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By Ron, on March 11th, 2010 
I was chatting with some of the guys about taking pictures of action figures – a hobby near and dear to my heart, in case you hadn’t noticed. We got onto the subject of backgrounds. I’ve used plain dark backgrounds for dramatic lighting and plain light backgrounds to highlight the figures. And there’s guys like Sandman, who build elaborate sets for his photo shoots – see Sandman’s recent pictorial reviews for some mind-blowing shots.
There’s another type of background – the photo backdrop. A simple photo backdrop can provide the effect of a three-dimensional environment without having to build one. That’s the subject of this how-to article.
There’s more… click to continue reading How To Create Your Own Photo Backdrop
By Ron, on March 9th, 2010 Mattel has posted a couple of DC Universe Classics updates on the MattyCollector.com Facebook page. First, a quick update on the modern Cheetah variant for DC Universe Classics 13. The deco has been revised to add a black top and black leggings to represent her most recent look. For posterity, I included the original 2-up prototype shot on the right.
 
Here is the final version of Modern Cheetah. We do have plans for the all animal skin version, but not in Wave 13. Stay tuned!
Mattel also posted pics of the Wal-Mart exclusive wave 14. Although I knew Zatanna’s hat was removable, I hadn’t seen a pic with her hat off.
There’s more… click to continue reading Mattel DC Universe Classics Waves 13 and 14 Update
By Ron, on March 9th, 2010 
We’ve had more in-depth reviews of Superman Batman Public Enemies (see the review from Buzzy Fret and a guest review from Studmuffin), but since I recently completed the Brimstone Build-A-Figure that was split over two waves of these figures, I wanted to take a few more pics. Overall, I think this series works well enough as a standalone line. If you’re a fan of animated-styled figures and the ongoing McGuinness lines from DC Direct, you may find these complementary.
There’s more… click to continue reading Superman Batman Public Enemies Quick Pics
By Ron, on March 7th, 2010 It’s just over a week away, so be sure to mark your calendars, set your alarm clocks, and bookmark the all-in-one sales page. This MattyCollector.com sales date may turn out be just as crazy as February’s. There’s no Battle Cat this time, but Mattel still managed to make something that is sure to attract a lot of traffic. When they decided to make the running change to unflock Moss Man’s ears, they managed to finish production on a very limited number of Moss Man figures with flocked ears.
Because this variant will be very rare, we’re sure to see the folks who would have preferred flocked ears, completists on the line, and Scalp-or wannabes storming the site on Monday the 15th. Even though I’ve got a Club Eternia subscription, I’m bummed because I may have to fight my way through anyways, to get a reissued Stratos – he’s the only one I’ve skipped so far.
 3/15 Sale Reminder: Moss Man®, Stratos® & Scarecrow
Toy Fans,
A quick reminder that our next sale is coming up on Monday, March 15th! Click on our convenient “bundle” page and here are the figures you’ll find:
The sale starts at 12:00 noon Eastern (9:00am Pacific), so be sure to mark your calendar. I can also send you a reminder email, so if you haven’t registered yet, click here!
—Matty
P.S. You can also follow me on Twitter and get reminders there, too.
via MattyCollector.com Online Store.
By Ron, on March 2nd, 2010 As promised in our last Ask Matty Q&A, Mattel has published the schedule for its upcoming MattyCollector.com products through June of this year. No big surprises, but the Masters of the Universe Classics re-issues for each month were revealed: Stratos, Hordak, Mer-Man, and Faker will all get their “The Original” tags.
Product Release Schedule Through June
Toy Fans,
We do our best to plan when products will be released, but sometimes the production and delivery gods have other ideas. We’ve been doing a bit of the release date shuffle lately and thought it would be helpful to print our complete schedule through June:
 March
MOTU Classics: Stratos® (re-issue)
MOTU Classics: Moss Man® – Flocked Ears
MOTU Classics: Moss Man® – Unflocked Ears
(Club Eternia™ monthly figure)
DCUC Wave 12 Boxed Set (Darkseid)
The Dark Knight Scarecrow
 April
MOTU Classics: Wun-Dar™ & Map of Eternia®
(Club Eternia™ subscribers only – items not available for sale)
MOTU Classics: Hordak™ (re-issue)
MOTU Classics: Evil-Lyn® (Club Eternia™ monthly figure)
MOTU Ultimate Battle Ground Weapons Pak
Ghostbusters™ 12″ Peter Venkman™
 The Dark Knight Batman (Night Vision)
 May
MOTC Classics: Mer-Man® (re-issue)
MOTU “Oversized”: Tytus™
MOTU Classics: Optikk™ (Club Eternia™ monthly figure)
Ghostbusters™ 6″ Walter Peck™ (with containment unit)
The Dark Knight: Two-Face
June
MOTU Classics: Faker® (re-issue)
MOTU Classics: She-Ra™ (Club Eternia™ monthly figure)
DCU JLU Lobo
Ghostbusters™ 6″ Peter Venkman™ with Slimer
As always, these dates are subject to change, but we’ll let you know as soon as we know if anything changes.
Happy collecting!
—Matty
via MattyCollector.com Online Store.
By Ron, on March 1st, 2010 Here’s the latest Ask Matty Q&A. Thanks to Toy Guru and Mattel!
1. Great reveal for the Wal-Mart exclusive Green Lantern 5-pack. Some quick questions: Is that Tomar Re or Tomar Tu? Is John Stewart’s Mosaic costume the one that matches Katma Tui’s from Wave 11? Will GL Sinestro have a mask, and if so, is it sculpted or just painted on?
   
It is Tomar Re. The other outfits and look of the remaining three characters will be revealed shortly.
There’s more… click to continue reading AFP Ask Matty Round-Up for 3/1/10
By Ron, on March 1st, 2010
By Ron, on February 27th, 2010 In case you missed it in our Toy Fair coverage of Masters of the Universe Classics, He-Man and Skeletor are making a return to big box retailers. They’ll each be paired with a big hitter from DC Comics, in DC Universe Classics vs. Masters of the Universe Classics two packs. He-Man will be paired with Superman, and Skeletor will be paired with Lex Luthor.
VeeBee has a first look, but even better – these have already started to hit at Toys R Us, where these are exclusive. Good hunting!
 
Right off the bat, I have been in love with the idea of these sets since we first caught wind of them just befor New York Toy Fair earlier this month. I mean c’mon – these are just the logical next step, the natural progression. Mattel has been rocking the collector sect with their amazingly-Four Horsemen DC and MOTU lines for a couple of years now so to find a way to bring them together is like a nostalgia overload for the children of the 1980s. It makes perfect sense since DC Comics did publish a run of Masters of the Universe comics back in the early 1980s and that is the road Matty used to bring them all together. Furthermore, this is MOTUC’s very first venture off of www.mattycollector.com and into the retail aisles, that is a very exciting prospect in and of itself.
 
via First Look – DC Universe vs. Masters of the Universe Two Packs | TheFwoosh.com.
By Ron, on February 25th, 2010 A few days ago, I was checking out an article at ItsAllTrue.net – Noisy had just found a case of Toys R Us exclusive All-Star Batmen. My inner sarcastic voice was saying, great, just what we need – yet another Batman variant based off that figure we got way back in the first wave of DC Universe Classics.
Fast forward a couple of days, and I’m in Toys R Us. I’m not even there for myself – my wife was replacing a plush toy she had given away as a gift. And I’m holding one of these new Batman figures in my hand, thinking about how cool the pin looks, and how I could replace the black and gray Batman in my Justice League of America display, because that one has the yellow oval, not this neat black bat symbol…
  
So yes, Mattel, you win this round. Just like you win every round.
(In case you’re wondering, that’s a custom Tim Drake Robin in the Freddie Williams style, by our own Buzzy Fret. I’m so psyched to have him in my Batman display.)
By Buzzy Fret, on February 24th, 2010 
  
And stay tuned, Buzzy Fret is going to have his review of Wave 12 right here on AFP pretty soon too. – Ron
Wha’?! Oh yeah, Wave 12!
That’s right true believers, with hardly a chance to catch our breath from Wave 11, DC Universe Classics Wave 12 has come crashing down on us like a big ole Action Figure Tsunami! And what an interesting Wave it is. This is the first DCUC Wave sporting the new 75th Anniversary packaging and Collector Pins and the last (for only a little while I hope) to have a Fourth World character in the line-up. Whatever your feelings about DCUC 12, it is packed with character(s).
There’s more… click to continue reading DC Universe Classics Wave 12 – The Pros and Cons
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