Monthly Archives: June 2014

#0236: Captain America – Stealth Uniform & Brock Rumlow

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA – STEALTH UNIFORM & BROCK RUMLOW

MARVEL MINIMATES

Cap&Rumlow

You’ve read my reviews for the first two sets in the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Minimates line-up. Today’s part three. The excitement from the first two parts still remains, but I think I’ve gotten pretty good at keeping my composure. Hopefully. Anyway, I’m looking at yet another Captain America, plus SHIELD agent Brock Rumlow *SPOILER*

…one of the movie’s villains. Do they keep the excitement going? Let’s find out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cap and Rumlow were released as part of Marvel Minimates Series 55, which was done as a tie-in to this summer’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

CAPTAIN AMERICA – STEALTH UNIFORM

CapStealthCap is built on the standard Minimate body, which means he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. He’s based on Cap’s stealth look from the movie, which has also been referred to as his “STRIKE Team” look. It’s what he wears during the film’s opening mission and during most of his scenes at the SHIELD headquarters, and it’s also the look seen on most of the promotional stuff for the movie. To convey this look, the figure features sculpted helmet, shoulder harness, wrist straps and belt add-ons, in addition to the base Minimate body. The wrist straps appear to be a re-use from Series 34’s 90s Cyclops, but everything else looks to be brand-new to this figure. Everything seems to be accurate to Cap’s look in the film, and there is plenty of sculpted detail work on each piece. The paint work on Cap is pretty good, though there are a few spots of error. The silver detailing of the “A” on his helmet doesn’t quite line up with the sculpted boarders and there are a few instances of underlying colors not lining up with the detail lines. Also, the wings on the sides of his helmet have been left unpainted, but this seems to be consistent across all versions of this figure. Other than that, the paint work is very nice. All the detail lines are nice and crisp, the likeness on the face presents and uncanny resemblance to Chris Evans, and some of the small details on the uniform are nothing short of amazing. Cap is accessorized with a spare hairpiece, an extra hand for holding the shield, a display stand, and, of course, his mighty shield, this time in stealth colors.

BROCK RUMLOW

RumlowRumlow is built on the same base body as Cap, which means he has the same articulation and relative height. For those of you less in the know with Cap stuff, Rumlow is a SHIELD agent destined to become the villain Crossbones, who worked as the Red Skull’s right-hand man and has been a recurring Captain America villain for many years. His figure here is based on his look in the movie, in his “pre-Crossbones” form, and specifically takes Rumlow’s look from the movie’s final act. A lot of the figures in this series take their looks from that portion of the movie, so it’s nice to see Rumlow stick with the theme. Rumlow features sculpted hair, vest, belt, and holster add-ons to aid with the look. The hair is a re-use from Series 17’s Eddie Brock, and the holsters are from Series 45’s Maria Hill. The belt might be a re-use, but it’s a bit too generic for me to tell. The vest appears to be an all-new piece. All of these parts go together well, and result in a pretty much spot on figure of the character. The paint work on Rumlow is good, but not spotless. The paint on his gloves is splotchy and the edges of his boots have very fuzzy lines, but the detail work is superb, just like the rest of the series. The vest can be removed to show the straps that he had under his vest in the movie, which is a nice touch. Rumlow is accessorized with two hand guns, a sub machine gun, his electro-shock thingy, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I was out of town for the release of this series. Thankfully, my dad was nice enough to get a set of them for me, which was very cool of him. I really liked Cap’s stealth suit in the movie, so I’m happy to see that it turned out well, and that it wasn’t plagued by the same paint issues as the Classic Cap. I was also happy to get Rumlow, who has been over looked by other lines based on the movie. He was a fairly important character in the movie, and the Minimate is a great representation of him. All in all, this set is more in line with Widow and Falcon, which is a good thing. I’m happy to see Diamond putting such amazing work into this line.

#0235: Black Widow & Falcon

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

BLACK WIDOW & FALCON

MARVEL MINIMATES

Widow&Falcon

Okay, so I already went through my immense excitement at the existence of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Minimates yesterday. I shan’t subject you to that again. I’m still really excited, but I’m keeping my composure. Promise. Today, I’ll be looking at Cap’s two most trusted allies in the film, and the biggest push for me to get the Minimates: Black Widow and Falcon!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Widow and Falcon were released as part of Marvel Minimates Series 55, which was released as a tie-in series for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

BLACK WIDOW

Widow

Black Widow is built on the standard Minimate body. This means she features 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. She’s presented here in her SHIELD jumpsuit look that she sports early in the film and in the final act. I was actually a bit surprised by how little she has this look, but it’s definitely the one to go for if you’re doing an action figure. She features six sculpted add-ons: hair, belt, two holsters, and two widow’s stingers. The holsters where originally used on the Avengers movie version of Widow, but I believe everything else is new to this figure. I was actually a bit surprised to see a new sculpt for the stingers, but I guess they thought they could use an update. The new pieces all look pretty great, with nice detail work and a decent amount of accuracy to the movie. The paint on Widow is pretty great. The detail lines are all really sharp, and the base paint is better here than it was on Cap. I did notice some slight bleed over from the whites of her eyes, but it’s actually not too bad, and it’s hardly noticeable. I also love the fact that they’ve given her a more “battle-ready” facial expression, as opposed to the more vacant expression a lot of female figures get. It really adds some character. Widow includes two hand guns and a clear display stand.

FALCON

FalconLike Widow, Falcon is built on the standard Minimate body, so he has the usual height and articulation. Falcon is based on the character’s look during the final act of the film. It’s the character’s true “Falcon” look, so it’s a good choice. He features eight sculpted add-ons: goggles, gloves, a jetpack/harness, two shoulder pad/upper wing pieces, and two lower wing pieces. With the exception of the gloves, which were previously seen on the Age of Ultron Nick Fury, all the pieces are brand new to Falcon. They all look pretty great, and are very accurate to the source material. I’ve seen a few complaints that the harness is too bulky, but the harness from the movie looks pretty bulky to me, so that seems about right. The paint work on Falcon is overall great, with one exception. While he head has a great likeness to actor Anthony Mackie, my figure has a clump of dried paint right on his forehead. Once the goggles are in place, it’s mostly unnoticeable, but it’s still kind of annoying. The rest of the paint work is really great, especially the camo work on his pants. Falcon includes two handguns (different from Widow’s), a flight stand, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just like with Cap and Winter Soldier, I was out of town for the release of this series. My dad was nice enough to pick them up for me, which was super awesome of him. I was a little let down by the Cap in the Cap & Winter Soldier set, so I wasn’t sure how the rest of the wave would turn out. I’m happy to say that neither of the figures in this set suffer from the same issues as Cap. That’s very important to me, because having these two particular characters in the same scale is what had me so excited for the Minimates to begin with. These two certainly did not disappoint!

Action Figures For the Questioning #013: Hasbro

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Action Figures For the Questioning

I’ve been in the action figure world for about 20 years.  So, it’s safe to say I’ve got a fair bit of knowledge on the terms that tend to be thrown around by collectors with little or no explanation as to what they mean.  I generally try to explain a concept on its first appearance on this site, but much as Stan Lee once said to assume every comic book was somebody’s first, I too must assume that every review on this site might be the first to be read by a new visitor.  As such, I’ve decided to put together a guide to some of the more frequently used terms and names that might show up.

HASBRO

Hasbro

What is it?:

Probably the largest producer of action figures.  They originated the term action figure with the original GI Joe.  They currently produce Star Wars and Marvel toys, and previously made DC toys as well.  They have bought out numerous smaller companies over the years, and are best known for their work with the 3 ¾ inch scale.  They have a tendency to pack figures with pointless missile launchers.

#0234: Captain America – Classic & Winter Soldier

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA – CLASSIC & WINTER SOLDIER

MARVEL MINIMATES

Cap&WinterSoldier

I love Minimates. That’s no secret. I also loved Captain America: The Winter Soldier (I’ve seen it six times). These are things that have been said many times on this site. So why bring them up? BECAUSE I JUST GOT THE MINIMATES FROM CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDER! Whoa, sorry about that. I’m very excited. You see, short of spending an insane amount of money on the Hot Toys figures, the Minimates are the only way to get all of the main characters in a single scale. Plus they’re Minimates! Today, I’ll be kicking off my reviews of the series with the film’s two title characters: Captain America and The Winter Soldier!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released as part of Marvel Minimates Series 55, which was a series based on the Captain America: The Winter Soldier film released this summer.

CAPTAIN AMERICA – CLASSIC

CapClassic

Cap, like just about every other Minimate, is built on the standard Minimate body. As such, he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. This figure depicts Cap in his “classic” costume from the movie, which is the one he wears during the last act of the film. It’s essentially his uniform from The First Avenger, but it tweaks the stripes on the abdomen, brightens the brown areas, and ditches the holster and side-arm from that film. The figure features sculpted helmet and belt add-ons to help facilitate the look. Both of these pieces appear to be new to this figure, sharply sculpted and look spot on to the movie. The paint work on this figure is a bit mixed. To Diamond’s credit, the detail line work is nothing short of amazing. All the lines are nice and sharp, and the level of detailing is just great! They’ve even succeeded in giving us a pretty great Chris Evans likeness. Unfortunately, the base paint work is not so great. The ends of his gloves are very uneven, the colors routinely go out of detail lines, and you can see that the A on the helmet is pretty far off center. Also, my Cap’s helmet has a smear of silver across the nose, which is incredibly distracting. Cap includes a spare hair piece, his mighty shield, a hand to attach the shield to, and a clear display stand.

WINTER SOLDIER

WinterSoldierUnmaskedWinter Soldier is built on the same basic body as Cap, so he has all the same stats there. He depicts the main Winter Soldier look in the film, the same one shown on all the other WS merchandise. Given its presence in most of the Soldier’s important scenes, I’ve got no complaints there. Bucky features five sculpted add-ons: Mask/Hair, shoulder gear, belt, and a holster for both legs. These pieces all look to be new to this figure, and they all seem to do an admirable job replicating Bucky’s look in the movie. The mask perhaps sits a bit too low, but it’s not so low that it ruins the figure. Bucky seems to have come out a bit better than Cap in the paint department. Like Cap, all of the detail lines are really sharp, and the work on the legs in particular is quite impressive. The Sebastian Stan likeness is much better this time than it was on Diamond’s version of Bucky from the first film. On a side note: Am I the only one that didn’t really notice the eye shadow in the movie? I saw it in one or two scenes, but it was mostly absent. Yet, every single figure has it caked on there. Fortunately, it’s handled pretty well here, nowhere near the monstrosity that was the Hasbro version. The best part of this figure is his accessory selection. He’s armed to the teeth, with a sniper rifle, two sub machine guns, a hand gun, and two knives, plus an alternate hairpiece without the mask and a clear display stand thrown in for good measure! One additional thing I might have liked to have seen is a hair piece without the goggles, to replicate his look from his first fight with Cap, but I wouldn’t want to be too greedy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This series was originally supposed to be released closer to the film’s opening weekend, but was met with a few delays. They were finally released the first week in June, while I happened to be out of town. Fortunately, my awesome dad picked them up for me the day they came out. He even brought them with him when he came to bring me home!

While I’m not quite as happy with the paint on Cap as I’d have liked, the overall work on these figures is pretty great, and Winter Soldier is at the very least the most accurate version of the character available, if not the best! I’m hopeful that the issues with Cap are more or less limited to my set, as I’d hate to see this be a widespread issue.

#0233: Wonder Man & She-Hulk

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

WONDER MAN & SHE-HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

WonderMan&SheHulk

Hey! More Minimates! Everybody’s favorite! Yes, it’s another review based on a piece of my extensive Minimates collection. Once again, this one comes from the flagship line, Marvel Minimates. This time around, the set contains two Avengers, Wonder Man and She-Hulk. For those of you unfamiliar with the characters (like a certain screen writer currently in Warner Brothers’ employ), click the links in their names to read about them in the Backstories section.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the series 16 of the Marvel Minimates line. The series was Avengers themed.

WONDER MAN

Wonder Man is built on the basic Minimate body, which means he has the usual 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He’s based on the character’s look during John Byrne’s run on West Coast Avengers (the hair and stern expression are the easiest giveaways) but he can also pass for several similar looks he’s sported. He features brand new hair and belt add-ons. I’m not crazy about the hair, but it does fit the mullet he sported for some of Byrne’s run. The belt is a pretty much perfect representation of the one the character sported, so that’s cool. Wonder Man’s paint is basic, but has a sort of an elegant simplicity to it. I might have liked a slightly more jovial facial expression, but this one’s still a valid choice. The paint is cleanly applied overall, though there is a slight bit of fuzz on the lines of his boots. Wonder Man included no accessories.

SHE-HULK

Like Wonder Man, She-Hulk is built on the standard Minimate body, so she has the usual stats. She is represented here in her purple and white costume that she wore during her tenure in the Avengers in the early 2000s, as well as her solo series from the same time. Seeing as this was the look she sported during her best known stint on the Avengers, it makes sense to place it in an Avengers themed series. She features a sculpted hair piece, which is a re-use from Ultimate Storm, way back in series 3. The hair isn’t bad, but it does have a sculpted lightning-bolt earring, which looks out of place on She-Hulk. It’s odd because the prototype pictures showed her reusing the oft-used Spider Woman hair, which lacks such distinctive features. The change is a bit baffling. Shulkie has a decent set of paint apps, and has some nice line work on her face and torso. The face has the appropriate light expression that she’s been known to sport, and it looks pretty good. She features the same fuzzy lines issue as Wonder Man, but it’s not too distracting. She-Hulk included a bent metal bar, though it was a bit too big for her to hold properly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These were originally meant to be released on my birthday of that year. They ended up being pushed back about a month, but my Dad bought them for me anyway, just a bit late. They’re certainly older figures, but they aren’t horribly dated, especially if you can find some better hair pieces for the two of them. Wonder Man has always been one of my favorite Avengers, so I was glad to get him, especially so early into the line. She-Hulk is pretty cool, too, and great for people who are big fans of the character!

Action Figures For The Questioning #012: Exclusive

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Action Figures For the Questioning

I’ve been in the action figure world for about 20 years.  So, it’s safe to say I’ve got a fair bit of knowledge on the terms that tend to be thrown around by collectors with little or no explanation as to what they mean.  I generally try to explain a concept on its first appearance on this site, but much as Stan Lee once said to assume every comic book was somebody’s first, I too must assume that every review on this site might be the first to be read by a new visitor.  As such, I’ve decided to put together a guide to some of the more frequently used terms and names that might show up.

EXCLUSIVE

Exclusive(Green)

What is it?:

A figure only available from a certain place (first-hand, anyway).  Can be a specific store, such as Toys R Us or Wal-Mart, or possibly and event such as San Diego Comicon.  Usually a figure that is desirable to more hard-core fans, but not a general audience.  Store-exclusives are usually meant to be a sign of good faith to the store to encourage them to support the line.

Example:

Minimates have prominent Toys R Us exclusive waves, with brand new characters not seen elsewhere.

#0232: Johann Kraus

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

JOHANN KRAUS

HELLBOY

I came in somewhat late to the Hellboy scene. My first interaction with the characters and story was the release of the first Hellboy movie in 2004. I saw the movie with a group of friends and had no expectations at all. I actually thought that Abe Sapien was supposed to be the villain! Anyway, the movie was really good, and I was hooked on all things Hellboy. Mezco Toys had the license for the movie, and I picked up a few figures from that line, and then Mezco decided to move onto a line of figures based on the comicbooks. Today, I’ll be looking at that line’s version of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense’s resident expert on ectoplasmic stuff, Johann Kraus.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Johann was released as part of the second series of comicbook-inspired Hellboy line from Mezco Toys. He stands a little over 7 inches tall and features 15 points of articulation. He’s based on Johann as Mike Mignola drew him. Seeing as Mignola originated the design, that’s a good call. The sculpt does a pretty good job of translating Mignola’s 2D drawings to 3D, which was no easy feat, I’m sure. They’ve incorporated some great texture work all around, which captures the gritty look of the series very nicely. The paint is serviceable, with some pretty decent dry brushing all around. They’ve used a semi-translucent paint on his head, which works nicely to capture his ectoplasmic look. Sadly, my figure has a scratch on his face, which brings the work down a bit, but I’d be exceptionally happy were that not the case. Johann included a spare set of hands to simulate his ectoplasmic powers at work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Johann from my local comic store (Cosmic Comix) when series two was first released. Shortly after the release of the first Hellboy movie, I picked up an issue of Hellboy Weird Tales, which among other things, contained a story that focused on Johann. It was my first interaction with the character, and I enjoyed him immensely. So, when the figure came out I knew I definitely wanted one. I never got any of the other comicbook Hellboy figures, but Johann is still very entertaining, and a great representation of the character.

Guest Review #0004: Quorra

Posted by Tim Marron in Guest Reviews and tagged with , ,

QUORRA

TRON: LEGACY (SPIN MASTER)

Qorra2

Today’s review is written by Tim Marron.  Check out more from Tim over at Tim’s Blarg and Timsical Thoughts.  Take it away Tim!

As I’ve said before, my action figure collection tends to stem from video games. Today’s figure follows this pattern, even though the game itself exists in a movie, but was then made as a real game, sorta… it’s complicated. Anyway, today I’ll be looking at Quorra from Tron: Legacy. I’ll also be reviewing an action figure of her as well made by Spin Master.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The figure is based on Quorra’s initial appearance in the film when she rescues Sam from GAMES. Regrettably this means that she is depicted wearing her helmet which only stays on for about a minute of screen time and there isn’t the alternate Olivia Wilde, slanted bangs head that everyone hoped for. Quorra stands about 4″ tall and features 23 points of articulation. One of the gimmicks for this line of figures is that they light up, in keeping with the aesthetic of the movie. Aside from the unfortunate perma-helmet, the figure’s sculpt is unique to this character, and is pretty decent with just a few minor hiccups. The legs are a little skinny and the proportions around the waist are slightly off, making Quorra look a just a tad chunky if viewed from the side, but then again this is to accommodate the battery and aforementioned light so I’ll let it slide. Also, for whatever reason, her skirt is made of hard plastic which substantially restricts hip movement which stinks because the overall figure has fairly good range of motion. If it weren’t for the skirt, and maybe the neck, you could probably pull off some cool action poses. The paint keeps up this trend of decent-but-not-fantastic with a few small areas of bleed over as well as a couple spots of careless slop marring and otherwise pristine paint job. Quorra comes packaged with her Identity Disk and sword as well as a stand on which to display her. So overall, yes the figure has its problems, but for the most part I can overlook those flaws because she’s my favorite character from the movie. It also helps that I only paid $5 for the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I purchased this figure not long after I saw Tron: Legacy for the first time. I knew I wanted a little light up figure after they were cleverly shown off in the opening scene by a horrifically CGI-ed Jeff Bridges, it only became clearer later on who I wanted a figure of. After finding out that the 12″ Impulse Projection line of figures from the movie did not include Quorra, I settled on the 3″ version I have now.

#0231: Arnim Zola & Captain America

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

ARNIM ZOLA & CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL MINIMATES

ArnimZola&Cap ArnimZola&CapAlt2

Minimates. What more can I say. I’ve reviewed them numerous times before, and I try to think of original anecdotes about them, but there’s really only so much you can say. Still, they are the greatest toyline on the market today, so that’s a big plus. Today, I’ll be looking at Arnim Zola, a recurring Captain America foe, and Captain America himself.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 42nd series of Marvel Minimates. That particular series was meant to loosely tie-in with Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, which were both released the same year.

ARNIM ZOLA

Arnim is presented here in his classic “face on a chest monitor” look, which is definitely the one to go with if you’re doing an Arnim Zola figure. He’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he has 14 points of articulation and stands around 2 ½ inches tall. Arnim features a uniquely sculpted camera head and torso piece, as well as reused “puffy sleeves.” The pieces work pretty well, and give a nice depiction of the character’s usual look. The paint work on the figure is all nice and clean, with no slop, bleed-over, or fuzzy lines. He also features some impressive detail work on his “torso face” which pretty much perfectly replicates Arnim’s snickering, disembodied face.

CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AMERICA

Yes, it’s another Cap. This one has been dubbed “Civil War Captain America” but I’m not really sure why. Cap wasn’t involved with the historical American Civil War (and if he had been, I doubt he would have dressed this way) which only leaves the Marvel cross-over of the same name. However, Cap doesn’t dress like this in that story. It seems that the real inspiration for Cap was actually his incarnation on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, where he was frequently seen wearing a similar outfit while riding around on his motorcycle. At any rate, the figure is built on the basic Minimate body like Arnim, so he’s got the usual stats. He features a sculpted helmet, jacket, belt, left hand w/ shield strap, and boots. All of the pieces have been used before, with the helmet coming from Ultimate WW2 Cap, the jacket coming from James Rhodes, the belt coming from Cap reborn, the hand coming from one of the movie Caps, and the boots coming from numerous figures. The pieces are all good pieces and work pretty nicely. The painted details aren’t bad, though I’m not the biggest fan of Cap’s face. The Avengers logo on his arm is also a nice touch. Cap includes a spare set of arms and gloves and a proper Cap mask to allow you to display him as a more basic Cap, as well as a hairpiece for all those wanting him unmasked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got these two along with the rest of series 42 from my favorite online retailer, Luke’s Toy Store! I mostly bought the series for the Thor sets included, but I wanted this one too, mostly for Arnim. In hand, I think they’re both pretty solid ‘mates, but Cap suffers from some serious redundancy.

#0230: Wildebeast

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

WILDEBEAST

TEEN TITANS GO! (BANDAI)

Wildebeast

Some toylines are good, some are mediocre, and some just suck. In general, toys made by Bandai America fall into the last category. How they manage to pick up hot licenses is beyond me, given their dreck-like output. Maybe they know a guy. That must be nice. Today, we venture again into their Teen Titans Go! toyline, based on the Teen Titans TV show of the early 2000s. This time around it’s Wildebeast. Yay.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wildebeast was released as part of series 4 of the Teen Titans Go! line. He stands 3.5 inches tall, just like the rest of the figures in the line because Bandai has no idea how scale works. The figure also only features 5-ish points of articulation, a downgrade from the 9 received by figures in previous series. I say “5-ish” because one of those points is a neck joint that has been rendered functionally useless by the figure’s sculpted mane. The figure’s sculpt isn’t too bad. Nothing to write home about, but fairly accurate to the character’s look on the show. The paintwork is pretty bad. Not only is it incredibly basic, but there is noticeable slop and bleed-over and the colors aren’t really right either. Wildebeast included a single accessory: a rock club that the character never, ever used. Way to go guys.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bandai’s toys suck. Teen Titans Go! was no exception. I mentioned in my review of Robin and Beast Boy that I had a bit of nostalgia for them, having gone on a trip with my Mom to get them. Wildebeast doesn’t get that. I think I probably picked him up from Target, most likely because he was packed with someone else I wanted. I guess it’s not the worst figure ever, but it doesn’t have a whole lot going for it.