Welcome, one and all to yet another Super Powers highlight.  Today I’m showcasing perhaps the most common of the Gulliver Super Powers releases, Wonder Woman.  Keep in mind that when I use the term "most common" I mean it’s still rarer than nearly every single US carded release and most of the Super Amigos.  So, in essence, it’s just the one that most SP collectors seem to have when they have a Gulliver carded figure.

For those that don’t know, Gulliver Juguetes was a Brazilian toy company pretty much known for one figure…El Capitan Ray.   This Wonder Woman is part of their Super Powers line of figures (naturally), however Mister Lightning is not on the back of the package.  The lovely Amazon warrior was obviously released first, and the cardback shows only 7 figures in the first wave.  More on them later on.   Gulliver released two waves of Super Powers figures, Secret Wars figures, and their own line of characters, the Future Warriors.  However, I don’t know anything about that last line at all.    Heh.  Anyway…

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I started a thread here on AFI a few days back asking for folks ten most wanted characters in Hasbro’s new Marvel Universe toyline. There’s been a similar thread going on over at Fwoosh, too.

Part of the fun of collecting is the guessing and hoping what characters might be coming down the pipe. Hasbro has already shown in the first few waves that they’re willing to go fairly deep into the Marvel Universe with characters such as the Hand Ninja or Union Jack. Who knows what else they’ve got up their sleeves. Could The Spot or The Impossible Man be possibilities? I wouldn’t rule them out! Actually, The Impossible Man would make me really happy.

So, I thought I’d bring my Marvel’s Most Wanted to the blogosphere to share and garner your comments. 

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I don’t collect Mattel’s DCUC line but there have been some figures that I’ve wanted to pick up just because they’re so dang cool. Back when I saw wave 6 for the first time I grabbed the Hawkman, stared at it for a while and then reluctantly put it back in fear of the "slippery slope." Last week I was kicking myself since I now wanted the figure for a little project I’m working on. Of course, none of my local stores still had it. Then this past weekend I went away for a little motorcycle trip. On the way out I stopped at a Walmart in Globe, AZ. I was thrilled to find Hawkman.

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Hello, and welcome to the first "common" edition of whatever this thing is that I call a blog.  I’m going to be not only highlighting the rarites I have in my collection, but also everything else…no matter how common.  Yes, I know y’all are chomping at the bit for my 12-back Lex Luthor highlight, but rest assured that will be when I’m well past running out of ideas here. 

With the second series of Super Powers figures, many fan favorites and then "B-Listers" were produced, as well as a multitude of New God goodness. The "heaviest hitter" in that wave was Martian Manhunter.  What makes this figure pretty neat to highlight is that, to this day, it remains one of the best sculpts of an action figure ever.  Likeness, accuracy of costume, etc…this is not only one of the best figures of the line, but it could also hold up against some of today’s aisle offerings (Hello, Infinite Heroes!  I’m looking your way!).  

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I thought this was interesting.  It applies more to vintage collecting (the article is actually in reference to coin collecting), but a lot of Mr. Buffett’s theories can be applied everywhere from Super Powers to Justice League Unlimited.  I noticed that I was exercising all the principles he identified the way I’ve been collecting vintage action figures right from the start.

Warren Buffett on Collecting

Thoughts?  Anyone doing this without realizing they were doing it?

Peace,

Chip

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Episode II: Temblor

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Up for a highlight this time around is the Trilingual Hawkman, released in Europe.  It seems as if the Trilingual figures were manufactured by different companies depending on the country.  Text on the back of the card credits Palitoy, Clipper, and General Mills.  Subtle differences exist in the card fronts, with some having the character’s name in a yellow band on the lower right card front, while others don’t have any band at all (reminiscent of the US 33-backs). As I acquire more examples hopefully I’ll be able to determine which variations come from which manufacturers.  I know that some came with a small white box on the upper right with text in it, but since I don’t own one (at the end I’ll tell how I should, but don’t) I can’t say if that has any relevant info in it.

The cards are smaller than their US counterparts.  Hawkman has the largest bubble of all of them, which takes up nearly the entire bottom 2/3rds of the card, obscuring the artwork.

All Trilinguals have the "speech bubble" that their American counterparts have, only represented in three languages instead of one.  However, some have a "Free Poster" sticker applied over it.  This bubble is from the Superman figure.  As to why I don’t have a photo of the Hawkman speech bubble and had to use the Superman one, read on…

 This is the sticker that covers the speech bubble :

Mini comic included?  Not with that free poster in there!  Also, the examples I have without the sticker that claim the free comic included also don’t have them.  False advertising, indeed!  Call the policia! 

The card back is a 12-back, and those were the only figures released in this packaging.  The aforementioned name in the yellow strip is shown in 3 languages, the 12 released figures are described in three languages, and there are multi-language bios and instructions on the figure’s action/feature.

As of today this remains the only carded example confirmed to exist, with or without the free poster sticker.  Needless to say, I’m very happy it resides in my collection.  Another example sans sticker surfaced on eBay a few months ago, and I did win that auction (along with 5 other Trilinguals without stickers) :

However, the moron sellers (after initially saying the package had been shipped when I asked) never again responded to my inquiries and the package never showed up.  They then never even responded to my Paypal claim…and they lost it.  While I’m glad I recovered my money, I’d have rather had the figures.  So, there’s at least one more example out there virtually (because the picture must have come from somewhere), however it’s not in any known collection. It might have been thrown out with the garbage for all anyone knows, and that’s too bad.

Until next time!

Peace,

Chip

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After dropping my daughter off at preschool this morning,  I swung by Wal-Mart to see what might be out. There wasn’t anything new (well…not new new) but I did pick up the 3-3/4" Captain Pike figure from Playmates new Star Trek movie line.

Driving home I got to thinking about collecting habits and buying preferences and thought I’d pose this question to my teeming throngs of readers out there in AFI-land: When a new line or wave is released, do you prefer to pick them all up in on shot or little by little?

Taking out the economic factor (I rarely can pick up an entire wave at one time), I think I generally prefer a figure here and there over getting the whole cluster at once.

Take the new Star Trek for example. I’ve been looking forward to this line since it was announced last year. But when I first came across the figures at TRU a week or so back, even though I was completely excited to see them out,  I only picked up Kirk, Spock and Original Spock. A week later I picked up Uhura. Then today I picked up Pike. I certainly plan on picking up the entire line, but I find that I am content to pace myself.  The next wave isn’t due until later in the summer, and with the movie arriving soon (already got my tickets, too!!) the toys aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. I can afford to wait.

Conversely, it seems sometimes (on those rare occasions) when I do pick up a wave in one fell swoop it makes the wait for the next releases seem all that much longer.

So, how about you?  All things being equal do you prefer getting a new wave (or line) all at once or little by little over time?

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I’ve decided to start blogging about various things Super Powers as I acquire more items for my collection, hopefully bringing things to light that people haven’t seen before or may be curious about.  There certainly isn’t much information about Super Powers merchandise out there, tho the two main (and seemingly only) sites are definitely of top quality. 

Also, most of the major collectors don’t seem to have any interest in putting everything they have into galleries online. While that’s certainly fine (hey, it’s their stuff…they paid for it and can do what they want with it), I’m not that type of person.  I want to share everything I have and whatever knowledge I’ve gained on what I’ve been able to find.

The first item I’ve decided to highlight is my Plastic Man Carded Sample, which I acquired last year from a vintage Star Wars collector.

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It’s not often that a bootleg line has much originality, let alone a concept/theme that attracts someone to collect them.  Mostly they’re collected because they’re bootlegs and that’s it.  However, there’s at least one standout exception in that realm of collecting, and that standout is Brazillian company Gulliver Juguetes’ "Future Warriors."  

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No, I’m not running for a school board in Kansas. But like the rest of you action figure biologists I’ve enjoyed observing the emergence of newly created figures based on characters that had action figures back when little plastic life on Earth was in its infancy. The last few years in particular have seen a punctuated equilibrium in the field as many toy brands are marking significant anniversaries. So let’s spend a few minutes studying the fossil record and then focus on one character that is due for a genetic mutation.

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 I know we’ve said it before in the forums, but it bears repeating every so often.  An alternate place to look for – and actually find the toys you are looking for - is at your supermarket.

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So you’ve seen the fine pics right here at AFI, and thanks to our fearless leader Julius Marx, I can now give you  my review of the Master of Eternia’s Undersea Realm!

Does he sink or swim…?  

Read on…!

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People have been having an issue with the DCAU and Green Lantern since a GL first appeared in Superman TAS.  I’ve enjoyed it all.

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Was taking some random shots today and figured I’d post a small Secret Wars collection update.  I’ve got one bookcase nearly full, with the only thing missing from the case being a Black Claw Wolverine that’s on the way.  I’ll probably buy another one of the cheap MOCs to fill that last spot before the rest of my Future Warriors come in.

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