All collectors have certain items that they would consider a "holy grail", or a "grail" of sorts, that they are seeking after.
This does not necessarily mean rare or expensive, but rather something that person REALLY wants. For some it may be a BRAND NEW figure of Mysterio, or Tiger stripe Wolverine... a figure they have been waiting to be made for a long time. For others it may be a figure that is old, rare, and hard to find. In my case, I had a figure that I wanted because I had seen a busted up version of the figure, and fell in love with the design. Even the busted up version I considered buying... but I decided to bide my time for one in good condition...
And then I found him...
(Beta Ray Bill)
Toybiz, 2006, Modok Wave
Rarely in collecting groups do I see this figure pop up, and when I do it is usually for about 40 dollars plus shipping and in fairly poor condition. Also whenever I see him my paypal acct happens to be empty... but alas... This time he popped up again. For a measly $20 shipped, and in great condition! And I had money!! Of course it was an instant buy on my part, and the wait began.... Considering I had a 4 day weekend fri-mon... the time felt stretched....
But today
TODAY
In a padded envelope of glory, he arrived to my door.
Just look at that smile
We are both so happy
What a great segue into one of the reasons I love this figure so much. His articulation, now days most marvel legends have a ton of articulation, but to me, if something can be articulated well... it should. In Beta Ray Bill's case, his purty mouth was a huge selling point for me. The only other figure I have with mouth articulation is ghost rider... who is also super badass. Other than posing Beta Ray Bills giant horse/Sarah Jessica Parker mouth... he also has some articulated areas that are lacking some now.
Hand/Toe articulation
However, some collectors would say it is a good thing they don't do this anymore because they could't hold anything with those hands... I disagree... mostly. While, I don't think hand articulation is cool most of the time... Toe articulation definitely lets you do some more dynamic poses when you are being a nerd and taking pictures of your action figures.
Overall I just love his comic look, and to date he is the ONLY Beta Ray Bill Marvel Legend. Which to me is surprising considering how often they make Thor/Asgardian figures.
Pop quiz: Who can tell me the name of his hammer without googling it
