With all due respect to Diamond Select, they miss the mark on their figures

[Mord]

I'm not really a Sideshow fan. Most of the 8 inch figures I had broke and the 12" figs were flimsy and impossible to pose. The sculpts were great, but prefer a more "toyish" look to my monsters, my favorites being the Kenner/Hasbro 90's 12" dolls and the Remco line. My favorite recent figures were the Jakks and the Toy Island figs. I like toys that can be played with, and I don't think Sideshow was going for that market. They were "adult collectibles".

I think most of us are adults here. I can't accept inferior product like Toy Island and Hasbro when Sideshow has spot on representations of my favorite monsters. The ridiculously huge hands on the Hasbro Frankenstein and Mummy are laughable (not to mention the "hooker" paint on Frankenstein...blue eye shadow, come on!). And the Remco 8"er's joints were held together with rubber bands. None of my Sideshow's have ever broken, and I've had every 8" and 12" figure since the day they came out.

[Count_Zirock]

Another problem with DST is the lack of articulation. Bad enough we got "generic" Dracula, but his legs are locked into one pose, as is Frankenstein! Crummy paint apps, too. Just slopped on, and poorly drybrushed.

Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[aura of foreboding]

Aura of Foreboding, How can a generic, fanged, widow's peaked Dracula ever be a "more official"representation than actor's who actually played the character? Especially when none of the Universal Draculas had fangs OR widow's peaks (except maybe Carradine, a little bit). That doesn't make any sense. They definitely could do a Lugosi sanctioned Dracula, but that would have to wait until they're done with Universal. Until then, Kal-El is right, the only one that's worth a damn is Sideshow's. That's why I'm not climbing onboard with Mezco. Everything is stylized beyond good taste (even the Creature!).

Because that is the image of Dracula in our popular culture.  It's a combination of Lugosi and Lee, but it is wholly inspired by Lugosi.  And Universal is solely responsible for that image -- hence it's official.  Carradine's Dracula is unrecognizable to anyone outside of the fandom, hardly an official representation of the "idea" of Universal's Dracula, the official "original Dracula" of the official "original monsters."  It's what's in the logo. 

Crummy paint apps, too. Just slopped on, and poorly drybrushed.

This is my problem with DST Wave 2, not the fact that we got a non-actor likeness for Dracula.  They look awful!  I was hoping they would be "fixed" in the next release, but someone here said that there was nothing to "fix."  *shrug*

[-l-AYATOLLAH-l-]

I think most of us are adults here. I can't accept inferior product like Toy Island and Hasbro when Sideshow has spot on representations of my favorite monsters. The ridiculously huge hands on the Hasbro Frankenstein and Mummy are laughable (not to mention the "hooker" paint on Frankenstein...blue eye shadow, come on!). And the Remco 8"er's joints were held together with rubber bands. None of my Sideshow's have ever broken, and I've had every 8" and 12" figure since the day they came out.

I became a fan as a (monster) kid. I could have cared less if they had a perfect likeness. The Remco 3 3/4 could fight my Star Wars figs. I've always maintained that spirit in my collecting. I don't like "Inaction" figures. The Hasbro figures I think hold a place in my heart because they were the last "innocent" type Uni toys made before Sideshow came on the scene and changed things.
As far as the DS figs, I had the Mummy and Wolfman when they were first released, wasn't impressed, and they felt like they'd break the same way my Sideshow's did from trying move them at their joints. I had the first 3 Mego styled and liked them a bit more, but they had some problems (poor sewing, etc.). The retro Creature and Bride look pretty sweet. If I ever start collecting again I'd love to pick them up.

[darkmonkeygod]

I became a fan as a (monster) kid. I could have cared less if they had a perfect likeness. The Remco 3 3/4 could fight my Star Wars figs. I've always maintained that spirit in my collecting. I don't like "Inaction" figures. The Hasbro figures I think hold a place in my heart because they were the last "innocent" type Uni toys made before Sideshow came on the scene and changed things.

Oddly, the Burger King line and then Toy Island line were aimed more towards kids, and both series have their chrams.

The retro Creature and Bride look pretty sweet. If I ever start collecting again I'd love to pick them up.

That EMCE designed, DST released Retro-Action Creature is nearly a perfect toy for me in terms of being the one I'd always dreamt of. I really can't overstate it. Toy love.

[LundyAfterMidnight]

I was excited about the Mego-styled figures, until I got them. Most fans appear to like them, but something's missing for me. Heart, perhaps? More specific, I don't like the Wolf Man's pasty faced color scheme. I can live w/a generic Dracula to a point, but this one resembles Pee Wee Herman.

[raycastile]

I like the retro cloth line. Creature, Bride and Mummy are the best. I know Dracula is generic, but it is still a neat-looking figure. And really, does he look more generic than Frank and Wolf Man? The Mummy is the only figure where I can see the actor in the sculpt. But they are all cute little monsters. I hope they proceed as planned with the Phantom. He and the Creature would be my favorites of the line. And I like that there are not too many figures and variants to chase. That's another thing that discourages me from getting into the DST line. Too many variations. The retro cloth series is nice and simple.

[Mord]

I think the retro Frankenstein has a decent Glenn Strange likeness, much better than the Dracula with the red cowl on the outside.

[Mord]

I became a fan as a (monster) kid. I could have cared less if they had a perfect likeness. The Remco 3 3/4 could fight my Star Wars figs. I've always maintained that spirit in my collecting. I don't like "Inaction" figures. The Hasbro figures I think hold a place in my heart because they were the last "innocent" type Uni toys made before Sideshow came on the scene and changed things.
As far as the DS figs, I had the Mummy and Wolfman when they were first released, wasn't impressed, and they felt like they'd break the same way my Sideshow's did from trying move them at their joints. I had the first 3 Mego styled and liked them a bit more, but they had some problems (poor sewing, etc.). The retro Creature and Bride look pretty sweet. If I ever start collecting again I'd love to pick them up.

I became a fan as a monsterkid too and always yearned for toys that looked closer to the monsters I watched on TV. The myth that Remco figures are more poseable is ridiculous. They barely have 5 joints on the 4" ones and the 9" ones had that stupid "monster-grab" action that always broke and made it impossible to pose. As for the Hasbros, they actually licensed the actor's likenesses. The problem was that their scupltors weren't worth a damn and turned out crap product. The Sideshow guys were real monster fans and wanted to create a tribute to these great monster icons. I felt a lot better about giving my money to them than the hacks at Hasbro. BTW, the Sideshow 12"ers had far more poseability than Hasbro. I just don't understand what a grown man does with toys outside of displaying them, but that's just me.

[-l-AYATOLLAH-l-]

I became a fan as a monsterkid too and always yearned for toys that looked closer to the monsters I watched on TV. The myth that Remco figures are more poseable is ridiculous. They barely have 5 joints on the 4" ones and the 9" ones had that stupid "monster-grab" action that always broke and made it impossible to pose. As for the Hasbros, they actually licensed the actor's likenesses. The problem was that their scupltors weren't worth a damn and turned out crap product. The Sideshow guys were real monster fans and wanted to create a tribute to these great monster icons. I felt a lot better about giving my money to them than the hacks at Hasbro. BTW, the Sideshow 12"ers had far more poseability than Hasbro. I just don't understand what a grown man does with toys outside of displaying them, but that's just me.

I Play with them, haha. And I let my littlest one play with them too if shes interested. I wasn't implying the Remcos or Hasbros had better articulation. They were just much sturdier toys and had a lot of play potential. The 12" Sideshows suffer because they are so poseable that they couldn't  hold a pose when I displayed them and they were very frail. Pretty much just had to stand them upright in a stand. BORING!!! For an adult collector they are great likenesses, and I have a friend with all of the 12' line still MIB and they are a beautiful display. But they arent really "toys" per se. I like the 8 inch line asides from the frail plastic they are made of. More than half of them I owned broke, most of them never doing anything more than sitting on a shelf. The DS line seem to be made from a similar type of plastic and the ones I owned I feared would end up snapping in the same way. I remember a lot of the McFarlane figures I owned being the same.

[darkmonkeygod]

I like the retro cloth line. Creature, Bride and Mummy are the best. I know Dracula is generic, but it is still a neat-looking figure. And really, does he look more generic than Frank and Wolf Man? The Mummy is the only figure where I can see the actor in the sculpt. But they are all cute little monsters. I hope they proceed as planned with the Phantom.

The Phantom and the Mutant currently have a shipping date of 08/21/13 via Diamond's updates, and were ordered by wholesale accounts starting in April (they can still be ordered, so pester your local comic shop if that's how you buy 'em!).

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS RETRO CLOTH SERIES 4 AF ASST   APR131738

The next series of Universal Select and the new Munsters wave which includes Uncle Gilbert are due the next week!

[ucs1923]

Compare Frankenstein and the Wolfman from Jakks vs. Diamond Select, and you'll see what I am talking about.  Jakks Pacific has the facial sculpts of both monsters dead on.  Whereas, Diamond Select has a lot of work to do.

Anyone that has all 4 figures, please by all means make a comparison, you'll see what I am talking about!

Jakks Pacific Wolfman


Diamond Select Wolfman


Jakks Pacific Frankenstein


Diamond Select Frankenstein

[Mike Scott]

Anyone that has all 4 figures, please by all means make a comparison, you'll see what I am talking about!

You forgot The Creature! Oh yeah, Jakks didn't do one. 

[aura of foreboding]

You forgot The Creature! Oh yeah, Jakks didn't do one. 

But they would have, and it would have been a beaut! 

[Mord]

But they would have, and it would have been a beaut!

They did do one (and it was a beaut), but it never got released. There are pics somewhere on this site. Jakks were great and I really wished they would have continued (Sideshow was still the best of the pack).