Category Archives: Reviews

#1888: Rust Lord

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

RUST LORD

FORTNITE (JAZWARES)

Oh man, let me tell you guys, today’s review?  It’s totally lit.  Like, it’s at peak levels of on-fleek-ness.  This review here?  It’s cool AF.  This is about the dankest review you’re ever gonna read.  I’m finna about to review this boi, which, I assure you, is not empty.  Yeet.  Stick with me fam, things are about to get hella turnt! …am I doing this right?  Is this how we talk about the Fortfight?  I’m sorry, I don’t have the 411 on what’s hip these days.  But, in an effort to get home with the downies, I got one of these here Fortniters to review.  Swag.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

So, homeslice here is Rust Lord, an absolute unite, who is one of the many available skins in Fortnite.  He’s a part of Jazwares Fortnite line, available exclusively in the “Llama Drama Loot Piñata” pack, which was the first item available from Jazwares’ line, first showing up on shelves at the beginning of the month.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Stylistically, Rust Lord is very similar to Hasbro’s 25th Anniversary GI Joes, though perhaps a bit heftier.  He’ll fit in pretty well, though.  What surprised me most about this figure, though, was the articulation, which honestly is a bit of a step-up from the Joes, and even rivals the likes of Marvel Legends, but at a smaller scale.  Despite all of this articulation, the construction of the figure is still really solid, and he’s not flimsy at all.  Rust Lord’s design is definitely one that lends itself pretty well to a toy.  The figure changes up a few proportional elements, in order to make for a better translation to toy, but he’s actually pretty close.  The sculpt is clean and pretty sharp, which is honestly a fair bit better than I’m used to seeing with figures at this scale, even from the likes of Hasbro.  The paintwork for Rust Lord is fairly cleanly handled.  It’s pretty striking, and, like the sculpt, it will help him to match alright with Joes.  There are a handful of unpainted details here and there, but for the most part, he gets the job done.  Rust Lord himself only makes up a small piece of what’s included in the Loot Piñata.  There are also a whopping ten weapons*, four backpacks, and eight building plates.  For weapons, he has an assault rifle, bolt-action sniper rifle, drum gun, grenade launcher, legendary assault rifle, legendary burst assault rifle, light machine gun, pump shotgun, rocket launcher, and suppressed submachine gun.  Some of the sculpts are a little cartoony for my taste, but they’re mostly pretty solid pieces, and, like the main figure, they should do well arming your Joes and the like.  For the backpacks, he has the Bright Bag, Cuddle Bow, Satchel, and Scaly.  The satchel’s the only one that really matches up with the figure, but the options are nice nevertheless.  Lastly, there are the building plates.  Two sets of four line-up for some graffiti, and can be configured into all manner of different structures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is all Max from All Time’s fault.  A couple weeks ago, he told me about this set, showed me a few pictures of his and said “it’s kind of like G.I. Joe,” which was enough to sell me.  I’m an easy mark, I guess.  As someone with absolutely no experience with Fortnite, these figures weren’t even on my radar.  Doubly so when I found out they were produced by Jazwares, a company that I generally find to be the toy world’s equivalent of a yawn.  This figure has no right to be anywhere near as cool as it is, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t one of the coolest, most solidly crafted figures I’ve picked up as of late.  I’ve still got no attachment to Fortnite, but I’ll definitely be finding a spot for this guy with my Joes.

*My set actually had 11 weapons, thanks to me getting an extra drum gun in my set.  One of those few times an error totally worked out in my favor.

#1887: T-Rex

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

T-REX

HALFTOYS DINO SERIES (HALFTOYS)

“T-REX is part of a family of unique creatures that live in a place called Halfworld.  They roam freely in search of new friends.  Help bring the family together by collecting them all!”

I don’t talk about dinosaurs super often on this site.  In fact, I’ve only really talked about them once before.  Believe me, if certain other writers for this site had their way, I’d definitely be talking about them way more often, but alas, here we are.  Still, as a mark for good toys, dinosaurs do come up with at least a bit of frequency, since you certainly can’t deny their inherent toyeticness.  Yes, “toyeticness” is totally a word.  Anyway, I’m going to be doubling my dino-themed output today, and taking a look at the king of all dinos, the Tyrannosaurus Rex!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Tyrannosaurus Rex, whose proper given name appears to be “T-Rex” here, is figure 002 in the Halftoys Dino Series.  The line is produced in China by Halftoys, and distributed in the US by LearnPlay.  As of right now, there are six dinos available, covering most of the basics.  The figure is about 2 1/2 inches tall, and doesn’t have any real articulation, in the traditional sense at least.  These guys are sold as “model sets” moreso than traditional figures, so they’re just slightly outside of my usual area.  That said, T-Rex himself comes assembled in the package, so he’s a pretty basic figurine in that respect.  He’s constructed from seven pieces.  There’s an outer shell gives us a friendly, cartoon caricature of the classical depiction of the T-Rex.  It’s downright adorable.  This shell splitsin two, right down the middle, befitting the “Halftoys” monicker.  When in place, the two halves are held together by magnets, which is a nice, sleek, clean way of handling it.  Beneath this shell is T-Rex’s skeleton, which, like his exterior, is a friendly caricature of the real thing.  It can be disassembled into five different pieces, which all go back together like a small 3D jigsaw puzzle.  Since there’s only one way for everything to go back together, there isn’t any confusion or frustration when trying to reassemble, and all of the parts are large enough that they shouldn’t be very easily lost.  And, at every stage of the process, the figure remains a solid little toy, which I quite liked.  In addition to the main figure, you also get a buildable diorama to go with him.  It’s just a paper-crafted item, so it’s not anything revolutionary, but it does make for a nice extra touch.  Assembly took about 30 minutes for me, and it’s mostly pretty intuitive.  Some parts are a little trickier than others, and I had some stability issues with the tree once I’d assembled it, but for paper-craft, it’s not too shabby.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Full Disclosure:  the T-Rex reviewed here was provided to me in exchange for a review by LearnPlay.

Prior to being contacted by LearnPlay, I wasn’t familiar with anything from Halftoys, but after checking them out, I was certainly intrigued.  This little guy is certainly a lot of fun.  Sure, he’s not your traditional action figure, but they’re certainly going to be appealing to a younger dino-obsessed crowd, and I can definitely see myself lining up a bunch of them on my desk at work.  The figure is solidly constructed, and should hold up to some sustained play.  Plus, I just find him a lot of fun to sit and fiddle with, which is honestly the most appealing thing for me in any toy I pick up.  I will definitely be getting some more of these for myself.  If you’re a dino-fan, or are looking for a cool gift for your favorite dino-fan, I can heartily recommend this guy and his compatriots.  For more information, head on over to LearnPlay’s site here.

#1886: Mr. Fantastic & Dr. Doom

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

MR. FANTASTIC & DR. DOOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

The Marvel Minimates Best Of assortments frequently paired off classic Marvel characters and their greatest foes, but what happens when the foe is actually the foe to a whole team?  You compromise, I guess.  At least in the case of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards does have the slightly more personal connection to long-time foe (and greatest villain of all time) Dr. Doom, so he was the one who got the slot.  Good for him!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom were part of the second Best of Marvel Minimates series, which hit stores in early 2013.

MR. FANTASTIC

Second only to The Thing in terms of number of Minimates, this particular Mr. Fantastic was his sixth time in this particular style.  He’s sporting his classic black and blue gear, based on his look from earlier in his career. Curiously, there are, to date, no other members of the team with uniforms to match this one.  Not even the Ben from Series 1 of the Best Of line. This is something of an odd development.  In his most standard configuration, Reed is built on the basic Minimate body and uses just one add-on piece, for his hair.  It’s the Frank Wemple piece, which saw a lot of use right around this time.  It’s definitely well-chosen for Reed. Of course, since Reed’s powers make for a pretty versatile look, the figure has multiple other configurations.  DST experimented a bit with TRU Series 6’s Stretch-Attack Mr. Fantastic, which gave us a stretched out base piece to swap out for the lower legs.  This figure includes that extra, along with several new ones to match.  There’s an extended neck and stretched out arms, which can be mixed and matched into all sorts of different configurations.  Perhaps my favorite part is that the open hand on the right arm is perfectly sized to grip a standard Minimate torso.  Reed’s paintwork is fairly clean, and the color choices are bold.  He’s more colorful than his TRU Series 8 counterpart, but the blue isn’t quite as deep as the original Reed figure.  He’s somewhere between them.  I already chronicled the extra stretchy parts, but Reed also includes a standard display stand, if you want to be silly and not display him with that sweet stretched out base piece.

DR. DOOM

Victor Von Doom actually has his nemesis beaten in number of Minimates available, with eight releases under his belt.  This one was the seventh, and actually came out in rather close proximity to the Marvel vs. Capcom version, which it is quite similar to.  Most of the similarity between the two Dooms is in their sculpted parts.  Doom uses add-ons for his cloak, belt/skirt, gloves, and boots, as well as non-standard upper-arm pieces.  All of these were used on the prior figure.  They work decently, though the cloak runs into the same problem that prior Dooms have run into, with limitations being placed on his mobility.  It also makes him quite top heavy. And, in conjunction with all of the other sculpted parts, it generally creates a figure that’s not great for much other than standing.  The main change-up between the two Dooms is paint.  While the MvC release was in more game accurate colors and featured metallic armor, this one goes for a more print-styled flat color scheme.  It works well enough, and it’s definitely a more unique take on the character, compared to what we tend to see.  I think it helps the detailing on his faceplate stand out better, but leaves the arms and legs looking slightly bland.  Doom is packed with three accessories: a pistol, and alternate head with Doombot detailing, and a clear display stand.  I really like the Doombot head.  It’s a quite fun touch, and seems to especially work well without the cloak over top, thereby making the figure a good deal more playable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed these two back when they were new, from my regular Minimate haunt, Cosmic Comix.  Reed is a solid figure, marred not by anything about this figure himself, but rather by the lack of any other members to match him.  Ben’s an easy enough fix if you just want to swap out the pelvis, and Johnny’s just really a head swap, but there’s no matching Sue, and that’s a little sad.  So soon after the MvC version, this Dr. Doom felt a little redundant, and ultimately inherits all of that figure’s flaws without any time to have fixed them.  That said, the Doombot head does quite a bit to salvage this guy.  Overall, he’s a decent offering.

#1885: Zuckuss

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

ZUCKUSS

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Zuckuss answers Darth Vader’s call for bounty hunters to help locate the Millennium Falcon and her crew.”

I’ve established a loose ranking of Empire Strikes Back’s bounty hunters throughout my various Black Series–wait a minute…this isn’t a Black Series review.  That was my Zuckuss review from two weeks ago…this one’s very different.  For one thing, he’s about 2 inches shorter, and for another, he’s 20 years older.  But he’s still Zuckuss, and he’s still getting reviewed.  So there.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zuckuss was released in Power of the Force II‘s 1998 assortment.  Like with the Black Series releases, he followed his partner in crime 4-LOM, who was released the prior year.  The figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall (befitting Zuckuss’ slightly smaller stature) and has 6 points of articulation.  The articulation is ever so slightly hampered by the nature of the character’s design and its implementation on the figure, which sees Zuckuss’ robes recreated through a thick rubber piece, similarly to the line’s take on Obi-Wan.  This time, however, the robes cannot be removed, due to the figure’s somewhat oddly shaped head.  It’s a shame, really, since there’s a fully detailed body under there, which is a lot of fun.  Oh well.  The sculpt that you actually can see is still a solid offering, to be fair.  The aliens were always where PotF2 shined, and Zuckuss is no exception.  The detail work is nice and crisp, and he’s a fairly spot-on recreation of Zuckuss’ on-screen appearance.  Zuckuss’ paintwork is actually some of the best we got from this line, by virtue of not being as cut and dry as most samples.  The robes in particular really benefit from that dry-brushed weathering that’s been placed all along them, giving them a more real-world-feel than most of his compatriots.  Also, quite impressively, the painted detailing extends under his robe, meaning if you find a way to remove it, he’ll still look all finished and proper.  Zuckuss is packed with his blaster pistol, which is a fairly standard inclusion.  And, as a 1998 figure, he was also packed with a Freeze Frame Action Slide, which shows off Zuckuss and his fellow bounty hunters on the bridge of the Executor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Completing my Black Series pairing of Zuckuss and 4-LOM got me interested in the characters, and their prior figures.  I’ve been steadily piecing together a PotF2 collection, and, as luck would have it, my friends at All Time Toys just got in a fairly substantial collection from someone.  I never had Zuckuss growing up, but he looked cool enough that I just really felt compelled to buy him.  He’s an example of how good this line could be when Kenner really pulled their A-game.  Definitely one of my favorite figures from this line.

So, as I mentioned above, I got Zuckuss here from my friends at All Time Toys.  They’ve got a solid backlog of Power of the Force figures, as well as Star Wars figures from all eras, old and new.  Check out their website and eBay store to see for yourself!

#1884: The Lizard

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

THE LIZARD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Have you ever noticed that Spider-Man has a lot of animal-themed super villains?  Because he really does.  And a lot of them are pretty straight forward, too.  Like today’s focus, “The Lizard.”  He’s a guy who turns into a lizard-human hybrid.  Guess we should be grateful that he’s not “Lizard-Man”, or, going by Marvel’s creature naming thing, “Man-Lizard.”  The utter simplicity of Lizard’s name always reminds me of a time when I was in high school and, having picked up the reputation of being the comics guy, was asked to identify all of the Marvel characters on one guy’s shirt.  When I got to Lizard, I said his name, and everyone laughed and said “you’re just making these up, aren’t you?”…not really sure what I was getting at there, but hey, how about this Lizard figure?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lizard is the eponymous Build-A-Figure for the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  This is the second officially Marvel Legends-branded Lizard, following the Toy Biz version from the old Fearsome Foes boxed set.  As with many Spider-Foes, there were also a couple of figures of him in the Legends-compatible Spider-Man line from Toy Biz.  As a Build-A-Figure, he’s decidedly a more monstrous take on the character than previous versions, perhaps most in-line with modern day interpretations of the character.  The figure stands about 6 3/4 inches tall (he’d be at least an inch taller if standing straight, but the figure has a slight hunch and a permanent crouch) and he has 39 points of articulation.  Lizard is another all-new sculpt, and I’d imagine it’s one that will stay unique to this figure.  More than size, I’d say the unique sculpt is why Lizard got the BaF treatment.  The sculpt has a lot of plusses, but I’m going to address its few small flaws first.  The biggest thing for me is the sculpt/articulation balance.  Some of the articulation works, but some of it’s very restricted.  The torso and the legs really showcase the most of this; the legs being stuck in that crouching pose proves rather restrictive.  Additionally, Lizard continues the trend of recent BaFs being really prone to popping apart after assembly.  This, coupled with the articulation limitations, can make him a real pain to pose.  Moving past those issues, though, Lizard’s sculpt is really fantastic.  He’s definitely on par with Sauron in terms of detail work, and I love just how much depth they were able to work into this sculpt.  The use of two add-on pieces on the torso (for his lab coat *and* his shirt) is a serious attention to detail I had not been expecting.  Some collectors have expressed issue with the decidedly dino stylings of Lizard’s head, but I actually don’t mind; Curt’s cranium was always the most prone portion of him to change, and I think this particular look gives him a more modern feel.  Plus it makes me think of Dr. Dinosaur, and that’s always a good thing.  Lizard’s paintwork continues the upward trend, especially amongst the Build-A-Figures, of increased paint apps.  There’s a lot of accent work on his scaly skin, which really helps to pronounce how much detail there is in that sculpt.  Lizard includes no accessories, but as an accessory himself, that’s quite alright.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, I may have been slightly premature with yesterday’s “Finally!!!!!!!!!” intro, because if there’s a figure that deserves that exclamation more the Mysterio, it’s Lizard.  I’ve had 5/7s of this guy sitting on my desk since April, just begging for his remaining leg.  It was honestly getting to the point where I didn’t know if I would finish him at all.  But, as I noted in yesterday’s review, All Time Toys set me up with a Mysterio figure, thereby allowing me to finally finish this guy off.  There were a few flaws in this figure’s implementation, mostly in the way of articulation.  However, the positives far outweigh the negatives, and the end result is what is by far the best version of Lizard we’ve gotten in toy form.

My reviews of the assortment that built this figure ended up rather split up, which doesn’t tend to be my of handling such things.  Nevertheless, this assortment has proven to be perhaps my favorite Spider-themed assortment.  The Build-A-Figure was worth the wait, and many of the individual figures included are personal favorites.  It’s nice to finally have the whole thing.

#1883: Mysterio

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

MYSTERIO

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A master of illusion, Mysterio seeks universal fame as a cloaked villain with an unmistakable helmet.”

FINALLY!!!!!! …Sorry, was that too much?  I can get carried away some times.  It’s just…this guy was really hard to get, and I…ah, this is the wrong section for all of this.  Sorry!

So, Mysterio.  Former-movie-special-effects-technician-turned-supervillain, with perhaps one of the most distinctive design in comics.  And, of course, soon to be played by Jake Gyllenhaal on the big screen in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home.  Pretty cool guy all around.  No stranger to action figures, but being a decently well-known foe of Marvel’s best known hero will do that for you.  Now I’m going to review his latest figure right here and right now.  Let’s get right to that!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mysterio is figure 6 in the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  He is, by far, the most demanded and hardest to find in the set, in part because he’s sort of an army builder (he frequently makes duplicates of himself to fool Spidey), in part because there was a distinctive change to the figure half way through production, and also just because he’s never had a figure that was quite this good.  This is out first officially Legends branded Mysterio, though Toy Biz put out a Legends compatible figure in their Spider-Man: Classics days.  That figure, like many from the line, was marred by a half-formed action feature, and, as an non-Spidey figure, was also rather hard to find.  It was definitely time for a replacement.  This figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  I’m pretty sure Mysterio is sporting an almost entirely unique sculpt.  His hands look to be from other figures, but otherwise he’s all-new.  Obviously, the cape/helmet, and the gloves and boots were always going to be new pieces, but I really have to commend Hasbro for going the fully sculpted route on his body.  They really could have phoned it in here and just painted the grid pattern on a basic body, but they didn’t and the figure looks so much better for it.  I really dig the cuffs to his gloves as well; those are slightly tricky to make work in three-dimensions, but they look quite nice here.  The one slightly off part of the sculpt is the helmet/cape combo.  It’s a nice enough sculpt, but making it all one piece feels slightly off to me, and the way it pegs into his back has it popping off more frequently than I’d like.  And then there’s the topic of the underlying head.  Hasbro was somewhat secretive about what was going to be under the fishbowl at first.  I myself was hoping for another go at a Quentin Beck head (which we sort of saw on the Toy Biz figure), or maybe even some sort of blank head, just to leave a silhouette under the helmet.  Hasbro opted for something more out there, meant to be another illusion created by Mysterio.  It’s a skull with a tentacle running through it, which is certainly…different.  It’s an interesting sculpt, but the helmet ended up being a lot more transparent than most of us had expected, which, coupled with the dark green plastic of the initial release’s head, left a lot of fans unhappy with the end result.  Fortunately, Hasbro was able to change the figure mid-run, so later shipments had the head molded in white instead of green, which works a little better.  I think I might have just preferred for the whole dome to just be a solid piece myself, but this works better than I’d expected.  The paint work on Mysterio is fairly straight-forward stuff, being mostly basic color work.  There’s a little bit of accenting on the gloves, which is cool, and I definitely like the metallic green paint.  I’m not thrilled by the slight change in the color of plastic from the hips to the legs, though it’s not quite as bad in-person.  Mysterio is packed with a pair of effects pieces, which clip onto his feet, making it appear that things are emanating from the ground beneath him.  It’s a fun effect, and really tops off the whole look of the figure, since Mysterio is so often seen with his feet obscured like this.  He’s also packed with the left leg of Lizard, meaning I can finally complete that guy!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s been a long road to getting this figure.  This was the first full series of Marvel Legends that All Time Toys got in, and I just missed the boat on getting Mysterio from them the first time around.  The assortment hasn’t been particularly plentiful at mass retail around these parts either, so six months after getting the rest of the assortment, I didn’t really expect to get this guy.  But, you see, I have these wonderful sponsors who own a toy store, so they were finally able to get ahold of another case of this series, and the Mysterio format was set aside for me.  Yay!  After waiting so long for him, this figure certainly has a lot to live up to.  Does he?  More or less.  There are some definite flaws here, which sort of impact his playability, but for the most part I’m happy with him.

As noted above, Mysterio was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re interested in buying Marvel Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1882: Gwenpool

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

GWENPOOL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A self-made hero from the so-called real world, Gwenpool possesses unrivaled knowledge of the comic book universe.”

The original Gwen Stacy may have been dead for 45 years, but that hasn’t stopped all sorts of variants of her from popping up.  The most prominent of late is, of course, Spider-Gwen, who made her debut during 2014’s Spider-Verse event. The success of Spider-Gwen led to a series of Gwen Stacy-themed variant covers for the Marvel line, leading to the creation of the Deadpool/Gwen Stacy amalgam “Gwenpool.”  Gwenpool has been starring in a string of self-titled books since, and just recently joined up with the relaunched West Coast Avengers.  Oh, and she also has a Marvel Legend.  Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gwenpool is figure 1 in the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends, which was our first Spidey-themed assortment of the year.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s built on the Spider-Girl body, which is sensible enough, given that’s the same body Hasbro used for Spider-Gwen.  It lends some consistency to the Gwen Stacy-take-off characters.  Gwenpool actually gets a fair quantity of new pieces to set her apart from all the other Spider-Girl builds.  There’s a new head, upper torso, forearms, shins, and feet, as well as add-ons for her belts and backpack.  The parts all mesh well with the base body, and do a pretty respectable job of melding Gwenpool’s typically cartoony style with the established stylings of modern Legends.  I really appreciate the little details that Hasbro has peppered throughout the sculpt, such as the piping on her socks under her shin guards.  I also really like the implementation of the new ankle articulation (like we saw previously on Moon Knight and Spider-Punk).  So, I guess, what I’m really getting at here, is that I quite like Gwenpool’s lower legs.  Just go with it.  The rest of the details are quite fun in their own right.  Her facial expression is a nice big smile that feels very true to the character as established in the comics.  I also really enjoy her penguin-shaped back pack.  Gwenpool’s paintwork is clean and appropriately pink-heavy.  Nothing particularly notable, but it works to get the job done.  Gwen includes a nice selection extra accessories, including an extra head (with tongue out for proper selfie etiquette), her phone (which can be nicely stashed in her utility belt), a pair of katanas, and three sets of hands (in heart-shaped, phone-holding/peace sign, and standard gripping poses).  It adds up to a rather expressive figure.  She is also packed with the tail of the Build-A-Figure Lizard.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve got no particular attachment to Gwenpool, so I didn’t rush out to buy her.  Sure, she came with a piece for Lizard, who I definitely wanted to build, but there was one other figure preventing me from completing him, so Gwen stuck nearer to the bottom of my want list.  When I was finally able to get ahold of that other figure (who I’ll be reviewing tomorrow…spoilers), Gwen was along for the ride, because, dammit, I was finishing that Lizard figure.  I may have only bought her for the Build-A-Figure piece, but Gwenpool is a fairly strong figure in her own right.

I got Gwen here from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re interested in buying Marvel Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1881: GNK Power Droid

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

GNK POWER DROID

STAR WARS: ELITE SERIES (DISNEY)

“GNK power droids understand commands and generate power for mobile operations,  They are often called “Gonk” droids in imitation of their simple vocalizations.”

While the premiere Star Wars line these days is undoubtedly Hasbro’s The Black Series, my nomination for the line that is consistently the most unexpected and surprising line is Disney’s in-house Elite Series, a line of 7-inch die cast metal figures.  For the most part, the line’s scale makes it incompatible with The Black Series, but every so often, you get those designs where scale’s less of an issue.  Such is the case with today’s focus, the GNK Power Droid, better known as the “Gonk.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Gonk is part of the newest assortment of Elite Series figures, which started hitting right around the same time as the three Disney Store-exclusive Black Series figures.  This assortment is all about the droids, featuring a number of the lesser droids from throughout the franchise (and an R2 variant for good measure).  The Gonk is based on his appearance in A New Hope, which is really the go-to, so it works.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and has 2…ish points of articulation.  There are technically joints at the top of each leg but, admittedly, there’s not much mobility to be had there.  The Gonk is primarily constructed from die cat metal, which makes up the main body and the feet.  This makes the Gonk one of the densest figures in the line, and certainly the densest figure I own.  It’s really just a brick of metal when you get right down to it.  Disney has once again stepped up their game on the sculpt front, with the Gonk being one of the most detailed sculpts to date in the line.  It’s a very good match for the Gonk’s design from the movie, and areas like the leg covers in particular are really sharply defined.  Even the paint work is more defined than what we’ve seen before.  Prior Elite Series figures have been more on the clean side, but the Gonk actually gets some sizable wear and tear detailing, helping him achieve that proper worn-in appearance that the Gonk just wouldn’t look right without.  The Gonk is packed with one accessory: a display stand.  It’s the same stand that’s been packed with all of the prior figures, and he doesn’t really need it to keep standing, but it’s always nice to have it, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Gonk is rather a sentimental character to me, due largely to its presence as a playable character in Lego Star Wars, where it was my brother’s favorite character.  When we unlocked the “Super Gonk” feature, he would run all around the levels shouting “Super Gonk!” Ever since then, whenever either of us sees the Gonk anywhere, we always shout “Super Gonk!” to the other.  So, when I spotted this guy at the Disney Store while grabbing the Black Series Zuckuss, there was no way I was turning him down.  As of right now, the odds of a Black Series Gonk are somewhat slim, and this one definitely makes for a good stand-in.

#1880: Cliff Clavin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

CLIFF CLAVIN

CHEERS (MEGO)

“It’s a little-known fact that the tan became popular in what is known as the Bronze Age.”

Cheers’ know-it-all barfly Cliff Clavin was not originally meant to be in the show.  His actor, John Ratzenberger, originally auditioned for the part that would eventually become Norm Peterson.  When that part went to George Wendt, Ratzenberger suggested to the show’s producers the addition of a know-it-all character, and thus, Cliff Clavin was born, becoming one of the show’s most distinctive characters.  Now, he’s even got an action figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cliff is the sophomore offering in the Cheers sub-set of Mego’s TV Classics line-up.  He’s part of the line’s second wave of figures, which started trickling out to Targets in November.  Cliff is built on the re-engineered Type 2 Mego body, so he stands about 8 inches tall and he has 16 points of articulation.  Cliff is sporting a brand-new head sculpt, which is another really long likeness for the Cheers line.  I don’t know if it’s quite topped Norm, but it’s certainly a very close second.  There’s a surprising level of detail there.  The accompanying paint is likewise very strong, with clean, sharp application, and some top-notch accent work.  The slight bit of grey at his temples, as well as the very faintly different coloring to the lips certainly ad a lot of life to the sculpt.  Cliff is seen here in his Postman’s uniform, which is made up of a jacket, slacks, shirt, and shoes.  The shirt is once again a full shirt, deviating from the original Mego style, though the overall tailoring of the uniform is very much the same.  There are some silk-screened elements as well, which detail all of the uniforms most important details. Most impressive for me was the patch on his left arm; that’s a very nice attention to detail.  Cliff is packed with a mug of beer.  It’s the same one included with Norm, and I like it just as much here as I did there.  I imagine we’ll have quite a few of these by the time Mego’s done.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I picked up Norm, I couldn’t very well pass up his drinking buddy Cliff, now could I?  Of course, the spottier showing of Wave 2 of the line meant that I didn’t have quite as much luck finding Cliff as I did the Wave 1 figures.  Fortunately, I was able to draft the help of the biggest Mego fan I know, my dad, who helped me  track this guy down.  I was very impressed by the Norm figure, and Cliff continues the trend that he started.  I really hope that Mego is finding their audience with these figures, because there’s no denying that they’re putting in the effort to make them as solid as possible.

#1879: Wonder Woman & Ares

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

WONDER WOMAN & ARES

DC MINIMATES

Can you believe there was a time when Marvel Minimates wasn’t enough to carry the Minimates brand?  Well, around Series 15 (the only cancelled specialty assortment to date), that was definitely the case.  The line had stagnated, going over a year without a proper assortment release, and there were four back-to-back assortments made up completely of parts re-use.  It was rough to say the least, but then DC came along, and offered salvation.  New characters, new looks, and best of all, new pieces.  Better pieces, pieces that were stronger, faster than before.  Six Million Dollar pieces.  Okay, slight exaggeration there, but DC really did get Minimates out of its slump.  And then, as quickly as it arrived on the scene, it got dropped.  Because that’s just how DC Direct do.  We got a strong selection of DC’s heaviest hitters, though, including number three in their power trio, Wonder Woman, paired off against one of her greatest foes, Ares!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Wonder Woman and Ares were released in the third series of DC Minimates, which is probably my favorite line-up for the whole line.  Wonder Woman was the headliner for the assortment, and as such was actually the focus character on the packaging.

WONDER WOMAN

This would mark the first of Wonder Woman’s three Minimates.  Unlike Superman and Batman, she was not a part of the preceding C3 line, though her prototype had been shown off before the line’s demise.  This one followed a lot of cues from that, while still remaining somewhat distinct.  She’s built on the usual base body, and as such stands about 2 1/2 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  She uses three sculpted add-on pieces, for her hair and her bracelets.  The hair was new to this figure (and would be used again for the next two ‘mates), while the bracelets came from the C3 line.  The hair piece may not be super detailed by today’s standards, but it’s still a sharp, cleanly sculpted piece, which works quite well for the character’s classic appearance.  Her paintwork is nice and clean.  Though Series 3 would be DC Minimates‘ first series to extensively use properly colored plastic, Wonder Woman was unique in following the Series 1/2 style of painting all but the head.  It doesn’t make a huge difference in her appearance, but it does mean she slots in more seamlessly with the Superman and Batman from Series 1.  And, honestly, that’s probably the best course of action. Wonder Woman is packed with her lasso of truth, a newly sculpted piece.  It’s a shame there’s no way to attach it to her waist, but it’s a nice piece regardless.

ARES

When it comes to distinctive Wonder Woman foes, there’s pretty much Ares and Cheetah to choose from.  DC Minimates would produce both, but Ares got to go first.  He’s seen here in his classic blue armored appearance, which has always been my personal favorite for the character, as well as being the most toy friendly.  One of the things that separated DC Minimates from other lines was its use of the larger-scaled base body for larger characters.  Ares was one of those characters, so he’s got an extra half inch on Diana.  Ultimately, whether the larger bodies worked or not was a personal preference thing, but I do find it works particularly well for a character like Ares, who’s just generally depicted as being larger than those around him.  Ares had seven add-on pieces, for his helmet, cape, skirt, wrist bracers, and shin guards.  All of them are unique to him.  These parts really show DCD’s commitment to a higher level of detailing, and definitely rival the modern ‘mates in terms of depth of detail.  And, with the larger base body, the parts are also able to be far more compact to the body than at the smaller scale, making for a more solidly assembled ‘mate.  His paintwork is quite impressive in its own right.  Unlike Wonder Woman, he’s molded in his proper colors for the most part, allowing the paint to actually go more towards accent work.  The best of it’s definitely on his torso, which uses dramatic lighting to nicely outline the texturing of his armor.  It’s a pretty cool effect.  Ares was packed with a sword and an axe, truly appropriate for the God of War.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with every other series of DC Minimates, I got Series 3 new from Cosmic Comix back in the day.  It wasn’t the set I was most excited about in the set, but I was pleasantly surprised by it after opening it.  Wonder Woman is a solid rendition of an essential character, and is a selling point for that reason.  Ares, however, is the real star for me, and has long been one of my favorite figures to come out of this line.