Tag Archives: 00s

#0917: Corporal Hicks

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

CORPORAL HICKS

MOVIE MANIACS (MCFARLANE)

HicksMM1

Do you guys know what day it is? It’s Alien Day! Yes, in celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Aliens, today, April 26th (it’s 4-26, as in LV-426. Clever girl…) is officially Alien Day. There’s some cool contests and such, plus a whole ton of awesome Alien-themed merchandise, and even some showings of the first two films on the big screen. Obviously, I’d be remiss if I didn’t do something to celebrate. I’ve actually reviewed the vast majority of my Aliens collection, but have no fear; I’ve still got a few aces up my sleeve. Today, I’ll be looking back at one of the earliest examples of a figure based on Aliens’ human characters, with McFarlane Toys’ figure of Corporal Hicks. Buckle up guys; this might be a slightly bumpy ride.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HicksMM2Hicks was released in Series 7 of McFarlane’s Movie Maniacs line. By this point, they had more or less given up on keeping true to the “Maniacs” half of the title, but that was a trend that started in Series 4, so no one was super shocked. Corporal Hicks was available two different ways: there was a basic release with a pulse rifle and un-helmeted head, and there was also a McFarlane Collector’s Club version that included a helmeted head, a motion tracker, a face hugger and egg, and a shotgun. My figure is the regular release, so I don’t get all the fun extras. He stands about 7 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. Those 9 points don’t really amount to much of anything, though, since the figure is sculpted in this odd sort of leaning back/lunging forward pose (also, thanks to the fragility of McFarlane figures, my Hicks’ right shoulder broke sometime between me putting him in storage and taking him out to write this review). The best you can really do is turn his head and slightly change the pose of the arms. But, hey, the lack of movement’s okay, because the sculpt is really great, right? Well, not exactly. The sculpt definitely has its highlights, to be sure; the general level of detail on his uniform is quite good. There are a few inaccuracies, such as the ridges at the center of his chest armor, where it should be smooth, the fitting of the back of his armor to his shoulder blades, and the lack of one of his two belt pouches, but those are small. The main issue? The body that the uniform is resting on. Looking past the weird pose, the arms and legs are huge, way too huge for the torso. The arms in particular are super massive, and almost look misshapen. On top of that the head is a bit too small. Also, while I guess the face sort of looks like Hicks, it’s far from spot on (in fact, I don’t believe they ever officially got Biehn’s likeness rights; they weren’t very good about doing that sort of thing). He’s wearing his headset from later in the film, which makes him different from the NECA figure, but it also creates a slight continuity error, since he’s still got his shoulder lamp, which he’s ditched by the time he gets the headset. If there’s one area that’s pretty solid on this figure, it’s the paint (well, provided you aren’t comparing him to the NECA version). There’s the glaring issue of him being way too pale. He also lacks Hicks’ name at the top of his chest armor. The armored pieces are nice overall, but the camo is slightly off, and lacks the white elements. The camo on his uniform is pretty well-executed, though, and all of the small detail work is nice and tight, if a bit more basic than the NECA figure. Hicks includes his M41A Pulse Rifle (not quite as good as the NECA version, but not bad for the time), a locator, a knife, and a display stand that looks like the flooring of one of the Hadley’s Hope facilities. Later shipments of the figure also included the motion tracker included with the Collector’s Club version, but mine isn’t one of them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’d actually seen Aliens when this figure was released, and I saw it at retail a few times, but for whatever reason, I didn’t pick it up (I think I was holding out for a Ripley to go with him). A few years later, I ended up getting him as a Christmas gift from my parents. This isn’t a figure that’s aged particularly well, especially in light of the far superior NECA version. Even when he was new, he felt sort of unfinished, due to neither the regular or exclusive versions offering a complete set of accessories. That said, taking him back out to review has reminded me of a lot of the more endearing qualities of the figure. There was a time when he was the best Hicks figure I owned, and I do still have some very fond memories of that.

HicksMM3

#0911: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Minimates

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

LI MU BAI, YU SHU LIEN, JEN YU, & LO

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON MINIMATES

CTHD1

And now for something completely different…

In the year 2000 (and early 2001), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon became a rather surprising success. Despite being entirely in Mandarin, the film was a smash hit in the United States. It was so much of a success that its director Ang Lee even nabbed a job directing 2003’s Hulk (the less said about that, the better). The measure of true success, in my book at least, is how many action figures you got. Art Asylum picked up the license. They released a set of four 7-inch figures, as well as releasing a few of the characters in this little line they were starting, call Minimates. Despite the film’s success, the figures just did alright, not great, and not enough to get more than the same four characters released in two styles. Today, I’ll be taking a look at the four Minimates based on the movie.

Also, I feel I should note at this time that I’ve never actually seen Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yeah, yeah, bad Ethan. Let’s just see how this goes.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four make up the first (and only) series of Art Asylum’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Minimates. They were released in September of 2002, right around the same time as the Bruce Lee Minimates and Rock Minimates, making them some of the very first Minimates.

CTHD6All four ‘mates are built on the original, 3-inch body. Unlike the 2 ½-inch body, which is a pretty straight up-sizing of the 2-inch body, the 3-inch body is actually a little different: the peg hole in the head is not centered, but rather towards the back; the torso is made up of three pieces, fixed together, rather than being a single molded piece; the elbow and knee joint are in the center, and have a separate pin going through them; finally, the hands are side specific and look more like actual hands. Functionally, it works about the same as the smaller bodies, with the same basic 14 points of articulation. It’s just a tweaked structure.

LI MU BAI

CTHD2Okay, so Li Mu Bai is Chow Yun-fat’s character from the movie. I know that much. Yay me! Mu Bai gets 6 add-on pieces for his hair, shirt, sleeves, and footwear. The older ‘mates are a whole different level of detailing than what we see today; stylization was pretty high, and they made do with as few details as possible. This is most evident in his hair, which is fairly flat at texture-less (and ends abruptly at the top of his head), though the braid is pretty well detailed. The rest of the pieces are actually surprisingly detailed; they’re still fairly simple, but there’s a fair bit of detail on the shirt and feet, and the sleeves are nowhere near as static as some of the later, smaller-scale pieces. Mu Bai is mostly molded in the appropriate colors, but he has a bit of detailing on his shirt and feet, as well as the expected detail lines for his face. The face is made up of just of black line work (no additional colors for his eyes or teeth), and his face is very, very stylized and geometric. There’s definitely not a real likeness in that face. Mu Bai includes his sword, the Green Destiny, as well as a weird puzzle piece thing that was included with all the early Minimates.

YU SHU LIEN

CTHD3Yu Shu Lien was played by Michelle Yeoh, who, amongst other things, was a Bond girl during Pierce Brosnan’s tenure in the role, as well as being in the criminally under-rated Sunshine. She was also a pretty big deal in Hong Kong action movies during the 1990s, which one assumes is what got her a role in Crouching Tiger. Her figure has 7 add-ons: hair, shirt, skirt, sleeves, and leg wraps. Where Mu Bai’s hair was rather square and stilted, Shu Lien’s has a nice flow to it, and looks pretty organic, if still stylized. The rest of the parts are all pretty good too. The chest cap presents a fairly unique feature amongst Minimates: a sculpted bosom. Well, sculpted suggestion of bosom, anyway, similar to what Palisades did on their Palz figures. The actual chest cap seems a little bit bulky, but nowhere near as bad as some of the smaller ‘mates. Shu Lien’s paint is a little more complex than Mu Bai’s. The base colors are okay, but a little fuzzy in some spots. Her face is still pretty simple, but she at least gets one extra color for her lips. Yu Shu Lien includes a sword and the weird puzzle piece.

JEN YU

CTHD4Jen Yu was played by the relative newcomer Zhang Ziyi. The only thing I know her from is 2007’s TMNT, where she played Karai (who also has a Minimate, but it’s not from the movie). Jen Yu has 7 add-ons: hair/mask, robe, skirt, wrist bands, and boots. They’re all pretty decent pieces, though they don’t seem to sit as well as the parts from the other two. That doesn’t mean she looks bad, though. It appears to be a pretty good recreation of the look from the film, and she’s a pretty neat, basic ninja. The paint is fairly basic. Mostly she’s molded in black, with a bit of red and gold detailing here and there. Under the mask, she’s got a fully detailed face, on par with the rest of the set. Jen Yu included a sword and sheath (as well as the puzzle piece), but mine doesn’t have them.

LO

CTHD5Last up is Lo, the dude I know the least about. He was played by Chang Chen, whom I’ve never actually seen in anything. Apparently Lo’s a desert bandit, which sounds pretty cool, and he’s got one of the cooler looks. Lo has 7 add-on pieces: hair, jacket, sleeves (my figure lacks one of them), skirt, and boots. His sleeves are noticeably a bit more geometric than the others, but the rest of his parts still have a pretty decent flow to them. As a whole, the pieces look pretty good together, if slightly dated. Lo has one of the more detailed paint jobs seen here. It’s nice and clean, and all of the colors work together pretty well. His face is once again pretty basic, but at least he gets a mustache to change things up a bit. Lo had the most accessories of the set, with a sword, an extra wristband (w/ mounted eagle, though, once again, my figure lacks this), a cape, and the previously mentioned puzzle piece. Sadly, my figure lacks his extra pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I’ve not seen the movie, it’s not a huge surprise that I didn’t get these four new. I will admit to at least contemplating getting them a few times over the years, due to the whole “some of the earliest Minimates” thing. Of course, they aren’t the easiest things to come across anymore. So, when I found them back in January at a flea market (on the same trip that netted me Gimli, the Orc Scout, Big Guy, and Perseus), a snapped them up pretty quickly. They were pretty filthy when I got them, so I had to spend a good two hours cleaning them up. Despite not having seen the movie, I find myself really enjoying these four. They’re definitely a different style of ‘mate, but it’s really fun to own figures that are an important step in the evolution of Minimates.

#0907: Captain Yesterday

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

CAPTAIN YESTERDAY

FUTURAMA (TOYNAMI)

CaptainYesterday1

Futurama is a show that I tend to forget how much I enjoy until I’m actually watching it. While it’s framed as a dumb comedy, it’s actually pretty intelligent. It’s never been anywhere near as successful as its sister show, The Simpsons, but it’s done pretty decently for itself (seriously, the show’s been canceled how many times now?). Back when it first aired, Moore Action Collectibles picked up the license, hoping to replicate some of the success of Playmates’ World of Springfield line. Sadly, that didn’t work out for them. They only produced a single series of three figures, and that was all. Several years later, following Comedy Central ordering new episodes of the show, Toynami dusted of MAC’s old sculpts, and added a few of their own to launch a new line of figures. The line was actually fairly successful, with 9 series of figures. This allowed for Toynami to offer a few of the main characters with some variant looks, including today’s figure, Captain Yesterday, aka Phillip J Fry.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CaptainYesterday2Captain Yesterday was released in Series 4 of Toynami’s Futurama line. Series 4 was the first series to include pieces of the line’s second Build-A-Figure, Robot Santa. Captain Yesterday is based on Fry’s appearance in the fourth season episode “Less Than Hero,” where he and Leela gain super powers and decide to fight crime as the New Justice Team. The figure is about 6 inches tall and has 4 points of articulation. While the MAC figures, and by extension some of Toynami’s figures, had a fair bit of articulation, the later figures only had the most basic movement, and were patterned after World of Springfield in that respect. Captain Yesterday was an all-new sculpt. He’s rather pre-posed, but he’s at least based on Captain Yesterday’s “role call” pose. If he could only have one pose, this is a pretty good one. The sculpt does an admirable job of translating Fry into three CaptainYesterday3dimensions. It’s not a perfect translation, but it’s close enough that you’ll really only notice the issues when doing a direct comparison. The paint on this figure is pretty well done for the most part. There are some spots with some minor bleed over, but the basic application is very clean, and he looks really sharp. Captain Yesterday includes two accessories: a tube of Dr. Flimflam’s Miracle Cream (which is what gave Fry his powers), and the head of Robot Santa.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was late to the party on this guy. I remember these figures being released, and I had even became a fan of the show by the time most of them hit stores, but for one reason or another, I never got any of these figures new. And, if I’m honest, I never had much motivation to track them down on the secondary market later. So, why do I have this guy? Well, I was in a Moviestop a few weeks ago, and discovered that Moviestop has apparently been bought out by Hastings, a collectibles store from the Midwest. This means they have a lot of action figures. Like, a LOT. Anyway, they had a bunch of Futurama figures, all priced below their original retail value. Since I always liked “Less Than Hero,” I figured Captain Yesterday was worth the purchase. This isn’t a revolutionary figure, or even a particularly stand out one, but he’s not bad, and certainly worth what I paid for him. Now, I just need to fight the urge to complete the New Justice Team…

#0905: Luke Skywalker

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

LUKE SKYWALKER – X-WING PILOT

POWER OF THE JEDI

LukePOTJ1

The Phantom Menace was a big deal in a whole lot of ways, mostly due to being the first Star Wars film in almost two decades. One of the things it did was bring the main Star Wars toyline of the time to pretty much a screeching halt, in favor of product centered around the new film. To be fair, it wasn’t unlike what The Force Awakens did last year, with one major caveat: Phantom Menace, while commercially successful, was far from critically successful, and people were far less interested in product based solely on the new film after seeing it. Shortly after the movie, Hasbro did a quick retool of the line, re-branding it Power of the Jedi, and offering figures from throughout the Star Wars saga. Going back to the older films let Hasbro bring out new versions of the Original Trilogy’s main heroes, which included Luke Skywalker.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LukePOTJ2Luke was released in 2001 as part of the second basic assortment of Power of the Jedi figures. The figure is 3 ¾ inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. He depicts Luke in his X-Wing Fighter gear, presumably from A New Hope. This was the third figure to depict Luke in his pilot gear, but it’s notable for being the first ever to give him a removable helmet (though he’s not the first X-Wing pilot to get a removable helmet. That was Wedge Antilles, just two years prior). The sculpt on this figure is decent enough.  It does a much better job of capturing Hamill’s size and proportions than earlier Lukes did, though he takes the smallness a bit too far; Luke looks just a tad under fed. The likeness on the head is just so-so, but certainly a good attempt. The body has a slight rigidity to it that looks a little unnatural, but the level of detail is pretty fantastic, especially at this scale. The hose on his chest piece was a separate piece, which had a tendency to fall out (hence my figure not having his anymore). Luke’s paintwork is decent enough (though my figure’s a little worse for wear in that respect). It’s fairly basic, but all the important details are there, and they manage to be pretty decently applied (though the white of his teeth makes him look almost buck-toothed). Luke’s lone accessory was his removable helmet, sadly lost some time ago by child-Ethan.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I believe I got this figure from Cosmic Comix, which is weird, because he was new at the time and they never really carried new Star Wars figures. I bought him because he had the removable helmet, which rather fascinated me at the time. He was pretty good at the time, but this figure hasn’t aged particularly well. There’s nothing that stands out as being super off, but he just feels somehow lacking.

#0898: Roger

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

ROGER

HELLBOY (MEZCO)

Roger1

The artificial man is a recurring story element in lots of different popular culture. Typically, it’s the likes of Frankenstein’s monster, or even characters like Ash and Bishop from the Alien franchise, or perhaps just a more generic robot. They’re created through scientific means. However, there are a few examples, such as the Golem or the Homunculi, which are created through supernatural means. Today’s focus, Roger, is officially the latter, but functionally works as the former. Just go with it. Without further ado, here’s Roger!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Roger was released in Series 2 of Mezco’s comic-based Hellboy line. The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall (Roger’s a big guy) and he has 23 points of articulation. Roger has a sculpt courtesy of Inu Art, and he’s based on Mike Mignola’s artwork from the main series. A lot of Roger’s appearances were actually in BPRD, which was drawn by Guy Davis, not Mignola. However, it makes sense to have all of the figures in this set be in the same basic style (plus Davis’ style isn’t too far removed from Mignola’s to begin with). Roger’s sculpt is totally unique to him. His proportions are a pretty spot-on rendering of what’s seen on the page, and the resemblance to Roger is definitely there.  Roger’s far less clothed than the other two figures I’ve looked at from this line, but that doesn’t mean he lacks Roger2the attention to detail. Like Lobster Johnson, he has that chiseled look, with a ton of cool texturing, which really makes this figure stand out from others. The hatch at the center of his torso is actually articulated to allow it to open (though the interior of his torso is merely simulated, not actually shown). The loop on Roger’s… modesty… plank (?) is a separate, metal piece, which is a nice touch. Roger’s paint consists almost entirely of variations of browns, but there’s enough there to keep him from being too boring. The paint is all nice and clean, and there’s some pretty cool shading throughout the figure. Roger includes a BPRD flak jacket, if you prefer him a bit more clothed, as well as a book with a skull on the front of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At the time of this figure’s release, my only real exposure to the franchise was the first movie and a handful of comics I’d picked up, none of which featured Roger. Not knowing the character, I didn’t pick him up. Then I actually read a number of his appearances, and quite enjoyed the character, but finding the figure at that point was…less than practical. At this year’s MAGFest, one of the vendors had a Lobster Johnson figure, which I very happily snapped up. The next day, they had added Roger to the table, and I happily snapped him up too. I don’t find him to be quite as fun a figure as Lobster J, but he’s still pretty solid, and I’m happy I got him.

#0880: Lobster Johnson

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

LOBSTER JOHNSON

HELLBOY (MEZCO)

LobsterJ1

After being introduced to the Hellboy franchise by the 2004 movie, I was very invested in finding out just what this series had to offer. I was thrilled to find that there was a ton of stuff in the comics that the movies didn’t even begin to touch on. One of my favorite non-movie characters (and apparently one of Mike Mignola’s favorite creations) was pseudo pulp hero Lobster Johnson. After the modest success of their first movie-based line of figures, toymakers Mezco put together a tragically short-lived line of comic based figures, granting good ol’ claw-hand a shot at a figure, which I’ll be reviewing today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

LobsterJ2Lobster Johnson was released in the first series of comic-based Hellboy figures. It’s actually a little surprising that Johnson got a spot so early in the line, but he was the one figure in the line-up specifically requested by Mignola (the same thing happened with the small selection of Heroclix the series got). Johnson was released in two different variations: a regular one, and a translucent blue “Ghost of Lobster Johnson” one. The Ghost version was a summer convention exclusive, with the normal colored version being the regular, mass market release. Mine’s the regular one. The figure is 7 ¾ inches tall and has 20 points of articulation. He has a sculpt by INU Studios, based right on Mignola’s art from the series. This sculpt is an incredibly masterful translation of Mignola’s style into three dimensions; it gets the proportions down great (though, boy does this guy have some skinny wrists), and just overall does a really nice job of capturing Lobster’s look. Also, unlike a lot of comic-based figures, Lobster doesn’t skimp on the texturing; he almost look likes he’s been chiseled out of stone, which is definitely befitting of a Mignola design. The paintwork does a nice job of accenting the sculpt; the uniform gets a nice assortment of dry-brushed details and the like, to make it look good and worn-in. It would have been nice if the claw logo on his torso were a bit brighter, just to stand out a bit more, but it’s not bad. The face is really impressive, making use of several different flesh tones to give him a distinct, almost picturesque quality. Lobster is packed with a pistol (which can be held, or stowed in his holster) and the evil brain from Lobster’s debut story, “Killer in My Skull.”

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite loving the movie and having a few of Mezco’s figures from that line, I never got any of the Series 1 comic figures (and only a single Series 2 figures). It was a choice I came to regret much later, after the prices had all sky-rocketed. At this year’s MAGFest, I saw this guy on a vendor’s table, and was very happy to find out the guy was asking well below the figure’s going rate. I’m really happy that I got Lobster; of all the comic figures I missed out on, he was probably the one I most wanted. He’s an incredible figure, and it’s a shame Mezco didn’t get to do way more of these guys.

#0822: Donatello

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

DONATELLO

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Donatello2002a

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a trend that I seem to always juuuust miss, since the first cartoon and toyline were big right before I got into collecting, and the second cartoon was just after I was watching Saturday morning cartoons on a regular basis. The 2002 had quite a few fans, which included my younger brother. Since we were into a lot of the same stuff, I actually had a small handful of figures from that particular toyline. Today, I’ll be looking at my personal favorite member of the Turtles, Donatello.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Donatello2002bDonatello was part of the first series of the 2002 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line from Playmates. He’s the first version of the character released in this particular iteration, so he’s just a fairly standard version, before the onset of the wacky variants. The figure stands 5 ¾ inches tall and has 13 points of articulation. The articulation isn’t terrible, but he can’t really do much but stand in the one pose. Later figures added a bit more, but these early figures weren’t so lucky. The sculpt of this figure is pretty good. It’s specific to Donatello, but it really could be any of the four depending on the paint. It captures the look of the characters on the show fairly well. He’s definitely a bit more detailed and “toyetic” than a straight translation would be, but it’s clear which of the incarnations of the show this is based on. There’s some nice texture work on the shell and the sides of his torso, but it doesn’t really extend to the rest of the figure, which is a bit odd. The paintwork on Donatello is pretty nicely handled; the basic colors match up with Donatello’s from the show, and he’s got a decent amount of accent work. The figure included his signature Bo staff, a sword, axe, and two throwing blades. Mine has none of these, however.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, I actually didn’t get this guy when he was new. I ended up finding him at the same place where I purchased the recently reviewed Secret Wars Wolverine. I don’t have any undying need to own the figures from this line, but he was $1.99, so I figured he was worth it. The 2002 figures actually weren’t that bad, and they hold up pretty well over a decade after release, which can’t really be said of most figures from 2002.

#0816: Batman & Two-Face

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

BATMAN & TWO-FACE

BATMAN (MATTEL)

BatsTwoFaceMatt1

For day 15 of the Post-Christmas reviews, I’ll be taking a step back to a few years, and actually looking at a Mattel product. Weird, right? In 2002, the DC license moved to Mattel from Hasbro (who had inherited it via their buyout of former holder Kenner), marking the first time in over a decade that the license had formally changed hands. It was something of a quick change, resulting in Hasbro being unable to release some of the product they had designed beforehand. When Mattel took over, they ended up making use of some of these already existing designs (which were all Batman-related), releasing them as a quick, one and done line of two-packs, each containing Batman and a supporting player. That wasn’t enough, apparently, as they also occasionally trotted the figures out for re-release over the years, usually single-packed and with wonky color schemes. Today, I’ll be looking at a pair of figures from one of those re-releases.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Batman and Two-Face were released in 2008, in a line simply branded Batman. I should specify here that they were both single releases, which I’m just reviewing as a pair here for my own convenience. There was also a Joker figure in the set, which I don’t have.

BATMAN

BatsTwoFaceMatt3First up is Batman. Not just any Batman, though! No, this here is a wacky variant Batman! The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. The sculpt is based on the New Batman Adventures version of Batman. It’s not a terrible recreation of the design, but I don’t think it’s quite as good as the prior Kenner version of the design, and it’s definitely not as good as the recent DCC version. However, it’s still a pretty decent sculpt, and it’s clear which version of Batman this is supposed to be. Plus, it’s got a much more natural pose than the Kenner version, which is a nice change. Wait, didn’t I say this was a wacky variant Batman? Why, yes I did! That all comes from the paint. Instead of the traditional grey for the body, he has this odd orange/silver thing. It’s not based on any particular look or anything, just random orange and silver Batman. How ‘bout that? The paint is decently applied, for what it’s worth, so there’s that. Batman included no accessories, just like all of the other Batmen who used this same exact mold.

TWO-FACE

BatsTwoFaceMatt2So, Batman was a wacky variant, but Two-Face is an actual adapted design, right? Not really, no. But that’s okay! Because toys! Like Batman, this figure stands about 5 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. It’s worth noting that this guy feels like he’s just a bit smaller-scaled than Batman, which is especially notable when you compare head sizes. The sculpt is also based on his New Batman Adventures design, and it’s not quite as strong as Batman’s. It’s not terrible, and the body in particular is a pretty decent Timm-style suit sculpt (which is probably why Mattel ended up using a tweaked version of it several times in their JLU line). The head is pretty off, and it has a really obvious mold line running along the chin, which looks pretty bad. The paintwork is kind of interesting. It’s definitely not show-accurate, but it’s also not quite as out there as Batman, since it isn’t all that far-removed from some of his classic color-schemes from the comics. That actual application is reasonable enough. The colors are pretty vibrant, and most of the paint stays in the lines, which is nice. Two-Face also doesn’t include any accessories, but he does have his coin sculpted in his hand, so at least he isn’t totally lacking.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Batman and Two-Face were given to me for Christmas by my Super Awesome Girlfriend. And where did she find these 8 year old action figures? Some second hand store? Nope, it was CVS of all places. I was genuinely shocked by that. Neither of them are particularly standout figures, but they kind of a nifty throwback to the wacky variants of old, and I was happy to receive them.

#0800: Two-Face/Harvey Dent

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

TWO-FACE/ HARVEY DENT

THE DARK KNIGHT (HOT TOYS)

TwoFaceHT1

Wow, it’s kind of a big day here. I’ve actually managed to write 800 of these things, AND it’s the last day of 2015. How about that. Well, let’s close out the year in style, with another Figure In Question “deluxe review!”

I’ve got quite a large selection of Hot Toys figures, and the vast majority are based on various Marvel Studios properties. However, the property that actually got me into the realm of high-end collecting was their rather impressive selection of figures from The Dark Knight. Wait, didn’t I just talk about how I only thought Dark Knight was okay, not great? Why, then, would I start shelling out the big bucks on figures from said movie? What can I say? My buying habits are an enigma! While everyone always praises Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, I’ve always found that one of the unsung parts of the film is Aaron Eckhart’s turn as Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent, known in the comics as Two-Face.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TwoFaceHT2Harvey Dent/Two-Face was released as part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, as number 81 in the line. He’s the fifth figure from the Dark Knight sub-set, after Begins-style Batman, Joker, Dark Knight Batman, and Bank Robber Joker (and, if you count the Tumbler and the Bat-Pod, he’s the seventh Dark Knight item to carry the MMS label). Two-Face stands about 11 ½ inches tall, placing him at a height just below Batman and Joker. Going by the actor’s heights, this isn’t too far off. Going by the solicitation for the figure, he has “over 30 points of articulation,” which is the best count you’ll get barring actually stripping the figure down to count the joints (which I won’t be doing). Harvey is based on his appearance in the last half or so of the film, from right before his capture by the Joker, up through the end of the film.

Appropriately for a character such as Two-Face, this figure includes a pair of head sculpts. The first is based on his scarred look from the last third of the film, which is his more distinctive “Two-Face” look. The right half of the face is a very good likeness of Eckhart, looking rather intense and angry. The texturing on the face is a little softer than a TwoFaceHT3lot of other HT figures, but it’s actually fairly realistic, and helps to further highlight the differences between the two sides. The hair is very finely detailed, and a pretty good match for the look from the film, if perhaps a bit too neat and tidy. The left side of the face is a fairly impressive sculpt purely from an aesthetic stand point, however it has a number of inaccuracies, particularly around the nose and chin. Given how closely the figure was released to the film, one assumes a certain degree of this has to do with the final look from the film changing from preliminary designs. The overall effect really isn’t bad, though, and the sculpt truly is a nice piece of work. The second head presents a pre-accident Harvey. While you might think that the two sculpts would be more or less the same on the right side, this doesn’t appear to be the case. They’re certainly similar, but there are a few differences. The hair is (unsurprisingly) parted a slightly different way, and the general demeanor of the face is less intense. While this is in keeping with the character from this point in the film, the end result is a sculpt that I don’t feel has as strong a likeness as the scarred head. Nevertheless, the sculpt is still a very nice piece. Both heads sport some excellent paintwork, in keeping with the usual work from Hot Toys, and they both showcase incredible realism.

Harvey’s outfit is made up of seven different pieces. He has a jacket and dress pants, a tie, button down shirt, belt, and sculpted shoes. The jacket is probably the weakest piece here. The tailoring isn’t terrible, but it’s a little bunchy and oversized. To replicate the burnt nature of the left side of the jacket, it’s been coated in a rubbery sort of material. While this is nice in theory, and perhaps the most plausible way of creating the look in a mass-TwoFaceHT5produced sense, it only further bulks up the jacket, and makes Two-Face look a little flabby. The tie is oddly plastic-y, but it looks reasonable enough and does a pretty fair job of replicating the look. The shirt, pants, and belt are all pretty nicely tailored and serve their purposes pretty well. The shoes are a fairly often used piece, but they fit the part and are quite well sculpted.

Harvey is an older HT figure, so he has less extras than some other figures, but he does still have a few. He includes:

  • 2 pairs of hands
  • An extra jacket
  • 2 coins
  • Campaign button
  • Revolver
  • Display stand

The hands come with one relaxed pair, plus a right hand for holding the gun and a left hand for holding either a coin or the campaign button. Both sets of hands are pretty well sculpted, and decently sculpted, though the thumb on the left hand has a somewhat visible seam on it.

The extra jacket is the same as the regular jacket, but without the rubber coating for the burnt side. The tailoring could still use a bit of work, but it’s a better piece overall than the other coat.

TwoFaceHT4The two coins are actually the same piece twice. It’s supposed to represent Harvey’s lucky double-sided coin. In the film, the piece is scarred in the accident that scars Harvey’s face. The coin here is small enough that it’s not really clear which version of the coin it’s supposed to be.

The campaign button is one of the ones worn by various characters in the film, which says “I believe in Harvey Dent.” It’s well scaled and well painted, resulting in a very faithful piece.

The revolver is a fairly standard piece. It’s nicely sculpted and scaled. The cartridge swings out and can be removed, which is a nice touch.

Last up is the display stand, which is just the standard piece, which “Two-Face/Harvey Dent” printed on the front, as well as the logo from Dark Knight at the center.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Two-Face was my second Hot Toys figure. After getting Joker, I wanted to have a companion figure, so my parents offered to chip in half the price of the figure as part of my Christmas gift for that year. Though the figure might be worth a small fortune now, I actually got him for well below retail, since nobody seemed to want him at the time. While he’s not the greatest offering HT ever put out, and I don’t really think he warrants the high prices he goes for now, he’s a pretty solid figure, and I’m certainly glad to have him.

#0760: Maria

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

MARIA

SILENT SCREAMERS: REEL MASTERS

Maria1

What’s this? A silent film character on this site? What, am I trying to inject some culture or something?

As surprising as it may be, my interests do actually go beyond modern day entertainment and action figures. I love me some old silent movies, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in particular. That movie’s got a lot going for it: cool dystopian setting, art-deco look, underground civilizations, gripping fight scenes, a crazy mad-scientist, and one of the coolest freaking robots of all time! Maria, the robot who became the film’s signature character(who actually stole the name from the film’s female protagonist. It’s Frankenstein all over again!), would go on to influence a number of other robots, with Star Wars’ C-3PO probably being the best known. She’s received a few pieces of merchandise over the years, including an action figure, which I’ll be looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Maria2Maria was part of the second series of Silent Screamers, dubbed Reel Masters line, and released in 2000. Interestingly, while this series was released by Mezco, the first series was actually released by Aztech Toys. Aztech ended up splitting into two separate companies, Art Asylum (creators of Minimates, among other things) and Mezco. So, this series ended up being one of Mezco’s very first products. The figure is about 7 inches tall and has 13 points of articulation. While she is ostensibly based on her robotic appearance from Metropolis, Maria’s design has definitely been tweaked a bit for this figure. The original Maria design is kind of a classic for a reason, so changing the design is shaky ground to stand on at best. Mezco opted to go for a more modern design aesthetic, or at least an early 2000s design aesthetic. In the film, Maria’s look was built around an actual person, so she definitely wasn’t rail thin. Here, however, Mezco is taking advantage of the fact that there isn’t a person inside the figure, so they can give it whatever proportions they like. So, this Maria is really tall and quite lanky.  That’s a reasonable change. However, for some reason, they’ve also given her a pair of rather large breasts, and a pair of crazy high-heeled/platform shoes, which don’t really work well with the design, since Maria’s not really supposed to be overly-sexualized, especially not while in her robot form. Her face has also been tweaked to be more human, which kind of deprives the figure of the necessary cold, steely look.  In addition, the general retro-y, art-deco nature of Maria’s original design has been tweaked, to look a bit more like something that wouldn’t look completely out of place in, say, an early Image comic. The end result is a sculpt that is still clearly Maria, but just feels really off. On the plus side, her paint is actually pretty cool. She’s mostly silver; for some reason, I had always assumed she was gold, but I guess silver’s reasonable. She’s also got some blue accent work, which looks pretty sharp, and looks pretty nifty next to the silver. Maria includes the chair used to bring her to life. Like Maria herself, its design has been tweaked a bit, though nowhere near as much. The chair and stand need to be assembled once removed from the box, and those tubes are a bit of a pain to get into place, but the end result looks pretty cool. Plus, the figure ends up looking a fair bit better sitting in the chair than she does standing. The only real downside is that she has to sit with such a wide stance, due to her hip joints.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been a pretty big fan of Maria from about 5 years old or so, even before having seen Metropolis (in fact, I saw Metropolis because it was the movie in which Maria appeared). My dad had one of the Maria statues, which I always though was pretty cool. I remember this figure being released, but I don’t think I ever saw it in a store, so I never got one. I ended up getting her as a birthday gift from my pal Phil just this past year. This figure’s far from perfect, but she’s also the only action figure of Maria on the market, and she’s not the worst thing ever. If you’re a fan of Metropolis or cool robots, you could do a lot worse.