Yearly Archives: 2018

The Blaster In Question #0072: Thunderblast

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

BlasterInQuestion1

THUNDERBLAST

N-STRIKE 

thunderb1I’m sure quite a few if not most of you are familiar with the KISS acronym meaning “keep it simple, stupid” or some derivation of that. Well this week’s blaster deals with the slightly lesser known KISBJUOOTFBDYEHS acronym. And if any blaster can demonstrate keeping it simple by just updating one of the first blaster designs you ever had, stupid, it’s the Thunderblast.  So let’s have a look. 

THE BLASTER ITSELF

thunderb2The Thunderblast was released in 2015 as part of the N-Strike line. I know it’s got the Elite style blue and white color scheme, but the box just says N-Strike, no Elite here. It uses possibly one of the simplest firing mechanisms ever used in a Nerf blaster, a system referred to as a HAMP or hand-actuated manual pump, I think. In essence, you load one of the rockets onto the spindle, push the fore-grip forward and slam it back as hard as you can. The harder you slam, the more power behind the rocket. Of course, the act of vigorously slamming back a fore-grip will do terrible things to your accuracy, but we’re talking about Nerf here, how accurate can you possibly be?  This system, albeit in a very different form factor, is virtually identical to the system in the very first Nerf blaster I ever owned, the NB-1 from 1992 back when Nerf was made by Kenner, and even then, the design was used on earlier toys like a foam Batarang launcher. Bet you weren’t expecting a Batman name-drop in this Nerf rocket launcher review. Coming back to the Thunderblast, while the mechanics on the inside haven’t changed much, I am glad they changed the ergonomics. While the NB-1 will always have a special place in my heart, if I’m honest, the grips on that thing are small and blocky in contrast to the TB’s large contoured grips, even allowing for vertical or horizontal fore-grips. The TB also has a stock, something it has over the NB. Granted it’s not the best stock, but it’s fine. There’s a curved section on the underside that’s meant to allow you to seat the blaster up on top of your shoulder like a proper rocket launcher, but what this does is reduce the length of pull so much that your dominant arm ends up sticking out to the side like an awkward chicken wing. The thought is still appreciated. You can shoulder the blaster like a rifle, but the way the extra rockets are stored means you’re basically shooting from the hip from your shoulder… kind of. I’m trying to say they block any kind of aiming you might attempt. Performance is all over the place, given that the power behind each shot is fully dependent on the user, but overall, if you’re at least of teenage years with average upper body strength, you should be able to launch rockets pretty far. Interestingly, because the rockets are so wide, even a jacked up shot from the tuberculosis doesn’t hurt as much as a standard shot from an Elite blaster, but it your younger siblings don’t know that, just the presence that a rocket launcher has can be quite effective for intimidation. And that’s something the New Balance didn’t have. The consumption comes packaged with 2 rockets. I know in my pictures it has 3 but I think it looks better with 3. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION 

I fully accept that at this point, a blaster like the Thunderblast isn’t exactly practical, but the homage to older designs does appeal to me. That and the fact that it’s a rocket launcher. It did kind of bum me out initially when I saw it didn’t have a trigger, but if we’ve learned anything from the Modulus Mediator barrel, it’s that Nerf still knows how to do pressurized air blasters, so who knows? Maybe we’ll see a revamp of the Titan one day. 

#1872: G.I. Joe Hawk

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

G.I. JOE HAWK

G.I. JOE: 25TH ANNIVERSARY (HASBRO)

“G.I. JOE HAWK was the original field commander of the G.I. Joe team before he got his General’s star and was booted upstairs to honcho the entire G.I. Joe operation.  He’s a West Point graduate and has a list of special education credits as long as his arm, but her still managed to get the main body of his experience out where it counts — on the battlefield.”

When the Real American Hero incarnation of G.I. Joe rolled out it 1982, the team’s blonde-haired commanding officer wasn’t Duke, but was instead Hawk, the Pike to Duke’s Kirk.  Duke stepped into the spotlight in 1983, taking the spot of field commander, so when Hawk resurfaced in 1986, he was given his own distinct design, and the rank of General, which has gone on to be a defining trait of the character.  Another defining trait seems to be how hard it is for him to keep a consistent name.  He began as “Hawk” in ’82, which remained for his ’86 figure, before the “General” rank was added to his name in ’91.  When the line returned in ’02, he was “General Tomahawk” for a period, before dropping the code name altogether in ’04 and just going by “General Abernathy.”  By the time of the 25th Anniversary, he had changed again, now under the title of “G.I. Joe Hawk,” which doesn’t quite roll of the tongue, but there it is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

G.I. Joe Hawk was released in the fifth wave of G.I. Joe: 25th Anniversary’s 2008 assortment.  He’s patterned on Hawk’s ’86 figure, which, for most people is his most distinctive appearance.  I’m definitely amongst those people.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  Hawk’s sculpt was new to him, and was definitely one of the most faithful translations in the line.  He’s pretty much just a detail for detail recreation of the ’86 figure, but updated to the newer stylings of this particular line.  Apart from some rather restricted elbow joints (an issue that plagued quite a few of the line’s earlier figures), it’s a really strong offering, and perhaps my favorite from this iteration of the line.  The head does a nice job of melding Hawk’s various looks over the years into one cohesive design, and I particularly like the details on his bomber jacket.  The fur collar is a separate piece, glued in place, but it has his shoulder harness weaved through it.  It could have all been one solid sculpted piece, but instead it’s actually separated out, like it really would be, which gives the whole thing a nice feeling of depth.  Hawk’s paintwork is again quite strong.  The base application is clean, and matches well with his prior figure.  There are tons of small little details littered through the jacket, such as his various medals, or his “ABERNATHY” name tag, and he’s even got a little wisp of grey in his hair to make him look a little more distinguished.  Hawk included the same basic assortment of pieces as his ’86 figure: a helmet, a pistol, and a back pack.  The helmet fits snugly on the head, the pack plugs securely into his back, and his pistol can be properly stashed in his belt holster, making for a well put-together figure.  He also included a display stand with his name printed on the front, like the rest of the line, for those that value such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kind of falling into the same line of logic that has me liking Pike more than Kirk, I’ve always been much more of a Hawk fan than a Duke fan.  The ’86 figure was one of the first vintage figures I went to the trouble of tracking down as a kid.  So, when I finally got on board with the whole 25th Anniversary thing, he was one of the first I wanted.  I actually got him as sort of a “get well soon” gift from my Dad and my brother after having my wisdom teeth out; I was on a steady diet of soft foods and the G.I. Joe cartoon at the time, and this guy (and Sgt Flash) made his way home from a trip to the comic book store for me.  Even after jumping pretty far into the 25th line, Hawk still remains a favorite.

#1871: Rebel Fleet Trooper

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

REBEL FLEET TROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Aboard the Rebel Blockade Runner, Rebel freedom fighters begin their defense against an Imperial invasion.”

The Rebel Fleet Troopers are our first glimpse at the heroes of Star Wars.  They are also our first glimpse at what happens to anyone who’s not a main character, as they are quickly dispatched in an uncharacteristic bit of spot-on marksmanship from the Stormtroopers.  The greatest indignity of all, however, would come from Kenner, who didn’t grace those poor Fleet Troopers with a single figure during the run of the original Star Wars line.  Fortunately, Power of the Force II would sort of make up for that, though with perhaps one of the line’s most infamous figures.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Rebel Fleet Trooper was released as part of Power of The Force II‘s 1997 line-up, alongside the Hoth-themed variant of the Rebel Trooper, amongst others.  He is, of course, based on the dome-helmeted Troopers from A New Hope‘s opening sequence, though perhaps a bit more loosely based than some of this line’s offerings.  The Trooper was one of the line’s biggest offerings (in more than one way), clocking in at over 4 inches tall.  And he’s not just tall, he’s built.  And when I say “built” I mean like a truck.  If the actual Fleet Troopers in the movie had been anywhere near as big as this guy, maybe they wouldn’t have gone down so quickly.  This guy’s sculpt definitely represents Power of the Force at the peak of its ’90s macho man insanity.  It’s actually a little surprising to see when compared to the rest of the figures from this same year, who had started dialing these things down.  At this point, it’s almost caricature.  Like someone, somewhere along the line was trying to win a bet or something, and seeing how far they could get with this.  Whatever the case may be, he’s perhaps the goofiest sculpt in the line, and that’s saying something.  As far as paint goes, the Fleet Trooper is fairly standard for the line.  Somewhat surprisingly, it’s actually a somewhat subdued color scheme compared to the movie, but the application’s clean and he’s close enough to work.  The Fleet Trooper is packed with two blasters: the standard-issue Rebel blaster, as well as a re-pack of Han’s, because this guy wanted to feel more like a main character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Fleet Trooper was amongst the figures my cousin Patrick and I had shared custody of at my grandparents’ house back in the day.  That one got lost along the way, so this one’s a replacement I picked up during one of Lost in Time’s sidewalk sales at the beginning of the summer.  He is super, super goofy, and a prime example of PotF2‘s “worst”, but man oh man do I love this guy.

#1870: A.I.M. Scientist & Trooper

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

A.I.M. SCIENTIST & A.I.M. TROOPER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A.I.M., or Advanced Idea Mechanics, is a scientific organization bent on designing the technology that can take over the world.  Combined with the brute force of the Shock Trooper, the A.I.M. scientists innovate international design in the pursuit of world domination.”

Though in many ways the Legends brand was revitalized from the time Hasbro slapped “Infinite Series” on the box, there was still a little bit of a learning curve in those earlier days of the line.  In particular, swap figures, something they’d introduced during the Return of Marvel Legends era, which replaced one figure in early assortments with another for refreshment cases, still persisted throughout Infinite Series’ first year (and the shared names would continue for a few more after that).  One of the earliest Infinite Series offerings, the Captain America-themed Mandroid Series, was perhaps most affected.  Though both versions of the Agents of Hydra (Red Skull and a Hydra Agent) and the Soldiers of A.I.M. (Zemo and an A.I.M. Soldier) shipped side by side in early cases, the revision cases that hit a few months later strangely chose to repack only the non-army builder versions, leaving the army builders with a rather hefty after market value.  Hasbro first tackled this issue with the TRU exclusive “Agents of Hydra” two-pack from last year, which offered up one of the two army builders.  It was initially scarce, due to TRU’s spotty distribution, but with them out of the way, it’s actually become quite easy to get.  Hasbro has wisely chosen to follow that set up with a complimentary A.I.M. two-pack.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Soldiers of A.I.M. two-pack is an Entertainment Earth “exclusive” (meaning it’s available to all of the retail establishments that order through EE).  EE has picked up most of the former TRU-exclusives (including unsold stock of the Hydra pack), so It’s not hard to imagine this pair were originally slated for a TRU release.

A.I.M. SCIENTIST

Pairing off with the Hydra Agent from the other pack is the A.I.M. Scientist.  He’s more or less a reissue of the A.I.M. Soldier from the Mandroid series.  That being said, there the Hydra Agent’s differences were really limited to just the accessories, the Scientist’s changes go a little further.  Basic construction is the same.  He stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He uses the jumpsuit-ed body from the original, which works just as well now as it did the first time.  The only notable tweak is that his head seems to sit a little lower on the neck, which is a definite improvement.  Of course, it’s possible that my original was just slightly mis-molded.  The paint work has had some changes as well.  He’s the same basic yellow as the last one (so they’ll match up fine for army builders), but his visor and gloves are now black, and the “skirt” of his belt piece is molded yellow rather than painted, so it actually matches this time.  While I was initially a little bummed by the switch to black for the visor, I actually find myself preferring how it looks overall.  Now, let’s talk about the fun stuff: the accessories!  Now, it’s worth noting that this set’s accessories are a lot less figure specific than the Hydra set’s were, so I’ve tried to group them as best I could.  Like the prior release, this figure includes a bandolier, a large blaster, and a small blaster.  These are all the same as before (apart from a little extra detailing on the bandolier), and are still fun additions.  I particularly like “A.I.M.” being printed on the sides of the guns.  He also includes a shoulder harness molded in brown, and a second head (repainted from Paladin).  The head could just as easily go with the other figure (especially since it was on the other body in its original release, but I think it really works here, in a Bill, Agent of A.I.M. sort of way.

A.I.M. TROOPER

The second figure is sort of a counterpart to the Hydra Enforcer, dubbed a Shock Trooper by the back of the packaging.  He’s not your standard A.I.M. guy, that’s for sure.  He too is complete re-use, but is a rather crafty selection of parts.  He’s built on Paladin’s body (which was itself re-worked from Blade, who was in turn re-worked from ASM2 Electro), with Scourge’s head thrown on it (sort of pairing off with the Taskmaster head from the Hydra set), all done up in A.I.M.’s signature black and yellow.  A new coat of paint makes these parts look surprisingly new.  And while he’s still got a very distinct look about him, he also lends himself far more to being a troop builder than I felt the Enforcer did.  This guy comes packed with a knife and pistol, done up in colors to match him, as well as one of Deadpools rifles, again colored to match.  For variety’s sake, the Trooper also includes another shoulder harness (this time in a grey/blue), Deathlok’s backpack in yellow, and another standard issue A.I.M. beekeeper’s mask.  The last piece looks a little goofy on this guy, but I appreciate the option to further A.I.M.-ize him, and I even more appreciate the ability to make my prior A.I.M. Soldiers properly match up with this new set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I actually found an A.I.M. Soldier, there wasn’t as much of a dire need to get this set as there was with the Hydra pack, so when they were shown off, I knew I’d want one, but I was kind of ambivalent to the whole thing.  Then I saw it in person, and my mind changed.  And then I opened it up and my mind changed even more.  The Hydra set may have been more essential to me, but this one’s more fun.  The improvements to the standard A.I.M. guy are enough to make him the superior offering when compared to the original release, and I find myself really, really liking the Trooper, far more than I did the Enforcer, and far more than I’d expected to.  Hasbro’s inventiveness is really well showcased here.

I grabbed this pair from my friends at All Time Toys.  As of this writing, this pack is still in-stock, so if you’re interested in this, or any other Marvel Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1869: Wasp

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

WASP

MARVEL LEGENDS VINTAGE (HASBRO)

Despite being a character for whom “constantly changing look” is a defining trait, poor Janet Van Dyne’s figures all seem to gravitate between the same two costumes.  Either she’s in first appearance mode, or she’s wearing the dreaded black and gold number.  There’s no in-betweens.  Well, not until now, at least!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wasp is the fourth figure from the second series of the Marvel Legends Vintage sub-line.  Like yesterday’s Vision figure, she switches things up and gives us a predominately new offering.  Rather than one of the two Wasp costumes we have oh-so-many of already, this figure instead gives us one of Jan’s Perez-designed costumes from his run during the late ‘90s/early ‘00s.  It’s not just some random choice on Hasbro’s part, either, because this is the exact same costume that was supposed to serve as one of the two variants for Toy Biz’s first Legends Wasp back in the day.  It never went to full production, leaving a very small handful of samples out there, and thereby making it one of the rarest Legends pieces (alongside the admittedly less-demanded silver shirted Luke Cage).  So this figure’s more than a decade in the making.  All I can say is “finally!”  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 33 points of articulation.  From the neck down, this figure’s sculpt is the same as the prior figure.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Wasp’s head is a different one, though it’s not a new one.  It’s actually a rather clever re-use, borrowed from the Sasquatch Series’ Domino figure.  Since her head was done up with a very unique paint scheme, it looks quite a bit different here, and matches up well with Jan’s style at the time of this costume to boot.  Wasp’s paintwork is clean and bold, which are my favorite things in a Legends paint job.  The white is slightly pearlescent, which gives it a nice, polished look, and I definitely this new color scheme for the wings.  Far more appealing than the ones on the last figure, that’s for sure.  Wasp is packed with a miniature version of her husband Hank in his Ant-Man form.  It’s a piece we’ve seen a good number of times before, but it continues to be a solid inclusion, and makes a lot of sense here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ever since being let-down by Toy Biz’s standard release Wasp, I’ve been waiting for this look, never to have it arrive.  She and Ant-Man ended up being the first of these figures we actually saw, and I knew immediately that I’d definitely be tracking her down.  She popped up at the same time as Vision, which certainly made me happy, as I was able to get my two top wants in one fell swoop.  I was content with the last Wasp figure from Hasbro, but hoped for more.  I’m happy to finally be able to replace that black and gold monstrosity, let me tell you.  Now, is it too much to ask for her asymmetrical, jazzercise-looking white and blue number from the ‘80s? 

#1868: Vision

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

VISION

MARVEL LEGENDS VINTAGE (HASBRO)

“The Vision is an android who mimics virtually every organic function of a human being, including independent thought!”

In a stark change from the last two days, it’s actually been a little while since I’ve looked at a Vision figure.  The last one was his movie-inspired Legends figure from Infinity War, and that was all the way back in April.  Given how much I like Vision, I think it’s time to change that!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vision is another figure from Series 2 of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Vintage line, he marks the assortment’s turn into decidedly “new” territory.  We’ve had three Visions in the main Legends line since the Infinite Series-switch-over, but they’ve all been later costume designs, and all of them have had some issues plaguing them.  This one returns him back to his classic roots, for the first time in a decade.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  The three prior Visions were all built on the Bucky Cap body, but this one changes that up, moving him to the 2099 body.  Like Silver Surfer, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this.  I understand the desire to move away from the Bucky Cap, and I was never super attached to it for Vision anyway.  That said, I tend to see Vision as having a larger stature.  In a perfect world, I’d like to see him built on the Spider-UK body.  All that said, I don’t mind this one.  He appears to use the same head sculpt as the Hulkbuster Series Vision, though with less molding issues this time around.  He actually gets a brand-new piece for his cape; that actually surprised me, but it was really necessity to do this the right way.  It’s very similar to the Marvel Universe cape, which I rather liked, and it’s very appropriate for a classic Vision.  Prior Visions have really fallen down when it comes to paint work.  This one, on the other hand, truly excels in this area.  The application is very clean, and the metallic green is really, really slick looking.  Something about the cleaner nature of the paint actually makes the head sculpt look a lot better than it did the first time around.  Vision’s one accessory is the head from the first Hasbro Legends Ultron, calling back to a frequent state for Ultron, especially in Vision’s earliest appearances.  It’s a nice accessory, although I really would have liked to get an extra pair of hands in an open gesture.  Or at least just one of them, so that he can match the illustration on his packaging.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a big Vision fan, I’m always in the market for a good figure of him.  Unfortunately, Hasbro’s last three attempts each seemed to just miss the mark.  When this guy was shown off, he quickly climbed to the top of my list (alongside figure I’ll be looking at tomorrow).  There are still some minor issues (I’m really going to need to find him some more expressive hands), but I gotta say, I really, really like this guy.  Definitely the best version of the character on the market.

#1867: Black Panther

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

BLACK PANTHER

MARVEL LEGENDS VINTAGE (HASBRO)

“With the sleekness of the jungle cat whose name he bears, T’Challa — King of Wakanda — stalks both the concrete city and the underground of the Veldt”

At the beginning of this year, in conjunction with the release of his movie, Walmart offered up an exclusive variant of Black Panther.  It was kind of a curious offering, being a fully powered-up, energy-effect ridden version of a costume we hadn’t yet received a standard release of.  And, unlike most instances of such variants, there was no confirmation of a standard version anywhere in the pipeline.  That is, until Panther’s name cropped up on the list of rumored Series 2 Vintage figures.  Since we’d *just* gotten a re-release of the classic Panther, could this possibly be the missing All New, All Different Panther?  Why yes, yes it could!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Panther is the second figure in Series 2 of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Vintage sub-line.  He uses the aforementioned “All New, All Different” design, which is a pretty solid one.  It takes the classic Panther look and just sort of streamlines it.  I’m still partial to the classic look, but I can see the appeal of this one.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He uses the same basic construction as the Walmart-exclusive release, with a few minor change-ups.  He’s still built on the Spider-UK body, which I still like a lot for T’Challa.  He has the same streamlined head sculpt and necklace add-on.  He swaps out the last figure’s Rocket Raccoon Series Panther hands for the Civil War Panther hands.  I’m not entirely sure why Hasbro keeps switching back and forth between them, but there’s at least some variety.  He also adds a basic belt piece (borrowed from Prowler), to break things up, I guess?  Hey, I can’t complain about an extra piece.  The main selling point here is, of course, the paint.  Since the last one had all the pink tron-lines, this one goes fully powered down.  Though, rather than the straight black I think we’d all been expecting, he’s actually an iridescent dark blue, which works quite well, and ends up a bit more striking than if he’d just been pure black.  Panther gets the same accessory set-up as the powered-up version, minus the extra head (not really a big loss, there): a spare set of hands, and two energy pieces for the hands, this time in an etherial white.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After being pleasantly surprised by the Powered Up Panther, I was somewhat intrigued by this release.  When he showed up alongside Scarlet Spider at Super Awesome Fiancee’s store, she was kind enough to pick him up for me.  Ultimately, he hasn’t displaced my classic Panther on the shelf, and doesn’t quite have the pop of the prior figure, but he’s still entertaining in his own right.

#1866: Scarlet Spider

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

SCARLET SPIDER

MARVEL LEGENDS VINTAGE (HASBRO)

“The clone of Peter Parker left New York and wandered the country returning years later calling himself Ben Reilly.  He became the superhero known as the Scarlet Spider!”

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was reviewing a Legends Scarlet Spider, but I assure you, this one’s totally different and distinct from that one.  Now, of course, you might recall that I reviewed *another* Legends Scarlet Spider a few years ago.  Well, I assure you, this one’s…more or less the same as that one.  But that one has a super hefty aftermarket price, so hey, re-release time, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlet Spider headlines the second series of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Vintage line.  For the second round of figures, Hasbro’s really taken the Black Widow thread to heart, and tried to give us more than straight re-issues of prior figures…well, except for this guy.  This Scarlet Spider is by design supposed to be very similar to the Rhino Series figure from 2015.  Apart from one small change, the sculpt is the same between the two figures.  That means he’s 6 1/4 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation, and is build on the Pizza Spidey body.  I was very happy with this sculpt the first time around, and I still really like it three years later.  The small change has to do with his web-shooters, which are now the more rounded capsules we saw with Spider-Girl and Black Widow.  They’re a bit more accurate than the more squared off versions we saw before (which were usually more associated with Ben’s Spider-Man costume).  Apart from that, the biggest changes between the two figures are in the paint department.  His blue hoodie has remained more or less the same, but his red body suit is now far less orange, and his eyes no longer have the black outline.  The brown of his accent pieces is also more of a tan this tome around.  Honestly, I don’t know which version I prefer.  They’re certainly different, but neither really jumps out as “better.”  This release of Scarlet Spider drops the Rhino heads from the last release, obviously, but also loses the open gesture hands from the last one, which I was a little saddened by, especially with the reds not matching.  On the plus side, he does get an unmasked Ben Reilly head, which we’ve not gotten before.  Sure, it’s just a repaint of the unmasked Peter Parker from the Spidey/MJ two-pack, but given how scarce that set was, it’s new to me. Also, he’s a clone, so I guess re-use makes sense.  That’s probably the better rationale, isn’t it?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t initially planning to get this figure.  I’m happy with the prior release, and while I did like this one’s unmasked appearance, I wasn’t sure that would really warrant the purchase.  But, Super Awesome Fiancee’s store got him in, and she sent me a picture, and I liked how he looked in person, so I kind of caved.  There’s not a lot of new going on here, and I don’t really see this guy replacing the prior release, but I do like the extra head, and I think he’s distinct enough to be worth my time.  And, for someone who missed the first release, he’ll be awesome, which is really the main point.

The Blaster In Question #0071: Spectre REV-5

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

BlasterInQuestion1

SPECTRE REV-5

N-STRIKE

Spectre1Knife-wrench: its a knife and wrench, mostly wrench. And then he accidentally stabs himself in the leg and we all have a good chuckle. That reminds me of this week’s blaster. No, not the stabbing part, but being a weird combination of two things, namely being a rifle and a pistol. Now that I’m thinking about it that’s hardly a unique design feature for this blaster, but I made a Scrubs reference, what do you want?  This week I’ll be looking at the Spectre REV-5. 

THE BLASTER ITSELF

spectre2The Spectre was released in 2010 as part of the original N-Strike line, then again in 2013 as the Elite version. I do own both versions, but I didn’t have the Elite model on hand when I was taking photos, so just keep that in mind. Most stuff I’ll touch on applies to both blasters but I’ll point out any differences. The Spectre is a 5 shot revolver style blaster similar to the Maverick or Strongarm, but with slightly lower capacity. The shell of the original was all new and the only changes to the Elite version besides color are the slots in the sides of the body for the slide to interface with the internals. The cylinder swings out to the left side of the blaster, which, itself, sports a barrel lug, a stock lug, and an accessory rail. At the time of its initial release, what set the Spectre apart from other pistols was its ability to accept barrel extensions and stocks, like those included, to transform it into more of a rifle type blaster. As I recall, the spectre3accessories that came with the Spectre were perhaps more highly sought after than the actual blaster. First off, the stock, while kinda flimsy, was the first example of a side folding stock to hit the market, so that was cool. Also, the barrel had the double distinction of having a bore wide enough that it wouldn’t affect performance, and it looked like a cool suppressor. The ergonomics of the blaster are pretty standard, functional but not mind blowing, though having both attachments on does make it feel like some sort of covert scout rifle, which is fun. Performance on the Elite version is substantially improved over the original but neither version is all that great, to be honest.  At the very least, you can feel like a hit man when you attach the suppressor before busting into your younger siblings’ room and start blasting. The Spectre REV-5 comes with a barrel attachment, a folding stock and either 5 whistler darts or 5 Elite darts, depending on which model. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION 

The concept of a single blaster that can effectively fill both roles of a pistol and rifle is and continues to be an intriguing one, but the Spectre sadly doesn’t pull it off. It’s an ok pistol, and a meh rifle, but there are better examples of each separately. That seems to be the way it goes, except with drill fork. It’s a drill and fork. I mean, come on, that’s pure gold right there. 

#1865: Ghostbusters Boxed Set

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

DR. PETER VENKMAN, DR. EGON SPENGLER, DANA BARRET, & LOUIS TULLY

GHOSTBUSTERS MINIMATES

“Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night? Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? Have you or your family ever seen a spook, spectre or ghost?”

The nature of Minimates, pretty much since the Marvel ones got on the scene in 2003, has been to have one flagship line, and a secondary line that’s still doing a lot of the business.  For 99% of the brand’s run, Marvel’s been the flagship (apart from a brief dark period for the line, which resulted in DC having the upper hand for about a year), but that secondary slot has filtered its way through a few other properties.  From 2009 to 2011, that secondary property was Ghostbusters.  Today, I’m looking at the set that introduced the property!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Venkman, Spengler, Dana, and Louis were the first boxed set, and the first official entry in DST’s Ghostbuster Minimates (TRU’s exclusive two-packs hit just days later, though).  All four figures are, of course, based on the first film, and the set is designed to pair off with the second boxed set, which rounded out the main team, and gave us the two remaining villains.

DR. PETER VENKMAN

Venkman is arguably the lead character of Ghostbusters, and is the face of the group, so his placement in the first set is definitely sensible.  Plus, it gave DST an extra leg-up when comparing their assortment to Mattel’s own figures, where Venkman wound up as the fifth figure in the line, causing a degree of controversy about whether he’d actually show up at all.  No worries about that in this line-up.  The figure uses the usual ‘mate body as a starting point, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has the usual 14 points of articulation.  Venkman was built using add-ons for his hair, torso/proton pack, and elbow pads.  All of them were new pieces to this set, but they’ve been subsequently re-used a number of times, notably on the “I Love This City” version of Venkman, who used everything but the torso piece.  The torso piece is kind of noteworthy, as it’s really the one thing that held these releases back, and it’s definitely the one thing that signifies them as out of date amongst newer offerings.  The bulked up nature just looks off, since the ‘busters were just average joes.  Still, the piece does exhibit a nice selection of details, especially on the proton pack.  The paintwork on Peter is fairly decent.  The earlier ‘busters used a prop-accurate grey for their jumpsuits, which doesn’t quite match the on-screen appearance but is *technically* more accurate.  His face has a passable Murray likeness.  It’s not as spot-on as some of the later offerings, but it’s not bad.  Venkman is packed with his radio (which can be mounted on his belt) as well as an energy stream effect for his neutrino wand.

DR. EGON SPENGLER

My personal favorite ‘buster, Egon is the second member of the team represented in this set.  Harold Ramis had been doing a lot of rounds talking about the production of the movie right around this time, so he, and by extension, Egon, were quite in the spotlight.  Egon is very similar to Venkman in construction, just with a different hair piece.  It’s the weakest of the new parts for this set; it’s just too reserved for Egon’s distinctive pompadour from the movies.  That’s probably why it was replaced fairly quickly as the line progressed.  Egon’s paintwork is once again fairly similar to Venkman’s, though with the obvious change-up for the face, as well as extra detailing for his boots.  Egon is packed with his PKE meter (again, belt mountable), and another energy stream  effect piece.

DANA BARRET

The central plot of the first film (and the second film, for that matter) is driven by Sigourney Weaver’s Dana Barret, who made her toy debut here.  She’s seen here decked out in her garb from after she’s possessed by Zuul, which is really the most distinctive of her looks from the film.  She uses add-ons for her hair and skirt.  Both were new to this figure, and, apart from a single re-use on the hair for the second Dana, they’re remained unique to her.  They do a good job of replicating her film design, and are nicely sculpted.  The paintwork is fairly decently handled.  The Weaver likeness is actually better than the Aliens line gave us, and the metallic coloring on the dress is sharp looking.  That said, there’s a slight misprint on the chest, so the coloring doesn’t quite match up with the printed lines.  It was a  problem going back to the prototype and is present on the whole production of Danas.

LOUIS TULLY

Dana’s neighbor Louis Tully was a part originally written for John Candy, who envisioned him as husky Russian man.  For the final film, the part actually went to fellow SCTV alum Rick Moranis, whose nerdy, eccentric doormat was one of the film’s most distinctive characters.  The Minimate is an early instance of a figure pulling double duty, and getting us two distinct looks.  He’s packaged as a Terror Dog, and makes use of seven sculpted add-on pieces, for his head, torso, pelvis, and each of his feet.  It’s actually a pretty faithful recreation of the design from the movie.  Take off the head, torso and pelvis, and swap out the front legs for the included arms, and you can turn him into a rather disheveled Luis Tully.  And, if you have a spare head, torso, and legs laying around, you can even display both of them at the same time.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed this set new from Cosmic Comix back when it was released.  I’ve been a fan of Ghostbusters for a long time, and I’d even been contemplating picking up Kubrick’s announced line before DST showed off theirs.  Subsequent releases of Peter and Egon have supplanted these two, but Louis and Dana can’t be beat, and this a pretty fun set all around.