Accoutrements / Archie McPhee Action Figures

Accoutrements ("outfitters of popular culture") is a toy and novelty catalog business begun in the 1970s by Mark Pahlow. In 1983, a store was opened in Seattle, Washington, called Archie McPhee. What makes them a fun addition to this blog is their line of action figures, which include such luminaries as Oscar Wilde and the Barista (with interchangeable heads!).

So far, the only one of their figures I have is the Deluxe Librarian (modeled after Nancy Pearl, a for-real librarian, bibliophile and author), but I have no intention of letting her be the only one for long! In addition to the Librarian (2005), the full* list includes:

Grrls

Marie Antoinette (with Ejector Head Action!)
Jane Austen (2005)
Barista (2002)

Anne Bonny
Cleopatra
Crazy Cat Lady

Librarian (regular carded version, different outfit) 

Librarian, Deluxe (boxed, 2005) Reviewed!

Lunch Lady
Annie Oakley (2004)
Rosie the Riveter

Waitress

Boyz

Albino Bowler
Alexander the Great
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ludwig von Beethoven
Bigfoot (2004)
Blackbeard (2004)

Casanova
Charles Dickens
Albert Einstein
Benjamin Franklin

Sigmund Freud
Fuzz (Hipster, with 3 interchangeable heads!)
Seth Godin

Sherlock Holmes

Harry Houdini
Pope Innocent III

Jesus (regular carded version) (2001)

Jesus, Deluxe (boxed)
Carl Jung
Li'l Tubby
Male Nurse
Moses
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

J. P. Patches

Edgar Allan Poe

William Shakespeare

Super Fan

Vincent Van Gogh
Leonardo da Vinci

Richard Wagner

Oscar Wilde

Zombie (remote control!)

Alas, once again I have to point out that even with the historical/novelty action figures, the ladies are under-represented. Where is a Marie Curie to go with Albert Einstein, a Mary Shelly to go with Poe, a Mother Theresa to go with Pope Innocent III, Frida Kahlo to go with Van Gogh, Miss Marple with Holmes? While I love Crazy Cat Lady for its fun pop cultural reference, I wish that Accoutrements had a more extensive showing of historical figures for women. I'm excited about Rosie the Riveter, and can't wait to get my hands on one (Rosie being a particularly evocative symbol for me), but I'd also love to see Queen Elizabeth I, Joan of Arc and Jane Goodall!

* I am including a list of all their figures (male and female) because I think the line is exceptionally cool. I love that Harry Houdini and Benjamin Franklin have action figures, and even though this blog focuses on female heroes, that doesn't mean excluding male heroes is useful. Huge kudos to Accoutrements for immortalizing intellectuals and historical figures! Now, how 'bout a Richard Feynman for my husband? That would make an awesome present!

Starting Lineup: Grrl Jocks

Still working on the Heroines/Villainesses list, thought I'd just set these grrls out of the way so I didn't inadvertently leave them out. I'm really not happy including these with action figures (there's really no "action" to them), but I don't want to exclude them completely, either. Strong women, whether they are physically gifted real people like these women, or if they are from the pages of a comic book, are important role models for all women, not just they little ones.

There's a lot of baggage tied to the word "jock" in the US, particularly if you're more in the "nerd" camp in high school. But the best way to diffuse a negative slur is to adopt it, so yes, I am calling these female athletes "jocks." (And hell no I am not feminizing it by calling them "jockettes." That's demeaning and diminishing.) I'm refraining from hopping on my soapbox here, and railing about different kinds of beauty and worth and what is feminine. You're welcome.

ANYway... Here's a list of the Starting Lineup female figures, made by Kenner* and Hasbro:

Bonnie Blair (US Olympian, speed skating)

Timeless Legends (1998)

Nadia Comaneci (Romanian Olympian, gymnastics)

Timeless Legends (1996)

Florence Griffith-Joyner (US Olympian, track and field)

Timeless Legends (1996)

Jackie Joyner-Kersee (US Olympian, track and field)

Timeless Legends (1996)

Dottie Kamenshek (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, et al.)

Cooperstown (1997)

Olga Korbut (Soviet Olympian, gymnastics)

Timeless Legends (1996)

The 1996 Timeless Legends assortment was good for the female athletes. Of the 9 individuals in the series, 4 were women!

Not pictured, and not yet in my collection
• Sheryl Swoopes from 1998 and a 2000 NCAA March Madness Starting Lineup series. While still in college, she got two of these figures. (That's kinda BS, because I know there were plenty of worthy athletes out there, why did she get a second one?)
• Pepper Davis from the 1999 Cooperstown Collection.

Unfortunately, it looks like the bias is just as strong with the grrl jocks as it is with the grrl heroes; ladies are underrepresented, period. Alas, Starting Lineup is a defunct line, so any dreams you athletic amazons have of seeing your heroine reproduced (if she's not listed above) are dashed. McFarlane Toys is doing a larger-scale version of sports figures, more like actual action figures, but I haven't seen any women yet. The lines seem to be focusing on US major league sports.

So, if Starting Lineup was an active line again, who would you want included? My first wish would be Shirley Muldowney, the drag car racer (and the first woman to get a license from the NHRA to drive a top fuel dragster).

Here's some links to get you thinking and dreaming. Hey, maybe if enough people asked Hasbro, they'd reactivate this and we'd have our sporting females!

Sports Illustrated Top 100 Women Athletes

The 25 Greatest Female Athletes of All-Time

Top 50 Female Athletes Ever

The Top 10 Greatest Female Athletes in Modern Olympian History

100 Trailblazers: Great Women Athletes Who Opened Doors for Future Generations

* Kenner's name and licensed properties were purchased by Hasbro in 1991.

World of Warcraft Figures

Four years ago, my husband surprised me with a subscription to World of Warcraft (Wrath of the Lich King). He'd been playing, and thought it would be something we could do together. Hello, my name is Wendy, and I'm an altoholic. I've played every class, every race, worked at all the different professions. My first toon is a Night Elf druid (Alliance). She was the first I raised to level 80. I made a friend in a bar (fine, it's an inn) in-game, and he invited me to play on his main server and join his guild on the Horde side. Because I enjoyed the class, I started another druid (Tauren), but I played her a little differently, feral instead of balance. I got her to 85 (after the Cataclysm expansion) before returning to level my first girl to 85. Blizzard Entertainment certainly has.

Like any blockbuster franchise, there's been plenty of licensed products, from t-shirts to collectible card games to action figures. My husband's class of choice is mage. On his desk in his office stands Tamuura, Draenei mage; she's gorgeous. Made by DC Unlimited (Series 3, released in 2008), she's more sculpture than action figure, which would be my complaint of all the DCU figures I've seen. They're amazing to look at, the detail is incredible, but the points of articulation and poseability of those figures suffers. However, when you consider the cost of their mini statues, an action figure with very little action is a much less expensive option ($20-ish) than the PVC statues that are basically unarticulated action figures for $70+.

Anyway. I found what appears to be a comprehensive list of all the WoW action figures on wowwiki. Unsurprisingly, there aren't many girls in that roster. And one of the most important figures in the lore, Jaina Proudmoore, has no figure of her own. Not sure who's in charge of what gets made as a figure and what doesn't, but that's just dumb.

I picked up Shandris Feathermoon on ebay, made by ToyCom in 2003. I'm happy with her over all, but there's some sculptural issues that I don't care for, like the very limited (nearly nonexistent) head mobility. She's doesn't have the same level of detail as the DCU figures would have a few years later, and honestly isn't as attractive as Tamuura. (Here's a detailed review of Shandris, complete with an unboxed photo; I agree with pretty much all he has to say.)

While it might be awesome to have the entire collection of figures (55 figs to date), I have nowhere to put them, unless we build an addition onto the house. (Which would be cool... impractical, expensive and unnecessary, but cool.) I can appreciate this guy's collection of the first 6 series from DCU (and the cases he's got it in), but it's just not an option for me. I'll concentrate on the ladies. They are:

• Shandris Feathermoon, Night Elf archer (ToyCom, series 1)
• Valeera Sanguinar, Blood Elf rogue (DCU, series 1, 2007)
• Sister Benedron, Human priest (DCU, series 3, 2008)
• Tamuura, Draenei mage (DCU, series 3, 2008)
• Amberlash, succubus demon (DCU, series 4, 2009)
• Lady Vashj, Naga sea witch - Deluxe figure ((DCU, series 4, 2009)
• Alathena Moonbreeze, Night Elf hunter (DCU, series 5, 2009)
• Sylvanas Windrunner, Forsaken queen (DCU, series 6, 2010)
• Garona Halforcen, Orc rogue (DCU, series 7, 2011)
• Confessor Dhalia, Forsaken priestess (DCU, series 8, 2011)

My issues with the series in general: light on the females (not surprising, really) in general and key females in particular; the series are rather weighted toward a few races, notably Human, Night Elf, Orc and Forsaken. There are currently 12 playable races in the game, and those 4 races I just mentioned make up 29 of the 55 (arguably 57; there's a 2-pack of Murlocs, and a Gnome comes packed with a Kobold, not counting pets/minions) figures. Of the 26 remaining, 8 are not playable races* (there's a Pandaren that will be a playable race, but not til the expansion is released). In short, the other 8 races get shortchanged, big time.

My dream wishlist for WoW female figures includes:

• Lady Jaina Proudmoore (Human)
• Aegwynn (Human)
• Queen Moira Thaurissan (Dark Iron Dwarf)
• Stormcaller Myrla (Dwarf)
  
• Queen Azshara (Naga)
• Margatha Grimtotem (Tauren)
• Aviana (Demi-God)
• Therazane (Earth Elemental)
• Greatmother Geyah (Mag'har Orc)
• Aggra (Mag'har Orc)
• Gwen Armstead (Worgen)
• Myzrael (Titan)
• Eonar (Titan)
• Vile Priestess Hexx (Troll)
• Shoni the Shilent (Gnome)
• Lilian Voss (Forsaken)
• Mylune (Dryad)
• Thisalee Crow (N'Elf)
• Lady Liadrin (B'Elf)
• Sirana Iceshriek (Harpy)
• Ishanah (Draenei)
• Boss Mida (Goblin)
• Queen Angerboda (Vyrkul)
• The Bone Witch (Vyrkul)
• Annhylde the Caller (Val'kyr)
• Ysera (Green dragon)
• Alexstraza (Red dragon)
• Sindragosa (Blue dragon, in her undead dragon form)
• Tyrygosa (Blue dragon)
• Chromie (Gnome - though actually a Bronze dragon)
• Onyxia (Black dragon)
• Subjugator Yalqiz (Shivarra - demon)

I could probably come up with more, but the game really is quite male-dominated, and notable females are scarce. And even if DCU or some other manufacturer made all those figs (let's call them $20 each for easy math), that list is $600! /faint