#0631: Tiger Shark

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

TIGER SHARK

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Tigershark1

Remember about a week ago when I was talking about the more obscure villains? Well, Tiger Shark is definitely one of those. When one of the most notable things about you is that you fought the Sub Mariner, you aren’t at the top of anyone’s list. But, those types of characters seem to be Hasbro’s specialty as of late, and I certainly won’t be complaining about it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tigershark2Tiger Shark is figure number four in the new Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Like Batroc and Radiactive Man before him, he’s another figure salvaged from the proposed “Jubilee Series” of the Return of Marvel Legends line. With Tiger Shark, we’re now just one figure away from getting all of the figures from that series, which is pretty darn amazing. Hasbro is very committed to not letting those go to waste! The figure is about 6 ¾ inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. If you’ve read either my Radioactive Man or Anti-Venom reviews, you’ve seen a lot of this figure’s sculpt before. He’s built on the Hyperion buck, which is a decent body. It isn’t one of their greatest, but it’s not their worst either. The only real issue with it is how far back the neck sits on the chest, but that’s only obvious in certain poses. Aside from that, it’s a good base for larger characters, such as Tiger Shark. In addition to that body, he’s got a unique set of clawed hands (which are bound to see re-use at some point) and an all-new head sculpt. These pieces are all well sculpted and match up pretty nicely with the base body. The head, which was sculpted a little while ago, has that boxy look of some of the early Return of Marvel Legends males. That being said, it works okay for Tiger Shark. The biggest down side is that the headfin, which, while well-sculpted, restricts the neck movement greatly, due to it being made from solid plastic. I’m not sure what could be done to avoid this issue, but it’s annoying nonetheless. Now we get to the paint. Oh boy, the paint. Hasbro frequently has issues in this area, but Tiger Shark seems worse than usual. The torso is really where the worst is; they’ve painted orange over the purple, and, since it’s a lighter color, the purple bleeds through all over the place. The pelvis also has a huge scratch of orange on the front, which is really obvious. And this was the better of the two Tiger Sharks I saw at the store, which doesn’t speak well for the QC on this particular figure. Tiger Shark’s only extra is the right arm of the Build-A-Figure, Ultron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Take a guess as to where I got Tiger Shark. If you guessed Toys R Us, you’re right. If you didn’t, I’m not sure what your deal is. Like, do you not read every one of my reviews? I’m hurt. Deeply. Anyway, I got Tiger Shark from my local TRU. I can’t say I was super excited about the figure, nor can I say he really blew away my expectations. That said, it’s nice to have at least gotten the figure. I’ll never say no to more Masters of Evil!

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#0630: Bulldozer

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

BULLDOZER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Bulldozer1

The Marvel Universe is full of super villains who aren’t really specifically tied to just one hero. Sure, most of them start out with someone in particular, but then they just get passed around for a while. Such is the case with the Wrecking Crew. They started off as Thor villains, but they’ve made their way around to most of the major heroes. This ties demand for figures of them into a few fanbases. Unfortunately, they really aren’t well-known enough to the general public to warrant them all being released at once, so they have to be released one at a time. Hasbro first released them as part of their 3 ¾ inch Marvel Universe line, where each of them was packed with one of the many Marvel heroes. Then Hasbro turned their sights onto Marvel Legends. However, thanks to their wacky handling of swap figures, we only ended up getting three of the four, leaving poor Bulldozer out in the cold. But he’s finally here!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bulldozer3Bulldozer is the third figure in the Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He was originally supposed to be the swap figure for Wrecker in the last series of the Return of Marvel Legends line, but none of the revision cases were produced. Fortunately, Hasbro seems determined to never let a good Legends sculpt go to waste, so we got him here. Yay! The Wrecking Crew have had a pretty consistent look over the years, but they’ve gotten a few tweaks here and there to “modernize” them. The ML Crew represented the team in their more current incarnations, and Bulldozer follows suit, which is, at the very least, good for consistency. The figure is almost 8 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. He is a massive figure, to almost a surprising degree. And he’s got some serious heft. For the most part, he re-uses a lot of the pieces from previous Wrecking Crew members, which in turn used a tweaked version of the body used by Hulkling in ToyBiz’s Young Avengers set. The body us definitely privy to some exaggerated proportions, Bulldozer4but in the case of the Crew, that actually works pretty well. It’s also loaded with tons of texturing, which keeps the sculpt really interesting. Bulldozer features all-new, unique parts for his head, hands, shoulder armor, belt, and boot cuffs. These pieces are all done to match up with the body, and are themselves coated in tons of texture work. It gives Bulldozer a real worn-in look, which really fits his role as a thug for hire. Bulldozer actually has some pretty decent paintwork for a Hasbro figure. He’s still not perfect, but the slop is minimal, most of the paint stays within the lines, and the colors are pretty well chosen. Bulldozer has no accessories of his own (though, given the size of this guy, I can’t say he feels lacking) but he does include the left arm of Ultron, this series’ Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bulldozer was another of the figures I found at my local Toys R Us. I never got any of the other Wrecking Crew figures (due to being out of Legends at the time), so I wasn’t really expecting much out of this guy. I was really just buying him for the Ultron piece. However, he really surprised me. Quite frankly, he’s my favorite figure in the set. He’s just a lot of fun, even if you don’t have the rest of the Crew.

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#0629: Marvel’s Wasp

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

“MARVEL’S” WASP

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

WaspML1

Wasp. It’s Wasp. That’s who I’m looking at today. That’s some intro, right? Yeah, I really couldn’t come up with anything. Awkward, right? Oh well. Anyway, here’s my review of this new Wasp figure! Enjoy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF
WaspML2Wasp is figure number two from Hasbro’s Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. This is Wasp’s second foray into the Marvel Legends line, though it’s her third figure (or fourth, depending on whether you believe in the mythical Blue Wasp), thanks to variants. Her last figure was way back in the last series of ToyBiz’s run on the line, 8 years ago. Plus, that wasn’t a very good figure, so it’s about time she got another shot. Wasp’s one of those characters who’s had tons of different looks over the years, so there’s quite a few good ones to choose from. Hasbro has chosen her black and gold outfit…which is the same one the ToyBiz figure was wearing. It’s not that it’s a bad design, but it’s a look we’ve gotten several times before, and it’s not exactly the most thrilling look. Oh well, nothing that can be done now. The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 33 points of articulation, counting the wings. Wasp’s sculpt is based on the mid-sized female body we’ve seen for Storm, Hellcat, and Scarlet Witch. It’s a reasonable sculpt, with nice proportions, and I’m glad to see she’s been given non-heeled feet, which is always a plus. I wish the neck wasn’t quite so skinny, but it’s serviceable. The figure got an all-new head sculpt to top the body off. It’s a pretty good sculpt; the eyes seem just a tad too far apart, but not horribly so. The hair is a separate part from the head, which is odd, given how short it is, but it looks good and gives some nice dimension. The upper torso’s also been tweaked a bit to add sockets for the wings. They’re pretty sturdy, but the sockets are a little obtrusive. The wings themselves are quite well done, and the level of maneuverability is really great. The paintwork on Wasp is okay; not fantastic, but not bad. There’s a fair amount of slop, especially on the edges of the gold detailing, but some areas, like the face are actually pretty clean. Wasp’s only accessory is the torso of this series’ Build-A-Figure, Ultron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, like Ant-Man, I found Wasp at my local Toys R Us a few weeks back. I think the Marvel Universe figure might still be my favorite Wasp to date, but this one’s a pretty good one. She’s definitely a huge improvement to the ToyBiz version from all those years ago, and that’s a good thing.

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#0628: Ant-Man

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

ANT-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

AntManMovie1

Man, if you’d told me 5 years ago that I’d be sitting here today, with the theatrical release of the Ant-Man movie less than a week away, I’d have laughed in your face. I’d have probably laughed even harder if you’d told me it wasn’t just Ant-Man, but the Scott Lang Ant-Man. That’s just preposterous! I certainly would never have believed that the character would also be headlining his own series of Marvel Legends. And yet, here we are, with all those things totally happening. I couldn’t be happier. Now, I’m gonna review my mass produced action figure of Scott Lang as Ant-Man, based on the upcoming, big-budget film. Just go with it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

AntManMovie3Ant-Man is the first figure in Hasbro’s Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series, released to coincide with the Ant-Man movie. The figure stands 6 inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. Ant-Man features an all-new sculpt, modelled, of course, on the design of the character in the film. He’s actually the only figure in the series to be based on the film’s designs, so there’s that. Of course, Scott just got a redesign in the comics that isn’t horribly far removed from the movie look (though it’s got more than a few differences), so you could easily fudge this one as being a comic figure too, if you were so inclined. The sculpt looks to do a pretty decent job of translating the movie look into plastic form. The helmet is configured with just the bottom half of his face showing, much like it looks in the comics, which is a look I haven’t actually seen in any of the film’s promotional material. It’s possible the look just hasn’t been shown, but it’s a little odd to see Hasbro go for a look that isn’t being widely promoted. Regardless, I think I might actually prefer him this way, so I don’t mind. The rest of the sculpt is pretty strong, with good proportions, and nice texturing and detail AntManMovie4work. The hands are posed in a slightly odd way, though, to Hasbro’s credit, it looks as though DST’s Marvel Select figure has pretty much the same hands. They just seem weird, and it would have been nice to get an extra pair of hands at the very least. The hands are still well-sculpted for what they are, and they’ve even got the little button that activates the shrinking. As with just about every figure produced by Hasbro these days, his only real downfall is his paint work. It’s not terrible; the colors are decent, the helmet’s got some nice weathering, and most of the paint stays within the sculpted lines. However, there’s a distracting amount of red slop on his left leg, which is really annoying. Ant-Man makes out pretty well in the accessories department; he includes miniature versions of himself, Yellow Jacket, as well as his pet ant Ant-hony (whom the miniature Ant-Man can ride). The figure also includes the head of the series’ Build-A-Figure Ultron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The modern collecting world is very much built on knowing what’s coming and buying as much as you can online. That can kind of take a slight bit of the excitement out of getting new stuff, since there’s not really any victorious moment of finding new stuff. For a change, I actually found almost the entirety of this series at my local Toys R Us, and I didn’t even know they were out yet! Ant-Man is a figure with a few flaws, but he’s overall pretty fun.

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#0627: Jarknoid Xo

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

JARKNOID XO

ASSEMBLE BORG (REVOLTECH)

Xo1

Hey, have I told you guys about Assemble Borg? I have? Well, do you want to hear more? Whether you do or not, that’s what I’m talking about today. So, you know, just deal, I guess. Yeah, I’ve been sucked down the rabbit hole on this one, and there’s no turning back. Of course, my display was starting to look a little one-sided, with all those heroes and only one villain to fight. Enter Jarknoid Xo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Xo2Jarknoid Xo was entry 006 in the Assemble Bog line. He’s the first of the Jarknoid trio, and signifies the start of the second “series” of figures. Xo is meant to be the leader of the Jarknoids and is in many ways an evil counterpart to Mr. Assemble. Each Jarknoid had their own descriptor, and Xo’s was “Galactic Sorcerer,” which, I have to admit, is pretty darn metal. It’s more exciting than Mr. Assemble’s “Commando Leader” anyway. The figure stands 6 inches in height and has 42 points of articulation, both of which are standard for the line. Like Zain and Mr. Assemble before him, Xo makes use of the standard Assemble Borg body as a starting point. It’s a good, basic body to build on, and its simplicity really sells the character specific pieces, so it’s definitely a good re-use. Xo gets a unique head and chest plate, just like Zain and Mr. A. Both pieces feature a similar swooping, twin-horned design, which gives Xo a nice bit Xo4of elegance, while also hammering home that this dude’s a bad guy. I like how he’s pretty much exclusively built on v-shapes. V, the evilest of the letters. Also, while his face is devoid of any eyes, his chest piece has this cool central eye motif, which really fits with the whole “Galactic Sorcerer” thing. Xo’s head continues the “helmet” trend of the last two figures, the outer head can be removed, revealing a smaller inner head. Xo’s isn’t too far off from Zain’s, but he’s got a bunch more “eyes” and a whole lot less symmetry to them, which is effectively creepy. Following the trend of the first three figures in the line, the Jarknoids each featured a character specific set of add-on armored pieces. As Mr. A’s evil counterpart, Xo features a set of large, bio-mechanical feet, which can be swapped out for the regular feet. They add a fair bit of height, and help to make Xo that much more imposing. In Xo5addition, Xo also includes four pairs of hands (in fist, open palm, trigger finger, and pointing/splayed configurations), and the weapons compliment that we saw with Zain, but this time in a dark grey. He also comes with the requisite selection of revolver joints and pegs and a box in which to store them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, it’s another Assemble Borg review. You know the drill: it’s all Tim’s fault. Xo was the other figure I got from the somewhat sizeable eBay lot of AB stuff that Tim and I split. In fact, Xo was my main reason for going in on said lot, as he was a figure I was really interested in getting. Sure, he’s not quite Zain, but he’s definitely an imposing villain guy and a really fun figure in his own right. Of course, not I really want the last Jarknoid, Yeeg. I can’t just leave the set incomplete, can I?

Xo3

#0626: Shocker

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

SHOCKER

SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (TOYBIZ)

Shocker1

Spider-Man definitely has one of the best rogues galleries around. Maybe it’s not as cool as Batman’s (though that mostly falls to personal opinion), and sure, for my money, it doesn’t quite have the same flare as the Flash’s, but it’s definitely a strong contender. Of course, with every rogue’s gallery comes the inevitable selection of less than threatening entries. Those, by the way, are my personal favorites. I love the lower tier guys. My favorite Batman villain is Calendar Man for God’s sake! So, I have a real appreciation for them. One of the Spider-Man foes who has never really managed to be anything more than a nuisance is the Shocker, eternal punching bag.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shocker2Shocker was released in the third series of ToyBiz’s 90s Spider-Man line. The line was designed as a tie-in to the cartoon of the same time, and as such, the characters drew from their animated designs. Fortunately, Shocker was pretty much unchanged from the comics, so this is just a fairly basic classic Shocker figure. The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and features 7 points of articulation. That’s less articulation than was usual at the time, due to the figure’s action feature preventing him from having elbow joints. And what was this feature? It was dubbed “Shooting Power Blasts” on the box; in reality, he comes with two red missiles, which pop into the spring-loaded arms and can be “launched” by…well, just letting them go. The springs have no locking feature, so the missiles just launch as soon as you let go. Also, the feature doesn’t really make much sense for Shocker. His powers are based on vibration, so he doesn’t actually blast anything. I don’t know. Shocker featured a sculpt that was unique to him. It’s in line with the rest of the figures in the series; the details are rather simple, and the proportions are slightly boxy. He’s a little pigeon-toed, but not excessively, and due to the action feature, his arms are really straight and stiff. That can’t be a comfortable position. Still, the sculpt isn’t bad, and it does a pretty good job of translating Shocker’s design into three dimensions. Shocker’s paintwork is also pretty simplistic, with basic color work. Most of its pretty clean, but the silver areas seem especially prone to bleed over. The figure included the two missiles to go with the action feature and nothing else, though I can’t say I know of anything Shocker would really need to include.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the vast majority of the 90s Marvel stuff I’ve been reviewing as of late, Shocker was purchased from a vendor at this year’s Balticon. I missed out on a lot of the Spider-Man stuff growing up, mostly due to me not liking Spider-Man: The Animated Series as much as the other cartoons of the time. That said, I still appreciate the series, and I love Spidey’s rogues gallery, so I’m glad to be filling some holes in my collection. Shocker’s not a perfect figure, but he’s fun enough to make the purchase worthwhile.

#0625: Dog Alien

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

DOG ALIEN

ALIEN3 THE VIDEO GAME

DogAlienVG2

If there’s a theme to any of my recent reviews, I’d say it’s “figures that are almost identical to figures I reviewed not long ago.” First Superman Red, then Ultron 2.0, and now it’s the Dog Alien. Of course, most of these figures have a pretty good reason for being so similar to each other, and as an added bonus, the reviews are also a heck of a lot easier for me to write. Yay for Ethan being selfish and lazy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DogAlienVG4The Dog Alien is the latest release in NECA’s subset of figures based on licensed video games. The idea behind the line is applying the more limited color palettes of vintage video games to some of NECA’s more realistic sculpts, affording them a chance to get an additional use out of some of their molds. The Dog Alien is over 9 inches tall (standing straight up) and features 39 points of articulation, plus a bendable tail. The figure is based on the appearance of the titular character in 1992’s Alien3 tie-in video game. Sculpturally, the figure is identical to the Aliens Series 3’s regular Dog Alien. Though it isn’t my favorite of the Xeno designs, there’s no denying that this is some of NECA’s finest Xeno work. Seeing as there are far less chances for re-use on the Dog Alien, I’m glad to see NECA found another use for this tremendous sculpt. Obviously, the real draw of this figure is the all-new paint scheme. The game which the figure is based on was a 2D side-scroller. Depending on which direction the alien was moving, it would be either blue or brown. The figure has replicated this idea quite expertly. When viewed from the right, the figure is blue, and when viewed from the left, he’s an orange-ish brown. The paint is handled in such a way that you can get a surprising amount of range without seeing the opposite side’s color. In addition, the paint is applied in such a way to really accent the strengths of the sculpt, and highlight many of the cool details that were easily missed on the regular version. The colors are bright and vibrant, and contrast quite nicely with the underlying black. The Dog Alien is packed with the same stand included with the standard version. I don’t find I need it, but it’s nice to have in case you want to do some more extreme posing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this figure was first announced, I really wasn’t sold on it. I’m already pretty iffy on the Dog Alien in general, so I wasn’t sure I wanted to have yet another one. But, up to this point, I’ve picked up every figure from NECA’s Aliens line, and it would suck to just skip one. So, I had quite the dilemma on my hands. A few weeks ago, I stopped by local toystore All Time Toys, just to look around, and they had happened to get their shipment of these guys in. In hand, my opinion of the figure changed completely. This figure really pops. It could have been really gimmicky, but the paint here is top notch, and produces an incredibly unique figure. This has gone from an item I thought I might skip to the highlight of my collection.

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#0624: Yoda

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

YODA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES

Yoda1

After a bit of a hiatus, I’m finally getting back into Star Wars: The Black Series. It’s not really by choice or anything, it’s just that I’ve finally started finding the figures I want again. The stores around me are all still drowning in a sea of Episode III Obi-Wans, so none of them have been getting any of the new figures. So, I have to check other places, outside of my usual stops to actually find the guys I want. Fortunately, luck’s been on my side, allowing me to track down several desired figures, including today’s focus, Yoda.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yoda2Yoda was part of the…umm… he was released in the…hmmm. Okay, yeah, Star Wars: The Black Series has done it again. Hasbro’s releases are strange and more than a little hard to follow, so I’m never quite sure where figures actually got released. Yoda’s been given the number 06, but, in all honesty, those numbers are mostly meaningless, since a) they restarted the numbering with Series 4 and b) the numbers don’t seem to have anything to do with order of release. The TIE Pilot is #05, but I know for a fact he came after Yoda. I think Yoda might have been part of the same assortment as the Clone Sergeant, which I believe was the sixth series of figures. The figure is about 3 inches tall and has 19 points of articulation. Now, here’s where the first real issues begin to crop up. See, that’s plenty of articulation, but, for some reason, the figure’s been given double elbow joints, which seem excessive, and nothing but thigh cuts on the legs, so he can’t really do much but stand. Kind of a bummer. The figure has a brand new sculpt, which isn’t a huge surprise. It’s pretty good, overall. The head, hands, and feet all have a nice amount of detail, and the Yoda4clothes are well textured.  The arms are a little bit long, but that’s minor. Of course, most of the sculpt won’t ever be seen, due to the outer robe being done with cloth. I don’t mind the cloth robe at all. It could maybe be a little better tailored and I’m not sure how it will stand the test of time, but it’s not bad. It’s held in place by a small rubber belt, which does its job well, so that’s good. Paint is the one area where the figure (and the line, really) could stand to improve. It’s not bad, but it’s not super great either. The basic colors are fine, but the application is sloppy, and pretty much everything bleeds over. Yoda has a fairly decent selection of accessories, including his signature cane, the blissl flute and snake of the vintage figure, and a lightsaber. What’s that you say? You don’t see a lightsaber in any of the pictures? Well, that’s because goofball Ethan lost it before taking the pictures. Of course, I’m not much of a fan of Yoda having a lightsaber anyway. Plus, as what is clearly an Empire Strikes Back version of the character, the lightsaber’s really not accurate.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, as I mentioned in the intro, none of my main retail stops have gotten any Black Series since Series 2. This presents problems in getting anything that is after Series 2, which happens to be most of the line. With Yoda, things weren’t helped by him being the only OT figure in his assortment, and the only truly new figure as well. So, I kinda figured I wouldn’t be getting one. But, I was killing some time in a Walgreens, and I actually managed to stumble upon this guy! Ultimately, he’s just an okay figure. He won’t be winning any awards or anything. That said, he does a decent job of conveying the character, and he looks good with the rest of the line. Just don’t pay an arm and a leg for him. He’s not worth it.

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Guest Review #0032: Liara

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

LIARA

MASS EFFECT MINIMATES

Liana1

The following is a guest review from my Super Awesome Girlfriend Jessica.  Take it away Jess!

Heyo! Today’s guest review will be the next installment of the Mass Effect Minimates. Honestly, I should have done this sooner, but oh well! Last time I reviewed Wrex and now I will talk to you guys about the last alien companion in this series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Liana2Liara is part of the first series of Mass Effect Minimates, exclusively released at GameStop. The series features an assortment of the main characters from the Mass Effect franchise, including some of the alien companions that Shepard picks up along the way.

Liara T’Soni is a pureblood Asari researcher who has dedicated her life to studying the mysterious, and long gone, Prothean race. Commander Shepard first finds Liara on the planet Therum, where the young Asari had been researching the Protheans before the Geth arrived. After being saved by Shepard, she is the last to join the Normandy’s crew and she is the third character with biotic abilities, after Kaiden and Wrex. In the first game, she is used to find her mother, Matriarch Benezia, and she utilizes her abilities to aid Shepard in deciphering the Prothean “vison” that s/he received earlier in the game. Her character is very innocent in the beginning, but by the time you run into her again in the second game she has lost her innocent shell. In Mass Effect 2, she is still your ally but no longer a part of your team. Instead, she gives you information relevant to the mission. By the third installment of the series she is once again fighting by your side to save the universe from the Collectors and the Reapers. By this point, her innocent researcher demeanor has been replaced by a hardened badass biotic fighter.

For the figure itself, the Minimate is about 2 ½ inches tall with 14 points of articulation. The figure has a standard body with a skirt-like add-on. Liara’s head, however, isn’t very standard because of the sculpted hair tentacles, and yes that is a thing. I actually rather enjoy the detailing on her head, it’s well done and they even gave her really tiny freckles! For accessories, she was given a tiny heavy pistol and a clear blue plastic hand piece that is supposed to represent her biotic power. The costume that they used for the figure is one of the options for Liara in Mass Effect 3, and personally my favorite of her costumes. The detailing on her chest and leg pieces are pretty awesome, except for some places were the paint didn’t quite make it in between the lines. Her skirt has some of the same issues, where the paint isn’t quite perfect but as long as you aren’t holding the figure right up to your eye, you don’t really notice. The figure is still pretty cool and well done, especially with the costume design and hair tentacles.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure was a present to me from my amazing boyfriend, Ethan, this past Christmas. As a character, I find Liara’s transformation pretty interesting. She starts out as a little naive scientist/researcher who needs saving from the game’s early villains, after tackling the galaxy over and over, she hardens into resourceful battle-ready companion that has done a lot behind the scenes to help Shepard and the galaxy. Honestly, she kind of freaked me out at first because she is a possible lover for both Shepards, and some of her actions made a younger me very nervous. After a while though, she grew on me and by the time I started playing the third game she had become one of my favorite characters. I loved that she broke out of the typical female scientist mold and became a strong, independent woman who didn’t always need help getting out of a sticky situation. Her Mass Effect 3 character design is very much her ‘butterfly’ form, or finale stage of development, and I’m happy to have her on board!

#0623: Ultron 2.0

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

ULTRON 2.0

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Ultron2c

It’s hard to believe it’s been two months since Avengers: Age of Ultron hit theatres. Time’s just flown by, and we’ve all moved onto other movies (such as another evil robot movie…), so it’s a little surprising that so much of the film’s merchandise is still slowly making its way to stores. The second set of the 3 ¾ inch figures made their way out about a month ago, but I’m still playing a little bit of catch-up. I’ve managed to piece together a pretty decent set of figures, including the first single release of the titular antagonist, Ultron.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultron2bUltron 2.0 was released in the second assortment of 3 ¾ inch Avengers: Age of Ultron figures. As the name denotes, this figure is based on Ultron’s second main appearance, more commonly referred to as Ultron Prime. I guess Hasbro just haaaaaad to be different. So, in an effort to be upfront, it should be noted that this figure is a repaint of the Ultron Prime included in the Ultron vs. Iron Man set. As such, it inherits all of that sculpts various flaws, the most pressing being that the figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall when it really should be over 5. So, he’s still really tiny. I will say that, for whatever reason, the sculpted details seem a little sharper on this figure than they did on the other. I don’t know if that’s just the lighter plastic allowing a better view or if the figure actually went through a better casting process. While I thought the sculpt was fairly accurate on first examination, another look at it shows that it’s got more than a few deviations from the source material. The head lacks the human flare of Ultron Prime, and a lot of the finer details of the armor are incorrect. Also, he has the sort of goofy, almost clown shoe like feet, instead of the toed feet from the movie. Some of it’s rather forgivable, but it’s annoying to see it be so off. Paint, or coloring at least, is what differentiates this figure from the last one. Fortunately, he’s much better overall than what we saw before. The lighter, more metallic plastic he’s been molded in looks a lot cleaner and makes the figure look more finished. He lacks the odd translucent arms, which is good for those wanting a more basic Ultron. The actual painted details aren’t much different, though he does have some extra red detailing on his torso, which is certainly nice. He includes the same accessory as his predecessor: a blast piece molded in red.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, remember when I found the Iron Legion and Scarlet Witch and decided to give the Scarlet Witch to my Dad? Yeah, this guy’s from the same purchase. Like the Iron Legion, this guy was more bought to hold me over until I could get my own Scarlet Witch. He’s really not the most thrilling figure, but at the very least he’s an improvement over the one from the three pack. Yay for me.

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