Monthly Archives: February 2018

#1575: Admiral Ackbar & First Order Officer

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

ADMIRAL ACKBAR & FIRST ORDER OFFICER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Star Wars fandom has a tendency to latch onto certain characters, and blow there contributions way out of proportion.  The biggest example of this is, of course, Boba Fett, but coming up close behind has got to be Admiral Ackbar.  Ackbar’s big claim to fame is a unique design and one highly memorable line.  Pretty much the only difference between him and Nien Numb (introduced in the same movie, and with about the same amount of screen time) is that Ackbar actually spoke English.  Despite all of this, there was a sizable chunk of people who were genuinely angry that Ackbar’s role in The Last Jedi was that of a background character….just like he has been for his entire existence.  I personally was happy to see him again in whatever role they could give him, and even happier to see him get a new action figure out of the whole thing.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Admiral Ackbar and his pack mate, a generic First Order Officer, were released in a Toys R Us-exclusive two-pack as part of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series.

ADMIRAL ACKBAR

“Ackbar became a Grand Admiral in the New Republic, winning many victories, including the pivotal Battle of Jakku.  He retired to Mon Cala but was coaxed back into service with the Resistance by Leia Organa.”

Ackbar is no stranger to action figures, but this is his first time in the 6-inch scale.  He’s seen here in his uniform from The Last Jedi, which is different from his TFA uniform, which was in turn different from his RotJ uniform.  Each time, it seems his uniform’s gotten a bit less unique.  I don’t dislike his Last Jedi design, but Ackbar is really just wearing the same togs as everyone else.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation, which includes an articulated jaw.  Pretty swanky.  Ackbar’s sculpt is new to him, and it’s certainly impressive.  The best work is definitely on his head and forearms, which capture the prosthetics from the film quite nicely.  The head in particular does a great job of working in the jaw movement without disrupting the sculpt too much.  The rest of the figure is decently handled.  The uniform features the appropriate texturing and such, and the proportions match up well with the head and hands.  Because of the way the waist articulation is implemented, the overhanging flap on his jacket is cut off at the belt, which looks a little goofy and is hard to get properly aligned when posing him.  The paint on this figure follows the example of the sculpt.  The most impressive work is on the head and hands, which get a decent amount of accent work and the like.  The body is certainly passable, but there’s no accenting on any of the uniform, which looks a bit goofy and cheap.  Ackbar is packed with a standard rebel blaster, which he can hold in his right hand.

FIRST ORDER OFFICER

“The officers of the First Order military forces show unwavering allegiance to Supreme Leader Snoke, leading his massive armies and fleet in a relentless drive to dominate the galaxy.”

This is a figure we’ve seen most of before.  With the exception of the head, he’s identical to the First Order Disguise Finn figure.  Obviously, it’s a sensible re-use, and a great way of justifying the totally unique tooling for Ackbar.  Anyway, I liked Finn, so I like this figure.  His new head is suitably generic, so if you wanted to get a few of these, it wouldn’t look too terrible.  It’s got a slight resemblance to Vinnie Jones in my eyes, but I hardly mind that (even if it is a bit goofy to see such a head on such a scrawny body).  The paint on this guy is pretty much comparable to Finn’s, with the obvious changes to the head.  The face is a little sloppy, but the faded hair actually looks pretty decent.  Like Finn, this guy includes the small blaster pistol and removable hat.  He loses the riot baton, but I’m guessing those aren’t standard issue for officers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I saw this set once before the movie’s release.  I’d just dropped a bunch of money on figures the day before, so I decided to hold off.  Then I didn’t see the set anywhere for a month, and I started to worry a bit.  Fortunately, it showed back up, and I was able to snag one last month while on a trip out and about.  Ackbar’s the definite draw, and he’s a solid figure.  Not 100% sold on this particular costume, but it certainly could be worse.  The Officer’s not really anything special, but he’s a decent figure nonetheless and a welcome addition to my First Order ranks.

#1574: Falcon

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

FALCON

MARVEL’S GOLD (TOY BIZ)

You know, there’s a surprising backlog of Falcon action figures.  Though the general public didn’t know him until his appearance in The Winter Soldier in 2014, he’s still made an appearance in just about every prominent style of Marvel figures.  Under Toy Biz’s reign, he appeared not once, but twice as 5-inch figure.  His second of those figures is the one I’ll be looking at today.  And awaaaaaay we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon was one of the 11 figures in Toy Biz’s specialty store-exclusive  Marvel’s Gold line.  Falcon was one of the later figures in the line-up.  The big deal with this particular figure was his return to the classic design, since the prior Falcon figure was based on his design from the short-lived Avengers: United They Stand show.  The figure stands 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation.  He was built on the same body as the Spider-Man line’s Daredevil.  This was definitely one of Toy Biz’s best bodies, and it’s a shame they didn’t start using it earlier into the Marvel’s Gold run, as I think Moon Knight would have been much better had they used this base.  Regardless, I’m glad it was used here.  Also re-used are Falcon’s wings, which also come from the Spider-Man line, specifically from Vulture.  They’re a bit more metallic and stylized than Falcon’s usually are, but they get the job done.   At this point in the line, Toy Biz had moved past the pure re-use that was going on at the start, so Falcon got a “new” head sculpt.  I say “new” because it’s technically re-used from the Famous Covers Falcon, albeit shrunk down a bit.  That was one of the best FC sculpts, and it still looks great shrunk down for this figure, especially given the higher depth of detail allowed.  Perhaps the only disappointing part of the sculpt is the fringe at the edge of his legs.  They’re essentially just a sticker, and it’s really lazy and obvious.  I think he would have looked better if those had just been left off.  The paint on Falcon is respectable, but not without its issues.  The basic colors work well, and the accenting on the reds looks pretty solid.  That being said, the actual application is rather messy, especially on the edges of the vest.  Falcon is packed with his trusty sidekick Redwing, as well as a glove with a perch for Redwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Falcon was a rather recent acquisition, picked up from the NJ-based House of Fun this past November.  It’s a figure I’ve wanted for a little while, so I was glad to find him.  He’s definitely one of the best offerings Toy Biz had from this particular line, and he’s just one of the better Falcon figures out there in general.

#1573: Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, & Grim Reaper

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IRON MAN, HAWKEYE, THOR, & GRIM REAPER

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Iron Man, Thor and Hawkeye are just three of the Heroes who make up the super-team known as the Avengers. Together, they can neutralize any threat, even the manipulations of the evil Grim Reaper!”

I just mentioned Minimates passingly in yesterday’s Palz review, so I suppose it’s fitting that today I give them a whole focus of their own.  Because, as we all know, Minimates neeeever show up in my review schedule, right?  …Anyway, getting back to the Minimates, Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 left a little bit of uncertainty about the future of Marvel Minimates and whether DST would be allowed to continue as a licensee.  Disney assuaged fears by turning around a couple of Disney Store exclusives, sort of out of nowhere one day.  I’m looking at one of those exclusives today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released in May of 2012 as one of two Disney Store-exclusive boxed sets meant to tie-in with the release of the first Avengers movie (I already took a look at the other one here).  Iron Man and Thor are both the same figures as their Marvel Minimates Series 44 counterparts, while Hawkeye and Grim Reaper were exclusive to this set.

IRON MAN

The mid ‘90s marked a bit of a resurgence for Tony Stark as Iron Man (albeit nowhere near as big as the one he got in ’08), with fan favorite Kurt Busiek handling the character both in his solo book and in the pages of the re-launched Avengers title.  This figure represents the design he was wearing at that time, and it’s a favorite of mine. The figure is 2 1/2 inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation.  He has add-ons for his helmet, breast plate/shoulder pads, gloves, belt, and boots.  All of these were new to this figure, and they all are pretty fantastic.  There’s a ton of sculpted detail on each piece, but he maintains the ‘mate aesthetic very well.  As far as paint goes, this Iron Man is generally pretty solid, but is definitely an example of DST’s learning curve with metallic paints.  While the reds are really great looking, the gold is still that very dark, very dull shade they were using for a while, and it’s also worth noting that it’s a paint that doesn’t hold up to time.  It’s not as bad as the Avengers #1 set’s version of Tony, but it’s pretty frustrating.  Even more frustrating is DST’s decision to package Tony’s helmet on him.  For most Iron Man ‘mates (at least leading up to this), the helmet would be packed off to the side.  The reason for this is simple: if the paint hasn’t fully dried when the figure is packaged and you stick the helmet on there, it’s likely not coming off.  That’s what happened with my figure.  Seriously, six years I’ve owned this guy, and I’ve yet to get that helmet off him.  It’s a little sad.  Guess it’s a good thing I like the fully armored look.  Iron Man was packed with a rocket trail flying stand, done in a nice pale blue.

HAWKEYE

Before this figure, there had been only one other standard Clint Barton Hawkeye (reviewed here), four years prior.  That figure had some notable issues, and really looked out of place with all of the other advancements going on.  So, he was due for an update, and the extra notoriety given to him by the first Avengers movie granted him that chance.  Plus, as a pivotal player in Busiek’s Avengers re-launch, his inclusion alongside the otherwise very clearly Heroes Return-branded ‘mates in this set and Series 44 made a lot of sense.  I’ve actually looked at a lot of this figure before, via the Best Of Marvel Minimates Series 3 release, which took it’s add-ons from this guy.  I liked the pieces there, and I liked them here first.  The only real difference between the two is paint.  And paint’s kind of what breaks this figure for me.  It’s not terrible.  It’s actually pretty decent, even.  That being said, if the Series 20 Hawkeye was too subdued, this one went too far the other way, making him way too bright.  It’s the blue in particular that throws him off.  It should definitely be a deeper tone (which the later release definitely fixed).  Another thing I’ve never much liked about this figure is his facial expression. I’m glad they got the face to line up correctly (since the first Hawkeye did not), but the angry, gritted teeth look just doesn’t feel right for Barton.  Hawkeye included his bow, three pointed arrows, two sonic arrows, and a hairpiece for his unmasked look.  The arrows were nice, and can even be placed in his quiver.  The bow, which was a new sculpt, was okay at the time, but was definitely on the small side, and a little hard for him to hold properly.

THOR

Though he was the most glaring omission from the line for its first 15 series, by the time of this Thor’s release, we were kind of suffering from a glut of Thors, with this one being the ninth Thor in the space of a year.  Like Iron Man, this Thor was definitely patterned on the Heroes Return look, which is really just the classic design plus a beard.  Thor was built using add-ons for his helmet/hair, cape, wrist bands, belt, and boots.  The wrist bands were from the very first Thor in Series 16, the cape and boots came from the TRU-exclusive First Appearance Thor from 2011, and the belt was just a generic piece.  The helmet was new, though you’d be forgiven for not realizing.  Overall, a solid set of parts, though the cape does make it a little hard to keep him standing.  The rest of the look is achieved via paint.  I think it’s pretty good overall, though there’s some slight slop here and there, especially noticeable on the helmet and the cape.  He used the same gold paint as Iron Man, which isn’t super, but there’s less of it on Thor.  Thor included his hammer Mjonir, in both standard AND spinning configurations.  I quite like the spinning version.  He also had an extra head sans-beard, which, despite using the exact same facial features as the bearded head, ends up looking a bit too mean for Thor.  There’s also a spare hairpiece for a look without the helmet, I suppose to offer people who only knew the movie Thor a more familiar look.  Lastly, he included a clear display stand to help him stay standing with the spinning Mjolnir.  It’s important to note that these still weren’t a standard inclusion yet.

GRIM REAPER

Last up, the set’s one new character, Grim Reaper!  Reaper has been a long-recurring Avengers villain, and he was revived during the Busiek/Perez run, so he’s a perfect fit…well, apart from the total lack of Vision or Wonder Man in the set, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.  They went with the classic Reaper design (classic, not original, because no body really wants the technicolor dreamcoat monstrosity that was his first costume), which is sensible enough.  I’m still partial to his re-animated look from the ‘80s, but this works too.  The figure makes use of add-ons for his mask, cape, and scythe attachment.  The mask and scythe were new to this figure (and remain unique to this figure six years later), and were fantastic renditions of his look from the comics.  The cape is the standard cape from the DC Minimates Series 1 Superman.  It’s not a perfect fit (since Reaper’s really supposed to have the collar), but it’s close enough that it works.  In terms of paint, Reaper is certainly subdued, but very well-rendered.  The colors are suitably dark, but there’s still plenty of room for detailing.  I love the dynamic shading on the bodysuit and mask.  I also really love that crazed expression they gave him.  Reaper included no accessories, but I don’t really know what you’d give him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed this set at the same time as its companion set, ordering them both from Disney’s online store (since none of my local Disney Stores ever carried Minimates).  Reaper’s always been a favorite of mine, so his inclusion definitely excited me, but I was also pretty happy to get another Hawkeye.  While Hawkeye didn’t end up being quit what I wanted, I was still pretty happy with the other three in this set.  In fact, this was my preferred of the two Disney sets.

#1572: Kendra

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

KENDRA

BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER PALZ (PALISADES)

You know, it’s actually a little bit surprising that Buffy: The Vampire Slayer was quite the merchandising juggernaut it was, given that the vast majority of the characters are just normal looking people.  But, its toys were a success nonetheless.  For example, when Palisades was attempting to compete in the block figure game, Buffy proved to be their most lucrative property, with two series of figures and a whole slew of exclusives.  Had Palisades not run into financial woes so early, it’s very possible Palz might have been a serious competitor for Minimates.  Isn’t that a strange alternate universe?  As it stands, the structure of the Buffy Palz line was such that only the show’s first two seasons are actually covered, which can place more of a focus on some slightly more minor characters.  For instance, while Faith is the replacement slayer that took off, it was first replacement slayer Kendra who actually got made into a Palz.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kendra was released as a Palisades Direct exclusive timed to coincide with the Season 2-themed second series of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Palz.  Though initially only available to members of Palisades’ online club, the relatively quickly demise of Palisades after her release resulted in her being rather readily available on the aftermarket.  While most Palz were based on one specific appearance, Kendra is really a catch-all for all of her appearances.  Given it was three episodes, and she only had two distinct looks, it’s not like it was a real stretch.  Kendra stands 3 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Like both Vampire Buffy and Willow before her, she’s built on the standard Palz female body.  You can choose from one of two hair pieces for her, one being based on her freer hair from “What’s My Line?” and the other being based on her more tightly braided hair from “Becoming.”  She comes wearing the first but I personally prefer the second.  Nevertheless, both pieces are very well crafted, exhibiting an awesome amount of texturing, which was a notable change for most of the Series 2 figures.  Kendra’s paint is some pretty solid work all around.  While the body pieces are largely done with big areas of flat colors, it’s all pretty clean.  Her two faces are really exceptional work, with both exhibiting a solid likeness of Bianca Lawson.  I personally like the aside glance face the most, but both are definitely decent representations of the character.  As with the two different hair pieces, there are two differently deco-ed torso pieces, one representing her shirt (which is her favorite and her only one) from “What’s My Line?” and the other being the replacement shirt Buffy gives her at the end of that episode (which is seen again in “Becoming.”)  In addition to the two torsos and the two hair pieces, Kendra is also packed with three stakes, her named stake Mr. Pointy, an axe, the Slayer Handbook, a crossbow, and a tombstone. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After coming across a few errant Buffy Palz at Baltimore Comic Con in 2009, I decided to track down a few other figures.  Kendra came from my third round of purchases, when I discovered a pretty decent selection of them on Amazon.  I always liked Kendra more than Faith, so I didn’t mind so much that she was the one to get the figure.  Despite her slightly minor status on the show, she’s genuinely one of my favorite figures from this line.

#1571: Rose – First Order Disguise, BB-8, & BB-9E

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ROSE – FIRST ORDER DISGUISE, BB-8, & BB-9E

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (HASBRO)

A couple weeks back, it was announced that the remaining announced but unreleased figures from Hasbro’s basic Last Jedi line were being distributed solely by online retailers Entertainment Earth (at least in North America, anyway; the rest of the world may yet see them show up at regular retail).  This means, that, without any real fan faire, the set I’m looking at today, is the final piece of Last Jedi product to hit retail.  Weird.  Well, might as well review it. (EDIT: strike that, there’s the four pack that’s hitting alongside the home video release.  Forgot about that one.)

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Rose, BB-8, and BB-9E were part of the second assortment of “two-packs” for the Last Jedi line.  For those of you who have halfway decent counting skills, you may have noticed there are three figures in this supposed two-pack.  Hasbro presumably realized how silly it would look to try and sell a normal figure and a BB unit for the same price as two normal figures, so they did the wise thing and threw in a second BB.

ROSE – FIRST ORDER DISGUISE

Our second standard line version of Rose follows the Star Wars tradition of giving us variants of our heroes disguised as the enemy.  Rose is, of course, seen here in the First Order uniform that she wears alongside Finn when infiltrating the Supremacy. It’s kind of amusing to get her in this scale, since the corresponding Finn was a 6-inch figure, but not to worry, there’s going to be a Finn to match soon enough.  This figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Her sculpt is totally new.  Not surprising, since she’s got a whole different look.  It’s a decent sculpt, though I can’t say it’s quite as interesting to look at as her standard figure.  The uniform’s carefully pressed and everything, so there’s no real room for the fun texturing of the last figure.  I also don’t find the head to be sporting quite as strong a likeness as the prior figure, though it’s not like this one’s terrible.  Also, minor point of contention that I suppose isn’t 100% fair to hold against this figure but I’m gonna bring up here anyway:  Hasbro’s still being inconsistent about the way they handled the bottom sections of the tunics.  Hux had his sculpted as part of his legs, but Rose gets an overlay piece.  Given that they’re supposed to be in a variation of the same uniform, it’s the slightest bit annoying.  I’m not saying I mind Rose getting what I feel is the superior implementation of the design, but I do really wish Hasbro would fully commit one way or the other.  Rose’s paint is decent, though not without its flaws.  The big issue with my figure is the eyes, which aren’t lined up properly.  There were two sets at the store where I picked this up, and I assure you, this one was the better of the two.  Beyond that, it’s mostly pretty passable work.  There’s not a whole lot going on, but it’s a good match for what we saw on the screen.  Rose includes a standard First Order pistol, as well as one of the heavy guns first included with the FO Legion set.  Like the rest of the TLJ line, Rose is Force Link compatible.  I got: “I’m ready for my mission,” “Quickly, Stormtroopers are coming!”, “Quiet! We have to be careful,” “Take cover!”, and an assortment of blaster sounds.

BB-8 & BB-9E

Once again, the only way to get a BB-8 is as part of a multi-pack.  I think that’s just going to be this character’s lot in life, since selling him on his own just doesn’t seem practical at all.  Also along for the ride is his “nemesis,” BB-9E.  Both droids measure about an inch and a half tall and have a single ball joint at the base of their head.  Both of them sport brand new sculpts, which do a respectable job of capturing the droids from the film.  I like that the time was taken to give them both completely unique sculpts, as it keeps the set from getting too redundant.  Paint on these two is about what you’d expect.  I think BB-9E is a little cleaner, and just a slightly better looking scheme all together.  BB-8 suffers a bit from the lack of any sort of accent work, which causes the large sections of white plastic to be a little overpowering.  Both of these droids are also Force Link compatible, each playing a couple of clips of each droid’s “dialogue.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a set that eluded me for a little while.  For reasons I can’t really understand, Hasbro decided to pack this trio in a case with more of the two-packs from the first series, as well as the Rogue One-themed Chirrut and Baze pack.  As the only truly new pack in the case, this one was guaranteed to be the first one to go every time.  Fortunately, on the way back from putting my brother on an early bus to New York, I was able to stop by a Walmart that had just opened and put their stock out, meaning I was able to finally get these guys.  Admittedly, it’s not the most thrilling set, but I like all three figures included enough to feel they were worth tracking down.

#1570: Bodhi Rook

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

BODHI ROOK

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“A former Imperial Pilot, Bodhi has strong piloting and technical skills that he will put to use for the Rebellion.  Ever practical, but highly anxious, Bodhi must gather his courage to bring the battle to the Empire.”

More than Cassian, if there’s a Rogue One character who drew the short straw in terms of merchandising, it’s Bodhi Rook.  He was the last of the team to get released in the 3 3/4 inch line (in a rather under-shipped assortment to boot), his Pop! Vinyl figure was an SDCC exclusive, and as of this day, 14 months after his film’s release, there’s been no talk of him getting a Black Series figure.  Seems rather unlucky if you ask me.  What he did get, however, was a die cast figure from Disney, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bodhi was another of the eight figures in the one and only Rogue One themed series of Star Wars: Elite Series.  He was the first Bodhi figure released and remained so for quite a while.  The figure stands just under 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation.  Height’s kind of more important on this guy than the others, since he had no Black Series counterpart, and I was admittedly hoping to fit him in with them.  While he’s definitely a little on the tall side, I think an argument could be made that he should look alright, provided you put him in the back, hanging out with K-2.  Bodhi is sporting the same style of construction as the other Elite Series figures I’ve looked at, meaning his head, hands, and feet are plastic, and his main body is metal.  He’s also got a plastic vest and backpack.  Like Jyn and Cassian, the vest piece on Bodhi is made from a harder plastic, and doesn’t fit him as well as I’d like.  I’d also like if it were a bit easier to remove the back pack.  I attempted to take it off of mine, but was worried I’d damage the figure.  Beyond those extras, the sculpt of the figure is decent enough.  It’s nothing amazing or anything, but I think it’s respectable, and a little better than Cassian.  They captured the ill-fitting jumpsuit pretty well, and the extra length on the sleeves even hides the hands a bit, thus averting the dreaded inflated glove syndrome.  The head has a respectable likeness of Riz Ahmed; probably better than Hasbro’s version, truth be told.  The goggles are removable this time around, which I do certainly prefer, especially since they stay in place so well.  The paint on this guy is passable.  The colors are probably more accurate here than they were on the Hasbro figure, but I will admit that the duller colors don’t exactly excite me.  I do appreciate the accent work that was put in on his various gear, and the washes and the like certainly help keep him from looking too bland.  His face is a little messy, especially around the beard, but it’s not awful.  I’m not quite sure what’s going on with his lips, but I don’t think the color was particularly well chosen, given his skin color.  It looks worse in the photos than in real life, but it’s still more noticeable than it should be.  While the goggles are removable this time around, they are still totally opaque, which seems like a bit of a missed opportunity.  They look fine, but it does somewhat ruin the realism of the figure to see those stark white goggles on his head.  In addition to the previously mentioned goggles and backpack, Bodhi is also packed with the standard display stand.  No weapons this time around, but that’s not terrible, since he never really uses them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve read my Jyn and Cassian reviews from the last two days, you can probably guess where this guy came from.  Yep, he’s another clearance purchase.  He was actually the figure that got me to notice the deep discount pricing.  Since there’s no Black Series release in the foreseeable future, and I do really like the character, I thought I might grab this version.  Upon seeing how far down he’d been marked, I decided to get the other two as well.  Bodhi’s not a fantastic figure or anything, and I’m certainly still holding out hope for Hasbro to finally get around to him, but in the mean time, this one will hold me over.

#1569: Captain Cassian Andor

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

CAPTAIN CASSIAN ANDOR

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“An Alliance Intelligence Officer with combat field experience, Captain Cassian Andor commands respect from his rebel troops with his ability to keep a cool head under fire.”

Behold!  The one toyline where Cassian *didn’t* get the short straw!  Yes, despite Hasbro holding the standard brown jacketed Cassian look hostage for all manner of deluxe offerings, Disney was kind enough to put their standard Cassian right up there, alongside all of their other Rogue One stuff.  And I’ll be looking at that figure today.  Let’s get on with it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like yesterday’s Jyn Erso, Cassian was offered as one of the eight Rogue One figures, part of Disney’s Star Wars: Elite Series.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation.  His construction is the same as other figures from this line: plastic head, hands, feet, and jacket, with die cast metal for the rest of him.  As with Jyn, his jacket is a harder plastic, which is a bit restricting and sits rather awkwardly.  In general, this figure’s a lot closer to the first Poe when it comes to possibility and construction.  The sculpt on areas such as the pelvis and his shoulders are rather rudimentary, and he’s got the weird inflated glove thing going on with his left hand.  Even the details seem a lot softer on this guy.  Just comparing him to the Jyn figure from yesterday, he feels like a slight step down.  It’s not terrible, though.  The likeness on the head sculpt is actually pretty respectable, and I’d say that Disney delivered a better portrait of Luna than any of Hasbro’s attempts.  They did also try for Luna’s more slight build, which was another thing Hasbro missed on most of their figures.  If the articulation had been worked in better, I think this Cassian’s sculpt might have topped Hasbro’s output.  Paint on Cassian is about what you’d expect from this line.  It’s rather thickly applied,and mostly limited to solid colors, which doesn’t do a whole lot to offset his generally soft sculpt.  On the plus side, his head is once again the strongest bit of work, as Disney was able to do a much better job with Cassian’s facial hair than Hasbro.  That’s much better stubble than we saw before.  Cassian is packed with his small blaster pistol and a display stand.  Since Jyn got her fully assembled rifle configuration, it’s a shame the same wasn’t done for Cassian, especially since his was the one we actually saw in use in the film.  Alas, I’ll just have to be happy with the Hasbro equivalent.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Jyn, I had passed on Cassian initially, but was swayed into buying him for a deeply discounted price.  Amusingly, when I bought him, I didn’t yet have the Hasbro Black Series version of this look, but, well, you can see from the comparison picture that this changed.  This figure’s the weakest of the three I’ve looked at in this round, but I don’t think he’s awful.  It just seems like Cassian proved a difficult character to pull off well in plastic form.  This one’s just another case of a figure that’s good despite its flaws.

#1568: Sgt Jyn Erso

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

SGT JYN ERSO

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“A highly skilled soldier in the Rebel Alliance, Jyn Erso is an impetuous, defiant warrior eager to bring the battle to the Empire.  Jyn has little patience for debate within Alliance high command, enough so that she takes matters into her own hands.”

More Elite Series?  Isn’t there supposed to be a several month waiting period in between these reviews?  That’s certainly how it’s been in the past.  Well, sorry hypothetical reader, I’m changing things up on you!  And I’m doing another impromptu week of Star Wars reviews!  So, how about that?  For today (and the next two days after, in fact), I’ll be returning to last year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  I certainly covered a lot of product from this movie, but there’s still plenty I never got around to, which includes today’s focus, which is another figure of main character Jyn Erso.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jyn was one of the eight Rogue One-themed Star Wars: Elite Series figures put out during the 2016 “Rogue Friday” event.  There weren’t any staggered releases, I guess since it wasn’t a saga movie.  Jyn here is seen in the same attire the smaller Black Series figure had, which is what she was wearing during the film’s big climactic final battle.  It’s essentially the same look used on most of Hasbro’s offerings, but it lacks the green jacket.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 16 points of articulation.  She’s of course largely constructed from die cast metal, keeping with the same plastic-to-metal ratio as the last several figures I’ve looked at.  Metal for the main body and plastic for the head, hands, feet, and vest.  While the jacket piece on Poe was a nice softer plastic, Jyn’s vest is made from pretty much the same plastic as the rest of the plastic pieces, so it’s very stiff and a bit restricting, as well as sitting a little oddly on her frame.  Her articulation is a bit restricted overall, which is a setback, but as a figure that predates Poe, I’m not that upset.  Jyn’s sculpt is reasonable enough.  Some parts of it are a little rudimentary, especially around the waist.  Her hands look like hands, though, which is always a plus in this line, and I find her head to be pretty much equivalent to the Hasbro versions in terms of quality.  I’m not getting a really strong Felicity Jones likeness from it, but the same could be said of at least half of Hasbro’s offerings.  Jyn’s paint is generally pretty decent.  The colors are nice, and, while she’s not quite as good as Poe, her paint is certainly less thick than earlier offerings.  Jyn is packed with her standard blaster pistol.  Like the smaller Black Series release, she also has the extended blaster configuration not seen in the movie, though this time around it’s an entirely separate blaster, rather than being clip-on pieces.  Also included is her baton, which, unlike the Hasbro version, is actually extended here, and the same display stand that’s included with all of the Elite Series figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

With all of Hasbro’s various offerings, I really thought I had all of the Jyns I would ever need (and perhaps even a few more than that).  And wasn’t I just saying in yesterday’s Poe review how I only tend to buy Elite Series figures of characters I really, really like?  So really, why Jyn?  Simple: she was cheap.  After grabbing the Poe figure, I happened past a large pile of the Rogue One figures.  I didn’t think much about them, but I spotted they’d been marked down to $2.99.  At that price, I bought one of each because I’m a sucker fro a cheap action figure.  Jyn’s actually not bad.  I can’t say I’d have paid full price for her, but she’s better than I was expecting.

#1567: Poe Dameron

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

POE DAMERON

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“It takes defiant courage to stare down the threat of the First Order, and while Captain Poe Dameron is eager to fight, he worries that some of the Resistance leadership don’t have what it takes.”

Disney’s die-cast Star Wars: Elite Series is one of those lines that has a tendency to slip under my radar.  It’s not that it’s a bad line or anything, it’s more that it’s a line that’s exclusively available at Disney Stores, and those aren’t the sort of thing I tend to visit with much regularity.  As it stands, my collection of figures from this line is mostly confined to just my very favorite characters, which includes today’s focus, Poe Dameron!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Poe is part of Disney’s Last Jedi-themed assortment of Star Wars: The Elite Series.  He wasn’t in the initial assortment of figures, but was instead one of the seven figures released solo after the fact.  Poe hit stores on November 7th of last year.  Like most of his other figures from the movie, this Poe is based on his jacketed look from TLJ.  As his most prominent look by far, it makes sense, especially since his pilot look was already covered for TFA.  Poe stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation.  As with prior Elite Series figures, the vast majority of this guy is made from die cast metal.  His head, hands, feet, and jacket are plastic, but that’s it.  I was impressed to discover that Disney’s made some improvements to how they construct these figures since the last Poe.  This one isn’t nearly as stiff and restricted as the last one when it comes to posablity.  In addition, the overall quality of the sculpt seems to have improved.  The details are much sharper, especially on the plastic parts, but on the metal parts as well.  He’s still slightly less detailed than the average Hasbro figure, but he’s certainly a step-up from the last figure.  It’s the little things, like his hands actually looking like hands, or the assembly screws on his back actually having mostly inconspicuous caps on them.  Then there’s the head.  I’m not 100% sure if the head sculpt on this figure is new or not.  Given how different it looks, I initially assumed it was all-new, but after comparing the two side by side, I’m starting to think this might just be a better pressing of the mold, coupled with some much, much better paint.  Regardless, it’s the best likeness of Oscar Isaac we’ve seen so far, out pacing even the recent Black Series offering, which I thought was pretty good in its own right.  Poe’s paint work also marks a definite step up for this line.  It’s a lot less thickly applied here than on prior figures, and there’s far less slop.  He’s also got some very clean work on his face, and I was certainly happy to get a Poe figure in a larger scale that doesn’t try to slather on a bunch of grayish paint in the hopes of replicating scruff.  Poe includes his blaster pistol and a display stand (same as the other figures).  It’s sad he couldn’t came with something else, especially since the last Poe had the helmet, but I suppose it’s not terrible.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m always looking for an excuse to buy a new Poe figure, and the Elite Series Poe from TFA was actually one of his better figures, so I was definitely on board for picking up this guy.  The only trouble was actually finding him, since none of the stores near me got him when he was first released.  A few weeks ago, I was killing some time at the local mall, and remembered I hadn’t yet found this guy, so I swung by the Disney Store there, and they had finally gotten him in.  Upon purchasing him, I realized he’s actually the first figure from this line I’ve paid full price for.  Of course, he’s by far the nicest figure I’ve gotten from this line as well, so I don’t feel that bad in that regard.  Now I’m tempted to check out some of the other TLJ figures, since Poe seems like such a step up.

#1566: Colonel James Rhodes & Air Assault Drone

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

COLONEL JAMES RHODES & AIR ASSAULT DRONE

MARVEL MINIMATES

Since Minimates do make up a rather sizable portion of my collection, they sort of are a regular fixture around these parts.  Some sets are awesome.  Some are less so.  Today, I look at one of the latter category.  That seems a bit harsh now that I’ve typed it out, but, well, you’ll see.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Colonel Rhodes and the Air Assault Drone were from the second TRU-exclusive series of Iron Man 2-based Marvel Minimates.  Rhodey is unique to this set, while the Air Assault Drone was re-packed from the single-packed army builder assortment.

COLONEL JAMES RHODES

“A dedicated Lt. Colonel and patriotic member of the US military, James Rhodes’s testimony before Senator Stern’s committee forces Tony Stark to call his friend’s true loyalties into question.”

Iron Man 2 was pretty good for our pal Rhodey here.  Prior to the movie, he’d made two appearances as a Minimate, but IM2 gave us four new ones.  This one’s…probably the least exciting when you get right down to it.  Still, Rhodey spends a decent enough chunk of the movie in this uniform, so it’s not the worst inclusion, I suppose.  The figure stands 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He’s built on the usual body, with an add-on for his jacket, borrowed from Series 22’s General Ross.  It’s a reasonable piece.  It’s not a perfect match for Rhodey’s uniform from the movie, but it’s close enough to warrant the re-use.  The paint work on Rhodey is respectable.  It’s all pretty cleanly applied, and the blue is fairly bright. The head is a match for the one that was under the War Machine ‘mate’s helmet.  While it’s not particularly strong Cheadle likeness, at least they went for some consistency.  Rhodey included no accessories, which is a bit of a bummer.  Not even a file folder or a clipboard or something?

AIR ASSAULT DRONE

“Specifically designed for aerial maneuvering and atmospheric combat conditions, a handful of these advanced Black Drones are capable of destroying entire squadrons of traditional fighter jets.”

After the slight mis-lead of the Series 35 Hammer Drone, we finally get one of the proper ones.  Woo!  This one’s dubbed the “Air Assault Drone” on all of the merchandising, because due to licensing things, it couldn’t be called the Air Force Drone.  This particular ‘mate makes use of a lot of the same pieces from the first Hammer Drone, but with a new head, hands, and a backpack glued onto the chest piece.  The ew pieces fit in well with the previously existing ones, and he makes for a pretty faithful recreation of the Drones from the movie.  The paint’s not super thrilling or anything, being mostly dark grey with just a small bit of white accenting.  But, I suppose it matches the movie.  Once again, no accessories for the Drone, but it’s slightly more forgivable given all of the sculpted add-ons.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked this set up new from Toys R Us.  I didn’t go out searching for them or anything, I just came across them one day and I guess I had a moment of weakness.  If I recall correctly, I even put of opening them for a good several months, just due to a general lack of excitement.  Neither ‘mate in this set is bad.  They both check all of the boxes, and there are no glaring issues (well, except perhaps for the lack of any extras), but neither is really anything to write home about.  This pair really feels like DST just needed two fill two slots as easily as possible.  I suppose it’s fitting that a set of mediocre Minimates were based on Iron Man 2.