Tag Archives: 00s

#1006: Battle Tank

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

BATTLE TANK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

BattleTank1

Masters of the Universe was one of the pinnacles of ’80s toylines.  It had all the trappings: gimmicky figures, wacky action features, play sets, and, yes, lots of vehicles for the figures to make use of.  The vehicles were a success in the ’80s, so Mattel gave them another try with the 200x relaunch.  They weren’t quite as successful that time around, but they certainly tried.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of those vehicles, the somewhat mediocre Battle Tank.  Let’s have a look at that!

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

BattleTank3The BattleTank was one of the earliest vehicles in the 200x line, released during the line’s first year.  The vehicle measures 9 ¾ inches long and 6 ½ inches tall.  The Battle Tank is somewhat oddly named.  It looks more like some sort of ramming vehicle and less like what I would think of as a tank.  Of course, I suppose that a more conventional tank might look out of place in Masters of the Universe, so there’s that.  Still, I feel like there could have been a more exciting name for this thing.  As far as the actual sculpt goes, I suppose the tank’s not bad.  It’s a bit rudimentary and clunky, but it’s serviceable.  I think the biggest issue I have with it is how it interacts with the BattleTank2figures.  Their limited articulation means that any vehicle meant for them has to do the heavy lifting in terms of helping them sit.  The tank would be difficult for even a Marvel Legend to sit on comfortably.  The MotU figures look rather uncomfortable, and they all have to do this weird sort of lounging lean.  It’s not exactly an imposing look.  The tank has a pop-out feature, which launches the head forward and flips out two little wing things at the sides, which makes it somewhat cooler looking, but also makes it even less tank-like. There’s not really any paint on the tank, but there are a lot of decals which make up for it. They’re kind of basic, but they look okay.  They stay on pretty well, which is the important part with decals.  The Battle Tank was packed with a basic He-Man, who was the same as the standard Series 1 version, which I suppose isn’t a bad thing, but a unique figure might have been a little cooler.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been much into the MotU vehicles, so I never had any of them.  This one was part of the Goodwill find from a few weeks ago.  I found this last out of the bunch, and I honestly only got it because I felt bad leaving it there by itself.  Island of Misfit toys and all that.  I can’t say it was my favorite piece of the find, but it’s enjoyable enough, and certainly worth what I paid for it.  All in all, not bad.

 

#1005: Sy-Klone

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

SY-KLONE

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

SyClone1

As much as it relied on high-fantasy, sword and sorcery tropes, Masters of the Universe was, at its core, all about the gimmicks. Sure, many of the main characters were a bit more thought-out, but anyone outside of the lead cast was all about what gimmick they possessed. Today’s focus, Sy-Klone, was no exception. No points for guessing what his shtick was…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SyClone2Sy-Klone was released in the 2003 series of Masters of the Universe. The figure is about 6 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation, counting his…back…hoop…thing. The waist movement is tied into his action feature: by using the gear at the back of his belt, his upper torso can be spun. So, there’s that. Sy-Klone’s design wasn’t greatly changed for the 2002 series. The basic look is pretty much the same, with the only real tweaks being to his helmet design. His more generic helmet has been given more of a samurai-style appearance (befitting Sy-Klone’s characterization from the show), which makes him a bit more distinctive. Also, despite Sy-Klone classically having a face that closely resembles He-Man’s, this figure gives Sy-Klone his own unique face. I can’t say I mind, since there’s never been any explanation for the shared look. The rest of the sculpt is very nicely detailed. He’s got lots of fun little technical details, which add a nice extra dimension to the character. Of all the figures in the 200x re-launch, this is the one that most retains the strange squatting pose of the vintage line. It’s still slightly goofy, but it’s not entirely out of place on a character like Sy-Klone, since it works well with the whole spinning bit. Sy-Klone’s paintwork is alright, but not quite as good as it could be. To be fair, what paint’s there is all pretty cleanly done, and I really like the metallic red in particular. The problem with the paint is what isn’t there. He’s got a number of details, especially on the arms and legs, which are simply left unpainted. It’s a little frustrating. On the plus side, the bit in the middle is a cool lenticular piece, just like it was on the vintage figure. It’s a gimmick, but it’s a really cool one. Sy-Klone was packed with a yellow shield, designed to match him in theme.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never had much affinity for Sy-Klone. His vintage figure has never appealed to me (and, by extension, his MOTUC figure also has no appeal), mostly because I just find his overall design rather on the clunky side. However, the 200x version did a lot to remove some of that clunkiness, which increases the appeal. Sy-Klone ended up being another figure from the Goodwill find of a few weeks ago. He’s not a bad figure at all, and I’m glad to have him.

#1004: Orko

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

ORKO

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

Orko200x1

Goofy sidekicks are something of a divisive bunch. You tend to either love them or hate them, with no in-between. Me? I’m generally a fan. I like goofy. I like funny. I like silly. Sometimes, what a serious story needs is someone to inject a little levity into it. Lex Luthor needs his Otis, Wonder Woman needs her Eta Candy, Squirrel Girl needs Monkey Joe, Brienne of Tarth needs Podric, and Batman’s always more fun when Bat-Mite’s around. Heck, I even like Wendy, Marvin, and Wonder Dog! When it comes to Masters of the Universe, yes, that means that I like Orko, He-Man’s less-than-effective wizard friend. I like him enough that I actually own every single Orko figure in existence (it’s not that hard; there’re only three). Today, I’ll be looking at Orko’s middle figure, courtesy of the 2002 relaunch.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Orko200z2Orko was released in the third Heroic Warriors assortment of the 2003 series of Masters of the Universe, alongside a rather silly He-Man variant. The figure stands about 5 ½ inches, counting the (non-removable) stand that gives him a hovering effect, and about 4 ½ inches not counting it. That’s rather on the large side for Orko, since it only makes him an inch and a half shorter than the average figure from the line, despite the show depicting him as less than half the size of most of the characters. This wasn’t a first for Orko, though; his vintage figure suffered from a similar issue. Granted, he’s still smaller than the rest of the figures, so the effect is kinda there. The figure has 8 points of articulation, which isn’t bad for a figure without legs. Orko has a pretty awesome sculpt. It takes a few liberties with the design seen in the show, but the changes make the design a little more ornate, which results in a pretty cool look. The sculpt is also incredibly dynamic, which makes him a pretty exciting looking figure to have on the shelf. What’s really cool is that he can still pull off a number of different poses, despite the more specific nature of the sculpt. The paintwork on Orko is solid, but perhaps not quite as impressive as the sculpt. The basic work is all there and it’s pretty clean, but there’s not much beyond that. With a sculpt like this, a few accents would have gone a long way. Orko included a staff, as well as a large…mystic…ball…thing. I’m not sure what it is, but it looks kind of cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Orko wasn’t super easy to get when he was new, so I didn’t have one (I actually ended up getting the vintage figure instead). This guy came from the lot of Masters figures that I picked up from a Goodwill a few weeks ago. Amusingly, he and his accessory were packed separately from each other, so I ended up having to pay for both of them (he was still less than $4, so I’m hardly going to complain). He was definitely one of my favorite finds in the set, and I’m glad to finally have one. Even with the scale issues, he’s a pretty awesome figure.

Orko200x3

#1003: Battle Cat

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

BATTLE CAT

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

BattleCat1

Masters of the Universe leans pretty hard on classical fantasy tropes. One of those tropes was the inclusion of steeds that were something other than a horse. The first animals inducted into the original Masters line were feline beasts, one for each side’s leader. Skeletor and the Evil Warriors got Panthor, and He-Man and the Heroic Warriors had Battle Cat, who’s the focus of today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BattleCat3Battle Cat was released as a deluxe item alongside the first series of Masters of the Universe figures. He and Panthor were released at the same time. The figure stands about 3 ½ inches tall and is about 9 inches from nose to tail. The vintage Battle Cat didn’t feature any articulation, but the 2002 version changes things up a bit, giving him joints at the top of each leg and a swivel joint on the tail. There’s also a button on the figure’s back which, when pressed, swings the right front leg forward and opens the mouth. So, he’s still not super posable, but certainly an improvement over earlier figures.  Battle Cat makes use of four different add-ons for his armor. The torso piece is strapped into place, while he helmet and toe guards just snap into place. All of the pieces are very nicely sculpted, with lots of fun details that add a little bit of depth to the armor. In addition, the pieces all stay in place pretty securely, which is a definite plus. The underlying body is decently sculpted. Obviously, the areas left exposed by the armor are given the most detailing, but the face is surprisingly well detailed, despite being covered by the faceplate. The paintwork on Battle Cat is rather on the minimal size. For the most part, the colors are done via molded plastic with only the stripes and the eyes and mouth being actually painted. The stripes could possibly be a little cleaner, but other than that, the figure looks pretty good. In addition to the armor pieces, Battle Cat also included a pair of missile launching cannons, which could be attached to the shoulder armor. They were, however, not the slightest bit accurate to the show’s armor design.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never had a Battle Cat growing up. For whatever reason he was never my thing. I did want a Panthor, but never got one (I eventually got the MotUC version, so that’s a win for me). I ended up getting Battle Cat just a few weeks ago, at the same time as Teela. Mostly, I got him because he was $2, which I feel is just about always a good reason to get an action figure. Battle Cat was an improvement upon a figure than needed quite a bit of improving. That makes him a decent figure, but hardly anything stellar. Still, when paired with the He-Man from the same line, this figure does manage to look pretty darn awesome, and that’s more than worth the $2 I paid.

BattleCat2

#1002: Teela

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

TEELA

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

Teela1

One of the common complaints about toylines aimed at the male demographic is the typical lack of any notable female presence. Most have at least one female character to offer, but not much more beyond that. In the ‘80s, this practice of token females was in full swing. Masters of the Universe was no exception, but, to their credit, they had a token female for each side of the battle (as well as the Sorceress, but she wasn’t really a direct participant in the fight). The heroic side’s resident female combatant was Teela, who is the focus of today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Teela2Teela was released in Wave 1 of the 2003 Series of Masters of the Universe. She was the first female figure to make it into the line (though Evil-Lyn would join the line later that year).  The figure is a little under 6 inches tall and she has 12 points of articulation. Her waist joint is only slightly useful, though, since it’s got a spring-loaded feature, allowing her to have a swinging action of some sort. It’s more annoying than anything, but at least the feature doesn’t ruin her aesthetically. Teela’s sculpt isn’t bad at all. She’s leaning even harder into the stylization that He-Man was sporting, preventing her from really fitting in with anything but the 2002 Masters line, but that’s not a bad thing. There’s a lot of great detail work here, especially on the more ornate parts of her armor. The face is one of the more attractive faces that the Four Horsemen have put out, though it’s a little flat (a common issue with their female faces). I do think it’s worth noting that her legs are rather on the long side. It’s partly in keeping with the show’s design for her, but it still feels a bit exaggerated here, and it’s certainly not helped by the bent arms. Teela’s paintwork is solid. The gold and while work well together, and there’s minimal bleedover. There were two variations of Teela’s paint: one with a gold hair tie, and one where the hair tie was left the same brown as the hair. Mine is the latter version, which is a slight letdown, but far from the worst thing ever. Teela originally included a sword, cobra-headed staff, and a shield. My figure was secondhand, so I don’t have those parts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Teela was a rather difficult to find figure back when these guys were new. I actually saw her once at a Target, but didn’t get her for whatever reason and regretted it for some time. I ended up getting her just a few weeks ago, from a Goodwill of all places. I found her and a large assortment of other figures for a very small amount of money (in fact, I didn’t actually pay anything for Teela, because she was bundled with a Castle Greyskull playset). I’m happy to have finally gotten this figure. She’s far from perfect, and had not aged particularly well, but she’s still pretty cool and was an important missing piece from my collection.

#1001: He-Man

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

HE-MAN

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (2002)

HeMan200x1

In this day and age, action figures are almost exclusively a licensing game. Due to rising costs and falling demand, completely original toylines just aren’t worth the risk, which is really a shame. There was a time when the big companies were known for their own properties. Hasbro had G.I. Joe (and technically Transformers, though that one’s a bit complicated) and Mattel had Barbie. Mattel had also wanted to tap into the boys market, first trying with the moderately successful Big Jim, before striking it big with Masters of the Universe. Unfortunately for Mattel, Masters didn’t really find success any time after the early-to-mid-80s. They’ve still done their best to keep the line alive. They’re second attempt at bringing it back was in 2002, which was where I came in. Today, I’ll be looking at that line’s first version of the main guy, He-Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HeMan200x2He-Man was released in the first series of Mattel’s re-launched Masters of the Universe line. The prototype and early shipments of the figure sported an iron cross logo (just like the vintage He-Man had), but later figures (such as mine) had the H-style logo from the 2002 cartoon. He-Man stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation. It’s worth noting that this figure was shipping at around the same time as the first series of Marvel Legends, so the articulation wasn’t the most stellar. Still, it’s better than the vintage figures had, so that’s a small win. The sculpt for He-Man (and the entire 200x MotU line) was handled by Four Horsemen Studios. The design is very angular and definitely is a product of its time, but it holds up. Despite Mattel’s penchant for re-use, He-Man’s sculpt was never used for anyone other than He-Man, and this figure was the first one to have it. It’s certainly a nice sculpt. The harness is a separate piece, which can be removed if one so chooses, so that’s cool. The paintwork on He-Man isn’t anything amazing, but it’s solid. The details are all pretty clean, and the hair even has some nice accent work. It would be nice if some of that accent work had ended up a few other spots, but it’s not horrible. He-Man included his sword of power (which could have the guard turned like on the show), a shield, and an axe. The sword can be stowed in the back of the harness, as can the axe and shield, if you’re patient.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t familiar with anything Masters of the Universe until Cartoon Network aired the first few episodes of the 2002 cartoon as a movie to kick off the series. After seeing the movie, I immediately wanted a He-Man. Unfortunately, it aired a little after the early shipments of figures had hit, which made finding a He-Man a little difficult. My Dad drove me to several different stores with no luck, but I eventually found him at a Target. I really liked the figure at the time. I don’t know that he’s one of my favorites now, but he certainly isn’t bad, and I can’t deny he’s a cool looking figure.

#0964: Mr. Fantastic

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

MR. FANTASIC

FATASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

MrFantastic1

The 2005 Fantastic Four movie is definitely far from a perfect film. Yesterday, I touched on the casting of Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman, which is often cited as one of the film’s biggest negative factors. On the plus side, they didn’t botch all of the casting. Chris Evans as Johnny was quite good, as was Michael Chiklis’ take on Ben. Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards doesn’t stand out quite as much as those two, and he was unfortunately hampered by a lack of chemistry with Alba’s Sue of Julian McMahon’s Von Doom. Still, Gruffudd turned in a decent, stand-up performance. As with the rest of the cast, he got a handful of action figures from the movie, one of which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MrFantastic3This particular Mr. Fantastic was included as a pack-in with the Fantasticar* that Toy Biz put out in the first Fantastic Four movie line. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall (without the neck extension), and he has 28 points of articulation. His articulation is a little weird, since it’s not in keeping with the rest of the figures in the line. That’s because this figure is actually a scaled down version of the 12-inch rotocast Mr. Fantastic. That figure’s hollow construction necessitated the “v” hips, and the lack of waist movement is due to the larger figure’s inclusion of an extending neck feature. At the smaller scale, the extending neck wasn’t feasible, but he still loses the articulation. Oh well. Aside from the slightly off articulation, the sculpt actually isn’t bad. I think the head has the best Ioan Gruffudd likeness of any of the Reed figures Toy Biz put out, and the body sculpt avoids a lot of the wonkier proportions that plagued a lot of the Fantastic Four movie figures. The longer forearms and larger than normal hands are a pretty cool way of showing off Mr. Fantasic’s powers, and I like the inclusion of all the smaller details on the gloves. Unfortunately, though the sculpt is a step-up from the other figures, the paint is a definite step down. Moving past the annoying scrapes of missing paint on my figure (which probably weren’t there when he was new), the paint is much more straightforward on this figure. There’s no accent work on any of the costume pieces, and there are several spots of noticeable slop, especially on the figure’s right thigh. On the plus side, the hair does exhibit some halfway decent work, so it’s not a total loss. Reed’s only real accessory was the extendable neck piece. It would have been nice to get a set of normal sized hands as well, but given that this figure was essentially an accessory himself, the lack of extra pieces isn’t unforgivable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Reed at the same time as Sue, from a dealer at Balticon. I actually looked at the Fantasticar set a few times when it was on shelves but I never got one. In addition, I had the 12-inch version of this figure, which I liked quite a bit. The smaller version isn’t quite as impressive, but he’s still a pretty decent figure, and he might be my favorite version of the character that this line had to offer.

*The Fantasticar didn’t actually appear on-screen until the 2007 sequel. The one that this figure was included with was a Toy Biz-original creation, since the movie design had not yet been developed at the time of this toy’s release.

#0963: Power Blast Invisible Woman

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

POWER BLAST INVISIBLE WOMAN

FATASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

SueAlba1

The Fantastic Four haven’t really had much luck when it comes to movies. The recent Fant4stic was a total box-office bomb, of, like, epic proportions. Before that travesty, there were two other theatrical Fantastic Four movies, which weren’t bad, but were far from great. One of the more present issues with both 2005’s Fantastic Four and its sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer was the questionable casting choice of Jessica Alba as Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman. As is the case with just about every Marvel movie, Fantastic Four got its own line of toys, which included a couple versions of Alba’s Invisible Woman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SueAlba2Power Blast Invisible Woman was released as part of the first series of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four movie tie-in. There were actually three different variations of this figure released. The figure I’m looking at today is the fully visible version, but there were also fully invisible and “half-and-half” versions available. She stands about 6 inches tall and has 38 points of articulation. Sue comes from around the point when Toy Biz was focusing on articulation above all else, and it kind of shows. Sure, she’s got a lot of movement, but she looks more like a drawing mannequin than an actual person. The joints are really obvious and she’s painfully skinny, to a degree that no living person should be. The waist is the absolute worst, though; it’s actually a bit smaller than her thigh in diameter, which is beyond off. These are proportions that would look strange even on a comicbook character, but on a figure that’s supposed to be based on a real person, they’re downright laughable. At the very least, the figure’s head is a pretty spot-on likeness of Jessica Alba, right down to that slightly condescending sneer she was sporting for about 99% of her screen time in the movies. The hair is a separate piece and whole it’s a little on the thick side, it’s not atrocious, and there’s at least some nice detailing. Sue’s paintwork is probably the figure’s strongest point. Everything’s pretty clean overall, and there’s even some nice accent work on the uniform of the blue, which helps keep it from getting too monotonous. Her face is also surprisingly well-done, especially at this scale. Invisible Woman included a disc-firing base, which I think was supposed to represent here powers somewhat, but it just ends up being weird.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sue was one of the more difficult to find figures in the line at the time of release, so I didn’t have this figure when she was new. She ended up being one of the 15 figures I picked up at this past Balticon. The figure’s definitely wonky, especially in terms of proportions, and Alba’s Sue is far from one of my favorite characters, so I can’t say this is one of my favorite figures. But hey, she was $2. I can’t really complain.

#0944: Bart’s Treehouse

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

BART’s TREEHOUSE (W/ MILITARY BART)

WORLD OF SPRINGFIELD (PLAYMATES)

BartsTreehouse1

With a whopping 27 years on the air, The Simpsons is the longest running scripted TV show in American history. During those 27 years, The Simpsons has found its way into just about every corner of merchandising, which of course includes my very favorite type of merchandise: action figures. Simpsons figures have been produced by the likes of Mattel, McFarlane, and even NECA, but the most successful, most popular line of Simpsons toys by far was Playmates’ World of Springfield line. Running from early 2000 through to 2004, the line managed to produce just about every named character from the show, alongside prominent variations of the main family, leading to over 200 unique figures produced. They didn’t stop with figures, though. One of the line’s main hooks was the recreation of some of Springfield’s more memorable locales as playsets. Each playset included a unique figure and had the ability to interact with most figures from the line. Today, I’ll be looking at Bart’s Treehouse and its included figure, Military Bart.

THE PLAYSET ITSELF

BartsTreehouse2Bart’s Treehouse was released alongside Series 12 of the World of Springfield line, which hit retail in the spring of 2003. The first 10 series each got two playsets, but Series 12 was when the line was nearing its end, so Playtmates had cut back to one playset per series. The Treehouse is 6 ¼ inches wide, 6 ¾ inches tall, and a little over 4 ½ inches deep. It’s not really articulated in any really conventional way, but there is a hinge on the roof, allowing it to swing up for easier access to the interior.  The construction of the treehouse is fairly basic, but that seems about right. From the screenshots I’ve found online, it doesn’t look like a horrible approximation of the in-show setting. The basic detail work is actually pretty nice. The boards are all fully detailed, with nails and everything, and there are even a few spots for posters on the walls. The actual tree bit is decent, if maybe not as exciting as the rest of the house. The bark in particular is a little on the soft side. It’s also worth noting that the entire back of the set isn’t meant to be seen, so the leaves on the tree just abruptly stop. There isn’t a whole lot in the way of paint on this set. The tree bark is all painted a rather drab greyish-brown, which is appropriate I guess. The two maps and the Krusty the Clown poster are all done via decals. They’re pretty well applied and don’t look to be going anywhere, so that’s BartsTreehouse4good. The rest of the pieces are pretty much just molded in the appropriate colors. It was a tiny bit of a letdown to find out that the bulb in the light fixture was just left green, but that’s pretty minor. In addition to the Bart figure (who I’ll get to in a second), the Treehouse includes a table (with assorted supplies on it), a pile of water balloons, and a pair of binoculars. The set also included the usual interactive feature of all the playsets in the line. There are three ports where compatible figures can be plugged into the set. By each port, there’s a button, which will play a random clip of dialogue associated with the figure on said port. The set is compatible with 51 figures in addition to the included Bart (though a good number of those are just variants of the main family), and there are over 25 unique phrases included. The sound quality’s nothing to write home about, but it’s a pretty novel little feature nonetheless.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BartsTreehouse3Included with this set is a variant of Bart Simpson, who was one of the more recurring characters in the line. This particular Bart is based on his appearance in the episode “Bart the General,” which had the Treehouse in it, so it’s a good choice. The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and he has 4 points of articulation (the standard for the line). Overall, he’s a fairly standard Bart, with the usual orange t-shirt and blue shirt (which Bart will no doubt demand you eat). He’s in a fairly generic pose, aside from his arms, which he’s got held up and bent at the elbows, as if he’s doing the chicken dance or something. The head is the main distinctive part here: Bart’s eyes are in a more serious half-lidded position, and he’s got a bit of wheat sticking out of his mouth. He’s supposed to be serious and military, but he ends up looking a bit dopey. To aid with his military look, Bart includes a helmet, sunglasses, and a baton, all of which are pretty well sculpted and sit nicely on the figure. The glasses even cover up the weird eyes and make him less silly looking, which is good. Bart’s paintwork is overall pretty clean, with nice, bright colors, and no really noticeable slop. For the talking feature, Bart gets six different lines with this set: “I promise you victory! I promise you good times!”, “I ain’t gonna get out of the fourth grade alive”, “We are happy, we are merry! We gotta rhyming dictionary!”, “I’m gonna have to teach you a lesson.”, “There’s this boy at school who keeps beating me up.”, and “I can’t squeal. It would violate the code of the schoolyard!”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

World of Springfield was all over the place when I was growing up, but the only figure I ever got was a Series 1 Bart. The playsets always fascinated me, but I just never got one, since I was a bit young for the show at the time. I was at a thrift store with my brother two weeks ago, and happened upon this particular set for less than half its original retail price. The box was super beat up, but everything was there, so I figured “what the heck?” This is actually a pretty fun set, and I’m glad to have found it. Of course, now I need to resist the urge to go back and pick up the compatible figures!

BartsTreehouse5

#0934: Black Costume Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN – BLACK COSTUME

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (TOY BIZ)

BlackCostumeSpidey1

EDIT: Sorry for the late post everyone!  For some reason, this post had its date set to February 13 instead of May 13. But it’s here now!

As much as it may seem that Hasbro is releasing Marvel’s most prominent characters in every possible format they can think of, the ‘Bro has nothing on their predecessor’s at Toy Biz. Over the course of their 15-year run with the license, Toy Biz offered the Marvel heroes in 12 distinct scales (to say nothing of having a wide variety of styles within those scales). Towards the end of their run making Marvel toys, they spun a few of their more successful 6-inch lines into 12-inch lines. This included their Amazing Spider-Man line. While the larger line was somewhat limited in scope (there were only 6 figures, and 3 of them were Spider-Man), it did manage to produce a few pretty cool figures, such as today’s focus, the Black Costume Spider-Man.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BlackCostumeSpidey2Black Costume Spider-Man was released as part of the 12-inch Amazing Spider-Man line in 2006. The line didn’t really have any proper series structure; figures were just sort of added as they went. This particular figure was one of the very last figures added to the line, alongside the House of M version of Spider-Man. The figure stands just over 12 inches tall and has 33 points of articulation (a fact his package proudly boasted. Toy Biz was big on that at the time). Marvel Legends Icons, the 12-inch counterpart to Marvel Legends, was constructed exactly like the smaller figures, just at a larger scale, which gave the figures a certain degree of heft. Amazing Spider-Man, on the other hand, made use of rotocast parts (i.e. hollow) to keep the cost of the figures lower. This results in the figure being surprisingly lightweight, and a bit less sturdy than other figures. However, this figure is hardly fragile, and it’s worth noting that only about half of this figure is actually rotocast. The sculpt of this figure was shared with the House of M figure as well. It was a noticeable improvement over the prior Spider-Man from the line in terms of movement and detailing. The whole thing has this kinda cool orange peel-style texturing to it, which is a nice change from all the totally smooth Spideys out there. The proportions are a bit out there, but it’s Spider-Man, so there’s some room for exaggeration, and he’s certainly no more out of whack than any other Toy Biz Spider-Man. His paint work is fairly basic. They’ve foregone any sort of accenting for the black, which is always a good choice in my book. The white’s a bit on the fuzzy side, presumably due to the texturing of the sculpt. It’s not terrible, but it definitely could be better.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember seeing just about every figure in this line when they were originally released. However, I never did get around to picking any of them up. This figure ended up being a rather random find: two weeks ago, I was out and about with my family and we stopped at a Goodwill. There was a bag of assorted action figures for $10, and I could make out this guy, so I bought it. Turns out he’s worth quite a bit more. Lucky me! The figure’s actually pretty cool, and it’s a shame he was one of the last in the line.