Green Lantern Series 3: Sculpts Pass, Scale Fails

I was a huge Star Wars fan was I was a kid. I had all the original toys and playsets, in fact I sold off the majority of that to fund the start of my superhero toy collection - keeping my main characters and of course Admiral Ackbar, who for some reason has always been one of my favourite toys.

The thing I loved about getting toys from each wave of the Kenner line was the expansion of the Star Wars "world". That bit more of the universe to explore, display and enjoy. Now I've been collecting DCD long enough to know that having an aim like that with these toys will only lead to frustration. I just collect the lines I like and put them together where I can. It usually works for me. Sadly with this line that's not the case. I'll give you a rundown on the four new figures on their own and then show you why.

First to the good: I appreciate the way that DCD gives each wave its own distinctive packaging and styling and usually keeps it consistent between waves. This is the case here, and despite the distance in time between waves these would fit in perfectly with the previous for the MIP collector.

The overall look of these figures is great. The paint apps are very clean - no issues on any of mine. I really dig Sinestro's new uniform, so much so that I am almost tempted by the 13" version, but not if it's going to be as purple as this guy is. Grape Ape attacks! He includes a yellow lantern and a Despotellis figure which is a bit lacklustre - a bit more detail would have made it worth the effort.

Star Stapphire is pretty hot - I've heard her described as "Turnerized" but the main difference is she has a bigger noggin than the pinheaded ladies from the Identity Crisis line. This is an excellent figure and easier to pose than the original. She has basic articulation, but her head is pretty impossible to move because of her hair and her collar.

I don't own the original Cyborg Superman to compare with, but this one is a very adequate representation of his appearances in the Sinestro Corps War. The biggest annoyance with this and the other male figures is the lack of ankle articulation which makes them difficult to pose upright. I haven't been able to get Cyborg Superman to stand without a base. CS does have some nice touches, like a set of yellow Sinestro Corps rings.

I was totally not buying Bat Lantern, despite the fact that actually really liked the story that inspired the figure, but - what can I say? He looks great!! Not sure about the thing poking out of his Bat Symbol tho - I think it's supposed to be a projected it looks a bit wonkyville. It's a great toy for any Batfan, but I still think it will be the peg warmer of the wave.

And so the time has come once again for AFB to sadly blow a giant, juicy scale raspberry in the face of DC Direct. As has been discussed previously, I don't get hung up on scale as much as some collectors, but the very least I do expect that is that figures within the same series are in scale with each other (JSA Atoms, anyone........?). While these four figures work together on their own, things start to go pear shaped when you introduce figures from previous waves, and the biggest clanger of all is the Hal Jordan GL from Series One. Shorty City! Obviously the figures from the newer waves are fed a much more nutritious diet than those poor Series One guys were. However it happened, it doesn't make for a very impressive display.

And that's the rub, as so often happens with DCD. The character selection on this wave is bizarre - why not slip in one long-awaited GL Corps member like Arisia to keep the collectors happy? How hard is it to ensure that figures in the same series are at least in scale with each other? Why can't DCD seem to go those few extra inches to really deliver?

I wonder what vintage Star Wars figures are going for on eBay these days?