Category Archives: Reviews

#3861: Oola & Salacious Crumb

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

OOLA & SALACIOUS CRUMB

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

The denizens of Jabba’s palace are just expansive a collection of colorful characters as those in the Mos Eisley Cantina, which makes covering them all in figure form just as tricky a feat.  In the case of Kenner’s ’90s Power of the Force, both locales got “playsets” leading to a need to release figures to populate them.  Some of them are easy enough to slot into your standard retail assortment, but some of them, less so.  Oola, Jabba’s first dancer seen in the film, is dressed in an outfit that’s deliberately meant to be provocative, making it an odd fit for a line of toys ostensibly aimed at kids.  This has made her something of a rarity in the toy world, as it requires more unique solutions than are typically afforded to an admittedly minor character.  Thus far, she’s gotten two figures, the first of which I’ll be taking a look at today, alongside that weird laughing lizard guy, Salacious Crumb!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Oola and Salacious Crumb were part of Kenner’s Power of the Force II, released in 1998 as a fan club-exclusive pairing. This would mark Oola’s first time as a figure, and Salacious’ second time, following a pack-in with the Jabba the Hutt playset in the vintage line. Oola’s the proper figure here, standing just under 3 3/4 inches tall and sporting 6 points of articulation.  She’s pretty standard for the line in terms of motion and build. Her sculpt was all-new and remained unique. Obviously, there’s some similarities between her and fellow Twi’lek dancer Lyn Me, but Oola is notably a lot less pre-posed, and her sculpt is notably a fair bit sharper in its detailing than Lyn Me’s. In particular, there’s quite a lot of attention paid to the mesh netting of her outfit, and also quite a lot of attention paid to the cleavage below it. Yeah, this was definitely for the fan club. There’s a pair of cloth-goods…I guess they’re leg warmers? It’s hard to imagine any portion of this outfit keeping anyone warm, but whatever. They’re nifty enough, though the change from the sculpted outfit to the cloth parts is a little bit jarring.  Not enough to ruin the figure, or anything, but enough to be jarring. The paint work on Oola is pretty solid, honestly. The meshwork is clean, and not too messy or gloppy, and it sells the look well in tandem with the sculpt. Salacious is billed as the second figure, but he’s really more an accessory than anything. He’s a pre-posed figurine, and honestly a bit large for proper scaling, but he at least looks the part. They re-used this same piece for Power of the Jedi, so clearly they liked it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a piece you don’t see *quite* as often as others from this line, so it didn’t land in front of me until relatively recently. “Recently” in this case meaning a little over two years ago, but the point still stands. Oola’s an interesting figure, given how rarely she shows up, and this version speaks to my collecting sensibilities. Salacious is more an accessory than anything, but he’s a cool one, and they both look very cool in the Palace display.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3860: Van Helsing

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

VAN HELSING

HORROR OF DRACULA (NECA)

In horror films, it can be awfully difficult for the hero of the piece to cement themselves as an iconic fixture in the same way that the monsters and villains can. It’s remarkable, though, that for as much as Dracula’s popularity has remained, Van Helsing, the hunter responsible for the evil count’s defeat, has managed to stick around pretty well himself. It helps that Van Helsing has gotten his own share of very talented actors in the role. In particular, the Hammer Horror films had Peter Cushing (an actor very frequently associated with villainous roles, despite his own kind and gentle nature) play the part five times, cementing him as one of the character’s most defining actors. His action figure coverage for the part has been relatively sparse, but improving more recently.  There was a Mego release in 2021, and new NECA’s officially in on the Hammer game, following up their Christopher Lee Dracula from last year with a Cushing Van Helsing!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Van Helsing is an Ultimate release from NECA, the second in their Hammer Horror Horror of Dracula set, following the Christopher Lee Dracula figure released last November.  He started hitting about a month or so ago, so, you know, quite a while after the Lee Dracula had completely dried up at retail.  I’m sure that won’t affect his sell-through at all, right?  Like the Count, he’s based on his look from Hammer’s first Dracula film, which makes a lot of sense, it being the most distinctive and all.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is pretty standard for NECA at this point.  It has its ups and its downs.  There’s certainly some spots where he’s very restricted, but he can generally get into all the poses you might need him to.  Van Helsing’s sculpt is all-new, and handled by NECA sculptors Kyle Windrix and Trevor Grove.  It feels pretty in-line with modern NECA horror offerings.  In his default configuration out of the box, he’s got his overcoat, scarf, and hat.  The hat is attached to the head, and that particular head probably has the weakest of the Cushing likenesses here.  There’s a more standard head, sans hat, which has a more neutral expression, and is generally pretty well-kempt, and it’s probably the best of the Cushing likenesses. Lastly, there’s a more disheveled sculpt, with a more intense expression, clearly patterned on his look during the final battle.  While I don’t think the likeness itself is quite as strong as the neutral one, it’s the sculpt that I feel best captures the character, and by far my favorite.  The overcoat-ed look is more on the restricting side in terms of movement, but is of course a signature look, so it’s the one that I see getting the most play.  That said, this figure comes with a whole extra torso you can swap out, which has him in a vest and tie with his sleeves rolled up.  It’s not a signature a look, but it’s got some better movement.  The figure’s paint work is all pretty good.  It’s a little thick on the skintones, but generally everything looks pretty clean, and he’s reasonably life-like.  In addition to the three heads and two torsos I discussed above, Van Helsing is packed with five pairs of hands (tight grip, loose grip, and relaxed for gloved, and tight grip and relaxed for ungloved), a hammer, a single stake, a bundle of stakes, a crucifix, and the two candlestick holders he uses to make his makeshift crucifix in the finale.  It’s all cool and good, but genuinely the candlestick holders are the only thing that truly matter to me, since they’re such a signature thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I discussed a little in my review of the Mego Van Helsing, since Jess’s passing in 2021, I’ve read up a lot on Peter Cushing and his life, especially in regards to his relationship with his wife and his reaction to her passing.  In many ways, I find quite a kindred spirit in him, and I like the idea of focusing more on his heroic roles than just the villainous ones.  His Van Helsing has always stuck with me, so I was glad to see another version of it in figure form.  This one’s a pretty solid one, for sure.  In general, he’s really your standard NECA faire these days, but I think he works well with their style, and, most importantly, he can do that one cool pose I really wanted.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3859: Superman – The Silver Age

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

SUPERMAN — THE SILVER AGE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

As we head into a year that will headline the latest Superman movie, we’re really seeing a turnaround on Superman related product.  After several years of some lackluster offerings, it’s kind of nice to see the new direction.  McFarlane’s run with the DC license started off with a heavy bat-focus, but in its final year, the company is really taking some steps to do some more interesting and exciting things for people who like the non-Bat side of the DC Universe.  We’ve been slowly getting some proper classic variants on the heavy hitters, and really the last hold out on that was the Man of Steel himself!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman — The Silver Age is part of the fourth “Digital” assortment of DC Multiverse figures, alongside Dr. Fate and Two-Face.  Officially, these are all under the “DC Direct” branding, but they’re clearly the same line as what’s coming directly from McFarlane.  So, one thing of note, if I can be a little pedantic for a moment: this figure is billed “The Silver Age,” when in fact he’s clearly meant to based on the artwork of Jose Garcia-Lopez.  That would *actually* make him a Bronze Age Superman, not Silver Age.  I won’t complain about getting a solid classic Superman either way, and in fact I *prefer* a Bronze Age Superman, but you know, call it what it is, right?  Okay, moving on.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 37 points of articulation.  This Superman is another use of the Earth 2 Superman mold from the Crisis set, which has become McFarlane’s new standard for the Man of Steel.  It’s not hard to understand why; it’s a really solid, balanced, and clean Superman mold, and it’s by far the best version they’ve offered up during their run with the license.  This figure sports a new head sculpt, directly based on Garcia-Lopez’s drawings of the character.  It’s quite a strong sculpt.  Previous sculpts based on specific artists have struggled to really capture the feel, instead kind of forcing a bit of a “Todd” style on them, but this one is just pretty straight Garcia-Lopez, and it works really well, and also fits well on the base body.  The color work is quite bright, as it should be, and the paint work, which is mostly confined to the head and torso, is pretty sharp.  I especially like the slight accenting on the hair; it feels very true to this particular take on the character.  Superman is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and flat (same as the others on this base body), and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Look, this many McFarlane Superman reviews in, you guys have to get the general gist of where this one is going, right?  When McFarlane started with the license, and they put out that first Action Comics #1000 Superman, and it was just mediocre at best, I sort of wrote it off that we weren’t going to get a good Superman, and that was true for a bit.  But then, all of the sudden, they just kept getting better.  And now I own four of them, and they’re all great.  This one in particular does feel really definitive, though.  Like, I just look at it and think “yeah, that’s just Superman, as he’s meant to be.”  Which is one heck of a recovery from a company that started with the Superman that McFarlane did.  Crazy to see them get it so together *right* before they lose the license, but if nothing else, they gave us this genuinely fantastic Superman figure.

#3858: Banshee

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

BANSHEE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Last week, I took a detour from my ’90s Marvel reviews for something that was still *kind of* a ’90s Marvel review.  This week, all I can truly promise is the Marvel.  In fact, it’s kind of meant to *replace* a more ’90s-centric piece already in my collection.  That doesn’t seem right, does it?  Well, look, there are layers, okay?  Today we’re talking about Banshee, a surprisingly early addition to the X-Men mythos, first appearing in 1967 during Roy Thomas and Werner Roth’s run on the original team.  He was a reluctant antagonist, and would eventually join the team proper when the “All-New, All-Different” line-up debuted in Giant-Size X-Men #1.  Since he and Sunfire were both “returning characters,” they didn’t get to be on the fancy Gil Kane-drawn cover to the issue with the rest of the team, which means they more frequently get left out of figure coverage related to the issue.  Fittingly, Hasbro started their “modern” recreation of the team in Legends form back in 2017 with Sunfire, and are finally closing it out (more or less) eight years later with Banshee.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Banshee is part of the Classic Comic Collection series of Marvel Legends, which just started hitting in the last month or so.  It’s certainly an interesting line-up of characters, and by that I mean they seem to have just sort of drawn names out of a hat.  Banshee is one of two X-Men in the line-up, the other being Dakken, whom I don’t know that he’s ever met.  This is Banshee’s third time in Legends form, all three having been under Hasbro.  He’s based on his classic green and yellow garb, which is the same as his first Legends figure, from Hasbro’s first series of Legends after they got the license in 2007 (which, incidentally, like this figure, was in a hodgepodge assortment that happened to include an Ultimate Iron Man figure).  That one was *not* good, so this one’s been a long-time coming.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  As we’ve all been kind of expecting since we got Strike Team Banshee back in 2023, this figure makes liberal use of parts from that one, sharing both heads, the modified upper torso, and the attachments for the glider wings with the earlier figure.  I still love both heads (sculpted by Paul Harding), and the calm one in particular feels more at home on this costume, what with the clearly ’70s muttonchops and all.  It’s still a little odd that he doesn’t have consistent hair between the two heads, but it is what it is.  On the flip side, I’m still not super into the very obvious pegs that attach the glider wings to him.  Sure, they’re secure, but they’re awful to look at.  This guy swaps out the Jim Lee-specific costume elements for the standard Vulcan pieces, making for a slightly cleaner sculpt.  In terms of color work, he changes things up, obviously, to match the new palette.  I’m always partial to the green and yellow, so I do generally like it.  That said, the tops of the boots and gloves being painted rather than molded is a bit jarring.  Otherwise, though, it all looks decent.  Banshee is packed with five different hands: a pair of fists, an open right hand, and two gripping hands.  These hands are unique, as near as I can tell, in that they have stitching on them to indicate gloves.  It’s a small detail, but I actually really like it.  Banshee is also packed with a small replica of Giant-Size X-Men #1, as is the gimmick of this assortment for…reasons?  I don’t know.  It’s nifty enough, even if it’s not *quite* scaled right.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back in 2006, I was *thrilled* by the announcement of Banshee being in Hasbro’s first series of Marvel Legends.  In 2007, I was *not thrilled* by Hasbro’s actual Banshee figure.  I just never much cared for it.  I’ve been waiting for a better one since.  As we made our way through the updated GSXM line-up, I kept hoping the next one would be him, making it especially comedic when we got the Strike Force version first (especially since *exactly* the same thing happened in Minimates).  I made do with that one, but this was the one I was really waiting for.  He’s simple, and it’s not like he’s really doing anything new, but it’s very, very nice to have the GSXM line-up finished, and also, since Banshee was around for a bit, also have all of the subsequent line-up changes before he left the team in ’79.  That’s my favorite era of the book, and it’s really my X-Men, so this is really awesome.

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 and their eBay storefront.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0029: Bishop

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

BISHOP

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Who better for a jump back in time than one of the X-Men’s resident time travellers, Lucas Bishop, a guy who only goes by his last name, because it’s cooler that way, so it’s just Bishop!

“Accidentally wrenched back through several decades by the time-twisting evil mutant named Fitzroy, Bishop arrived in our era from one of Earth’s many possible futures. Bishop survived the battle that followed, thanks to his mutant ability to absorb the energy attacks of others and turn that power back against his foes. Stranded in our time, Bishop has added his might to that of the present-day X-Men by joining their Gold Team!”

The X-Men really just became a haven for displaced time-travelers, didn’t they?  Also guys with vague, unrelated “cool” names that were just common place words, and whose abilities translated to “has a gun”.  All of these things nicely describe Bishop, an uber ’90s character, who could only be more ’90s if he wore a leather jacket and had shoulder pads.  I suppose he got off easy in that regard.  Bishop was prominent enough in the ’90s to feature on X-Men: The Animated Series, and by extension find his way into Toy Biz’s line of X-Men figures from the same period, getting what would be his very first action figure.  I’ll be taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bishop was initially released as part of Series 4 of the X-Men line, and would see subsequent re-release in the Marvel Universe line and as part of a multi-pack with Wolverine and Gambit.  All three releases of the figure are functionally identical, but it’s worth noting that mine is a Series 4 release.  Bishop is sporting his primary look from the ’90s, which was the only one he had at the time of the figure’s release.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Though he’s rocking a waist swivel, he loses movement in his neck, presumably due to his hair.  Curiously, though, the Deluxe 10-inch figure and 2 1/2-inch Steel Mutants figure that are both patterned on the same sculpt both had a neck joint, so why it was missing from this guy is anyone’s guess.  Beyond that, the sculpt is fairly typical for the time.  He’s super bulky, but that’s just Bishop.  I will say that they were starting to run into the limits of this slightly simpler style of elbow joint they used, since it’s a little small for such a large arm.  It works overall, though.  The detailing on the hair is pretty nice, and definitely does his very dated hair cut proud.  Bishop’s paintwork is fairly basic, and a little bit messy on my figure.  There’s a lot of fuzzy edges, and the yellow sections are definitely prone to some serious bleedover.  In 1996, Bishop was also re-issued as part of the “Flashback” assortment, which was all repaints.  For that release, his blue was swapped for grey and black, and his yellow for gold, and his skintone was made somewhat lighter.  There was a second, predominantly red deco also shown, but it never hit shelves.  Whatever the case, the paint is a little cleaner on that release, but of course the trade off is that he’s not in his classic colors any more.  Whichever release you get, Bishop included two large blaster rifles in black, and features a “Quick-Draw Weapon Release” action feature.  Press the button on his back and his right arm swings upward.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have Bishop as a kid, largely because his episodes of the cartoon were some of my least favorite, so I never formed much of an enjoyment of the character.  That said, I really dig the ’90s X-Men line and I’m slowly working through building a complete collection, which meant getting this guy at some point, right?  I found both versions of Bishop at a toy show a while back, allowing me to close off that corner of the X-Mythos in one fell swoop, I suppose.  He’s not really one of the better Toy Biz X-Men, but then he’s far from the worst.  He fills in the roster pretty nicely.

Bishop stands as a single Toy Biz review in a month that was otherwise without them.  I’d be hard-pressed to tell you *why* I reviewed him at that time, since I wasn’t doing any notable run of Toy Biz reviews at the time.  He wasn’t even new at the time, having been picked up two summers prior.  And, I feel the need to confess that I did *not* complete the collection in one fell swoop as I stated.  I had actually gotten the regular a little bit earlier, during a birthday excursion in 2017, while the variant was indeed from a toy show the following year.  In my original review, I noted that he had two guns, but I only showed one of them.  I unearthed the second one, so I’ve added it to the main photo, so he’s all proper and complete.

#3857: Snowtrooper

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

SNOWTROOPER with E-WEB HEAVY REPEATER BLASTER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

After wrapping up the first round of “Deluxe” figures, which were admittedly on the goofier, gimmicky toy side of things, Kenner’s later deluxe offerings on Power of the Force were instead more in line with the usual Star Wars toy approach of being more actually film accurate.  So, rather than heavy hitters with made up big accessories, we got characters who actually needed the larger scale set-up.  We got three figures, all kind of themed around the Hoth scenes from Empire.  I’ve already looked at the Probe Droid and the Rebel Trooper, so here’s the last of the the three with the Imperial Snowtrooper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Snowtrooper with E-Web Heavy Repeater Blaster was added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1997.  He was released the same year as the smaller single-card release Snowtrooper, but this one got a different accessory compliment.  The figure stands a little under 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The standard Snowtrooper was one of the more restricted figures in the line, and this version only scales that up further.  He’s got more of a squat to him, and he’s really only meant for interacting with his accessory.  The sculpt is at least internally consistent, so he fits right in with the standard release, making him a solid choice in regards to army building and the like.  His paint work is also pretty similar in its set-up, though I think the weathering’s a little bit heavier on this release versus the single.  That was true of the Rebel Trooper as well, so there’s some consistency there.  As with most of the deluxe figures, its the accessory set-up that *really* makes a difference.  As the name of the figure points out, this guy’s main set-up is the E-Web, a recurring Imperial armament, which is pretty cool.  It’s a sizable piece, and scales well with the figure, and it works well with the figure’s pre-posing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, I remember seeing this figure a lot growing up, but I never had one.  My cousin Patrick did, I know.  He was generally more of a Snowtrooper fan than I was, so it tracks.  This one is more of a “completing the set” purchase than anything.  It’s cool enough and very accurate, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the most “meh” of the Deluxe figures in the line.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3856: Vasquez

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

VASQUEZ

ALIENS REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

The best things come in threes.  That’s true, right?  Okay, well, not always.  Take the Alien franchise, for example.  There’s just those two movies, right?  Yeah, only the two.  So, I guess maybe the thing I said before is perhaps less than true.  What am I getting here?  Well, I needed a set-up for today’s review, which, for the third Wednesday in a row, is an Aliens review, hailing from Super 7’s ReAction branding.  Today, I’m looking Vasquez, the smart mouthed smart gunner!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vasquez is the last of the human figures in the first and only series of Super 7’s Aliens ReAction Figures line.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  Vasquez has an evolving look over the course of the movie.  This figure goes with the her second most dressed-down look (the first most being right after she wakes up from cryo-sleep), from the meal-time and prep scenes on the Sulaco.  It means she doesn’t really match with the other character’s looks (barring Bishop, I guess), but it’s also sort of that dialed into the character while also more tooling and price friendly look that feels true to how a vintage figure would have been handled.  In fact, it’s the same look that Kenner *did* use when they put her in their ’90s line, so there’s some precedent.  It’s a nice sculpt, with sharp detailing, and a rather unique look compared to the others, especially the other two marines.  Her paint work is basic, but a good match for Hicks and Hudson, as well as a good basics approach to how she looks in the movie.  Vasquez is packed with her smartgun (which she *does* use without the harness while in the locker room on the Sulaco), which her hands are specially posed to more properly hold.  It’s probably the best weapons mold from the set, honestly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Obviously, when the remaining three figures came into All Time and I was already set on getting Newt and Hudson, there was certainly no way that I could pass on Vasquez, right?  Right.  You gotta have Vasquez.  She’s maybe not as outwardly cool a figure at first glance, especially with the more dressed down look, but I think she’s another solid offering, and she feels like she gets the vibe of the line down pretty well.  In general, this was a rather fun little set of figures, of which I am absolutely the target audience.  Of course, I still waited on them, which probably doesn’t help with the whole “one-and-done” bit.  It would have been cool to get more of the Marines, for sure, but the line-up for this set is so heavy hitter focussed, it’s hard to really see Super 7 genuinely planning a follow-up.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3855: The Demon

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

THE DEMON

OTHER WORLDS (DC DIRECT)

If you look closely, dear readers, you may detect, a preference on Tuesdays for DC Direct.  In particular, characters on the supernatural side, who’s offerings in the company’s early days were indeed quite wide.  Etrigan the Demon was introduced in 1972, by Jack Kirby, who wrote him, as well as drew.  Others have since followed on Kirby’s work, and crafted a character full of quirk.  One particular quirk he keeps almost all of the time, is a propensity to speak his words in rhyme.  I’ll be doing the same for this review, because I suppose I’m rather quirky, too.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Demon, who here’s not called Etrigan, completes the Other Worlds set that Hal Spectre began.  He’s the last in the series, following the last two, and this is where he made his figure debut.  The figure possesses just over 5 inches in height, because his sculpted hunch brings his total down a might.  He moves in 11 different places, but that movement’s restricted in most of those cases.  His sculpt’s quite pre-posed, but don’t be a grouch, it’s so he can have his signature crouch.  It’s true indeed, I have to be fair, that it gives the character a dynamic flair.  The joints are unfortunately quite prone to breaking, something that sucks, there’s no mistaking.  On mine, in particular, I’ve to to make do, with loosing both knees and an elbow too.  They do at least hold in place tight, so that the figure can still look alright.  The sculpt is unique, and quite impressive, it’s remarkable how they’ve made it so expressive.  It’s quite fun and to the character true, so it seems they really knew what to do.  The cloth cape is something I really enjoy, as that’s something that can be iffy on a toy.  Thankfully the material is quite thick, making its choice a solid pick.  Speaking of thick, it also describes the paint, and these days, I suppose it’s a little quaint.  The colors work well, at the very least, making him a quite bold little beast.  The application is also fairly clean, so at this time I don’t have to be mean.  The Demon doesn’t get to accessorize, which owes to his bulkier build, I’d theorize.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

To my collection, the Demon I did add, with the assistance of my supportive dad.  He wasn’t in any way the only one, as I got him with Hal back in 2001 (I should specify I mean the one that was Spectre, not the one from the movie with Kubrick as director).  Demon had just appeared on the Batman show, which had made him a character of whom I’d know.  The timing was good for him getting this toy, and it was certainly one that a young me did enjoy.  Other Etrigans have been released since, ranging best to worst, but none have displaced this one that’s the first.

#3854: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

X-MEN ’97 (MONDO)

Are you guys ready for a super crazy radical shift in how reviews go around here? …Well, I hope not, because that’s not really happening. I mean, sure, in contrast to the last several weeks of ’90s Toy Biz reviews, I’m instead doing something totally different. Okay, not totally different. It’s still Marvel. And while it’s not actually *from* the ’90s, it’s certainly ’90s inspired. Mondo, who I haven’t actually discussed here, is a company that didn’t *start* with toys, but they’ve moved into them, and they’re offerings have a lot of ’90s coverage, which undoubtedly has some overlap with my interests. They started doing 1/6 scale figures based on X-Men: The Animated Series a few years ago, and are slowly working their way through not just the main cast, but also a number of supporting players. And last year, in the midst of all that awesome X-Men ’97 hype, they did a Cyclops, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is figure 1 in the X-Men ’97 line from Mondo. It’s an interesting choice, since they haven’t yet finished up the main run of their Animated line and, well, he’s also very clearly an original series Cyclops. Sure, the box uses the ’97 logo, and the main image is the ’97, but all of the storyboard images are from the original show, and he’s clearly based on the original design sheet. He’s clearly a figure intended for the first line refitted for a quick tie-in with the newer show. Not that I’m complaining either way.  There were two releases of the figure: the standard, and a deluxe version that was a timed exclusive available directly through Mondo’s store.  The core figure remains the same for both versions. The figure stands just over 12 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Unlike a lot of 1/6 figures, the Mondo animated figures are fully sculpted, with an articulation scheme not unlike a Marvel Legend.  The range of motion is okay in some spots, but rather restricted in some others.  The hips and shoulders in particular are rather stiff, but you can work with them if you’re patient.  The sculpt, handled by Alex Brewer, is a unique offering, and it’s a pretty solid match for the animation design.  It’s clean, and the head in particular really looks the part.  I especially like how sharply defined the hair and its flippy ’90s goodness.  The only thing I’m not crazy about is how the shoulder harness hovers.  It’s a frequent issue with this design, and it’s one of the quirks of maintaining an okay range of motion on the torso.  Cyclops’ paint work (laid out by Tomasz Rozejowski) goes for the cel-shading angle.  It’s always a tricky prospect, but I think they actually did a respectable job of making it work, even in three dimensions.  As it stands, it gives the sculpt an impressive extra bit of pop.  The standard release of Cyclops includes an alternate head with a screaming expression, two alternate visors (one for optic blasts, and the other with a flare effect attached), two different optic blast attachments, 9 different hands (in fists, open gesture, pointing, two fingers extended, and a right gripping hand), and a cup of coffee.  It’s a solid, basic assortment of parts.  The deluxe version also added an extra optic blast, a head without the head gear, a pair of sunglasses, an alternate Sentinel-style head, and a jacket and extra arms and hands for his bomber jacket look.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when this figure was shown off, I totally wanted…specifically the deluxe version.  He had all the extras I wanted, and I was all game to jump on and get him when he dropped.  And then…well, a stomach bug tore its way through my household, and I totally missed the drop dealing with that, so I didn’t get the exclusive.  I was bummed, and thought about getting the standard, but I lost my initiative, and it just didn’t happen.  That is, until this guy got traded into All Time, giving me the opportunity to see him in person.  Even without the extras, he felt worth it.  I’d still love to get the deluxe one, if I could, but for now, this guy’s still pretty awesome.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3853: Boba Fett – Deluxe

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

BOBA FETT with WING-BLAST ROCKET PACK and OVERHEAD CANNON

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“As a result of Luke Skywalker’s daring rescue of Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett was thrust into the Great Pit of Carkoon and presumed to be a victim of the dreaded Sarlacc. Sometimes later, the notorious bounty hunter was spotted on Nar Shaddaa with a menacing-looking weapons pack. Several rumors have been spread concerning his recent escape and present situation, the most prevalent one being that the Hutts have contracted him to capture Han Solo and Princess Leia alive for the death of Jabba.

A weapons master, Boba Fett has a veritable arsenal hidden throughout his Mandalorian armor. His new pack is reported to possess powerful turbo thrusters that provide prolonged atmospheric flight up to 500km per hour. Shielded battlewings open to reveal missile racks loaded with concussion rockets, while heavy-rotating blasters, similar to those mounted on Jabba’s sail barge, respond to optically-activated signals in the helmet. Certainly the deadliest feature of this device/vehicle is the bolstered proton torpedo launcher. It is estimated that this pack was designed and built by Boba Fett himself: besides that fact that not one of its kind has ever been seen before, the type and variety of its weaponry – few other than Fett would dare carry a proton torpedo on his back – suggest that this battle machine be a signature model of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunter.”

You know, I gotta say, I do love it when Kenner would get real wordy with the bios on the back of their figures.  These days, Star Wars figures are lucky to get maybe two sentences to themselves, but here’s this wacky variant Boba Fett that’s out here getting an entire post-RotJ storyline.  There’s two whole paragraphs!  That’s dope!  Also, it makes my intro easier, because look how many *words* there are.  Anyway, a while back, I looked at three of the four debut “Deluxe” figures from Power of the Force, which marked a rare instance of Kenner pushing their usual “toyetic” approach on Star Wars, but I never rounded out the set.  So, let’s do that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boba Fett with Wing-Blast Rocketpack and Overhead Cannon (which, yes, is his official name) was part of the first year of Deluxe figures from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force line in 1996.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Like the other three figures from the first year, Boba is effectively a tweaked version of the Series 1 Boba, but now with a big accessory you can strap onto him.  The core figure is sort of a merging of the standard and Shadows Boba molds, but also with a more neutral stance, which also makes him just the slightest bit taller.  Beyond that, it’s more or less the same figure, with more or less the same design elements.  It’s not terrible, but it’s also a little removed from accurate.  His color work follows the Series 1 set-up, putting him in specifically his Return of the Jedi colors, which, given the way the bio goes, makes a degree of sense.  It was also the look being most pushed by the multi-media side at the time, so that also makes him the most evergreen look, I suppose.  His main change-up is the inclusion of the “Wing-Blast Rocketpack and Overhead Cannon,” which replaces his usual, more modest jet-pack.  It’s really big, and it makes him rather unstable, but I guess it’s…like, fun?  Is that allowed?  Are Star Wars figures allowed to be fun?  Eh, I’ll allow it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was a kid, I wasn’t much of a Fett guy myself, but my cousin Rusty was.  With that in mind, I bought him one of these for his birthday the year they came out, but, unfortunately, someone else had done the same.  He told me I should open it, and it was his birthday, so I did.  And since I’d opened it and it couldn’t be returned for another gift, I ended up keeping it.  Well, just the core figure.  I never had the backpack.  And, honestly, I didn’t have the core figure for long either, as I lost him somewhere along the way.  The one here in the review is the result of quite a hunt.  See, I found the figure and the backpack with ease, but the launcher and the missile seem to be the one thing that goes missing every time. At one point, I even got my hands on a sealed one, and that one was somehow missing the missile and launcher *in the package.*  As you can see, though, I did eventually find a complete one.  He’s goofy and silly, but he’s neat.

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 and their eBay storefront.