Okay, as promised, tonight's UPDATE is a look back at DML Dragon figures. 
In 1999, Dragon introduced its New Generation Life Action Figure series. The series features fully posable military and licensed 12-inch figures with cloth uniforms, weapons and equipment. The series currently stands at some 600-plus individual releases, with subjects varying from World War II, Modern Special Operations and Law Enforcement, to licensed character figures from movies, sports, electronic games and comics. And it all started with a little guy named HANS.

By today's standards, even Hans seems a little antiquated, but at the time we couldn't believe that anyone could make a figure so totally authentic.

Of course in 1999, Dragon was using elastic for straps like everyone else, but what we all found so amazing was that we finally had a realistic looking German soldier with some really nice accessories. The uniform itself was so far ahead of everything else being offered at the time...well that alone was enough to put it into a class by itself. I remember going into my hobby store one day for some paint and seeing Hans sitting on a shelf up in the front of the store. I bought three of them that day.

Of course it wasn't too long before Hans starting acquiring some comrades to hang around with, like Klaus and Gerhard. Up until the release of Steiner, I think that I would have to save that Gerhard was my favorite. I think he was the first one to have some medals on his tunic and I liked his little five 0'clock shadow. I quickly found a reason to get a couple of these guys too. One I still have dressed in his original uniform. The other is my Lieutenant in my VIETNAM STORY saga.

This was another big favorite early on. I was so jazzed when Dragon finally released a Waffen SS figure. I have always liked the spring side of smocks and zelts better than the fall side, but I was really pretty happy to see Waffen SS finally join the lineup. Plus he had that really cool land mine and a G-43 rifle. How cool was that. The momentum seemed to be building too. Dragon releases were becoming more and more frequent and a sizable number of German figures were becoming available.  Then it happened, one day I walked into the hobby store and there he was, the first WWII American soldier. Anyone remember what his name was? Yes, Dave is right. Yeah, I bought a couple of them too, only one is still in his original uniform (of course).

I don't remember when it was that the first carded uniform and gear sets began to appear, but my hobby store regularly stocked them all. Of course there weren't near the offerings that we saw 21st come out with over the the course of their short reign, but some of the sets were pretty impressive. I was always amazed at the level of accuracy they tried to maintain in everything they did. You couldn't help but compare it against the stuff that we had been getting from Hasbro for several years and realize that you had wasted a lot of money on Hasbro stuff. Well, hindsight is always 20/20.

So what's the point of this UPDATE, well... besides remembering some fun trips to the hobby store and there were a lot of them, I think that it does us good to look at where the hobby has been and where it has come. I hear an awful lot of people badmouth Dragon on various boards about how they keep running the same old tired "retreads", how they just aren't as good as the competition, etc, etc. Some of that is certainly true, but the reality is that 21st Century, Dragon and BBI sort of paved the way and showed us how good figures could be. A lot of little companies have come along since and have offered some rather amazing product, but they are building on the folks that came before them. Today, Dragon still offers a pretty decent product and at a fairly reasonable price compared to some of the $160 to $200 figures that are out there. It has been a while since I have bought a new figure and as the prices climb, I buy less and less of them. Personally, I think it is great that there is still one big player manufacturing figures. I hate to think of what will happen to the hobby if Dragon goes back to just making models. We talked the other night about the void that Hasbro left, Dragon is really the closest thing there is to an entry level in the hobby anymore. Well, I would like to hear everyone else's thoughts, I have flapped my gums long enough. Where do you think the hobby is headed? Will Dragon continue to be there? What do you think will be the next big trend in Action figures?


That's all for tonight, until next time, have a good one!