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Worst Hasbro BAFs


Hogun

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It seems like Hasbro may or may not be phasing out BAFs soon. For whatever dumb reason. So, let us look back at some of Hasbro's worst BAF blunders since 2015. My only rule is that if a BAF has been re-released. It should not be factored into why it is considered the worst as that is from a monetary value standpoint and not from a playability standpoint.

Here is my list in no particular order: 1. M'Baku and Okoye. The BAFs from the Black Panther movie are progressively better. But Attuma is the only good one that came out of those three waves. Okoye is small for BAF and while M'Baku is larger. He is still average-sized and his lower-half is completely inarticulate due to the stiff skirt piece.

2. Mantis: She is a small BAF of a new character and Hasbro's "excuse" is that they included a large Death's Head II in the wave. But that Death's Head II utilizes the same body as Colossus from the Warlock wave. Which had a BAF-worthy size figure with incredibly sculpted details and a gorgeous paint wash. When I was still into MCU figures. I wish she was not a BAF so that I could include her in my Guardians display.

3. Captain America's wings. Unlike the Vulture's flight gear, there was no excuse to make such a small pair of wings the BAF. This was just a terrible cash grab made by Hasbro to capitalize on a character's new status quo.

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There's been a lot of bad BAFs, sadly. 
Puck--for such an essential character for Alpha Flight, they should have just held him back until they could do that box set.  Releasing the BAF in the Wolverine Legends wave didn't do that wave any favours--despite a relatively strong line-up of figures in it.

Hit Monkey--small BAFs just don't say "value-for-the dollar", but they would if a small figure came with a boatload of gear/accessories.  This was a missed opportunity.

Rocket Raccoon.  Another small BAF, another frustrating figure.

The Blob---one of Hasbro's first BAF offerings.   It's an "interpretation" in that I don't think it specifically references any particular look..........I think it was kind of meant to be an amalgam of different ideas about the character.
I get the impression this was either a hold-over from ToyBiz, or a design philosophy that Hasbro explored briefly and then quickly abandoned.  Their first Namor seemed to be along the same lines--an interpretation.
But if you want cellulite-goodness, kids.....this Blob is the one!

Titus--this is actually a very nice looking figure.............but I had both never seen the character before or even heard of it.  And that's OBSCURE!

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This sounds like a subjective list as answers will vary on how much individuals enjoy certain BAFS. For example the Crimson Dynamo was a divisive choice as many decried the version Hasbro went with. I personally loved the figure even if that particular design isn't the one I would have picked.  

So here is my list of "worst" BAFS ( in no particular order)

Cull Obsidian. Neither comic or MCU accurate and was "forced" to get a expensive box set to get the apology figure.

Mr. Hyde. Just not the version I'd pick. See my Dynamo explanation above...

Sandman/ Absorbing Man. Those oversized bodies, the ball hips.

D+ Ultron. Undersized. 

Korg (Love and Thunder). Poor hips. Mine has perma-splits 

Vulture wings/ Sam Cap wings. Both Vulture and Sam should have been Deluxe figures from the start. 

 

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On 4/1/2023 at 8:42 PM, TheArrow said:

There's been a lot of bad BAFs, sadly. 
Puck--for such an essential character for Alpha Flight, they should have just held him back until they could do that box set.  Releasing the BAF in the Wolverine Legends wave didn't do that wave any favours--despite a relatively strong line-up of figures in it.

Hit Monkey--small BAFs just don't say "value-for-the dollar", but they would if a small figure came with a boatload of gear/accessories.  This was a missed opportunity.

Rocket Raccoon.  Another small BAF, another frustrating figure.

The Blob---one of Hasbro's first BAF offerings.   It's an "interpretation" in that I don't think it specifically references any particular look..........I think it was kind of meant to be an amalgam of different ideas about the character.
I get the impression this was either a hold-over from ToyBiz, or a design philosophy that Hasbro explored briefly and then quickly abandoned.  Their first Namor seemed to be along the same lines--an interpretation.
But if you want cellulite-goodness, kids.....this Blob is the one!

Titus--this is actually a very nice looking figure.............but I had both never seen the character before or even heard of it.  And that's OBSCURE!

I like that Blob. I don't like the old Hasbro joints. Not arguing with your opinion.

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I didn't really like the Sugar Man BAF. He seemed to be designed more like his later appearances in the 616 than the Bachalo design in Generation Next. I prefer the old 90's TB figure. He's rounder and I think has better colors.

It's hard for me to pick because I don't have any BAFs that I don't like. I never completed the ones I didn't like.

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On 4/3/2023 at 11:21 AM, TheArrow said:

I like it too.  I think it's a novel take on the look of the character and I see no real reason to upgrade to the newer "smoother" one.
I also agree on the joints too.

I think the new one looks more cartoony. You're right on the other one being chock full o'cellulite.

Fin Fang Foom is not "the worst BAF", but could have been done better. It's huge and they did a good job in almost every aspect, but, again, I think the early Hasbro articulation makes it underachieve.

I work in manufacturing and the accountants scalpel never improves the product. It's a pity that FFF would probably only be re-done as a HasLab.

I hate to sound like I'm complaining, though. I'm really happy with Hasbro's products over the last few years.

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On 4/3/2023 at 10:10 AM, Chunkylover said:

It's a pity that FFF would probably only be re-done as a HasLab.

 

I kinda wish we'd get a complete Fin Fang Foom ( same BAF, just repainted) in a 2-pack.......along with a comics-look Mandarin to upgrade the old ( awful) Toy Biz Face-Off Mandarin.

Foom is really no bigger than the Marvel Universe Galactus, and Mandarin could fit in the same size box along with it.  Ding us $75 for it and I believe it would move.
It just ( say it with me, kids)......"needs to be done right"

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On 4/3/2023 at 12:25 PM, TheArrow said:

I kinda wish we'd get a complete Fin Fang Foom ( same BAF, just repainted) in a 2-pack.......along with a comics-look Mandarin to upgrade the old ( awful) Toy Biz Face-Off Mandarin.

Foom is really no bigger than the Marvel Universe Galactus, and Mandarin could fit in the same size box along with it.  Ding us $75 for it and I believe it would move.
It just ( say it with me, kids)......"needs to be done right"

Yeah, maybe. You're right that it is not that tall. It's the biggest figure in my collection. Maybe saving on tooling would help them keep the price down.

And that Mandarin was bad. The tried with him, and the Doctor Strange, to make some resilient cloaks... and totally missed the target. Those things are as thick as a tire.

I'm not sure about the new 3-pack Banshee, but the first Hasbro Banshee had really good wings. Much better, in my opinion, than Siryn's.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hit Monkey: This one's just too small for a BAF and generally not essential.

Cosmo: I've been waiting on this one for a while, but again small figures don't justify the purchase like larger BAFs do, could have easily been a pack in at these prices.

Abomination (comic): Too small and stocky, the Civil War wave one didn't ever feel like the right color scheme, and it's never felt like an upgrade to the ToyBiz one.  

Infinity War Thanos: Wrong colors, weird facial expression, completely eclipsed by the re-releases.  

Kree Sentry: This one's just too small, and yes I know they've been drawn at variable sizes, but most material shows something bigger than what we got.  

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On 4/17/2023 at 3:27 AM, leokearon said:

Demogoblin - Why was this even a BAF, this could easily have been a regular release, especially as the old really new part was the glider

True, but at least Demogoblin was well done.  

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I think that Molten Man figure was pretty lame. 

mostly i think the BAFs are pretty decent, even though lately the comic ones are mostly re-use. 

feels like at this point they are moving more to deluxe figures instead of BAFs when it comes to more well-known characters (e.g., Lizard, Ronan, Blob) and making BAFs for characters that aren't as well known.  I still think  comic BAFS may go the way of the dodo altho mcu BAFS continue to make sense imo.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I think BAF's are always more "Extra prize figures" for buying the whole wave, so it doesn't matter if it's big or small, although Big always seems like the best value, but that being said some of the worst from the simple standpoint of them not being great figures gotta be that Spider-Man 3 Sandman which had little to no articulation, Rocket who doesn't have leg Articulation, and any time Wings are a BAF because that trully is the worst BAF ever, not even a figure just parts that could have been included with a deluxe, or even at times just the figure itself

Worst BAF award has to go to Sam's Wings and Vultures Wings, horrid BAF's not even an additional figure for the buyers just a sneaky way to make you buy more to complete a figure you already bought.

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On 5/8/2023 at 6:59 AM, Lord_Scareglow said:

I think BAF's are always more "Extra prize figures" for buying the whole wave, so it doesn't matter if it's big or small, although Big always seems like the best value, but that being said some of the worst from the simple standpoint of them not being great figures gotta be that Spider-Man 3 Sandman which had little to no articulation, Rocket who doesn't have leg Articulation, and any time Wings are a BAF because that trully is the worst BAF ever, not even a figure just parts that could have been included with a deluxe, or even at times just the figure itself

Worst BAF award has to go to Sam's Wings and Vultures Wings, horrid BAF's not even an additional figure for the buyers just a sneaky way to make you buy more to complete a figure you already bought.

Yeah, the whole BAF concept kinda stumbled right from the start.  If you wanted the whole wave, then it was gold, if you wanted MOST of the figures. they could slip in a less-desired figure, or even a mort and you'd still get value out of it.   But when it was just the BAF you wanted, and the whole wave was morts, or figures you just didn't care about.........then it got tough.
Of course, there's no way Hasbro could predict our wants, so the rosters were purely luck-of-the-draw.
Okay, I accept that.
But when the figures started getting smaller, or compromised in terms of articulation.......then things get irksome.  Small BAFs really don't project much value for the dollar and they are even more gimmicky when they are a whole figure ( with the larger BAF piece) in a wave.   Something like Spider-Ham was a bit of a draw, but that lil guy has no knee articulation--and it's minor omissions like that that make a buy stop and think twice. 
Sadly, we will not see a Galactus, or a Sentinel BAF ever again..........those size of figures will be Haslab offerings, and it feels like a slow degradation of what is offered.  And with price-points climbing, and presentation--sculpt & paint apps--getting tricky.....I'm getting even pickier as a consumer.  Ch'od is a good example....sculpt is okay, but the lack of paint apps really no-sale the figure for me.

Bah! I'm griping and I don't wanna..........it's too easier to get bitter.  😞

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