Category Archives: Reviews

#2946: Hot Shot

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

HOT SHOT

TRANSFORMERS: ARMADA (HASBRO)

“Hot Shot is a young, heroic fighter who rushes into danger without regard to his own safety. He courageously charges into the middle of the fight to aid his friends in battle. He has taken charge in several battles, showing great leadership potential. But he needs the guidance of his elders before he can hope to lead the Autobots. Will he learn to be a leader who strives for good, or will his reckless nature ruin his promising future?”

As a child of the ’90s, as well as someone who sometimes dabbles in Transformers, it would be easy to assume that I’m into Beast Wars, but I’ve actually never had a particular attachment to it.  I mean, aside from Silverbolt.  That guy’s awesome.  Generally, I’ve tended to be more into the vehicle-based Transformers stuff.  I first dabbled with the franchise with 2001’s Robots in Disguise (which instilled in me a love of Ultra Magnus), but my first real investment in the franchise was during the show that followed in 2002, Transformers: Armada.  One of the central characters in Armada, and in fact the rest of the Unicron Trilogy, was Hot Shot, who I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hot Shot was part of Transformers: Armada‘s first wave of Super-Con Class figures, which were the line’s Deluxe Class equivalent.  He was the only Autobot in the assortment (which also included Cyclonus and Demolisher), and they all hit alongside the launch of the show in 2002.  In his robot mode, Hot Shot stands about 5 inches tall and he has 10 working points of articulation, as well as a moving visor for his helmet.  Emphasis was still very much on the transformations and vehicle modes at this point, so Hot Shot’s movement is rather restricted.  The legs do alright, but his head doesn’t move, and his shoulders move side to side, but there’s no forward and back.  For the time, though, he remained remarkably mobile.  Hot Shot’s sculpt actually does an okay job of matching up with how he looked in the cartoon.  His race car driver design is carried over well.  There’s a fair bit of kibble from his alt mode, especially on the backs of the arms, but it at least folds up to be out of the way.  Hot Shot got his own Mini-Con partner, Jolt.  Jolt is a much smaller robot, standing about inches tall, and having a whole 6 points of articulation.  Using Jolt (or any Mini-Con, really, but Jolt’s the best one), you can unlock Hot Shot’s built-in weapon, affectionately referred to as his “axlezooka”, which is spring loaded to deploy.  The springs on mine are a little weak, so it needs a little extra help, but it’s still pretty cool.  There’s meant to be a missile, but it’s missing from mine.  Jolt also has a rather big gun piece which Hot Shot can wear as chest armor.

Hot Shot’s alt-mode is a modified Audi TT, which is a fairly generic looking sports car, really.  The transformation sequence is actually rather simple, so it makes it very easy to switch him back and forth without much trouble.  He also stays in the mode very securely.  In general, it just works very well.  Jolt has his own alt-mode; he transforms into a small helicopter through an even simpler transformation process.  Jolt’s gun can also be mounted to the front of Hot Shot’s hood, and Jolt can be mounted on one of the three Mini-Con ports on the vehicle mode.  The central one actually releases the springs on Hot Shot’s feet, to use as “driving claws.”  You know, as you do.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite how much I liked the show and kept up with it when it was new, I didn’t actually get any of the toys first hand when they were new.  Instead, my initial exposure to them was through my cousin Patrick, who had a small handful of them, and would frequently bring them over for both of us to play with.  During that time, Hot Shot was always my go-to.  Patrick decided fairly quickly that he didn’t need to keep them, so they were rather quickly gifted to me.  Hot Shot himself wound up getting lost at my grandparents’ house some time during my childhood, and it wasn’t until after I moved into their house a few years ago that I actually found him again.  He was missing all of his extra stuff, but fortunately for me, Max was able to help me out and get me set-up with Jolt and the gun.  I like this guy a lot, and he’s probably the most nostalgic I get about Transformers.

#2945: Hawk & Dove

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

HAWK & DOVE

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL)

“The yin and yang of the superhero world, Hank and Don Hall were complete opposites, working together as powerful vigilante champions for justice. Opinionated and reactionary, Hank always butted heads with his reasonable, yet indecisive, brother. The Lords of Chaos bestowed upon Hank powers that came about when he uttered the word, ‘hawk,’ and his brother was imbued with the same powers from the Lords of Order. Working together, ‘Hawk’ and “Dove” balanced each other out and battled evil.

Dawn Granger was given powers by the Lords of Order, effectively stripping them from Don Hall (the original Dove). Needing the “Hawk” to balance her new role as ‘Dove,’ Granger joined forces with Hank Hall. Lured to Druspa Tau, they were forced to battle each other in a war between the Lords of Chaos and the Lords of Order and their devotees. At the conclusion, Hawk and Dove absorbed the powers of their creators; leaving Dove with a new ability: flight.”

Created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates in 1968, Hawk and Dove were originally brothers Hank and Don Hall.  Hank was an aggressive and forceful personality, while his brother Don took on a role of pacifism.  In their super-heroic personas, they were assigned powers that complemented their personalities, all while complementing each other.  The duo first appeared in DC’s Showcase book, before getting a brief run on their own, and then moving into sporadic appearances in various DC books.  Don would wind up as one of the casualties of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and two years later, Hank would gain a new partner in Dawn Granger, the second Dove.  These two would become quite the distinctive pair themselves, but would have their own rather storied history as well.  Amongst other things, they figured rather prominently into Brightest Day, an event that would put them into the public eye long enough to at least get them a little bit of toy coverage.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Hawk and Dove were released separately in Series 20 of Mattel’s DC Universe Classics line.  The entire assortment was based on Brightest Day, which was a rather current story at the time.  It was also the last proper assortment of the line, due to the ending of the mainstream DC Universe and the launching of the New 52.  Boy, that sure stuck, huh?

HAWK

In the comics at the time of this figure’s release, Hawk had just come back from the dead, and was also the only male member of the Birds of Prey, presumable because when you’ve got a team named “Birds of Prey”, you might be willing to amend some of the by-laws for a guy named “Hawk.”  Hawk’s design has essentially remained unchanged over the years, so this figure had an easy choice.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  By this point in the line, the ankle rockers had been completely removed from all of the base bodies, which was on one and a shame, but on the other not really that big of a deal, since they were kind of useless joints anyway.  Otherwise, the articulation remained standard for the line.  In light of modern articulation standards, it’s not fantastic, but compared to early Legends, he’s at least not a floppy mess.  Hawk was built on the larger male body, which was a reasonable fit for the character.  He got a new head and “cape.”  Both pieces fit well on the body and meshed with the pre-existing parts.  The head in particular feels like it’s a good fit for Hawk, especially with that teeth baring expression.  Hawk’s paint work is generally quite straight forward, though it’s worth noting that they adjusted the white sections of his costume to be a light grey.  Maybe to prevent yellowing?  Hawk’s only extra was the torso to the Nekron Build-A-Figure.

DOVE

Believe it or not, Dawn Granger is actually a Rob Liefeld creation.  Well, like half a Rob Liefeld creation.  Barbra and Karl Kessel were also involved, which I’m certain helped her to be a lot less ridiculous than, well, Leifeld’s other body of work.  Like Hawk, Dove’s design has remained essentially unchanged over the years, apart from the whole switching from it being Don to it being Dawn.  Man, that name change sure was convenient, though, right?  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 23 points of articulation.  Her articulation scheme is the same as Hawk’s, but there are some pluses and minuses on the ranges of the joints.  The neck joint works very well, but the elbow and mid-torso joints are definitely very restricted.  Dove is based on Mattel’s second attempt at a base body.  It’s definitely the stronger of the two, and it worked well for the character.  She got a new head, as well as a new collar piece.  I quite like the head sculpt, and I think it fits her nicely.  There’s some good dynamic flow to the pony tail, which is cool.  The collar piece is perhaps a touch bulky at this scale, but overall it looks pretty decent, and it actually doesn’t really impede her movement at all.  Dove’s paint work is generally alright.  Like Hawk, the white portions are now a light grey.  Unfortunately, since the hair and collar are softer plastic, they’re also more prone to paint transfer, which has happened on my figure.  Dove was packed with the waist piece for Nekron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Series 20 of DCUC was one that wasn’t amazingly well received by fans.  It being the end of the line probably didn’t help it.  That said, Christian and I had really gotten into the line together, so we split a full set of figures that we ordered from Big Bad Toy Store.  I took these two, as I had really enjoyed what was being done with them just before the New 52 hit.  Honestly, they’re pretty straight forward, by the numbers figures, but that’s absolutely the right approach for the characters, and they turned out really well.  The only downside is that they didn’t do any variants for the last set, so we never got a Don Hall Dove to round things out.

#2944: Doctor Strange Supreme

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

DOCTOR STRANGE SUPREME

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When an unforeseen event changes Stephen Strange’s perspective on life, the path he chooses is one filled with even darker magic.”

In the comics, What If…? stories could have a real tendency to end on a major downer note.  The show didn’t do that quite as much, but episode 4, “What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” goes full-on into that downer territory, as a desperate Stephen Strange’s path winds up having reality destroying implications.  It’s also the first episode to show the Watcher in any way interacting with those he’s watching, setting up the events of the season’s final two episodes.  All-in-all, it’s a very classically “What If…?” story, albeit not one that exactly gets the warm fuzzies going.  As such a overarching plot relevant story, it’s not a huge shock that the altered version of Stephen Strange got a figure, which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Doctor Strange Supreme is figure 4 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the only figure based on his episode of the show specifically, but there aren’t a ton of other looks to choose from, so he can kind of mix in with pre-existing figures, and also pairs off pretty well with the Watcher Build-A-Figure that I’ll be looking at next week.  The figure is specifically based on Strange’s darker “Supreme” appearance from late in the episode, as well as his reappearances in the final two episodes of the season.  Definitely a solid choice for design, since it gets a lot of play.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Strange’s sculpt is a mix of old and new.  His lower half is re-used from the first movie Strange, while the rest of the figure is an all-new sculpt, based more directly on the show’s tweaked design for the character.  He sticks much closer to how Peggy’s sculpt handled things in regards to walking the line between animation and realism.  His head sculpt in particular is clearly very much based on the animation model from the show, but it makes it work, and he doesn’t look completely out of place with standard MCU figures.  No doubt, his exaggeratedly gaunt appearance in the episode aids in that.  Also like Peggy, I feel that this cartoony sculpt manages to have a better overall likeness to Cumberbatch than even the improved Infinity War release had.  I really quite like it.  The torso and arms are a good middle ground between the realistic legs and the more cartoony head.  They’re slightly simplified in terms of texturing, and the proportions are certainly a little more exaggerated, but it’s generally a good look.  To denote his different path in the show, Strange doesn’t get his Cloak of Levitation, but instead gets a slightly more evil coded equivalent.  It’s an all-new piece, and, while the Cloak of Levitation didn’t get this, this new cloak pegs into place on Strange’s back.  It’s a little loose, but generally it looks pretty good, and I love how dynamic the sculpt is.  Strange’s paint work is pretty much on par with the rest of the figures in the set.  His base work is clean and colorful, and there’s some solid accenting on the face to help sell how far gone he is, which works pretty well.  In terms of accessories, Strange is packed with the alternate Time Stone effect hand we saw with the IW figure, as well as the left leg to the Watcher figure.  I like getting the Time Stone hand again, and I’m glad that it’s just an alternate piece this time around, but it’s a shame we couldn’t get any alternate parts to represent the alternate forms Strange took while absorbing all of his power.  That definitely would have been cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Doctor Strange episode wasn’t my favorite episode of the season, but it did certainly resonate with me on a slightly more personal level.  I also did really like the redesign they gave him, and it wound up translating quite well into toy form.  While I wasn’t in a crazy rush to get this one, I did certainly like the look of him a fair bit.  He’s definitely one of the better figures in the set, behind Peggy and Zombie Cap.

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.

#2943: Zombie Hunter Spidey

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

ZOMBIE HUNTER SPIDEY

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Zombie Hunter Spidey is in a ragtag group of survivors, fighting his way through a zombie-infested world.”

In the original Marvel Zombies, just about all of the major heroes had been zombified, which included everyone’s favorite web-slinger, who in the main story actually served as sort of the token good guy of the zombie group.  For the purposes of the MCU version of the story, the zombies no longer retain their personalities, and Peter Parker is also spared his zombified fate, instead becoming the story’s central remaining human character.  It makes him a solid choice for toy treatment, I suppose, and so I’m looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zombie Hunter Spidey is figure 3 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends, and the second figure in the assortment based on the “Zombies” episode.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme on the figure is a little bit outmoded in its implementation, so he’s not quite as agile as you might hope.  Notably, as a first for an MCU Spidey, he lacks butterfly joints on the shoulders.  Not exactly sure why, but that’s how it is.  Peter’s design in the episode is a mix of a few of his designs from the movies, most heavily leaning on his Homecoming appearance, which is really the most classically “Spider-Man” look of the bunch.  To that end, his sculpt makes use of parts from the Homecoming figure (which does again raise the question of why the shoulder joints were adjusted.)  The figure’s upper torso and arms are new pieces, following the slightly tweaked design of the suit from the episode.  It’s really not terribly removed from the other MCU Spider-Men, which I suppose is the point, really.  During the course of the episode, Peter inherits Doctor Strange’s cloak of levitation, and as such the figure gets its own version of the piece.  It’s totally unique from the ones we’ve gotten with the various Strange figures, which was honestly surprising.  It also has no peg or anything to hold it in place, which does make it a bit hard to keep it seated properly.  Zombie Hunter Spidey’s paint work is notably brighter in color than other versions of the MCU suit, bit it works well.  There’s a bit of shading to indicate the suit’s gotten a little dirty during the apocalypse, which makes sense, and also keeps him from being too bland.  Spidey is packed with an alternate unmasked head, two sets of hands (fists and thwipping), and the right leg to the Watcher Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had not particular attachment to this figure before the episode aired, and I still really didn’t have any after.  Mostly, I got him because I was getting the whole set.  He’s an MCU Spidey wearing a Doctor Stange cape.  That’s really it.  It’s not like he does that badly, I suppose, though the decision to remove the butterfly joints and not to include a peg on the cape both do seem rather strange, and also serve to kind of hold him back a bit.  Ultimately, he’s a rather middle of the road figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2942: Captain Carter

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

CAPTAIN CARTER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With the Super Soldier program in peril, Peggy Carter bravely participates by becoming Captain Carter.”

Kicking off the What If…? show was a concept that goes back to the earliest days of what we’ve seen of the MCU (so far, at least; Eternals is definitely gonna change that), with a story that slightly deviates during the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, presenting a version of events where it’s Peggy Carter, not Steve Rogers, who becomes the Super Soldier.  By far, it’s the season’s strongest entry, wonderfully capturing the look and feel of the original film, while also doing a fantastic job of exploring in depth the changes that Peggy as a Super Soldier would cause.  And, hey, there’s obviously a figure, because why wouldn’t there be?  Let’s see how she turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Carter is figure 2 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s specifically based on her design from the first episode of the season, while she’s fighting Hydra in the ’40s.  It’s the look that got the most play in the lead up, and it’s also the one that matches up with Hydra Stomper, who’s also in the first drop of figures, so it’s a solid choice.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Compared to the two other figures I’ve looked at so far, Peggy’s articulation scheme is closer to Zombie Cap.  It’s not quite as optimized as Zombie Cap’s was; there are a few more restricted joints, especially at the neck (due to the hair), and the elbows and knees aren’t quite as smoothly worked into the body, but it’s generally very workable, and she’s pretty stable on her feet, which are definite pluses.  Peggy’s sculpt is a completely new affair, though it’s already been slated for a repaint for the Target-exclusive Stealth Captain Carter that’s coming next spring.  The sculpt is quite a nice piece.  She’s definitely inspired by the animation style, more so than being a strictly realistically styled figure, but she doesn’t go as far with it as the T’Challa figure did, which means she has an easier time slotting in with other figures from the main line.  It’s a very nice middle ground, and I think it makes for the best possible toy adaptation.  Though technically a slightly cartoonized take, the likeness on the head is an even better match for Haylee Atwell than the movie-style Peggy, and is just genuinely one of the nicest head sculpts that Hasbro’s done for a Legends figure.  The detailing on the rest of the sculpt is quite nice; in order to keep with the animated look, much of the texturing and such is a lot smoother, but there’s still a lot of detailing on the actual line-work of the uniform.  Peggy’s construction uses a lot of smaller parts for the assembly, so there doesn’t have to be quite as much actual paint.  It means that the base color work is all very clean, since it’s not actually paint.  What paint is there is generally pretty decent.  The work on the face is definitely the best work.  There’s some slop on the red parts on the torso, but otherwise it’s generally pretty clean.  Peggy is packed with her version of the vibranium shield, as well as both arms to the Watcher Build-A-Figure.  The shield is smaller than Steve’s, and it’s hard to tell if that’s accurate, since it does seem to fluctuate in size based on what it’s doing in the show.  Generally, it seems to scale well to her, though, and they actually gave her a gripping hand for actually holding the straps for a change.  I’ll call that a win for sure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Captain Carter was very definitely the concept I was looking forward to the most when What If…? was announced, and it was by far my favorite episode of the season.  I pretty much just loved every minute of it, really.  I was absolutely down for this figure as soon as she was announced, and she was the figure I was most looking forward to in the main assortment.  There was a pretty high bar for this figure to clear, and to Hasbro’s credit, I really feel they cleared it.  This is one of my favorite Legends of the last year, and she’s just a good all-around toy.  I can’t wait to get Hydra Stomper in hand to go with her!

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.

#2941: T’Challa Star-Lord

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

T’CHALLA STAR-LORD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“T’Challa grew up in space and became Star-Lord, now leading adventures throughout the galaxy.”

Some of the concepts in What If…? are simple minor changes to a specific story, some are straight forward concepts injected into the overall narrative of the MCU, but some are….well, they’re kind of out there.  Of the more out there ideas, perhaps the most successful is “What If…T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?,” an episode that out of nowhere decides to mix Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy.  Why?  Reasons, that’s why.  It’s maybe a little limited in its ultimate scope and at times almost feels like a parody of its self, but it’s ultimately a fun story, and one of the first season’s more memorable episodes.  It makes its main character a pretty natural choice for our first selection of figures, and I’m going to be taking a look at him today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

T’Challa Star-Lord is figure 1 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s based on the character’s appearance in the second and ninth episodes of the show.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  T’Challa’s articulation scheme follows the rather established format for the line, but it ultimately feels like it’s not really fully optimized.  The articulation is there, the layout is there, the range isn’t terrible, but ultimately, it just doesn’t feel like it flows.  The elbows have a tendency to stick, and getting both halves of the joint to articulate can be frustrating. The knees are similar, though to a lesser extent, and the ankles are also prone to sticking as well, though in a slightly different way.  In general, it’s just not super pleasant to pose this guy.  T’Challa’s sculpt is an almost all-new affair.  The hands are re-used from the Vol 2 Star-Lord, which seems like it’s not a big deal on the outset, but that’s…well I’ll get to it momentarily.  The rest of the sculpt is new.  While the assortment as a whole is clearly inspired by the animation style of the show, T’Challa’s sculpt is the most directly based on the animation model.  This tweaks the figure’s the proportions, as well as leaving him a lot simpler on the detail front.  It makes the articulation stand out a lot more, which isn’t the best from an aesthetic standpoint.  It also means he doesn’t quite blend in as well with the other MCU figures, which is a might limiting.  The head is clearly meant to be the animated T’Challa likeness, but it’s a little off, notably with how the hair is shaped.  It’s just not quite right.  Also, remember the hands that are re-used?  Well, they still have all the very realistic detailing, plus they’re pretty large, which means they just generally don’t match up with the rest of the figure.  The paint work on this guy is at least pretty decent.  It’s fairly cleanly handled and generally follows the show design well.  It’s not the most thrilling design, but it is what it is.  T’Challa is packed with two element guns (re-used from the prior Star-Lords), an alternate helmeted head, and the head to the Watcher Build-A-Figure.  The helmeted head isn’t bad as far as the helmet goes, but for some reason they’ve given him this weird raised hairpiece, which doesn’t match the animation at all, and just generally looks silly, leaving him with two heads that both just don’t really jibe with me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Star-Lord T’Challa concept is definitely a weird one that I really wasn’t sure about at first, but the final episode was entertaining enough.  The prototype for this guy wasn’t one I was super impressed by, but I was hoping he might be better in-hand.  Unfortunately, that didn’t wind up being the case.  I don’t think he’s a bad figure, but he just feels like his various parts just don’t gel together the way they should.  Generally, he’s just kind of underwhelming.  To give him a little bit of credit, he did grow on me a little during the review process, so he’s not a total loss.  That said, he’s definitely the weakest of this particular set.

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.

#2940: Zombie Captain America

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

ZOMBIE CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Captain America’s team were the first responders to the zombie outbreak — and its first victims.”

October may be over, but the spookiness continues….well, for today at least.  But it’s in this great sweet spot of spookiness *and* Marvel.  Because, well, it kind of has to be, because how else am I going to get all these Legends reviewed.  Yay for the crossover potential of Marvel Zombies!  First appearing in the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four in 2005, later that same year Marvel Zombies launched in its own book, spawning a whole franchise within a franchise.  Said franchise within the franchise then made its way into the MCU this year in What If…?‘s fifth episode, aptly titled “What if…Zombies?”  My opinions on What If…? were a bit mixed, and the zombies episode was itself rather a mixed bag for me, but there’s no denying that the zombies make for a good concept for toys, especially when it gives me a good excuse to buy another Captain America, who, it should be noted, remains a Captain in this universe, rather than getting a promotion to Colonel as his does in *some* zombie universes out there.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zombie Captain America is part of the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s unnumbered, as the one figure in the set that doesn’t actually include a piece for the Build-A-Figure (ironic that the zombie is the only one that doesn’t include an extra body part), and he’s also the double packed figure for this assortment.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Compared to other MCU Cap figures, the articulation scheme on this one is definitely improved.  There’s a better range of motion on most of the joints, as well as use of ball joints at both the neck and the mid-torso, which supports a more fluid range than prior molds had.  He also gets pinless construction on both the elbows and knees.  While you would think that a Zombie Cap would be a good excuse to share some parts with older MCU Cap releases, this figure shares only the left boot with the Infinity War version.  Everything else is all-new to this release.  The helmet and shoulder harness pieces are separate parts, adding some nice depth to the sculpt.  The uniform is also nicely detailed, and there’s some fantastic work on the tattered remains hanging around the major spots of damage on the body.  Speaking of the damage, the actual damage is a lot more gruesome and in depth than I’d had anticipated on a mass retail release.  The legs in particular are quite gnarled.  It’s some truly impressive work.  Aiding the rather impressive sculpted work is some pretty solid paint work as well.  All of the base work is pretty straight forward, and matches the color scheme presented in the show, but they’ve also added a degree of blood coverage (albeit in a slightly purple color, so it’s not explicitly blood) around the wounds.  Hasbro doesn’t often do this kind of accent work, so it’s certainly nice to see them do it here, especially when the confines of a mass retail release would have given them an easy pass for not including some of these details.  Cap’s only accessory is his shield; it’s the same mold they’ve been using since the First Ten Years release, but this time with a bit of that purple splatter on the front of it.  It’s a good piece, but he does end up feeling a little bit light compared to other offerings.  That said, I’m not really sure what else he could have gotten.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I run hot and cold when it comes to zombies, and I wasn’t super big on the episode this figure was based on, so I wasn’t really sure how I’d feel about this figure in hand.  That said, he’s still a Captain America, and I do have a hard time passing on those.  I gotta say, this is honestly one of the strongest figures in this set.  He’s just a solid figure from start to finish.  Really, I just wish we had a more standard Cap that matched this one in quality, but that’s hardly on this particular release.  He’s utterly fantastic, really.

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.

#2939: The Mummy

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

THE MUMMY

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS MONSTERS (SIDESHOW)

“In 1932, Boris Karloff starred in Universal Studios’ The Mummy.  The story tells of Im-ho-tep, a high priest that is buried alive, locked away in the darkness of a sealed Egyptian tomb.  As the seal breaks open, the towering figure comes to life after 3,700 years.  Fragile bandages rip and tear.  The withered skin is wrinked and grey.  The eyes widen, glowing intensely, remembering a mission unfulfilled, a passion undiminished by time.”

It’s once again Halloween.  How about that?  Halloween typically consumes the whole month of October, but both this year and the last, it hasn’t seemed quite so far-reaching.  I guess it’s hard to get into a mood of horror and fear in a “fun” sense when there’s, you know, everything going on, you know, everywhere.  Still, I do like to at least try to get that spooky mood for at least the one day a year.  So, in that sense, I’m going to be continuing a look into the line I looked at last year, with a focus on a figure from one of my favorite of the Universal Monsters movies, 1932’s The Mummy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mummy was part of 1998’s inaugural series of Sideshow Toy’s Universal Studios Monsters line.  In a set that included both Frankenstein’s Monster and the Wolf Man, Im-ho-tep was certainly the more minor inclusion, though he’s far from an unknown choice.  Im-ho-tep’s got two major looks in the movie, but this figure goes for his main mummified look from the beginning of the film.  It’s a short-lived look, but it’s also the most classically “mummy” look, so it’s the best visual.  The figure stands 8 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  As I discussed in last year’s review of the Invisible Man, these figures were more plastic statues that just happened to have articulation, and less actual action figures, and Im-ho-tep sticks right to that.  Notably, the right elbow in particular is effectively useless.  He’s really just good for slightly tweaking the pose for the sake of better stability.  Im-ho-tep’s sculpt was an all-new offering (re-used for both his glow-in-the-dark and silver screen editions), and it’s quite an impressive one.  It’s definitely more consistent than the Invisible Man, since the texture work on the bandages continues over the whole body.  He also has a pretty decent likeness of Boris Karloff, which is certainly a plus.  The paint work on the figure is generally pretty strong.  The best work is on the bandages, which have quite a bit of accenting, bringing out the texturing of the sculpt.  The exposed skin’s not quite as well detailed, but it’s still better than just base color work.  The Mummy was packed with a scroll, a sealed chest, and a rather elaborate display stand.  All in all, not a bad selection of extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Last year, when I picked up the Invisible Man figure from this line, which is the one I really wanted out of the bunch, I also picked up two others.  The Mummy was included there.  I wasn’t planning to grab him at first, but his package was messed up, and he wasn’t going to be very expensive.  That, coupled with me being a fan of the movie, made it easy enough to just go ahead and grab him.  He’s not a super playable figure, but he’s a pretty nifty display piece, much like the rest of the line.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2938: Falcon

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

FALCON

AVENGERS: UNITED THEY STAND (TOY BIZ)

“As the Falcon, Sam Wilson became the dedicated defender of Harlem. Pledging to protect the innocent, Wilson used a falcon as inspiration when inventing high-powered armor – extendable robotic wings for swift aerial maneuvers and soaring flights, razor-sharp claws from wrist, and battle boots with retractable steel talons and missiles. He fights crime and shares a telepathic link with his trusty falcon, Redwing. As one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, he is always ready to answer the call, ‘Avengers Assemble!'”

Even before getting his big on-screen focus in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Falcon’s always been pretty fortunate when it came to the smaller-scale tie-in stuff.  He’s been included in every major Marvel scale and style when it comes to toys, and when it came to 1999’s Avengers: United They Stand cartoon, he got the important role of being the team’s newest member, and in many ways the audience surrogate as the team makes their way through the larger Marvel universe.  I’m looking at his figure from that line today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon was part of the second assortment of Toy Biz’s Avengers: United They Stand tie-in line.  This was only Falcon’s second figure from Toy Biz, but it was his fourth overall, following his Mego and Secret Wars figures. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  He continues the trend of improved articulation on these guys, which was really great.  Falcon’s design for the show was a much more armored up design, much like the rest of the cast.  He did keep more of the broad stroke elements of his classic design than the others, and this design differed from the rest in that it actually even made a transition to the comics, at least for a short while.  Some parts of it are a little clunky, but it’s generally one of the better looks from the show, and I’ve always had a real soft spot for this one.  The sculpt does a very nice job of replicating his animation design, keeping him rather clean looking.  The armored parts actually use some separately sculpted pieces, which gives him a nice depth to his design.  His wings are also split between upper and lower arms, allowing for more posability, making a notable improvement over the Secret Wars figure, and even putting him above Toy Biz’s own Marvel’s Gold release.  Falcon’s paint work is generally pretty solid.  It’s largely just basic color work, but it was pretty clean, and the accenting on the armored parts is pretty cool.  Falcon was packed with his pet falcon and sidekick Red Wing.  Redwing had a magnetic connection on the front of his harness which could connect to Falcon’s corresponding magnet on his right arm, and would launch a pair of missiles from his back pack.  There were a lot of gimmicky accessories in this line, and this one certainly had a gimmick, but it was at least not terribly disruptive, and it meant we got a proper Redwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Falcon and Tigra were the first figures I got from this line when it dropped.  While they weren’t quite at the top of my list, they were both still pretty high (really only Wonder Man and Vision topped them).  The show and this toy both served to really solidify Falcon as a character I really, really liked, and he’s remained one of my favorites to this day.  This figure is still a lot of fun, and remains my favorite version of the character.  And there have been some really good Falcon figures, so that’s saying something.

#2937: Surtur

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

SURTUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Empowered by the Eternal Flame, the demon Surtur rises from the ashes to unleash his fury upon Asgard.”

As I discussed on Monday, Thor: Ragnarok is really the only one of the Thor films to truly get a proper spread of figures in Legends form.  In fact, it’s really got one of the better spreads of any of the Marvel films, since we’ve gotten the whole principle cast, as well a a couple of the notable supporting players.  Despite how thoroughly covered the film has been, Hasbro decided they just weren’t done yet, so we’ve got yet another figure to look at!  I suppose it’s really only fair that in your tie-in toys for a movie called Ragnarok, you include Surtur; he’s kind of important to that whole thing, really.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Surtur is a mass-release part of the Infinity Saga sub-set of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line.  He’s at his own price point, above even the usual deluxe price point.  Hasbro definitely seems to be using this line to explore some more flexible price points.  The figure stands just shy of 13 inches tall measured from the top of his horns, and he has 31 points of articulation.  Surtur’s a pretty sizable guy in the movie (he actually grows in size as his powers increase, so there’s some variation there), and the figure does what it can to replicate that.  He’s technically a few inches too short for even his smallest size in the movie.  That said, he’s way larger than any of the other figures from the set, so the effect still works out.  His articulation scheme is generally pretty good for a figure of this sizing, though it has some notable restricted spots.  The shoulders don’t have a ton of up and down, due to how they’re designed, which is definitely the biggest issue with the figure.  Slightly less of an issue, but still a bit of an issue, are the hips, which, at least on my figure, are a little sticky when it comes to posing.  They feel like they should have some sort of a drop hip set-up based on the way they move, but there’s not one there, which does give me some pause about the long term durability of the figure’s pelvis.  Otherwise, it’s decent set-up, and he’s even got the pinless elbow and knee set-up.  Surtur’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s a pretty solid matchup to how he was depicted in the film.  There’s quite a bit of sculpted texture work going on, which gives him that appropriate molten skin appearance that the film gave him.  The head sculpt opts for an angry, shouty sort of expression for him.  It’s perhaps a little more limiting in terms of what sorts of poses he can go into, since it doesn’t really fit the lounging about version of the character seen earlier in the film, but we don’t have throne or anything for him anyway, so it makes him a better end of the movie Surtur, I guess.  It helps that it’s quite a nice sculpt.  It’s very dynamic, and looks more unique compared to other, more neutral expressions.  Surtur is molded in a translucent orange plastic, in order to aid in that molten appearance.  The shade of orange shifts a bit on the actual flame parts, going from more of a red to a yellowish hue, as they get nearer the edges, which looks fairly convincingly like actual flame.  There are large patches of darker paint, not actually dry brushed, but designed to simulate such an effect.  It works pretty well.  Surtur is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and a open gesture/fist combo), as well as his sword, which is almost as tall as he is.  Getting a picture of him holding it was no small feat, let me tell you.  I suppose it would have been nice to also get maybe his crown, separate from his head, as it’s seen in the film, but since we don’t even have a proper opening scene Thor, its applications might be a bit limited.  The sword and hands are pretty useful directly to this figure, at least.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s hard to say I’ve been heavily campaigning for anything more from Ragnarok, since it did get a good selection of figures and all.  Moreover, I figured Surtur’s size would be his undoing anyway, since even scaled down he’s a hard sell.  This guy being shown off earlier this year was a bit of a surprise to be sure, but certainly a pleasant one.  The figure has some issues, especially when it comes to the articulation, however the sheer size and detailing on him is enough to make him a worthwhile purchase.  And hey, here’s another Ragnarok figure!

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.