Category Archives: Reviews

#1619: Mr. Fantastic

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

MR FANTASTIC

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A master inventor and impressive shape-shifter, Reed Richards uses intelligence and flexibility to protect the universe as Mr. Fantastic.”

Where would Marvel Legends be without Walgreens?  The humble drugstore chain started offering exclusive figures back in 2014, but only at a pace of about one per year.  However, they’ve really stepped things up in the last year, with a whole sub-set of Fantastic Four-inspired figures.  We’ve already gotten two members of the team (Invisible Woman and Human Torch), as well as a pair of frequent guest stars (Sub Mariner and Medusa).  The third member, Mr. Fantastic, just started hitting stores in the last month.  I’ll be looking at him today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Fantastic is the first Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Legends figure of 2018.   The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Believe it or not, this guy’s on a mostly new body.  I’d really been expecting a Bucky Cap re-use here, especially after Johnny cropped up on in, but Hasbro had other ideas.  This new base looks to use the legs from the Pizza Spidey body with a new torso, pelvis, and arms.  It’s a good build for someone like Reed, who shouldn’t exactly have Captain America proportions.  I look forward to seeing the other applications of this particular base body.  Reed also gets an new head sculpt, which isn’t inspired by any one artist, but fits quite well with the other two FF members and definitely captures Reed’s essence very well.  The arched eyebrow and slight self-assured grin are just spot-on for the character.  Reed’s paintwork is pretty solid stuff.  His uniform is a pretty close match to Sue’s, which is definitely a good thing, and helps with selling that whole “team” thing.  The work on the face and hair is nice and clean.  I might have liked maybe a bit more subtlety on the greying temples, but it’s not awful, and I prefer this to the too slight greying we saw on most of the Toy Biz figures.  Reed is packed with a spare set of elongated arms (re-used from the first Hasbro Mr. Fantastic) which swap out at the shoulders.  They’re rubber with a wire armature, and make for a solid recreation of Reed’s abilities.  Reed is also packed with the Ultimate Nullifier, the weapon given to him by the Watcher in order to defeat Galactus.  It’s a fun little piece, and shows that Hasbro is willing to go the extra mile on these figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had pretty much no trouble finding Reed.  I found him at a Walgreens I’d stopped at on my way home from work and was quite happy to find him. I loved the Sue figure, but Johnny was a slight letdown for me, so I wasn’t sure about how Reed would turn out.  I’m happy to report that he’s by far my favorite Mr. Fantastic figure, and is my favorite member of the team in this little sub-set (so far; Ben still has the chance to top him).  I now anxiously await the arrival of the last team member.

#1618: Agent John Colby

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

AGENT JOHN COLBY

COMIC BOOK HEROES MINIMATES

“Tony Chu’s partner John Colby was badly injured and given cybernetic implants. Now able to talk to machines, he was partnered with the ferocious fighting rooster Poyo at the USDA.”

Twice now, DST has tried their hand at independent comics-based Minimates.  Neither time has been notably successful, but most recent was at least a bit more expansive and well-thought out.  This time around, they did four two-packs, each one based on a particular book.  Amongst the allotment of titles was Chew, John Layman and Rob Guillory’s food-based series from Image Comics.  Today, I’m looking at half of that particular set, Agent John Colby.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

John Colby was originally packed with his partner Tony Chu, as part of the one and only series of Comic Book Heroes Minimates.  He’s based on Colby’s post-cyborg appearance, which is by far the most exciting look.  The figure stands 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation, being based on the standard Minimate body and all.  He’s also got add-ons for his hair and jacket.  Both are re-used, with the hair coming from DC Series 7’s Nightwing and the jacket coming from Marvel Series 52’s Street Fight Wolverine.  They make for a pretty solid match for Colby’s comics appearance, and are just solid pieces all around to boot.  The paintwork on John is pretty sharp work.  Guillory’s lifework translates pretty well to the Minimate aesthetic, and makes for a very nice looking ‘mate.  The colors are bright and bold, and the cybernetic section of his face is well detailed as well.  He’s got a friendly sort of a smile, which seems to suit the character.  Colby includes a pistol, a display stand, and the ferocious fighting rooster Poyo, who is also in his post-cyborg form.  Actually a pretty awesome selection there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got John during Luke’s Toy Store’s Black Friday sale last year.  He was just being sold on his own, without his partner.  I must admit, I bought the first trade of Chew many years back and never actually fished reading it, so I’m only marginally familiar with the character.  Never the less, I found this ‘mate pretty darn cool looking, and I’d actually been eyeing him up for a little while now.  Not a bad ‘mate at all.

#1617: Black Widow & Motorcycle

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

BLACK WIDOW & MOTORCYCLE

MARVEL LEGENDS: LEGENDARY RIDERS (HASBRO)

“A sleek agent with the wheels to match, Natasha Romanov cruises into action as Black Widow.”

When it comes to collector-based lines, vehicles can be something of an issue.  Heck, just in general these days vehicles can be an issue.  Toy makers have enough of a hard time keeping the prices of the basic figures down, without throwing these massive hunks of plastic into it.  Unfortunately, there are some characters who sort of need a vehicle in order to be totally relevant.  Ghost Rider’s at the top of that list, what with “rider” being  in the name and all.  And yet, how many motorcycle-less Ghost Rider’s do we have?  Too many.  Why am I talking about Ghost Rider in a Black Widow review, you may ask?  It’s quite simple: Hasbro’s giving vehicles a try in Marvel Legends, and the first series is Ghost Rider and Black Widow.  In needed an intro to discuss the topic of necessary vehicles, and that makes way more sense for Ghost Rider than it does Black Widow.  But, since I don’t *actually* have Ghost Rider, it’s Black Widow who gets the intro.  Isn’t she special?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

She’s gone seven years with no comic-based Legends, but then, just like that, Natasha’s back in, with two of ‘em, right back to back.  Well, okay, a couple of months apart.  But, for someone who’s not Iron Man, that’s actually pretty impressive.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  Where the last Widow Legend was undeniably a classic ‘70s Widow, this figure takes a decidedly more modern approach.  A lot of elements of this figure’s design have been taken from Chris Samnee’s version of the character from her 2016 solo series.  It’s been made a little more generalized to a basic modern Widow  (she doesn’t have the shoulder holster, and her collar is more pronounced), but the overall feel is very much the same, right down to the shorter hair style.  As a fan of Samnee’s work, I’m very happy with the design choice.  As far as the sculpt goes, the hands are the same as the prior Widow.  Aside from that, this one’s all-new.  I like the detailing on the catsuit a lot.  The wrinkles and the piping on the sides really sells it as an actual item of clothing, rather than just glorified paint.  I also like the new widow’s stingers; the more geometric nature sells the modern design sensibilities in contrast to the Vintage figure.  I have two slight complaints.  The first is the seam that runs down the center of her neck, which looks rather strange.  The second is the belt, which is purely paint.  It’s rather obvious that it’s just painted on, and it looks slightly goofy.  I’d hazard a guess that it was painted on to preserve the re-useablilty of this sculpt.  Aside from the belt, the paint’s pretty light, actually.  Her head has decent work on the face, and the wash helps bring out the detail in her hair.  Beyond that, there really isn’t any paint, but the figure’s not really hurt by that.  Despite her trigger finger-ed hands, Black Widow includes no guns.  What she *does* have is an extra head.  It’s the same face, but the hair is longer, allowing for a less Samnee-specific look.  Well, that is, if you put it on this figure.  But mine never went on this figure.  Instead, it went straight on the Vintage Widow, thereby making the already great Vintage Widow even better.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

Okay, so Black Widow’s hardly defined by having a motorcycle.  That does make the inclusion of this cycle a bit strange.  That said, it’s not unheard of for Widow to be seen riding around on a motorcycle, and she’s even on one on Samnee’s cover of Black Widow #1, so it makes a degree of sense in context.  There are certainly worse characters to choose to give this motorcycle to.  The motorcycle is 7 1/2 inches long by 4 1/4 inches tall, and has working wheels and even has suspension on the back wheel.  It doesn’t look like this bike is modeled directly on the one from Black Widow #1, but I’d guess that, like with the jumpsuit body, this mold has been designed with re-purposing in mind.  I’ve been a little spoiled by Bandai’s Cyclone and McFarlane’s Chopper, but this bike’s actually not half bad.  The tires are actually rubber, and there’s a working kickstand, and a decent amount of detail work.  It’s a bit unsightly on the left side, with all the screws and everything, and it’s perhaps a little wide for Widow to sit on properly, but by and large, I’m pleased with it.  If nothing else, it’s a decent display piece to go next to her, right?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite Ghost Rider being the more obvious choice for this line-up, I actually didn’t have much interest in him.  I mean, I’m super happy he got released, especially for the people that really wanted him, but I’m pretty happy with my Rhino Series figure on the old Toy Biz bike.  Widow, on the other hand, was the one I was really looking forward to.  I was kind of thinking she would be pretty easy to find, but that didn’t prove to be the case.  I stopped at three TRUs, all of them chock full of Ghost Riders, with no Widow in sight.  I eventually got her at Walmart, which made me feel a little dirty, but hey, I gave TRU their shot.  Being totally honest, the bike doesn’t do a whole lot for me.  It’s not bad, but I really didn’t get this set for the bike.  So, Widow really just ended up being an extra expensive figure.  Fortunately, I really like her, and thanks to the extra head that’s now on my Vintage figure, it’s like I got two figures instead off just one.

*Want a Black Widow figure of your own (to say nothing of that fancy bike that goes with it)?  She’s currently in-stock with our sponsors over at All Time Toys!  Click here to check her out!

#1616: Zer0

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

ZER0

BORDERLANDS 2 (McFARLANE TOYS)

“Shrouded in mystery, Zer0 is an assassin-for-hire whose identity and origin are unknown. Left unsatisfied after a previous target failed to fight back, Zer0 turned to Vault hunting in search of a worthy challenge.”

Borderlands 2 is, if I’m being quite honest, a favorite game.  In terms of figures, toymakers always focus, just on NPCs.  This has upset me, and other fans I’ve no doubt, who want Vault Hunters.  They are the center, of all of the cool gameplay, and have neat designs.  For their second set, McFarlane has broached the group, with the Assassin.  His is the figure, which I plan to examine, for today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Allow me to tell, the info of this figure, such as I know it. He is named Zer0, part of the second series, of Borderlands 2.  He’s from McFarlane, same as his predecessors, Jack and small Tina (Tiny is her name, usually that is, lest I do this thing).  Of the Color Tops, he is numbered 41, ‘spite the others lack. He stands 7 inches, and he is packed with movement, 26 points here.  Articulation, as it is for this figure, has been worked in well.  It’s superior, a definite improvement, to prior figures.  The hips merit note, as they diverge from others, and are the best yet.  Movement is solid, though it’s somewhat restricted, to preserve the sculpt.  Zer0’s sculpt is new, rendered from his game model, and quite expertly.  His build is proper, he’s appropriately thin, and oh so scrawny.  The other details, such as weathering and wear, is also top-notch.  His armor’s beaten, it’s all scratched up and dingy, just as it should be. In terms of paintwork, Zer0 exhibits quality, that is like his friends.  The details are clean, and the colors match the game, and he looks the part.  There is some small slop, it’s on his right upper arm, but it’s not awful.  Zer0 is packed with, an assortment of extras, all of them well picked.  First is a number, to attach to his faceplate, as within the game.  It can be tricky, getting it properly placed, but once on it stays.  Also included, the Infinity Pistol, winnable in-game.  Though it’s well-sculpted, Zer0 has trouble with it, falling from his hand.  Up next is a sword, Zer0 uses for melee, and always has near.  It’s really quite long, in fact surprisingly so, more than half his height.  It has got a peg, which helps to keep it in place, unlike the pistol.  The third thing packed in, is a display stand like Jack’s, which keeps him stable.  Lastly included,  there are SHIFT codes for the game, granting you three keys.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Zer0 was purchased, on a trip to Toys R Us, and was a surprise.  I’d just discovered, the two Series 1 figures, and didn’t expect him.  Zer0 is solid, the best of the three figures, so far in the line.  I’m happy with him, and am eager to see others, of the Vault Hunters.  Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to stop writing, in the haiku form.

#1615: Titan Redeemer

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

TITAN REDEEMER

ROBOT SPIRITS (BANDAI)

“Built for brute force and armed with a seismic morningstar, Titan Redeemer is the walking wrecking ball of the new fleet.”

Before Pacific Rim: Uprising hit theaters, there was a little bit of confusion about specifically which Jaegers would be making up the four ‘bot team seen in the big city shot from the trailers.  The source of the confusion?  Titan Redeemer’s seismic morning star weapon, which was prominently featured.  The catch was, it wasn’t actually Titan using the weapon, but rather yesterday’s Bracer Phoenix.  Titan’s role in the film is decidedly more minor, but it’s unique design does make for a stand-out design.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Titan Redeemer is part of Bandai’s Robot Spirits line, and is figure 230, making him the third of the three Jaegers in the first Pacific Rim: Uprising assortment.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation.  Size-wise, Redeemer falls between the other two in both height and bulk.  At first glance, Titan and Bracer seem a little similar in design, but they’re actually quite divergent in person.  Titan’s sculpt is on certainly on par with the other two figures, being a multi-piece sculpt over an underlying skeleton.  I think motion-wise, Titan’s the most restricted of the three figures, and it’s mostly due to the way his shoulder armor is designed.  Since, unlike Bracer, the shoulders are all one piece, there’s a limit to how far the arms can move in any direction.  Honestly, this is less an issue with the figure and more a design thing; I suppose the real Jaeger would have these issues too.  On the plus side, the actual sculpt quality is pretty top notch, and the details are the sharpest of the three figures here.  Literally in some places, most notably his morning star hand, which looks appropriately lethal.  Overall, the sculpt just looks pretty sleek.  Also pretty sleek is his color work.  Like the other two Jaegers, the actual paintwork is one the scarce side, with most of the color work being done with molded plastic.  The dark metallic green in particular is really spiffy looking.  It gives him a nice sense of polish, similar in a lot of ways to NECA’s Chero Alpha.  Titan Redeemer is somewhat light on the accessories compared to the other two Jaegers.  There’s a swappable open palmed hand for his right side, which is the only Titan-specific piece.  No extending chain for the morning star or anything, which is a bit of a bummer.  To make up for it, Titan is also packed with Scrapper, Amara’s one-man Jaeger.  It’s just a little unpainted, unarticulated figurine, but seeing as it’s one of my favorite parts of the movie, I’m glad it wasn’t totally overlooked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with Bracer, I debated whether or not I should pick up Titan.  The announcement early on that Titan would be including Scrapper certainly swayed me, and seeing the figure in the store, I just couldn’t turn it down.  I wish there were more accessories, or that Scrapper was at least painted, but I can’t deny Titan is a very solid figure.  If I had one complaint, it would be that we’re getting Titan, who is quite minor, before we’ve seen any indication of a November Ajax, who is the first Jaeger we see.  But, that’s hardly Titan’s fault, and it really doesn’t actually impact this figure.

#1614: Bracer Phoenix

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

BRACER PHOENIX

ROBOT SPIRITS (BANDAI)

“A Mark V brute that can still run with the VI’s, Bracer Phoenix shoots from the chest, with a centrifugal vortex cannon that is as spectacular as it is deadly.”

Did you guys all go out and see Pacific Rim: Uprising yesterday?  I didn’t, because as I noted in my Gipsy Avenger review, I saw the movie on Thursday night, since there was no way I was waiting any longer than I had to.  While it was hardly the in-depth love letter to old Kaiju flicks that the original was, I found it to be an entertaining spin-off of the original, and hope they can get more movies to tell the stories they want with this new set of characters.  Anyway, I’m continuing my look at some of the toys from the movie, with Jaeger Bracer Phoenix.  Despite what merchandising and promotional materials might lead you to believe by sticking Saber Athena all over the place, Bracer’s undoubtedly the secondary Jaeger in the film.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bracer Phoenix is from Bandai’s Robot Spirits toyline, numbered 229, thus making it the second of the Jaegers sequentially.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  Bracer’s the shortest of the three Jaegers in the first round, but also the one with the most heft.  It appears that the scaling relative to the other two is accurate to the film, from what we see of the Jaegers together.  As a Mark V, Bracer has a number of similarities to Striker Eureka in terms of design, being shorter and wider than his compatriots.  His sculpt is handled very similarly to Gipsy: lots of individual pieces all built on an underlying skeleton.  This adds a lot of sharpness to the details, as well as creating a very realistic depth of detail.  It’s really great on the head, where the visor is a separate piece from the rest of the helmet, which keeps the whole transition very crisp.  As with Gipsy, the paint on Bracer’s actually pretty light, with most of the color work being handled via molded plastic.  Bracer’s color scheme isn’t quite as exciting as Gipsy’s, but it’s accurate to the movie and looks decent enough in plastic.  For this figure, more of the silver parts are actually painted, which looks a lot better than the molded stuff.  The identification numbers and safety markings are nice and sharp, and add a lot to the figure.  Bracer is packed with a spare set of hands in open poses, as well as both the front and rear vortex cannons, which can swap out for the corresponding torso plates.  The Morning Star hand attachment isn’t included, which is a shame, since Bracer doesn’t actually see any action with it.  However, if you have the Titan Redeemer figure (which I’ll be taking a look at tomorrow), you can swap the arms out at the shoulder (something I only actually figured out after seeing the movie), which works pretty well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t initially sure I would be getting all of the Jaegers from this set, and Bracer was one of the ones I was a bit up in the air on.  Upon seeing all of them in person, I had a hard time saying no, so Bracer came home with me.  After opening the figure up, I was definitely happy I decided to pick it up, and after seeing the movie, I was even happier.

#1613: Gipsy Avenger

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

GIPSY AVENGER

ROBOT SPIRITS (BANDAI)

“Gipsy Avenger honors the heroic legacy of her namesake as the flagship leader of the Mark VI Fleet.  More than just a jaeger, she is a symbol of hope to millions.”

One of my very favorite movies of the last decade is Pacific Rim, Guillermo Del Toro’s majestic throwback to the Kaiju flicks of the ‘60s and ‘70s.  After five years, it’s finally getting a sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising, which is officially hitting theaters today.  By the time you guys read this, I’ll have already seen it (I got tickets for Thursday night, of course), but for now I’m writing this review with some blissful anticipation of the awesome that is to come.  The first film was a little slower with the rollout of the toys, since no one knew what kind of business it would be doing, but for the sequel several companies have already jumped on the gravy train.  Over the next three days, I’ll be looking at Bandai Japan’s offerings, starting with the main Jaeger Gipsy Avenger.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gipsy Avenger is part of Bandai’s Robot Spirits toyline, numbered as figure 228, chronologically the first of the Uprising Jaegers.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  Obviously, this figure’s not designed to scale correctly with the NECA figures from the first movie (the DST figures coming later this month will be better matched), but she’s actually a fair bit taller than I was expecting.  She’ll certainly look fine with Bandai’s various Ultramen, if you’re like me and just want a super awesome epic Kaiju killing force.  But hey, that might just be me.  If you’re used to the NECA offerings, this figure’s sculpt is going to be a bit different, since it uses the Bandai approach of assembling the figure from lots and lots of tiny little parts, similar to how the actual Jaeger might be built.  The end result is a figure that has a whole lot of depth to its sculpt.  The lines are sharp, and it’s a pretty solid translation of the design, at least based on what we’ve seen of it so far.  The multi-piece construction of the outer armor and such also allows for this figure to have maximized movement, so you can get Gipsy into some pretty epic poses, though if you go too extreme, some times parts are prone to pop out of place.  Gipsy is actually a little lighter on paint than you might expect.  The majority of the color work is rendered via molded plastic.  For the most part, it works pretty well, especially for the slightly metallic blue that makes up most of the figure.  I’m also quite a fan of the multi-piece, multi-colored way they handled the visor on the head.  The only downside to the molded colors is the silver; molded silver is rarely convincing, since you always get all of those little swirly elements, and it’s a bit dull.  But, that’s rather minor.  There are a few painted details, mostly for Gipsy’s identifying numbers and insignias.  They’re nice and sharply detailed, and add a nice bit of polish to the figure.  Gipsy is packed with a pretty decent assortment of extras.  There are spare open grip hands, as well as a plasma cannon to swap out for the right forearm, and a sword-bearing left forearm.  It pretty much gives you all of the essential Gipsy elements in one convenient package.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting for these guys to hit ever since they were first announced, and I knew for certain Gipsy was at the top of my list.  Imagine my surprise when I walked into Toys R Us and found an entire rack of this figure.  That won’t be happening ever again.  Gipsy is an awesome figure, well worth the $20 price tag.  Here’s hoping the figure’s an indication of the movie’s quality!

#1612: Cardassian Borg

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

CARDASSIAN BORG

BORG: ASSIMILATION (ART ASYLUM)

Okay, we looked at the Borg of the species I like, and we looked at the Borg of the species I don’t know but that looks cool.  Now, we look at this Borg.  It’s not a Borg of a species I like.  It’s actually the opposite of that.  It’s the Borg of a species I actively dislike.  And it’s not even cool like the last one.  It’s…it’s just the third one, and I have this unhealthy need to finish things.  So, without further ado, here’s the Cardassian Borg.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Cardassian Borg, designated 3 of 3, is the final figure in the Borg: Assimilation line from Art Asylum*.  The Cardassian is the shortest of the three Borg figures, at a little under 8 inches tall.  He’s got 17 points of articulation, which includes moving arms on his left arm attachment, which is pretty cool, actually.  That’s probably the last time I’m using “pretty cool” in this here review.  Because this is a Cardassian, perhaps one of the most boring races in all of Star Trek.  This figure has an all-new sculpt, which is, from a technical standpoint, pretty solid.  The Cardassian Borg is probably the least borg-ified of the bunch, lacking the shoulder pads and more obvious technical implants, and also having his neck and one of his hands exposed, which keeps him looking more like a standard Cardassian.  Even the armor’s detailing follows the usual Cardassians design more closely than the others in this assortment.  Even the facial expression lacks that dead-ness that the other two figures have.  He’s got the same sort of a sneering expression that seemed to be a genetic trait of those wacky Cardassians.  The paint on this guy is pretty much on par with the other two, which is to say it’s honestly pretty good.  Hey, look at that.  I almost said “pretty cool” again.  Well, what do you know.  Like the other two figures in this assortment, the Cardassian Borg’s only accessory is that weird coin thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really only got this guy to complete the set.  I’m guessing you probably could have gathered that from the review.  Honestly, just as a figure, this one’s the weakest of the three, but he’s not atrocious. It’s more that I just don’t really like Deep Space 9, and I sort of associate the Cardassians entirely with that show.  He could be worse, I suppose.

*There were actually four Borg figures originally designed for this assortment.  The fourth would have been a Ferengi, but for a number of reasons, the assortment was cut back to three figures.  The Ferengi would have likely been in a second series, had there been one.

#1611: Hirogen Borg

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

HIROGEN BORG

BORG: ASSIMILATION (ART ASYLUM)

Okay, so this post isn’t brought to you by Super Awesome Girlfriend like yesterday’s.  I mean, it’s still inspired by her, since it follows a theme she set forth, but…yeah…

Today, we’re looking at a combo of two of the badassiest threats in Sci Fi!  Yeah, it’s not only a Borg, it’s also a Predator—what’s that?  Oh, it seems I’m getting reports that this is not, in fact, a Predator.  Apparently, it’s a Hirogen.  What’s a Hirogen?  Well, according to Memory Alpha, they’re “a nomadic species of hunters.”  Are we sure they aren’t just Predators?  Because they sound like Predators.  Ah, what do I know?  Let’s just look at the figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Hirogen Borg was officially designated 2 of 3 and was part of Art Asylum’s one-series wonder Borg: Assimilation.  Fun fact: this borg-ified variant of the Hirogen is actually the only Hirogen action figure in existence.  Yes, even in all of Playmates’ insane coverage of the license, they never ever made a single Hirogen.  I think that speaks to the obscurity, right?  Or to the fact that they were on Voyager.  Either way, no prior figures.  The Hirogen is the tallest of the three Borg figures, at 8 1/4 inches tall.  He’s also got 17 points of articulation.  The sculpt is once again all-new, and very, very impressive.  In particular, the texture work on the face is really sharp.  In terms of design, the Hirogen Borg is far more symmetric than the Klingon.  There’s still some definite asymmetry in a few spots, but by and large he’s a lot more balanced than the last figure.  His stance is also straighter, which is another nice change, helping to sell the differences between the two species.  He still keeps the slight stylization present on the Klingon, which is nice for consistency’s sake, and I believe makes for the superior sculpt.  As with the Klingon, the paintwork on the Hirogen is monochromatic, but still very much top-notch.  It’s impressive the kind of range AA was able to pull out of variations on silver and grey, but they certainly did a lot.  He’s a little cleaner looking than the Klingon, which once again seems to fit with the stylistic differences they were pushing with the sculpt as well.  Like his Klingon compatriot, the Hirogen’s only accessory is the weird coin thing, but, once again, he’s hardly hindered by it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Though I certainly checked out the Klingon figure when he was new, the Hirogen didn’t even cross my radar.  Chalk it up to me knowing nothing about the Hirogen in the slightest.  Upon seeing the full set of three figures in person, the Hirogen actually stood out to me the most of the three, and in hand he’s definitely my favorite of the bunch.  Not bad for a figure of a race I didn’t know a single thing about until a month ago.

#1610: Klingon Borg

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

KLINGON BORG

BORG: ASSIMILATION (ART ASYLUM)

Today’s post is brought to you by Super Awesome Girlfriend.  No, she didn’t buy me this figure, but she did point to this spot on my calendar of upcoming reviews, hold up today’s figure and say “you should do this one on that day.”  Who am I to argue?  Well, the owner and head writer of the site, I guess, but I’m really not going to push this one.

In the early ’00s, after Playmates had held the Star Trek license for over a decade, the reins were passed to up-and-coming company Art Asylum.  Poor AA ended up with some of the worst Trek properties to merch (Enterprise and Nemesis), but still put out a solid selection of figures.  They weren’t afraid to experiment a little bit with things.  One of those experiments was their Borg: Assimilation line, which toyed with what non-human races would look like when assimilated by the Borg.  Today, I’m looking at the Klingon.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Klingon Borg, officially designated 1 of 3, was part of the first, and only, series of Art Asylum’s Borg: Assimilation line.  The figure stands a whopping 8 inches tall and has 16 points of articulation.  He’s a little restricted in terms of movement, but he was fairly decent for the time.  The big claim to fame of any Art Asylum figure was sculpting.  The Klingon Borg had an all-new sculpt, featuring a tremendous amount of detail work.  Every surfaced is covered with some sort of texture or small detail, from the ridges on his forehead, to the machinery of his Borg components.  This guy lives up to the Borg’s penchant for asymmetry, with one cybernetic eye, two differently shaped shoulder-pads, and one big honking claw arm to replace his right limb.  He loses the usual Klingon dreads, which impacts his design a bit; originally, he was designed with a bevy of cables that would replace the hair, but apparently this made him look too Klingon.  As it stands, he’s got just the one big wire, which is a decent halfway point.  His face is a good mix of Klingon and Borg sensibilities, with a determined, but still somewhat lifeless stare to his eyes.  It’s worth noting that this figure is a fair bit more stylized than many of AA’s Trek offerings, with a more pronounced set of features on his face, slightly exaggerated proportions, and a decidedly slouched pre-posed nature.  But, as a concept figure, this guy is more about what could be, outside of the limitations of a live-action sci-fi show’s budget.  Though his paint is somewhat monochromatic, it is no less carefully detailed than the sculpt.  His cybernetic sections in particular are rife with small detail work, showcasing a variance in silvers, greys, and brasses that keep him from looking too bland, and give him that nice “used future” feel.  For accessories, all this guy had was the weird themed coin thing that all of the AA Trek figures got.  This one’s red and has the Borg symbol on one side.  Not really much to do with the figure, but given the effort that went into the figure’s design and sculpt, the lack of real extras doesn’t hinder him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember seeing this guy when he was new.  He seemed to hang around KB Toys for a little while.  I almost got him on several occasions, but kept passing for other things.  He and the rest of this series ended up being part of this year’s Farpoint charity auction, and it was that wonderful mix of being something I’d been looking for and also being for a good cause, so I went for it.  Though I’m hardly the world’s largest Trek fan, I can’t deny this is one cool figure.