ThreeA WWRp JEA Heavy Bramble

Recently collected my JEA Heavy Bramble (HB) from the local retailer. It isn't my favourite mould, so I decided to pass on the rest of the colourways that were available. Due to space constraints, I've also sold away my Bromwich (both 1/6 and 1/12), so this JEA is truly my one and only... Ha...

As the name suggests, HBs are really the original Brambles that have been upsized. The head has been swapped, from the usual two-eyed to a cyclops version. The arms have also been replaced from skinny ones to those that belong to a body builder. While the legs remained unchanged, the weapon has also been replaced from the gattling gun to a huge rocket launcher. Overall, there is great bulk on the upper body of this robot, giving him a very top heavy proportion.

I'm always quite sore when the phrase "Heavy Bramble" is mentioned, largely because of the epic failure that the 1/6 version of the figure is. I don't really want to bring up all my disappointments with the 1/6 figure here again, cause... it really is spilt milk. It has taught me to be careful with this toy manufacturer's product. The 1/12 version might be perfect, but its 1/6 counterpart might not be so, and vice versa. Try to imagine the distribution of weight based on the design of the figure, so as to be sure that there won't be inherent problems with the figure...

Having said that, it is only fair to say that the 1/12 version of the HBs are perfectly alright. The launcher looks menacing and large, deliberately designed to be enormous compared to the figure itself. But rest assured, in reality, it isn't too heavy for the figure to handle. Unlike the 1/6 version, the WWRp HBs can handle almost any pose with the launcher that you can think of. With the scope permanently sculpted on the left side of the launcher, it is predetermined that your HB will be carrying his weapon on the right shoulder so that the cyclop eye can look through the scope. Cause the weight will all be transfered to the right side, it is quite easy to spin the figure, pivoting on the right leg. Still, generally it is quite stable and will not topple forwards or backwards. Joints are all tight on this JEA that I bought.

If you look closely at both the Bramble and the Heavy, there are more subtle changes. The skinny Bramble has black shoulders matching a white fore arm on his right side, and vice versa for its left. Whereas for the HB, the whites and blacks are kept in the same arm. Also, black dots were introduced to the right chest plate of the Heavy, which was previously left empty. I'm not too sure why these changes were made; they might be introduced for the sake of wanting to be different. The gattling gun and pouches, painted black, gives the original Bramble a darker look. It is obvious that they are from the same JEA family, there are enough differences to distinguish one from another, which is a good thing, I guess... a necessary variety, so to speak.

The last pic shows all my JEA robots. I think the WWRp version is more or less complete... Perhaps missing the Sq Mk II. I do have it, but intend to sell the RVHK box set away so... Luckily, I'm not too concerned with the scale. As long as the design is the same, I can have either the 1/12 or 1/6 version. For one, I think Dropcloths should only be 1/6, since the 1/12 version is really too fragile... I digress... JEA, Deep Powder and EMGY are my fav colourways, and I'm trying to focus my purchases to these colourways, with the occasional medics if they are available at the right price. WWRp JEA Caesar's going to join them soon... I hope...

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DC Direct Mignola Batman B&W Statue

I guess I started with comics captivated by the art of artists such as Jim Lee, Quesada, Coipel and Alex Ross. Those, super detailed, realistic, and beautifully inked pages of Hush, House of M, Kingdom Come has probably kept me entertained for weeks, reading and admiring the art work over and over again. I'll admit that I've never been into stylized comic art until reading Hellboy and BRPD. Somehow, Mike Mignola's art managed to intrigue me, and over time I've learnt to appreciate his illustrations. Having said that, I still don't really get the popularity of comics drawn by the likes of Tim Sale, Romita Jr... I dunno... perhaps I'm simply not enlightened enough to be able to appreciate 'em.

So now that it's been established that I'm a Mignola fan, I guess it's a good time as any to say that I'm very, very impressed by this Batman statue from DC Direct's Black and White series, based on Mike Mignola's art. The sculptor, Jonathan Matthews, did an absolutely great job sculpting it. The translation of a 2D art to 3D isn't easy, and from any angle you look at it, the 3D statue becomes 2D, as though somebody printed out a scan from a comic book, and pasted it on the wall. Apart from the sculpting, this illusion is actually possible only with a well designed paint app. The shadows of protruding forms on the sculpt are permanently painted to a darker shade of grey, and the sharp clean tones without any gradients adhere much to Mignola's art.

This recent release is, however, a repaint of an earlier statue that was released a couple of years ago. The original sports a large black bat insignia, rather than the repaint which sports the oval shape logo. Some other noticeable changes include the bat grapple hook, which was upside down (and made sense) in the original release. Also, the zig-zag shadows on the belt sports smaller teeth on the original than the current one. Lastly, the base on the original statue was dominantly black. A good pictorial of the original statue may be found here.

Truth be told, I very much prefer the original too. SO why did I still get this one? Well, the original one was getting pretty rare by the time I realized it existed, and it commands 3-400% its original price! Having said that, there was a significant price hike from the original for the repaint (approx 35%), which is kinda hard to swallow, but compared to the insane prices on the secondary market, I decided to bite. The various design changes were introduced largely to appease fans and owners of the original statue I guess, but they were all poorly made decisions. Still, on the whole, this reissue was a great opportunity for those who missed the boat on the 1st release, to own a suitable replacement that is a close replica of the original.

While the sculpting and paint design is genius, I must say, I had a hard time choosing the perfect piece from the shop... DC Direct's quality control seemed to be non-existant. The 1st piece I opened had a finger print across his face. The 2nd piece had sloppy black glossy paint on his glove. The 3rd piece had some blemishes on the white areas of the bat logo. Most unfortunately, I had to settle on one of the above. I didn't remember having so much trouble looking for a good piece for the four WODCU statues that I picked up (which was quite some time ago I guess)... so I was kinda surprised and disappointed.

The statue is pretty small and well scaled with the Hellboy comic figures made by Mezco and based on the same artist's art. Don't own any of those, unfortunately... but I bet they'll look good together. Hmmm... I love how the statue managed to capture Mignola's art so well. The posture is simple: slouching slightly with knees bent; a cold stare from a looming figure that is the Dark Knight.

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ThreeA WWR EMGY Dropcloth

I've finally caved in and bought the highly sought after WWR EMGY Dropcloth from the secondary market. Needless to say, it cost me an arm, a leg, and a kidney. Still, I believe I managed to get it at quite a decent price... in fact the best in the couple of months that I was monitoring it on eBay. Possibly the last grail-level "buy back" that I'll go through. Coincidentally, I got it from an acquaintance that I knew from work. Small world huh...? Everybody's collecting ThreeA these days...

So was he worth it...?

Every penny. EMGY Dropcloth is really a gem. There isn't really much to say about the figure, except that it is awesome. The Dropcloth sculp really grew on me, I remember when I first saw it, I thought its proportions were kinda odd. But after getting Deep Powder, I bought the JEA, and now this. EMGY came with a couple more additional accessories than the other DCs, like the two shotguns, a baton, and most importantly, the riot shield. Needless to say, he looks great standing next to the EMGY Grunt, who has a smaller version of the same shield as well.

EMGY DC is cool. If you have no preference over colourways, I suggest not going for JEA, cause it is known to have loose hip joints. If you have no budget restraints, get the EMGY for all the extra accessories that comes with it.

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ThreeA Popbot 7 Bones Queeny

I remember the Queeny drop on Bambaland, and I remember it well. It was at the end of the month of January 2012, and I exercised my right as a 3AA for the very first time. There were no secret drops, no surprise, no emo. It was pure, straightforward fun, and so, so memorable cause of its simplicity. I was excited over the new character, the new product, the new design. There was no stress, there was no gimmicky marketting of being it being a limited exclusive. Then, quarter of a year later, I received the product. No fuss about it. 

If the product is well designed, that is all it takes for the sale to get going, and not some secret drops to build up the hype. End of the day, fans want to be able to buy what they want, and when they want to. Surprise drops done all in good fun? Yeaaaah, riiiight, suuuure. I'm sure people who've spent two whole days been F5-ing at their computers on 6 and 7 June 2012 for Red Sham and GID Audrey would agree. Another story, for another time (when Sham arrives).

Queeny arrived in Singapore a couple of weeks ago, but I just couldn't find the time to do a review on her, until this weekend. I think for a change, I'll get on with the QC issues first, and with them outta the way, perhaps we could then appreciate the figure better. Stright out of the box, both ankle ball joints were loose, and really couldn't support the weight of the figure. Perhaps one of the stations along the line of the Quality Control (if there is one) at ThreeA should be to try letting the figure stand straight. If they aren't able to stand straight with the feet firmly on the ground, it is probably because the ball joints are loose and should never be shipped to the customer. Luckily, spare ball joints were included, so I was able to swap both out. Then again, I always thought that the spare ball joints were for one of those rainy days when Queeny takes a shelf dive and breaks her ankle pegs. Now, straight out of the box, I already needed to put the spare parts to use.

Another QC issue that was observed by other collectors (but not present on this particular piece of mine) is the peeling rubber body. On the abs and hips of the figure, there is a layer of soft rubber finish around the hard plastic moulding, and sometimes these rubber parts tend to peel away or crack, so be sure to check underneath her clothes when you get her (right... like you needed an excuse to do that!)...

Queeny sports a V3 female body that ThreeA has developed, and used previously for the RVHK Yesterday Princesses. Things they changed: the shoes and hands. While she has been labelled as the "First Tomorrow Queen", she is really hardly the first to be manufactured. Honestly, I've lost count of the number of TQs that has been made, but in the storyline, I guess Queeny's the first, meaning that all the rest of 'em Queens had been cloned from her. If, in reality, Queeny's first for anything, it is the fact that she is the first Tomorrow Queen to be dirty weathered.

She also sports a new headsculpt. You might notice straight away that the eye patch does not line up properly when the band goes under her fringe near her left eye. It was something that was picked up by the fans when initial promo pics were released. I'd say I wasn't too surprised by the fact that the design hasn't been changed, cause it probably isn't the first time when comments made by fans had fallen on deaf ears when it comes to 3A. Maybe it's just the designer's ego getting in the way... Still, small design (not QC) issue. Two pig tails at the back of her head adds a tinge of cuteness to Queeny's overall bad-ass image.

The eye patch lends the otherwise polished and refined TQ some character. I really like the overall character design for Queeny, from the snug fitting tank top revealing her abs to the khaki pants, which I prefer rolled up into halves, revealing the 7 bones decal on her left calf. She has alot of pouches hanging from her belt (but I'm not complaining), with an unknown artifact dangling from it. I don't know what it is, but like many things with 3A, it really is up to your interpretation. I can offer you some of suggestions: (a) For the uninspired - it is a water bottle; (b) For the romantic - it is an urn containing the ashes of her first lover; (c) For the ever sceptical - 3A produced too many of these scopes that were initially meant to be mounted on the gun belonging to Caesar, but later the design got rejected by the man above, and these parts HAD to go somewhere...

Queeny's weapon of choice: a wooden staff. It is an interesting change from the usual katanas that were standard issues to all previous TQs so far. And quite appropriate, might I add, cause I did picture her here holding Wasabi's sword and it just didn't look quite right.

The shoes look cheapo... another design issue that was raised, and which I kinda agree. I think it is due to the fact that the sculpting on the shoes were too 2-dimensional, without any raised / depressed surfaces, like the shoes that belonged to the OG TKs. It really is a great opportunity missed by 3A, to create nice shoes that were the female version of what the TKs had. I hope they do something about it, if they're thinking of reusing these moulds.

Standing next to Wasabi, the 1st of the 7 Bones crew that was issued, the pair really looks like a match made in heaven. Can't begin to imagine how 7 of them would look together. Of course, that would probably be a couple of years down the road, looking at the pace at which these characters are being developed. Queeny was supposed to be the 3rd, but she overtook Kyoku along the way. Standing next to the other TQs though, Queeny might look a tad too short, owing to the fact that she isn't wearing heels.

All in all, a great looking figure. Again, QC issues aside, I'm glad I bought a couple of her. She is unique amongst the TQs that has been issued so far, partly because all of the others look so polished and manicured. Queeny is a figure that I find myself picking up more often than the rest to change her pose / fighting stance, etc. Can't wait for the rest of the 7B crew, but I keep telling myself not to be impatient about something that I speculate to happen only by the end of 2014 if we are lucky... I hope I am wrong though.

The last pic was inspired by the painting by A. Wood called "There". It has been cropped. The full sized one is on my Flickr.

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ThreeA Adventure Kartel F Legion

The 3AA 2012 package came as a surprise this morning. I missed the mail man but was fortunate to be able to retrieve the parcel at the post office shortly afterwards. I had thought that the package contained replacement TQs (nope, not "reinforcements", but replacements... seriously!), but it turned out to be the 3AA package!

Almost without delay, I rushed home to open up the package. It is the 1st year that I have signed up as a 3AA member. 2011 was agonizing partly because I couldn't enjoy the discount or score the exclusives. I was glad to have a collector buddy of mine who got my back (when he could), and of course, I turned to the secondary market. 3AA is really an investment, and to date, I believe I have more than recouped the amount paid for the membership registration.

Traditionally, 3AA membership includes a figure, and it has always been 1/12. This year is the first year that the exclusive figure is 1/6 scale. Called the F-Legion figure, whatever that means... 3A fans on the forums have always been refered to as the "Legion", so perhaps that's where part of the name originated. But wtf... is with the "F"...? Some speculate that it has got to do with the notorious 3A BST on Facebook. Even the logo on the back of the jacket bears an uncanny resemblance to the social media network, though it doesn't really make any sense...

F-Legion's a character from the Adventure Kartel series, and related to the Robot Island story line. I'm quite interested to find out more, but alas, there isn't much that has been told, only that Cherry Bomb is probably the next figure from that story that will be released... He is a cyborg, which probably explains the metallic hues throughout his body, and the robot hands, identical to the WWRp Armstrong, Junglevet, and most likely the 10-Finger gang.

The figure didn't come in a box, but in a bag sealed by staples (think WWRp JDF Armstrong), and wrapped under a couple of layers of bubble wrap, then thrown inside the 3AA messenger bag. I can see why the toy manufacturing company is keen to have the 3AA messenger bags and caps delivered prior to SDCC, in a bid to encourage fans who're going to carry them for some free advertising / publicity. But I think they might've rushed the production a little bit too much since the paint on the head of my figure was still sticky when I opened him up (think Kyuuketsuki). This is quite a problem because the bald cyborg head, which is supposed to be smooth and shiny, now sports speckles of dust and cotton from the mask that he came wearing...

The cyborg wears jeans and a hooded jacket. Underneath the hood though, is an additional cotton mask, which zips right across the centre. I've always imagined that the mask was actually the hood of the jacket, and not separate layers. The mask, however, is sewn onto the back of the jacket. Initially I had some trouble trying to hide the opened mask under the jacket, which really bulked up the figure and made it look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Later, I discovered that things look better when I lined up the opened mask into the hood.

Another complaint that I have about the jacket is that the zip isn't designed to be able to split at its end (think APTK Yellow Hornets). I thought it would be cool if the jacket can be fully opened, as it offers an alternative way to display the figure. You will probably be able to force the zip through and split the jacket, but you will have a hard time getting both sides of the zips to go into the zipper later on... The jeans and sneakers look great though.

The cyborg's weapon of choice? A wooden baseball bat, which fits nicely into two rings that has been sewn into the back of the jacket. The bat is pretty well sculpted, as is the cyborg's head, which sports two lines that goes from each end of the upper lip of the mouth all the way up across the brows and the scalp to the rear of his neck. The lines across his forehead kinda reminds me of Freeza from Dragonball, and the curves on his upper lips were what caused fans to go thinking that he has a mustache when promo pics were revealed prior to 3AA sales. The eyes? Stone cold white circles, much like Rothchild's.

The cyborg's name and serial number are printed across his chest, the only decal that is found on him. Articulation wise, there isn't much to say. The joints are tight on the figure, all the fingers function well. Neck articulation is somewhat limited, but it is a common issue that comes with the narrow shoulder body that has been used.

Okay... now for the rantings. I'm really, really, really getting REALLY tired with QC issues of ThreeA figures. Dirt and dust and small little cotton balls on the figure's head due to wet paint, something I can keep an eye closed about. But a large gaping hole in the mask of the figure, right in his face between the zip and the left eye socket? I keep asking myself how can someone in the right state of mind approve such a defect to be shipped out of the factory... Could it have been overlooked because of the production of a huge order being rushed? Seriously, I can say that it ain't my problem. Sigh...

Just yesterday night I opened my Hot Toys Spider-man in black costume and wow... every single joint is tight underneath the costume, which is perfectly done. I didn't have to worry about accessing the joints below the costume to fix any loose joints by myself, cause it was so well done. One company has an impeccable QC, but lousy CS that is almost non-existant. The other has numerous QC issues, but great supporting CS. Honestly, I prefer to receive my figure in perfect condition, and end of story. Gotta go e-mail CS now and wait for their proposed solution. I hope it doesn't involve me sewing any parts on or off the jacket, cause god only knows how well I can handle a needle pulling thread.

 

Overall, F-Legion's a cool looking figure. I enjoy all the originality in the figure, from its new accessory (baseball bat), to the new jacket, and hood, and jeans, and sneakers (maybe the sneakers and jeans aren't new to veteran 3A collectors, but I don't own any Tommys so they are relatively new to me). Most impressive to me is the new headsculpt, which is simply bad ass. Alas, all the goodness are somewhat tainted by the QC issue, which is bugging me to no end now.

Forgive me if I left things hanging and totally ignore the presence of the 3A messenger bag and cap. Honestly, I don't give a shit about them... I just wish that I had a choice whether or not to buy them when I signed up for 3AA 2012. If it would mean that I pay $40 less for 3AA, hey, I'll be glad to take that deal up.

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