In starting this post, I don't know if I was disappointed enough with figures to come up with 14. Why 14? Because Essex_Alpha on Twitter told me to (Top 14 of 2014). But then again, I probably bought 14 Hasbro figures, and compared to my usual Figuarts fare, Hasbro figures don't quite cut it. So, let's see what made me sad to have bought in 2014, and why. In no particular order, just numbered so I can keep track of where how many I've done.
#1
I guess we'll start with a big one, and unexpectedly, a Bandai figure. Gundam Fix Figuration Metal Composite Unicorn Gundam BANSHEE is a downright beautiful figure: The gold on faceplate and horn is extremely shiny, the gold lettering is not so shiny, for a nice toned down look. Said gold lettering, I don't know if it's stickers, or tampos or what, but it's very cleanly applied, it gives lots of detail to the figure, it's great. The overall finish is a dark metallic blue, where I expected it to be a dark grey. In the right light, I like it. It looks like it's worth what it cost (and it cots A LOT). So why is it a disappointment?
Firstly, the design. I don't like the proportions. This figure is 90% legs, and it makes it look awkward to me. Secondly, the articulation is much more limited than I expected. I was comparing this to, and expecting it to be as good as, Metal Build 00 Gundam, which I maintain is far and away the greatest thing I have ever purchased (not coincidentally, it's also just about the most expensive thing I've ever purchased). Sadly, Banshee doesn't have as good of articulation as 00. The joints just don't have the range, nor the natural look to them, that 00 does, and that was very disappointing. Overall the figure feels a lot more fragile than 00, as well. I can't quite explain it, but I was a lot more wary of messing with Banshee than I ever have been with 00.
Finally, because this thing has a transformation of sorts - panels all over the body flip out, or open up, to reveal bits of the inner frame, it feels very fiddly. I didn't bother putting it into Destroy mode, because once I had it in hand, and was immediately considering selling it, I didn't want to hastle with flipping all those panels, and having to put them back. Plus, the head panels don't feel like they lock into place at all for Unicorn mode, so whenever I'd try to tilt the head back a little, the mask would start flipping down in preparation for converting to Destroy mode.
So, for me, Metal Composite Banshee is, unfortunately, a not recommend.
#2-#6
Going with another big one, Bovis, Fortis, Tigris, Talon and Leo Dux, aka FERAL REX, by Mastermind Creations. I'm probably exaggerating my feelings on these guys, by putting them on a disappointments list, I was really more ambivalent towards them. But then again, for what these cost, I shouldn't be ambivalent, I should love them. Part if it probably stems from my general dislike of Transformers with animal modes. Don't get me wrong, these are the best things Mastermind has released (okay, I don't have Azalea, so she might be better), I'm not nearly disappointed with these like I was their armored paddleship Cyclops, which was a big fiddly mess (looked great, though). But despite how excited I kept thinking I was to complete these, I never once transformed a single one of them, nor even really contemplated combining them once I had them all. The robot modes were all pretty good, and I don't think I would be unhappy owning just one of them (Talon, probably), but I didn't like them near enough to justify what I spent on them, so in December they all went on to more appreciative owners.
Images borrowed without asking from FigureFanZero, because I never took pictures of my own, and because he's an awesome guy (check out our podcast) and because he actually liked them. Check out his Feral Rex reviews, or any of his other awesome reviews.
#7
This one is kinda interesting, in that it should almost end up on my favorites list when I write it, as on this one. Figma Iron Man Mark VII. I love Figma's Thor figure, and while Captain America has a problem I need to fix (loose wrist pegs), it's also fantastic, so I had high hopes for Iron Man. So much so, that I spent an extra $30-ish to get the Good Smile Company exclusive, which had to be ordered from Japan thru a middle man. It seemed worth it to me, it comes with extra arm pieces with missile launchers extended, a back piece with flight flaps deployed, extra leg pieces, and a most excellent alternate head, with the faceplate up and Tony Stark revealed underneath. Honestly, I'm happy I bought the figure just for that unmasked head.
But beneath all that awesomeness there are loose joints (especially in the legs, a stupid hand guard design, and even worst knee pads, that seem to be designed to fall off as much as possible. Loose joints is always a ticket to Imnothappywithitville, and on an expensive, Japan-exclusive figure like this, it can be really hard to overcome (see my video review of MAFEX Batman for an extreme example of this). The figure does look very good, it displays well with the Figuarts Iron Mans, despite being taller, but really, the Mark VII armor is pretty ugly (sorry Joss, you are wrong, the Mark VI was awesome, the VII is the crap design). So while Figma IM is probably the least disappointing figure on this list (I still own it, the other disappoints have been sold), in large part due to the Tony Stark head, I must say, if Bandai ever announces a Figuarts Mark VII this Figma will be on eBay before you can say "I am Iron Man". Minus the Stark head, of course.
#8
I've been a big fan of the Star Trek Official Starships Collection by Eaglemoss, have quite a few of them, but the Special Edition 2009 Enterprise was a disappointment. Being a Special Edition, it is bigger than the others. My OCD prefers that the ships either all be in scale with each other (impractical for many reasons), or the same size, so the collection looks uniform. Fine, I like the design, so to have it, I'll pay more and try to get over the larger size. But I expect it to be at least as good as the ones that cost half as much, if not twice as good. But the nacelles didn't line up with each other, or with the saucer so it looked wonky, overall it just looked and felt cheap enough for me, that it didn't justify the $40 price. It's not as good, but for now I'll have to stick with the Playmates one, that's at least a close fit with the larger DST Enterprises I have.
#9
Alongside the Starships collection, Eaglemoss also has a Batman Automobilia collection of Batman vehicles. If money and space were no object I'd have a number of these, but as it is I thought I'd cherry pick my favorites. However, when the second one I chose, The Bat from The Dark Knight Rises, arrived broken to piece inside it's display box, I dropped the line. There are still a few I'd like to get, because they display nicely, I like the scenic backdrops they come with, but needing to cut back on my spending, and because of the pile of sadness that was supposed to be The Bad, this line became an easy pass.
#10-#13
Marvel Legends or Infinite or whatever it's called nowadays GOTG Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Star Lord. Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise hit for me. I loved it, it's probably my favorite movie of 2014 (followed closely by the more serious, but less fun films Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies), so I was easily tempted to break my ban on Hasbro figures and pick up the Marvel Legends. I knew I'd be disappointed if I compared them to Figuarts (or the Figma Avengers), but I heard enough good things about them that when I found the set, on sale $5 off each one, no less, I couldn't say no. I should have.
Everything that I don't like about US toys was present in these figures. Limited articulation (Rocket barely has any articulation at all), most have few accessories (Star Lord has lots, and that's cool), soft plastic, gummy joints, bendy weapons, and so on. Star Lord is almost not disappointing, for all the cool accessories he includes, and Groot is almost okay, but still has limited articulation, no accessories, no alternate heads or arms or weapons anything.
And I'm not even counting the crappy Iron Man and not-movie Nova that you had to buy to complete Groot, cuz I didn't care about them, I'm sure they're just as bad as the Guardians, I just didn't care about them in the first place. But the ones I wanted were all disappointing. Gamora doesn't look much like her, she can't stand at all, Drax and Star Lord have super rubbery joints, especially in the knees, so their legs are all wonky looking, Rocket is just crap. These sorts of things are why I transitioned to more expensive toys, like Figuarts and Figmas. Yes, they cost more, 2x-3x more, but they are WORTH more. the worst Figuarts is still 3 times better than the best DCUC or Marvel Legends, and a good Figuarts, like Gaim or Iron Man Mark VI, they're almost incomparably better. The value and joy I derive from a toy is far more important than the actual monetary cost, when deciding what to buy. I knew I would be disappointed when I bought these, but I did it anyway, so maybe I should be more disappointed with myself, than with Hasbro.
Images borrowed without asking from trustarscream, because I never took pictures of my own, and because he's an awesome guy (check out our podcast) and because he managed to make Gamora look good. Check out his Guardians of the Galaxy reviews, or any of his other awesome reviews.
#14
Okay, this one's a stretch, but to come up with 14, I'll throw it in here. Hasbro Transformers, in general. When the Generations line started a couple of years ago, it was amazing, it followed the Classics design aesthetics, which is exactly what I wanted from TFs at the time, and it had a great character selection to match. But in the last couple of years the looks have changed, and more importantly, the quality, or at least, my perception of it, has declined to the point where not a single Voyager class Transformer tempted me all last year, and only one deluxe did, and technically it was a repaint of a figure from the year before. I went from buying a couple hundred Transformers in a couple of years, to buying only 3 last year (not counting the 10 Third Party figures I bought, 6 of those I ended up selling). And 2015's prospects aren't really that good. I think I'll be tempted by the Combiner Wars Devastator, but then again, I have an expensive, good quality, 3rd Party Devastator that I really like, and I don't think that with Hasbro's restrictions, budgetary, target market, whatever they be, I just don't think Hasbro Transformers appeals to me any more. The Masterpiece line still does, but I'm not likely to ever have money for those this year.
So, those are my downers from 2014. Stay tuned for a much more positive post when I try to narrow down a list of 150+ things I liked to my 14 favorites. I might have to cheat a little more on that list. :D
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