Yes Virginia, there is such a thing called 'Toy Destiny'...

War Machine from Marvel-Hasbro

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect for this opportunity to come, and just when I thought that I had totally given up in finding a mini 3-inch figure of War Machine to somehow complete my Iron Man 2 collection... there they were... staring literally right in front of me... hanging on display at a famous toy discount store. I was in complete bliss! Where have you been all my life?!.. Is this real?!.. For heaven's sake somebody pinch me and tell me this isn't a dream! Instinctively I grabbed the very first War Machine figure I saw in front of me and knowing that there might be another one hidden somewhere, I began to thoroughly search each and every row I came across and bingo! Saw another one lurking somewhere in the middle section and immediately took it as well.


Before I continue folks, let me give you a brief rundown on the entire story behind my constant search for that elusive 3-inch War Machine figure for all of you guys to know what I have been blabbing just earlier... Marvel/Hasbro came up with this Iron Man 2 line-up of toys (which includes the 3-inchers) during the world premiere of the second Iron Man movie back in 2010. Eventually the excess stocks of Iron Man 2 toys went on sale around middle to late last year (2011) and that was the only time I was able to purchase the Mark III, Mark V and Mark VI since their prices were slashed by half. The 3-inchers were as abundant as it can be and all I had to do was carefully choose the better one where there were no issues with the paint job, cosmetic defects and so forth. And in that line-up, War Machine and the Tactical Assault Drone are also included... but not even one of these figures was to be found selling or even hiding somewhere from the Marvel Toy Section! Talk about "intentional scarcity" where some individuals would hoard the items that they know would be the most wanted by fans and collectors alike and jack-up their prices 2 to 3 times more! I couldn't care less about the Tactical Assault Drone if I don't get to buy it, but come hell or high waters I must have just even one War Machine figure... just one figure to complete my collection and that's it! Sadly weeks turned to months and months into years, and eventually I've decided to give up my search for those War Machine 3-inch figures because for one thing, I know for a fact that there are other toy shops who has those and as much as I want that item, I will not even dare to shell out my money for something that they are selling way too high than its intended retail price. But I guess it was indeed my destiny to cross paths with this baby and all I needed was to wait for a looonnnggg time, but it paid off quite well! I bought the two War Machine figures I found on the spot and went home feeling, as always, like a winner!

Despite being small with several paint job issues, this figure is still worth having!

I've posted some of the photos I took earlier and honestly, despite its small frame and limited posing action, this War Machine figure just looks awesome from every angle you look! No wonder every single War Machine item, from the smallest to the biggest figure, were selling out fast! Iron Man rocks big time no doubt about it, but there's something about the War Machine suit that gains (slightly) the upper hand than that of the other Tony Stark masterpieces... the colors? The payload of weaponry? Maybe these two factors have contributed greatly in making James Rhodes' alter-ego look really bad-ass! 'Til next time folks, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Spawn Deluxe Action Figure -- Angela from Todd Toys (1995)

Angela the Bounty Hunter from Todd McFarlane's Spawn

I'm back ladies and gentlemen for another new toy feature and I do hope all of you would forgive me for the long delay in the post updates here on Made in X since yours truly have been not in the best of health lately and my suspicion is that I've been spending too much of my time in front of the PC and before things could get from bad to worse, I decided to stay away for a while from my beloved desktop computer and nursed myself for some time until I got my groove back. Anyways, today I would like to share to all of you this nifty action toy figure that I consider to be one of the best buys I've ever purchased and it is no other than that very controversial comic book character conceptualized by writer Neil Gaiman and brought to life by artist Todd McFarlane. And I'm talking about none other than that fiery, angelic bounty hunter vixen we all know as Angela...


I've been somewhat an avid collector of figures released by McFarlane Toys though I can't say that I have a huge collection of these items with me but when I get to really fancy a particular character from any of the vast McFarlane Toys line, I made sure that I'd get them no matter what, given the fact that these items doesn't come cheap and making that crucial, final decision on what to buy first was serious torment to myself and on my budget. Sadly McFarlane Toys somehow slowed down (if not, ceased production indefinitely) with the manufacturing of its action figures and you might get to come across some of these toys selling somewhere either in mint condition with a hefty price tag or being sold as loose items from second-hand toy shops. But for the Angela action figure that I bought, I got it for cheap but the carded packaging was somehow nearly in bad shape... it wasn't sold as a loose item, it was in a way untouched with some major issues on the packaging.

The Angela Deluxe Action Figure was released in 1995 during the height of Spawn's popularity and was part of a toy line released by Todd McFarlane which was known then as 'Todd Toys.' Being an action figure released in the 1990's, it was just like any other action figure in the market at that time where you can sway back and forth its arms, bend their knees and insert weapons on their hands.. stuff like that. To compare it to today's toy standards, the first-generation figures from Todd Toys are now categorized as "crude" and in a way outdated unlike today where toy figures are just brimming with numerous sweet points of articulation on every joint in their body where you can just pose them anyway you want. But I do know for one thing is that, what sets Todd Toys apart from the other toy figures then are the awesome detailing and craftsmanship made on every Spawn character released... fanboys and toy collectors were just smitten and drooling over them and they will do anything just to get their hands on every character released in the market! As for me, seeing this classic Angela fig from Todd Toys can be considered a rare find and figures like these are hard to come by nowadays and so I never hesitated to buy it since this and the other characters included were the first ones who came in line until Todd came up with more finely, intricately detailed figures we come to know as part of his successful 'McFarlane Toys' merchandise.


Since the packaging is all worn out, I never felt any regret opening it and so I took it out from the plastic casing and started taking photos of her on my tabletop studio. I've attached some photo samples of Angela below and if you want to check out the rest of the set, please do visit our Facebook page by just clicking here. Hope you guys like it and until the next toy feature, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)