Author Archives: Ethan Wilson

#0746: Captain America & Hulk

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA & HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

CapHulk1

Yesterday, I looked at the first set of the new Walgreens exclusive Marvel Minimates, so why don’t I continue that trend today? The last two sets of animated-style ‘mates were both based on Ultimate Spider-Man. Today, I’ll be looking at the first set based on Avengers Assemble. My relationship with that show is…strained. I loved its predecessor Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which was canceled in favor of Assemble. That already put me off the show. What put me off more was the show’s first episode, which was…how do I put it? Horrendous. I tried to watch it on three separate occasions, and never could make it all the way through. So, I’ve not really caught the show. But now I have Minimates from it, so whatever. Let’s look at Captain America and the Hulk from that show.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain America and the Hulk are part of the first series of Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates. As noted above, both are based on their designs from the currently running Avengers Assemble cartoon, specifically from the first season.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

CapHulk2It’s not the Avengers without Captain America, so…ummm, here he is? Cap’s design on the show is more or less the same as his early Ultimates appearance, which itself is just a minor tweak of the classic Cap design. The figure stands roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with add-on pieces for his mask and belt, as well as a hand with a plug to attach his shield. The mask first showed up on the First Appearance X-Men, and it’s a good match for Cap’s look on the show. The belt looks familiar, but I can’t see where I’ve seen it before. It’s just a fairly straightforward belt with pouches, and it’s well-sculpted at that. The paintwork on Cap is pretty great. Everything’s clean, and the colors are somewhat muted, but very nicely handled. The detail line work is quite sharp, and effectively balances the animated design with the modern Minimate aesthetic. Cap includes his Mighty Shield TM, an extra head with a more light expression, a hair piece (snagged from Marty McFly), and a clear display stand.

HULK

CapHulk3So, this marks the 32nd time Hulk has made it into Minimate form. For a guy who’s spent 50 years in nothing but a pair of tattered pants, that’s pretty impressive. This one doesn’t really break from the norm, what with wearing nothing but a pair of tattered pants. But this time he’s a darker shade of green. Hey, that’s new and different right? Eh, it’s different enough. He’s got 11 add-on parts. It’s pretty much the same assortment of parts we’ve gotten on most of the Hulks since they started using the bulked up parts for Hulk. They work well, so I can’t really complain. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hulk’s paint is about on par with Cap’s, though it’s not as colorful. It’s generally pretty clean. There’s a bit of slop at the edges of the pants, but nothing unreasonable. The green could stand to be a little lighter, but it doesn’t clash with the pants or anything. Hulk is packed with an extra, smiling head, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, yeah, I got this set at Walgreens, of all places. Imagine that. I can’t say I was really anxious to get this set, given that I already have these two several times before. But, I was buying the other sets from the series, and this one looked pretty sharp, so I figured why not? It’s a pretty decent little set, so I’m glad I picked it up.

#0745: Spider-Man 2099 & Agent Venom

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SPIDER-MAN 2099 & AGENT VENOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

Venom&2099a

So, on top of this whole bit with doing Minimates based on the various Marvel animated shows, DST is taking Minimates to another new place: Walgreens! Yep, Walgreens, our resident “out of left field” action figure distributor has picked up yet another line to carry, Marvel Minimates. That makes me happy, because hey, more Minimates to buy, but also sad because now I have to buy more Minimates. Oh well. I’ll get over it. The first set of Walgreens exclusive Minimates continue the animated Marvel trend, and while they haven’t yet gotten us any new characters (series 2 will change that) we have managed to get one very needed update, which I’ll be taking a look at today. Let’s see how Spider-Man 2099 and Agent Venom turned out, shall we?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man 2099 and Agent Venom were released in the first Walgreens-exclusive series of Marvel Minimates. Both figures are based upon the characters’ designs from Ultimate Spider-Man.

SPIDER-MAN 2099

Venom&2099cThis isn’t the first Spider-Man 2099 Minimate, but it is the first one in 11 years, so that’s pretty noteworthy. He definitely was high on a lot of lists for “most in need of an update.” And, 2099’s design in the cartoon is (mostly) the same as his comics design, so this one can work as either. The figure stands about 2 ¼ inches tall and has the standard 14 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s another “vanilla ‘mate,” so he’s just the base body. While that may work well for his regular time period counterpart, 2099 should really get a few extras. The last 2099 ‘mate was just the basic body too, and that was at least part of why so many people wanted an update. The animated 2099 ditches the cape of his comics counterpart, so its absence is excusable, and the arm spikes would have needed to be new pieces, so it’s possible they didn’t cost out, but he should have at least gotten a pair of clawed hands. Just to make him a little…different. On the plus side, the paintwork on this figure does its very best to make up for the lack of sculpted parts. The base blue is nice and dark, and the highlights add a nice bit of visual flare that was lacking from the previous 2099. Plus, the red details are also nice and sharp, and stand out nicely from the rest of the figure. Everything is really clean and very well handled, and he does a great job of balancing between animated and comic styles, so he’ll be right at home with either line. 2099 includes a web line (in blue) and a clear display stand.

AGENT VENOM

Venom&2099bIt hasn’t been nearly as long since Agent Venom’s last ‘mate (from the Venom Through the Ages set, for those curious), but he’s a popular enough character that it’s not much of a surprise to see him turn up again. Plus, given last year’s Marvel Legends exclusive, it would seem Walgreens is pretty fond of the guy. Agent Venom is built on the usual body, with add-ons for his chest piece, belt, boots, and gloves. The chest piece, boots and gloves are all the same pieces used on the previous Agent Venom. The belt was presumably deemed too textured for the animated design, so it was replaced with the belt from the Series 55 Classic Captain America. The pieces match up pretty well with the animated version of Flash Venom, so no issues there. This figure loses the extra mask piece and the leg holster of the last one; the mask was likely cut to streamline the design a bit, and the animated Agent Venom does not have the guns of his comics counterpart, and therefore doesn’t need the holster. The paintwork on Agent Venom is a bit different this time around. The animated design is just a bit different from the mainstream look, specifically on the mask. The eyes ditch the inverted Spider-Man design for something a bit more basic. It’s not as distinctive, but it’s accurate to the show. The figure has some pretty stylized shading, which is cleanly handled, and makes it more clear that this is an animated figure. Agent Venom’s one accessory is a clear display stand, which is a pretty big step down from the extra hairpiece and two weapons included with the boxed set version. I know the cartoon Agent Venom isn’t armed, but an extra unmasked head would have been nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Take a guess where I got this set. If you guessed Walgreens, you were correct. Good for you. 2099 was definitely the main draw for me. I have a bit of nostalgia for the original, but he was very, very dated, so an update is much appreciated. Yes, it would have been nice to get a few extra sculpted parts, but the paintwork does a lot to save this guy. Agent Venom isn’t really exciting to me, but I have the boxed set version. While that’s the superior of the two, this one isn’t bad at all, and I’m sure he’s awesome to someone who wasn’t able to get the last one.

#0744: Spider-Man – Stealth Suit & Sandman

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SPIDER-MAN – STEALTH SUIT & SANDMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Sandman&Spidey1

After 63 series of Minimates based on Marvel characters from both the comics and the live action movies, DST has decided to mix things up a bit, introducing figures based on the current crop of Marvel cartoons. Generally speaking, that means a fair amount of repeats of the “heavy hitter” characters, but it also gives us a chance at some slightly more obscure characters and looks we might otherwise not get, which is always a plus. So, let’s take a look at my first set from this new breed of ‘mates, Spider-Man in his Stealth Suit and Sandman!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair was released as part of the 20th Toys R Us Exclusive series of the main Marvel Minimates line. All the sets in this particular series are based on the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, and that includes these two.

SPIDER-MAN – STEALTH SUIT

Sandman&Spidey3Here’s the required Spider-Man. Oh boy. As noted in the name, this figure gives us Spidey in his SHIELD-issued stealth suit from the cartoon. Essentially, it’s just a clear Spider-Man Minimate. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard Minimate body, with no add-on pieces, which is pretty much par for the course with Spidey. My figure has a slight misshaping on the front of the head, which is a little bit noticeable, but not the worst thing ever. The paintwork on the figure is pretty straight-forward. He’s molded in clear plastic. All the detail lines are done in white, and the logo and eyes are done in grey. The line work is nice and clean, and matches up nicely with the standard Spidey from this wave. Spider-Man was packed with a strand of web, an extra torso showing his costume de-cloaking (which is a pretty fun piece) and a clear display stand.

SANDMAN

Sandman&Spidey2Sandman is definitely the main draw of this set. It’s not the first time we’ve gotten Flint Marko in Minimate form (we’ve actually had five before this one), but it’s the first time we’ve gotten him in something other than the striped shirt. The costume he’s wearing here is, obviously, his design from Ultimate Spider-Man, but it’s also a pretty close match for Flint’s Jack Kirby-designed costume from his time with the Frightful Four. This is actually the first time this design’s ever made it into toy-form, so that’s pretty sweet! Sandman has three add-on pieces for his collar, shoulder pads, and belt, as well as non-standard pieces for his arms and feet. The shoulder pads were last used on Series 60’s Avalanche, the belt is a fairly standard issue piece, the arms are the same as those on the last three Sandmen, and the feet were used on the GotG Groot ‘mate. The collar appears to be a new piece, but I’m not 100% sure on that. The end result is a decent match for the show/comic design, and looks pretty sharp in general. Sandman’s paint application is pretty darn great. The design of the costume has been handled very sharply, with some great geometric work, and the texturing on the sand parts is well-handled. His face is a little more simplistic than some recent ‘mates, due to his animated origins, but he shouldn’t stick out too much from regular Marvel Minimates. Sandman includes a spare set of normal arms and hands and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, remember Force Friday? Where I went to Toys R Us at midnight in order to get the new Star Wars toys? Well, if there was one plus to that trip, it was that I found this set, so that’s cool. I never got into Ultimate Spider-Man, but I’m a sucker for classic Kirby designs, so I’m happy to have this version of Sandman, and thrilled that he’s so well-done to boot. Spidey’s not much more than package filler for me, but he’s not a bad ‘mate, and he’s certainly different from the Spider-Men we’ve gotten before.

#0743: Falcon as Captain America & Red Onslaught

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

FALCON as CAPTAIN AMERICA & RED ONSLAUGHT

MARVEL MINIMATES

Falcap&Redons1

Change is an interesting thing in comics. While big sweeping changes to the established rules are a near constant, it is, at its heart, a very status quo based medium. No matter how great the change, things will always even out in enough time. In the last decade Marvel and DC have both become very entrenched in doing their best to convince everyone that this change will be the one that sticks, before inevitably resetting everything back to where it was. Ultimately, Bruce Wayne will always be Batman again, Tony Stark will always be Iron Man again, Bruce Banner will always be the Hulk again, and Steve Rogers will always be Captain America again. But, it’s certainly okay to let others who take up those identities have their time to shine, especially if they’re a good fit, such as Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, as the newest Captain America. I’ll be looking at the first official figure of him in the role today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cap and Red Onslaught were released as part of Series 62 of Marvel Minimates. The whole series was based around the Axis cross-over event from last year. Yay.

FALCON as CAPTAIN AMERICA

Falcap&RedOns6Steve Rogers may have tons of Minimates under his belt, but this is only the third time Sam Wilson has made into ‘mate form. Here’s to lots more! As Captain America, Sam’s only actually had one look, so that’s the one DST’s gone with here. It’s actually a good merging of the Captain America and Falcon looks, and a pretty strong design all around, so I can’t really complain. Cap is built on the usual Minimate body, so he’s about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation. He’s got 5 add-on pieces, used for his hair/goggles, harness, wings, and belt. These are all new pieces to this figure. They’re decently sculpted and accurate to the source material. The left wing has a peg to attach the shield, which is nice, but without an extra piece, it means that he’s permanently left with that pesky peg. Paint wise, Cap’s kind of a mix of good and bad. The colors are nice and bold, and the detail work is pretty sharp for the most part. However, the base color work is all over the place. Literally. He’s got a lot of slop and bleed over, especially on the mask piece. The overall figure looks alright, but that slop sure is annoying. Cap is packed with a spare hairpiece, his mighty shield, a pair of wristbands for a sans wings look, an extra wristband for use with the shield, a flight stand, and a clear display stand. That’s actually a pretty great assortment.

RED ONSLAUGHT

Falcap&RedOns3Red Onslaught. Oh, Red Onslaught. Let’s combine one of the most menacing Marvel villains with a literal walking Mega-Event. Brilliant. But hey, sales is sales. Plus, it means DST gets to reuse all those fancy parts they sculpted for the Series 50 Onslaught, so that’s a win for them. The figure makes use of 11 sculpted add-ons, all reused from the aforementioned Series 50 version. The parts are nicely sculpted, sharp looking, and they do a good job of bulking him up. Paint is where this guy really deviates from the series 50 counterpart. Where the 50 version was done up in metallic colors, this one is all flat colors, which make for a sufficiently different look. He’s also got the expected Red Skull detailing for the head, which is easily the best Red Skull we’ve gotten so far. The paintwork on the armor is good, but the real Falcap&RedOns4cool part here is what’s under the armor. He’s got a fully detailed Red Skull look underneath, which is certainly a cool touch. To aid with the alternate look, the figure has a black trench coat and a pair of black hands and feet, as well as an extra head and helmet to complete the Onslaught look, a cosmic cube holding hand, a bandaged stump (for Skull’s Uncanny Avengers look), and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I had no interest in Axis or any of its fallout, and as such wasn’t super excited by the prospect of a whole series of ‘mates based on the story. That said, I really like Falcon and the concept of him taking over Cap’s role is cool. The design translates very well to ‘mate form, even with its paint flaws. I was not initially enamored by having to buy Red Onslaught, but the extra Red Skull parts make the figure really worthwhile, especially since it’s the best ‘mate of the character so far. This is a really fantastic set, and I’m glad to have picked it up.

#0742: Spartan Athlon

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

SPARTAN ATHLON

HALO 5

Athlon1

Hey, look! Another Halo review! So, in my review of the recent Spartan Fred figure, I lambasted 343 Industries’ decision to not include any local multi-player in Halo 5. I won’t get into the specifics again, but I still think it kind of sucks, especially now that the game is actually out. But, as I said, the game has been released, so the decision’s highly unlikely to be reversed at this point, barring some sort of patch later on. Anyway, opinion of the actual game aside, I still like a lot of the new designs coming from the game. One of the new basic armors in the game is the Athlon armor, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Athlon2The Spartan Athlon is part of the first series of McFarlane Toys’ Halo 5 figures. Unlike all of the other regular release figures in the series, the Athlon is not a specific, named character, but is instead just a generic Spartan. The figure is just over 5 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. Unfortunately, the figure still gets saddled with the down-graded hip joints that first appeared on the Halo 4 figures, however, they do seem to offer a much better range of motion than other figures with the same joint design. It could be worse. In contrast to the bulky, tank-like Centurion armor sported by Spartan Fred, the Athlon has a much sleeker, more streamlined look. Clearly, this is an armor build more for speed and agility, which is befitting of an armor named “Athlon.” Really, it almost looks like a futuristic sports player, more so than a soldier. The sculpt is a lot smoother and cleaner than other Spartans from this series, which works well with the design, but there are a few nice spots of texture work, especially on the underlying bodysuit and the hexagonal assembly of the visor. The shoulder pads sit a little low for my liking, but aside from that, the figure looks pretty great. The joints of the figure don’t stick out the way Fred’s did, which is definitely a plus, and the overall proportions of the Athlon are very realistically handled and well-balanced. As a basic armor set, the Athlon has no specific color-scheme in the game, so the colors and other details have been randomly assigned. Rumor has it that this particular color set was chosen by MC Toys’ head honcho Todd McFarlane himself. At first glance, I really wasn’t a fan of the yellow and black; I thought he looked a bit like a bumblebee.  However, in hand, it actually works pretty well. The bright, bold colors and numbers on his helmet and shoulders kind of add to the sports theme set by the rest of the armor, which makes the whole thing work out a bit better. The paint is generally applied nicely, and I like the slight metallic sheen of the whole figure. The Athlon is packed with a basic Magnum, as well as the standard issue assault rifle, painted up in a slightly tweaked color-scheme. He can hold both alright (though he still really could use some trigger fingers) and both can be plugged into his thigh or back for stowage.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I found this figure at the same time as Fred. Fred was definitely the one I was more looking forward to of the two, but I thought the Athlon looked cool enough to warrant purchasing. This is a pretty fun figure, and it’s definitely a slightly more stand-out armor set.

#0741: Power Loader

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

POWER LOADER

ALIENS (NECA)

PowerLoader1

Okay, everybody, you should know the drill by now. Ethan’s got a new Aliens toy and he’s all excited. Were he not showing restraint, every sentence in this review would be all caps and end in 34 exclamation points. Because this sucker’s pretty darn fantastic.

Two years ago, when NECA’s Aliens line was only just two series into its run, before we had any large items and before the Sigourney Weaver likeness rights were secured, NECA teased fans at how great this line could be. They confirmed that the Alien Queen would be joining the line, but when Toy Fair rolled around, the Queen’s sculpt wasn’t ready to go, so they put something else in the case. The Power Loader, the exo-skeleton perfect for telling female dogs to get away from people. It was the first real indication that NECA might be working on securing Weaver’s likeness and succeeding where every Aliens line before had failed. I mean, why make the Loader without Ripley? Then the Queen and Ripley were shown and solicited and released, and this one just seemed to slip through the cracks. Fortunately, NECA had not forgotten, and was hard at work getting the Loader released. And now it’s here. Let’s do this!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PowerLoader3Like the Alien Queen, the Power Loader has been released as a deluxe entry in NECA’s Aliens line, filling the gap between Series 6 and 7 of the main figure line. The Power Loader has made its way into several pieces of Aliens media over the years, but this one is definitely based on its debut appearance in the 1986 movie. After getting the downright enormous Queen figure, the Loader is actually a little more compact than I had expected. Once I placed it next to Ripley, I was certain that it was properly scaled, but it is definitely compact. It stands roughly 10 inches tall and has 28 points of articulation, as well as eight actual, working pistons. The range of motion on anything outside of the arms is mostly pretty limited, but that’s true to the film design as well, so one can hardly complain. The sculpt on this piece is nothing short of amazing. For starters, it’s a really great recreation of the machine from the movie. But, just looking at it from a purely aesthetic standpoint, every piece of it is carefully crafted and full of tons of detail; it looks like a working machine.  Adding to that, a variety of different materials have been used to craft it. The main base is hard plastic, but the hoses and tubes, as well as the padding and straps in the spot for the PowerLoader4operator are made from a soft rubber, and the tracks on which the pincers move are all made from metal, so you don’t have to worry about breaking them. If there’s one negative, it’s the netting material used on the top of the harness part. In the film it’s a metal grate sort of piece. It’s forgivable, though, since that sort of piece seams infeasible at a smaller scale, and I definitely prefer slightly inaccurate to broken. The paint on the Power Loader does a great job of accenting the already awesome sculpt. The various small details are all nice and sharp, and there’s plenty of weathering to help make it look more like an actual machine and less like a hunk of plastic. It’s truly outstanding work. The Power Loader is designed with NECA’s Series 6 Lt. Ellen Ripley in mind, so it fits to her pretty well. PowerLoader5Getting the harness to fasten is a bit of a pain, but it stays alright once you get her properly placed. Also, although the Loader includes a spare set of hands for her to hold the controls, getting her hands to hold said controls without popping off of the wrists is virtually impossible. I managed to get the left hand alright, but I just let the right sort of hover there. It makes for easier posing anyway. For those curious, the Loader is really only designed with this particular Ripley figure in mind, so other NECA figures won’t fit right. I’ve included a shot of their recent Adam West Batman operating it, and you can see he’s really squished in there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was meant to be my main birthday present from my parents this year, but it ended up getting delayed a few times (which I was actually kind of expecting). It just arrived last week, and I can happily say that it was absolutely worth the wait. Ripley looks right at home piloting it, and the Alien Queen’s shelf presence increases ten-fold when facing off against it. If there’s one must-have item from NECA’s Aliens line, this is definitely it!

PowerLoader2

#0740: Snake Eyes – Commando

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

SNAKE EYES – COMMANDO

GI JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO

SnakeEyes90s1

When most people think of Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe, I’m pretty sure the default thing that pops into people’s heads is the whole “ninja” thing. It’s kind of become a defining trait of the character.  That’s actually pretty funny, because he wasn’t originally a ninja. His official designation was commando, and his original figure didn’t even include a sword! Over the years, Snake Eyes has gone up and down the scale of ninja-ness, as Hasbro tries to bring him back to his original roots as just a faceless commando, but it never sticks. Still, it results in some interesting figures!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SnakeEyes90s2Snake Eyes was a part of the first series of Dollar General exclusive G.I. Joe figures. Yes, that does seem like an odd place to sell exclusive action figures. Just go with it, I guess. Also, point of reference, this is 59th version of Snake Eyes in the small scale line. That’s a whole lot of Snake Eyeseseses. The figure stands roughly 3 ¾ inches tall and has 22 points of articulation. This figure is meant to replicate the somewhat unique look of the fourth version of character, released in 1991. It was the first attempt on Hasbro’s part to take Snake Eyes back to being a commando, before they threw caution to the wind and went full on Ninja Force. This figure has been constructed entirely from re-used parts. Most of them are from the 25th Anniversary update of the third Snake Eyes figure, with a few other assorted pieces thrown in. There’s also an add-on piece for his web gear, which I believe is also a re-use, but I’m not sure from where. The end result is a figure that looks kind of like the original figure, like if you squint or something, but isn’t anywhere near as accurate as some of the other entries in the line. That said, the pieces all work pretty well together, and he still looks pretty cool, so it’s hard to really complain. The paint on this guy certainly does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of conveying the design this is based upon. That figure was pretty distinct with this color palate, playing up the whole “American Hero” part of the title a bit more. This one does a pretty serviceable job of capturing the look. The colors have been toned down ever so slightly, but the overall look is still there. Snake Eyes was packed with a katana and a black display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never had any luck finding this guy at Dollar General, so I kind of missed out on him for a while. I ended up finding him at nearby small toy shop All Time Toys. I never actually cared all that much for the original figure of this design, so I really don’t mind the changes Hasbro made. He’s a pretty nifty toy, and that color scheme certainly sets him apart from the other Joes!

#0739: NBX Minimates

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

JACK SKELLINGTON, OOGIE BOOGIE, SALLY, DR. FINKLESTIEN, & THE MAYOR

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS MINIMATES

NBX1

Hey! It’s Halloween! And, uhh, well these things are Halloween-y, right? Sure, Nightmare Before Christmas is ostensibly a Christmas movie (as the title notes) and is set after Halloween. But the main characters are residents of Halloweentown, are they not? So…yeah.

I’ve seen NBX a few times over the years, and I enjoy it, but I’ve never really gotten into any of the toys. So, what got me to break? If you guessed Minimates, you guessed correctly. Nightmare Before Christmas is an interesting choice for Minimates. Typically, Minimates try to stick to properties where most of the characters can be built on the base body and preserve the “aesthetic” of the brand. NBX has more than a few very unique character designs, so it’s definitely one of the more different lines of ‘mates out there. The first series of ‘mates are hitting most places now, so I’ll be looking at the five basic figures from the line today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These five figures are available blindbagged, both from specialty stores and Hot Topic, as well as in two-packs through Toys R Us. My set are the specialty blindbag versions, but I believe these five are pretty much the same in all the releases.

JACK SKELLINGTON

NBX2Jack’s kind of a given here, what with being the star of the film and all. This is actually his second time as a Minimate, after having shown up as a promo-mate last year. This one’s pretty much the same as that one, though there are a few minor differences. The figure stands a little over 2 ½ inches tall and he has the standard 14 points of articulation. While he’s mostly built on the standard Minimates body, his main torso piece is actually taller and thinner than the average ‘mate’s, which better captures Jack’s skeletal nature from the film. It’s a piece that DST has used a few times before, and it works pretty decently here. The rest of the main body pieces are just the standard parts. Some people have expressed some dismay at the normal head being used in place of something more spherical, but I think this works pretty well. He’s also got some new add-on pieces for his tie and the tails of his coat, both of which are pretty great. The paintwork is what really makes this guy. He’s obviously monochromatic, which is certainly different, but he’s got some great detailing for the pinstripes on his suit and his face represents the character very nicely. Jack’s one accessory is a clear display stand.

OOGIE BOOGIE

NBX3Oogie’s kind of a late player in the film, but he’s certainly an important one. His figure goes the furthest away from the standard body. He gets an all-new head and lower arms (but no hands, so that loses him two points of articulation, pelvis, and legs (without knees, so that’s another two points gone), as well as an add-on piece for his upper torso. The pieces are decent enough, though they lack any sort of the burlap texturing that Oogie had in the film, so he’s a little bland, and honestly looks a little like a plucked chicken. But, it’s not like he doesn’t look like the character. Paint-wise, he’s really just one consistent beige color, with black detailing for the face. Once again, some texturing would have been cool, but the face at least looks pretty decent. Like Jack, all he includes is a clear display stand.

SALLY

NBX4Sally here fulfils the patchwork creature slot of the classic horror tropes, but subverts the usual traits of such a character by actually having a personality and managing to be the only real character in the film to ever think anything through. She ends up sticking mostly to the basic body, though she does get an all new torso piece, as well as add-ons for her shoulders, skirt, and hair. All of these pieces are pretty well sculpted, especially the dress, which has some great stitching texturing. The paintwork on Sally accents the sculpt very nicely, and continues the great patchwork texturing to her arms and legs, as well as capturing her face pretty well. She also has the notoriety of being the most colorful figure of the bunch, which makes her pop pretty nicely. Once again, the only accessory here is a clear display stand, but that’s pretty reasonable.

DR. FINKLESTIEN

NBX6This guy is the reason I didn’t watch this movie for years after it was released.  Seriously, this dude gave me nightmares. He freaked me out so much. I was four, so I think I have an excuse. He starts off with the standard ‘mate body, but gets his own unique head, complete with sculpted glasses and a flip up cranium, revealing his brain, just like in the movie. He also gets a pair of fairly standard flared gloves, as well as a piece for the bottom section of his coat. The coat is sculpted so that he’s permanently stuck sitting (so no Dr. Horrible quick customs from this one…), but given the whole wheelchair bit, that seems reasonable. Speaking of the wheel chair, that thing is definitely the main focus of this guy, because it’s pretty darn awesome. It’s very nicely detailed and suits him very nicely. The wheels don’t move, which is a bummer, but it’s still a cool piece. Paint-wise, he’s pretty straightforward, being mostly off-white, but what’s there is clean and accurate to the film.

THE MAYOR

NBX5He’s definitely the most minor character of the five looked at here, but the Mayor is definitely a present fixture in the film. He’s essentially walking exposition, which is nice in a movie like NBX, which could be a little confusing otherwise. Though he may not look it, he’s actually mostly made from the standard ‘mate parts. He has the “kimono” sleeves from the Marvel line’s Mariko, as well as the shortened kid legs we’ve seen a few times. Other than that, the hat and coat are add-ons, and pretty decent ones at that. The open sides on the coat are a little weird, but they aren’t that bad. The Mayor’s paint is pretty good overall, though there’s a bit of slop here and there. The best part is definitely the head, which accurately represents the Mayor’s two-faced look. The Mayor is the only figure in the set to get more than just the display stand, also getting his signature megaphone, which looks pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These are blind bagged figures, but I didn’t feel like going through that again. So, I said screw it and paid a little extra to buy an already opened set from Luke’s Toy Store. I’m glad I decided to get them because this is actually a pretty fun set of figures. I’ll certainly be tracking down a few more.

#0738: Hulkbuster

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

HULKBUSTER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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If you’ve been keeping up with the last week of reviews, the focus of today’s review being the Hulkbuster really shouldn’t come as much of a shock to you.

So, umm, yeah. Hulkbuster! Whoooooo! That’s…well, not really new or different, or anything. Not that that’s a bad thing! Just, everybody and there mother’s been doing Hulkbuster figures recently (gee, I can’t imagine why…), so I’ve kinda run out of things to say about the armor. Let’s just get to the freaking review already!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HulkbusterML2The Hulkbuster armor is the build-a-figure for the (appropriately named) “Hulkbuster Series” of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series line. This marks the second time that the Hulkbuster’s made into the Marvel Legends line, but it’s the first one in quite a while. He’s based on the design from Avengers: Age of Ultron, so he goes with that subset of Legends figures, though he also fits in just fine with the comic-based legends. The figure is 9 ¼ inches tall and has 31 points of articulation, which is pretty darn impressive for a figure this bulky. He also weighs a metric ton. No lightweight build-a-figure this time! Hulkbuster gets an all-new sculpt, and while it’s not Hot Toys level of detailing, it’s pretty great. Everything is nice and symmetrical, and they’ve done a pretty decent job of balancing the aesthetic of the sculpt with range of motion on the joints. As far as accuracy to what’s on the screen, he’s a little bit off. Not a lot, but enough to make it noticeable. In general, it seems Hasbro opted to give HulkbusterML4the suit a slightly more “heroic” build, broadening the shoulders, shrinking the head a bit, and lengthening the arms and legs. All minor nudges, but the end result is a bit different. Of course, it also ends up being something that looks more at home with the rest of the figures in this series, so I can see why they might tweak him. If there’s one area on this figure that has room for improvement, it’s the paint. Now, let me follow that up by saying that this figure’s paint is by no means bad. In fact, it’s actually pretty good for Hasbro. What’s there is bold and cleanly applied. It’s a good looking figure. However, the color palate is much too bright to be movie accurate (especially noticeable when this figure is placed next to the Mark 43) and the sculpt would very much benefit from a paintjob that does a better job of accentuating it. As is, it’s solid work, but with a better paint job it could be fantastic work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Yeah, so, umm, see that build-a-figure part up there? Wanna take a guess as to how I got mine? As soon as this guy was shown off, I knew I wanted one. None of the other Hulkbuster stuff really excited me, but this one did. The final figure may have its flaws, but, like I said, this is still a really solid figure. Both metaphorically and physically. Seriously, in event of my house getting broken into, forget the baseball bat, I’m grabbing this guy!

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#0737: Blizzard

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

BLIZZARD

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Remember how I talked about Hasbro refusing to let a Marvel Legends prototype go unused? Well, guess what? Yep, today’s another of those figures! This one’s kind of special though, because he rounds out the famed “Jubilee Series” from before Legends’ switch to the Infinite Series branding. Last year’s TRU exclusive X-Men series got us the Jubilee Build-A-Figure, the holiday season Avengers three-pack gave us Radioactive Man, the Thanos series brought us Batroc, and the Ultron series threw in Tiger Shark, leaving just poor old Blizzard out in the cold. Fortunately, that didn’t last long, and now we’ve officially gotten every figure from the most impossible series of Marvel Legends ever thought up.*

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blizzard2Blizzard (or “Marvel’s Blizzard” as he’s listed on the box) is the last single-release figure in the Hulkbuster series of the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. It’s interesting to note that he’s one of three figures in the series to get his own name on the box, which is a tad surprising, given that he’s freaking Blizzard. Not exactly a name that’s gonna get people lining up, but hey, I don’t mind. I’m just happy to have the figure! Blizzard stands about 6 ¼ inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. He’s built on the Bucky Cap body, which is a good fit, and he gets an all-new head sculpt. It’s not really anything groundbreaking, but it’s a pretty great sculpt of a dude in a full face mask. So, that’s cool. Most of what makes this figure Blizzard is paintwork, which is actually pretty great. They’ve gone with the design of the more recent Donny Gill version of the character. It’s not my favorite of the two looks, but it’s certainly not bad. This could have been a pretty bland paintjob, but Hasbro opted to make the blue metallic and the white pearlescent, which makes him look pretty darn spiffy! Also, it’s a minor thing, but it’s really great to see that they successfully matched the painted and molded plastic colors, so the figure doesn’t clash. A lot of figures don’t get that down, so I’m really happy this one did. Blizzard gets no character-specific accessories, which is a bit of a letdown, but he does get the upper torso of the Hulkbuster, so that kind of makes up for it!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Blizzard is a figure I’ve been waiting for pretty much since he was originally announced. After getting the other three figures from the set, I was anxious to get him to finish up the group. He ended up being one of the four figures from this series I found at Walgreens, which was pretty cool. While I still think Valkyrie is the best figure in the series, I think I’d give this guy second best. He may not do much new, but he’s a pretty solid figure, and he’s got a fair bit of novelty to him.

*Seriously, can we address the Batman-level gambit that Hasbro played here? They legit showed off an entire series of villains who are at best C-list, with a Build-A-Figure of a has-been X-Man from the ‘90s (and a GIRL, no less). No big names, no special gimmicks. There was no way a retailer was gonna touch that line-up. But they showed it off at Toy Fair anyway, and built up all this pent-up fan demand for these literal nobodies, allowing them to slot every single one of those figures into a later assortment. The final scenario is literally the only case that any of these guys would have ever seen release. That’s damned impressive.

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