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I picked up the new Robin/Starfire and Beast Boy/Raven packs as well as the 5" Speedy and Aqualad. As of this purchase, I am more interested in the 5" line than the 3.5" one.
The new 3.5" Titans aren't that great. The new articulation is as follows...
neck
shoulders
wrist twists
waist for the boys, mid-torso for the girls
hips
mid thigh
knees
...for a total of 12 points. Not bad for a 3.5" figure you now pay $1.995 for at Target, but it also throws Robin's and Beast Boy's proportions off; their legs look too long to me. Also, in a possible homage to Mattel's JLU line, the girls have major trouble standing. Not good.
Scale is an enduring problem. All of these figures are basically the same height, and the differences that are there are bad ones. Raven's slightly taller than Starfire, Beast Boy a hair taller than Robin. Starfire should be the tallest non-Cyborg Titan, her new figure is the same height as her old one.
Another problem I have is the Raven figure in general. After all the drool over the proto pic, it's basically a mess. I don't like the two-part cape at all, the headsculpt is, as it turns out, not as good as the resculpted head on the first Raven figure, and she can't stand on her own. Comparing the two, the last sculpt is much more Raven.
So, about 20 minutes after opening the new figures, I Ziploc bagged all but Starfire who, though no better scale-wise, is a much better sculpt. And so, if you're following along at home, this, in my opinion, is the best representation of the core Titans's team in the 3.5" scale...
Second sculpt Robin
Second sculpt Beast Boy
5" Action Sound Cyborg
First Sculpt Raven (second head)
Second sculpt Starfire
5" Speedy and Aqualad are basically great, and made all the better by the fact they're in perfect scale with the new Deluxe feature figures (taller than Robin, shorter than Cyborg). They have no action features. The sculpts are basically perfect. Aqualad's articulation is a bit better than Speedy's, but Speedy's is still serviceable (13 points).
Speedy's accessories are quite nice; a duel-arrow bow, three arrows and a backpack/quiver. The bow and arrows all fit on/in the quiver, which snaps securely to Speedy's back. Aqualad has a speargun and (though he's not indentified as such) Beast Boy as a dolphin. The apparatus to attach Aqualad to Dolphin Boy for "Diving Action" is a bit awkward, but it works.
So, as of now, the following figures are in perfect 5" scale...
Aqualad
Beast Boy (Deluxe)
Bumblebee (if she's shrunk)
Cyborg (Deluxe)
Mas
Menos
Red X
Robin (Deluxe)
Speedy
...with Starfire, Raven and Slade on the way in Deluxe Series 2. The existing 5" Slade is actually in near perfect scale with the above list, his head is just a tad small. You might also note all of Titans East is representing above, as long as you use 3.5" Bumblebee as her shrunken form. Pretty awesome, you ask me.
Can't wait to see what's in store in the 5" scale at Toy Fair. Hopefully there will be something.
-JJJ
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