When the guys asked me to do a Best of 2016 article for the front page, I immediately said, “Okay, Amazing Yamaguchi Deadpool! Suck it, Indy!” And I felt that way up until the time came to write this piece. That’s when I switched to the Medicom MAFEX Boba Fett from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Why? Because it’s Wednesday.
Well, when you read this it will be Thursday. Which means my Best of 2016 may be Deadpool again. Or figma Hulk. Or the S.H. Figuarts Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s the same reason I don’t have a favorite color, or movie, or child. It all changes day to day.
But taking the whole year and crumpling it into a ball, the standouts are Deadpool and Boba Fett. And Boba Fett actually occurs twice, both in his The Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi looks. But I’m settling on the ESB version because it’s the figure that made me lean back in my chair, rub my chin, and reconsider all I believed about a company. Sure, the MAFEX R2-D2 was pretty sweet but their C-3PO was rage inducing. Boba Fett changed all of that. If you close your eyes and try to picture a perfect 1:12 scale Fett, you’re picturing the MAFEX figure. Okay, maybe not “perfect,” but it’s as close as we’re likely to see in our lifetime, at least until they streamline the production of a 6-inch skeleton with a muscle system that flexes and synthetic skin that doesn’t tear under stress. Which actually may not be as far away as we may think.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not to the point where I think Medicom can do no wrong. I’ve heard stories about the First Order Stormtrooper. I still worry about the upcoming Rey and Kylo. They look beautiful now but I’ve been led down that path before and I ended up with the BvS Superman. Then again, that Batman was pretty damn fine. I guess it’s the roller coaster I dread. You just never know what you’re going to get with the MAFEX line. Will I get an awesome representation of one of my favorite characters or will I get a loosey goosey toy where I can’t get the wrist to move and the leg keeps popping off?
But Boba Fett? This Boba Fett right here? My Best of 2016.
Or the Revoltech Deadpool. Which, much like Fett, changed my mind about a company. But not because of quality control issues, more how they have designed their joint system. And I still don’t love it, but the results finally punched a hole in that “THESE JOINTS SUCK!” wall and allowed me to appreciate what they can do.
Never ask me where I want to eat. It’ll be an hour-long switch back-and-forthy ordeal where you’ll end up mad because we drive most of the way to a place before I change my mind again and we have to drive most of the way back to a restaurant near the house. And even then I can’t decide what I actually want after taking that long to choose a genre.
But because of my indecision and the ease of making a list for the sake of not having to pick just one, I did post Robo’s Top 5 Favorite Action Figures of 2016 earlier in the week. That is, if you prefer to watch a guy wave his arms erratically while rambling about toys.