Monthly Archives: March 2015

#0505: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

POWER OF THE FORCE II

HanANH1

I’m desperately trying to come up with a good intro here, and literally the only thing going through my head is “Han Solo Cup.” Of which I feel rather ashamed. Yesterday, I remarked that I never had any of the Power of the Force II Stormtroopers. Well, funny thing about that is, on the flip side, the only Han Solo I owned from the line was Stormtrooper disguise Han. And, in what seems to be the story of my adult collecting life in general, I’ve decided to fix that. So, let’s look at a Han Solo figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanANH2Han was released in the first assortment of POTF II figures, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone. He was Han freaking Solo after all. He’s roughly 3 ¾ inches in height, and he has the line’s standard 6 points of articulation. He’s based on Han’s primary look from A New Hope, which is generally the look most people associate with the character. Han’s sculpt was original to him, and it exhibits a lot of the same style cues present in other POTF II figures. Let’s start off with the basic proportions of the figure: he has an overall body-builder-esque physique, but even by body-builder standards, he’s a bit absurd. His shoulders are really broad, and his arms are practically bursting out of his sleeves. He also has the huge hands and impossibly thin waist that were prevalent in the line. Han, more so than others in the line, feels like a cartoon caricature, not a human being. On top of the proportions, Han’s sculpt is plagued by a few issues. Like a lot of the others in this line, Han’s legs are somewhat strangely posed, requiring that he stand in a deep stance to be even remotely balanced while standing. Also, though his hands may be large, they haven’t been sculpted to really hold anything. This is the worst on his right hand, you know, the one he holds his blaster with, which is sculpted flat, so he can’t actually do so. Finally, there’s the head. Now, to be fair, the head is easily the best part of this figure, especially from a technical standpoint. There’s some really nice detail and texturing. However, it seems like the sculptor was working from pictures of Harrison Ford at the time these figures were made, instead of at the time of the movies. And even then, it’s hard to see a lot of Ford in this sculpt. He looks a bit like the lovechild of Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, which, needless to say, isn’t Han Solo. Han’s paintwork is pretty much typical for the time. It’s certainly not bad, but it’s not anything amazing either. Everything is pretty much where it’s supposed to be, and there aren’t really any issues with bleed over or slop.  Han included his signature blaster pistol, which is hysterically oversized, and a larger blaster rifle, which doesn’t appear to be one he carries in the film.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the intro, this isn’t the Han I had growing up. I think part of what turned me off to Han figures in general was that likeness he had. I just didn’t like that Han looked so much older than he should. But, over time, the old Han figure has started to grow on me. So, Han ended up being one of the POTF II figures that I fished out of the charity sale box at this year’s Farpoint. Like the Stormtrooper, he’s definitely a goofy figure, but I feel a twinge of nostalgia for this guy.

Guest Review #0029: Kopaka

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

KOPAKA: MASTER OF ICE

BIONICLE

Kopaka2015a

The following is a guest review by Tim Marron. For more from Tim, check out Timsical Thoughts and Tim’s Blarg.

Okay, Ethan’s been on my case for not having any guest reviews lately, and that’s fair. Although in my defense I’ve been very busy with very important stuff like Youtube and Amazon. But anyway, Bionicle. Boy do I love Bionicle. Remember way back when I said Beast Wars was my jam? Well forget that, Beast Wars pales in comparison to Bionicle in my books (and I do actually have books). Of the original six Toa, my personal favorite was the arctic badass otherwise known as Kopaka. After the whole Hero Factory debacle, you can imagine my disappointment when it seemed like Bionicle had come to an end. Then, out of nowhere, it was back. Naturally, I texted Ethan the news along with my plan to find these new figures. Thus our adventure began anew.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kopaka2015bKopaka was released as part of the revived Bionicle series earlier this year. He is one of the larger deluxe Toa along with Onua, and I guess Tahu but mehhh… He is the tallest of the lot at about 8 inches tall and features 13 points of articulation (15, counting the big shoulder pads). Each Toa having differing heights and builds was something I was pretty excited about because it makes them seem more like individual characters as opposed to cookie-cutter stamp clones with different colors. His mask this time around is a neat little blend of his original Akaku and his Akaku Nuva masks. Also, it seems the designers felt like forgoing his classic sword and shield combo for a spear and shield: a little disappointing for nostalgia’s sake, but I’m cool with spears so it works out. Kopaka’s set is made up of 97 pieces, mostly molded in clean white and funky transparent blue. He also features a fair amount of gold pieces such as his chest piece and big chunky shoulders. I was initially a little hesitant about Kopaka having gold as such a prominent color but it’s grown on me, plus it makes his gold mask seem less out of place. Kopaka does actually feature some paint on his chest piece which adds some cool detailing to an otherwise flat surface. There is more detailing on his legs as well but for whatever reason, these are handled through the use of stickers. I’m not sure why they couldn’t just paint them the same way they did the chest, but they look fine so it’s not really an issue. In addition to his spear and shield, Kopaka comes with a gold version of his mask and a silver Skull Spider which seems to be the new reimagining of Krana, just minus the whole Bohrok thing.

 THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is all my fault, I’ll admit that. I picked Kopaka up from Target after “convincing” Ethan to “help” me track down these new Bionicle figures, as well as a couple Nerf guns for myself. Having spent an entire day at Ethan’s house with several huge tubs of Lego pieces rebuilding the entire original Bionicle roster, I had a sneaking suspicion he might also be interested in the news of the reboot. As I mentioned before, Hero Factory was a huge disappointing end to the original Bionicle line and after seeing how Lego handled the redesigns, it was just a matter of time before we got them. But it is all my fault, though.

#0504: Stormtrooper

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

STORMTROOPER

POWER OF THE FORCE II

StormtrooperPOTF2a

When I was younger, I had my fair share of figures from Kenner’s Power of the Force II line. Seeing as it was the only Star Wars line around when I was younger, it was these guys or nothing. So, these guys it was. For whatever reason, however, I never found myself with a basic Stormtrooper figure. In fact, until recently, the only Stormtroopers I had were the vintage ones my Dad gave me. But, now I’m looking to change that (I guess), so here’s a Stormtrooper from POTF II!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

StormtrooperPOTF2bThe Stormtrooper was released in the first 1995 assortment of Power of the Force II figures. He stands roughly 3 ¾ inches tall and he has 6 whole points of articulation. This is usually the point of the review where I’d say that I don’t know which of the three Stormtrooper designs was used for the figure, but in actuality, it’s fairly clear that this figure is an amalgam of those three designs (and Arnold Schwarzenegger). The entirely of the POTF II line was stricken by some serious steroid use, but the Stormtrooper seems to have been hit the hardest. The most apparent problem with this figure’s sculpt is the fact that he clearly has no neck. Previous troopers didn’t actually show the neck, but they at least made the helmet long enough that you could actually believe there might be one under there. Not the case here. This guy’s just got a head and then some shoulders, with nothing in between. The head sits atop a huge barrel chest that goes into a serious hour glass at the waist, which is certainly an impressive feat, I’ll give him that. The figure then has the requisite arms and legs with a 45 degree bend, just so he can look a little extra awkward. The legs in particular are bad, because they make him rather difficult to keep standing. On top of the oddly proportioned body, the armor is forced to either cooperate with these new found proportions or go home. It’s chosen the former, which means that the details are kind of a rough estimate of what they were in the movies. The figure’s paint is the simplest of the simple, with only a few spots or black here and there, to break up all of that white. The paint is rather sloppily applied; I guess it just follows that rough estimate thing that the sculpt was doing. The Stormtrooper includes his standard blaster rifle, which he can only hold in one hand, and a larger rifle, which he can also only hold in one hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just like yesterday’s Obi-Wan, the Stormtrooper was fished out of a rather large box of Star Wars figures being sold to benefit the Farpoint charities. I must admit to being rather excited when I pulled this guy out. Sure, he’s goofy as hell, but he really resonates with me, for some odd reason. I mean, how could my collection possibly be complete without a muscle-bound Stormtrooper?

#0503: Obi-Wan Kenobi

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI

POWER OF THE FORCE II

ObiWanPOTF1

Power of the Force II is really important to me. The line is certainly rather dated by today’s standards, probably even more so than even the vintage line, but it brought the Star Wars brand back to shelves after almost 10 years of absence. And, more importantly, it was the line on the shelves in the mid-1990s, just as a certain toy reviewer was getting into action figures. So, today, let’s have a look at that line’s take on Obi-Wan Kenobi, from back in the days when he’d only been played by one actor!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ObiWanPOTF2Obi-Wan was released in the first assortment of Power of the Force II figures, which started showing up in 1995-1996. The figure is about 3 ¾ inches in height and he had 6 points of articulation. Oh boy, that waist articulation! Obi-Wan is based on the character’s appearance in A New Hope. Like the rest of the POTF II line, Obi-Wan’s proportions are a little bit whacked. He doesn’t quite have the body builder’s physique that some of the others did, but he’s got some fairly broad shoulders, and man, just look at the size of those hands! Also, his legs have a pretty odd leg posing, which kind of makes him have to stand with a strange stance. For some reason, his outer robes have been done using a removable add-on. The end result is that the figure ends up quite a bit bulkier than he should be. Since the sleeves are still brown to match the outer robe, I honestly can’t think of the practical use for a removable piece. Admittedly, the head is actually a decent sculpt. It has a passing resemblance to Alec Guinness, if perhaps a little squashed. Obi-Wan’s paintwork is decent. Not great, but certainly not bad. There’s a little bit of bleed over in a few of the transition areas. Also, it’s true to the film, but the figure is rather dull, color-wise. You know what makes people want a figure of an old guy? Dull colors. Obi-Wan includes one accessory: his lightsaber. The lightsaber is absurdly long (taller than Obi-Wan), which kinda makes you wonder if old Ben is compensating for something.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This marks the second of this figure that I have owned. I got my original around the same time as all the others I have from this line, which is when they were first released. I ended up trading that figure for a Val Kilmer Batman variant (what can I say, I was young and foolish!).  I’ve gone all these years without picking up another one. While I was at Farpoint this year, I fished Obi-Wan, along with a few other POTF II figures out of a box of various Star Wars figures that were being sold to benefit the two Farpoint charities. So, I not only got to replace my original figure, but I also got to feel sorta good about it. That’s pretty cool, I guess.

#0502: Vision & Quicksilver

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

VISION – MARVEL NOW & QUICKSILVER

MARVEL MINIMATES

Vision&Quicksilver1

Obviously, yesterday’s Marvel Minimates review wouldn’t be complete unless it were to be followed by another Marvel Minimates review, right? That’s just plain old sound logic right there. Obviously. So, how’s about we take a look at two pretty important Avengers who are undoubtedly certain to be thrown into super-stardom by this summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Vision and Quicksilver!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair of figures makes up another of the four two-packs released as the 19th series of Toys R Us exclusive Marvel Minimates. Unlike yesterday’s set, which augmented a boxed set, these two are just kind of stand-alones for this series. In fact, they don’t even represent the characters from the same period of time in the comics, so they aren’t even related to each other.

VISION – MARVEL NOW

Vision&Quicksilver2Vision is the next in a decently-sized of characters getting the requisite figures of their looks from the Marvel Now! re-branding. This marks the third figure named Vision in the line, but it’s really only the second figure of the “original” Vision (Vision 2.0 being a related, but separate character). While the last Vision represented the character’s classic look, this one is, as the name indicates, based on the look he received as a result of Marvel Now! For my money, it doesn’t quite live up to the classic design, but it’s not a bad look purely on its own. Vision is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with an add-on for his cape. The cape is a re-use from DC Minimates Series 1 Superman. It’s a pretty straightforward normal cape piece, so it’s a fair choice. Other than that, the figure is just a vanilla ‘mate, which is pretty much to be expected for Vision. Vision’s paint is pretty spot on. The base colors are clean, and all the line work is nice and sharp. The colors could possibly stand to be a bit bolder, especially the greens, but they aren’t bad. Also, I would much prefer yellow to the gold on the figure, but that’s more of a personal preference. Vision includes a spare set of arms and legs which are translucent (to simulate his phasing abilities) and a clear display stand. The lack of a flight stand is a little annoying, but the extra limbs are pretty cool.

QUICKSILVER

Vision&Quicksilver3This marks Quicksilver’s second Minimate. He’s actually the same basic design as the last one, so this one’s more of an update than anything else. Both are based upon the character’s second, blue and white costume, which is the one he’s worn for the majority of his career, so it’s a pretty classic design. The figure is about 2 ½ inches in height and he has 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard Minimate body, with an add-on piece for the hair. The hair is re-used from one of the Wolverine Origins Wolverines. It’s something of a questionable choice. It’s not terrible, but it’s not a particularly close match. It would be nice if he’d gotten his own piece, but I guess this one works in a pinch. Quicksilver’s paint work is overall, pretty decent. The colors are nice and bold, and the detail lines are sharply applied. I do like that he has the proper black shorts that he tended to have in most depictions of the costume. Those were absent from the last Quicksilver, so it’s nice to see them here. Perhaps the only real issue with the figure’s paint is his face. Admittedly, the face is much better in person than it looks in pictures, but something about the mouth just seems really off. Maybe if he lost the dimples, it would look better. Quicksilver includes a dust cloud piece for running and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the last set, I got these from my local TRU (shout out to Minimate Multiverse member Ms. Marvel Fan, who helped make sure I got the set). This set isn’t perfect, but I really like it. Vision is one of my favorite Avengers, so getting a new version of him is pretty awesome. And Quicksilver offers a nice update to the original, which is a welcome addition.

Vision&Quicksilver4

#0501: Iron Man – Space Armor & Ronan the Accuser

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

IRON MAN – SPACE ARMOR & RONAN THE ACCUSER

MARVEL MINIMATES

IM&Ronan1

You know what I’ve missed reviewing? Marvel Minimates. Sure, I’ve reviewed a fair amount of figures from other Minimate lines, and a fair number of other Marvel figures as well, but it’s just not the same! As luck would have it, the latest set of TRU exclusive Marvel Minimates just started hitting stores, so new Marvel Minimates to review! First up, it’s two space-faring ‘mates, Space Armor Iron Man & Ronan the Accuser!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two comprise one of the four two-packs that make up the 19th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates. These two figures in particular were originally designed for the TRU exclusive Infinity tie-in set, but they weren’t amongst the four chosen for the actual set. It’s nice to see them turn up here.

IRON MAN – SPACE SUIT

IM&Ronan2Like Captain America before him, Iron Man has had quite a few Minimates in the past, but he had yet to join the ranks of the space worthy heroes. Now he’s an official member of the club, with a card and everything. Okay, there’s no card. Or club. It’s more of an “in my mind” sort of thing. Anyway, Iron Man was the other “heavy hitter” from the Infinity poll, so it’s no surprise to see that DST found a spot for him. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches in height and he has 12 points of articulation. Tony’s had a few space armors over the years, but this ‘mate is based on the most recent one, which has made prominent appearances in the recent Guardians of the Galaxy comics, as well as being Tony’s main look in Infinity. Iron Man is built on the standard Minimate body, with non-standard pieces for the upper arms, hands, and feet, as well as add-ons for the helmet and torso armor. The figure features a fair bit of re-use from previous Iron Men. The upper arms come from the Series 35 Mark V, the hands are from Series 49’s Mark 42, and the feet are from Series 45’s Mark VII. The helmet and chest piece are both new to this figure, and both seem to be pretty great adaptations of the comic design. The re-use pieces are also pretty decent matches to the source material, which is always cool. It’s really awesome to see DST put their tremendous bank of prior IM pieces to good use. Iron Man’s paint is overall pretty good. The base colors are a little sloppy in some places, and it would be nice if the red and gold were just a little bit more distinguished. The biggest issue is one that isn’t apparent when the figure is all armored up. The underlying Stark face is set rather high on the head, resulting in a rather chubby looking Tony, and worst off all, the red paint from the helmet has bled onto the face, resulting in permanent red marks. Fortunately, these issues are hidden by the helmet, and the rest of the figure’s paint, particularly the detail work, looks nice and sharp. Iron Man includes a spare hair piece (re-used from the Series 51 Nova), a blast off base cast in yellow, and a clear display stand.

RONAN THE ACCUSER

IM&Ronan3Now we get to the real star of the set, Ronan the Accuser! This marks Ronan’s second venture into the world of Minimates, but it’s the first comic version of the character. As cool as the movie version was, it’s hard to beat the classic Ronan design. Ronan stands about 2 ½ inches tall, and has 14 points of articulation, although his head is a bit restricted by the hood. Ronan is based on his original comics design, which is the one he’s pretty much stuck with since his creation. It’s a solid piece of design work, and really holds that classic Marvel feel. The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, with add-ons for the hood/shoulder pads, belt/skirt, and glove and boot cuffs. The glove and boot cuffs are re-used from numerous classic Iron Man ‘mates. They’re pretty straightforward pieces, and they are pretty much perfect for Ronan’s look. The hood/shoulder pads and the belt/skirt are both new to this figure. Both pieces are very nicely sculpted and are pretty much spot-on for the character. The impediment of the neck movement by the hood is a little annoying, but I’m not sure how else it could be handled. Ronan features some pretty great paint work. The various greens are all very nicely chosen and all pop in their own way. The detail lines are fantastically handled, and the face in particular is perfect for Ronan. Ronan includes his signature hammer (and the head is right side up this time) and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I acquired these two from my local TRU, with the assistance of fellow Minimate Multiverse member Ms. Marvel Fan, who was super helpful in making sure I got a set. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this set’s release ever since I picked up the Infinity set, so I’m really happy to finally have them. Iron Man is a little “meh” but he’s not terrible. Ronan, on the other hand, is easily one of my favorite ‘mates in quite some time. He’s just so well done!

IM&Ronan4

#0500: Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL RETRO FIGURES (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

SpiderManRetrob1

Holy crap, it’s been 500 whole reviews. I really wasn’t sure I’d get this far. I had originally planned to do another high-end figure review (Mech-Test Tony Stark, for those who are curious) but I decided to do something else for a couple of reasons. It’s an item that I realized deserved the deluxe treatment and in doing some background research for the review, I discovered that there were almost no reviews of this figure, which I felt wasn’t fair to the figure or the company that produced it.

While Mego may not have been the first company to produced licensed figures, they were definitely one of the most influential. They ruled the toy aisle for most of the 70s and they were not only the one of the first prominent example of Marvel Comics-based figures, but they were also responsible for bringing a fair number of people into the Marvel fanbase and revolutionizing the action figure industry as a whole.

There has been quite a resurgence of Mego style toys in the last few years, but one property has been noticeably absent. Due mostly to contract issues with Hasbro, Marvel was out of the running for the Mego style. However, Diamond, who had helped kick off the resurgence of the style with their Star Trek Retro Figures, found a way around that. By releasing the figures in larger deluxe sets at a higher price point, they can technically classify them as “collectibles” and not be in direct competition with Hasbro. So, each figure comes packed as a recreation of their original Mego figure, with two full sets of alternate pieces, allowing two full additional figures to be built by just supplying a basic Mego body. The first figure to be released is one of Marvel’s top characters, Spider-Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SpiderManRetrob12Spider-Man is the first figure in Diamond’s new Marvel Retro Figures line. He will be followed by Captain America, due out later this month, as well as Wolverine and Thor later this year. The figure uses the standard Mego-style body (re-tooled with a few improvements by Paul “Dr. Mego” Clarke), meaning he’s about 8 inches tall and features 16 points of articulation. This is body is essentially the same as Mego’s Type II body, which was their go-to body for the vast majority of their basic male figures. The Mego body is really helped set the standard of what was expected from an action figure body, so it’s a very strong starting point for a figure. It’s also worth noting that this new version is a lot sturdier than the original Mego bodies, and even a little sturdier than the ones Diamond used for their Star Trek and Planet of the Apes Retro lines. It’s always nice to see a company actively working to improve these kinds of parts of a product.

SpidermanRetrob11This figure is a little different from the figures I often review for this site, in that there are three possible looks, which are effectively three separate figures. So, let’s start off with the basic, original Mego-style Spider-Man, which is how the figure is assembled in the packaging. As a recreation of the original, he makes use of the original Mego head. Mego’s Spider-Man sculpt was certainly one of their most distinctive pieces. By today’s standards, some of the details, especially the etched in weblines, are a little on the soft side, however, for the time, it’s truly a remarkable sculpt. It has a lot of character to it, and I do believe that it’s one of the few Spider-Man sculpts to actually note the presence of a nose under the mask, which is a very nice touch. The head has been painted to pretty much match the original. The edges of the black outline around the eyes are a little fuzzy in some spots, but the overall look is quite nice. This version features a one-piece costume, with all the proper details silkscreened on. The costume replicates the original “circle logo” Mego figure, which had a rather distinctive circle cut out of the webs around the spider emblem. Mego ultimately replaced this with a more comic-accurate version, but this one is often remembered for its more unique look. The costume has a bit of a shine to it, which isn’t quite accurate to the original, but actually looks rather sharp.

SpiderManRetrob4The next “figure” included is the updated version of the basic Spider-Man. Essentially, this one is what a Spider-Man Mego would look like given all the advancements in toy making technology. This one gets an all-new head sculpt, which offers a more conventional take on Spidey’s noggin. The eyes are wider, the weblines are finer, and the head has a more… head-like shape. It’s also a little smaller, to keep it more proportional with the body. This head really feels like a genuine evolution of the Mego head. It’s definitely different, but it has a lot of the same charm. Plus, that nose is still there, which really sells the whole thing for me. The paint also feels like the next step after the Mego version. The colors are the same, but this time around, a black wash has been applied to give the weblines their proper color. The black around the eyes also seems a little sharper on this head, which is great to see. The costume on this one is expectedly more elaborate than the previous one. The tailoring is just a bit tighter to the body, and the stitching has been brought more in line with the outlines of the costume. The reds and blues are more defiantly separate on this one. He also has the classic underarm web-wings, which are done with a very nice netted material and manage to SpidermanRetrob7actually look pretty respectable. That can’t really be said for most attempts at replicating them. The weblines on the red portions of the costume are finer, though they are oddly a little lighter, as well, which doesn’t seem to have been the intent. They end up being more of a brown than a true black. It’s a minor nit with an otherwise very nice costume. While the original Spidey had printed on boots, this one has a pair of sculpted boots, done in a manner that matches the head sculpt. They’re well sculpted, and certainly a little tighter fitting than most Mego boots. Admittedly, I still find myself partial to the printed boots, but that’s more of a personal preference. The sculpted boots still work quite well. This Spidey includes three sets of specially sculpted hands, each done with a web pattern that matches the head and boots. There are a pair in the classic web-shooting pose, a pair of fists, and a pair that are open in a pose perfect for wall-crawling. All of the hands are fantastically sculpted, and the web-shooting hands in particular are a great version of a piece long missing from the Mego Spider-Man. In addition to the hands, Spidey also includes a pair of web-shooters and a camera belt.  Neither are essential pieces, however, both make for some entertainment value.

SpiderManRetrob3The third, and final, “figure” is a version of Spider-Man’s alter ago Peter Parker. Right off the bat, there’s one minor issue with Peter, and it’s not really an issue with the Peter pieces, but rather the Spider-Man body. The body is molded in red plastic. This is clearly meant to make the two Spider-Man costumes more convincing, but it leaves Pete without a proper body. His clothes will mostly cover the body, but the few flashes of red are rather noticeable. For the purposes of the review, my Parker is assembled on a spare body I got from Dr. Mego a few years ago. The figure has what appears to be an all-new head sculpt. The original Peter just made use of the Shazam head, which obviously couldn’t be done here. This head does appear to have at least taken the facial features of the original as an influence, so the sculpt holds on to some of the original’s style. One of the things that really stands out about this sculpt is the hair, which features some really great fine detailing, often lacking from genuine Megos. This head has easily the most complex of the three paintjobs, and ends looking quite nice. All of the paint work is clean, with pretty much no bleed over. There’s a tiny bit of slop where some brow paint ended up on his ear, but other than that, things are pretty good. Peter’s outfit is also probably the most complex. It’s made up of five pieces in total: shirt, pants, vest, and shoes. The shirt and pants are decently tailored, and pretty much just look like Mego clothes (apart from the use of Velcro). The SpiderManRetrob8vest is also nicely tailored, however, it’s a real pain to get on over the shirt. While the separate pieces are nice, it seems like a shirt/vest combo might have been more practical here. The shoes are well sculpted and well painted. They go on with ease, which is always a plus. They do look a little large, but that’s just something that goes hand in hand with removable shoes. Peter also includes a pair of the standard Mego hands in the proper flesh-tone, as well as a pair of glasses, a camera, and a copy of the Daily Bugle. The glasses are good in theory, however, they don’t stay on very well, and they look super goofy to boot. The camera is definitely a nice piece, and really helps make the figure. It would be cool if it had a strap, but it’s still great as is. The Bugle is just a single sheet of paper; it’s more there for the appearance than anything else, but it’s a cool touch nonetheless.

In addition, the set also includes a booklet with a few articles from various Mego experts, which was an entertaining read.

SpiderManRetrob2Also, I don’t talk about packaging much, but there are a few things to note here. First of all, this is a really attractively packaged set. I’m not one for keeping things in the packaging, but if I were, I’d certainly be pleased with this. Sadly, the packaging really can’t be salvaged once the figure is opened. The extra pieces are blister packaged, so they have to be torn off the backing. Also, the replica Retro packaging is really cool. However, for some reason, some sort of adhesive was used to hold it in place. I managed to get mine out without damaging it too badly, but it was a lot of work. Given the obvious effort that went into it, I can’t imagine that the adhesive was intentional.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Most of my experience with Megos was playing with my dad’s old figures when I was younger. However, Spider-Man was actually one of the few that my dad bought for me, so that particular figure definitely has a soft spot for me. As such, I was eager to get this updated version.

This set was picked up from Luke’s Toy Store, who I generally deal with for my Minimates purchases. The store decided to give the Retro Figures a try with this one. Sadly, it sounds as if I may have been the only person to buy the set from him, which is a real shame. I think a lot of people are turned off by the price of these sets. Admittedly, they are on the expensive side. However, you’re essentially getting three figures, which brings the per figure cost down quite a bit. About the only thing I would say in regards to the price is that it would be nice if Diamond included at least one extra body, or if they provided an easy location to order extra bodies at a reasonable price. I had a few extras I’d gotten from Dr. Mego a while back, but the average consumer won’t know where to find such things.

All in all, this is actually a really fun set. It offers both the chance to re-buy an old favorite, and the chance to get a loving update on that figure. And for me personally, it provided me with the chance to take a Mego out of its box for the first time ever, which was a really cool experience. I intend to buy every figure this line offers, and I would urge anyone who was a fan of Megos to do the same.

SpiderManRetrob13

#0499: Keychain Minimate

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

ACTION FIGURE EXPRESS KEYCHAIN

PROMO MINIMATES

While Minimates’ bread and butter tends to be making tiny versions of popular licenses, that isn’t exclusively what they do. One of the big things in making Minimates a success is just getting the brand known to as many people as possible. Enter the Promo ‘mates. These guys are free Minimates, who come bagged and are handed out to attendees of the conventions attended by Diamond Select Toys. Usually, these are just blank figures in various colors, with maybe a logo. However, DST will occasionally go the extra mile and do full detailing. Such is the case with today’s feature, the keychain Minimate. (Okay, that’s not his official name. He actually doesn’t have one!)

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Keychain Minimate was a cross-promotion between DST and frequent Minimate supporters Action Figure Xpress. The figure was given out at the AFX booth during San Diego Comic Con 2009, and then all remaining stock was sent out with orders over a certain amount on AFX’s online store. The figure is a little under 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. Technically speaking, the ‘mate is based on the Hunt Minimate character, created for 2007’s scavenger hunt contest. The main contrast is that this figure is clean shaven and sports a pair of sunglasses. The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, along with a new piece for the keychain. This is a different piece than the one that recently showed up with the TMNT Minimates; the loop that connects the piece to the figure is metal, like the rest of the chain, as opposed to the fabric loop we saw on the TMNT version. The newer version works a little better, but this makes for an interesting prototype for that idea. The rest of the figure’s detail is done with paint, which is decent overall, though not perfect. There were four possible colors to the t-shirt; mine’s the blue one, if that’s not immediately obvious. Generally, the paint is pretty cleanly applied. The front and back of the shirt have some nice work on the logos, and the pants feature a fair bit of detail work. The face has a minor issue with the mouth’s placement being slightly off. It’s just enough to be noticeable that it’s off, though it isn’t the worst thing ever. Odd mouth thing aside, he’s actually got an uncanny resemblance to actor Billy Zane. The shoes are probably the biggest point of contention. When the original Hunt ‘Mate was made, Diamond had somehow wound up with the rights to Chuck Taylors, so that figure had very specific, very well detailed shoes. This one had to settle for more genericized versions of the shoes, which are not as well done. The bottoms of the shoes don’t wrap all the way around and the white paint on black plastic results in some iffy looking paint. They aren’t terrible, but they pale in comparison to what came before.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the Shoulder Zombie and Future Wolverine before him, the Keychain Minimate is another product of Luke’s Toy Store’s “Mystery Mate” offer. So far, I’m 3 for 3 on this thing. I was actually pretty excited to find this guy in my latest shipment from Luke’s. I never had to opportunity to get one back in 2009, so getting one now is really cool. Sure, he’s not the greatest Minimate of all time, but he’s kinda fun, and he’s a somewhat important piece of ‘mate history!

#0498: Casual Jules

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

CASUAL JULES

PULP FICTION

I’ve mentioned that I didn’t get around to seeing the Kill Bill films until rather recently. In part, this had to do with the fact that, when Volume 2 was released in 2004, I was only 12 years old. However, a major player in why I didn’t seek them out in the years after the release is that when I was about 17, I had seen Tarantino’s other big film Pulp Fiction. Or at least the first hour or so of it, before I was so turned off by what was happening that I had to turn it off. A lot of people really like Pulp Fiction, but I just couldn’t get into it. So, when it was announced that Diamond Select Toys had picked up the license to do Minimates from the movie, I figured they would be one of those rare Minimate properties that I would just skip. But, as has clearly been established on this site, I am weak. Also, no matter what my opinion of the film, Samuel L Jackson is a bad-a ss M*****-F*****, so passing completely on the all of the Minimates of his character, Jules, seems unrealistic. So, let’s have a look at one of those.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jules was released as part of a four-pack of figures titled “Diner Showdown.” The set is based on the Diner scenes that bookend the film, and it’s exclusive to Hastings, a store which doesn’t actually have any locations near me. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall, with 14 points of articulation. He’s based on Jules’s appearance in the diner scenes, where he’s wearing the clothes he received from Jimmy Dimmick, after his got a little messy. It’s certainly not the look every one associates with the character, but it’s a fun little variant, and it’s certainly goofy. Jules is built on the standard Minimate body, with add-ons for his hair and the bottom of his shirt. Both pieces are re-use. The hair was previously used on the last Jules. It’s a very good replication of the hair he has in the movie, and it’s well-sculpted and nicely detailed. The lower portion of the shirt is done with a rather standard belt piece that we’ve seen a number of times before. Essentially, it just lengthens the torso block, which is the effect they were going for. The figure’s real shining point is his paint work, which is excellent, aside from one small nit. The issue is that Jules’s t-shirt should actually have a design on it, but it doesn’t. Presumably, the design on the shirt is a pre-existing design, which would require a separate license, which seems a bit excessive for a one-off figure. Aside from that, the figure features some very clean base paint work, as well as some truly great detail line work. The SLJ likeness is truly spot-on, not just for the actor, but also for the character. The design on his shorts is also really well done, and certainly helps to make the figure a particularly unique one. Jules includes a handgun and a briefcase. He also had a coffee mug, but I got mine loose, so he didn’t have that piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I fully intended not to get into the Pulp Fiction line. I really did. But, then I totally had to go and try to do something nice. See, the Kraang, from the recently launched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates line is something of a rarity, especially for people without a K-Mart nearby. So, when I came across a Kraang in a somewhat remote K-Mart nearly a month after most sources dried up, I picked it up, with the intent of helping someone on the Minimate Multiverse out. The guy I ended up trading with was quite eager to get a hold of the Kraang, but after a few back-and-forths via PM, we were having difficulty finding something he could trade to me in return. Finally, I just asked what he had extras of, and he said that he’d bought a bunch of Diner sets for the coffee mug pieces. So, I figured, what the heck and traded the Kraang for a Jules, sans coffee mug. Even though I hadn’t intended to get the figure, he’s actually a pretty well done ‘mate. Sure, he’s not the best ever made, but he’s of solid quality, and I got to help someone else get something they’d been looking for. And that’s what really makes it worth it.

#0497: Green Goblin

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

GREEN GOBLIN

MARVEL LEGENDS

Ah, yes, ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends. What a bunch of mixed feelings that was. When they were new, I loved the figures, but they were impossible to get. Now, they’re a lot easier to get a hold of, and… well, it seems there was quite a nostalgia filter.

One of the things about when ToyBiz was handling the line is that they consistently had a Spider-Man line running alongside it. This generally meant that any Spider-characters would appear in that line, not in Marvel Legends. However, there were three instances of the unofficial rule being broken. One such case was today’s figure, the Green Goblin!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Green Goblin was released in the 13th Series of ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends. The series was officially titled the “Onslaught Series” after its Build-A-Figure, and unofficially titled “Bring On the Bad Guys” due to the fact that it was a series of nothing but villains. It was actually a pretty novel idea, but seems like the sort of thing that would never happen now. Goblin is roughly 6 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation. All that articulation, and he still couldn’t stand on his glider the right way. It’s mostly the fault of the hip joints, which were common to this era of ML figures and were notorious for their inability to forward and back and side to side at the same time. You had to pick one or the other. This figure does actually represent one of the few times that the toe articulation proved useful, so that’s a plus, though the finger articulation was as pointless as ever. The figure’s sculpt may or may not have been new to him. This figure was released around the same time as a Hobgoblin from the Spider-Man line, and they shared all but the head, pelvis, and shins. I don’t know which one of them used the pieces first, or if they were in fact designed to share the pieces from the beginning. Regardless, the figure sports one of the best Green Goblin sculpts, pretty much ever. The build is actually pretty great for the Goblin, and the scales on his arms and legs look fantastic. The highlight of the figure is easily the head, which translated Goblin’s grinning visage perfectly to three dimensions. This is easily one of ToyBiz’s best sculpted efforts from this time-period. While the figure is fantastically sculpted, the paint leaves a little bit to be desired. The biggest thing is that it’s just way too dark. Goblin’s a character who really needs to be bright and garish, so the subdued green and not quite purple doesn’t really work. The washes are also a little heavy and uneven, and they just make the figure even darker. From a purely technical standpoint, the paint is clean; cleaner than a lot of other ToyBiz Legends, so kudos to them on that. The figure included his trusty satchel, a display stand in the form of his signature glider, and a piece of Onslaught. The glider ends up with the most issues. For one thing, it seems a little droopy on the sides. The biggest issue, though, is the completely opaque piece holding the glider up. They didn’t even try to make it a little inconspicuous, which just feels lazy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Goblin actually comes from the point in the line where the figures became a little easier to get a hold of. He was picked up from my local comicbook store, who had started getting the figures in for a slightly higher price. I can’t remember exactly what led me to get Goblin, as I’m not the character’s biggest fan or anything. I will say he’s one of the nicer figures the line had to offer, and, aside from the hip joint issue, he actually still looks pretty good with modern Legends.