Monthly Archives: February 2022

#3041: Hammerhead

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

HAMMERHEAD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Hammerhead’s skull is reinforced with adamantium, making his head flat on top. All the same, this hard-headed criminal’s frequent run-ins with Spider-Man have caused him no shortage of headaches!”

Alright, we had a little bit of a preview of the latest round of Marvel Legends on Friday, and today we’re kicking a full-fledged week of reviews of that same set.  This assortment is split into two halves: the Spider-Men and the not Spider-Men.  Today, I’m looking at one of the not-Spider-Men, specifically Hammerhead.  Introduced in 1972 by Gerry Conway and John Romita, Sr, Hammerhead was designed as the logical continuation of the likes of the Big Man and Crimemaster, the almost Dick Tracy villain-esque members of Spidey’s earliest rogues gallery.  Though he’s got a distinctive gimmick and visual, he does get lost when placed next to some of the more colorful members of the rogues gallery.  Subsequently, he’s been kind of light on the toy front.  In terms of Legends, he’s previously just been an extra head packed in with the Chameleon figure.  Not exactly the proper figure treatment.  Thankfully, he’s finally getting his proper figure due.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hammerhead is the first of the three villains in the latest Spidey-themed Retro assortment of Marvel Legends.  Of the three included, he’s arguably the most obscure, although he does have a few notable video game appearances under his belt, which does certainly help him out a bit on that front.  He’s yet another guy in a suit, but it’s in an assortment that’s otherwise all the more standard spandex-wearing fare, so it makes him distinctive in his own way.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Hammerhead’s a rather big guy, wearing a rather big suit, so his sculpt needs to reflect that.  As was theorized when Happy was first shown off, Hammerhead makes use of a good number of parts from that release.  It gives him a slightly more reserved build than Hammerhead had classically, but it’s not a bad fit for him by any stretch of the imagination, especially when you remember that Hammerhead is really just supposed to be a normal guy with some modifications to his skull.  Rather than just re-using the piece included with Chameleon, which would have undoubtedly have been too small for the body, he gets a new head sculpt, which is quite an impressive piece.  The sheer amount of detail going into the face is just an impressive feat, especially on a comics-based figure.  Hammerhead also gets an all-new jacket overlay piece, which adds a vest to his attire, making him look just a little more put together than Mr. Hogan.  Hammerhead’s paint work is quite impressively handled, especially given how sharp and clean it is.  The pinstripes on the suit really work, and the sculpt of the face is aided by an equally impressive paint job to really make everything pop.  Hammerhead is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and a fist/brass knuckles combo), and a baseball bat, borrowed from the Punisher.  Certainly a solid selection of extras for a bruiser like Hammerhead.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ll admit that Hammerhead’s not one of those characters I ever really felt like I *needed* in figure form, so I was content with the nod we got to him with Chameleon, at least at the time.  So, he was hardly at the top of my list for this assortment.  That being said, I did like the look of this guy from the prototype shots, and even more when I got a chance to see him in hand.  While he’s still probably at the bottom of the list for this particular assortment for me, he’s still a really solid and fun figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3040: Spider-Armor Mk I

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

SPIDER-ARMOR MK I

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When Spider-Man’s powers aren’t enough, he dons his patented Spider-Armor. This ceramic-metal battlesuit protects Spidey from his deadliest foes, giving him the time he needs to take it to the bad guys!”

Alright, it’s been about a month since I did any Marvel Legends reviews.  I suppose I can manage to jump back into some of those without fear of triggering any flashbacks or anything.  They do seem to be hitting a bit rapid fire again, so I feel like I should tackle them while I can.  I just reviewed a set of Spider-Man-themed Legends back before the holidays, but there’s already another one to take a look at.  This time around, it’s another retro-inspired set.  I’m kicking things off with a figure that certainly helps me to feel nostalgic, the Spider-Armor Mk I!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Spider-Armor Mk I is the first of the three Spidey variants in the latest Spidey-themed Retro assortment of Marvel Legends.  He’s a natural choice for the line-up, since the original line included this very design making its toy debut, and all.  Though short-lived in the comics, the suit was repurposed in the cartoon as an alternate reality version of Peter, and has more recently re-surfaced as one of the alternate suits for Spidey in the PS4 game.  It seems the presence in the game is what really sealed the deal for this release, given how the figure is clearly inspired by that specific iteration of the design.  Funnily enough, this isn’t the first Spider-Armor that’s gotten the Legends treatment courtesy of its presence in the game.  And, given that there’s still the Mk II, which was also in the game, it’s likely this one won’t be the last, either.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation.  The Spider-Armor’s articulation scheme is generally pretty decent.  It’s certainly better than it looks at first glance, and the neck joint in particular gets some impressive range.  It’s also nice to finally get a proper Mk I Spider-Armor that can actually fully move both of his arms.  Additionally, the figure makes use of the new pinless construction for the elbows and knees, making him the only Spidey in this set to make use of them.  The Spider-Armor is an all-new sculpt, inspired by the PS4 version of the design, thereby making for a slightly sleeker overall silhouette, as well as a little more texturing on the darker sections of the design.  It’s a strong sculpt, with a really sharp, really geometric take on the design.  It works really well in figure form.  The figure’s paint work is pretty straight forward, but also really solid at what it’s doing.  The silver is applied quite cleanly, and it’s a really slick, almost reflective silver, which works really well with the design.  The Spider-Armor is packed with two sets of hands (fists and thwips), as well as two different web effects.  The web effects are cool, but also not really usable with the figure in any way, which is odd.  It’s also a shame he doesn’t get the web shield, but I guess that was more of a vintage toy thing anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a huge fan of the Mk I Spider-Armor design, and I’ve been hoping to see an update of it crop up in Legends form for some time.  I was really pumped when it showed up in this line-up, and it was certainly my most anticipated figure from this round.  I’m really happy with how this guy turned out.  The sculpt is top-notch, and that paint is really crisp and clean, and the silver is a really nice shade that works very well with the sculpt.  All-in-all, just a really strong figure, and a great way to kick off the 2022 Legends.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3039: Casey Jones

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

CASEY JONES

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ULTIMATES (SUPER 7)

Apart from they year 2019, which saw an inordinately high number of TMNT-themed reviews, they tend to be a little bit scarce around these parts.  Not that I deliberately avoid them or anything, especially when I’ve got a good reason not to.  I guess I’ve got a good reason not to.  The story of where we are right now starts with Matty Collector.  I know, that’s rarely a good start, but this one plays out okay, I swear.  After running pretty much the whole platform into the ground, Mattel decided they didn’t really want to support a collector site anymore, and was looking to shut things down.  However, Masters of the Universe Classics still had a little traction left in it.  Rather than giving up entirely, they licensed the whole thing out to Super 7, who had previously been pretty much exclusively focusing on smaller Kenner throw-back figures.  Super 7 took the assignment rather to heart, initially continuing, and then circling back to further improve upon what Mattel had been doing with MOTUC.  When Mattel decided to take Masters back in-house, Super 7 opted to keep the style they’d started going, under the banner of Ultimates, and spread to other ’80s and ’90s properties, chief among them being TMNT.  They’re a good way into the line now, and they’ve just added one of the Turtles’ two best human friends, Casey Jones!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Casey Jones is part of Wave 4 of Super 7’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates line, alongside Donatello, Mondo Gecko, and Muckman.  As with the rest of the line, his focus is specifically on recreating the vintage Playmates figure, up to modern standards of sculpting and articulation, so that’s what he’s specifically based on.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is sort of its own style of thing.  There are certainly some elements of the Mattel work that Super 7 inherited with their Ultimates lines, but with its own sort of flair, which honestly marks some improvements to how things work.  There’s a pretty solid range of motion on most of the joints (the neck and waist are both a little restricted on mine, but that’s really it), and he holds poses well and maintains a pretty stable footing without much trouble.  The figure’s sculpt is all-new, with the express purpose of recreating the original Playmates toy design for the character.  For Casey, that’s not as far removed from the animation design as some others, making him perhaps a more comparable offering to what we got from NECA.  That said, there’s a slightly more in-depth level to the detailing, especially the smaller stuff and the texturing.  You can make out the individual wrappings of the bandages on his knees and right hand, as well as little traces of hair on his arms and what we can see of his torso.  I also really dig the smaller, personal touch details, like his left shoelace being untied, adding to Casey’s classically disheveled appearance.  His mask is even sculpted to look convincingly like a separate piece, even though it’s non-removable.  Casey’s color work isn’t terribly involved, which is rather true to the original design.  There’s a lot of swathes of solid colors, largely molded in the proper color of plastic.  That said, the base work is generally pretty clean, with only a few minor fuzzy spots.  He’s also got some decent accent work to help some of the sculpted elements pop just a little bit.  Casey is packed with a rather impressive selection of accessories.  He includes four sets of hands (fists, open gesture, gripping with a forward/back joint, and gripping with a side-to-side joint), three different baseball bats, a golf club, a hockey stick, three hockey pucks, and his bag to carry everything.  All of the figures also include a weapons tree simulating the ones included with the old Playmates figures.  The vintage Casey didn’t have one, but this one still gets it.  It’s actually kind of neat, since the excess parts of the tree resemble a goal net.  I don’t see myself getting any use of of this piece from a display standpoint, but it’s still kind of a nifty piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While the idea of spending $50 a pop on TMNT figures doesn’t exactly thrill me or seem like a thing I’m really game for, I do certainly have a soft spot for Casey Jones, and after all of the fiascos surrounding NECA’s various figures, I decided it might be worth my time to at least give this one a try.  After snagging this guy, I think it’s safe to say that he was definitely worth my time.  He’s a lot of fun, and I think Super 7 really found a footing to justify the price point on these.  I’m not going to be jumping in full force or anything, but I’m definitely game for at least one or two others, to say nothing of the other Super 7 Ultimates offerings that are upcoming.  But, in the mean time, I can safely say this is the best Casey Jones I’ve got, and that’s certainly a plus.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3038: Alley Viper

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

ALLEY VIPER

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Introduced into the vintage line rather surprisingly late into its run in 1989, the Alley Viper has nevertheless become a memorable piece of the franchise.  Perhaps it’s the utter absurdity of the neon orange and blue camo on a supposedly urban-setting specializing trooper, which somehow manages to make even the most fervent of anti-neon Joe fans make an exception for this one.  Who knows.  What I do know is that this particular Viper-variant has certainly faired better than the rest of its ’89 compatriots, with a subsequent 14 variations on its design over the years, including today’s focus, the trooper’s introduction into the Classified Series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Alley Viper is figure 34 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up, released in the newest assortment of the line, alongside yesterday’s B.A.T. and a reissue of Gung-Ho.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  Structurally, the Alley Viper uses the Duke body as a starting point.  It’s definitely Hasbro’s favorite starting point for the line, which is sensible, since it’s a basic set of tactical gear.  For the most part, it’s really just the legs that are re-used, with pretty much everything else being all new.  Like yesterday’s B.A.T., the design on the Alley Viper is decidedly a lot closer to the original V1 figure than some of the line’s earlier offerings.  This one does update some of the details for some more modernization and a slightly more real world tactical feel.  All of the major design elements from the original figure are present, and in the same spots, with some additional details to help fill in the larger canvas, which is certainly cool.  I really dig the moving visor, which is one of the original figure’s coolest features, and works out much the same on this one as well.  There’s also just a ton of detail work going into the sculpt, which gives him a nice feeling of depth to his design.  The color work on the Alley Viper is one of his most distinctive features.  He’s bright orange and blue.  That’s kind of the point, and it’s kind of an important one.  This figure sticks to that, and it’s super silly, and goofy, and gaudy, and I absolutely love how it turned out.  The V1 Alley Viper included the visor, shield, backpack, and a submachine gun, all of which are present on this release.  He also adds a pistol and two knives for his holsters, plus a larger rifle.  Additionally, the backpack, which on the V1 release had a gun worked into the mold, actually sports a third fully removable rifle, complete with a grappling hook, again throwing back to the V1 version.  It’s a really fun selection of extras.  The two main guns both have removable magazines, and while the new shield doesn’t have the window at the top for him to look through, he does get a really cool decal showing some sort of wire frame readout.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ll admit, I don’t have much personal attachment to the Alley Viper.  It’s outside my main focus for the vintage line, and the early ’00s line, which served to get me into things, was when they were really downplaying the design’s funky colors, which does sort of hamper its staying power.  My favorite Alley Viper is the Resolute one, which honestly barely even counts as an Alley Viper.  So, when these guys were first previewed hiding up at the top of that back-of-the-box illustration, I wasn’t jumping up and down for them or anything.  When they were finally confirmed, they were of course in tandem with the B.A.T.s, which did sort of steal the thunder a bit.  That said, I did really like the look of him, and I wasn’t going to pass up on getting at least one of them.  While he’s not competition for the B.A.T., he’s still a really, really good figure in his own right.  It’s honestly a fantastic update to the original, and I can definitely dig it.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3037: B.A.T.

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

B.A.T.

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

Alright, I gave some love one of Hasbro’s in-house properties, how about the other?  It’s been a little tricky to devote proper love to G.I. Joe in the last few years, what with the line essentially dying for a bit, and then its subsequent re-launch in 2020 being absurdly hard to get ahold of for the first two years of its run.  Perhaps 2022 is the year that things start to turn around?  That sure would be nice.  Something that does seem to be pointing to things being at least a little better is how they’re handling the army builders.  The line’s first few army builders were wonky, with the initial Cobra Trooper and Viper as really hard to get exclusives, and the Red Ninja being the short pack of its respective assortment.  This year, we’re getting two army builders, packed at heavier numbers, in standard assortments, right out of the gate.  The first of them is an update on 1986’s own Battle Android Trooper, better known as the B.A.T. for short!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The B.A.T. is figure 33 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up, hitting in the first assortment of 2022, alongside the Alley Viper and a re-pack of Gung-Ho.  The B.A.T. is the heaviest packed figure in the assortment, which certainly makes a lot of sense, and will hopefully help to keep the figure from being quite as prohibitively hard to find as some of the line’s earlier figures.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme more or less just follows what’s been previously established with the line, and I’m quite alright with that, really.  The B.A.T.’s sculpt is an all-new one, very clearly patterned on the original V1 version of the character.  As with the rest of the line, there’s certainly some updating and modernizing, but on this release in particular, it’s rather down-played.  This one feels much more like a rather direct update, as opposed to more of an overhaul.  I really enjoy just how much detailing goes into this particular look, from the mechanics of the arms, to the heavy texturing of the overlying uniform.  I also really love the in-depth sculpting on the torso panel; to think that used to just be a sticker on prior figures.  The color work on the figure largely follows the V1 set-up.  It’s fairly basic overall, but does what it needs to.  I’m not crazy about the molded plastic silver on the arms, thigh strap, and grenades, especially when all the other silver is painted, but it’s not the end of the world, and, at least on the arms, it’s true to the V1.  The B.A.T. is packed with a handgun, two removeable chest plates (one standard, one damaged), an alternate damaged head, a backpack, and three different alternate hand attachments, mimicking those seen on the original figure.  The chest plates being solid black is the one notable design change here, and while it’s not my first choice, it’s also not a terrible look either (plus there are third party clear plates out there, if you’re a stickler about it), and I love the damaged option.  The damaged alt head is really awesome, calling back to one of the best features of the 25th line, and just further expanding upon it.  The alternate hands are rather standard, and aside from maybe wishing the claw had gotten extra movement like on the 25th release, I’m quite happy with them.  In general, it’s just a really solid selection of extras here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the Viper, the B.A.T. is a very close runner-up for my favorite Cobra army builder.  I knew it wasn’t going to be long before we saw them, but I was still a little bit anxious to see them when we were early in the line.  Once we got the rumors, and then the eventual confirmation, I was very down for these figures.  No way was I gonna pass on a really cool B.A.T.  And that’s what this is: a really cool B.A.T.  I love how close they stuck to the original, while still giving him enough subtle changes to fit in with the rest of the line.  All of the extras here are fantastic, and I look forward to seeing what possible re-decos and such we might be able to see of this one.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3036: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE (& RAVAGE)

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

Having exhausted all of the Earthmode characters from Bumblebee, in 2020 Hasbro started dipping their toes into the waters of the large cast of characters seen in the film’s opening battle on Cybertron.  Initially, they stuck purely to characters like Bumblebee or the Seekers, who had proper alt-modes displayed in the sequence (Cliffjumper also got in on this, by virtue of sharing his alt-mode with Bee), but this year, they’re going a step further and focusing in on the characters without any displayed alt-modes.  You know what that means?  It means your boy Ethan gets to review another Soundwave is what it means.  And your boy Ethan is all kinds of down for that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave is part of the Wave 15 Voyager-Class assortment of Hasbro’s Transformers: Studio Series, alongside a repack of last year’s Autobot Hot Rod.  He’s numbered 83 in the line-up, making him the last of the Bumblebee-themed figures from this first batch for the year.  It’s our second time getting Soundwave in his G1-inspired Bumblebee look, and the first time we’ve gotten a toy of it from Hasbro proper.  In his robot mode, the figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 27 workable points of articulation.  There are a few spots of restricted movement on this guy, especially when compared to other more recent Soundwaves, but the overall set-up of movement serves him well, and is well integrated into the overall look and design.  Soundwave’s sculpt is a pretty solid one, and does a respectable job of capturing his design from the movie.  Obviously, it’s not quite on the same level as the ThreeZero version I looked at last year, but then I don’t really expect it to be, now do I?  The level of detailing is pretty sharp, and he largely avoids any major gaps or hollow spots in his robot mode.  He’s also got an integrated cassette door-esque spot for storing his little buddies, complete with a spring loaded opening feature.  His arms aren’t quite free enough to get his hand up by the button, but it’s otherwise a cool feature.  Soundwave’s paint work is generally pretty good, with clean application, and a lot of decent coverage for the important details.  There’s one slight oddity to it, though; while his construction appears to have light-piping worked in for his optics, the visor is painted an opaque red, which doesn’t feel like it was *quite* what they were going for when they designed him.  Soundwave is packed with his usual shoulder mounted cannon, as well as the blaster rifle we saw him with in the film.

As addressed above, Soundwave has no alt-mode in Bumblebee, since he only participates in the battle as a robot.  So, for him to be a proper Transformer and all, Hasbro had to supply him with an alt-mode.  This one has been the source of much gnashing of teeth amongst the fanbase for being a pointless and nothing alt-mode, but Soundwave does actually draw his alt-mode from another piece of media, namely IDW’s Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe from 2014.  As any direct tie-ins to that series are rather unlikely, it’s not a bad re-use of alt-mode.  It also looks a bit like a Snowspeeder, and I like that.  Transforming him isn’t too bad; there’s some slight fiddliness, but not as bad as some Studio Series releases.  There’s one spot of a false piece showing up in the final assembly, but otherwise things stay pretty kosher.  On my figure, one of the ports on what would be his right forearm is malformed, meaning you can’t use it for one of his weapons the way the instructions show.  That said, there’s other, better spots for storing them, and I do rather enjoy this alt-mode.  Not enough to leave him that way long-term, but still.

Shipping alongside these latest Studio Series sets is a Core Class assortment, which is new for Studio Series specifically, though was introduced as a main scale-class last year with Kingdom.  Kingdom used it for smaller-scale versions of heavy hitters, but Studio is mixing that concept in with some figures that should actually be smaller.  In the first assortment, we get a Bumblebee-inspired Ravage, specifically designed to work with Soundwave.  I’m bad about reviewing Soundwave’s cassette buddies on their own, so I figured I might as well bundle him in here!  In robot mode, Ravage is 3 1/2 inches long and has 16 workable points of articulation.  In many ways, he does feel like a slightly simplified and scaled down version of the ThreeZero one, which I suppose is fair.  They are based on the same design and all, so it makes sense.  He’s a little blockier than he should be, but as far as small-scale Ravages go, he’s really not bad.  He’s even got a working jaw, which is fun.  Ravage is packed with his two side cannons, the missiles for the top, and an extra missile based on G1 Soundwave’s and designed to fit in the cannon.  It’s an odd choice, since Soundwave doesn’t get the handheld one that should actually have the missile…but I guess it’s the thought that counts.  Like the larger one, this Ravage turns into a box, meant for storing in Soundwave’s chest compartment.  You have to make sure he’s transformed *just* right to fit in there, which is a little frustrating at first, but once you figure it out, it works alright.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m cutting back on Transformers.  I swear.  I really mean it.  But there was a Soundwave, you guys!  I had to have Soundwave, obviously.  And Ravage.  You know, because otherwise Soundwave is gonna get all lonely.  So, just the pair of them, right?  Right.  I’m sticking with that, I swear.  I really like this design for Soundwave, and I really liked getting it from ThreeZero, but I’ll admit, it’s nice to have an actual proper toy of it that I can just mess with, without fear of breaking a very expensive collector’s piece.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0017: Jyn Erso

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

JYN ERSO

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

I bet you guys weren’t expecting one of these, now were you?  Sure, it’s not been nearly as long a gap between Flashback Friday Figure Addendums as the last two rounds, but four months is still four months, right?  What can I say, I like keeping you guys on your toes.

As I’ve been discussing the last two days, one of Hasbro’s focuses in The Black Series this year is doing the whole Rogue One team in one cohesive run.  That’s one new figure, and then a bunch of re-issues.  For the most part, I either missed out on the original runs, or I didn’t need the update, but I did decide to go for the re-issue of Jyn.  I know, it might seem crazy to buy another Jyn, but I’m a crazy guy.  Here’s what this crazy guy had to say about the original release:

Alright, the 3 3/4-scale Rogue One stuff is done for now (though I’m sure there will be plenty more things for me to review, going by what Hasbro’s shown off in the last week), so we move on to the larger-scale Black Series stuff.  As of late, it’s been a little difficult to say where this line was headed, what with a large chunk of the Force Awakens stuff either showing up too sparsely, or being too heavily packed.  It looks like Rogue One might help getting things back on track.  The first of the new figures is main character Jyn Erso, who I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jyn is sort of taking the place of last year’s First Order Stormtrooper in regards to release style.  She was first released as a preview item at this year’s SDCC, before being slotted into the regular release line-up.  She’ll also be showing up as part of the Target-exclusive 3-pack with Cassian Andor and the Death Trooper Specialist some time next month.  They all look to be the same figure, but for this review, I’m looking at the regular release figure.  She’s part of the first series of Rogue One-inspred Star Wars: The Black Series figures, and she’s figure #22, making her chronologically the first figure in the series.  Yes, you read that number right, she’s #22, meaning Hasbro actually kept the number scheme for The Black Series for more than a year.  And there was much rejoicing (yaaaaay.)  Jyn here is wearing her Jedha outfit, which, from what we’ve seen in the marketing for the movie looks to be a fairly present look.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Jyn’s sculpt is fairly decent overall, and is certainly on par with what we’ve come to expect from The Black Series.  The hood is kind of bulky and odd looking, but it’s not awful, and it can easily be removed, resulting in a superior figure.  The underlying head sculpt is pretty decent, and bears more than a passing resemblance to Felicity Jones (though it’s not quite spot on).  It’s a little softer than I might like, but it’s not awful.  The body sculpt is also pretty great, with a nice set of proportions and some nice layering on the various clothes.  The verst is technically removable, but since the arms still have the jacket sleeves on them, I can’t see many people removing it.  The paintwork on Jyn is passable.  It’s not anything amazing or anything, but it’s better than a lot of last year’s Black Series offerings, which is a nice improvement.  If Hasbro could start adding a little bit of accent work here and there, I think the figures could be even better.  Jyn’s only accessory is her blaster pistol (the same as the one included with her smaller-scale counterpart).  It’s a little light given the price (and the fact that the same series features are re-issue of last year’s Rey, which has a staff, BB-8, and an added lightsaber), but hood makes up for it a bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Jyn was one of the first items I grabbed from TRU during their midnight opening.  I didn’t know she’d be showing up in the Target set as well, or else I’d probably have held off on this particular release.  That being said, she’s a solid figure, and a lot of fun to mess around with.  There are worse things than owning two of a good figure, I suppose.

That review was written in October of 2016, before I’d seen the movie, or really knew anything about the character I was reviewing.  It’s also something of a relic in a few ways other than the writing (which is usually where the relic status on these old reviews comes up), like the rejoicing on keeping the numbering on the line, or the fact that I bought her at TRU.  The red box line wound up going much further than Jyn’s meager 22, wrapping up in 2020 with Kit Fisto’s 112.  It wound up with quite a run.  I was actually pretty positive about this figure in my original review, something I’d kind of forgotten about after she kind of became a go-to figure for ragging on by the fanbase.  I stand by it, because she’s actually a really nice figure.  It was kind of nice to remind myself of that.  This release is overall very similar.  Like Kanan from last year, the change-up is the face paint, and it’s a really major change.  The likeness was alright, but it’s pretty on the mark now.  Totally revitalizes the figure’s look.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3035: Chirrut Imwe

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

CHIRRUT IMWE

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Deeply spiritual, Chirrut Imwe believes all living things are connected through the Force.  Though he lacks Force abilities, the warrior monk has rigorously honed has body through intense physical and mental discipline.”

Remember what I was mentioned yesterday about Hasbro doing a whole set of Rogue One releases for Black Series?  Well, in addition to the all-new Bodhi figure, they also did re-issues of the other members of the main team. While I got a handful of the original releases, I missed out on a few of them the first time around, so this provides me a second chance to get them.  One of the ones I missed was today’s focus, Chirrut Imwe.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chirrut Imwe is figure 4 in the Rogue One set of Black Series figures.  He’s a reissue of the #36 figure from Phase III of the line, which hit during the latter part of the original Rogue One run.  The figure stands a little over 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The Rogue One figures were, unfortunately, not the line at its best when it came to articulation schemes.  Chirrut represents one of the worst instances, honestly.  The range on the arms and legs, especially at the elbows and knees, is quite restricted, with the elbows barely making even a full 90 degrees.  In addition, the actual layout and functionality of the joints is just kind of odd.  You can get some poses out of him that work, but they’re not particularly intuitive.  Chirrut’s sculpt was unique to him at the time, and remains so to this date.  It, like the articulation scheme it sports, is a product of its time.  It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either.  A lot of it’s because the aforementioned articulation’s not really worked in all that well.  The arms and legs again get the worst of that particular issue.  The head’s at least got a pretty solid likeness of Donnie Yen, which is definitely the strongest part of the sculpt.  His robes are a mixed media affair, making use of cloth pieces for the bottom portion. It works out alright, and does at least allow for a little more mobility, albeit somewhat limited by the actual articulation.  Chirrut’s paint work is overall rather basic.  The general colors match up to the on-screen attire, and the printing for the face is an incredible improvement over the prior release’s paint.  Chirrut is packed with his staff and his lightbow.  They’re both pretty solid pieces, especially the lightbow, which is made up of four moving parts, allowing for it to be properly collapsed and deployed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The assortment that contained Chirrut’s original release was never plentiful at any retail locations near me.  By the time I actually saw one in person, it was obvious that Hasbro wasn’t going to complete the team line-up, so I didn’t see the point in expanding the set beyond the main three.  With Hasbro circling back around and completing the run, I figured it was worthwhile to finally snag him.  He’s admittedly a bit outpaced by more modern offerings, but at least he’s a little better than the first release.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3034: Bodhi Rooki

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

BODHI ROOK

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“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.”

When Hasbro launched Phase IV of The Black Series, in addition to a selection of new figures, they also devoted a whole sub-series to re-releasing and completing the core cast of Star Wars: Rebels.  We got a Zeb to finish out the team, but we also got the rest of the team, with the earliest of them updated to the new face-print styling that has become the standard for the line.  It was a pretty successful venture, so Hasbro has set their sites on another unfinished cast, namely the crew from Rogue One.  Conspicuously absent from the Black Series line-up was poor old Bodhi, a key character to the whole plan to smuggle out the Death Star plans in the first place.  How could you leave him out?  It’s unreasonable, darn you!  Well, it’s okay, because just like Zeb got his long overdue release, so did Bodhi, and I’m taking a look at it today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bodhi Rook is figure 6 in the Rogue One set of Black Series figures.  Of the main line releases in the set, Bodhi marks the one truly new figure, since he’d not had a prior release, as brought up earlier in the review.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Bodhi’s articulation scheme is on par with the most recent of the Black Series releases.  It’s got a really solid range of motion, especially on the elbows and knees, and he’s even got the butterfly movement on his shoulders, which adds a lot to the poses you can get out of him.  Bodhi’s sculpt is an all-new offering, as expected, and it’s a really strong one.  The likeness on the head is a pretty spot-on match for Riz Ahmed in the role, and they even do a respectable job of making his hair appropriately scraggly.  The googles are a separate piece, but glued in place.  Still, it means that, unlike the smaller figure, they’re actually clear like in the movie.  The body sculpt is really scrawny and gaunt, as he should be, and helps him to stand out from the others.  His vest is a separate overlay.  It’s not removable like it was on the smaller figure, but it still adds some extra depth to everything.  Bodhi’s paint work is okay, if not the greatest.  The face is certainly the best part, since it’s got the printing.  There’s some misalignment on the hair paint, so he looks like he’s got a few bald spots.  It’s at least on the sides, so it’s not super obvious.  The work on the Imperial insignias is decent, and all of his pens are properly painted too, but the vest winds up lacking a bunch of the details on the buckles and clips, so it’s just largely an unpainted clump of brown.  Just a little bit more detailing would definitely go a long way.  Bodhi is packed with a small Rebel blaster, as well as his cable pack from the end of the movie.  The pack is a pretty impressive piece, complete with a full spool of wire, which can even be wound and unwound.  It’s a really cool piece, and helps the figure feel a lot better accessorized than a lot of other Black Series releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really liked Bodhi as a character, and I ewas always really bummed that he never got a Black Series figure back with the others.  It was part of why I never bothered with the rest of them outside of the core three.  I was definitely really excited when this guy was announced, and even more so to get him in hand.  He turned out really, really well.  The updates to the line have benefited him well and the end result is honestly the nicest of the whole Rogue One team.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3033: Wrecker

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

WRECKER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Wrecker has brute strength that makes him capable of lifting a clone gunship without any help. His muscle and size are matched only by his temper… and an equally pronounced sense of humor.”

Hey, how about this weekly Bad Batch thing I’ve got going?  Pretty cool, right?  Boy, you guys are gonna be real disappointed when I don’t actually do it next week because I don’t actually have anything more Bad Batch to look at yet.  Sorry, did I let the wind out of your sails a bit?  I don’t mean to be a downer.  Would it make you feel better if I actually got to actually reviewing this toy, instead of all this weird meta crap that I keep falling into?  Okay, I’ll get away from the weird meta crap that I keep falling into.  Away from the weird meta crap, we’re going to be talking about Wrecker, who fulfills the Batch’s archetype role of “the big guy,” by being, well, big.  Good for him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wrecker is figure 5 in the Bad Batch-sub-line of Hasbro’s Black Series Phase IV.  He’s a deluxe-sized figure, and is the last of the original core members of the titular team, though they will be joined by both Echo and Omega later this year.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  In terms of movement, Wrecker is pretty similar to how Zeb worked out, meaning he’s got quite a good range of motion on most of the joints, notably the shoulders and elbows.  Given how restricted he *could* be given the nature of the design, I’m quite impressed by how well Hasbro has managed to make this work.  Wrecker gets an all-new sculpt, which is unsurprising, given how much larger he is compared to the rest of his teammates.  Like Tech, I find that Wrecker’s sculpt does a better job of hybridizing his design from the show with the real world stylings of The Black Series.  There are certainly some more animated elements on the armor design, but there’s also a good balance to how things work.  His armor is well defined, with sharp lines, as well as a little bit of sculpted damage.  As with Tech, a number of the pieces are separate overlays from the main body, which gives him a little more depth.  Wrecker, like the rest of the Batch, includes a removable helmet.  It sits quite snuggly on the underlying head, and is generally quite well scaled to the rest of the body, and does a great job of capturing the design from the show.  The underlying head has enough of that generic Morisson likeness to pass him off as a clone, but keeps his as unique as the others.  It’s a pretty strong sculpt, with a lot of character.  I love the slight smirk, and the scarring turned out quite well.  It’s probably my favorite of the unmasked Batch heads thus far.  Wrecker’s paint work is pretty decently handled.  The base work is all pretty strong, as well as being consistent with the other team members.  There’s some slight wear to the detailing of the armor, as well as some additional scraping and scuffing details.  The unmasked head gets the printing on the face, which works well with the sculpt.  In general, just a solid offering on the paint front.  Wrecker is packed with his blaster (shared with Hunter), knife, and back pack.  It covers the basics for a battle-ready Wrecker, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing his small doll, or even a set of alternate hands in fists.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting on this guy to complete my team for a little bit, since I actually got Tech a bit before I got around to reviewing him.  This guy definitely feels a lot like Zeb in terms of quality, and that’s a good thing.  Tech’s still my personal favorite, but Wrecker’s a strong figure in his own right.  After a slightly softer start with Hunter and Crosshair, I feel like the team filled out well, and I’m very excited for Echo and Omega to wrap things up!

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.