Wednesday, April 6, 2016

A New Batgirl Review: Barbara Gordon from Batman: Classic TV Series by Figures Toy Co.

  If you've spent any time reading my reviews, you've probably caught on to the fact that I'm a huge Batgirl fan. I guess you should more accurately say, though, that I'm a huge Barbara Gordon fan. I like Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain but I don't collect stuff featuring them unless they're figures I'd pick up as part of my regular DC Universe/ Batman collecting. If it's Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, or Oracle, or just as herself, I'm absolutely going to pick it up, though, which is why I'm beginning a series of reviews based on some Mego style Barbara Gordon/ Batgirl figures from Figures Toy Co. Figures Toy Co. is without a doubt the most prolific company working in this style and scale and their Batman 1966/ Classic TV Series line is really extensive and their fifth series of figures has just introduced Barbara Gordon into the mix. Today I'm looking at the standard Barbara Gordon figure from the line, which is pretty exciting as I really can't recall any other action figure line releasing just a Barbara Gordon figure. The closest would be the DC Secret Files Unmasked Batgirl/ Barbara Gordon from DC Direct that was released a few years back, but it only captured Babs without her cowl, not in her civilian attire. Ready for a closer look at Barbara Gordon? Then join me after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 8 inches

Articulation: Hinged ankles, hinged knees, elastic ball jointed hips, o-ring waist, o-ring mid torso, o-ring shoulders, hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, o-ring neck, swivel head.

Accessories: Shoes, skirt, sweater, jacket, and purse.

Non-Scalper Price: $30-$35 dollars
The Positives:

* I usually don't talk much about packaging on here but I'm making an exception since this packaging is intentionally reusable. There's a plastic zip-tie through the peg hole that says Figures Toy Co. Once you remove that you can easily open and close the durable plastic clamshell. There are some twist ties but a little work will allow you to keep your Barbara Gordon figure on display. I think she looks great in the package as it's very personalized for her with a picture of her in this exact outfit and a few other general Batgirl shots.

 * I'm not a huge fan of the Mego style but they really do have a pretty wide range of articulation built around a standard body. There's a series of rubber connectors inside that give the neck, torso, hips, and shoulders a lot of movement. If you've never held one in person the figure seems to be kind of a cross between a Marvel Legends figure and a Barbie.


 * First, underneath Barbara's jacket is a simple blue skirt and white sweater. Both pieces of the outfit fit really well and look fantastic. They're kind of simple looking but that's part of the Mego styling. Take off the jacket and you have a great standard Barbara Gordon for your collection.

 * Over the skirt and sweater Barbara is wearing a really nice yellow coat with awesome buttons. Here's a picture of the original outfit this figure is based on and I think Figures Toy Co. did a pretty nice job in translating it to the Mego style. It fits well over her other clothes and really stands out on display.


* Babs' only handheld accessory is a handbag that complements her outfit. It's made from kind of a plastic/ pleathery material with a metal clasp on the strap. It also legitimately opens and could store one or two smaller accessories inside.

* I'm really divided by Barbara's headsculpt as I have some pretty heavy criticisms of it but first I want to point out the positives: If you look at the headsculpt from the nose up, it's pretty good. The eyes, hair, and nose really capture Yvonne Craig's likeness. Even though this is done in a retro style, it's still quite recognizable.
 The Negatives:

*The problem with this headsculpt is the lower half of the face. The first problem is that the jawline seems much too large and rounded. It really just seems far to oversized to work with the rest of the face. Secondly, Figures Toy Co. went with a rather odd expression. I wish they'd gone with a smile or something rather than this odd glare. Everyone was always so happy and silly in the 1966 series and that look would have been so much more fitting.


* Barbara comes with a pair of yellow high heels. They look good on her but they fall of really easily. I mean these things just seems to slip right off of her feet. I wish they were a bit tighter or that they had been sculpted on so as to prevent these problems.
 I'm not a Mego collector by any means but I do think that Figures Toy Co. is doing some cool things with their Batman TV Series line. I love their character selection and the costumes but I'm really not sold on this headsculpt. I'm hoping that they try another headsculpt in the figure as this one just doesn't thrill me. Still, the outfit is really nice and the overall presentation (including the resealable packaging) is quite fabulous. This is a Good figure if you're into this style of figure or a fan of the character, but my guess is that this toy targets a pretty narrow collecting demographic. Still, it's amazing that Figures Toy Co. can keep their 1966 line going while Mattel's pretty much died right away.


The only other Mego styled Batgirl figure I've reviewed on the site is Batgirl from Figures Toy Co.'s Batman Retro: First Appearance. I've reviewed plenty of other Batgirl stuff, all of which is archived at my virtual Batgirl museum.

If you're looking for more stuff based on the Batman Classic TV Series, check out my reviews of:

Batman: Classic TV Series by Mattel (2013)
Batgirl
Batman
Catwoman
The Joker
The Penguin
The Riddler
Surf's Up Batman

Batman: Classic TV Series Bendables by NJ Croce (2014)
Batgirl 
Batman

Batman: Classic TV Series Maquettes by Tweeterhead
Batgirl (Signature Series)

Batman: Classic TV Series Premiere Collection by Diamond Select Toys
Batgirl
 
 

4 comments:

  1. Too bad they didn't nail the headsculpt, since that's pretty much what makes this figure. I get where they are going with this one, but like you said, their demographic is pretty small. Personally I'd have preferred to see a 'maskless' Batgirl, or perhaps her Batgirl top underneath her overcoat.

    Still, it's Yvonne Craig, and that's pretty cool no matter what.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They seem to be all about variants (very easy in a line like this) so I wouldn't be surprised to see her in the future. I mean, they've got 3 Batgirl/ Barbaras out right now and have a fourth variant coming soon (BG in the wedding dress).

      Delete
  2. Not trying to be a dick, but it looks like her head is about 10% too big for the body. And the expression is just... meh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yeah. That expression is really a bit weird. Now the head size, that's just a part of the Mego styling of this line. I'm not a huge Mego styled fan myself but the slightly large head shows up on most Megi and Mego inspired figures. It's just part of the style.

      Delete

What'chu talkin' 'bout?