Monthly Archives: May 2015

#0567: Captain America & Thor

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA & THOR

MARVEL MINIMATES

ThorCapAvAoU1

Alright, we’re starting to get into full swing here with the Age of Ultron Minimates reviews. I looked at two of the new comers and two of the mainstays of the main team. Today, I’ll be taking a look at another set of the returning team members. Interestingly enough, it’s my favorite member of the main team and my least favorite member of the main team, packed together, Captain America and Thor. Now, hopefully the Hemsworth fans won’t kill me before I finish the review.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two are part of the first assortment of Age of Ultron Minimates. Cap and Thor were one of the two sets of Age of Ultron-themed Marvel Minimates available in both the TRU assortment and Series 61 of the main Marvel Minimates line. Mine are the specialty release, and there are a few differences between Thor in the two releases, which I’ll get to shortly.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

ThorCapAvAoU2Chris Evans as Captain America may very well be one of my favorite things about the Marvel movies. His take on Cap is on par with Christopher Reeve’s Superman in terms of definitiveness. This figure is the 7th Minimate of his take on the character. He stands approximately 2 ½ inches tall and features the normal 14 points of articulation. Cap is based on his primary look from the film, which, as I noted in my review of the Marvel Legends version of the costume, is a tweak of his STRIKE team suit from The Winter Soldier. As such, it shares many of the same pieces with Series 55’s version of that suit. The helmet, harness, and belt are all the same, and they are just as good here as they were there. The gloves are a reuse of the ones seen on the AoU boxed set’s Nick Fury figure, and they represent a closer match to the gloves from the film than the WS pieces. The paintwork on Cap is generally not bad. There’s a bit of slop in a few areas, and, like the rest of the series, the detail lines could stand too be a little darker, but he looks pretty good overall. The face has a passing resemblance to Evans, which is certainly more than Hasbro’s managed. At first, I didn’t care for the facial expression, but it’s grown on me a little. I still feel that it should commit to either a calm expression or an aggressive one. This one is somewhere in between and ends up looking a little goofy. Cap includes his mighty shield (which is the same as all the previous movie shields), a hand for it to plug onto, a spare hairpiece (which is the same as last year’s Star-Lord, among others), and a clear display stand. These are mostly good pieces, but I don’t think the hair-piece works very well for Cap. It seems he was given this one so that he, Iron Man, and the two Hawkeyes didn’t all have the same hair, but it doesn’t work.

THOR

ThorCapAvAoU3So, hey, remember in the intro when I said Thor was my least favorite cinematic Avenger? Please don’t hurt me, I can explain. See, Thor’s never been one of my favorite Avengers. Yes, he’s a founding member, but he just doesn’t fit well with the whole team thing. Now, I do love Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of the character in the movies, and I enjoy his interaction with the others, but I can’t say I’m hurt by him having reduced screen time in AoU. Anyway, Hemsworth’s Thor has shown up a little less frequently as a Minimate, with this only being his 5th appearance in the line. Thor is just a slight bit taller than Cap, though he’s only got 12 points of articulation, thanks to the boots. Thor is based on his sans-sleeves look from the film. Seeing as it’s the look he has for both the opening and closing battles, it’s certainly well chosen. It’s also more or less the same design he had in The Dark World, and the figure uses the same selection of parts as the Series 53 Thor from that movie. I don’t actually have that figure (cuz Malekith sucks), but these pieces are all pretty decent parts, and they result in a Thor that looks like Thor. Yay. Now, for paint, it’s important to note that I have the specialty release of Thor, which, simply put, means the paint is better. The TRU Thor was missing a fair portion of the silver detailing on the torso and prevalent instances of the detail lines of the face not lining up with the colors. These issues aren’t present here. However, the figure still has a fair bit of bleed over on the major color changes, and the whites of the eyes and mouth are still the slightest bit misalligned. Also, the face on this figure doesn’t particularly capture Hemsworth’s likeness, though it is DST’s best attempt to date. Perhaps his likeness is just hard to translate. Thor includes his hammer Mjolnir, a flying base, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Iron Man & Black Widow, I picked up this set from my local comicbook store. This set is a little bit more exciting than yesterday’s, I think in part due to the strength of the two figures that these two are based upon. I’m glad to have another movie Cap in a more conventional set of colors, and this is the best movie Thor that I own (and I didn’t even have to buy a Malekith to get him!). All in all, this is a pretty decent set, and a worthy update on two rather important characters.

#0566: Iron Man – Mark 43 & Black Widow

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

IRON MAN – MARK 43 & BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL MINIMATES

IM43WidowAoU1

Alright, it’s the Age of Ultron Minimates extravaganza part 2 (Electric Boogaloo)! I kicked things off with two of the film’s new characters, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, but now I’ll be turning back to the “old faithful” characters that we’ve seen a few times before. Iron Man is the “oldest” MCU character, and Black Widow isn’t far behind him. And look at that, they’re even packed together. How convenient.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Iron Man and Black Widow are part of the first assortment of Avengers: Age of Ultron-based Marvel Minimates. They are one of the two sets in the first assortment to be available both at Toys R Us and as part of Marvel Minimates Series 61.

IRON MAN – MARK 43

IM43WidowAoU2It would be weird to have an assortment of Avengers merch without an Iron Man, so here he is. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 12(ish) points of articulation. As noted in the name of the figure, this is Iron Man in his Mark 43 armor, which he ends up wearing for the first half or so of the film. It’s worth noting that this makes him not actually fit with the rest of the team’s final battle looks, though it does mean you can display them from the opening battle. Structurally, this figure is the same as the Series 49 Mark 42, which is rather sensible, given that the 43 was just a recolored 42 in the movie. The add-on pieces for the 42 are serviceable, and they do a decent job of replicating the movie’s armor, but they have a few issues. Chief among them is that the upper arms are sculpted in such a way that the shoulders are effectively nothing more than cut joints. That’s really limiting to the figure. In addition, the figure feels a little too built up in general. The 42/43 are meant to be rather sleek, but the ‘mates are rather chunky. All that aside, the pieces do feature some nice detail work and some nice, sharp lines. The paint on Iron Man is pretty decent, actually. In particular, the shades of red and gold that have been chosen are nice and vibrant and have a really great finish to them. The line work is all pretty decent, although it’s perhaps a touch faint. As has become the norm on Iron Men, there’s full detailing under the helmet and torso. The torso offers a cool look at the inner workings of the armor, and the head offers a look at Tony’s face. The Tony face isn’t as good as some of the previous ones; they seem to have missed the mark on the RDJ likeness. The Mark 43 includes a spare hairpiece, a rocket blast piece, and a clear display stand.

BLACK WIDOW

IM43WidowAoU3In the comics, Black Widow is a marginal member of the Avengers at best, but the movies have changed that. There, she’s upgraded herself to one of the most central members of the team. And that’s pretty cool. Her presence in Marvel Minimates is rather reflective of this change. Of the seven Minimates of the character, five of them are movie-inspired. Anyway, onto the actual figure. Widow is roughly 2 ½ inches in height and she’s got 14 points of articulation. She is, of course, based on Widow’s main appearance in the movie. Structurally, she’s similar to the Winter Soldier version of Widow from Series 55. She shares the same belt and one of the holsters, but loses the Widow’s stingers. Also, the hair has been replaced with that of Battlestar Galactica’s Pegasus Six, which is actually quite a good match for her hair from the movie. This Widow ends up being a bit sleeker than previous versions of the character, which is a plus in my book. Widow’s paintwork is certainly passable. There is a bit of slop around the edges of her arm bands, but other than that pretty much everything is clean. One thing I noticed is that the detail lines seem a little duller here than usual. Things such as the “tron lines” kind of fade into the rest of the costume, and the details on the face seem a little light. Speaking of the face, it presents a good likeness of Scarlett Johannssen, but the somewhat vacant expression is a little disappointing in light the Winter Soldier Widow’s more intense look. Widow includes two eskira sticks, a handgun and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the craziness that was acquiring Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, getting this set was actually rather simple: I just picked them up from my local comicbook store. I can’t say that this is a set that thrills me. The Mark 42 was not my favorite Iron Man Minimate, and the 43 still has several of the same issues, plus the step down in likeness. Widow fairs a bit better, and I do like a lot about this figure. I think that swapping the heads on this one and the Winter Soldier version might provide me with my preferred version of the character.

#0565: Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch

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

QUICKSILVER & SCARLET WITCH

MARVEL MINIMATES

QS&SWAoU1

Let me kick things off here by saying that Avengers: Age of Ultron was a really, really, really, really, really good movie. Just fantastic. If you haven’t seen it, you should do so. I’ve seen it three times and I still feel like I should see it a few more.

As a Marvel Studios movie, it is of course entitled to the usual tie-ins, specifically Marvel Minimates, one of my favorite lines. The first round of them hit just before the film’s release, so I’ll be taking a look at them over the next few days. Let’s kick things off with newcomers Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are the Toys R Us Exclusive two-pack from the first assortment of Avengers: Age of Ultron-based Marvel Minimates. They were released to coincide with Series 61 of the main line.

QUICKSILVER

QS&SWAoU2Quicksilver gets to go first because he’s technically 2 minutes older. Also fast. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he has 14 points of unimpeded articulation. He’s based on the character’s appearance in the film’s big climactic battle scene at the end. It’s a good choice, given that it’s the look that sees the most action. Pietro is built on the standard Minimate body, with an add-on piece for his hair. The hair was previously used on Series 58’s Young Magneto figure. Father and son sharing the same hair piece really appeals to the comic nerd in me. The hair piece is a pretty decent approximation of what his hair looks like in the movie, so it was well chosen. The rest of the design is handled via paint. There’s some good, some bad, and some just plain annoying on that front. The good is that the face features an excellent Aaron Taylor-Johnson likeness and the detailing on the torso and upper legs does a fantastic job of evoking the costume details from the movie. The annoying is that the patterns on his arms don’t line up quite right, resulting in some colors being too thin and some lines being much more jagged than they ought to be. The bad is that the brown detailing of the lower portion of his hair has been missed entirely. This leaves his hair a stark white, which isn’t accurate to his depiction in the film and also looks rather bland. As a whole he isn’t a bad looking figure, but he could be better. Quicksilver includes a dust cloud base to simulate running, as well as a more conventional clear display stand.

SCARLET WITCH

QS&SWAoU3Quicksilver may have been first, but Scarlet Witch is definitely my favorite of the twins, both in the comics and the movie. This marks the fourth time that Wanda has graced the Minimate form, beating Pietro by one. Like her brother she is about 2 ½ inches tall and she sports 14 points of articulation. The articulation here is a little more impeded than it was with Quicksilver; the hair and skirt both do their share of restricting. Scarlet Witch is also based on her final battle look, I’d gather for much the same reasons as Quicksilver. She uses the basic body, with add-ons for her hair, jacket, and skirt. All of the add-ons are re-used. The hair is from Series 50’s Songbird, the jacket is from Knight Rider’s Michael Knight, and the skirt is just one of the generic skirt pieces. They add up to a pretty decent approximation of Wanda’s film appearance. The only piece I’m not 100% sold on is the hair, just due to how it sits, but it isn’t bad. Wanda’s paintwork is actually quite good. I can definitely see Elizabeth Olsen’s likeness on the face and the outfit features plenty of great detail work. She’s even got little gold rings on her hands, which is an easily overlooked detail. Wanda’s only accessory (unless you count her brother) is a clear display stand. She feels kinda light without any extras. Something to illustrate her powers, such an energy piece for her hand or an extra head with red eyes, would have been a very welcome addition to the figure. Oh well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Oh boy, the story of getting these guys. Well, my local Toys R Us sold out of this set before I got there. So, I had to resort to ordering via TRU’s online store, which is really never a fun experience. The item shipped, and I got my tracking information. Like any good collector, I religiously watched the tracking, waiting to see when it would arrive. The item was marked “Out For Delivery” a whole two days before the expected delivery. Cool, I was gonna get it early. But, then it didn’t arrive that day. Or the next. Or the one after that. Another day passed and I finally called my local postal service about it. I was informed that someone would look into it, and I’d get a call back shortly. The next day, after not hearing back, I actually drove to the post office to check on things. I was informed that it was on a truck somewhere and I should come back the next morning before business hours. So, the next morning, I got there before business hours. And no one was there. So, I called them from outside the building and had a long, rather uninformative chat with someone in the back. They told me to go home and wait. Finally, these guys actually arrived, a week after going “Out For Delivery.” Yay, I guess. Anyway, I have them now. To be honest, they aren’t the most thrilling Minimates, but I like them well enough, and I’m damn sure going to enjoy them after all the stress of actually getting them.

QS&SWAoU4

#0564: Return of the Jedi Digital Release Commemorative Set

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

BOBA FETT, BIKER SCOUT, WICKET W WARRICK, & LUKE SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: DIGITAL RELEASE COMMEMORATIVE COLLECTION JediDigital1 Happy Star Wars Day everyb—oh, wait, sorry, I already did that last week. Well, hey, why not have this Star Wars-themed review anyway, just because? So, the Star Wars movies have finally been released digitally! Provided you don’t count the DVDs, Blu Rays, and Laserdiscs as “digital.” I guess you could say that they’ve finally been released in a fully digital format, or something like that. Of course, it’s still the same re-cuts of the original trilogy that they’ve been pushing for a while, so it’s not like there’s much new to celebrate. But Hasbro wanted to celebrate, so dammit they’re gonna celebrate. Being a toy company, they celebrated with the release of TOYS! Shocking, I know.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were released as part of the Return of the Jedi-themed boxed set, which was one of the six sets that make up the Star Wars: Digital Release Commemorative Collection. Try saying that name five times fast.

BOBA FETT

JediDigital2Everyone’s most favoritest bounty hunter, Boba Fett! Making figures of this dude is like printing money (it ruins the economy?), so it’s no surprise that Hasbro managed to find him a spot in one of the sets. Boba stands roughly 3 ¾ inches in height and features … 5 points of articulation. Yeah, this is one of Hasbro’s articulation-lite sets. Structurally, Fett is the same as the single release Boba from last year’s Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends and his two-pack release in the Mission Series. It’s not a bad sculpt; the proportions are all pretty good and there’s plenty of texturing and detailing. It would kind of be nice if his right arm was either fully pre-posed so that he could hold his blaster properly or not pre-posed at all; as it stands, he looks like he’s been caught mid-arm lift or something. That aside, the sculpt is generally pretty strong, and one can hardly blame the re-use here. Fett has what is probably the most complex paintjob of the set, and it’s all petty cleanly applied, which is good. It’s worth noting that he’s actually features his color scheme from Empire, not from Jedi. I guess they wanted him to fit with the other bounty hunters from the Empire set. Fett includes a blaster which can be held in either hand, albeit rather awkwardly.

BIKER SCOUT

JediDigital3The Biker Scouts were one of two additions to the Star Wars universe brought on by Jedi’s Endor battle. I’ll get to the other shortly. Height and articulation is pretty much identical to that of Boba Fett, so it’s consistent, I guess. The sculpt is a re-use of the Mission Series two-pack version of the character. It’s actually a pretty strong sculpt. The proportions are all about what they should be, and, best of all, he doesn’t have the weird arm pose thing that Boba’s got going on. Really, this figure feels really similar to the vintage Biker Scout. He’s got a greater level of detail and texture work, but they do give off a the same kind of vibe. The paintwork is fairly straightforward on this guy. He’s molded in all white, with black and a little bit of grey paint. Most of It’s pretty clean, although there are a few spots of bleed over. The Biker Scout includes a small pistol, which he can hold in either hand, or stow in his leg holster, should you so choose.

WICKET W WARRICK JediDigital5

Here’s the other addition from the Endor battle. Yes, Ewoks, those divisive little so-and-sos. Wicket was kind of the central Ewok, being the one that rescues Leia and all, so he earned his spot in this set. It’s worth noting that he’s given the last name “Warrick,” after his actor Warwick Davis, who played him in the movie. That’s a nice touch. Wicket is about 2 inches tall, with only 4 points of articulation instead of the 5 the others have. Wicket’s sculpt was previously used as part of the same Mission Series two-pack as the Biker Scout at which we just looked. It’s a pretty great sculpt. There’s a lot of texture, and it’s a pretty straight re-creation of the movie character. The head covering is a separate piece, which, although it’s not removable, does help to add some depth to the sculpt. Wicket has a paintjob to match the sculpt. It’s not as detailed as some of the larger Star Wars figures, but there’s still some decent work, and everything is clean and well applied. Wicket is armed with a spear which is taller than he is. Talk about compensating.

LUKE SKYWALKER

JediDigital4Last up, there’s this other guy. He’s sort of important to the movie, I guess. It’s not like he’s the main hero or anything. *ahem* Anyway, Luke is about 3 ¾ inches tall and he has those magical 5 points of articulation. Luke is based on his look from the end of Jedi, which, to be fair, is only slightly different from his look in the rest of Jedi. This whole sculpt has been seen before as part of the Star Wars Rebels Saga Legends line. Right up front, this is probably the strongest sculpt in the set. It has some great proportions, great texturing, and great detailing. The pose they’ve chosen is just far enough away from standing straight up and down that it’s still interesting, but not so much that he looks weird. In addition, he’s the only figure in the set with any sort of likeness work on the head. It’s not a perfect match, but there’s definitely some Mark Hamill in that sculpt. He goes lighter on the paint, being mostly molded in black, but the work on the face is cleaner than a lot of Hasbro faces, and the other painted areas manage to not suck, which is always good. Luke includes his lightsaber from the film, and just about the only downside of the figure is that he can’t hold his saber in both hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These four were bought for me by my always incredibly supportive Super Awesome Girlfriend. We stopped at a Toys R Us while I was down visiting her a few weeks ago, and I saw this set. I found a few other things I wanted, so I wasn’t sure I would get this one. Super Awesome Girlfriend was having none of that, and insisted on buying it for me. This is a set made up completely of re-issues, however, since I didn’t have any of the originals, that doesn’t bug me too much. Luke and Wicket are the strongest figures in the set and the Biker Scout is a pretty great figure too. Boba isn’t as good as the others, but he’s not terrible, and he’s Boba Fett, so… you have to like him, I guess. You could do a lot worse with $20 than get this set.

Guest Review #0031: Sirius Black

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

SIRIUS BLACK

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (NECA)

Sirius1

The following is a guest review by Jill Mardesich.  For more from Jill, check out her blog Future Music Educator Rambles on Life.

Hey there! It’s Ethan’s resident book nerd friend, Jill! Ethan got me this figure of Sirius Black from the movie version of J.K. Rowling’s book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for Christmas this year. It’s been a while since Christmas… I’ve been busy. Anyway, Sirius Black, in case you do not know, is the God Father of the main character, Harry Potter. He was best friends with Harry’s father, James, and was framed for the murder of the character Peter Pettigrew, so spent the majority of Harry’s life in the wizard prison, Azkaban.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sirius2Sirius is designed off the look he has in the fifth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He stands approximately 7 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. He comes with one accessory, his wand, which is about 1 inch long and surprisingly detailed for such a small stick. It actually does look like the prop wand that they gave to Gary Oldman in the movie. He also has a black stand, but is fairly well balanced and can stand up without it. His jacket is molded from a very flexible, rubberized plastic, so his movement isn’t restricted by it, which is good because it isn’t removable. His face is quite life like and there don’t appear to be any paint flaws. His hair, which is a solid piece, is well placed to not interfere with the motion of Sirius’ head. My only complaints about Sirius are that his legs are a solid piece beneath the waist, which Ethan tells me is fairly standard for NECA figures at this time, and that his wand is loose in his hand. It’s very easy to lose such a small, dark piece of plastic and it is my greatest fear that the next time I look at him he will no longer have it. He also only has one “good pose” to place him in because his legs are locked and his elbows don’t bend, but at least it’s a cool, “magical fighting,” action pose. I’m not sure if his face is quite a “magical fight” expression, but he is still really cool in this position.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sirius Black was my Christmas present from Ethan this year, and he is the first action figure that I have ever owned. I was so excited about it. Sirius is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter books, which will always hold a special place in my heart. I grew up reading them, and even skipped school to see several of the movies growing up. I was touched that Ethan would get me such a perfect figure to begin my collection. I think he looks really cool, and very accurate to the movie look.  I wish his legs were posable, but I like the pose that he sits in, so it’s okay. Overall, I love this figure and hope that future Christmas presents include more from this line! (hint, hint)

#0563: Ultron, Captain America, & Hulk

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

ULTRON, CAPTAIN AMERICA, & HULK

MARVEL SUPER HERO MASHERS

UltronCap&IM1So, it’s been almost a whole week since I took a look at anything Avengers-related. I don’t know about you guys, but that feels a little bit too long to me. Fortunately, I’ve got another set ready to go, and it’s even got an Ultron in it! Yay!

This review marks my second look at one of Hasbro’s newest ventures, Hero Mashers, a somewhat more kid-aimed line of figures whose whole gimmick is that you, well, mash them together. It’s not exactly the highest brow concept, but as long as it’s fun, who cares?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Ultron, Captain America, and Hulk make up a three-pack that is part of the Marvel Super Hero Mashers line. The set is exclusive to Target and it was released to sort of coincide with the release of Age of Ultron. Hulk and Cap are re-decos of previous figures, but this is currently the only way to get Ultron. I’d like to address upfront that these figures are mostly made up of previous Mashers parts, but since I am not really familiar with the line, I don’t quite know the origins of each part.

ULTRON

UltronCap&IM2Clearly, this guy’s the selling point of the set, it being his introduction to the line and all. The figure is about 6 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. Design-wise, he seems to be an amalgam of various Ultron looks, though he does seem to skew more towards the modern side of things. I’m fairly certain that the only piece on this figure that is actually a new sculpt is the head. It’s a rather nice piece, with some pretty decent detail work. Ultron’s head is less affected by the stylization of the Mashers line than others, which definitely works in his favor. The body is a mix of pieces from various other figures in the line. He seems to draw mostly from Iron Man and Dr. Doom, which isn’t a bad choice of parts. For the most part, everything meshes together pretty well, though it is worth noting that his right hand is noticeably larger than his left. It’s not really an issue on a robotic character such as Ultron, but it does leave me wondering if it was intentional. I’m not super keen on the red energy blade thingy, which isn’t removable. Regular release Mashers tend to have more standard parts to replace the wonkier ones like this one, but Ultron seems to have gotten the short end of the stick on that one, with no additional pieces. That’s a little annoying. Ultron is mostly just molded in silver, though he does feature some minimal red paintwork for his eyes and mouth, as well as some slight detailing on the torso (which, it has been noted, when coupled with the sculpt of the chest ends up looking not unlike a frowning face. Can’t unsee it…) and the aforementioned red energy blade thingy. What’s there is cleanly handled, if a bit sparse. As previously noted, Ultron includes no accessory.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

UltronCap&IM3Cap is the first of the two repaints in the set. He stands 6 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation, just like Ultron. Cap is generally built from the same pieces as the series 1 version of Cap, with the exception of the hands and feet, which come from elsewhere, though I couldn’t begin to say specifically where. Cap is definitely more stylized than Ultron, though not to an unreasonable degree. Generally, he’s more squared off at the edges than the average Captain America figure. The hands present a similar problem to Ultron’s left hand, in that they have the what appear to be sections of railroad track permanently affixed to them. It’s less annoying here, given that this isn’t the only Cap available, but it’s still a little annoying that there isn’t an alternative. From the standpoint of paint, this figure ends up having a little extra value to it. See, instead of the usual blue, he’s got black, which actually makes him a pretty decent stand-in for lesser known Marvel hero US Agent. It’s also worth noting that the paint is all cleanly handled, with no issues with bleed over or slop. Cap is the only figure in this set to get an accessory; he comes armed with his mighty shield, which can be plugged into either of his hands.

HULK

UltronCap&IM4Last, and sadly least, it’s the Hulk. He’s the second repaint in the set, and easily the weakest figure (spoilers). Hulk is about 6 ½ inches tall and he features the same 26 points of articulation (check out those spinning fists!). Like Cap, he’s mostly built from the last Hulk, with different hands and feet. Hulk doesn’t translate as well to this style, being a character who should be a bit more organic. He’s got a neck that is the same size as Cap’s, which looks really strange. And then there’re the hands and feet, which are mechanical in nature for some odd reason. In addition, his right hand has a cannon of some sort affixed to it, and, just like the other two, there isn’t an alternate piece. Hulk ends up with a rather straightforward Hulk style paint scheme, though it’s not without issue. The hands and feet are a metallic green, in contrast to the flatter green of the upper arms, head, and torso, suggesting that maybe it’s armor or something. Also, the greens of head and arms don’t match the torso, which really bugs me. Like Ultron, Hulk is without any accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I was at Target with my Dad a few weeks ago, and they had this set. I knew of its existence, but I hadn’t actually seen it. It being Ulton’s debut in the line, I kinda had to go for it. Ultron’s definitely the best piece of this set. He’s just shy of greatness; it would be really nice to have an alternate left hand. Cap isn’t bad, but he’s not the most exciting, and Hulk is really just filling space. I feel like this set would be best for a kid who doesn’t have Hulk and Cap yet, since they are at least fun to mess with. For a collector, you’re essentially paying the price of three figures for an Ultron. For me it was worth it, but your mileage may vary.

UltronCap&IM5

#0562: Android No. 16

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

ANDROID NO. 16

S.H. FIGUARTS

16a

Hey, remember when I reviewed the last two Dragon Ball Z Android figures from SH Figuarts and I was all like “I guess I have to buy the third one now?” Well, I, uhh, bought the third one. Yeah, I’m kind of a pushover when it comes to action figures. So, today, I’ll be having a look at Android 16, the third member of the main android trio, and the only one of them who was actually, you know, an android. Funny how that works.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

16bAndroid 16 is another figure from the Dragon Ball Z subset of Bandai’s SH Figuarts line. The figure was released around March or so of this year. The figure stands over 6 inches in height (almost a full inch taller than his compatriots) and features 32 points of articulation. While the other two androids were known to change up their style from time to time, 16 had exactly one outfit on the show, and this figure depicts him in said outfit. Like the last two figures, 16’s sculpt is unique to him. The figure does a fantastic job of translating the character’s design from the show into three dimensions. Sometimes figures of animated characters will only work when viewed from certain angles, but that isn’t an issue here. The sculpt is nicely proportioned and has some really sharp work, especially in areas like the folds of his boots and the texture of his shirt. Also, the work on the faces seems a lot clearer and more defined here than it was on the previous two figures, though it may just be Bandai taking advantage of the slightly larger scale of the sculpt. There are three different faces that can be swapped out. He comes packed wearing the death-glare head, which is sufficiently intimidating, but he also has heads with grinning and shouting expressions, should you want to mix things up. In addition to the basic heads, there is a battle-damaged head, which shows some of the inner workings of 16’s head, and gives him a more shocked expression. 16 includes two pairs of hands, in fists and open gesture, and his forearms can be removed to replicate his fist-launching ability, which also showcases some great detail work on the “stumps” of his forearms. 16 doesn’t feature the most complicated paintwork, but what’s there is clean, even, and avoids any issues of slop or bleed over. The colors are also a pretty good match for those used on the show. The heads all feature essentially the same paint, with the exception of the damaged head, which sets itself ahead of the others with some scuffing on the face and some great scorching at the edge of the exposed machinery. 16 is a little lighter in the accessories department than a lot of other Bandai releases, with only the extra heads and hands. However, these are worthy additions, and the figure’s increased size means that he doesn’t feel like he’s coming up short.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting 17 at MAGFest and finding 18 online, I went ahead and preordered 16 through Amazon. That was in February, and boy did he take his sweet time getting here. Apparently, Amazon gets their import stuff in little trickles here and there, so I had to wait a little while for my 16 to come into stock. I’m happy to say he was worth the wait. 16 is definitely my favorite of the three android figures. He’s just a very well put together figure and he’s a fantastic representation of the character.

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#0561: The Flash

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

THE FLASH

THE FLASH (DC COLLECTIBLES)

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Live action and DC Comics have something of an iffy history. While they pretty much invented the modern Super Hero movie with Richard Donner’s Superman, most of their film work has been acceptable at best and horrifyingly bad at worst. On the small screen, they faired a little better, with popular runs of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, but they kinda started to run out of steam. Smallville lasted for an insane 10 seasons, but I wouldn’t really call any of them particularly noteworthy. When they launched Arrow, I watched for about a half a season, but gradually lost interest. I figured that DC TV just wasn’t for me anymore. Enter The Flash. It’s fun, light-hearted, and it doesn’t seem to be shying away from the bolder aspects of the characters. And now it’s getting action figures.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FlashTV2Flash here was just released last month as part of DC Collectibles’ The Flash line, based on the show. It’s sort of a spin-off of the Arrow line, and Flash is a single release figure (though he’ll soon be joined by Captain Cold). Flash is marked as figure 01, so clearly DCC is planning on there being at least a few of these. The figure stands about 6 ½ inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. In case you hadn’t already pieced it together, Flash is based on the character’s appearance on the TV series of the same name. The show design is, of course, based on the comics design, with a fair bit more texturing and the like added. The figure features an all-new sculpt. After dipping my toes into the DCC waters with several of their animated figures, the Flash is a little bit of a letdown. The sculpt certainly isn’t bad. There is plenty of texturing on the suit, and most of its finer details are nice and sharp. The problems with the sculpt are mostly related to its resemblance of actor Grant Gustin. Gustin is a pretty skinny guy, but he’s definitely not as lanky as this figure would have you believe. In addition, while the head features a passable likeness, the details are a little on the soft side. The figure’s paintwork is generally pretty decent. The colors seem to be a close match to those on the show, and most of the details stay within their designated areas. The only real weak point is the head, where the paint ends up being a little softer at the edges, although that’s at least in part due to the sculpt. The Flash is packed with three sets of hands, in fist, grip, and open poses. They’re perfectly fine additions, but the figure would have majorly benefited from the inclusion of some sort of stand to facilitate some deeper running stances.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Flash was something of an impulse buy (which is fitting, I suppose). I don’t do that very often anymore, but my comicbook store had him sitting on the shelf, and I have been enjoying the show. The figure isn’t the most impressive figure ever made, and he hasn’t really swayed me on buying anymore of DCC’s TV-based figures. That said, he’s really not a bad figure, and I don’t regret the purchase. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the rest of the line, and I’ll probably end up picking up a few others, depending on the character selection.

#0560: Skeleton Warriors

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

BARON DARK, TITAN SKELETON, & TRAVELER SKELEDEN

SKELETON WARRIORS

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“Skeleton Warriors! Da-nanana-nah!”

–Skeleton Warriors Opening Credits (paraphrased)

I totally missed out on Skeleton Warriors in its initial run (both the toys and the show). In my defense, while I was actually born, I was still rather young, and it did have the misfortune of not being in anyway related to superheroes. To be honest, I was completely unaware of the series’ existence until the “Return of the Skeleton Warriors” Kickstarter last year. Following my discovery of the Kickstarter, I did actually sit down and watch the first two episodes of the show. It didn’t really hook me, per say, but the figures still looked cool enough to warrant me pledging in for a full set. They just arrived last month, and I’ve finally gotten a chance to set aside all the Marvel-related stuff and take a look at these guys.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

All of these figures are part of the first “series” of The Return of Skeleton Warriors. The Lightstar Crystal Blue Baron Dark and Titan Skeleton, as well as the Traveler Skeleden, were all exclusive to the Kickstarter campaign, while the regular Baron Dark and both the regular and glow-in-the-dark versions of the Titan Skeleton are available for individual purchase via the October Toys Store.

TITAN SKELETON(S) – REGULAR, GLOW-IN-THE-DARK, & LIGHTSTAR CRYSTAL BLUE

SkeletonWarriors4The Titan Skeletons are the backbone (heh!) of this line. They serve as the base starting point from which all of the more specific Skeleton Warriors can be built. There are three different varieties of Titan Skeletons: Bone colored, glow-in-the-dark, and clear blue. The three are identical in sculpt, so I’ll review them as one. The figure stands 5 inches tall and features 26 points of articulation. The Titan Skeleton’s sculpt is a pretty standard skeleton sculpt, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. It’s well proportioned, and each piece is sufficiently detailed and textured. Now, the cool thing about this figure (and all of the figures in this line) is that it’s Glyos compatible. If you don’t know what that means, let me ‘splain…no, it’s too much. Let SkeletonWarriors5me sum up: the figures feature Glyos joints, which means, not only can they disconnect at every joint, but the parts can be interchanged with lines like Weaponeers of Monkaa, which makes for some fun possible combinations. None of the Titan Skeletons feature any sort of paint, but they are molded in the three different colors as noted above. All three colors are nicely chosen, so that’s pretty great. The Titan Skeleton has no accessories, though the ability to be taken apart and reassembled is definitely a fun enough feature to make up for that.

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BARON DARK

SkeletonWarriors2Baron Dark is the cartoon’s primary antagonist and is the leader of the titular Skeleton Warriors. The figure served as the main goal of the Kickstarter, and he’s definitely the one with the most work put into him. The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. The Baron uses the Titan Skeleton body as a starting point, but features his own head, upper torso, lower legs, and feet, as well as add-on pieces for his cape, loin cloth, and bracelets. The new pieces are generally very well sculpted, and feature an even greater level of detail than the Titan parts. The add-on pieces in particular feature lots of small detail work and cool little touches, like all the miniature skulls throughout the design. The only real flaw with the sculpt is the fact that the lower legs are rather restrictive of the ankle articulation, which causes the figure to be harder to balance in certain poses. It’s a relatively minor issue, but it’s hopefully something they’ll try to avoid on any future figures. What really separates the good Baron from the Titan Skeleton is paint. Baron Dark features a rather intricate paintjob. With the exception of a few minor instances of bleed over and exactly one SkeletonWarriors8instance of slop (near the top of his right calf) the paint is really cleanly handled. In addition to the basic color work, a fair bit of work has been done to accent the sculpt’s finer details and add a little bit more depth. All of the bone pieces feature a nice brown wash to bring out the recesses and texturing. The cape also features a little bit of darker red to indicate some weathering, although it comes and goes with some rather harsh lines. Baron Dark is armed with a big freaking sword, which he can hold pretty well in either hand.

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BARON DARK – LIGHTSTAR CRYSTAL BLUE

Skeletonwarriors3Just like the Titan Skeleton, there’s more than one variety of Baron Dark. He too was available cast in a clear blue plastic, which is always a plus in my book. He features the exact same height, articulation, and sculpt as his full color counterpart. The only difference between these two is that this one is … clear blue. He even features the same big ol’ sword, molded in a matching plastic. In addition to the awesomeness that is the clear blue plastic, this version also offers a nice look at the Dark sculpt without any paint to mask any of the sculpted details, which is a nice opportunity.

TRAVELER SKELEDEN

SkeletonWarriors9One of these things is not like the others! So, the thing of note about this particular figure is that it isn’t technically a Skeleton Warriors figure, it’s actually from the official Glyos line. It’s designed to be a merging of the Glyos Universe’s Pheyden and a skeleton, presumably from the Warriors universe. Skeleden stands roughly 3 inches tall and features 12 points of articulation. From what I’ve been able to find online, it appears that Skeleden’s hands, torso, calves, and feet are re-used from the Glyos line’s basic Pheyden figure. The figure’s head, arms, and legs are new, as well as the add-ons used on the torso and lower legs. The whole theme of this figure is merging the styles of the two lines represented, which the sculpt manages to do quite nicely. In general, the sculpt is a very strong one, with lots of very clean, sharp detail work throughout. The Skeleden’s paintwork isn’t quite SkeletonWarriors10as complex as that seen on Baron Dark, but he does have a little bit of work on his head, which is handled quite cleanly. The rest of his pieces ware molded in the appropriate colors. The Traveler Skeleden includes a specially crafted, skeleton-themed axe, as well as an extra head, arms, and legs which allow the figure to be displayed as a more standard Pheyden.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, clearly, since I have the Kickstarter exclusives and all, I got these figures by backing the Return of the Skeleton Warriors Kickstarter campaign. After breaking into the world of Kickstarter action figures with I Am Elemental, I found myself drawn to these guys, just based purely on how cool they looked. Well, they’re finally here, and I’m thrilled to have them. The Baron isn’t without issue, but he’s pretty darn close, and the Titan Skeleton offers a nice, base skeleton in a cool variety of colors. Plus, the Skeleden got me my very first Glyos figure, which, given how much I like this little guy, could prove to be another dangerously addictive line. All in all, this is another success for me on the Kickstarter front.  Now, here’s hoping for a series 2!

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#0559: Admiral Akbar

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

ADMIRAL AKBAR

RETURN OF THE JEDI

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It’s a trap! Sorry, there was literally no way I was starting this review without saying that. It had to be done. So, happy Star Wars Day everyone! May the fourth be with you! In honor of the day, I figured I’d take a look at something Star Wars-related, and this guy called to me. Something about a tarp… I don’t know. So, let’s jump right on into the review of everybody’s favorite aquatic, trap-sniffing, rebel Admiral!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Akbar2Admiral Akbar was released way back in 1983 as part of the Return of the Jedi line, released to tie in with the movie. The good Admiral stands roughly 3 ¾ inches tall and features 5 points of articulation, which was the standard for the time. The figure is, of course, based on the character’s appearance in the film, though, like the rest of the line, he’s presented as viewed through the Kenner lens. So, he’s a little bit more exaggerated and a little bit more simplified than his on-screen counterpart. As was the standard operating procedure of the time, Akbar features his own, unique sculpt. It’s probably one of the goofier sculpts of the time. The head and arms are pretty faithful to the film’s design, but they lack a lot of the texture and such that made the character more believable-looking. Without it, the goofier aspects are more obvious to the eye. In addition, the figure’s body is a lot skinnier and stretched out than the guy on-screen. This ends up adding goofy proportions to the list of wonky features, which only emphasizes the figure’s silliness. As far as paint goes, the figure is pretty straightforward. He’s mostly just molded in the appropriate colors, with paint for his eyes, hands, the sides of his torso, and the tops of his legs. The paint is all pretty straight color work. It ends up further adding to the somewhat goofy look of the figure, but at least it’s consistent. Akbar’s only accessory was a weird sort of stick-thingy, which mine never actually had.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Now, obviously, I didn’t pick this figure up when it was released, what with not being born and all. This figure is actually one of the most recent vintage Star Wars figures I’ve picked up. He was amongst a small selection of them that I found at an antique store located near my friend Phil’s house. Admittedly, I picked up Akbar for the novelty of having such a figure. Sure, he’s super goofy, but that’s exactly what I was looking for in this figure. There is definitely a certain level of charm to such figures.