#1028: Freddie Mercury

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

FREDDIE MERCURY

S.H. FIGUARTS

Freddie1

“…I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy. Because I’m easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Anyway the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me….”

So, hey, how about something different? Up to this point, I’ve looked at figures based on super heroes, science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, movies, and video games. That’s all well and good, because that’s a pretty diverse selection. But you know what’s missing? Music. Yeah, this site could stand to have a little bit of music! If we’re going to do the whole music thing, why not start with one of the greatest frontmen of all-time from one of the greatest bands of all time? Yes, it’s Freddie Mercury, lead-vocalist of Queen!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Freddie2Freddie was released as part of Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line earlier this year. It’s not the first time Freddie’s had a figure; NECA put out a couple of figures of him about 10 years ago. However, those were back before NECA really got into the articulation thing, so they were little more than glorified statues. This figure goes completely the other direction in that regard, with 30 points of articulation. The range of motion on those joints is also pretty killer; though the elbows and knees are technically just single joints, they have the same range as double joints. What’s Freddie4more, the articulation is worked into the sculpt very nicely, so none of the joints really stick out or anything. Freddie stands about 5 ¾ inches tall, which puts him in proper 1/12 scale. Obviously, he fits in pretty well with the rest of the S.H. Figuarts line (though maybe not quite stylistically), but he also fits in pretty decently with the likes of Star Wars: The Black Series and Funko’s various Legacy Collection lines. Freddie is based on his appearance from his 1986 performance at Wembley Stadium, which is a pretty good choice, since it’s definitely one of his most recognizable. It’s also pretty visually interesting, which is always paramount when it comes to action figures. The sculpt on Freddie is quite nicely handled. He’s a bit more realistically proportioned and detailed than some Figuarts figures, which I definitely appreciate. The likeness is quite good on the basic head, which is impressive, since likenesses aren’t typically a Figuarts thing. While the general details are more on the realistic side, there’s definitely still a bit of a stylization to the overall look of the figure, mostly in the harsh creases on the clothing. It’s not so stylized that he looks artificial, but it’s enough to add just a bit of dynamism to the figure. The paintwork on Freddie is some of the best I’ve seen on a Figuarts figure. It’s not that previous figures had bad paint (because they didn’t), but more that they never attempted to be an actual, real life person, which this one does. And it does it rather well. Sure, it’s not Hot Toys or anything, but it’s also half the size and a quarter of the Freddie7price. The paint on the clothes is nice and bold, and makes him stand out nicely, while the paint on the face is subtle and lifelike, so he doesn’t just look like a cartoon version of Freddie. They even added a little of paint to represent his chest hairs. That’s attention to detail. Part of the appeal of Figuarts is the amount of extras included with each figure. Freddie is no exception. He includes two extra singing heads, four pairs of hands (fists, tight grip, loose grip, and open), a microphone on a stand, and a mic on its own. The heads are definitely the star attraction here, and they offer a ton of fun when it comes to posing. The extra hands allow for a number different looks as well, and the mics are very good recreations of the real thing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Freddie was a birthday present from my parents. He’s one of the ones I specifically requested, as I’ve actually been eyeing up this figure since it was announced back in October. He’s definitely outside my usual arena of collecting, but you’ve got to go outside your comfort zone sometimes, right? Especially when it comes to a figure this good. Freddie is definitely the best Figurarts figure I’ve gotten, which is no easy feat, let me tell you. This is certainly one of my favorite figures of the year!

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#1027: Khal Drogo

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

KHAL DROGO

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

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For the final day of Westeros Week, I’ll be heading back over to the Essos side of things, and taking a look at the Dothraki, once one of the most feared factions in the series. Oh how the mighty have fallen. They were set up as this great threat; an unstoppable army under the control of the last Targaryen. But, by the end of the third season, they’ve been pretty much entirely replaced by the Unsullied and the Second Sons as Daenerys’s forces. Their exit from the series can best be attributed to the loss of their leader Khal Drogo, a warrior undefeated by anyone. Well, apart from an untreated infection. That killed him real good. Despite only being in the first season of the show, Drogo made an undeniable impact, and still has quite a few fans even six seasons later. So, it’s not a huge shock that he got an action figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Drogo2Khal Drogo was released in the second series of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection. He was figure number 10 in the set, which places him right smack dab in the middle of Robb and Arya Stark. Drogo is the last figure I’ll be looking at from this particular series (though he’s not the last figure I haven’t covered. There’s a Daenerys variant that I don’t see myself getting). The figure stands about 6 ½ inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation. Drogo really only had the one look in the first season of the show, though he was seen both with and without the war paint. This figure opts to give him the war paint, which is good, because that makes him a bit more visually exciting. Drogo isn’t the most posable action figure, due to his design being a bit on the constricting side of things. That being said, Drogo wasn’t the most agile guy on the show, seeing as his bit was to be the person equivalent of a wall. Drogo has one of the better sculpts from the line. The proportions are nicely balanced, and the detail work on his clothing is up to the same great standards as the rest of the line. The likeness to Jason Mamoa is pretty decent, if not spot-on. You can definitely tell at a glance who it’s supposed to be, which is the important thing. The hair and beard braids are a bit in the fragile side (one of the beard braids has already had to be repaired), but that’s not a huge surprise, given the intricate nature of the design. Drogo’s paintwork is pretty well handled overall. In particular, the fact that the war paint actually looks like body paint is pretty impressive, since just getting decent coverage in the first place can be difficult. The figure includes two larger sickle-style swords and two smaller blades that can be stowed in the sheaths on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Drogo is another of the Game of Thrones figures I got as a birthday present from my parents. After getting Dany, Drogo definitely was high on my list. He’s a fun character with a fun design, and he translates quite nicely into action figure form.

And that marks the end of my Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection reviews. The line isn’t without its flaws, but it has overall been a very fun little subset of my collection. Honestly, the biggest flaw the line has is its limited run. What I wouldn’t give for a Catelyn or Sansa, or even Ceresi and Joffery. Heck a Season 6 Jon would be awesome too. I’d love for Funko to come back to this line, but the recent move to a smaller scale indicates that won’t be happening. And that’s a shame.

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#1026: The Hound

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

THE HOUND

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

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It’s really hard to start up a review of the Hound without using any obscenities. Like really hard. Because obscenities are sort of his thing. Yes, for day 6 of Westeros Week, I’ll be taking at Sandor Clegane, better known as The Hound. He’s a character who starts off rather unlikeable, and, well, I can’t say he becomes likeable, but the audience starts to like him. Greater evil and all that. It also helps that he’s the least evil Clegane we’ve met (though being less evil than the Mountain doesn’t take much doing). He was popular enough to get himself an action figure, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hound2The Hound is another figure from the first series of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection. He’s figure 3 in the line, and he’s also the last figure from Series 1 that I haven’t reviewed. He’s based on Clegane’s look during Seasons 3 and 4 of the show, when he’s off on his own and then later when he’s Arya’s captor. The figure stands 6 ¾ inches tall (making him the tallest figure in the line) and he has 25 points of articulation. He lacks any sort of waist movement, which is rather restrictive, but his articulation is otherwise pretty decent. His sculpt is overall pretty good. The armor is very nicely detailed, and he chainmail is handled surprisingly well. The build and size of the figure looks appropriate to Rory McCann’s appearance on the show, which is good. The weakest piece is definitely the head. The likeness to McCann is there, but the likeness to the Hound is not, if that makes any sense to anyone. One of the distinctive traits of the Hound is the rather grisly burn on the right side of his face. Here, it’s little more than a slight bump on his forehead. Now, like Jon, it’s hard to tell Hound4how much of this is the fault of the sculpt and how much of it’s just poor paint. There’s definitely some texture on the face that the paint just sort of ignores. The worst offense of the paint is the right eyebrow. Going by the show, it shouldn’t even be there, but on this figure, they’ve given him a pair of matching, perfectly intact eyebrows. It throws the likeness way off, and he looks much better with the right one removed. The rest of the paint’s actually pretty good, especially the wear and tear on the armor. The Hound includes his distinctive helmet (with a moving visor), as well as two different broad swords. One of the swords can be stowed in the permanently affixed sheath on his back, while the other goes in the removable sheath on his left side. The side sheath is held in place by slipping it into a little loop on Clegane’s belt, which, it should be noted, tore right off the first time I tried to use it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like yesterday’s figure, the Hound was a birthday present from my always supportive parents. He’s not one of my must-have figures, but rather just someone who fills out the set. That said, eyebrow issue aside, this is a pretty solid figure, on par with the rest of the line.

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#1025: Jon Snow

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

JON SNOW

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

JonSnow1

Welcome back to Westeros Week everybody! In any long-running series, there are inevitably the breakaway hit characters. Characters who start off as just a member of the ensemble, but become slowly more and more prominent, until they’re a major character. While he was certainly set up as an important player from the very start of the series, Jon Snow wasn’t one of the leads. He’s off on his own, with hardly any input during the show’s first season. Heck, Kit Harington was ninth billed during the first season (and he didn’t even get a credit all to himself; he shared with Harry Lloyd). In season 6, he was fifth billed, and he had a number of episodes devoted primarily to his story. Not bad for a bastard! Now, let’s look at a one of his action figures, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

JonSnow2Jon Snow was released in the first series of Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection. He was figure number 1 in the line, because Funko knows what’s up! Jon Snow is seen here in his standard garb following his acceptance into the Night’s Watch, which is a good look for him. The figure is 5 ¾ inches tall (which is about right for Harington), and he has 26 points of articulation. Jon Snow has some of the better articulation in the line. Everything is pretty smooth and solid. Unfortunately, the articulation comes at the price of the sculpt. Jon Snow has easily the weakest sculpt in the line. The body is the worst offender yet in terms of the narrow shoulder issue that plagued these guys. Jon Snow’s not a huge guy, but with the big fur collared cape and everything, he should definitely be a lot bigger than he is here. Most of this line has stood out for its attention to detail on the costumes, but Jon Snow doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the line. Most of his clothes are rather plain and untextured, and the fur on the cape in particular just looks too even and artificial. Also, while just about every other figure in the line has managed to do a decent job of hiding the mid-torso joint within the clothes, Jon Snow’s joint is just there, for the whole world to see. It honestly looks a bit like he’s wearing a belly shirt over another shirt. Not ideal. The last part of the sculpt is the head. It really doesn’t look much like Kitt Harington. That being said, it’s hard to say how much of the issue is the JonSnow4actual sculpt and how much is just poor paint choices.  It definitely feels a bit on the large side, though. The paint on Jon Snow is…well, it could definitely be better. The face is the worst part. The beard and whole mouth area are just really odd looking, but the most annoying part is the eyebrows. Those aren’t Kitt Harington’s eyebrows, and if you look closely, you can see that they were sculpted correctly, but the paint just totally ignored it, which throws the entire likeness off (it improves quite a bit if you fix them). The body fairs a bit better, since it’s mostly just straight black with a few details here and there. It looks like they tried to do an effect similar to what we saw on Robb’s cape, but it didn’t work quite as well this time. Jon Snow is packed with his sword Longclaw, which is one of the cooler swords the line gave us.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was a birthday present from my parents, who helped me complete my GoT set. Jon is one of my favorite characters on the show, so I definitely wanted to get a figure of him. However, I purposefully held off because I knew this wasn’t one of the line’s stronger figures. It’s kind of a shame, because the rest of the line is pretty strong, and I’d love to have a Jon Snow of an equivalent quality. Purely looking at the quality of this guy just as a cool action figure, he’s not bad. The poseability makes him one of the more amusing figures from the set to play with. However, he kind of fails as a figure of Jon, and he almost feels like he’s from an entirely different line than the rest of the figures.

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#1024: Daenerys Targaryen

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

Daenerys1

Today is Day 4 of Westeros Week (though for today’s review, it might more aptly be named Essos Week). In lieu of an actual intro, I’m just gonna write out the character’s full name. Yes, today I’ll be taking a look at Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mhysa, Breaker of Chains, the Unburnt, and Mother of Dragons. Get all that? Good, let’s get on to the figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daenerys2Daenerys was released in the first series of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection. This is the first of the two Daeneryses that Funko released in this style. She was figure 5 in the set, making her the second to last figure in the first series, chronologically. Daenerys is based on her Dothraki garb from the latter half of Season 1. While it lacks some of the elegance that she’s become more known for as of late, it’s a pretty solid look, and comes from the period in the show where she really kicked off her main character arc. The figure stands about 5 ½ inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. While her sculpt doesn’t have quite as much detail work as some of the other figures in the line, Daenerys still exhibits some pretty awesome sculpted work. She’s got one of the better hair sculpts the line gave us (it’s even shaped to sit nicely on her shoulders and chest), and her various garb all has the appropriate texturing. The face isn’t quite Emilia Clarke. You can tell who it’s meant to be, but there’s something just off about it. Daenerys’s hands are both sculpted as though they’re meant to hold something, but as I’ll touch on when I talk about the accessories, she doesn’t actually have anything to hold. With that in mind, I kind of would have liked to get more pre-posed hands, allowing for a bit more expressiveness. It’s not something I can really hold against the figure, though. Daenerys’s paintwork is overall pretty decent, but there are a couple of issues, mostly to do with the face. The paint on the face (and the rest of the areas of exposed skin, for that matter) is rather on the thick side, which makes the sculpt feel a bit softer, and she also has some issues with the application of her eyes and brow, which look just slightly wonky on my figure. Nothing terrible, but noticeable nonetheless. The rest of the paint is pretty solid, though, and the accent work seems to work particularly well on this figure. For accessories, Daenerys includes her dragon Drogon. Drogon can plug into Dany’s shoulder (via the rather obvious holes around the joint), and looks pretty decent perched there. Technically, this Dany wouldn’t have Drogon, of course, but I’m not really that bugged by it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I first started collecting the GoT figures, I didn’t really plan on getting a Daenerys. It’s not that I dislike her, but she was someone that I took a while to warm up to, and I really was trying to draw the line somewhere. While I was on vacation this year, I spotted this figure at Yesterday’s Fun, and managed to resist the urge to buy her on three separate occasions. Unfortunately, I mentioned this resistance to Super Awesome Girlfriend, Tim, and Jill, and they wouldn’t let me go home until I bought her. They’re kind of a terrible influence are they? Daenerys is a pretty decent figure, though I can’t say she’s one of the best from the line.

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#1023: Tyrion Lannister

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

TYRION LANNISTER

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

Tyrion1

All hail the half-man!  For the third entry in Westeros Week, I’ll be taking a look at everybody’s favorite pint-sized Lannister, Tyrion!  Tyrion is probably as close as the story will ever get to having a clear cut protagonist, being one of the few characters to get a consistent level of screen time throughout the course of the series.  He’s also one of the most consistently enjoyable characters, and one of the few prominent characters to have anything resembling a moral compass.  And he slaps Joffery a lot, which never ceases to amuse.  I’m getting distracted.  Let’s look at the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tyrion2Tyrion Lannister was released in the first series of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection.  He’s figure 2 in the set.  There are actually three different versions of Tyrion, all of which make use of the same number.  The basic Tyrion depicted him in his battle armor from the end of season 1, and the SDCC variant of that gave us Tyrion from the second season’s Battle of Blackwater, which was the same as the basic figure but with a new, scarred head.  The figure I’m looking at today, however, is the Walgreens-exclusive Hand of the King Tyrion, based on his appearance when he took on the role in Season 2.  I prefer Tyrion to be more of a planner and less of a fighter, so this was definitely the look I wanted.  The figure stands about 4 ½ inches tall (Peter Dinklage is 4’ 5”, so the figure seems to have gotten the height down pretty well) and he has 26 points of articulation.  Like Ned, Tyrion’s elbow movement is incredibly limited.  Must be a Hand of the King thing.  Maybe that’s why they all die (well, okay, not all)!  Fortunately, the limitation isn’t quite as big a deal with Tyrion as it was with Ned.  Generally speaking, I think Tyrion may have one of the better sculpts in the Legacy Collection.  The likeness is definitely there (I suppose the hair could be a touch longer to be the appropriate length for Season 2, but that’s super minor).  The detailing on the clothing is once again superb.  Each little crease and stitch is there, and you can even tell the difference between the different types of materials, which is quite impressive.  Also, Tyrion might be the first figure I’ve looked at in this line where his shoulders aren’t too narrow, which is definitely a plus.  Tyrion’s paintwork is pretty solidly handled.  Most of the base color work is pretty clean (excepting the quite noticeable slop on the edge of his collar) and there’s plenty of great accent work to sell all the various layers of the sculpt.  Even his painted stubble doesn’t look too bad.  I do wish the Hand of the King pin looked a bit less gummy, but that’s pretty minor.  Tyrion includes a dagger, which can be held in the sheath on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Tyrion was picked up from Yesterday’s Fun while I was on vacation last month.  This was actually a figure I was planning to get anyway, so when I found him there, I was pretty happy.  Tyrion’s probably one of the best figures that the line had to offer, though I’m not really sure why this version ended up as an exclusive, rather than the default.  But hey, I’ve got the figure, so that’s all that matters.

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#1022: White Walker

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

WHITE WALKER

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

WhiteWalker1

As awful as the characters in Game of Thrones may get, the show likes to devote at least a portion of every season to reminding us that, no matter how bad things may seem, there’s perpetually a greater threat in the horizon in the form of the White Walkers. Whoever may be left standing after after all the warring factions have settled will still have to deal with these ugly suckers. So, for my second entry in Westeros Week, I’ll be taking a look at one of their number. Let’s see how the White Walker fares!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WhiteWalker2The White Walker was released in the first series of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection. He’s figure 3 in the line-up, which weirds me out for some reason. He feels like a 6 to me, but I don’t know why. There were two versions of the Walker available: regular and glow-in-the-dark. Mine is the regular. We’ve seen a few White Walkers over the course of the show, most of which share a number of common traits (excepting the Night King, of course), but they all have a bit of their own flair. This particular figure is based on the White Walker that attacks Sam in the Season 2 finale, which is probably the closest look we’ve really gotten at one of them. The figure stands 6 ½ inches tall and has 28 points of articulation. Sculpturally, he’s a little skinnier than the Walker we saw on screen, especially in the arms and shoulders, but he’s not terribly far off. The level of detail on this guy is quite impressive, even among the other Legacy figures I’ve looked at. There’s no part of this guy that doesn’t have some bit of sculpted texturing. His skin is rough and decaying and his clothing is worn and decrepit. If there’s one part of this sculpt I’m not 100% sold on, it’s the hair. It’s a separate piece, glued in place, like a lot of the hair in this line. However, this time, it feels like a wig, not just because of the obvious connection, but also because it feels a bit under-detailed and artificial when compared to the rest of the figure. It also flows outward at an odd angle, which makes getting the head into a pose where the hair looks natural quite difficult. The paintwork on the Walker continues the same trends seen with the sculpt. The hair once again sticks out, being rather starkly contrasting, especially right at the edge where it meets the head. The rest of the paint, however, does a wonderful job of highlighting and accenting all of the cool sculpted textures on the sculpt, making the figure look quite lifelike. The White Walker includes a spear, which fits pretty well in his hands. I had a bit of difficulty getting my figure to hold it, and noticed that one of his wrists was almost broken in the process, so be careful there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up the White Walker at the same time as Ned. I really hadn’t intended to get this guy, since the White Walkers don’t really “wow” me on the show, at least in terms of design. But, he was cheap, and I didn’t have him, so there it is. I’m actually pretty happy with this guy, so I’m glad I found one for a deal, or else I never would have gotten him.

(Yes, I know this last picture is off.  Robb never fought a Walker, but I didn’t have Jon, so Robb served as a stand-in)

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#1021: Ned Stark

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

NED STARK

GAME OF THRONES: LEGACY COLLECTION

NedStark1

Remember when I had FOUR Game of Thrones figures and that was all sorts of crazy excessive? Four? A whole four? Hey, guess what? Yeah, there’s more of ‘em now. Without further ado, I’m officially kicking off Westeros Week! Let’s get this thing started!

One of the best known things about Game of Thrones is the rather high mortality rate amongst its stars. And what better way to get that idea across from the very start than casting perennial dead guy Sean Bean in one of the lead roles for the first season? Ned Stark’s name might as well have been Toast Stark. Typical of many of Sean Bean’s characters, despite Ned’s unfortunate demise during the show’s first season, he’s still one of the show’s most memorable characters. So, unsurprisingly, when Funko started making figures, Ned was one of the very first.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

NedStark2Ned Stark was released in Series 1 of Funko’s Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection, as figure #6, which makes him chronologically the last figure in the series. The figure is 6 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation. Ned’s just a smidge taller than his son Robb, which is true to real life; Sean Bean is an inch taller than Richard Madden. Ned’s appearance is based on his look during his time serving as Hand of the King, specifically in the episode “You Win or You Die,” which is a pretty pivotal episode for Ned. I know a lot of people had wanted a Winterfell Ned, which is probably the slightly more interesting look. That said, this is Ned’s basic look for a good chunk of his time on the show, so I can hardly fault Funko’s choice. The whole Game of Thrones: Legacy Collection was sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios, Ned included. His sculpt is pretty strong, at least on par Robb’s. At first glance, it seems like Ned shares a number of pieces with Robb, but after close examination, I think the only piece that’s the same is the skirt of his tunic. The level of detail, especially on the clothing is once again very impressive. The stitching and the patterned textures look really nice. As far as build, it does seem to me that Ned is a bit on the skinny side, and his shoulders seem a little narrow. In addition, his hair seems a bit thicker than it was on the show, which doesn’t really help the issue of the narrow shoulders. That said, the overall appearance is a pretty good rendition of Sean Bean as Ned. You can definitely tell who it’s supposed to be. Ned’s sheath for his sword is a separate piece, glued in place. Well, it’s supposed to be, anyway. Mine was rattling around in the bottom of the package when I got the figure. It’s nothing major, as a small spot of glue is all that’s needed to fix it, but it’s still a little frustrating to have to do such things myself. Ned’s paintwork is pretty well done. The clothes have some very nice accent work to bring out the sculpt’s details. There’s a bit of slop here and there, especially on his Hand insignia and around his mouth/beard, but the overall appearance isn’t bad at all. Ned is packed with both a standard broadsword and his family’s ancestral Valeryan Steel sword Ice. The standard sword isn’t bad, and can be sheathed on his belt. Ice itself isn’t a bad piece (though it does seem a bit comically large), however, Ned’s limited elbow movement means he can’t really hold it, even to do the signature “Winter is Coming” pose. It’s also too bad we couldn’t get Ice’s wolf pelt sheath, but I guess that would have been too much.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After my first round of watching Game of Thrones, I liked Ned, but not enough that I felt the need to buy his action figure. Then two things happened. First, I started rewatching the show with Tim and Jill, and realized I liked Ned quite a bit. Then, I stopped by the closing Movie Stop near me (which has since officially closed), and Ned was one of the three GoT figures they had left, so I got him for a decent deal. Ned has his flaws, but he’s a pretty solid figure. It’s a shame we didn’t get more of the Starks.

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#1020: Namor

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

NAMOR

MARVEL LEGENDS SERIES

NamorML1

Alright, let’s keep barreling through Giant-Man Week, with part 7– what’s that? You say I’ve already finished Giant-Man Week? Huh, I guess I did. But…I’ve still got this one figure sitting here…watching…waiting.

All joking aside, today’s figure is kind of an honorary part of the Giant-Man Series, so think of this as something of an epilogue to Giant-Man Week, if you will. The character in question is Namor, aka the Sub Mariner, one of Marvel’s oldest characters (he’s rivaled only by the original Human Torch, who shares a first appearance with him, and even then, NAMOR was created first).  Namor’s gotten a handful of figures over the years, including two Marvel Legends. He just got a third, which I’ll be looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

NamorML2Namor is the latest Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Legend. He started hitting not long after the Giant-Man series, and they’re the ones shown on the back of his box, so I guess he sort of goes with them. The Giant-Man series was ostensibly a Captain America series, and given Namor and Cap’s history, Namor fits the theme pretty well. Despite the fact that the character has spent most of his 77 years of existence wearing a simple green speedo, this is yet another Namor figure based on one of his more clothed designs. Unlike his first Marvel Legend (which was based on his John Romita look from the ‘70s), this guy uses one of Namor’s more recent designs, from around the time of Matt Fraction’s Defenders run. It’s not a bad choice, really, since we’ve gotten several other characters looks from that particular line-up. I’m still holding out hope for a proper speedo Namor at some point, though. The figure stands about 6 ½ inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. Namor uses the Grim Reaper body as a starting point, but gets a unique head, torso, forearms, and shins. The new torso serves to change pretty much the whole shape of the figure, and giving him an overall more svelte look, befitting a guy who swims a lot. The original ML Namor had one of the best head sculpts Toy Biz ever produced, so this figure had a lot to live up to in that respect. While I think the older Namor is still my favorite, this one’s certainly not a bad piece. Namor’s pomposity has still been wonderfully captured here. I do wish the hair was a bit less Quicksilver-y, but that’s minor. Namor gets another solid paintjob from Hasbro. Seriously, I don’t know what it is, but the Giant-Man Series has been a marked improvement in paint apps quality from Hasbro. Namor has minimal slop and bleed over, and the metallic blue and yellow looks really sharp. Namor includes two sets of hands in flat and gripping poses, as well as a trident. The trident is a bit disappointing, since it’s just a repaint of Odin’s staff, but with all the new pieces the actual figure got, I guess they had to draw the line somewhere.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Namor by accident. Well, I mean, it’s not like I accidentally brought him up to the counter and paid money for him, but I wasn’t actually looking for him when I found him. It was two days after my birthday and I was specifically not looking to buy anything else until I’d at least gotten around to opening everything I’d gotten. However, I’d had a few figures break, so I stopped at a Walgreens to pick up some super glue. While there, I figured I might as well check the toy section and boom, there this guy was. He’s a pretty great figure, and I’m glad we finally got another Namor figure. Now, about that speedo version…

*Want a Namor figure of your own?  He’s currently in stock with out friends over at All Time Toys!  Click here to check him out!

#1019: Giant-Man

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

GIANT-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS SERIES

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Huzzah!  We’ve made it to the final part of Giant-Man Week!  It’s time for the literal big guy himself, Giant-Man.  Giant-Man was probably one of Civil War’s worst kept secrets, thanks to both this figure and the Airport Battle Lego set.  It’s not like it was a huge shock or anything, and the actual moment from the film was hardly diminished by knowing ahead of time.  Anyway, Giant-Man is (pardon the pun) one of the bigger things to come out of Civil War, and as such, he’s found his way into quite a good bit of merchandise.  However, this is the first proper movie Giant-Man action figure, so let’s see how he turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GiantManCW2Giant-Man is the build-a-figure for the Giant-Man Series of Marvel Legends.  I know, who would have seen that coming?  He’s obviously based on his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, specifically the airport scene.  The figure stands 10 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Giant-Man is another all-new sculpt.  It’s pretty decent work, with a slight caveat.  The figure offers a decent approximation of his design from the movie, but, like with the Ant-Man figures from the solo movie, this guy kind of misses the smaller details. Well, not misses, so much. All the details are there, but they’re sort of out of place. It’s not a bad look at all, just slightly inaccurate. But hey, this is what happens when you keep a main character’s look under wraps for so long.  It’s certainly not a bad sculpt, though.  There’s a lot of really great texturing on his suit, and he’s got nice, balanced proportions.  I particularly like the use of a separate piece for the faceplate, which allows for Scott’s eyes to be seen beneath the lenses.  It’s a really cool look.  Giant-Man’s paintwork is pretty solidly done.  The colors are all good matches for the movie, and everything is nice and cleanly applied.  The silver could, maybe, be a little brighter, but it looks fine as is.  As an accessory himself, Giant-Man doesn’t include any extras of his own, though I can’t really think of much you could give him.  Maybe a chunk of plane?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a build-a-figure, Giant-Man is the result of a few weeks of searching for all the figures in this series.  I think he may be one of my favorite B-a-Fs in a a long time.  In general, this whole series was really strong.  The line-up seemed a little odd at first, but almost all of the figures are top-notch work, especially in terms of paint! Which has been one of Hasbro’s problem areas.

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