Category Archives: Collectibles

Geraplica Sculptoys Custom Barry Allen 1:1 Scale Head Bust

Salutations, fellow Speed Readers. I’m here today with pictures of a beautiful piece of Flash sculpture courtesy of Glenmarc “Flash” Antonio. Glen may seem a bit familiar as he was the subject of Speed Force’s first Flash Collector Showcase. Hailing from the Republic of the Philippines, Glen is nationally known as the biggest Flash collector in the country. Glen and his collection make regular appearances at various toy and comic conventions throughout the year where he usually shows off his vast Flash collection. In addition to collecting Flash stuff he also has large collections of Marvel Comics action figures (particularly Deadpool and Blade), G.I. Joes, and many others. He also cosplays frequently and customizes action figures.

Now this bust is sold only in the Philippines and can be found in some hobby shops for Php 1,000 or about $20. Usually you have to go directly to the sculptor to get one made. While it is not exactly a custom sculpt it does have a few distinctions that set it apart from other versions of this bust on the market. But before we go into that have a look:

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Recent Acquisitions Vol.3: My Holy Grail (and various other relics) Image Intensive

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Every collector has one. That one item, that really rare piece that if they could just attain it your collection could almost be complete (almost). It could be something that you’ve only seen in magazines, or an item that was almost within your grasp before it was snatched out from under your nose. Eobard Thawne even has one as you can see above . By the way I’m not encouraging any violence in the pursuit of collectibles, it just seemed like the most appropriate picture. 😀

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Blue Lantern Barry Announced for DC Universe Classics

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Right after DC Direct releases Blue Lantern Barry Allen for Wave 6 of their Blackest Night line of action figures, Mattel announces the release of Blue Lantern Barry in the upcoming Blackest Night-themed Wave 17 of the acclaimed DC Universe Classics Series:

Okay, I’m always excited for just about anything Flash, especially when it comes to action figures, and I hate to be ungrateful but do we really need another Barry in the DC Universe Classics Line so soon? Yes, I can understand the inclusion of the figure because 1) It’s cheaper to reuse a mold than to commission a new one, 2) Blackest Night is DC’s most successful comic event to date and I would be foolish to expect them not to try and cash in on it and 3) Barry is the main Flash again and DC is determined to avoid highlighting any other speedsters until Barry has been firmly established in every medium. Still is it too much to ask for even a Zoom? I’m already kind of burnt out on Blue Lantern Barry (after the Heroclix and the aforementioned DC Direct version) and I can never get enough of Zoom. Although what I would really want is Wally or Jay.

I will say that the Blue Lantern uniforms are still very striking visually and despite my annoyance at essentially already owning three of the same figure (Wave 7, TRU Gold Repaint and Giants of Justice) and having to add yet another repaint to my DCUC collection, I still may pick this up. Funny how I complain yet still plan on purchasing it anyway.

As far as this one versus DC Direct’s version? I’m digging the glossy paint job on the DC Direct version a lot more, that and the overall sculpt is just more pleasing to me. Especially since I prefer to have less articulation in my figures. I will say that Mattel has done a great job at making the many points of articulation on their figures less noticeable but I still find them to be less appealing. I’m going to have fun comparing and contrasting them once I have the DCUC version as well.

DC Universe Classics Wave 17 will also feature Hal Jordan as a White and Black Lantern, Violet Lantern Wonder Woman, Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, Indigo Lantern Atom, and Yellow Lantern Scarecrow. The Collect and Connect figure is going to be the modern version of the Anti-Monitor. A Red Lantern Mera was planned to be included but she was scrapped due to the cost of tooling another figure. There are plans to include her sometime down the road. The wave is planned for release in late Spring next year, just in time for my birthday.

–Devin “The Flash” Johnson

Blue Lantern Barry Allen in Stores Tomorrow

The wait is finally over. The Blue Lantern Barry Allen Action Figure announced back in February (and originally scheduled for release early last month) is in stores tomorrow. I really dig the overall design of the Blue Lantern uniforms and I like them even more when mashed up with The Flash. I can’t wait till this guy arrives!

BLACKEST NIGHT: SERIES 6: BLUE LANTERN FLASH Action Figure

The hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT action figure line continues with four awesome new characters!

Included in this sixth installment of the series are Hal Jordan, the personification of the Green Lantern Corps; Wonder Woman, who finds the power of love and joins the ranks of the Star Sapphires; Hawkgirl, who was one of the first heroes to lose her life to the dark power of the Black Lanterns; and The Flash, who couples the power of the blue ring with his trademark speed to carry the message of hope to all.

All four figures feature multiple points of articulation and include a display base. Character-appropriate accessories are also included.

4-color clamshell blister card packaging.

So who plans on picking this guy up?

–Devin “The Flash” Johnson

New Flash Heroclix Releases Available Later This Month

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Some big releases on the DC side of Heroclix for their 75th Anniversary Set coming later this month including several Flash-related releases that are sure to rock the socks off of Flash and Heroclix collectors alike. First up Heroclix.com released a preview yesterday of the Monarch of Motion, Barry Allen in his first solo release in his traditional uniform. We had previously seen him in his dying form from the climax of Crisis on Infinite Earths, his Blue Lantern uniform and even in a few team ups with Wally, Green Lantern, and Superman. But this is the first time we are getting classic Barry and I’m pretty elated.

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DC Direct Flash Collectibles For The Month of November

Finally some more Flash love on the collectibles end of things. This month we have three Flash pieces being released through DC Direct. Unfortunately two of them are basically just repaints and the other is an expensive statue of Barry Allen.

The first one, available today, is from the third series of JLA Classified Classics, Zoom (The Flash’s chief nemesis). I was inclined to think that this was Hunter “Sheisajeweltoyoouuuuu.” Zolomon rather than Eobard “As long as I kill Iris, everything will be alright.” Thawne due to the way the eyes were colored and because they simply named him “Zoom”. But then I noticed the direction of his belt. Not a real issue or anything as Hunter has been out of the picture for some time now. Still makes me lament Johns-Era Wally though.

JLA CLASSIFIED: CLASSIC SERIES 3: ZOOM Action Figure

“The JLA CLASSIFIED: CLASSIC line expands with four all-new figures! Consistent in style and scale to Series 1 and 2, Series 3 features some of the most requested characters

from DC Comics.

The Zoom figure stands at 6.75″ high, features multiple points of articulation and includes a display base.

4-color clamshell blister card packaging.”

Unfortunately I am not a huge fan of the style of these figures. I know that they are part of a artist-specific collection using Ed McGuinness’ art style as a template but I’m just not a fan of the overly muscled character designs and action figures. Especially on my Speedsters. I guess I already own the JLA Classified Flash so it would be cool to have Zoom to go along with him, but I won’t be rushing out to get it or anything.

Later on in the month we have the release of a Flash Two-Pack featuring repaints of Jay Garrick from DC First Appearances Series 1 and Wally West from Justice League of America Series 3 repainted to be Barry Allen:

DC ORIGINS: SERIES 2: THE FLASH ACTION FIGURE TWO-PACKS

Trace the history of some of the most popular DC Comics heroes with these special two-pack action figure sets!

Each set includes two full-sized figures packaged together – one based on art from the character’s early appearances and the other based on art from the modern era.

One two-sided collectible trading card featuring each character will also be included in each package.

The Flash figures feature multiple points of articulation and include display bases and character-specific accessories. The Modern and the Classic figures stand at 6.75″ high and 6.5″ high, respectively.

4-color clamshell blister card packaging.

These guys will be available the 17th, but frankly I am unimpressed with this offering. To be fair the Wally figure actually looks better when repainted to look like Barry and the paint jobs look to be really slick. But really two repaints? Not to mention Zoom might as well be a repaint too.

The only truly original offering this month will be on the 24th with the release of a Barry Allen statue that looks pretty slick but as I mentioned previously I have zero interest in it:

DC CHRONICLES: THE FLASH Statue

SCULPTED BY TIM BRUCKNER

The Fastest Man Alive kicks up a dust cloud as he slides into the DC Chronicles statue series!

This statue features The Flash of the Silver Age, Barry Allen, in his classic costume.

The DC Chronicles statue line has a consistent base, and the retro-style logo on the base further gives the piece a sense of the period from which it originated.

This limited-edition, hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain statue measures approximately 6.75″ high x 5″ wide x 3.5″ deep and is packaged in a 4-color box with a 4-color Certificate
of Authenticity.

Manufactured to order.

This baby retails at $99.99 and looks to be an outstanding piece. But if I were to purchase any Barry statue it would definitely be this:

Now that is what I call a statue!

Anyone plan on picking up Zoom, the 2-Pack, the statue, or all three?

Look forward to hearing from you all and thanks for reading.

-Devin “The Flash” Johnson