Author Archives: Ethan Wilson

#3658: Clone Commander Rex – Bracca Mission

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

CLONE COMMANDER REX — BRACCA MISSION

STAR WARS: THE VINTAGE COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Presumed dead at the dawn of the Empire, Rex operates in the shadows – helping any clone brothers who remain separate from the Imperial ranks.”

I haven’t reviewed a Vintage Collection figure since February of 2022, which is quite a while ago. To be fair, I haven’t bought any VC in that time either. I found myself experiencing diminishing returns as the price increased and the figures got more complex, but not so much more fun. But, well, there’s a new Rex, and he’s on my short list of characters that could get me to buy a VC figure. So, you know, that’s what happened. Thrilling, right? Well, let’s review this guy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Commander Rex (Bracca Mission) is part of the latest assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Vintage Collection, which is a mid-summer release. He’s figure VC317, and officially hails from the Bad Batch sub-set of the line. I was intrigued by his “commander” rank, which he was granted during the Battle of Mandalore in Clone Wars, but which I’m also pretty sure Jesse stripped him of when Order 66 kicked in. I suppose with the whole Republic Army dismantled and the whole dying thing, Jesse may not have officially filed the necessary paperwork, so I guess Rex gets to keep the higher rank? It does at least help to further differentiate from the other two VC Rex figures (though one of those is *also* from Bad Batch, which just further confuses whether he kept the promotion or not).  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Rex’s largely built from the most recent revamp of the Clone Trooper body, introduced last year.  It’s a good starting point.  The articulation scheme here is more in line with where the larger scale was a few years ago, which is good for range and stability, especially at this scale.  I found it much easier to get him into poses and also keep him standing than typically is the case with Vintage Collection figures.  That’s a very welcome improvement.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is just the helmet.  It’s a good recreation of Rex’s modified helmet from later in the show, improving even on the earlier small-scale Black Series sculpt.  He also gets a new pauldron and belt.  The pauldron’s a little floaty for my taste, but the helmet at least helps keep in place in a lot of poses.  The belt also gets a fabric skirt piece, which is much better for posing than the sculpted one from the earlier Rex.  It sits a little odd on the front, but generally looks okay.  Rex’s color work isn’t too bad.  It’s more on the basic side, going for a cleaner Rex than we’ve seen previously.  We do still get his tally marks, since it’s a Phase II model, and they’re nice and clean.  I counted 161 this time, which is down by two from the smaller Black Series…I think.  I may have miscounted on one of them, though, so don’t quote me on it.  Rex is packed with an alternate unmasked head, as well as his twin blaster pistols.  The head does get his slight scar on the temple, indicating it’s a post-Order 66 Rex, as it’s meant to be.  It still looks a little weird to me to have him with the Morrison likeness, but it is what it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Every time I’m tempted by a Vintage Collection figure, I try to remember that it’s generally not a line I’m super into, and that I don’t tend to enjoy the figures once I get them in hand.  As such, I wasn’t initially planning to grab this one.  I am, however, weak.  Once I saw him in person, I had a hard time saying no.  I felt like I was gonna regret it…but I actually don’t?  I don’t like the pauldron.  It’s floaty and the exact sort of thing that bugs me on this line.  That said, it’s a small thing, and the rest of the figure’s enough to offset it.  He’s actually a lot of fun, and a lot more sturdy than I expected.

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.

#3657: Ghost Rider

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

GHOST RIDER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When Danny Ketch crosses paths with a cursed motorcycle, he is transformed into a Spirit of Vengeance, wielding supernatural powers as Ghost Rider.”

I’ve only gotten 7 Ghost Rider reviews here on the site, and three of those are multipacks.  While there’s been a split between Ghost Rider’s various hosts, Johnny Blaze has definitely been the breakaway lead.  That said, I ended my last Ghost Rider review, way back in December of 2022, by asking if we could get a proper figure of Danny Ketch, the third main Ghost Rider, introduced in the ’90s.  I guess someone out there was listening.  Or, you know, in a less me-centric-view, they had to get around to him eventually, right?  He wasn’t part of the sadly rather small selection of 50th anniversary offerings for the character, but he *does* get to be part of another anniversary set-up, albeit a more overarching Marvel celebration.  You know what? Good for him.  So, let’s just go ahead and give ol’ Danny his due!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ghost Rider is a deluxe offering from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, released under the “Celebrating 85 Years” banner.  He’s effectively an “Ultimate Riders” level offering, but they’ve discontinued that wider set-up, so he’s more of an on his own sort of thing.  This is *technically* Danny’s third time in Legends form, and *technically* his second in his classic attire.  Why “technically”?  Because his first Legends release, back in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s run, was identified as Johnny Blaze on the back of the box, despite clearly being Danny.  Still, it was clearly Danny, so we’re giving him the number on that technicality.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  The figure’s sculpt is largely new; the head and neck are the same ones that have been in use since the Rhino Series figure.  It’s honestly fair; what exactly are you going to do to reinvent a flaming skull sculpt?  It’s got that cool moving jaw too, which I definitely dig.  From the neck down, he’s all-new.  The articulation scheme is a lot of the same style of layout we saw on the prior mold, but it’s more refined, and a lot cleaner looking.  He also gets drop hips, which are super beneficial for riding poses.  In terms of the look, we’re finally moving away from the re-used AIM parts and their built-in ’70s stunt guy vibe.  This one’s got the proper ’90s bike update, as Ketch well should.  There’s a lot of small detail work, especially in terms of texturing.  His jacket and boots have the stippled leather detailing, and the pants even get all of the right stitching and seams.  All of the real edgelord-y stuff (the spikes and chains) is separately sculpted, which grants the whole set-up a lot more depth and sharpness.  The color work relies on this construction, with a lot more molded coloring than prior releases.  That’s not to say there’s not paint work; the head gets a fair bit of accenting, so that the skull looks like an actual skull.  He’s also got detailing for his eyes, which seem a touch low, but they still work.  Ghost Rider is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and an open gesture/fist combo) and the flaming chain piece from the last few Riders.

In addition to that, of course, he’s got the biggest extra: his cycle.  Danny’s version of the bike is drastically different from Johnny’s stuntcycle-inspired ride, opting for a far more “tough” design, at least as far as the ’90s were concerned.  It was particularly angular and boxy, something that this version captures well.  The old Toy Biz release was noted for having a somewhat diminutive bike, but this one is quite well scaled to the figure it’s packed with.  The bike also gets its own selection of extras. There are flaming effects for each of the wheels, allowing the bike to stand better on its own, and adapting the flaming wheels effect from the comics pretty nicely.  There’s also an attachment for keeping the bike up with one wheel in the air, which adds a lot of dynamic posing options to the set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve got a bunch of Johnny Blaze Ghost Riders, which is cool, because I sure do love Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider.  But I also love Danny Ketch Ghost Rider.  And I have significantly less of those.  I want more, but I rarely get the opportunity.  I have very fond memories of getting that first Legends Ghost Rider, and I was hoping for a good update.  This is a good update.  For variety’s sake, I might have liked a new head, but seeing how literally everything else is new, I can’t really complain, especially when everything else about the figure works so very 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.

#3656: Casey Jones

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CASEY JONES

TMNT (PLAYMATES)

I sort of started month (well, sort of, anyway; it was like a preview to the month) with a review of a Chris Evans figure, and you know what? I’m gonna end it that way too. However, in a shocking turn of events, it’s *not* a Captain America. Heck, it’s not even a Human Torch. No, it’s from one of the two comic-adaptation roles he played in between, when he voiced Casey Jones for 2007’s TMNT. Oh yeah, let’s look at some more Ninja Turtles, with a guy who’s neither a ninja nor a turtle!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Casey Jones was released in the main product launch for Playmates’ TMNT tie-in line, shortly before the film’s release in early 2007. He fell into the line’s “The Good” subset, along with April and Splinter.  The figure stands just over 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  Movement is pretty basic, and kind of restricted, especially when compared to the Turtles from the same line.  There’s a distinct lack of movement for the elbows, and the knees are jointed oddly high up on the leg, so there’s not a *ton* of posing to be done with him.  It was pretty typical of non-Turtles figures at this point, so it’s not a shock.  Still a bit of a bummer, though.  The sculpt aims to adapt Casey’s animation model from the film, specifically he’s fully geared up look from the movie’s climax, which is definitely his best look of the options available.  The sculpt does a solid job of recreating the look.  In particular, the head really gets his “likeness” down.   The body’s a little more basic and soft in some spots, but it gets all the main layout down as it should.  The gashes on the shoulder plates are a nice tough, though.  Casey’s color work is basic, but hits all the main marks for the design.  The paint application is pretty clean, and all the basic colors are there.  I do especially like that they remembered to give him the slight bit of visible red from his shirt under the armor.  Casey is packed with a removable mask, two baseball bats, a cricket bat, a golfclub, his bag, and a separate harness for just the bats.  The mask is surprisingly on model, and sits well on the face.  The only slight drag on it is that it’s an off-white, indicating it’s just a standard mask, rather than the metal one April gives him just before the final battle.  It’s a small thing, and this makes him more generally on-brand for the character, I suppose, but it’s such a nice plot point in the movie that I’m admittedly a little bummed it’s off.  The sports equipment is fun, though, and I appreciate the options for the bag or the harness.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

TMNT is the first piece of Turtles media that *really* clicked with me.  I’d enjoyed other elements of the franchise, but this one actually excited me.  It was also the film that really cemented my love of not only Donatello, but also Casey.  I liked Evans’ performance a lot, and the new design just really worked.  I wanted this figure when they were new, but I was never able to snag one.  Over the years, I’ve seen a few, but he was always incomplete.  I was actually talking with Max about it being one of my grails, and then, like, a week later, I came across a sealed one at a toy show, sitting on a table for 50% off.  He’s a product of his time, and certainly lacks in the articulation department, but he looks really cool, and I’m very glad to have finally gotten one.

#3655: Lilandra Neramani

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LILANDRA NERAMANI

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Just three issues into Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum’s run on X-Men, readers were introduced to the Sh’iar via its first member, and eventual empress, Lilandra Neramani.  Lilandra would become a major recurring character through the Phoenix Saga, and in fact a notable recurring character for the X-universe as a whole.  She got a good focus on X-Men: The Animated Series, and even got a returning role in X-Men ’97 earlier this year.  Despite her prominent placement in the mythos, she’s not been exceedingly lucky with toy coverage.  She had a Minimate, but that’s effectively nothing these days.  Beyond that, she was relegated to just an extra head included with Mystique.  But no more!  No, now she’s getting real coverage!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lilandra Neramani was part of a Marvel Legends two-pack released earlier in the year.  The pack is inexplicably part of the Wolverine anniversary celebration, made slightly less weird by the inclusion of a Brood-Infected Wolverine as the other half of the set.  It’s still a little odd to pack Lilandra and Wolverine together, given they don’t exactly have much of a history, but then neither do Lilandra and Mystique, so maybe it’s just her thing?  She’s seen here in her armored attire, which is very Empress-y.  Doesn’t quite have the same nostalgic twinge for me as her original design, but that one’s also a little harder to sell as a toy, I feel.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Her sculpt uses some of the more standardized female buck parts, but she gets her fair share of new ones.  The most surprising new piece is the head, which isn’t a re-use of the Mystique piece as I’d expected it to be.  The detailing on this one is a little sharper and the shaping on the helmet is more in-line with her usual depictions.  The body sculpt gets a lot of character specific elements, rather than leaning into the painted detail side.  This is especially notable on the chest; those lines are actually etched in.  Her color work uses a lot of molded colors, but there’s a little bit of paint mixed in there as well.  The work on the face is particularly crisp.  Lilandra is packed with two sets of hands, in gripping and flat/fist pairs.  She’s also got her staff, which is a brand new sculpt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since ’70s X-Men is my favorite era of X-Men, I’m always down for figures of the characters that originated there.  This set, however, presented me with a conundrum, since it paired Lilandra off with a decidedly ’80s Wolverine variant.  I thought about sticking with my Mystique head on Silver Sable body, but I did really like the more character-specific elements, and I thought I might be able to suffer through the Wolverine to get her.  I didn’t actually have to, though, because somebody who bought the set from All Time only wanted the Wolverine, so there was a spare Lilandra.  Well, not really, because it really meant there was a Lilandra for me.  She’s a solid figure.  I’d still love a first appearance version, but this one’s a good one to start with.

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.

#3654: Space Ghost

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SPACE GHOST

5 POINTS (MEZCO)

I just don’t get enough opportunities to talk about Space Ghost here.  Honestly, I think most people don’t get enough opportunities to talk about Space Ghost most places.  There should be more Space Ghost talk than there is.  And, like, I don’t just mean Coast to Coast.  No, I mean original.  Weird later revival.  Awkwardly serious comic reboot from the early ’00s.  That one opening teaser scene from towards the end of Batman: Brave & The Bold’s run.  Can we have, like, a Space Ghost day, or something?  We all just say “hey, take a minute to remember Space Ghost” today?  Leave out some Space Milk and Space Cookies for Tad Ghostal tonight, in honor of Space Ghost Day?  Can we turn this into, like, some sort of a movement?  I’d sure like that.  Well, I’m gonna do my part, and talk about Space Ghost today, even more than I’ve already done it so far.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Space Ghost is part of Mezco’s 5 Points line, released as a Toy Fair exclusive in 2020.  There were two versions of him available, one in standard colors, and the other all clear.  This one’s the standard colors, in case you couldn’t tell.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has…well, 5 points of articulation.  The line’s called “5 Points” for a reason, and they sure do stick to it.  The whole style of this line is….interesting.  Like, the 5POA thing is definitely going for sort of a retro vibe, and some of the licenses they’ve chosen likewise match up with that, but then the sculpts have a more modern sensibility to them.  In Space Ghost’s case, the sculpt does still wind up with a bit more of that retro sensibility, since that’s just so baked into Space Ghost’s core design.  The sculpt’s not bad.  It’s clean, and well-defined.  Not really a direct Alex Toth set-up, but it’s still pretty cool.  He’s a little stiff, though, especially on the arms.  Also, he’s got gripping hands, but, like, I’m not really sure why?  He’s got two different heads, one with the mouth closed, the other with his teeth showing.  They’re both pretty similar, but I dig the vibe for both of them, and I’m hardly one to knock extra options.  The paint work is decent enough.  The colors match up alright with his usual depictions, and the application’s not too bad, apart from some slop around the mask-line at the face.  Space Ghost is packed with two effects pieces that clip onto the hands, as well as a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

5 Points is a line that perplexes me.  There’s a lot of cool licenses and concepts floating around there, but I just feel like it’s a product that even its makers don’t fully understand the market for.  I wanted to get into it on a few different pieces, but the price seems rather high for what most of it is, and then you get situations where I might be able to justify the higher price, only for them to make it a weird exclusive, as was the case with Space Ghost here.  I didn’t expect to get one, honestly, but he got traded into All Time, and I had my shot, and I took it.  ….And then it went in my bag, and a week later my daughter was born, and I sort of forgot I even owned it for over a year.  But, I did clean that bag out recently, and, boom, here he was.  Surprise Space Ghost.  Oh yeah!   He’s fun.  Still a weird, conflicted sort of release, 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.

#3653: Scarlett

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

SCARLETT

G.I. JOE REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

I have a tendency to get locked into patterns in my collecting.  In addition to just having single characters that I like to have in every possible form, I also have assortments of characters that I like to get together as a pair in the same style whenever possible.  One such case is Snake Eyes and Scarlett.  There are significantly less Scarletts than Snake Eyeses, of course, but whenever there *is* a Scarlett, I try to get her to go with an accompanying Snake Eyes.  This is my long-winded way of saying “hey guys, check out this ReAction Scarlett!”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlett was, like Snake Eyes, released in the first series of Super 7’s G.I. Joe ReAction Figures line.  As the Real American Hero‘s “first lady,” she’s another natural fit for inclusion in the line’s first series.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  As per usual for the line, she’s got the Kenner-style 5POA, which still feels weird for a Joe, but we’re just gonna go with it.  Her sculpt is all-new, and has thus far remained unique.  It’s using her v1 design, which is sensible, since it’s the one everyone knows.  It uses the more cartoon-inspired stylings, which again makes a lot of sense.  That’s what everyone actually remembers, in contrast to her proper toy look.  There’s admittedly a little more going on with this sculpt than there was on Snake Eyes, so there’s more room to actually do something with her.  Generally, I think it works.  It feels more truly divergent from the usual Joe style, and by extension she feels like she serves more of an actual purpose.  The paint work is likewise a bit more involved.  It’s a more washed out palette, which is per usual for Scarlett.  The application is all pretty clean, and she looks the part.  Scarlett includes her crossbow and quiver.  The crossbow is pretty easily held in either hand, and the quiver’s got a look to make it work like a belt, which is pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Right, so I wasn’t getting into G.I. Joe ReAction.  I had Ultimates, I had vintage, I didn’t need these, right?  Right.  You read the Snake Eyes review, yeah?  Cool, so you already know I’m weak.  Don’t need to sum that part up again.  Yeah, so, in addition to the Snake Eyes landing in front of me, so did Scarlett.  They were a package deal, both of them there, allowing me to do my whole buying them as a pair thing.  Yay.  Like Snake Eyes, she’s nifty, but not really much beyond that.  Do I need it?  No.  Do I like it?  Yes.

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.

#3652: Captain America – Symbol of Truth

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA — SYMBOL OF TRUTH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Sam Wilson takes the mantle of Captain America to new heights, combining the iconic shield with his signature wings versus threats near and abroad.”

So, like, not to be that guy who critiques the bios again, but, umm, I’m gonna do exactly that, because there’s an irony to this particular Sam Wilson Cap figure calling out his use of the iconic shield, when, umm, this one doesn’t?  I mean, I guess the spirit of the thing is still there, right?  Sure, let’s go with that.

Shortly after introducing Sam Wilson as the Falcon in the MCU, the comics had Steve aged up and unable to keep Captaining, so Sam stepped into the role, a move that I always found sort of amusing given that, well, you’d only just introduced people to the Falcon identity, and then you immediately took it away from him.  Steve eventually took the title back, of course, and while they had a touch of overlap, Sam went back to being Falcon again…and then he got handed the shield in the MCU.  We had a while where Steve was the only Cap in the comics, while the MCU built up Sam, but somewhere along the way, someone had the bright idea to just let them both be Captain America for a while again, and thus Sam became the Cap with the sub-title “Symbol of Truth” (Steve for his part got to use his recurrent “Sentinel of Liberty” monicker).  Steve is currently back to being the main focus Cap at the moment, but Sam hasn’t reverted to Falcon, and with a Sam Cap movie just having dropped its trailer, it’s unlikely he’ll do that any time soon.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America – Symbol of Truth is a Target-exclusive Marvel Legends release.  He’s at the deluxe price-point, and started hitting retail right around the beginning of the summer.  It seems likely he was intended to tie-in with Brave New World‘s original intended release date, much like those McDonald’s toys we got, but as a comics figure, his placement is a little less weird, especially with this effectively being Sam’s evergreen look these days.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation counting the wings.  By-and-large, this figure is a re-use of the Sam Cap figure from the three-pack in 2016, which was itself a re-tool of the Marvel Now Cap.  It’s a sculpt that wasn’t without its flaws at the time, but it’s honestly not bad, and it’s held up surprisingly well given the oldest parts of it are now a decade old.  It’s still got visible pins, of course, and I’m still not sure I love the head, though I’ve warmed to it a bit more in the eight years since its first release.  The primary change-up here is the presence of the wings; they were a rather glaring omission when the original figure dropped, and time hasn’t really lessened that.  This figure gets them as one separate wing-pack piece, which plugs into the peg hole already present on the back.  They’ve got 4 point of articulation, with a swivel at the base of the pack, and a hinge actually on the wings proper.  They’re a little rudimentary, but they get the job done, and we’ve certainly seen worse wings in this line.  Cap’s color scheme is also slightly changed up.  It’s nothing drastic, with the most notable shift being the switch to a brighter blue this time around, which gives him a little more pop.  The paint is also a little cleaner this time, largely because that’s just an area where Hasbro’s improved across the board.  Cap is packed with two sets of hands, the fist/gripping combo from the original mold, plus a right grip/left open gesture from last year’s Ultimate Cap.  The glove detailing isn’t an exact match, but it’s close enough to not really throw the whole look off either.  Cap is also packed with his shield, and yes, it’s very specifically Sam’s shield, since it’s got the new design from Symbol of Truth.  It’s using the tweaked Anniversary Cap shield mold that was also included with Ultimate Cap, which is by far the best version of the shield Hasbro’s had, and the new detailing looks really nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: I didn’t intend to get this figure.  I had my three-pack figure, who lacked the wings, and I had the MCU figure, who didn’t, so I figured my bases were covered.  What changed?  Well, Max found two of them at Target, and texted to ask if I wanted one.  Through a comedy of errors, I didn’t get back to him in time, but he didn’t want me to miss out, so he grabbed one just in case.  Once he’d bought it, I felt it would be rude to leave him out the cost of the second one, so I figured I might as well get one.  And you know what?  I’m glad I did.  The wing pack is fun, and I’m glad to have the new shield, and, heck, I even like the new shades to the coloring.  If I’ve already got all those Steve Caps, is it really that bad to have a few extra Sams as well?  I don’t really think so.

#3651: April O’Neil

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

APRIL O’NEIL

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE MOVIE (NECA)

“Also following the city’s unprecedented crime wave is intrepid Channel 3 reporter April O’Neil, who eventually finds herself face-to-face with the Turtles when Raphael rescues her from Foot Clan ninjas.”

NECA and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles go together like…two things that sort of go together, but there are sort of complications to it, and also one of those things also goes with a bunch of other things, so it’s not really all that special when you get down to it?  Okay, admittedly not the cleanest metaphor there.  Back in 2007 when NECA did the first comic-style Turtles, Playmates had kind of a stranglehold on the license, so it was kind of a big deal.  These days, it feels like everyone has some form of the license, so NECA’s offerings are just sort of part of the pack.  Not helping matters in their favor is their reliance on exclusives for so very much of their line.  The movie-based figures started at GameStop, but transferred to Walmart, which was rather frustrating, but is now just sort of the background noise of existence.  Or something.  Anyway, back in 2022, they finally added the live-action version of the Turtles’ best human pal, April O’Neil to the line, and here I am, reviewing it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

April O’Neil was released in early 2022 as a part of the Walmart-exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie line.  While Walmart had initially been taking only two-packs, April was a single release, done in NECA’s “Ultimate” styling, something that has become a little more commonplace as the line has progressed. The figure stands 7 inches tall and she has 32 points of articulation.  Compared to some of the other figures in the line, she’s a little restricted, especially the legs, due to the skirt piece.  The hair is also a little restricting on the neck, but not nearly as much as I’d expected it to be.  The sculpt, handled by Adrienne Smith and Trevor Grove, is a solid offering.  The likeness of actress Judith Hoag is quite strong on both of the included head sculpts, though I think it might be just a touch better on the more neutral expression.  Her hair in the movie is very much a remnant of that late ’80s vibe, and it’s the sort of style that’s difficult to translate.  That said, it’s not badly done here; it’s a little thick in some spots, but it generally reads the right way for her appearance in the film.  The body sculpt is respectable enough.  The proportions seem like a decent match for Hoag, and her outfit is well detailed.  I don’t really dig how the articulation is worked into some spots, especially the knees, but it’s generally not bad.  April’s paint work is certainly ambitious, with painted patterns on her shirt and skirt, as well as accenting on her hair, and a fully detailed face.  The patterning actually turns out very well, and is nice and consistent.  The faces, likewise, are very lifelike, and help the sculpt in selling Hoag’s likeness.  My only issue is that the joints on her knees and ankles are molded in her regular flesh tone and painted to match the stockings on her legs, resulting in the paint sheering off pretty much the first time those joints are used, leaving her with rather differently colored joints.  That’s a real bummer.  April is packed with the two head sculpts mentioned above, as well as three pairs of hands (gripping, relaxed, and a fist/pointing combo), her purse, a stack of frozen pizza boxes, Raph’s sai, a microphone with a posable cable, and a small black display stand.  There was also a yellow raincoat piece made available for the first batch of people to get the figure through NECA’s online store, but I obviously didn’t get one of those.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The NECA TMNT figures aren’t what I’d call “fun” to collect.  I got the four turtles because Jess was working at Gamestop at the time, and really only got Casey through luck and connections.  April was really the only other figure I wanted, but, again, the whole process of getting one was not thrilling.  I wound up getting her quite a while after the fact, thanks to a sealed one getting traded into All Time right as her aftermarket price was bottoming out, giving me an easy in. Yay?

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.

#3650: Iron Man (Model 01 – Gold)

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

IRON MAN (MODEL 01 – GOLD)

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When Tony Stark decides that Iron Man needs an outfit upgrade, he faces off against the hypnotic Gargantus wearing golden armor”

In his first appearance, Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor was a simple, dull grey.  Realistic for a suit of armor, especially one bearing the name “Iron Man”, but perhaps not quite as heroic.  This issue was, in fact brought up, even in story, leading to Tony’s first proper upgrade to his armor, where he grants his armor its golden hue for the very first time.  Though short-lived, the armor is notable for being the one he was wearing when the Avengers were founded, which gives it some lasting presence.  It helps that it shares its sculptural structure with the first appearance armor, making it a really easy repaint.  Hey, that would be nifty, wouldn’t it?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Man (Model 01 – Gold) is part of the Iron Man-themed Retro Card assortment of Marvel Legends.  While this armor itself wasn’t ever released on the card being referenced, it was at least part of the 5-inch Toy Biz run, via the “Marvel Collector Editions” Avengers boxed set.  So, you know, similar vintage, I suppose.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  The sculpt is mostly identical to the Beyond release of the Model 01 sculpt, courtesy of sculptor Dan Mitchell.  It’s still a sculpt I like as a whole.  In fact, I think I like it more this time around.  One of my main issues the first time around was the helmet shape, which felt off for the first appearance look, but for the gold version, where the helmet was frequently depicted with a slightly different shape, it actually works a bit better.  The figure does get one notable change, in the form of a skirt place that swaps out for the belt piece from the last figure, in order to make him more accurate to the gold version of the armor.  It’s better than Toy Biz gave us, so kudos to Hasbro on that one.  The main change-up here is the coloring, of course.  Largely, he just swaps in gold plastic for the gun metal grey of the last one.  He doesn’t have the same scuffing details, but does get additional accenting on the panels.  He also gets painted eyes, which the last one lacked.  Like the last release, this one is packed with two sets of hands (open and fists), two blast effects, and matching smoke trail effects.  He also gets an unmasked head, which is re-used from the 20th Anniversary release.  Amusingly, for the second time, the ’70s style head sculpt (courtesy of Paul Harding) is packed with a ’60s armor.  Like, it’s not a bad sculpt at all, but it’s…well, it’s just not the right one for the armor.  They’ve got one that matches already, too, so it’s kind of funny.  Like, maybe not “ha ha”, but I get a kick out of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t as enthused with the Beyond release of this mold as I’d hoped to be, but I was still holding out hope for a recolor.  I didn’t realize one would be here *quite* this quickly, but it’s not terribly shocking, I guess.  Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  He doesn’t change much, but I just find myself liking the mold a lot better this time around.  Maybe I’m just a sucker for the gold armor.  Whatever the case, I’m happy to have this 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.

#3649: Aquaman

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

AQUAMAN

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

“Born in the underwater world of Atlantis, Arthur Curry leads a dual life as Aquaman, protector of the world’s oceans. He is able to “breathe” water, swim at speeds up to 100 miles per hour, and communicate with most sea life. Though his strength diminishes after prolonged exposure out of the water, Aquaman’s Fractal Techgear allows him to remain on land and battle villains with his blasting hydro spear for extended periods of time.”

Aquaman seems like he’s in this perpetual state of bouncing back and forth between everyone thinking he’s lame and the people responsible for his stories trying overcompensate for the perceived lame-ness by making him super edgy.  Perhaps the earliest instance of this was Peter David’s revamp of the character in the ’90s, a run which, amongst other things, had Arthur lose a hand and replace it with a hook.  Don’t ask how he lost it.  It’s really important that you don’t.  Because it made him very edgy and serious, and you don’t want to risk upsetting that.  To aid with the edginess, Arthur also grew a beard and long hair.  Edgy!  It was the ’90s, so there were toys abound, meaning this new Aquaman got coverage pretty darn quickly.  Let’s look at him today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Aquaman was released in 1996 as part of the first series of Kenner’s Total Justice line.  This was Kenner’s second time doing an Aquaman, following their Super Powers offering in the ’80s.  That one was, of course, in his classic attire, while this one was, as noted above, all edgy.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Well, 5-ish.  The neck joint’s pretty my useless, what with the hair, and the range on the hips is also pretty restricted.  You can spin those shoulders all the way around, though.  Total Justice figures are, of course, defined by their extreme posing.  Aquaman follows suit, and has perhaps one of the most extreme poses the line had to offer.  So extreme that he can barely even stand most of the time, which is a bit frustrating at times.  Why the pre-posing?  What exactly is the pose?  I have no clue.  The sculpt is…well, it’s also extreme.  There’s certainly a lot of detail going on there, with all those flexing muscles and everything.  It matches well with the typical depictions of Aquaman from the time, so I’ll certainly give them that.  Aquaman’s color scheme came in two set-ups; the standard had the shoulder armor in an off-black, while there was a variant that did it in gold, presumably in reference to his classic costume.  Beyond that detail, the paint work remains the same on the two figures.  It’s not a bad set-up, and all the major details are present and pretty cleanly handled.  In addition to the odd posing, one of the other signatures of Total Justice was the “fractal armor.”  Aquaman’s is a sort of purple-ish asymmetric set-up.  It’s very goofy, and it’s very ’90s, and I very much enjoy it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I may not be the world’s biggest Aquaman fan myself, but he’s one of my dad’s favorite characters, which does give me a bit of a link to the character.  My first figure exposure was my dad’s old Mego, which he had on display in my parents’ living room.  I wanted my own Aquaman, and this was really my only option at the time.  I got the standard one pictured above, I want to say from an Ames near where my family vacationed?  I might be totally off on that, but it’s what I’m visualizing.  He was well-loved, and my only Aquaman for a bit.  He lost the hook not terribly long after I got him, and it was never fixed.  I snagged the gold variant more recently, when a loose one came through All Time.  He’s oh so much a product of his time, more so than just about anything else in this line, and, honestly, that’s pretty fun.