Packaging - ***
When looking at these boxes, keep in mind that these were originally
intended to be mass market releases, at stores like Toys R Us and Wal-mart.
Keeping that in mind, you'll see that they are pretty good. The graphics
explain the basic premise of the C3 system, it shows off the mini-mate nicely,
and they are ultra easy to store for the MIBBers. They are also very
collector friendly, and even after building the set, you can always pop the
parts back in the box, and return the figure to his little coffin of plastic.
Sculpting/Design - ***
Sculpting is never a big part of this style of figure or toy, but the
design of most of these is creative and interesting.
There are a small handful of sculpted parts - cowls, capes or hair - but
for the most part they follow the very basic style of the mini-mate.
The vehicles have unique and interesting designs, although both the Batgirl
and Batman flyer are identical except for color. Of the set, I think the
Riddler and Flash vehicles are my favorites, but Supe's and Nightwing's are
pretty sharp looking as well.
As you can tell from the photos, I put Riddler's flyer together. The
parts snapped together easily, and stayed there. The set isn't
particularly complicated, and you can have it together in a few minutes.
It would be a good project for a 7 or 8 year old to spend a little longer on.
Paint - ***1/2
With figures that have such little sculpting, and such basic design, the paint
ops are critical. Fortunately, the work on the faces, bodies and flyers
is all very neat and clean, even in such a tiny scale.
While the Riddler has some of the more complex applications, with the small
question marks and multicolored mask, others weren't shabby. Batgirl has
a rather unusual high tech outfit with lots of small detail, and a couple of
the flyers have some interesting detail on the wings as well.
I'm interested in learning more about how this work is done. While
your initial assumption would be that some sort of masking technique is used,
it could also be some sort of printed appliqué perhaps. Whatever the
technique, there's no denying that it works extremely well.
Paint is what differentiates a couple of these figures from past
versions. Of course, we've already had Batman, but not in this
particular color scheme or expression. And while the Flash is ALMOST
identical to the previous version, he does have a slightly different facial
expression.
Articulation - ***1/2
Each of the mini-mates is articulated at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists,
waist, hips, knees and ankles. All of the joints moved smoothly on these
figures, and none of them had problems with feet or hands falling off easily.
One of the cool features of this style of mini-figure is the swappable
parts, so if you want to pop Riddler's arms on Batman's body, go right
ahead. Where it comes in most handy is in swapping heads and hair to
create alter egos.
The figures can hold a surprising number of poses, and each can stand quite
easily on their own.
Each of the flyers is also articulated at one spot - the clear plastic
canopy opens and closes. It works fairly well for this type of building
toy, and is unlikely to pop off too easily during play.
Accessories - Batgirl, Flash, Riddler, Nightwing ***; Batman, Superman
**1/2
Since the theory is that the flyer is the main toy, then all the sets get
a decent score for having the mini-mate. Or if you're like me, the
mini-mate is what you wanted, and the flyer is the accessory.
On four of these figures, there were other extras thrown in. The
Riddler has some normal hair and his trademark cane, Batgirl has some hair
with a pony tail in back, Nightwing has a pair of fighting sticks, and Flash
has some normal hair, for when he gets tired of wearing the cowl.
In a couple of the photos of the Riddler's flyer, you'll notice that I had
to stick the cane under one landing foot. That's because the flyer liked
to sit rolled forward, rather than straight.
Fun Factor - ****
These are toys, first and foremost, and they work great in that
capacity. My four year old son enjoyed helping me put it together, and
he had a great time flying it around the room when we were done. I think
these mini-flyers are actually better for younger kids than the larger sets,
since they stay together better (generally), and provide an more instant
gratification for their efforts.
Value - **
I'm assuming you're paying around $6 each for these sets. That's an
average value, considering a couple dozen C3 pieces for each vehicle, the
minimate, and a couple additional accessories. Unfortunately, the C3
line was never cheap, but then neither are lines like LEGO and Playmobil.
Things to watch out for -
All of the parts snapped together fairly well, but the landing feet on the
Riddler's flyer did have a tendency to pop off if you aren't paying
attention. They are likely to get lost pretty quickly if your kids are
playing with it, so keep an eye peeled. Or just glue the damn thing
together.
Overall - ***
These aren't cheap, and they aren't works of art. But if you're
looking for some fun building toys that are also great DC comic heroes, then
these are your answer. The ability to swap body parts adds to the fun,
and kids will really enjoy the design of the small flyers.
SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt/Design - ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Batgirl, Flash, Riddler, Nightwing ***; Batman, Superman **
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **
Overall - ***
Where to Buy -
It's a safe bet that if you want to get these, you'll have to hit the
web. Online options include:
- CornerStoreComics has the
set of 6 for just $35, or individual flyers for $6 each.
- Action
Figure Express has them as a set for $45, but they also throw in one of
the older sets free, your choice of the regular Batwing or the exclusive
Stealth Batwing.
Related reviews:
Here's some useful reviews of past C3 stuff:
- first, there's always the Art Asylum site,
where they have a forum just for C3. - here are reviews of the mini-Javelin
with Flash and the Martian Manhunter, and the Chemical
Warehouse set with Batman and Joker. Keep scrolling down for
lots more photos!
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