Toronto Comicon 2013

The first comic convention for 2013 here in Toronto! I'm really happy I finally got to meet the Legendary MIKE ZECK! His line was quite long and it was a long wait, considering he was not doing any sketches at the event! Still glad to ask him questions on Secret Wars, really nice to hear his stories. Marvel should give this guy some more work!

MIke was kind enough to sign my Secret Wars and my Kraven the Last Hunt book.

Also met Mark Texeira! I cannot believe how fast this guy draws! A real talent and another guy I wish would get more work!

Joe Jusko! Marvel Masterpiece is still one of my favorite card set back when trading cards were popular. Joe told me he did all 100 cards within 3 months! Simply amazing!

Mike Mckone and Lee Weeks

Lee Weeks Hulk sketch

Joe Jusko panel with Renee Witterstaetter (whom I recognize just because John Byrne included her in the She-Hulk comics). 

As expected Patrick Stewart had the longest line among all the TNG cast members that were on the con.

Overall the con was great, got lots of bargains, just wish the venue was a bit bigger.

Kumik Jessica Alba Invisible Woman bash

Well finally completed Susan Storm! Here's the recipe: 

- Kumik head - $61

- Kumik female body - $29

- Barbie Invisible Woman costume - $30

- Hot Toys Black Widow boots - $42

Total investment - $162! Overall not a bad price I think! Some custom head alone will fetch upwards of $150!

Comparison with Toybiz 12" figure.

I bought 2 Kumik head from the same ebay seller, and I got different shades of blonde wig!

Overall I'm happy with the way this custom figure came out! Next stop, updating Max Guevarra and Nancy Callahan!

Kumik Jessica Alba head and Kumik female body

After seeing the amazing bashes from OneSixthWarrior I decided to make an Invisible Woman bash myself. I bought a Kumik female body ($29 shipped on ebay), an old Barbie Invisible Woman. 

The Kumik body is really nice, huge range of articulation, plus it can fit barbie clothes - a little tight, but it fits!

The Kumik head sits a little high on the Kumik body so I took out the rubber plug inside the head, and I think it looks much better. I cannot wait to get boots for this figure to finally complete this bash.

I also tried putting the Kumik head on my Nancy bash and I'm liking it. The head seems a little small for the hot toys body, so I might finally get myself one of those Phicen body!

TOY HAULS FOR FEBRUARY

I normally don't buy a lot of toys at retail mainly because: 

- most of my money is going directly to Matty

- nothing in retail excites me

- tired of getting the same characters over and over again

However I couldn't resist picking up the new Batman Unlimited Penguin figure! This is mostly a redeco of the DCUC series one Penguin with the exception of the Super Powers head and colors. I saw the other figures from the line but I made a point of not getting any of the new 52 figures. The design and stories so far have been bad imho.

I pick up this redeco Iron Man figure as well! Hasbro used the mole from the 2-pack Iron Man, but this time I find the colors superior to the old one. I'll most likely skip the other figures in the line, I'm trying to just focus on the classic version of a certain character...otherwise there is no end to collecting!

Yep, not a GI JOE fan but at $12+ after tax, it was too good a deal to resist! The box was crap but everything is intact. Took like 30 minutes just to put all all the decals! I love the small super articulated pilot, lots of details too.

Its now proudly displayed on top of my Detolf cabinet. I'll worry about dusting this toy some other day.

Lastly, pick up these 2 figures from the Young Justice cartoon, mainly for the Hall of Justice parts. The ones I got previously had a broken part and I just felt the urge to have one without defect! The figures are really nice and I'm still on the fence if I want to complete the 4" figures or not. The last figures from the line command a high price on the secondary market!

MATTY COLLECTOR JANUARY 2013 FIGURES!

Got Netossa the other day and I must say she turn out to be a beautiful figure. The face sculpt is really nice, one of the better female sculpt from the 4 Horsemen. I'm a little scared her net cape...it seems like it might crack given some time

Also got Saint Walker, a figure I'm currently liking mainly after watching the excellent Green Lantern Animated series. Here's hoping they do Razor and Aya somewhere down the road!

THE LAST MATTY COLLECTOR HAUL FOR 2012

Well finally open up some of my figures from Mattel which arrive last year. Some of the figures came when I was visiting Manila!

Among the Masters figures above, the clear winner for me has to be Mosquitor, simply an amazing figure. I still don't see all the fuss with Castlegrayskullman, he's just an okay figure imho.

These SDCC figures were the only item I got from the Cyber Monday sale as Matty. They're okay, really not worth buying at full price. The Tiny Titans are cute, but hated that there was a paint rub on Robin's face. The Death figure is actually not bad. I don't mind this being a statue, it's really a nice display piece, reminds me a bit of those Women of the DC Universe statues. You just really need to put a lot of pressure on putting the leg to the peg on the base.

Kumik Jessica Alba Custom Head

I recently got a Kumik Jessica Alba head off ebay. This is the 2nd Alba head Kumik had done and I think the resemblance is is much better than their initial effort. The head seems to be made of resin and for the $55 they are charging, it's quite a steal! The paints on the head is excellent, the wig fits okay...but you need a blue tac to hold it in place (which they provided). 

The head does fit a Hot Toys body, but there's a gap between the neck and the head. I'm thinking of buying a Kumik female body, or taking out the rubber peg in the head  and putting blue tac on the inside.

 On hand, the head does feel a bit small, but that could be fix but adjusting the hair in a certain way.

Here's a comparison shot with a Iminime custom head. Hands down the Iminime head has superior paint job compared to Kumik, but then again, Iminime charges $100 for a custom head. The likeness of the Iminime is close to how Alba looks during her Dark Angel day...but there's still something a little off with that sculpt. Kumik  has the thinner more mature Alba head, I just wish Kumik would try and sell an Alba head with brown hair. I tried putting in a hot toys wig over the Kumik head...and the Hot Toys wig is just a little bigger than the Kumik head, doesn't fit that good.

Overall I'm really happy with my purchase, and I'll most likely get another head once I get some more paypal fund :)