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Best Female Figure under 5"

Thanks to the Funko ReAction series - did I mention I really don't like these figures? - I would have no problem picking three for this category. But instead of beating this particular dead horse any more than I need to, I thought I'd just pick one as the poster child for the all the poor ladies in the series.  And that one is sweet, adorable, sexy Kaylee from Firefly. At least the character was sweet, adorable and sexy - how could they do that to her?

For 2014, this was a category held in place by the efforts of only one company - Hasbro. It seems like the concept is on the decline for the time being (these things are always cyclical), but it should be no surprise that my top three are all from them.

As I said earlier, I loved Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Marvel Legends BAF of Groot did the character justice. Great looking with some interestingly designed articulation, he was a terrific addition to the ML shelf, and takes my third place spot.

My second place spot goes to Mandroid, another of the Hasbro Marvel Legends BAF's. He came with the Amazing Captain America line up, and has a nice heft and size to his design. BAF's just aren't big enough any more...but who doesn't love robots?

My top pick is yet another Marvel Legends figure, but this time it's from the Amazing Spider-Man series - Green Goblin! Big, bad ass, with flames and horns, it doesn't get much better than this. It's not the traditional character design of course, but it's one of the few new ones that I really like.

Worst BAF

For me, there was no awful BAF's this year. There weren't a lot, but what there was, was well done.

This is another category with a ton of great nominees this year, all of them very worthy of the award. I'm betting my best won't be yours, but that's what makes this fun.

In third place is a very cool Batman goodie from Imaginext. While this series of toys is intended for the younger set, you still have to appreciate how cool the various playsets and vehicles are, and with their RC Batbot, they had a real winner. It's a remote control vehicle that also transforms from tank to robot, perfect for Batman to fight crime.

My second place spot goes to the 'playset', and I use that term loosely, that I think has the best shot at winning both the Poppies and the People's Picks this year - the Hot Toys Batman Armory. This thing is amazing, and yes, I did buy one. I'll hopefully get around to reviewing it soon, but it really deserves a lot of time and effort, because it's simply amazing in the quality and quantity of cool stuff you get with it. This was THE thing to get in 2014 if you are a Hot Toys Batman fan.

But my winner is a lot cheaper, and yet, still an awful lot of fun. I think the Hasbro Star Wars Black Speeder Bike (with Trooper) is they best thing they've done so far in this series, regardless of the year. While the overall line has been a real roller coaster in quality, this was one vehicle they got right.


I didn't see a ton of crap in this category either, but there's a couple things I'd like to get off my chest.

Kids love vehicles, so it's not all that surprising that toy manufacturers make them for action figures where it really doesn't make sense.  It bugs me on an intellectual level, but I get the market driver. But when you combine a vehicle designed for a character that really doesn't need it, and make that vehicle as crappy as the action figure, then you're going to get called on it. My second place entry is exactly that - a car for Iron Man (Iron Man? Tony Stark, sure, but why would I put on the Iron Man suit to drive somewhere?) that's part of the aforementioned God awful Hasbro Titans series.  Useless meet ugly. Please don't reproduce.

But in my top spot is the entire Planes line from Mattel. While the movies (hard to believe there were two) were pretty weak, the vehicles themselves aren't bad. But they dumped so many on the market so fast, nobody was going to bite. And now they suck up far more peg space then they truly deserve.

This was one of the toughest categories for me this year, because there are several really, really worthy statues that could take the top spot.

The one in third is a statue that's already gotten one of my previous 'bests' - the Batman Black and White Harley. That paint job is what really makes her outstanding, which is why she was my pick for the Eddie Wires award. Overall, she doesn't quite take the top spot in this category though, because I wasn't ecstatic about the smoke piece curling out of the gun. Third place is a perfect spot for her, however.

Second place goes to one of the cool Premium Format statues from Sideshow. They had a number of great releases in 2014, including Black Widow, Hellboy, and Harley, but it's their comic based, older Superman that I think really stands out. If you've ever wondered what 'shelf presence' means, check this guy out in person.

And the winner is - Herman Munster from Tweeterhead!  The longer I've had this statue, the more I've liked it, and I have to say that Tweeterhead is doing some amazing work. I have no doubt that the recently shipping Catwoman is going to be on the ballot for 2015.



Lots of statues from lots of companies released in one year means lots of good choices in the 'best' category, but it also means that finding 'worsts' is a lot easier. Still, this year I'm only putting two on my list to get a lump of coal.

Second place goes to the Batman Black and White Earth 2 Batman by DC Collectibles. The pose doesn't work for me, I've never been a fan of the costume, the paint quality was below average, and he's even a bit on the small side when compared with other statues in the line.

In my top spot here is a statue that I know a lot of people liked, but I certainly didn't. It's the Black Canary figure in the Bombshells line from DC Collectibles. Generally, I love these statues, and I'm really looking forward to the Lois Lane, Hawkgirl and Batwoman they've announced and shown. But what I love about them is that they are superheroes done up as though it was the 1940's, and someone had put them on the side of a bomber plane. For me, they should be superhero first, pin-up second.  When I look at one, all by itself with no others around it, I should still be able to immediately know what character it's supposed to be.

And that's not the case with Black Canary. She's very pretty, and I get the canary power turned into lounge singer angle. But there's absolutely nothing 'heroic' about her, nothing to imply the comic book side. It doesn't help that her paint work was weak as well, and for all that, she lands at the top of my naughty list.

I haven't been buying as many busts this last year, but I think that's due in part to an overall drop in the number being produced. There was a time when every license was getting a series of busts from someone - now, it's a lot more hit or miss.

In the third place spot is going to the Gentle Giant bust of Azog, from the Hobbit series. This is an unusual situation, because I really don't like the character. He was particularly bad in the final movie, where he appeared to look completely different than in the previous two films. But Gentle Giant did a terrific job with the pose and detailing on this bust, finding a way to transcend the weak on screen CGI performance.

Taking second is a very cool Legendary Scale bust from Sideshow - the Alien Big Chap! This is one sweet bust, if you have the money and space to accommodate it. And it's not even full scale!

My top pick goes to the life size bust from Pop Culture Shock of Scorpion! Pop Culture Shock is doing their fair share of cool life size busts, and if you're a Mortal Kombat fan, this one is a treasure. I love the light up eyes, and the overall size and sharp detailing make it truly impressive in any collection.


I didn't see a lot of really bad busts this year, but there's one series that does stand out. Normally I try to avoid picking the same item for more than one category, but I can't help it when it comes to this one. DST did some great stuff in 2014, but the 1966 Batman line of busts wasn't one of them. I'm putting poor Batman here as my top choice, thanks to a sculpt that looks little like Adam West, and a truly horrible paint job to match. Remember, these are the actual resin busts, not the  much better bust-banks.

Once upon a time, I collected in this area, at least a little. A Mighty Muggs here, a unique designer figure that caught my eye there. But I don't think I bought a single one in 2014, leaving me to base my picks on what I've seen at shows.

Obviously, Funko is dominating in this area right now. They have the 'beanie baby' concept down and rolling with their Pop! line, hitting every known license and a few unknown. It's leading to great success right now - whether they can keep that rolling is to be seen. What they have to their advantage is the licensing angle. Unlike beanie babies, which were their own thing, independent of other concepts, and therefore lived and died merely on their own strength, Pop! vinyl figures can stay afloat by making specific fans of specific lines happy, and not require them to 'collect them all'. It's better for Funko when you do, but it's not necessary.

Funko takes my third place spot with their 'dead face' Gus Fring from Breaking Bad. This was cool because it was so gross - not an angle that they usually go for, outside of the occasional zombie. It helps that the license is another of my favorites, and the character one of the best on the show. It also helps that unlike their many other normal human figures, this one has something that really makes him distinct and recognizable.

My second place spot is going to Splinter from the Loyal Subjects line of TMNT figures. While I'm picking Splinter, the entire line is a winner with some very, very cool designs. You can find these at Toys R Us too, another big plus.

My winner is an odd one, but one I really, really like - the Judge Dredd Cosplay Penguin from Blind Mouse Toys. He is exactly what it sounds like, a penguin that's dressed up like Judge Dredd. I love the penguin design, and there's tremendous potential here.  They already did a Stargate Jaffa version, with DC characters to come.

Once again, I'm not going to pick on anyone in this category for 2014 - the quality is generally there, and then it just becomes a matter of taste.

It didn't seem like the prop replicas hit quite as hard this year as they did last, with fewer great ones to choose from. But there were a few standouts, at least for me.

Third place goes to Mezco's pink Teddy Bear from Breaking Bad. I've been meaning to review this guy, and will hopefully get to it soon. It's a reasonable price, comes from a great show, and is a decent reproduction of what was seen on screen. I like it when companies produce cheaper replicas, allowing people that don't have hundreds of dollars to blow the chance to own something from their favorite show or movie. This is the perfect example, and it can even do double duty by comforting your child at night. Hey, it's better than Chucky.

In second, I'm taking the Batman Returns cowl from Hollywood Collectibles. I haven't bought one yet, but I'm really, really tempted. I saw it in person at SDCC last summer, and I have to say that the temptation to buy is getting overwhelming. It looks great, and would be a centerpiece for any Batman collection.

And the big winner? For me, it was a purchase i made early in the year, from Valyrian Steel. They've been doing a great job with the Game of Thrones replicas, and had several strong contenders this year, including the Hound's Helm. But I'm going with their Long Claw, the sword of Jon Snow, based on the look in the television show. It looks terrific on the wall, is very well made, and is priced right.

I didn't have any awful replicas this year, but there were a couple that missed the mark by *that* much.

One of those is the Monkey Brains bowl, based on the Temple of Doom. It's not terrible, but was about 20% too small. Such a minor thing, so easy to correct, and you would have had a much, much better replica. I know they weren't really trying to be a perfect replica, but that slight increase in size would have made such a positive impact on the overall look.

But my big disappointment is due to my love for this particular license. Mattel has done a nice job with most of their Batman 1966 items, especially the belt and batarang from last year. But this year they released the 1966 Batman cowl, and it was an easy pass for me. While I'm fine with the overall look of the materials and construction, those damn high arched eyebrows, in the bright color, just throw it all off. I may still end up buying it if it hits a decent sale price, but what could have been a fantastic item ended up less than desirable, even for a Batfan like me.

We switched up this category for the Poppies and People's Picks this year, expanding it to lines or series, rather than just companies. That means instead of voting for Lego vs. MegaBloks, you were voting for specific lines from each company.

I know a lot of collector's, that if faced with the decision of only being able to collect one thing, would go with building sets and their block figures. It's no wonder too, what with the amazing work Lego has done over the last decade, along with a number of new comers.

My third place spot is going to one of those new comers. Sort of - MegaBloks has been around for awhile, just not decades like Lego.  They've done some pretty cool licensed products recently, including Call of Duty and Assasin's Creed. But I love the goofy nature of their Spongebob series, a show that's never really gotten any great toys or collectibles before. Who doesn't love a photo booth time machine?

My second place choice comes from the masters at Lego, and it's in support of their terrific Lego Movie. The sets they put together for this in-house license are outstanding, covering all the key scenes and characters.  They also allow for using them in multiple ways, and promote going your own creative way, always a huge plus.

But my top spot is once again ruled by my personal love for a particular license. Lego decided to do the Simpsons in 2014, but sadly, didn't do enough. They did a wave of block figures, as well as the Simpsons House, but that's been it so far. C'mon, Lego, we need some more Springfield!

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It's hard to say that any building set line is a worst - any block figure or building set is a good block figure or building set. But I do have one that just puzzles me, although I have to admit that I didn't pick any of them up.

It's the McFarlane Walking Dead building sets.  Sort of like traditional building sets, but not really, I'm not quite sure who these are designed for. It's kind of like army men meets Lego meets Walking Dead, and for me, it doesn't really work on any level.

It seems odd, but the same sort of collectible wins for me again this year...

Let's start out with third place, which goes to the giant sized TMNT figures from Jakks. C'mon, admit it - you really wanted to buy one of these. In a few years, collectors will be scouring garage sales looking for one, trust me.

In second place, I'm going with the collector's edition of Titanfall. I'm thinking we might need a new category for this sort of video game release. There's a statue, hardcover art book, a poster, and of course, the game. But it's that 18" light up statue that really sets this apart, and this kind of mega-release with included collectibles is becoming more the norm.

Last year my winner was a blu-ray case (Walking Dead floating heads), and this year the blu-ray cases repeat. This time around it's for the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes release, and instead of a bunch of heads, it's just one - Caeser's! The Caesar bust case by Weta might be a little small, but the detailing and paint work are exceptional. He looks fantastic on the shelf, and is well worth the money, particularly if you picked it up at Costco where it was around $80, including two blu-rays.


Let's end on a positive note this year, and skip the worst misc stuff. There isn't anything that screams 'suck' to me, and we all need a little more positivity in the world anyway.

That's it for my picks, both best and worst. What do you think? Let me know at mwctoys@mwctoys.com, and thanks for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy the reviews for another year, and I'll do my best to keep them fair and fresh!