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Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week

Review of Batman Cosbaby Action Figures

Hot Toys
Date Published: 2009-07-01
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3 out of 4

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Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Introduction

Regular readers know two things - one, that Jeff Parker  has had several guest reviews on various Hot Toys Cosbabies but that I've managed to avoid them so far, and two, that I love Batman. Since DC Direct and Hot Toys have know teamed up to bring us Batman Cosbabies, there's no way I can avoid them any longer.

I suspect the inspiration for these figures was the cute kids at conventions who dress up as various superheroes. Hey, they have the cosplay name, mixed with the babies theme - makes sense to me!

There are eight figures in this release, and in the U.S., they aren't blind boxed. Overseas, there was a 'chase' figure of Nightwing, but you if buy him in the States, he'll come as part of the set.

The other seven figures include a modern and classic version of Batman, Batgirl, Robin, Two Face, Joker, and Catwoman. This generally run around $10 - $12 each, but some folks are charging as much as $15 or $16 each. It depends heavily on your seller.

I don't know if we'll see a second wave, but if you like cute, you'll like these. Of course, if cute makes your skin crawl, get ready for it to crawl like a snake in the desert.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Packaging - ***
The packages aren't fancy, but they're attractive enough. The bubbles show off the whole figure, with no labels or inserts in the way, and the back has the usual group shot of all the wave 1 members. They aren't collector friendly, so opening them up is a one way street, but they are small enough so the MOCers won't have any trouble storing them.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Sculpting - ***
While in theory these may remind you of past mini figures like Mez-itz or Mini-mates, the big difference here is the child-like faces. Yep, it's like Tiny Toons meets Bat-verse.

The heads are done in a style that reminds you of a 3 or 4 year old child. I mean the character looks that age, not the sculptor.

The sculpts aren't particularly detailed, as you'd expect with this style. They bodies all follow a certain pattern, but have little sculpted additions (like the cuffs on Nightwing or the belt on Batgirl) that set them apart.

The hands have a traditional cut grip that would allow them to hold accessories, if there were any. I'll grouse about that more later.

All the figures stand great on their own. I noticed during the photo editing that I tilted several of the figures when posing them, and it might appear that this is a fault of the joints. It's not, I was merely trying to get a little more personality out of the poses so that all eight wouldn't just be standing straight up, arms at their sides.  They can all stand straight just fine - I was just failing in my attempts to make the poses a bit more interesting.

You can pop these apart, much like minimates, and I took off arms, legs, hands, and separated the torso. The heads seemed pretty well attached though, so I'd take some care if you try removing one.

If I have one issue that bugs me, it's the clown feet. The rest of the style seems to be a great mix of superhero and baby. But the feet don't remind me of kids or heroes - they remind me of Bozo. They're cute feet, but they seem out of place here.

There's also a few more mold lines than I like to see, like on the feet and pelvis areas, but for most folks that will be a minor issue.

It's also worth noting that while it might appear at first glance that the two versions of Batman, classic and modern, are identical except for the paint, that's not true. They actually sport two very different belt sculpts, designed to better fit in with the costume period.

I've included a shot with some other smaller figures at the end, but these stand about 2 3/4" tall at the top of their heads, or about 3" at the points of their ears (for those in cowls or big hair).

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Paint - ***
Some of the figures have a few blips and burps, but for the most part, the paint work is very clean and neat.

Cut lines are generally sharp, with a few minor exceptions on Two Face. The eyes are clean and straight, with no lazy or crossed eyes. The tempo chest symbols are all centered as well.

There isn't a ton of different colors on most of these, but what's here is done at a decent specialty market level of quality.

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Articulation - ***
Most of the joints are ball joints (true ball and socket style), but because of the design of the body and limbs, many of them work no better than a cut joint.

That's the case with the neck on both Batman figures, due to the cowl and cape. So while there's a ball up in there, the head can only turn from side to side.

Batman also has ball jointed shoulders, hips, and ankles. The hips and ankles work as you'd expect, allowing for forward, backward, side to side and turning movement, but the shoulder ball is buried so deep in the torso that it can barely move out from the body.

To round things out, he has a cut waist and cut wrists. In fact, like many mini-figures before them (like Mezitz or Minimates, for example), the various body parts can be popped off and popped on again.

Some of the figures have better mobility, although they all share these same joints. Nightwing, Two Face and Joker have a much better neck joint, unencumbered by any clothing. The shoulders work a  bit better on others as well, although you still aren't reaching the full potential of the joint.

Some of the joints are on the loose side, unfortunately, and it's an inconsistent problem. Batgirl has one hip that flops around, and Catwoman's shoulders seem barely connected. But none of the joints broke while I was posing them for photos, which is always a plus.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Accessories - Bupkis
Nope, not a thing. None of the eight figures has an accessory, although the hands are designed to hold stuff. Would it have killed them to include a batarang with Bats, or maybe a whip with Catwoman?

As I mentioned above, you can pop the various body parts apart, including the lower pelvis from the torso at the cut waist. That means you can remove the various belts if you'd like, but that doesn't mean they're accessories - at least not to me.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Fun Factor - ***
Kid themed superhero lines are always fun, and I could see the under 8 set having a good time with these. They aren't as sturdy as the Super Friends style stuff though, so they wouldn't be my first choice.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Value - **
At ten bucks each, there a couple bucks more than they should be, even as imports. And that's the best price you'll find these for - most retailers are charging more than that. If you pay $12 or more, you can take more off this score.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Things to Watch Out For -
Not too much. Some of the joints are a little weak, so you'll want to take some care with the hips, ankles and shoulders, but I didn't suffer any breaks or damage while I was working with them.

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Overall - ***
If you're into cutesy figures, you're likely to overlook the lack of accessories and the higher cost of these, since they are just about as cute as a puppy wrestling with a bunny. Until the puppy rips out the bunnies throat, and blood sprays across your pajamas, and daddy says little bunny Britches should have known his place in the natural order...uh, I'm just saying.

If you're not into cute figures, then the lack of accessories and high price will be just another nail in a coffin you already had sealed air tight. Until little bunny Britches tears through that coffin, coming back as a zombie rabbit to extract his revenge...I really need to save this stuff for my therapist.

If they produce more in the Batman theme, I'll buy them. But then you know that if they produce Batman hemorrhoid cream applicators, I'd buy those too. But with several different licenses already produced, and with the upcoming Planet of the Apes, fans of the style will have a rounded collection on the shelf.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint -  ***1/2
Articulation  - ***
Accessories - Bupkis
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **
Overall - ***

Batman Cosbaby action figures  by Hot Toys

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the set of 8 for $100.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other cosbaby reviews include:

- Edward Scissorhands, Alien vs Predator, Alien vs Predator: Requiem, and Iron Man.

- I also have a guest review of these same Batman Cosbabies, minus the Nightwing.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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