Hey Speed Readers, it is that time again. However, before I begin I would like to make one thing very clear; I don’t post these entries to brag or show off I simply post them to share. I know that there are other collectors like myself who may not have acquired a certain piece yet or are curious about how it looks out of the box and since I’ve never really been a mint on card collector, I’m happy to oblige them.

With that said I’m going to begin a new set of articles tentatively titled “Off The Shelf”. Basically it will be me finding an older piece or a group of related pieces from my collection and showcasing them since it is hard to do that under the banner of “Recent Acquisitions”. I know the title isn’t very original or memorable but I’m open to suggestions. I just keep the majority of my collectibles on a bookshelf so I thought the title made sense.

Speaking of “Recent Acquisitions” I recently acquired over 20 new collectibles and that means a lot of ground to cover. I’m going to split up the entries to spread out the content a bit and not have a million photos in one post, but this is just the beginning. I’m going to try and get something new up at least twice a week.

Now on to the fun stuff:

First up we have the Fisher Price Imaginext DC Super Friends Hawkman and Flash 2 Pack:

This set sort of came out of nowhere. Or at least for me it did. I was trying to track down a variation on the Mattel Super Friends Flash action figure when I randomly came across this set. Yes I know it says right on the package “3-8” meaning for Ages 3 to 8 but for collectors like me, age ain’t nothing but a number and these suggested ages are just that, suggested. Not only is this guy simply too adorable to pass up, I also haven’t gotten a Wally Flash item in quite some time. This was a nice breath of fresh air. Unfortunately the set is quite rare at retail and it is going for prices as high as $29.99 on evilBay and Amazon. I actually found a decent deal on the former and ended up getting it for $19.99 and free shipping.

Aren’t they just adorable? I have to say Hawkman kind of steals the show. His design has some really nice details to it especially the wings, the vest/harness and the mace. Flash is nice too but it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before really. They both have about 3 points of articulation (being made for children) so their poses are kind of limited. Also one thing that irked me about The Flash and something that I definitely would have noticed as a kid is that the belt isn’t painted all the way around. Still a nice addition to my collection that fits in well with the rest of my “Super Friends”:

What can I say? I’m a sucker for these guys. Still looking for that variant though…

Next:

DC Universe Action League: The Flash vs. Captain Boomerang:

I have been waiting for these two since SDCC, and while they aren’t that articulated they are still cute little stylized figures that can be placed in a couple of different poses on a desk or something.

This line was formerly known as the Batman: Brave and the Bold Action League and two Flash villains had already been released under that banner. When the announcement came that Batman: Brave and the Bold was ending after the next season they decided to change it to encompass the entire DC Universe. Gorilla Grodd and The Top were covered in my first edition of Recent Acquisitions in March of last year. Now they finally have a speedster to face off against and a new ally:

Ken of Fingmonkey.com posted a more in-depth review of these guys a few weeks back. You can see it HERE.

Now I only vaguely heard about the crazy bands craze a little while back when it was really hot. But since I don’t watch much TV or frequent the mall or anything that often, I really had no idea what they were until I found them on evilBay a bit ago. I didn’t order them immediately though. Its the same reason I don’t go searching for Flash Pogs, those Jibbitz charms or anything like that. There really is no good way to display them and I’m never going to wear them so I pretty much just have them to have them and it bugs me a bit. I wear all of my Flash shirts, hats, jackets, hoodies, etc all the time so I’m getting some use out of them. But these are just going to sit in a box to the side collecting dust. Oh well I guess it could be a lot worse, at least they included red and yellow ones!:

And last and maybe tied for least we have Mighty Beanz. Another fad collector’s thing that again presents a problem with usefulness. Fortunately for you I just couldn’t help myself:

The only ones I’ve been able to track down were Grodd, Flash and Captain Boomerang. If anyone knows of any other releases please let me know. (Thanks to Lia for the heads up on these guys. Btw she has a Flash Rogue’s Memorabilia blog too.)

Near as I can tell, these Mighty Beanz are some kind of modern revitalization of the mexican jumping bean or something. They have a small metal ball in the middle and if you nudge them a bit they do some slight bouncing around. Again not something that I would usually purchase but honestly when is the last time The Flash or any of his Rogues(official and unofficial) have been given this many new products? Unfortunately, like a lot of collectors I’m almost dreading when the movie is released. I just know for the first time in my life I’m going to be buying complete cases of action figure releases and hunting down random movie tie-in merchandise in real time. I definitely need to either start a Flash movie collection savings account or create a clear cut plan about just what I’m going to purchase and how much.

Kind of a mini-edition today both in terms of content and the sizes of the items, but rest assured; more are coming. A lot more.

Thanks for reading,

–Devin “Flash” Johnson

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