Hasbro may be knocking it out of the park with Combiner Wars, but that has not slowed the 3rd party combiner onslaught down even slightly.
Turbo Ejector then, it is Warbotrons take on a Masterpiece scaled Technobot Afterburner, and is the first release from what will eventually form their Computron.
I will admit now that I had no plans to buy this until it showed in Masterforces sale, but the price they had it on offer for was far too tempting.
Hit the button below to read the review, unless I have died under an avalanche of combiner themed toys.
I have always said, that if DC make updated figures based on Batman the Animated Series, with better articulation - I would buy them all. It is my favourite cartoon series of all time, and I love every facet of it, I adore it and wish I could climb through the TV and live in that world.
So DC Collectibles called my bluff, and announced a large looking line of characters from the show, who look just like they do on the screen.
The first wave featured mostly figures based on the redesigns from the New Batman Adventures, so I decided to skip them as I prefer the original designs and figured I would save some money. In fact, I didn't realise this line was even out until I saw that amazing looking Batmobile at New York Toyfair.
Fate conspired for me to find this figure in a comic shop at the weekend, where I buckled whilst my wallet wept for me tumbling down the Rabbit hole.
The old Batman TV show, it was awesome. Virtually everyone on the planet has either seen it or heard of it, as it has been perpetually re-run on TV stations around the globe. Defining the character for many different generations of people.
Characters tend to be defined, to each person, by the first version they were introduced to. So for many kids now when they think of Batman, their first thought is of Christian Bale growling. That is their Batman.
For me, when I read or hear the name Batman, the first thing that pops into my head is Jim Aparo's Batman. His work, was the first I was introduced to for Batman, when I was a child in the mid 80's as his was the standard from the comics at that time, and made its way into most of our British Annuals (hard back books that are particularly prevalent at Christmas time).
Not a week goes by, when I don't growl at Mattel or DC Collectibles for still not having put out a figure that matches that design. Grrrr.
But I was still a big fan of the old TV show as a child, as it was constantly on the TV.
For kids of the 60's, the Classic Batman TV series will always define Batman for them, and finally it seems to have made out of licensing hell so Mattel, DC and Warner Brothers can unleash a merchandising onslaught upon us.
Awesome.
First up, Mattel has made a range of figures, following in the style of their now dearly departed DC Universe Classics lines, based on this brilliant TV show. The first one I managed to acquire, thanks to an early Valentines Day present from my amazing Girlfriend was "Surf's UP! Batman!"
Based on this iconic scene from the TV show
There is no way I was going to avoid this figure, even if I hadn't got it as a gift, as it is just too crazy and amazing to skip. Mattel tried their best to make this happen, by not releasing them in the UK at places other than import stores - and we think Hasbro UK are bad.
So how does it stack up? Hit the button, and read the review after the jump.
I am bit late to the DC Classics line. It somehow managed to pass me almost completely by, despite me spending lots of time looking at toy websites, being in toy and comic shops and reading lots of DC comics during the time of its existence.
It was probably mostly down to me having most of the key members of the Justice League in plastic form already, and not being the type to usually own multiple versions of characters. Also, trying to save money was a big factor, and slow down toy spending. I do own a couple of them, but they are more recent purchases, to replace the DC Direct versions.
That is source of regret now, as I am discovering just how amazing they were.
I love car boot sales. There is so much unwanted crap in the world, and it seems to all appear on Sunday morning around England - being peddled out of the back of someones car.
When I was a kid, I used to go with my Grandma to car boots- and always find some amazing toy treasures. Superhero figures, wrestling merch, Transformers, Starcom - all sorts. It was like a treasure trove of finding things you could not get in shops anymore -long before the days of EBay. People only wanted 20p or something for a bag of riches too.
Now days the car boot is still going, but owing to the rise of things like EBay - amazing finds are becoming rarer and rarer. Now anything valuable is shoved to EBay and the price hiked up, and everything else no one wants gets dumped at the car boot.
That's not to say you cant still find some awesome bits, but its a lot harder and you really have to be at the front of the queue come opening time.
I see lots of people who go down with massive bags, so I can only assume that at least some people are finding lots of use for old radio controlled cars, old computer parts, and Notts County football programmes from the mid 90's.
The summer is true car boot season, and crazily I have not yet been to one this year - well till this morning.
A little background. I have been a Batman fan since I was very little, since the early 80's when I was given Batman annuals and comics and it grew from there.
To this day I still buy Batman comics and, even with the launch of the New 52, they still evoke the same feelings and remind me of my childhood.
I have also always been a fan of the Robin character. Specifically the Tim Drake version of the character, as I love the updated late 80's/90's Robin costume and he was my favourite version of Robin.
Dick Grayson though, really became one of my favourite characters as Nightwing. I liked the early, frilly costume with crazy neck - but when they updated it, it nailed it.
Black outfit, with blue stripes running down the sleeves, and round the chest - its a great, simple costume (of which I have never found a tshirt that resembles it). The Dick Grayson character works so much better as Nightwing as well. Hes a very dynamic character, being a gymnast so he is involved in some great action scenes.
So I have always wanted a decent Nightwing figure. I had the Legends of Batman 90's Kenner figure, but it wasn't in this costume. Then in the early 2000's DC Direct did a line based on Jim Lee's designs from Hush, and I somehow missed the Nightwing figure from that line. I routinely looked for it on EBay, but couldn't justify the high prices. The DC Classics came and somehow passed me by, so I missed that version of Nightwing too and again, its far too expensive for me on the secondary market.
So, that long story leads to me here really. DC Collectibles released a version based on Nightwing's appearance in the Arkham City game, and I finally took my chance to grab it.
Is it a good figure? Short answer - not really. For the longer answer - read on!
