Monthly Archives: January 2017

Guest Review #0039: Snake/Big Boss

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

SNAKE/BIG BOSS (PEACE WALKER)

REVOLTECH YAMAGUCHI

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The following is a guest review by Tim Marron.  For more from Tim, check out Timsical Thoughts!

Kept you waiting, huh?  Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these reviews, but it seems appropriate to bring it back with a review of the greatest hero in the world, Big Boss, or Snake.  It’s hard to tell which one.  On the box, he’s called Snake, so I guess we’ll go with that, but onto the review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

snaket2Snake has had a wide variety of looks across the Metal Gear franchise.  This particular figure is based off of his sneaking-suit look from Peace Walker, after having established Militaires Sans Frontières but before the events of The Phantom Pain.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and has 53 points of articulation, one of which is his eye which can be turned to look in practically any direction.  The sculpt work is quite nicely handled with a good amount of detail such as the the rivets and wires which can be seen under the fabric of Snake’s suit.  His face seems a little on the gaunt side and some of the revolver joints are a little more visually prominent than I might have liked, but that’s about par for the course with most Revoltech figures.  As far as I’m aware, this is entirely original sculpting though smaller pieces like the hands could have been used in other versions of Snake.  The only area in which the sculpt suffers isn’t even visible when the figure is fully assembled.  The aforementioned poseable eye has a peg on the back side to facilitated movement, however it sticks out just enough to get in the way of the central joint of the head. The figure’s paint is very clean for the most part, with just a little bleed around the edged of his hair and beard.  The suit in particular has some really nice fine detailing such as the MSF and FOX logos on the shoulders.  Snake comes with a bunch of accessories including some weapons, so no need to worry about OSP.  Included are 5 pairs of hands (fist, gripping, gripping w/trigger fingers, karate chop, and open gesture), an additional hand to hold what I assume is a stun baton/taser thing, said taser thing, an M16 rifle, a pistol with a suppressor, a pair of climbing hooks (perhaps?), an exclamation mark, a sleeping piece, an action effect stand, and an articulated stand.  Snake also comes packed with a piece of card stock that you can cut out and fold into the real hero of the Metal Gear universe, the cardboard box.  I like the figure a lot, but I felt it was my destiny to be here, with the box.  You should get the box too, then you’ll know what I mean.    

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ok, fine, that last line was technically a different Snake, but you laughed, maybe, I hope.  I actually got this figure with the intent of getting a Solid Snake to go with my Revoltech Raiden but it turned out that the other options were either the wrong scale or far too expensive at the time, so I settled for Big Boss.  Sure, he and Raiden never interacted, but it suits my needs just fine.  To be fair, he’s a really cool figure in his own right and I’m glad I have him.  When I got him I spent basically a whole day playing with him LIKE A DAMN FIDDLE!  Ok, not like a damn fiddle, but like a really cool action figure.

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#1169: Akazonae Royal Guard

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

AKAZONAE ROYAL GUARD

MEISHO MOVIE REALIZATION (BANDAI)

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Alright, we got the Aliens, we got the Super Heroes, so for Day 3 of the post-Christmas reviews, why not look at another cornerstone of my collecting habits: Star Wars!  In fact, this one is a double whammy, being both Star Wars *and* a high-end Bandia figure.  Huzzah!  The main Star Wars toy license for North America is held by Hasbro, who are pretty big into exclusivity and no-competition deals.  Because of this, no other toy company can release Star Wars figures under a certain price in the US, which is why the Star Wars Pop!s are bobble heads, and the Star Wars Sideshow figures carry a hefty price tag.  There are a few workarounds, however.  Bandai’s recently been putting out a line of concept figures, envisioning certain Star Wars characters as they might appear were they in a Samurai film, rather than a Sci-Fi one.  They’ve done a handful of the various Imperial Troopers and today I’ll be looking at my personal favorite, the Akazanae Royal Guard.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

royalguardmr2The Akazonae Royal Guard was released as the sixth figure in Bandai’s Star Wars: Meisho Movie Realization line.  He was originally slated as the fourth release, but was pushed back to follow variants of the Trooper and Darth Vader, and he ultimately hit just this past summer.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall (which was actually a bit larger than I was expecting, but I’m certainly not complaining) and he has 43 points of articulation.  The articulation has a bit of a learning curve to it.  It seems rather stiff at first, but once you get the hang of it, he’s actually a lot of fun to mess around with.  His sculpt is mostly unique to him, but it does appear that he shares at least some parts of the legs with the Storm and Sandtroopers, which is certainly reasonable from a consistency standpoint.  As far as the sculpt goes, he’s a bit tricky to review, what with not actually being based on any specific design.  With that being said, the sculpt is definitely a top-notch piece of work, and it does a good job of combining the Royal Guard’s film design with actual, functioning Samurai armor.  He’s a touch more ornate than previous figures (barring maybe Darth Vader), as he well should be, being an elite royal guard and all.  There’s lots of fun, little details sprinkled throughout the figure, and he incorporates some really nice layer work.  Also, I appreciate that, when configured certain ways, this figure can almost pass for just a slightly more armored version of the standard Royal Guard.  Were he not just a bit larger-royalguardmr3scaled, I’d probably just throw this guy in with my Black Series figures.  You might think that the paint work on this guy might be lax, being pretty much entirely red and all, but he’s actually got some pretty incredible work.  The actual hard armored parts have a nice, semi-gloss sheen, which contrasts nicely with the duller finish of the rest of the figure.  He’s also got a few different shades of red, which keep the whole look interesting.  He’s also got some really great accent work; there’s a black wash on a lot of the armored pieces, giving it a nice worn-in sort of feel.  There’s also some blue/indigo piping on a few sections, which adds a nice bit of flair, and really helps to break up all the red.  All around, this is just a very vibrant, very bold figure, especially when compared to the other figures in the line.  The Royal Guard includes a Katana, a scabbard, a large staff, three pairs of hands (in fists, loose, and tight grip), and a tabard that can be swapped out with the insignia on the front of his armor, thus creating a more classic Royal Guard look.  It’s a fun assortment of pieces, and provides a number of cool different looks.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Royal Guard was a Christmas present from my boy Tim.  I’d actually checked the figure out a few times, and it was the first of the Movie Realization figures to really speak to me.  Tim and I had a few conversations about the figure back when it was solicited, and it seems he took note of that.  I really like this figure, a whole lot.  There’s just so much about the design that really works, and I definitely feel he’s the strongest of the Movie Realization line, despite being one of the more minor designs presented therein.  There’s just so many fun ways to pose him and have him interact with others, and now I’m seriously considering picking up one or two of the others in the line at some point (a very dangerous venture indeed).  Thanks, Tim…

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#1168: Wonder Twins

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

ZAN, JAYNA, & GLEEK

SUPER FRIENDS (FIGURES TOY COMPANY)

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Wonder Twin powers activate!  Form of: an action figure review!

Hey guys, so here we are on day two of the post-Christmas reviews.  As I noted in the intro, this review is based around the Wonder Twins, that wacky duo (and their pet space monkey) who were sort of haphazardly shoved into the Justice League membership during the second season of Super Friends.  Of all the Super Friends-original characters, the Wonder Twins are probably the most enduring, likely due to being the only ones who didn’t feel like a pretty direct rip-off of something else (okay, yes, they were just Wendy & Marvin with powers, but lets not talk about that too much).  The duo were originally slated to get action figures during Kenner’s DC Super Powers line in the ‘80s, but the line ended before they could get past the drawing board.  They did eventually make it into plastic form as an exclusive two-pack in Mattel’s DC Universe Classics line, but, well, that was Mattel, so you can probably guess the whole thing didn’t go particularly smoothly.  Most recently, they’ve gotten another shot at action figure glory courtesy of Figures Toy Company.  I’ll be taking a look at those figures today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Zan, Jayna, and their pet monkey Gleek were released as a special three-pack in Figures Toy Company’s Super Friends line.  The line as a whole is patterned after Mego’s figures from the ‘70s, but with some of the more specific design elements coming straight from the Super Friends model sheets.

ZAN

wondertwins2Form of: Zan!  The male Wonder Twin is built on the standard Mego Type 2 style body.  Unlike the Dr. Mego bodies used by DST and Biff Bang Pow or the Big Jim-styled bodies from Mattel, Figures Toy Company’s version of the body doesn’t have any changes or improvements; the body is pretty much the same quality as the old ‘70s bodies.  This is okay from a consistency standpoint (since they’ll fit right in with the vintage figures), but means that the quality is that of a $4 action figure from the mid-70s, rather than a $20-30 figure from the last year, which can be slightly frustrating.  Moving past that, Zan stands about 8 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  As far as the body sculpt, he’s got a unique head and hands.  The head is a pretty decent summation of his animated design (certainly closer than Mattel’s attempt), and also fits pretty well with existing Mego figures.  The hands are a bit of a departure from the usual Mego style; they’re certainly nicely enough in terms of sculpt, but they’re made of a rather rubbery material, which makes they pop off the wrists at the slightest touch, and are rather difficult to get back in place.  In terms of costume, Zan has a jumpsuit with a pleather collar, a belt, and a pair of boots. The pieces mostly fit well enough; the collar could probably be a little better shaping wise, but it fits the style, and you can mess with it to make it look a little more presentable.  The one weird thing about the costume is the belt.  Clearly, they wanted Zan, Jayna, and Gleek to all be able to wear the same belt, so it’s sort of this one-size-fits-all thing, resulting in all three belts having an extra length running from the back, almost like an oddly placed tail.  One last thing: I feel I should note that the colors of the boots, gloves, and belt do all match in person, despite what it may look like on the photos.

JAYNA

wondertwins3Shape of: Jayna!  Jayne here is built on the standard female body, which seems rather oddly shaped if I’m honest.  It’s not awful, but not quite as solid as the male version.  It seems Jayna’s body is just a bit to tightly strung in the middle as well, which permanently leaves her with this sort of hunch.  It’s a bit odd.  Jayne is assembled pretty much exactly the same as her brother; sculpted head and hands, cloth costume with pleather collar, and rubber belt and boots.  The head is another pretty good piece, and looks well enough like Jayna.  The hands seem to be a slight improvement over Zan’s, as I had no issues with them falling off on her.  The issue with the belt, however, is even more noticeable with Jayna, thanks to her even smaller waist.  Her costume also seems to bunch up a bit more than Zan’s, but that’s an issue prevalent with Mego figures in general.  Not a whole lot more to say here, since she’s so similar to her brother.

GLEEK

wondertwins4Gleek doesn’t have a part of the catchphrase, so no witty intro there.  He does break from the trend in this set by not using one of the Mego bodies; instead, he gets an all-new body, designed to fit his more simian appearance.  The figure stands about 3 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation and a bendable tail.  Glenn’s sculpt is pretty solid, and actually does a very good job of capturing his design from he show.  The head in particular is quite spot on.  His little booties are sculpted onto the body, but the rest of the costume is tailored, so as to match with the twins.  He’s got a jumpsuit, a cape, and the same belt as the other two (albeit slightly differently colored).  The costume is on the baggy side, but it doesn’t look terrible. On the plus side, the cape is good for hiding the excess length of belt, thus eliminating the main problem with the other two figures’ costumes.  None of the figures in this set include any extras, but I feel Gleek is hit the hardest by this, since the bucket he always had on hand to carry Zan in his water form seems like a pretty obvious missing piece.  Guess I’ll have to find my own.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like yesterday’s set, these guys were a Christmas gift from my Grandmother.  It’s actually quite fitting, since the whole reason I’m familiar with Megos at all is because I played with my dad’s old figures when I would stay at her house, frequently watching taped episodes of cartoons such as Super Friends.  Interestingly enough, while a lot of people hated the Wonder Twins, I actually always liked them and was quite frustrated by how the Mattel versions were handled.  I was quite happy to actually get the duo and Gleek in figure form.  I won’t lie, these figures aren’t without their sets of issues.  If you aren’t firmly a Mego fan, these won’t be for you.  That being said, this is a very prominent example of the whole being better than the sum of its parts.  These figures didn’t disappoint me.

Guest Review #0038: Rue

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

RUE

THE HUNGER GAMES (NECA)

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The following is a guest review from Jill Mardesich.  Take it away Jill!

Rue is one of the iconic characters from the book The Hunger Games. She was the female tribute from District 11, the farming and agricultural district of Panem. Small and bird-like, she made up for her small stature with her cleverness and her ability to jump from tree to tree like a squirrel. She loved music and won over both the hearts of Panem and the readers/viewers of the 74th annual Hunger Games. She was an excellent tribute and a beautiful character… until, you know, she got stabbed with a spear and died

THE FIGURE ITSELF

rue2Rue stands 5 1/4 inches tall and has 10 points in her articulation. These points are in her neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, and ankles. Her hair is quite accurate to the character’s, but because it is molded plastic it greatly reduces the range of motion in her neck. She also has no articulation in her hips nor her knees, so there are very few positions you can actually put her in, which is a little disappointing. However, her sculpt is quite nice. I love how you can see every ringlets of her curls in her sculpt,and how detailed all of her clothing is. Each article of clothing looks like a distinctive fabric, which is accurate to the movie. Her paint is ok; there’s some slop along the lines on her jacket and her face doesn’t look great. Her facial features aren’t dainty enough to truly be Rue and go with the size of the figure. Her eyelids are heavy and her cheekbones are done is a way that really ages her,and her eyes are very strangely painted. It makes her look like she has an older woman’s face on an eleven (twelve?) year old’s body. Nothing is glaringly bad, but close inspection of the figure does make me feel like it was a little rushed. Rue comes with no accessories, which wouldn’t bother me if her right hand wasn’t obviously shaped to hold a knife like she does in the movie. Having the knife would also make her limited poses make more sense. According to Ethan, she looks like she was originally planned to have the knife, but NECA was probably told to just release her without it to save time.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rue is the very first figure I actually bought for myself. Ever. Before her, the figures I owned were the two that Ethan gave me for Christmas. I hadn’t really gotten into collecting the figures yet, but I saw her at the store Yesterday’s Fun and decided to get her. Rue is one of my favorite characters from The Hunger Games trilogy, even though she is only in one book. Her story is tragic from the beginning, because as a reader you know that Katniss is going to be the one that survives because she’s narrating the story. The odds were never in her favor (heh), but I fell in love with her. She was cheap and I liked her, so I got her. Though she has issues, I really do like her and am glad that she is one of the starters for my personal figure collection.

#1167: Ripley, Power Loader, & Alien Queen

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

RIPLEY, POWER LOADER, & ALIEN QUEEN

ALIENS REACTION FIGURES (FUNKO)

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Alright, here we are!  It’s a new year and a new round of post-Christmas gift reviews!  As is tradition, the first review of this round is an Aliens review.  Heck, it’s even an Alien Queen review!  This marks three in a row.  Why do I have so many Alien Queens?  It’s like I like the movie a lot or something….

You may have thought I’d looked at every possible version of the Alien Queen and the Power Loader available, but you’d be wrong.  No, there’s always another out there somewhere.  This time around, it comes from Funko and their line of ReAction Figures.  Let’s see how this set turned out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Ripley, the Power Loader, and the Queen were released as a three-pack, and are the first figures from the Aliens ReAction Figures line.  No follow-up figures have been announced as of yet, but here’s hoping that’ll change.

RIPLEY

ripleyloaderqueen3You can’t do an Aliens line without Ellen Ripley.  Okay, that’s not true.  Several lines have been done without Ripley.  But they weren’t any good, so I call party foul on them.  Funko actually got us our first Ripley figure in a good long while when the released the ReAction version from the first movie, so it’s not a huge shock that their doing her second movie look as well.  Ripley is seen here in her “rescue” look that she sports for the last 45 minutes or so of the movie, which is easily her most distinctive look from the film and is the one that matches up with the Loader as well.  This figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  She’s an all-new sculpt and it’s definitely one of the strongest sculpts I’ve seen from this line.  In fact, I think she may be my favorite.  She captures the Kenner style pretty well, but also gets all of the important details from the movie down.  She also doesn’t suffer from the overly straight arms and flattened chest that plagued so many of the ReAction items.  The likeness on the head isn’t the spitting image of Sigourney Weaver, but it’s close enough to the general look of the character that you won’t be left scratching your head wondering who it’s supposed to be.  Similar to the sculpt, the paint on this particular figure is pretty good for this line.  It’s pretty basic color work for the most part, but it’s all pretty clean, and, once again, it does a nice job of aping the style that they’re going for.  Ripley doesn’t include any extras, but that’s mostly because this set also includes…

POWER LOADER

…the Power Loader.  It’s marked as being a “figure” on the package, but that seems like an iffy definition at best, if I’m honest.  That being said, it’s made of plastic, vaguely humanoid, and features a whole 4 points of articulation, so I guess that’s as good as anything.  This Power Loader is notably a bit more rigid than prior versions, largely due to being tailored to fit a Kenner-style figure inside.  It also does seem a bit skinnier than it usually is depicted.  That being said, the sculpt is actually pretty decent.  Obviously, this isn’t going to be competing with the NECA version for accuracy, but it’s certainly more accurate than the original Kenner Loader, and at least on par with the Minimates version.  I’ve looked at a lot of Loaders in the last year or so, so it’s gonna be hard to “wow” me, but this one’s certainly not bad.  The paintwork is pretty much what you’d expect.  Once again, closer to the Minimate version that the NECA one, but all the important colors are there, which I suppose is the most important piece.

ALIEN QUEEN

ripleyloaderqueen2You know how I mentioned reviewing a lot of Power Loaders?  Well, the same holds true for the Alien Queen.  In fact, a bit more so.  Here’s another one, I guess.  This particular Alien Queen stands about 5 inches or so tall and is also about 5 inches wide, and she’s got 7 points of articulation.  The sculpt on this figure is…different.  It’s got the silhouette of the Queen down pretty well, but beyond that it takes more than a few liberties.  This kind of looks like the Queen if you squint, I guess.  It’s not bad, I suppose.  It looks somewhat similar to the basic Alien’s sculpt, so I guess there’s at least some consistency.  That being said, I don’t know that I’m getting the Kenner feel from this figure.  She just feels like she’s from another line entirely when compared to the included Ripley.  Not bad, but different enough to be noticeable.  The paint on the Queen is decent, but nothing particularly spectacular.  She’s mostly done up in this dark metallic grey.  Being somewhat nitpicky, the grey feels off for the Queen, who tends to be presented in bluish hues.  I feel I’d prefer the figure that way, but I don’t know.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was given to me for Christmas by my Grandmother, who does her very best to support my collecting habits.  I knew of this set’s existence prior to getting it, but hadn’t gotten around to picking it up, since I’ve got no shortage of Power Loaders and Alien Queens.  The Queen is the definite weak link here.  NECA’s incredibly amazing version has probably colored my opinion there, but it also doesn’t help that the *actual* Kenner Queen is far more exciting figure.  However, this set is totally worth it for the Loader and Ripley alone.  Nothing particularly new or ground breaking, but just a solid, fun toy.  Now, here’s hoping Funko gets around to some of the other cast members!