#3877: Luke Skywalker

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

LUKE SKYWALKER

STAR WAR: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“Bored with the mundane life of a moisture farmer on Tatooine, Luke Skywalker dreamed of being a great pilot. He targeted womp rats while racing his T-16 skyhopper through the steep and narrow walls of Beggar’s Canyon. Many years earlier, Luke’s father also raced over the surface of Tatooine in his podracer. Anakin eventually turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader but was finally redeemed by his son Luke.”

In the whole of the vintage Kenner run of Star Wars 3 3/4-inch figures, we got Luke’s “farmboy” look exactly once.  When Power of the Force II launched in the ’90s, the look got its second go right away.  And then it showed back up in 1998, and just… Kept. Showing. Up.  Between 1998 and 1999, there were no less than five versions of Farmboy Luke available, which is is a lot.  Today’s figure?  Well, he got a new hat.  No, seriously: he got a new hat.  Let’s look a Luke and his new hat.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker was released in the initial 1998 “Flashback Photo” assortment of Power of the Force.  The set had a rather “greatest hits” vibe to it, and Luke was right at home with that set-up.  This was the fourth of the five Farmboy Lukes in the ’98-’99 run.  He’s notable for being based on a deleted scene from the original film, which would have introduced Luke earlier than his purchase of the droids.  It’s interesting, because I think this was the first figure of its kind, which is pretty neat.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has a whopping 10 points of articulation.  He starts with the standard 6 and then also gets hinges at the elbows and swivels at the wrists, to say nothing of his neck joint being a ball joint, rather than the standard swivel.  He’s by far the most posable Luke in the line, which is somewhat amusing, given he’s not supposed to be from an action scene.  Though his sculpt looks very similar to the other four Farmboy Lukes, its wholly unique, thanks to how the articulation is implemented.  Honestly, it’s pretty nice.  The proportions aren’t the wacky muscle-bound set-up from earlier in the line, and the head’s an okay likeness.  The articulation’s useful, but also doesn’t ruin the sculpt.  I dig it.  The paint is pretty much what we expect on this sort of figure.  It’s clean, and there’s a little bit of accenting on the boots and bands, which helps the sculpt.  Luke was packed with three scene specific accessories.  He’s got the aforementioned hat, a rifle, and a pair of binoculars.  The hat’s funny, but also unique, and it stays okay on his head.  The rifle gets a surprising amount of painted detailing, and the binoculars can plug onto his belt for storage.  He also gets the Flashback Photo, showing him, and when you pull the tab, a young Anakin.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I owned none of these growing up, but saw them many times.  When I made my first real push to start a complete run, this Luke, along with the Leia from last week, were two of the first figures I snagged….and then I didn’t open them for, like, six years.  Yikes.  Seriously, I opened this figure less than 24 hours before I wrote this review, and that’s honestly ridiculous.  What was I doing?  Other stuff, I guess.  I like this Luke a lot.  He’s very fun.  I wish I’d opened him earlier, but I have now, and that’s pretty cool.

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.

#3876: Orko

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

ORKO — HEROIC COURT MAGICIAN!

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ORIGINS (MATTEL)

I am veritably swimming in Masters of the Universe reviews these days, aren’t I?  Okay, maybe not, but two of them in one month is something of a crazy step up compared to more recent set-ups.  I’m continuing to stick to my guns on only following specific characters, but Mattel keeps getting my by doing additional variants of said characters.  It’s like the *know*.  Or, you know, they’re trying to keep the line fresh.  The last couple of years, Mattel’s been revisiting a lot of the Origins figures to do more specifically Filmation-inspired takes, and the latest of those includes one of my go-to guys, Orko!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Orko is part of the 25th series of Masters of the Universe Origins, which is a completely Cartoon Collection-branded assortment (simply “Cartoon” since they can’t actually use “Filmation” on the packaging).  The figure is about 3 inches tall (without his flight stand) and he has 14 points of articulation.  As with all Orkos, he’s without any legs, so he doesn’t get any articulation on that front, but he’s got a decent selection of movement in the arms, and even gets an extra point of movement from the last Origins Orko, thanks to his hat being on a balljoint, so you can move it back and forth.  His sculpt is an entirely new one from the last figure.  While there was certainly a cartoon inspiration on the last one, he was also serving two masters in a sense, also replicating the vintage figure.  One of the biggest areas was actually how big he was; he was about an inch too tall for proper scaling with the other figures.  This one addresses that, so he’ll fit in better with the others.  Otherwise, his sculpt isn’t *drastically* different from the last one.  It’s more of a death by paper cuts sort of thing where the small changes all add up to a different looking figure.  In terms of color work, the two figures remain fairly consistent, however.  The one notable change is, at least on my copy, that this guy’s application is a lot cleaner.   Orko gets a pretty nice selection of extras, with a flight stand, his “Hero” medal from “Creatures From the Tar Swamp”, and an extra head and scarf so that Orko can be turned into his Uncle Mortok.  Apart from the beard not totally covering Orko’s “O”, it’s a very cool set-up, and I like getting an extra character out of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I bought my Classics Orko, I really thought that was gonna be it.  The Origins one was cool, but I didn’t need it….until I saw it in hand and I caved, because I’m an easy mark.  I didn’t think I’d need *another* one, though, especially since he was more directly cartoon based than other Origins figures.  But, by the time this one was announced, I knew it wasn’t a battle I was going to win, so I’ve actually been rather looking forward to his release.  I think he’s really cool, and does a lot more than the last one, which makes him feel really worth it.

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.

#3875: Adam Strange

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

ADAM STRANGE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

Behold, the original super hero adjacent hero whose last name is inexplicably “Strange!”  How about that?  Introduced in 1958, Adam Strange is a bit like John Carter in spandex, a play on a lot of classic sci-fi adventure tropes.  He’s one of two science-fiction heroes commissioned by DC that year, the other being Space Ranger, a character that just didn’t have the same staying power.  Adam, on the other hand, has remained something of a cult fixture since his creation.  He’s been sort of sparse on the action figure front, but not entirely absent, since he does have a pretty killer look.  So, let’s look at one of those figures now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Adam Strange is figure #33 in the Collector Edition sub-line of McFarlane’s DC Multiverse line.  As with most of the other Collector Edition figures, there are two versions of Adam available: a standard and a platinum edition in “stealth” colors.  The one seen here is the standard.  The figure stands just over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Strange is built on the base body that originated with the Blue & Gold boxed set, which seen a real upswing in use as the line’s progressed.  It’s a solid enough starting point, and certainly one of McFarlane’s nicest.  And, in the case of Adam, it’s a good fit and doesn’t fall victim to the same inaccuracies as some of the earlier uses.  Adam also gets a lot of new parts to transition the base body.  The box specifically calls out this figure as being based on Strange Adventures, specifically the more classically-inspired Doc Shaner illustrations from the book.  Unlike a lot of McFarlane’s supposedly directly inspired figures, Adam’s actually quite a good match for Shaner’s take on the character, especially on the head.  There are no less than four face-plates for the figure; the two more “standard” expressions really match Shaner’s work.  The masked face is pretty neat, if not exactly standard issue.  The only one I’m not crazy about is the screaming one, but they at least tried something different.  Adam’s color work is quite bright and colorful, and very eye catching.  He gets the extra panelling with the darker red, as seen in the book, and it adds a nice extra bit of flair to the figure.  In addition to the previously mentioned extra face plates, Adam also gets his blaster pistol, two pairs of hands, a display stand, and a collector card.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

McFarlane’s been really surprising me with the character choices in the last year with the license, so I can’t say I was expecting this one, but I also can’t say it was completely out of place.  Adam Strange has a fantastic, classic look, begging for some solid action figure coverage, and up until now his figures have tended to just be kind of okay.  This one’s honestly a lot better than “just kind of okay.”  He’s downright good, and the best Adam Strange figure out there.  Just a solid offering all around.

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.

#3874: Silver Surfer

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

SILVER SURFER

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

On Friday, I admitted to the great lie I perpetrated back during the first month of reviews here on the site. That I hadn’t *actually* reviewed the Toy Biz Fantastic Four Silver Surfer. So, to make up for this horrible thing I’ve done, today I do what I claimed to do 12 years ago, and review that Toy Biz Fantastic Four Silver Surfer. Let’s do this.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Silver Surfer was released in the first series of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line. He was ostensibly meant to tie-in with the show, but also it’s kind of a general purpose Surfer design, so it easily goes either way. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation. His mold is the same one I looked at before, though it originated here (and was shared with the hastily added Human Torch from the same series). It’s good, but does feel perhaps a little small. For the original release, he was done up in a bright, very shiny chrome, which feels more in line which the character’s usual depictions. It holds up pretty well, and also manages to not totally remove all of the sculpted detailing, which marked an improvement on the Marvel Super Heroes version. He was packed with his board, which again matches his finish, and again has the slipper looking spots for his feet. He also gets the ring attachment for the bottom.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I had the CD-ROM figure and the 10-inch figure, but never this guy. I honestly never felt the need, since my bases were covered by the others. But, as I delve further into a proper complete run of these, I realize my bases were in fact *not* covered. Thankfully, a proper Series 1 figure came into All Time a little while back, allowing proper coverage of the bases once more!

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 #0032: Silver Surfer

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

SILVER SURFER

FANTASTIC FOUR THE SILVER SURFER (TOY BIZ)

People are fallible. Even the best of us can let you down sometimes. Dear reader, please remember this and be kind as we delve into today’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, my oldest Silver Surfer review.

Time for another Fantastic Four review it seems.  Today we’re looking at a sometimes foe, but usually friend of the team, Silver Surfer.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The figure in question is the first herald of Galactus, Norin Radd, aka the Silver Surfer.  Good old Nor here has 11 points of articulation and stands 5 inches tall.  At one point in time, he was a bit shinier, but my figure has long since dulled.  The figure’s sculpt is solid.  I think it would be difficult to mess up a bald, naked guy, but I’d probably be wrong.  He’s got a nice assortment of articulation, though I’m not really sure what’s going on with his right arm.  Is he supposed to be doing something specific ?  Because all I see is some kind of record scratching move.  Maybe this is actually a figure of often forgotten 90s sensation DJ Sizzle Surfer-izzle and I just wasn’t aware…

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a moderate silver surfer fan as a kid, but I actually rarely used this figure as the Surfer.  He was a nice, generic figure, good for a million things.  His joints are practically worn out from all the play time this guy got!

So, the failing starts right at the beginning, and just goes all the way through, where I just totally and completely LIE about this figure. Because the figure covered both here and in the original review? He’s *not* the one from the Fantastic Four line, nor was he ever any shinier than he is now. No, in fact, he’s actually one of two figures released in 1996, accompanied by a CD-ROM featuring digitized versions of key comic book issues, in the case of this figure, Silver Surfer related ones. I recall that being the one I had, but I guess in my mind he was the same basic figure. He was notably duller than the original release. My initial review, aside from the lying, covered the basics of the figure okay. He was missing his surfboard at the time, but I’ve since scared that one up, so huzzah, he actually gets to be a Surfer again. It’s an okay piece, and matches his finish. The connection is sort of odd, kind of like a slipper that goes over his foot, but it keeps him in place okay. There’s also a loop that attaches to the bottom, so you can put it on your finger? I guess that’s better than just holding the actual board with your hands. What is it, a toy for babies?

#3873: Princess Leia in Ceremonial Dress

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

PRINCESS LEIA in CEREMONIAL DRESS

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“A strong-willed warrior who fought for the Rebel cause with great courage, Princess Leia Organa was a natural born leader of the Rebel Alliance. The princess always carried herself with a regal air, whether she was taking part in the fiercest of battles or participating in state ceremonies of the highest level. Although she was adopted at a young age into the Royal House of Alderaan, Leia was in fact a true princess, as her birth mother was Queen Amidala of Naboo. I her day, Amidala also proved to be an adventurous spirit an d a great heroine to her people when her planet faced its greatest threat.”

After the main characters spend pretty much the whole movie running around in the same basic outfits, at the end of A New Hope, the Rebel’s host a ceremony to give medals to Han and Luke, which serves as a good opportunity for new, cleaned up looks for everybody (well, not Han, I guess, though his shirt is *slightly* different).  The vintage line didn’t tackle any of those looks, but Power of the Force sure did, making sure to give coverage to both Luke and Leia’s unique designs.  Let’s look at Leia today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia in Ceremonial Dress was released in the 1998 “Flashback Photo” assortment of Power of the Force.  As I’ve noted before, these figures were released in the lead-up to the proper Episode I tie-in merchandise, and are also the first Star Wars figures to officially be released under the Hasbro banner.  This was Leia’s fourth standard release figure from 1998 alone, making her the most covered main character that year.  Good for her.  That’s a refreshing turn of events.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation…in technicality.  In practice, the shoulders and waist are alright, but the neck is very restricted, and the hips might as well not be there, thanks to that very thick skirt piece.  Also, because of the skirt and the relative lack of movement it allows on the hips, she has a lot of trouble standing, which is why you’ll see mine making use of a Protech stand in most of the photos.  Her color work is generally pretty solid.  There’s a bit of makeup and color on the face, which feels right for the scene they’re referencing, and the application is all rather clean.  In order to capture the sheer material of her outer robe, it’s molded in a slightly transparent plastic, and that’s a neat touch.  Leia is packed with one of the medals she bestows on the two heroes.  This one is presumably for Han, since Luke already had one packed in with his figure.  There’s also the flashback photo, which shows a picture of Leia from the scene, and then transitions to an image of Padme from Episode I.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I vividly remember seeing every single one of these Flashback Photo figures when they were new.  Or nearly new, at least.  They clung to shelves following the hype of the actual Episode I product, and I was always a little put off by them as a kid.  As an adult, though, they’re neat, at least as figures.  Weird tie-in, though.  This Leia is neat enough, though ultimately felt a bit pointless, since this exact same look was done in The Princess Leia Collection the prior year, and I think ultimately a bit.  I suppose this one’s a closer match to the rest of the line stylistically.  She’s not much of a fun toy, but she looks alright, I guess.

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.

#3872: Sgt. Stone

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

SGT. STONE

G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA (HASBRO)

“Sgt. Stone is a special operations instructor who trains the G.I. Joe team in combat tactics, marksmanship, survival techniques and other commando skills. He battles Neo-Viper forces who drill their way into the G.I. Joe Pit headquarters.”

I haven’t personally reviewed a Rise of Cobra figure here on the site since 2017, which is quite a while.  Admittedly, while I had a bunch of the figures when they were new, it’s not a line that I really hung onto, even though I personally like the movie more than a lot of people.  The movie was directed by Stephen Sommers, who also directed The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and he tried to inject a bit of that flair for the adventure in to Rise of Cobra, meaning it’s, if nothing else, a fun movie.  Sommers brought with him a few of the actors he’d worked with on The Mummy, including Rick O’Connell himself, Brendan Fraser, as the one-scene wonder Sgt. Stone.  One scene was all it took for him to make it to action figure form though, so here we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sgt. Stone was released as part of the G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra tie-in figures in 2009.  The line used a weird and sort of complicated interplay of “collections” and “waves”, and Stone was part of Collection 2 Wave 2…which really just means he was part of the larger push of product made up of the first two waves of both collections that all hit shortly before the film’s release in 2009.  The figure stands 4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  He shared his torso and legs with the movie version of Zartan, fitting, since Zartan was in Joe fatigues for his figure.  Stone’s construction is the standard 25th style assembly.  It’s generally not a bad set-up, although that mid-torso joint always has a tendency to be a bit finicky.  Stone’s uniquely sculpted pieces include his head, arms, and the armored vest for his torso.  The head doesn’t have a Fraser likeness to speak of; the eyes are too small and too high up, and the mouth sits too low.  He’s very generic.  So, in that regard, I guess he’s not incredibly *unlike* Fraser either.  Just sort of there.  His color work matches the film’s general aesthetic, which was a lot more black, blue, and grey.  There’s a bit of bleedover from the hair on my figure’s left ear, but it’s otherwise decent application.  Stone is packed with a pistol, machine gun, knife, large missile launcher and corresponding missile, and a display stand.  My figure is missing the knife, but honestly I can’t say I miss it.  Beyond that, he gets some decent basic level stuff, and then there’s always that missile launcher, since Hasbro sure did love those.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite having quite a few figures from this line when it dropped, and also really liking Brendan Fraser’s brief cameo, for whatever reason, I just never got around to picking one of these up when they were new.  I ultimately regretted that.  While he’s not *rare*, he also doesn’t show up with any crazy frequency.  Thankfully, I was able to snag a loose one from a collection that came through All Time.  He doesn’t really look like Fraser, but he’s still a very nice figure, and I do like having him.

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.

#3871: Hourman

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

HOURMAN

AMAZING ANDROIDS (DC DIRECT)

“Created in the 843rd century, Hourman is a two-year-old android with incredible time-manipulation abilities. Encoded with the enhanced genetic code of Rex “Tick Tock” Tyler, the original Hourman, this new hero has power in abundance but is just starting to learn about human nature.”

While some of DC’s Golden Age heroes got revamped for the Silver Age, there were a good number of notable ones that did not. Rex Tyler, the original Hourman, remained the only one with that title until his son Rick was introduced in the ’80s. A third Hourman, an android from the future who frequently went by just “Tyler” was introduced in the ’90s, and is one those kind of quirky characters who’s bounced around a bit since. He did get an action figure, and was even the first Hourman in toy form, for what it’s worth.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hourman was part of the Amazing Androids set of figures from DC Direct, released in November of 2000.  At the time of release, he was probably the most relevant of the three figures, since he was still cropping up pretty regularly in JLA and JSA, but that’s certainly shifted in recent years.  This release remains his only action figure, and given its rough aftermarket value, I guess that makes sense.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  I suppose an argument could be made for 11, since there *is* a joint on the neck, but it’s effectively rendered pointless by the hood/cape.  The sculpt was an all-new one, and honestly not a bad one.  It’s pretty basic, and captures the general design of the character, in all his rather simple glory.  The cape’s neat, because it’s got some pretty fun texturing, so it’s clearly a different material than the rest of him.  Perhaps the strangest thing about the sculpt is how his action feature works into everything.  His hourglass is designed to spin, not unlike a kitchen timer, but it also means spinning part of his pecs along with it, which is super funny looking.  It’s an odd choice, and kind of showcases DCD’s struggle earlier on to figure out what exactly they were trying to do.  So, you know, it’s gimmicky.  His paint work is on the simpler side, but does what it needs to.  It’s pretty darn thick, though, much like Amazo, and that does sort of dull the detailing on the sculpt a bit.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this set hit, I was all about Amazo, and didn’t really know this version of Hourman.  But, after the JSA relaunch, I found myself drawn to this version of the character, so I saved up my allowance money and bought myself one from Cosmic Comix.  I can’t really say I remember much about owning the figure after that, but I do have something of a soft spot for him, which is only helped by the fact that he’s literally the only figure of this character ever made.

 

#3870: Spider-Punk

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

SPIDER-PUNK

MOVIE MASTERPIECE SERIES (HOT TOYS)

There was a time when I used to reserve my Hot Toys reviews for monumental numbers in the review set-up.  But, after a while, those monumental numbers have gotten further and further apart, to the point where it really doesn’t feel like it’s worth it for anything less than 1000, and that’s actual years apart.  So, now I just mostly review them when I get a new one.  Which, admittedly, is still usually quite a gap.  My last one was way back in July of last year.  Here we are almost a year later, but, instead of adding to my Cap line-up, as is the usual reason for me buying a new Hot Toy these days, I’ve gone a bit off the reservation, and I’m looking at a Spider-Man of all things.  In my defense, it’s Spider-Punk, so, you know, there it is.  Let’s take a look!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is figure MMS726 in Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series.  He’s wedged between two other Spider-Man figures, namely Miles G. Morales (also from Across the Spider-Verse) and Black Suit Spidey from Spider-Man 3.  He’s the fifth Across figure to join the line, and he started shipping domestically towards the end of May.  The figure stands about 13 inches tall and he’s got over 30 points of articulation.

As with a great many Hot Toys figures, Spider-Punk features multiple head sculpts.  Right out of the box, he’s sporting the unmasked head, which is sensible, given how much of his screen time he spends unmasked.  Much like the What If…? figures, the Spider-Verse offerings are mimicking the animated style of the movie, and that’s most clearly seen on this head.  It keeps with the generally more simplistic animated style, and matches up pretty closely with the model from the movie.  There’s still some areas for more intricate work, namely the hair, which gets some proper texturing to help it stand out a bit better.  Punk’s eyes are moveable on this head, something that HT’s doing a bit more frequently on the non-deluxes it seems.  They’re individually moving, rather than using the “PERS” system, which means you need to take a little extra care to make sure they both line-up.  On my figure, I did notice that the tool that moves the eyes was just as likely to pop them out of the sockets as it was to remove from the back of them, so that’s definitely something to be careful about, lest your Punk lose an eye.  Punk also gets a head sporting his distinctly punk-ified version of the Spidey mask.  Though perhaps not as technically impressive as the unmasked head, it’s a very clean and well-defined piece it its own right, and quite a striking recreation of his look in the movie.  I did notice while swapping the heads that the neck joints pop out of place the wrong way sometimes, so that’s yet another thing to be careful with.

Spider-Punk’s outfit is a rather involved assembly of pieces.  The belts, boots, bracelets, and other studded bits are all sculpted, while the rest of the outfit is tailored.  I was particularly impressed with the boots, which are soft enough to allow a decent range of motion on the ankle joints, while still looking quite sharply detailed.  The pants being a slightly rubbery material makes me a little worried about their longevity, but as long as the posing isn’t too crazy, they should be fine.  The one thing I was slightly let down by here is the buttons on the vest being purely printed elements; the Legends figure sculpted them, and as it stands they feel a little cheap and easy to miss this way.

Under the outfit, Spider-Punk gets a rather unique body, designed to replicate his tall and scrawny stature from the movie.  The posing is all pretty good; the hips are ratcheted to provide more support and his mid torso joint in particular adds a lot of character to his posing options.  There’s no real areas of restriction, either, and the body hangs pretty naturally in most poses.

Spider-Punk gets a decent, if focused selection of extras, which includes:

  • 7 hands
  • 2 alternate palms for the thwipping hands to attach weblines
  • 4 different weblines
  • His guitar with backdrop effect & pick
  • A cardboard display backdrop
  • Display stand with a posable arm

The hands come in a pair of gripping, a pair of thwipping, right open gesture, left relaxed, and a left fist.  The guitar is a central piece with a lot of cool detailing.  The strings are separate, which is neat, but also worrying when it comes to placing the neck of the instrument in his left hand.  The backdrop effect is a nifty idea, but it’s a little awkward and flimsy in practice.  The pick is bound to be this figure’s most lost accessory for sure; mine almost got lost when it stuck to the tray while I was opening him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been a Spider-Punk fan since his original comics appearances, and was super happy with his move to the big screen.  I’ve thus far avoided all of the HT coverage for these movies, and honestly thought it would be a Peter B that broke me.  They’ve not announced any of those, though, and they *did* announce this guy, and he’s just got too cool a visual to pass up.  I do really like him, but at the same time, there are definitely some issues I haven’t encountered with a Hot Toy in a good long while.  The assembly stuff on the heads is a little worrying, and I dislike the cut corners on the buttons.  But, generally, I do really, really like him.

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 #0031: Lt Ripley

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

LT RIPLEY

ALIENS (KENNER)

Taking a bit of a detour from updating my Toy Biz Marvel reviews for just a moment, this week’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum marks the site’s original change of pace, less than one week in, as I made my very first mention of my favorite movie of all time, Aliens, with a look at its main character, Ripley!

So, change of pace.  Moving away from the Batman stuff for a bit.  Today we’re looking at a figure from another Kenner line:  Aliens.  This line is nominally based on 1986’s ALIENS, though it was originally meant to be a tie-in line for Operation: Aliens, a scrapped Saturday-morning cartoon adaptation of the film.

Ellen Ripley is the sole survivor of the Nostromo, drafted by the colonial Marines to save a colony that has been attacked by a hive of creatures like the one Ripley faced before.  At least that was what she was in the movie.  I have no idea what her backstory would have been in Operation: Aliens, though if the comics included with each figure are anything to go by,  she was going to be one of the marines.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The figure is a pretty decent representation of Ripley from the movie, though her palate’s been tweaked a bit to make her more colorful.  The figure’s also a bit soft on the details, but that makes sense given it was based on the cartoon design.  The face actually isn’t too bad of a Weaver likeness for the time.  The figure included a pretty cool flamethrower, but I’ve since lost that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Though the figure was released in 92, I didn’t get mine until 2003, when I saw ALIEN for the first time.  I know I had this figure and the accompanying Hicks before seeing ALIENS itself because I sat through my first viewing of the film clutching both of them very tightly.

Ah, the brevity of my old reviews.  Also, the general not-applying-to-the-format nature of my old reviews.  The intro’s the longest part, which is honestly kind of crazy.  I do very little reviewing of the figure, so let’s hit you guys with some stats.

The figure stands a little over 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  Missing from my original review was Ripley’s accessories.  The main one is the flamethrower, which isn’t at all like the one in the movie.  It is, however, really neat.  There’s a lever on the bottom that hooks onto a spot on her leg, and turning the waist pushes out a little flame effect.  She also got a small silver rifle, which she could keep on her back.

I don’t mention in my original review that I got my first Ripley figure from my local comic shop, Cosmic Comix, so shout out to them here.  I actually picked up a second one, after starting the site, also from Cosmic, as luck would have it.  Also, fun little bit of FiQ trivia here: while the wording was removed from the final version of the review, while writing this review, I referred to Ripley as “The Figure in Question” and liked the phrase so much that I decided to use it for the site’s name.