#0462: The Governor

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

THE GOVERNOR

THE WALKING DEAD

So, last day of Walking Dead stuff (at least for a little while). In my review of Carol, I mentioned how the TV Show has really turned around my opinion of some of the comic characters who have made the transition.

The Governor in the comics generally seems to be a rather popular character. However, I’ve never really cared for him. To me, his over the top nature and the fact that he was completely devoid of any likeable traits just made the character rather annoying to read. In the show, he was given a much quieter demeanor and numerous episodes focusing on his rationale for the things he did. He was still a bad guy and he was still crazy, but he was a wildly more intriguing character. So, let’s have a look at the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Governor was released in Series 6 of The Walking Dead TV-based line from McFarlane Toys. This marks the second Governor figure in the TV line, following his first figure in Series 4. The figure is a little over 5 inches tall (David Morrissey is a tall dude) and he has 23 points of articulation. Sadly, he’s the only (human) figure in this series not to get the new style hip joints, but his long coat would have restricted them anyway, so it’s not too bad. The first Governor figure was based on his look in early Season 3 (though a later look was possible with the extra eye-patched head), where as this one depicts him after he’s begun to sink more into his villainous side. In his default setup, this figure depicts the Governor from smack-dab in the middle of Season 3, but it can also represent the character’s later appearances. Starting with Series 5, each series of the line has one figure that’s built on a previous figure. The Governor takes that spot in this series. He makes use of the pelvis, legs, feet, and hands of the Series 4 Governor, as well as a slightly retooled torso, an all-new head and arms, and an add-on for his coat. Issues with the old hip articulation aside, the re-used pieces were all pretty good the first time around, and they add some nice consistency between the two figures. The new pieces are quite well sculpted, which is really great. The new head sits just a little bit too high on the neck, but the coat collar covers the issue for the most part, and the head itself is pretty fantastic. The head is really well detailed, and it’s a very good likeness of David Morrissey. Paint seems to be a pretty consistent issue with The Walking Dead figures, and the Governor is no exception. There’s a bit of slop, especially around the edges of the bandaging on the head, and the hands and lower face both have a rather inconsistent wash. Other than that, the paint is actually pretty good; the clothing is sufficiently detailed, and there’s lots of work done to bring out the details of the sculpt. The Governor includes an alternate head with an eye-patch (the same as the one included with the last Governor), an assault rifle, a handgun, and a knife. While the alternate head presents a more default look for the Governor, it’s not as well sculpted or as well painted as the bandaged one; it looks a little like his face is sliding off. The assault rifle is a nice piece, but the figure has some serious difficulty holding it, meaning he’s pretty much limited to the knife and the handgun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Governor was ordered via Amazon, along with Rick and Abraham. I have to admit, he was probably the figure I was least interested in this series, for whatever reason. In hand, that all changed. I can’t say that the Governor’s really any better than any of the other figures in the series, but for whatever reason, I just really like this figure. He just looks really cool!

Guest Review #0026: Wrex

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

WREX

MASS EFFECT MINIMATES

WrexJ1

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

“Anyone who fights us is either stupid or on Saren’s payroll. Killing the latter is business. Killing the former is a favor to the universe.” – Urdnot Wrex

Heyyyo! Today on this episode of Ethan’s Super Awesome Girlfriend Reviews Mass Effect Minimates, we will be looking at a member of the Krogan, an alien race full of mercenaries so badass even their women eat nails for breakfast and crap grenades!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WrexJ2This figure is part of the first series of the Mass Effect Minimates, exclusively released at GameStop. The series includes some of the main characters from the Mass Effect franchise, including a few of Shepard’s alien teammates.

Urdnot Wrex is a Krogan mercenary and the third alien companion that you can pick up at the Citadel in the first Mass Effect. He is the classic hardened warrior, whose view of life has been warped by the battles that he’s been through. In some ways, he can be compared to Canderous Ordo, a playable character from the Knights of the Old Republic game (also made by BioWare). Both characters are jaded warriors working as mercenaries with a darker view on life, but both can be redeemed in some way if you make the right choices. Unfortunately for Wrex, your actions affect him more in the first game than the other. Depending on the actions you make or don’t will decide whether Wrex survives the first game and make an appearance in the others. If he lives, he becomes the leader of the Krogans and helps you in the next two installments of the series, but never as a playable character. That’s right, he’s a part of your squad for only one game, unless you buy the Citadel DLC, but that doesn’t make him any less interesting! In fact, after the first game there are other places where you may have to kill him, depending on how much influence you have over him and how much of a paragon you are.

The figure stands at about 2 ½ inches and has 11 points of articulation. Wrex has a regular Minimate body with a unique head and lower legs, like most of the other aliens in this series, as well as a pair of thigh cover add-ons. The Minimate is based on the character design from the first game, which makes sense since he doesn’t always appear in the later installments. The paint detailing is fair for the outfit, though there’s not much to comment on since the armor is almost completely red. The face, however, is pretty impressive because they were able to capture his scary, angry look that makes his enemies piss in their armor mesh. The figure’s mold is also pretty nice, with great detailing in the armor, such as the ridges and the mesh, and his legs are also extremely detailed as well. The figure also comes with a clear plastic stand and a shot gun. Wrex’s shotgun has the standard shape and design and the molding of it is well detailed.

THE ME PART OF THE EQUATION

Even though Wrex can be a bit of a handful at times, I really enjoyed him as a companion, especially with his darker humor. I am sad to say that I couldn’t save him the first time I played the game, and I was extremely heart broken when I watched the scene unfold, and I’ve tried to save him ever since. But now I have him in my collection, and it makes me so happy because I would feel terrible without him! I got this figure from Ethan as a Christmas gift, but not at the same time as all the others in this series. As you may have heard already, Ethan got a bunch of Talis when he was trying to complete the set, but he didn’t get a Wrex, at all. It wasn’t until after we got back from the beach that he was able to trade a Tali for Wrex with the awesome JediJohnson, one of his fellow Minimate Multiverse members. Now my set is complete and I shall take over the world! Mwhahahahaha! Nah, just kidding! …Or am I? >:D

#0461: Abraham Ford

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

ABRAHAM FORD

THE WALKING DEAD

Hey hey, more Walking Dead stuff. Today’s character, Abraham Ford, is probably one of the few characters that I was actually waiting to see on the show, as I quite liked him in the comics. The character on the show is similar to his comic counterpart, but he’s been given a different relationship with the main cast, which makes for an interesting change up. He also showed up a lot quicker as a toy than a lot of people expected. Usually, a character has a little bit of a wait after showing up on the series before they can get their own figure, but Abraham here was announced almost as soon as he’d shown up. So, here he is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Abraham is a part of Series 6 of The Walking Dead TV-based line from McFarlane Toys. He’s about 5 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation, which includes the new style hips, which I am definitely a fan of. Unlike most of the figures in this series, Abraham is based on his earliest appearances in the show, though that still places his look somewhere in mid-season 4, which means he lines up pretty well with the rest of the characters in the series (with two exceptions). Abraham features an all-new sculpt, and it’s a pretty good one at that. He’s definitely a bigger guy than the others in the series, which is nice to see. It also helps to further distance him from the tiny wrists that used to plague the line. The figure has a pretty much spot on likeness of actor Michael Cudlitz, which is great to see. I’m also oddly fascinated by the gloves, which are just really well sculpted. The only real issues with the sculpt are the tops of arms, which are sculpted to look natural hanging down, but look odd when placed in other poses. While the paint on this figure is better than a lot of the others in the series, there are still some oddities about it. For the most part, the basic paint work is pretty clean and seems to avoid any real slop or bleed over. However, there’s a dark wash that’s been applied to the figure’s skin that looks odd in places. Specifically, it’s too heavy on his face, and then it just ends abruptly and starts back up further down. It looks strange. Abraham includes an MP5, a Desert Eagle, and a knife.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Rick, Abraham was purchased via Amazon. I had actually seen Abraham a few times on his own, but I didn’t want to get him without the rest of the series. In hand, Abraham is one of the more solid releases from the line, though I can’t say he’s the most thrilling. Still, he’s certainly not a bad figure, and I’m sure he’ll be even more desirable once the rest of his group are released.

#0460: Rick Grimes

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

RICK GRIMES

THE WALKING DEAD

We now return to our regularly scheduled reviews of things Ethan actually owns!

When The Walking Dead television series first started up, McFarlane Toys was pretty quick to pick up the license to it. They kicked off the line with a few zombies, as well as lead character Rick Grimes and fan-favorite Daryl Dixon. Unfortunately, the figures weren’t exactly good. The line reformatted in Series 3, and the quality took a serious upturn. However, this left Rick, the show’s central character, without a figure that matched up with the rest of the characters. McFarlane has attempted to fix this issue, releasing a new Rick as part of the latest series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rick is part of Series 6 of McFarlane Toys’ The Walking Dead TV line. The figure is roughly 5 inches in height and he has 26 points of articulation. Like Carol and Hershel, Rick sports the new style of hip joint, first introduced on the deluxe Daryl, which greatly improves the figure’s pose-ability. Previous Rick figures were based upon his appearance in the first and second seasons, but this one depicts Rick with his more rough look from seasons 3, 4, and 5. Like many of the characters on the show, his post season 3 look is more identifiable as the character, and shows the character after he’s grown more comfortable in the world of the show. Rick’s sculpt is all-new to him, and it’s generally very well done. The figure is (mostly) well-proportioned and well detailed. The figure also seems to be moving away from the odd wrist joints that have plagued the last few series, which is good to see.  The head definitely has more than a passing resemblance to Andrew Lincoln (sculpturally, anyway) and that’s nice to see in light of the last two Ricks. The torso is the only real issue; for some reason, they’ve made him slightly pear-shaped. Rick is very svelte on the show (something that tends to happen when you’re a survivor of the apocalypse who doesn’t have a consistent source of food), so it’s noticeably wrong for him to be shaped that way. As good as the sculpt is, the paint is probably the worst I’ve seen in the last few series. The clothing is okay; the colors work and they look appropriately grungy. The biggest issues lie on the face. The flesh-tones are really thick, and the hair is at best a close approximation of what staying in the lines is supposed to be. There’s a lot of slop, and a lot of spots that just seem to be missing the appropriate colors. The skin tone of the face is also too dark, which is only made worse by the fact that the skin on the rest of the figure is deathly pale. And that’s not even mentioning whatever that is that’s growing on Rick’s neck. He might want to have that checked out, it looks unhealthy. Rick includes a decent selection of accessories, which includes an alternate bandaged right hand, his signature revolver, a machete, a handgun with a silencer, and a set of clamps.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After finding Carol and Hershel at Cosmic Comix, I decided to finish up the rest of the Series 6 set, so I purchased Rick here from Amazon. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little let down by this figure. The prototype looked really good, and I think the sculpt is genuinely a pretty good one. Sadly, the paint just isn’t up to snuff, which is a shame. Still, this is the best Rick that McFarlane’s released so far, and he’s not terrible when placed with the rest of the survivors.

#0459: Robin

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

ROBIN

BATMAN ’66 (HOT TOYS)

Alright, here we are with the second part of our little break into “Ethan reviews someone else’s toys.” Yesterday, I took a look at the Hot Toys version of Adam West’s take on Batman from the popular 60s TV series. It’s only fitting that I follow it up by taking a look at Batman’s partner in (fighting) crime, the only bird more dangerous than a sparrow with a machine gun, Robin the Boy Wonder!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like Batman, Robin is part of Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series. He’s figure MMS 219, which places him directly after Batman in the numbering of the line. Robin is about 11 ½ inches tall, which makes him just a slight bit shorter than Batman, and (going by the Sideshow website) he has 30 points of articulation. He’s based on Burt Ward’s portrayal of the character in the 1960s TV show and Movie, though according to the solicitations, he’s specifically movie based.
One of HT’s claims to fame is their incredible likenesses. In all honesty, Robin isn’t one of their more spot on ones. While Batman was very clearly Adam West, the likeness is a bit more debatable on Robin. From certain angles, it definitely looks like Burt Ward, but from others it’s not quite as clear. However, the sculpted mask does a lot to fill in the blanks, so I don’t think anyone will be lost on who this is supposed to be. Overlooking the minute issues with the likeness, the sculpt features all the fantastic detailing we’ve come to expect from Hot Toys. In a similar fashion to Batman, the mask has been done as a separate piece, which gives the head sculpt the right amount of depth and layering. The paintwork on the head is nothing short of amazing. There’s absolutely no slop or bleed over, and the detailing is superb.  It looks like a real person.

Robin’s costume is made up of nine parts in total. He has his signature shirt (with different colored sleeves), a cape, a pair of shorts, and a pair of flesh tone tights, as well as a sculpted belt, boots, and gloves.  Overall, everything is pretty well tailored, though there are a few minor issues. While Ward’s costume was a little off in the movie, the shirt and shorts overemphasize this. The shirt is too short, and the shorts are too long. However, with some futzing, this could be mostly fixed. The cape also seems just a bit too short, which is even more noticeable, given the thickness of the material. The sculpted pieces are all excellent, and they match up pretty much exactly with the pieces from the show. Robin’s body is a better fit for him than the body on Batman was for that figure. Perhaps it’s due to Ward having had a more basic body type, but it seems the standard slim TrueType worked out well.

Robin is armed with a nice assortment of accessories, though not quite as many as Batman (in all fairness, Robin retailed for $15 less.) He features:

  • 8 interchangeable hands
  • Batarang
  • Bat-cuffs
  • Bat-Radio
  • Bat Rope
  • Display Stand

The figure’s hands include the following poses: a pair of fists, a pair for gripping, a pair with a two finger gesture, one looser grip, and one for receiving a fist (to replicate one of Ward’s signature poses.) Unlike Batman, these hands are more meant for posing than for accessories. Each of the hands is well sculpted, and they all swap out pretty easily.

At first, it seems like the Batarang is a piece of re-use, however closer examination shows that it’s actually a different, smaller Batarang than the one included with Batman. It’s well sculpted, and has the same hole for the Bat Rope that the other Batarang has.

The Bat-Cuffs represent another fairly standard Bat-accessory. It’s nice to see that HT thought to give Robin something not included with Batman. The cuffs are nicely done; they open and close like real cuffs, and even have a metal chain between them.

The Bat-Radio and Rope are the same as the ones included with Batman. The Bat-Radio is still a cool little piece and the Rope is still just a piece of string.

Finally, Robin includes a standard display stand. It’s been decorated with his name and the Batman ’66 logo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, this is another figure belonging to my friend Lance, which he’s very kindly allowing me to review. Overall, the figure has its issues, but it’s pretty good. At first, I was a little let down by Robin, especially after the really fantastic Batman. However, placing the two figures side by side, every problem fades away. These two really make for a killer display. For once, I’m rather envious of someone else’s action figure collection.

Guest Review #0025: Siris V3

Posted by Tim Marron in Guest Reviews and tagged with ,

SIRIS v.3

INFINITY BLADE COLLECTIBLES

SirisV3a

The following is a guest review by Tim Marron. For more from Tim, check outTimsical Thoughts and Tim’s Blarg.

The end is in sight. Today we have the penultimate Infinity Blade review. If this was a fight, it would be the Black Knight, however his armor isn’t available to players, so instead it’s just another Siris. So take raise your sword and shield, here comes the final Siris figure and he looks like he means business.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SirisV3eIf you’ve been keeping up with my reviews of the other IB Collectibles, you can probably figure out that this version of Siris hails from Infinity Blade 3 just like all the previous figures. This setup has him wearing the the Hunter Mail armor, Manganese helm, Obsidian sword, and the Maximus shield although it isn’t present in the Stoic pose. He shares most of the same stats with every other of these guys, right about three and a half inches tall with no articulation. The sculpt on this figure as actually pretty impressive given what I’ve seen on the other Sirises and Isas. All of the appropriate edges and textures are there and as sharp as I can conceivably see them being with this type of 3D printing. Likewise the colored texturing is really well done with some nice crisp detail lines on the helmet and torso. I only have two real complaints about this figure, one of those being the overall faded look which makes it look like the whole thing is just grey at a glance. This is especially evident on the sword which is supposed to be a deep purple and the little cloth bits around Siris’ waist which are bright blue. The other main issue I have, which I touched on in the previous review, is how Sandboxr seems to be holding back on the varnish. As a result, the figure feels very rough in the hands and just looks a little dull. Siris comes with no accessories.

SirisV3f SirisV3d SirisV3c SirisV3b

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was part two of three from my last Sandboxr purchase. I was pretty excited to get this one because I gave him one of my favorite swords in the game. I was a little disappointed with the brightness of the colors but even with the problems I mentioned earlier, the sculpt and detail quality make this one one of my favorites. I just can’t help but wonder if a coat of clear nail polish could improve the figure a little bit.

#0458: Batman

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

BATMAN

BATMAN ’66 (HOT TOYS)

Okay, so today and tomorrow I’ll be doing something a little different for the site. As I’m sure readers are aware, the reviews I post here are of my own personal collection. Of course, I do have the occasional guest review, but that’s still the owners reviewing their stuff. Today, I’ll be doing my first review of an action figure that isn’t mine.

I’m no stranger to Hot Toys figures, and I even have a rather large collection of them. However, in the last year or two I’ve had to move away from them. The figures are rather expensive, and they keep getting more so, to the point that I really couldn’t keep up. This meant missing out on a number of figures I’d been looking forward to, such as today’s subject, Batman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Batman is part of Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series, and he’s figure MMS 218 in that particular line. Batman is roughly 12 inches in height and, according to the Sideshow website, he has 30 points of articulation. The figure is based on Adam West’s portrayal of Batman in the 60s TV show and movie. Going by the accessories, this is specifically based on the 1966 movie.

Let’s kick things off by looking at the head. Simply put, the head sculpt is phenomenal work. The cowl is an expert recreation of the one worn by West in the movie, down to the slightly droopy ears, and the underlying face is the spitting image of Adam West. The use of separate molded pieces makes it so that the figure has all the proper dimension, resulting in a sculpt that really looks like a guy wearing an actual mask. The paintwork is just as fantastic as the sculpt. Everything is incredibly clean, and the work on the skin makes him look like a miniaturized person. All of the detail work is done with the appropriate level of subtlety. The cowl has been painstakingly painted to match the actual cloth of the cape in color and sheen, which is certainly no easy feat.

Batman’s costume is made up of nine pieces. He has a basic gray bodysuit, with a cloth cape, shorts and lower cowl, as well as sculpted boots, gloves and utility belt. The bodysuit is pretty well tailored, though some of the stitching is a bit bulky. The shorts seem a little loose, but they’re better than some of HT’s previous attempts, so they’re learning. The cape is decently tailored, though it seems too thick. They’ve also placed snaps in a few places to help with placement, which are a bit cumbersome. The gloves, boots, and belt are superbly sculpted, and very nicely painted as well. I particularly like the actual metal belt buckle, which is a wonderful recreation of the original prop. Perhaps my biggest issue with the figure’s costume isn’t actually the costume, but the body beneath it. HT tries to make use of the current version of their TrueType body whenever they can, which is understandable. However, the body is definitely too fit for Adam West as Batman. So, they’ve decided to add padding to mask this. The thing is, West wasn’t overweight, or anything, just not super cut, so the end result is that the figure looks a bit too chubby for West’s Batman.
Like any good Hot Toys figure, Batman comes with a very nice assortment of accessories. The figure includes:

  • 11 interchangeable hands
  • 2 interchangeable face plates
  • Batarang
  • Shark Repellant Bat Spray
  • Bat-Radio
  • Bomb
  • Bat Rope
  • Display stand

The figure’s 11 hands include: a pair of fists, a pair for carrying the bomb, a pair for doing the Batusi, a pair for the batarang, a hand for the Shark Repellant Bat Spray, a hand for the radio, and a hand gesturing with two fingers. The majority of the hands are made for interacting with the accessories, which they do superbly, and the remaining hands allow for a lot of really fun poses. The hands are all very well sculpted, matching up to the glove pieces very well. They also swap out a lot easier than most HT hands, though they still threw in a spare set of wrist pegs, just in case any accidents happen.

In addition to the regular expression already present on the figure, he includes two more face plates with differing expressions. One features gritted teeth, allowing for a variety of more intense poses. The other is closer to the regular expression, but with the mouth open, as if Batman is about to speak or is in quiet contemplation. It’s a rather signature look for West, so it works. Both faceplates are just as good as the regular one, and they swap out with relative ease.

The Batarang is a rather standard Batman accessory, so it would be criminal for it to be excluded. The batarang is well sculpted, and fits well in the figure’s hand. It has a small hole on one end, allowing for the rope to be fed through it.

The Shark Repellant Bat Spray is one of the two very movie specific accessories included. Essentially, it’s just a spray can, but it’s well sculpted and very well painted. It fits very nicely into the appropriate hand, and it makes for a rather cool display.

The Bat-Radio is a neat little accessory, even if it doesn’t have the gravitas of some of the other accessories. It’s very well sculpted, and very accurate to the source material. It even has an actual metal loop at the top.

The Bomb (which sometimes you just can’t get rid of) is the other movie-specific accessory, and it’s probably my favorite accessory included. It’s a pretty simple piece, but it’s spot on to what it should be.

The Bat Rope is, well, rope. I didn’t take it out, but I assure you, it’s just some string.

Lastly, Batman has a display stand. It’s just the standard display stand, with his name and the Batman ’66 logo on it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like I said in the intro, Batman’s not mine. I had wanted one, but I just couldn’t justify spending the money. At my family’s New Year’s Eve party this year, my friend Lance noted that I hadn’t reviewed the figure, and asked if I’d like to borrow his to review. I should point out that he said this while handing me the figure. I believe my response was a series of sounds that approximated a yes. While I’m bummed that I didn’t get one of my own, I think getting to mess around with the figure has helped dull the pain a bit. The figure has a few small flaws, but it’s a fantastic figure, and it’s easily the best West Batman on the market, perhaps even the best Batman period.

#0457: Dog Alien

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

DOG ALIEN

ALIENS (NECA)

So here we are with the third and final part of the Aliens Series Three reviews. It occurred to me after getting the figures that there was in fact one from each of the first three movies in this particular assortment. For whatever reason, I felt compelled to review them in the proper order (although, to be truly proper, I’d first review Kane, then Bishop, and then the Dog Alien wouldn’t exist, but that’s splitting hairs I guess).

Since I’ve made it no secret that Aliens is perhaps my favorite movie of all time, it’s probably not a surprise that I don’t really care for Alien3, a film which did just about everything it could to murder its predecessor and piss on its grave. Were it not for a little film by the name of Man of Steel, Alien3 would easily get my vote for the worst movie ever. All that said, the movie didn’t get everything wrong. The movie’s redesign of the creature managed to not suck (though it’s still not up to par with its predecessors.) Plus, it offered another possible Xenomorph for NECA to include, so that works pretty well. Let’s see how said figure turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Dog Alien (which, by the way, is the first NECA alien not to use “Xenomorph” in the title) was released in Series 3 of NECA’s Aliens line. It’s based on the creature from Alien3, which was either spawned from a dog or an ox, depending on which cut of the film you watch, and is known as the Dog Alien, the Runner, or the Dragon, depending on who you ask. Dog Alien seems to be the one that stuck. The Dog Alien is a whopping 9 inches tall when standing up straight and it has 39 points of articulation. Structurally, the Dog Alien is all-new. Previous NECA Xenos, including the Big Chap, all made use of at least some of the basic Aliens Warrior pieces, but that’s not the case here. From what I can tell, the details of the sculpt are an incredibly close approximation of the prop suit from the movie. The tail is incredibly long and very intricate, and the head dome rivals the Big Chap in terms of execution. As far as proportions go, it seems NECA has gone more for proportions based on the initial design and the rod puppet, which gives the creature a more inhuman appearance. NECA also seems to have toned down some of the more “gooey” aspects of the film’s design, which results in a creature that fits in better with the other Xenos and is overall sleeker looking (which further emphasizes the creature’s streamlined design.) In the movie, the Dog Alien is a bit more “colorful” than previous creatures. Like some of the design elements of the sculpt, NECA has toned this down a bit with the paint work, though the creature is still one of the more intricately painted Aliens NECA’s done. The Dog Alien is molded in back, with lots of brown used to bring out the details on the main body. It’s more than we’ve seen on previous Aliens (even the heavy handed Series 1 version) but not quite as brown as the actual prop Dog Alien. My favorite bit of paint is the work on the creature’s dome, which goes from opaque black at the front to almost completely clear on top with the perfect amount of gradation. The Dog Alien includes a special display stand, allowing its more “canine” poses to be carried out a bit easier.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the other two figures in Series 3, the Dog Alien was a slightly delayed Christmas gift from my parents. On the outset, this was the figure I was the most skeptical about. I’m not a fan of the movie, and I don’t really care for how the creature looks in the film proper. In hand, this figure’s a very different story. NECA’s remained faithful to the design, while at the same time making some tweaks that result in a better overall figure. The end result is that the Dog Alien might just be the best figure in the series, which is a sentence that really surprises me.

Guest Review #0024: Tali

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

TALI (as labeled on the packet)

MASS EFFECT MINIMATES

TaliJ1

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

Heyo! Welcome to the next episode of Ethan’s Super Awesome Girlfriend Reviews of Mass Effect Minimates (long title right?). Last time I reviewed Shepard’s first alien companion, Garrus. Now, I’ll be reviewing Shepard’s next companion, Tali’Zorah vas Normandy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TaliJ2This figure is part of the first series of Mass Effect Minimates, exclusively released at GameStop. The series includes some of the main characters from the Mass Effect franchise, including several of Shepard’s alien teammates.

When you first meet Tali’Zorah nar Rayya, or Tali, she is a young quarian going on a pilgrimage as a rite of passage. After you help her on the Citadel she can join your team, deciding that helping you save the galaxy is a good enough pilgrimage to aid her people. By the second game, Tali finished her pilgrimage with the information that you gave her in the first game, becoming a mature adult quarian and a respectable member amongst her people, receiving the title of Tali’Zorah vas Neema. Later in Mass Effect 2 Tali joins your crew once again to stop the Collectors and to save the human colonies. During her Loyalty Mission she gains the title Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, which is Commander Shepard’s ship, and decides to keep it after the mission is complete. In Mass Effect 3, Tali helps her people to defeat the Geth, the creatures that the quarians had originally created, and to retake their homeworld. She once again joins Shepard’s team when the Normandy decides to aid them in their fight with the Geth.

So for the actual figure itself…Tali is about 2 ½ inches tall with 12 points of articulation. She has a standard body with new shins, and a skirt-like add-on. Her head is made of clear purple plastic, and is covered with a removable helmet/hood. The figure also comes with a clear plastic stand, a standard pistol, and a clear orange plastic omni-tool that’s not removable[it’s supposed to be!–Ethan]. The Minimate is modeled after the costume design that first appeared in Mass Effect 2, which is personally my favorite. It even includes a knife that’s strapped to her lower leg (which isn’t even used until a possible cut-scene in Mass Effect 3). The paint job on the figure is really nice, especially the chest piece, which has a lot of really small detailing. They also painted her ‘eyes’ on the clear head, which I though was great because it gives the same effect that you saw in the game. She includes a pistol and a clear display stand. The Minimate is a well done representation of the game design, and I think it’s great that they even tried to make her calves extend further away from her body than humans. My only complaint is that she didn’t come with a shotgun. Yes, she does use pistols in the game, but in Mass Effect 2 and 3 she is proficient in shotguns as well, and actually uses them more. I mean really, why can’t a girl have a shotgun? They’re great for killing zombies or, in this case, Husks!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So as you may guess, I got this figure for Christmas from my amazing boyfriend, Ethan. I later found out that she was one of six other Tali figures that he got when he tried collecting all the Mass Effect Minimates for me. Isn’t that just proof of how awesome she is? I think so anyways…

If you haven’t guessed already, I’m a really big fan of Tali. She has a wonderful and classic story that allows you to see her transform from a ‘teenager’ to a respectable adult. She has a strong personality that is full of determination, but unlike classic ‘strong’ women in gaming she isn’t a bitch. As a character, she is one of my favorite female companions (after Shepard) because I think she can be a wonderful role model for anyone. And I absolutely love her and Garrus as a couple, which can happen in Mass Effect 3, so I am thrilled to have them both as Minimates! 😀

#0456: Bishop

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

BISHOP

ALIENS (NECA)

Alright, on to Christmas Review # 16 of 14 (try not to think about that too much).

NECA’s Aliens line is, as you can probably tell by the name, primarily based on the second movie in the Alien Franchise. That being said, NECA hasn’t been afraid to venture into some of the other movies here and there as well. For me, Aliens is the best, so while I don’t mind the occasional figure from another movie, I find myself most excited for the true Aliens-based stuff. So, of the three figures in Series Three of the line, it should be no surprise that the one I’m most excited to get is Bishop, the second film’s faithful artificial person.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bishop was released in Series Three of NECA’s Aliens line and he’s the only figure in the series to be actually Aliens-branded. Bishop is based on the character’s basic jump-suited appearance, which is his look for 90% of his screen time. The figure is just shy of 7 inches tall (Lance Henriksen isn’t the tallest of guys) and he has 22 points of articulation. Bishop features an all new sculpt, and unlike the vast majority of human figures in this line, it seems doubtful that this one’ll see any re-use (unless NECA really wants to give us a half-Bishop. Please?) The sculpt is the same quality as just about every other NECA sculpt. It’s not perfect; the overlay for the torso looks somewhat like a diaper at the bottom. Also, the front of the knees make the figure stand with a slight crouch, which looks odd in certain poses. However, the majority of the sculpt is very good. The likeness on the headsculpt is a pretty good Henriksen, and all of the body’s proportions seem pretty spot on. From the neck down, the paint work is superb. Everything is nice and clean, there’s some pretty great detail work, and there’s practically no bleed over or slop. There’s a little bit of paint chipping on the elbow joints, but that’s not too obvious. The paint on the head is clean, but perhaps too clean. The eyes are rather cartoony and I don’t quite know what’s going on with the outline. The eyebrows also look as if they’ve been drawn on with a sharpie. Henriksen’s eyebrows are brown and a bit bigger, so this hurts the likeness a fair bit. Bishop is packed with a flashlight, a knife, and a spare hand to hold it (for the famous knife scene). These are all pretty decent accessories, although it would have been cool to get a facehugger for him to dissect, especially since we’ve yet to actually get a properly scaled facehugger from this line. Still, the flashlight is very well done and the knife is from one of the character’s most definitive scenes, so they were well chosen.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bishop was part of a full set of Aliens Series Three that was given to me by my parents as a slightly delayed Christmas gift. Bishop’s the figure I was looking forward to the most from this series. Ultimately, the figure’s not perfect, but he’s pretty good. He’s well sculpted, decently accessorized, and he looks pretty great with the marines. Plus, he’s the only character in the line who actually had a scene with the Queen (though that half-Bishop would be more appropriate. Just saying…)