Operation Monster Force

I think the only other interesting bit from the interview was some more details about the Raven Society. It's basically real historical figures vs. fictional characters, and each Society member is going to come with a bookshelf as a sort of Build-a-Library.

Since Monster Force is already half fictional characters, I'm not quite sure where they have to go with this line. Same with Dark Directive, really.

Oh, and I liked the idea of NPCs being released as genre waves. Like, one wave would be "slasher movie." I'm a little skeptical because, other than the mob boss and bank robbers, none of the other revealed characters go together. Still, it's a cool idea.
Oh the build-a-library sounds kinda cool ... I'm wondering if "fictional characters" is less out and out monsters and more like Capt Nemo, Dorian Grey, or Moriarty. I could see some fun being had there that was distinct from Monster Force, and presumably a new part library.

For the NPC line I assume SWAT, mob guy, and bank robbers are a wave. Then I could see cheerleader, priest and whoever else as a slasher or horror wave. Priest doesn't fit as well into that, but obviously the cheerleader is a slasher staple.
 
I'm a full-time writer and I live with a librarian. If they make a library-based line of figures I won't just buy them, I will get SPOUSAL APPROVAL for the purchases. That's a very cool idea.
 
I'm wondering if "fictional characters" is less out and out monsters and more like Capt Nemo, Dorian Grey, or Moriarty
I remember Alan Moore openly questioning why 20th Century was willing to pay him for the rights to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, since all the characters are by definition public domain. He figured they just wanted to use his name in the marketing.

But yeah, I guess there are more non-monster fictional characters than monster. I guess I needed to get my head out of that space.

Having said that, though, I don't know that I'd be any more interested in a Dorian Grey figure than I am an Edgar Allen Poe figure. (Although I am still salty that they locked their O:MF Ambassador HP Lovecraft head in the all-in wave bonus pack).
 
I remember Alan Moore openly questioning why 20th Century was willing to pay him for the rights to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, since all the characters are by definition public domain. He figured they just wanted to use his name in the marketing.

But yeah, I guess there are more non-monster fictional characters than monster. I guess I needed to get my head out of that space.

Having said that, though, I don't know that I'd be any more interested in a Dorian Grey figure than I am an Edgar Allen Poe figure. (Although I am still salty that they locked their O:MF Ambassador HP Lovecraft head in the all-in wave bonus pack).
I wonder if folks would be more mad if the HP head came later in a head pack.

But yeah, it's an interesting idea for a line, very niche, but I think it's a concept they could mine if they think broadly enough. And yeah, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen would seem a good source for inspiration. We already have the invisible man in OMF, and I think someone like Hyde fits better there as well, but for the more human baddies, Raven Society might fit the bill. Surely there's more I'm not thinking of as well. Claudius from Hamlet? Might they go that far back?
 
All of public domain fiction is quite a wide net for a line. I'm assuming it won't go any earlier than the gothic/romantic periods, maybe the 1600s at the very earliest? I certainly wouldn't mind some civilian types from the renaissance through to Victorian eras. Been wanting a prince Prospero for a Masque of the Red Death display, and a Victorian-ish female body for Mina Harker. Would also love something inspired by the works of Francisco de Goya or Hieronymus Bosch.
 
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I wonder if folks would be more mad if the HP head came later in a head pack.
If i bought an entire wave of six figures when i really only wanted maybe three, just because I wanted 1/3 of the bonus pack, I should already be mad. Again, I wish all success on the BBWS team, but I'm hoping those full wave bonus items are a massive failure and they never do them again.

The Build-a-Library makes me think Raven Society is all authors, although I can't quite square that with my guess that the next figure in the line is Houdini. Still, that would open the door for Lovecraft to be his own figure in that line which could be a workaround to dodge collector complaints about re-releasing an "exclusive" head sculpt.
 
Finally got my first OMF figure, the Balckwatch Agent. Very good, super solid figure. Seeing a non-Santa FMF figure makes me pretty confident I'll be in on some of their upcoming lines too. The NPC line in particular is something I've been specifically wanting from some company for a while so I'm on board for that.

I need to really be selective about OMF, as this line is already so deep that I need to pace myself so I don't run out of space.
 
Been waiting on the newest wave to arrive. BBTS put a direct signature requirement on the shipment, which is super annoying when they were due Saturday. Had it held as I would most likely not been home. They couldn’t deliver it to the pick up location (Walgreens) because they were ‘closed’ but they weren’t. Now they’re supposed to be ready for pick up but they’re not at the store. Fed ex hasn’t been to that store since Friday. So yay Fed Ex not knowing what the crap they’re doing. Hopefully it shows up tomorrow but really frustrating experience. I loathe the direct signature option with a passion.
 
This is ridiculous but thank you for posting in this thread today, reminded me I hadn't shipped my POL yet! I'd been holding off on hitting ship from BBTS on the handful of figures I picked up because I was supposed to be out of the country this week and didn't want the box sitting on the steps for a few days. But the trip got canceled so now I can at least give myself a little dopamine boost of getting the Eraser and Donner Party processed and headed my way. (They'd probably be here by now if I'd known the trip would be canceled, but now I can play the "refresh the Fedex app every hour" game to entertain myself.)
 
Excuse the low quality phone camera and lighting, but I just had to get a snap of these guys as soon as I could get them out of the packages and on a shelf.

Van Helsing's team of monsters is wildly outnumbered by Dracula's army of zombies and Sleepwalkers, but not outmatched.

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As before, sculpts are great, paint is great, accessories are mostly great (at least they added some nerve gas canisters to Caligari that weren't in the original solicit). I just wish the joints were a little looser. I boiled the whole lot and worked the joints, but as soon as they cool down, they're back to being a struggle.
 
Official canon-wise, Dracula is actually working with Van Helsing against the Forgotten King. Obviously trusting Dracula is never something to do but if you’re looking to balance the shelf out a bit he should be on the other side. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some back-stabbing moment down the line and Dracula shifts back to the baddies.
 
Official canon-wise, Dracula is actually working with Van Helsing against the Forgotten King.
Sure, but one of the reasons I'm so into this line is that it's made me feel creative again, willing to toss out canon like when I was a kid.

It's just that I want a Monster Squad team and don't think a Van Helsing should team up with Dracula. I also found the actual figure for the Forgotten One kind of boring and didn't even bother to get one.

So at the end of the day, I've got Van Helsing, joined by a vampire traitor, a soldier with lycanthropy, an extorted invisible man, and the remains of the Donner Party re-assembled through shear willpower facing off against Dracula, his accomplice Dr. Caligari, and their collective armies of Sleepwalkers and walking dead.

Eventually Van Helsing will be filled out by Harker, Mr. Legacy, Maj. Coco, Lt. Raven, and hopefully Peter, so they'll balance out a little more. Of course, in that time Dracula will also be joined by the Ambassador, Dr. Rand and Red Riding Hood, so it's a bit of an arms race.
 
Not exactly Monster Force, but I got the Naughty or Nice pumpkin brothers. My Patch has a very loose head, which I've emailed about, but my Petor is fantastic. I've got them on opposite sides of my Monster Force shelf.
 
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