Monthly Archives: April 2025

Flashback Figure Addendum #0022: Savage Land Angel

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

SAVAGE LAND ANGEL

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Oh man, are we bringing back the Addendums?  Yeah we are!  With the twist that it’s not Friday.  And why’s that? Because I’m doing a thematic thing here.  But, perhaps the craziest part of this Addendum is the fact that I’ve run an Addendum for this review before.  Crazy, right?  Super crazy.  So, let’s jump, for a third time, into the crazy world of Savage Land Angel!

The 90s X-Men line!  Now there was a line.  I haven’t really looked at this line yet on the site, aside from the Original Members Boxed Set, which wasn’t actually part of the line.  But in the 90s, the X-Men were the big thing.  They had a TV show, their comics sold millions, and they had one of the most comprehensive toy lines to date.  There was a Cho’d action figure for God’s sake!  Towards the end of the line, they began to run out of new characters to release, so they started doing these theme waves with rereleases of the main characters.  One of those theme waves was a set of figures based on the X-Men’s many trips to the Savage Land.  It featured figures of the X-Men in tattered “Savage Land” uniforms.  Today, I’ll be looking at the Angel figure from that line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, as I said above, Angel here hails from the Savage Land series of Toy Biz’s 5-inch X-Men line.  He stands roughly 5 inches tall and has 11 points of articulation.  If you read the review of the Fallen, you’ve seen a lot of this figure before.   He shares all but his head, arms and feet with that figure.  The head was actually one that saw frequent reuse over at Toy Biz, and I know this wasn’t the first figure to use it, but I honestly don’t know what was.   Anyway, it works fine here, though it might be a bit scowly for a pre-Archangel Warren Worthington.  The figure’s look is mostly done through paint, which depicts a tattered version of Angel’s blue and white costume from the silver age*.   It’s cool to see this costume here, but a bit disappointing that the costume never got a proper release.  Angel at one point featured a pair of (very small) wings, a gray vest with an X-logo, and some weird claw thing that attached to his wrist, but I lost most of those pieces many years ago.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this figure on one of my many trips the KB Toys outlet in Rehoboth Beach.  I was very excited to get it because Angel figures were a bit of a rarity in the 90s.  I know I really liked this guy, and for reasons I can’t fathom at this point, I know he spent a lot of time in my Ghostbusters Ecto-1.

And, in my last addendum did I have to say?

Well, that’s not an awful review.  Still a bit shorter than the average review nowadays, but not horribly so.  I actually listed off all of the relevant information for the figure, and even referenced re-used parts and everything (though, rather amusingly, the Fallen pieces I referenced weren’t even discussed in my The Fallen review).

When I last reviewed this figure, he was missing both of his wings and the little wrist claw, both of which were returned to him during The Find.  The wings are rather on the small side, but detailed nicely enough.  I’m not really even sure what the claw supposed to be, but there it is.  Still missing is the grey cloth vest.  Also, I didn’t mention this previously, but each figure in the Savage Land series included a creature figure of some sort.  Angel included a small Sauron figure, which I still haven’t found.  Maybe he’ll turn up one of these days and I can write a *second* addendum.

Okay, so not so bad.  Addressed the review issues and changes.  Brought up what was missing the first time around, and also what I found during The Find.  Man, The Find was a hell of a thing.  I’ve had no major finds like that since, but I’ve resorted to actually buying replacement parts as I find them, which has led to the second addendum, which I even brought up in the first addendum!  So, now I’ve got the vest and the miniature Sauron figure.  The vest is super basic, but there it is.  Sauron is definitely much more gimicky than his single release.  He’s got a wing-flapping action, so there’s that.  He’s kind of not built for standing on his own, or anything, so he’s gotta be propped up on something.  And now, here’s the whole complete thing.  No additional Addendums needed!

#3827: Wicket & Logray

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

WICKET & LOGRAY

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE (KENNER)

Here we are, back at the Star Wars!  I’m doing this thing where I jump back and forth between Power of the Force and not-Power of the Force, and last month was a not-Power of the Force month, so we’re back on the Power of the Force!  I sure did say “Power of the Force” a lot there, didn’t I?  One of the neat things about Power of the Force was its aim at a sense of value.  The vintage line would sell you everyone at the same price point, regardless of relative sizing, but for the follow-up, Kenner was a bit more experimental.  For notably small guys, like the Jawas, the Ugnaughts, or, in fact today’s focus, the Ewoks, they were nice enough to give you two figures for the price of one!  How kind!  Let’s look at Wicket and Logray!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wicket and Logray were added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1998, in the midst of the Freeze Frame era.  Wicket was actually technically a re-release, having appeared in the Princess Leia Collection the prior year, but Logray was totally new.  Wicket stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Logray stands almost 1/2 an inch taller, but keeps the same movement.  Both figures are far from super posable.  The necks are quite restricted, especially on Wicket, with his hood and all, while the hip joints are ultimately not super useful for much more than some fine tuning to keep them standing.  They are at least pretty stable on their feet, so there’s at least that.  The sculpts are also pretty nice overall.  I like the head gear being actually separate parts, and the fur detailing is solid for the era and style.  Of the two, I think Wicket’s the slightly stronger sculpt, but they’re both decent renditions of the look from the movie.  Paint work’s not too bad on either figure.  They both get a bit of variation on the fur.  It again works a bit better on Wicket; Logray looks a bit like he’s wearing striped pajamas.  Hey, at least it’s unique.  Both figures get their own accessory, Wicket getting his spear, and Logray his staff.  There’s also the Freeze Frame slide, for those that are interested in such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Would you believe me if I said I don’t actually recall getting these?  I know I got them from All Time, some time after I well and truly committed to this whole buying the entire run thing, but I think I may have gotten them in a batch with some other figures?  I’m pretty sure I got them sealed and then opened them during one of my bouts of needing to open things to feel better.  They’re not bad.  Honestly, it’s hard to mess up an Ewok, so good on them for not doing that?

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.

#3826: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In 1986, Marvel decided to reunite the founding five members of the X-Men under a new title, X-Factor.  There was, of course, the slight issue that one of the five was dead at the time, so they had to resurrect her as well.  And, hey, everybody got new costumes as well.  In fact, there were a couple of costume options to choose from, so, you know, extra toy potential, right?  Team leader Cyclops has gotten a fair bit of coverage for his *second* X-Factor costume, but not so much for his first.  But, hey, things change!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is part of the Nemesis Series of Marvel Legends, the latest X-Men assortment of the line.  It’s quite a hodge-podge of looks and eras, with Scott here serving as the “classic” component.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  As with the most recent Cyclopes, he’s built on the Vulcan body, which is a respectable choice for Scott.  He mostly keeps it basic, but he does get two new head sculpts, both courtesy of Paul Harding.  We get calm and intense, and they’re both really good.  On one hand, they’re so good that I’d love to see them re-used for a ’70s Scott, but on the other, I’d really like to see them do one with the proper full mask underneath.  But, I’m getting sidetracked.  The point is, these sculpts are great.  The calm has a solid visor lens, while the intense one gets a new optic blast effect piece, which is larger and more involved than prior versions.  The color work is pretty good, and pretty clean, and matches well with the depiction from the comics.  I’m not 100% sold on the blue ears, but I guess they’re going for a strictly cover appearance look.  If nothing else, it’s kind of unique.  Cyclops is packed with two sets of hands, as well as the arm to the Nemesis Build-A Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Every time I think I’m good on Cyclops figures, they make a new one that reminds me I don’t have that one.  This is one of those instances.  The original X-Factor look isn’t a major change-up from his other looks, but it’s different enough to justify it for me.  On top of that, he’s actually quite a lot different from other Cyclopes.  The new heads are fantastic, and I love the new optic blast effect as well.

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.

#3825: Mick

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

MICK

XYBER 9: NEW DAWN (BANDAI)

Let’s peer into the world of things that I totally forgot about but then resurfaced in my brain when they landed right in front of me!  Last time, it was NASCAR Racers, Saban’s animated tie-in show that actually had very little to do with the show.  This time, it’s actually another Saban animated project from the same time period.  In fact, it’s the very show that Fox pre-empted to give a better spot to NASCAR Racers when it launched, Xyber 9!  Xyber 9, what a Xyber 9 that was.  Okay, to be honest, I watched it when it was running, but I remember very little of the actual show.  I do remember the toys being everywhere, though, and, after more than two decades, I finally bought one!  Let’s look at Mick!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mick was released in the one and only series of Xyber 9: New Dawn figures.  He’s based on the character’s design from the show, of course, as were the whole line.  The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  Given the era and scale, the articulation’s actually quite well handled.  He’s even got moving wrists!  The sculpt is also not a bad piece of work.  It’s always a bit tricky to move a 2D design into 3D, but Bandai actually did it quite well here.  He’s clean and the angle work is nice and sharp.  In general, he captures the general vibe of the character, and manages to get a bunch of neat details in.  Is paint work is also pretty strong.  He is slightly off-model, though, since his hair is brown here, but was actually blonde on the show.  I’m gonna guess they wanted to differentiate him more from Jack.  I can’t say it’s all that bad, honestly.  Beyond that, the application is clean, and there are no obviously missing details.  Mick was packed with two different guns, a large one and a small one.  The small one is missing, because it wasn’t in the package, but at least I still have the large one!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like I said above, I remember watching Xyber 9, but I don’t remember much actually about the content of the show.  I remember seeing the figures hanging around, but there were always other things I was more interested in.  I finally got my chance again when a bunch of them came into All Time.  Since it wasn’t a complete set and that’s pretty much the only way they sell, Max and I opted to cave into our shared interests in odd forgotten ’90s cartoons, and both grabbed some of the set.  Mick here was the one that most interested me, so I snagged him.  He’s actually quite a fun little 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.

#3824: Jay Garrick Flash

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

JAY GARRICK FLASH

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

The vintage Kenner Super Powers line had exactly one JSA member in its entire run, Doctor Fate, who was left all by his lonesome for 40 some years.  McFarlane’s revival line has greatly expanded the roster in quite a short span of time, first with a whole three-pack of guys, and now with Jay Garrick, the original Flash!  Let’s check out this guy and his very shiny hat!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jay Garrick Flash is part of Series 10 of McFarlane’s Super Powers continuation line.  He’s the fifth JSA-er in the style, and is based on his post-“Flash of Two Worlds” look, complete with the white streaks in his hair.  The figure stands just shy of 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Jay is built on the updated skinny body, patterned on the original Barry Allen Flash, which I suppose does make it a fair but of sense.  He gets a new head, which is a rather nice piece, probably the nicest of the four McFarlane JSA sculpts.  It definitely feels very Jay in its characteristics.  He’s also got a belt add-on, as well as modified boots with the flaps and the ankle wings.  All in all, it’s a pretty good set-up, and its quite a nice recreation of his comics design.  His paint work is generally pretty good too.  The details are crisp, clean, and sharp.  I do feel like for proper authenticity, he really should have a chromed helmet, but the silver paint works okay on its own.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I love Super Powers and I love the JSA.  I also loved the three-pack, even with its slight flaws, so I’m game for pretty much as many of these guys as I can get.  Jay’s the biggest missing member, and kind of an essential counterpart to Alan, so you gotta have him.  He’s pretty much as on the mark as you can get with these figures, and a fantastic addition to the quickly growing line-up.