Toy Wizards Review: Blue Beetle & Cassie Hack Collectible Legends Action Figures by Creative Comics and Collectibles

Toy Wizards would like to thank Creative Comics and Collectibles for providing us with samples of the Blue Beetle and Cassie Hack Collectible Legends action figures. To get your own, you can check them out on BigBadToyStore for $22.99 each.

I first became aware of the Creative Comics and Collectibles brand because of their upcoming Vikings and Barbarians toy line. We did an interview with company owner Drackstin Zaccone to learn more. But now, their first line of toys Collectible Legends, are hitting shelves and we were fortunate enough to get our hands on a Cassie Hack and Blue Beetle to review. You can see our thoughts above via YouTube, or read on for a summary.

These six inch figures have fantastic articulation. Cassie Hack comes with three sets of hands and a barbed wire bat. The Blue Beetle comes with four pairs of hands, my favorite being the default pair holding a gun. The paint on Cassie’s bat, fishnet undershirt, and high socks are spectacular. Unfortunately, I am left craving some airbrushed makeup on her face and highlights in her hair. Similarly with the Blue Beetle, the paint/plastic is a clean solid blue, but my eyes are craving a bit more.

The biggest falter with these toys are the packaging– the design is uninspired and the proportions of the text/images are skewed. Because of this, I could see the toys being on display at a toy show or small comic book shop, but I don’t think they would stand a chance in a large retail store. Cassie also has some color variations on her neck and shoulders, and unfortunately, this contrast is a little jarring– it doesn’t look like something you’d see when you pick up a toy from a big-name company. But as I mention in the video, we know that large companies aren’t exempt from missing paint apps– looking at you Dino Thunder White Ranger.

I give Cassie Hack and Blue Beetle Collectible Legends figures 3.5 out of 5 Wizard Stars.

Toy Wizards Interviews Creative Comics and Collectibles CEO Drackstin Zaccone:

Hi Drackstin! Thank you so much for giving Toy Wizards this interview and providing us with samples to review. So tell us– what is the background of this line?

So both of the character from my comic line are actual Comic book characters, Cassie, is a licensed character from the Hack/Slash comic by Tim Seeley that was released in 2004, where the Blue Beetle is a golden age comic character and no licensing is needed. Blue Beetle was originally created in 1939 and shares a origin story similar to Batman– his father was a police officer and he was a in training be one, his father was killed in the line of duty and he wanted to do more, he started to fight crime on his own, and even got a special bulletproof costume that enhanced his abilities to do so.

As for Cassie, her story is a little darker– people were being murdered in her city, and she decided to do something about it and go out on her own to find out who was doing it. She does make friends with some people that help her out, and he comic has had cross overs with Vampirella and also some other famous characters. In 2017 when I decided I wanted to start this company I reached out to a friend who was once in the industry, he had contacts with a lot of people and reached out to see if any of them still wanted to have figures made.

I was able to get the license for Cassie and Tim Seeley’s other characters from his Hack/Slash comic that way. The Golden Age of Comics had a lot of cool characters, and the Blue Beetle (Dan Garret) is one of the ones I really like, and with out needed a license it was easier to add to the line up while still making a cool character people knew. DC comics own the rights to his newer versions and still brings attention to the original.

What has been the response to them up to this point?

The people that see the figures really do seem to like them, and that’s what’s important, bringing something to life so fans can have it part of their collection it what I’m working on doing. These figures were not crowd funded, as most licensers, do not allow you to use their name in crowd funding for in case it should fail, they don’t want the negative possibility, but some will allow it. I have been working on these out of pocket myself. That is part of the reason it took so long to get rolling in the first place.

What was the production process like? Are these whole new molds? Did you design every aspect? Who did the paint on these? What went into choosing a factory in China for production?

The production process was long, it started with me purchasing a base 3D models of a action figure system (joints and body parts), but most of this system had to be remade, I worked on it personal, from there, creating the parts needed to make the unique charters came next, so adding details and sculpting heads and skirts and boots.

From there I contacted my factory, this is a factory that I met when I went to Toy Fair in NY in 2017, the choice to pick china was made because of the great difference in price. I went over many options before I finally made my decision. Keeping my figures affordable for the public was my goal, and at the same time, being able to actual produce them in the first place. Once the finished 3D files were sent to the factory, the made their own changes to the system with my approval to ensure everything worked as intended. Although things do get lost in translation sometimes, and I still would like to improve the system even more. I believe the figures turned out good, making sure the paint was right was one of the aspects I wanted to focus on, all production of the figures were done in the factory, from production, to paint to boxes.

What do you hope most for these action figures from the people reviewing them?

I really want an honest review on these, i can see what everyone else see, and criticism is important. i was also very pleased with the paining on Cassie, the fishnet shirt and the stockings came out great, the character herself is very pale with little make up but I think the face turned out good, but there is always room for improvement, I had to have them re mask the face because the first time they painted her she had huge anime eyes, I had to changed to have more eye shadow and smaller eyes to be more comic accurate, it also make the figure look better overall because the face didn’t match with her big eyes.

I was also glad the bat came out as good as it did, sometimes small details can be lost. The difference in skin color I believe is due to the different plastic used to make the parts, since the combination with the dyes can react differently to harder or softer plastic. this is something I really want to work on more, as I know it changes the quality of the figure itself. I did make sure that the Blue Beetle had a wash added to his body, this was to darken the muscle indents and add shadowing, making his features pop more, but I always see more improvement.

As for the packaging, I had some problems with it, I made it all by hand but some problems with file conversions and board height changes skewed it in production. The art on the boxes are actual comic art, but I definitely want to improve on the layout some more. One feature I do love being a collector is the slide on the plastic, so you can remove the figure from the box display it and not ruin the board itself, and then put it back at any time, I also added a ledge on the bottom to make them displayable in the box.

I hope to get these figures in to more stores, they are already on Big Bad toy store, but I’m finding it hard calling and contacting 100s of stores myself. even so, the figures have fans all over the world who really love the characters. and since I ship world wide its great to see orders already from the UK and Australia. I definitely do want to bring them to some big conventions once everything starts up again. But getting these into retail stores is one of my goals.

I take pride in the fact that, although I’m just starting out, I want to stand toe to to with the bigger companies, rather then just being a small run hand made figure that maybe 500 people have and it has to be cleaned up before you can display or show it off. I believe for my first figures, they came out very well, and definitely, are better then some of the figures out on the market now.

Official Collectible Legends Press Release:

CREATIVE COMICS AND COLLECTIBLES INTRODUCES COLLECTIBLE LEGENDS AND VIKINGS VS BARBARIANS ACTION FIGURE LINES

ASHLEY, PA. Nov 5th, 2020. Creative Comics and Collectibles have launched new lines of comic and fantasy action figures for collectors.
With this new 6″ scale action figure launch, Creative Comics and Collectibles is releasing and developing 6” fullyarticulated action figures of characters inspired by comics, games, fantasy and more. The first series of Collectible Legends features Cassie Hack of Hack/Slash by comicbook artist Tim Seeley and Golden Age, The Blue Beetle and a bloody Cassie Hack version and red highlighted suit Blue Beetle.

Live for orders and shipping next month from the U.S. to customers and accepting pre-orders now for Vikings vs Barbarians which finished over 100% funded in its kickstarter campaign and shipping end of Q4, both will also be sold direct-to-consumer through creativecomicsandcollectibles.com and specialty retailers.

A look into Series 2 Collectible Legends will feature Vlad from Hack/Slash and Golden Age, Amazing Man and others to be announced along with a Female Viking and Female Barbarian action figure in the next upcoming kickstarter for Vikings vs Barbarians.

“We are working with 3d sculpting, direct art and our very own body system with hyper articulation to bring these great characters into the action figure market.” – Drackstin Zaccone, CEO Creative Comics and Collectibles, LLC.

About Creative Comics and Collectibles:

Creative Comics and Collectibles produces high end, hyper articulated action figures packed with extra accessories and great character designs.

Website: https://www.creativecomicsandcollectibles.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativecomicsandcollectiblesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativecomicsandcollectibles

Twitter: https://twitter.com/creativecomicsandcollectibles

About Hack/SlashCreated by Tim Seeley:

Cassie Hack travels to small towns across the country to take down killers and slashers. At her side is her companion and protector, Vlad.
About Vikings Vs BarbariansVikings Vs Barbarians is an original concept action figure line which is a collectible, Poseable Action Battle between Vikings and Barbarian characters. There will be male and female characters with unique designs and weapon packs/accessories/extra parts allowing for team building and battle scenarios.
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Links to product photos:
https://creativecomicsstore.ecwid.com/The-Blue-Beetle-Dan-Garret-p142938202
https://creativecomicsstore.ecwid.com/Limited-Online-Exclusive-The-Blue-Beetle-Dan-Garret-p147195753
https://creativecomicsstore.ecwid.com/Cassie-Hack-Slash-p142938476
https://creativecomicsstore.ecwid.com/Limited-Online-Exclusive-Cassie-Hack-Slash-p147195743