Monthly Archives: January 2016

Guest Review #0034: Ultraman

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

ULTRAMAN

ULTRA-ACT/S.H. FIGUARTS

The following is a guest review by my dad, writer Steven H. Wilson!  Check out more from him over at his blog, located at stevenhwilson.com

Bandai’s Ultra-Act line has released dozens of figures based on Tsubaraya Productions’ long-running Ultraman series, which includes of two dozen individual TV series, running from 1967 to the present, and about half that many feature films. Every series stars a new Ultraman character, differentiated from his brethren by a suffix–e.g. “Ultraman Jack,” Ultraman X,” “Ultraman Mebius.”

Sixth in Ultra-Act‘s 2015 lineup is an Ultraman character not from a TV series, but from a 2011 Manga which has recently been collected in trade paperback for the U.S. market. The Manga and its lead character are simply called “Ultraman,” and the hero is the human son of the first Ultraman from way back in 1967.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The packaging is dual-branded with the logos of Ultra-Act and S.H. Figuarts, another Bandai line. The figure is not in scale with the rest of the Ultra-Act line, coming in at 6 3/4 inches, about a half-inch shorter than the typical Ultraman figure. This explains the dual-branding, since it is in scale with S.H. Figuarts‘ popular Power Rangers and other lines. The figure has 30 points of articulation, and comes with three sets of interchangeable gauntlets, three sets of hands–including different pointing gestures, and, of course, fists–an extra chest plate, and the trademark Ultra-beam-blasting effect. I’m not sure what the point of the extra chest plate is. It’s slightly more streamlined than the one that comes packed on the figure, but its jewel is the same color. I would expect the whole point of providing an alternate chest plate for an Ultraman would be to show his warning light blinking red.

It’s a bit disappointing that the mask is not removable, a la early Marvel Legends Iron Man figures, since this Ultraman is not a giant from another world, but a kid in an exo-suit. The figure is very, very posable–almost too posable. He falls down a lot when displayed, and doesn’t come with a stand. On the up side, he tends to fall into some great action poses. An optional flying-stand is recommended for this guy. One other nit-pick, I suppose, that I have with all the Ultraman figures, is that their arms aren’t designed to easily assume (or hold) the cross-elbow beam-blasting stance that’s so commonly seen when an Ultraman fights. Still, the detail is amazing, and the figure brings a 2D character to beautiful 3D life.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The figure was given to me by Ethan, the man behind The Figure in Question, who’s also my son. He feeds me a steady diet of Ultra-Act figures (and Spark Dolls, another Ultraman line) for Christmases and birthdays and the like. He knows I’m devoted to all things Ultra. I grew up watching the original 1967 TV series, and have recently discovered (and developed something of an obsession for) all the spin-off series that were never dubbed into English. He picked up this figure for me for Christmas, and suggested I review it alongside my review of the source material, which is on my blog now. [You can read it here!– E]

#0804: Holiday Dancing Groot

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

HOLIDAY DANCING GROOT

FUNKO POP!

HolidayGroot1

Okay, here we are on Day 3 of the Post-Christmas gift reviews. This time around, I’m actually taking a look at something that’s in keeping with the holiday spirit! That’s a bit of a change, right?

Truth be told, the actual subject of the review is not so much a change as it is something of a repeat. See, last year, Funko released a Pop! figure of Groot from the mid-credits scene from Guardians of the Galaxy. I, as someone who loved Groot, the movie, and that particular scene, bought said Pop! figure. And it was pretty awesome! Why am I reviewing it again? Well, I’m not! This year, in honor of the holiday season, Funko released a variant of that figure, only this time in holiday colors, which is what I’ll be reviewing today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HolidayGroot2Holiday Dancing Groot is figure #101 in the Pop! Marvel line, and he was released as an exclusive to Hot Topic. What’s interesting is that, unlike most variant Pop!s, he doesn’t share his number with his regular release; he gets his own. The figure is about 3 ½ inches tall and, due to contractual issues, has no actual articulation. He does have a bobble head, so you can get some movement out of the neck if you want, but he is legally NOT an action figure. This figure is like 90% re-use from the previous Dancing Groot. That’s fine, since that’s the idea, and that sculpt was pretty good to begin with. The one difference in the sculpt is the pot, which now sports a fancy holiday bow. It’s a nicely sculpted piece, and it actually adds a nice bit of flair to the otherwise completely detail-less pot. The paint on this figure is also a bit different from the previous figure. The basic work on the main Groot is pretty much the same, but he’s now been given a slight misting of snow on his head, hands, and the base of his body. It looks pretty good, though I would assume there’s some variance from figure to figure. The pot has also changed from white to green, and the bow is a nice bright red. There’s just a bit of bleed over on the edge of the bow’s ribbon, but it’s nothing super noticeable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This version of Groot was given to me by my friend Jill. She has wanted to get into the whole “buying Ethan action figures” bit before, but was a bit nervous about what to get me. I actually didn’t know about this figure’s existence until she gave it to me, so kudos to her! He’s not wildly different from the prior Groot, but I actually really like this figure a lot, and the extra bits give him a nice bit of pop (heh!), which make him just as exciting as the original!

#0803: Alien Warrior

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

ALIEN WARRIOR

SCI-FI REVOLTECH

XenoRevol1

We move onto day 2 of the post-Christmas gift reviews. Continuing from the theme started yesterday, how about some more Aliens? I mean, let’s be honest here, the Queen isn’t any good all by her lonesome, right? No, she’s got to have someone to do her bidding! Well, as luck would have it, Revoltech had one more Aliens figure in their line-up, based on one of the basic Alien Warriors from the second film. Let’s see how this one fares!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

XenoRevol2The Alien Warrior was figure #016 in the Sci-Fi Revoltech line, placing him two figures ahead of the Queen numerically. The figure between them isn’t Aliens-related at all; it’s Santa Jack from Nightmare Before Christmas, which isn’t a sci-fi movie, but whatever. Like the Alien Queen, the Warrior is also based on the Stan Winston-designed look from Aliens, which happens to be my personal favorite. The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall (meaning he’s nowhere near being in scale with the Queen) and he has 52 points of articulation, plus a bendable tail. The design of this figure may take its cues from Aliens, but this definitely feels much more like a “concept” take on the look than it does an actual proper translation of what is seen in the film. A lot of that has to do with proportions. This figure foregoes trying to look like a man in a suit, and is instead very spindly and bug-like. It makes the figure a bit more unearthly, but I’m not sure it’s as frightening as the film design. A lot of this has to do with the head being more or less unchanged, and thereby much larger compared to the body. He doesn’t look goofy or anything, but there’s a touch less menace. The figure is still fantastically detailed, though, and all of the signature XenoRevol3Xeno details are impeccably captured. The overall look of this figure is definitely a creepy one. The Warrior’s paint is rather similar to the Queen’s; the base plastic is a smokey clear color, with a semi-metallic blue painted over it, and then a few smaller silver details. I think the overall result is better here, though, and this figure doesn’t suffer from the same tackiness as the Queen. The Warrior includes a pretty nice assortment of extras, including a spare set of forearms without the big fin pieces, a pair of more splayed hands, an egg, a name plate, a display stand made to look like part of the colony’s floor, and a standard Revoltech box.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy was the other half of my gift from my boy Tim. I liked the Queen well enough, but the Alien Warrior really does step it up to the next level. He’s oh so posable, and he’s got the interchangeability thing going on, and he’s a whole lot sturdier. All that adds up to a pretty fantastic little figure. Is he perfect? No, but what figure is? That said, he’s just oodles of fun!

#0802: Alien Queen

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

ALIEN QUEEN

SCI-FI REVOLTECH

QueenRevol1

Alright, let’s get this party started! Christmas reviews officially kick off today! And it’s hardly a proper Christmas without some Aliens. It is, after all, the greatest film of all time (and required Christmas viewing in The FiQ household. No joke). As a fan of Aliens, I like to get as many of the figures as I can, and there have been more than a few different styles released over the years. Not too long ago, toy makers Revoltech had the license to the film. They released two figures from the movie, the second of which was the Alien Queen, which I’ll be reviewing today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

QueenRevol2The Alien Queen was released as figure #018 in the Sci-Fi Revoltech line. She’s based on her appearance in the second movie, which is the correct appearance to base a figure on. The figure stands approximately 7 inches tall when fully extended and has 86 points of articulation, plus a bendable tail. The vast majority of these joints are Revoltech’s signature revolver-style joints, which are some of the best designed joints in the industry. There are a few non revolver joints, used on the wrists and ankles. The ankle joints are fine, and they hold up pretty well, but the wrists, particularly the ones on the larger arms, are quite fragile. In fact, both of the larger wrists on my figure broke and had to be repaired, more than once, resulting in loss of movement on those joints. That’s quite a bit of a bummer, and really knocks this figure down in playablity. Regardless of stability, the sculpt of this figure is pretty darn impressive. The design has been made a bit more stylized, to better fit the rest of Revoltech’s stuff, but it’s a pretty good translation of the film design. The sculpt does a pretty great job of working in the joints, for the most part, anyway. Some, such as the hips, are a little more obvious, but not terribly so. The level of detail and texturing on the individual parts is pretty awesome, and there’s even detailing on the underside of the head! As an added bonus, the figure’s construction makes her compatible with prior Revoltech figures, such as their Assemble Borg line, which adds a pretty fun bit of customizability. The paint on the Queen is actually pretty cool, at least in theory. She’s molded in smokey-clear plastic, with a dark blue, semi-translucent paint over it. It gives her this really cool, otherworldly look. The paint is also somewhat metallic, which adds a nice polish, and there’s some pretty cool lighter highlight work to it. So, why “in theory”? Well, I got this figure a little while after its release, and upon opening, I discovered that the figure was quite tacky, which doesn’t make the figure super fun to play with long term. The Queen is a pretty intensive figure in her own right, so she isn’t jam-packed with accessories. However, she does get a few things, including a display stand that looks like the floor of the Sulaco, a name plate, and a standard Revoltech box.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Queen was given to me by my boy Tim, who’s well aware just how much I love Aliens, and fairly consistently quizzes me on just which versions of the creatures I own. After introducing me to Revoltech earlier this year and getting me hooked on their Assemble Borg line, he decided that the Revoltech Aliens were the next appropriate step. The Queen is not without her flaws, and she doesn’t quite stand up to the majesty that is the NECA version. That said, this figure did come first, so I can cut it some slack, and truth be told, she’s really not bad. As long as you’re careful, this can be a pretty awesome figure. Oh, and did I mention the fighting fists?

Queenrevol4

#0801: The Curator

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

THE CURATOR

DOCTOR WHO

Curator1

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Okay, well, it was. Provided, of course you view Christmas as the “most wonderful time of the year.” Which not everyone does. I’m getting sidetracked. Sorry! Point is, Christmas has just passed, and that means another round of Christmas reviews. However, before I can get to the Christmas reviews, I have to first do the anniversary gift, which is sort of kind of Christmas Review #0.

One year ago, I looked at the War Doctor, from the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special (the surrounding promotion of which was my primary reason for getting into Doctor Who in the first place). Today, I’ll be going back to the 50th Anniversary another time, to look at another figure from that special. Yes, it’s the Curator, played by legendary Doctor Who actor Tom Baker, who may or may not be a future incarnation of the Doctor!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Curator2The Curator is a deluxe release from the Doctor Who line from Character Options. Despite the line’s supposed move to 3 ¾ inch scale, there seems to be a continuous stream of new product at the larger scale. I’m not complaining, though. The figure stands about 5 ½ inches tall and has 22 points of articulation. He’s certainly taller than lots of previous figures from the line, but seeing as Tom Baker is 6’3”, that seems about right scale-wise. The Curator is based on Tom Baker’s cameo appearance from the very end of “The Day of the Doctor.” His sculpt appears to be all-new to him, though I’m not familiar enough with the Doctor Who molds to know for sure. The sculpt is, overall, not a bad piece, but he does feel like a slight step back in quality after the fantastic work seen on the “Time of the Doctor” version of Eleven. The best work is definitely the head, which has some fantastic detail work, and sports a wonderful likeness of an older Tom Baker. The rest of the sculpt is alright, if not amazing. He’s better than the vast majority of the line, for what it’s worth. His proportions are a little exaggerated, but they aren’t terrible. The thing that holds the sculpt back the most is the lack of any real texturing on the clothing. It’s in keeping with most of the line, so I’d give it a pass, except that was one area that the recent version of Eleven really excelled in. Still, the basic sculpt is pretty decent, and it’s a pretty good translation of the look of the character from the episode.  The paintwork on this figure is generally pretty good, but there are some issues that hold him back a bit. The biggest is the substantial amount of paint slop on his right ear, but there are also a few other places with some missed lines and slightly iffy application. That being said, it isn’t the worst I’ve seen from this line, and he looks pretty good overall, as a whole. The Curator includes a cane, which he carries for the entirety of his appearance. It’s a fairly basic piece, and he holds it pretty well. The other accessory is what makes this a deluxe item. It’s the “Galifrey Falls” painting, which has been done as a lenticular image, so that it can change to “Galifrey Falls No More” as it does in the episode.  It’s a neat addition, and the frame is very well sculpted, but the lenticular image makes it hard to really clearly see a fully formed painting. Still a cool piece, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Curator was an anniversary gift from Super Awesome Girlfriend. Isn’t it clever how she got me another anniversary special figure for our anniversary? And, since our anniversary is on the 24th, he’s also a pseudo-Christmas gift! So, the Curator’s not as cool as Eleven or the War Doctor, but he’s still a pretty neat little figure, and certainly a cool novelty item. Not a bad addition to the collection!

Curator3