Hello again mini figure fans! Sorry about missing last week but that is because I have a doozy of an article for you this week. Settle in, get comfortable, and you may want to grab a beverage because we are in for a long one. This article is going to be about Minimates, it will span multiple properties and genres, there will be many pictures, and more than likely a bit of rambling. Stick with me folks, I like to think it will be worth it.
Before I start talking about the figures I want to say that I think Diamond Select Toys (DST) does a phenomenal job incorporating just about every license they can get into the Minimate aesthetic. I believe it to be a combination of fantastic artists as well as the fact that the bare bones Minimate is simple enough to host just about any property, whether or not it requires some modified parts.
THE MEAT
Cowabunga! Let’s start things off with one of DST’s more recent license acquisitions obtained from Nickelodeon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For anybody that hasn’t watched the latest incarnation of our favorite heroes in a half shell, I would highly recommend that you do. The show is tons of fun! I will actually only be talking about the series two blind bags for now because I’ve slacked on series one and don’t have them all yet. Series two is made up of Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Master Splinter, Casey Jones, Karai, Norman (Kraang Bot), and Chris Bradford. Karai and Bradford are exclusive to this assortment and Bradford is limited to one per case. The Minimates stay true to the colors of the show beautifully, and they were able to capture the personality of each turtle quite well.
As for the non-turtles they really out-did themselves. Karai is pretty basic, but well done. Chris Bradford is an unexpected choice in my book, but a good one, his shoulder armor spikes are nice. Master Splinter is fairly simple with the exception of his sculpted head. I do wish they would have sculpted a better cane, it is very show accurate but he doesn’t hold on to it very well.
Casey Jones is a given and they sure pulled out all the stops for him, I'm even giving him his own paragraph! His bat and hockey sticks can all be holstered on his back, his hockey gloves were sculpted very well, and he even has a couple of spray paints cans on his shoulder strap. The paint application on my figure isn’t the greatest, I don’t know if that is the norm or if mine is the exception. Regardless, Casey Jones is one awesome figure, if you’re a TMNT fan I would highly recommend you pick him up.
Most of these figures come packed with accessories, most all of them have an extra head, in addition to weapons. The turtles also all come with a prop from the show in addition to pieces of pizza, and Norman has a Kraang brain figure.
I’m ready(!) to talk Spongebob. I’m not exactly sure how the recent resurgence of Spongebob has come to happen, but if it helps Minimates reach a wider audience and I am all for it. From my understanding we actually have TMNT to thank for these Spongebob ‘mates. Series one of TMNT did well enough that DST pursued another license from Nickelodeon and thus Spongebob ‘mates were born. In the long run I don’t see these being nearly as profitable as TMNT but I watched my share of Spongebob when I was a kid so these are pretty nostalgic for me. The Minimate community appears to be pretty divided over these, either you love or loathe them. I want to point out the Spongebob thread on MiniMate Multiverse, it’s full of awesome fish puns from around the time the series was revealed, if you need a laugh go check it out.
The series is made up of the normal Minimate two-packs including: Spongebob with Sandy, Patrick with Squidward, Mr Krabs with Percha Perkins, and a one per case two pack of Grandpappy Redbeard and orange Perch Perkins. Toys R Us also has an exclusive four pack that includes Plankton. So far I only have the basic set, missing the TRU exclusive and the one per case pack.
DST really pushed the boundaries of Minimates with this series, that being said I still feel they are all immediately identifiable as Minimates. Spongebob himself is probably the least minimate-like of the bunch solely for his box of a body; he’s still got the arms, legs, and crotch piece of a minimate which keeps him true to their roots. Sandy only has a minor alteration on her head to make her more like the character and has a pretty cool astronaut suit including a helmet. Her tail is fixed to the back of the suit which means if you are after the suit for customization you will have to cut off the tail. Patrick looks pretty good, he makes great use of a bulked up chest piece to fatten him up and they made it so the arms aren’t completely hindered by the chest piece. I do wish that they would have made the head transition a little smoother, as it is there is a very noticeable line in the middle of his head. Squidward might quietly be winner of this set, at least for me. They were able to pull off giving him four feet very well, he still only has two legs but it doesn’t detract from the figure at all. He also has a big bulbous head, staying true to the character.
Mr. Krabs is a close second behind Spongebob for being the furthest from a minimate. His head nowhere near a normal minimate head, out of necessity, he would look very strange with the eyes coming out the top of the normal cylinder head. He also has a bulked up chest piece to give him some girth, but where they nailed it for this character is in the legs. The only leg articulation is at the hips which is just about where the legs end, where a normal ‘mate would have knee joints this guys legs just stop. Perch Perkins is a character I don’t recall being very important to the show, I vaguely remember him doing on sight reporting and such but he kind of seems like the odd man out. He is a very generic minimate with only headphones sculpted to the hair and a slightly taller head than normal to give him height.
The two things I feel this series lacks are accessories, with Squidward's clarinet and Mr. Krabs' bag of money being the only two, and another solid character. Perch Perkins is a big miss for me, it could have been Gary, a jellyfish, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, or even Mr. Krabs daughter Pearl.
Take a deep breath, we’re about halfway through.....
Continuing on with the TV shows but making the transition to live action we have series seven of The Walking Dead. These are my first Walking Dead ‘mates, and as I don’t follow the comics just the show I don’t know most of the characters. That does not deter me from these ‘mates at all though, I love some of the pieces that come in this assortment and may finally start kit bashing some custom characters together.
This series includes two packs of: Mayor Rick Grimes and Paul “Jesus” Monroe, Negan and Dwight, Hunter Chris and Zombie Holly, and a one per case Scavengers Leader with Zombie Holly. All of the figures are standard minimate bodies, (SPOILER!) though Rick is missing a hand (END SPOILER) so where the good stuff comes in is the clothes and accessories. Jesus has an awesome trench coat and a long hair piece that is pretty cool. Negan has a black leather jacket and a slicked back hair piece what would be awesome for a biker/gangster character. Dwight has a gnarly burned face, tatted hairy arms, and a crossbow. Hunter Chris has a nice bomber jacket, hair and a low hanging holster that would be perfect for a Han Solo Custom. Other accessories in the set total up to a small armory including an assault rifle, pistols, knives, and a baseball bat. Holly being packed twice is even ok because she comes with an alternate head and hands so you can have a live version and zombie version.
Moving on to the big screen we have the Avengers Age of Ultron assortment. The two packs include: Iron Man with Black Widow, Thor with Captain America, Hawkeye with Ultron, and a one per case variant pack of Hawkeye in his long coat with a Sub-Ultron!
Re-hashes of the movie Avengers are very much in DST’s wheelhouse but that is ok. Generally there are minor costume changes so they are never the exact same release, even if it just means a color change. The character line-up is pretty standard with the exception of Ultron who is the baddie in the upcoming film. I haven’t tracked down the variant Hawkeye set yet so I don’t have any Sub-Ultrons and I definitely want to get Clint in his new coat.
Iron Man comes with a double foot flight stand and his armor seems to have sharper edges than a lot of the past versions. He also has a hair piece so you can remove the helmet if you want. Black Widow has new baton-like weapons that are pretty slick. Her hair piece is also probably the best yet for her. She also has a holster on her leg for her pistol.
Thor went through a costume update, nothing major, just some new wrist guards and an altered chest plate. He also has a new hair piece that I like a lot. Captain America is more of the same, his costume has a couple new detail lines and I believe is more of a royal shade of blue. He comes with his standard alternate glove that has a peg to hold the shield and there is also a peg on the back harness so he can wear it on his back.
Hawkeye is probably my favorite of the bunch. He has a quiver on his back with molded in arrows and three loose arrows to put in it. His bow comes with a notch to hold an arrow on it for a shot. Ultron is pretty slick as well. He’s a bare bones minimate with a couple of antennae on the side of the head. The graphic printed on the chest, and most of the body, is pretty intricate and does a good job at creating depth. I really want to get a Sub-Ultron to compare the two.
POTATOES
No Potatoes this week, there was plenty of Meat so hopefully that ought to keep you sated for now. For now you can browse through all of Diamond Select Toys' Minimates here.
DESSERT
I’ve had a bit of a dry spell when it comes to Minimates for the past few weeks, it’s nice to be able to sink my teeth into such a variety of figures. Like I mentioned at the beginning I think DST does a great job of incorporating their style into just about every property. I hope the variety of Minimates I talked about today helped show that. And to everybody that stuck it through for the whole thing, thank you! I’ll see you next week!
This weekend saw some awesome releases! At C2E2 Mark from Mystical Warriors of the Ring was selling series 2 and Goliath in metallic black. I was fortunate enough to connect with a member of MiniMate Multiverse who picked me up a pack which means I won’t have to brave the battle when the small amount that remains hit the online store.
Also on Saturday Big Man Toys rolled out Day of the Slug 2. There are some more great sculpts in this line up including: Slugger, Portal Mage, Leatherface, and Portal Slug. Until May 1st you can enter in the code “SLUGLIFE” for 15% off your order!
Taylor resides just outside of Houston where he scouts local stores for new mini figures. When he is not spending his spare time with toys you will find him binge watching Netflix, playing video games, or reading a book. You can follow Taylor on Twitter and Instagram @whywing01 for irregular updates, not always about toys.