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Comment Thread

by Weirdonian
(unregistered id: 19661A2D7D)
Reply

I have to agree that these figures are rather flawed, and those flaws are firmly rooted in the decision to emulate the old Mego figures, a decision I was worried about when it was announced but I hoped my fears were unjustified. Instead of letting the design of the characters guide the design of the figures, they've gone in the opposite direction. The trouble with going that route is that much is lost, the original character design ends up looking distorted, and it all ends up looking like a bunch of Mego dolls wearing Venture Brothers costumes rather than faithful representations of the characters. Not that I think it's all bad. Besides Brock, the head sculpts appear to be going in the right direction. But their very cheap looking bodies drag down the overall design.

As a collector I look for figures that people actually put time, thought and talent into creating. I can't say I completely hate these Mego-Venture figures, The Monarch is kinda OK, but as they are, I certainly don't like them enough to plop down 20 or so bucks for each. So, why try to conform modern designs onto archaic foundations? In the end, it seems to be doing neither justice.

Feb. 15, 2010, 4:59am

by crawling brain
(unregistered id: 01F9928F2E)
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I completely agree with you. I initially felt uneasy about the idea of MEGO-styled figures, but I appreciated what they were doing in terms of kitsch and was hoping it would be pulled of successfully. Mattel's upcoming Retro Action Super Hero line is a good example (check em out here: http://www.thefwoosh.com/forum/download/file.php?id=81&mode=view). They've got the goofy, old school look, but the bodies are at least proportioned right and they aren't drowning in their oversized clothes. Hopefully the folks at Bif Bang Pow took a stroll around Toy Fare and saw how inferior their product looks compared to Mattel's.

Feb. 15, 2010, 7:20am

by Mike
(unregistered id: D548A83739)
Reply

I'm hoping that the bagginess of the clothing is partly due to them being prototypes. Even original Mego dolls didn't have clothing that baggy. I actually really like the look of old Mego figures, there's something about their design and construction that makes me want to spend hundreds of dollars procuring a couple (I won't though).

http://www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/superman.html
http://www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/spiderman.html
http://www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/hulk.html (Hulk's pants are about as baggy as they got)
http://www.megomuseum.com/wgsh/batman.html (Batman is one of the goofiest looking ones, plus note his ridiculous looking oven mitt gloves)

Feb. 16, 2010, 3:17am

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