Yearly Archives: 2019

#2106: Autobot Springer

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

AUTOBOT SPRINGER

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: SIEGE (HASBRO)

Hey, who’s up for watching me further dive into the depths of all this crazy Transformers stuff?  Yeah, I figured as much.  So, as I’ve been trekking through all of the various Transfromers concepts, there’s one I haven’t looked at.  While I’ve looked at figures with multiple alt-modes, but I’ve not yet looked at a proper triple-changer.  The best known triple-changers are Decepticons, but the Autobots weren’t without their own, including today’s focus and Transformers: The Movie star, Springer!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Autobot Springer is the new portion of the third Voyager Class assortment of Siege figures, alongside a re-issue of the Starscream figure from Series 2.  He’s only our second Voyager Class Autobot, and going by the upcoming announcements, it appears he might be the last one for the rest of the Siege branding.  In his robot mode, Springer stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 22 workable points of articulation.  Springer’s sculpt goes back to his vintage design that, to be fair, he never really strayed too far from in the first place.  Like a number of other figures in the line, he’s more clearly modeled on his animated counterpart, specifically his appearance in Transformers: The Movie.  Springer is on the blockier side of things, but like the Voyager Optimus, there’s a very clean sort of construction to him.  He’s definitely lighter on the “greebles” than some of the other figures in the line-up, which I suppose makes sense given his slightly newer nature in the canon.  He cuts a nice silhouette, and definitely holds his figure form well.  His articulation is a little more restricted than some of the others in the line, but it’s hardly bad.  The most of the restriction’s in the upper arms, which can be slightly tricky to work with those big honking shoulders.  Additionally, though the mobility on the ankles is decent, the stability isn’t the greatest, meaning Springer has a tendency to fall over if you don’t get him posed just right.  It’s not as bad as I was expecting given some of the reports I’d heard, but it’s enough to be a little bit annoying.  The first of Springer’s two alt-modes is a sci-fi car, following in the footsteps of his original figure.  It’s a decent enough design, and believe me, I’m always happy to see an alt mode that doesn’t translate to “brick with stuff stuck on it”, but the transformation process was rather difficult.  Even in the shots here I only felt like I was getting it “close enough,” not actually properly clicking things into place.  His second alt-mode is a helicopter, and again I found getting him through the transformation quite difficult.  I don’t know if I was doing something wrong on these, but this was probably the most frustrating transformation experience I’ve run into since jumping on-board with the line.  Springer is packed with 2 “W-10 Airslice Chopper Blades” (swords),  a “JF-10 Warp Blaster” (gun #1), and a  “C-10 EM Void Blast Capacitor” (gun #2), which can be used in robot mode or serve as accents to the two vehicle modes.  While the swords are certainly fun, I actually found myself liking the two blasters the most.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s Max’s fault again.  He’s been getting off the hook a lot recently, but I’m pulling him back in.  See, when Springer was first shown off, I was still very new to the whole Transformers thing, and therefore had nothing to go on for the character, and had no reason to pay any mind to the figure.  Max, however, just *had* to show me the photos and point out how cool this figure looked, and even showed me Transformers: The Movie to boot.  This guy very quickly made his way onto my list of most anticipated releases, so I was pretty pumped when he finally came in.  Truth be told, I wasn’t quite as wowed by this figure as I’d expected to be.  Don’t get me wrong, I love his robot mode; it’s a solid figure.  It’s the other two modes and the very frustrating process of getting to them that holds him back.  Fortunately, I’m more a robot guy than I am a vehicle guy, so it only holds him back so much.

Springer came from my friends All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Transformers, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2105: Refraktor

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

REFRAKTOR

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: SIEGE (HASBRO)

It wasn’t entirely uncommon for characters to debut in toy-based-media tie-ins before actually getting their toys.  A good number of major G.I. Joe characters showed up in the comics and the cartoons first, as did Shockwave from the Transformers.  However, it usually means that the toy isn’t far behind.  Not so much the case with the Decepticon three-man camera team, Reflector.  Despite early appearances in the cartoon, the set didn’t get a US release until 1986, and only as a mail-in offer at that.  Further confusing matters was that the three unique bots featured on the toy didn’t so much match-up with the three identical bots from the show.  Now, Hasbro’s further muddying the water, and selling a single-packed Reflector (now dubbed “Refraktor”), and leaving it up to fans to decide how many they want…or at least they were until they confirmed that three-pack at SDCC.  See, it keeps getting confusing.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Refraktor is the last new figure in the Series 3 Deluxe Class line-up for Siege.  There’s a fourth figure in the assortment, but it’s just a re-pack of the Series 1 Hound figure.  Refraktor is just a single figure, based on the singular animated design, which was in turn based on Viewfinder, the central component to Reflector.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 25 functioning points of articulation.  The sculpt is kind of rudimentary and basic, which, to be fair, is pretty accurate to the animation model.  It’s well suited to the army-building purposes the show suggests, and the more rudimentary nature of the sculpt allows for more of a focus on the articulation and how it’s implemented.  Refraktor’s one of the most posable figures in the line, especially when it comes to the arms and shoulders.  It definitely makes for a very playable figure.  The solo Refraktor’s alt-mode is an “artillery hovercraft”…and that’s really all I can say about it.  It’s not particularly inventive or all that exciting.  It’s just kind of a brick with a blaster on the end.  It’s clearly not supposed to be the main alt-mode.  What is the main alt-mode?  Well, if you’ve got three Refraktors on hand, you can follow the original toy’s lead and combine the three into a full-scale camera mode, with a tripod and everything.  It’s quite convincing, and even without actual instructions, it’s a pretty easy conversion.  More so than any of the other hidden alt-modes we’ve seen in Siege, this one feels like the one the figure was actually designed for, with the second being something that could be achieved in order to give the solo figure something to do without the other two.  Each Refraktor is packed with a blaster and a shield, which combine with the same pieces from the other two to form the tripod and lens of the camera, respectively.  Additionally, the circle on the front of the torso can be removed to denote whether the Refraktor shown is Viewfinder or one of the other two.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Refraktor was certainly not initially on my list of Siege figures I was intending to get.  He’s just outside the realm of Transformers I knew off-hand, and the whole “you have to buy three of them” thing seemed like a bit much to me.  But I was already grabbing Brunt and Red Alert (as well as quite a few other Hasbro items that hit at the same time) and I had the opportunity to get three right off the bat, so I decided to go for it.  As a single figure, he’s kind of pointless.  With three in play, he makes a lot more sense and is a far more satisfying offering.  It’s not really surprising that Hasbro’s already got a three-pack release on the books.

I picked up my three Refraktors from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Transformers, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2104: Red Alert

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

RED ALERT

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: SIEGE (HASBRO)

Pretty much since the very beginning, Transformers and re-decos have gone hand-in-hand.  Sometimes just for variants of the same character, but surprisingly frequently for all-new characters.  Such was the case with Red Alert, the Autobots’ paranoid chief of security who began his life as a Sideswipe re-deco.  His latest figure follows his original’s lead, surprising pretty much no one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Alert is the second figure in the third Deluxe Class series of Siege figures.  He actually was first shown off not on his own, but as the model figure in Brunt’s renders, showing off Brunt’s weaponizer capabilities.  Prior to that, he was in a few pieces of promotional art, so most people figured he’d be coming sooner than later.  In robot mode, Red Alert stands 5 inches tall and has 20 points of articulation.  As I touched on in the intro, Red Alert is a Sideswipe re-deco. Sideswipe is probably my favorite figure from the first round of Deluxe figures, and one of the sleekest sculpts in the line, so it’s a very strong starting point.  Despite the initial renders showing him being a straight repaint, he does get a new head.  It’s only moderately different from Sideswipe; the horns on the helmet are shorter. Still, change is change, right?  Red Alert keeps the same basic alt-mode as Sideswipe, with the only change being the addition of the lightbar from Prowl, denoting Red Alert’s status as a rescue services vehicle.  The change between the two modes is still very intuitive, and remains one of my favorite transformations I’ve encountered.  Red Alert is packed with the previously mentioned lightbar, as well as a blaster rifle.  The two can be combined into the “RT-10 Particle Beam Circuit Welder”, which I guess is supposed to look like an axe or something?  I don’t know.  I like it more with just the basic blaster set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I liked Sideswipe a whole lot, but I wasn’t really intending to pick up Red Alert, given his status as a pretty straightforward repaint.  That said, I was already grabbing the other two in the set, and I *did* like Sideswipe a whole lot, so I caved a little bit on this one.  He’s a good figure.  Maybe not an overly new figure, but a good one.  Now, of course, I’m debating whether I really need to pick up the G2 Sideswipe and just go nuts with the re-decos.

I picked this guy up from my friends at All Time Toys, where he is still currently in stock here.  If you’re looking for Transformers, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2103: Brunt

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

BRUNT

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: SIEGE (HASBRO)

The gimmick of Hasbro’s latest iteration of the Transformers brand is cross-compatibility, and this is manifested no more succinctly than in the Weaponizers, figures whose primary purpose is to augment other figures.  So far, we’ve had two Autobot Weaponizers, and I guess the Decepticons were getting a little jealous.  The latest is finally one of theirs, Brunt, who I’ll be taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Brunt is part of the third series of Deluxe Class figures from Siege.  As will all of the Weaponizers so far, Brunt began his life as an accessory to a larger Transformer, specifically Trypticon, whose 2018 update Brunt was absent from.  Interestingly, the original Brunt didn’t actually have a robot mode, switching between tank and towers.  This figure introduces a robot mode, based on the Centurion droid from the Stormbringer miniseries.  In said robot mode, Brunt stands 5 1/4 inches tall and has 22 points of articulation.  The sculpt is small, but quite stocky, and he’s certainly on the blockier side of things.  Fitting enough, what with him being a literal tank and all. After being slightly disappointed by Cog’s notable hollowness in a few spots, I was happy to see that Brunt is a much more solidly constructed figure.  It means he’s a little on the shorter side, but I prefer things this way, truth be told. Brunt continues the somewhat inhuman trend among the Weaponizers, but for a Decepticon it feels a little bit less out of place.  Like his original “figure,” Brunt’s vehicle-mode is a tank, and like the other Weaponizers, it’s achieved not so much through actual transforming, but rather disassembling and reassembling in a different configuration.  It’s a little more intuitive with Brunt, largely due to there being less little tiny pieces to move around, and possibly due to my own familiarity with the style of Transformer increasing.  There’s one notable issue in transforming him, though; the way his arms work, it’s very easy to accidentally pop them off at the wrong peg when swapping him back and forth, and once you’ve done it once, it’s very easy to do it again, and a little difficult to get the arm back together again.  Brunt also has the ability to turn into additional weaponry and armor for his fellow Decepticons.  There are two shown configurations, and I myself quite like the one with the big claw arms.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting on board the whole Weaponizer train with Six Gun, I was definitely intrigued by Brunt, especially his robot mode’s design.  Of all the Series 3 Deluxes, he was definitely the one I was most excited for, and after getting them in-hand, he remains my favorite of the bunch.  There’s quite a bit to like about this guy, and I look forward to seeing other possible options for Weaponizers.

I picked up Brunt from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Transformers, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

 

#2102: Hulk

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

HULK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

After a poignant absence in Infinity War and Endgame‘s opening act, Hulk makes kind of an understated reappearance after Endgame’s five-year time jump, having progressed from simple-minded brute to a hybrid of Banner’s brains and Hulk’s brawn at some point in the gap.  It gave the character a decidedly different arc for the film, and though fans had guessed at the change happening, it was still a pretty well-kept secret as a whole.  The Professor Hulk merch proper took a little while to make its way out, but he’s showing up in full force now, most notably as the central Build-A-Figure of the latest assortment of Marvel Legends.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hulk is the Build-A-Figure for the second assortment of Endgame-themed Marvel Legends.  There are a number of looks to choose from for Professor Hulk, but Hasbro’s opted to go with the one that stays closest to comfort for Hulk: shirtless with tattered pants.  He looks this way when he goes back to the battle of New York, so it’s accurate to the film, but it doesn’t feel quite as true to this particular iteration of the character.  Personally, I’d have liked to see his cardigan-sporting look from early in the film, but his jumpsuit from the end of the movie would have been cool too.  This one is fine, but seems like an off choice given what Hasbro *didn’t* do with the figure.  I’ll get to that in a moment.  The figure stands 7 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  After doing an awkward sort of rework to the Avengers sculpt for Age of Ultron, and then doing an all-new sculpt for Ragnarok, this Hulk gets another all-new sculpt.  It’s the most balanced and realistic Hulk sculpt we’ve gotten to date.  The proportions are solid, the limbs hang naturally, and the articulation is well worked-in and has a solid range given the general sizing of him.  There are two different heads included for this guy.  The main one is a more neutral expression, which works well enough, since it lacks that usual Hulk intensity.  The likeness on the face is actually a pretty decent match for the CGI Ruffalo, but the hair does seem to be a slight bit off; it lacks a lot of Ruffalo’s distinctive waviness.  Hulk’s second head has a smirk.  What’s interesting is that, even though a grin of some sort should feel more proper for this version of the character, but for whatever reason, he seems to be back to the Avengers facial model, while still sporting the Endgame hair.  It’s an odd combo, and honestly it would have been better if they’d just gone full-on first movie styling for the second head, since that would do a bit to justify the costume choice for the figure.  Hulk’s paintwork is pretty solidly handled.  The chest hair detailing is pretty well done, as is the printed face detailing.  I’m also glad to see they included the greying at the temples like he’s got going on in the film.  Hulk’s only extra is that second head I mentioned, but it’s more than most BaFs get, so there’s no complaints from me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always been a fan of the Professor Hulk concept, and I was very happy to see it turn up in the film.  I figured we’d be seeing him pop up in this spot, so the only thing that really surprised me about the announcement was the costume choice.  I wish they’d gone with a different look, and I’m holding out for some sort of follow-up release, but purely as a figure, this guy is pretty nice.

Unlike some recent assortments where the line-ups were more centralized in quality, there’s a wider spread on these guys.  Loki and Rock Python are definitely some of the weaker Legends releases as of late, but on the flip side, War Machine, Rescue, and Union Jack are some of my favorite recent releases and are just solid figures all around.  Through in some solid middle-ground figures with Beta Ray Bill and Shuri, and there’s certainly enough good in the assortment to outweigh the bad.

#2101: Loki

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

LOKI

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A devilish trickster, Loki uses whatever means necessary to give himself power and has little regard for what side of so-called justice he stands on.”

Debuting two months after Thor, the comics version of Loki has remained a prominent fixture of the Marvel universe ever since his introduction, not only as a thorn in Thor’s side, but also as a major mover for the universe as a whole.  He was responsible for bringing the Avengers together after all.  Recently, the comics Loki, who tends to be slightly more villainous than his film counterpart, has been slightly displaced by the movies, but he’s not completely neglected, and would you look at that, he just got a Marvel Legend.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Loki is figure 6 in the Hulk Series of Marvel Legends and is the final figure needed to complete the Hulk Build-A-Figure.  As noted, this is a comic Loki figure, the third of its kind in Legends proper (and one of those was Lady Loki, so…), and the first to use Loki’s classic comics appearance.  This one lifts his design directly from his Jack Kirby-illustrated original appearances.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Loki re-uses the Reaper body, and is the second figure in the assortment to do so.  Comic Loki fluctuates a bit in size and build, but this works respectably for his earliest appearances.  He gets a new head, shoulder piece, and belt.  The head is…well, I honestly have trouble saying how I feel about it.  Comics Loki is a character that always seems to have trouble translating into figure form, and this one continues the trend.  I get what they were going for with the expression, and I do like the idea of Loki sporting that mad cackling appearance, but it just doesn’t really work.  He looks demented, but not in the way they were aiming for.  I’m also not super crazy about the ponytail, which is just jutting out to the side.  If it had been articulated, it would be fine, but it’s permanently stuck where it is, which severely limits the posing options.  Loki’s paintwork is pretty basic.  He’s green and yellow, just like he usually is, and I definitely dig the slight metallic finish.  The face is a little gummed up for my taste, and there’s just something off about those eyes.  Maybe I’m just too accustomed to Tom Hiddleston’s baby blues.  Loki is packed with a sword, which appears to be a new piece to him.  It’s a nice enough piece, and well-sized to the figure.  He also includes the right leg of Hulk, who I’ll be looking at tomorrow.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Loki as a character, and I always want to like him as a toy, but I tend to have some difficulty.  Despite his less comic accurate nature, I did actually like the Toy Biz Legend a fair bit.  This one?  Pretty much from the time he was shown off, I had my doubts about him, and they followed through to the final figure.  He’s not awful, but I’m just not really feeling him.  Maybe if I were more of a fan of the Kirby design, I’d dig him a bit more.

I purchased Loki from my sponsors over at All Time Toys, alongside the rest of this series.  He’s still in stock here.  If your looking for other Legends or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2100: Beta Ray Bill

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

BETA RAY BILL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Though the subject of much frivolous fan debate these days, there was a time when the concept of someone other than Thor Odinson picking up Mjolnir was still rather unexplored territory.  It was finally explored in 1983, when Walt Simonson introduced Beta Ray Bill.  Bill was designed to be a complete subversion of usual conventions, a deliberately monstrous-looking character who would nevertheless pick up the hammer and cement himself as worthy.  Eventually, he would gain a hammer of his own, and he’s since become a regular fixture in the Thor mythos, and a fan favorite to boot.  And now I’m looking at his latest plastic incarnation.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Beta Ray Bill is figure 5 in the Hulk Series of Marvel Legends.  This is Bill’s second time in Legends form, following up on his figure from the final Toy Biz Legends assortment.  This one marks a first for a Bill figure, being in a costume other than the one he debuted in.  Instead, he’s in his Oliver Copiel-designed streamlined costume from Unworthy Thor.  It’s different, and perhaps a little less distinctive, but it still hits all the important notes.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  Bill makes use of some of the Hyperion parts, but like a lot of the most recent uses of this body, he dispenses with some of the more problematic parts.  He has a new head, torso, pelvis, and hands, plus add-ons for his cape and wrist wraps.  The head and hands are clearly the most distinctively Bill parts, and the head in particular is a marked improvement over prior attempts.  For pretty much the first time, we have a Beta Ray Bill head that doesn’t look abysmal when viewed from the front.  After the head, his cape is definitely my next favorite piece of the figure, based largely on how it affixes to the torso; the clasps at the shoulders are actually clasps, and allow for it to be held securely in place or removed, which has been an option sorely lacking from a lot of prior Thor figures.  Beta Ray’s paintwork follows the general cues of the design in the comics, meaning it steps back a bit from the more colorful nature of his original look, but still hits all the main notes.  The straight black on the legs isn’t terribly exciting, but the rest of the work is all pretty good, and I was pleasantly surprised by the accent work on his skin tones.  Bill is packed with his personal hammer, Stormbreaker, as well as not one but two heads for the Hulk Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t care so much about Beta Ray Bill when the original Legend hit, but I’ve picked up more of an appreciation for him in the years since then, so I was definitely on board for an update.  He’s jammed into a series of a lot of other figures I really like, but I can still step back and appreciate how well made he is.  And, knowing Hasbro’s track record, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them drop a more classically inspired variant down the line.  In the mean time, this is definitely the best version of Bill to date.

#2099: Union Jack

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

UNION JACK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Union Jack is a British operative, spy, and master of hand-to-hand combat embroiled in the world of European politics.”

If America’s got Captain America, certainly some of the other countries would have their own nationalistic equivalents, right?  Of course they would.  As it so happens, Britain’s actually got two; the more parallel-y named Captain Britain is a less direct counterpart.  That role more goes to Union Jack.  Created retroactively in the ’70s, despite his common placement among the Invaders, Captain America’s WW2-era team, Union Jack is a rare WWI-based hero.  The original Jack, Lord James Montgomery Falsworth would eventually pass the mantle onto his son Brian.  Following Brian’s untimely demise, Falsworth trained another protegee, Joseph Chapman, who has been in the role since the ’80s.  Union Jack’s got a pretty distinctive design, so he’s no stranger to action figures.  I’ll be looking at his latest today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Union Jack is figure 4 in the Hulk Series of Marvel Legends.  This is Jack’s second time as a Legend; the first was also a Hasbro release, and was also part of a series that built a Hulk figure.  However, he was from a darker period in Hasbro’s run, and is at this point over a decade old, so an update seems more than fair.  The basics of the Union Jack uniform have remained more or less the same throughout all three incarnations (apart from a period of time when Chapman was sporting a Captain Britain-looking costume), but this figure is clearly most inspired by Chapman’s ever so slightly modernized gear.  In a pinch, though, it works as any of them.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  Though the original prototype was built on the 2099 body, the final product has switched him to the Bucky Cap base.  Personally, I don’t mind this so much, as I like the general aesthetics a little more on this body, but it’s too bad he missed on the extra shoulder joints.  He gets a new head, plus add-ons for the belt and wrist/ankle straps.  I really dig the new head; it really does a great job of selling that there’s a full face underneath of the mask.  I also really like the piping around the eyeholes and running down the sides.  Union Jack’s design is pretty dependent on the paint not sucking, and fortunately the figure fares pretty well in that regard.  The whites could maybe be a little more solid, but otherwise the application is all quite clean.  They also got the patterning of the Union Jack correct, which is more than can be said about the previous figure.  Union Jack is packed with a revolver and a knife, both of which are re-used parts.  In the case of the revolver, this is a little sad, as it means that Jack doesn’t get his signature Webley, and instead gets something more generic.  It serves alright in a pinch, but it’ll bug me until the end of time.  Also included is the right arm of the Hulk Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always loved Union Jack’s design, and as such I’ve always made it a point to track him down when he gets a toy.  I was very happy to see him pop back up, and I’m thrilled to be able to finally retire the older figure, who was seriously starting to show his age.  Union Jack is a rather by the numbers figure, but that doesn’t at all hinder him, and he’s definitely vying for the spot of my favorite in this line-up.

I purchased Union Jack from my sponsors over at All Time Toys.  If your looking for other Legends or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2098: Rock Python

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

ROCK PYTHON

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A mercenary working out of Africa, M’Gula adopts the name Rock Python and joins the slithering villain enterprise known as Serpent Society.”

We were at a beach.  Everybody had matching towels.  Someone went under a dock, and there they saw a rock.  But it wasn’t a rock.  I was a Roooooock Python!  Rock Python! Rock Python!  Rock Python!  Rock Python!  …Too much of a stretch?

So, Rock Python.  Who’s Rock Python?  Well, he’s a member of the Serpent Society…and his name is close enough to Rock Lobster that I went the parody lyrics route…and…that’s all I got.  He’s got this toy.  I’m gonna review this toy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rock Python is officially figure 3 in the Hulk Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the first comic figure in the line-up, and our latest addition to the Serpent Society themed figures that have been running through the various Avengers assortments since the Red Onslaught Series.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Rock Python is built on the Reaper base body, which seems like a reasonable enough choice given his usual build in comics depictions.  I’ll admit I’m seeing to see its flaws more and more every time it gets reused, and this figure again showcases the utter insanity of there still not being actual fists assigned to this mold, but it’s solid enough for a character such as Rock Python.  He’s got a new head and belt pieces, which fit the body well enough.  They’re both fairly basic, straight forward designs.  Not a lot going on, but they translate the source material well.  The paintwork on Rock Python is pretty straight forward.  He’s very blue, but that’s accurate, and the application is all pretty cleanly handled.  Rock Python includes no accessories of his own (not really sure what you would give him, truth be told), but he still has the left arm of the Build-A-Figure Hulk.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, so as you may have gathered from the review, I have no connection to Rock Python.  Honestly, I don’t have much connection to the Serpent Society as a whole, apart from thinking that King Cobra was the best figure in his assortment last year.  Unlike King Cobra, Python doesn’t really do much to add any excitement to the design.  There’s nothing wrong with this figure, but there’s not much super endearing about him either.  He’s just kind of here, and I think he’s one of the weaker Legends we’ve gotten recently.

I purchased Rock Python from my sponsors over at All Time Toys, and he’s still in stock here.  If you’re looking for other Legends or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2097: Shuri

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

SHURI

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The mastermind behind some of Wakanda’s most advanced technology, Shuri designs and distributes Vibranium-powered gear to Wakanda’s greatest warriors and allies.”

As far as Marvel Legends coverage goes, last year’s Black Panther is possibly one of the most fortunate films in the entirety of the MCU.  It got two dedicated assortments (one of which was purely movie figures, which pretty much never happens these days), and there was really only one major character missing from those two sets.  Said character is T’Challa’s sister, Shuri.  She was included in the basic Black Panther line at the time of the movie’s release, but now she’s finally getting her proper Legends due courtesy of Endgame.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shuri is figure 3 in the Hulk Series of Marvel Legends, and she’s the final single-carded movie character this time around.  She’s officially branded as an Endgame figure, but thanks to her re-using her battle gear from Black Panther during Endgame’s final battle, she’ll fit in just fine with either collection.  The figure stands (or at least attempts stand) 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Her sculpt is brand new, and it’s an immense improvement over the basic figure sculpt, but does have one major issue for me: she can’t stand.  Okay, that’s not entirely true; she can stand…for a bit, and then she’s pretty much guaranteed to fall over.  She did so numerous times for every single photo that accompanies this review.  Not a ton of fun for me, let me tell you.  On the plus side, the actual sculpting on the sculpt is pretty impressive.  The head’s the best part, with a very strong likeness of Letitia Wright, even getting her proper hair style, which the basic figure didn’t do so well on.  Her costume elements are very sharply defined and appear to be accurate to the film(s), and the build of the body they’re on is a much better match for Wright’s rather skinny frame than the prior figure.  The skirt piece is a free-floating add-on, and while I’m not super jazzed by that style of implementation, it’s still a rather nice piece, and doesn’t impact her mobility too much.  Her paintwork is pretty solidly handled; like a lot of the Panther stuff, it’s not the most eye-catching or flamboyant selection of colors, but it’s accurate and lifelike, and she looks pretty cool.  Shuri is packed with her panther-styled gauntlets, which are a slightly different piece from the basic ones, but still very cool.  She also includes the left leg of the Hulk BaF.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure’s been a long time coming.  I’d thoroughly expected to see her in the second Black Panther assortment, and was quite surprised by her absence.  Upon seeing her turn up with the same costume at the end of Endgame, suddenly things made a lot more sense, so I was less shocked when she turned up here.  The stability thing is a major annoyance, but beyond that there’s quite a bit I like about this figure, and at this point, I’m just happy I can finally retire the basic figure from my Legends shelf.

I purchased Shuri from my sponsors over at All Time Toys, alongside the rest of this series.  Amazingly, she’s still in stock here.  If your looking for other Legends or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.