#1579: Han Solo – Millennium Falcon Gunner Station

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

HAN SOLO – MILLENNIUM FALCON GUNNER STATION

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Two weeks ago, I discussed Kenner’s deluxe offerings from their Power of the Force II toyline.  Specifically, I looked at Luke Skywalker and the Millennium Falcon gunner station.  That particular item was designed to work in tandem with another of the deluxe offerings, Han Solo, packed with another of the gunner stations.  I’ll be looking at that particular item today!  And awaaaaaaay we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

As with the prior set, Han and the Gunner station were released in 1997 as part of the third set of deluxe Power of the Force II figures.  This Han was based on his end of the movie gloved and headset-ed look, which has been the source of a few Han figures (such as the previously released 30th Anniversary one).  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  For whatever reason, he lost the waist movement.  Don’t know why, but there it was.  This figure is rather similar in construction to the first PotF2 Han, but he doesn’t actually share any parts with that figure.  He’s still got some of the wonky proportions, and the head isn’t the best likeness of Harrison Ford, but he’s definitely a bit toned down from the earlier offerings.  I’d place him about on par with the Bespin Han figure, where he’s still within the general confines of the line’s style, but looks a fair bit more like an actual human being.  That’s certainly a plus.  The paint work on Han is fairly standard stuff.  Nothing exceptional, but it’s certainly passable work, especially for the line.  There’s less slop here than on the corresponding Luke. The color palette matches the other Hans from the line, so he was certainly consistent.  Han didn’t include any small accessories, but he still had the gunner station, which was identical to the one that Luke came packed with.  If you had both stations, they could be connected by the platform running behind them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Luke when he was new-ish.  They also had the Han at that time, but I was a silly small child who only wanted Luke and not Han, so he went unpurchased.  It was only recently that I finally acquired this guy.  Lost In Time Toys had him out during one of their sidewalk sales in December, so I was able to pick him up for a pretty low price.  He’s a pretty solid offering for the time.  I could have seen him becoming my default Han had I had him back in the day.

#1578: Black Panther

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

BLACK PANTHER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“T’Challa wears a glowing suit made of Vibranium technology as the warrior hero Black Panther!”

Hey, hey, guess what was released in theaters today!  Yes, Black Panther finally made its way to the big screen!  In honor of T’Challa’s big debut, why not have a look at another of the many toy offerings surrounding the film’s release?  For today’s review, I’m going to be looking at another variant of T’Challa himself, once again based on his comic-book origins.  Let’s have a look at how he turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Panther is a Walmart-exclusive Marvel Legends release, just like the last comic Panther.  While he’s not officially tied to any particular series of the line, he started hitting right around the same time as the Okoye Series.  Thanks to Walmart’s weird distribution style, he actually ended up arriving at a lot of stores less than a month after the last Black Panther-exclusive.  Hopefully, this doesn’t lead to issues of shelf warming for either of them.  The last Panther opted for a very classic take on the character but this figure goes for his most recent redesign from the “All-New, All-Different” relaunch.  It’s generally not terribly far removed from his other looks, but there are some minor tweaks.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  The last two comic Panthers were built on the Bucky Cap body.  This figure mixes things up a bit, moving T’Challa to the Spider-UK body.  This means he’s also the first non-Spider-Man on the body, which I suppose is pretty cool.  It’s a nice base body to be sure, and I think it’s quite a good fit for Panther.  I’m not sure which base body I prefer for him, honestly.  Of course, his more recent design has also been drawn with a generally more stocky appearance, so I think this might be a case pf both bodies being totally valid choices.  The figure gets a new head, as well as the hands from the Rocket Raccoon Series Panther, and an add-on piece for his necklace.  The head is a pretty solid piece, and a decent translation of artist Brian Stelfreeze’s more streamlined take on Panther’s mask.  While the swept back ears take a little bit of getting used to, it certainly makes for a distinctive figure.  The hands fit well on the figure, and in fact look a bit better scaled to this particular body.  I was admittedly a little surprised by the return to these hands after they were left off of the last comic Panther, but they’re still decent pieces.  The necklace I can kind of take or leave.  It looks fine, but it’s a bit too loose fitting for my taste.  As far as paint goes, this guy’s a bit different from prior Panther figures.  Recently in the comics, T’Challa’s begun to experiment with tactical applications of Vibranium’s energy output, resulting in this glowing look when his suit is fully activated.  There’s a bit of a Tron-lines thing going on all throughout the figure.  He’s very pink (Does that make him the Pink Panther?  Only Inspector Clouseau can know for sure). The line work is all pretty clean, and it certainly helps him to pop a bit on the shelf.  Panther includes an extra head without the pink details, as well as a spare set of hands in fists, and two energy effect parts.  The hands and energy parts are definitely fun, but the head baffles me a bit.  It’s just the same head without the extra detailing.  When placed on the body, it looks kind of out of place, and it’s too large to look right on the last Panther body.  I would have much rather have gotten an unmasked T’Challa. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I initially found this figure while still finishing the Okoye Series.  I passed on him at the time, since I had just gotten the other two Black Panther figures, and wasn’t 100% sure I liked the look of this one.  After finishing the first set, I saw this guy again, and I decided I liked him enough to pick him up.  While he’s still not my go-to version of the character (that’s still the last exclusive figure), there’s no denying that this figure is sill pretty fun.  I’m glad I went back on my initial decision.

#1577: Dark Nemesis

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

DARK NEMESIS

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“A survivor from a parallel Earth ruled by the evil Apocalypse, Dark Nemesis now seeks to take over the world of the X-Men. Hoping to start his empire with the Nation of Japan, Dark Nemesis enlists the other-worldly space ninja Deathbird and her advance Sh’ar technology for his plot. With a mind-controlled ninja Sabretooth enforcing Dark Nemesis’s will even Ninja Wolverine and Ninja Psylocke may not survive against his unbelievable power.”

Today, I fully intended to review the Wolfenstein II Terror Billy figure.  It’s been on the schedule for a couple weeks, and everything.  So, why am I not reviewing Billy?  Well, see, Monday night, I dropped my camera and broke it beyond repair….Yeah, wasn’t a great evening.  I’ve got a replacement on the way, but in the mean time, I’m back to reviewing stuff I’ve already got pictures of on hand.  Dark Nemesis just happened to be one such figure, so tangerine jelly bean over here gets reviewed today.  Woo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dark Nemesis was released during Toy Biz’s ‘90s X-Men line.  He was in the eighteenth series of the line, which was inexplicably ninja-themed.  Which apparently was the perfect assortment for Dark Nemesis, cuz he’s always been so tied to the whole ninja thing, right?  It’s worth noting that this character got a name-change from comics to toy.  In the comics, he’s called “Holocaust,” which was rightfully deemed a bit much for a line of toys aimed at children.  So, instead, he was given his pre-Horseman of Apocalypse monicker of “Nemesis” plus the Dark descriptor.  Because the kids dig dark, or whatever.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He gets no elbow movement (which was fairly standard for figures of this build), and due his design also has no neck movement, so he’s a little bit on the stiff side.  But, then, the character was never super mobile either, so it’s not too terrible, truth be told.  His sculpt was unique to him, and it’s a fairly decent recreation of Nemesis’ oh-so-dated design.  I like the internal skeleton thing a lot, and the whole clear plastic construction in general is pretty cool.  They’ve also played down some of the more  crazy aspects of the design, which was probably a step in the right direction.  In terms of paint, a lot of the design relies on the previously mentioned clear plastic, bit he’s got a healthy helping of red accent work, which does a pretty astoundingly good job of capturing Nemesis’ admittedly unique color scheme.  There’s a very cool energy effect, which I think really helps him to pop.  Dark Nemesis is packed with one accessory: a projectile-launching staff.  It’s not really something the character was known for, nor does it really fit the ninja theme of the assortment.  Odd choice.  I guess it’s better than nothing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite actually being familiar with the character around the time this figure was released (I knew him from his appearances in X-Man), I didn’t get this guy new.  In fact, I only just got him in Novemeber.  I found him loose at House of Fun, and grabbed him to help complete my 5-inch X-Men collection.  He’s not the most playable figure, but he’s still pretty fun, and he certainly looks unique on the shelf.

#1576: Handsome Jack

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

HANDSOME JACK

BORDERLANDS 2 (MCFARLANE TOYS)

“After taking over the Hyperion corporation, Handsome Jack declared himself dictator of Pandora, and takes full credit for finding The Vault. Nestled in his geostationary “H-shaped” moon base, Jack can send supplies and troops down to Pandora, and most importantly can keep an eye on Vault Hunters at all times.”

In preparation for today’s review, I went back and looked at all of the other reviews I’ve done on Valentine’s Day, just to see how I started them off.  Did you know that in the four years I’ve been running this site, I’ve only once directly referenced the actual day in my review?  Weird.  Well, in our own odd way, Super Awesome Girlfriend and I are celebrating the holiday by sitting down and reviewing some action figures from a property we both love: Borderlands!  Her review of Tiny Tina went up earlier today, and I’m following it up with a look at the other half of the set, Handsome Jack!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Handsome Jack is the second of the two figures in the first series of McFarlane’s Borderlands 2 line.  These two were originally meant to be part of the overarching Color Tops line that McFarlane had running, where each figure was given a number, but it appears that whole idea was dropped in favor of just doing a bunch of dedicated lines.  Borderlands already has two more series confirmed, so that seems to have worked out alright.  Jack stands 7 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  There was some concern when these figures were first shown that they would be little more than glorified statues (especially given the early offerings from Color Tops), and they were even solicited as only having 12 points of articulation.  While Jack’s not going to be pulling off any crazy kung fu moves or anything, he’s actually quite posable, on par with McFarlane’s Halo and Walking Dead offerings.  My only real complaint is how limited the hips are.  They do alright for minor tweaks to his stance, but that’s about it.  I suppose his elbows could also offer some more range, but I more fault the design of the character for that one.  The actual sculpt is definitely a solid recreation of the in-game model for Jack.  The clothing is all properly dynamic in how it lays on him, and his proportions match well with the character’s scrawny physique.  Jack includes two different head sculpts.  He’s packed wearing the better of the two sculpts, though curiously, it’s the non-standard one.  It gives us a glimpse at Jack’s unmasked face, seen by the player only after defeating Jack in the final battle.  There’s just a ton of character to it, with all of the scarring and the slight sneer to his expression.  His standard head isn’t bad, but something feels ever so slightly off about his face.  It doesn’t seem quite as sharp and angular as it should be, and his expression doesn’t look quite as intense as it should be.  He looks more bemused than maniacally evil.  On the plus side, both heads sport a perfect recreation of Jack’s wacky hair, which really sells who he’s supposed to be.  The paint work on Jack is pretty strong all around.  The base colors are nice and bright, as they should be, and they’ve done quite a nice job of capturing the signature comic-book-y-styled outlining of the series.  There’s a little bit of slop, especially on the forearms as they change from sleeve to skin, but the general appearance is very strong.  In addition to including an extra head, Jack is also packed with a Hyperion Inspiring Transmurdera SMG, the Vault Key, a display stand, and a code for 5 golden keys in-game.  The SMG seems ever so slightly on the large side, but is otherwise pretty cool, as are the other two physical extras.  The code is really only useful if you’re an active Borderlands 2 player, but fortunately I am.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Super Awesome Girlfriend’s the whole reason I even know what Borderlands is.  Without her, I don’t believe I would have ever played the game myself (I’m at best a moderate gamer).  When these figures were first announced, I knew Super Awesome Girlfriend was getting a Tiny Tina, since Tina’s one of her favorites.  I wasn’t certain about Jack, but I thought I might pick him up, if nothing more than to support the line until they got to the characters I really wanted.  In the mean time, I’ve done a play through of the Pre-Sequel, where I ended up playing Jack’s Doppleganger, and grew pretty attached to that character.  Given the closeness of design, it’s certainly easier for me to appreciate this guy, especially since I tended to play my Doppleganger with the scarred head like the one included here.  Jack’s a pretty great figure in his own right, and he gives me hope for the line as a whole.  I’m definitely down for the figures they’ve announced so far, and holding out hope that we’ll see all of the main Vault Hunters.  Honestly, I’d just settle for an Axton.  That’s not too much to ask, right? 

Guest Review #0050: Tiny Tina

Posted by hodgeppodge42 in Guest Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

TINY TINA

BORDERLANDS 2 (MCFARLANE TOYS)

“All around the Sta-actus plant, the stalker chased the bandit, the stalker thought ’twas all in fun – POP! Goes the bandit!” ~Tiny Tina

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody! If you haven’t noticed, your main squeeze and I are reviewing action figures together to celebrate. Today, Ethan will be reviewing Handsome Jack while I’m reviewing Tiny Tina, who is the coolest character of all of Borderlands.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Before I get into the nitty gritty of the figure, I’m gonna try and give a brief introduction to the character. Tiny Tina is an NPC from the Borderlands game series, she first appears in Borderlands 2 and she appears to have a really close relationship with the vault hunters, specifically Roland. She’s a young girl whose parents were murdered during an experiment done by Hyperion, the main bad guys of the game. On top of all that, she’s the best demolition expert on all of Pandora and has a crazy personality to match—her dialogue is also fantastic!

Now, on to the figure! Tiny Tina stands at about 6 inches tall without her stand, with the stand she about .25 inches taller…maybe? I’m terrible at guessing but she’s about the same height as a few of my Marvel Legends, so that’s good enough for me. As far as I can tell, this figure has about 22 points of articulation, but I’m not 100% sure because she was a bit stiff in some areas specifically her right leg. Actually, I’ve come back with a correction, there are 24 points of articulation…oops!

One of the reasons why I like Tiny Tina so much in the game is because not only is her personality absolutely chaotic, but her outward appearance is as well. Her character design is so asymmetrical that it should make me uncomfortable, instead it makes me love her more. I think they did well in recreating her chaotic personality in the design of the figure. The one thing about her design I wish were different is the face they chose, I don’t think it quite matches the character’s personality and instead makes her seem a bit more deranged than just comically crazy.

Overall, I really like the paint job and sculpting of the character. I really enjoyed how they were able to incorporate the various holes, stitches, and patchwork into the clothing. The holes are actually there and not painted on, same with the stitches—you can actually feel them there on her clothes. I also liked how rough they made the bottom of her skirt, not only does it look all cut up but it feels like it too! For the most part the paint is alright, though it’s not my favorite thing about the figure. I thought they did a decent job of emulating the animation style of the game. Where the paint suffers the most is in some of the detailing. There are some places where the paint doesn’t quite match the paint, like the brush wasn’t quite aligned with the figure so the pattern is right it’s just a bit off to the side. There are also other places where the paint bleeds a bit over the line, which granted isn’t something that you notice right away unless you’ve been staring at it for an ungodly amount of time—like me! Mostly the detailing is pretty cool and spot on, I really enjoyed how they made the various lines on the figure stand out much like they do in the game.

Finally, there’s the figure’s accessories. Now, knowing Tiny Tina I thought she would’ve come with her explosives or maybe a ridiculous looking gun. Instead, she comes with a jagged bloody axe that looks like it should weigh more than she does (as a character and not a figure) and is almost as tall as her, standing at about 6 inches. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d like this piece because I don’t remember seeing anything about an axe, unless it came from her DnD expansion pack,”Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep”. However, after displaying her with the axe I realized that it quite grew on me. It has an interesting design that quite matches that of the owner, jagged, oddly designed, and held together by duct tape. I think it’s a really cool design, and I like the detailing that went into the piece, including the dripping blood and the vault symbols. Now all I want is an animation of Tiny swinging this massive axe around like the crazy child she is! The other accessory she comes with is a basic stand that has the games logo and a textured top too appear as if she’s standing on dirt, without coloring it. I have mixed feelings about the stand. I find it to be rather basic, but with the design of the figure you really need it to help her stand. Because her right leg, the one without the sneaker, is so stiff or doesn’t have the right joints at all it makes it really hard for her to stand. This Tiny Tina is very left foot dominant, which is fine, but without the stand it’s nearly impossible for me to keep her upright and on top of that I’m a little worried about her right leg. So if you’re going to design a figure that really needs its stand, at least make the stand more interesting and less like a last minute addition!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been a Tiny Tina fan since the moment of her conception and so when I heard that McFarlane was making Borderlands figures I was super excited. When I found out that they weren’t going to be statues I think I actually screamed. And when they were finally released, I believe I threw my card at poor Ethan and screamed that we needed those figures NOW! There was also more screaming when the package came and then I believe the dogs howled when I finally opened up her box…

Even though I’m a bit annoyed with her stand and one leg, I’m actually really happy that I have a Tiny Tina now. She’s still a fantastic figure that I love having on display on my side of the bookshelf! And I can’t wait to add more of the cast to my collection so that my crazy bomb-loving child won’t be alone. To say that we’re more than ready to support this new line of figures is a little bit of an understatement.

“Get-outta-my-shop-or-I’ll-punch-yo-butt. That’s-how-Tiny-Tina-roll.” ~Tiny Tina

#1575: Admiral Ackbar & First Order Officer

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

ADMIRAL ACKBAR & FIRST ORDER OFFICER

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Star Wars fandom has a tendency to latch onto certain characters, and blow there contributions way out of proportion.  The biggest example of this is, of course, Boba Fett, but coming up close behind has got to be Admiral Ackbar.  Ackbar’s big claim to fame is a unique design and one highly memorable line.  Pretty much the only difference between him and Nien Numb (introduced in the same movie, and with about the same amount of screen time) is that Ackbar actually spoke English.  Despite all of this, there was a sizable chunk of people who were genuinely angry that Ackbar’s role in The Last Jedi was that of a background character….just like he has been for his entire existence.  I personally was happy to see him again in whatever role they could give him, and even happier to see him get a new action figure out of the whole thing.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Admiral Ackbar and his pack mate, a generic First Order Officer, were released in a Toys R Us-exclusive two-pack as part of Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series.

ADMIRAL ACKBAR

“Ackbar became a Grand Admiral in the New Republic, winning many victories, including the pivotal Battle of Jakku.  He retired to Mon Cala but was coaxed back into service with the Resistance by Leia Organa.”

Ackbar is no stranger to action figures, but this is his first time in the 6-inch scale.  He’s seen here in his uniform from The Last Jedi, which is different from his TFA uniform, which was in turn different from his RotJ uniform.  Each time, it seems his uniform’s gotten a bit less unique.  I don’t dislike his Last Jedi design, but Ackbar is really just wearing the same togs as everyone else.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation, which includes an articulated jaw.  Pretty swanky.  Ackbar’s sculpt is new to him, and it’s certainly impressive.  The best work is definitely on his head and forearms, which capture the prosthetics from the film quite nicely.  The head in particular does a great job of working in the jaw movement without disrupting the sculpt too much.  The rest of the figure is decently handled.  The uniform features the appropriate texturing and such, and the proportions match up well with the head and hands.  Because of the way the waist articulation is implemented, the overhanging flap on his jacket is cut off at the belt, which looks a little goofy and is hard to get properly aligned when posing him.  The paint on this figure follows the example of the sculpt.  The most impressive work is on the head and hands, which get a decent amount of accent work and the like.  The body is certainly passable, but there’s no accenting on any of the uniform, which looks a bit goofy and cheap.  Ackbar is packed with a standard rebel blaster, which he can hold in his right hand.

FIRST ORDER OFFICER

“The officers of the First Order military forces show unwavering allegiance to Supreme Leader Snoke, leading his massive armies and fleet in a relentless drive to dominate the galaxy.”

This is a figure we’ve seen most of before.  With the exception of the head, he’s identical to the First Order Disguise Finn figure.  Obviously, it’s a sensible re-use, and a great way of justifying the totally unique tooling for Ackbar.  Anyway, I liked Finn, so I like this figure.  His new head is suitably generic, so if you wanted to get a few of these, it wouldn’t look too terrible.  It’s got a slight resemblance to Vinnie Jones in my eyes, but I hardly mind that (even if it is a bit goofy to see such a head on such a scrawny body).  The paint on this guy is pretty much comparable to Finn’s, with the obvious changes to the head.  The face is a little sloppy, but the faded hair actually looks pretty decent.  Like Finn, this guy includes the small blaster pistol and removable hat.  He loses the riot baton, but I’m guessing those aren’t standard issue for officers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I saw this set once before the movie’s release.  I’d just dropped a bunch of money on figures the day before, so I decided to hold off.  Then I didn’t see the set anywhere for a month, and I started to worry a bit.  Fortunately, it showed back up, and I was able to snag one last month while on a trip out and about.  Ackbar’s the definite draw, and he’s a solid figure.  Not 100% sold on this particular costume, but it certainly could be worse.  The Officer’s not really anything special, but he’s a decent figure nonetheless and a welcome addition to my First Order ranks.

#1574: Falcon

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

FALCON

MARVEL’S GOLD (TOY BIZ)

You know, there’s a surprising backlog of Falcon action figures.  Though the general public didn’t know him until his appearance in The Winter Soldier in 2014, he’s still made an appearance in just about every prominent style of Marvel figures.  Under Toy Biz’s reign, he appeared not once, but twice as 5-inch figure.  His second of those figures is the one I’ll be looking at today.  And awaaaaaay we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon was one of the 11 figures in Toy Biz’s specialty store-exclusive  Marvel’s Gold line.  Falcon was one of the later figures in the line-up.  The big deal with this particular figure was his return to the classic design, since the prior Falcon figure was based on his design from the short-lived Avengers: United They Stand show.  The figure stands 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation.  He was built on the same body as the Spider-Man line’s Daredevil.  This was definitely one of Toy Biz’s best bodies, and it’s a shame they didn’t start using it earlier into the Marvel’s Gold run, as I think Moon Knight would have been much better had they used this base.  Regardless, I’m glad it was used here.  Also re-used are Falcon’s wings, which also come from the Spider-Man line, specifically from Vulture.  They’re a bit more metallic and stylized than Falcon’s usually are, but they get the job done.   At this point in the line, Toy Biz had moved past the pure re-use that was going on at the start, so Falcon got a “new” head sculpt.  I say “new” because it’s technically re-used from the Famous Covers Falcon, albeit shrunk down a bit.  That was one of the best FC sculpts, and it still looks great shrunk down for this figure, especially given the higher depth of detail allowed.  Perhaps the only disappointing part of the sculpt is the fringe at the edge of his legs.  They’re essentially just a sticker, and it’s really lazy and obvious.  I think he would have looked better if those had just been left off.  The paint on Falcon is respectable, but not without its issues.  The basic colors work well, and the accenting on the reds looks pretty solid.  That being said, the actual application is rather messy, especially on the edges of the vest.  Falcon is packed with his trusty sidekick Redwing, as well as a glove with a perch for Redwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Falcon was a rather recent acquisition, picked up from the NJ-based House of Fun this past November.  It’s a figure I’ve wanted for a little while, so I was glad to find him.  He’s definitely one of the best offerings Toy Biz had from this particular line, and he’s just one of the better Falcon figures out there in general.

#1573: Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, & Grim Reaper

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

IRON MAN, HAWKEYE, THOR, & GRIM REAPER

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Iron Man, Thor and Hawkeye are just three of the Heroes who make up the super-team known as the Avengers. Together, they can neutralize any threat, even the manipulations of the evil Grim Reaper!”

I just mentioned Minimates passingly in yesterday’s Palz review, so I suppose it’s fitting that today I give them a whole focus of their own.  Because, as we all know, Minimates neeeever show up in my review schedule, right?  …Anyway, getting back to the Minimates, Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 left a little bit of uncertainty about the future of Marvel Minimates and whether DST would be allowed to continue as a licensee.  Disney assuaged fears by turning around a couple of Disney Store exclusives, sort of out of nowhere one day.  I’m looking at one of those exclusives today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released in May of 2012 as one of two Disney Store-exclusive boxed sets meant to tie-in with the release of the first Avengers movie (I already took a look at the other one here).  Iron Man and Thor are both the same figures as their Marvel Minimates Series 44 counterparts, while Hawkeye and Grim Reaper were exclusive to this set.

IRON MAN

The mid ‘90s marked a bit of a resurgence for Tony Stark as Iron Man (albeit nowhere near as big as the one he got in ’08), with fan favorite Kurt Busiek handling the character both in his solo book and in the pages of the re-launched Avengers title.  This figure represents the design he was wearing at that time, and it’s a favorite of mine. The figure is 2 1/2 inches tall and he has the usual 14 points of articulation.  He has add-ons for his helmet, breast plate/shoulder pads, gloves, belt, and boots.  All of these were new to this figure, and they all are pretty fantastic.  There’s a ton of sculpted detail on each piece, but he maintains the ‘mate aesthetic very well.  As far as paint goes, this Iron Man is generally pretty solid, but is definitely an example of DST’s learning curve with metallic paints.  While the reds are really great looking, the gold is still that very dark, very dull shade they were using for a while, and it’s also worth noting that it’s a paint that doesn’t hold up to time.  It’s not as bad as the Avengers #1 set’s version of Tony, but it’s pretty frustrating.  Even more frustrating is DST’s decision to package Tony’s helmet on him.  For most Iron Man ‘mates (at least leading up to this), the helmet would be packed off to the side.  The reason for this is simple: if the paint hasn’t fully dried when the figure is packaged and you stick the helmet on there, it’s likely not coming off.  That’s what happened with my figure.  Seriously, six years I’ve owned this guy, and I’ve yet to get that helmet off him.  It’s a little sad.  Guess it’s a good thing I like the fully armored look.  Iron Man was packed with a rocket trail flying stand, done in a nice pale blue.

HAWKEYE

Before this figure, there had been only one other standard Clint Barton Hawkeye (reviewed here), four years prior.  That figure had some notable issues, and really looked out of place with all of the other advancements going on.  So, he was due for an update, and the extra notoriety given to him by the first Avengers movie granted him that chance.  Plus, as a pivotal player in Busiek’s Avengers re-launch, his inclusion alongside the otherwise very clearly Heroes Return-branded ‘mates in this set and Series 44 made a lot of sense.  I’ve actually looked at a lot of this figure before, via the Best Of Marvel Minimates Series 3 release, which took it’s add-ons from this guy.  I liked the pieces there, and I liked them here first.  The only real difference between the two is paint.  And paint’s kind of what breaks this figure for me.  It’s not terrible.  It’s actually pretty decent, even.  That being said, if the Series 20 Hawkeye was too subdued, this one went too far the other way, making him way too bright.  It’s the blue in particular that throws him off.  It should definitely be a deeper tone (which the later release definitely fixed).  Another thing I’ve never much liked about this figure is his facial expression. I’m glad they got the face to line up correctly (since the first Hawkeye did not), but the angry, gritted teeth look just doesn’t feel right for Barton.  Hawkeye included his bow, three pointed arrows, two sonic arrows, and a hairpiece for his unmasked look.  The arrows were nice, and can even be placed in his quiver.  The bow, which was a new sculpt, was okay at the time, but was definitely on the small side, and a little hard for him to hold properly.

THOR

Though he was the most glaring omission from the line for its first 15 series, by the time of this Thor’s release, we were kind of suffering from a glut of Thors, with this one being the ninth Thor in the space of a year.  Like Iron Man, this Thor was definitely patterned on the Heroes Return look, which is really just the classic design plus a beard.  Thor was built using add-ons for his helmet/hair, cape, wrist bands, belt, and boots.  The wrist bands were from the very first Thor in Series 16, the cape and boots came from the TRU-exclusive First Appearance Thor from 2011, and the belt was just a generic piece.  The helmet was new, though you’d be forgiven for not realizing.  Overall, a solid set of parts, though the cape does make it a little hard to keep him standing.  The rest of the look is achieved via paint.  I think it’s pretty good overall, though there’s some slight slop here and there, especially noticeable on the helmet and the cape.  He used the same gold paint as Iron Man, which isn’t super, but there’s less of it on Thor.  Thor included his hammer Mjonir, in both standard AND spinning configurations.  I quite like the spinning version.  He also had an extra head sans-beard, which, despite using the exact same facial features as the bearded head, ends up looking a bit too mean for Thor.  There’s also a spare hairpiece for a look without the helmet, I suppose to offer people who only knew the movie Thor a more familiar look.  Lastly, he included a clear display stand to help him stay standing with the spinning Mjolnir.  It’s important to note that these still weren’t a standard inclusion yet.

GRIM REAPER

Last up, the set’s one new character, Grim Reaper!  Reaper has been a long-recurring Avengers villain, and he was revived during the Busiek/Perez run, so he’s a perfect fit…well, apart from the total lack of Vision or Wonder Man in the set, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.  They went with the classic Reaper design (classic, not original, because no body really wants the technicolor dreamcoat monstrosity that was his first costume), which is sensible enough.  I’m still partial to his re-animated look from the ‘80s, but this works too.  The figure makes use of add-ons for his mask, cape, and scythe attachment.  The mask and scythe were new to this figure (and remain unique to this figure six years later), and were fantastic renditions of his look from the comics.  The cape is the standard cape from the DC Minimates Series 1 Superman.  It’s not a perfect fit (since Reaper’s really supposed to have the collar), but it’s close enough that it works.  In terms of paint, Reaper is certainly subdued, but very well-rendered.  The colors are suitably dark, but there’s still plenty of room for detailing.  I love the dynamic shading on the bodysuit and mask.  I also really love that crazed expression they gave him.  Reaper included no accessories, but I don’t really know what you’d give him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed this set at the same time as its companion set, ordering them both from Disney’s online store (since none of my local Disney Stores ever carried Minimates).  Reaper’s always been a favorite of mine, so his inclusion definitely excited me, but I was also pretty happy to get another Hawkeye.  While Hawkeye didn’t end up being quit what I wanted, I was still pretty happy with the other three in this set.  In fact, this was my preferred of the two Disney sets.

#1572: Kendra

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

KENDRA

BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER PALZ (PALISADES)

You know, it’s actually a little bit surprising that Buffy: The Vampire Slayer was quite the merchandising juggernaut it was, given that the vast majority of the characters are just normal looking people.  But, its toys were a success nonetheless.  For example, when Palisades was attempting to compete in the block figure game, Buffy proved to be their most lucrative property, with two series of figures and a whole slew of exclusives.  Had Palisades not run into financial woes so early, it’s very possible Palz might have been a serious competitor for Minimates.  Isn’t that a strange alternate universe?  As it stands, the structure of the Buffy Palz line was such that only the show’s first two seasons are actually covered, which can place more of a focus on some slightly more minor characters.  For instance, while Faith is the replacement slayer that took off, it was first replacement slayer Kendra who actually got made into a Palz.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kendra was released as a Palisades Direct exclusive timed to coincide with the Season 2-themed second series of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer Palz.  Though initially only available to members of Palisades’ online club, the relatively quickly demise of Palisades after her release resulted in her being rather readily available on the aftermarket.  While most Palz were based on one specific appearance, Kendra is really a catch-all for all of her appearances.  Given it was three episodes, and she only had two distinct looks, it’s not like it was a real stretch.  Kendra stands 3 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Like both Vampire Buffy and Willow before her, she’s built on the standard Palz female body.  You can choose from one of two hair pieces for her, one being based on her freer hair from “What’s My Line?” and the other being based on her more tightly braided hair from “Becoming.”  She comes wearing the first but I personally prefer the second.  Nevertheless, both pieces are very well crafted, exhibiting an awesome amount of texturing, which was a notable change for most of the Series 2 figures.  Kendra’s paint is some pretty solid work all around.  While the body pieces are largely done with big areas of flat colors, it’s all pretty clean.  Her two faces are really exceptional work, with both exhibiting a solid likeness of Bianca Lawson.  I personally like the aside glance face the most, but both are definitely decent representations of the character.  As with the two different hair pieces, there are two differently deco-ed torso pieces, one representing her shirt (which is her favorite and her only one) from “What’s My Line?” and the other being the replacement shirt Buffy gives her at the end of that episode (which is seen again in “Becoming.”)  In addition to the two torsos and the two hair pieces, Kendra is also packed with three stakes, her named stake Mr. Pointy, an axe, the Slayer Handbook, a crossbow, and a tombstone. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After coming across a few errant Buffy Palz at Baltimore Comic Con in 2009, I decided to track down a few other figures.  Kendra came from my third round of purchases, when I discovered a pretty decent selection of them on Amazon.  I always liked Kendra more than Faith, so I didn’t mind so much that she was the one to get the figure.  Despite her slightly minor status on the show, she’s genuinely one of my favorite figures from this line.

#1571: Rose – First Order Disguise, BB-8, & BB-9E

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

ROSE – FIRST ORDER DISGUISE, BB-8, & BB-9E

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (HASBRO)

A couple weeks back, it was announced that the remaining announced but unreleased figures from Hasbro’s basic Last Jedi line were being distributed solely by online retailers Entertainment Earth (at least in North America, anyway; the rest of the world may yet see them show up at regular retail).  This means, that, without any real fan faire, the set I’m looking at today, is the final piece of Last Jedi product to hit retail.  Weird.  Well, might as well review it. (EDIT: strike that, there’s the four pack that’s hitting alongside the home video release.  Forgot about that one.)

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Rose, BB-8, and BB-9E were part of the second assortment of “two-packs” for the Last Jedi line.  For those of you who have halfway decent counting skills, you may have noticed there are three figures in this supposed two-pack.  Hasbro presumably realized how silly it would look to try and sell a normal figure and a BB unit for the same price as two normal figures, so they did the wise thing and threw in a second BB.

ROSE – FIRST ORDER DISGUISE

Our second standard line version of Rose follows the Star Wars tradition of giving us variants of our heroes disguised as the enemy.  Rose is, of course, seen here in the First Order uniform that she wears alongside Finn when infiltrating the Supremacy. It’s kind of amusing to get her in this scale, since the corresponding Finn was a 6-inch figure, but not to worry, there’s going to be a Finn to match soon enough.  This figure stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has the usual 5 points of articulation.  Her sculpt is totally new.  Not surprising, since she’s got a whole different look.  It’s a decent sculpt, though I can’t say it’s quite as interesting to look at as her standard figure.  The uniform’s carefully pressed and everything, so there’s no real room for the fun texturing of the last figure.  I also don’t find the head to be sporting quite as strong a likeness as the prior figure, though it’s not like this one’s terrible.  Also, minor point of contention that I suppose isn’t 100% fair to hold against this figure but I’m gonna bring up here anyway:  Hasbro’s still being inconsistent about the way they handled the bottom sections of the tunics.  Hux had his sculpted as part of his legs, but Rose gets an overlay piece.  Given that they’re supposed to be in a variation of the same uniform, it’s the slightest bit annoying.  I’m not saying I mind Rose getting what I feel is the superior implementation of the design, but I do really wish Hasbro would fully commit one way or the other.  Rose’s paint is decent, though not without its flaws.  The big issue with my figure is the eyes, which aren’t lined up properly.  There were two sets at the store where I picked this up, and I assure you, this one was the better of the two.  Beyond that, it’s mostly pretty passable work.  There’s not a whole lot going on, but it’s a good match for what we saw on the screen.  Rose includes a standard First Order pistol, as well as one of the heavy guns first included with the FO Legion set.  Like the rest of the TLJ line, Rose is Force Link compatible.  I got: “I’m ready for my mission,” “Quickly, Stormtroopers are coming!”, “Quiet! We have to be careful,” “Take cover!”, and an assortment of blaster sounds.

BB-8 & BB-9E

Once again, the only way to get a BB-8 is as part of a multi-pack.  I think that’s just going to be this character’s lot in life, since selling him on his own just doesn’t seem practical at all.  Also along for the ride is his “nemesis,” BB-9E.  Both droids measure about an inch and a half tall and have a single ball joint at the base of their head.  Both of them sport brand new sculpts, which do a respectable job of capturing the droids from the film.  I like that the time was taken to give them both completely unique sculpts, as it keeps the set from getting too redundant.  Paint on these two is about what you’d expect.  I think BB-9E is a little cleaner, and just a slightly better looking scheme all together.  BB-8 suffers a bit from the lack of any sort of accent work, which causes the large sections of white plastic to be a little overpowering.  Both of these droids are also Force Link compatible, each playing a couple of clips of each droid’s “dialogue.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a set that eluded me for a little while.  For reasons I can’t really understand, Hasbro decided to pack this trio in a case with more of the two-packs from the first series, as well as the Rogue One-themed Chirrut and Baze pack.  As the only truly new pack in the case, this one was guaranteed to be the first one to go every time.  Fortunately, on the way back from putting my brother on an early bus to New York, I was able to stop by a Walmart that had just opened and put their stock out, meaning I was able to finally get these guys.  Admittedly, it’s not the most thrilling set, but I like all three figures included enough to feel they were worth tracking down.