For a couple of years now, McFarlane Toys has put out a long-running DC line, producing figures from a variety of comics, films, and the occasional cartoon. It seems it'll be coming to an end, as Mattel is getting the master toy license back, and if I'm not mistaken, McF's deal with DC ends by the end of next year. I haven't gotten much of their Multiverse figures, but I have gotten most of their BTAS reissues. Wave four came out a while ago, and a review of it is long overdue.

Heading the wave is not another Batman variant, but rather H.A.R.D.A.C. as it appeared in "His Silicon Soul," one of my favorite episodes. While Todd doesn't credit his sculptors, DC Direct did, and Irene Matar is responsible for this figure and much of the line in general. This isn't so much H.A.R.D.A.C. as it is the robotic duplicate of Batman it created, and the heads - yes, heads, extra portraits aren't common with DCD figures - display its internal mechanics. The main portrait has half of a red-eyed Batman mask, with the other half showing the robot skull underneath. The other head is full-on robot, with the mouth wide open for a more menacing look. Both heads have mostly clean paint, but there is some bleed here and there.

Standing 6 1/2" tall, Robo-Batman has the same arms and legs as the Batman that came with the DCD release of the Batcycle, and since that mold's the one McF uses for their animated Batmen, the robot fits in well with them. The torso is another unique piece, showing visible wear and tear exposing the mechanics inside. It matches the episode well, and there's quite a bit of detail. The McF reissues add cel-shading to these figures, and even though the latest wave got rid of it, the work is great with this wave. Doing it on the sides of the limbs and torso is better than having one source of lighting on the figure, especially when there's good contrast between the colors.

The H.A.R.D.A.C. Bat doesn't move much differently from the regular Batmen in the line, as it has a ball-hinged head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, double-hinged knees, and swivel forearms, waist, and shins. No ab crunch here due to the torso sculpt, but everything else is great, and I continue to be relieved by the smoother hip movement than with the wave one Batman. H.A.R.D.A.C.'s Batman robot is well-accessorized, with a rapier, an alternate cape with the mask down, and three pairs of hands - closed, gripping, and the same pointing hands with the wave three Batman, but they make more sense here. The closed hands weren't included with the original release, so good on McFarlane for adding something new.

The rest of the wave is more villainous, with some of Batman's most iconic adversaries from the DCAU. Poison Ivy is one of them, and don't get me wrong, I like her, but she's the weakest figure of the wave visually. The head sculpt looks somewhat off, but it's still pretty close to the show, though the skin tone could be a little better in my eyes. The hair color is more accurate than the original DCD figure, and the shading looks good, but the shade they chose for it is too dark. It reminds me of the earlier figures, where the shading was made too dark on most figures, resulting in an awkward look.

Standing 5 1/4" tall, Ivy's body is better than her head, at least sculpt-wise. The colors of the outfit are different, and looking at both figures, neither this nor the DCD release was accurate to the show, but the latter looked closer. The greens here are too dark and bold, and the shading contrasts way too much. What the hell's with the grayish highlights on the darker greens? The wrist crossbow is fully painted unlike the original at least, but the ugly shading is carried over onto that. Come on, Todd, everyone else looks good; why not Ivy? She moves fine at least, with a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hips, hinged knees and ankles, and swivel forearms and shins (nothing at the torso, since nobody at DCD could figure out how to work such joints into girls). She's loaded with hands - closed, gripping, relaxed, grasping, and I guess pinching - as well as her flowerpot. The pot lacks the pattern of the original, but the sculpt is still good.

Next up is Bane, one of my favorite villains. If you thought Ivy looked awkward, you should see this guy. The head shape is somewhat off and the face is a little higher up than it should be, but the tiny mouth is my main issue. That's DCD's fault and not McF', and at the time of the original release, it was the best we had (Mondo's Bane looks great). He stands tall nearing the 7" mark, and while the body sculpt was already good, the blue highlights on the black clothing and shading on pants and belt help bring out the animated look more. The shading is a little awkward on the lower body clothing, but the work is clean.

Bane moves similarly to Ivy, though he lacks the forearm swivels for obvious reasons, but he gets a waist swivel. Despite not having a lot of hair like Ivy does, Bane's head is just as limited in range, but the cord attaching the mask to the forearm is a very soft material, ensuring it won't impede movement. I wish DCD was more inclined to include ankle rocker with their animated figures, because it would really help with deeper stances. He comes packed with four pairs of hands - closed, relaxed, gripping, and grasping - and a dumbbell. It's not a lot, but I am relieved McF didn't cut any accessories with this wave (and in H.A.R.D.A.C.'s case, added some).

Rounding out the wave is Phantasm, who only appeared in the movie Mask of the Phantasm, but is an iconic character nonetheless, and is now coming by themselves rather than in a two-pack with Batman himself. The skull mask looks good for the most part, though the eyes are too close together, and the shape is a little off, but it's not as bad as Ivy or Bane. The cloak is made out of rubber, which helps keep it from interfering with articulation, specifically in the shoulders. The shape of it is great, creating a somewhat windblown look, with part of it in front of the right leg.

Phantasm stands about 6" tall and is dressed in mostly black, with gray gloves, boots, and hand blade. The shading is different from the others, as they use the same "source of lighting" style of shading previous waves had. It still looks great, with good contrast between shades, and the interior of the cape uses the darker shade of gray. The articulation is the same as Bane, adding in swivels at the gloves, and their only accessories are three left hands: closed, gripping, and grasping. It's a good thing these have BAF parts to help with the value, but with the prices of these going up to $35 before I got Phantasm, they don't help quite as much now.

Aside from his robot duplicate, Batman is still in the wave, with his true identity Bruce Wayne serving as the BAF here. The portrait is great, with an expression fitting Bruce's more easygoing nature compared to his alter ego, but like Ivy, the skin tone could've been a little better. He stands 6 1/4" tall, and the proportions are mostly accurate (not sure if the waist should be that low), but the suit looks a little wider than I think it should be. The suit is brown like usual, but they made the pants the same color rather than being tan. He has the same type of shading as Phantasm, and it's also darker than it should be, but the work is clean otherwise. They designed this figure before this wave was fully approved and went into production, so I don't think they made the decision to redo the shading yet.

Even with the new sculpts, McF has kept the articulation of the BAFs similar to the original figures. Bruce has a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows (ratcheted for some reason), wrists, and ankles, ball-jointed hips, hinged knees (also ratcheted), and swivel waist and calves. The hips are somehow worse than the Condiment King, as not only are they loose, but they also have a tendency to pop off. I thought I wouldn't see this issue happen with these figures again, but I was wrong. He at least comes with a briefcase to hold, and it opens up to reveal his costume inside, a nice little feature.

This was supposed to be the third wave, but something held it back (I guess waiting for licensor approval) and it ended up being the fourth. H.A.R.D.A.C. is the standout here with how well-made he is, but the others all have their shortcomings, ranging from odd likenesses to awkward paint to terrible hips. It seems as if the fifth wave will be the last due to McF losing their DC license in the coming year, but I hope they can get at least one more wave out, just to give us the Penguin and the Ventriloquist for good prices.

- 12/14/25...[See More]

Current Projects: I'm currently working on completing my 1990 Toybiz X-Men collection as well as my Toybiz 6 Inch collection.

I also have a marvel legends Sunder in the works, as well as a Stonewall.
Comments: I made an entire set of the missing seven original New Mutants.
Favorite Figure: Warlock BAF
Favorite Series: Marvel Legends
First Figure: Bucky Barnes (Falcon Wings BAF Wave)
Collection Size: Around 600-800 figures or so.
Currently Collecting: Toybiz X-Men/Marvel Legends X-Men
Want List: Toybiz Beast Series 3
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Collection Size: Shrinking
Currently Collecting: Type-Moon, WH40K, superheroes, Star Wars, mecha, kaiju, archetypes
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Favorite Series: ERTL Thomas
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Yo ho ho!
Ah, the Star Raiders. Essentially an excuse to work in characters from diverse continuities, they're good old-fashioned space pirates the nerds can geek out over. And here's the captain now!
Hailing from Transformers Prime, 'tron is a straight-up pirate. Tall hat, big ol' beard, massive shoulders, hook hand, peg leg (optional), and armor that mimics coattails. The shoulders rise high enough to give the impression of a tall collar, but the head ends up looking oddly narrow. The usual lion face stares out from the chest.
Articulation is fairly standard, apart from the right ankle. The wrist swivels are rather stubborn, but at least they're sturdy.
Accessories include his cutlass (thankfully without an integral action feature this time) and a foot for the peg leg. Said foot can be attached to the sword, but not in a way that looks great.
Transformation is weirdly fiddly the first time around, but it goes away fast. Lion mode is honestly decent, given the aesthetic. The front legs are pegged in at the forearm, but can be unplugged for better range (if not strength). Hinged jaws are always fun. The sword stores unobtrusively via a slot on the lower back.
Calcitron is apparently a pile of Energon that gained sentience. Sure, why not. But it's on my shelf, so now it's a Rock Lord. This is mostly the Magneous mold again, now in a cool blue color scheme. It's new to me, at least. While the waist is oddly cylindrical, the remainder mostly succeeds at being primarily unpolished rock. I like the stocky proportions, and the matte plastic feels unlike most of my collection.
The head is new, an almost Haunter-esque visage. Like Geocron, it's taken almost directly from the Daira rock creatures in the Headmasters series. And also like Geocron, that full face makes it as pure a Rock Lords homage as one can ask. Reminds me slightly of Saberstone.
Articulation is the usual fare above the waist, but the ankles deserve special mention for the amazing forward-back range. How many TFs can actually kneel?
The only accessory is a sort of pickaxe, which can double as a crossbow. The wrists have just enough tilt to pose with it menacingly. The car roof can also be held (at a weird angle) as a shield.
Going from robot to car is a lot easier than the other way, thanks to the wheel wells and their uncooperative clips. It, like so many in this subset, basically looks like a regular vehicle covered in regolith. Plenty solid, just.... odd. The weapon plugs into the top to serve as a spoiler, or the bumper as a godawful battering ram.
I may as well touch on the Armorizer function; it's not as complete as some, being just the limbs and their respective armor plates, but at least they can combine with the pick to make a big ol' mallet. This still leaves one with half a robot laying around, but so it goes. Added fun for the kids, anyway.
Speaking of added fun, apparently the solo release of Thundertron had a pair of inexplicable slots on his shoulder. Well, apparently they're sized for the Ratbat mold's feet, because they also threw in Nightstrike. Presumably this didn't cost out the first time.
It's pretty nice looking. The blue and white look pretty nice here, although the black head makes it a tad hard to parse the face. The wings raise and bend, but cannot flap, limiting the poses a tad. I've found that tilting him forward slightly once he's plugged in leaves just enough room to tuck the wings behind 'tron's shoulder, and fake a parrot pose. The head moves very far forward, but not back. How strange.
Transformation is... nothing. It's G1 Ratbat, this was always dead simple: fold up the wings and tuck the feet in. I'm not sure what it's even supposed to look like: it's no longer a tape since the spools are far too low, and there's a jagged section missing near the bottom. It is decorated with a stylized black skull, so maybe it's meant to be a pirate flag? It has nowhere to go otherwise, that's for sure.
So, what do we have here? A reissued Voyager with a redecoed pack-in and a Deluxe in new colors with a new head. Retail seems to be $60-65, although Ross scored a batch and is unloading them at $19.99, so that's why I bought in. It's (technically) worth full price if you missed the earlier releases (I did), but shouldn't this have been enough of a cost-saver to knock a few bucks off in the first place? Especially after the recent price hikes. Good stuff all around, at least....[See More]

NECA's Universal Monsters x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line has been a pretty cool one, but I'll admit I haven't been too into them. There's only so much Turtle figures a guy can get, and I'm more focused on the cartoon and comic stuff they're doing. If you've been to Ross lately, they've been stocking up hard on figures for the holiday season, especially NECA, with figures there being only $17-20 each! That includes a few of the early Monster Turtles, such as the first Leonardo in the line. Interestingly, he's not combined with an iconic monster, but rather made into the hunchbacked Igor, who's commonly associated with Dr. Frankenstein.

James Groman has been behind the designs for this line, and being the same mind behind Madballs, you know some of them are going to look rather creepy. Leo is not a pretty face, bearing misaligned eyes, crooked teeth, bushy eyebrows and facial hair, a stitch on his upper lip, and a couple of warts. Tony Cipriano brought this design to figure form, and he did a great job capturing this hideous rendition of the Ninja Turtles' leader. There's also a scaly texture to the skin, but it's more subtle on the head than the rest of the body.

Standing about 6 1/2" tall, Leonardo is more dressed-up than usual, though his clothes aren't in the best condition. His shirt appears to be made out of burlap, with a rope belt and various patches and a few bugs crawling over him. His pants are ripped at the cuffs with various stitches, and a shackle on his left leg. His carapace has a lot of damage to it, and a few pieces of metal holding it together, including a padlock. Adding to Leo's creepiness are the stitches on his hands and collarbone; and I assume he wasn't made from recycled parts like the monster was, but rather had some wounds that needed tending to. He's still a Ninja Turtle, so he's also wearing elbow/knee pads and a belt with a shoulder harness. The paint is clean all around, with plenty of wash to help bring out the details.

The articulation on the Monster Turtles reminds me a lot of the movie line, and there are plenty of useful joints. Leo has a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows (double-jointed), wrists, and ankles, ball-jointed midsection (possibly a barbell), and hips, double-hinged knees, swivels at the top and bottom of the thighs, and a ball-jointed mask tassel. The joints move very well, with no tight wrists like FrankenRaph had, though the knees are quite limited due to the thick kneepads. When moving the knees, I'd advise you to hold the legs near the lower joints rather than the shins because, and I speak from experience, you could rip the shins right off if you try to force the knees too far. That happened on both legs on my first one, and they kept coming off despite how many times I reglued them, hence why I sold that one and eventually got this replacement.

Leo is more accessorized than Raphael was, with plenty of accessories to help him with fighting or laboratory-assisting. He comes with four pairs of hands - grasping, closed, pointing, and gripping - and they swap pretty easily. His katanas aren't anything too unique, with the spiked ends being the only special detail. The box provides instructions on how to get them in the hands to avoid breakage (put them in aligned with the thumbs, and then tilt them to go under the other fingers). The flame effects for the blades are pretty cool, and they slide on with ease. As for his tools, Leo has a little shovel and spade, a bone, a skull, and a brain in a jar. The jar's lid can be opened so the brain can be removed, in case you want someone to hold it by itself.

I can't forget to mention Leo's most unique feature: his shell opens up! Inside the shell, aside from a spider, are some shelves right on his back with pegs for the skull and brain jar. The other half is meant to hold the digging tools and bone, with some sculpted indents to indicate what goes where. It can be a little difficult to get the items to fit in there snugly, but it can be done (I'd suggest putting the spade in at an angle, and putting the shovel in last). There are also slots for the katanas to slide into, further making the shell a useful storage tool. The opening shell is a fun gimmick, and I have a feeling they took cues from the old "Storage Shell" Turtles (that reminds me, I need to get those sometime).

I got Hunchback Leo when he first started hitting stores, but later sold him for reasons mentioned above. With Ross now carrying him (and Mummy Michelangelo, who I got as well) for just $20, I was willing to give him another shot. Making him into the typical Igor was an unusual decision by NECA, but I guess it was that or make him the Wolf Man again (they saved that for Raphael), and the uniqueness of the figure combined with the fun features and accessories make him pretty worthwhile, especially now that he's gone down in price.

- 12/11/25...[See More]

Favorite Figure: Farm Boy Luke
Favorite Series: Legend of the Lone Ranger
First Figure: Farm Boy Luke
Currently Collecting: Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Legend of the Lone Ranger
Want List: Tomy robot family from the 80s
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I am trying to find this line in the listings and I have had no luck. Am I overlooking something? I've found the Super Powers line, FUNKO, and other various MacFarlane lines. But no luck on this one. Trying to figure out if I'm missing anything....[See More]

Comments: I often use Green Stuff to sculpt.
Favorite Series: Lego, Mega Bloks, Roblox figures
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Current Projects: Custom MOTU Origins Fuerza-T characters
Favorite Series: Masters of the Universe: Origins
Currently Collecting: Masters of the Universe
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eBay User Name: tapinewoods1994
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Currently Collecting: Anything Deadpool
Want List: Everything Deadpool
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