Monthly Archives: February 2024

#3565: Daredevil, Elektra, & Bullseye

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

DAREDEVIL, ELEKTRA, & BULLSEYE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0044: The first Legends-branded comic Daredevil figure was released in the “Urban Legends” boxed set, which featured, amongst other things, a white costumed Elektra.  20 years later, an updated comic Daredevil found himself released in a boxed set alongside a white costumed Daredevil.

I keep doing this thing where I skip a Pulse-exclusive set, and then I manage to get it through other channels *just* before an improved version is announced.  It’s not annoying at all.  Why do you ask?  Yeah.  In this case, it’s all about that Daredevil.  Sure, there may be two other figures in play here, but is anyone really paying attention to them?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Daredevil, Elektra, and Bullseye are a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Marvel Legends three-pack, which started shipping on the earlier side of last year.

DAREDEVIL

Undoubtedly the star of the set is its upgraded Daredevil.  Unlike the last handful of DDs, this one his the classic red costume, not some form of derivative.  While the Hobgoblin Series release is still no slouch, there’s definitely been some progress on articulation schemes since then, and with Matt’s generally acrobatic nature, that’s pretty important.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation.  This new Daredevil is making use of the upgraded Spidey body that first turned up in the Renew Your Vows set, making this the first time since the second series of Spider-Man Classics that the two have shared a base body.  Typically, Matt’s depicted as a little bigger than Peter, but the Renew body is on the bulkier side for Spidey, so it winds up working out alright for Matt.  When I first reviewed the base, it was right on the heels of the Amazing Fantasy figure, which I very much loved, so I was a little biased.  I find myself liking it a bit more here, and I’m not sure if it’s just distance from the original release, or if I just like it more as Daredevil.  Sculptor Paul Harding provides a new head sculpt, and there are new add-ons for his belt and holster as well.  The new head is less dialed into a specific look than the Hobgoblin Series release (which was very much a Chris Samnee DD), going for a more all-encompassing “classic” look.  It sits very well on the base body, and just generally feels like a solid DD head sculpt.  His coloring is actually pretty subdued.  While other all red Daredevils have used multiple shades of red to differentiate the gloves and boots from the rest of the suit, this one makes almost everything the same shade of red, with only the eyes, logo, and belt buckle being differentiated.  What’s visible of the face also gets some printed detailing, which is quite lifelike.  DD is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), his batons, and the dynamic zipline piece that clips between the two of them.

ELEKTRA

Elektra’s not been a stranger to Legends, but they do like to keep things rotating on designs.  The second Legends Elektra (from the Urban Legends set) was painted up in her white outfit, and this one duplicates this look, in order to distinguish her from the SP//dr Series release.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Elektra’s constructed on the fancy pinless female base body.  She’s re-using the skirt piece from the last one, and she’s also got two new heads, courtesy of sculptor May Thamtarana.  One goes with her usual bandanna design, while the other gives her a headband that really lets her crazy wild hair hang free.  The headband one is definitely my preferred of the two; there’s just so much character there.  The bandanna one isn’t quite as strong; the expression is a little bland, and hair sits a little high relative to the face.  Her color work is alright.  Lot of white.  The application gets a little sloppy on the change-overs, but the printed faces look pretty nice.  Elektra has two sets of hands, a pair of sais, and a katanna.  The katana has black spot on blade, but other than that, the extras are pretty standard stuff.

BULLSEYE

Bullseye has a tendency to go some distance between Legends releases; his last one was in 2017, which isn’t the same distance as the 12 year gap before that, but it’s still notable.  Unlike the other two in this set, Bullseye’s not really designed to be drastically different from what came before.  In fact, sculpturally, he’s exactly the same as the last one, meaning he’s still about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  The sculpt wasn’t bad the first time around, apart from the head seeming maybe a touch too large, and it’s generally held up okay.  The paint work was one of the weaker aspects of the last figure, so this one aims to change that up a bit.  They actually adapted a slightly different design this time around, going for his look from his 2017 solo series.  The only real change-up from the classic design is the blue torso section.  It’s different, but I don’t hate it.  The actual application is *a lot* cleaner this time, and it does head sculpt a lot of favors.  Bullseye is packed with four hands (right gripping, and left fist, finger gun, and knife throwing), an alternate unmasked head, and a knife.  They have notably removed the pistol from the prior release, which wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for the empty holster that is attached to his belt.  Like…what are you supposed to do with that?  The stock photos stick the knife in there, but that just moves the problem, since then he’s got the empty sheath on the back of the belt.  Also, it’s clearly a gun holster, so the knife isn’t an ideal place holder.  I’m not entirely sure why they made the change, but given the replacement of the two trigger finger hands as well, it was clearly something more than simple cost-saving.  It results in the one downside to this figure relative to the earlier release.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I really only wanted the Daredevil out of this set, because I’m a sucker for a good Daredevil.  But, only wanting 1/3 of the set, I wasn’t looking to pay full price.  I was able to snag one second hand for a good deal, so that made life a little easier.  DD is undoubtedly the star, and he’s a definitive classic red DD.  I like the alternate head for Elektra, but she’s otherwise just kind of middling.  Bullseye wound up really surprising me.  I expected to get nothing from him, but the new paint just really sells the figure.  The missing gun’s just weird, but he’s still nice enough that he’s replaced the prior one as my default Legends Bullseye.

#3564: Ultra Magnus

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

ULTRA MAGNUS

TRANSFORMERS PRIME: CYBERVERSE (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0043:  There are 7 Prime-style Ultra Magnus toys.  I own 5 of them, and I’ve reviewed four of them here.  Here’s the fifth!

I do love me an Ultra Magnus review, because it signifies that I get to talk about a new Ultra Magnus.  Is there anything better than that?  Well, yeah, probably.  But it’s certainly high on the list!  I’ve still got a sizeable collection of Magnuses, and I haven’t yet reviewed them all, so I get to pull one off the shelf every so often and jump back in.  So, that’s what I’m doing here!  This one’s on the tinier side!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultra Magnus is part of the third Commander Class wave of the Prime: Cyberverse line.  In contrast to these days, where Commander Class is a size above Leader, during Cyberverse, it was the larger of the two smaller scale lines, more on par with the likes of the modern Core Class.  In robot mode, Magnus is just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 11 points of workable articulation.  Much like his larger scale Powerizer counterpart, Magnus is using his pre-show appearance design, which is a bit more unique.  As such, he gets a unique sculpt, rather than re-using Optimus parts.  I remain a fan of this design, even if it never did get any show use.  It’s smaller scale equivalent is a little more rudimentary and has more obvious bits of his vehicle mode hanging off, but that doesn’t make it less cool.  His coloring is similar but not identical to the larger version; there’s a larger proportion of red on the torso and shoulders this time around, and the blue’s a little darker.  Magnus gets a hammer weapon, which is kind of a half-way point between the Powerizer and Arms Micron releases of the weapons included with the larger mold.  It converts into a cannon mode, but definitely works better as a hammer.  This Magnus’ alt-mode matches the larger figure, with more of a tow-truck vibe than we tend to see on Magnus.  The transformation is pretty simple, and it locks together pretty well.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Max has been very supportive of me in my goal of acquiring all the Magnuses, and this is one of those instances.  He went out of his way to make sure this guy got to me, in the midst of a very rough patch of time for me.  He’s just a little guy, but he’s a little guy I really do love.  I’m always down for another Magnus!

#3563: Six-Armed Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0042:  Six-Armed Spider-Man was one of the earliest Spider-Man figures added to my collections….and I didn’t really want him.  I don’t know why I was so against it, but I’ve come around on it.

Way back at the beginning of 2019, I reviewed a Marvel Legends Six-Armed Spider-Man.  I was prepared to hate him, because of factors that I’d known about since his prototype had been shown off, but, despite it all, I actually kinda dug him.  That didn’t mean there wasn’t room for improvement.  And, so, that room for improvement has been…filled by improvement?  Or something like that.  Look, there’s a new version, okay?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Six Armed Spider-Man was released in a Walmart-exclusive Marvel Legends two-pack, alongside a re-release of the Absorbing Man Series Morbius.  While Morbius is largely unchanged from his original release, Spidey’s a little different.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 59 points of articulation.  That’s one whole extra point over the prior release.  And how does he manage this feat?  With a tweaked torso mold.  The original one was solid all the way through, but this new one, sculpted by Dennis Chan, gets a ball-joint at the mid-section.  It does a lot of loosen up the figure’s posablility, and it’s quite transformative, really.  Beyond that, he’s really just the same as the other one.  In terms of coloring, the paint’s a little bit tighter this time around, and the colors are toned down ever so slightly, but it’s all very minor.  He does make out slightly better on the accessories front, getting both the thwipping hands from the original, and a pair of fists to swap out.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, I wasn’t in much of a rush to get this one, honestly.  While I saw the areas the original could be improved, I didn’t *need* the improvements, and I certainly didn’t feel the need to re-buy a Morbius I already had to get them.  But, one came through All Time loose, and I decided to trade up.  It was a great call, honestly.  The new torso joint adds a lot to the figure.  Now, I just need to do the weblining like I did on the old one…

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3562: Freestyle Skate Batman

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

FREESTYLE SKATE BATMAN

BATMAN: MISSION MASTERS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0041: Terry McGuinness is never seen skateboard in or out of the Batman costume in Batman Beyond, but that didn’t stop Hasbro from making a figure based on that very concept.

My relationship with Hasbro’s run with the DC license was a particularly good one.  While Kenner had managed an alright balance of accurate to the source figures and goofy variants during their run with the DC license, Hasbro honed in on the wackiness, especially narrowing in on Batman, and ignoring most of the DCU for…well, a bunch of rather silly Bat-variants.  The end of the animated Batman tie-ins was an all-encompassing line, Mission Masters, where the express purpose was just doing nothing but baseless variants.  As the line progressed, even Batman Beyond, whose own line was never super to begin with, got in on the action.  One time they made him a skater, because it was 2000, and that was what they decided the kids like.  Full disclosue: I wasn’t one of those kids.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Freestyle Skate Batman was part of the third round of Mission Masters, dubbed Mission Masters 3, and he was a deluxe-sized release.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He was noteworthy for getting a disc and peg set-up on the shoulders, in contrast to the simple cut joint that almost every Hasbro/Kenner DC figure got.  Why did he get the extra movement?  No clue.  It’s cool, though.  His sculpt was all-new, and it’s…well, it’s a Batman variant.  The head sculpt is very much consistent with Hasbro’s other BB head sculpts, which is to say it’s not exactly an accurate recreation of the animation model, but it’s not terribly far off.  The rest of the sculpt is definitely on the goofier side.  He’s quite pre-posed, and his design maintains elements from his standard look, but adds a bunch of extra ones, because I guess that’s what you do when you’re skating?  His color work is again pretty close to the standard, though he’s a metallic blue, rather than black.  He’s accented with some slightly bronzed silver.  I particularly dig the tech detailing on the wings.  Batman wouldn’t be much of a “Freestyle Skate” guy without some form of skateboard, so he gets just that.  It’s big, silly, strange, and it launches a big missile.  So, there it is.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t buy this new.  I saw it a good many times, as I did most of the Mission Masters figures.  I generally disliked Mission Masters when it was at retail, because it never really felt authentic.  I wanted other characters, and I didn’t dig the switch to purely odd Batmen.  But, I’ve mellowed over the years a bit, so when I got the opportunity to pick up a loose one a few years back, I jumped on it.  He’s pretty fun.  Silly, but fun.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3561: Chopper (C1-10P)

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

CHOPPER (C1-10P)

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0040:  There are two characters in Ahsoka whose original actors reprise the roles.  The first was David Tennant as Huyang, and the second was Dave Filloni as Chopper.  You gotta keep those Daves around!

Can you be into Star Wars toys and not just love a good Astromech Droid?  Of course not!  Every good story’s got at least one of those plucky little guys rattling around.  And no one rattles around more than C1-10P, aka Chopper, resident Astromech of the crew of The Ghost.  Chopper has been surprisingly light on toy coverage, but with new appearances in Ahsoka, we get another opportuntiy for cool toys of the feisty droid!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chopper is figure 4 in the Ahsoka tie-in assortment of Star Wars: Retro Collection figures.  Chopper’s had two prior 3 3/4 inch scale figures, both based more specifically on animation.  This one’s…well, he’s not exactly live action, I suppose.  The figure is about 2 inches tall and has 3 points of articulation.  Chopper is clearly taking a page from how Kenner handled R2 and R5 in the vintage line, which makes sense, given the style they’re going for and all.  He’s appropriately shorter and boxier than those two, but very much in keeping with their more simplistic and geometric shaping.  He’s using the classic “tube” body, which is hollow on the inside, much like the original R2, which adds to that authentic feel.  Chopper’s paint is simple and minor, largely relying on molded plastic for the bulk of it, and some small bits of detailing on the head.  The largest bit of detailing is in the form of a decal on the body of the droid, again really hammering home those vintage R2 comparisons.  Chopper’s one accessory is a removable third leg.  While the vintage Astromechs generally didn’t have this feature, the R2 that came with the Droid Factory playset *did* and it was handled in a similar fashion to this one, making it a perfect little extra to include.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Chopper was the figure I was probably the most looking forward to from this set, and he’s ultimately the one I most enjoyed as well.  There’s just something delightful about just how faithful he is to the vintage aesthetic, and it makes for a figure that’s simple but just so amazingly effective.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3560: Doc Ock

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

DOC OCK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0039: Doctor Octopus was originally slated to be a secondary antagonist for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, but was re-purposed as sole antagonist of Spider-Man 2 when it was decided to give more time to both him and Green Goblin.

As a huge fan of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man, I was, unsurprisingly, hyped about its first sequel.  And boy did I have good reason to be, because Spider-Man 2 is the unquestioned high point of the trilogy, and Alfred Molina’s turn as Otto Octavious is a key part of the film’s success.  I’d not been much of a Doc Ock fan prior to the movie, but I certainly was after.  Molina’s return to the role was one of the first confirmed elements of No Way Home‘s production, and I was hyped about that, too.  And what else could I possibly be hyped about?  Oh yeah, the toys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Doc Ock is a deluxe price-point Marvel Legends release.  Like Goblin, he’s coinciding with the release of the retro-carded No Way Home assortment, though unlike Goblin, he’s not officially NWH-branded.  Instead, he’s using the Spider-Man 2 branding, and appears to be in a similar position to the Andrew Garfield figure, where it was some sort of weird licensing mix-up.  In the case of Ock, it’s a little strange, because he winds up as a bit of a mixed bag in terms of design, since he doesn’t seem to be clearly dialing into either film appearance exactly…but I’ll get to that.  The actual figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation, with the tentacles offering up an additional 10 points of movement (plus being able to bend) and also potentially giving him another 3 1/2 inches or so of height, depending on how you want to display him.  The core figure is pretty standard fare for the line in terms of movement.  He’s a little restricted by the overcoat, of course, but that’s expected.  It’s not like Molina was particularly mobile in the films, so it’s not terribly limiting.  The actual sculpting is actually pretty strong.  As I noted above, he’s a bit of an amalgam of the two film appearances, with the slightly shorter hair of 2, but the added turtleneck from NWH.  The hair’s such a negligible thing that I feel he may have been sculpted to just be a NWH figure, and there were minor adjustments made later.  The head, especially facially, has a strong likeness of Molina.  It’s a little harder to capture in photos, but in person, it’s very good.  The glasses are permanently attached, meaning this one is destined to loose them immediately the way the original SM2 ones were.  They look nice, and I appreciate the slight translucence.  The tentacles are permanently attached to the figure, which I suppose is fitting.  They have a wire running through them, with limited joints on the pincers.  The smaller ones are the more posable ones, though that unfortunately also leads to them falling apart a lot.  The larger ones have no movement past the swivel at the base of the arm, and rely on two different styles of swappable claws, so that you can either use them for standing or gripping.  Standing him on the lower two appendages can take a little bit of doing to hit the right sweet spot, but once you get him there, he’s surprisingly stable, which made me very happy.  In terms of color work, he’s pretty mild.  A lot of earthy tones, as you’d expect.  The face paint is quite nice, and there’s some smaller work on the jacket that adds some nice pop.  The tentacles are notably missing the extra gold detailing that they had in SM2, but it’s possible that’s linked to the material that was used for them, since it’s a softer plastic that might not hold paint as well.  Ock is admittedly light on extras, with just two sets of hands, one in fists, the other in open gesture, as well as the previously mentioned swappable lower claws.  Given the sheer sizing on the tentacles, however, this isn’t terribly surprising.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I kept waiting for this guy to get shown off *somewhere* with all the movie merch that was going around.  Certainly they had to do an update, right?  I mean, yeah, I’ve still got my original, and he holds up better than some of the others, but I can get an upgrade, right? Well, yes, as a matter of fact, that was right.  He’s the last of the whole batch I got my hands on, but he’s worth the wait.  I could rattle off a bunch of issues (and in fact I did up above), but none of that changes how much I genuinely love this figure, or the level of joy opening him up brought me.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3559: Blue Ranger

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

BLUE RANGER

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS ULTIMATES (SUPER 7)

Fun FiQ Fact #0038:  David Yost’s Billy Cranston, aka Mighty Morphin Blue, had the longest run of the original five Power Rangers, making it halfway through the fourth season before departing.  He was the only of the core Mighty Morphin cast not to gain a replacement during the original run.

I keep *sort of* being done with Power Rangers, but in that sort of fashion where I know I’m not *actually* quite done.  What can I say, I’m a sucker for Blue Rangers, especially when they’re Mighty Morphin Blue.  If there’s a new line of Rangers, I’m pretty much a lock on picking up a Blue, as is the case with today’s offering, which is a Blue Ranger from Super 7’s Ultimates imprint.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blue Ranger is part of the third wave of Super 7’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Ultimates line.  Each assortment gets two of the Rangers, and in this case, it’s Blue and Black.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Movement can always be a bit touchy on an Ultimates figure, and that’s somewhat maintained here.  His arm movement, especially on the elbows, is restricted.  He does get okay movement on the neck, as well as the mid-torso and waist.  He’s a little stiffer than other Ranger lines, but he’s not terrible.  You can get some decent poses out of him with a little bit of work.  But, by usual standards for Super 7, not bad.  The sculpt on this guy is largely shared with the other male Rangers in the line.  It’s a pretty good one.  We’ve gotten all different manner of builds on the Rangers in differing lines from differing manufacturers.  This one goes for the lighter build, which is pretty accurate to what we see on screen.  Detailing is generally pretty basic, but generally lifelike.  He gets a unique head with his signature triceratops helmet.  It goes for his cleaned up “toy style” helmet, and it does that pretty well.  Like his Lightning Collection counterpart, he’s also got a slightly tweaked belt, featuring his proper emblem on the buckle.  Blue’s paint work is basic, but quite clean, and pretty much exactly what it needs to be.  Blue gets a quite impressive selection of accessories, which includes two unmasked heads, five pairs of hands, three different configurations of his Power Lance, four different styles of the Blade Blaster, his power blastert-thingy, his morpher, and power coin.  While most of the other Rangers use the two heads to cover both people who use the identity, Billy instead gets early and late run head sculpts.  The early sculpt is goony and a little silly (but the paint is pretty good), while the later run sculpt sports what is probably the best David Yost likeness I’ve seen on a Billy head.  For the Power Lance, there are extended and compacted versions of the show-accurate look, plus a toy style version.  The Blade Blaster gets folded up, blaster, blade, and toy style versions, and the hands are designed to work pretty well with all of those differing configurations.  The gripping hands are all a little loose when holding the accessories, which makes for some tricky posing.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

You know, way back in 2014, when I got my Figuarts Blue Ranger, I really thought that was going to be it, but here I am with yet another version.  Honestly, I knew I was grabbing this one as soon as he was shown off.  Of course, he was beaten to market by the Remastered edition of the Lightning Collection release, which hits some of the same marks as this one, albeit in its own unique way.  I like them both for different reasons.  Based on what I’ve seen, Blue looks to be the nicest of the Super 7 Rangers, which I appreciate as someone who only collects Blue Rangers.  On his own, he’s not perfect, but there’s quite a bit about him that I really, really like.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3558: Green Goblin

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

GREEN GOBLIN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0037: Green Goblin’s first 6-inch-scale figure was courtesy of the original Spider-Man movie tie-in line, which, as established in a prior Fun FiQ Fact, was delayed, leading to the creation of Spider-Man Classics and it’s successor Marvel Legends.

Casting in the Raimi Spider-Man films is easily one of the strongest suits of the films, and this was showcased exquisitely with the films’ antagonists.  Much like Tobey Maguire is *my* Spider-Man, his antagonists are also my definitive versions of those characters as well.  Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborne, aka the Green Goblin, questionable costume choices notwithstanding, wound up being such a defining turn in the role that he returned for cameo roles in all of the Raimi sequels, and was even tapped to reprise the role in the MCU proper when No Way Home came around.  And yay, new toy coverage!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Green Goblin is a deluxe price-point Marvel Legends release, designed to coincide with the retro-card No Way Home tie-in assortment.  The deluxe pricing seems to largely be there to cover the glider, with the main figure being more or less standard.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation.  Articulation on the figure is a little restricted, especially on the legs, but it’s generally workable.  Goblin is sporting an all-new sculpt.  While other characters may re-use their looks from prior films, and Green Goblin actually does start out in his gear from the first Raimi film, by the time of No Way Home‘s big climactic battle, Norman’s received several updates to his initial design.  This figure is designed to cover his “final” look, which ditches the mask, and adds the tattered remains of the purple hoody he was sporting earlier in the film, amongst other things.  It manages to sort of thread the needle between keeping elements of his original film appearance and also injecting more of the spirit of his comics counterpart (which the first film look was really lacking).  The sculpt translates the new look pretty nicely.  Of note, the likeness on the head is a pretty strong take on Dafoe, especially his more crazed look as the Goblin.  There are separate overlays for his hood/shirt, as well as the straps and belt, which add a little more depth.  The hood can be removed by popping off the head, if you so choose.  You can also get the remnants of the shirt off with a little work, but the belt and strap are definitely not coming off.  The detailing on the underlying armor is a little on the softer side, but still works pretty well.  The color work on this guy is alright.  Nothing super fancy for the most part.  The face gets the printing, which looks pretty good.  Beyond that, there’s a lot of molded plastic coloring, which has mixed results.  The metallic green isn’t a bad shade, but it hides a lot of the sculpted details, and accenting is ultimately pretty minimal.  The actual paint work on the body is a little on the sloppier side, with several spots of notable bleed over.  Goblin is packed with his glider, which has a few moving parts, as well as its own display stand.  It’s a pretty decent piece in its own right.  He also gets a single pumpkin bomb, a pair of removable goggles, and an alternate helmeted head.  The alt head is a nice piece, but with the body being so clearly the updated look from later in the film (after Norman has smashed the mask), it’s uses are somewhat limited.  I would imagine this one has a degree of future planning involved.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been making do with the original movie Goblin since it first came out, but his design’s always been kind of weak, and sadly hindering to Dafoe’s performance.  I loved seeing his return and I really, really liked the new look.  The deluxe price point is a lot for this guy, but he’s got enough going on to feel worth 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 and their eBay storefront.

#3557: Big Barda

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

BIG BARDA

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL)

Fun FiQ Fact #0036: Big Barda is consistently depicted as standing *at least* a head taller then her partner Mr. Miracle, and the “Big” part of her name is in no way meant in jest or irony.  Any depictions to the contrary are, generally speaking, wrong.

When I was a kid, probably around 10 or 11, I got pretty super into Jack Kirby’s Fourth World.  At the time, action figure coverage for any of it was pretty sparse, so I made do with the couple of sets of figures put out by DC Direct in the early ’00s.  Some of my favorites of the Fourth World characters were Mr. Miracle and Big Barda, who were amongst the few figures from DCD, but that didn’t stop me from going back to the well when new versions were available…or at the very least trying to.  DC Universe Classics had a rather nice selection of Kirby’s characters, and they made sure to include Scott and Barda…even if there were some questionable choices made.  But, you know what, it wouldn’t really be DCUC without the questionable choices, right?  They kind of excelled at those.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Big Barda was part of Series 7 of DC Universe Classics, which was the series that built Atom Smasher.  Not that the two had any real ties or anything.  There were two Bardas available, one with her helmet and one without.  DCUC had two methods of handling variants: 50/50 splits and 70/30 splits.  For some reason, they made the two Bardas a 50/50, meaning that half of the figures out there where a look that most people wanting a Barda didn’t want, resulting in it being the one that was everywhere.  Great call, guys.  But, I harped on that in my helmet-less Barda review.  This one’s the good one…more or less.  Barda stands about 6 inches tall and has 23 points of articulation.  Now, the biggest…well, the most major issue with either DCUC Barda figure is sizing; Barda’s supposed to have quite a stature to her, commonly being depicted as about a head taller than the average male hero.  Here, she’s taller than the other female heroes, but is in fact *shorter* than most of the men in the line.  What’s more, she’s also rather skinny, again in contrast to how Barda’s always been depicted.  Given the line’s precedent for bulking characters up from their usual depictions, it makes her really get lost in the crowd, especially compared to the other New Gods.  What’s especially baffling about all of this, though, is that the most sensible explanation for her downsizing, which is the line’s reliance on shared molds, doesn’t hold up here, since Barda got a brand-new sculpt.  Why not just make that brand-new sculpt a larger one?  You got me.  I’d ask the people in charge, but, well, that’s a whole other thing.  The difference in the sculpt between this figure and the one I’ve already looked at is that, in place of a hair piece, she’s got a helmet.  Of the two looks, the helmet is certainly the preferred, so she’s at least marginally better than the other release.  Barda’s paint work is actually pretty good, so she’s at least got that going for her.  In particular, the accenting on the chainmail sections of the suit is quite nicely rendered.  Barda was packed with her Mega-Rod, as well as one of the arms to the Atom Smasher CnC.  It’s a little light, and it’s a shame she didn’t at least get the hover discs that Scott had gotten a series prior.  At least she got the Mega-Rod?

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I had the unhelmeted version of this when the line was new, as it was the only one I could get my hands on.  I was never happy with that one, so when I got the opportunity to swap out for this one a few months ago, I jumped on it.  It’s still not a great figure, as she’s marred by some very poor choices in terms of production.  Still, she’s a Barda figure, and those always have some form of residual coolness at the very least.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3556: General Hera Syndulla

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

GENERAL HERA SYNDULLA

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0035: Hera’s live-action actor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, is married to Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Ewan McGregor.

Hera Syndulla’s jump to live action was one of my two favorite things about Ahsoka (the other being Captain Rex’s jump to live action, however brief it may have been), and I’ve been all about the toy coverage for her.  I of course got her Black Series offering, but what’s a Star Wars character without some 3 3/4-inch action?  Since I’m not much of a Vintage Collection guy, it’s Retro Collection for me, I suppose.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

General Hera Syndulla is the third figure in the Ahsoka-tie-in assortment of Star Wars: Retro Collection.  This is Hera’s third time getting a smaller-scale 5PoA figure, though this one is specifically based on her live-action appearance, awesome bomber jacket and all.  The figure stands a little shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  Like most of the rest of the set, her sculpt is all-new.  It’s not quite as strong as Marrok, I feel, but that certainly doesn’t make it a bad one.  She’s definitely living up to the vintage Kenner stylings that the line is aiming for, while still maintaining the important design elements from the show.  Obviously, in keeping with proper Kenner style, she doesn’t get a proper Winstead likeness, but at the same time, she doesn’t look unlike her either, which hits that sweet spot.  And, much like Karga and Boba from earlier assortments, her holster is designed with a loop that can actually hold her gun, which is a very fun touch.  Hera’s color work is pretty basic, but pretty on the mark for what it needs to be.  The colors are pitched up a bit to be a bit brighter than on screen, which is right for the style, and the basic paint work is decent, with no notable slop or bleed over.  Hera is packed with a small blaster pistol.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Hera was one of my top two figures from this set, and I was certainly looking forward to her, even if she was pretty basic.  The final figure is one of those ones that hits pretty much exactly where I expect it to.  She doesn’t blow me away or anything, but I didn’t expect that.  She’s a good, solid, middle of the road 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 and their eBay storefront.