DC Collectibles Deadshot: Arkham City

Deadshot was part of the "Shot in the Dark" side mission in the Arkham City game. The mission was one of the detective missions I enjoyed, even if it was a bit obvious. Deadshot is mostly portrayed as an assassin for hire to whichever bad guy is running the show, but he does have some back stories that make him a bit more interesting than he was in the game. His suit and look is a completely different take on the character, which I appreciate. This figure probably has the most paint details of nearly all of the figures in the Arkham City line. The chest Arkham symbol, targeting head pieces and even holsters have some great shading and details. Surprisingly the least painted parts are his signature hand canons!

His articulation is decent enough given the line, and there's nothing in particular that limits his movement. Nice figure!

DC Collectibles Nightwing: Arkham City

Nightwing has always been one of my personal favorites. He has the dashing charm of a rogue and the morals of The Dark Knight coupled with a fun, acrobatic fighting style. While Nightwing had a role in a story-line in Arkham Knight, he was only present in the Arkham City as a playable character in Challenge maps.

This figure does a few things well. The shiny blue suit highlights are great, the electrified kali sticks are very well detailed and dry brushed to create a blackened metal tone. The back has clips to hold his sticks, which is a nice touch. The face and eyes are well painted.

The pelvis area is a bit odd. The way the leg ball joint joins the hips gives this figure an odd, lower half silhouette.  The articulation isn't abundant, but after collecting DC Collectibles in the Arkham game lines, that isn't a big surprise. The head is a little too big perhaps, and sunk into the neck to allow every little up and down movement. He isn't able to do the splits, but some cool poses are still possible!

This one may not be as poseable as the Arkham Knight version, but it's got a great aesthetic and I prefer the face design on this version.

The Rating System

Starting this blog, I decided I wanted to use a 10 point rubric per category to evaluate figures. 

So far, the system is...ok. Any of these systems ultimately has bias and isn't exact, however, I'll break down the system but I think a revamp soon is in order. Perhaps adding in a fun factor to the assessment? There is a certain quality that makes a figure fun to pose and play with regardless of how poor or good the paint, sculpt, accessories, and occasionally even the articulation. This will require further thought. 

Sculpting

 and Paint:  1 = No, or little paint anywhere, minimal sculpting. Basic body form only.

                     2 = No, or little paint, A little sculpting with some stylistic additions.

                     3= Some paint application, but no shading. Some sculpting.

                     4= Some paint application, some shading, some sculpted parts. 

                     5= Good paint application, some shading, some sculpted parts.

                     6= Good paint application, good shading, some sculpted parts

                     7 =Good paint, good shading, good sculpting. 

                     8=Excellent paint, good use of shading, excellent sculpted parts

                     9=Excellent and thorough paint work, excellent shades applied, excellent sculpted parts. 

                    10=One of the best designed figures: either perfectly stylistic to the character or perfectly realistic to the original source material                               (game, comic, tv, etc) 

Articulation:   1 = 5  or fewer points of articulation. Imaginex comes to mind or other childrens toys.

                         2 = 6-10points of articulation. No waist swivels, ankle joints, elbow joints (Old He-  man toys)

                         3= 11-15 points of articulation. No waist swivel, ankle joints. Poor design. 

                         4= 16-20 points of articulation. No ab crunch, ankle joints. Elbow/knee joints do have 90 degree flexion. No split capability with                                        legs. Hand and/or boot cut swivel.

                         5= 16-20 points of articulation. Elbows/knees have 90 degree flexion. Forward/backward ankle flexion. May have ab crunch and                               swivel.

                          6= 16-20 points of articulation. Ab crunch present, may have diaphragm joint. 

                          7= 21-25 points of articulation. Double jointed knees and/or elbows present. Ankle   rocker. Two point wrist articulation (Basic                                   Marvel Legends). 

                           8= 25-35 points of articulation. All the above plus diaphragm joints, butterfly shoulder joints. May include toe swivel or finger                                   articulation. (S.H. Figuarts figures). Design may limit some articulation. 

                           9 = 35+ points of articulation. Includes all the above plus sculpted parts that can move (capes, wings, holsters etc). Excellent                                design that does not limit movement. 

                         10 = An insane amount of articulation. You can pose this figure anyway, anywhere!

Price point/availability: After all, what's the point if you can't find or buy it reasonably? 

                      1= You will never find this figure and/or buy this figure. It isn't being made, and if i was sold, you'd need a trust fund to afford it. 

                      2= Few available, price is at 500% mark up. 

                      3= Few available, price is at 200-400% mark up. 

                      4= Few available, price is at 100-200%

                      5=Available online mostly. price is at 100% mark up. 

                      6=Available online and some in stores. Price is at a 50-100% mark up. 

                      7=Readily available in stores and online. Price is at original/current value. 

                      8=Readily available online and in stores. Discounted 15% or less. 

                      9= Readily available online and in stores. Discounted 30-50%. 

                     10=Readily available online and in stores. Discounted 50%+. Buy all the things!

Accessories: 0= No accessories. Boo!

                      1= 1 accessory. Poorly painted/sculpted. Not accurate in size or design. 

                      2 = 1 accesory. Some paint, decent design. Approximates source material. 

                      3 = 1-3 accessories. Some paint, decent design, approximates source material.

                      4 = 1-3 accessories. Good paint and/or design, but not both. Few inaccuracies. 

                      5 = 2+ accessories. One set of extra hands, or 2+ very well designed weapons/pieces.

                      6 = 2-5 accessories. Set of hands, and well sculpted weapons/pieces.

                      7 = 2 or more sets of extra hands and 1-3 weapons/pieces. Interchangeable body pieces.

                      8 = More than 2 sets of extra hands, weapons/pieces, interchangeable heads/faces.

                      9 = 4+ sets of hands, tons of hand held/body pieces, interchangeable heads/body pieces. 

                    10 = Everything you could want given the source. Deluxe sets, etc.

Note: This system is amenable to modification at any time! I will post a footnote update should it change. Not yet satisfied with it. 

DC Collectibles Talia al Ghul: Arkham City

As with the Arkham City Batman, Talia al Ghul played a key role in the Arkham City game, while bringing the vaguest hint of the romantic past between the two characters. She was part of the 2013 Serie 4 wave of Arkham City figures. 

Unfortunately, this figure suffers. Although toy lines like Legends and DC Collectibles have improved on the female figure, this one is poorly articulated and made compared to their male counterparts in the same line. 

While the sculpt work on the boots, clothes, and gloves is decent, the figure has very poor weight and balance. The face is a bit too small for my liking in proportion to the body. The hair is a darker shade of brown wherein the game the hair is much closer to blond. The elbow and knee joints don't bend very far and while the paint application is decent, some of the skin tones are minimal or not applied at all. 

To sum up: while I do like to have a good roster of female characters to balance out the male, this one is sub-par. Had I known of the youtube channels I know now that review figures, I would likely not have bought this one. Ouch! 

DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham City

Released in Dec of 2013, DC Collectibles made a series 4 of characters for the Arkham City which included Talia Al'Ghul, Nightwing and Deadshot. They took a crack at adding in more articulation: double jointed knees, ab crunch and a diaphragm joint. For the most part, it works well. They kept the excellent use of paint application from previous lines by putting in good shading on the face, piercing blue eyes and details on the belt and gloves. The bat symbol on his chest is sculpted on rather than painted. The gripping hands are mostly for his single remote Batarang, which was quite a bit smaller than the larger, folding batarangs that came with other Batman figures from previous waves.

The increased articulation allows for a lot more crouching poses and the way the cape was designed off the shoulders really helps to get his arms to raise up higher. All in all, I really like this figure for the extra poseability and good paint applications.