It Came from the Toy Chest: Or it came from Miss M's toy Chest round 1

I managed to acquire a few Items from Miss M, from Diary of a Dorkette and they will be featured in the next few rants/reviews... Except Ms. Targaryen, because she has already been featured.


In this Round, I shall tackle the "oddities" by oddities I mean, It's NOT a Final Fantasy VII Character... and has not been featured before.

I shall start with the Lego Series 13 Blind Bag Mini Figures Space Marine dude...

I cannot review the LEGO Mini Figure as a normal action figure because:

a) It is a standard Lego Mini Figure (Standard Articulation, Paint and Sculpt)

b) I have an immense lack of LEGO stuff to compare it to.

I have to say that the little dude is a badass! Comes with two guns for dual wielding action!
He kinda reminds me of the Doom Guy!
I mean look at the Doom Guy and the Lego Figure...
The Resemblance is there...

Oh no! I'm feeling an urge to recreate Doom Levels in LEGO...

Oh wait someone already did... damn!


Item #2 in our "Oddities Round" is none other than I Am Elemental's "Element of Honesty"

This is a tough one to review. It's an action figure for girls, which I believe there is nothing wrong with that. It's more that it reeks of SJW Friendly Experimental Toy than an actual action toyline for girls.  There is my main beef with the toyline... It's slightly less bad than the Lammily issue... Newsflash! Barbe NEEDS those unnatural proportions on her body in order for her dresses to fit and look somewhat normal on the doll. One must remember that while the Doll is on a smaller scale than a human, the FABRIC USED for the doll clothes is the same fabric used on clothes for us... (closely related to why I hate cloth capes on action figures)

but back on the IamElemental topic, why do I call it an SJW friendly Experimental toy?
Let's look at some headlines on news Articles talking about this toyline:

Finally, an Action Figure That Won't Make Girls Hate Themselves- Slate

 Another "Media creates harmful images of women" title... If your child hates herself because of Barbie's unnatural body proportions or airbrushed/photochopped photos of already hyperskinny people in magazines, then

For some Reason, Boys are bombarded with "Problematic Body images" through toys, movies, TV shows, Videogames, yet MOST seem to be able to not be affected by these Super ripped Muscular Adonises... (there could be some cases of people who try roids to look like Hulk, but those are super rare) 

DES SUPER-HÉROÏNES FÉMINISTES POUR CONTRER BARBIE -Elle

Again, my French language Skills are non-Existent, but that kinda reads Feminist Superheroes Against Barbie. Why is Barbie some sort of super villain now? She strives to be EVERYTHING you want her to be. Veterinarian, check! Scientist, check! Movie Star, check, check, check! Super Heroine, Check!

Girls' Action Figures With A Realistic Breast-To-Hip Ratio- Forbes

 Oh come on! There's nothing else that can be said about this toys other than that? I mean, what's the background for these characters, what makes them tick? Also, what kind of kid talks about breast to hip ratios?

Story from the IAmElemental site:

IAmElemental started with two friends – and moms – who were frustrated by what they saw and, more importantly, didn’t see in the toy market. Lots of dreaming, planning, brainstorming and one big courageous leap later, IAmElemental was born.
The IAmElemental Team mission is to create toys for play experiences that allow girls (and boys) to envision themselves as strong, powerful and connected beings at the center of a story of their own making.
We believe that when we tap into the power that exists inside us all, the extraordinary is always possible.  As a result, IAmElemental Action Figures were designed to accomplish three goals.  First, they are intended to be a positive and fierce re-interpretation of the traditional female action figure.   Second, IAmElemental action figures encourage girls (and boys) to reinvent the Superhero myth by creating their own empowering stories.  Third, the IAmElemental Team created a toy that is super fun to play with and collect. We knew from the outset that if the figures weren’t well designed, nothing else would matter.
After a highly successful launch on Kickstarter in May of 2014, the IAmElemental Team shipped Superpowers to customers in all fifty states and six continents by year’s end.
The response has been incredible. We have received photos, stories, and sketches from girls (and boys) all around the world who are incorporating the action figures into their play routine. They are fighting bad guys, wrestling dinosaurs, dressing as their favorite powers, and plotting their Halloween costumes; fully embracing their new roles as Superheroes. The collector community has been equally supportive. They appreciate the sculpt, the articulation, the paint out, and the obvious care put into the figures.
Happily, we’ve acquired some new fan clubs along the way as well. Teachers are weaving the IAmElemental notions of Character development into their teaching plans. Therapists are incorporating the figures into their play therapy sessions with young children. And grandparents, inspired by the message built into the play experience, are buying them as gifts for their grandchildren.
It’s time to play with Power!™

Where to start?  It's time to play with Power? I wonder if Nintendo can sue?


THERE IS NO FREAKING CANON!! How can you be invested in a BLANK SLATE who has no real motivations for her actions. We don't even KNOW what she does aside "making others tell the truth". OK she has a nice Bird Wing backpack, so she flies around making people tell the truth. How can making others tell the truth can help someone if they're say, being attacked by a bear? Having a blank slate character isn't so bad... I mean, look at Link!

Not that one! The one from the games. While Link has the personality of a brick, the story is what keeps you invested in the game, or the gameplay...
Here we have nothing. We'll we see a site the likes of say, The Technodrome, Hiss Tank or He-Man dot Org for IAmElemental in 20 years?
I doubt it, unless they are willing to betray their Hyper PC principles in order to become something else... a Toyline with a story. Instead of me spending all that written space talking about the canon of the line, the only story I got was about the people behind the line and how their SocJus idea became a successful story on Kickstarter.

I need to talk about the actual toy somewhere and I might as well start here.

Articulation:
Head on a Balljoint, balljoint shoulders, elbows, knees and thighs, the end. She can stand and kinda squat, but I seem to be having an issue with her falling all the time if she is not standing straight.
3.0

Paint and Sculpt:
Paintjob is nice. Very little slop... Color choices are very PC and at the same time very sexist. Pinks, Purples, Truquoises and reds... Very Girly colors. The PC color is the ridiculously LOUD shades of red for the skin in order to avoid "racial discrimination" via toys. (Except the gun-toting Fear, who is purple and could be interpreted as the black one... and roll the clip!)
The sculpt, well... It's bland. Looking at the picture of ALL 7 figures of this line and they all seem to have the SAME FACE, but different hairstyles The body is exactly the same one. It may have more "realistic proportions" but it is teaching girls that they ALL NEED TO HAVE THE SAME BODY TYPE...  As I uploaded the pic comparing Not Applejack to Firestar, I noticed that her suit creates a shadowy area of the "Excess area that is stopping Honesty from having a Traditional Superheroine physique".
4.0

Accessories:
Cool Wing Backpack and Lame Element Shield that can be used as a charm on the special IAmElemental Charm Bracelet... Way to break stereotypes with girls by having a Charm Bracelet idea. She also has a little pouch to put away the figure and 2 cards. In my case they were two of Honesty.
3.5

Overall:
Honesty, who is technically a contradiction, because she wears a domino mask and masks are used for covering, hiding, deception; gets a 3.5 as her final score. Now as much as I detest the idea of SJWs trying to enforce Hyper PC on fields that PC is counterproductive, I have to applaud the IAmElemental team for putting their money where their mouths were and made the toys. Not to mention that the toys aren't that bad themselves from a engineering pov. It's the lack of thought OUTSIDE the SocJus bubble that went into these toys.
Funny thing is that these ladies are somewhat compatible with some Hasbro Marvel Universe toys. The Potential for this Toyline. It just needs a bit of canon, some story to give these toys a purpose other than Social Experiment. More body types would be welcome. (they did make emphasis on body type)

I want to end this super-long-winded rant on a positive note, but the only thing I can think of is Round 2 is FFVII's very own Vampire... VINCENT!!! Or maybe I'll Do Sephiroth... Decisions, decisions.