Wrestling Toys (Mattel WWE, Jazwares AEW, etc.)

[Mr_Saver]

That Mariah is very close. From my level of perfection I would probably need to look at a couple copies because especially on their female figures it needs to be dialed in or it's off.

But you have now set me on the path to find that Mariah.

Yeah the female likenesses are worse than the men on average.

I have a very few wwe figures. Recently bought the razor Ramon ultimate for a friend for his bday and the faces on that look really quite good. But then sometimes I’ll see someone and think that’s like a passing resemblance at best

 

[TheGillMan]

I get not wanting to start over, but that was crazy talk back then.

The new Monday Night War figures are in the area while my Brian Pillman preorder says November 14. I'm feeling too lazy to see if my store has any and will have to wait until tomorrow.


I got Mariah May over the weekend too. The sculpt is often there, I'd like to see jazwares take a shot at face printing. The paint apps on their gear is usually excellent.

I have no idea who either of these ladies are, as I haven't followed wrasslin' in decades, but the one in lingerie is definitely going to be a victim for Jason Voohees in my display.

 

[mrboshek]

Yes! I get to cancel my Walmart preorder! I'm waiting for the guy to clean/service my furnace, but had time for a quick morning trip to Walmart and Target. I might've bought all four figures (plus BAF) if toy buying hadn't been so busy for at least the last month.

 

[Damien]

But then sometimes I’ll see someone and think that’s like a passing resemblance at best

Sometimes I wonder if it's the Mark Hamill effect. Even Hot Toys can only seem to really get his likeness from certain angles. Maybe some wrestlers just have a harder face to translate into an action figure and that's why certain figures turn out so well and some turn out so badly? I also find that it seems like the more expression the face has, the more it looks correct. Like Pillman up there. Almost seems like the less expression they have, the easier it is to lose the qualities that make it look like that person.

 

[altcunningham]

Yeah, on any live action figure, it seems like if you just go for a subtle expression, you have a better chance of capturing the person. Like any portraiture it's about communicating the features, so if someone has a consistent scowl or smirk or something going on with their eyes, it's just going to read right off the bat. Some of the praise for that new Yelena was about how over it she looked, which is the trademark of the character. I think it's a valiant likeness, but that very slight put upon is what locks it in.

The flip side for toys is when you go for the extreme expressions, so many toy lines don't seem to carry it to the eyes in terms of sculpt or paint. And like in real life. If you lose it in the eyes it just reads fake. And it's already fake as a toy so...

 

[mrboshek]

The Pillman head is kind of funny because its socket is too big for the neck ball. It's like the times when you swap a random head onto another figure line's body. The head just rests on the neck and you say, "Good enough"

There's almost no friction between the socket and ball I mean, it's not a critical error and sometimes all you can do is laugh at the incompetence.

 

[vicious]

I gotta get that Tiffany Stratton. The waist swivel was killing female figures for me. Thanks for the heads-up on this one I completely forgot about her.

PS: those boobs are epic

 

[Damien]

The flip side for toys is when you go for the extreme expressions, so many toy lines don't seem to carry it to the eyes in terms of sculpt or paint. And like in real life. If you lose it in the eyes it just reads fake. And it's already fake as a toy so...

HUGE pet peeve of mine is sculptors that start by making a completely normal face, and end with a screaming mouth. Literally looks like two completely separate expressions were stitched onto each other and it just looks terrible. I think the worst is yelling heads where they don't scrunch the upper part of the face or furrow the brows or anything, so it looks more like a surprised or 'hold that bus!' face. Ick.

I do love me a very expressive face, but they really gotta do it right. So I get that expressionless faces are a safer bet. But as above, those also seem to lose the likeness the easiest.

 

[TheGillMan]

HUGE pet peeve of mine is sculptors that start by making a completely normal face, and end with a screaming mouth. Literally looks like two completely separate expressions were stitched onto each other and it just looks terrible. I think the worst is yelling heads where they don't scrunch the upper part of the face or furrow the brows or anything, so it looks more like a surprised or 'hold that bus!' face. Ick.

I do love me a very expressive face, but they really gotta do it right. So I get that expressionless faces are a safer bet. But as above, those also seem to lose the likeness the easiest.

Well, since most of my wrasslin' figures I use as victims in scenes with the likes of Jason, I love when they make heads like that, since they legit look more like they are screaming for their lives than about to deliver a beatdown! But yeah, I can see how it would bug the crap out of someone who wants a figure to look like he's about to open a whole six pack of Whupass.

 

[RicksNerdLife]

Welp.

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[vicious]

Good riddance. Jeremy Padawer made the AEW line junk with his 90s collectibles-style approach to the toyline. The toys were okay, I'll admit, but they spent so much on tooling parts to be used on limited-numbered releases, what's the point?

I like the idea of another company making Kenny Omega figures just for variety's sake. Seems like the Jazwares ones got worse with every release.

 

[secondwhiteline]

It's good and bad. Jazwares fumbled this line in so many ways, but AEW as it is right now seems unlikely to get standard scale wrestling figures through a company at Jazwares's size ever again. Obviously we're going to see retro presentations from boutique lines like Big Rubber Guys continue, but I don't see Jakks or Jada taking them on. So unless Major expands what they're willing to take on, I don't know what their realistic options are. Boss Fight? Super7?

 

[RicksNerdLife]

So, in discussing it with a buddy, I think it's definitely true, and I think it's a one sided split.

I've reached out to a few Jazwares sources for a definitive word, but haven't gotten anything back yet.

But we are coming up on the end of a five year deal--typical for these sorts of licenses. And I think AEW already has someone lined up to take over starting next year. My guess is Spinmaster.

They're in good with WB (who kinda owns AEW, at this point), they're losing the DC license, and they attempted to get the WWE license during a Mattel/WWE renewal.

Jazwares just showed a BUNCH of stuff recently, so I'm guessing they really expected to reup.

 

[vicious]

Jazwares has improved a lot as a toy company and AEW is unlikely to find a major backer so I am inclined to agree and hope for the sake of fans of the line that they continue making the figures. (I'm allowed to flip my opinion this quickly because I hadn't had my coffee before the last post)

 

[CTV]

The AEW figures are very hit or miss (and the line as a whole seems woefully mismanaged) but there are a few more performers I wanted to see made. I'm glad I was at least able to get Okada, Mariah May, and Mercedes before the line ended.