Category Archives: Reviews

#3638: Original Action Team

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

ACTION MARINE, ACTION PILOT, ACTION SAILOR, ACTION SOLDIER, & ACTION PILOT ASTRONAUT

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0117: The 3 3/4-inch G.I. Joe line has twice had a period of stagnation ushered in by a 30th anniversary celebration.

I feel like I’ve probably talked about my introductions to G.I. Joe here before, having first learned of the franchise through its 12-inch origins, and finding my first real love of the line with Adventure Team.  My first exposure to the 3 3/4 inch stuff wasn’t actually a Hasbro product at all.  In fact, it was via Fun 4 All’s “keychains” from the late ’90s, which, though I didn’t know it at the time, were making use of molds from Hasbro’s celebration of the franchise’s 30th anniversary, which saw them shrink some of the original 12-inch Joes down the the smaller scale.  It was a good many years before I actually encountered those original down-scaled figures, but when I did, I opted to go big or go home, with a whole big batch of them.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Action Marine, Action Pilot, Action Sailor, Action Soldier, and Action Pilot Astronaut were released as the “Original Action Team” boxed set in 1994, as part of the “Commemorative Collection” sub-line of the G.I. Joe line.

ACTION MARINE

The Action Marine was one of the two figures in this set that also got single releases the same year, with no modifications, largely because there were no real notable changes to the Marine’s basic look in the main line, or at least not ones that just a repaint could cover.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  This sculpt is, of course, the one that inspired the keychain.  That version was a much softer take on it, so it gets a better chance to shine here.  It’s certainly a sharper look, and more accurate to the 12-inch figures.  I especially like the likeness on the head.  This one’s still got the issue with the shoulders looking rather disconnected, which remains odd, but at least it’s consistent?  His paint work is much like the sculpt: similar to the key chain, but a bit sharper and cleaner.  The finish is matte, rather than shiny, which works a bit better.  The Marine, regardless of release, included a rifle (with mount), backpack, missile launcher, raft, and oar.

ACTION PILOT

The Action Pilot got a single release the same year, but he got two different looks, albeit only in a color-oriented sense.  The sculpt was the same between the two, and, is again the one that inspired the keychain release.  It’s a little sharper, and more defined, allowing you to see how many smaller details went into the whole assembly.  He gets us a standard Joe head, this time without even the peghole needed for the keychain release.  Definitely one of the best parts of this set.  As noted above, the main difference for this release is the color scheme.  While the single was based on the actual toy colors of the fully kitted out Pilot from the original line, this one instead goes for his colors from the illustration on the front of the original Action Pilot box.  It’s a color scheme that the key chains never touched, which is pretty cool.  The Pilot was packed with the same rifle as the Marine (but in olive instead of black), a pistol, backpack, helmet with mask, and a parachute.

ACTION SAILOR

Like the Pilot, the Action Sailor got a single release covering one look, while the boxed set version covered another, once again going for a differentiation of color, rather than sculpt.  The Sailor is actually the one figure here for whom I’ve already looked at both the Hasbro and Fun 4 All versions of the sculpt, since I looked at the single Sailor in addition to the keychain.  It remains my favorite of the 30th sculpts, regardless of which version it is.  There’s just something really strong about how the frogman look translated into the smaller scale, and Hasbro really made the whole thing flow really nicely.  The single release went with the standard black wetsuit look, but the boxed set goes for the later Adventures of G.I. Joe orange-suited look.  It’s a pretty drastically different look, and also one of the best known variations from the original line, so a solid choice (so solid that it’s the one variant look that Fun 4 All copied when they did their own boxed set release).  I also enjoy it because it’s a precursor to Adventure Team, which is, as noted, my favorite incarnation of the brand.  The Sailor is packed with his scuba tank and hose, a pair of flippers, a harpoon gun, flashlight, and seasled with attached missile launcher.

ACTION SOLDIER

Like the Marine, the Action Soldier’s single release is the same as the boxed set version.  The basic Soldier’s a basic soldier, so it makes sense, just like with the Marine.  He’s once more the inspiration for the keychain release.  As I noted on that one, the Soldier is a little bit skinnier than the other three, for whatever reason.  I don’t know if it’s just a difference of how the details read, but it does seem a bit less pronounced on this original version of the mold, which is a plus.  His paint work is notably pretty drab, as you’d expect, but it works pretty well, and makes him nice and generic.  The soldier was packed with a backpack, pistol, rifle, stand, missile launcher (with mount), and a bunker display piece.  While the Marine’s accessories are the same between both of his releases, the Soldier’s accessories change all of the “tree” parts to black, rather than the brown of the single.

ACTION PILOT ASTRONAUT

Hey, look, it’s something new!  Yes, there’s one truly exclusive element to this set, and that’s the Astronaut.  So unique, in fact, that he didn’t even get retooled into a keychain by Fun 4 All.  Feels like a missed opportunity if you ask me.  This one’s sculpt was totally unique, and it’s pretty solid.  I don’t know that it quite beats the Sailor or the Pilot sculpts in my book, but it’s still a very good one.  I particularly like all of the stitching on the suit; it adds a nice touch of realism.  The Astronaut’s paint work is pretty basic, with a lot of molded silver, but the paint application that’s there is clean enough.  The Astronaut notably gets fewer accessories, but also makes up for that in sizing, since he gets his helmet (with working visor), and a whole space capsule.  My release is actually the international version, as noted by the presence of Canadian markings on the capsule, in place of the American markings from the domestic release (though the actual Astronaut was always marked with a US flag no matter the release; I guess even if Canada finances the mission, it’s still an American who goes into space).

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve wanted a set of the 30th figures for a while.  Honestly, I wanted *this* set, since the Astronaut was only in this one, and I love the whole capsule set-up.  Back in 2020, during some very rough days for me, All Time Toys got a rather sizable 12-inch Joe collection, which I spent many early mornings working on listing, filling my time after dropping Jess off for her treatments.  It gave me something I knew very well to put my focus into, and it made a real difference in my mental state when I very much needed it.  This set was in that collection, the one, lone 3 3/4-inch piece included, and, well, maybe I needed more of a distraction, I guess, but it called to me.  I didn’t ultimately have much time to appreciate it, at least not for a couple of years, but I finally got the chance to open it up more recently…well, it made for a nice distraction.

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.

#3637: Spider-Man – Last Stand

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews

SPIDER-MAN — LAST STAND

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0116: The older, rougher Peter “Pete” Parker of the “Last Stand” story hails from Earth-312500.

I can’t say I’ve ever been the world’s biggest Spider-Man fan.  Sure, I dig the character overall, and there’s so much out there that it’s hard to not be a fan of at least some of it.  One of the cooler aspects for Spidey is just how many different versions of him there are.  The Spider-Verse movies have certainly popularized the concept, but it’s been toyed with my times over the years, including in the finale to Spider-Man: The Animated Series, which was my first proper introduction to it.  Since then, I’ve been pretty fascinated in the concept, especially as it pertains to action figures.  One of the coolest things to come out of the “Spider-Verse” comics event was just how many spider-variants from it got toys pretty quickly.  Almost a decade later, we’re still getting new ones, like Last Stand Spider-Man, who I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Last Stand Spider-Man is part of the latest Retro-carded assortment of Spider-Man Marvel Legends.  There’s a split of old and modern style cards, and he’s on the modern side, which makes sense, since he wasn’t even introduced until 2003.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  He’s sporting a brand-new sculpt, courtesy of sculptor Fred Aczon.  Aczon’s work for Hasbro has been predominantly on the GI Joe side of things, which honestly work to this design’s favor, since it’s got more of a faux-military flair about it. It does a good job of taking the John Romita Jr artwork of his original appearance, and translating that into a more generalized look to fit with the rest of the line.  I quite like how the jacket has translated to figure form; something about all those flaps just really works for the figure.  I enjoy how his whole look reads as Spider-Man, without really having many explicitly Spidey elements.  It’s got sort of similar vibe to the WW2 Cap look, though they of course have very different backstories in-universe.  While the sculpt is certainly a strong one, the color work is…well, it’s not quite as strong.  He’s got blocks of red and blocks of off-black, and that’s really it.  Unfortunately, a good deal of the sculpted detailing gets lost in the bright red and dark black, and there’s very little accenting to bring any of it back out, resulting in very little pop.  It’s not *awful*, just not terribly impressive.  Last Stand Cap is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, the other in open gesture.  He’s an all-new, head to toe sculpt, so a lighter accessory count is somewhat expected, but it’s still too bad we couldn’t maybe get an unmasked head for him.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Like Jack O’Lantern, I waffled a little bit on this guy.  I really dig his look, but I’m slowing down on Legends, and I’ve got a lot of Spider-Men already.  Ultimately, though, I just couldn’t turn down this design as a figure.  He’s not without his flaws, but that sculpt is just so very nice.

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.

#3636: Parallax

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

PARALLAX

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0115: According to Wikipedia, a parallax is “the difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight,” which is honestly not a terrible name to attach to a former hero driven to extremism.

Growing up, thanks to my dad’s old comics and re-runs of Challenge of the Super Friends, I became rather attached to Hal Jordan, despite his having been replaced by Kyle Rayner in the role before I started reading comics.  Options for Hal figures were, admittedly, a little limited in the ’90s, with the only option in 5-inch scale being not a Green Lantern figure, but Parallax, Hal’s villainous turn from the comics.  Of course, in my collection, he was never *really* villainous.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Parallax was released in Series 3 of Kenner’s Total Justice, which wound up being the line’s last series.  Each set got one “villain”, which was Parallax…I guess.  Like I said, never so much to my eyes.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Total Justice‘s sculpts were always very heavy on the pre-posing, and Hal’s no exception.  This one’s definitely one of the better ones; Hal’s flair for the dramatic during this era translates well into the sculpt, and he’s got a pose that reads as dynamic, without being too absurd. The sculpted elements of the costume are a pretty good match for the source material (certainly a closer match than McFarlane’s attempt from two decades later), and there’s a nice sharpness to them. The head’s my favorite part of the whole thing, capturing Hal’s likeness, while also getting the crazed expression he was so wont to have during this period of time. The last set of Total Justice got a lot of its paint budget slashed, resulting in a lot of unpainted elements. For his part, Parallax was pretty fortunate, getting all of the base details he was supposed to, and really only missing out on a few metallic details. The end result still looks totally fine, and you’d be unlikely to guess what was cut if you didn’t know it was supposed to be there. Another notable change-up for the last round was making the accessories into things that made a little more sense for the characters. Rather than “fractal armor”, Parallax gets a missile launcher and a shield, both molded in clear green.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I had a few Total Justice figures when they came out, but Series 3 was pretty rare at the time. I wanted a Parallax, of course, since he was the only option for Hal, but it took a bit for me to find one. I wound up getting him just a few years after his release, at a toy show my dad took me to, I think for my birthday. He’s a solid figure, even now, and remains my favorite of the Total Justice line-up.

#3635: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

Fun FiQ Fact #0114: This is the fifth non-transforming Soundwave I’ve reviewed on the site.

Before I can jump into any given Transformers product line, I always have to ask an important question: is there a Soundwave and an Ultra Magnus?  If there’s not, I’ve got some serious thinking to do.  Super 7’s ReAction had one, but not the other for a bit, and then both, but it took me a bit to get them, so, you know, more waiting.  But it’s okay!  No more waiting now!  Well, I mean, I guess a tiny bit of waiting, since I’m only reviewing one of the two.  It’s Soundwave!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave was released in the first series of Super 7’s Transformers ReAction Figures line, which hit in 2020.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  As with the rest of the ReAction line, he’s going for that vintage Kenner style, which is…well, it’s certainly a divergent style when it comes to Transformers.  They’ve gone animation model styled for these, which has been pretty much Super 7’s bag for TFs.  I’ll hand it to them, there’s a lot of internal consistency between this guy and the Ultimates version, so they’re certainly doing a good job of pulling the same general stylings there.  This one is, of course, a lot more rigid.  In fact, he’s downright pigeon-toed, which is just a tad goofy looking.  Other than that, though, it’s a decent enough sculpt.  Very squared off and technical, and very clearly Soundwave.  Hard to argue with that, really.  His paint work is basic, but decent itself.  It matches again with the Ultimate (or, I guess the Ultimate matches this one, since the ReAction came first), which goes hand in hand with the animation stylings.  The application is clean for the most part, with minimal fuzziness or bleed over.  Soundwave is packed with his concussion blaster, which is just one solid piece this time around, rather than having any of its usual collapsing components.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I recall seeing this one when the line launched, but I just wasn’t sure I wanted to jump in on it, especially without the certainty of a Magnus.  I did come very close to grabbing him on multiple occasions, though.  Unfortunately, by the time Magnus was announced, sources for this one had largely dried up.  Thankfully for me, a loose one got traded into All Time, and, hey, there we go.  Non-transformy-sound-boi.  He’s nifty.  I don’t know that it really elevates beyond that, but I wasn’t really expecting that.

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.

#3634: Jack O’Lantern

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

JACK O’LANTERN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0113: Due to a technicality (that technicality being Toy Biz using the “Mad Jack” name on the package for their Spider-Man Classics Jack O’Lantern), I own every Jack O’Lantern figure!

Jack O’Lantern is one of those characters that, like, I know, but, like, also I don’t?  I mean, that’s what happens when you have five different guys who use the same lower-tier super villain identity, the first two of whom actually used more popular legacy titles, and the last two of whom don’t even have secret identities.  He’s not even in the top two Spidey villains who use gliders and have a pumpkin theme!  Really cool visual, though, so I think that makes up for a lot of sins.  Oh, god, is Jack O’Lantern my Boba Fett?  Do I have an attachment to a character that contributes very little to the narrative because he looks cool?  I don’t know what to do with this information.  Guess I’ll write an action figure review?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jack O’Lantern is the second figure from the latest Retro-carded assortment of Spider-Man Marvel Legends.  Like Scarlet Spider, Jack’s on one of the ’90s style cards, and, like Scarlet, it doesn’t match up to an actual vintage release.  Jack was at least actually single carded in the ’90s line, though, so we’re closer.  The figure is 7 1/2 inches tall to the top of the flames (6 1/2 inches to the top of the head) and he has 34 points of articulation.  Jack O’Lantern’s starting point is the Vulcan body, although it’s really limited to just the arms and legs.  Everything else is all-new, sculpted by Daniel Salas.  It’s…well, it’s honestly fantastic.  The texturing and flow is really strong.  The head uses a multi-part construction for the pumpkin, interior, and the flames, allowing for a really sharp set of details.  The scarf piece sits well, and hides the neck joint, allowing for motion, without having to directly address how exactly it connects to the body.  The scale mail on the torso and pelvis is very consistent, and I also really dig the visible stitching on the gloves and boots.  This whole sculpt is a great example of adding extra details to a more basic design in a way that doesn’t overcomplicate anything.  The color work keeps up pretty well with the sculpt.  The body relies on molded colors, but certainly well-chosen ones.  The head gets more actual paint work, and there’s some fantastic subtleties going on there.  Jack is packed with two sets of hands (fists and an open gesture/gripping combo), a bomb that can be stored on his belt, and his hover disk.  The disk is great, because you can remove the bottom piece, which makes it compatible with the standard hover stands.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’m generally scaling back my Legends collecting, and focussing in more on my 5-Inch Marvel set.  To that end, I’ve been refraining from grabbing a lot of figures that are more direct updates to 5-Inch figures.  As Jack is one of those more direct updates, I wasn’t sure I was going to grab him, at least initially, but he just looked so very nice, so I broke on him.  I’m glad I did, because he’s really, really nice.  Like, honestly, just one of those top tier Legends we only get every so often.

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.

#3633: Vincent Price

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

VINCENT PRICE

TOONY TERRORS (NECA)

Fun FiQ Fact #0112: Masters of horror Vincent Price and Christopher Lee shared the same birthday, May 27, and fellow horror actor Peter Cushing’s birthday was only one day earlier on May 26.

I have a deep-seated appreciation of Vincent Price, the root of which comes not from anything Price himself did, but in fact from a stand-up comic’s bit that I heard on Laugh USA some time in the early ’00s, which featured an impersonation of Price attempting to pick up women in a bar, culminating in the phrase “gaze upon my haunting VISAGE!”  I knew Price’s work enough to get the joke at the time, and it’s been stuck in my head ever since, so that it’s the first thing I think of when encountering Price’s actual work.  It’s also become a go-to response to me for unrelated things, because it amuses me.  So, you know, with all that said, I felt like maybe I needed a Vincent Price figure.  As luck would have it, here’s a Vincent Price figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vincent Price was released as part of Series 9 of NECA’s Toony Terrors line.  While the line initially began as strictly fictitious characters, they’ve started working in some horror associated personalities.  Vincent’s the first time that we’ve gotten someone under their own name, but we’ve gotten the likes of Elvira and Svengoolie, and an argument could be made that Vincent was as much a persona as a real person.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Ash, the only other Toony Terror I’ve looked at, was pretty stiff, but still had a surprising amount of movement.  Vincent…does not have a surprising amount of movement.  He’s still got the ball-jointed neck, which is certainly useful.  However, he’s just got cut joints at the shoulders and wrists beyond that, meaning he’s really just got the one pose.  Thankfully, it’s at least a pretty in-character pose for Price.  The sculpt is all-new, and true to the rest of the line’s Saturday Morning Cartoon-inspired stylings.  Price is clearly patterned on his look circa the ’70s, which is a pretty classic look for him.  The head sculpt in particular is impressive in its ability to capture everything signature to Price’s likeness, while still looking appropriately cartoony.  Vincent’s paint work is basic, but clean and to the point, and without any notable issues of bleedover or slop.  Vincent is packed with two different right hands, one bearing a cigarette, the other open for gesture or holding.  He also includes a skull (which fits in the open hand), and a black cat.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

One of the places in particular that the “Haunting VISAGE” quote gets thrown around a lot is work, and it’s very specifically hurled Max’s way a lot of the time, to the point that it’s become a very recurrent gag for us.  There was no way I was missing this figure when it arrived at All Time, and I didn’t.  It’s not a very “playable” figure, I suppose, which is a little bit of a shame, but it’s still very fun.

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.

#3632: Scarlet Spider

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

SCARLET SPIDER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0111: In the ’90s Toy Biz run, Scarlet Spider was released twice, both times as an exclusive.

I have my fair share of Scarlet Spider figures.  It goes back to the Toy Biz Maximum Cloneage set, which was my first taste of the character.  I just really like the derivative nature.  It’s a shame they’ve always kind of done him wrong in the end.  But, at the very least, he’s prone to getting cool action figures, right?  Ben’s gotten the Legends treatment a lot as of late, with no less than three figures in the last year and a half.  With all that, though, we hadn’t gotten an update to his actual Scarlet Spider look for a good while.  Now we have.  Oh yeah.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlet Spider headlines the latest Retro-carded assortment of Spider-Man Marvel Legends.  Like the last one, this one’s got a split of “old” and “new” for the cards.  Ben’s on a ’90s-style card…which is amusing, since he wasn’t actually ever on that card style, but, you know what, we’re letting it happen.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation.  One of the main purposes of this figure is to update Ben to a more modern body, which they’ve done.  He’s now on the “Renew Your Vows” style body.  Personally, I still angle a little more towards the Amazing Fantasy body for Spidey-types, and I tend to think of Ben in particular as being a little more lean.  That said, there are a lot of benefits to this particular base body, and I think it does lend itself to ’90s-style overly detailed musculature pretty well.  Plus, it’s got the toe bends, and they do really make a difference on this guy.  I think what I really want is just Amazing Fantasy with toe bends.  Make it happen, Hasbro!  In the mean time, this is a totally reasonable choice, and I actually like it more than I initially thought I would.  Ben gets a new head, courtesy of sculptor Dan Mitchell, complete with more angled detailing for the eye shapes.  He’s also got new add-ons for the hoodie, belt, wrist shooters, and, I think, new pouches on the ankles.  I expected the hoodie to end up a little puffier, but it works well, and all of the new parts really do a good job of melding into one cohesive look…well, as much as Scarlet Spider’s look can be cohesive, anyway.  We’ve had a lot of variation over the years on Scarlet Spider’s coloring, and this is yet another different set-up.  He seems to kind of average the two prior Legends releases, going flatter on the shades and generally more saturated like the Rhino Series figure, but also steering clear of that figure’s outlining, more like the Retro version.  Honestly, I think this one’s done it the best of the three, and reminds me the most of the old Toy Biz figure in many ways.  The only thing I’m not super crazy on is the white pull strings for the hoodie; they’re kind of distracting, and I feel like blue would work better.  Still, not the end of the world.  Scarlet Spider is packed with three sets of hands, in fists, open, and thwipping.  I’m always glad to get the full hand complement, and it was a definite selling point for me.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I quite liked the Rhino Series Scarlet Spider when he was released, and couldn’t bring myself to get rid of him when the first Retro one came out, largely because I just really wanted those extra hands, and they didn’t match with the Retro.  And, obviously, I wasn’t getting rid of the Retro, because he came from Jess.  Then this guy was announced, and, well, he’s just a pretty straight update to the Rhino version, so that made the swap out easier.  He’s quite strong, and easily the best of Scarlet Spiders Hasbro has put out.

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.

#3631: Condiment King

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

CONDIMENT KING

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DC DIRECT)

Fun FiQ Fact #0110: In his original Batman: The Animated Series appearance, Condiment King was one of three new “villains” who turned out to be stand-up comedians brainwashed into villainy by the Joker.  The other two, Packrat and Mighty Mom, didn’t have the same staying power as the King, though.

As a kid of the ’90s, I of course experienced a great deal of Batman: The Animated Series in its…well, maybe not first run, but early run.  Syndication run?  Something like that.  However, I hardly saw the whole run of episodes.  For a good portion of the episodes, I actually saw them for the first time when the DVD collections came out.  I quite proudly had the whole run of Batman, and I watched those DVDs religiously in my teen years.  It was through those religious watchings that I gained my appreciation for characters like Condiment King, a one-off throw-away character from the episode “Make ‘Em Laugh.”  As in depth as Kenner/Hasbro’s Batman: The Animated Series tie-in lines were, we never got anything that deep.  But, McFarlane’s DC Direct-branded relaunch of the DC Collectibles/Direct Batman: Animated line has been doing sets of re-paints that have new figures done as Build-A-Fogures, and, well, where else am I going to get a Condiment King, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Condiment King is the Build-A-Figure for the first “new” assortment of Batman: Animated under McFarlane (previous releases have just been straight reissues of DCC/DCD figures), assembled by purchasing re-decoed versions of Batman, Robin, Mr. Freeze, & Scarecrow.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 26 point of articulation.  In terms of movement, he’s pretty much on par with the later run stuff from DCC/DCD, which is a good thing, since that’s when they started actually giving the figures consistently useful articulation.  Unfortunately, McFarlane’s spottier QC hits a bit here, though, and pretty much every copy has incredibly loose hip joints, which make him quite tricky to keep standing.  Other than that, though, the articulation works quite well.  Condiment King’s sculpt was an all-new one, and a pretty good one.  Condiment King comes from the pre-design change years of the show, which is when the characters had a tendency to be more inconsistent from shot to shot.  This guy seems to be aiming for a “best approximation” look, rather than going for one specific frame from the show.  The general feel is there, and the only real inaccuracy that sticks out to me is the lack of ears visible under his cowl.  The most important aspect of the sculpt, of course, is that he fits in with the pre-existing figures, and that he definitely does.  In terms of color work, Condiment King does run into the one notable downside of the McFarlane Animated figures: cel shading.  DCC/DCD experimented with some shading later in their run, but only for characters that already had figures, and in a fairly minor fashion.  While Condiment King isn’t as intense as the others in the set that builds him, but it’s still a little…off looking, especially because it doesn’t really follow a logical path, and there are just a bunch of spots it outright skips.  It’s weird.  Not ruin him weird, but worth noting it weird.  Also, there’s one notable error: the packets on his right arm should be red, not white.  It’s small, but still important.  Condiment King includes his backpack and attached ketchup and mustard guns.  The backpack doesn’t sit *quite* right on his back, but it’s close enough.  I like that they used actual string for the tubes going to the guns, so as to avoid issues of breakage.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

You know whose fault this is?  I’ll tell you: Max.  See, I wanted this figure, sure.  It’s Condiment King, and he’s great.  However, I’d already walked away from and unloaded a large portion of my DCC Batman: Animated figures, and I certainly wasn’t looking to re-buy four of them for a single new figure.  So, no Condiment King for me.  But, Max wouldn’t stand for that, so when a complete one came into All Time, he purchased it for me.  So, Condiment King for me.  He’s got his issues, but he’s still fun, and I’m glad to have him.

#3630: ARC Trooper Commander

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

ARC TROOPER COMMADER

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0109: This is the third time I’ve reviewed a Captain Fordo that doesn’t bear the name “Captain Fordo.”

No, you’re not losing your mind, my review numbers really did jump by 300.  Apparently, I jumped *back* 300 in July of last year.  And none of you even told me.  For shame.  Well, I’m fixing it now.

You know, it’s been almost exactly a year since I’ve talked about the tie-in line for the 3D Clone Wars show.  That feels like a while, especially since it’s one of my top 2 Star Wars lines.  So, I’m taking a look at another one of those.  But, in an amusing turn of events, it’s a character that’s not even from the 3D show.  Weird, right?  Also, the last figure I looked at of this character was live-action styled, so, you know, there’s some fun coverage there, I guess.  So, without further ado, here’s another Captain Fordo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Fordo, who was dubbed “ARC Trooper Commander” on the box, was released in 2010 as part of the “Arc Troopers” Battle Pack from Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars tie-in line.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  For the most part, Fordo is making use of parts from the line’s first version of Captain Rex.  He’s got a modified kama, which has slightly larger holsters, as well as a new shoulder pauldron with pouches on the front.  He’s also using a solid helmet, rather than the removable one from Rex.  He’s got a rangefinder, which is articulated.  Topping it all off, there’s also a removable wrist piece, which further changes up the look.  The core figure was a solid sculpt to begin with, and the new parts work well in conjunction with it.  The end result is a sensible upgrade of Fordo’s look to the 3D stylings.  Fordo’s paint work is pretty solid.  They’d moved away from doing the dirtied up white sections, which works better for Fordo’s 2D show origins.  They gave the markings on the armor a little bit more wear, however, which aids with his adapting to the new look.  Captain Fordo is packed with two modified blaster pistols, a rifle, and a display stand.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I love Fordo as a character, but getting figures of him can be pretty tricky.  This one in particular is a really rough one, since he’s not officially named, and just sort of thrown in with a random selection of other unnamed figures.  I wasn’t up on the line quite so much at the time, so I didn’t even know about his existence until well after he’d shot up in price on the aftermarket.  However, in the midst of me having a very bad year in 2021, one got traded into All Time, and I decided that was my time to jump on him.  He’s been waiting to be reviewed since then.  He’s not a perfect figure, but he’s another fun version of Fordo, and I’ll never knock that.

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.

#3629: Power Princess

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

POWER PRINCESS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0108: For her appearance in the Marvel Super Hero Squad show, Power Princess was voiced by Susan Eisenberg, the voice of Wonder Woman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

You know, I didn’t expect to be doing this much talking about the Squadron Supreme here on the site. Their very nature as a spoof of the Justice League makes it seem trickier to merchandise. But, hey, it seems the tide has turned, and now the Not-Superman, Not-Green Lantern, Not-Batman, and Not-Flash are joined by a Not-Wonder Woman. For clarity’s sake, it’s worth noting that Power Princess is a later addition to the team, with only the prior four being present for the first appearances of both the Squadrons Sinister and Supreme. She was added to the Squadron Supreme about a decade after their creation, presumably to, you know, be their Wonder Woman equivalent. And here she is, getting an action figure and everything. Okay, well, she already got a Minimate previously, but now there’s a Marvel Legend!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Power Princess is figure 1 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends. She was actually the first figure shown off, in order to confirm that Hasbro was intending to complete the Squadron line-up they started with the two-packs. The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation. Power Princess, like the two packs, is in her most recent “Heroes Reborn” get-up. She’s had a lot of different looks over the years, and this one takes in a decidedly very Wonder Woman inspired direction, making her look quite different, and somewhat setting her apart from the others on the team. She gets an all new sculpt, which is honestly a quite impressive one. Again, the assignment seems to have been “make a good Wonder Woman” and then it was dialed back the slightest bit. The proportions are a good match for someone who’s slightly more built, and she’s generally got a nice flow to her. Everything just seems to mesh together so nicely. Her color work is decently handled, if perhaps not the most exciting set-up. Since her comic design is really just Wonder Woman with all her coloring switched to gold and black, and that’s what we get here. Application is clean, and I do like the look of the off-black they used. Power Princess is packed with two sets of hands, a sword, a shield, and the legs of the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As I stated when I reviewed the last Squadron set, I didn’t initially expect to go past the first two-pack, but the prospect of finishing one version of the team was honestly pretty exciting. It helps that this figure looked really good. She’s delivers pretty well in that front, and she’s the best Wonder Woman figure out there, even as a not Wonder Woman.

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.