Damn near perfect

I’m trying to reduce the amount of stuff I buy. Looking at my patterns of spending, it tends to be months where I buy stuff I hadn’t planned to buy where I spend a lot. Specifically, stuff from eBay, stuff which is more expensive than when it was available at retail. I think buying stuff from eBay is the symptom not the problem. When Toy Fair and various comic cons happen they announce toys. I need to get better at working out what I want at that point. That means not ignoring that little voice at the back of my head (‘that looks cool’). But principally, is there anything which if released might change my view on that item?

Legends Rogue was released in 2016, in an ideal world I would have asked myself ‘what if they release all of the 90’s X-Men?’. It’s not easy, but it’s the way to save money in the long run. (As it happens I only paid double for her compared to the quadruple she’s now going for.) It takes a bit of imagination, but worth it. I’m now trying to work out whether the future MCU films might change my view on what I want - difficult when they haven’t been announced.

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I went to see Endgame again! First time I’ve seen a film twice since (weirdly), Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I was becoming a bit obsessed so it could only help, and I think it has. There’s a bit of an RDJ voiceover at the end, it should be a celebration, and it’s true, it should be. We can’t live the same lives forever, things always have to change. I was driving this morning and it just occurred to me that all of the changes in my life over the 11 years of the MCU seem a bit unlikely, I can’t quite believe they’ve happened. So Endgame, my favourite film ever, it’s the end of the journey. But if I can get a little display of Marvel Legends Mark 85 Iron Man, Mark VI War Machine, Rescue and Iron Spider then that would be a sweet way to mark that end.

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My excitement for X-Men Marvel Legends is building, still waiting for Beast, Gambit, Jubilee and Forge, as well as really looking forward to Nightcrawler, Storm and Mister Sinister. Hopefully a preorder for Colossus and Juggernaut will pop up soon, and I will be able to put in an order for Magneto, and then wow! Almost all of the X-Men!

I saw a new picture of the 80th anniversary Cap, and that headsculpt is spot on. I thought the same when I first saw it, but when trying to prioritise everything, decided replacing my vintage wave Cap was not needed. Sadly, I think it is. Part of my thinking, is how dark the blue is. In both the 90s Spider-Man cartoon and Avengers: EMH, Spider-Man is a darker blue than Captain America (in A: EMH Spider-Man is almost in black). My current setup is the vintage wave figures which reflects the 90's cartoon very well (Cap being almost sky blue). But, in A: EMH, Cap's costume is closer to the 80th anniversary figure, as well as it having sculpted scales and an infinitely better headsculpt(s). In this new photo, the blue does not look so dark, but regardless, I've decided the comparison between the two is less important than each character matching their respective (main) series they are in.

I've said on many occasions that I'm not going to customise my Legends figures, nor buy any with the dodgy leg swivel joint. I'm going to make an exception for Wasp. The (TAS) X-Men are the key focus of my collection. Spider-Man comes in very close after that. Then it's the (A:EMH) Avengers, with the Fantastic 4 bringing up the rear. Those 22 characters need to be perfect, and I think popping the vintage line Wasp headsculpt on the older modern figure is the way to achieve that. Along with the 80th Cap (and the new Hulk and Thor) I will have a perfect Avengers lineup. (And with good a new Jean Grey, all 22 will be damn near perfect.)

I've just received the new Hasbro MMPR White Ranger. I previously had the Figuarts figure which looked great with its pearlescent paint, but was a strange size compared to most of my toys, plus it always seemed a bit smooth - the legs particularly, no muscle definition, nor any evidence of it being fabric. I think also though, I've always had a slightly issue with high end toys. I can't quite explain it, they look great certainly but the unease they give me really takes away the enjoyment. Figuarts aren't that expensive, but more than £20 Legends figures (which is what this is, just with a different license). So he looks great, glad to have a DJF head for the classic helmet tucked under the arm look. Bring on the green ranger! (As a random aside I realise I don't have many white figures, need Storm!)

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I've had a trip to London and visited my place of worship (Forbidden Planet). I love the place, I normally do buy something, but thought if anything it might have been a Siege Prowl. Nothing doing in that department, but it was amazing how many things they had which I bought online for a bit extra - they had a fine selection of Legends (including Forge who I've got a preorder for). They had the Hulkbuster set as well all of the second wave of Vintage figures, including Vision who I paid a bit more for, but they also had Wasp. For a good price (£15.99), so yep, I bought her. She looks great! Wasp now has a very special status - the only Legends figure I've customised. And I think, the only figure I ever will.

Another set I saw in FP was Siege Laserbeak and Ravage, but I had already ordered it from Amazon last week. It's the only set from the line I've bought which is smaller than Deluxe, but given I have Soundwave and collect Ravages, it was needed. I think there's a general trend that Laserbeaks are better than Ravages, and this is no different. This won’t be my ‘classics’ Laserbeak or Ravage it's a bit small, but it’s a fine set.