Toy Talk
Volume XXXIII
By Mark Patraw
Posted on 3/24/14
In this installment of Toy Talk, moving left-to-right, we have: a 2011 Mattel DC Universe: Action League Saint Walker (twenty-five cents "boys dudes" grab bag on 3/19/14); a 2005 Mattel/McDonald's Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus Rayla (she was in one of the two twenty-five cents "girls" grab bags I purchased on 3/14/14); a couple of 2008 Cartoon Network/Bandai Ben 10: Alien Force figures, DNAlien and Echo Echo (both were in the same twenty-five cents "boys dudes" grab bag on 3/19/14); a 2011 Universal Studios Hop Coin Purse (twenty-five cents "girls" grab bag on 1/29/14); and, finally, a 1997 McDonald's Animal Pals Gorilla plush (twenty-five cents "boys" grab bag on 1/24/14). I purchased everything from the Ishpeming St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift store on the dates noted above. If anyone reading this knows more information about any of these items, that I haven't already discussed below, and would like to share, or just chat about toys, feel free to e-mail me and let me know!
Hope springs eternal, even for discarded secondhand toys! This is a 2.3" (5.9 cm) tall 2011 Mattel DC Universe: Action League Saint Walker action figure. The Blue Lantern Corps is an organization that's devoted to spreading peace throughout the universe by inspiring hope. Before he became the charter member of that group, Saint Walker worked as a simple priest on his home world. Faced with the calamity of a dying sun and the imminent extinction of his race, Saint Walker still continued to preach hope and inspired calm in his flock. He was so successful that Saint Walker attracted the attention of the first Blue Lantern Corps power ring, and, utilizing it, he was then able to save his planet and people by causing their sun's age to regress roughly 8 billion years, reverting it back to a stable and productive state. While hope is a potent emotion, it also requires the will to act upon it, as such, Blue Lanterns need to be in close proximity to a Green Lantern in order for them to unlock the full potential of their own ring's power, which is pretty lame if you ask me. That being the case, Saint Walker is fortunate that his toy was originally paired, in a two-pack, with Hal Jordan, who's outfit was done up as half Green Lantern and half Blue Lantern. That's an interesting look for the character, but I really don't care much for Hal, so his absence is no great loss in my book. Oh yeah, the complete set also included a translucent green fist ring projection attachment that would fit over either character's left hand, not unlike a glove (given the theme of the set, I feel that it would have made more sense to have made that accessory blue instead of green though).
Saint Walker's sculpt is good. His proportions are slightly exaggerated, which is pretty typical for these "kiddy" style mini figures. I particularly like the etched linework on his face and head tendril. The paint is also fairly nice. Sure, there are some minor flaws here-and-there, but nothing worth quibbling about, and I appreciate that the Blue Lantern symbol on his chest is clean and crisp. Saint Walker has rotating cut-joints at the neck, shoulders, and waist. You can get some interesting poses out of him, thanks in large part to the expressive nature of his arm/hand sculpts, but, without any way to vary the positioning of his legs, your options are ultimately fairly limited.
The funny thing about this Saint Walker toy is that I considered buying it, individually, many times over the last several months. Every time that I'd root through the toy bins, he'd be in there, staring up at me, and I'd pick him up, contemplate purchasing him for a few moments, and then drop him right back in again (same thing for the Action League Bronze Tiger figure they also had). Even for the asking price of a quarter, I just couldn't justify his purchase in my mind. Saint Walker isn't a bad figure or anything, I just never really bought into that whole multiple, rainbow-hued Lantern Corps story arc that DC did. Anyway, as it turned out, my indecisiveness paid off once again, as I ended up getting Saint Walker, in a mystery grab bag of random toys, for next to nothing (there were eighteen items in that twenty-five cent paper sack, so, excluding sales tax, that works out to about 1.4 cents for him, which is quite the steal).
Group photo of all the DC Lantern Corps toys that I currently own.
(Left-to-right) Hal Jordan, Saint Walker, and Kilowog.
Here's some food for thought: are rain and snow really the sewer run-off from the Cloud Kingdom in the sky? This is a 5.1" (13 cm) tall 2005 Mattel/McDonald's Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus Rayla (the Cloud Queen) doll. In addition to Rayla, the assortment also included Annika, Aidan, Brietta, Brietta Surprise, Shiver Surprise, Cloud Kingdom Surprise, and Sunset Surprise (the four "surprise" items are diorama-like affairs with an action feature, whereas the others, including Rayla, are more traditional dolls/figurines). This line is based on the 2005 Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus direct-to-video computer animated movie. The plot of that film revolved around Princess Annika trying to save herself, and the people of her kingdom, from the evil wizard Wenlock, who transformed everyone into stone and demanded that Annika marry him in three days. Annika is aided on her quest by the pegasus Brietta, who we eventually find out is really Annika's older sister. Years ago, Wenlock transformed Princess Brietta into a flying horse as punishment for also refusing to wed him (that mage definitely has issues when it comes to dealing with rejection). Rayla, the Cloud Queen, comes into the picture when Annika and Brietta pay a visit to her Cloud Kingdom in order to ask for her aid and advice in thwarting the wizard. Long story short, after many adventures, Brietta becomes human again, Annika defeats Wenlock, and everybody lives happily ever after.
As for the doll itself, Rayla is one of the better-looking McDonald's Barbie toys that I own (and I have quite a few). The top and arms of Rayla's dress are molded in plastic (I particularly like the ruffled sleeves), but the shimmery "skirt" is actual fabric, which is a pleasing combination. Her two-toned brunette locks are decent quality for a fast food toy. The synthetic tresses are a little coarse, but the hair is shiny, has a bit of a wave to it, and combs out well. The plugs are thickly rooted around the edges and center of the head, but Rayla's melon is bald in between those two regions (that isn't noticeable unless you actually lift the hair up though--it looks fine the way it's styled). Rayla is only moderately articulated; she has rotating cut joints at the neck, shoulders, and waist. You can raise/lower her arms and have her look/turn to the side, but that's about it. Her legs are completely immobile and Rayla's feet are permanently attached to a small, triangular base. I noticed that there's a loop of sky-blue thread tied around Rayla's left arm. I'm not sure if that's just something that the previous owner added or if it's indicative of the doll once having a tag of some sort attached to it. From a purely visual standpoint, I think Rayla is wonderful, but, for play/posing purposes, I wish that she had more articulation, particularly in the legs. Looking at photos, the McDonald's Annika doll appears to be constructed in a similar manner.
Rayla loves pegasi, so she'd fit right in with the My Little Ponies.
Rainbow Dash's blue pelt even coordinates with Rayla's dress.
Here we have a couple of 2008 Cartoon Network/Bandai Ben 10: Alien Force action figures, DNAlien (the brown, one-eyed creature on the left) and Echo Echo (the off-white, robotic-looking one on the right). Both of these characters were released in the same second wave assortment--which, in addition to these two, also included Swampfire, Chromastone, Humungousaur, Jetray, Spidermonkey, Alan as Heatblast, Big Chill, Brainstorm, Kevin Levin, and Goop. Ben 10 is a long-running cartoon television series that revolves around a boy named Ben Tennyson and his adventures in protecting the Earth from a variety of other-worldly menaces, utilizing the miraculous ability of his watch-like Omnimatrix device to temporarily change himself into a limited assortment of alien forms (initially, he could only transform into ten different creatures, hence the name Ben 10).
DNAliens are one of the recurring villains on the Ben 10 show. Created by, and working for, Highbreed, their goal is nothing less than the extermination of all other life in the universe. The DNAliens are hybrids, comprised of a (generally unwilling) host and a Xenocyte; they're not a unique species. Basically, the Xenocyte is a parasite that infects another organism, including humans, and transforms them into a DNAlien. As such, you could use this toy to represent nearly anybody changed into one of the creatures. Fortunately for the victim, that conversion process is reversible, via DNA repair and purification.
The DNAlien's sculpt is pretty cool, with the exposed brain definitely being the highlight. The figure stands 3.7" (9.4 cm) tall. The DNAlien has rotating cut-joints at the neck and shoulders, pin-joint pivoting elbows, and swivelling cut-joints at the hips. Due to the creature's broad shoulders, those particular joints are cut at an angle, which makes upraised arm poses look a bit awkward.
Mine doesn't have them, but a complete sample of this figure should include an alternate mouth, with splayed tentacles, a stream of slime that plugs into said orifice, and a collector's card. DNAliens use their sticky spit, in a projectile fashion, to subdue and restrain their prey, hence the inclusion of it as an accessory.
This is Ben in the form of Echo Echo, a Sonorosian from the planet Sonorosia. As you can probably guess from the name, open mouth, and headphones, Echo Echo's area of expertise is making noise; most of its powers revolve around the creation and/or manipulation of sound. It can also make multiple duplicates of itself, a feat necessary to perform its signature move, the "Wall of Sound". A Sonorosian's true form is actually composed of nothing but living sonic waves; the body you see here is just a silicon containment suit.
Echo Echo's sculpt is relatively smooth and simplistic, but I like it. The head is what really sells the design--I love the expression and headphone-like ear assembly. At 3.2" (8.1 cm) tall, Echo Echo is a bit shorter than the DNAlien, which is good, as that makes the villain more intimidating looking. Echo Echo has rotating cut-joints at the neck and shoulders, swivelling cut-joints at the hips, and pin-joint pivoting knees. Normally, the head doesn't have much range of motion, because of the cords running down from the "ears" to the pack on its back, however, said pack easily unplugs, allowing full 360o movement of its noggin, which was a smart choice on Bandai's part, as that keeps those tubes from tearing or breaking. A complete Echo Echo should come with a transparent mini figurine and a card, both of which my loose sample lacks. It's doubtful that I'll ever run across that card (paper goods are easily damaged and often end up in the trash), but I'd give myself decent odds on finding that mini figurine accessory someday.
My sample has some pinkish discoloration here-and-there, a direct result of the previous owner leaving colored modeling clay on the figure for an extended period of time (maybe they even stored Echo Echo and the modeling compound in the clay's canister together). I cleaned the figure up, but, it seems that some of the dye used to color the clay has seeped right into the plastic itself, which is never going to come out. I found pieces of red, blue, and green modeling compounds (as well as a brownish mixture of all three) on various parts of Echo Echo (particularly inside the joints and the two peg holes in the bottom of his feet), but only the scarlet hued variety seems to have resulted in any permanent discoloration. While I don't like it, I have to say that the end result almost looks like the pink airbrushed "blushing" you sometimes see on the flesh of higher-end dolls.
I love this photo, but Echo Echo is actually too heavy for this pose to work without the DNAlien toppling over.
What I did was hold down DNAlien's foot with my finger (to keep him standing), when I shot the original image,
and then I later digitally replaced my unwanted finger with a second "clean" shot of DNAlien's foot to finish the illusion.
It's not perfect (it was a rush job), but I'd bet that you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't told you!
I've never watched a single episode of Ben 10, nor do I have any real desire to do so, as such, I have no emotional attachment to the characters. However, looking at photos online, I have to say that a number of the creatures, including these two, are pretty neat, so, even without knowing a whole lot about the franchise, I wouldn't mind picking up some more of them, purely on the strength of their designs. As for this pair, despite its discoloration, I'm going to go with Echo Echo as my favorite--it's equal parts silly and adorable, and I love that open-mouthed expression.
Would you trust a bunny with your money? This is a 2011 Universal Studios Hop nylon coin purse. As I've discussed in the past, the computer-animated Hop film is about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), a rabbit who's reluctant to follow in his father's footsteps to become the next Easter Bunny. The front of the purse is colorful and attractive, with E.B. taking center stage, surrounded by a background of assorted candies. The back, on the other hand, is unadorned, save for the copyright information. This item opens-and-closes via the metal zipper on the mouth of the purse. There was probably a tag of some sort attached to said zipper at one point, as there's still a plastic loop there (it's also possible that thing is only there so that merchants can hang them from the pegs in their stores). The material that makes up the purse's body is thin, but seems sturdy enough, and the stitching is good, so, provided that you don't cram it full of heavy or pointy objects like rocks (something I did with a similar item, ruining it, when I was a kid), I'd imagine that this pouch would last for quite a while. The purse measures 3.6" (9.1 cm) tall by 3.2" (8.1 cm) wide.
My wallet already has a pocket for change, so, I'll probably never use this Hop coin purse for its intended function, although I'll admit that it might be worth it just to see the strange looks that I'd get from cashiers/customers in stores when I whip it out (I'd certainly take notice if a normal-looking guy suddenly pulled out a hot pink pouch to pay for his purchases). If nothing else, as you can see from the photo above, my E.B. figurine looks great peeping out from inside it (speaking of which, that combination would make a great Easter gift for someone).
E.B. would like to know why stores won't accept jelly beans as payment for goods and services.
Mini King Kong ate all of my Chicken McNuggets! This is a 3.8" (9.7 cm) tall gorilla plush figure from McDonald's 1997 Animal Pals assortment. In addition to the ape, you could also get a yak, rhinoceros, moose, panda, and brown bear. The previous owner of this item cut off part of its tush tag, but, fortunately, most of the copyright data is still present on what remains, which helped immensely with identification.
The build is suitably bulky for a gorilla, although the toy does tend to be somewhat flat when viewed from the sides. I like that the animal is sewn from two differently textured black fabrics, as that adds some visual and tactile variety. The hands, feet, chest, face, and ears are made with a thinner and courser material while the fur covering the rest of the body is done with thicker and fluffier fabric. The facial features are embroidered with silver thread. Like a lot of plush toys, this gorilla accumulates cat hair and other bits of debris easily, but, because it's entirely black in color, those unwelcome elements stick out more than they would on a lighter-hued figure (I went over him, picking off that junk with the aid of several pieces of adhesive tape, prior to shooting these photos, but, as you can see, I still missed some of the particles). It'd probably be a good idea to keep this ape in a plastic bag, or up on a shelf, where it'd be less likely to accumulate such things.
I wouldn't go out of my way to collect a complete set of these stuffed mammals, but I am rather partial to the moose from this Happy Meal assortment, so, I may snag that one if I ever see it for a good price. The gorilla is okay, but nothing special in my opinion. Due to its dark coloration, this critter sure doesn't photograph very well (I had to digitally mess around with the images to get decent results)--while it wouldn't be accurate to how the real animal looks, I think it might have been better to have done the face, chest, etc. in a light gray or tan fabric so that there would have been more contrast.
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