A look at my Toy Collection Display Cabinet

A view of my New Toy Collection Display Cabinet

After 2 weeks of painstakingly displaying my collections in their new display cabinet, I'm finally (almost) done. The easiest part was essentially unboxing/unpacking them from their large containers as seen here. The hardest part was displaying them. Now when it comes with my toy collections, I'm a very meticulous hack as I make it a point that no figures' parts should stick with another. I have this Obsessive Compulsive Disorder belief that if the figures would rub on each other, and under the warm climate of a tropical country like the Philippines, the paint apps of the figures would smear/smudge on each other. So I always made sure that all the figures will have spaces between them. That two weeks was also spent on planning as to how to display my action figure collections in a certain theme or grouping. I wanted my display to tell a story. I could have opted for a diorama like display but space constraints prevented me from doing such. What I opted to do instead is to present them in a way where there will be some sort of a cohesive theme. And the largest and most noticeable theme is that it's DC and Marvel all over again occupying the extreme opposite sides of the cabinet with Japanese and American pop culture icons standing in between them. Join me below as I take you a tour to my Toy Collection Display Cabinet.   

DC Direct, DCSH, and DCUC

Top Most Left Corner: Among all of my collections, hands down my favorite are the six inch ones from DC and Marvel. I put both of these on the extreme corners of my cabinet. The six inch DC action figures from Mattel's DCSH/DCUC and DC Direct/Collectibles occupies the top most left corner. They are separated into five layers with the top most layer housing an assortment of Super Villains of the DC Universe. Half of those are from Superman's Rogue Gallery while the other half are the main arch enemies of the other DC Superheroes. The second layer houses the Bat Family (Batman and his allies), Teen Titans/Young Justice, and Justice Society of America. For me it's a natural grouping for Batman to be standing side by side with the Teen Titans and Young Justice teams because Batman basically mentors Robin, the leader of the aforementioned teams. Justice Society of America (JSA) is also put on this layer because in the latter incarnations of the team in the comic books, the older JSA helped mentor the newer JSA members. The third layer meanwhile houses the Justice League of America (JLA) and the Green Lantern Corps (GL Corps). I put both of these teams together in one layer because majority of the GL Corps (the human ones that is) were also JLA members. Human Green Lanterns such as Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner were members of the Justice League in one time or another. The so called big seven (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter) of the JLA teams is also placed front and center. Martian Manhunter is partly covered because his role as one of the team's big seven diminished when the New 52 reboot happened. In fact, he was replaced entirely by Cyborg, a mainstay of the Teen Titans teams before the New 52 reboot. The fourth layer on the other hand displays the Superman family. As a huge Superman fan, I had to devote a special layer for my Superman collections. The fourth layer comprises the different Superman related characters as seen in the comic books. Prominently displayed on the left side are the Daily Planet staff while on the extreme right are the Reign of the Supermen characters that appeared after the Death of Superman. Of course you can also see two Supermen standing in front, the Classic costume and the New 52 costume. This helps transition into the last layer where I displayed an all exclusive Superman action figures that highlights some of the key incarnations of Superman by different artists or eras. In this layer, you could see the first appearance of Superman in the comic books down to the latest incarnation that he sports in the New 52 Universe. As of now, I'm trying to complete all of the DC Direct releases of Superman because I'm such a huge fan of DC Direct action figures that are artist centric. Noticeably missing here is the DC Direct Superfriends Superman, MAD Superman, and Dark Side Superman, among others. That wraps up the upper left corner of the shelf.    
  

Vintage DCs and Movie Masters

Lower Left Corner: The last layer of the top most shelf also transitions to the smaller scaled (five inch below) Superman action figure collections that I have which is housed in the first layer of the lower left corner of the shelf. The reason why I separated them from the six inch ones because basically they are vintage toys of the 80's to the 90's mixed with the more recent releases that were geared towards the kids. Among these are the more rare ones like fast food toys and other kiddie toys. This layer still has a lot more spaces left and I still might toy hunt on more Superman toys that would fit in this category. The second layer meanwhile houses the grittier DC Superhero Movies action figure collections. Prominently displayed in this layer are the action figure sets from Chris Nolan's Batman: Dark Knight Trilogy, Martin Campbell's Green Lantern, Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, WB's Smallville, Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, and Snyder's Watchmen. I also managed to sneak in a custom Christopher Reeve Superman in this layer. Since neither Mattel nor DC Direct had released a six inch version of Richard Donner's classic Superman movie, I took it upon myself to customize one. I'm also contemplating on completing the older Batman movies from Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher, but space constraints might prevent me from doing such. Moving on to the third layer, I opted to display the vintage Kenner/Hasbro Total Justice toy line from the 90's. I Absolutely love this toy line back when I was a kid because of the ultra sculpt detail it sports, way advanced during its time. It is also joined with other Kenner made DC action figures, namely the Man of Steel toy line. I also managed to sneak in a Justice League fast food toy collection set from Jollibee. This transitions to the fourth layer which houses the various animated incarnations of the Justice League in toy form. Of course on the center is the highly popular Vintage DC Super Powers toy line that were derived from the Super friends TV show. Displayed on the left most corner is the more recent Justice League Unlimited toy line which was derived from the highly successful Justice League animated series of the 2000s. This animated series in my opinion is the best animated series ever (yes it trumps Batman and X-Men the animated series). Joining them on the display is the Batman centric animated series that replaced the Justice League animated series. This Batman centric animated series is simply called The Batman and featured the Justice League in its last season. This animated series was also cancelled and replaced by a more kid friendly Batman centric animated series that involves a rotation of DC characters that served as Batman's guest stars. This newer animated series is called Batman the Brave and the Bold and I've made it a point to try to collect some key Justice League members that I could find in this toy line. Lastly, this layer is joined by the Young Justice animated series toy line, the most recent animated series from DC Comics. The last layer meanwhile houses the Masters of the Universe toy line and the Thundercats toy line. You might wonder what both of these toy lines had to do in a generally DC Comics part of the cabinet. Well, Masters of the Universe have been for the most part assigned by Mattel (the toy line's owner and current makers of DC Comics related action figures) to DC Comics for their resurgence in comic book form. Thundercats on the other hand in the mid 2000s was also assigned to Wildstorm comics (DC's sister company) when it came to producing comic books. So basically both of these properties were in one point or another a part of the DC Comics stable. I also decided to join both together because of their almost similar theme (sword wielding strongmen and both are 80s cartoon series). It does not help that when I was a kid, I always wondered who would win in a fight, He-Man from the Masters of the Universe or Lion-O from Thundercats. So merging them together in one shelf was only natural for me. This wraps up my left most corner of my display cabinet.

Hot Toys and Japanese live action series

Top Center Cabinet: I made use of the center cabinet to house the bigger action figures in my collections. By bigger I mean those who are scaled at 10 inch and higher. The top most layer of the center cabinet houses my one and only Hot Toys collection. And that Hot Toys is none other than the Christopher Reeve Superman. I have always been a fan of Superman ever since I saw the 1978 Superman movie which was starred by Christopher Reeve. Though Hot Toys are quite pricey for someone like me, I managed to turn a blind eye on its price just for this once. This is perhaps the holy grail in all of my collections. The Hot Toys Superman is joined by a cheaper 12 inch Superman Returns action figure/doll. I intentionally purchased this so that I could have him join the Hot Toys Superman since they are similarly scaled. Hidden at the back of this figure is my very first Superman toy that I owned since I was a kid. I also included in this layer the 10 inch version of the Justice League Unlimited Superman and a complimenting scaled Krypto the Superdog as well as the Kryptonian Battle Suit from the Kenner Man of Steel toy line. A Movie Masters Man of Steel Superman also stands there for the meantime as I contemplate if I should get a Hot Toys Henry Cavill Superman from the recent Man of Steel movie. The second layer on the other hand is devoted to Japanese pop culture icons such as Super Sentais (Power Rangers),  Rider series (Kamen Rider), Kaiju (Ultraman), Tokusatsu (Ryukendo/Shaider), and Mechas (Voltron) among others. Growing up, I've been a fan of Japanese live action series such as Bio-Man, Shaider, Ultraman, Power Rangers, and Kamen Rider. So I made it a point to collect some of the characters that I watched as a kid. I got them more for nostalgias sake.      

Anime and Basketball action figures

Lower Center Cabinet: The first layer of the lower center cabinet is a continuation of my Japanese pop culture related theme. This time, I focused on anime (Japanese for cartoons) like Dragon Ball. This is actually a work in progress layer as at this moment I temporarily displayed a Real Steel Rock em' Sock em' play set. I'm not quite a fan of anime except for Dragon Ball Z, Slam Dunk, and Samurai X. I'm a confessed Dragon Ball junkie and lately my toy hunting is spent mostly on completing the key Dragon Ball Z characters. Samurai X is also on my radar, I'm just waiting for a good deal to fall on my lap. The second layer is devoted to vintage Basketball figures from the Kenner Starting Line Up toy line and Space Jam. I'm a huge fan of Michael Jordan, and I have been collecting Michael Jordan memorabilia ranging from trading cards, shoes, to action figures. For the vintage basketball action figures, my focus was to collect all of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls' main nemesis during their 6 championship title run. The bottom shelf meanwhile houses the more recent McFarlane NBA action figures. For this particular toy line, I focused on collecting Chicago Bulls action figures and the more recent NBA Superstars with championship titles such as Shaquille O' Neal and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. I also collected some of the more popular NBA Superstars of the 90's like Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Charles Barkley among others. Basically the whole display cabinet is still a work in progress and I might change the contents over time. I'm still planning to collect a couple of Wrestling action figures that I might display here. I've also kept some of my Star Trek and Transformers action figures in storage while I'm still contemplating if I should put them in this display cabinet or if I should just sell them.  

Marvel Legends and Marvel Select

Top Most Right Corner: Since I'm a more outspoken DC fanboy, not many may have known that I'm also a keen follower of the Marvel Universe. And if my love for DC is well represented in 6 inch form through DCUC and DC Direct, my love for Marvel had brought me to collect their own 6 inch toy lines. Marvel's Marvel Legends and Marvel Select stands on the extreme right corner of my Display Cabinet. You could actually see from a distance that the extreme opposite corners of my Display Cabinet is devoted to two of these competing comic book companies. The first layer houses the Marvel Super Villains. I only cherry picked on the key arch enemies of the Marvel Superheroes and left out the more obscure ones. The second layer is devoted to the Fantastic Four and various Marvel Superheroes that are neither a member of the Avengers or the X-Men (except for multiple figures like Captain America, Iron Man, and Wolverine). Meanwhile, the third layer houses the Avengers. Majority of my Marvel collections are from the Toybiz Marvel Legends as I find them better compared to Hasbro's Marvel Legends. The last layer on the other hand houses the X-Men and their fellow mutants. And if you noticed, I chose to complete the X-Men movie versions first before going to the non movie characters. I've always hated Toybiz and Hasbro's uneven release. They are constantly releasing X-Men action figures sporting their costumes from different eras, eliminating the chances of having them displayed together with the same eras. The movie version at least gives the key X-Men characters a uniform look. So basically, I completed the X-Men movie action figure series first before venturing into the other characters that did not appear in the movie. So majority of the 6 inch X-Men action figure collection that I have does not actually represent the comic book versions. The comic book versions however will be represented in the lower corner.

Vintage Marvels, TMNT, and some G.I. Joes

Lower Right Corner: If I owned a number of vintage DC action figures from the 90's, I also own a number (albeit smaller) of vintage Marvel Superheroes action figures from the 90's. Though not as wide as DC's, I managed to collect a few vintage Marvel Superheroes from the 90's. The first layer houses the vintage 90's Avengers action figures, Sam Raimi's Spiderman movie trilogy, as well as the more recent kid friendly Avengers and Spiderman movie mighty battler toys. I opted these instead of the more pricey Marvel Legends movie action figures because these are great toys for my son because of their playability. When he's not playing with them, I usually store them in my display cabinet to balance my DC Superhero movies action figure collection. The second layer houses the vintage 90's X-Men action figure that I had since I was a kid. One can clearly see that I'm a huge X-Men fan because of the sheer number of these vintage X-Men toys that I managed to accumulate when I was still a kid. These toy line went into popularity right behind the strength of the 90's X-Men animated series, one of the best animated series of my time. So while my 6 inch X-Men collection are mostly the live action movie versions, these vintage ones represents the comic book versions. I think it's a good balance in my collection as I have both the movie and the comic book versions well represented in my display cabinet.  The third and fourth layer meanwhile houses the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), one of my favorite toys when I was a kid. I'm a kid of the 90's, and I'm sure those who grew up in the 90's in one point or another owned a TMNT toy. The third layer houses the different versions of the TMNT. This ranges from the vintage TMNT, 2003 TMNT, CGI Movie TMNT, NECA Eastman and Laird TMNT, and the recent TMNT classics by Playmates. The fourth layer houses the allies and villains from the vintage TMNT toy line as well as the recent Nick Toons TMNT deluxe battle sound fx action figures. I opted for these battle sound figures in favor of the  basic ones because of its playability. My son enjoys all the noises that these Turtles (and Shredder) makes while he's playing with them. And finally, the last layer is an odd mix of Western and Eastern pop culture icons that I find very nostalgic. The left side is composed of the Western gun wielding action stars like the vintage Rambo action figures from Coleco and the 80's G.I. Joe cartoon series. On the right side, I displayed the Eastern Martial Arts action stars like Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, and the cast of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I also included in this layer the vintage Street Fighter action figures that was produced by the makers of the G.I. Joe toy line. So basically, the front row is composed of the G.I. Joe scaled action figures like the G.I. Joes, Robocop, Rambo, A-Team, Indiana Jones, and the Street Fighters. While the back row is composed of the 7 to 8 inch action figures of Rambo and the Force of Freedom, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee. And as usual, all of my comic books are stored in the compartments below the showcase cabinet.

So this wraps up my blog entry for today. Hope you guys enjoyed the little tour that I gave. Will be reviewing all of my toy collections in this blog whenever I could find time. It just sank in to me just now that it feels daunting to remove all of these action figures from their display and one by one do a review on them. But we'll see. See you in my next entry.

Bootleg S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ball Z

I'm not much of an anime fan but I have always been a huge fan of Dragon Ball Z. I always enjoyed the fast pace action and the humorous stories that the Dragon Ball anime series always brought to our TV sets. I've got a couple of Dragon Ball action figure collections, mostly the Bandai Super Battle Collection and the Irwin Dragon Ball action figures. But that entry will be for another time. What I do want to share in this entry is one of the most fantastic bootleg toys that I've ever laid my hands on, the bootleg version of S.H. Figuarts' Dragon Ball Z action figures. The original version of this toy line is to date the best Dragon Ball action figure ever created. Stands at an average of 6 inch, this toy line is packed with extra head, hands, and accessories that makes them standout in your Dragon Ball toy collection. The action figures also boasts an assortment of articulation that rivals Hasbro's Marvel Legends and Mattel's DC Universe Classics. The bootleg versions however would sport lesser points of articulation. The bootleg version also comes with a couple of extra accessories, but not as complete as the original ones. Will be doing a figure by figure review below.

     Perfect Cell: Dragon Ball Z's main baddie.

The Perfect Cell bootleg action figure boasts nicely detailed sculpts. It's clear from here that the bootleggers made use of the original mold of this figure to come up with a bootleg version. The paint is also well applied that you wouldn't think that this is a bootleg action figure. This actually looks nice as a display piece if you are a Dragon Ball junkie who couldn't afford the more pricey authentic ones.

The Perfect Cell bootleg figure also comes with an extra face and hands that can be used alternately on the figure. This nice little gimmick for a bootleg action figure is really a nice touch as it tries to be more at par (in terms of playability) with the authentic ones.

The figure boasts an impressive points of articulation despite being a bootleg figure. It sports a ball jointed neck, swivel arms, hinged elbows, swivel wrists, ball jointed hips, double hinged knees, and ball jointed ankles. This is quite close to the original and too many for a bootleg action figure.

Piccolo: Namekian adversary turned ally

The bootleg Piccolo action figure also borrowed from the original mold. The details that can be found from the original can also be found here. Starting from the costume's creases down to the defined muscles of Piccolo. The figure had some minor paint slops though, which is natural for a bootleg action figure.

The Piccolo figure also comes with an alternate head and hands. The alternate head features his turban, the signature Piccolo headwear he uses in the anime series. His cape is also removable, giving it maximum playability for those who wants their Piccolo in his fighting form.

Piccolo without his cape

Piccolo's articulation is the same with that of the Perfect Cell figure. My complain for this figure is that its ankles are made of rubbery plastic. The weight of the figure deforms that weak rubbery plastic material in his ankle, making him hard to stand. I think the authentic ones are made with hard plastics. The bootleggers must have scrimped on the plastic material.

Vegeta: Saiyan Prince, Son Goku's former enemy turned ally

I think Vegeta is the weakest in this set. The paint used in painting his head is that of those cheap quality glossy paints used in most bootleg acton figures. The armor's paint is also very weak. These weak paint applications makes this Vegeta action figure look very much different from the authentic ones. You could easily surmise that this figure is a bootleg one. The exact original sculpt of the authentic one used for this figure could not even save this figure.

Vegeta also comes with an extra face and hands. It would have been nicer if we were given a non Super Saiyan extra head as the alternate one. It would have made this figure's playability more desirable.

Again, the articulation on this figure is pretty much the same with the other ones. His larger set of feet helps the displaying stability of the figure as compared to Piccolo's.

Trunks: Vegeta's son from the future

Trunks is one of my favorites in this set. His clean paint applications mirrors that of the original. The only problem with this figure is that it couldn't quite capture the minute details of the original's intricate sculpts, particularly on his belt and his sword. I'm not sure if those came from the original molds as both looks like they were just lazily sculpted on the figure.

Just like the Perfect Cell figure, Trunks also comes with an extra face and hands. But it would have been more cooler if we were given a Super Saiyan Trunks extra head instead. And also, a removable sword would have been a great addition to the figure.

Removable jacket but non removable sword

Trunks sports the same articulation with that of the others. He also shares the same problem with Piccolo in terms of its displaying stability. But nevertheless, it's one of the best figure in this set.

Son Gohan: Son Goku's son and Piccolo's apprentice

For those who are not familiar with Dragon Ball Z, you might be wondering why Son Gohan is garbed in Piccolo's signature suit instead of his father's. The reason for this is that Piccolo trained Gohan when Goku died. Again Gohan's sculpt is an exact carbon copy with that of the original. It even captures the intricate details of his suit's crease lines. The paint applications are also nicely done for a bootleg action figure. I think Gohan is my favorite in this set.

Gohan also comes with an extra face and hands. His cape is also removable, just like that of Piccolo's. I would have wanted a non Super Saiyan Gohan extra head as the alternate head for this figure, too bad the bootleggers didn't do that, but instead stuck with what the authentic one came with.

The removable cape helps Gohan maximize his articulation

Although Gohan also shares the same articulation with that of the others, there are some parts in his body that hampers the articulation. The hip articulation is restricted and his legs can't be moved upwards. Gohan also shares the same displaying stability problem with that of Piccolo. Something which shouldn't be too surprising considering they wear the same type of shoes.

Son Goku: The main protagonist of Dragon Ball Z

I could have easily said that this was the best action figure in this set, but unfortunately a painting error prevents me from treating it as such. Goku's shoulder shouldn't have been colored blue, as that color should have been painted on his upper biceps, signifying the sleeves of his inner shirt. But nevertheless, the sculpting remains faithful with that of the original. I also particularly like the detailed facial expressions which included some facial lines to give it a maximum expression. The face, I could say, looks exactly the same as the original ones.

Again, Goku comes with an extra face and hands. While both facial expressions are of my liking, I still would have preferred a non Super Saiyan Goku alternated head. That would have made this figure the best among this set. But I think Figuarts is releasing that non Super Saiyan Goku as a separate figure from this Super Saiyan version. The bootleggers I guess stuck with the Super Saiyan Goku release. Still not bad for a bootleg figure.

The articulation are the same with that of the others. Goku's larger boots also gives him better displaying stability compared to the others. Goku's facial expressions still are the best among this set. Should be one of the top two figures in this set.

P.S. These are not the Benda ones as the Benda ones are composed of a more hollow plastic. Benda's Goku looks better paint wise (the inner sleeves), but Benda's Trunks and Vegeta looks inferior compared to these ones. These came without boxes compared to the Benda ones.

Jollibee Kiddie Meal Batman Brave and the Bold Toy Review

Jollibee continues to impress me. This month, they just released a Batman Brave and the Bold toy for their Kiddie Meal. This set is composed of two toys, but I think I'll only be getting this one. The other one is a Bat Jet launching toy or something like that. The Batman figure stands approximately at 4 inches and is composed of a rubbery type of plastic. It faithfully captures the appearance of the Batman Brave and the Bold Animated series from which this figure was based. 

It only has one articulation, a swivel right arm. At first I thought the left arm is also moveable, but I was disappointed to find out that it isn't. The head is also non moveable. The paint apps of the figure is quite good considering that this is a fast food toy. It's also a plus that they were able to paint the right colors (unlike that horrible error they made with that Green Lantern toy).

The figure comes with an accessory. A grappling hook that somehow doesn't work right. (see instructions below).

As you can see in it's packaging, the grappling hook is supposed to shoot up when you press a button. But in reality, it doesn't happen. Pushing the button won't make the hook shoot up, it just remains steady.

For scale comparison with the Mattel Batman Brave and the Bold basic action figures, it only stands at chest length. 

It is also considerably smaller than the Mattel JLU figures. In this photo, I had him stand side by side with (from left to right) Mattel Batman Brave and the Bold Batman, Mattel JLU Batman, A Joker fast food toy I got from Australia in a flea market, the Green Lantern kiddie meal toy from Jollibee, and the Batman Brave and the Bold kiddie meal toy also from Jollibee. 

The Grappling Hook (despite it's failed launching mechanism) is also a useful accessory for Mattel DC Universe Classics or DC Direct figures. I had it posed here with a Mattel Batman Legacy First Appearance Batman. 

I don't know where this Joker figure is supposed to be from, but I'm guessing this is also based from the Batman Brave and the Bold animated series. Though he seems to be a little bit taller compared to Batman, but the difference is not that much. Both figures complements each other nicely. 

Overall this is a great toy for kids (and Batman collectors alike). I'm guessing that this will sell out fast. So head on to the nearest Jollibee store now before you'll regret not getting this.

Jollibee Kiddie Meal Voltron

Voltron: Defender of the Universe

The Lion Bots

There were only two Super Robot Anime series that I followed as a kid (no, I'm not counting Mazinger Z and Grandizer though I managed to watch an episode or two of those shows). One was Voltes V, the other  one was Voltron. Among the two, I've always preferred Voltron over Voltes V. I was more fascinated with Voltron's Mecha Felines than Voltes V's vehicles. Personally, the Mecha felines are way much cooler than the common vehicles transforming into robots thing. Voltron is composed of four brave young Men and a Woman who pilots five mechanized lion bots, and when the going gets tough, these five lion bots merges together to form one huge humanoid Super Robot called Voltron. This peacekeeping force patrols the galaxy against the evil forces of King Zarkon and his son Prince Lotor and their evil minions.  This Blog entry will feature a Toy Review of one of the most amazing fast food toy that I have ever come to know and own. Here in the Philippines, McDonald's doesn't own a monopoly on fast food toys. Rival Chicken and Burger joint named Jollibee has been giving McDonald's a run for their money. And this Voltron fast food toy is one of the prime examples why Jollibee is capable of beating McDonald's. I'll be doing a lion bot by lion bot review below as well as give a brief backgrounder on the lion bot's respective pilot.  

Black Lion

The Pilot: Commander Keith pilots the Black Lion. He is considered as the team leader and the love interest of Princess Allura (Blue Lion Pilot). Being the leader, he directs and strategizes the team in their battles. His Lion bot forms the bulk and head of Voltron. It is numbered as Black Lion 1

The Toy: The material of this fast food toy is made of soft but sturdy plastic. It utilizes specific plastic colors for the body parts to save paint. It only uses paint on the eyes, nose, and Voltron's and lion's face. The chest and belt emblem is made of sticker. The bot has a whooping 15 points of articulation. It features a ball jointed head, swivel arms, hinged knees, swivel wings, hinged tail and ears, as well as a hinged jaw that reveals the hidden head of Voltron. My only qualm is that it lacks articulation on the ankles (which would later on affect the appearance of Voltron as you could not hide the ankles by folding it, but not as much as we would like to think). But for a fast food toy, that's a pretty amazing amount of articulation already. Among all the Lion bots, this is easily the best.

Red Lion

The Pilot: Lance pilots the Red Lion. He is designated as second in command in the team. He is a wily and reckless pilot that often times earns the ire of his co-pilots because of his excessive jokes and teasing.  The Red Lion forms the right arm of Voltron. It is numbered as Red Lion 2

The Toy: Like the Black Lion, the Red Lion bot is composed of soft plastics with respective plastic colors used for the body and legs. It utilizes white paint to paint the lion bot's face and ears, using black paint for the nose. It also utilizes sticker decals for the bot's number on the back. it sports a lesser amount (12 POA) of articulation compared with the black lion bot. It features a swivel head, swivel arms, hinged knees, swivel waist, retractable tail, as well as a hinged jaw. And just the same, my only qualm is that it lacks articulation on the ankles.

Green Lion

The Pilot: Pidge pilots the Green Lion. he is the shortest and youngest but the smartest among his co-pilots. Like all the other pilots, he is also skilled in Martial Arts. He is an outspoken pilot who wears his heart in his words. The Green Lion forms the left arm of Voltron. It is numbered as Green Lion 3

The Toy: It shares the same plastic material and articulation with the Red Lion bot and differs only on the Lion bot's body color (wherein this is colored Green). The body sculpt also differs because while the Red Lion's body is boxed in nature, the Green Lion is round shaped. Very faithful to the T.V. show.

Yellow Lion

The Pilot: Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion. He is the resident strongman of the group. He has a soft spot for children and puppies despite exhibiting a tough and mean appearance. He also has a large appetite, which is the object of his co-pilots' teasing on him. The Yellow Lion forms as the left leg of Voltron. It is numbered as Yellow Lion 5. 

The Toy: Just the same, it utilizes the same plastic material with the others. But the head articulation of this lion differs from the previous three wherein this lion has hinged head in order for it to transform as Voltron's feet. In total it sports 11 points of articulation. Apart from the aforementioned head articulation, it shares the same articulation on the jaws, arms, knees and tail as the other lion bots. Minor paints and sticker decals are also used just like the others.

Blue Lion

The Pilot: Princess Allura pilots the Blue Lion. She ruled the Planet Arus after her father died. She is the object of Prince Lotor's obsessive affection, thus conflict is established because Lotor wants to rule Arus by marrying Princess Allura much to her objection. Princess Allura is also Commander Keith's love interest. But although she rules planet Arus, she defers to Commander Keith (an Arusian) when it comes to matters concerning Voltron. The Blue Lion forms as the right leg of Voltron. It is numbered as Blue Lion 4. 

The Toy: It shares the same plastic material and articulation with the Yellow Lion bot and differs only on the Lion bot's body color (wherein this is colored Blue). The body sculpt also differs a bit because the Yellow Lion sports a mini-cannon on it's back. And before I forget, each head sculpt of these lion bots differ from one another. Making this Fast food toy an impressive premium item for casual Fast food toy enthusiasts. 

Voltron

Voltron: When the going gets tough, these five lion bots combine to become Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Piloted by Keith, Lance, Pidge, Princess Allura, and Hunk, this humanoid looking robot is an unstoppable fighting force that does battle against the evil forces of King Zarkon. Zarkon's minion, Haggar the Witch, is responsible for creating gigantic robo beasts to terrorize the citizens of Planet Arus. Armed with his blazing sword, it is up to Voltron to end the reign of terror by battling these robo beasts and destroy it's existence.  

The Toy: Standing at an impressive 8 inch, this Fast Food Toy is simply eye candy. Voltron's colors are very faithful  to the T.V. show despite opting to use pre colored plastics and sticker decals in lieu of paint. As Voltron, this toy sports a ball jointed neck, swivel hips, hinged knees, hinged ankles, swivel wrists, swivel elbows, swivel arms (courtesy of the connector but you can't actually swivel it, but you have to disconnect the arms and connect it with the lion bot facing forward), the arms can also be raised sideways courtesy of the connector. The only thing lacking in this figure is the elbow joints, lion's ankle joints, and it's blazing sword, otherwise this toy is perfect. I can still remember that this toy flew fast off the toy counter as it did not take more than one week for this to be sold out. I managed to get lucky and acquire 3 sets of these babies. So imagine all the burgers that I had to consume. (More Photos Below)

Blazing Sword

That's a Gundam sword in lieu of the blazing sword.

Overall this is an impressive toy. And up until now there is quite a spike in demand for this toy because a lot of toy collectors in the Philippines weren't able to grab this when it was offered as a Fast Food Toy. Although this is not designed as a toy for rough play (parts tends to fall off when in Voltron form when used for heavy play), but it looks really good when displayed. This is a pretty much cheaper alternative to vintage Voltron robots if you managed to acquire this at it's Fast Food meal price (less than $10 for the set). But if you are getting it on the secondary market, it will cost you much (as high as $100). But still, this is definitely a must for Voltron collectors. The rarity of this figure alone will make you an envy to other Voltron collectors who miss out on this. So if you see one, don't let it get off the hook.   

Jollibee Kiddie Meal Green Lantern Toy Review

Philippines' local fastfood chain has done it again. They just released a Green Lantern toy for their Kiddie Meal. This figure is based on the GL animated series. This set is composed of two toys, A Green Lantern figure, and a GL Power Ring with base.

The GL Figure 

The GL figure stands at approximately 4 inch. The figure has no articulation except for his swivel right arm and swivel right wrist. The figure comes with three GL constructs: a Lantern, a hammer, and a shield. These Constructs can be inserted on his right hand and when you twist that protruding thing on his right shoulder, the construct spins. The problem with this figure is that the right arm's color is inverted (see the black and green). The figure is made of hard plastic with it's body being composed of a transparent green plastic. There's a reason why they chose to make his body transparent. I'll elaborate later.

The GL Power Ring and It's Base

The GL power ring unfortunately doesn't look like a Power Ring. It looks bulky. The ring activates a Red Light when you twist it's head. The GL Power Ring lights up with RED LIGHTS!?! There must be some confusion here as Red Light is not a Green Lantern's color. Red is for the Red Lanterns. The Power Ring comes with four attachable round transparent designs that you could attach on the ring's head and see the constructs formed by the light (sort of like a projector). The design construct images that of a Green Lantern text, a GL ship, A GL Lantern, and a GL shield. 

The ring can be inserted on the base. The base serves as the projector stand when you insert the power ring and show images that the light constructs.

The Power Ring can also be attached on the GL figure's back to come up with a glowing GL figure. But because of the red light, the GL figure transforms into a RED LANTERN?

Here are comparison shots of the figure with other DC Animation Related 4-5 inch toys.

 (L-R) Mattel JLU Wonder Woman, Brainiac, Jollibee GL, KFC Superman, Mattel Young Justice Captain Atom, and a McDonald's Happy Meal Young Justice Superman.

This GL toy from Jollibee could have been a great figure if only they utilized the correct lighting for the Power Ring. It would have been cooler if they were able to utilize the GL's natural Green color. But regardless, He'll fit well with my other Fast food toys.