Yearly Archives: 2014

#0254: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

S-WORLD MINIFIGURES

Cyclops1Lego

Okay, one last look into the dark back alley of toy collecting that is bootleg toys! I’ve looked at Black Lantern and Captain America, now I move on to the franchise that actually introduced me to the world of bootlegs, X-Men! See, back in the 90s, I so loved X-Men figures that I actually ended up with at least one knock off, but that’s a story for another review. Today, let’s take a look at Cyclops.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is yet another Bootlego from the very generically named “S-World Minifigures” line. As with Cap, I haven’t been able to tie him to any particular set. Cyclops is about 2 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. He’s on the same Bootlego body seen before, which is an impressive mock of the original. He looks to be based on Cyclops’s 90s look, which is also the main look he sports in the Lego Marvel video game. His one add-on piece is a hairpiece, which is the same as the one used on Black Lantern, which is in turn a copy of one of Lego’s basic hairpieces. Cyclops’s paint is perhaps the least impressive of the three bootlegs I picked up, but it’s still surprisingly good for a bootleg. The only real issue is that the yellow used is a bit too thinly applied, which allows the colors under it to bleed through. Cyclops is accessorized with two Lego antennae cast in translucent red plastic and a black display stand. I assume that the antennae are meant to simulate Cyclops’s optic blasts, but they just end up looking goofy. Also, the stand is notably not the new piece seen on the other two, but rather a copy of Lego’s own minifigure stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the previous two Bootlegos, Cyclops was purchased from a dealer at Mego Meet, prior to my knowledge of their sketchy nature. I’m actually quite fascinated by how close to the real thing all three of these were. I’m also impressed by the fact that these have such a large selection of lesser characters and looks. Obviously someone involved with S-World Minifigures is a comics fan who wanted more characters.

Cyclops2Lego

#0027 – Supplemental: Give Me A Break….

Posted by Ethan Wilson in General and tagged with , ,

STRIKER EUREKA

PACIFIC RIM

Striker2.0

Wait a second… haven’t I done this review before? Why yes, yes I have. Here’s the deal: I’ve got a story to tell about a somewhat common issue that plagues action figure collectors.  And that issue is BREAKAGE!

Toys generally are made out of plastics, and one of the important things to remember about plastic is that it isn’t indestructible. Plastic can suffer from some serious wear and tear. Depending on the type of plastic used for a figure, breakage can be a rareity or an inevitability. Most importantly, as figures become more and more detailed, and gain more and more articulation, they are more and more likely to break.

I am no stranger to toys breaking. When you own well over 2000 action figures, you tend to get really familiar with the idea that they aren’t always built to last. When I was a kid, my dad had a box on his desk where I could place my broken action figures. Every month or so, he’d sit down with a tube of apoxy and repair them to the best of his ability. For the most part, it was simple stuff. Arm joints broke. A head might fall off. Easy fixes. But, as the toys got more and more complex, they became more difficult to fix. My first real experience with an un-fixable toy came when I was about 12 years old. I had just gotten the Marvel Legends Series 9 Nightcrawler. I was so thrilled! But, not long after opening him, I was showing him to my dad and I dropped him. It wasn’t a big fall, maybe 3 or 4 feet. Regardless, his head came clean off. Due to the nature of the neck joint, there was no fixing him. He was broken, what could you do. Not too long after, my Dad felt bad about it, so he bought me another one. He was a $7 figure, so it’s not too much of a loss, but it still sucks.

StrikerComparisonSo, where does Striker Eureka come into this? Well, Striker is a really cool figure, but he’s also a master of the “Shelf Dive” where a figure takes a tumble off of the shelf they’re being displayed on. Striker did this a few times to no ill effect, but one day, I picked up Striker to take some photos with Cherno Alpha, and off came his leg, right at the hip. I closely looked at the brake and noticed that the hip’s swivel joint had split in two. All the pieces were still there, so I figured I could probably fix him without any frozen joints. It took me a few hours of careful work, but I got him put back together. And back on the shelf he went. For, a few months, he sat there, no issues. Then a couple weeks ago, I was doing some cleaning before a few friends came over, and down he came again. I picked him up like I had lots of times before, and went to put him on the shelf. Then, I noticed his arm was missing. Yep, it was lying on the floor. I looked at it and quickly diagnosed it was a lost cause. The weight of the arm and the small size of the broken peg meant there was no way to fix him. Since Striker’s a fairly popular figure who comfortably sells for north of $60, I wasn’t going to rush out to get a new one. So, Striker sat armless on my desk for the past few weeks.

Yesterday afternoon, I was walking through my local Toys R Us, and I came across another Striker, sitting on the shelf alone. So, I picked him up, happy to find a replacement at the retail price. I guess things worked out, huh? Sure, having a non-broken Striker means he effectively cost twice as much as the other figures in the line, but I guess it could be worse. Regardless, I’ll definitely be more careful with this one!

If you’d like to read my actual review of the Striker Eureka figure, go check it out here!

#0253: Captain America – Rescue Version

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA – RESCUE VERSION

S-WORLD MINIFIGURES

CapRescue

Today continues my first real look into the seedy underbelly of toys: Bootlegs! Yesterday, I took a look at Black Lantern Hal Jordan, who provided me a chance to acquire one of my favorite characters, albeit in a slightly less default look, in the Lego style. Today, I’ll be jumping over to the Marvel side, with a one of my favorite non-default looks of a character.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America is just as much a bootleg as yesterday’s Black Lantern, which means he’s not officially tied to any series, outside of the vague “S-World Minfigures” printed on his display stand. Unlike Hal, I haven’t even been able to tie this one to a larger set. He’s just here. Cap stands about 2 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. He’s built on the bootlego body, which is a near perfect replica of the real Lego body. The figure is based on Cap’s “Rescue” look from Captain America: The First Avenger, which is a look I quite like. He features one add-on, a helmet, which seems to be a bootleg of the piece used on Lego’s green army men from Toy Story. The figure’s paint is once again impressive for such a back alley figure. The eyes are perhaps a bit soulless, and the helmet has been incorrectly adorned with a star instead of the proper A, but otherwise, everything looks pretty great. The figure is accessorized with a shield (based on his pre-circular one), a machine gun and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Black Lantern, I picked Cap up from a dealer at Mego Meet, before fully knowing the details of his creation. Cap is actually still more of a mystery to me than the other two I picked up, as I have yet to find any evidence of other people having this one. Nevertheless, I’m a big fan of this particular design for the character, and I was thrilled to be able to acquire in yet another style, even if he is less than official.

#0252: Hal Jordan – Black Lantern

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

HAL JORDAN – BLACK LANTERN

S-WORLD MINIFIGURES

BlackLanternLego

Yesterday, I spoke of the somewhat complicated nature of knowing just who Green Lantern is at any given time. Well, today, I’m adding yet another layer to that. Not only is it possible for Green Lantern to be any number of individuals, but thanks to writer Geoff Johns, it’s also possible that they may not be Green Lantern, but instead they might be a whole other color of lantern for the day. During the event Blackest Night, Nekron and Black Hand (who both have figures reviewed on this site; check them out!) created their own brand of lantern, called the Black Lantern. Essentially, they were zombies, reanimated various dead heroes. However, given the number of heroes who have died and returned through other means, they figured it would be a good idea to grab those guys too. Which is where today’s figure hails from.

Also of note, there’s another new concept for this review: bootlegs. Bootlegs are unauthorized reproductions or imitations of existing characters or toys, usually done on the cheap, and meant to nab the casual buyer who doesn’t really know any better. Today, I’ll be looking at the first of a few bootleg Legos, or Bootlegos if you will.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Lantern Hal Jordan, being a bootleg, has no official series he is tied to. Near as I can tell from the research I’ve done, he’s from a larger set of Green Lantern themed Bootlegos, produced under the name “S-World”. Mine was purchased on his own, so I can’t really speak to the others. The figure stands about 2 inches tall, and has 7 points of articulation. The quality of the plastic used is a little different, but for all intents and purposes, this guy was built on a standard Lego Minifigure body. His sole add-on is a hair piece, which also appears to be an almost exact replica of one of Lego’s generic male hair pieces. The rest of the figure’s details are handled via paint. The painted work is quite surprising for a bootleg. It rivals official Lego work, and is a step above the work being put out currently by some of the bigger toy companies. The details are applied exquisitely, and capture the Black Lantern design very well. The figure includes a light sabre hilt and two clear blue blasters, which I believe are meant to be some sort of makeshift lantern, and a display stand with the S-World logo on it. Interestingly, the stand is different from Lego’s own Minifigure stand, making it the only unique piece present!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Black Lantern Hal Jordan and two other “Bootlegos” from a dealer at Mego Meet. They were simply labeled “Lego Figures” so I didn’t know their exact origin when I bought them. They came in small sealed bags, like you would find inside the box of a real Lego product, so I wasn’t sure if they were some kind of promotional item or something. Some research later clued me in to their bootleg nature, but I must say, I’m really quite impressed with these figures. The quality is almost exactly that of real Lego product, and they’ve actually gone a lot deeper with their character choices than the real Lego stuff has. I’m curious to see if they stick around much longer, though…

#0251: Kyle Rayner

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

KYLE RAYNER

GREEN LANTERN CLASSICS

KyleRayner

To the outside observer, the identity of Green Lantern can be a bit confusing. To date, there have been six humans to bear the name, not to mention the countless aliens that use the name throughout the universe! Which one of them you think of when you hear the name largely depends on when you were introduced to DC. Many DC fans learned about the character through Challenge of the Superfriends, which featured Hal Jordan (my personal favorite). People who were fans of Justice League consider John Stewart to be the definitive GL (with good reason). And people who got pulled into comics in the 90s, well they tend to be fans of a guy called Kyle Rayner. That’s the guy I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kyle was released as part of the first series of Green Lantern Classics, which was a subset of DC Universe Classics intended to tie in with 2011’s Green Lantern. The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and features 23 points of articulation. He’s based on Kyle’s post-Sinestro Corps War costume, which was the one he was wearing at the time of this figure’s release (I believe he’s still wearing it, though I don’t know for sure. I haven’t read a Green Lantern comicbook in almost two years.) Personally, I think it’s his best costume, so I don’t mind it’s inclusion here, but I can understand why some people were bummed we didn’t get Kyle’s main look from the 90s. Like DC Universe Classics, Green Lantern Classics was built on the buck system. Kyle makes use of the standard medium build body with a new head and a right hand borrowed from DCUC’s John Stewart. The head is a very nice piece, perhaps one of the finest head sculpts in the line. It very nicely captures Kyle’s look. The figure relies on paint to handle most of the costume’s details. The paint does pretty well, although there are a few fuzzy lines here and there, and a noticeable line of black plastic between the greens on the lower torso and the waist. All in all, it looks pretty good, though. Kyle includes a sword construct and a piece of the series’ C-N-C Arkillo. The construct is very impressive, and snaps easily over Kyle’s hand. It’s a great sculpt, and it’s nice to see include a fun accessory for a change.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a Green Lantern fan, I’m sure it’s no real surprise that I ended up with this figure. Even so, this is actually one of two figures from the first series of GLC I actually kept. This was another series where my brother and I split buying a series so that one of us could get the C-N-C. He wanted Arkillo, so I helped him finish the set. Not that it took too much pressuring to get me to buy Kyle. Even amongst all the versions of Hal Jordan offered, Kyle may well be my favorite DCUC-styled Green Lantern (although John does give him a run for his money). It’s a great figure, and I’m definitely glad I got one!

#0250: Iron Man Mark VII

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

IRON MAN MARK VII

THE AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

markvii3b

Alright, I’ve gotten to 250 reviews. Amazingly, people are still reading these things. I guess I don’t drone on too much, right? Well, it’s been another 50 reviews, which means it’s time for another “Deluxe Review.”

Once again, the figure is one of those produced by Hot Toys, producers of extremely high-end action figures. They like to pick up the licenses to super hero movies, so it was no surprise to see them pick up the license to The Avengers in 2012. Today I’ll be looking at a version of a character that has been HT’s bread and butter the last few years: Iron Man Mark VII!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mark VII is a part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, number 185 to be specific. He stands a little over 12 inches tall and features 68 points of articulation in his default set up. The figure is based on the Mark VII armor, which is the armor that Tony wears during the final battle in Avengers.

The Mark VII is different from most HT figures in that he is a fully sculpted figure, instead of relying on different materials for a costume. The Mark VII features an entirely new sculpt to accurately reflect the armor’s design in the movie. The sculpt is based on the 3D models of the suit created for the movie, so it should be pretty much spot on. However, there are a few areas that are noticeably off. The wrists are a tad too skinny, as are the elbows, which makes it hard to believe a person is actually inside the suit. Also, the eyes are just a tad too large to be accurate. It’s not terribly noticeable in person, but quite obvious in photos. Their only the slightest bit off, but it makes quite a difference at this scale. Those issues aside, the rest of the figure’s sculpt looks pretty much dead on.

The paintwork on the figure is phenomenal, but is once again different from most HT work. On this figure, it’s absolutely imperative that the paint be exactly on the mark, otherwise the figure won’t have the appropriate machined look to him. HT has pulled this off excellently, with nothing out of place. They’ve even added a few small dings and scratches to make the armor look slightly used. Everything looks really great!

The Mark VII includes a huge selection of accessories, even getting more than the usual HT faire. He features:

  • An unmasked head w/ armored collar
  • 6 interchangeable hands
  • Extra wrist armor for repulsor hands
  • Battle-damaged faceplate
  • Battle-damaged chestplate
  • Interchangeable arms with lasers deployed
  • Battle-damaged shoulder pads
  • 3 interchangeable sets of Thigh armor
  • 2 Wrist rocket launchers
  • 3 interchangeable sets of shoulder mounted armor
  • A display stand

The unmasked head is not unexpected, as it has become the standard for a HT Iron Man release. Robert Downey Jr must have a difficult likeness to capture, as HT has never quite had his look down. This one ends up being a bit off the mark. It’s an odd case where it’s not a bad Tony Stark sculpt, but it has only a vague resemblance to the actor who plays him in the movies. I don’t hate it, but it’s not HT’s finest work. From a technical standpoint, it’s great. There’s some wonderful texture work, and it looks like a real person, just not the one they’re going for. The paint is up to HT’s usual standard, which is certainly nice to see. The collar piece slips fairly easily over the neck and the whole thing attaches to the MVII body without too much trouble.

There are six hands: two fists, two articulated, and two repulsor. All of them look great, and match the rest of the body wonderfully. I like the articulated ones in particular, as they provide the greatest variety of poses. The repulsor hands have been specially sculpted to allow you to depict Iron Man with his hands in blast mode as shown in lots of promotional material, and they have their own set of wrist plates to aid in this effect.

The figure also includes several pieces to allow him to be displayed in a “Battle-Damaged” mode. These pieces range from simple repaints of normal pieces to complete resculpts. They swap out with relative ease, and look pretty good when in place.

The thigh and shoulder armor come in three possible sets: closed, fully deployed, and removed. The closed is what the figure comes wearing, as they depict the default look. The deployed fit well with the Battle-Damaged set-up, for that middle of the battle look, and the removed allow for the figure to be streamlined. All of the pieces swap out pretty easily, though they’ve also included a small tool to help remove the pieces without risk of damage.

Lastly, Tony includes a basic display stand with Mark VII printed on the front and the Avengers logo on the base. It’s a simple piece, but it helps connect him with the rest of the figures from the set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like most of my other HT figures, the Mark VII was ordered via Sideshow Toys’ website. I had not initially planned on picking this figure up, as I had intended to make do with my earlier Mech Test Tony Stark from the first Iron Man. However, as I got further into the Avengers line, I realized that the display wouldn’t look right without a proper Iron Man. So, I waited until I was certain I’d have the money and placed a pre-order for the Mark VII. I’m glad I decided to go for it. The figure was definitely on the expensive side, even for a HT figure, but I honestly feel he was worth it. He’s the best version of the character available, and he has a lot of display options to keep things interesting. And the truth is, he is Iron Man…

Action Figures for the Questioning #014: Hot Toys

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.

HOT TOYS

HotToys

What is it?:

A company based in Hong Kong who are known for their high-end twelve-inch scale figures.  Their figures retail at a high price, are exceptionally lifelike, and usually include a large number of accessories.  They also have a tremendous after market, with more popular figures going for anywhere from two to six times their original value.

#0249: The Joker

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

JOKER

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

Joker

One of the greatest things to come out of the 90s (aside from yours truly) is Batman: The Animated Series. The series is, in my opinion, the definitive take on Batman and his supporting cast. Since the series aired in the early 90s, it played a decent role in shaping my interests in all this comic stuff. So, it should come as no surprise that I ended up with a decent sized collection of the tie-in figures prodiuced by Kenner around the time of the show. Today, I’ll be looking at Batman’s #1 foe (other than guns and living parents) the Joker. And this isn’t just any Joker, no no. This is Mark Hammil’s Joker, the very best kind of Joker!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Joker was part of the first series of Batman: The Animated Series figures. He stands about 5 inches tall and features 5 points of articulation. He’s based on Joker’s basic appearance in the show, specifically his “old school” look, which is the design from the initial run of the show. The figure featured an all new Joker2sculpt, although parts of it would see re-use on later Joker figures. It’s an alright approximation of his look on the show, though it’s not quite spot on. He seems to be a bit too squat for the character, but otherwise, he looks decent. The paintwork is fairly basic, in fact he’s mostly molded in the appropriate colors, but what’s there is well applied, with little instance of slop or bleed over. The palate seems a bit off, though. The purple seems a little too pale, the yellow seems too dark, and, the biggest issue, his skin tone has an odd green tint to it. Joker was accessorized with an odd water shooting backpack with a gas mask attached. You know, like the one he had all those times on the show….

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Joker was a later addition to my collection. When I was growing up, the version in the trench coat from Mask of the Phantasm was my basic Joker, as this one had long been gone from stores. A few years ago, I tracked one down at a small toy store near me. He’s a decent figure, and he compliments the rest of the Kenner line fairly nicely.

#0248: Nekron

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

NEKRON

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS

Nekron

It’s not an uncommon thing to see Death personified as an actual character in a work of fiction. It’s actually really common to see such a character appear in comicbooks. DC Comics actually has five separate versions of death, for various different groups of people. Today, I’ll be looking at Nekron, who is sort of the Green Lantern version of death I suppose. Sadly, he’s not the version of death that rides around on cosmic skis. Lower your standards on this one, guys.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nekron was the Collect-N-Connect figure for series 20 of DC Universe Classics, which was themed around Brightest Day, a storyline kicked off by Blackest Night, which featured Nekron as the main antagonist. The figure is about 9 inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. He’s based on Nekron’s look during Blackest Night, which is slightly different from his original appearance. The figure features a completely unique sculpt, courtesy of the Four Horsemen. It’s pretty good, with lots of nice tattered and decaying textures. It does a decent job of conveying the corpse that Nekron is meant to be. The paintwork is actually quite nice. There’s no issues with slop or bleed-over, and he has some nice weathering to make him look like he’s been buried in the ground for a while. The figure features no accessories. Normally this isn’t an issue with a C-N-C, given that they’re packed with other figures in a series, but Nekron was initially shown with a scythe accessory that was dropped right before the series was released. It’s kind of important to the character, so the absence is kind of glaring.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Nekron along with the rest of Series 20 from online retailer Big Bad Toy Store. My brother and I decided we wanted to split the figures in the series, and since he had no real attachment to Nekron, I got to have him. I gotta be honest, Nekron’s not one of my favorite characters either, but he’s a Green Lantern villain and I do have a rather impressive Green Lantern shelf…

#0247: Henshin Yellow

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

HENSHIN YELOW

HENSHIN X

HenshinYellow

Time for a small history lesson. Back in the 60s, when the original GI Joe was all the rage, Japanese toymakers Takara decided they wanted to make a similar line, but in Japan. However, they didn’t have the budget to actually clothe the figures, and not wanting to make a scene by selling them naked, they instead cast them is clear plastic and filled them with assorted mechanical pieces to make them look robotic. This new line was dubbed Henshin Cyborg, and it was eventually scaled down to 3 ¾ inch scale and dubbed Microman. In the late 70s, Microman was brought to the US by Mego, under the name Micronauts. The line wasn’t a huge hit, but it did moderately well and it spawned quite a loyal following of fans. Fans who also tended to be fans of Mego’s more successful 8 inch lines. So, Castaway Toys, a company known for Mego-styled figures, has decided to bridge the gap with Henshin X!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This figure is part of the first release of Henshin X figures. He’s one of the heroic figures, and his look is inspired by the Micronauts Time Traveler. The figure stands 8 inches tall and features 24 points of articulation. He’s built on Castaway Toys’ now standard body, which is a reworking of the Type 2 Mego body. The body has been redesigned to give it extra articulation at the elbows, knees, and ankles, as well as eliminate the need for a rubber band to hold the arms and legs in. This is a great improvement, as it means the figure is more sturdy and less likely to spontaneously fall apart. In addition to the basic body, he has a new head sculpt inspired by the old Microman/Micronauts head. He also features a piece with various gears and vents inserted into his torso for added texture. The paintwork isn’t anything too complex, mostly just pieces being painted a solid color, but that does mean everything is clean. The figure’s back, arms, and legs have been painted with a translucent yellow paint, to give the appearance of being molded in said color, and the head has been painted silver to replicate the vac-metallized heads of the figures that inspired this one. The figure includes three pairs of hands: relaxed, trigger finger, and fists. The fists are my personal favorites, but all of them look great, and I’m happy to have the option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I bought this guy at Mego Meet, a Mego themed convention that happens every year in Wheeling, West Virginia. Castaway Toys had a table set up, and this was their brand new item for this year. They had made up a small quantity of these “promo”-types to gage interest in the line, and see what people thought of them. Being a collector of cool action figures, as well as a pretty big fan of Micronauts, I was thrilled to see such a cool set of figures. I only had enough for one, but I hope that Castaway persues this as a full production line, as I’d love to get the rest of the figures that they had present at the event. This figure is a whole lot of fun, and that’s the best kind of action figure!