Unexpected Gems of 2018
 

Rather than a "Best of" list, I'd like to hear about figures you acquired in 2018 that you expected to not like or care little about.

Here are mine:

First up is this goofy bastard - Netflix Iron Fist
https://d9nvuahg4xykp.cloudfront.net...5686163517.jpg

Here are the obvious reasons not to like the figure.
1) It's just a guy in a suit.
2) The figure doesn't really look like the actor.
3) The character and series are generally considered the least popular in the Netflix Marvel Universe.

That said, Danny turned out to be an awesome figure. Danny's suited body differs from the others because the jacket flares out at the sides allowing for greater range of movement. Also since he's wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes, he's incredibly well balanced. Basically Danny can get into poses that figures like Coulson and Chameleon can't.

Next is Netflix Colleen Wing
https://d9nvuahg4xykp.cloudfront.net...2539759683.jpg
I was excited for Colleen until I saw someone review the figure. Like Danny's figure, Colleen's figure doesn't look like the actress. The reuse of the Elektra sai holding hand didn't make sense for a Colleen figure. And then there's this weird thing going on with Colleen's neck. It appears super long. Turns out the problem is really that her head sits high on the neck peg and that exposes a huge gap between the back of her head and neck.

After a few seconds of fiddling with her, I got over all my nitpicks. She poses really well for a female figure. That sai holding hand is great for martial arts poses. Also it works if you want to depict Colleen clawing out an opponent's eyes. As for Colleen's scrawny neck, it's not that noticeable from most angles. It also works for having a larger character choke Colleen. For instance, a WWE character's hand fits neatly around Colleen's throat. Probably my favorite thing about Colleen is her clothing. It's so refreshing to have a figure in what I consider casual wear rather than a costume or business attire.

And finally, these guys from Articulated Icons: The Feudal Series.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IsmAn9e3Nb8/maxresdefault.jpg
Didn't expect to care much about this line when I first heard about it. I mean these are figures that aren't part of any mainstream canon. They're also significantly more expensive than domestic figures. And that expense was way too high for characters that would just be cannon fodder in a display featuring heroes. Anyway, I finally broke down and decided to try out one of the basic ninjas. Man, was I wrong about these guys just being cannon fodder. They have their own bios and backstories. Not to mention, excellent face sculpts. Even the eyes of masked characters convey a sense of emotion (usually menace). Then there's the fact that you can swap parts with other figures to create your own characters. They also balance like a champ. I bought another ten after the first one and will probably continue to buy more. I've also set up displays solely for these guys. I can't recommend them enough. In fact, there's a holiday sale on them right now over at The Fwoosh.

BTW, photos are from collectors.com and D Amazing.

Never knew the feudal series existed, but damn they look nice.

What scale are these?


CCC.

Super 7's Maria from Metropolis. Only 5 PoA but I actually feel that is appropriate for an iconic character from a 1920's black and white film, retro style for a retro character.
https://i.imgur.com/RL5cbY9.jpg


CCC.

SOC Daizyuzin and Dragon Caesar. Oh, and NECA's Michael Myers.

1:12.

Lots of great figures in 2018, but for the ones that surprised me in some way I'll have to go with:

Jazzwares Fortnite figures - I'm not a player of the game, nor am I really a collector of 1:18 scale, but these figures are awesome.

Kamen Rider: Rider's Kick Figure - Despite the weird scale, these are some awesome figures for the price (between $14-$18) and a solid alternative to Figuarts.

Dabbled in Neca 1/4 last yearr and pleasantly surprised. They look great, they're pretty fun to mess around with and they don't seem to take up as much space as I thought they would.