Disney Afternoon Series 2

Disney Afternoon Series 2

Funko

Out of nowhere, without promotional stills, Funko dropped another series of Disney Afternoon figures.  Color me surprised!  I though the first wave languished on the clearance pegs too long to merit another go.  That or Funko really loves this line!  

The "Q" of the Rescue Rangers, Gadget joins the team!  She's got that awkward, 90's female action figure v-crotch articulation, but her feet are big enough to support a couple poses nonetheless.  She also comes with an awkward to fit in her hand wrench...the only character here to get an accessory period.  Everything else looks and works fine.

Louie looks great as well, but like Baloo, he's a bit out of scale.  In fact, his head proportion might skew a bit big. Also, those long ape arms didn't deserve elbow joints, huh?

Launchpad might be the least exciting to me in this group, as I've already gone through PhatMojo's line earlier last year.  It is version accurate and he fits with either the DuckTales gang or Darkwing Duck.  His card was designed for a DW release because we got another duck.

Gizmoduck!  Duckburg's armored superhero rolls into action.  The wheel does in fact roll.  But what about balance?  He's got a nifty, clear stand!  Clearly he is the most unique and exciting of the bunch.

Lastly, a look at a convention exclusive 3-pack of Huey, Dewey, and Louie.  Character Con exclusives are the worst!  Luckily, these made their way to Target online.  I'm glad to have them, but there's something off about them.  The yellows in the bills and feet don't share the same glossiness of the others.  And their Joan Crawford eyebrows accentuate a dead-eyed look.  Pretty disappointing, considering Funko is gettting away with the same sculpt times three.  I have seen some pretty easy paint mods online that livens them up a bit, but we shouldn't have to in the first place.  

$20 for the set may be $5 too much.

I expect, or hope they can muster one more wave to complete the Rescue Rangers (Monterey Jack) at least.  I would love to see more Duckverse denizens (Beagles, Donald, Magica DeSpell) as usual, but at least they got the core members out.  Darkwing has a great villains roster that Playmates unfortunately did not get to realize back in the day.  And, even though it is my least favorite of the shows, I would like to see Tale Spin get Shere Khan and Don Karnage.  If we do get another set, I imagine it will drop out of the sky just like the others...right when I had forgotten about them.

Disney Afternoon

Disney Afternoon

Funko

Whoa!  A Funko acquisition that isn’t lazy and doesn’t suck?!  To be honest, I was obligated to buy these for Uncle Scrooge...and Darkwing Duck...and though they are waaay out of scale, I like Chip and Dale for their homage to Indiana Jones and Magnum PI...Sorry, Baloo, I love you, but I wasn’t a big Tale Spin fan.  You’re lucky to be along for the ride!  Until Launchpad gets here, Scrooge could use a pilot for his adventures.

These are solid, well-made figures that are technically in the four-inch scale.  Yes, either the Rescue Rangers were zapped by Wayne Salinski’s re-embiggen setting, or the others got shrunk to match.  Baloo should be a little bit bigger, but...The articulation varies character to character, and it good enough in keeping with the animated aesthetic.  

Scrooge fairs the best with accessories, coming with his cane and a classic money bag.  Darkwing has his gas gun, and Dale has a mini figure of Zipper...Baloo and Chip get nothing?  C’mon!  How about a shipping crate with Shere Khan’s business logo on it?  At least throw us a magnifying glass!

I have been sitting on these a while.  They just seemed to drop on retail without much warning one day.  They are great for the price (around $8) and can still be found at most Target stores and online (some marked down.)  I think I hesitated in posting these because Funko is notorious for getting a line out, then dropping it after one wave.  I didn’t want to get my hopes up for a robust DuckTales line.  Luckily I had Phat Mojo while I waited.  I waited and forgot and...well well well...there was a sequel!  Coming soon!

Around the same time that these came in, a collection of old Disney Afternoon Nintendo games were packaged together on PlayStation and XBox virtual stores.  I cant count how many runs I’ve made on the original Ducktales game.  The legendary pogo cane, the fun co-op option in Rescue Rangers, the variety of gadgets and bosses in Darkwing Duck...Capcom really made the best of these properties.  Except for...oh, sorry again, Baloo.  Your game got the short end of the stick.  Ducktales and RR even got sequels, also available here in this $20 package.  Not bad for a nostalgia kick!  Get it today before the rights lapse!

DuckTales Pops

DuckTales

Funko Pop Vinyl Figures

 

Ugh... more Funko products.  They already got me with Twin Peaks, WWE minis, and Classic Arcade blind boxes, so why not?!  When it comes to Pops though...I had completely avoided picking any up until these.  I despise how they have managed to grab so many licenses and relegate them to these cutesy, cheap to produce, bobble-head equivalents.   Why did they have to get DuckTales, too?!

 

At least they had to put a little more effort into this line, since they get away without having to even sculpt mouths on their human characters.  They're brightly colored, and feature a nice variety of character appropriate poses.  But they still have those eyes.  Black... like a doll's eyes.  And when Funko bites into you and rolls over... 



 

As I have said before, I will buy any and all of Uncle Scrooge that I can.  Magica was a Gamestop exclusive that I just happened upon, and I couldn't go without Darkwing Duck, could I?  Gah!  I hope the bottom drops off on the Pop market soon and that we all get a good laugh seeing the exclusives we fought for at top dollar dumped into the flea markets of tomorrow just like Beanie Babies.  But not before I buy the Mad Max: Fury Road Pops... bastards.....