Category Archives: Flashback Friday Figure Addendum

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0054: Gambit

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

GAMBIT

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Hey, it’s Black Friday!  …which, for the purposes of this site directly…doesn’t really mean much.  You know what?  I’ll give you guys today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum free of charge.  How does that sound?  Like it’s the same cost as usual?  Well, yeah, sure.  But think of the value!  Anyway, here’s Gambit!

The ‘90s were quite good to the X-Men. They several top selling comics, a few video games, and a cartoon. But, most importantly, they had an awesome, hugely expansive line of action figures, courtesy of Toy Biz. Earlier figures in the line were fairly straightforward versions of the X-Men, but as the line continued, Toy Biz started experimenting with a number of different gimmicks to keep things interesting. The very first “gimmick series” gave each figure a light-up feature. Though light-up features weren’t new to the line, these figures were different in that, rather than lighting up themselves, they used a two-part light-up feature that allowed them to light up their accessories. Mostly, the series was just an excuse to release new versions of a few outdated figures. Today, I’ll be looking at Gambit from that series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gambit was released in the X-Men: Classic “Light-Up Weapons Series,” which was the 13th series of figures in Toy Biz’s 5-inch X-Men line. This was Gambit’s second figure in the line, after getting his first back in Series 3. The figure stands about 5 ½ inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. His articulation isn’t terrible, but the light-up feature’s inner workings are in his chest and right arm, which reduces the posablilty of the right shoulder quite a bit and also necessitates removing the usual elbow joints. Though the X-Men line was meant as a tie-in for the cartoon running at the same time, the figures tended to be more directly based on their comics appearances. Gambit actually looks to take a lot of influence from his Capcom game appearances, since he’s rather beefy and stylized. The overall look isn’t too bad, though it does seem like Gambit’s been juicing just a bit, since he’s usually more slender than he’s depicted here. He’s about to burst out of his sleeves for Pete’s sake! Also, his hands are absolutely huge, and if I’m honest the right one barely even looks like a hand at this point. The head exhibits the best sculpted work, and does quite a nice job of capturing Gambit’s smarmy personality. Gambit’s paint is fairly decent, if not fantastic. There’s a bit of slop here and there, especially on the fingers, and the pink lines on the sides of his pants are way more subtle than they should be. The color scheme they picked is once again pretty game-inspired, but it has a nice degree of pop, so no complaints here. Gambit included his usual staff, as well as a piece showing a fan of playing cards being kinetically charged, as if Gambit has just thrown them. The latter piece is the source of the light up feature. When plugged into Gambit’s right hand, the cards would light up at the push of the button on Gambit’s back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is another ‘90s X-Men figure that I’ve owned two of. The first was bought for me by my grandparents on my Mom’s side, I believe as a reward for finishing kindergarten. I got him and Juggernaut, but I think I mostly got Gambit because my grandparents felt I needed to get a “good guy” figure to go with the villain. Somewhere along the way, I lost that figure, so I picked up this replacement from a dealer at Balticon this year. He’s not a terrible figure, but he definitely shows his age. 

Well, honestly, that review’s really not bad.  Kind of hits all the important marks, and I stand by my assessment of the figure from the time.  He’s another figure that came from a large batch of Toy Biz figures I fished out of a big box of loose figures in the Baltic dealers room, literally the weekend after my college graduation in 2016.  None of them had any accessories, but the thing about this guy in particular is that I had one when they were new, and while I lost the figure proper, the accessories remained.  So, I simply united the two halves, and, boom, he’s got his staff and playing card effect again.  Yay for completeness!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0052: Domino

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

DOMINO

X-FORCE (TOY BIZ)

It’s finally Friday, which is great, but also feels like it took more than a week to get here, because that’s just the world we live in these days.  Let’s jump back to when it wasn’t the world we lived in with another funky Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, this time based on Domino!

Grrrrr! 90s! Everything had to be soooooo X-Treme! And no one was more X-Treme than the X-Men! Well, okay, actually, that’s not true. There was one team than was more X-Treme, by design. They were the X-Force and they were super hardcore 90s. So hard. One of their more prominent members was Domino, who had luck based powers. You know, like a domino!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Domino was released in Series 6 of ToyBiz’s X-Force line. It’s surprising to see one of the team’s higher tier members not being released until one of the last few series of the line, but, hey, it was the 90s, and we were in the worst dregs of boys thinking girl toys were icky, so…..yeah. The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. While she was fortunate enough not to be saddled with the dreaded v-style hip joints that plagued many female figures of the time, she’s completely lacking in neck articulation, and for some strange reason her elbow joints are just simple cut joints. This ends up severely limiting what can be done with the figure, which is quite a bummer. Domino featured an all-new sculpt (though it would see a couple of re-paints later on down the line). It’s…passable. They’ve done a fairly decent job of capturing the design from the comics, which, it should be noted, is her second, non-Liefeld-designed costume. It’s got all the requisite buckles, pouches, shoulder pads, and even a weird head thing! The proportions aren’t the worst thing ever and she has one of the better female faces of the time. That said, she’s rather boxy, especially in her lower half, and I’m really not sure what’s going on with the straps on her torso. They certainly can’t be comfortable configured that way. Also, she seems to have lost a row of abdominal muscles, which ends up making the legs look way too long. The paintwork on the figure is alright. Nothing amazing, but the colors are pretty good matches for the look in the comics, and there isn’t any substantial slop or bleed over. Domino originally included a set of gun attachments, which hooked into her legs. Yeah. Not really sure why they did that, since she just held the guns in her hands in the comics, but hey, whatever. Mine didn’t have them anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Domino was another figure that I fished out of a box of loose figures at one of the dealer’s tables at this past Balticon. I was never really into X-Force growing up, and Domino never played a prominent role in the X-Men cartoon, so I didn’t really have a reason to get this figure while it was still new. But, it was a dollar. It’s not ToyBiz’s best work, but it isn’t atrocious. 

First and foremost, before getting into a discussion of the actual written review, I feel the need to bring up that I’ve somehow reviewed *four* Domino figures here?  I know that because this was the first one, and I had to scroll back through the other three to get to it.  I don’t even really like Domino, so that just really feels absurd.  For comparison, that’s one more Domino review than I have Longshot reviews, and she’s literally just him plus guns.  Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked.

Generally, I think I did alright with the review.  My points still more or less stand, so I can dig it.  It does include a slight factual gaffe on my part, which is linked to the main thing I’m addressing here anyway, which is the accessories.  Domino included two guns which, contrary to what my original review stated, she *could* hold in her hands.  Not very well, but still.  She also got two weird spring-loaded missiles, which sort of kind of sit in the guns and can “launch” but not very well either.  They also have pegs to be stored on her legs, which is where my confusion about the guns attaching to her legs came from.  In my defense, I was working from just the image on the back of the box at the time.  But, now I’ve fixed it, and that’s the most important part!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0051: Firelord

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

FIRELORD

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

I started the week with som Toy Biz Fantastic Four, why not wrap the week with a revisit to the line?  That’s what a good Flashback Friday Figure Addendum is all about!  So, let’s return to a guy who’s probably not cracking top three on Galactus’ Heralds, Firelord!

“Once a herald of the world-devouring Galactus, Firelord was granted absolute control over all flames by his former master. Now freed from servitude, he wanders the spaceways, using his cosmic power to take what he desires! Unprincipled and mercenary, Firelord conceals his true demeanor beneath a facade of nobility and culture, but always displays his blazing abilities for all to marvel at…and fear!”

After Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the concept of Galactus, and in turn his herald Silver Surfer, and then almost immediately dismantling it by having the Surfer removed from the role of herald at the end of that very story, it seemed Galactus was in need of a new herald to keep things running. The first replacement for Surfer was Air-Walker, a Xandarian who’s first appearance was not even the man himself, but a robotic duplicate, created by Galactus after the original died. The next herald after Air-Walker was another Xandarian (who was actually a friend of Air-Walker pre-herald transformation), Firelord. Firelord would follow in the path set by Silver Surfer, eventually asking to be released from his duties as herald, and forging out on his own. He’s remained a minor recurring character on the cosmic side of things at Marvel. As a herald of Galactus, he got himself a spot in Toy Biz’s FF line in the ’90s. I’m taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Firelord was released in Series 2 of the Fantastic Four line. Unlike Thanos, who was notably never in the cartoon that the line was tying into, Firelord actually got a brief appearance on the show. Not that it really amounted to much, since it was little more than a cameo, but hey, there it was. Of note, he was actually voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, better known as the voice of Skeletor. Fun times. Until his Minimate release, this was Firelord’s only action figure. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. He sports a sculpt that remained unique to this release. It’s a pretty decent one. Nothing overly showy or anything. Generally it just sticks to the basics, but it’s good at that. He’s got some minor detailing for the flame effects, which are a little on the soft side, but get the point across. The strongest portion of the sculpt is definitely the head, which sticks closer to the comics interpretation of the character, with his rather other-worldly cheek bones and all. Firelord’s paint work is alright. It’s not quite as bold and differentiated as some of his colors tended to be in the comics, but the general look again works pretty well, apart from some slight muddying of the colors without any real clear outlines. That said, it’s not terrible. Not terrible at all. Firelord was packed with his flaming staff, dubbed “Cosmic Flame Launcher” on the package. It’s in two parts, and one part launched like a missile out of the other. I’ve only actually got the missile part anymore, which is the half that looks more convincingly like his staff anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve mentioned before on the site about Ageless Heroes, a comic store nearby that had a rather huge going out of business sale when I was between six and seven. It served as a pretty sizable boon to my 5 inch Marvel collection as a kid. Firelord here was one of the figures from that boon. He wasn’t actually bought as Firelord, since I didn’t really know the character, but instead got initial use as a Jim Hammond Human Torch. I did eventually learn who Firelord was, courtesy of a copy of his appearance in Uncanny Origins, which I got from Ageless Heroes’ back-issues, in fact. He’s not a perfect figure, or anything, but he’s certainly one I got a lot of use out of as a kid.

That review was from 2022, making it an astoundingly new review for a revisit.  Curiously, it managed to only *just* beat the Legends Firelord’s release, so I still reviewed them chronologically.  We won’t bring up that the Minimate should be between the two of them, though, because it makes me look bad, and I don’t do that around here.  Never.  It hasn’t been enough time for me to really change my opinion on the figure, so I shan’t.  I will, however, show off the newly replaced other half of his staff, because there it is!  It’s real bulky, and pretty much impossible for him to hold and seems needlessly complicated, but there it is.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0049: Quicksilver

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

QUICKSILVER

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

It’s Friday!  Finally!  Oh boy, the week’s over…almost.  Well, here’s a double blast from the past, because today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum is another one of those doubling down on an addendum entries.  So, let’s look at Quicksilver again…again!

Countdown to Avengers: Age of Ultron: 7 days remaining.

Alright, we just took a look at Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye, two of the most important Avengers in my books. They both joined the team back in Avengers #16, along with the subject of today’s review, Quicksilver. They were led by Captain America and dubbed “Cap’s Kooky Quartet.” Yeah, it was the 60s. Anyway, Quicksilver is an Avenger of moderate importance, though he’s not quite on the same level as the other two. Still, he’s an important guy, and seeing as he’s Scarlet Witch’s twin brother, it’s a little difficult to have one without the other. Plus he had that fantastic scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past, so he’s going places. Let’s look at one of his action figures!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Quicksilver was released in ToyBiz’s 90s X-Men line as part of their infamous “Muntant Armor” series. The figure was available in two possible decos: his classic blue and white and his current (at the time) white and grey. This one, in case you hadn’t already noted, is the white and grey, which, for those interested, was designed by legendary artist George Perez when he helped re-launch The Avengers in the 90s. The figure is 5 inches tall and has 11 points of articulation. Quicksilver was built on one of ToyBiz’s recurring male bodies of their 5 inch lines, which first popped up in the sixth series of ToyBiz’s Spider-Man line. It’s a pretty decent sculpt, with a nice, lean look, and a decent amount of movement. The only real downside is the left hand, which was hastily retooled from a web-shooting pose, resulting in a rather strange looking fist. In addition to the base body, Quicksilver features a head that is sort of new. The facial structure is the same as that of the “Battle Brigade” series Archangel, but the hair is completely new, giving us Pietro’s signature ‘do. The face is actually a lot better for Quicksilver than it was for Archangel, and the hair is very nicely handled, so it works very well. The figure’s paintwork is generally pretty well-done, though mine has taken its fair share of wear and tear. The lines are a bit fuzzy in some places, but overall the figure is pretty decent. The semi-metallic sheen on the dark grey parts is actually pretty cool, so there’s that. Quicksilver was packed with a stands shaped like a dust cloud and some sort of strange machine gun thing. Most intriguing about this is that he doesn’t actually have any armor, not even of the “Muntant” variety.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Quicksilver at a local toyshow, which my dad took me to, probably about 15 years ago. I remember that I was never able to find either of the Quicksilver figures when they were at retail. My dad had the blue and white version, but my collection was sadly Quicksilver-less. So, when I found this guy, I was pretty excited. I didn’t have a choice in deco, but I actually like this one, so it worked out. This figure’s still a pretty strong figure, even after almost 20 years. I’m certainly glad I found one!

That’s the original review from 2015, and here’s what I had to say when I revisited it two years later:

Oh man, this review was part of my rather lengthy countdown to Age of Ultron’s release. I was very excited for that movie. It’s funny to see my line about him “going places” seeing as the MCU Quicksilver won’t be going much of anywhere. You didn’t see that coming?

My actual review for this guy is pretty solid, I think. It’s worth nothing that, despite this being the fourth figure I reviewed on this body, I do believe it’s the first time I actually reviewed it. I kept referencing the Fallen figure’s review, but I never actually discussed the body there at all. Pro tip, guys: re-read the reviews you reference.

During The Find, I dug up this guy’s little dust cloud base thingy. It was re-used from the X-Men 2099 line’s Mean Streak figure. Quicksilver’s feet slide into the two slots, and he looks like he’s running. I guess. There are also wheels on the bottom, so you can push him around like he’s a parade float or something. Nifty.

I still like this guy a lot. One of these days, I’ll need to track down the other costume.

My first addendum notes it was a pretty good review the first time around, and I’m inclined to agree, even a whole decade removed.  Good for me, having good and consistent reviewing habits.  About a year after the addendum, I finally did get that other costume, so good on me for that one.  When I first revisited the figure, I’d found his dust cloud running base, a repurposed piece from fellow speedster Meanstreak (who I have reviewed in the time between these addendums), but was still missing his goofy arm-mounted machine gun accessory.  I found it!  Yaaaay! I don’t know that it was ever used with any other figures, but it’s an odd piece for Pietro, and also doesn’t really seem to work all that well with this figure’s mold.  I mean, he can hold it, but it’s awkward.  Also, in the time since my last visit to this figure, I’ve done a little bit of restorative work to his paint, so he’s not longer got that weird balding look.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0048: Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow

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

SNAKE EYES & STORM SHADOW

G.I. JOE VS COBRA (HASBRO)

Today’s Friday, but it’s not just *any* Friday!  No no!  Today’s October 17th, meaning it’s officially been 12 years of me running this humble little site.  And, to showcase that humbleness, I’m not even running this in front of a review, but instead an addendum, because that’s just how I roll these days.  I’m making it an ever so slightly more special addendum, though, with a revisit to one of my older year-ending reviews.  So, let’s look back at Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow!

Heyo! As all my faithful FiQ-fans are undoubtedly aware, today marks four years of reviews here at the site. In honor of this momentous day, I wanted to take a look at a pair of figures that are somewhat important in the grand scheme of my collection. I’ll be setting my sites on G.I. Joe, a franchise that I feel I don’t look at quite as often as I should around these parts. I mean, it is the *original* action figure, after all. The line definitely deserves some respect. Today, I’ll be looking at two of my favorite characters from the franchise (as well as two of the most popular characters in general), Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow were released in Series 1 of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Vs Cobra line. This series served to bring brand-new 3 3/4-inch Joes back to mass retail after a one year absence and a few years of repaints.

SNAKE EYES

“SNAKE EYES learned his top combat skills in missions around the globe. A tragic helicopter mission took away his voice and scarred his face. That’s why he communicates with sign language and never removes his mask around others. He studied mystical martial arts with the Arashikage clan, which is also the family of master ninja STORM SHADOW, SNAKE EYES is an expert in all disciplines of martial arts and silent weapons. He can move silenty and without being seen. At one time, he and STORM SHADOW were sword brothers, linked by spirit and tradition. Now that STORM SHADOW is part of the evil COBRA organization, there is no escape from a final battle between two of the world’s greatest martial arts fighters.”

As perhaps the most popular Joe ever, it was no surprise that Snake Eyes turned up here in the first series. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall (he’d be taller without the wide stance) and he has 14 points of articulation. The first series of Vs were distinct in their construction. Hasbro abandoned the more typical O-ring construction, and went for a more solid construction. This results in figures that are a little sturdier than their predecessors, but slightly more limited in their posability at the hips. It wasn’t a perfect solution, and that’s why Hasbro ended up going back to the O-ring build in the next series. This Snake Eyes had a unique design, which made use of elements from all of his prior figures. I may be a little biased, but this has always been a favorite look of mine. His sculpt definitely shows its age….or an age. Given the sheer size of this guy’s muscles, he looks like he should be straight out of the ’90s, not the early ’00s. Guess Hasbro was still shaking off a little of the Extreme days from the ’90s. That being said, whoever worked on this sculpt was certainly having a good time of it. The details in the wrappings, the straps, and the pouches are all really well rendered, and indicate real attention being paid to this figure. The head’s my favorite part of the figure, as it’s probably the least affected by the stylization. I like that you can clearly see the face under the mask, but it’s not quite as ridiculous as the sculpted lips from Rise of Cobra. The paintwork on this figure is a bit more involved than most Snake Eyes figures tended to be. He’s actually molded in a very, very dark green, allowing his visor to be made straight black and still have contrast. The rest of the work is all in the accents, which all go pretty well. He’s got some color without it getting too garish. Snake Eyes was packed with a pair of swords, a backpack to hold them, a knife, and a sub-machine gun. After 15 years, all my figure has left are the swords.

STORM SHADOW

“STORM SHADOW grew up in the Arashikage clan of ninjas. During his training, his sword-brother was SNAKE EYES, the commando and martial arts master of the GI JOE team. The evil COBRA organization recruited Arashikage members. This corruption split the clan in two. After a COBRA agent killed STORM SHADOW’s uncle, he went undercover within COBRA to find the assassin. When the killer was revealed, STORM SHADOW joined the GI JOE team to get revenge. But now, STORM SHADOW is back with COBRA. Are all Arshikage ninjas evil? Or does COBRA COMMANDER hold some special power over STORM SHADOW? Whatever the reason, the anger is clear when he meets SNAKE EYES. The battle between the ninja masters will be legendary.”

Ah, the revolving door that is Storm Shadow’s affiliation. Yes, one of the notable things done by the relaunch was placing Storm Shadow back on the side of Cobra, which was explained in the Devil’s Due comics of the time as the result of brainwashing. The figure has the same height and articulation as Snake Eyes. Thanks to a slightly straighter stance, that actually makes him a little shorter. The sculpt for Storm Shadow as another all-new one, and while Snake Eyes would get another sculpt very quickly, Storm Shadow’s stuck around for several years. It’s not anywhere near as exaggerated as the Snake Eyes sculpt, so I guess it had a slightly longer shelf life. That being said, I can’t help but feel this sculpt is a little less inspired than that of Snake Eyes. The details seem a lot flatter, less organic, and just generally a little less developed. And then there’s that hood; what’s going on with the hood? It’s all stuck to the head, and generally un-hood-like. The Storm Shadow figure just prior to this one clearly showed that sculpting a hood was totally within Hasbro’s grasp, so this just looks…strange. It’s as if they didn’t decide until the last minute whether they wanted the hood or not, so he just has this amorphous could-be-a-hood-could-be-a-mask thing. Storm Shadow’s paint is alright. It’s pretty basic stuff, really. Red, white, gray, and black. It’s relatively clean, and makes for a good contrast with Snake Eyes. The white is all molded plastic, though, so he’s done some serious yellowing over the years. The figure was packed with two swords, a backpack, a knife, and a sub-machine gun. Apart from the backpack and knife, the pieces were actually unique to Storm Shadow, not shared with Snake Eyes. That’s actually pretty cool!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two are my very first small-scale G.I. Joes. I had several of the 12-inch ones, but the smaller line was on the back burner for my earlier collecting years. When the first series was first shown in ToyFare magazine, I was pretty excited, and I knew from the very beginning that Snake Eyes was the first one I wanted. Storm Shadow sort of came along for the ride. My dad bought these for me, as a reward for patiently waiting for flooring with him at Home Depot. They aren’t amazing figures. None of this era of Joes really were. But they were my first, and they were fun. I loved having them, and they got me into the whole franchise. Now I have over a hundred of these little guys. Lots of them are better technically than these two, but these two are still my favorites.

So, as noted within the review, this was the review that capped off my fourth year on the site, way back in 2017.  This was the very first review to be published on “thefigureinquestion.com” rather than “thefigureinquestion.wordpress.com” which was a really big deal for me at the time.  It’s crazy to think how long its been since the true free blog days of the site, but that’s the notable shift.  After a year of bouncing around, I had finally found myself settled back in at home, and was working a regular office job that would last me until the pandemic.  It marks probably one of the few periods of stability for me since starting the site, so I guess that was pretty nice.  

But what of the actual toys?  Well, I still pretty much stand by my assessments of the figures from the time.  I think they’re a bit dated and their own sort of thing, but still very much fun, and the kind of figures I really do dig.  When I reviewed them, I mentioned that I’d lost a lot of their parts.  As I mentioned in my B.A.T. review earlier this week, I had call to do some digging through all of my Joe parts from this era, and in the process, I actually wound up finding all of the pieces that went to these two, which is super cool.  Snake Eyes now has both swords, his sheaths, his uzi, and his dagger, while Storm Shadow gets…well, pretty much the same, but slightly different.  Yay!  Enjoy the new pictures of them in all their proper and complete glory!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0047: Dr. Doom

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

DR. DOOM

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

At the beginning of the week, I officially finished of my reviews of the first series of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line, wrapping up a thing I started when I launched the site, 12 years ago.  But, I’m not quite done.  Oh no.  I’ve still got at least one more thing I can do, and that’s a Flashback Friday Figure Addendum of Latveria’s mad dictator, Doctor Victor Von Doom!

Today, we look at another figure from Toybiz’s Fantastic Four line from the 90s. Yesterday, we looked at Reed Richards, today we look at his arch nemesis Dr. Victor Von Doom

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The patriarch of Latveria was released in the first wave of figures. He’s based on the character’s look on the cartoon, which was obviously based the comic book look. The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 8 points of articulation. He has a removable cape and a spring loaded right hand. The hand is launched by pushing the extremely obvious lever on the shoulder. It’s kind of an odd feature, as I don’t recall Doom ever doing anything that resembled what this figure seems to emulate. I guess maybe if he were a Doombot, but it just seems like an odd choice for a figure that would have probably been better without it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Dr. Doom was a great figure. I remember being pretty content with this figure, and as a kid he was one of my go to bad guys for whatever hero I was playing with that week. I think he still holds up pretty well for the time, aside from the odd action feature.

Man, check out that brevity.  Love it.  Miss it sometimes, honestly.  I do manage to at least cover all of the basics, so hey, pretty efficient.  I’ve always quite liked this figure’s sculpt, even if it does make him tricky to stand at times.  I do stand by my assessment that the arm launching bit is weird.  12 years later, and I still don’t quite get it.  When I first reviewed him, he was missing his only accessory, and black blaster, recolored from the X-Force line.  It’s basic and boxy and not really his usual style, but it gets the job done alright.

In addition to all the new fancy pictures, I also put together a quick video for this guy over on the newly launched FiQ YouTube page, so please check that out here!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0046: Hawkeye

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

HAWKEYE

IRON MAN (TOY BIZ)

Okay, I was a bit late on the draw with today’s post, so I bet you thought it wasn’t happening.  Well, ha-ha!  I’m here!  I’m doing the thing!  It’s Friday, so let’s go ahead and flashback, taking aim at Hawkeye!

 Countdown to Avengers: Age of Ultron: 9 days remaining.

Okay, we’re very definitely getting into the selection of characters that I consider to be the quintessential Avengers. And no one gets more quintessential-y than good ol’ Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye! So, let’s have look at a figure of that guy, shall we? In fact, let’s look at the very first figure of that guy ever released! That’ll be nifty!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HawkeyeIM2Hawkeye was released in Series 2 of the 90s Iron Man line, which was done to tie-in with the Iron Man cartoon of the time. Unsurprisingly, Hawkeye is based upon his appearance in that show, which in turn was based upon the design he had in the comics around the early 90s. It’s a tweak on his classic design, and it’s not too overly 90s, so it works. I do miss the buccaneer boots and loincloth, but oh well. The figure stands roughly 5 inches in height and sports 8 points of articulation, which is actually a little bit below the standard of the time. The lack of proper arm articulation is certainly odd, what with him being an archer and all, but he actually managed okay, thanks to the pose of his arms. The figure’s sculpt was wholly original to him. It’s not bad, especially for the time. The proportions are generally pretty good. The hands and feet are a little on the large side, and the shoulders are a little high-set. He’s also got some ridiculously defined musculature, but to be fair, that’s actually true to the show. The costume details are pretty well handled, with clean lines and some nice texture work on the purple parts. The head is pretty much spot on for the character, with just the right amount of cockiness in his expression. Hawkeye’s paintwork is pretty much on par with other figures from the same time. It’s simple, but well-done. The colors are nice and bold, and everything is clean, with no real slop or bleed over. The eyes are totally white and pupil-less, which is not in keeping with his appearance on the show. However, given how small they are, it’s likely that pupils would have looked rather goofy here, so it was probably the right call. Hawkeye included a bow, arrow, quiver, a small knife, and the weird character badge thingy that was included with all of the figures in the first few series. Of course, my figure has none of these things because silly child Ethan decided to lose them all. Way to go younger me!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I don’t recall the exact circumstances by which I came to own Hawkeye. I’m fairly certain that he was a gift from my parents. I know my Dad had a Hawkeye figure first, and that I really liked it, so I’m pretty sure he took note of this and bought me one of my own. It’s definitely an important piece in my becoming such an Avengers fanatic, I know that much. Looking back at it, it’s not a perfect figure. The arms are a weird choice, and he’s held back a little by the fact that he’s in a relatively short-lived costume. All that said, he’s my first Hawkeye figure, and he’s still my favorite.

This guy got reviewed as part of my big countdown to Avengers: Age of Ultron, which took up most of the month of April in 2015.  I was really excited for that movie, which feels like maybe it was slightly overboard in retrospect.  I mean, I was still very pleased with the final product and all, but of all the movies to rally so hard behind, that one feels slightly odd.  Far be it from me to get too harsh on my past self for enjoying something, though.  I recall there was almost some last minute shuffling on the schedule, and this guy almost got replaced by the Marvel Select Hawkeye, but I decided that two Hawkeyes in a month was okay by me.  My review’s not too bad.  Hits all the important notes, and is generally positive about a figure that I do still very much like.  I was missing all of his accessories, though, and I’ve thankfully been able to locate them all in the mean time.  He sure does look a lot less silly actually having his bow and arrows!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0045: Jawas

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

JAWAS

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Yesterday’s proper review looked at one of the droids of the Star Wars universe, and also discussed a bit of confusion regarding the Jawa Sandcrawler.  For today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, there’s no confusion, at least that I know of, but there sure are Jawas!

Kenner’s Power of the Force II was a very important to my toy collection. The line first hit in 1995, when I was 3 and just beginning to get into action figures. Needless to say, I ended up with quite the selection of figures from the line. One of my favorite subsets of creatures from the original Star Wars was always the Jawas. For some reason, I just love those little guys! So, today’s review covers POTF II’s release of those.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Jawas were released as part of the 1996 assortment of POFT II figures. They were released as a pair to make up for their smaller stature. The taller one stands about 3 ¼ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. The shorter one is about 2 ¾ inches, and has 4 points of articulation. In both cases, I’m counting the neck as a point of articulation, but there isn’t very much motion that can be gotten out of either. The sculpts are both pretty good for the time. The taller one is a little bit more detailed, but that’s not too surprising given the difference in size. However, the smaller one still has some very nice detail work. The paint on the pair is fairly basic, but everything is cleanly applied, with no noticeable slop on either figure. Both figures also have a light-piping feature, which allows their eyes to light up. It’s a bit obvious where the clear plastic is on the heads, so I could see some people being annoyed by this. I’m not really bugged by it, but I chalk that up to nostalgia.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t remember exactly when or where I got this pair, but I know it wasn’t too long after I got Dagobah Luke. If I recall correctly, they were bought for me by my Mom, while we were out on an excursion together. I always really liked these figures, and I do seem to recall the taller one getting a spare lightsaber, and thereby being a Jedi-Jawa!

Incidentally, my brother Christian had a quick comment about these figures while I was reviewing them:

“This figure likes to go MARTINI too many damn times. I don’t see why they made this figure. It’s a piece of SHIET! Why do I need to feel bad about my life when I already have the war to care about?”

Yeah, he’s a bit on the strange side…

This was only my second Power of the Force review here on the site, run about a month after my first.  It’s honestly rather brief, but it does at least cover all the major points.  I did, however, do an acronym for Power of the Force within the body of the review, which I would very much not do these days.  Also, I got the letters in the acronym wrong.  Yikes.  Also included was a sort of “micro review” from my brother Christian, who was, I believe, 13 or 14 at the time?  I wrote this one while on a road trip, and he stole the laptop from me for a moment.  It’s….well, it’s something, isn’t it?  *Not* included was any mention of the accessories included with these two, largely because I honestly forgot they ever had any.  There were two blasters included, one a rifle and the other a pistol.  They’re basic, but not bad.  The rifle’s definitely the more Jawa-esque of the two, but I don’t mind having something for both of them.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0044: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Jedi Duel

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI DUEL

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

It’s another Friday, which means it’s time for another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!  Today, we venture once more into the galaxy far, far away, albeit with a slightly different focus than my usual more Original Trilogy-focused interests, instead turning our sights on the now 26 year-old tie-in toyline for The Phantom Menace, with a look back at Obi-Wan Kenobi!

Ah, yes, The Phantom Menace. What a thing that was. Has any other movie simultaneously brought back and killed a beloved franchise? Oddly enough, even though I don’t particularly care for it, it’s the only of the prequel trilogy that I can stand at all these days. Sure, it’s total crap, but it didn’t put me to sleep or make my brain hurt too much like the other two. Plus, it did actually have some pretty good performances by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGreggor. So, it wasn’t all bad I suppose. Just mostly…

Regardless of opinions of the film itself, the toys were a pretty big hit, and they aren’t terrible. So, today I’ll be looking at the basic figure of Ewan McGreggor’s young Obi Wan Kenobi.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan was released as part of the initial wave of figures released by Hasbro to coincide with the release of the movie. Obi Wan is based on his look during his and Qui Gon’s final battle with Darth Maul. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and features 10 points of articulation. The articulation is important to note, as this was probably the most articulation ever to be seen on a Star Wars figure at the time. Until Revenge of the Sith came along, this was the new standard. The sculpt on the figure is pretty decent, not perfect, but a nice approximation of what Obi Wan looked like in the movie. While I understand the decision to sculpt the arms bent to hold the lightsaber two-handed, it does leave the sculpt looking a bit odd if he isn’t holding the saber. The torso also suffers from being a bit boxy, even for the time. The paint is serviceable. Nothing spectacular, but pretty good in general. The lines on the boots are a bit fuzzy, but everything else is pretty clean. Mine have long since been lost, but when he was new, Obi Wan included his lightsaber and a “comm-tech” display stand that would play some of Obi Wan’s dialogue from the movie when hooked into the big comm-tech player you could buy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While Phantom Menace is far from one of my favorite movies, I was 7 at the time of its release, and I was willing to overlook most of its flaws because it was a new Star Wars movie. I rushed right from the theatre to get an Obi Wan figure (Which was $2.99, by the way. That’d cost you $10 now…), and I was very happy to have him. 

Okay, so, like, I just need to address that, amongst the more minor things I disagree with my past self on, a pretty notable one is my stance on the Prequels.  The thing is, when they came out, I loved the Prequels, because I was between the ages of 7 and 13, and that’s the perfect time for such things.  As a proper adult, I’ve revisited them, and I see what works and what doesn’t, and respect them for what they are, because Star Wars is, first and foremost, about being entertaining and fun, and they’re honestly pretty good at that (so are the Sequels, but that’s another argument entirely).  But, there’s a period from the late ‘00s through the mid ‘10s where I gave into the cultural peer pressure of “the Star Wars Prequels are terrible” and stuck with the trendy stance.  I’m not about that these days, so I kind of find my opening remarks to this review… “cringe”?  At least I do stick up for Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan.

In the heading of my original review, I erroneously list the title of the line as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, when in actuality the line was called Star Wars: Episode I.  I was still very early in my reviewing, and not checking information as much as just writing down what I remembered off the top of my head.  Otherwise, the actual review part’s not so bad.  I was at least pretty nice to the figure.  He was at the time missing his lightsaber and CommTech stand, both of which I have since located.  Not too bad.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0043: Princess Leia Organa

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Yesterday’s proper review revisited an old Leia design for Power of the Force, but to keep things neat and tidy, today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum jumps back to an old review of an old figure of an old design, because I think it’s earned it…or something to that effect.  Here’s Leia!

“After many unsuccessful attempts to bring change to the Empire as a senator, Princess Leia Organa became involved in the Rebel Alliance and immediately established herself as one of its most popular and influential leaders. Although it was extremely dangerous for someone of her prominence. Leia often participated in secret missions for the rebellion. It was during one such mission to recruit General Obi-Wan Kenobi that she obtained the technical readouts for the Empire’s new Death Star battle station. Moments before being captured by Darth Vader, Leia hid the plans in the droid R2-D2, who then escaped to the planet Tatooine to find Kenobi.”

Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve looked at both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in their Stormtrooper disguises, which they use to sneak into the Deathstar detention center. I haven’t yet looked at the subject of their rescue (who ends up doing a little bit of the rescuing herself), Princess Leia Organa. So, I’m going to amend that today, by looking at one of the worst Leia figures in existence. Yay?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia was released in the first series of Kenner’s Power of the Force II, where she wound up as the short-packed figure. She was the first of several Leia figures from the line, and is based on her introductory look, her main appearance from A New Hope. The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. Despite Carrie Fisher being a good deal shorter than most of her cast mates, Leia isn’t noticeably shorter than the other figures in the line. This was a trend that wouldn’t really be corrected until the line re-formated after The Phantom Menace. Leia’s sculpt was unique to her, which is a good thing, because that means Kenner realized the horrible mistake they’d made and never allowed it to occur again. I’m sorry, was that too harsh? Yeah, I’m not much of a fan of this sculpt. She’s preposed, she’s got really goofy proportions, her costume’s kind of strangely inaccurate, and, most importantly, her face looks not unlike a monkey. Seriously, look at that face and tell me that doesn’t look at all like Zira. None of the PotF2 figures had particularly great likenesses, but every other Leia in the line was way better than this. I’m trying to find something positive to say about this sculpt…the hair’s not terrible, I guess? Her paint’s pretty simple, since she’s mostly just molded in white plastic, which a little bit of paint here and there. It’s not terrible. Leia included two different styles of blaster pistol (both of which are missing from my figure), as well as a removable cape and skirt. The cape is a bit baffling, as it just sort of continues the trend of Kenner clearly having no idea what Leia was actually wearing in the film. I suppose this was a bit closer than the vintage release?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ah, this one. This one’s an important one. Why? Because this is the figure that introduced me to my arch-nemesis: The Scalper! Yes, in my quest for this figure, I had an unfortunate run-in with a horrid man-creature, which I detailed a few years ago in the ever so eloquently titled “GAHHHHHHHHH!” Suffice it to say, I did eventually get the figure through non-scalped means, thanks to some dutiful work on my parents’ part. This was my first Leia, and I have aa whole story that goes with her, which gives her all this great emotional value. It’s a shame the actual figure kind of sucks. I mean, I’m glad I have her, but there’s no denying that she’s just a bad figure. 

Just right out of the gate declaring it one of the worst Leia figures ever.  You know, sometimes I find past me to be a little harsh to older figures, but I can’t really deviate too much on this one.  The original Power of the Force Leia is just simply not a good figure, and no amount of time or distance or nostalgia can really change that.  I think the best I can give her is that she sort of fits in well with the others from the early run? It’s not ideal.  When I first reviewed her, I was dealing with my original, which lacked either blaster, as well as the cape.  She’s still my original, but a good chunk of time dealing with loose Star Wars parts lots let me fish out all of her missing parts over the years, so eight years later, she’s actually complete.  At least she’s got that going for her, right?