Jan 2015 Haul: Chinese People's Armed Police, Captain America, Hawkman, Zombie Survivor

This year 2015 is certainly starting out in a bright way :)

I am quite pleased with my first haul for 2015 so far. They include Dam Toys 1/6 scale Chinese People's Armed Police Force Special Forces operator, Hot Toys "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6th scale Captain America (Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit version), Square Enix Play Arts Kai DC Variant Hawkman collectible figure and Easy & Simple (E&S) 1/6th scale Zombie Survivor set for 12-inch figure, most likely inspired by the character Gerry Lane portrayed by Brad Pitt in the 2013 American disaster zombie film "World War Z". Note the small packaging compared to the rest.

I grew up reading lots of comic books, mostly DC and Marvel, with a preference for Marvel characters and Captain America was right there at the top of the list along with The Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men. I never imagined that all these two-dimensional superhero characters I read about on paper would one day grace the movie screen in such a big way so I must say what a thrill it has been to be able watch my childhood heroes come to life. What's even better is to have companies like Hot Toys produce and release these figures in three-dimensional form in 1:6 scale with so much detail and accuracy it just blows the mind. You can see the preview pictures of this Hot Toys "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" 1/6th scale Captain America (Stealth S.T.R.I.K.E. Suit version) posted on my toy blog HERE.

Scroll down to see the rest of the pictures.

Click on them for bigger and better views.

This is pretty much an official version of The People's Armed Police (人民武装警察, Abbreviation: PAP), officially Chinese People's Armed Police Force (officially abbreviated CAPF; simplified Chinese: 中国人民武装警察部队; traditional Chinese: 中國人民武裝警察部隊), a paramilitary or gendarmerie force primarily responsible for civilian policing and fire rescue duties in the People's Republic of China, as well as providing support to the PLA during wartime. You can check out the preview pictures HERE.

Word is Dam Toys got special permission and the official license to produce and market these figures so accuracy to details is definitely spot on here. Most military figures aren't "official" because the country's army / military never agreed to have 12-inch action figures made of them. Usually these 1:6 scale manufacturing company gets its reference pictures and resource from books published or information gleaned from the internet. One would be surprised what is available out there.

This is the first 12-inch figure boxed set released by Easy & Simple. They had previously only released 1:6 scale weapons (mostly firearms) but has now ventured into the 12-inch figure category. That only means more options and choices for we 12-inch figure collectors which can only be a good thing. Hopefully, more competition for the collector's money will mean lower prices for the figures because too much supply will saturate the market. I was quite surprised by the lack of packaging for this figure. The box is very simple and very small compared with the rest of the items I picked up. I had posted the preview pictures earlier on my toy blog HERE.

I did not care for all the previous variant versions of DC characters released by Square Enix. What Square Enix did was take all the popular DC comic book characters (the good and the bad / superheroes and supervillains) and gave them a variant look which differed from how they usually looked like in the comic books. The look was usually more Japanese anime / manga-like and I didn't quite fancy them. But since I picked up the Square Enix Play Arts Kai Arkham Origins Batman (reviewed HERE and HERE) and Arkham Origins Deathstroke (reviewed HERE, HERE and HERE) 10-inch (26 cm) tall figures, I have been on a look out for more figures from the same line and this Square Enix Play Arts Kai DC Variant Hawkman Collectible Figure certainly caught my eye.

Hawkman is a unique hero with roots in ancient Egypt, drawing inspiration from the god Horus. Re-imagined by Play Arts Kai craftsmanship, Hawkman has certainly taken on a whole new look with the large wings and broad wingspan, bringing the original design to the next level with a modernized expression and fine detailing. You can see the preview pictures HERE.

Watch this space for reviews to follow soon ;p