It’s Figure Friday AND a Holiday Gift Guide entry! How’s everybody doing out there? If you’ve see those rather distressing Frankie Valli viral videos where he seems to be shuffling out on stage to “perform”…that’s where I’m at (Don’t worry, he says he’s okay).
Toy collectors are notoriously hard to shop for; that’s widely accepted fact. I sat down to write with every intention of crapping out yet another column about the myriad of Optimus Prime toys that are on offer now, and I still may! But inspiration struck at the last moment and I had the idea about some cool indie toy preorders sure to surprise and delight even to Ebenezer-ist of Scrooges.
(Full disclosure, I’ve patronized both of these companies before and while this isn’t sponsored content I’m still very obviously trying to ingratiate myself to both of them. I can be bought and the price is much lower than anyone ever expected.)
Laurel & Hardy 1/12 Scale BBTS Exclusive Action Figure Set
If you were not one of the lucky 998 backers to fund this project on Kickstarter or you just plain forgot to back it, now’s your chance!
Damn near everyone loves Laurel & Hardy and it’s a safe bet to say your dad or granddad probably loves the duo too. If either of them also happen to be toy collectors this is a slam dunk!
Bring an iconic comedy duo to your figure collection, with the Laurel & Hardy action figure set by Wandering Planet Toys! This BBTS exclusive set features both Laurel & Hardy in action figure form, with various additional parts and accessories included to create a variety of fun poses. The duo come packaged in a film reel themed packaging that makes it a perfect collectible for classic Hollywood fan’s! Be sure to add it to your collection!
I love these because the Wandering Planet guys are taking some BIG creative swings recently and nailing each one of them. These are amazing looking figures with tons of cool accessories and an alarming amount of articulation for figures of comedy legends.
I’m a fairly recent MAFEX convert, they’re doing some of the best premium format superhero figures out there. Their classic Spider-Man No. 185 was damn near a perfect representation of the character. Damn. Near.
The two head sculpts that came with the figure both featured large eyes on the Spider-Man mask. If you remember the dawn of Todd McFarlane’s run on the comic and every artist that followed him, you’ll know the eyes I’m talking about. Not necessarily my favourite look for the character. I would have preferred maybe one in that style and a classic-classic John Romita Sr. look. If only there was a way to make that happen.
Luckily for me I stumbled across some photos on Instagram that showed the figure with an all-new head sculpt and that lead me to PVC Bakeshop. Purveyors of fine PVC baked goods they’re quietly churning out some fantastic custom action figure heads.
I had to wait a spell for orders to open on the 94 SM Sculpt but it was worth the wait. Check this out:
-NEW CONSTRUCTION: Casted urethane for added durability.
-Airbrushed, handpainted, hand assembled, and sealed.
-Fits onto Mafex 185 and 075 (OG + REISSUE) with modeled in socket
My new Spidey-noggin just arrived in the mail a bit ago and I can honestly say it’s better than the original ones that came with the figure. The head popped on with no problem and it looks amazing. Now I’ve got an absolutely perfect Spider-Man figure.
If you know a MAFEX figure collector a custom head of this quality would be a great gift and a real surprise for them.
