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DC Direct Birds of Prey

 

Tonight we welcome a new guest reviewer - Steve!  He'll be doing the Birds of Prey set, so take it away, Steve!

Thank you, Michael. I am very happy to be doing this review here tonight! As you all know, I am reviewing the Dc Direct Birds of Prey Boxed Set. I bought this set MONTHS ago, but since no one has reviewed this bad boy yet I thought that I should. There are three figures in this set: The Huntress, Black Canary and Oracle. But before the review I will tell you a little about myself: I am an action figure collector. I collect: B:TAS figures, Mattel’s Justice League line (I also watch the show), The Simpsons line, and also Dc Direct (I mainly focus on the Batman figures because I am a huge Batman fan!), way back when, I collected the Marvel Select line and I bought 2 Marvel Select action figures but never continued. Enough about me, On to the review (that is what you all came here for tonight, right).



Packaging - **1/2
The Packaging is VERY nice, I like the graphics of the box as well as the clock in the background. It gives it that "clock tower" touch. On the side it shows little close-up pictures of the figures and on the back bios of them. The only BIG problem with this package is that it is inconsistent. Most of you are probably wondering what I mean by this. Well, for starters the box states that Black Canary and Huntress have 12 points of articulation but I can only find 10 also, the box states that Oracle has 7 points of articulation but, she only has 5. Another reason is the box states that Huntress comes with 2 crossbows but, she only has one.

Sculpting - Black Canary: *** Huntress:*** Oracle:***
I am a little sad that they stuck with their older looks, I liked the little wrist-high gloves and the bathing suit style outfit and the fishnets on Black Canary. On the other hand, I like Huntress’ older look than the mask with the bat ears. Also her sculpt is pretty good. Oracle’s wheelchair is GREAT! And I like her outfit. Overall the sculpts are over half-decent. Huntress’ crossbow is well done and so is Oracle’s laptop.

Paint - Black Canary:***1/2 Huntress:**** Oracle:****
I don’t really have ANYTHING to complain about here. Accept, there is a little bleed on Black Canary’s costume. Other than that, IT’S ALL GOOD!

Articulation/Body  - ***
These figures are pretty flexible and can strike many poses. I count 16 points of articulation, including a mid-bicep swivel joint that allows greater movement for striking shooters poses. The only real problem I have with these guys is this category is the fact that their pants are bloused at the boots to give it an authentic military look, but this places the joint high in the ankle and makes the figures somewhat difficult to stand up.

Accessories -  Black Canary: * Huntress:**1/2 Oracle:**
This is where the set is lacking. Black Canary only has a stand. I have left out this bit in the packaging section because I thought that this is a better section to talk about it . The box states that Black Canary has a removable belt. Well, SURPRISE! She doesn’t. Huntress has the most accessories of them all, a crossbow and a stand. Oracle has a laptop that is well done and I can see why she doesn’t have a stand, her wheelchair has functioning wheels.

Value - **
This is sort of depressing, $80.00 Canadian is a little much for this. Although I’m VERY impressed with this set, it is very expensive. Lets hope in the future to see a price dip in the Dc Direct line.

Overall - Black Canary:*** Huntress:*** Oracle:***
All of these figures are NICE, REALLY NICE. There are 3 problems: The Packaging is inconsistent, the price point is a little high, and the accessories are weak. But out of all 3 of those reasons the whopping one is the price. Don’t get me wrong, the figures are GREAT but it’s those 3 reasons that prevent me from rating the set a perfect 4 stars.

Again, thanks Michael for letting me review here tonight and also thanks to everyone who read my review. I know I complained about the packaging allot, but to me that’s a MAJOR issue. Anyway, thank you for your time.

Where to Buy:
Your local comic shop may still have these in.  On-line:

- Boise River Collectibles has teh set of three for $50.  Just search for 'birds prey'.


Figures from the collection of Steve F.

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