Category Archives: Reviews

#0341: The Terminator

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

THE TERMINATOR

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

Funko’s ReAction line has become one of the bigger splashes in the toy world, mostly due to the large scope of the line. Funko’s massive catalogue of licenses allows the line to have some serious pull. A lot of people are getting into it solely based on some properties getting their first toylines ever. One such license is James Cameron’s The Terminator. While its sequels weren’t short on toys, the original tends to only be seen through a stray figure here or there in a sequel’s line. Recent years of collector lines have added a few more figures from the first film, but never a purely devoted line. Today, I’ll be looking at one of the ReAction versions of the titular Terminator.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Terminator is part of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures line, which is part of Funko’s larger ReAction line. He stands just shy of 4 inches tall (making him shorter than the Endoskeleton, by the way) and features the standard 5 points of articulation. This figure is based on the Terminator’s “Tech Noir” look, which is the look he sports for the first half of the movie. It’s referred to as the “Tech Noir” look after the name of club that he first confronts Sarah Connor in. It’s the look he has for the longest stretch of the movie, but it isn’t usually considered the definitive Terminator look. The Terminator has an all-new sculpt, based on his look from the movie. It does a pretty good job translating the Terminator to the style, but it’s not perfect. He’s a little bit too skinny for Schwarzenegger in the first Terminator, especially at the neck. The head sort of looks like Schwarzenegger, but it’s not spot on. It’s like the Terminator, if he were a Vulcan. The paint on the Terminator is passable. He’s got a few areas of slop and bleed over, as well as some fuzzy lines. Then, of course, there’s the eyebrows, which are definitely not right. Still, as a whole, the paint is fine, and it seems to have summed up the Terminator’s look nicely. The Terminator includes an Uzi and Colt with a scope, both of which he is seen carrying in this particular outfit. They both are quite well sculpted, especially for the scale and style.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Terminator was another figure purchased from Amazon, along with the rest of the first series. While this isn’t the definitive Terminator look, it is a unique look. It looks pretty great with the rest of the set, and it’s not a bad figure in general. He’s not the best ReAction has to offer, but he’s far from the worst.

#0340: T800 Endoskeleton – Chrome

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

T800 ENDOSKELETON – CHROME

THE TERMINATOR REACTION

Well, it seems I’ve been bitten by the ReAction bug. I had mixed feelings about the quality of the Firefly figures, but the pros outweighed the cons, and just the sheer volume of characters available in the style meant it was pretty easy for Funko to pull me back in. One of the early properties announced for the line was James Cameron’s The Terminator, of which I’m a pretty big fan. I mean, it’s no Aliens, but it’s one of the top sci fi films of the 80s. It also has the notoriety of being one of the announced ReAction properties that was released somewhat closely to the figures of the style that this line is going for. Today, I’ll be getting under the skin of the titular Terminator, with the T800 Endoskeleton!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The T800 Endoskeleton was released as part of The Terminator ReAction Figures line, under Funko’s wider ReAction Figures umbrella. The Endoskeleton is 4 inches in height and features the line’s standard 5 points of articulation. The figure is of course based on the design of the T800, specifically from the first Terminator movie. However, this is the Chrome version of the figure, which more accurately coveys the sheen of the T800 in Terminator 2. That being said, the vac metalized look is probably more accurate to the Kenner style. Fortunately, Funko has given fans the choice between two different sheens. Anyway, the sculpt is all new to this figure, and it’s pretty great. It manages to capture the complex design of the T800, which at the same time maintaining the more simplistic aesthetic of the rest of the ReAction line. The head is a little on the large side, but it’s not too bad, and it maintains the same quality as the rest of the sculpt. Obviously, the Endoskeleton isn’t a design that requires much paint, especially in the case of a chromed version, but Funko hasn’t cheeped out. The head features properly painted eyes and teeth, both of which are very well done, with no slop or bleed over. The Endoskeleton includes no accessories. It would have been nice to get a plasma rifle or something, but the Endo isn’t actually seen wielding any weaponry until T2, so I guess the lack of accessories is accurate.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Endoskeleton was ordered from Amazon, along with the rest of the first series of The Terminator ReAction Figures. When the ReAction Figures were first announced, the chrome Endo was one of the first ones I really wanted. The Endo design is incredibly distinctive, and definitely one of the more memorable killer robot designs out there. The figure isn’t perfect. He feels a bit on the frail side, and I’m uncertain of how long the chrome will last. That being said, he’s a fun little figure, and I whole-heartedly recommend him to even moderate fans of The Terminator.

#0339: Frankenstein’s Monster

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

FRANKENSTIEN’S MONSTER

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS (SIDESHOW)

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Frankenstein is an important story. The original book is generally considered to be the very first Science Fiction story, and the 1931 film adaptation of the book helped kick off the Universal Monsters series, and made a star out of Boris Karloff. The first film is great, but it is surpassed by its sequel, Bride of Frankenstein, in the eyes of many. Bride featured better writing, better character work, better special effects, and a killer soundtrack to boot!

In the early 2000s, Sideshow Toys was just getting into the 12 inch scene. One of their earliest licenses they launched in that scale was Universal monsters, with Frankenstein among them. They did pretty much every version of the monster from the movies. Today, I’ll be looking at their version of the Monster as he’s seen in Bride of Frankenstein.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

FrankensteinWilsonThe Monster was released in 2002 as a part of the Universal Monsters line by Sideshow Toys. He was the second version of the Karloff Monster, but he was actually the fifth version of the Monster in the line, after the versions from the original film, Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, and House of Frankenstein. The figure stands about 12 ½ inches tall and features 29 points of articulation. As noted in the intro, this figure is meant to represent the Monster from The Bride of Frankenstein. In Bride, the Monster has been left a little worse for wear by the events at the end of the first film, so the figure reflects that. Like most Sideshow figures of the time, the Monster is built on the Sideshow Buck, which was their original 12 inch body. It’s slightly dated and stiff now, but it was the standard in the day, and what’s more, the stiffness is actually perfect for a character like the Monster. In addition to the Buck, the Monster features unique pieces for his head, hands/forearms, and his feet. The hands and feet replace the usual Buck pieces, and elongate the figure’s body a bit to give him his more gargantuan size. The head represents the Monster’s more scarred look from the movie, and it does it very well. The likeness to Boris Karloff is astounding, which is really great. The rest of the figure’s appearance is handled via cloth pieces. They aren’t as impressively tailored as something like Hot Toys, but they aren’t bad. The green of the jacket seems a touch too bright, but otherwise the coloring seems pretty good. The clothes also feature some padding built in to help aid the figure in looking a bit larger. It works pretty well, so that’s good. The paint on the Monster is very well done. While it lacks some of the more lifelike touches that future Sideshow figures have, it’s very clean and features some really great detail work. The monster includes a cobblestone textured display stand, a skull, and a stack of bones. All of these are pretty great, especially the skull!

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was growing up, the Frankenstein movies were some of my favorite horror movies. I had a small selection of Sideshow figures, and among them was Fritz, the Doctor’s ill-fated assistant from the first movie. I always wanted a Monster to go along with him, but I never got one. A few weeks ago, my parents and my brother took a trip to visit a friend, and on the way back they visited a comicbook store with a decent selection of Sideshow’s Universal Monsters. My family, being the horrible, supportive influences they are, called me to ask if there were any I was looking for. I inquired about the Monster and was told I could choose between the one from Son of and Bride of. I went for the more conventional Bride design. I’ve actually always preferred the look from Bride, so I’m really happy with this figure. All in all, he’s a great version of Karloff’s interpretation of the character, and I’m really glad to finally have Frankenstein’s Monster to go with Fritz.

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#0338: Plastic Man

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

PLASTIC MAN

DC SUPER POWERS

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I am a fan of superheroes with stretchy powers. I just think they allow for so many really cool possibilities, and they’re always a lot of fun. One of my all-time favorite super heroes is the Elongated Man, one of DC’s resident stretchy heroes. EM tends to be slightly overshadowed by DC’s other stretchy guy, Plastic Man. Plas was not originally even a DC character, but he was owned by one of the many companies DC bought out between the golden and silver ages of comics. DC kind of forgot they owned the character until somewhere around the late 70s/early 80s (part of the reason Elongated Man exists), but when they finally figured it out, they went to work trying to make the character work for a larger audience. He made an appearance on Super Friends, got his own Saturday morning cartoon, and even made an appearance in Kenner’s DC Super Powers line, marking his first venture into the world of action figures. Today, I’ll be looking at that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PlasticManSPWilsonPlastic Man was part of the third, and final, series of DC Super Powers figures. The figure is about 5 inches tall (5 ½ with his neck extended) and he features 8 points of articulation. That’s actually one more point of articulation than the usual SP figure, because Plas got a waist joint. Don’t know why he was the only figure to get one, but it is nice to have it. He’s based on the look most associated with the character (though not his original. The sleeves were added later). The sculpt of the figure is really great, easily my favorite Plastic Man sculpt. It’s a fairly simplistic sculpt, but it really works for Plas. He’s taller and leaner than most of the figures in the line, which really give him a great stretched out look. The head is a spot on recreation of the character, and he’s got the perfect goofy smile that Plas is so often seen sporting. Possibly my only complaint about the figure is that they chose to simply paint the ties on the front of his costume rather than sculpting them, but that’s a really minor thing. The paintwork is pretty straight forward. There’s nothing super noteworthy, but everything is pretty cleanly applied, and they got all the colors right. Plas included no accessories, but he did have the requisite SP action feature. When you squeeze Plastic Man’s arms, his neck extends about an inch, replicating his stretching powers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Plas is a recent ebay purchase. For the last several years, I’ve been slowly piecing together a full set of DC Super Powers figures. Plas marks my 23rd figure from the 33 figure set, putting me in my final 10. Since I got him so late, you might assume that I don’t particularly care for Plas, which is far from the truth. Plas is one of the figures I most wanted from the line. However, being from the final series from the line, and being one of the few characters in that series to be an actual DC Character using an actual DC design, he can be a little difficult to get. He’s not one of the most difficult, but he’s up there. Fortunately, I came across an ebay auction recently that was at a price I was willing to pay. Plas is one of the cooler figures in this line, and I’m very glad to have him. Now I just have 10 more to go!

#0337: Superman

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

SUPERMAN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE

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In 1979, Superman started a trend of superhero movies that has continued for over 30 years. There had been superhero movies before, such as the 60s Batman: The Movie, but Superman is important because it treated the source material seriously, while simultaneously making winks at the audience about some of the stranger aspects. It knew what it was. It may not be for everyone, but it’s the prototypical superhero movie without a doubt. Because of this, it’s remained one of my favorites. Until the recent round of Marvel Studios movies, it was my go to example of what a superhero movie should be. One of the movie’s greatest strengths was the casting of Christopher Reeve in the title role. He played both sides of the character with a lovability and sense of heroism that his performance serves as many people’s ideal Superman even to this day. In the late 70s, movies didn’t get toylines like they do today, leaving collectors lacking in a Christopher Reeve Superman for three decades. A few years back, Hot Toys released their own take on the character that was phenomenal, but the smaller scale was lacking a bit. With the announcement of their DC Comics Multiverse line, Mattel confirmed a Christopher Reeve Superman. Yes, I know, it’s Mattel. This is about the point where I warn you it’s gonna be rough. Well, this figure’s actually a bit of a surprise.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ReeveSupermanWilsonSuperman was released in the third assortment of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse line. For those of you keeping track, yes that does put him an assortment later than the previously reviewed General Zod figure. I’m not sure what Mattel was trying for there, but it resulted in peg-warming Zod’s everywhere. Sound move, guys. Obviously, this figure is based on Christopher Reeve’s portrayal of the character. If you want to be specific, he’s based on Superman in the first movie, but there really wasn’t much change from film to film. The figure is a little over 3 ¾ inches tall and features 18 points of articulation. The articulation here is better handled than it was on Zod, though they have removed the bicep swivels in exchange for thigh swivels. He also gained a waist swivel that Zod was so sorely lacking. Superman is still a bit stiff looking, and he could really use some ankle movement, but he really isn’t bad. If Zod’s waist was too high, I’m gonna go ahead and say Superman’s waist seems to be too low. It’s not as bad, but it does seem a slight bit off. Aside from that, the sculpt is pretty great. The proportions seem pretty on mark, and the head bears a pretty decent likeness to Reeve, especially at this scale. Superman’s paint isn’t terrible, but I had to look through several figures to find one that didn’t have any immediately noticeable issues. I still didn’t find a perfect figure, as removing him from the package revealed a sizeable portion of missing paint of the logo on the cape. Other than that issue, the paint is pretty good, though there are few areas with some bleed over. Superman includes no accessories, which is really a shame, given the cost of the figure. It would have been cool to get the chunk of Kryptonite Luthor hangs on his neck, or something. Anything would be good.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Superman from a boardwalk shop in Ocean City while I was there celebrating my friend Jill’s birthday. Surprisingly, I really like the figure. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than a lot of Mattel’s output these days. It’s a shame that Zod wasn’t quite as good, but the true tragedy is that many people will probably end up passing on Superman based on the lackluster Zod, thanks to Mattel’s odd release order.

#0336: Marvel’s Wonder Man

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

MARVEL’S WONDER MAN

AVENGERS INFINITE

WonderManAI1

Is a rather commonly known fact that death in comics is far from a permanent thing. Characters die and come back at the drop of a hat. In some cases, the same character will do this several times. The usual go to example of such a character is Jean Grey, but in reality Jean’s only actually died and come back once. A great example is Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man (or Marvel’s Wonder Man, as the packaging would lead you to believe), a character who has died and returned no less than three times, which is actually impressive for a character who is relatively minor. When Kurt Busiek brough Simon back to life from his second death, he was given an extra set of “Ionic Powers” which manifested as a cool new energy look, just ripe for the toy form! This look was recently brought into toy form for the second time in Hasbro’s Avengers Infinite line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WonderManAI3Wonder Man was released as part of the fourth series of Avengers Infinite. He is the only actual Avenger in the line-up, so I guess he’s just there to maintain the name. The figure is about 4 inches in height and features 22 points of articulation. As mentioned in the intro, he’s based on the Ionic version of the character, which is what he looks like when he’s directly channeling his Ionic powers. Essentially, what this boils down to is that he’s a basic Wonder Man molded in a translucent blue/purple plastic. The figure is, head-to-toe, a complete re-use of the previous Wonder Man, released in the Marvel Universe line. Since I haven’t reviewed that figure yet, I may as well talk about the sculpt here. He makes use of the basic “larger male” buck that Hasbro used on the Wrecking Crew and the like, with the addition of a new head, plus wrist band and belt add-ons to make the figure more Wonder Man-specific. The body is one of the better base bodies that the MU line had to offer, and it’s a pretty good fit for Wonder Man. The head is a pretty great piece, and it captures Wonder Man’s personality pretty well. Technically, the belt and wrist bands aren’t accurate to the look, as they aren’t visible in his Ionic form, and they are even absent on all of the prototype shots, but here they are on the final figure. It’s hard to be mad at them for including extra pieces, but it does seem odd that they’d make use of unnecessary pieces. The figure features minimal paint, with details only for his eyes and logo. The eyes are clean, but the logo shows some pretty bad slop, especially on the shoulders. Wonder Man includes no accessories, but I can’t really think of anything he would need. Maybe a stand? Or a pointless missile launcher!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kurt Busiek’s run on Avengers began just as I was starting to read comics on my own. I knew most of the characters already, but I didn’t know Wonder Man until Busiek brought him back. He quickly became one of my favorite Avengers, and in the last 20 years, I’ve managed to acquire every single figure of him. Okay, so there are only eight of them, but it’s still a thing. The MU version was my favorite version of the character for a while, so I certainly don’t mind having another figure built from the same pieces. Plus, he’s got that whole translucent plastic going for him, which is always cool! All in all, he’s a pretty cool figure, and he’s helped by the fact that he’s really the only new figure in series four.

WonderManAI4

#0335: Pit Droids

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

PIT DROIDS

STAR WARS 30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

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So, umm… run down on the Star Wars stuff I mentioned before. Prequels bad. Originals good. Toys for both. There, up to speed?

Amazingly enough, I actually don’t hate The Phantom Menace as much as the other two. It’s still not great, but I can find things to enjoy about it. The lack of a certain Hayden Christiansen really helps. Anyway, the wonders of CGI meant that we got to see some pretty decent designs that wouldn’t have otherwise been brought to life. One such design was that of the Pit Droids, the little droids that worked in Watto’s shop and on the Pod Race track (incidentally, two of my least favorite places/sequences in the movie, but not at the fault of the Pit Droids). Today, I’ll be looking at a pair of those droids.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

PitDriodsWilsonThe Pit Droids were released in the Fan’s Choice assortment of the 2007 series of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection. The figures are about 2 ½ inches in height and the each feature 5 points of articulation. Both Pit Droids in the set make use of the same sculpt, so I’ll just be examining it once. They are a total re-use of the Bonus Pit Droids that were released in place of the comm-tech cards included with Phantom Menace figures in countries that weren’t carrying the comm-tech reader. The figures never saw a domestic release, so it was nice for Hasbro to get them out to those that missed out. It’s a pretty decent sculpt, and seems to accurately translate the Droid design to the toy form. They seem to be a little on the large side based on the scale in the movie, but it isn’t too far off. The Pit Droids were available in three different color schemes. I got the orange/white scheme, which is the one I preferred and coincidentally the one I found. The paintwork is pretty decent. It’s cleanly applied and there aren’t any noticeable instances of bleed over or slop. Like the different color schemes, there were also different accessories offered with the figures. This particular set included a silver power converter, as well as metal coin with a Phantom Menace related design on it, denoting these figures as Fan’s Choice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like the Pit Droids, but given their absence from The Phantom Menace toyline, by the time they were actually released I was mostly out of collecting prequel figures. My ability to resist figures severely lowers when the figures are on sale, so when my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix, marked all of their Star Wars figures down to $3.99, I was kinda roped in. It’s a nice little set, and if you like the Pit Droids, you’ll like these.

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#0334: Kashyyyk Trooper

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

KASHYYYK TROOPER

STAR WARS 30th ANNIVERSARY

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The Star Wars prequels are kinda bad. They make me sad, and that’s just not right. Every time I watch them, I like them even less than before. They are the perfect antithesis of the original trilogy in that respect. Still, there were a few interesting ideas, and above all, there were some genuinely good designs. Yesterday, I took a look at Clone Commander Gree, one of my favorite designs from the prequels. Today, I’ll be taking a look at the Kashyyyk Trooper, one of the clones under his command.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

KashyykTrooperWilsonLike Gree, the Kashyyyk Trooper was realesed in the 2008 series of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection. The figure is 3 ¾ inches in height and features 23 points of articulation. The Kashyyyk Trooper is based on one of the handful of trooper designs seen amongst the Kashyyyk forces in Revenge of the Sith. The design takes a lot of its cues from the Scout Trooper design, but the figure actually features a mostly new sculpt. The only re-used piece is the figure’s head, which previously was used on a Scout Trooper, but even that has a new faceplate. The rest of the sculpt is new, and it’s all pretty well done. The proportions are pretty good, though the hands do seem a little oversized. There are minor differences between the Scout Trooper and the Kashyyyk Trooper, and it’s really nice to see Hasbro go the extra mile to include these differences instead of just resorting to a basic repaint. The flip up face plate is pretty cool looking. It flips down easily, and stays in place the right way and it doesn’t look to bulky. The underlying face is fairly generic, but that’s alright for a clone, I suppose. The paint work on the Trooper is pretty good. Not as impressive as Gree’s, but pretty decently detailed. There’s no real issues with slop or bleed over, so that’s good. The figure includes a large blaster rifle and a display stand with the figure’s name and the title of the movie on it.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a figure that I didn’t really jump on when it was first released. At the time, I was kind of getting out of Star Wars figures, and I certainly wasn’t going to be getting prequel figures. However, when my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix, marked all of their Star Wars figures down to $3.99, the price was right. It’s a pretty cool figure, with a pretty cool design. I love the Scout Trooper, so you can’t really go wrong with throwing some green in there.

#0333: Commander Gree

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

COMMANDER GREE

STAR WARS 30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTIONCommanderGree1

Generally speaking, I don’t like the Star Wars prequels. I remember enjoying them overall when they were released, but as time has gone on, I like them less and less. That being said, there are a few things I did like from those movies. One of the biggest things was the Clone Troopers, who were just all kinds of cool. In Revenge of the Sith, we were introduced to several named clones who served as commanders of certain forces, and featured their own unique looks. My personal favorite was always Commander Gree, the clone in charge of the forces on Kashyyyk.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CommanderGreeWilsonGree was released in the 2008 series of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection. The figure stands 3 ¾ inches tall and features 26 points of articulation. Gree is based on the character’s appearance in Revenge of the Sith. He makes use of the pieces from several of the previous Clone Troopers, with the addition of a new torso featuring Gree’s “suspenders.” All of the pieces are pretty accurate to the movie, which is pretty cool. The figure features a removable helmet, which is quite nicely scaled. Surprisingly enough, the underlying head isn’t undersized to ensure this, and it even has more than a passing resemblance to actor Temuera Morrison, which is much better than the last two clones I reviewed. The paintwork is the most important part of any Commander Gree figure, and the paint here is spectacularly done. There’s a tone of texture and detail on pretty much every piece of the figure and he features no noticeable slop or bleed over. Gree includes a short blaster rifle, a pair of binoculars, a backpack with an antenna, and a display stand featuring his name and the movie he appeared in.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Gree is a figure I passed on a few times when he was released. I already had the earlier version from the Revenge of the Sith line, and I figured that was probably good enough. Recently, my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix, had a sale and marked all their Star Wars figures down to $3.99. For that price, I was willing to go for it. I’m glad I did because this version of Gree is a definite step up from the previous one.

#0332: Data – First Contact

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

DATA

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION

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Star Trek movies have a tendency to be rather hit and miss. The shows all have their loyal fanbases (even Voyager and DS9, much to my own amazement), but the movies tend to be very polarizing. There’s the common adage about the odd movies being the bad ones, which sort of works (well…if you overlook Star Trek VI and Insurrection). Two movies that support this theory are Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek: First Contact. In the case of the latter, I think the movie is even better than the show that spawned it, and it remains one of my favorite movies to this day. Around the time of Nemesis and Enterprise, Art Asylum picked up the license for Star Trek and began doing figures of the current stuff. When Art Asylum merged with Diamond Select Toys, DST took over the line and changed up the release method a bit, doing just 2-3 characters at a time, with multiple character looks released different places. Today, I’ll be looking at Data, based on his look from First Contact.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DataFCWilsonData was part of series three of Diamond’s Star Trek: The Next Generation line. This particular variant of Data was released as a Previews Exclusive, meaning he could only be gotten by placing an order for series three through Diamond Distributers. The figures stands about 7 ½ inches tall and features 16 points of articulation. The figure is based on the character’s appearance in First Contact, specifically the final 10-15 minutes of the film, after the human implants given to him by the Borg are destroyed. The figure’s sculpt is a mix of unique and shared pieces. The arms below the shoulder, and everything below the waist are shared with the regular series 3 versions of both Data an Lt. Barclay. The figure gets a new torso and shoulders to represent his movie uniform, as well as an all new head sculpt to represent his “exposed” look. The body is pretty good, though not perfect. The legs are skinny, and the slightly odd positioning of the feet, coupled with the lack of any sort of swivel joints on the legs, makes the figure difficult to stand correctly. The hands also seem a bit on the large side, but they aren’t terrible. The head sculpt bears a passing resemblance to Brent Spiner, but it’s not as close as some previous sculpts. The mechanical part of the head is superb, very accurately recreating all the exposed circuitry seen in the movie. It’s the highlight of the figure, which is good because it’s also the selling point. The paint on Data is clean and well applied. The skin seems just a bit thick, but it’s not too bad on a robotic character like Data. Data includes an alternate head, an alternate arm, a hair piece for the extra head, and a transfer tube of some sort to be plugged into the head. The extra head is mostly unscathed Data, with a removable piece of hair exposing some more of his circuitry, and the extra arm features a rolled up sleeve, exposing even more circuitry. The head is pretty nice, and swaps pretty easily. I can’t tell whether the likeness is improved or made worse by seeing more of his face. The arm is nice, but for the life of me, I have no idea how you’re supposed to swap it out. The regular arm he comes packaged wearing is very definitely not coming off.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

One of the earliest movie-going experiences I remember is going to see Star Trek: First Contact with my parents. I was four at the time. I think I had seen an episode or two of the series, and I’m pretty sure I had seen Generations. I definitely knew Data was my favorite character. In preparation for the movie, my Dad bought me the Data action figure from the Playmates First Contact line. I clutched that figure tightly through the whole movie. One thing I always lamented was the figure’s lack of extra head for the look from the end, which was long one of my favorite looks. For years, I would make use of silver silly putty or duct tape to customize my own. I was thrilled when Diamond announced their own version of the look, but I never really got a hold of the figure. At local con Shoreleave this summer, one of the dealers had a large table of DST Trek figures, all marked $15. I saw Data under a few other figures, and after some encouraging words from Super Awesome Girlfriend (have I mentioned that she’s really supportive?) I decided to finally get one. It’s not the greatest figure ever, but I really like the look, and it’s a pretty great representation of it!