The Mystery of Build A Figures: Who Came First?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
- On this episode we cover the history of build a figures, an innovation certainly popularized by Marvel Legends from Toybiz to Hasbro.
But their history does go farther back and seems to have it's roots in Japan with a few smaller companies and McDonalds.
Help the channel continue to grow by checking out our Patreon: / toygalaxy
Follow Dan on Instagram:
/ toygalaxy
Toy Galaxy
P.O. box 3976
Manchester, NH 03105-3976
Business Inquiries:
toygalaxytv@gmail.com
/ toygalaxytv
/ toygalaxytv
teespring.com/...
The first BAF was Mr. Potatohead 1949.🔥🥔🔥
You even had to buy the potato separately.
nope. because is the same matter for the robot that you assemble.
a BAF figure means that you have your own figure and another figure that came out from pieces put together only if u buy the whole collection.
e.g.: you buy Spider-Man and in the same box you have a Lizard's arm that you could only use with other lizards pieces and not with the Spiderman you bought.
@@viola0livido ..The man was joking, why do you gotta ruin it?
@@myoldhandlewasmadewheniwas9 oh sorry... I didn't mean it
@@myoldhandlewasmadewheniwas9 ... The joke should have been ... Toy Models made with model glue!
Yea that joke had me in pieces 😉
*These videos are the cleanest in the Toy Community.
But they could be so much more entertaining with the simple adding of more actual figure display instead of the filler images and Dan camera time
@@Rudypaolo That would be nice, for the time it was so nice and chill
@@Rudypaolo B roll would definitely be appreciated, especially because Dan is so entertaining. Some b roll from the photo booth while we hear Dan's VO from the tripod shot.
At least the toy industry hasn't gone the same way as video games and sell you a random loot box part. Man, that would drive collectors insane.
Don’t give them ideas!
Blind bags?
🎶** whistles **Johnny Longtorso! Johnny Longtorso! He’s the man who comes in pieces! 🎶He’s long!
Toybiz' BAFs were so amazing ... well worth the one or two additional figures you otherwise wouldn't have bought.
Galactus
Sentinel
Apocalypse
M.O.D.O.K
Simply amazing.
And just another thing Hasbro's line doesn't hold a candle too. They're just normal (or slightly bulkier) sized figures nowadays.
Fin Fang Foom was good. He’s just so damn hard to get and don’t forget expensive as hell lol but yeah I agree. Apocalypse, Abomination, Juggernaut, Rhino, Lizard, Kingpin, etc. shouldn’t be BAF especially since they were released by ToyBiz as single figures.
I love what David Letterman said about the Inspector Gadget Happy Meal build a figure "So by the time your kid has the whole action figure they weighs 400 lbs?" 🤣🤣🤣
Every McDonald's executive I have ever met, worth their salt, has one of those stupid Inspector Gadget figures prominently displayed in their office.
I like how his hat looks nothing like a hat and more like a man wearing a flower pot with helicopter rotors
how many mcdonalds executives have you met
@@scumbagbenis8762 exactly
Unfortunately this isnt a perfect system, which spawned individuals who just steal the piece they need to finish their figure out of packages at your local Walmart and targets.☹
Yeah basically. As I call it: "S. H. Figur-Swaps"
Only time I ever did it was to Figure Swap a Figure Swap. The Figure Swapped Figure was one that I actually wanted, and I already had the one that had been Swapped but I only got it for a BAF Piece, so I swapped the figure back to where it belonged, it was technically Used but at least it wasn't a total disappointment to find on the shelf.
When figures are returned with either the main figure changed or the BAF piece swapped. What cracks me up and pisses me off is it says right on the package WHO it is yet they still return them.
The old package system prevented this. Didn’t see many swaps back in TB days.
@@ChaoPow True very true, but you needed to use a scissors or a knife to open a Toy Biz figure. It also insures Mint in Box WAS MINT IN BOX.
Yea, i recently seen vidoes of parts missing cause those u want it so bad just open and steal the parts and leave the figure beind lol. they a bit pricey to me just to build a figure, when they should just make it or the figure u try build part of the line and not gotta buy all figures u not like just to build one lol. i just gotta wait for clearance any, for any i want real bad if any around lol.
BEST TOY CHANNEL EVER. I never knew that build a figure needed explanation and history lesson but i am glad i got it from you
Toy Galaxy disclaimer: Don't raise your shirt up to kids in fast food restaurants ie at all
I think Transformers briefly dabbled in BAF's with the 2006 Beast Wars 10th Anniversary line and its 'build-a-Transmutate'.
I bought them all, I ended up with 2 Transmetal Rattraps in the end.
I’ve been dying for a Neca produced series of Matrix figures with a set of the main characters and the obvious choice of Agents for army building, alongside a few accessories. And while it’s a very, very, long shot a BAS (build a ship) Nebuchadnezzar ship. It’d be a dream come true. While it would not be to scale, just a small extra decoration IG. Being scaled would just be too spacious and likely require too many figures in the wave.
McFarlane got me with the BAF with their Metal Gear Solid 2 series. Each figure came with a different part of Metal Gear Ray and I got most of him, save for a leg because as woth all BAF waves, there is always that chase figure that people want regardless of the BAF piece.
Didn't think I could love you more and then you went and used flight of the Concordes! "It business tiiiime" 😂🔥❤
Leave it to Toy Galaxy to start playing a song at a random moment making me check all my open tabs searching for the one that just randomly started playing sound! Thanks Toy Galaxy!
As for BAF's, I look at the BAF as whether or not I'm going to pick up an entire wave... a good example is the Molten Man Spider Man wave and the Professor Hulk Avengers wave are not being bought by me in their entirety because I don't care for those BAFS, so I'm "saving" money by selectively buying the ones I want... where as the Windigo wave... I must have all the figures (even if I don't really want them) because of that BAF. It's a vicious cycle, but when it's all said and done, dang do those figures look good!
Are we getting a Toy Galaxy set that includes Dan, Producer Greg, Mrs. Toy Galaxy and Toy Cat where the Build-A-Figure is a sentient mass of Boba Fetts? Or maybe just assembles a RUclips show?
My old high school buddy's dad had the complete McDonalds Inspector Gadget figure and displayed it very proudly in his home. Each time i went over to their house I marveled at it. Love seeing a video with you talking about it! Great one as always!
I love/hate the BAF concept, I’m still missing the final piece for the MASS device and have several incomplete figures 😕 but I also was able to complete a lot of figures 🤔
Great video Mr Larson, Producer Greg 👍🏽✌🏽
I know that feeling. I've completed several figures through BAF but I have several incomplete ones.
I have a full scale functioning mass effect device, hail Cobra.
i remember seeing lots of waves of BAFs where some parts were packed with more than one figure in a wave, so if you did actually buy the whole wave you are always going to have spare parts.
You are really good at doing what you do my man. These essays are so good.
Thank you.
You know when I'm down to just my socks, it's time for business, that's why they're called business socks.
I remember my first BAF, ML Galactus. I was an overnight stocker at the one retailer where you could complete him, so I have two Age of Apocalypse Wolverines to show for it.
I was one of those kids that bugged their mom to get all of the pieces of Inspector Gadget; I got them all. Also seeing Devilman makes me happy.
All of Dan's Boba Fett's will merge as a super BAF
Love the Toybiz Marvel Legends BAFs. The Galactus and Sentinel are my favorites and fit in well with my 3.3/4" Marvel Universe figures.
Fantastic episode, Dan! Gosh i want that Devilman baddie! Wow!
These are the painted, packaged version (which are the exact same pieces as the actual BaF aside from the additional paint). The card slides out so he can be removed without damaging the packaging as long as the plastic isn't too brittle.
buyee.jp/item/search/query/%E3%83%95%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A2%E3%83%87%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BA%20%E3%83%87%E3%83%93%E3%83%AB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3%20%E3%83%80%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86%20%E3%82%BB%E3%82%AB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%20FEWTURE%20DEVILMAN%20MORE%20THAN%20DEMON%20DANTE%20%E6%9C%AA%E9%96%8B%E5%B0%81%20%E6%9C%AA%E4%BD%BF%E7%94%A8?translationType=1&suggest=1
I didn't even watch the movie but I feel like I need to complete that Inspector Gadget figure.
I actually completed it as a kid when it first came out.
However, my mom had to order all the pieces online.
And when I did finally get it, it wasn't as great as the ads made it out to be.
Not horrible, just very bland and goofy-looking.
Great video! Thinking about it, Galactus is what really got me all in on Marvel Legends. I was cherry picking my favorite characters in each wave and then when the Galactus build-a-figure hit I knew I had to own everybody because I wanted Galactus. I've never looked back since and I think I've completed almost every wave since then.
I think I'm most surprised that McDonald's Happy meals aren't that much more expensive than 2.99 today.
FANTASTIC VIDEO! I've been waiting for this one.
Love the videos man. Thanks for all of the hard work 👍👍
5:06 I have all the Devilman figures from the Fewture line, including rare color variants and both (YES BOTH) build a figures. Dante was the series two build a figure, however you forgot to mention series one had a glow in the dark Devilman skeleton build a figure. Late in the second series, Dante was available to purchase as a carded figure with better paint apps. Also they have a bunch of translucent variant figures as well, I know how much you like those translucent figures Dan.
Someone recently told me the first build a figure and one that kicked off the baf collecting craze was Pitt. Now I know he's full of crap! Great vid as always.
As far as modular toys go, I'm waiting for the day you do Bone Age!
I’m a simple man. I see a Flight of the Conchords reference, I like the video.
Me too.... it's business, it's business time....
Interesting video but I think the Mcfarlane Metal Gear Solid 2 series with a Build a figure Metal gear Ray predated toybiz's efforts. I think Mcfarlane deserves more credit.
I love these kind of videos, can you do more of them?
The faces on those kids when the guy lifts his shirt at them exactly matches my expression when I saw that advert. It’s so close to being inappropriate. So, so close.
Exactly and never a "Go, Go" for any inspector or just a justice enforcer!
The first Build-a-figure was from 1993: Johnny Long-Torso! Johnny Long-Torso! The man who comes in pieces!!!!!
Aliexster **WUH-TSH!**
Thank you for this comment.
It's amazing how this early 90s Mystery Science Theater 3000 skit ended up being fairly prophetic.
I can’t look at a BAF without this going through my head.
I need ONE more to complete Apocalypse. Psylock is a pain to find.
So etimes ya just gotta cheat and hit up Amazon 😔
Mr. Fett Esq. Every time I look, it’s too expensive.
@@jean-paulgauvin3352 yea I know brother. Guess ya just gotta say fuck it sometimes. I got the 90s era Rogue X-Men Legend at a comic shop. Finally just spent the 35$ on it....now it goes for stupid prices everywhere I look.
Mr. Fett Esq. If only it were that simple. Money isn’t the best right now. If I had an ok amount, and did find it, I probably would figure screw it and get it because its been so long.
@@jean-paulgauvin3352 yea I hear ya. Hopefully it will pop up at a Target one of these days and u can cop it. I wish they would start selling the build a figures in Two packs like they did the Juggernaut and Collosus. That's the best Legends Collosus Legends makes by far! And the Juggernaut is just epic
I remember when you buy the whole Oh My Goddess figures (the 3 sisters) you can build the temple robot. That preceded the Galactus fig
Banpei.
Build-a-Dan should also come with an optional chainsaw hand, and a boom-stick, since Ash looks like you and everything. 😁
Hey Dan, what BAFs are you still tryna complete?
One of my favorite shows.
Great to know Toy Biz wasn't the first one with this build a figure idea. They were the real deal, though back then. Could you make an episode on Toy Biz's Figure Factory? That toy line, if it could be called that, was really interesting.
When I was a kid I used to REALLY dislike the idea of the Build a Figures. "I really want this toy, but it comes with a leg of some dude I don't even know. What am I going to do with that leg?" or "What if I don't find the other characters to complete the extra figure?", also my family isn't rich or anything, I only got toys and stuff when my grades were really good or when it was my birthday.
Now I am an adult that can afford to buy the toys I wanted as a kid and here I am, being able to complete most of the waves thanks to the internet and people selling loose pieces. It is really a great time to be a collector nowadays.
You're awesome Danny!
I was a Senior Product Manager at Toy Biz/ Marvel Comics working on the Lord of the Rings 12” dolls, The Spider-Man Movie dolls, Spider-Man electronic plush, and Spider-Man Adventure Hero from 2001-2002.
I sat next to Jesse Falcon when he created the Marvel Legends line.
Before he came up with the character mix for Wave 1, Jesse had models of Colossus, Hawkeye, Captain America, Ice Man, Iron Man, The Hulk and Magneto (and their stands) completed.
I’d worked on the 2000 Charlie’s Angels dolls at JAKKS and I kept some on my desk.
Jesse liked how my sculptor at Gentle Giant had captured the actresses’ likenesses while they still looked like dolls.
I advised Jesse that the best way to avoid having his action figure face sculpts look dated in the future would be to base the figures’ faces on real people rather than on comicbook illustrators’ styles.
Everyone was blown away when Jesse came back with all the sculpts months later, but I was the one jack @ss with the dissenting opinion.
I said, “Jesse, these figures are beautiful! But what’s up with those Sentinel bases?!?’ Nobody wants that sh!t! For the same amount of money you could have included a piece of the sentinel with each figure! That way they have to buy EVERYTHING (whether they want it or not) to build the Sentinel!”
“It’s like the way you had to buy all the Matchbox Lions to make Voltron, but make it a one-time snap-fitso it doesn’t fall apart!”
The bases were already tooled, so they got made anyway, but Jesse got really excited about the idea and brought it to our boss and thus the modern build-a-figure was born. I didn’t do any of the leg-work, but it was my idea, and Dave Vonner was there so I have a witness- Lol.
I literally just saw that Resident Evil BAF and the Inspector Gadget premium for the first time because I was busy collecting vintage Megos, Medicom 12” figures and Barbie Dolls back then.
Great video, as always. I had the Sentinel build-a-figure, only one I ever fully completed, but traded it to my friend for 2 Gundams, Zeta Gundam and my favorite the Zaku II. Miss the Sentinel, but still have and love those Gundams.
I loved the way the Futurama line used this to give us bigger bots.
Fantastic video very very informative.
A new Galactus is one of the few reasons I would buy an entire wave
I remember the 10th Anniversary Beast Wars collection had some BAF parts for little alien guy. My son pointed out recent Dragon Ball Super figures had parts for a fused Zamasu figure.
Battle Force 2000 Future Fortress if we're going to count build-a-diaramas, that probably counts too.
Even though they tweaked it into not even really assembling per se. What a miss that was.
I had completely forgotten about the Devilman Build-A-Figure; I only ever bought one figure from that series but I thought the idea of the BAF was cool. But, man did I go crazy for the first few BAF from Legends. I made so many trips to stores trying to find Deathlok... I finally broke down and bought him on eBay. I didn't want half of that line, but the BAF fever was too strong to ignore.
I also would love to see more build a diorama piece every once in a while.
BAFs... the one thing that gives me OCD. Warlock and Mojo are what I'm working on now.
Johnny Long-Torso, Johnny Long Torso, the man who comes in pieces!
Good thing I had all the parts for G2 Superion as a kid, otherwise I'd have to admit that Mickey D's Inspector Gadget was my first completed Build-a-Figure.
Go-Go Gadget Embarassment
@@KRBrickBotI'll be totally honest, I'm terrified to touch it. GPS is a scary thing, and I'm shocked all he has are a few stress marks on the wings and joints. I feel like poor Slingshot will turn to dust if I look at him wrong...
The DC Universe and Inspector Gadget "Go, Go" to McDonald's pieces are awesome to build Atom Smasher, and all of the other unstoppable characters and accessories are awesome to keep forever. Stay safe everyone!
The concept started as a way to get us bigger figures. Now it's selling us Lebowski Thor. I look forward to the inevitable "six recolors of one character" set that builds one figure that you ACTUALLY want. Also, fun fact: there's six figures to a set, but 8 figures to a case. When the aisles overflow with one or two characters, it's because there are LITERALLY twice as many of them as the other figures.
Only you could include a love song for Boba Fett during “business time” lol. Great video.
I remember all of these and honestly thought it was an older strategy than it is
The only thing that sucks is toy companies pushing figures that no one really wants, by including parts for a " build a figure" thats a super desirable must have. Case in point, I have to buy Marvel legends Poison, and Scream figure, ( figures I could care less about), just to finish my Venom build a figure. I also have to buy the " newer" Omega Red, ( I have the old one, no need to upgrade) just to finish Sauron. FIDDLESTIX!!!!!!!
BAF is frustrating. I'm only into certain characters like Carnage and Venom. I thought I was getting parts to the jacked up Vemon only to discover there was different BAF versions. That explains why the pieces didn't fit.
The Metal Gear Solid 2 line was the first BaF I remember.
So hard to track back then since not every store carried spawn toys.... now it’s crazy lol
That initial Galactus wave is still my favorite baf line. Even though a few of the figures were "meh" to me, I had to have that Galactus. (Toybiz had me right where they wanted me.) It was worth it though. And back then, it was pretty easy to snag the whole set. Sometimes all at once. And the bafs were bigger. Heck, sometimes the baf today is smaller than the figures that the pieces came with. (Jubilee, Puck, Hit Monkey). Definitely more in it for the company, than for the consumer. Whereas the older big bafs were more symbiotic for both parties. Hasbro still has me where they want me though. Especially if its a good baf like Kingpin or the new Apocalypse baf. Now days though I can just buy the completed baf on ebay, if I find a good deal and I'm not crazy about all the individual figures.
I guess the GIJoe Battleforce 2000 line was more build-a-base than build-a-figure.
Yeah it falls into that category of things that combine, but cannot b used independent of it's component parts. It's either base or parts. You don't get anything "extra."
I still have that Inspector Gadget. Probably the single coolest set of McDonald's toys.
You guys always make top notch videos but this was something I didn't know I wanted to know lol
Even Transformers got into the BAF business last year with their Cyberverse Deluxe assortment, where you could build Maccadam the Old Oil House bartender by purchasing Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, Shockwave, Arcee, Grimlock, Hot Rod and Thunderhowl.
8:27 build-a-Paul-Bearer
YEEESSS!!!!
The one baf I have always wanted that is one that came bf I collected and is now outrageous....Marvels Blob 😔 my Brotherhood of mutants will never be complete great video!
Great video! It's certainly a great strategy to get an extra figure as a reward for buying them all, but to those of us who still cherry-pick (due to financial reasons and/or personal preferences), it feels like it's a punishment. Honestly, I wouldn't mind paying for some BAF's whole, if I could avoid buying, say, more than half of a particular wave, but of course, I don't think companies would want to do it that way. But at least now there are trading communities so that's been helpful.
Something told me the idea for Build-A-Figures was going to have something to do w/ the X-men. It's yet another reason why I love that franchise so much. I just pray the MCU finally does their films justice. 🙏
I'm pretty sure I came first after seeing the Sauron Marvel legends BAF
The only Build-a-Figure I ever finished was the 2006 10th Anniversary Beast Wars Transmutate. It helped that I only bought 1 figure out of the line for the sake of completing it - Tarantulas. I actually wanted the rest of them so it all worked out.
And that's why I love Combiner Wars. You can just mix and match everything. I wish Generations Selects would release more combiner figures. I still need Skids, Tracks, Sideswipe, Grapple, Thudercracker, Soundwave and so many more. I couldn't care less if each base mold was used 20 times each, it's what I always wanted from my Transformers since G1.
And besides, maybe Combiner Wars takes place in an era like Animated where all Cybertronians share protoform types and that's why they all use the same molds.
While traditional Lego is not what I would consider BOF, but Bionicle was my go to "action figures". I would spend hours building them and having them fight my real action figures in the wildest cross overs you could imagine. I am glad you mentioned the star wars build a droid as that is my only experience with actually going after BOF. I just buy the figures I want typically so I have a box full of mismatched body parts.
Another great video! Nice touch, using Deep Six (1989) to represent G. I. Joe instead of the better known Joes like Snake-Eyes or General Hawk.
I think Sabine Wren would slamdance Boba Fett; he was just a clone, after all.
Too bad the Marvel Comics' Godzilla wasn't and couldn't be made part of the Marvel Legends BAF line back then, though...
I still have my inspector gadget figure
Let's get all of the figures!!
More than length 20 inches!
Toy Galaxy Pixel Dan Fwoosh and Cincy Nerd are the best toy channels on RUclips
First thanks Dan for being a GI Joe fan and doing that episode of WOJM. Second, come on, the distribution of those MASS Device dvd sets was so bad most of us never saw the legendary crystal emitter part. Yeah sure Hasbro re released the figures in a make-up-call set, but that emitter never saw wide release. Most Joe fans bought dvds we had already and the umpteenth version of Duke in anticipation of a full Macguffin! Instead all we got was a sad off scale base for our Weather Dominator(s) and a cart for our Cobra trooper to push around. Bugger is bound to be the fourth GI Joe holy grail
I was shocked to hear you mention the Devilman Dante set!
The problem with Build-A-Figures, is hunting down all the pieces.
I recall buying the body parts for Superion, Bruticus, and Constructicon Maximus from the Transformers Energon toyline,
but I never found the arm and leg pieces.
The only Transformers combiner I successfully completed, was Power of the Primes Volcanicus.
My coworker has the giant Sentinel on his desk. Very cool concept, wish they'd include a piece of André the Giant in all the wrestling figures!
It's also be cool if a line of Beatles figures came out each containing a piece of the Abbey Road rooftop
Money, money, money!!!
Love the review 👍😁
No mention of the waste. What about all the people who wanted one or even three figures who didn't get a character specific accessory in place of a BAF figure part they didn't care about?
Another great video
Fantastic History of, Dan. I used to have all the Toybiz Marvel Legends Bafs. Giant Man imo was the best.
The only downer is if you want one or two figures and have to figure out what you want to do with the baf piece that could have been extra accessories. This did create a secondary market for the figures without baf parts and for the baf parts themselves.
The first line of Power Rangers that came out the same year of the show were actually the first series in the line to combine weapons. The figures and weapons were slightly smaller than the morphing ones, but they had GI Joe-esque mobility.
I love BAFs, but the weakness of them is that it can be difficult to impossible to find the more popular characters in a wave because a lot of people just want those (looking at you Beast and Nightcrawler) and distribution for this stuff is so awful (looking at you Target and Walmart).
I was waiting for micronauts to make the list before centurions or transformers ... I had a lot of Star Wars etc on my shelf but I played with micronauts more than anything else at that time!!
Another company that did baf's is Underground toys, a UK toy company that brought us doctor who toys. in 2007 they did baf's of some big characters from the show
Does toy galaxy have a collection walkthrough video?
Nah. Just the whole channel and occasional booth videos that focus on the stuff that's on display on the background wall.
@@SecretGalaxyTV ok. So can I request you make one? I always love seeing the massive collections some people have. I'm sure many would enjoy it too
McDonald's is still doing that. They have a Toy Story 4 promotion where every piece is a Carnival game that fits together to make an R.V.
I happen to be in a flea market and found a full Galactus BAF for 5 bucks, so it's possible to get the BAF without buying a set...but only when all the planets and moons are in alignment, and it pretty much drops into your lap...
'What else am I gettin' here?' - I asked myself that a lot as a kid. I would usually go for ships within ships or characters that came with mini characters - anything that felt like a 'twofer' would draw me in. I have to say... I got sucked in by the Funko Dark Crystal set just for the Crystal...
Just a correction: Matchbox Voltron Lions and/or Vehicles did not come out until 1985. Voltron was originally named Golion, and Golion did not arrive on US shores until 1982 in the Godaikin line. Unless you lived in New York or LA in late 1981 and picked up the Popy Japanese Box Golion sold in only 1 store in NY, and 1 store in LA, until the Godaikin line came out in early November 1982. In late 1984 World Event Productions (WEP) acquired Golion, changed the name to Voltron, and right before Thanksgiving 1985 had Voltron marketed by Matchbox into history with WEP’s immortal cartoon😊😊
Modulok dabs out yall. He had more modes than a transformer, was red, and with the aid of stop motion animation could brake dance.