Monthly Archives: February 2015

#0475: Pohatu

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

POHATU: MASTER OF STONE

BIONICLE

They say good things always come in threes. I think. Somebody says that, I’m pretty sure. Wait, maybe that’s bad things. Huh. Never mind then.

The point I’m getting at is that today marks the third, and final (for the time being, anyway), of the new Bionicle reviews. I’ve looked at Lewa, Master of Jungle, and Onua, Master of Earth. Now I’ll be looking at the Master of Stone (which is 100% completely a different thing from Earth!), Pohatu. For those of you not familiar with Bionicle, he’s the brown dude.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Pohatu was released in the first set of the 2015 Bionicle releases. Like Lewa, he’s one of the “normal” releases, meaning he’s a basic model. Pohatu is about 7 ¾ inches tall (making him the shortest of the Toa), features 13 points of articulation, and is assembled from 66 pieces. Of all the new Toa, Pohatu features probably the most radical departure from his original look. The key difference is that both the original and Nuva versions of Pohatu were assembled with the torso upside down, to allow for his kicking feature. This gave both of them a rather distinctive pear shape, which is completely absent from the new Pohatu. While it’s sad to see the kicking feature go, I can’t say I miss the prominent gut that the original Pohatu sported. Moving past torso orientation, the design has some pretty cool new touches. The asymmetrical arms are definitely a highlight, as they add a lot of character to the figure. The movement of the shin guards up to the knees is also a great touch, as it calls back to Pohatu’s more leg oriented attacks. Pohatu’s mask is actually a pretty straight update of the original, just streamlined a bit to match the character’s new aesthetics. Like the previous two figures, Pohatu isn’t too reliant on paint; for the most part, his pieces are molded in the desired colors. His color scheme has been changed to make the brown more orangey and include quite a bit of silver. He’s also got a fair amount of transparent green, which always a plus! There is some paint detailing on the chest plate, and that’s pretty cool as well. Like Onua, the original Pohatu didn’t have any weapons. For this figure, they’ve given him a pair of boomerangs. They have a hinge joint in the middle, so they can be straightened or folded up if so desired, and they can also be attached to the bottom of his feet to serve as hover blades of a sort. Pohatu also includes a side weapon (and I think he’s the only one who gets one), which is a dual bladed fork looking thing. In addition, he also includes a spare mask in gold and a skull spider guy, which is notable for its extra leg at the top of its head.  Pohatu features an action feature that is similar to the other two, allowing his arms to be swung back and forth.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Pohatu was another purchase from Target, a result of Tim and me “trolling for Bionicles.” I actually got him at the second Target we went to, not because he wasn’t at the first, but because my resistance to the figure broke during the drive between the two. I’m weak. I’m glad I decided to pick up Pohatu because he really offers a great update on the original design. Lewa is still my favorite overall figure, but I think Pohatu’s my favorite of the new designs. He really turned out nicely.

#0474: Onua

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

ONUA: MASTER OF EARTH

BIONICLE

Okay, time for more Bionicle stuff! It’s like potato chips; you can’t have just one! This time around, it’s the Toa (now “Master”) of Earth, Onua. With the original Toa, Lego grouped them into two groups of three that were meant to stick together. Onua was grouped with Tahu and Pohatu, but I had him for quite a while before getting the other two. For my figures, he always stuck with Lewa, Kopaka, and Gali. I always felt Onua had one of the more unique designs, and that’s only been more apparent with the new figures. Let’s see how he turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Onua is part of the first assortment of the 2015 Bionicle line. He’s one of the three larger “deluxe” releases. Onua is about 8 inches tall (he’s a little shorter than Lewa), has 14 points of articulation, and is built from 109 pieces. While he’s a little shorter than Lewa , he’s like three times as wide, which is quite impressive. In the original line, Onua was the same size as the others, though a lot of the other material indicated he was the big bruiser of the group. So, the increased size of the figure for the new line is definitely a cool touch. While Lewa offered an amalgam of his original and Nuva looks, Onua seems to be sticking pretty strictly to his original design. The mask in particular is a pretty straight update of the original, brought up to the more modern standards of building. The body is the biggest (heh!) deviation point, as it’s more organically built, and it doesn’t use the same chest plate and such as the other figures. Onua actually features no paint. His pieces are all molded in the appropriate colors and the detailing on his chest piece is a sticker, as opposed to the paintwork on Lewa. The color choices are probably my only issue with the figure. The original figure was done in a simple gray and black. This figure has added gold and purple to the mix, and while the additional colors do make the figure stand out a little more, they are a bit too present on the arms and legs. The original Onua didn’t have a weapon, just big clawed hands meant for digging. This Onua has been given a giant hammer as his weapon of choice. But it’s more than just a hammer! It can be disassembled and the two pieces that make up the bulk of the head can be placed in Onua’s hands, replicating the big claw hands from the original. Onua also includes a gold version of his mask and a skull-spider thingy, this time molded in a really great pale green. Like Lewa, Onua features a gear feature which swings his arms up and down, which is cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Onua was picked up from Target at the same time as Lewa. Onua was probably my second favorite of the originals, so getting the new one was pretty important to me. While I don’t quite like Onua’s update as much as Lewa, it’s not bad. All in all, Onua’s a fun update on the original figure, and he looks really great with the rest of the set.

#0473: Lewa

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

LEWA: MASTER OF THE JUNGLE

BIONICLE

I like Legos. This shouldn’t really be surprising, as I could hardly be a self-respecting toy fan if I didn’t like Legos, one of the most popular toys of all time. Legos are a lot of fun, whether it’s a specific set, designed to be one thing, or just a pile of standard bricks, ready to be anything.

Of course, I’m still primarily an Action Figure kinda guy, so they tend to be my focus. Back in 2000, Lego blurred the line between building toy and action figure for the first time with the introduction of Bionicle. I was a huge fan of Bionicle, especially the line’s first six “Toa.” I didn’t stick with the line super long, but I loved those first few figures immensely. The line went on a bit of a hiatus a few years ago, but 2015 marks the grand return of the line, bringing back those first six figure in new, updated forms. Let’s start things off with Lewa, Master of the Jungle (formerly Toa of Air), my personal favorite Toa.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lewa was released as part of the first assortment of the new Bionicle line, released in January of 2015. The original Toa were all the same basic size and price point, but Lego is mixing things up this time, offering the characters in regular and deluxe releases. Lewa is one of the three “regular” releases. In his fully assembled form, Lewa stands roughly 8 inches tall, has 13 points of articulation, and is built from 85 pieces. Lewa’s design has been altered quite a bit for the new line. In general, he’s been made a bit more proportionate, looking more like an actual person. His color scheme has also been tweaked to add yellow and silver to his design, which takes the place of some of the lighter green on the original. Perhaps the biggest change is Lewa’s mask, which is much less boxy and square than the original. It seems to be an amalgam of the original design with his Nuva design. The end result is something not unlike Marvel Comics’ Ultron, which is certainly not a bad thing in my opinion. A straight “sculpt” review would be a bit difficult on a figure of this nature, however, I will say that this figure lives up to the Lego standard of exceptionally designed, implemented, and tooled parts. All of the pieces snap together like they should, and they stay together, allowing Lewa to serve as a proper action figure. For the most part, each of Lewa’s pieces is molded in the appropriate color, which means no paint. However, he does have a little bit of detailing on his chest plate, which is cleanly applied and adds a nice bit of variety to the final figure. During the transition to Nuva, Lewa went from a single axe to a pair of swords. Both are pretty equally associated with the character, so I’m sure it was tricky to pick which one would serve as the weapon for the re-design. Lego took an approach of “why not both?” and gave Lewa TWO axes, the handles of which also serve as swords. The axe heads can also serve as a set of glider wings, somewhat replicating the alt-mode of Lewa Nuva. In addition to the axes, Lewa also includes an extra mask, molded in gold, and a skull-spider thingy to fight. The mask can be swapped by using the “mask launch” feature, and either the gold mask or the skull-spider thingy can be placed on his face. The original Bionicle figures each had a gear driven action feature, and they’ve brought those back with these guys. When the gear on Lewa’s back is twisted, he swings his axes back and forth. It’s way cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is all Tim’s fault. He texted me a few weeks ago telling me he was “trolling Targets for Nerf guns and Bionicles” and asked if I wanted to join. How can you say no to that? Anyway, we ended up finding all the Bionicle we were looking for. I got Lewa, as well as Pohatu and Onua, and Tim got Kopaka and Gali (No one got Tahu, because he’s just… the worst…). Lewa is my very favorite Toa, and I’m thrilled to see him back in the line. This figure takes the best elements of the original Lewa and Lewa Nuva and melds them with some pretty great updates, resulting in a really fun figure.

#0472: Android No. 17

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

ANDROID NO. 17

S.H. FIGUARTS

I must admit, I never got super into Dragon Ball Z. That being said, as a child of the 90s, there’s some things you just have a familiarity with without even trying. Everyone I knew watched the show, and I watched it when I caught it, so I had at least a basic idea of it. I enjoyed what I saw, though. One of the few eras of the show that I actually caught most of what the Cell Saga, which prominently features Androids 16, 17, and 18, who would go on to become some of my favorite characters. When Bandai’s SH Figuarts line first began doing DBZ characters, I passed; the higher price was a bit much for something of which I was only a moderate fan. However, the announcement of the Androids, coupled with my getting into this style of line with SH’s Power Rangers and Bandai’s Ultra-Act line, I finally gave in and picked up my first DBZ figure, Android Number 17.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Android 17 was released as part of the Dragon Ball Z subset of the SH Figuarts line. He was a late 2014 release. The figure is roughly 5 ½ inches tall and he features 36 points of articulation. 17’s look in the show was mostly consistent, but there were a few minor changes here and there. The figure is definitely based on his appearance in his earliest episodes on the show, before any of the minor changes set in. 17 features a brand-new sculpt, specific to the character. It’s a very nice translation of the animated design and it even adds some fine detail work that isn’t present in the show. The default face is mostly devoid of expression, which is perfect for the character. The clothing features some great work on the folds and wrinkles, which give the figure some great dimension. In general, all of the sculpting is very cleanly done. In my review of the SH Power Rangers, I noted that the articulation impeded the sculpt in a few areas. 17’s sculpt and articulation are very carefully handled, so as to maximize movement without ruining the aesthetics of the sculpt. Perhaps the best example of this is the figure’s feet, which feature shoelaces that could have rendered the ankle articulation useless. However, the laces are done as a separate piece from the foot and ankle, allowing for full movement. 17 features some pretty good paintwork. All of the colors are nice and bold and very accurate to the show’s colors. The basic paintwork stays within the lines, with no bleed over or slop. There is also some very nice accent work, most noticeable on the handkerchief, which makes use of some lighter and darker oranges for some great depth. SH figures are generally well accessorized, but 17 goes beyond the average release. He has two extra faces, a spare belt, an empty holster, a handgun, an extra hairpiece, an extra handkerchief, a pair of crossed arms, and 11 different hands (in addition to the fists he comes wearing.)* The faces are a grinning face and a teeth baring face, respectively. The grinning face isn’t much different from the regular face, but the subtle difference is true to the character. The teeth baring face is quite different, and makes for some great action poses. The spare belt allows for a look without the “utility belt.” The handgun and empty holster can be swapped out for the holstered gun that the figure comes wearing, which isn’t how such things are usually handled, but it’s the same end result. The extra hair and handkerchief are both sculpted to be windblown or in movement, allowing for more action poses. The crossed arms (which are my favorite accessory) allow the figure to replicate one of 17’s signature poses, which he can’t do with the regular arms. The hands include: a trigger finger (R), claw grip (R and L), flat handed (R and L), relaxed (R and L), wide spread (R and L), and loose grip (R and L). They can be a bit difficult to swap, but they offer a nice variety of poses.

 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really didn’t intend to get into this line. Even when I saw the Androids announced, I decided not to get into the line. But then, I was at MAGfest with my brother, and one of the dealers had several SH Figuarts figures, 17 among them. A quick check online revealed that 17 was actually a pretty good price, so I caved and bought him. 17 was definitely worth the purchase. He’s very well done, he comes with lots of cool extra pieces, and he’s just a lot of fun. Of course, now I have to get the other two Androids…

*The stand in the running pose picture is not included with the figure; it’s actually from the NECA Dog Alien.

#0471: USNC Soldier ODST

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

USNC SOLDIER ODST

HALO (MEGA BLOCKS)

I’m relatively new to Halo. I remember Halo 2 being released, and I even had an Xbox at the time, but I never got into it. The majority of my exposure to the game was the small handful of multiplayer games I’d played with friends who owned the game. However, over the holidays my brother got an Xbox One, as well as a copy of The Master Chief Collection, so we’ve been steadily playing through the co-op versions of the first four games. Now, I’ve grown more familiar with the franchise and I actually kind of like the designs enough to pick up a few toys here and there. My first foray into the world of Halo toys is minifigures, but, shocking every one, it’s not Minimates, it’s the current set of Halo minifigures from Mega Blocks.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The USNC Soldier ODST, here forth referred to as “ODST Guy,” was released as part of the second assortment of Halo Drop Pods, one of the many, many, many ways that Mega Blocks is distributing their figures. The ODST guy is available in both copper and blue. In case you couldn’t tell, this is the copper version.  The figure is roughly 2 inches tall and features 16 points of articulation. He’s based on the basic ODST design, seen in Halo 3 ODST, as well as briefly in Halo 2. The ODST design is a little different from the basic Spartan design, as it’s meant to be just a normal guy in the armor as opposed to a genetically engineered Spartan. The figure’s sculpt is shared with all of the versions of the ODST guy, and it’s pretty good. Each of the armored pieces (apart from the helmet) can be removed, and they’re each nicely sculpted and accurate to the source material. The underlying/head is also well sculpted. The interesting thing about Mega Blocks minifigures, in comparison to other minifigures, is that they’re proportions are only the slightest bit tweaked. The hands and feet are a bit larger than usual and figure is a little bit stockier over all, but that’s about it. On a figure like the ODST guy, it almost isn’t noticeable that the proportions have been changed. The figure’s paint is fairly basic, with most of the work being on the head and hands, but what’s there is well applied. The blue used for the visor is really nice, and all of the colors seem well chosen. The figure includes a bronze drop pod (which he comes packaged in), a basic Mega Block piece with the Halo logo, which serves as a stand, and a suppressed SMG.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The ODST guy was picked up while I was out looking for the new Bionicle line with my boy Tim. We decided to stop by Toys R Us, and Tim found an Emile from the same line. I didn’t want to miss out on the Halo fun, so I picked up this guy. The ODST design is pretty cool, and I really love the suppressed SMG, so this figure’s a pretty great fit for me. Mega Blocks still don’t surpass Minimates, but they’re getting pretty close!

#0470: Rocketeer

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

ROCKETEER

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

Movie-making is a pretty competitive business. Even if a movie does manage do get made, getting it viewed by an audience can be a different story. Many movies never really see the audience they deserve and will forever be woefully underrated. One of my favorite underrated movies is The Rocketeer. The Rocketeer was a movie ahead of its time. It’s a pulp-style super hero movie that would be readily at home with the current brand of Marvel Studios movies. Sadly, in the 1990, it wasn’t what audiences were looking for, and it’s at best a cult favorite. Toys for the movie have been scarce over the years, but Funko picked up the license a few years ago and they’ve been using it all over the place.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rocketeer was released as part of the first assortment of Science Fiction Vinyl Figures from Funko. He doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the more iconic sci-fi characters in the assortment, but I’m hardly going to complain about that. The Rocketeer is one of the rarest figures in the series, at a ratio of 1:72. Seems like this guy’s only going to be seen by the most dedicated of Rocketeer fans. The figure is about 2 ¾ inches tall and features no articulation. He has a totally unique sculpt and it’s probably the best in the series. It’s cleanly sculpted, there’s lots of great detail work, and everything is very well defined. The character’s design has been tweaked to fit the overall style of the line, but like Robby, he hasn’t had to be changed too much. The figure is posed in the most extreme of the poses we’ve seen on the figures reviewed here. It’s the character’s signature pose, seen right before the movie’s climactic battle as he stands in front of the American flag. It’s a perfect pose for the character and it’s been translated really well. Rocketeer’s paint is pretty good; nothing fantastic, but solid work. All of the colors are on the mark and everything cleanly applied with no real slop or bleed over. The lack of any real issues is actually really good for Funko, who can sometimes have some issues with quality control on their stuff.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Rocketeer was gotten at the same time as Tron, while I was out shopping with Super Awesome Girlfriend. Seeing as the other three figures I got were common figures, I figure I didn’t have much of a chance at getting this guy. However, Super Awesome Girlfriend insisted on picking out the two I was going to buy, and the Rocketeer was one of them (she’s just the best). To say I was thrilled is an understatement. The Rocketeer is a fantastic figure, marred only by the fact that he’s so freaking rare.

#0469: Tron

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

TRON

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

Tron is one of those movies that’s really innovative and that everyone remembers the name of, but that lots of people haven’t seen or don’t really remember. It’s got its loyal fans (and there are a fair number of them), but it’s not really held in the same esteem of many other landmark films. I myself didn’t actually see the movie until just before the release of its sequel Tron Legacy. But, I can appreciate the importance of the movie, and I like the designs. So hey, toys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tron was released as part of the first assortment of the Science Fiction Vinyl Figures from Funko. Tron is another of the more common 1:12 ratio figures . He’s roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he features no articulation. Tron is probably one of the figures that is the most drastically changed, design-wise. His proportions are the most exaggerated and his texturing and such is rather simplified. While I felt this detracted from E.T., it works pretty well for Tron. He really works in this style. The armor details are nice and sharp, and everything is pretty clean. The arms are separate pieces, but the cuts are well hidden by the shoulder armor. Tron is posed as though he’s getting ready to throw his disc, a good choice for the character. It separates him from the more statically posed Robby and E.T. fairly well. The figure’s paint work is very well done, easily the best of the figures I got. For the most part, he’s just done in a flat blue, with white detail work. The detail work is nice and sharp and is a very good replica of the design from the movie. The sculpt of his face is blank, leaving the paint to fill it in. It doesn’t really have any resemblance to Bruce Boxlightner, but it seems to fit with the rest of the “human” faces from the line. At the very least, the blank white eyes are a lot less creepy here than they are on E.T.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting Robby and E.T., I decided to go back and get a few more of the blind boxes. This time around, I let Super Awesome Girlfriend do the picking, and it seems to have worked out in my favor. Tron is one of the cooler designed figures from this series, and he really translates well to the style.

#0468: E.T. – Extraterrestrial

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

E.T. – EXTRATERRESTRIAL

SCIENCE FICTION VINYL FIGURES

So, um, I have a thing to confess. I don’t really “get” E.T. I mean, I know it was immensely popular and I generally love Steven Spielberg’s stuff, but I could never get into E.T. I tried over the years. I’ve watched it several times. I’ve made many a joke about the changing of the guns to walkie talkies for the special edition. I’ve seen tons of the interviews about it. Lots of people I know really like it. Admittedly, I don’t dislike it. There are parts of it I quite enjoy. But it just doesn’t do anything for me outside of occupy the TV screen for two hours.

With that out of the way, please read as I review a toy from a movie that I have no emotional connection to. This’ll be fun…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

E.T. is part of the first assortment of Funko’s Science Fiction Vinyl Figures. Like Robby, E.T. is one of the more common figures in the line, at a ratio of 1:12. E.T. is roughly 2 ¼ inches tall and he has no articulation. E.T. has been sculpted so as to better fit the style of the other figures in the line. In Robby’s case the changes were minor, but here they are a bit more severe. The biggest thing is that the hands have been made much larger and blockier (especially the fingers) and the body has been made a little smaller. The character’s rough skin texture has also been removed, with a much smoother look in its place. Unfortunately, it seems some skin texture would have been a good way to hide the joining of the arms and head with the torso. As it is, the separate pieces are beyond obvious. That said, the sculpt isn’t bad; E.T.’s in his “phone home” pose, with his index finger extended, which is a good choice for the character. It’s also very evident who this is supposed to be, which is always a good thing. The figure’s paint is pretty straight forward. For the most part, he’s a light brown (though perhaps too light), with some white for the eyes and a bit of orange and yellow for the index finger and his heart. The eyes being straight white is in the style of the rest of the figures in the line, but it ends up being particularly unnerving on E.T. E.T. includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

E.T. was picked up at the same time as Robby, while I was shopping with Super Awesome Girlfriend. He was the other half of the two blind boxes I grabbed at random. After opening Robby, E.T. was a bit of a letdown, for more than one reason. As I stated in the intro, I’m not a big fan of E.T., so I’m not exactly raring to get figures from it. Add in the fact that E.T.’s one of the weaker figures in the lineup, and you have an all-around disappointing figure.