The SDCC Haul

A couple of months ago I posted here about the San Diego Comic Con exclusive toys that I'd like to own. It's been a while now since the Con, so let's have a look at what I did and didn't manage to get hold of.



Queen Marlena & Cringer

This was always going to be an easy one to get hold of since Mattel always list their exclusives on mattycollector.com shortly after SDCC has ended. I actually wish I'd bought a second of this figure as swapping the outfits over is a bit of a pain (hence no photo of her in her astronaut outfit).

There were complaints when he was first revealed about the size & articulation of Cringer. Now I have the figure in hand, I actually like the size of it (Cringer is supposed to be smaller than Battlecat, after all), and the articulation...well, I can live with it.

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

He sold out fast, but I went for him and was successful. Even better was that he arrived without the nightmare customs fees! The box is HUGE, but then it'd have to be to fit the GIANT figure inside. It's built of stuff a bit like stress balls and, unfortunately, already has a few little holes in it where he's been knocked.

What would have really made this figure (and made the price a little more bearable) would have been having an alternate 'angry' head included. I like him, but he was very expensive and he's really not that durable. Plus, where on Earth am I going to keep him?

Voltron

Not knowing (despite my asking just about everyone) whether Voltron would ship to the UK since there were electronics in the box (there have been problems with this before), I placed a separate order for Voltron from Stay Puft & Marlena. If I'd ordered all three at once & then found out Voltron wouldn't ship, it'd have taken precious minutes (when stuff - ie Stay Puft - might have sold out) to remove it from my basket and start the payment process again.

Turns out I needn't have worried. My caution actually worked against me as Voltron was hit by fees and if I'd ordered everything together he'd have been sent with Stay Puft & escaped them.

This is a great figure and my boys really love the figure and, slightly annoyingly, the box-sound (press a button and you hear the Voltron opening REALLY LOUDLY). He's one big piece of articulation and you can put him in any pose you can think of. It did take some explaining to the boys that he doesn't come apart into the individual lions, but I think they've caught onto this now.

The best thing was he arrived on the same day as the complete collection of Voltron DVDs I'd ordered.

Masterpiece Rodimus Prime

Technically this wasn't SDCC exclusive, but a 'first reveal'. This was a Toys R Us (US) exclusive at the con, but was (and still is) available in UK Toys R Us stores. More on this one later in a 'proper' review.

Battle Armour Faker Vs Bizarro

Another TRU exclusive, and one I had to get a fellow .Orger to send over for me since TRU US doesn't ship abroad and the UK store doesn't stock it. I know virtually nothing about Bizarro as I don't read much in the way of DC comics. Faker, however, I do know about since he's from He-Man and I know everything quite a lot about He-Man. This is the first time Faker has come in battle armour, and is a result (I think) of fan suggestions.

It's a little odd he doesn't come with an axe, since all the other Battle Armour figures do, but I have a spare one so...

His ankles are a little loose, which is a bit annoying, but he stands up okay. As expected he comes with the different chest-plates so you can choose your own damage level.

Indiana Jones: The Lost Wave

Like TRU US, annoyingly, Hasbrotoyshop.com doesn't ship to the UK. This means that all Hasbro SDCC exclusives cost an absolute fortune to get hold of here. I knew this was going to be pricey, but I had to own it to complete my collection of Indy toys. So I used all my hard-earned pennies, a 10% voucher, and ta da -

Sadly, the Indy line was cancelled just as it was getting really good. The sculpt of these figures is excellent and  I'm a bit sad these never got to be released in shops properly. But then I guess if they had, and thus the line more successful, I'd never have been able to buy vast amounts of Germans & Russians at ridiculously low prices.

I've tried to pick a favourite, but I can't. They're all equally excellent.

Pandorica Chair & River Song

When the Doctor Who figures from Character were released which came with pieces of the Pandorica (and a CD), I was slightly annoyed. I said at the time it would have been better if they'd released a proper Pandorica playset that the Doctor could be sat in.

Well, someone at Underground toys was listening.

The 'chair' section can be combined with the CD-pieces, meaning that it now is a proper playset.

The Doctor fits beautifully into the chair. Someone actually measured it all out properly so that the chair and the restraints fit exactly onto the Doctor.

The River figure is quite nice. It's pretty much the same as the Flesh figure currently in toy shops, but with a coat on.

If you bought the CD figures, then I'd definitely recommend buying this (it's available from Forbidden Planet - both of them - in the UK). The price is ~£20 which is incredibly reasonable considering how much Underground Toys stuff usually costs here.

The others

I didn't get Marvel Legends Thor because a) he's from Hasbro and therefore costs a fortune (see above), and also b) he's getting a 'standard' release later this year. I also didn't get the Gi Joe / Transformers Skystriker, but from what I've heard hardly anyone else did either - it's currently on ebay for a million kajillion pounds. Finally, Swamp Thing was a pass because of the potential rubber issue I mentioned.