Yearly Archives: 2016

#1000: Captain America – Rescue Uniform Version

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA – RESCUE UNIFORM VERSION

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (HOT TOYS)

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Yes, dear reader, you read that review number correctly. Today marks the 1000th review on The Figure in Question! That’s a pretty big number, isn’t it? It’s kind of a turning point, since from here on out, that 0 at the beginning is gone. Goodbye little 0. You served me well.

Okay, let’s get the next 1000 reviews kicked off with one of my special Deluxe Reviews! This one is another Hot Toys figure, once again from their massive subset of Marvel Studios figures. As I noted in #0900, I generally try to avoid doubling up on characters when it comes to high-end collectibles. The one major exception to this, however, is Captain America. I’ve got a bit of Captain America addiction, mostly due to The First Avenger being my favorite of the Phase I solo films. In TFA, Steve has two distinct Captain America uniforms. The first is the Star Spangled Man look and the second is his main battle uniform. The figure I’m looking at today is sort of the bridge between those two looks.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CapRescue2Rescue Uniform Captain America was figure 180 in Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series. He was one of the three SDCC exclusive figures from Hot Toys in 2012, though he didn’t technically ship until after the con. The Rescue Uniform is so called in reference to Cap wearing it during his mission to rescue the Hydra-captured Allied soldiers at The First Avenger’s mid-point. Pretty much, it’s some fatigues and a bomber jacket thrown over the “Star Spangled Man” costume, in reference to the times during WWII set comic stories where Steve wore his costume under his fatigues to maintain his secret identity, as well as the WWII battlefield uniform from The Ultimates. The figure is a little over 12 inches tall and, according to Sideshow’s website, he has “over 30 points of articulation.”

First up, let’s look at the figure’s head sculpt. This was Hot Toys’ first stab at an unmasked Chris Evans. Although CapRescu3later figures would come closer with the likeness, this is far from a bad first try. Facially, I think it’s pretty spot-on. What really seems to throw the whole likeness off just a tiny bit is the hair, which is much more matted to the head than Evans usually has it. That being said, it’s supposed to be under the helmet, so it doesn’t look that off. All-in-all, it’s not one of the strongest heads HT’s ever done, but it’s still a solid piece. My only real complaint is that it seems a little less textured than other sculpts. That’s pretty minor, though. The paintwork is nice and solid, looking just as lifelike as ever. The hair is a touch darker than usual, but this, coupled with the more matted sculpt, sells his hair as being sweaty and matted, which seems pretty accurate to what happens when you go on a mission wearing a metal helmet.

Cap’s costume is quite involved, and impressively so. He doesn’t get the whole “Star Spangled Man” costume; just the torso portion of the shirt and the trunks. That’s more than enough to sell the effect, though, and what we can see matches up pretty much perfectly with the full SSM Cap from later on. He also gets a faux-leather jacket, a pair of khaki trousers, gaiters, and a two-part harness with lots of pouches. The pieces are all very nicely tailored and fit well on the chosen body. He also gets a pair of sculpted shoes, which are both incredibly well detailed. As with the SSM Cap, the star logo on his torso is a sculpted element as well, which plugs into the center of his chest. The most important piece of his outfit is his helmet (and by extension, the goggles on the helmet). The helmet is two pieces (as a proper WW II helmet would be). The under piece is plastic, and has the straps and such attached to it, while the over piece is metal, and quite solid metal at that. It’s very nicely textured, and looks like the real prop from the movie. It also sits on his head just right, and is pretty secure when in place. The goggles are a little difficult to get on the helmet at first, but once they’re in place, they stay put and they look pretty great too.

Cap(Rescue)AccessoriesCap’s underlying body is a bit better than the last Cap I looked at, given that it’s less of a Frankenstein creation. It’s just a pretty standard muscle body, which means he loses some articulation for the sake of the upper body’s appearance. But, that just ends up making him a bit more realistic, and it’s a good fit for this particular design.

Captain America includes a somewhat smaller accessory compliment, due to the more complex costume. However, he still gets a few cool items, including:

  • 6 different hands
  • Machine gun
  • Pistol (w/ holster)
  • Knife (w/sheath)
  • Shield
  • Display stand

All of the hands are sculpted wearing the leather gloves he has in the movie. There’s a pair of fists, a pair of relaxed hands, a grip for the shield, and a grip with a trigger finger for the two guns.

The weapons are all very nicely sculpted to match the in-film props. The two guns have moving pieces, just like their real counterparts would, which is certainly a fun bonus. The holster and sheath can be attached to the figure, with the holster attaching to the belt on the waist and the sheath tying onto his shin. These all allow for a complete rescue look.

The shield is the same piece as the SSM version. However, while that one was totally clean, this one has scrapes and dirt all over it, matching the figure’s more battle-ready appearance. It’s definitely some solid work, and it helps to differentiate him from the other figure even further. It would have been nice to also get a version of the shield with a dent from where Red Skull punched it, but this is the more important of the two, so I’m happy to have it.

Lastly, there’s the display stand. It’s the same basic stand we’ve seen lots and lots of times before, but it still works for what it’s supposed to do, so that’s good.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rescue Cap isn’t one of my first Hot Toys figures. He’s not even my first Hot Toys Cap. He is, however, the figure that is the most responsible for just how many Hot Toys figures are in my current collection, because he’s one of the earliest HT figures that I bought for myself. Rescue Cap is one of my favorite looks from the movies, so when HT first showed the prototype, I was eager to get him. It took a while for him to finally get slotted as a con exclusive, but he finally did and I sat on Sideshow’s website for several hours the day he went up for sale to make sure I got one. He’s probably my favorite HT figure I own, if I’m honest. There’s just a lot to like about this figure, and, above all, he’s a ton of fun! Of course, getting this figure led me to want to finish out the TFA Cap set, as well as picking up the Avengers Cap and, by extension, the rest of the Avengers. So, there was that…

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#0999: Taskmaster & Iron Spider-Man

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

TASKMASTER & IRON SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

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Zounds! Is this another Minimate review? Why yes it is! I feel like I’ve been doing a lot less of them as of late, so two in a row’s kind of cool. This is another animation-based set, from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. This set includes the somewhat controversial Iron Spider (here called Iron Spider-Man) as well as long time Marvel villain Taskmaster. Let’s check these two out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Taskmaster and Iron Spider-Man were released in Series 2 of the Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates line. As noted in the intro, both figures are based on their designs from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.

TASKMASTER

IronSpider&Taskmaster6Taskmaster makes his third appearance in the Minimates line. This is also the second time this year that this particular look has gotten a figure, after the Marvel Legend. This one’s a bit more strictly faithful to Taskmaster’s (second) animated design. The figure stands about 2 ½ inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation. Taskmaster gets two add-on pieces, for his hood/shoulder pads and his belt. Both of these are new to this particular figure, and they do a pretty decent job of capturing the animated look. The hood greatly restricts neck movement, though, which can be a bit frustrating. Taskmaster’s paintwork is pretty solid all around. There’s a good level of detail, and, unlike a lot of animated-style figures, he really shouldn’t have trouble fitting in with comic-styled ‘mates. Taskmaster is packed with his shield, a sword, and a clear display stand.

IRON SPIDER-MAN

IronSpider&Taskmaster7This is the third time we’ve gotten an Iron Spider Minimate (though only the second one to actually have the proper mechanical arms). For the purposes of the show, it’s just another Spider-Man look, but in the comics it was very much tied to the less-than-well-received original Civil War story, which has given the design a slightly…colored history. At least for me. This figure uses the same selection of pieces as the TRU-exclusive Iron Spider from the beginning of the year: he’s mostly a vanilla ‘mate, with a four piece backpack/mechanical arms add-on piece. It’s a pretty fun piece, and it even gives him an extra 3 points of articulation, which is really fun. The last two Iron Spiders had metallic paint schemes, but this one, being based on the animated appearance, uses flat colors with some creative shading. It’s not a bad look at all: the colors are really vibrant and all of the application is nice and clean. Iron Spider includes an extra, face revealed head, a jumping stand, and a clear display stand. If I’ve done my research right, I think that the face shown isn’t Peter, but Amadeus Cho, who wore this costume on the cartoon (which, by the way, makes this the first Amadeus Cho action figure).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Gamora and Drax, I found this set while looking for a pair of shoes. Fun times. I didn’t yet own either of these characters, and they’re also both pretty fun figures, so I’d definitely consider this set a win!

#0998: Gamora & Drax the Destroyer

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GAMORA & DRAX THE DESTROYER

MARVEL MINIMATES

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Hey, remember 251 days ago when I looked at the Minimates of Star-Lord and Groot from the current Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon? Probably not. I do, what with, you know, writing it and all. Well, why don’t you go read it and give me the extra views? Anyway, I’m referencing it here because today I’ll be looking at DST’s first follow-up to that set. It’s the rest of the main team, Drax and Gamora! Let’s see how they turned out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Drax and Gamora are part of Series 2 of the Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates (which is actually the third series, thanks to the weird “1, 1.5, 2” numbering). They’re both based on their designs from the aforementioned cartoon.

GAMORA

Drax&Gamora3This marks Gamora’s third Minimate in the line, which isn’t too bad for someone most of the general public didn’t know about until two years ago. Gamora gets one of the more tweaked designs in the cartoon. It’s sort of based on her Ravager gear from the end of the movie, but it’s sort of, I don’t know, averaged with her main assassin look from the rest of the film, resulting in what we see here. It’s not a bad look, though it’s just a bit blander than her others, if I’m honest. Still, not bad. The figure is a little under 2 ½ inches tall and has the usual 14 points of articulation. Her only add-on piece is her hair, which is also shared with this series’ Black Widow ‘mate. It’s not a bad piece. It’s definitely very stylized, but it works quite well for Gamora’s design from the show, and looks quite lively to boot. The rest of her details are handled via paint. It’s not as detailed as some Minimates, but the work here is incredibly sharp, and does quite a nice job of capturing the animated design, which, I might add, translates pretty flawlessly to the ‘mate aesthetic. Gamora includes her signature sword (which is the same piece as the Series 57 movie version’s), as well as a little potted Groot, which is probably one of my favorite Minimate accessories in quite some time.

DRAX THE DESTROYER

Drax&Gamora2Ah, finally. After it was dropped for the movie, animated Drax regains his “The Destroyer” sub-title. Yay! Like Gamora, this also marks Drax’s third Minimate. Drax’s design is a good deal closer to his movie appearance (specifically his Ravager gear) than Gamora’s. His tattoos are a bit simpler, and he’s straight grey rather than greyish green, but the overall look is pretty much the same. Drax makes use of three add-on pieces. His waist cap is a standard piece, which just gives him a little extra bulk. The gauntlets appear to be new pieces (I could be wrong on that), and they work quite nicely for Drax’s design. Drax’s paintwork is pretty solid. Once again, he’s a bit more simplistic than other recent ‘mates, but he looks really sharp. I especially like the tattoos, and I really appreciate the angry expression on his face. Drax includes a pair of knives (taken from the movie version).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After pretty much totally missing Series 1.5, I stumbled across this pair while looking for a pair of flip-flops at a nearby Walgreens. I know, I was in a Walgreens for something other than action figures! The shock! I figured I might as well pick them up to complete the set I started with Series 1. If I’m honest, potted Groot is what really sold me on this set. That being said, I find both Gamora and Drax to be high quality ‘mates, probably better than their movie versions.

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#0997: Captain Phasma

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

CAPTAIN PHASMA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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With the dust very definitely settled from The Force Awakens, it does seem that people went a little crazy over Captain Phasma. She was a perfectly entertaining character, and she definitely had a cool design, but there wasn’t much more than that. Which definitely upset some people. I had no real expectations, so I wasn’t let down. I would like to see more of her in the next one, though (especially after catching up on Game of Thrones and finding out just how awesome Gwendoline Christie can be), so here’s hoping. Phasma’s gotten at least one figure in each of The Force Awakens’ many lines, with the latest being from the smaller Black Series line-up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PhasmaSmall2Phasma is the last of the three figures that make up the fourth series of Walmart’s exclusive 3 ¾-inch Star Wars: The Black Series. The figure stands a pretty sizeable 4 ¼ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. Her design is quite similar to the First Order Stormtrooper, but the actual figure is a fair bit sturdier than the smaller Trooper, which is much appreciated. There’s plenty of great fine detail work (the helmet once again stands out), and the proportions are pretty nicely balanced. My only complaint is less about ther sculpt and more the way the figure was packaged: her shins are quite bowed, which makes keeping her standing quite difficult. The cape (which is a sculpted add-on) is thinner and less obstructive than the larger figure’s cape, which is good. It’s a little odd, since the aesthetics of this series so far have dictated cloth capes and such, but I can’t say I mind the sculpted piece. Like her two previous figures from Hasbro, this Phasma goes for flat silver paint, in place of the more chrome stylings of the movie. I’m still a little bummed by that, but it’s a little more acceptable on a more articulated figure such as this one. In spite of the flatter finish, the paintwork here is pretty solid. There’s a bit of bleed over on some of the black/silver changeovers, but that’s all pretty minor. Phasma is packed with her usual custom blaster, which she can hold much better than the troops she commands could hold theirs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Han and Leia, Phasma was purchased for me by Super Awesome Girlfriend. As with all the Phasmas I’ve looked at so far, I really like this one. I think the 6-inch one is still my favorite of the three versions, but this one’s still really solid, and I think she’s my favorite of the Series 4 figures!

#0996: Han Solo

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

HAN SOLO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

HanStarkiller1

Continuing off of what I said about Leia and Han yesterday: given the sizeable role of Han in The Force Awakens, it was no shock that he was the first of the pair to get added to the toyline.  It was a bit surprising that he was not offered in the higher-end 3 ¾ inch line, though.  However, that’s something that Hasbro has now amended, if perhaps not quite in the way we were expecting.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HanStarkiller2Like Leia, Han was released in the fourth series of Walmart’s exclusive 3 ¾ inch Star Wars: The Black Series.  This is the second Han in this line (though the first one was from Jedi) and the third Force Awakens Han overall.  So, how is this not quite the Han we were expecting?  Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, he’s wearing his cold weather gear, which Han has for (parts of) the attack on Starkiller Base.  It’s not a look that he has for long, and it’s certainly less of a signature look than the black jacket. With that being said, it’s far less of an issue with Han than it was with Leia, since this isn’t Han’s first figure from TFA and it’s also not a bad look.  The figure is about 4 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation.  The sculpt isn’t quite as good as his 6-inch counterpart, but it’s not bad.  The body definitely gets the best work, with tons of really great texturing on the jacket in particular.  I’m also glad that the holster can be plugged and unplugged from his leg, allowing for some additional movement that the prior Han did not.  I’m having trouble seeing much Harrison Ford in the head, but I think that may have more to do with paint than anything else.  Structurally, the head sculpt doesn’t look too far off from the 6-inch version, which was pretty good.  So, about that paint.  It could definitely be better.  The body isn’t bad, but the head is a bit of a mess.  Ignoring the brown hair (which seems to be a licensing thing), the application on the eyes is just off.  They’re not properly placed and they’re at least twice as big as they should be.  Han’s definitely got the crazy eyes going on.  The brown hair and larger eyes also have the misfortune of making him look far younger than he should, which is not what you want from an old-man Han.  Han includes his blaster pistol, which is nicely sculpted and very well painted.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just as with Leia, I didn’t find Han at any of the Walmarts near me.  In fact, I didn’t find him at all: Super Awesome Girlfriend did!  Han’s a figure that could definitely use some improvement.  He had a high bar to clear after the truly amazing 6-inch Han, and he didn’t quite do it.  That being said, he’s certainly not a bad figure.  I’d be curious to see if a better paint job could breathe some new life into him.

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#0995: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

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When the initial few waves of The Force Awakens product hit, the old guard of characters were largely absent, despite the large role of Han Solo in the film, and the decently-sized (and certainly incredibly important) role of Leia Organa. Around February of this year, Han found his way into both the 3 ¾ and 6 inch-scale lines, but Leia was still noticeably absent. Until now, that is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LeiaTFA2Princess Leia was released in the fourth series of the Force Awakens-themed 3 ¾ inch Star Wars: The Black Series, a line which remains exclusive to Walmart. So, first bone of contention with this figure: the name. In the movie, it’s kind of a point that Leia’s not really royalty any more, and she’s almost exclusively referred to as “General Organa.” It’s a small thing, but it’s an important change for her character. The fact that the box just lists her as “Princess Leia Organa” is kind of annoying (and doubly so, since there’s already another figure in this line with that *exact* name, which is just confusing everybody). Of course, the name’s pretty easy to move past, since I didn’t keep her in the package. What’s a little less easy to move past is the costume choice. Leia spends most of her screen time in a military uniform, which is not unlike her look from the Endor scenes in Jedi. She then spends about 5 minutes at the very end of the movie in a blue dress. We got the blue dress look, which I can’t say is my favorite. Alas, I don’t work for Hasbro, so I guess I’ll just deal. The figure stands about 3 ½ inches tall and has 22 points of articulation. She can get some decent motion out of her arms and neck, so that’s good. For what it’s worth, there’s a full body sculpt under her dress (she’s keeping it modest with a full-body stocking), articulated legs and all. The legs are rather limited, both by the obtrusive dress piece and by the decision to only give her cut joints at her hips.  Just as in the movie, her dress has a two-piece design, with the outer “jacket” being made from soft plastic and the under dress being real cloth. They mesh together pretty well, and it’s sort of a best of both worlds thing, preserving look and some of the movement as well. Issues with the design aside, I will admit that this is a pretty solid sculpt. The head captures Carrie Fisher pretty nicely, and I like the small texture details on the sculpted parts of the dress quite a bit. Leia actually doesn’t have much paint, with most of the dress being molded in the same blue. She gets some paint on her head, obviously. It’s not terrible, but it could certainly be better, especially the eyes. Leia includes no accessories, which is a bit of a bummer.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve not had much luck with getting the Walmart-exclusive Black Series figures in my area, so I’ve yet to see any of these figures near me. However, Super Awesome Girlfriend is not cursed like me, and ended up just finding Leia by accident one day. Yay for me! I’ll be honest: this isn’t the Leia figure I was hoping for. Her other Force Awakens look is far more action figure-worthy, and would just make for an all-around better figure. With that said, this figure isn’t terrible, and I’ll definitely take this over no Leia at all. Here’s hoping the other version’s on the way.

#0994: Motorized Voltron Lion Force

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

MOTORIZED LION FORCE VOLTRON

VOLTRON (LJN)

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Voltron, Defender of the universe!

Just last month, Netflix launched their reboot of the Voltron franchise, which was actually really quite good. As of yet, there’s been no news about toys from this particular incarnation, so I guess the best I can do is something based on the original series. Towards the beginning of this site’s reviews, I took a look at Mattel’s most recent set of Voltron figures. Today, I’ll be going all vintage, and looking at one of the Voltrons from the time of the original show.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Voltron2The five lions that make up Voltron were released by LJN in 1984, under the “Motorized Lion Force Voltron” name. The lions were available in two different ways: they could be purchased in pairs (Red/Blue and Green/Yellow, with Black being packed on its own), or as a complete set. The actual lions were identical; only the packaging differed. The Red and Green lions are about 3 inches long and each have 16 points of articulation. The Blue and Yellow Lions are each 4 inches long, and have 15 points of articulation. Finally, the Black lion is also about 4 inches long, but is also about 3 inches wide, and it has 18 points of movement. All five of the lions also have a set of wheels at their base, which when pulled back will launch the lion forward. I don’t know why, since they didn’t do anything like this on the show, but this is where the “motorized” part of their name comes from. The four smaller lions are all pretty decent matches for their cartoon counterparts, and feature decent sculpts for the time. The Black lion is a little less accurate to the show, in order to better facilitate the Voltron combination. It’s not horribly far off, but it’s definitely a lot boxier than the show design. When the five lions are combined into Voltron, the figure stands about 8 inches tall and has 20 points of functioning articulation (there are a few other spots of movement, but they don’t really benefit the Voltron form). This version of Voltron is a lot stockier and squared off than his cartoon incarnation, but such is the sacrifice of making a Voltron that can be both Voltron and the separate lions. Some compromises need to be made. This is a figure that does, admittedly, show his age a fair bit, as later Voltron’s have managed to be a bit closer. That being said, this one isn’t bad for the scale or the time, so good on LJN for that! The various details on Voltron are handled through a combination of decals and a small bit of paint. The decals are a little aged, but they’ve held up pretty well, and add some fun details to the figure. The paint work is all pretty basic, and there’s some slop here and there, but the overall effect is pretty great.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mattel’s more recent Voltron was my first proper Voltron, and as much as I love that one, its size makes it a little hard to manage, and also far from portable. So, I was in the market for something a little smaller that could be part of my travelling collection. I ended up finding this particular Voltron being sold as all of its individual parts at an antique store I was visiting with my family. The whole figure was about $20, which seemed reasonable enough. This is definitely a goofier Voltron than I’m used to, but he’s still pretty nifty to have, and I’m certainly happy to have a Voltron that I don’t need a crate to move around.

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#0993: Nostromo Crew Minimates

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

DALLAS, LAMBERT, BRETT, & XENOMORPH

ALIEN MINIMATES

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“In space, no one can hear you scream…”

Well, unless you’re talking about Lambert, in which case everyone can hear you scream. Constantly. With no end in sight. Ugh. Okay, perhaps that was a bit harsh. May what Lambert was really screaming about was the lack of any action figures. Well, scream no more Lambert, because Diamond Select Toys has got you, along with Brett and Dallas, covered, thanks to the awesome set of Minimates I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Dallas, Lambert, Brett, and the Xenomorph were all released together in the Hastings-exclusive “Nostromo Crew” set, the second Alien-themed boxed set from DST.

DALLAS

Nostromo2 Dallas, captain of the Nostromo, is the one <human> member of this set who isn’t a stranger to action figures. In fact, he’s the one character who’s shown up in just about every major scale that Alien merchandise has been offered in, and he’s even got another Minimate on the way. This ‘mate shows Dallas as he spends most of his time on-screen: in his Nostromo crew uniform, wearing his signature jacket. Dallas is constructed using two add-on pieces, for his hair and jacket. The hair is a re-use from Marvel Series 31’s Captain Marvel. It’s a well sculpted piece, and it’s appropriately ‘70s enough for the look Dallas is sporting in the movie. The jacket is the same basic jacket piece we’ve seen several times before in this and other lines. It’s a pretty generic piece, and it works great for Dallas. The painted detailing on Dallas is really awesome. The face has a spot-on likeness of Tom Skerritt, and the rest of the body features a ton of fun little details. I like that he’s got the little Weyland/Yutani logo on both his jacket and his shirt, and I really appreciate the dedication to getting the lacing on the front and arms of his jacket just right. Dallas is packed with a spare set of arms, allowing for a sans-jacket look, as well as a small pistol, a flamethrower (with a flame attachment), and a clear display stand.

LAMBERT

Nostromo4Lambert is the Nostromo’s navigator. She’s also one of the three members of the crew to go out on the surface of LV-426 and is one of the longest lasting members of the crew. As such, it’s a bit surprising that this is the first time she’s ever made it into action figure form. Maybe all that screaming deterred people. Lambert is seen here in her attire from when she’s on board the ship. It’s not the most exciting look ever, but it’s the one she spends most of the movie in, so there’s that. Lambert has add-ons for her hair and her vest. The hair is re-used from the T2 line’s first Kyle Reese figure, and it’s admittedly a bit off for Lambert. In the movie, her hair was a fair bit more close-cropped than this piece depicts, and she would probably have been more suited with something like the piece included with Cpl Hicks. The vest is the same piece as Dallas’s, and it works perfectly fine here. Lambert’s paint isn’t quite as exciting as Dallas’s, since it doesn’t feature as many fun details. That being said, it’s still high quality. All the details are nice and sharp, and she looks pretty much as she’s supposed to. The face is a bit on the bland side, but there’s a fix for that I’ll get to in one second. For accessories, Lambert includes a flamethrower (no flame trail this time), a pistol, an extra head, and a clear display stand. The best piece by far is the extra head, which depicts Lambert with the frightened look she has on her face for most of the movie’s runtime. Where the normal head is a bit bland and expressionless, this head is pitch-perfect for Lambert.

BRETT

Nostromo3Brett is the lowest ranking member of the crew, and the first casualty of the full-grown Alien. He’s kind of a tragic character really, being little more than a working class yes-man who just wanted to be paid his fair share. Like Lambert, he’s never gotten an action figure before. This figure depicts Brett in pretty much the only thing we ever see him wearing: a uniform with a Hawaiian shirt over it, and a Nostromo-branded baseball cap. Brett gets add-on pieces for his hair/hat, jacket, and the lower part of his shirt. The hat comes from the first series of Walking Dead Minimates, and it’s a pretty good fit for Brett. The jacket was used on Star Trek Legacy’s Picard ‘mate, and it offers a slightly different jacket from the other two figures in this set, in order to differentiate that Brett is from engineering, rather than the bridge. Brett also gets a hand holding a cigarette, which helps add a nice extra bit of character to the figure. As far as paint goes, Brett’s is pretty great. The face isn’t quite as spot-on as Dallas was, but you can still definitely see a lot of Harry Dean Stanton in there. The rest of the body has a lot of other fun details as well, and I’m particularly pleased with how well the Hawaiian shirt turned out. I also really like the fact that there’s a fully detailed waist under the extra bit of shirt, which is fully distinct from Dallas’s. Brett includes an extra set of arms for displaying him without the jacket, as well as an extra normal hand, a pistol, and a clear display stand. It would have been nice to get the little stunning device he had while chasing the newborn, but what he got is reasonable.

XENOMORPH

Nostromo5Well, I suppose you can’t really have an Alien set without throwing in at least one figure of the title character, can you? So, here’s the third of the four versions we’ve gotten of the Big Chap. Structurally, this is more or less the same figure as the Xeno in the first Alien boxed-set, which itself wasn’t too far removed from the various versions of the Xeno we’ve gotten from the main Aliens line. Aside from the slight inaccuracy on the hands (which are three-fingered like the Aliens design, rather than six-fingered like the Big Chap is supposed to be), the various pieces are all very nicely sculpted and are quite accurate to the source material. The one change to this figure from others is the jaw. Other versions of the Big Chap have all had an open jaw, but this one is closed. A minor change, to be sure, but one that adds a nice bit of variety. The paintwork on this Xenomorph is also pretty similar to what we’ve seen on other Xenos. The details are nice and sharp, and the figure has a cool glossy sheen. The dome is now more of an amber hue than other versions, which actually looks really cool, and allows you to better see the underlying skull. It’s hard to say who some of the accessories in this set were supposed to go with, so I’m going to lump the newborn and facehugger in with the Xenomorph. In addition to those two pieces, the Xeno also includes a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I kept meaning to pick this set up, but not having any Hastings stores anywhere near me meant getting this set would be a little bit of a hassle, so it kept getting put off. With Hastings’ announcement they were filing for bankruptcy and closing down all the MovieStops (one of which I have near me), I decided to take advantage of the ensuing sale to pick up this particular set for a little bit less than its original value. Dallas is a very well-done figure. It’s immediately clear who he’s supposed to be, and the small details really seal the deal. Lambert isn’t the star of this set, but she’s certainly a solid ‘mate. The extra head in particular does a lot to make her even more worthwhile. Brett is a really fun figure, and probably my favorite in the set, even if he’s not quite as good as Dallas overall. Still, he’s a fantastic addition to the crew. The Xeno doesn’t really do anything new or exciting, but he’s still just as good as any of the prior Xenos have been. All in all, not a bad set. I’m glad I finally got one.

Nostromo6

 

#0992: Space Armor Iron Man

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

IRON MAN – SPACE ARMOR

IRON MAN (TOYBIZ)

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Just like Captain America, my first exposure to Iron Man was via his cartoon from the ‘60s. However, unlike poor Cap, Iron Man wasn’t quite as obscure in the mid-90s. While Marvel’s big cartoons in the 90s were Spider-Man and X-Men, both Iron Man and the Fantastic Four received their own cartoons as part of the Marvel Action Hour. By extension, Iron Man (and the FF) got his own line of toys from Toy Biz, right as I was getting into super heroes and action figures. That was really quite convenient, wasn’t it? I’ve looked at a handful of figures from this line, but I’ve yet to look at the main man himself. That changes today, with my review of Space Armor Iron Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SpaceIM2Space Armor Iron Man was released in the second series of the Iron Man line. He was one of three versions of Iron Man in this particular series, all of which were at least somewhat comics-based. The Space Armor has the notoriety of being one of the earliest specialty armors that Tony created. There have been a few different versions of the armor over the years (and a lot of the differences are really just based on inconsistencies between artists interpretations). This particular version was lifted directly from the cartoon’s design, which isn’t a direct translation of any particular look from the comics, but looks somewhat like a cross between the Model 05 and Model 10 armors (aka Marks I and II of the Space armor). The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. Now, the interesting thing to note about Toy Biz’s 90s Iron Men is that each one was a basic figure, with a number of vac metalized armor pieces, which could be clipped on to complete that particular armor’s look. Exactly how close the figures were to their intended design without these pieces greatly varied from figure to figure. Space Armor Iron Man isn’t far off from the intended design, but he’s noticeably a lot sleeker, which results in him bearing more than a passing resemblance to the classic Iron Man design from the 60s/70s. Of course, the Space Armor was really just a slight tweaking of that design anyway, so that’s about right. The base sculpt is quite nicely done, with balanced proportions and some cool little armor details here and there. To facilitate the removable armor, the figure has holes on either side of the torso, the waist, the shoulders, the forearms, and the shins. These can be a bit distracting, but they aren’t terribly so, and the figure doesn’t look horrid without the extra armor. Space Armor Iron Man included eight armor pieces: a chest plate, back pack, two shoulder pads, two wrist guards, and a pair of boots. My figure is missing the shoulder and chest pieces, but you can get a pretty good idea of what the armor looked like. The backpack had a set of handholds that were attached to a hook at the top of the pack. When the handholds were moved a certain direction, the hook would retract. As far as paint goes, Space Armor Iron Man was rather simple, with various reds and yellows, the majority of which are molded plastic. What paint there is has been applied cleanly, and the flat red of the figure and metallic red of the armor work well together. In addition to the armor pieces, this figure also included a missile launcher, though, curiously enough, no actual missile to launch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This Iron Man is a very special Iron Man. And no, not in a “keep your kids of drugs” sort of way. This is my very first Iron Man action figure. You remember waaaaaaaaay back in my review of Night Hunter Batman, when I mentioned my dad finding an Iron Man figure at the Service Merchandise that netted me my second Batman? Well, after he got an Iron Man, I wanted one too. On her way to work one day, my Mom took me to the KB Toys at the mall specifically to get me an Iron Man. I remember we got there before the store opened and I could actually see the display of Iron Men through the store’s window while we waited. After looking at the available options, this was the one I chose, mostly due to him being the closest to the classic Iron Man design, which was the one I was most familiar with. To this day, he remains my favorite Iron Man I own, and I think he really holds up!

#0991: The Spirit Minimates

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

SPIRIT, SAND SERRIF, THE OCTOPUS, & SILKEN FLOSS

THE SPIRIT MINIMATES

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Sometimes, I like to use this space to defend unpopular movies, and talk about why people should cut them some slack or maybe point out some of the redeeming features that people may have missed. I won’t be doing that for The Spirit. Because The Spirit is not by anyone’s definition a good movie, and by pretty much everyone’s definition, it is a very bad movie. A very bad movie that I enjoy way too much for my own good. Seriously, I’m not defending the movie in the slightest. A lot of people hate the movie, and for very good reason. As an adaptation of The Spirit comics, it’s god-awful. Just as a movie, unconnected to the source material? Well, it’s still god-awful, but it’s that kind of awful where it’s so awful that it becomes entertaining. Before the movie was released (and everyone had realized just how awful it really was), several rather reputable toy companies picked up the license for it. This included Diamond Select Toys, who put out two sets of Minimates: a four-pack and a two-pack. I’ll be looking at the four-pack today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released shortly after The Spirit hit theatres, alongside the complementary two-pack. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to release it prior to the film, but DST probably didn’t know what the reception was going to be like.

THE SPIRIT

SpiritMates2Say what you will about the movie, there’s no denying that it’s lead actor Gabriel Macht really tried his best to give a good performance. His comically serious Spirit was far from the worst thing in the movie, and he at least looked the part. Well, more or less. The figure stands a little under 2 ½ inches tall and has the standard 14 points of articulation. Spirit is built on the standard Minimate body, with add-ons for his hat/hair, coat, and tie. All of these pieces were new to Spirit when he was released, but DST wasted no time putting them to use in other lines. They’re all rather impressively sculpted. The Spirit is decidedly more geometrically based than the other characters, and this really works in the ‘mate’s favor. He looks very sharp. Spirit’s paintwork is pretty basic. He’s mostly just a lot of black. However, he does have a fully detailed pair of tennis shoes, a belt buckle, and even a fully detailed front to his shirt, despite it being obscured by his tie and jacket. The face definitely resembles Macht in the role, but it also makes for a nice generic masked hero face. Spirit included an extra hairpiece, also unique to this figure, which does a pretty nice job of capturing Spirit’s close combed hair from the film.

SAND SERRIF

SpiritMates4Sand Serrif ends up being a fairly generic femme fatale sort of character. Eva Mendes is sort of likeable in the part, but not incredibly interesting. This ended up being Mendes’ first Minimate, but it would have been her second had the infamous Marvel Minimates Series 15 (based on the first Ghost Rider) ever been released. Sand had several different appearances over the course of the film. This one is based on her catsuited look from early on in the film, which is probably one of her better looks. This version of Sand was originally supposed to be in the two-pack, rather than the larger set, but her two ‘mates were swapped just before release, presumably due to this look being the more prominent of the two Sands released. The figure has one add-on for her hair. It was a new piece at the time, but, like with Spirit, the piece has seen quite a bit of re-use since. It’s a good sculpt, and it looks pretty much just like Mendes’ hair in the movie, so that’s good. The rest of the details are handled via paint, which is pretty good, with the exception of one rather annoying issue. The actual application is pretty great, and I especially like the glossy finish of the catsuit. The face even has a very good likeness to Mendes. The issue is that her skintone is all painted, and this seems to have not been taken into account in regards to the sizing of the hairpiece. The piece is kind of tight, so there ends up being more than a little paint transfer, resulting in rather annoying dark brown lines on her face. Sand included no accessories, which was a definite bummer, since even a simple handgun would have been nice.

THE OCTOPUS

SpiritMates3Samuel L. Jackson’s performance as The Octopus was one of the stronger points of contention with this movie. In the comics, the Octopus is a mysterious figure, whose face is never seen. In the movie, the Octopus is loud, foul-mouthed, obnoxious, and his face is all over the place. SLJ’s version of the character is a pretty much complete departure from the source material. That being said, it’s also so over the top that it’s hard not to enjoy it just a little, even if it makes pretty much no sense. The Octopus has a bunch of different outfits over the course of the movie (it might be eight. That would be clever, and I’m not sure I can give the filmmakers that much credit). This figure appears to be based his final battle appearance. I can’t say it’s my favorite of his looks, but it’s fairly indicative of the character. Octopus has add-ons for his hat and his coat. They both feature quite a bit of textured detailing, and do a reasonable job of capturing the on-screen look. The painted details are quite plentiful. The pattern on his jacket is quite impressively done, and the sort of thing you don’t see very often on a Minimate. The face is rather generic. It doesn’t not look like SLJ, but it doesn’t particularly look like him either. He’s also missing ears, which is slightly annoying. The Octopus includes two weapons, constructed from various strapped together guns.

SILKEN FLOSS

SpiritMates5Hey, did you know that Scarlet Johansen’s first comic book super hero movie wasn’t Iron Man 2? Nope, it was actually The Spirit. She takes a villainous turn in this one, as the right-hand woman to The Octopus (meaning Iron Man 2 wasn’t the first time she worked for SLJ either). Silken Floss has a couple of notable costumes over the course of the movie. The one depicted here is her nurse’s outfit, which is probably her second most memorable look from the movie. Given that the other look is a Nazi uniform, though, it’s not hard to cut DST a little slack on the costume they chose. Floss has add-ons for her hair and skirt. The hair is a new piece, and it’s fantastically sculpted, with lots of amazing detail. It’s incredibly character-specific, which is probably why it hasn’t been re-used since. The skirt is the same piece used on the SM3 Mary Jane ‘mate, making it the first re-use piece in this whole set. It’s a close enough match that one can hardly complain about its use here. The paintwork on Floss is pretty solidly done. I think her likeness may be the best Johansen likeness that DST’s done, so that’s cool. I do wish the paint on the wrists extended just a little bit further down, so that she didn’t have the weird black wristbands that he has now. It would also have been nice if her feet were something other than solid black, but that’s minor. Silken Floss included no accessories, which is a little disappointing. A needle or something would have been nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

There’s a slightly sentimental story behind these guys, so bear with me. When The Spirit was released, I couldn’t find anyone to go and see it with me, and, at the time, I was not able to drive myself to the movie theatre. I made mention of wanting to see it to my dear friend the late Marty Gear while we were at a party. The next day, Marty showed up at our house out of the blue and said he had decided he wanted to see the movie and asked if I wanted to go with him. So, Marty and I went and saw The Spirit. And it wasn’t a good movie, but it was a fun time. Being who I am, when I saw this set of Minimates at Cosmic Comix, I had to pick them up. Looking back, it’s pretty astounding how much effort DST put into these guys. They really wanted this license to go well. It’s a shame it didn’t sell well, because these are some downright fantastic ‘mates. And, as an extra bonus to me, they’ll always remind me of Marty, and that’s no small bonus.