Yearly Archives: 2022

#3135: Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man

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

KRILLIN — EARTH’S STRONGEST MAN

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

It’s been a bit over a year since my last Dragon Ball Z review, and I’ve got to keep these infrequent stops back at that particular well going, right? Right. Honestly, it’s not even a conscious thing really. They just keep putting out one figure I want just every so often enough to keep me from completely falling out of it. Last year it was Piccolo. This year? We’re finally circling back around to my man Krillin. And I sure do love me some Krillin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man is a 2022 release for the DBZ subset of Bandai’s SH Figuarts line. He started showing up domestically in the last month or so. This is the third version of Krillin in the line, and the second to be specifically DBZ-based. As with Piccolo, it had been a while since that last DBZ Krillin, so another version was definitely due.  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and has 43 points of articulation.  As I noted in my review of Piccolo last year, there have been some definite adjustments made to how Figuarts implements articulation on their figures, especially for this line in particular.  Krillin continues that trend, and, despite his smaller stature, he’s still notably sturdier than some of the earlier figures, which is a definite plus, and something that makes the figure a lot nicer to actually mess around with.  The legs are notably a lot less prone to getting all floppy in certain poses, and his arms have less pieces that just float around during posing.  You still want to be somewhat careful, as parts can still pop out of place (as his right shoulder did during my initial posing), but for the most part, it works a lot better.  Krillin’s sculpt is all-new, and aims to address some of the issues with the last DBZ Krillin.  The biggest of those, ironically, was the size of the original figure.  He was far too tall to be an accurately scaled Krillin to go with the rest of the line.  Given his supposed canon height is supposed to be 5 feet, this new figure’s scale seems to be more or less on the mark.  Beyond that, the new sculpt is just a solid match for Krillin’s animation model, as well as the overall style of the more recent figures.  In terms of sizing, design, and how the articulation is worked in, he’s just an overall better representation than the prior release.  There are four different heads included with this one, each with a different expression.  The standard, right out of the box one has a fairly basic intense looking stare, but there’s also a surprised one, a yelling one, and an angry one.  They’re all consistently sculpted, so they look like the same character, and they’re all a good match for the character as seen on the show.  I wouldn’t mind getting something with more of a friendly smile, but the ones we got are solid.  I myself am partial to the surprised head, because that just feels so very Krillin.  The color work on Krillin is generally pretty basic.  A lot of it is molded colors, but there’s enough paint to get all of the important details.  The application is all pretty sharp, and he looks appropriately the part.  Krillin is packed with six different sets of hands (pointing, two different styles of open palm, two different styles of open gesture, and fists), an extra left hand holding a bag of Senzu Beans, and a Destructo Disk effects piece.  Pretty much all of the essentials are covered here, and I can’t really think of a ton of other stuff you could give him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first DBZ version of Krillin was released just enough before I got into the line that there was no way for me to get him at a reasonable price.  I’ve kept my eye out for other options in the scale pretty much ever since, and ultimately made do with the Dragon Ball version of him for a little bit.  That said, as soon as this one was announced, I was on board, and I eagerly awaited his release.  In hand, he’s a ton of fun, and very much worth the wait.  Given how much I like Krillin, I’m kinda glad I didn’t settle for the earlier version, and waited for what is definitely the best version of him out there.

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.

#3134: Teela

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

TEELA

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

“Learning she had been lied to her entire life, Teela threw down her sword, rejected her title, and turned her back on her family, friends, and all of Eternia.  Fate, however, has a way of returning.  Prince Adam’s secret identity as He-Man — the same secret that shattered her trust — became intertwined with her quest to save magic from disappearing from Eternia.”

Oh, wow, you know, those last two Masters reviews were so lovely, I think I might just do one more. Like a dessert or something. Just a little extra. Masters of the Universe Revelation spent most of its runtime in a post-defeat of He-Man setting, but it’s first episode, as well as some flashbacks sprinkled throughout the rest of the show, still gave plenty of focus to the main characters in their classic designs. This also gives the tie-in portion of Mattel’s Masterverse line plenty of free reign for some more straightforward updates of the original figures. While the line’s first Teela was sporting her later Revelation look, there was a rather quick follow-up to that one, this time with her classic attire. I’ll be taking a look at that one today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Teela is part of Series 4 of the Masterverse line, as one of the two Revelation-themed figures in the set. The figure stands about 7 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation. She again keeps with the set-up we’ve seen previously with the female bodies in this line, which is a pretty solid articulation scheme. Her sculpt is obviously starting from the same base point as the other female figures, but she’s almost entirely new. It’s a strong sculpt. I was a big fan of the prior Teela, and I liked the extra details the newer design offered, but this one looks pretty great too. The armor is very clean and sharply detailed, and I like how the two faces are a younger, more cleaned up Teela, but still very distinctly the same person.  As hinted by the “two faces” comment from the sentence prior, Teela includes two head sculpts.  The first is the more classic one, with her hair up and her headdress in place.  The second is her post-quitting look, with her hair down and messy.  They’re both a lot of fun, and, again, consistent to what’s been established thus far for the character in this iteration of the line.  Teela’s paint work is generally pretty decent.  The application is pretty clean for the most part.  There’s a little bit of slop on the tops of the boots, and the coloring on the cheeks is a little heavy handed, but otherwise, it works well.  Teela is packed with two sets of hands, a sword, and a shield.  Not quite as impressive as the last two figures I looked at, but still a nice set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was quite content with my post-time-jump Teela figure from Series 2, and, as cool as this figure looked, I wasn’t planning to grab this one.  I then got offered a deal on one that I really couldn’t beat, and suddenly, I have one.  She’s really nice.  A fantastic update on the classic Teela design, fitting right in with the other “classic” figures from the line.  I definitely dig the extra pieces, and she’s just a pretty solid figure all around.

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.

#3133: Andra

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

ANDRA

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

Remember when I was talking about Masters of the Universe yesterday? Good, then I won’t have to repeat myself too much. As it turns out, I’ve got a small little handful of Masters figures to check out, so I’m going ahead and doing that now. As I mentioned yesterday, the Masterverse line started off with tie-ins for Revelation, and while it’s moving on to some other corners of the franchise, there’s still a few more Revelation figures to cover. I’m looking at one of those today. This time around, it’s Andra. Originally introduced as a supporting player in the first ongoing Masters of the Universe comic (published by Marvel’s short-lived Star Comics imprint), Andra was revived and updated to be a major player in Revelation, getting her very first action figure in the process. I’m looking at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Andra was released in Series 3 of the Masters of the Universe: Masterverse line. It’s the last fully Revelation-themed set for the line, and also featured Fisto, Stinkor, and Scare-Glow. Andra is one of the characters to only be seen post-time skip, so she’s only got the one real look, which is what this figure goes with. The original Andra design’s honestly not much to write home about, so Revelation departs from it pretty radically, going for more of a post-apocalyptic, quickly thrown together sort of vibe, which I really dig.  The figure stands 7 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation. Her articulation scheme is the same as we saw with Teela and Evil-Lyn before her. As with Teela, actual re-use is at a minimum, mostly being confined to her upper arms, and the internal structure of the body. Beyond that, she’s an all-new sculpt. It’s a pretty great one. She continues the trend set by Evil-Lyn and Teela of the female figures really being the best ones in the line. The show design has all of its elements captured well, with just a little extra detailing to make the figure a little more visually interesting.  Her paint work is rather involved, but far more reserved than the usual offering from this line.  It works out pretty well, and matches up nicely with her look from the show.  Andra rivals Evil-Lyn in terms of accessory pack-outs, going for a real all-in-one set-up.  She gets her alternate masked head from her intro, plus a cloth cloak to go with it, three different pairs of hands, and a blast effect for her wrist blaster.  Certainly not a bad set-up at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Andra’s not a character I knew before Revelation brought her back, but, as I’ve mentioned a few times before, I really dug Teela’s whole team, and they’re really my main focus with this line.  Andra’s certainly not a character I could leave out, given how central she is to so much of the story.  She’s genuinely one of the line’s nicest figures, with a real feeling of value for what you’re getting, as well as a lot of very obvious care going into the whole construction.

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.

#3132: Beast Man

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

BEAST MAN

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

“Shaman of the Seven Savage Tribes that dwell within the majestic jungles of Eternia, Beast Man defeated the mighty bear demon and earned the right to lead his people.  Then they mysteriously disappeared.  Now he searches all corners of the planet for his tribe.  Nothing can stop him from reuniting him under his care.  Not the barbaric He-Man.  Not even the evil Skeletor.”

There’s been a slight hiatus in Masters of the Universe coverage here on the site, so, hey, why don’t we fix that. It seems like Mattel’s done a respectable job reviving the brand at retail, with three separate main lines all running concurrently. My definite favorite of the trio is Masterverse, which is sort of a half-step between Classics and the 200x run. The line started with a focus on tying in with the Revelation cartoon, but as it has continued, Mattel is treating it more like a legacy line, covering some of the other parts of the franchise. The first additional theme to be added is “New Eternia”, which reinterprets some of the pre-Masters concept work into all-new figures. Today, I’m taking a look at that particular sub-set’s version of Beast Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

New Eternia Beast Man is a deluxe offering from the Masters of the Universe: Masterverse line. Thus far, he’s only showing up at Target, but it appears that he’s only a first to market exclusive, much like Faker was. The figure stands a little over 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. The core of this figure is, unsurprisingly, the same as the Series 2 Beast Man. It’s a very sensible re-use, and it helps that it was a solid piece the first time around, and was notably not saddled with some of the issues which plagued the standard male body. The body gets modified forearms and shins, which remove the bracers from the original molds, as well as an all-new head sculpt, and new add-on pieces for his chest armor, shoulder and wrist plates, wrist bands, loin cloth, and shin guards. The parts work together to create a new look, inspired by Beast Man’s original Lords of Power concept, but modernized and made a little more monstrous. It’s a fun look, and I particularly dig the faux fur for the chest piece. There’s also a removable head piece, which furthers the sort of shaman vibe that the whole design’s got going on. It has a little trouble staying in place during posing, but it at least looks pretty cool. The more specifically updated parts can all be removed and there’s an alternate chest piece based on Beast Man’s classic design, so that you can also have a more standard looking Beast Man, adding a whole other look to the figure. The color work on Beast Man is generally okay, but he’s got a notable issue with the torso and knees being a different color from the rest of the body. Thanks to the armoring, it’s mostly hidden, but it definitely looks a little bit off. The paint work is at least otherwise applied fairly cleanly. In addition to the various parts for both of his looks, Beast Man also includes two sets of hands, his whip, and an all-new spiky club thing. According to Tim, it’s actually called a “Macuahuitl”. I was content with spiky club thing, but Tim’s a real stickler when it comes to weapons.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was content with my Revelation style Beast Man, or at least I thought I was. Life apparently had a different plan, it would seem. In a rather sizable development, I now have a six-year-old son in my life, and he was determined to buy me something I didn’t have for our first Father’s Day together, so he dragged his mother to Target, and they bought me this guy. I wasn’t in dying need of owning him at first, but, I gotta say, in hand I find this figure really fun, and I’m quite glad to have him.

#3131: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (TOY BIZ)

I gave today’s intro a fair bit of thought.  Usually, I like to keep things fairly light and apolitical here on the site, what with it being about toys and all, but I would be lying if I said that wasn’t becoming a harder thing to do these days.  My aim isn’t to offend, or hurt, or throw mud, or anything like that, but even from an apolitical stand-point, there wind up being some lines that get crossed, and it gets pretty hard not to say anything about it.  So, I’m gonna keep being me, and I’m gonna say what I say, and continue to just try to be my best self.  Today is July 4th, a day that’s typically dedicated to celebrating all the great things about America.  For me, on the site at least, that means I get to review another Captain America figure, because that’s how I roll.  This year, things are very much muddied by current events, leaving a lot of people not feeling quite so hot about America, and perhaps a little less proud to be part of this whole venture.  I can definitely feel that, and I think we’ve all got some work we can do to get to a better place together.  I think we can all work towards being our own best selves.  And if you think my best self isn’t going to take the opportunity, in a time of uncertainty, fear, and worry, to review a figure of Steve Rogers, a symbol of hope for all the things that America should be to all the people that call it home, then you’re definitely not one of my regular readers.  When you need some inspiration, a Captain America’s not a bad place to start, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America was released as part of Toy Biz’s “Face Off” spin-off of Marvel Legends, which gave us new versions of the core heroes, facing off against their antagonists.  For his part, Cap was packed alongside Red Skull.  There was also a variant unmasked Cap, which was instead packed with Baron Strucker.  Look, he’s fighting a Nazi either way, right?  This was Toy Biz’s fourth and final version of Cap in their run with Legends, following the original Series 1, the Ultimate, and its more classically-inspired variant.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 46 points of articulation.  That hefty articulation count is aided by the addition of separately articulated fingers, something Toy Biz was giving a try later in their run.  They wound up as one of the very first things cut by Hasbro, and, honestly, it’s not a huge shock.  They’re really not much more than a novelty, and they mean he can’t really grip or anything.  It’s the sort of thing that alternate hands are just a far more efficient way of doing finger poses.  Other than that, the articulation is pretty decent from a range of motion standpoint, though perhaps not so much from the appearance angle.  They definitely aren’t super worked into the sculpt’s aesthetics.  Said sculpt was a mix of old and new.  He used the Ultimate Cap as a starting point, with the addition of a more classically-based set of gloves and boots, as well as slightly tweaked versions of the upper torso and head.  This whole sculpt wound up getting up-scaled for Toy Biz’s Marvel Legends Icons line, and it was honestly pretty good for the time.  It’s perhaps not aged quite so well, what with its wonky proportions and the slightly odd shaping of the face.  That said, the texture work, especially on the scaling, is really amazing work, and if nothing else, he’s certainly got a nice style to him.  At the time of release, he was probably one of Toy Biz’s best.  Cap’s paint work is decent enough.  Toy Biz was still tending to go pretty muddy with the colors at this point, but this guy actually gets a fairly bold and clean color scheme.  It works pretty well for the character, and, again, it’s really some of the line’s best work.  Cap is packed with his shield, which is the same as his Series 1 counterpart’s, complete with the cloth straps for placing over his shoulders.  This time, it’s better painted, and I particularly like the black interior; it definitely adds a lot more pop.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when this figure was released, I decided to stick with my Series 1 version, rather than trying to upgrade.  Given how difficult it was to get these packs, or really Legends in general, it wasn’t hard to justify.  I always kind of wanted one, but I never got the chance to grab him over the years.  Fortunately for me, he came into to All Time a couple of months ago.  He’s certainly a figure that shows his age, but I still really enjoy him for what he is.

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.

Matty’s Corner #0001: Space Ranger Alpha Buzz Lightyear & Jr Zap Patrol Mo Morrison

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Matty's Corner and tagged with , , , ,

SPACE RANGER ALPA BUZZ LIGHTYEAR & JR ZAP PATROL MO MORRISON

LIGHTYEAR (MATTEL)

Hi, Ethan here!  Welcome to Matthew’s Corner, where I’m collecting the mad ramblings of my 6 year old Matthew, who also likes to talk about action figures.  What can I say, I’m sympathetic to his need to ramble about action figures.  So, I’m just gonna let him take it away…though, for what it’s worth, I’m still transcribing for him.

Hello.  It’s Matthew again!  Just a reminder: this is not my website.  This is Ethan’s website.  My dad owns this website.  I don’t know what to say now.  Chonkuta kun chot.  [At this point he broke down into mad laughter–Ethan].  I love the Buzz Lightyear movie.  Whoa.  I can always engage with my mouse protocol.  Lifeforms detected.  Meow Meow Meow Meow. [He’s just quoting his talking Sox toy at this point]  Sorry, I’m back to normal.  I was just doing something that the movie said.  I have a stuffed animal.  His name is Sox.  If you see Lightyear, you would see Sox.  He’s a cat.  But I want to talk about the action figures.  I have Buzz Lightyear and Mo!  If you know who they are, then you may have watched the movie.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

I’m gonna talk everything about Mo.  Mo is the guy with a blue hat.  He is a weird guy and he thinks sandwiches go “Meat, bread, meat.”  Mo has 20 joints of articulation total.  I like Mo a little bit.  I like that the figure actually comes with the hat.  I usually put it on him often in most of the poses I do.  I like the paint, I like the sculpt, I like the pieces.  I don’t like how his face looks.  It just looks weird.  He feels good.  Moving on!

To Buzz Lightyear!  Woo! Woo! Woo!  My figure can glow in the dark.  He’s a really cool figure.  He has 20 total joints of articulation.  I like Buzz Lightyear.  I like the figure.  It feels good.  I like the paint.  I like the sculpting.  He comes with a gun and his hat.  And he likes Mo.  They are best friends.  I like that they made the action figure smile.  It’s really cool that he’s looking like he’s happy.

THE MATTHEW HALF OF THE EQUATION

My best friend Ethan got my figures for me.  He’s my best buddy ever.  He picked these two out for me.  The characters I liked almost the best in the movie.  I like Sox the best of all, but they didn’t have Sox at the store.  I got the figures from Target.  I like the figures overall.  There are more.  Maybe I can review them next time.  I don’t know.  Please don’t be shy.  Look at this website.  Talk back.  Do everything you can to see the website.  Good bye!  Have a good day!

#3130: Korg

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

KORG

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A Kronan warrior on the planet Sakaar, Korg is forced to compete in the Contest of Champions.  When he meets fellow warrior Thor, he allies with the Asgardian to escape Sakaar and defeat Hela.”

Remember on Tuesday, when I was discussing Ragnarok‘s new characters, who were of varying importance and seriousness?  Well, hey, here’s Korg.  Not super important, I suppose, but certainly a good time, thanks to director Taika Waititi’s delightfully charming performance as the character.  He returned as the character for Endgame, and is now coming back once more for Ragnarok‘s sequel, Love and Thunder, which looks to be giving him an enhanced role.  I for one am very much in favor of this, as I absolutely love Korg.  And now I’ve got another Korg action figure.  Let’s see if I love that too.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Korg is the titular Build-A-Figure for the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  It marks his second time as a Legend, following the Ragnarok version from the two-pack.  This one is based on his upgraded attire from the new movie.  It’s a little more personalized, since he’s not a gladiator anymore.  There’s some fur, and a bit more color to it, making it a little more visually interesting.  The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Korg is built using a number of shared parts from the previous version of Korg.  It’s sensible, what with him being the same character, and the first version being a pretty solid piece of work and all.  This one keeps most of the arms and torso, as well as the feel, with a new set of legs, overlay for the torso, and head.  Generally, it’s a pretty nice selection of new parts, matching well to the quality of the original parts.  The head’s not super different, just with a slightly different expression.  This one’s a little more serious, though still not too serious, because, you know, it’s Korg.  The new legs notably give him actual pants.  That’s a nice improvement for him, I guess.  What’s not so much of an improvement is the hip movement.  He can’t actually get his legs to sit straight down for a standard standing pose; he’s always got to be low-key spreading his legs.  The figure’s color work is fairly decent.  The design allows for a brighter, more eye-catching look than the last one.  The application of the paint is pretty clean, though there’s not a ton going on in the way of accenting, much like with the rest of the assortment.  On the one hand, it’s a bit of a bummer, but on the other, it means there’s not a lot of mismatched shading, as can happen on some Build-A-Figures.  Korg is packed with his mace-thing, which appears to be the same piece as included with the last one, just with a slightly different paint scheme.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like Korg, and I really liked the last Korg figure, so I wasn’t certain I needed this figure.  That said, I did like the new design for the character, and I was at least somewhat interested in most of the figures needed to build him.  I was able to snag the part that came with Star-Lord on its own, meaning I had less figures I needed to buy, and making the whole thing just a bit easier.  While there are some slight issues with this figure, I do really like the end result, and he’s another fun Korg figure.

This is a more focused set than previous movie sets, to be sure.  I’m glad that Hasbro’s finally splitting movie and comic into their own things, as I think it allows them to cover more of the core movie stuff without dipping into exclusives and multipacks, which are usually pretty frustrating.  That said, for me personally, I’m hitting a point where I don’t feel as pressed to buy every single new MCU figure any more, given how many versions I have of some of these characters.  This one was an interesting experiment for me.  I think Korg remains my favorite, as I expected.  The two Thors I picked up are both fun, if maybe not much beyond what I was expecting.  Valkyrie and Groot are both figures that exceeded my expectations, and have become my favorite versions of the characters, so that’s pretty cool.  And Gorr…well, he’s just sort of there.  Again, hard to judge without seeing the movie.  With the projected price jumps, this one does feel a bit like a last hurrah for this type of assortment, but we’ll see how things progress.

#3219: Groot

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

GROOT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“I AM GROOT!”

At the end of Endgame, Thor continued his journey by venturing out with the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Rather unsurprisingly, the Guardians are playing at least some sort of supporting role in Love and Thunder.  From the trailers, it appears the whole team will be along for the ride, but with their third film on the horizon, it doesn’t make quite so much sense to fill an entire Thor line-up with Guardians.  So, Hasbro picked some favorites, including everyone’s favorite walking tree with limited vocabulistics, Groot!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Groot is figure 6 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  Between him and yesterday’s Ravager Thor, there’s also a new Star-Lord, but I opted to skip that one, on the basis that I’ve got a bunch of Star-Lords.  This figure is based on Groot’s “Teen” look.  It’s been given the Legends treatment once before via the Infinity War tie-ins, via the (supposed to be) TRU-exclusive three-pack with Thor and Rocket.  That one had gotten pretty pricey on the aftermarket, and with it looking to be more or less the standard version of the character going forward, it’s a sensible choice for a re-do.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  He’s using the body from the prior Teen Groot.  It’s not 100% ideal, mostly due to how the arm articulation works, but it could be worse.  Generally, it’s a nice sculpt.  I was never super sold on the head sculpt to the old one, and, hey, would you look at that, it’s the one thing they changed.  The new head is a lot more sharply detailed, and just generally looks like a better match for the animation model from the films.  That chin is much less pronounced, and the leaves and such at the top are much more leaf-like.  The figure’s color work is also a slight improvement.  He’s more in line with the adult Groots from the first movie, being molded in a slightly lighter brown, and with a fainter green detailing.  I think it works a lot better than the prior version.  Groot also gets a slightly better accessory selection, by virtue of not being stuck in a pack with two other figures.  He gets two standard hands, an extra right hand with a trigger finger, two branch-looking effect hands, a blaster rifle, and the torso to the Korg Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a bit lukewarm on the first Teen Groot.  Being stuck in a big, expensive boxed set, he just didn’t feel worth the price, and I always had some issues with the actual sculpt, especially the head.  I wasn’t initially sure about this release, as I’d expected it would be a pretty straight re-release.  But, I wanted Korg, and the new hands looked fun, so I grabbed him.  While he’s not drastically different, the new head does a lot for the figure, and I’m ultimately much happier with him than I’d expected to be.  This definitely feels like the definitive Teen Groot.  So, they’ll clearly be changing his design entirely for Vol 3, right?

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.

#3218: Ravager Thor

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

RAVAGER THOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Thor wields the mighty Stormbreaker against a terrifying new foe.”

I’m already three figures into this look into the tie-in Legends for Thor: Love and Thunder, and I haven’t yet actually looked at the Odinson himself.  That seems pretty crazy.  There are two of them present in this assortment, and I’m opting to look at the slightly more unique of the pair.  This one, dubbed “Ravager Thor,” no doubt due to its ties to his time with the Guardians of the Galaxy, was the central piece of our first teaser image from the film, so its presence in this assortment isn’t all that much of a surprise.  So, let’s look at how that turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ravager Thor is figure 4 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  As noted above, he’s one of two Odinson Thors in this line-up.  The other is a more traditionally armored take on the character, but it’s got no Build-A-Figure part, so I’m not in a huge rush to pick it up.  This Thor is clearly in his post-workout attire, after he’s gotten back in shape following the events of Endgame.  It’s based loosely on Thunderstrike’s design from the comics, which is a nice touch, and is also a nice sort of half-step between his The Dude-inspired look as Bro Thor and his more classic warrior Thor.  The figure stands about 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  This Thor follows in the footsteps of the Endgame Thor, being closer to actual scale, rather than the exaggerated sizing of prior MCU Thors.  The figure’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s honestly a pretty respectable one.  The head in particular sports probably the best likeness we’ve gotten yet for Hemsworth.  That face just really clicks in a way that previous takes haven’t.  Given how many tries Hasbro’s given it, that’s definitely saying something.  The body sculpt has Hemsworth’s more heroic proportions from the film, as well as a ton of texture work on the outfit.  The vest is a separate, removable piece.  The left arm on my figure comes out, which makes taking the vest off a lot easier, though I don’t know if that’s on purpose.  The color work on this guy appears to be pretty spot on to the film design.  The paint on the face is suitably life-like, and the hair gets some nice accenting, giving it that slightly dirtier look.  He also gets the full detailing on his t-shirt design, which is pretty fun.  Thor is packed with Stormbreaker, as well as the arm to the Korg Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mostly, I bought this guy for the Korg piece.  That said, I also did quite dig this look from its initial appearance in the teaser photo.  I like how it works with the general Flash Gordon-y vibe of the first film (and, I assume, this one, too).  This figure is honestly pretty fun, and he’s a neat progression from the Bro Thor figure.

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.

#3127: King Valkyrie

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews

KING VALKYRIE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When a dangerous new visitor threatens the livelihood of New Asgard, King Valkyrie is forced to take up her sword once more to defend her people.”

After dispensing with a lot of the title character’s supporting cast, Thor Ragnarok filled in the missing roles with a handful of new players, of varying importance and seriousness.  On the slightly more serious side, as well as the slightly more important to the overall mythos side, was Valkyrie, a supporting player not only in Thor’s side of things in the comics, but also in the larger Marvel Universe.  Though she really only got a glorified cameo in Endgame, the character was still given a solid jump-start for her next adventure, being handed the official title of leader of the Asgardians, which appears to come with the honorific “King” no matter who it’s being handed to.  I can dig it.  With this new title, Valkyrie is poised for a rather important role in Ragnarok‘s follow-up Love and Thunder, and gets a new figure to accompany that role.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

King Valkyrie is figure 3 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  This marks our fifth Valkyrie as a Legend, and the third time it’s been specifically the Tessa Thompson version of the character.  For the new movie, Valkyrie’s attire appears to be sort of an averaging of her two prior designs, making it thus far the closest adaptation of her classic comics design.  I can dig that.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.   Her articulation scheme is on par with Jane Thor’s, which makes it a noted improvement on the two prior versions of the character.  She not only gets double elbows this time around, but she’s also using the pinless construction for both them and the knees, making her a much cleaner looking figure.  Her sculpt is an all-new one, and a pretty good one at that.  The head continues the trend of each version of the Tessa Thompson likeness being a stretch better than the last.  I really thought the Endgame one was pretty solid, but this ends up being even closer.  I feel like the expression helps a bit more here.  Her look of self-satisfaction is really selling it.  The rest of the sculpt does a solid job of capturing the costume, at least from what we’ve seen of it.  The cape is largely flat, but there’s a bit of flow at the base, which works surprisingly well.  The figure’s color work is bold and fairly bright, which I quite like, especially compared to the other versions of the character.  The face printing works very well, and really aids with the likeness.  King Valkyrie is packed with her sword, as well as the head and club for Korg.  It’s a bit on the light side, but it seems like this whole wave got hit with that in order to keep a heavier price jump at bay.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with my review of the Endgame Valkyrie, I went into this one not feeling like I *needed* another version of the character.  That said, I liked the new look, and wanted to at least give the figure a try.  She’s even better than the last one, which I felt was already a surprising improvement.  This one’s really just a lot of fun.  I look forward to seeing what she gets up to in the movie.

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.