Here's a great review of the Famous Covers line [Archive]

MIB41

Oct 7, '10, 7:22 AM

I saw this review and thought it was very informative and offered a descent overview of the Famous Covers line. It's a fun read and well done. There were a few omissions in the line up, notably the X-men movie two packs. I think when you total them in with the Aunt May (no comment) mail order, this line had 43 figures! That's a very good run! I wonder if Retro Action will make it to that number...?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mastercollector.com%2Farticle s%2Freviews%2Freview080505.htm&rct=j&q=Toybiz%20Famous%20covers%20Wolverine%20review&ei=5KytTLqwD8X6lwedpLn2BA&usg=AFQjCNHOG31B14pwr0Sq8PbRJju5BxRglQ&cad=rja

MIB41

Oct 7, '10, 8:45 AM

Yeah, I have to say I have grown more fond of that line and less critical of the obvious issues, when I consider the one's we currently debate by Mattel. I guess that's a debate that will burn eternal between collectors as each new line comes out. There will always be issues and we as collectors will embrace some and shun others. That is the nature of the beast.

david_b

Oct 7, '10, 10:02 AM

I liked them a lot, the only issues I had were the silly 'mouth-open face sculpts' and occasional 'big boots' (like Vision and Daredevil). The Falcon head made a SUPERB YellowJacket because it was such a 'Sal Buscema' rendition.

Actually, I might buy another one to make a better Hawkeye..

The Ironman was pretty awesome.

david_b

SUP-Ronin

Oct 7, '10, 10:14 AM

Good review. I think he was a little too nice, But that's because I didn't care for the line.

I've immediately torn apart any Famous Covers I've run across. Some of the parts are certainly worthy for Mego Custom Kit Bashes. Although many of us, including myself, have attempted to "take in" the outfits to fit mego bodies I don't remember any that really worked.

LonnieFisher

Oct 7, '10, 3:34 PM

I loved the Famous Covers line. I wish it had continued! Some killer stuff was announced, then it died.:cry:

spamn

Oct 7, '10, 4:54 PM

I collected these, but I wish they had been in scale with Megos, and had forgone the open mouth head sculpts and crazy proportions.

But some of them, especially the later figures in the line, are stupendous.

And I remember some customs floating around that were great. Somebody made a Thing by gluing individually cut orange craft foam to a black body suit that looked amazing. I think I need to attempt to try one of those in Mego scale for when the Doc's new muscle bodies come out.

megocrazy

Oct 7, '10, 10:53 PM

Although many of us, including myself, have attempted to "take in" the outfits to fit mego bodies I don't remember any that really worked.

I used a FC Hawkeye suit on Doc's body with Brian Leitner's head and it worked great. I did have it off the FC body for a while so it kinda unstretched. It looked great. Used the early CAW purple boots and CTVT hands. I know the Dark Phoenix suit fits a DM female body too.

Astronut

Oct 7, '10, 10:54 PM

Somebody made a Thing by gluing individually cut orange craft foam to a black body suit that looked amazing.

You mean this?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vCqNV5lcY48/TK6USliNLwI/AAAAAAAADRY/qwgrgYnK1z0/s1600/thing2.jpg

Yeah, the guy was good.

Astronut

Oct 7, '10, 11:46 PM

Speaking of FCs, I have to put this out there. Back when they hit retail, like a lot of people, I was really jazzed about them. I just loved 'em. They were the only thing even remotely close to a Mego that was actually new, for sale, at retail. Even though they weren't 100% "truly Mego style" (which I think we can all agree is perfect), I had a blast collecting them and even customizing them.

Anyway, I remember visiting the boards here at the museum and being lambasted by dozens of Mego collectors over Famous Covers... I mean I was just pummeled. I know people are very passionate about their "stuff" but wow, it was crazy how angry some people got that I *dared* to say I thought the FC line was great, etc. I figured that since I was such a huge Mego fan that guys like me would also give props to the FC line and see that, in *some* instances, FCs may have been an improvement over our beloved Megos. But giving credit to the FC line was hardly the case. Just a lot of anger. I think most who know me would say I am a person who's pretty easy to get along with.

It was a long time ago but I recall finally having to leave the museum boards because of really bad vibes and anti-FC sentiment. Anyhoo, that's all in the past. Everyone here seems informative and more importantly, extremely cool. Thanks to everyone who has made me feel welcome upon my recent return. I'm loving these EMCE/Mattel figs. It's like a freaking dream come true to see them on the peg hooks.

samurainoir

Oct 8, '10, 1:10 AM

FC's were what got me back into Megos. "Extreme" Facial expressions and 9" scale notwithstanding, I'm guessing this is closer to what the Megos would have eventually morphed into.

It had a great mix of classic characters and newer fan favourites.

Psylocke's "Flesh" bodysuit was very Mego-ey.

There were some glaring omissions though. It would be interesting to see what they would have come up with as solutions to The Thing and The Torch.

They were in the midst of the Maximum Carnage thing during the nineties, but it is really odd that Venom never made it to the FC line. Particularly since they did have a bulky body in the from of The Hulk already tooled up.

But we did get most of the classic Avengers line-up, as well as the X-men and Daredevil.

Have prototypes for DR. STRANGE, THE PUNISHER, BEAST, THE THING, TIGRA, and MAN-THING ever shown up?

david_b

Oct 8, '10, 2:33 AM

You mean this?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vCqNV5lcY48/TK6USliNLwI/AAAAAAAADRY/qwgrgYnK1z0/s1600/thing2.jpg

Yeah, the guy was good.

Yep, I've been to the SAME UK site.. It's where I got my recipe for my YellowJacket years ago.

I've been going back and forth about making a custom Mego Thing. :juggleyes_y:

My current idea is to use the FC Hulk body, cut down some joints to make him more Mego-scale, use the Mego Thing head, and either use a black body suit like this idea, or just spraypaint black and apply the orange foam directly on him.. Will most likely stick with the black body suit..

OR for a Famous Covers custom, keep the Hulk body with the black body suit and use the ToyBiz 10" Thing head, which is pretty small for its body.

Ah, yet another project.. :grin:

david_b

Sandman9580

Oct 8, '10, 2:43 AM

I liked them enough when they came out, and bought a few from the first waves. I still have them packed away somewhere. But even then (and especially now) they're just too... off. Looking at them makes me wish I was looking at a Mego.

And all that money I spent could've been used on original stuff that I'd much rather have anyway. (Man... that applies to way too many of my retail purchases.) But you don't always think in those terms when you're standing there in the toy aisle. The initial euphoria lasts longer than the time it takes to go to the register and buy it.

Sandman9580

Oct 8, '10, 2:47 AM

I gotta admit though, that custom Thing looks pretty amazing.

Astronut

Oct 8, '10, 6:53 AM

Looking at them makes me wish I was looking at a Mego.

I have felt the same way. I'm still holding out hope -- with the recent EMCE/Mattel miracle that has happened with DC -- that somehow, some way, we see Marvel versions within the next year or two. No one thoughtwe were going to get the DC ones.... anything could happen. Cross your fingers!!

spamn

Oct 8, '10, 7:52 AM

You mean this?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vCqNV5lcY48/TK6USliNLwI/AAAAAAAADRY/qwgrgYnK1z0/s1600/thing2.jpg

Yeah, the guy was good.That's the one. Still looks great.

spamn

Oct 8, '10, 8:10 AM

Speaking of FCs, I have to put this out there. Back when they hit retail, like a lot of people, I was really jazzed about them. I just loved 'em. They were the only thing even remotely close to a Mego that was actually new, for sale, at retail. Even though they weren't 100% "truly Mego style" (which I think we can all agree is perfect), I had a blast collecting them and even customizing them.

Anyway, I remember visiting the boards here at the museum and being lambasted by dozens of Mego collectors over Famous Covers... I mean I was just pummeled. I know people are very passionate about their "stuff" but wow, it was crazy how angry some people got that I *dared* to say I thought the FC line was great, etc. I figured that since I was such a huge Mego fan that guys like me would also give props to the FC line and see that, in *some* instances, FCs may have been an improvement over our beloved Megos. But giving credit to the FC line was hardly the case. Just a lot of anger. I think most who know me would say I am a person who's pretty easy to get along with.There was a pretty big schism over those figures back in the day - people have opinions, and they love to shout them. Everyone lined up in the love/hate camps.

I imagine that the problem was they weren't Mego enough, and folks that wanted them to be more Mego were pretty upset at how far the mark was missed. As I recall, there was enough anti-FC sentiment that several people left the forum and started an FC one.

You may have noticed that there are a lot of people expressing similarly strong anti Mattel opinions over the Retro figures shortcomings and that they're not bothering with them.

It seems to be the way these things go. I think we all forget something fundamental though:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/joespam/boards/mm/Geeks_Nerds_Venn.jpg

Substitute "Geeks" and "Nerds" with "Mego fans" and "FC fans." :wink_y:

spamn

Oct 8, '10, 8:15 AM

I have felt the same way. I'm still holding out hope -- with the recent EMCE/Mattel miracle that has happened with DC -- that somehow, some way, we see Marvel versions within the next year or two. No one thoughtwe were going to get the DC ones.... anything could happen. Cross your fingers!!I say this every time it comes up - but I also hope that Hasbro takes note of the heat (however lukewarm in the scheme of things) here on the Mattel body design, and contracts with EMCE, Cast-A-Way, Heroes In Action, or Zica for their bodies. Or contracts with the Four Horsemen to produce an all new 8" body with all the articulation currently on the DC Universe 6" or Jakks Wrestling figure.

And then puts out Marvel Superheroes and Star Wars figures with cloth outfits and accessories on it.

Spyweb007

Oct 8, '10, 9:21 AM

I liked the Famous Covers stuff, but was disappointed mostly with the size. Had they been truly 8: figures I would have loved them and collected the whole line.

palitoy

Oct 8, '10, 9:55 AM

I thought it was hit or miss, I owned a couple that I liked but passed on things like Captain America, when they screw up one of your favourite characters, it's hard to get real charged over the line. I thought Hasbro did a better job four years ago with the Signature series.

Really, really like the Red Skull however, wish it wasn't their last release. Was also bummed when they dropped Hellcat from the line.

torgospizza

Oct 8, '10, 12:08 PM

I thought it was hit or miss, I owned a couple that I liked but passed on things like Captain America, when they screw up one of your favourite characters, it's hard to get real charged over the line. I thought Hasbro did a better job four years ago with the Signature series.
That's exactly how I felt. I have Spider-Man, Iron Man, Spider-Girl, Dr. Doom, and a couple others, but I thought the Hulk and Cap just seemed wonky. As soon as I saw the Signature Series Cap and Punisher, I snagged them straight away.

MIB41

Oct 9, '10, 9:27 AM

Action Figures, as a rule, will always be subject to scrutiny from collectors. For myself, I typically can tell where the company's attitude is when I see the figures. There's either a "it's just a doll" attitude or a more passionate, "let's get it right" feeling. The companies which take the "doll" approach typically have the production and design problems. The companies that have an invested interest in making a valid product, follow the process from beginning to end to ensure the figures hit the shelves as originally designed. Toy Biz and Mattel share similar issues in the production department. However, EMCE and Castaway consistently put out high quality product and interestingly, are considerably smaller companies compared to Mattel and Toybiz. There hasn't been a year yet when I haven't been reminded of this irony.

The Toyroom

Oct 9, '10, 11:42 AM

Never really got in to them and never bought any at retail...Picked up Dark Phoenix, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Vision over the years through trades and such but I only kept the Vision...I think it has to do from liking the character when he was featured on the masthead of "The Avengers" back in the 70s and not so much with liking the FC line....

GaryPlaysWithDolls

Oct 10, '10, 3:39 AM

It probably goes without saying that I'm a huge Famous Covers fan. I acknowledge the downsides to them (I face this every time I make an FC custom), but in many ways i prefer them to classic Megos.
I never (even as a kid) like the elastic held together bodies. I always felt like my Mego Spidey was going to break when I moved his arms, when they didn't pop into his torso and the legs bent funny giving him an "Indian-style" sitting pose.
The character choice seems a bit random, but given time I think they could have really nailed it. Viva FC!

MIB41

Oct 11, '10, 8:11 PM

My favorites in the Famous Covers line up are the Vision, Scarlet Witch, Iron Man, Red Skull, Falcon, Nightcrawler, Wolverine (blue & brown versions), and Hawkeye. I think any of those beat the current Mattel line up.

Astronut

Oct 11, '10, 9:31 PM

Back when the FC line was out there, I used to say - every time I saw them on the shelves - "d amn these are not actual Megos... But they're the closest thing, the only thing we have to it..." And I cherished those things. But now.... NOW we have something so close with the Mattel figs I feel I would be really thankless not to fully appreciate them. To those who dislike these I say this: you think you hate them now, but some day I bet you'll regret taking them for granted. It's like an awesome good looking woman with a great personality... but she has a pimple on her butt. So what. Still a better overall package than most of whats out there...

MIB41

Oct 12, '10, 8:47 AM

:smiley1:That's a great analogy Astronut. But I do have to say while my opinions on some individual figures can change, I seldom have a complete turnaround on my opinion about the line overall. When it comes to Megos, I was there from the beginning. I was a little kid seeing my first RC Batman in a Kmart back in the early 70's. I played with them, displayed them in their boxes, and it never occurred to me during those years (nor should it) that these would become collectibles. NOTHING trumps that experience. Now while I don't begrudge the intent and effort of the those who have been involved in this Mattel line, at the end of the day, they are still not Megos. What EMCE did with POTA and Trek ARE Megos in my mind. The bodies, sculpts, and artwork were spot on. No alterations, no flimsy,cheap backer cards, and certainly no poorly designed bodies. It's not rocket science. Mattel was aiming at the collectors and ONLY the collectors. What they should have done is duplicate the originals and no one would be talking about these problems. Nostalgia won't factor into these Mattel figures for me because I have the originals. That being said, I will get the figures like the Flash, that Mego never made. From that approach, this is a fun figure line and I'm glad to have the opportunity to get those. But as an overall figure line, I think the opportunity was missed here because the quality controls were not in place early enough. Alot of these figures will be junk in a few short years because they were poorly made. Even Famous Covers holds up better than these and that line put out figures for nearly five years.

LonnieFisher

Oct 12, '10, 10:08 AM

The Mattel figures will be showing up at Goodwill shortly, probably. That's where I'll get them. Super cheap.

Astronut

Oct 12, '10, 2:03 PM

And the haters keep hatin'.

LonnieFisher

Oct 12, '10, 4:21 PM

And the haters keep hatin'.

The haters wouldn't hate them if they didn't suck.:yes:

Gorn Captain

Oct 13, '10, 11:11 AM

The haters wouldn't hate them if they didn't suck.:yes:

Seems to me, that implies that "The Haters" think their opinion is "The Truth", while it's just an opinion.
I liked FC when they were released, and haven't changed my opinion (yes, indeed) about them. Sure, things could be better (especially regarding certain proportions), but I always try to see the good in things. The only thing that bothers me is certain female face sculpts (Psylocke, anyone?). I love Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye...

I love my Megos, but let's face it, you don't look at Cap America and say "impressive". Even Thing is just wearing printed PJs. I love them, but I can also see their shortcomings, just like the FCs have them.

The same happened to Hasbro's SW 12 inches. First people loved them, now they think they're crap. I don't change my opinions so easily.

So my FCs are still proudly on display, I just need the 3-packs and Carnage, and I'm done!

Astronut

Oct 13, '10, 11:50 AM

I love my Megos, but let's face it, you don't look at Cap America and say "impressive". Even Thing is just wearing printed PJs. I love them, but I can also see their shortcomings, just like the FCs have them.

Exactly. I will never understand how some people can't see the good in something as simple as a toy, unless it is 100% perfect, the exact way they see it in their heads. So narrow-minded. Enjoy life, there are many possibilities... and they will rarely be represented as the "100% perfect" image you have in your head.

MIB41

Oct 13, '10, 11:51 AM

I think variety is the spice of life...and with collections too. If every figure out there was 8 inches, I would be bored to tears. Not everything has to be on exact scale with a Mego to have validation. All lines have their strong points and weaknesses and I collect accordingly. The day I start following a line solely because of it's label, is the day I start drooling out of the corners of my mouth. My mental processes work on a higher plane than that. :sarky: Why not have some Famous Covers, Signature Series, AND Mattels, instead of just picking one over the other because of some vague comparison to a figure line expired 27 years ago? At the end of the day they are JUST TOYS, so why exclude yourself from enjoying all of them, right?

PS - Someone please send this thread to Mattel's accountants regarding price/cost variables if they are truly just "toys".

LonnieFisher

Oct 13, '10, 1:04 PM

Seems to me, that implies that "The Haters" think their opinion is "The Truth", while it's just an opinion.
I liked FC when they were released, and haven't changed my opinion (yes, indeed) about them. Sure, things could be better (especially regarding certain proportions), but I always try to see the good in things. The only thing that bothers me is certain female face sculpts (Psylocke, anyone?). I love Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye...

I love my Megos, but let's face it, you don't look at Cap America and say "impressive". Even Thing is just wearing printed PJs. I love them, but I can also see their shortcomings, just like the FCs have them.

The same happened to Hasbro's SW 12 inches. First people loved them, now they think they're crap. I don't change my opinions so easily.

So my FCs are still proudly on display, I just need the 3-packs and Carnage, and I'm done!

Dude, my post was directed at the Mattel figures that Astronut was commenting about. Not the Famous Covers line. I have all the FC figures and used to customize tons of them. He was kinda calling me a hater of Mattel, and I was explaining why they are hated. I wanted the FC line to continue until Marvel had no more characters or variations of to produce. Everybody including background people. And playsets and vehicles and everything. Everything Marvel, so I could build a 1/8th scale marvel universe. The problem they had was making too many variations of the X-men and not enough of the other characters. The patterns for costumes and varied paint jobs for existing heads that they could have continued for a while with no new tooling. They reused the Peter Parker sculpt. They could have reused Magneto and had a perfect Punisher!
What 3-packs did they make? I've never seen any...

Astronut

Oct 13, '10, 1:27 PM

I think he meant 2 packs..?

Brue

Oct 13, '10, 1:50 PM

i just remember how excited i was when they came out. i bought a few and proudly displayed them.
i have since, sold most and the kids play with the rest.

they have great play value for my kids.

i disliked the scale (9 inches) especially since they were marketed as 8.

i like the oddities like strange gloves or huge hands - megoesque mistakes

i really liked some and i also hated a few - hawkeye (high detail and accessories - and this is the costume i identify with him most) and daredevil (a poorly done kitbash) marking the ends of the spectrum

Brue

Oct 13, '10, 1:59 PM

what other figures did they make in this scale not under the FC line?

i know there were some x-men ones - Toad comic, toad movie, toad animated, wolverine movie, wolverine animated, storm movie, magneto movie, cyclops animated and repackages of storm and wolverine.

were there others?

was that magneto 8" or not?

LonnieFisher

Oct 13, '10, 2:15 PM

They made some Lord of the Rings ones. I don't have those anymore. Magneto was a 9" like the rest. The variations of the X-men were a mistake. Most people didn't want to spend the money on three or four different Wolverine figures and not get other characters. If they skipped the variations and make different characters it would have held more interest for the collectors. At least with the Spidey variations, They came with other characters that weren't already produced. One came with Electro and one came with Spiderwoman. The Wolverine and Storm and etc. came with another variation of the same character. Skip Colossus and do a bunch of Toad figures? We missed out on a lot of characters that would have been great to get.

LonnieFisher

Oct 13, '10, 2:18 PM

I think a really bad mistake with the line was the packaging. It was huge and didn't have the characters posed very well. I would rather have seen them standing straight up and in a coffin style window box. That would have been better. I think a lot of boxed collectors ran out of space storage space.

LonnieFisher

Oct 13, '10, 2:20 PM

I think the Hasbro Signature Series made the same mistake with HUGE packaging. It really doesn't make me feel like I'm getting more because it's in a bigger package... Carded would even have been better for them.

MIB41

Oct 13, '10, 2:31 PM

Yeah, some of the poses for Famous Covers figures bordered on hysterical. I'll never forget opening up the Green Goblin cover only to see the guy spread eagle over top his flier with that insane grin. If that doesn't get the "What were they thinking" award, I don't know what does. :smiley1: Still they made up for it with others like Iron Man. Nice illustration on the cover and fun figure overall, especially with the removable helmet. Still the best Iron Man figure in the Mego-like universe. :yes: