2011
07.02

 

So we come to wave 7 of the much missed DC Minimates. We know these figures are old news now, being a couple of years old, but we would certainly be remiss if we did not finish up reviewing the line here at Minimates Central.

DC wave 7 was, as usual for DC, another strange mix of characters, with some more obscure choices alongside a couple of redo’s of Minimates that first featured in the C3 line.

 

Packaging

DC seemed to like to stick to a distinctive look for their mates. The blister card is the same on all releases. I have to confess to having disposed of the packaging for these ages ago, so am unable to review it. However packaging for this line was fairly generic, but if you feel your life is incomplete without seeing it, then please avail yourself of the photos at the excellent Minimate Database. 
 


 

The Figures

Nightwing

Dick Grayson: The original Robin, all growed up. This is the second Nightwing Minimate, the first being the version that came packaged with his own C3 Mini-Flyer. On the surface there’s not much difference between the two, but this Nightwing has a lot of subtle updates.
 

The face is great, featuring a very broody expression as is only right for Batman-in-Waiting. Nightwing’s jaw is set and there’s minimal yet effective detailing above the mask that suggests a furrowed brow. The hair is excellent, quite different from most other DC or Marvel hairpieces and there’s a lot of texture going on. Not sure if it’s a re-use from a more esoteric Minimate release? I suspect though, that it’s a brand new one-off.

Nightwing’s costume is very simple; being a black unitard with blue flashing on the arms and across the chest. There is a tampo on the chest that represents superhero-style musculature but it’s only noticeable in good light. Other than that this is a plain-looking – but not at all dull – Minimate.

Much like with Blackhawk, the lower part of Nightwing’s legs have a black paint application that’s meant to suggest boot tops. It’s only really evident on close inspection, but these little touches are always welcome. While we’re talking boots it’s worth mentioning that one of the major differences between this and the C3 Nightwing is the lack of those square pieces that sat above the ankle of the C3 version. This gives the ‘mate a more streamlined appearance.

Nightwing is accessorised with two silver batons.

In Conclusion: An unnecessary update, but not unwelcome, made worthwhile by the changes.

MMC Score – 7 out of 10


 

Starfire

The third member of the Teen Titans to be immortalised in Minimate form, Starfire is the exiled Princess Koriand’r of the planet Tamaran. She was often romantically attached to Dick Grayson and both served as Teen Titans, so it makes perfect sense for them to be packaged together.

Kori’s face seems rather impassive. This is not at all like the character, who is either going into battle at full pelt or enjoying life with a big smile on her face. She seems, like so many other female Minimates, to be suffering from a touch of bland-itis. That aside her golden eyes look good, as indeed does the tone of her skin all over. I do feel though, that with the hairpiece DCD have missed out on adding a really cool touch. Starfire is often depicted with flames trailing from her hair and that would have made for an excellent looking flight stand. That said, the hair is very effective on it’s own and again, looks to be a brand new piece.

Starfire’s costume (what there is of it) is well captured here. Lots of detail to the collar which is also apparent on the back of the figure despite being obscured by the hair. The straps from Starfire’s costume also go around the chest block and continue on the back. The attention to detail is appreciated but one wonders why they bothered when detailing is completely covered by the hair piece. The tampo for the boots is very crisply detailed though there is a slight error on the left leg of my Starfire where the tiniest amount of flesh colouring can be seen. This can only really be noticed when under close scrutiny so I won’t mark the figure down for it. Where I will mark it down though is the T-piece crotch. It’s a totally different colour to the rest of the costume. I guess the powers that be didn’t want to go to the trouble of adding fiddly tampo prints to such an intricate piece but then why bother adding them to the back of the figure?

Starfire has no accessories.

In Conclusion: A nice looking and welcome addition to the DC Minimate ranks

MMC Score – 7 out of 10

 

Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan

[starratingmulti id=”1″]

[starratingmulti id=”2″]