Review of Stargirl, Sandman action figures
DC Universe Classics

Introduction

Earlier this week I covered two of the new wave 19 DC Universe Classics - Magog and Hawkman. I managed to find the other four this week, and I'm looking at Stargirl and Sandman tonight. I now have The Atom and Lord Naga to go, along with the Collect and Connect figure of S.T.R.I.P.E.

These are popping up first at Target, although not all Targets seem to be getting them equally right now. We have two stores 'in town' (actually within about 5 miles of each other) and only one has had any of this wave, and then only in dribs and drabs.

These are running around $15 a pop, but if you have bought anything from Matty Collector recently, you've received a coupon for $5 off a DCUC figure - I used three on the remaining four figures, saving the cost of one entire character. That's more like it!

Let's talk about these two specific characters for a minute. You know Sandman - at least I hope you know Sandman. I suppose he can be a bit confusing, since he's had seven different incarnations in the DC comics since the original introduction back in the 1930's, not to mention the Vertigo character and the Marvel character, both totally unrelated.

The Sandman we get here is the true classic Golden Age version, with green suit, fedora and gas mask. In recent years he's gone back to this classic look in the comics as well.

The other character is the opposite of a 'classic'. Perhaps she'll get there some day, but Stargirl didn't see a printed page til 1999, when Courtney Whitmore dons the Star Spangled Kid's outfit to annoy her step-father. He goes on to build an armored suit (sort of the DC version of Iron Man) and become S.T.R.I.P.E., the CnC figure in this wave.

Packaging - ***
I didn't bother to include a packaged shot this time, as I assume regular readers have got the general idea by now. While the package looks the same, the key takeaway is that there are no twisties or rubber bands - the figures pop right out of the trays.

I also didn't have any trouble with the trays warping the knees or ankles on these two, but that's something you always want to watch for.

Sculpting - Sandman ****; Stargirl **1/2
I'm loving this Sandman, and if you're a fan of the Golden Age of comics, I suspect you will too. The suited body looks great, with nice proportions and a soft rubbery material for the coat. The cape is a soft rubber too, and while purple, green and yellow are normally not the best colors together, it works for Sandman.

The detail work on the gas mask is great as well, and the sculpted hand works with the gun. He stands great on his own, even with the extra weight of the cape.

I'm not as thrilled with Stargirl. The seams on the thighs are much too obvious, and the belt sticks out over the hips in a weird, non-realistic way.

And let's not ignore that smile of hers. She's a pretty girl, although there's a bit of a giraffe neck thing going on. But the smile shows all her teeth - and whenever someone smiles and shows off their bottom teeth like this, it just creeps me out.

She does stand great though, and the sculpted hands work nicely with the staff.

Paint - Sandman ***1/2; Stargirl **
The paint work here is a tad sloppy, so if you have a choice on the pegs you'll want to inspect them carefully.

The Sandman I found isn't bad, with just a bit of slop around the mask edges. The tie looks good, and the green suit is fairly consistent from piece to piece, at least in person. In photos the thighs look darker, but I didn't notice it in hand.

Stargirl is a bit more of a mess, with a lot of marks and slop on the white areas of the costume. The red shoelaces are also poorly defined, and it just seems that her costume has a more 'rushed' look to the paint.

Articulation - Sandman ***1/2; Stargirl ***
For regular collectors of this series, this is one of those been there done that sort of categories. All the usual DCUC articulation is here, it's just a matter of how well it works with the sculpt.

On Sandman, the only joint that doesn't have quite the range of movement you'd expect is the neck. While it is a ball joint, that's pretty much negated by the sculpt and cape. It turns fine, but there's very little tilting going on.

Stargirl's neck tilts a little bet better, but it's still not as good as some DCUC figures we've seen. That's due largely to the long, stiff hair sculpt.

Her shoulders are also quite restricted. At first I thought it was just because they were stuck, and had trouble turning. But in reality, it's how the torso is sculpted, creating friction between the shoulder ball and the overhang.

Her ab-crunch is also restricted by the sculpted uniform top, but the rest of the joints work as you'd expect.

Accessories - ***
Both figures come with one piece of the S.T.R.I.P.E. CnC figure - an arm and a leg. If you bought Stargirl, then I'm assuming you want S.T.R.I.P.E., but maybe you just like chicks in bicycle pants.

Each comes with one more extra - Sandman has his gas gun, and Stargirl has the Cosmic Staff that originally belonged to Starman. Both of these weapons fit nicely in their hands, and have very detailed sculpts. I particularly like the addition of the small loop on the left side of Sandman's suit, with the corresponding hook on the handle of the gun. This gives him a way to carry it when not in use. Be careful with the loop though, as it looks like enough bending back and forth will break it off.

Fun Factor - ****
This is one of my favorite toy lines - an actual line of toys that has real play value, and yet appeals to collectors as well. Kids will find characters like Sandman cool even if they don't know who he is at first, simply because of the timeless design.

Value - **1/2
I used some Matty coupons to get the price down even more, but it's not enough to take these beyond an average value.

Things to Watch Out For -
As I mentioned earlier, you want to be sure to pick them out carefully on the peg if possible, watching for the best paint AND for any warping of the joints caused by the inside tray.

Overall - Sandman ***1/2; Stargirl **1/2
While this wave isn't filled with heavy hitters, I have to say that so far I'm pleasantly surprised. Magog, Hawkman and Sandman are all well above average, and the only real disappointment so far is Stargirl. For me, the creepy smile and sloppy paint are a double whammy.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Sandman ****; Stargirl **1/2
Paint - Sandman ***; Stargirl **1/2
Articulation - Sandman ***1/2; Stargirl ***
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - Sandman ***1/2; Stargirl **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has a case for $135, the set for $100, or the singles for $18.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other DCUC reviews include:

- I started this wave by looking at Hawkman and Magog.

- just before that were the series 17 part 1 and part 2, as well as series 18 part 1 and part 2.

- other recent reviews covered the new Green Lantern waves: wave 2 part 2 and part 1, and wave 1 part 2 and part 1.

- Series 16 was split up too, into part 1 and part 2.

- I finished off wave 15 in two parts, one here and one here.

- and wave 14 was also in part 1 and part 2.

- the SDCC Plastic Man was the previous review.

- I split the wave 13 up into two sections, part 1 and part 2.

I've covered just about every DCUC figure before that as well, and you should also hit the Search Reviews page to find them all, or in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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