Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3904: The Thing

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

THE THING

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

When it comes to cinematic adaptations, Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing, has had a bit of a mixed presentation.  Michael Chiklis’s turn as Ben was undoubtedly the highlight of the two Story films, but Jaime Bell’s mumbling loner from Fant4stic was a particularly poor showing in an already poor film.  And, somewhere in the middle, you’ve got Micheal Bailey Smith and Carl Cialfalio’s two-handed Ben and Thing approach from the Corman movie, which is admittedly mostly just hampered by the film’s unfinished nature.  Where does Ebon Moss-Bachrach fall in the scale?  He’s at least as good as Chiklis, I’d say.  My only hang-up is that I don’t feel there’s as much time spent with him as the other three, so it’s a little harder to form a full opinion.  I do look forward to seeing more, though, and it’s certainly a much better approach than the one that immediately preceded it.  Anyway, here’s a figure of him!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Thing is another entry in the First Steps tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends, and the last of the four members of the titular team.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The film returns Ben to something closer to his ‘60s scaling, which means that this figure is the smallest of the Legends Thing figures to date.  That’s not a bad thing, mind you.  His articulation’s a little different from the other team members, given his bulkier stature.  We see a bit of a return to the “twisting meat” era with the biceps and the abdomen both having opposing joints that sort of cancel each other out.  It’s not quite as much of an aesthetic problem this time around, though.  Ben’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s…well, it’s not technically inaccurate,  but it’s not the look the character spends the bulk of the movie sporting.  In the film, in contrast to most depictions of the character, he has a full uniform to match the other three, but what we get here is something closer to how Ben’s classically depicted, sans shirt and boots.  We see him in action with this look briefly during the opening montage of the team’s first four years of exploits, and it also shows up a few times in the in-universe promotional images, keeping him more in line with the slightly adjusted hair styles of Reed and Johnny.  It’s ultimately a more quintessential look for the character, and I myself prefer it, but maybe we’ll see a more accurate final battle Ben, complete with bearded head sculpt later down the line?  This sculpt is a strong offering, though.  The likeness on the head matches his design in the film nice, and they do a good job of recreating the rocky texturing of his skin, as well as keeping his uniform’s stitching consistent with the other three team members.  I do especially like the more reserved expression on the head, which feels very in line with Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of the character.  The paint work here is a bit mixed.  The rocky skin gets some really solid accenting, which really works well with the sculpted details.  On the flip side, the uniform is a bit sloppy, and one of the logos on his leg was all scratched-up right out of the box.  Ben is packed with two pairs of hands, one in fists and one in open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ben’s my favorite FF member, and this was the figure from this set I was most looking forward to.  He’s a modern movie Legend, so if you’ve gotten a bunch of those, you know what you’re getting here.  It means he’s a pretty solid, pretty straight forward figure, though, and he certainly feels like he gets the character down pretty well.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3900: Johnny Storm

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

JOHNNY STORM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

There’s no shortage of Johnny Storms in the MCU.  Or, at least, there’s no shortage of Johnny Storm *actors* in the MCU.  They’ve absorbed all of them thus far, and the next logical step, of course, is to just have their own Johnny, portrayed by Joseph Quinn in First Steps.  He does a solid job with the part, giving the MCU a Johnny to be proud of, and one that won’t get lost despite the overabundance of Johnny actors around.  And, just to make sure he doesn’t get lost in the sea of MCU-associated product, there are two versions of him available in the Legends assortment for the movie.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Johnny Storm is part of the 6-figure Marvel Legends tie-in assortment for Fantastic Four: First Steps.  As noted above, there are two Johnny figures included, one flamed on and one not.  This one is the not, in case the photos didn’t clue you in.  I do really like getting that option right out of the gate; we don’t really see it much with these figures.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  His construction is very similar to Reed, though the two don’t actually share any parts.  All four members of the team have unique uniforms in the movie, and Johnny’s is the one that deviates the most from the traditional set-up, at least in terms of color break-down.  That said, it’s still a very FF-feeling set-up, so I can certainly dig it.  It’s also neat how they decided to put the whole team in a knit material so that Johnny would have something that looked like his old “heat lines” when flamed-on.  Johnny’s head sculpt has a good likeness of Quinn.  As with Reed, the hair isn’t quite on the mark for his look in the movie; it seems to take its influence from the in-universe promotional images within the movie, which have Johnny with a slightly more swept-back look.  The color work is largely consistent with the other two I’ve looked at; the exact details are slightly tweaked, and he’s definitely cleaner than Sue, but overall very similar.  I do like the accenting on the hair, as well as the very subtle stubble on his face.  Johnny is packed with two sets of hands (in open and fists), as well as two flame effect pieces.  The fists for some reason omit the black palms from the gloves, which is rather glaring in most poses.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If nothing else, I am a sucker for a fully powered down Johnny figure, given their relative rarity for so long.  So, when the movie figures were confirmed to be giving us both, that made me quite happy.  I was also quite pleased by Joseph Quinn’s casting in the role, and his performance was certainly a highlight in the film.  The figure is fun.  Pretty much exactly on par with the others, and by extension exactly on par with other modern Legends, but it’s hard to complain about consistency when it’s this good.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3896: Mr. Fantastic

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

MR. FANTASTIC

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fantastic Four: First Steps is officially here, and I can officially say it’s the best Fantastic Four movie they’ve made! …what, is that not a high bar to clear?  Well, it’s also the best super hero movie with Pedro Pascal!  Take that, Wonder Woman 1984!  Okay, so, I do seem to be dancing around this one a bit, don’t I?  Well, the truth is that I saw FF over the weekend and I liked it, but I don’t know that I loved it.  It’s not entirely the movie’s fault; I’m still really in that post-Superman high, and it’s not an entirely fair comparison.  The film’s strengths also definitely outweigh its weaknesses, though, so it’s a net positive for sure.  One of the film’s undoubted strengths, however, is the casting on the titular team, headlined by the aforementioned Mr. Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Fantastic is part of the First Steps tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends, which hit just before the film’s release, earlier this month.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Like the rest of the team, Reed’s seen here in his main team suit, with the closest ties to their standard suits from the comics.  While the comic suits tend to be uniform across at least three of the four, the movie differentiates them a bit more between the team.  Reed’s is notable in its omission of any white accenting around the collar, making it the most understated of the suits.  His sculpt is unique to him, and generally pretty solid.  The face notably has a very strong likeness of Pascal, even better than the ones we’ve seen for The Mandalorian.  It even got the Matthew seal of approval, for what it’s worth.  The hair’s a bit shorter and closer cropped at the top than it actually is in the film; it looks like it’s based more on the early promo work for the film than the actual film proper.  It’s not too terribly far off, though.  The body sculpt is fairly balanced and does a respectable job of replicating his costume design from the movie.  The articulation’s a bit obvious, especially the mid-torso joint, but I like the texturing work, especially on the piping and stitching.  Reed’s color work is really strong on the face and hair, and notably cleaner on the body than Sue’s.  The blue is a little paler than the color on the screen, again seeming to be patterned closer to the early promo images than the final film.  Reed is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture), as well as a pair of alternate arms stretched out.  The stretched arms are slightly bendable, which is a fun way of showing off his power set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Pedro Pascal as Reed was pretty inspired casting from the start, so I was certainly down for some toy coverage of that.  Pascal’s come up short on figures in the past, but that’s not the case here.  That likeness is super killer, and this figure is really fun, especially with those extra bendy arms.  Reed got the coolest figures out of the 2005 tie-ins, so it’s nice to see the character still being treated well even now.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3892: Invisible Woman

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

INVISIBLE WOMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

We’re just two days away from the release of July’s *other* super hero movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps.  How am I feeling about it?  Hopeful.  Admittedly, I’m also feeling like it has the difficult task of having to top Superman, and boy was Superman very, very good.  Can FF also be that good?  Well, I sure do hope so.  If the trailers are anything to go by, it’s set to at the very least be an improvement over the previous cinematic outings for Marvel’s first family.  While the *last* live action FF was a total ghost on the marketing front, Marvel’s putting a bit more behind this one, which includes a full complement of Marvel Legends.  Today, I’m kicking off my look at those with Venessa Kirby as Susan Richards, aka the Invisible Woman!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Invisible Woman is part of the six-figure Fantastic Four: First Steps tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  We get the full team, plus an extra variant of Johnny, and the Silver Surfer, all in rather fun retro-inspired packaging.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  There were some concerns when prototype shots surfaced that there would be issues with the neck articulation on this figure.  While the hair certainly impedes the range, the final production figure still makes out a bit better, and can get at least a little bit of upwards motion, so she won’t forever be staring at the floor in action poses.  Otherwise, her articulation is pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the more recent movie figures, which is to say, it’s pretty good.  The sculpt is all-new for Sue, and it’s quite nice. The head sports a solid likeness of Kirby, especially on the face.  The hair’s a bit thick, but the general shaping is in like with what we’ve seen so mar from the movie.  The body is tasked with replicating her costume design, which is an intriguing mix of the classic and Byrne designs, as well as throwing in a bit of ‘60s space suit flair.  It’s a good look, and it’s a solid recreation of the design, at least as far as I can tell.  The smaller elements seem to be worked out pretty well, and the underlying body has a nicely balanced set of proportions.  Sue’s paint work is a bit of a mixed bag.  The face, which is using the printing, is exceptionally good.  It’s very lifelike and helps to sell the already strong likeness of the sculpt.  The hair is notably without any accenting, which kind of flat, but at leas it’s not messy.  The body on the other hand has some notable slop on the collar and symbol, which are unfortunately very obvious places to have such issues.  There are also a few other errant spots of incorrect colors, but generally, things look okay.  Sue is packed with four hands (open right, fist right, relaxed left, and gripping left), and a shield piece to attach to the open right hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting on a good FF movie for a good long while, and good toys to go with it for most of that time too.  I did have an attachment to the ’05 line, which, even though the movie was just “meh” was at least a fun line of toys.  But, with a real gap in any sort of FF coverage, I’m certainly excited to see more this time around.  Sue is undoubtedly a fun figure, living up to the current Legends standards, and doing all the things you’d hope for her to.

Shoutout to All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3876: Orko

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

ORKO — HEROIC COURT MAGICIAN!

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ORIGINS (MATTEL)

I am veritably swimming in Masters of the Universe reviews these days, aren’t I?  Okay, maybe not, but two of them in one month is something of a crazy step up compared to more recent set-ups.  I’m continuing to stick to my guns on only following specific characters, but Mattel keeps getting my by doing additional variants of said characters.  It’s like the *know*.  Or, you know, they’re trying to keep the line fresh.  The last couple of years, Mattel’s been revisiting a lot of the Origins figures to do more specifically Filmation-inspired takes, and the latest of those includes one of my go-to guys, Orko!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Orko is part of the 25th series of Masters of the Universe Origins, which is a completely Cartoon Collection-branded assortment (simply “Cartoon” since they can’t actually use “Filmation” on the packaging).  The figure is about 3 inches tall (without his flight stand) and he has 14 points of articulation.  As with all Orkos, he’s without any legs, so he doesn’t get any articulation on that front, but he’s got a decent selection of movement in the arms, and even gets an extra point of movement from the last Origins Orko, thanks to his hat being on a balljoint, so you can move it back and forth.  His sculpt is an entirely new one from the last figure.  While there was certainly a cartoon inspiration on the last one, he was also serving two masters in a sense, also replicating the vintage figure.  One of the biggest areas was actually how big he was; he was about an inch too tall for proper scaling with the other figures.  This one addresses that, so he’ll fit in better with the others.  Otherwise, his sculpt isn’t *drastically* different from the last one.  It’s more of a death by paper cuts sort of thing where the small changes all add up to a different looking figure.  In terms of color work, the two figures remain fairly consistent, however.  The one notable change is, at least on my copy, that this guy’s application is a lot cleaner.   Orko gets a pretty nice selection of extras, with a flight stand, his “Hero” medal from “Creatures From the Tar Swamp”, and an extra head and scarf so that Orko can be turned into his Uncle Mortok.  Apart from the beard not totally covering Orko’s “O”, it’s a very cool set-up, and I like getting an extra character out of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I bought my Classics Orko, I really thought that was gonna be it.  The Origins one was cool, but I didn’t need it….until I saw it in hand and I caved, because I’m an easy mark.  I didn’t think I’d need *another* one, though, especially since he was more directly cartoon based than other Origins figures.  But, by the time this one was announced, I knew it wasn’t a battle I was going to win, so I’ve actually been rather looking forward to his release.  I think he’s really cool, and does a lot more than the last one, which makes him feel really worth it.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3870: Spider-Punk

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

SPIDER-PUNK

MOVIE MASTERPIECE SERIES (HOT TOYS)

There was a time when I used to reserve my Hot Toys reviews for monumental numbers in the review set-up.  But, after a while, those monumental numbers have gotten further and further apart, to the point where it really doesn’t feel like it’s worth it for anything less than 1000, and that’s actual years apart.  So, now I just mostly review them when I get a new one.  Which, admittedly, is still usually quite a gap.  My last one was way back in July of last year.  Here we are almost a year later, but, instead of adding to my Cap line-up, as is the usual reason for me buying a new Hot Toy these days, I’ve gone a bit off the reservation, and I’m looking at a Spider-Man of all things.  In my defense, it’s Spider-Punk, so, you know, there it is.  Let’s take a look!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is figure MMS726 in Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series.  He’s wedged between two other Spider-Man figures, namely Miles G. Morales (also from Across the Spider-Verse) and Black Suit Spidey from Spider-Man 3.  He’s the fifth Across figure to join the line, and he started shipping domestically towards the end of May.  The figure stands about 13 inches tall and he’s got over 30 points of articulation.

As with a great many Hot Toys figures, Spider-Punk features multiple head sculpts.  Right out of the box, he’s sporting the unmasked head, which is sensible, given how much of his screen time he spends unmasked.  Much like the What If…? figures, the Spider-Verse offerings are mimicking the animated style of the movie, and that’s most clearly seen on this head.  It keeps with the generally more simplistic animated style, and matches up pretty closely with the model from the movie.  There’s still some areas for more intricate work, namely the hair, which gets some proper texturing to help it stand out a bit better.  Punk’s eyes are moveable on this head, something that HT’s doing a bit more frequently on the non-deluxes it seems.  They’re individually moving, rather than using the “PERS” system, which means you need to take a little extra care to make sure they both line-up.  On my figure, I did notice that the tool that moves the eyes was just as likely to pop them out of the sockets as it was to remove from the back of them, so that’s definitely something to be careful about, lest your Punk lose an eye.  Punk also gets a head sporting his distinctly punk-ified version of the Spidey mask.  Though perhaps not as technically impressive as the unmasked head, it’s a very clean and well-defined piece it its own right, and quite a striking recreation of his look in the movie.  I did notice while swapping the heads that the neck joints pop out of place the wrong way sometimes, so that’s yet another thing to be careful with.

Spider-Punk’s outfit is a rather involved assembly of pieces.  The belts, boots, bracelets, and other studded bits are all sculpted, while the rest of the outfit is tailored.  I was particularly impressed with the boots, which are soft enough to allow a decent range of motion on the ankle joints, while still looking quite sharply detailed.  The pants being a slightly rubbery material makes me a little worried about their longevity, but as long as the posing isn’t too crazy, they should be fine.  The one thing I was slightly let down by here is the buttons on the vest being purely printed elements; the Legends figure sculpted them, and as it stands they feel a little cheap and easy to miss this way.

Under the outfit, Spider-Punk gets a rather unique body, designed to replicate his tall and scrawny stature from the movie.  The posing is all pretty good; the hips are ratcheted to provide more support and his mid torso joint in particular adds a lot of character to his posing options.  There’s no real areas of restriction, either, and the body hangs pretty naturally in most poses.

Spider-Punk gets a decent, if focused selection of extras, which includes:

  • 7 hands
  • 2 alternate palms for the thwipping hands to attach weblines
  • 4 different weblines
  • His guitar with backdrop effect & pick
  • A cardboard display backdrop
  • Display stand with a posable arm

The hands come in a pair of gripping, a pair of thwipping, right open gesture, left relaxed, and a left fist.  The guitar is a central piece with a lot of cool detailing.  The strings are separate, which is neat, but also worrying when it comes to placing the neck of the instrument in his left hand.  The backdrop effect is a nifty idea, but it’s a little awkward and flimsy in practice.  The pick is bound to be this figure’s most lost accessory for sure; mine almost got lost when it stuck to the tray while I was opening him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been a Spider-Punk fan since his original comics appearances, and was super happy with his move to the big screen.  I’ve thus far avoided all of the HT coverage for these movies, and honestly thought it would be a Peter B that broke me.  They’ve not announced any of those, though, and they *did* announce this guy, and he’s just got too cool a visual to pass up.  I do really like him, but at the same time, there are definitely some issues I haven’t encountered with a Hot Toy in a good long while.  The assembly stuff on the heads is a little worrying, and I dislike the cut corners on the buttons.  But, generally, I do really, really like him.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3868: Donatello

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

DONATELLO

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ULTIMATES (MANUFACTURER)

My looks into Super 7’s Ultimates banner have jumped back and forth a bit between several of their licenses, but given just how sizable their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line is, it’s one I sure do circle back around to a lot.  I last left off with a Donatello variant, and now I’m circling back with another Donatello.  The distinction this time around is that it marks the line’s transition from ’80s TMNT to ’00s TMNT, because these days the 2003 series is *also* vintage, so we might as well revisit that one too, right?  Right.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Donatello is part of Series 12 of Super 7’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates line.  This is the first of the two 2003 assortments, and features the new versions of the main four.  This is Donatello’s fourth figure in the line, and his second “standard” version.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation.  The 2003 figures mark a departure from the prior offerings on a number of fronts, the first of which is the articulation set-up.  These figures get an increased count of joints, as well as an increased range of motion.  Most notably, there are double joints on the elbows and knees, which fixes the range issue seen on a lot of the earlier Ultimates figures.  He also gets a better range on the neck and the waist joints, which in general just makes for a better posing experience.  In terms of styling, where the figures up to this point have largely been based directly on the original Playmates sculpts, the 2003 figures are notable based not on the toys, but on the actual cartoon directly.  It’s certainly a stylistic shift, but it works.  It’s sharp, and angular, and a good match for Donnie’s design from the show.  There are two heads present.  One with a more neutral expression and a friendly smile, and the other with more expressive eyes and his teeth showing.  Of the two, the neutral’s more my speed, but they both work well, and they’re internally consistent.  His color work is basic, largely relying on molded colors.  What paint is present is cleanly handled, and he matches up well with the muted tones of the show.  Donnie is packed with three pairs of hands (in fists, open, and gripping), his bo staff, a turtle communicator, and a pair of goggles.  That’s rather on the light side compared to prior Super 7 offerings, notably missing much in the way of goofier and more specific items.  Given what these guys cost, that’s not ideal.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I went back and forth with this one, I really did.  I’ve enjoyed the Super 7 figures I’ve gotten for the most part, and I do like a good Donatello, but also I’m kind of stepping back on my modern figure purchasing, and these are rather pricey for what they are.  But, given how short ordered these seem to have been, I didn’t really want to miss out on the chance to get him.  In hand, I actually do really like him.  The changes they’ve made do really make for a better figure.  I do wish he was either a little cheaper or came with a bit more stuff, but I don’t feel like I *wasted* my money, which is at least a good thing.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3865: Clone Captain Rex

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

CLONE CAPTAIN REX

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Rex served the Republic on the front lines during the Clone Wars, taking orders from Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano first as a captain and later a commander.”

Since The Clone Wars has little cross-over in terms of actors with the live action films it crosses over with, most of its original characters are portrayed through their entire runs by veteran voice actors, rather than the people that might play them in live action.  Some of them have made the jump with the same actor; Katee Sackoff as Bo-Katan is probably the best example.  What’s an interesting quirk of the nature of the Clone Troopers, who make up a solid portion of the show’s cast, is that they’re mostly new characters, but they’re voiced by an actor different than the one who portrayed them in live action.  This means that Captain Rex, easily the most prominent clone in the series, and really the most prominent clone in the wider franchise, spent the first decade and a half of his existence never having once been played by Temuera Morrison, the guy that originated the clones in the first place.  This was finally addressed in 2023, however, when Rex made his live action debut in Ahsoka via some key flashback sequences.  And, hey, Hasbro’s also taken advantage of that appearance to give us another Rex figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Captain Rex is figure 16 in the Ahsoka show subline of Star Wars: The Black Series.  He’s in an assortment that also features the flashback version of Anakin from the same show, and they’re both based on their appearances from the earlier flashbacks, meaning Rex is in his Phase I armor.  Since the first Rex was in his later design, it makes this one a much needed variant.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  He’s built on the 2020 Clone Trooper body, rather than using the prior Rex body.  Technically, this does make him more accurate to specifically this armor set, and it’s not too bad a mold.  He gets a new pauldron, and belt with kama, which work about as well as they usually do.  The pauldron seems a bit floaty (I liked the affixed one from the last Rex mold), and the kama is a bit restricting, but those are both rather typical.  One minor but super cool touch is that he’s got a new left hand, which has a trigger finger, meaning he can *finally* hold both blaster pistols properly.  Yay!  His helmet is the standard Phase I style one, with the range finder added on.  Underneath, we get a head that looks to be very similar to the prior Rex, if it’s not actually the same sculpt.  It’s certainly a little sharper, though, and it fits better in the helmet.  His paint work aims for a cleaner look for Rex, which is true to the show, and also fits, this being Rex from earlier in the war.  It’s cleanly applied, and he generally looks pretty good.  Rex is packed with just his two blaster pistols.  It’s again accurate to the show, and I’m glad he can properly hold them, but also that feels really, really light.  I know that the Phase II helmet shouldn’t *technically* go on this body, but it might have been nice to at least get one as an option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rex’s appearance in Ahsoka was exceedingly exciting for me.  I literally jumped for joy.  And, as soon as I saw that Phase I armor, I was hopeful it might mean getting him in figure form.  It took a little bit longer than I expected, but I think it was worth it.  I like any chance to get another Rex, and I’ve always had a soft spot for the Phase I armor.  The figure winds up being mostly by the numbers, but, as silly as it may sound, that tweaked left hand *really* works for me.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3864: Roboto

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

ROBOTO

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

Okay, so it’s worth noting that I *have* reviewed something Masters of the Universe-related this calendar year, but its also been since all the way back in January, which is something of a gap.  It sort of happens with Masters, due to my more selective collecting.  On my short list of characters I pretty much always buy in any given style is today’s focus, Roboto.  He was added to the Masterverse line-up in 2023, while they were still pretty heavily leaning into Revelation style figures, so that was his focus.  Despite that being a generally classic take on him, he’s never the less gotten a revisit, aiming more at specificially updating the original figure, which I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Roboto is part of Series 16 of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Masterverse line.  He’s under the “New Eternia” banner, which serves to update the classic designs more directly, and also offer up some optional “improvements.”  The figure stands 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Like most modern Robotos, he lacks mid-torso movement, and this time around the swappable hands are worked into the standard wrist peg system, rather than adding an additional cut joint.  The mouth plate is movable, but not quite to the extent of the Revelation version, so it doesn’t really feel much like practical articulation in that sense.  Despite both being based on the original Roboto design and sharing a number of common design elements, there are not parts shared between the two Masterverse Robotos.  It’s not terribly surprising, given there’s just generally been very little crossover between the two themes.  He does, however, share his legs with the New Eternia Trap Jaw, continuing the trend of that particular re-use.  Though totally new sculpts, they’re using the same general set-up as the Revelation ones, complete with the same slightly odd layout of the kneepads relative to the articulation.  From the mid-section up, he’s an all-new sculpt.  It takes the broad strokes designs of the vintage figure and sort of does its own sort of thing with them.  He’s a bit more rounded, especially on the torso and head designs, and there are more intricate elements worked into things.  The head is more involved than we tend to see, using a three-piece assembly.  He’s got the usual mouth guard, as well as a “helmet” piece, both of which can be removed to reveal a robotic skull underneath.  The torso brings back the gear turning action feature we frequently see with this guy, which is a lot of fun.  The color work on this figure is in keeping with the generally metallic leanings of the more recent New Eternia figures, which I do rather like.  The helmet is totally clear, which makes for an iffy look in the photos, but looks really, really nice in person.  Roboto is packed with an alternate take on his mouth guard, a standard right hand, and axe, blaster, and claw attachments, which pretty much cover all of the basics.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting the Revelation Roboto, I didn’t really feel like I *needed* another version.  But, a Roboto’s a Roboto, so it’s not like I was really going to balk at buying a new one.  The pictures on this one were sort of iffy at first, so I wasn’t sure how much I’d like it, but in person he looked really good, and I have to say, he turned out really nice.  Personally, I think I still lean a bit towards the Revelation figure, but it’s cool to see a different approach to the same general design, and there’s a lot of really fun elements to this figure’s implementation.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3862: Rom

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

ROM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In 1979, Parker Brothers, traditionally a board game company, nominally got into the action figure world with Rom, an early electronic toy that took the traditionally figure guise.  The toy was a pretty colossal failure, and would have likely been completely forgotten were it not for the licensing agreement Parker Brothers made with Marvel for a comic adaptation of the figure.  Despite the toy’s failure, the Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema’s comic adaptation was very successful, running 75 issues and 4 annuals, far outlasting the original toy.  Because of the weirdness surrounding the whole thing, Rom’s always been a rarity on the toy front, and has also been completely absent from anything Marvel related.  But, with the character now owned by Hasbro, and Hasbro being on good terms with Marvel, Marvel’s been able to reprint the original series, and Hasbro’s been able to put out a new figure, under the Marvel Legends banner no less!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rom was released in the Classic Comic Collection series of Marvel Legends, alongside the Banshee figure I reviewed last week.  He further contributes to the eclectic nature of the assortment, which is just kind of a grab-bag of random characters and looks.  Hey, it got me classic Banshee *and* a Rom, so I shan’t question it.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is a little different than the usual Legends release, but it’s very much workable, and it does well within the confines of his unique design.  His sculpt is completely new.  It’s based on Rom’s slightly refined look as the series progressed and he moved a little further from the toy-inspired elements of his original design.  There’s still plenty of those vintage elements, though, and he’s very clean and sharp.  It’s one of the slickest Legends sculpts of the year, for sure, and it works really well with his articulation scheme.  Rom’s paint work is decently handled.  Notably, all of the silver is painted, rather than molded, which gives it a more even finish, without any of those swirly bits.  He’s also got some slight red detailing, with the eyes in particular working very well to capture that comic design.  Rom is packed with both his Neutralizer and Analyzer, as well as an effect piece for the Neutralizer, and two pairs of hands (in gripping and a fist/flat combo).  He’s also got a small replica of Rom: Space Knight #1, which is using the same mold as the GSXM included with Banshee.  It’s still kind of a weird gimmick, but at least Rom’s actual on the cover of the issue he comes with.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rom’s a thing I mostly know through reputation, and not through much actual direct interaction, since the original toy’s pretty rare, and the comic was out of print for so long.  That said, I’ve always dug his design, and I’m also always down for a good robot toy.  His last figure was really hard to get, so that was a no-go. This one proved easier, so here we are.  Banshee was sort of by the numbers and simple, whereas this guy is rather involved and rather a departure from the standard style.  He’s very much an impressive figure, and hands down the best Rom ever made, as well as the best figure in this particular assortment (even if Banshee is my own personal favorite).

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.