That Dark Detective is a neat looking design for Bruce. Might just snag that one.

A figure should be taken out of the "smooth joints" ranking when they have to be boiled before play so they don't literally snap in half, imo.

There is much truth in what you say. Not to mention VV figs 10 bucks more and the character designs are basic. Classified is king.

And you know your Classified money is at least partially going to good peeps like Lenny and Emily, while your VV cash is going straight to Baron Bear Douche Grudge Holder, Keeper of Years Old Comment Printouts :/

i don't think you should be posing figures while you're on a vehicle anyway

Well I didn't have to boil it. Just hot water from the tap. But at this point I've had to put every Hasbro and Mcfarlane product in a warm bath because all these figures have some locked up plastic joints.

So yeah some hot water is very much an acceptable solution then having no articulation and having jagged looking joints because the designer didn't take articulation into account when designing the knees and elbows.

It's super easy, barely an inconvenience.

Well the more complex character designs are 10 bucks more. But the basic figs are $22. If you're trying to argue GI Joe has far more characters are various designs. Hey you are very correct. Makes army building pretty easy at the moment. That doesn't mean it's the better toy from an articulation standpoint which is what the conversation is about.

I play with my toys, so a bath is not just an inconvenience but a deal breaker. Not even my NECA have had to go through all that.

Replacing an O-ring on an '80s Joe or lubing a wrist on a 25yo movie Violator is one level, sanding a a hip ball so it *feels* better is another, but bathing your figures just so the knees can move for a few minutes is so far and away that they're no longer toys. It's a poseable statue and in an entirely different category of object.

Sometimes I think McFarlane chose those weird joints just to spite us, like a "you wanted articulation?? Fine!!! Here's all the crazy articulation you could ask for!!!" kind of thing.

So let me get this straight. Physically altering the figure is perfectly fine for you.

But potentially you may need to dip a figure in some hot water for a minute one time is absolutely out of the question?

Do you believe that for the figure I am talking about that if you want to do any posing, you must put it in hot water?


Is that how you think that's something Marvel Legend/Gi Joe Classified/Star Wars Black/Lightning Collection/Neca/Mcfaralane figure owners have to do every single time they want to pose a figure?

Because I'm punchy after 11 hours of working...
Here's the McFarlane release list for 2022 (with due respects)
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, BATMAN
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, BATMAN
BATMAN, BATMAN, BATMAN,
BATMAN, BATMAN, BATMAN,
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, SPAWN!

Let's go!

Maintenance of older figures is nigh-expected, and alteration of current figures to suit personal taste (like shaving down a ratchet or painting a pin) is acceptable depending on the price point. Customizing is a whole other rabbit hole, of course. :)

That's an acceptable practice in many cases (paint lock, for one, or after being kept in a particularly cold area) but every time in preparation for even swapping an accessory? Yes, that is out of the question for me, and I won't consider a toy that needs to be warmed up like a frozen dinner. I also won't consider high-end clothed figures that require cotton gloves when handling so my skin doesn't snag the fabric, if that makes any difference.

I've heard it straight from multiple people: they come back to re-pose the next day, only to find they need to heat the entire thing up again, and again the next week. That a handful of joints aren't as affected, but ones like the knees and hips will lock up entirely again, and hands will snap if you insert a weapon without heating them up. Vests are their own nightmare requiring tweezers or pliers with focused heat/cold cycles to keep them in place. Gun stocks snap off at room temp.

Like, this is kind of what the line's becoming best known for?

No, not at all, I even said that I don't heat up my NECAs and have had no problems (at least not in a few years) and the only times I've heated up my Classified figures has been to pop them apart for mods or repainting. I'm pretty sure Valaverse is quite alone in needing a thermometer to strike a pose. Like I said, there are levels to all this. Taking extra care to swap a head or hand is always a good choice, and needing to take additional steps when modifying a figure to your individual preferences are on a whole different level from "basic functionality requires a heat gun".

It's a toy; if it can't be played with straight off the shelf then something is amiss. I don't get to hear people complain about NECA for years and years about crud QC, then have Vala gushers tell me I'm some kind of elitist idiot for not being willing to give my toys a bubble bath before playing.

Huh? What twist? I'm pretty sure we've known The Next Batman was gonna be Timothy "Jace" Fox, son of Lucius Fox, since the whole thing was announced. Or at least I feel like I remember that being the case.

Wait, hes supposed to be a black guy? I didnt pick up on that from the artwork...only noticed that theres a resemblance to Michael Keaton. If it were me, I would've based it on Michael Jai White but whatever.

Yeah, Batman is currently replaced with a black guy until they then decide again to make him Bruce again.

I feel like every year they replace Bruce and then bring him back as a marketing gimmick. I expect this dude will have a CW show like Naomi soon.

Well I can't speak for those multiple people. I have not needed to reheat the figures every time I wanted to pose.
My figures weren't locked up to start nor have locked up later on. Nor does it seem like my hands will snap putting accessories into them.

Given how it is winter right now, I do have to question the validity of their statements. Of course maybe they are living in warm temps.

The vests are an annoyance due to the peg. That was definitely a misstep in the design. But focused heat/cold cycles?
You just can't get a good grip on the peg. It super easy to pop them in if it's off the figure. With a pair of tweezers it would take like 3 seconds to pop in securely. This is something the designers needs to address.

The accessories are a harder plastic. So you get detailed accessories that aren't going to warp at the expense of flexibility. While others go more flexible at the expense of warping/less detail.


From my pov, you've drastically overblown these issues that also plague every plastic figure nowadays. You are making it seems like these figures needs 24/7 maintenance with extreme care which just isn't true. If you own a Marvel Legends figure, you have 90% of a Valaverse experience.

as if Bruce Wayne is an indelible character with dimensions and depth

even he knows he doesn't have a personality and that's why he hits his motif harder than any other comic book character in history

I'm amazed at how Mcfarlane just continues to pump out virtually nothing but every single Batman he can think of doing even if it just appeared for one panel in someone's dream & people keep buying them. They are staction figures, they come with zero extra headsculpts/hands, asides from a very rare few that I've seen, They're in the 7' scale so incompatible with ML. The 4HM DCUC line will always be the standard by which I measure other DC related action figure lines by & they are still the best action figure line based on DCU characters, not just Bat related characters. And just bout everything in this line is modern based or movie/video game based. I truly don't get what ya'll see in this line??

Well different strokes for different folks.

Actually looking at the 2021 releases for example.
The number of actual Batman figures is higher then any other character yes. But they don't make up the bulk of 2021 releases.

It was heavy at the start with Batman themed waves for the first half but low of actually new Batman figures in the 2nd. Especially with the shipping delays pushing the last releases into 2022.

I'd be curious for this year given Aquaman 2 and Black Adam.

I think I've been annoyingly vocal of the statue elements and lack of accessories. Very much needs to be addressed.


7 inch scale. It's annoying if you collect those other lines in a 6 inch scale and want to post them together. But if you just collect this line(and Neca) then the scale doesn't matter. There isn't anything inherently better about 6 inch scale but that's Hasbro's standard. It's not like Figuarts and Maefex are the exact same height as a ML figure. You could make the argument about the annoyance of 6 inch if you just collect say NECA/Mcfarlane.

Personally and this what's annoying, there are more options for detail at 7inches if the company takes advantage of it.


Now based on Modern/VG based. Well always subject to personal preference. I assume there are many people who like the newer comics and newer designs.
What's happened in the past is too much focus on classic leading to a demand some something more modern.

I think right now, there's no "definitive" figure for a lot of characters.

I don't understand why people still complain about this. There've been action figures made in a variety of heights for decades. Why do action figures have to be in the 6-inch scale, other than to satisfy the OCD tendencies of some collectors?

Because there are some of us who are Marvel & DC fans & have always dreamed of being able to be able to pose the Avengers in Battle vs the JL, Thor vs Supes, Bats vs Cap, etc. Can't do that when Supes towers over Thor or Flash over QS.

So buy the Mattel versions.

DC figures have been 7 inch before, too. Those Arrow and Flash CW ones are definitely closer to 7". My Zoom doesn't look out of place with most of the McFarlane figures, for example. And my old Mary Marvel fits nicely with most of McFarlane's stuff. Same with the old Alex Ross ones.

Biggest issue with McFarlane is that he can't get his scales right IN their scale. Batgirl and Damian are WAY too tall IMHO. Same with the upcoming Carrie Kelly. Mafex TDK Batman is fairly in scale to the McFarlane ones, but their Carrie Kelly, in scale with how she should be, is minute compared to McFarlane Damian! Same with cartoon Harley being the same height as Batman!

Few things, many are expensive to buy, while the scale is compatible with ML, the articulation is outdated as they had small neck pegs that only allowed right/left movement, very limited if any up/down movement, the hands were limited as well and they mostly gave all the characters fists and no double elbow/knee joint articulation & no ankle swivel. The best thing about the DCUC line was that unlike the McFarlane Batverse, they did just about every DC character you could think of & made every character for every team you could think of both good & bad. And they did the classics with a few modern versions of the time thrown in for good measure. Their classic Etrigan the Demon blows away the McFarlane version. If Mattel were to hire back the 4HM to redo the DCU again in 6' scale, that would put the McFarlane Batverse line outta work.

Licensing doesn't work that way. Also, based on your comments about articulation, you basically want the same company to make all of the figures you want -- which again is also unlikely to happen.