#4050: Racer X

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

RACER X

SPEED RACER (RESAURUS)

“Unknown to Speed, Racer X is his older brother Rex, who ran away from home years ago!”

The thing about Speed Racer is that it’s not *just* Speed who gets in on the racing hi jinx that inevitably turn into some super spy adventure; it’s a whole family ordeal.  Even when nobody else knows that person is part of the family.  I talk, of course, of the Masked Racer, Racer X, the awesome, super cool racer whose identity is pretty much just a secret to the core main characters and, like, no one else.  Also, his original name is “Rex Racer” and his assumed name is “Racer X” which sounds like “Racer Rex” so how good of a mystery can it be?  Who cares, he looks super cool, he sounds super cool, and he is super cool.  Let’s look at his action figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Racer X was released in Series 2 of Resaurus’s Speed Racer line from the ‘90s.  He’s obviously the most important figure present in the line-up, clearly held back to the second assortment to give it a heavy hitter.  Since Rex really just has the one look while in the “Racer X” identity, that’s the one chosen for the figure.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is consistent with the rest of the line, so he’s got the core 5poa, plus swivels on the wrists and waist.  Compared to the rest of the line, especially the Series 1 figures, Racer X is a much stiffer figure, so, while he may have the articulation, there’s less he can really do with it.  The sculpt was unique to him, and takes the approach of the rest of the line, which is to grab all of the defining traits of his show design and then sort of assemble them into something that looks a bit better than the frequently spotty animation of the original show.  In Racer X’s case, the result is something that looks decidedly Bruce Timm-like in its approach, which is hardly a bad thing (and it resulted in this figure being a very frequent choice for Timm-styled DCAU customs in the ‘00s).  Apart from the general stiffness, the sculpt is quite strong.  It’s clean, sharply defined, and has lots of small details that could be easily overlooked, like the slight blousing of his jumpsuit near the waist, or the fully detailed treads on the undersides of his feet.  It’s honestly crazy the detailing that got put into these figures, especially relative to the designs they were starting from.  Racer X’s paint work is fine, but like Speed, kind of the weak link of the figure.  Mine’s taken a bit of wear over the years, but even before that, the coverage on the brown sections of the costume was inconsistent and kind of thin is some spots.  Thankfully, he brings it back around with the accessories.  While you could easily skimp on a lot of the accessories for these guys, they really didn’t, with Racer X including a handgun, radio, secret agent brief case (with fully detailed interior), a “TOP SECRET” file (which fits in the brief case), and a display stand.  None of that’s essential, but all of it’s very cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Speed Racer got a bit of a resurgence in the ‘90s, and honestly, I only barely remember it.  I remember Cartoon Network made a big deal about running it, and I watched some episodes.  Mostly, I remembered this guy, and a lot of that was because he kind of looked like Cyclops.  So, he was the first figure I got from this line (and the only one I had until I was a teenager), purchased from Cosmic Comix sometime in the early ‘00s, because he kind of looked like Cyclops.  Thankfully, the show came out on DVD just a few years after, and I was able to properly appreciate the coolness that is Racer X, and further appreciate the coolness that is this Racer X figure.  Stiffness of the sculpt aside, there’s a lot going on with this figure that absolutely didn’t need to be going on with this figure, but it is, and he’s better for it.

#4049: Aquaman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

AQUAMAN

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

“Aquaman, King of the Seven Seas, can remain underwater indefinitely, can swim tremendous distances, and can communicate telepathically with sea creatures and have them obey him.”

Hey, it’s Super Powers!  I haven’t talked about Super Powers since January, after a whopping 25 Super Powers reviews last year.  I blame Todd McFarlane.  I mean, for, like, a lot of things, but in this case, he’s responsible for the upswing and then downswing in new Super Powers figures after a 40 year break, which gave me a bunch more to review.  I’ve decided to finally get myself together and take a look at the remaining unreviewed Kenner Super Powers in my collection, so, you know, here’s that.  We’re starting off with Aquaman, swift and powerful monarch of the seas!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Aquaman was released in the first series of Kenner’s Super Powers in 1984.  He was no stranger to the toy world at this point, with multiple figures from Mego, and even a Captain Action set from Ideal.  As one of the heroes to receive his own Filmation cartoon, as well as maintain a presence for the whole run of Super Friends, Aquaman’s a pretty logical pick, especially for this era.  Perhaps the most curious thing was that, for all his prominent placement early in the run, he never got any of his own antagonists in the line (McFarlane did at least give us a Black Manta).  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  His movement is standard for the line, with the caveat that, unlike most of the line, his action feature is in his legs, triggered by squeezing his arms, rather than the usual reverse.  It’s worth noting that Flash, also in the first series, had the same set-up, though.  It makes him slightly less stable on his feet, but ultimately, it’s not a major shift.  Aquaman’s sculpt was unique to him, and certainly up to the line’s high standard.  He’s clearly working closely towards that Jose Garcia-Lopez style guide look, even moreso than some of the others in the line.  There’s a ton of work going into the texturing, especially on the scaled shirt.  The head is also quite a spot-on Aquaman, in a way that I think a lot of later figures would miss; he feels like the same general character seen in Super Friends, but also doesn’t look quite as silly.  There’s a slight goofy charm still there, though, and you do love to see it.  I particularly love that swoop to how his hair falls, which just feels very natural and expressive.  His posing is more understated for this line, which tended to at least somewhat bend the arms.  Since he was meant for swimming, though, Aquaman’s got straighter arms, and a particularly well sculpted flat hand on the left side.  Aquaman’s color work matches well with his classic design, covering all the basics, but not getting too crazy.  Aquaman was packed with a trident (Tim would note that it’s technically got five points, though, so it’s really a “quintdent”), which is quite prone to both loss and breakage, but there are thankfully a lot of pretty decent reproductions out there, if one were so inclined.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Aquaman is, I think, my second Super Powers figure.  He was purchased during one of many trips to Ageless Heroes, a comic shop that closed down at the end of the ‘90s, and liquidated all of its inventory.  He was behind the counter, tied to a backer board, and wound up being, like, $2.50?  It was a very low price.  Admittedly, he was in very rough shape, and remained that way for my entire childhood.  At the time, it was pretty much the only way I was getting a classic Aquaman, though, and I wasn’t much for the hook-handed look, so I was pretty thrilled.  Over the years, I’ve contemplated getting a replacement in better condition, but more recently I decided to give my original some TLC, and get him a bit closer to his former glory.  I love every Super Powers figure, but Aquaman is certainly one of the nicest, in a decidedly understated sort of way, that I can really dig.

#4048: Ms. Marvel

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

MS. MARVEL

MARVEL HALL OF FAME (TOY BIZ)

“It’s non-stop action when the Marvel Universe’s greatest heroines join forces against the power of the Black Queen! Locked in mortal combat with the notorious Queen, Jean Grey of the X-Men uses her telepathic powers to summon help. Jean is joined by fellow X-Man Storm, Avenger Ms. Marvel, and the mysterious Spider-Woman. Together, this team has all the power it needs to stop the Black Queen in her tracks! ”

One of the things that made Toy Biz’s 5-inch run of Marvel figures so expansive and pervasive was Toy Biz’s ability to *really* milk a mold.  Admittedly, they had some help in this venture, in the form of retailers who were looking for exclusives, no matter what they were.  A few different retailers got their own exclusive lines, which were pretty much just an excuse to run a mix of straight reissues of older figures, alongside “new” figures fashioned entirely from repurposed parts.  Online retailer PuzzleZoo got in on the action with their exclusive line Marvel Hall of Fame, which most notably introduced the “She-Force” sub-line, which ran for three of the line’s seven series.  It was an exceptionally rare move, putting out an entire assortment of female figures, and one that the line would do an astounding three times.  Amongst the unique characters in the first round of She-Force was Carol Danvers in her Ms. Marvel identity, granting Carol her very first action figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ms. Marvel was released in the first “She-Force” Series, the second overall series of Marvel Hall of Fame.  Its 1996 release puts it in an interesting spot for the character, who was still kind of bouncing around at the time, having lost her Binary powers in “Operation Galactic Storm.”  She would regain a fair bit of prominence not long after this figure’s release, when she resurfaced in Busiek and Perez’s Avengers, albeit sporting the title “Warbird.”  But, she was intermittently back to using Ms. Marvel at the time, so that’s the name she got.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and she has 10 points of articulation.  Ms. Marvel is a total repaint, specifically of the Fantastic Four line’s Medusa.  It’s not a great sculpt, honestly, and it’s also saddled with a lot of details that don’t correspond to Carol’s costume design in the slightest.  She’s got very clearly defined cuffs on her boots and gloves, which don’t correspond with the placement of those pieces on Carol’s costume, and there’s also a sash present for Carol that Medusa simply didn’t have.  Why they didn’t re-use the mold from Phoenix, who has a design *a lot* closer to Carol’s, is anyone’s guess; it’s worth noting the Phoenix mold was used for the second Ms. Marvel, Sharon Ventura, later in the line.  The paint does the heavy lifting here, of course, and it’s generally fine, but for some reason, they give her full sleeves, rather than sleeveless with opera gloves as the design’s actually meant to be.  Maybe they thought the extra paint-app was just too much?  Ms. Marvel is packed with one of those weird launching bases they liked to throw in when they didn’t know what else to do.  This is specifically the Human Torch variation of the mold, without the obvious “X” on the launching part.  It’s just black for this release, which is kind of bland, but I guess it makes it subtle.  She also included a trading card, which for my figure was Quicksilver.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Because of their exclusively online nature, I had very few of the Hall of Fame figures as a kid.  Ms. Marvel was not one of them.  I know my dad had one, because he had a more extensive Avengers set-up than me.  Mine is a much more recent addition, which my parents got for me in 2022, during a stop at an antique shop, which had a few of the Hall of Fame figures.  She’s…not great?  I mean, the Medusa mold’s definitely not a strong one in the first place, and it’s extra limiting, and it’s downright criminal that Toy Biz used it so many times.  But, it’s also not the worst thing? I don’t know, maybe I’m just warming up to the mold, but I think it might honestly work the best here of the three uses, clumsy as it may be.  I still think the Phoenix mold would have made more sense, but it is what it is, and it’s ultimately okay.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0074: Speeder Bike (w/ Luke Skywalker in Endor Gear)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , , ,

SPEEDER BIKE (W/ LUKE SKYWALKER IN ENDOR GEAR)

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Well, it’s Friday again, guys.  We made it.  It’s here, and the week is over.  Yay?  Yeah, let’s go with yay.  And what am I doing?  I’m talking about Star Wars.  It’s what I do in times of trouble.  Or just times, really.  Kind of a background noise.  Anyway, here’s a return look at Luke Skywalker and a Speeder Bike!

A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at the first of three versions of the Imperial Speeder Bike released by Kenner in their Power of the Force II line. The vehicle’s mold was first introduced in the vintage Return of the Jedi line, and was then re-packaged in the ’90s, with one of three different pilots. I’ve already looked at the one with Leia. Today, I look at her brother Luke, alongside his own Speeder.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

The speeder bikes in these sets were all identical, meaning this one is exactly the same as the one I looked at alongside Leia two weeks ago. I liked it then, and I still like it now. I imagine I’ll still like it when I get around to the third variant of this set.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like the Leia figure included with the last one, this one has an Endor variant of Luke Skywalker. Luke spends a little bit less of his time in this gear, but it’s still a fairly distinctive appearance for the character. Like Leia, it had previously appeared in the vintage line, but this was the first we saw of it in this re-launch. It would also be our only Endor Luke for a little while, as figures of him from Jedi tended to go for his, well, Jedi appearance. As such, this figure’s sculpt would remain completely unique to him. He stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. Check out those sweet knee joints! That was a pretty huge deal. Luke’s head is rather similar to the Endor Rebel trooper, not only with the same helmet, but also a rather similar facial structure. This Luke’s sculpt was notable for not including his outer vest; he was not the only version of Luke to omit it in this line, but he was the first one. Like his sister, Luke has a removable rubber poncho piece. This one’s not quite as nice. It isn’t very well fitted to the figure, making him look really pudgy. It also lacks the nice, subtle paintwork, meaning it’s just a lot of unpainted tan plastic. This guy was packed with a variant of the green lightsaber included with the basic RotJ Luke, though this one was wider than that one so that his slightly enlarged grip can still hold it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I only had one Speeder Bike, and it was this one. I was definitely a Luke kid, so I needed to have another version of him, and the Endor one was one of my favorites. That being said, I remember the actual figure didn’t get a ton of use; instead he was robbed of his poncho and speeder, which I gave to my standard Jedi Luke. Looking back at this figure, I kind of remember why that was the case. He’s not a bad figure, but he’s not as strong a figure as the Leia. 

Luke and Speeder Bike were my middle review of the three Speeder Bikes, but, as noted in the review, the first of them added to my collection, and the only one I had from the actual run of the line.  I think my review hits pretty much all of the salient points.  I don’t think it’s ultimately as strong a set as the one with Leia, but it’s still a solid little offering.  The only thing I was missing at the time was his oddly fat lightsaber, which I have since replaced.  It’s still real weird looking, but there it is.

#4047: Han Solo & Tauntaun

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

HAN SOLO & TAUNTAUN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Okay, so the coin reviews are officially done, which means I have to look at something else for these weekly Star Wars reviews.  Oh no, whatever shall I do?  Perhaps I’ll do a bit of wrap-up on some of the other sub-lines of Power of the Force I haven’t yet finished?  Back in November, I looked at the last of the creature sets I had in my possession, but, aha, I still had one I *didn’t* own yet.  Guess what I own now.  Did you guess the last creature set?  Because that’s what I was hinting at. Anyway, here’s Han Solo and the Tauntaun!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Han Solo and Tauntaun are one of the 1998 Creature sets from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II.  They served as a rather logical follow-up to the prior year’s Luke and Tauntaun, as well as a companion piece to the Luke and Wampa from the same year, wrapping up the three Empire-based Creature sets.

HAN SOLO

Hey, it’s Han Solo in his Hoth gear.  What a classically well-selling figure.  What’s that?  Oh, it’s not?  Wow.  Yes, the single carded Han in Hoth gear is rather infamously one of the worst selling figures from the red card days of PotF (which is why he’s one of only two red card figures that was never re-released on a green card), so there wasn’t exactly a rush to get another one out there.  But, it’s not like you can really pair the Tauntaun with a Han that’s not in the Hoth gear, so their hands were sort of tied.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  Like the Luke with the Tauntaun, this figure aims for “actually able to sit on the Tauntaun” by adding a pair of knee joints to the articulation set-up, which is quite nice.  Beyond that, he’s actually quite a bit different from the single-card release.  The single decided to have his hood pulled down, revealing the cold-weather cap that he’s wearing but that is never actually seen in the movie, which was an odd choice.  This one reverses that, pulling the hood back up, allowing for a more screen accurate appearance.  His detailing is also far sharper on this one, a very nice shift from the very soft sculpt of the single.  Even the paint is improved, with a bit more accenting to the fur lining of the hood, as well as changing the color of his goggles to the more proper yellow.  Han is packed with a single blaster pistol, same as all the other Hans.

TAUNTAUN

Hey, it’s Han’s Tauntaun.  “Hantaun” if you will.  Will you?  I will for sure.  I feel like I can’t be the first one to come up with that, right?  Unless everyone’s just been distracted by the “Luke warm” joke and never moved any further.  This figure represents the main reason for the set’s existence, since the aim was to address that the vintage line treated the two Tauntauns as pretty much the same, while this line wanted to handle the two designs distinctly.  Also, easy way to re-use a lot of tooling.  From the neck down, it’s the same as the prior Tauntaun.  It’s perfectly fine, and that’s an okay sculpt.  About the only downside, really, is that you don’t get the morbid “slice open the guts to stick Luke inside” feature of the original, but I guess that’s okay.  The new head is rather similar to the original, but now it’s got two unbroken tusks, as opposed to Luke’s.  Yay, it’s different!  Also, the paint is a little different, too.  Not a lot, but enough that you can notice.  Noticeably different paint!  Yay!  Also included with this figure is the rein, which is the same piece from the Luke set.  It’s a good, standard piece, and it’s kind of hard to mess that up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve kind of known for a while that this set would be one of the last pieces I’d get from this line.  Because the single Hoth Han and the Luke and Tauntaun set were both rather rough sellers, this one wasn’t exactly ordered in high numbers, and didn’t really get much coverage at retail, making it one of the few genuinely scarce PotF items.  As such, you don’t really just buy it, because it’s rare enough that asking prices tend to be high.  I’ve been keeping my eye out for a not stupidly expensive one consistently since November of last year, and I finally managed to line it up a couple of weeks ago, which quite excited me, I’ll tell you, since it’s become a minor grail for this collection.  In hand, it’s maybe not that different than what came before, but the minor tweaks add up to quite a fun little set, and one that also retroactively makes me appreciate the Luke and Tauntaun set just a little bit more as well.  The creature sets are an interesting mix of genuinely impressive and just sort of phoned in, which is pretty accurate to Power of the Force on a larger scale, I suppose.

#4046: Lieutenant O’Neill

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

LIEUTENANT O’NEILL

SEAQUEST DSV (PLAYMATES)

“Name: Tim O’Neill

Rank: Lieutenant J.G.

Assignment: Communications Officer, seaQuest DSV 4600

UEO Military ID#: LB668-7749-AP5

Security Access: A1C

Date of Birth: May 25, 1992

Character Profile: Shy and introverted. Mild demeanor. Polite and earnest. Inquisitive nature and tenacious work habits led to success as problem solver. Overcame severe claustrophobia to serve aboard submarines.

Personal History: Model student from East Lansing, Michigan, until becoming cadet at Annapolis. Navel Academy Graduate 2013. Earned Master’s Degree in advanced language studies. Fluent in 6 different languages. Completed Submarine Training at Pearl Harbor Base. Original seaQuest crew member 2014.

Mission Specialty: Responsible for overseeing all aspects of seaQuest communication transmissions and receptions with other below surface sources, and with upworld entities.”

One of the rather unfortunate things about SeaQuest was how much of the cast it lost over its three year run.  Only three actors made it from start to finish (well, technically four, since Frank Welker voiced Darwin the whole time, but he was only credited as “special vocal effects”), and one of them, was Ted Raimi (brother to director Sam Raimi) as Lieutenant JG Tim O’Neill.  Though more on the minor side in the first season of the show, O’Neill still got a figure in the short-run of the line, which worked out well in the longer run, given his increased presence as the show continued.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

O’Neill was released in the one and only series of Playmates Toys’ SeaQuest DSV line from 1993.  As noted in the intro, O’Neill’s arguably one of the more minor characters to get a figure, at least going by the show’s first season, but he did get a proper focus episode rather early on, and, more than likely, was also chosen because the glasses help him look a bit different from the other crew members.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  As with the rest of the line, O’Neill gets a totally unique sculpt.  The head is a fairly decent likeness of Raimi.  The hair’s maybe not quite how he wore it for most of the show, but it’s close to the pilot look, which certainly influenced the figures the most.  The glasses are a bit thick and clunky, but far from the worst, and I appreciate that they went for a separate piece.  O’Neill’s body sculpt once again show’s Playmates’ dedication to bringing some extra character into how each of them wore their uniforms, with O’Neill’s being the most uptight and rigid set-up of the crew released.  O’Neill’s color work is pretty much on par with the rest of the line.  It’s generally pretty clean, and he gets a nice little splash of red on his collar, which is neat.  O’Neill is packed with a Stun Gun, SeaPoc, Personal Audio Link, a rather sizable Communications Away Pack (befitting his status as the communications guy), a display stand, and a small rubber Giant Deep Sea Cephalopod.  Perhaps the only thing really missing here would be some sort of headset, given how frequently O’Neill sported one during his time on the bridge, but otherwise, not a bad batch of extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

O’Neill represents the first SeaQuest figure I bought as an adult, or at least got as an adult, since it was purchased on my behalf.  My parents found a whole set of them at an antique store shortly after I’d started college, and I got a text asking if I wanted an O’Neill, which, well, yeah, I did, since he’s my favorite crew member of the figures released.  So, he got to be one of the figures that sat on my dorm room desk for the better part of that year, which is I suppose pretty cool for him.

#4045: Vigilante

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

VIGILANTE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

In addition to launching Superman, unquestionably its biggest star by quite a lot, DC’s Action Comics had a number of running features in the Golden Age, and while a lot of them didn’t really stick, a few did.  Though he’s never been super well-known, the Greg Saunders version of Vigilante is one of the more notable characters to get his own feature there in the Golden Age.  With the success of the Justice Society, DC tried out other groups of super heroes, and Vigilante found himself folded into the Seven Soldiers of Victory, who had a short Golden Age run, and a pretty notable return in Justice League of America #100 in 1972.  In media outside of the comics, perhaps his best known appearances were on Justice League Unlimited, where he was Nathan Fillion’s *first* DC role.  Greg’s been light on the action figure coverage, previously only having a single JLU tie-in figure, but he’s got himself a new figure courtesy of the last days of McFarlane!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vigilante is figure 56 in the Collector’s Edition sub-line of McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line.  Like Elongated Man, Vigilante is part of a larger than usual drop of figures from the line, as McFarlane presumably aims to get as may out as they can before the license wraps up.  As with the Collector’s Edition figures before him, Vigilante has both a standard release and a one-per-case Platinum Edition.  The standard is based on Vigilante’s original comics colors, while the Platinum (which is the one reviewed here) uses his cartoon color scheme.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  His movement is the standard McFarlane scheme, which can be a mixed bag at times, but generally works out okay for Vig.  He’s using a decent number of parts from fellow western hero Jonah Hex, which seems pretty sensible.  He still gets a pretty extensive selection of new parts, notably the head, torso, and lower legs, which make him into a pretty respectable match for Vig as he’s appeared in the comics.  If I have one complaint about the body, it’s that the pelvis feels like it sits a bit too low and is too large for the rest of the body, not really helping with that general “diaper” look that the McFarlane figures unfortunately tend to have.  At least he’s got the gun belt to help hide it a bit.  His head sculpt has the hat permanently attached, but in contrast to the the last time Vig got a figure, his signature red mask isn’t a sculpted element, but rather cloth.  I wasn’t sure how it would look (especially since it’s pulled down off his face in the package, I’d imagine to prevent him from ending up with a red stain on his lower face), but I think it ultimately works pretty well.  It could perhaps be a touch thicker (you can see the buttons on his torso through it), and I’m not a huge fan of how it’s stitched at the back, but it stays in place well, it hangs naturally, and it looks the part.  The underlying face is perfectly fine, if a bit generic, but I can’t say I expect to see it much when I’m displaying him.  The color work on this release is meant to evoke his JLU and other more modern appearances, which means it’s more heavy on contrast, and I think is ultimately a more striking design.  Apart from some slightly inconsistent coverage on his buttons, the application’s pretty clean, and the colors are nicely chosen.  Vigilante is packed with his signature pair of six-shooters, a lasso, a knife, an axe, and a rifle, as well as a display stand and a collector card.  The guns are nice, and I appreciate that the knife has a spot on his belt.  The lasso is kind of lame, since it’s just a length of thread, with no easy way to actually get it to stay on his shoulder, which does slightly hinder his usual look.  In general, he does feel rather light for a Collector’s Edition figure, with no extra head or hands.  An alternate head with the hat removed would have been a nice option, as would some additional hand poses beyond just the gripping.  As it stands, he’s got a notch above bare minimum, which is better than nothing extra at all, so I can still appreciate it to a certain extent.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Most of my love of Vigilante is because of his JLU appearances.  Obviously, I had the JLU figure, but I’d always hoped for a non-animated figure of some sort, especially during the DCUC days (which only gave us the Adrian Chase Vigilante, an odd choice in a pre-Peacemaker world), but never got one.  I knew this figure was coming, but didn’t really pay it much mind, since I didn’t really click with the standard colors.  But, Matty had some birthday money and really wanted to get a Zelda game for the Switch, so we found ourselves at GameStop, and they had one Vigilante figure and it happened to be the Platinum, which made it rather hard for me to say no.  As with so many of these late stage McFarlane DC figures, he’s incredibly nice, and I’m happy I decided to snag him.

#4044: Spider-Man with Real Web-Shooting Action

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

SPIDER-MAN with REAL WEB-SHOOTING ACTION

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

“Spider-Man gained his amazing powers when he was bitten by a radioactive spider! Now he’s super-strong, super-athletic, and able to crawl up any wall! Not only that, but he’s got an amazing “spider-sense” that warns him of trouble before it happens. To help him catch criminals, Spider-Man invented a secret weapon — web shooters that shoot out webbing at lightning speed. In fact, the webbing is so strong that it can trap even the toughest super-powered enemy! ”

Though typically more of a solo hero, Spider-Man’s spot as Marvel’s top super hero has frequently been leveraged in the world of merchandising as a way to get the other heroes in the door, rather than jumping straight to just the Spidey-exclusive stuff.  This was especially evident with Toy Biz’s early run with the license, where their main Marvel line was still very heavily leveraged on Spidey.  The first assortment of Marvel Super Heroes just had one Spidey and one antagonist for him, but as the line progressed, both the web-slinger and his nemeses became more plentiful.  Here’s one of the first “variant” Spider-Man figures, quite a novel thing at the time.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man with Real Web-Shooting Action was one of two Spidey variants in Series 2 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line.  Since the figure in Series 1 was a bit more general purpose, Series 2 focused on recreating specific powers via gimmicky action features.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  At this point in the line, Spidey was still operating on the same articulation scheme as everyone else.  Likewise, he’s using a variation of the Series 1 molds for the character, which also have a lot more in common with everyone else in the line than they do later Spider-Men.  That means he’s rather chunky, oddly proportioned, and very stiff.  None of that really adds up to the ideal sort of Spider-Man.  This is especially notable on the head, which is small, has a very long, but also very thick neck, and just generally doesn’t look like any notably incarnation of Spidey’s quite distinctive mask.  He does at least have the benefit of losing the obvious suction cups present on the original figure’s hands, so his left hand is now just a flat hand with noting attached to it.  Unfortunately, to facilitate his action feature, his right arm is totally straight, at an odd angle in relation to the rest of the body, and his hand permanently has a big whole in the front of it.  Also, his hand is in a fist, as opposed to, oh, I don’t know, maybe the very distinctive pose his hand is usually in when he’s shooting web?  Weird choice.  His color work is…fine.  Much like the sculpting, it’s kind of weird and off kilter, and the web lines of the costume don’t really line up with usual depictions of his look.  Also, it’s very fuzzy on the lines, which makes the whole thing look wonky.  In accordance with his “Real Web-Shooting Action,” Spidey includes missile with a rubber “web” attachment on the front.  Look, I don’t want to split hairs here, but, umm, that’s not a “real web-shooting action.”  Because a missile isn’t “real” web.  So, you know, weird choice of words.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The MSH Spider-Men are an interesting and eclectic bunch of figures that generally all look very similar and are easily confused.  Also, they all have completely different selections of accessories that don’t really correspond with the main figure, which can be extra confusing.  Several years ago, a bunch of the MSH figures got traded into work, and there was a bag specifically of Spider-Men, which I of course grabbed.  This was the only one in the bag that was complete.  It’s not a great figure.  it’s not even a good figure.  You might call it a bad figure.  But, it’s also one of the first Spider-Man variants, and so it’s neat and sort of quaint.  Earnest, perhaps.  So, we’re gonna let it have that.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0073: Chewbacca

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

CHEWBACCA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Oh-ho-ho, it’s Fridaaaay, you knoooooow!  Would you believe…I’m talking about Star Wars again?  Probably?  I mean it does sort of track, right?  Yeah.  Well, with another week successfully made through, I’m capping things off with a return look at Chewbacca!

“As Han Solo’s partner, Chewbacca the Wookiee (or Chewie, as Solo calls him) distinguished himself as a talented pilot, starship mechanic and smuggler. After being rescued from Imperial slavers by Solo, Chewbacca pledged a life debt to the rogue pilot and followed him to several different planets as their relationship grew and the two became close friends and partners. When Solo acquired the light freighter Millennium Falcon, he and Chewbacca began their career as intergalactic smugglers. Chewbacca’s reputation as a brawler gave him a distinct advantage in shady business negotiations, and it was he who initiated the deal to transport Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker from Tatooine to Alderaan.”

Okay, so here’s something of an odd thing that slipped through the cracks of my review schedule: somehow, in all of the Power of the Force reviews I’ve written here on the site, I’ve managed to leave one single figure from the initial assortment un-reviewed for far longer than I realized. I speak of today’s entry, the line’s first take on Chewbacca, who has thus far escaped my reviewing focus. Not to worry, dear reader, I’ve got him all set for today, so lets take a look at this crazy monkey man who really isn’t a monkey man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chewbacca was, as noted in the intro, part of Kenner’s first 1995 assortment for their revamped Power of the Force line. He joined standard versions of Luke, Han, Leia, R2, C-3PO, Obi-Wan, Vader, Lando, the Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett in bringing Star Wars back to toy shelves for the first time in over a decade. This would mark Chewy’s second time getting a 3 3/4-scale figure, following his old vintage release, placing him in the same category as Vader, the Stormtrooper, and Boba Fett. The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation…technically. There’s a neck joint there, but best of luck really getting any sort of motion out of it. This guy got an all-new sculpt, which would serve as the basis for Chewy’s Shadows of the Empire figure as well. Chewbacca’s vintage sculpt was definitely on the scrawny side of things and…well, this one definitely goes for the other end of the spectrum. Way on the other end of the spectrum. This guy’s like two of the vintage guy. Chewy may have been bigger than the other characters, but he wasn’t a body builder like this one. He falls into a similar category to Vader, who was likewise a little on the small side for his vintage release, and then ballooned way up for his ’95 figure. It’s downright goofy looking, and ends up making Chewy look a lot more simian than he did in the films, especially with that less shaggy, more carefully groomed appearance he’s got. At the very least, the texturing on the fur isn’t too bad, though the bandolier isn’t quite so lucky; it looks stretched to fit Chewy’s new bulk, and ends up missing out on some of the better detail work of later versions. The major details are there, but not much beyond that. Chewbacca’s paintwork is fairly decent, perhaps the best of the initial batch, in fact. He actually gets some nice accenting on his fur to give it its proper variations in color, a definite step up from the vintage counterpart. Chewbacca was packed with both his usual bowcaster and also a more generic and definitely very ’90s gun, just in case one wasn’t enough for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Part of the reason Chewbacca got overlooked for review is because he kind of got overlooked in my collection, too. As I mentioned in my Bounty Hunter Chewbacca review, that was my standard, and quite frankly, my go-to Chewbacca as a kid. I didn’t actually have a basic Chewy; he was one of the figures that was in the batch of figures my Grandmother had for me and my cousin at her house. It meant I got to play with one, but it wasn’t ultimately mine. When the figures got split up between us, Chewy went with my cousin, and I never thought much about it, having moved onto better Chewbaccas. When filling in my collection, I actually forgot about this figure, until managing to find one loose a couple of Christmases ago while on vacation. I then forgot I had that figure and hadn’t actually reviewed it until I took it down off the shelf for the photo that ended my recent C-3PO review, at which point I got him onto the schedule as soon as I could. And, here we are. He’s not great, or anything. He’s goofy and not very accurate, but also not as fun as the Bounty Hunter Chewy, so he’s just sort of here.

Poor Chewbacca, the overlooked figure.  I actually forgot about that bit, but it’s a late 2020 review, so I’ve forgotten a lot of what I was writing during that stretch of time.  Each addendum from that period’s like a fun little mystery!  Honestly, it’s not a bad review, and I think it tackles the weird, overly simian Chewy from the early line pretty well.  I just looked at the mold again for the coin release and…well, it’s still very goofy.  I mean, I love it, but it’s goofy.  My figure was missing his wonky secondary gun when I first reviewed him, something I’ve since addressed, so here he is in all his two-gun-wielding glory!

#4043: Snowtrooper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

SNOWTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Dear readers, we’ve finally arrived, after a seven week stretch, at the end of the Power of the Force coin reviews!  As noted last week, the last few of these are the ones that don’t really have as much in the way of new to offer.  While the seven figure set was heavier weighted on the heroes side, there were two “villains.”  I already looked at Emperor Palpatine, but there was a trooper in the mix, specifically of the Snowtrooper variety.  Why “snow?”  I got no idea, but why question it now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Snowtrooper is the seventh and final figure in the Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” line-up from the Star Wars: Power of the Force II line, released in 1998.  This was the line’s third and final Snowtrooper, following the single and the deluxe.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The Snowtrooper’s sculpt is a straight re-use of the single release mold.  It’s kind of restricted in its movement, but generally a reasonable sculpt.  It’s accurate to the design, if perhaps a bit soft on the detailing.  So, what’s the thing that makes this worthwhile?  The paint, of course!  The original release’s paint was fine, but ultimately inaccurate to the source material.  The deluxe release had a more accurate layout, so this one matches that.  It’s the sort of thing that you aren’t likely to notice on its own, but side by side it’s a notable change-up.  Like the single release, the Snowtrooper is packed with a medium blaster rifle.  He also includes the required Millennium Minted Coin, which rather amusingly refers to him as “Hoth Stormtrooper” so as to keep its accuracy to the vintage release, despite the box calling him “Snowtrooper.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Count this figure as yet another on the pile of “didn’t really think I’d need it” when I started collecting the line, since it’s pretty similar to the others.  I got him because I didn’t have him, but wasn’t expecting much.  So, I gotta say, he’s actually a pleasant surprise.  The new paint’s not drastic, but it’s a change, and it’s ultimately a better figure for it.  Of the three Snowtroopers in the line, this one’s probably my favorite.  And that’s a wrap on the figures with the coins.  This set was one I didn’t think much of when I went in, and I was honestly kind of expecting them to be kind of lame.  While they’re totally a fairly hollow cash-grab, I found it to be a surprisingly nifty set of figures.  The coins are actually cool, and all of the figures do feel at least like a minor step-up from the single releases.