Toybiz Famous Cover Series 8" Action Figures

Famous Cover Series Action Figures from Toybiz

The Toybiz 8-inch Famous Cover Series action figures featured popular Marvel Comics super-heroes and villains. The figures were first released in 1997 and retailed for about $15-18 each. Toybiz (who was actually Marvel's very own toy division) was hoping to continue the legacy that Mego started with their 8-inch line of figures in the 1970s.

Features of the Toybiz Famous Cover Series 8-Inch Scale Action Figures

Similar to Mego, The Famous Cover Series featured fully articulated figures with authentic removable fabric uniforms. Both the Mego line of action figures and Famous Cover Series are branded as "Eight Inch". However, it's important to note that Famous Cover Series action figures are significantly larger than Megos. This is because Mego's "8-Inch" figures were actually closer to only 7.5 inches tall on average while Toybiz's Famous Cover Series were actually closer to 9 1/4 inches tall on average and neither was really "eight-inches" as they say.

The Famous Cover Series depicted some interesting versions of the characters and there are a few notable figures that really stand out from the crowd. Overall, though, the figures suffer from a very exaggerated anatomy which may have been the result of Toybiz trying to mimic the style of comic book artwork that was popular at the time.

Body Types of the Famous Cover Series Action Figures

Unlike Mego whose figures were based on an interchangeable system, Toybiz spared no expense on this line. Megos had a male body, a female body, and a fat-man body. Toybiz developed several bodies that were unique to one figure exclusively. The Famous Cover Series Hulk a totally unique and appropriate body for the character. The Famous Cover Series Sabretooth figure also had a uniquely oversized body with large clawed hands.

The female figures especially suffered as they did actually seem to all share the same exact body. The most obvious flaw with the female figures in the Famous Cover line was the extremely long arms with fingers spread out giving the hands a claw-like look (similar to what they'd intentionally achieved with Sabretooth's hands).

Head Sculpts of the Famous Cover Series Action Figures

Like Mego, Toybiz did recycle a few of the head sculpts to reuse on different figures. These include the following: Their Famous Cover Series Peter Parker head (used for their Famous Cover Series Spider-Man, Famous Cover Series first appearance Spider-Man, and Famous Cover Series Black-Suited Spider-Man) was the same head used for their Famous Cover Series Mr. Fantastic action figure. The only alteration was that Mr. Fantastic had his temples sprayed white. A less obvious re-use of a head sculpt was the Famous Cover Series Thor action figure. Removing the rooted hair and putting a hood and mask on the figure, Toybiz reused Thor's head for their Famous Cover Series Electro figure. Another less obvious reuse of a head sculpt by Toybiz was their Famous Cover Series Storm head being reused for their Famous Cover Series Invisible Woman action figure. While you may expect this to be obviously apparent, it's not due to the fact that the rooted hair for Storm is white while it's blonde for The Invisible Woman. More importantly, the heads are sculpted from a different color base material to alter the skin tone. Finally, the painted detail for each figures is completely different including the shape of the eyebrows, the make-up, and the eye detail (or lack thereof for Storm).

While the head sculpts from this series were well-done and interesting overall, more appropriate expressions could have been chosen. Looking less than heroic with very angry expressions are the Famous Cover Series CAPTAIN AMERICA action figure, the Famous Cover Series CYCLOPS action figure, the Famous Cover Series DAREDEVIL action figure, and the Famous Cover Series NIGHTCRAWLER action figure (a character known to be easy-going and fun-loving). The Famous Cover Series GAMBIT action figure looks like he's about to spit or perhaps spew out a few vulgarities, but has an interesting head sculpt, to say the least.

Ironically, the villains in this series seem to have some of the more neutral expressions which would have been more appropriate for the heroes. The Famous Cover Series MAGNETO action figure, the Famous Cover Series MR. SINISTER action figure, and even the Famous Cover Series DARK PHOENIX action figure all seem to be more heroic than evil.

The Famous Cover Series PSYCLOCKE action figure and the Famous Cover Series ROGUE action figure (both known for being very pretty characters in the comic books) are not just angry looking, but downright nasty looking! With theses faces, they'd make much better villains than heroes.

Top-Rated Famous Cover Series Action Figures from Toybiz

Some of the better looking figures in this Toybiz line of 8-inch scale action figures include the following: A Famous Cover Series GREEN GOBLIN action figure with glider; A less common Famous Cover Series CARNAGE action figure; An incredible depiction of a 1970s style Famous Cover Series IRON MAN action figure with removable mask; An absolutely amazing Famous Cover Series HAWKEYE action figure -- possibly one of the best Hawkeye figures made to date.

While the Famous Cover Series STORM action figure did suffer from the aforementioned female design issues, this still is an exceptional figure that totally captures the essence of the character as she first appears in and around Giant-Size X-Men number 1.