The pulp characters of King Features Syndicate are really enjoying a golden era in terms of action figure offerings. Several companies have gotten into the game with some great offerings, and Boss Fight Studio has been leading the charge for a couple of years.
Now, with the release of Power Stars series one, the King Features goodness continues, but with a spin that makes these new figures the true spiritual successors to the vaunted Super Powers line. This style has become pretty popular over the past couple of years with several companies attempting to recreate the original style. However, when it comes to size, scheme, and feel, these feel like the direct descendants of Super Powers, even more so than the modern line named directly for it.
These figures really put Flash Gordon, Ming the Merciless, Prince Thune, and The Phantom in the same world as your classic figures, and that comes down to rigorous attention to detail. The team at Boss Fight Studio are pretty unrivaled when it comes to adhering to the adage of “the devil is in the details” because while these harken back to earlier action figure time, mastering the style of that era is what truly separates these from other lines vying for the same goal.
It is easy to pass this retro style off as “simple” or likewise, but that is doing a great disservice to what has come before. If you examine the original Super Powers line, you will find that there are most definitely notes that bring consistency across that line (such as stance, articulation cuts, etc.), but that so many of the sculptures are unique to serve the details of the specific characters. So it is also true here: the style is instantly cohesive, but each figures varies from one to the next much more than a passing glance might indicate.
For example, I love Ming’s very intricate face sculpt, but also the larger build of Prince Thune. Things like this might be easy to dismiss, but it assumptive reuse and poorly planned sharing of parts that can pass a line off as a pretender instead of true to the spirit of what a line like is supposed to achieve. Additionally, materials play a big part, too. I would expect plastics to be updated for modern figures, but tactile memory will send you right back to the 80s with the feel of Ming’s cape. The material, and the C-clip are pretty perfect, and those are small but essential parts of doing a line like the is correct way.
I think colors are another big part of making these figures so good. For some reason, and maybe it is in the quest for “realism” or the like, many action figure companies have moved towards muted colors and gritty paint washes for many of their offerings. There is a time and place for some of those things, but when it comes to nostalgia properties and vintage tributes, the colors should bold and bright. I love that these look like toys in the best way, and much of that comes from the toyetic hues. That lavender on Ming, and orange on Thune is really something else.
Now, all of the accessories can be held and often holstered perfectly, and with Flash’s swappable head, the added updates fit with this style without taking it in an unneeded direction. Ming and Flash share common blasters, as is appropriate, but there is not a speck of reuse in a series that features three swords – each is allowed to stand on its own.
Look, I am primarily a 1:12 and 1:10 scale fan. So, I do not keep many smaller or larger figures in my collection. However, when it dip into the 3¾ and 4-inch lines, I tend to prefer the retro-stylings. Companies like Super7 have gotten really good at the late 1970s figure style, but BFS has really nailed the 80s 4-inch aesthetic better than anyone else to this point. I am really taken by these figures, and I hope they continue to apply this style to some of their other properties. If you are Flash Gordon and Phantom fan, or if you are a real connoisseur of the “Super Powers” style, you will want to check these out. These are really, really well done.
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Source: Fwoosh
