Austin Powers - Space Base Playset

Austin Powers

McFarlane Toys - Mezco

also featuring the 

Space Base Playset

ReadySetz

Yeah baby!  Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery is back in full force on my toy shelf!  I had the key players (Austin and Dr. Evil) from McFarlane Toys when they came out close to twenty years ago, but a lull in current toy releases, revisiting the movies, and a trip to Ebay helped me get my mojo back. Short of a couple of Mezco variants (Sumo Fat Bastard Man and Prison Dr. Evil with Mini-Me), I picked up a well-rounded line-up for next to nothing.

The McFarlane figures that came out with "The Spy Who Shagged Me" were par for the company at the time:  little more than statues with a fair amount of accessories that they may or may not be able to hold.  They did produce some of the most realistic sculpts (again, at the time), but they were pretty fragile figures (Vanessa's hand decided it was time to snap off just for this photo shoot) and don't hold up to today's standards.  They each came with a rather large sound feature stand that took three little batteries just to say one quote.  Some of the "mint on card" pick-ups I got lacked the sound feature, but came with some corroded batteries!  Yay!  Let that be a lesson to you: they are TOYS.  Take the TOYS out of the box and play and display!

Mezco produced a wave for "Goldmember."  These are a little bit cartoony or exaggerated in the sculpts (like my Goonies figures), but have far more articulation than the McFarlane figures.  I saw somewhere that they had a Foxxy Cleopatra prototype that didn't make it to production, which is a shame.  Especially since someone wasted plastic on Heather Graham, who I am convinced is only a good actress at playing parts where she is supposed to be a bad actress (See "Bowfinger").

As a fan of these movies, (and the 007 franchise they spoof lovingly) I wish there were more bad guys in the line-up:  Frau Farbissna, Number Two, Mustafa, Random Task, Paddy O'Brien, etc.  And could Michael Caine really want that much money for his likeness, or did they not think anyone would want a Nigel Powers figure?  Has there ever been a Michael Caine figure in any toy line?  Hmmm...something to look into.

Complete or not, I had a great time displaying these figures on the new Space Base playset from ReadySetz.  As you may have seen in previous reviews, I also have their Urban Playset.  These are huge, fun, foldable playsets that are great for toy displays/photography and, of course, play.  Highly recommended for both collectors and kids!  Austin Powers won the toss for first use, which was a hard call for a lot of other lines I collect.  Doctor Who, Alien, cosmic-themed Marvel Legends (Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc), and the X-Men (cosmic adventures in the Claremont era, Asteroid M) are all in line to get some time in on this baby.

My mini-Austin Powers shopping spree didn't end with the figures.  I picked up a "Big Boy" bank, a guide to all the movies, a Johnny Lightning Shaguar die-cast car, and this odd Upper Deck costume piece card, which claims to have a tiny piece of Austin's blue, crushed velvet pants from the first movie embedded in it.  Fab!