). Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and Snowjob (and others) head deep into the Arctic to seek a red radioactive crystal (one of the three elements needed for the M.A.S.S. Device). The scene is relative brief, but memorable - especially because it is so early in the vast G.I.Joe canon. Super7 seems to love G.I.Joe The Movie and The M.A.S.S. Device. The number of ReAction figures they've made based on these two storylines is pretty amazing. A figure of Scarlett in an arctic parka was not on my bingo card at all, and if pressed I could come up with a handful of never-before-made characters I would have taken in place of her, but now that she's in my collection I'm pretty happy to have her. The exciting is that their character choices are getting so obscure that I have no idea what might be coming next. (I'm always hoping for Oktober Guard and more Cobra-La though!) Let's check out Arctic Scarlett below!
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