Category Archives: Flashback Friday Figure Addendum

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0039: Wolverine – Yukon & Yukio

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

WOLVERINE — YUKON & YUKIO

MARVEL MINIMATES (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

It’s Friday, so we’re flashing back again!  Once more, we dive into the world of my early Minimates reviews!  A couple of weeks ago, I revisited some of the The Wolverine movie tie-ins.  Here’s another one of those, with Wolverine — Yukon and Yukio!

“Today, I’ll be taking a look at yet another set of Minimates. Like the last Minimates review I did. These also come from the tie-in line from this year’s The Wolverine. Once again, it features a variant of the title character, this time packed with his trusty companion Yukio.

THE FIGURE THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the Toys R Us tie-in series for The Wolverine.

WOLVERINE (YUKON)

First up, it’s our hero Wolverine. He’s depicted in his “Yukon” look, from early in the film. This is the look that Logan sports for the first half an hour or so of the movie. It’s a very different look for the character, and is important to the character’s story in the film. It’s also really unique, which makes it stand out pretty well on the shelf. He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He has sculpted pieces for his hair, jacket and claws. The claws are the same as those used on the rest of the Wolverines in the wave. The hair and jacket are new pieces. They are sculpted well, and accurately depict his look from this point in the movie. The paint is well done on the figure. In spite of it not being a default look, I think that the likeness on this Wolverine may be the best Jackman likeness so far. The paint on the coat could possibly be a little better, with so noticeable slop on the edges, but nothing too bad. There’s some great detail work on the pants, with the wrinkles and such all being present. And underneath the jacket piece, there’s also chest detailing, showing Logan in a brown turtle-neck. I don’t recall him wearing it in the movie, but I could be wrong. Regardless, it’s a nice touch. Yukon Wolvie is rounded out with a pair of spare normal hands and a clear display stand.

NINJA YUKIO

Next up is Yukio, who fills a role that would conventionally be referred to as the “sidekick”, but that doesn’t seem quite right for Yukio. Were it not for the fact that the title of the film was “The Wolverine” I feel like she’d fall more into the hero role. Anyway, she’s depicted here in her “ninja” look, at least according to the package. I’d personally describe it more as a formal look, since it’s what she wears during the funeral sequence. It’s one of her two main looks from the movie, so it makes sense to see it here. Like Wolverine, she’s built on the base Minimate body, and has the standard 2 ½ inces of height and 14 points of articulation. As far as sculpted pieces, there’s her hair, her forearms, her skirt, and here boots. The forearms are shared with Mariko from the specialty wave, the hair was previously used on the Amazing Spiderman Gwen Stacy, and the boots have seen numerous previous uses, including the Urban Yukio from the specialty wave. Near as I can tell, the skirt is a new piece. The paint is all fairly well done, though there is a bit of slop on the hair. The likeness is better here than on the Urban Yukio I feel, but still a bit off. Rila Fukushima, who plays Yukio in the film, has a very uniquely shaped face, which seems to be difficult to translate to the cylindrical Minimate head, so I think Diamond did a pretty good job. Yukio is accessorized with a sword and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was ordered online via tru.com. Unlike Wolverine & Harada, I had no real issues acquiring this one, so that’s good.

I really like this set, it has a really unique Wolverine, and a very well done version of Yukio, who is one of the best characters in the movie. While I don’t think either figure is going to be the definitive version of the character for me, it’s a really fun little set!” 

Real talk?  I don’t really have any notes on this review.  I think I covered the bases pretty well, all of the parts are there, and my point still stands.  I thought it was an okay set then, and I still pretty much feel that way.  So, today’s just enough writing to justify showing off all the updated photos.  Here you go!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0038: Terrax

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

TERRAX

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

When I revived the Flashback Friday Figure Addendums in April, I did so with a crazy, radical idea: a second addendum.  Yes, back when I did my first round of addendums, all the way in distant year of 2017, some of my figures were more complete than their initial reviews, but still not *totally* complete.  That’s just not good enough for me.  I returned to Savage Land Angel for a round three, and now I’m doing the same for another Toy Biz figure, Terrax!

Today’s review is another Fantastic Four figure, this is the last of the wave one reviews: Terrax. There was one other figure in the first wave, Benjamin J Grimm, aka the Thing, but I didn’t have that version. I had the later wave 3 version. And can I just address the fact that I’m reviewing Terrax, but I’ve yet to get to the Human Torch and the Invisible Woman? You know the other HALF of the title team! How exactly did TERRAX get himself a spot in the line before two of the title characters? He’s really not that great a character, nor has he ever really been all that important…ever. Anyway…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So like I said before, this is Terrax, the second herald of Galactus, part of the first wave of Toybiz’s FF line. He’s depicted here in Terrax’s only look ever, which must have made the costume choice pretty easy for the guys at Toybiz. At one point in time, Terrax had a rock stand and his trusty axe (which tears through stuff. Cleaver name….). Mine doesn’t have these items any more. The figure’s actually a very good depiction of Terrax, which is nice because he’s not one of those characters who gets many chances at having an action figure made. His hands are interesting, because they’re both molded to hold his axe, but due to their vertical placement and his limited articulation, he can only hold it in one hand at a time. This leaves the other hand with this thumbs up position. What is this guy, the Fonz? (AAAAAAAAY!) Actually, that might make his character a bit more interesting. You heard it here first Marvel! (Do they even realize that this character exists?)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Terrax was another of the gift figures. It’s fine because he’s a great, big, bad guy for your heroes to fight. That was always good enough for me!

Well, there’s the original review.  It’s…it’s something.  In these earliest reviews, I was still finding my voice, and I was aiming for witty and perhaps a bit edgy?  I wasn’t aiming for well-proof-read, I’ll tell you that, hence the use of “cleaver” in a sentence clearly meant to use “clever.”  Yikes.

Okay, by this point I was starting to get into the swing of things. Over 300 words and an actual intro. Still doesn’t quite follow my modern structuring, but not terrible at all. And of course, I was still doing full series reviews at this point, which is rather different than how I do things now.

Terrax is a little over 5 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. Missing from my original review were his rock stand, removable skirt piece and his axe. Of those pieces, the only one I found during The Find was his axe, but that’s okay, since the axe is definitely the most important piece!

Not a whole lot of extra thoughts on this guy, I gotta say. That’s all for cosmic Fonzie here.

One of my briefer addendums, for sure.  I cover the basics and add the note about the axe I found.  Well, that’s all good, I suppose.  This time around, I have his two skirt pieces, as well as his rock stand, bringing him back up to a complete figure.  He’s actually quite a nice little package of a figure, and you could hardly ask for more from a Terrax.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0037: Iron Man & The Thing

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

IRON MAN & THE THING

MARVEL MINIMATES (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

Hey, it’s time for another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, with even more Minimates, I suppose.  I’m going a little bit more themed this week, so at least half of this revisitation of a review is Fantastic Four-themed.  So, let’s look back and Iron Man and The Thing!

Look! It’s more Minimates! Yes, I’ll be looking at even more Minimates, once again from the Marvel line. This time I’ll be looking at a set from the “Best Of” sub series. The idea behind this sub set was keeping the definitive versions of the main Marvel Heroes and villains on the market, while trying to produce the best possible minimates of those looks. I’ll be taking a look at Iron Man and the Thing from that line.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys were released as part of the first “Best Of” series of Marvel Minimates.

IRON MAN

First up is Iron Man. He’s depicted in his classic red and yellow armor he wore for most of the 60s and 70s. Unlike previous minimates of this particular look, the yellow is actually yellow on this one, instead of Gold. Iron Man is built on the basic minimate body, so he’s about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He features a sculpted helmet and belt, as well as sculpted boot and glove cuffs. Paint-wise, the details are all well done, though some of the red paint is a little thin in places, and seems a bit fuzzy on the edges of the boots and gloves. But since those are meant to be covered by the cuff pieces, it’s not really an issue. Iron Man also features an extra left hand in a repulsor pose, a flying stand, and a hairpiece to display him sans helmet. These are all reused pieces, but they work well here.

THE THING

Next is Benjamin J Grimm, The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing. Ben’s look is a bit more difficult to nail down than IM’s. I think it’s meant to be Ben in his look from the mid 2000s, after he switched back to shorts from pants, but I can’t be certain. The “4” on the belt buckle is throwing me off. Anyway, he’s built on the basic minimate body, but with sculpted hands and feet instead of the regular ones. As such, he stands a bit taller than IM and has 12 points of articulation. In addition to the sculpted hands and feet, Ben’s other sculpted pieces are: Headpiece, upper arms, torso, waist and upper legs. These are all slip over pieces, and have been used on previous Thing figures. With that many sculpted pieces, the paint work on Ben is minimal. He’s got detailing on his face, and on his belt and that’s about it. They’re both clean and well done. Ben also includes a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t buy this set when it was initially released, as I already had a few classic Iron Men, and my default version of the Thing is the look John Byrne gave him in the 80s. However, my comic book store was having a sale on minimates, and had these guys for about 40% off, so I decided to pick them up. While the Thing is still not my go to, I think the Iron Man may very well become my new default Iron Man.

Well, it’s certainly review-shaped, now isn’t it?  I feel like I didn’t much commit to much in the way of actual opinion on the figures, and the order of operations is a bit all over the place, but it’s generally okay.  I don’t know.  It’s odd, because this was an early Minimate review, and it was also an Item I’d *just* gotten, but I just wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about these guys.  I’m still not especially enthusiastic about them.  They certainly existed in an era of “buying Minimates because I buy Minimates.”

In regards to the actual review metrics, I should note that in both my original review and the revised version I wrote for Minimates Central, I neglected to mention the shoulder add-ons that Iron Man got, created at the same time as the helmet, belt, glove, and boot cuffs for the Series 25 Classic Iron Man.  They’re rather important to the whole look, and are certainly cool, even if they do sometimes make the arms fall off a little too easily.  Beyond that, things seemed to be pretty much where they were supposed to be.  Otherwise, enjoy the updated photos!

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0036: Wolverine – Prisoner & Kenuichio Harada

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

WOLVERINE — PRISONER & KENUICHIO HARADA

MARVEL MINIMATES (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

Last week’s Marvel Minimates Flashback Friday Figure Addendum went so well, I’ve decided to keep it going.  Honestly, I’ve got things mapped out far enough ahead that I would have kept it going anyway.  It’s my site, and all.  So, I’m going back to the very early days of the site, with a set that’s noteworthy for being the first set of Minimates I reviewed new for the site.  That’s pretty nifty!  Of course, it’s stuff from The Wolverine, so maybe let’s not let “nifty” take us too far.  Anyway, here’s Prisoner Wolverine & Kenuichio Harada!

The Wolverine was released this summer.  It was a sequel to X-Men 3, and it was one of those few times that a movie actually manages to make its predecessor better, not by making it look better by comparison, but by retroactively adding some emotion to a lackluster film.  The Wolverine was not a perfect movie, but it wasn’t bad either.

Like most of the recent Marvel movies, Diamond Select Toys did a selection of figures from their Minimates line in order to tie-in with the movie.  Like previous movies, this one was given a comic book store assortment, and a Toys R Us assortment.  I’ll be taking a look at one of the sets from the Toys R Us assortment today.

The characters featured are, of course, Wolverine himself, and somewhat antagonist, Kenuichio Harada.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Like I said above, these guys were released as part of the Toys R Us tie-in series for The Wolverine.

WOLVERINE (PRISONER)

First up is the titular character.  Wolverine is depicted here in his “prisoner” look, which is what he’s wearing during the WWII era flash-backs in the film when he is a POW in Japan.  There’re some important scenes that feature him with this look, so it’s not surprising to see it pop up here.  It’s a bit odd to see it packed with Harada, but it’s not a huge deal.  The figure is once again built on the basic Minimate body, standing about 2 ½ inches tall and featuring 14 points of articulation.  He features sculpted hair and claws and a sculpted belt.  I’m not 100%, but I’m fairly certain that the claws are a reuse from a previous Wolverine.  The other pieces are new, although the hair piece was also used on two of the three other Wolverines in the wave.  Wolvie is mostly molded in the appropriate colors, but the paint still makes up most of the detailing.  It’s well done and fairly intricate.  The face on this version is fairly calm, which is okay, since Wolverine kept pretty calm during the captivity scenes.  The Hugh Jackman likeness is better than some of the one’s we’ve seen in the past, but not quite dead on.  Wolverine includes the sword he was presented by Yashida, a display stand, and three sets of hands:  one regular, one clawed, and one bone clawed.  The Adamantium claws aren’t scene accurate, but I appreciate that they give people the option to choose.

KENUICHIO HARADA

Next is Japanese Hawkeye  Kenuichio Harada, technically an antagonist, but an unwilling one, making him more of an anti-villain.  He’s shown here in his ninja gear from the film, which is what he spends most of his screen time in, so it makes sense.  Like Wolverine, he’s built on the basic Minimate body, meaning he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has the standard 14 points of articulation, although his hair restricts the neck joint a bit.  Harada has a sculpted jacket and hair, as well as wrist pieces to simulate the ends of his gloves.  The hair and jacket are new pieces, although the jacket is shared with the Black Clan ninjas also in this wave.  The hair seems a bit off for the character, whose hair was far less bulky in the film.  It looks right in the control art on the box, but something seems to have been lost in translation.  Paint wise, he’s really only got the detailing on his face, which is passable.  The likeness isn’t as good as Wolverine’s, but it isn’t too bad.  Harada is rounded out with his trusty bow, two arrows, an alternate masked head, and a clear display stand.  The Bow and arrows appear to be reused from one of the Haweyes from last year, and the head is identical to the head on the Black Clan ninja.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Oh boy.  Hold on tight guys, it’s another tru.com story.  Yeah, so I’m always uncertain as to whether my local TRU will get their exclusive wave, so I tend to order online.  I’ve mentioned before that tru.com has a tendency not to put up pictures or label their sets correctly, making online ordering difficult.  But it’s okay, as long as you have the proper sku code, which allows you to go directly to the corret product page.  And that’s how I ordered this set and the other exclusive set from this wave.  Unfortunately, I seem to be smarter than tru’s online store, as they still sent me Wolverine and Shingen in place of this set.  And that’s not cool because Shingen kinda sucks.  Anyway, I ended up having to drive to my local TRU and exchange it.  Which is what I was trying to avoid.

Oh well, I have them now.  Which is good, because Harada was my favorite character in the film and I’d be bummed to have missed out on him.

Well, I was somewhat complimentary of The Wolverine.  It was still new and fresh in my mind, and Days of Future Past hadn’t come out to reset my expectations of the X-Men movies, so I was rather positive.  I don’t know I’d be as positive now, but admittedly, I haven’t watched the movie since 2013, so it’s hard to truly gauge.  My review’s honestly pretty much spot-on beyond that.  I got the Minimates reviews down pretty quickly, as you can see.  I had personally forgotten a lot of my TRU.com-centered diatribe.  Seven years without them has let me forget how frustrating dealing with them could be.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0035: Mandarins & Dreadnought

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

MANDARIN(S) & DREADNOUGHT

MARVEL MINIMATES (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

You know, for as many Minimates reviews as I wrote in the early days of the site, I haven’t resisted a single one of them for the purposes of a Flashback Friday Figure Addendum.  Oh, sure, I’ve revisited them for *other* sites, but…well, they’re not around anymore.  Sad.  Anyway, here’s a look back at the Dreadnought and the Mandarins!

Today, it’s another look at the behemoth that is Marvel Minimates!  This time, we’ll be looking at Iron Man’s number one foe Mandarin in both his Modern and Classic looks, as well as his villainous robo-minions, the Dreadnoughts.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The two Mandarins and the Dreadnoughts were released as part of the 36th series of Marvel Minimates, in order to tie in with 2010’s release of Iron Man 2.  Modern Mandarin was the regular set, with the Classic version as the one-per-case variant.

MODERN MANDARIN

First up, it’s the look that most would consider the definitive Mandarin, the “Modern” version.  This figure is based on his appearances from roughly the early 90s onward.  As usual for the line, Mandarin is built on the basic Minimate body.  He stands roughly 2 ½ ‘’ tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Instead of regular hands, Mandarin features sculpted claw like hands featuring his ten rings.  Mandarin also has a sculpted hair piece, robe, and sash.  I believe the sash is a reuse from an earlier figure, but the robe and hair are new pieces.  They are well done enough, though with the robe on, Mandarin is pretty much limited to standing with his arms raised, due to the robe’s solid construction.  This is less an issue with the figure itself, and more an issue with translating the design.  The ToyBiz Marvel Legends figure based on this design has the exact same issue.  Regardless, the robe can be removed, revealing a completely detailed torso underneath, if you desire to show off Mandarin sans robe and shirtless.  Whatever floats your boat…

CLASSIC MANDARIN

Next is the alternate look for the Mandarin.  This is the original design for the Mandarin from when he first appeared in the 60s.  I’m much more of a fan of this design and the resulting figure.  I know some people would find this design cheesy, but that’s the Mandarin for me.  Over the top cheesiness.  The figure’s the same basic body, standing about 2 ½ “ tall and featuring 14 points of articulation.  This Mandarin features the same sculpted hands as the previous one, which is fine as they suit the same purpose here.  Classic Mandarin features a sculpted mask, cape, wrist bands, sash/tunic combo, and cape.  All but the mask is reuse here, with the cape comic from Mephisto, the writ guards from Ocean Master, and the sash from Dr.  Strange.  This isn’t a bad thing, though, because all the reused parts work very well for their intended purpose.  The mask is well done, and accurately depicts Mandarin’s mask from the early comics.  Mandarin also includes an alternate hairpiece so that you can show him unmasked.  The detailing on the figure is nice, especially the face, which has a nice crazed expression which really works great for the character.

DREADNOUGHT

Last up is the robotic Dreadnought!  A dreadnought was included with both versions of the Mandarin, which is great for those who want to do the whole army building thing.  Like the other two figures, the Dreadnought was built on the basic Minimate body.  He stands about 2 ½ “ tall and features 14 points of articulation.  In place of the basic parts, the Dreadnought features a sculpted head and hands.  The head is an all new piece, but the hands are a reuse from Viggo the Carpatian.   The Dreadnought also features a set of sculpted boot tops which I believe are a reuse from the Dark Avengers Ares.  The paint is relatively basic, but it is well done.  Plus the metallic blue is just so awesome!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These guys were picked up at their time of release from my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix.  I think the Mandarin is meant to be the main draw of these sets, but I actually really like the Dreadnoughts a lot.

You know, it’s an early review, only hitting during the second month of the site, but it’s really not a badly written review, all things considered.  I do, however, have a few notes.

Modern Mandarin was missing his gold wrist bands when I reviewed him, as well as his only accessories, a spare set of hands, the same as his normal ones, but in a pale green instead of flesh tone.  Apparently, these are a reference to when Mandarin lost his hands and had to grow new reptilian ones or something?  Can’t say I’m familiar with the story, but the extras are certainly nice to have.

Classic Mandarin I incorrectly identified as having an alternate hair piece, which he actually did *not*.  In fact he has no accessories at all.  That said, with all of the add-on pieces already used on the figure, he doesn’t feel too light.

The Dreadnoughts accessories were also left out of my original review.  They each get two arm attachments: a blaster arm and a hammer arm.  Both are re-used, with the blaster coming from DC’s Cyborg, and the hammer coming from the Avengers #1 Iron Man, and they offer up some nice customization potential, to keep the Dreadnought army from getting too same-y.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0034: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

Hey, it’s July 4th.  Well, isn’t that something. Really going great for us as a country here, huh?  Lot to celebrate?  American Dream feeling super realized?  Oh, wait, no, it’s actually none of those things.  Well, gee, that’s a bit of a bummer.  And I’m not even writing a proper review today?  Wow, guys, sorry.  If nothing else, I’ll lean into my own personal coping mechanism for the ugliness surrounding us, which is championing behind a man who’s loyal to the dream and made a career out of punching Nazis, Captain America!

“When Captain America throws his mighty shield! All Foes who chose to oppose his shield must yield!”

-Captain America Theme Song

My first introduction to Captain America was through VHS copies of the ‘60s cartoon. As cheesy as they are, I loved every minute of them. Sadly, in the mid-90s, when I was becoming so fond of Cap as a character, he was more or less absent from toy shelves. I eventually got the Spider-Man: The Animated Series version when it was finally released, but the figure I always wanted was Toy Biz’s first version of the character, which I’ll be looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America was released in Series 1 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line. This Cap stands just under 5 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. This figure predates elbow articulation becoming a standard for Toy Biz’s Marvel stuff, as they were still very much aping the Kenner Super Powers style, and none of those had elbow movement. Really, this whole figure in general feels like a Captain America figure done to fit with Super Powers (well, aside from size, since he’s taller than any figure Kenner put out), which is far from a bad thing. Rather than the more ‘90s-esc proportions of which Toy Biz would later become so fond, Cap is pretty subdued, and looks more or less like a real person. His torso features some awesome detailing for the scale-mail, and I love the way they’ve sculpted the star logo so as to make it pop a bit more. Figures of Captain America have the unfortunate tendency to miss the mark on the good Captain’s face. I guess he’s just one of those characters where it has to be just right. I think this figure’s the closest anyone’s ever gotten to my ideal Captain America, at least from a comic-based perspective. It’s a little round by today’s standards, but I really like the overall style present here.  There’s just a certain sincerity to it that lots of Caps lack. Cap’s paintwork is quite nicely handled, especially for the time. The colors are all nice and bold, and he really sells the whole patriotic super hero thing. His eyes are admittedly a little wonky, and it would have been nice for his belt buckle to be something other than the unpainted blue plastic, but those are relatively minor complaints. Cap was packed with his mighty shield, as well as a weird launching device for it. However, my figure sadly lacks these pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in the intro, this was a figure I really wanted growing up. Unfortunately, he was released before I got into collecting, and wasn’t very easy to find after the fact. So, I had to settle for the US Agent repaint from a few series later. In fact, my dad, as awesome as he was, even bought me an extra US Agent and we painted him up in proper Cap colors, which held me over quite nicely. This particular figure ended up being one of the fifteen figures I picked up at the last Balticon. I’m glad to finally have the official version, and he’s aged a bit better than a lot of Toy Biz’s output from the same time period.

Well, after being rather disappointed with my own review for last week’s Addendum, this one feels more on the money.  Admittedly, it was a generally better time for my writing.  I’d just graduated from college, and I was writing this in my down time on an RV trip I took with Jess and her aunt and uncle.  It gave me more time to properly appreciate things.  I do still really like this guy.  Since my original review, I did manage to track down a shield and launcher for him.  It’s the same one used with US Agent, of course, but in more proper coloring.  It’s gimmicky, but ultimately not in a really obtrusive way, so I don’t hate it.  All-in-all, Toy Biz kind of hit it pretty strong with their original Cap, and I don’t really know that they ever truly topped it.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0033: Mole Man

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

MOLE MAN

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

We are back with the Flashback Friday Figure Addendums, and today, we’re continuing last week’s return back to my earliest Fantastic Four reviews here on the site.  This one contains less outright lying to my dear readers, but I won’t say it’s without issue.  So, here’s Mole Man!

I’m looking at a fourth (hey that’s neat!) figure from Toybiz’s 90s Fantastic Four line.  This time it’s a figure of their first foe (Other than those wacky cosmic rays):  Mole Man.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The figure is Mole Man, released in the first wave of Fantastic Four figures.  He’s got 7 points of articulation and he stands about 5 inches tall.  And that’s an issue.  Mole Man is a character typically depicted as being a short, fat guy in the comics, and while Toybiz got the girth right, the scale of this figure is WAY off.  He’s the same height as just about everyone in the line, but he’s obviously meant to be smaller.  Quite frankly, he looks like he belongs with a marvel Legends set up, were it not for the more simplistic styling of the figure.  He’s also got this weird spinning right hand action feature.  When you press the button at the top of his right arm, his hand quickly spins 360 degrees.  I’m not really sure what it’s purpose is, but there you have it.  Somebody thought that was a good hook for the figure.  This figure is fairly disappointing, because the sculpt isn’t bad, but the scale totally kills it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mole Man, while disappointing, actually represents a pretty neat story.  He was purchased in 2003 from a KB Toys liquidation center.  It was pretty much this giant KB, that was full of deeply discounted toys from about 5-10 years earlier.  Mole Man was purchased along with a large selection of other 90s Marvel figures for an insanely low price, which excited me greatly.

Okay, I’m gonna be real with you guys: I don’t like this review.  That’s a first for me.  I’ve looked back on earlier writing and felt like maybe it didn’t hold up as well, but this is the first time I’ve just actively disliked it.  The “wacky cosmic rays” bit is perhaps the only thing I don’t hate.  I blame my desire to place whit over function earlier on in my writing, which sometimes worked, but sometimes did…this?

I feel like I was exceptionally harsh on the figure, specifically on the scaling front, which is a bit much.  Like, yes, he’s too large to properly fit with the rest of the line, but I don’t know that it’s a total deal breaker the way I make it out to be up above.  In fact, it’s a pretty nice sculpt, all things considered.  And yeah, the spinning wrist isn’t the most thrilling feature, but it works well with his staff, and it’s not as intrusive as, say, Dr. Doom’s launching arm or Reed’s rubber arms.  So, I’m gonna have to break from past Ethan and say I think this figure’s actually pretty okay.  He was missing his staff and little Moloid buddy when I reviewed him, but I’ve since found them, and they do really help make him cooler.

Also, I talk a little about the KB Toys Liquidation Center at the end, and say it’s a great story, but then I don’t really elaborate.  The significance of that story is that my Dad, Grandmother, brother, and I took a day trip out to this spot, and we just absolutely loaded up on stuff, a lot of it being Toy Biz Marvel for me.  And then we got lunch, and just generally had a good time of things.  My Grandmother viewed it as sort of a progression of our weekly trips to the KB in the mall near her house, and always reflected pretty positively on the trip, which was pretty cool.  So, *that’s* the cool story.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0032: Silver Surfer

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

SILVER SURFER

FANTASTIC FOUR THE SILVER SURFER (TOY BIZ)

People are fallible. Even the best of us can let you down sometimes. Dear reader, please remember this and be kind as we delve into today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, my oldest Silver Surfer review.

Time for another Fantastic Four review it seems.  Today we’re looking at a sometimes foe, but usually friend of the team, Silver Surfer.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The figure in question is the first herald of Galactus, Norin Radd, aka the Silver Surfer.  Good old Nor here has 11 points of articulation and stands 5 inches tall.  At one point in time, he was a bit shinier, but my figure has long since dulled.  The figure’s sculpt is solid.  I think it would be difficult to mess up a bald, naked guy, but I’d probably be wrong.  He’s got a nice assortment of articulation, though I’m not really sure what’s going on with his right arm.  Is he supposed to be doing something specific ?  Because all I see is some kind of record scratching move.  Maybe this is actually a figure of often forgotten 90s sensation DJ Sizzle Surfer-izzle and I just wasn’t aware…

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a moderate silver surfer fan as a kid, but I actually rarely used this figure as the Surfer.  He was a nice, generic figure, good for a million things.  His joints are practically worn out from all the play time this guy got!

So, the failing starts right at the beginning, and just goes all the way through, where I just totally and completely LIE about this figure. Because the figure covered both here and in the original review? He’s *not* the one from the Fantastic Four line, nor was he ever any shinier than he is now. No, in fact, he’s actually one of two figures released in 1996, accompanied by a CD-ROM featuring digitized versions of key comic book issues, in the case of this figure, Silver Surfer related ones. I recall that being the one I had, but I guess in my mind he was the same basic figure. He was notably duller than the original release. My initial review, aside from the lying, covered the basics of the figure okay. He was missing his surfboard at the time, but I’ve since scared that one up, so huzzah, he actually gets to be a Surfer again. It’s an okay piece, and matches his finish. The connection is sort of odd, kind of like a slipper that goes over his foot, but it keeps him in place okay. There’s also a loop that attaches to the bottom, so you can put it on your finger? I guess that’s better than just holding the actual board with your hands. What is it, a toy for babies?

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0031: Lt Ripley

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

LT RIPLEY

ALIENS (KENNER)

Taking a bit of a detour from updating my Toy Biz Marvel reviews for just a moment, this week’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum marks the site’s original change of pace, less than one week in, as I made my very first mention of my favorite movie of all time, Aliens, with a look at its main character, Ripley!

So, change of pace.  Moving away from the Batman stuff for a bit.  Today we’re looking at a figure from another Kenner line:  Aliens.  This line is nominally based on 1986’s ALIENS, though it was originally meant to be a tie-in line for Operation: Aliens, a scrapped Saturday-morning cartoon adaptation of the film.

Ellen Ripley is the sole survivor of the Nostromo, drafted by the colonial Marines to save a colony that has been attacked by a hive of creatures like the one Ripley faced before.  At least that was what she was in the movie.  I have no idea what her backstory would have been in Operation: Aliens, though if the comics included with each figure are anything to go by,  she was going to be one of the marines.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The figure is a pretty decent representation of Ripley from the movie, though her palate’s been tweaked a bit to make her more colorful.  The figure’s also a bit soft on the details, but that makes sense given it was based on the cartoon design.  The face actually isn’t too bad of a Weaver likeness for the time.  The figure included a pretty cool flamethrower, but I’ve since lost that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Though the figure was released in 92, I didn’t get mine until 2003, when I saw ALIEN for the first time.  I know I had this figure and the accompanying Hicks before seeing ALIENS itself because I sat through my first viewing of the film clutching both of them very tightly.

Ah, the brevity of my old reviews.  Also, the general not-applying-to-the-format nature of my old reviews.  The intro’s the longest part, which is honestly kind of crazy.  I do very little reviewing of the figure, so let’s hit you guys with some stats.

The figure stands a little over 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  Missing from my original review was Ripley’s accessories.  The main one is the flamethrower, which isn’t at all like the one in the movie.  It is, however, really neat.  There’s a lever on the bottom that hooks onto a spot on her leg, and turning the waist pushes out a little flame effect.  She also got a small silver rifle, which she could keep on her back.

I don’t mention in my original review that I got my first Ripley figure from my local comic shop, Cosmic Comix, so shout out to them here.  I actually picked up a second one, after starting the site, also from Cosmic, as luck would have it.  Also, fun little bit of FiQ trivia here: while the wording was removed from the final version of the review, while writing this review, I referred to Ripley as “The Figure in Question” and liked the phrase so much that I decided to use it for the site’s name.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0031: Magneto

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

MAGNETO

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Okay, you guys, I’m doing it for real this time!  I’m *actually* wrapping up Toy Biz X-Men Series 1….more or less.  I’m focussing on the more, though, because I think that sounds better for me personally.  So, for today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, let’s return back to Magneto!

“The evil mutant master of magnetism, Magneto is the arch-enemy of the X-Men. With his magnetic power, Magneto’s magnetic force can pull even the heaviest objects to him, throw them miles away, or cause them to shatter with sudden explosiveness. Magneto plans to enslave mankind and mercilessly rule Earth with the other evil mutants. But first he must destroy the X-Men, the super hero mutants who are mankind’s defenders.”

Magneto’s first action figure came from Mattel’s Secret Wars line. Though sold as a villain, the story was an early adopter of the heroic turn for the character. By the time of his second figure, he’d run the whole gamut of villain to hero and back again. It’s a little odd to see the character referred to simply as an evil mutant, but that’s where he landed when the team came into all of their notoriety, I suppose.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Magneto was released in Series 1 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, as one of three villains presented therein. Magneto had gone through a few different costumes by this point, but returned to his classic design just in time for this figure’s release. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. Magneto’s sculpt was an all-new offering, and it remained unique to this figure all throughout Toy Biz’s tenure with the license. Magneto sports perhaps the finest sculpt in the whole first series. His proportions are notably less goofy and his posture far less stilted than other figures from this assortment. He’s not painfully scrawny like Cyclops was, and he can actually manage some decent poses, unlike Storm. His helmet was removable, and while that made it more than a little bit oversized, and just a touch goofy looking, it does mean we were treated to the fully detailed un-helmeted head beneath it, which does a very nice job of capturing Magneto’s usual stern but well-meaning expression. Despite the big emphasis on the whole “evil” bit in the bio, that’s not quite what was presented by the figure here, and he ends up very true to the character in that regard. Though later figures in the line would go the sculpted cape route, this one got a cloth piece, keeping with the vaguely Super Powers-esque aesthetic that these early Toy Biz offerings had. Like the bulkier helmet, it’s a bit dated looking and slightly goofy, but it’s not bad for what it is. Magneto’s paintwork is pretty straight forward stuff. The red parts are all molded plastic, and everything else is painted. Application is mostly pretty clean; there’s some slight slop on the boots and gloves, but it’s very minor. In addition to the removable helmet and cape, this guy came with three pieces of “metal debris,” which, via magnets in his torso and hands, could be attached to the figure, thus simulating his powers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have two of this guy, and it’s all my dad’s fault. Well, not directly, I suppose. When I was just getting into collecting, my dad and I were doing a lot of tandem buying, where we’d both get something. On one of our trips, he got this figure, and I really liked it, but I never ended up finding another at retail. A few years later, I found this guy (along with Nightcrawler) at a flea market, sans helmet and cape. Despite the missing pieces, that was certainly good enough for me, at least at the time. In recent years, I become slightly more picky about such things, so I ended up tracking down a second one, via my friends at Yesterday’s Fun, and this one had the missing pieces. This remains my favorite Magneto figure, and I’m happy to have a more complete release.

Man, I did cover my bases on “more complete” at the end there.  Good for me.  Well, now he’s *actually* complete.  And then some!  I managed to find those missing “debris” parts for my figure, and, along the way, I also managed to snag the paint variant that I neglected to mention the last time.  For his initial and all subsequent releases, Magneto got the all purple collar, as seen in my original review, but for only the initial run, there was also a variant with a red box in the middle, unpainted.  It gives him an extra bit of flair, but I imagine it was a lot more difficult to keep consistent, hence just filling it in for later runs.  Not crazy different, but nifty.