Monthly Archives: January 2015

#0446: The Doctor & Clara “Oswin” Oswald

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

THE DOCTOR & CLARA “OSWIN” OSWALD

DOCTOR WHO

It’s Day Nine of the Christmas Reviews, and we’re back with that funky British Sci-Fi show Doctor Who. If you’ve been closely following the reviews up to this point, you’ll probably notice that, while I have a fair assortment of Eleventh Doctor-related characters, I don’t actually have an Eleventh Doctor. That changes today! Also of note, I’ll be rounding out the main companions of the Eleventh Doctor (well, sort of). So, let’s have a look at The Doctor and Clara “Oswin” Oswald.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two figures were released in a two pack dubbed “The Impossible Set,” which is a clever name for a couple of reasons. From a show perspective, Clara, who makes up half of this is set, was dubbed “The Impossible Girl.” But, in addition to that, what’s also somewhat impossible about this set is the scale! See, right before Clara joined the cast of the show, Character Options, who make the Who toys, decided to change the scale of the line from 5-inch to 3 ¾-inch. This meant that the first Clara figure was not compatible with all the other Who companions, which was definitely a bummer. Fortunately, it didn’t last too long, and now we have a Clara in 5-inch scale (well, sort of… I’ll get to that.)

THE DOCTOR

First up, it’s the Doctor, who’s sort of the requisite figure in this set, what with it being his show and all. The figure is about 5 ½ inches tall (counting the hat) and he has 20 points of articulation. The Eleventh Doctor was no stranger to toys, and he ended up with a fair number of them, covering many of his looks. This particular figure is not one of the Doctor’s standard looks. Instead, it’s a specific look from the Series 7 Christmas episode “The Snowmen.” That episode was the first episode following the departure of longtime companions the Ponds, so the Doctor is in a somewhat distraught state, leading to the darker colors and the lack of his signature bow-tie. The episode is set in Victorian-era London, and the Doctor’s dressed to fit in, resulting in a rather unique look for Eleven. The figure is a mostly new sculpt, though he does re-use the hands and legs of the basic version of Eleven. Generally speaking, the sculpt is quite nice. It seems a bit gangly at first, but some re-watching of Smith’s episodes shows that this is pretty accurate. I really like the amount of texture present on the figure. This is something that’s frequently absent from Who figures, but that’s not the case here. I particularly love the hat, which has the perfect well-worn look to it. The figure’s face is a decent approximation of Matt Smith, though I think they’ve made him just a bit too conventionally good looking to be a spot on rendition of Smith. While the sculpt is quite good, and certainly up to par with other Who releases, the paint seems to have taken a slight down turn. It’s not bad, mind you; just not as good as previous Who figures. Overall, the general application and the color scheme are fine. However, there are a few issues with some bleed over, and the paint just seems to be thicker than usual. I’m also not a fan of how the eyebrows look, as if they’ve been drawn on with a pencil. The Doctor’s lone accessory is his Sonic Screwdriver, which seems to be well represented here.

CLARA “OSWIN” OSWALD

So, how is this figure only “sort of” a Clara Oswald figure? Well, it’s like this: this figure is based on Jenna Coleman’s character Oswin the Soufflé Girl, who appeared in Series 7’s “Asylum of the Daleks.” The episode was written, filmed, and shown following Coleman’s casting as the next Companion, but she wasn’t playing the character she would go on to play. However, through a convoluted series of events, the end of Series 7 revealed that Oswin had been a fragment of Clara the whole time, effectively making them the same person. So, this is essentially a Clara figure, more or less. Fortunately, Oswin and Clara had similar styles of dress, so it’s pretty easy to pass this off as either of them. The figure is a little under 5 inches tall, and she has 21 points of articulation (though, I’m not really sure why they even bothered with the neck joint, as the hair renders it useless.) The figure features a unique sculpt. It’s a pretty good one, too, with nice proportions and a good likeness of Jenna Coleman. The majority of the dress is a rubber slip-over piece, allowing for it to go seamlessly across the figure’s waist, while still maintaining a fair bit of the articulation. I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up over time, but it’s good in theory. The figure’s paint is pretty good overall. Everything is evenly applied, and it’s nice and clean. There’s no real issue with slop or bleed over. I’m not sure what’s going on with the eyes, though. They were definitely trying to capture Coleman’s wide-eyed look, but her pupils are a bit low, resulting in an almost frightened look, which, when coupled with the slight smile, looks a bit frightening. Like the Doctor, Oswin includes a single accessory: her soufflé. It’s a fun enough accessory, though she can’t hold it very well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Doctor and Clara/Oswin, like all my Doctor Who figures, were a gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend Jessica. I’m really happy to have an Eleventh Doctor for my shelf, and I really like this particular look. I’m also happy to have another Companion. While I’m not the biggest fan of Clara, I actually really liked Oswin during her short appearance on the show, so this figure’s even more of a win for me!

#0445: Falcon

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

FALCON

MARVEL SELECT

Today, we make our way into the back half of the Christmas Reviews, with Day Eight. This review breaks from the Doctor Who and Aliens theme, instead turning to the Marvel Super Heroes branch of things, which is something of an “old faithful” for me.

One of my favorite movies last year was Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Like any good superhero movie, it had its fair share of toys, offering the movie’s characters in a variety of scales. My personal favorite of the bunch were Hasbro’s Marvel Legends offerings. However, there was one issue; as cool as Hasbro’s versions of Cap, Widow, and the Winter Soldier were, the line did not include a figure of Falcon, one of my favorite additions from the movie. I tried to make do with the smaller scale 3 ¾ inch figure, but he just wasn’t the same quality. Enter Marvel Select.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon was released as part of Diamond Select’s Marvel Select line. Falcon is one of the two figures they released based on CA:TWS (The other was Stealth Suit Cap). The figure is based on the character’s appearance during the final battle sequence of the film, once he’s all decked out in his full uniform. Falcon is a little over 7 inches in height (making him a full inch taller than the Legends Cap) and he features 22 points of articulation. While he’s not as well articulated as the Legends figures, he’s certainly above the standard Select figure. The figure features a brand-new sculpt, just for Falcon. Overall, it’s pretty well done. The proportions are nice, the uniform has some great texturing and layering, and the head sculpt has a decent likeness of Anthony Mackie. It’s not without its faults, though. The head could stand to be a little more textured, and I’m not really sure what’s up with the positioning of his hands. It seems like he’s meant to have something to hold (maybe his guns from the movie?) but nothing is provided, so his hands are just doing this “Kung Fu Grip” sort of thing. The figure’s paint is pretty good, though still just shy of perfect. The work on the uniform is fantastic. It’s nice and clean, and there’s some very nice, small detail work. The paintwork on the head has similar issues to the sculpt; it’s just too smooth and clean. This is especially evident on his facial hair, which almost looks drawn on. That said, the paint really isn’t bad. Falcon included a pair of wings and a display stand made to look like a piece of the Helicarrier. The wings are well sculpted, but I really wish there were a way to pose them or attach them a bit differently. As it is, they each have a square peg on the end that plugs into his back harness, meaning they can only be attached sticking straight out. Something similar to the Minimate (which allowed the wings to either be attached to the harness or held in his hands) would have been much preferred here. The stand is pretty cool, I guess, though I don’t really see myself using it much.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Falcon was another gift from my super cool, super supportive parents. Of all the gifts I received this year, Falcon seems the most “slow burn” (in fact he was the very last of my gifts to actually be taken out of its package, almost a week after Christmas. I kinda felt bad about that,) but he’s a great figure of a great character. Sure, he’s a little too large to fit with my Legends figures, but at least he’s a cool figure in his own right. Scale I can fudge, bad figure less so.

#0444: Rory Williams

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

RORY WILLIAMS

DOCTOR WHO

Today marks Day Seven of my Christmas Reviews. We are officially at the mid-point of these reviews, so hang in there.

My gifts this year had a definite split between Aliens stuff and Doctor Who stuff. The last two days were Aliens-related, so it’s only fitting that I jump back to Doctor Who for the day. The last set of Who figures added to my Eleventh Doctor collection; today’s figure does the same. In an effort to make poor Amy even less lonely, today I’ll be looking at her husband Rory, second companion of the Eleventh Doctor.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rory was released as part of Character Option’s 5-inch scale Doctor Who line. He was a later addition to the line, coming after it had stopped doing regular series releases. As such, Rory was released on his own, although there were three different color variations available. This one is the red/blue combo, which is the most readily available of the three. Rory is roughly 5 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation. While I don’t know specifically what episode he’s based on, he’s definitely a Rory from his first season on the show. The figure features a unique sculpt, though it was shared by all three Rorys. Generally speaking, it’s really not bad. Let’s talk about the sculpt from the neck down first. It’s a nice, sharp sculpt, with lots of nice detail. It’s a bit light on texture, but that’s less of an issue here than it was on, say, the Roman Auton. The figure is generally well proportioned, if perhaps a bit stocky for Rory (though that’s not new for this line).  The head sculpt is, overall, pretty good. It certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to Arthur Darvill, but he seems too full in the face, and the hair is a bit too short for Rory. That said, I’ve seen far worse likenesses. Rory’s paint work is pretty good, if a tad basic. For the body, that’s not too bad. The colors are nice and clean, and everything stays in the appropriate spaces. There’s also some very nice texturing on the figure’s pants, and some decent work on the shoes. The issues begin to arise with the head. It’s clean enough (aside from a spot on his nose), but the eyebrows are a little too clean. There’s also some bleed over along his hairline. None of it’s bad, but it could be a little better. Rory included no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rory was yet another gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend Jessica. Rory was one of my favorite characters on the show, and I’m thrilled to have him in figure form. What’s more, the figure is actually a really good figure. For a normal guy in normal clothes, he’s actually a pretty fun figure!

Guest Review #0019: Commander Jane Shepard

Posted by hodgeppodge42 in Guest Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

COMMANDER JANE SHEPARD

MASS EFFECT MINIMATES

FemShepJ1

Heyo! This is the second episode of the Super Awesome Girlfriend reviews Mass Effect Minimates! Last time I talked to you about the Male Shep Minimate, so I found it fitting to follow up with Jane Shepard, or Fem Shep.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FemShepJ2This figure is one of the first Series of Mass Effect Minimates, exclusively released at GameStop. As I said in my last review, this series contains the characters from the Mass Effect game series.

Commander Jane Shepard is the female version of John Shepard, created for female gamers like me, or for those guys that like to play as badass women. I won’t waste your time restating the things I said about the character, so if you want more information just look at the Commander John Sheppard article.  It would also apply to Jane.

Fem Shep Minimate is about 2 ½ inches tall with 14 points of articulation. Ethan says that she has a standard Minimate body with additional shoulder pads and a hair piece. The figure has the same paint job as Male Shep, except this figure doesn’t have painted pecks but breasts and a woman’s figure. The paint job on this figure is well done, with great detailing in the armor, and the womanly figure is pretty realistic as well. This Minimate comes with two hair pieces, the generic hair style from the first Mass Effect, and the second one is modeled after the hair style of Mass Effect 3. Personally, I like the style from the third game, as it makes Fem Shep more badass. And finally, this figure comes with a detailed standard assault rifle, a clear orange plastic omni-blade that only appeared in the third installment of the game series, and a standard stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was another figure that I got on Christmas day from Ethan. I really enjoy this figure because I mostly played as Jane Shepard in the games; it was only recently that I played as John. I actually really like Fem Shep in the games because she wasn’t designed to be really busty and seductive, she was a soldier and she truly looked like one too.  She was also a poor dancer, too bad they didn’t give the figure two left feet!

#0443: Ripley – Spacesuit

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

RIPLEY – SPACESUIT

ALIEN REACTION

It’s Day Six of my Christmas Reviews, and they’re moving along strong. Today’s review is the second half of the ReAction review I started yesterday. When you’re dealing with Alien, the two most important characters are the Alien and the lone survivor, Ripley. Yesterday, I looked at the Alien, today I’ll look at Ripley.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ripley was released in the second series of Alien ReAction Figures. She’s 3 ¾ inches tall and she features 5 points of articulation. Ripley is presented here in the space suit she wears during her final run-in with the creature. From the neck down, Ripley is identical to Series One’s Kane figure. Since the Nostromo’s space suits were all roughly the same design with different colors, it’s a reasonable re-use of parts. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Kane was my personal favorite figure from the first series, mostly due to his superb sculpt. At first, I thought the head might just be a re-use from the first Ripley, but a closer look shows this is definitely not the same piece. It’s not as good as the first Ripley, but I imagine a large part of that is due to the need for it to fit in the helmet properly.  This results in the figure looking much better with the helmet on, which is the better of the two options, I suppose. It might seem the figure has no paint on the body, but that’s not the case. All of the plating and straps have been painted with a slightly different white, allowing for some distinction between the pieces of the suit. It’s really an impressive effect, and something that could have been left out. The figure’s head features mostly straight forward work, which is fine I suppose. Ripley includes her helmet for her suit, which fits very well. True to the movie, the helmet lacks the head light seen on Kane’s suit, which means they tweaked the helmet at least a little bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the Alien, Ripley was a gift from my amazingly cool parents. While this might not be the most exciting figure that the line has to offer, it does offer Ripley in a fairly key look, and it gives us another figure using the fantastic Space Suit sculpt from Kane. I can’t really fault Funko for wanting to use that body again.

#0442: Alien – Metallic Flesh

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

ALIEN – METALLIC FLESH

ALIEN REACTION

Today marks Day Five of my Christmas Reviews. This review also marks the second review to tie in with the “theme” of my gifts this year: Aliens. Last year, I received the first series of Funko’s Alien ReAction line, which finally brought the unreleased Kenner Alien figures to retail. Almost a year later, Funko finally added a second series, which was made of three new figures and one repaint. So, hey, how about starting with that repaint?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Alien is part of the second series of Alien ReAction Figures. The figure is about 4 inches in height and it has 6 points of articulation. As noted in the intro, the Alien is the one straight repaint in this series. From head to toe, this figure’s sculpt is identical to the Alien from the first series. Fortunately, the Alien featured one of the best sculpts from the first series, so it’s not a bad thing. Like I said in my review of the first release of this sculpt, it’s certainly a product of its time, but it represents the best that late 70s sculpting had to offer. Being a repaint, obviously what sets this figure apart from the previous figure is the paint. The last figure was rather basic, and presented the Alien as it would have looked if it really had been released in 1979. This figure opts for a more detailed paint job, and it’s the better for it. Rather than a flat gray, this figure’s base color is a very dark, metallic gray, which is far more in line with the creature’s film appearance. The figure’s dome has been changed from a smoky, semi-transparent piece to a completely clear piece. Underneath of the dome, the head has been given a more intensive paint job, detailing the underlying skull. While this isn’t strictly accurate to the movie, it is accurate to what the suit created for the movie looked like initially. It offers a nice contrast to the last figure, and the cool thing is that the domes can easily swap out, if one were to want a more accurate Alien. The Alien includes no accessories, but that’s no surprise; it’s a larger figure and the previous one didn’t have accessories either.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Alien was another gift from my always amazing parents. He and the other ReAction figure I got (who I’ll be reviewing tomorrow) were actually purchased as a bit of a “backup gift,” just in case the Queen wasn’t there in time. Fortunately, the Queen did arrive, but hey, extra gift! At first glance, this Alien seemed a bit boring, but having it in hand I actually really love the figure. He offers a wonderful improvement to the original figure, and that was a pretty great figure to start with.

Guest Review #0018: Commander John Shepard

Posted by hodgeppodge42 in Guest Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

COMMANDER JOHN SHEPARD

MASS EFFECT MINIMATES

JohnShep1

Heeeeyoo! It’s me again, the Super Awesome Girlfriend, Jess.

This addition of The Figure in Question is the first in a long line of Mass Effect Minimates reviews done by yours truly. Since last time I haven’t really learned much about action figures, especially Minimates, so some of the information about the figures will be supplied by Ethan, but my opinions and gaming knowledge is my own. So sit back and enjoy the reading!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

JohnShep2This figure is part of the first Series of Mass Effect Minimates released exclusively by GameStop. As the name suggests, this series is comprised of characters from the Mass Effect franchise, created by BioWare. Today, I’ll begin with the main hero Commander John Shepard, also known as Male Shep.

Male Shep is the main playable character from Mass Effect, a role playing game set in space. The Commander is the first human to become a Spectre, an agent appointed by the Citadel Council to work inside and outside of the law to get the job done. The decisions that you make as the Commander will affect how the game unfolds to some degree, more so in the last installment.

The Minimate is about 2 ½ inches tall with 14 points of articulation. According to Ethan, the figure has the standard Minimate body with additional shoulder pads. The figure also has the generic face designed by BioWare. The body is painted like the N7 armor from Mass Effect 3, with amazing detail work, especially on the back of the chest piece. Along with the Minimate is a well replicated standard assault rifle from the game, an omni-blade made of clear orange plastic, and a standard stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was one of several Mass Effect Minimates that I got from Ethan for Christmas. I remember him showing me pictures of the prototypes from one of the conventions. Of course, I geeked out when I saw the detailing in the pictures and told Ethan he should get them for himself. I geeked out even more when I saw them in person and found them in a present for me; I never thought that he would get them for me and I would be reviewing them. Male Shep was well done and looks amazing in Minimate form. Even when he’s 2 ½ inches he still looks rugged and badass.

#0441: Doctor Who Pandorica Set

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


UNDERHENGE DALEK, ROMAN AUTON, AMY POND, SONTARAN GENERAL, UNDERHENGE ROMAN AUTON, & DALEK DRONE

DOCTOR WHO

Christmas Reviews continue to merrily chug along today, with entry #4. This one is another venture into the world of Doctor Who, which I am still relatively new to, especially when it comes to toys. Prior to this Christmas, the vast majority of my Who collection has been related to David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. The one lone exception was Amy Pond, first companion to the Eleventh Doctor. Well, now Amy should be just a tad bit less lonely. Today’s review covers a few of the villains to show up during Matt Smith’s inaugural season of the show.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These six figures were released as a special “Pandorica Set,” based on the final two episodes of the Eleventh Doctor’s first season. Of the six included, only the Underhenge Dalek is actually new to the set. However, this is the first time I’ve seen most of these figures, so I’ll review them as if they were new.

UNDERHENGE DALEK

The Daleks are one of the Doctor’s most recurring foes, and they undergo just as many “regenerations” as he does, if not more. The Dalek figure is a little over 5 inches in height and it features 4 points of articulation, as well as three functioning wheels at the bottom. Both of the Daleks in this set are based on the slightly changed design that first appeared in “Victory of the Daleks.” It’s not my favorite of the Dalek designs; it just seems a bit clunky. This particular Dalek is based on the “Underhenge” look, where one of the Daleks is turned to stone by the Pandorica. It’s the same sculpt as the regular Dalek in this set. The sculpt is certainly accurate to the design from the show, and it features some very nice, very clean work. All of the parts look properly machined, which is good. The figure has been molded in a very dark blue plastic, and a rocky finish has been applied. The paint has purposefully been done so as to leave clumps and such to make the figure appear as if it really has been turned to stone. It’s a solid effect, and it certainly makes the figure unique. The Underhenge Dalek includes no accessories.

ROMAN AUTON

The Roman Autons are probably the most storyline specific of the characters included in this set. They are created by the Pandorica (with a little help from Amy), and they aren’t seen again after the story wraps up. Mostly, they served as an interesting way to bring back Rory. The figure is about 5 inches in height and it has 18 points of articulation. Sadly, it predates the line’s move to better shoulder articulation, greatly limiting the figure’s posing potential. He doesn’t appear to be based on any specific Auton; instead he seems to amalgamate a few of them. It might have been nice if they had given him a Rory head to make this particular release a bit more unique, but it’s okay as is. The sculpt is a pretty nice piece of work. There are a lot of layers to it, and it sums up to look of the characters pretty well. However, it could definitely benefit from a bit more texturing to help spice it up a bit. The cape is a cool touch, and I guess it’s consistent with the rest of the sculpt. The head looks a tad too much like a portly English actor dressed up like a Roman, which makes it a bit difficult to take it seriously. The paint job is one of the shining points of the figure. There are a few spots of slop and bleed over, but nothing too major or distracting. What’s more, the figure feature some wonderful texture work on the armor pieces, which really makes them look like more than just chunks of plastic. The Auton includes a sword and dagger, both of which can be put away in the provided sheaths.

AMY POND

Amy is the one figure in this set that isn’t new to me. This figure is pretty much identical to the single release, which I reviewed a few months back. The one difference that I noted is that the skin tone on this one seems better than the last, which does a fair bit to improve an already good figure.

SONTARAN GENERAL

The Sontarans are another recurring foe of the Doctor, though they’re nowhere near as prominent as the Daleks, or even the Cybermen. Probably the most memorable thing about them as of late is Strax, the Sontaran who began making recurring appearances as one of the Doctor’s companions about halfway through Eleven’s tenure. While this figure is meant to just be a generic Sontaran, the fact that they’re all clones and therefore should look approximately the same means that this figure will be Strax, as far as my shelf is concerned. The Sontaran figure is about 4 ¾ inches tall and has 22 points of articulation. Most of it’s pretty straight forward, aside from the weird ball joint thing they’ve used for his waist. I’m not sure why they didn’t just use the standard cut joint; the end result both looks and moves very oddly. Aside from that, the figure’s sculpt is really quite nice. The head has a wonderful amount of texture and really looks like one of the Sontarans from the show. The body, while not quite as impressive as the head, features some pretty solid work and has its fair share of little details that stand out. The paintwork is about on par with the sculpt; the best work is on the head, but the body isn’t bad either. The Sontaran includes his blaster-staff-thingy and a helmet. Sadly, neither of them is quite as good as they could be. He has trouble holding the staff, and the helmet simply does not fit within his collar.

UNDERHENGE ROMAN AUTON

Like the Dalek, one of the Roman Autons also found himself turned to stone by the Pandorica. Which, of course, translates to another action figure! Like the regular Roman Auton, this figure is about 5 inches tall and he sports 18 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s the same as the regular Auton, except this figure is missing the cape. It actually looks a bit better that way, if I’m honest. Like the Dalek, the Underhenge Roman Auton is molded in a dark blue plastic and has been painted with a rough tan paint. In the Auton’s case, this serves as an improvement to the figure on a few fronts. Most notably, it alleviates the issues of texture with the sculpt. It also helps to mask the somewhat goofy headsculpt and just works to give the figure a lot more character in general. The Underhenge Auton is packed with the same sword and dagger included with the regular version, with the handles done to match the rest of the figure.

DALEK DRONE

So, after looking at the Underhenge version, let’s wrap things up with a look at the standard Dalek from the set. Like the ‘Henge version, this figure is just over 5 inches tall, has 4 points of articulation, and sports three working wheels on the bottom. The Dalek Drone has the same sculpt as the ‘Henge one, but now we’re free to see it more clearly. It really is a very well handled recreation of the Daleks from the show, and all of the parts look just about right. There are a few issues with mold lines being more obvious on this version, but so not bad that it ruins the figure. That paint on this Dalek is certainly more involved than the ‘Henge Dalek, but it’s not quite as well done. The head and “neck” are both extremely well-handled, but from there down, issues start crop up. The worst problem is with the spheres on the lower half. The paint on them is very sloppily applied, and there is more than a little bleed over. Viewed from a distance, it isn’t terrible, but it’s pretty bad at a normal view. The Dalek Drone includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Padorica set was a Christmas gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend, Jessica (okay, technically from her parents, but she was the one who suggested it, and she’s the one who’s insanely supportive of my hobby, so I’m gonna give her a lot of the credit). I really like this set. The Amy included is a slight improvement on the last, Strax is really cool, and I can’t help but love the Underhenge figures. Seriously, I’d buy an entire line of Who figures done like those two!

#0440: Brainiac

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

BRAINIAC

DC SUPER FRIENDS (IMAGINEXT)

And now for Christmas Reviews Part Three!

In the current, extremely adult collector driven action figure climate, it can be easy for toy companies to overlook kids, their original target audience. As figures have become more detailed, they have also become more fragile. And that’s to say nothing of the virtually impossible task of getting certain figures. Fortunately, toy companies are starting to catch on, at least a little bit. It’s no secret that I have my issues with Mattel, especially their handling of the DC license, but they aren’t always the worst people on the planet (just most of the time). One of the few places they don’t suck is their Fisher Price division, which handles their Imaginext brand. Imaginext offers a variety of different figures, meant to stand up to younger kids. In recent years, they’ve had a rather nice selection of DC heroes and villains, all offered in the line’s streamlined style. Today, I’ll be looking at the line’s take on Superman foe Brainiac.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Imaginext doesn’t use the usual “Series” structure of most toylines; instead they have a variety of figures of differing price points and sizes, and they add a few new figures at a time as the line progresses.  Figures are usually sold either in two-packs with other figures or packed in with vehicles. However, Brainiac breaks from this tradition, being released by himself, as something of a deluxe figure. He was introduced into the line in 2014. The figure stands about 3 inches tall and he sports 8 points of articulation (the legs move as one, so just one point there). Brainiac is clearly inspired by his appearance in the DC Animated Universe shows, with a couple of small tweaks; they’ve given him bare arms and his skin is a much greener color. While I still have a soft spot for the classic short-shorts and white go-go boots combo of the 60s, I can’t argue with the choice of design. The DCAU look is definitely a strong one, and it’s probably the most prominent of the character’s appearances in recent years. I’m no expert on Imaginext figures, but Brainac appears to be an all-new sculpt. The figure offers a nice translation of the animated design, and the sculpt is definitely some solid work. Certain details, such as the figures face (apart from the nose), have been left blank on the sculpt. The paint has then been used to bridge the gaps. There are a few areas of slop, but the paint work is generally clean. The best work is definitely on the face, which is nice and clean, and very nicely depicts Brainiac’s cold, calculating mug. Accessories are a rarity among the Imaginext figures, but as a deluxe figure, Brainiac gets a set of robot tendrils, which can be clipped onto his back. While they seem a bit more Doctor Octopus than Brainiac, the character has sported such attachments before, and I certainly won’t complain about extra accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Brainiac was another gift from my parents, and he shows how much attention they pay to my never-ceasing ramblings about toys. While walking through Target a few months ago, I saw the figure and off-handedly mentioned that he was rather cool, and boom, here he is. He’s not the first Imaginext figure I’ve owned (I have a few of the Green Lantern-related ones), but, for whatever reason, he’s the first of them to interest me enough to actually open him up and play around with him. Brainiac is a really fun little figure, and he’s the kind of toy that there should be more of.

#0439: Donatello

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

DONATELLO

FUNKO POP!

We continue on with the post-Christmas gift reviews today, with #2. While the vast majority of the gifts I received were either Doctor Who or Alien related, there were a few outliers. Today’s review comes from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that cultural phenomenon that I keep missing but still have an oddly placed affection for.

This review is also the first time that I’ll be delving into the Funko Pop! line. Pop! is a line of stylized vinyl figures based on a wide gamut of properties (Funko has the rights to virtually every property in existence). There are well over a hundred figures in the line and there are a few different sub-headings (31 to be exact). Today’s figure, Donatello, hails from the Pop! Television line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Donatello is figure #60 in the Funko Pop! Television line. Numerically, he’s the first of the four turtle brothers. The figure is roughly 3 inches tall and features a whole one point of articulation. The articulation is limited, but it’s par for the line, and vinyl figures in general. Donatello is based on the character’s appearance in the 1987 cartoon, with the usual Pop! style applied. This means he has the solid circle eyes, the squared-off head, and the exaggerated, smaller lower body all native to the Pop! line. The figure features a completely unique sculpt. It’s pretty good for what we’ve come to expect from the line. The proportions are decent, from an internal stand-point, and it has cleanly sculpted details. It isn’t completely without issue, though. The biggest issue is very definitely the Bo Staff, which has been sculpted as part of the body. It seems the hands weren’t quite sculpted in the right positioning for the staff to fit them, and rather than fix them, the sculptor just sorta bent the staff a bit. It’s really obvious and it makes the figure look rather sloppy. Funko may be really good at getting every license under the sun, but they have yet to figure out the secret to a consistent paint job. Donatello’s isn’t horribly off the mark, to be fair. The colors are nice and vibrant, and they really reflect the color palette of the cartoon version of the character well. That said, they seem to be placed only in the general vicinity of where they should be, leading to a lot of bleed over. There is also a lot of fuzzy line work around the edges. Donatello includes no accessories, which is fairly standard for a Pop! figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Donatello here was a Christmas gift from my brother Christian. I’ve mentioned before that my fandom of TMNT is shared with Christian, so this gift has much more meaning coming from him than it would anyone else. Plus, it’s my favorite turtle to boot! Funko Pop! isn’t a line I follow religiously, but the style works pretty well for certain characters. The Turtles definitely fit the style well. Donatello is a fun little figure, even with his small assortment of issues.