Batman of Zur-En-Arrh LEGO Bootlegs

Left: Sheng Yuan. Right: Decool.

I was shocked and amazed that LEGO made a Batman of Zur-En-Arrh minifigure, albeit a super limited 2014 SDCC exclusive. I was equally shocked and amazed when Sheng Yuan made a bootleg of it later that year.

Then fellow LEGO bootlegger Decool made a Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. Honestly at this point the only thing that would shock me is if one of these bootleggers made a minfigure of me.

Anyways, I now own both bootleg versions, so why not a side-by-side comparison?

With th Sheng Yuan version, yo have to buy him with a silly Bat-vehicle. Decool's comes with a silver batarang.

Point: Decool.

Sheng Yuan has a better 5 o'clock shadow print, but Decoool's has a double printed face. BUT Decool's cowl is so tight, I cannot remove it to switch faces.

Not sure if this is across the board or just for my figure, but for my specific experience: Point: Sheng Yuan.

Cape color for Sheng Yuan is lighter than for Decool.

Point: Decool.

I personally like the dark lined print for the abs.

Point: Decool.

Left: Sheng Yuan. Right: Decool.

Finally, Decool's version includes the Bat-Radia printed on the back, while Sheng Yuan just reprinted their front belt print sans belt buckle details.

Point: Decool.

Bottom line, if you have the option, get the Decool version. Oh hell, just get both, They're damn cheap.

First Look :: LEGO Scooby Doo minifigures and playsets Coming Soon!

It has finally happened folks - LEGO landed the Scooby Doo license and here is your first look at a couple of the sets that will be available this Fall! The Mystery Machine, with Scooby Doo, Shaggy, Fred, the Zombie from the episode 'Which Witch is Which' and a haunted tree monster! Also revealed is a Haunted Castle full of the entire Mystery Inc. gang and more old men dressed up as monsters to scare away those meddling kids! I just hope LEGO didn't miss the golden opportunity to include civilian headswaps for the monsters-in -disguise.

We know what to expect from LEGO so these sets are undoubtedly of higher quality than the recent Scooby Doo sets by LEGO knockoff company 'Character Building' - some of which are still available at places like Toys R Us - although I was rather fond of CB's Scooby Doo themed Micro-Figures.

I hope there will be a way to get a hold of the minifigures in a more budget conscious manner - perhaps a few smaller sets or polybagged sets - but only time will tell. I'd certainly love a LEGO Scooby Doo and Shaggy, and Velma and Daphne...ok, I'll take a Fred too. But I won't be buying the larger more expensive sets.

And if recent events in the LEGO bootleg world continue, expect to see plenty of bootleg versions of these minifigures hitting eBay by the end of the year.

These sets and a couple more should be available this August according to Variety magazine.

Imaginext Solomon Grundy Coming Soon!

Fisher-Price recently revealed their newest super-sized Imaginext figure: Solomon Grundy! Not sure the exact scale on this guy, but based on the kid's hand in the following picture...

...he looks to be quite large - even larger than the Imaginext Clayface! Solomon Grundy will retail for around $15.00. No sign of him at retail or at any online retailers yet, but I expect he'll be showing up any day now, perhaps as part of stores' after holiday toy resets.

I will have to see this one in person before I commit - he may be a bit too big, although that might mean he's in scale with another action figure line like Hero World or something. He doesn't look overly kiddy/cartoony, in fact he doesn't really scream 'Imaginext' at all to me, although standard Imaginext themselves have been around so long that some older figures don't even match up with the new ones.

I regret that I never was able to get the limited/exclusive JLU Solomon Grundy, nor was I able to complete the DCUC Collect and Connect Grundy (thanks Mattel!) so I might be unable to pass on this one if I do see it at retail just to satisfy that gaping hole in my soul. Thankfully I do have the Brave and the Bold Solomon Grundy, one of the best Grundy action figures ever made!

Waluigi :: K'Nex Super Mario Series 4

The other 'one per case' minifigure in the K'Nex Super Mario Series 4 is Waluigi. But I don't think he's as popular with collectors as Bowser Jr. He's certainly not as cute. I've actually found him a couple times, but only bought him because at the time I found Bowser Jr. there was a BOGO 40% off sale on these guys.

No respect, I tellya.

Waluigi is real easy to find via the squeeze method due to those long legs. In addition, his code begins with a double underlined 0. It's that simple.

Now that I have Waluigi, I regret not having picked up Wario from a previous K'Nex minifigure release. Oh well, I'm sure he'll be re-released in a later wave, as both Bowser and Donkey Kong have had multiple releases.