#3788: Mighty Morphin “Metallic” Blue Ranger

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MIGHTY MORPHIN “METALLIC” BLUE RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

There’s never been a *ton* of Power Rangers coverage here, but there certainly used to be more than there has been recently.  A lot of that lies with Hasbro’s Lightning Collection sort of fizzling out last year, leaving the brand a bit dead in the water until Playmates starts pushing their product, which will, of course, be Mighty Morphin focused again.  Look, it’s what sells, guys.  And I’m not helping matters here, because my last Rangers post, almost a whole year ago, was MMPR, and today’s post…is also MMPR.  I assure you, this one’s different!  He’s maybe a little bit sparkly!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mighty Morphin “Metallic” Blue Ranger was a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Power Rangers: Lightning Collection release.  He was released alongside the other five Rangers, and they put them out between the original releases and the “Remastered” releases with the updated bodies.  They were sort of a palette cleanser, like when you get sherbet between courses of a meal.  Do normal places still do that?  Or is it just, like, a disaffected rich person thing?  I don’t know.  I’m getting sidetracked, sorry.  I would like to note that the quotation marks on “Metallic” are present on his name on the front of the box, which feels weird to me, but that’s official.  I guess he’s not *really* metallic?  I don’t know.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s using the first MMPR mold, which isn’t terrible, but also has its drawbacks.  Most notably, he has some difficulty properly putting his arms down to his sides.  That being said, it’s what they had, and it’s also not bad by any stretch, especially pre-Remastered body.  He *does* get an updated helmet mold, though, so it’s not as weirdly shaped as the initial one.  The paint work proper is essentially the same, with the main change-up here being that the blue plastic is now translucent and it has little flecks of glitter in it.  It’s actually kinda cool, and I dig how it looks when it’s all lit up.  It’s gimmicky, of course, but it’s Power Rangers.  The accessories here are fairly similar to the standard release; he gets two pairs of hands, his power blaster, the Power Lance in both separated and combined forms, an unmasked head, an effect piece, and a Zeo Crystal.  All of the Metallic Ranger’s got new unmasked heads, which in the case of most of the others was because they were new actors, but since David Yost was the one that stayed the whole time, we just get an alternate Billy, this time without the glasses.  I’m not sure this one really works as well for me, but it’s *alright* I guess.  The Zeo Crystal is definitely in the running for “most likely to get lost.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t *need* any of these, so I didn’t get one new.  And, honestly, I didn’t even think about it all, until a full set came into All Time, and I was getting the Pink one for Rachel, making getting this one for myself pretty easy.  He’s nifty.  I don’t know that I’d go beyond that, but nifty’s not a bad spot to be for a Power Ranger.

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.

#3787: Cliffjumper

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CLIFFJUMPER

TRANSFORMERS: MISSING LINK (TAKARA)

I haven’t done any Transformers reviews since back in November, but it’s okay, because they’re coming back around again!  Last year saw the launch of Takara’s Missing Link branding, which sort of takes Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Origins approach of “vintage style figure with modern engineering” and applies to TFs, giving us figures that look like the original G1s, but without being the generally static bricks those were in robot mode.  The first two figures were both Optimus, and I’m not an Optimus guy, but now we’re getting into some of the other characters.  That some of the other characters includes Cliffjumper, who may not be Magnus or Soundwave, but is still rather high up on my list.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cliffjumper is figure C-04 in the Transformers: Missing Link line.  Thus far, this line’s been releasing figures in pairs, and Cliffy is paired off with Bumblebee, with whom he shares a bit of his tooling.  In robot mode, the figure stands just a hair over 3 inches tall and he has 21 workable points of articulation.  Right off the bat, this guy’s definitely tiny.  Like, I knew he would be, since they’re aiming to replicate the sizing on the originals, but the pictures just didn’t really prepare me for how small he was in person.  He’s just a cute little guy.  Cliffjumper’s sculpt is obviously patterned on his original figure, and in that respect, it’s a good recreation.  It looks a lot like that earlier figure, but he’s less stiff, and the details are all a lot sharper.  His posing is a little bit restricted by his somewhat boxy frame, but it’s honestly not bad.  My biggest issue with mine is that the shoulders can be a touch tricky to pose, and are maybe a hair looser than I’d like.  I’ve heard there have been issues with the heels cracking during posing, but I haven’t had that issue with mine.  Cliffy is packed with a bazooka and a smaller blaster, bith of which are chromed and very cool.  He also includes a sheet of stickers, for those interested in changing up his look.  I’m good with the basic look, so those are staying on the sheet for me.  Like his original, this guy turns into a little tiny car.  The transformation’s pretty easy, but at the same time not too simple.  On mine, the hood doesn’t *quite* seat against the windshield the way it should.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a fan of this general concept of figure, but with Optimus being the launch and me not being an Optimus fan, I couldn’t justify the cost to jump in.  Cliffjumper, however, being the Ultra Magnus to Bumblebee’s Optimus, is right in line with my sort of off-brand Autobot sensibilities, so he gave me the opportunity to try this line out.  He’s very fun, and I like him quite a bit.  And, of course, I want a Magnus now.

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.

#3786: Plastic Man

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PLASTIC MAN

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

It would seem I haven’t reviewed a single Plastic Man figure here on the site since my first year, where I had a veritable surplus of a whole two of them.  That’s quite a hiatus, huh?  I blame my need to really project that Elongated Man-stan site energy.  Is that the right use of “stan?”  Should I even be using “stan?”  Probably not, but I’ve gone and used it anyway, about Elongated Man.  I mean, if I’m gonna cross that line, Elongated Man’s a good reason.  But, I’m not supposed to be talking about Elongated Man, now am I?  Right, it’s Plastic Man.  He’s okay, I guess.  Anyway, here’s a Plastic Man figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Plastic Man is the Build-A-Figure from the ’90s JLA-themed assortment of DC Multiverse from last year (you know, the one that inexplicably included a not even remotely ’90s John Stewart as its Green Lantern).  The figure stands a little over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  With the exception of the slightly changed up neck joint, his articulation is more or less the same as your average DC Mulitverse figure.  On my figure, the standard arms are quite loose at the shoulders, but I don’t know if that’s an across the board thing or a just my figure thing.  Aside from the John Stewart, this set is supposed to based on the team’s late ’90s depictions.  For Plas, that keeps his general classic look, but results in him being more exaggerated in his proportions and appearance. Plas makes use of the arms and upper legs of the Blue Beetle base body, along with a new head, torso, pelvis, and lower legs.  In general, he feels maybe a touch bulky for Plastic Man, who is usually a little skinnier than others.  I can’t help but feel that maybe the body used for Ambush Bug might be a better starting point?  The new parts are okay, though.  I do like finally getting a set of shins for this body without the sculpted boot cuff.  The feet are a bit freaky and grotesque, and the head’s giving me slight Elvis vibes, but on a whole, it works okay.  Plastic Man’s color work is serviceable.  Nothing too crazy.  I do dig the reflection in the goggles, so that’s certainly a plus.  Plas is packed with an alternate head and arms, which are more stretched out.  Generally, I prefer them to the standards, with the head in particular just feeling more true to the character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I liked the general look of this guy when he was shown off, I didn’t exactly want to buy a whole set of figures just to get him.  And, honestly, I didn’t really expect to get the chance to get one, because I haven’t really seen many of the McFarlane BaFs resurface.  I was proven wrong on this one, because I actually had a loose complete one land in front of me at work, in a relatively short span of time from release.  Every time I’ve passed on a figure of Plas in the past, I’ve wound up regretting it, so I tried to avoid running into that here.  He’s okay.  He’s got some slight issues, but at the same time, he’s still worth the time.

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.

#3785: Iron Man – Hydro Armor

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IRON MAN — HYDRO ARMOR

IRON MAN (TOY BIZ)

“When the power of Iron Man is not sufficient to meet the needs of a given situation, the genius of Tony Stark compensates – by creating specialty suits of armor to get the job done! Iron Man’s Hydro Armor is designed to withstand the enormous pressure of deep sea exploration, and is equipped with a battery of on-board weapons designed to function in the murky depths of the deepest parts of the ocean!”

Okay, I’m kicking the month off with another retro Marvel review!  It’s an Iron Man review, specifically from Toy Biz’s Iron Man.  I last looked at this line back in October, with Tony Stark, and now I’m taking a look at one of his many armored Iron Man variants from the show that spawned the line.  The Model 6 Hydro Armor was introduced in the comics in the late ’80s for use in deep sea operations, and it turned up a number of times on the show, which also netted it an action figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hydro Armor Iron Man was released in Series 1 of Toy Biz’s Iron Man line.  Given the focus on the armor in the show’s first season, it made sense.  The figure was subsequently re-packed in a two-pack with Mr. Fantastic from the FF line, and repacked a few times in the Marvel Universe line.  They were certainly fond of this one.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  In terms of articulation and build, he’s very similar to the other armored figures from this line.  He uses the under-lying figure with clip-on armor set-up.  The under the armor look isn’t based on anything specific, but it’s a neat enough design.  His head is a re-use of the Modular armor head, which tracks with the show design. When fully assembled, the armor looks pretty good, and fairly accurate to the design.  The arm pieces have a little trouble staying put, but that was sort of a recurrent issue with the line.  The head dome piece is cool, even if the entire concept of the dome piece is slightly weird.  The color work on this guy is alright, but suffers from an odd clash between the yellow parts and the chromed gold armored bits.  It doesn’t work as well with gold as it did with silver and red.  The figure is packed with “Deep Sea Weapns”, which translates to a missile launcher and two missiles.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got my original copy of this figure from the KB Toys near my family’s usual vacation spot, during an off-season visit, I believe shortly before my brother was born?  He was appropriately thematic for the trip, but beyond that, he was never a major focus in my collection, especially because I lost most of his armor, and that made him extra pointless.  I wound up getting a replacement very recently, when a complete one came into All Time.  He’s neat, but perhaps not the coolest of the Iron Men this line had to offer.

#3784: Nurse Chapel

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NURSE CHAPEL

STAR TREK (PLAYMATES)

Okay, we’re doing this Star Trek thing! One! More! Time!  …You know, for now, at least.  Today’s subject is Majel Barrett, Gene Roddenberry’s second wife, and a central piece of Trek since the very beginning.  Originally appearing as Pike’s “Number One” in the unaired pilot “The Cage,” Barrett’s role as a regular was removed when they went to series proper, but she returned as recurring character Nurse Christine Chapel (amongst many other roles throughout the franchise’s run).  Chapel was her most frequent on-screen role, and it also earned her a couple of action figures, the first of which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nurse Chapel is part of the fifth “mixed” assortment of their Star Trek line.  She was released at the same time as Rand, thereby wrapping up the auxiliary central cast to go with the main crew boxed set.  The figure stands just under 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 12 points of articulation.  The articulation’s all pretty standard for the line, with the caveat that her hip joints are restricted by the choice to go hard plastic on the skirt portion of her uniform.  Her sculpt is actually pretty good for the line.  The proportions are a bit more balanced than some of the others, notably avoiding the big-headed-ness of a lot of the line.  She’s also got a pretty respectable likeness to Barrett, which is nice to see.  There’s not a ton of texturing, but that’s on par with the other TOS figures, so she fits in well.  The color work is basic, but it’s cleanly handled, especially on the face.  Chapel is packed with a display stand (with her own unique medical insignia), as well as an assortment of medical instruments.  And she can even hold them all!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It took me a while to get around to getting this one.  She was actually the last piece of the original crew I didn’t have, though I do remember my dad buying his copies of her and Rand new in store back in the ’90s.  I got this one loose, a could of loose Star Trek collections ago at work.  She’s honestly a pretty good figure.  The likeness is strong, and the proportions look good.  All in all, a neat little figure of a pretty important part of Trek lore.

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.

#3783: Superman – 1978

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SUPERMAN — 1978

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE TOYS)

Oh man, two whole Superman reviews, in the same week?  That’s crazy, right?  Well, maybe not so much, I guess.  I do like Superman, so I have a few of them shuffling around.  Also, I had the DCUC one on the schedule before I even knew when I’d be getting this one in-hand, so, you know, less than intentional.  And that one was comics-based, whereas this one is based on Christopher Reeve’s iconic turn in the role, starting with 1978’s Superman: The Movie.  Reeve is a defining in the role of Superman much in he same way that Superman himself was defining for super heroes as a whole.  Neither Reeve, nor the first of his films, really has a true equal.  Figure coverage of Reeve has increased notably in more recent years, but he’s still a little more on the scarce side, especially for more conventional offerings.  Five years into their run with the license, McFarlane has added Reeve’s Superman to the main DC line-up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman – 1978 Movie is figure #25 in the Collector Edition sub-line of DC Multiverse, and hit in the area of right at the end of last year, right at the beginning of this year.  There were two versions, the standard and a Platinum Edition based on his evil counterpart from Superman III.  The one seen here is the standard, but the only difference between the two is the deco.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 39 points of articulation.  The sculpt on this guy looks to be an all-new one, though I’m not 100% sure.  The initial shots of this one didn’t wow me, so I wasn’t sure about how it would look in hand.  I have to say, it actually looks a lot better in person than I’d expected it to.  It’s a little tricky to get it to photograph well, but it genuinely looks good.  Aside from the rather strange look of the elbows when they’re bent, the articulation scheme is solid, and he’s got a good range of motion.  The head sculpt has a pretty respectable Reeve likeness.  It’s not exactly lifelike, and there’s a bit of caricature to it to better adhere it to the rest of the line’s stylings, but it’s pretty clear who it’s meant to be, and it captures the spirit of the character nicely.  The body sculpt is pretty basic for the most part, apart from that slightly odd extra bit of detailing on the wrists, and has a decent enough set of proportions, which match well with Reeve’s build.  He’s got a cloth cape with wires running through for full posability.  I actually really, really like the cape.  The wires are really strong, and hold up very well, adding a lot of options for posing him.  Superman’s color work is appropriately bright and colorful.  It’s heavy on molded colors, but the paint work that’s there is generally pretty clean, and the face is pretty lifelike.  Superman is packed with a pretty impressive selection of accessories.  He gets an extra head, 10 hands (pair of fists, pair of flat, pair of loose grip, pair of open gesture, a pointing right, and a left holding the Kryptonian crystal), a flight stand, and a card.  The alternate head is clearly meant to be used for the alternate color scheme, and looks slightly odd on the classic colors, but it’s got a good Reeve likeness.  The hands add a ton of posing options, and the flight stand is always a good addition.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in the main body, I wasn’t really wowed by the prototype shots for this guy, so I went in with low expectations.  McFarlane struggling to get us a decent Superman at all in this scale just furthered that argument.  In hand he looked good.  Out of the box, he’s even better.  This is genuinely a great figure, start to finish, and just one of my very favorite McFarlane offerings.  I didn’t expect it to blow the NECA figure out of the water, but it kind of does.

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.

#3782: Mekaneck

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MEKANECK

TURTLES OF GRAYSKULL (MATTEL)

“Nobody knows how truly dangerous the Snake Men are more than Mekaneck, the snake-hunting specialist able to spy on King Hiss from a distance.”

Hey, it’s time for more Masters of the Universe!  Not nearly as much of a break this time as the last, which isn’t so bad.  I’m actually jumping back into Turtles of Grayskull, the crossover with TMNT, but in contrast to all of my prior ToG reviews, this one’s actually of a proper Masters character.  Why’s that? Because there’s a Mekaneck, so I kind of have to, right?  It’s, like, a legal requirement, or something.  Don’t question it, just do it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck is part of Series 5 of Turtles of Grayskull.  This is the first assortment of the new year, and the first to shift into this year’s theme, which is Snake Men related.  He’s one of the two Masters characters in the set, and also one of the two “new” characters.  What’s the rationale on Mekaneck’s inclusion?  I don’t know for sure.  They’ve tied him more directly in with the Snake Men, which is fine, I suppose.  I’m not gonna question that which gives me a new Mekaneck.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  While the Masters characters don’t get quite the same sort of re-working for this line as the Turtles, they still have been getting some adjustments.  In Mekaneck’s case, he’s a lot more armored up, and actually covered head to toe.  It’s different for the sake of different, I suppose, but it better fits the slightly skewed aesthetic of ToG.  It’s got a different vibe from classic Mekaneck, but I definitely dig it, and it still feels like the character.  It’s also a sharper design, with a bit more going on, which gives his sculpt more to do.  In terms of coloring, he keeps the same general scheme, but the layout and balance is a little more tweaked.  I feel like he could use a touch more red, but otherwise, it’s not bad.  Mekaneck is packed with usual club (but now in a slightly more metallic shade of yellow), and two neck extension pieces, which are the same molds as the Origins release.  He also gets a new shield piece, which you can even put on his back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, I really didn’t expect this one at all.  Like, I love the guy and all, but Mekaneck’s usually a bit of a wait even in a Masters-exclusive line, so in a cross-over line with twice as many major characters to balance, I just didn’t expect him to warrant a spot.  But, he did, and the concept got shown off first, which made me happy.  Then they showed off the prototype, and that made me happier.  And then he actually got released and that made me the happiest.  He’s a heck of a lot of fun, and I’m always happy to have another Mekanech.

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.

#3781: Red Hulk

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RED HULK — BRAVE NEW WORLD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In the immortal words of Harrison Ford: “What’s a Red Hulk?”  Oh, wouldn’t that be bliss?  Maybe I’m being a bit too callous there.  The MCU’s been setting the stage for Red Hulk in some fashion pretty much its whole existence, including bringing back William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross even after the rest of the Incredible Hulk cast got dropped.  Then William Hurt died, and that put using Ross again in sort of a questionable area.  But, we couldn’t *possibly* drop such an important and high-brow idea as Red Hulk, so they’ve recast Ross, with Harrison Ford taking up the part.  He’s certainly got the surly energy down.  So, of course, the best place to debut a Hulk villain is…in a Captain America movie.  Look, let’s not nitpick.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Hulk is the third of the three Deluxe-sized Marvel Legends that serve as the tie-in for Captain America: Brave New World.  It’s again pretty reasonable, given the sizing on this guy.  Speaking of sizing, the figure stands about 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Near as I can tell, this is an all-new mold, not sharing any parts in common with any of the Ruffalized Hulks.  He’s certainly got a similar ancestry, in particular feeling quite a bit like the Endgame Hulk Build-A-Figure, at least in terms of construction.  He’s obviously got the pinless joints, of course, which cleans things up, but other than that, it definitely feels like a solid, pretty by the numbers MCU-style Hulk sculpt.  There are two heads, one angry, and one less so.  They appear to be based on slightly earlier renders for the character, before the Harrison Ford resemblance got pushed up a bit more.  There are certainly elements of Ford in there, maybe a younger version, but it’s a bit more generic than it should be.  Paint it green, and I think it would look as much like Ruffalo as it does Ford.  In general, Red Hulk’s sculpt feels a touch more comic book-y than other MCU figures, something that might be further pushed by how little his design has changed between the two mediums.  In terms of color work, the figure is largely reliant on molded colors, which work well enough.  The face detailing’s clean enough, if a tad basic, and I do enjoy the chest hair as an accent, though I’m not sure how realistic it winds up being.  Red Hulk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.  It’s not a ton, but neither is it particularly lacking.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I largely got Red Hulk because I got the other two, and felt compelled to get the whole set.  I’m not much of a Red Hulk fan in the first place, and have always found the concept and execution rather shallow, and not really worth the time investment they tend to get.  I do like the idea of Ford as Ross, so I’m interested to see the direction they take him the movie.  The figure’s okay.  Can’t really say he’s all that thrilling or different, but he’s at the very least another way to get a Red Hulk.  For me, he’s the weakest of the set, but that’s more about personal preference, and the fact that the other two are just more technically impressive than this one.  Still, he’s solid.

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.

#3780: Superman

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

SUPERMAN

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL)

It’s time for more of the review subject gift that keeps on giving, DC Universe Classics.  I’m taking a break from this month’s general theme with DCUC of Hal Jordans and Green Lanterns, because why not.  Also, because it’s Superman, and I realized all this time in I hadn’t reviewed the basic DCUC Superman, which seems like something of an oversight.  So, let’s fix that particular oversight and get him done now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

There was a strange path of release to this particular figure, and I’m gonna break that down here.  Since DC Universe Classics spun out of the somewhat similarly designed DC Super Heroes line, Mattel didn’t immediately put out a new classic Superman.  The first Supes was in Series 2, and it was Superman Blue, with a Superman Red variant.  Eradicator got released in the exceptionally hard to get Walmart-exclusive Series 5, and had some more classic Supes vibes, but his classic Supes head had red eyes.  Series 6 was set to have regeneration suit Superman as the standard and classic suit with the long hair as the variant, but those got swapped before release, so we had something slightly approximating a classic Superman.  Then we got a two pack release with the standard costume and the short haired head from Eradicator, but the eyes were still red, so still not classic.  Classic costume with classic hair and classic eyes would finally get its release in the first Walmart Exclusive five-pack in 2009.  That same figure later got a single “World’s Greatest Super Heroes” release and two-pack releases with a repack of the DCSH Parasite and a recolored MOTUC He-Man, all in 2010.  So, finally a standard Superman, and four ways to get him.  I bought mine loose, so I couldn’t tell you which particular release it was, but they’re all effectively the same.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  He used a variation of the standard-most male body, with the Eradicator head, and the Superman specific cape, belt, and calves.  Generally, they’re pretty good parts.  The head’s maybe a touch long, and the cape sits a little odd on the shoulders, but that’s really all I’ve got on those fronts.  He certainly reads well as a classic Superman.  The color work is okay.  The paint gets a little sloppy, especially on the yellow/red change-overs.  The logo is a little thin, I feel, and the blue always struck me as the slightest bit too dark.  I believe the WGSH release gave this guy one of the blue oval stands, but otherwise, he was never given any extras that I know of.  Mine’s got nothing, but it’s Superman, so I guess your options are a bit more limited.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wanted this figure, but I didn’t really want a multipack to get him, and I managed to never see the single release at retail.  I ended up finally getting a loose one off eBay, back in 2011 I believe.  I was trying to fill out my JLA roster, and being as close as I was the the Satellite era roster, I really needed this guy.  Ultimately, he’s not a crazy good, defining piece for the character or the line, but it was a solid version of an essential character, filling out the roster of a pretty solid line.

#3779: Lieutenant Commander Data

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LIEUTENANT COMMANDER DATA

STAR TREK: UNIVERSE (PLAYMATES)

I’m apparently keeping this Star Trek thing running.  And also this Data thing running.  So here we are.  But for today’s review, I’m jumping a ways ahead…while also back.  Back in 2022, Playmates picked up the Trek license for the third time, and this time around tried to do the thing everyone said they wanted, which was more figures in the same scale as their original line, but with some modern advances in sculpt and articulation.  It was a valiant effort, but…well, like so many Trek lines, it didn’t really have legs.  We got a small handful of figures from a few different themes, and Data was amongst the Next Gen figures.  So, two three years after the fact, here’s that figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lieutenant Commander Data was one of the eight figures that launched Playmates’ Star Trek: Universe line.  All of the figures were on the same Universe card outside of the US, but domestically, the “retro” figures were put on retro inspired.  Data and the other two Next Gen figures were released in packaging replicating their original Playmates releases.  Like Data’s original Playmates figure, he’s based on his post-Season 3 version of the standard uniform, which is really the “classic” Data look.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 21 points of articulation.  He’s a little taller than the vintage Playmates Trek, and the articulation is completely different.  There’s a lot of universal joints in play, and he also gets wrist and ankle movement, which wasn’t present on earlier figures.  He does lose out on waist movement, which feels a little bit like a step back.  That said, he can at least sit down, which is an improvement across the board.  The sculpt is an interesting approach, because it feels like it’s aiming to sort of capture the retro stylings, but it’s not quite a match for how they used to do things.  Most notably, the hands are really small.  Like “look like they should be on a 3 3/4 inch figure” small.  Not sure why they’re so small.  The head is okay; it’s not unlike Brent Spiner, but I can’t really say it looks more like him than the vintage one did.  Data’s paint work is generally not too bad.  It’s very basic, and the collar is notably pretty sloppy, but it generally gets the job done.  Data is packed with a phaser, tricorder, diagnostic testing unit, and display stand.  They’re modeled on the accessories from the original release, so the phaser has the permanently attached beam, and they all have hand holds attached.  In this day and age, not having the beam be removable feels like a real missed opportunity.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve had no shortage of opportunities to get most of the vintage Playmates Trek run, so I wasn’t in dire need of any of the new ones when they hit, but I admired Playmates giving it a try.  One of the Datas fell off the card at work, so I snagged that one, since it was a Data and all.  And then I pretty much forgot I owned it for a year and some change, which isn’t the sort of thing you should do.  I finally unearthed him, and here we are.  I think I might have been part of the problem?  Or, maybe Playmates was?  He’s a weird figure for sure, but I feel like if the line had gone further, there could have been some cool stuff.  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

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.