Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3624: Namorita

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

NAMORITA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0103: Namorita is the daughter (and genetically clone) of Namora, who is cousin to Namor.  If they didn’t have a tendency of only being alive two at a time, that might get confusing at dinner.

My first introduction to the New Warriors was the preview copy of the first issue of Volume 2 included with the Wizard Magazine Avengers special.  I remember not knowing exactly what I was looking at, but being somewhat intrigued.  I ultimately had more proper encounters with most of the team in other books, and in the case of Namorita, the first story I remember her in was the Namor storyline that updated the Invaders to “modern” day (that being the ’90s, of course).  I can’t say I’ve had a ton of attachment to the character, but I’ve grown to appreciate the New Warriors as a whole, especially in light of how badly they got butchered in Civil War.  Legends has been zeroing in on getting all of the founding members accounted for, and its Namorita that seals the deal!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Namorita is figure 5 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends.  She joins Justice as the New Warriors contingent of the set, and is also alongside a new version of her cousin Namor.  Namorita has had a number of rather divergent looks over the years, and, for reasons I myself don’t *fully* grasp, this figure goes for her Civil War era look.  I guess it’s unique.  I myself don’t *hate* the blue skin, but I’ve always been iffy on the red suit.  It also means she doesn’t match with anyone else, and, unlike Justice and Firestar, who have costumes that at least read as similar to their looks from early on, Namorita’s is one that really only works for that one specific era, and it’s not exactly an era people are looking to really remember.  Maybe Hasbro just felt there was too much green in the line right now?  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Namorita is built on the Spinneret update to the Phoenix body, which is a solid base body, apart from the weird peg holes in the back.  She gets a new head, add-ons for her wrist guards, modified shins to add her ankle wings, and new bare feet.  The new parts are solid, if not really anything major to write home about.  I do like the flow the hair, though.  Her color work matches the look from the comics, for better or for worse.  The application’s a slightly mixed bag.  The markings on her skin are nice and crisp, and the face works out well.  The suit, however, is pretty fuzzy on the edges, which looks kind of cheap.  Namorita is packed with two sets of hands, one open, the other in fists.  Curiously, while the open ones re-use Winter Soldier Widow’s fingerless gloves, the fists are basic fists, without even having the fingers painted blue.  It’s an odd lack of internal consistency.  She’s also packed with the torso of the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, Justice stole the thunder on finishing out the New Warriors in this assortment.  Not helping things is the costume choice they went with just emphatically not being the one I would want.  So, sure, we got her, but I’m just waiting for the inevitable follow-up figure that does the version that everyone actually wants.  Presumably, she’ll be in some sort of multi-pack with modified versions of prior New Warriors.  Until then, this one’s passable, and I’ve got a complete, if somewhat eclectic, New Warriors founding line-up.

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.

#3623: Radioactive Man

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

RADIOACTIVE MAN

THE SIMPSONS ULTIMATES (SUPER 7)

Fun FiQ Fact #0102: The Simpsons’ in-universe fictional super hero Radioactive Man shares his name with a Marvel Comics villain, meaning that Disney owns two completely unrelated Radioactive Men!

I don’t talk too much about The Simpsons here on the site, largely because I’ve never been incredibly invested in The Simpsons, and therefore don’t have a ton of the associated merch.  It’s worth noting, however, that one of the things I did during the pandemic was watching through the show’s whole run, at least up to what was current at the time, which gave me a slightly different perspective, I guess.  I still can’t say I have *that* much of an attachment to the franchise, but I’ve certainly narrowed in on the things I like.  Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of Sideshow Bob merch, and they never did anything for Cecil, so my Simpsons-based Frasier set-up is a no-go.  Guess I’ll just have to settle for something else.  Well, I do like super heroes, so I could do worse than Radioactive Man, I suppose.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Radioactive Man is part of Series 3 of Super 7’s The Simpsons Ultimates.  This set wound up being the final assortment of the line, as the Simpsons license has transferred over to Jakks Pacific.  It’s…well, it’s an interesting send-off, I guess.  While Playmates’ old World of Springfield Radioactive Man was based on Rainier Wolfcastle’s interpretation of the role from the episode “Radioactive Man,” Super 7’s version is based directly on the in-universe comic character, which is a nifty switch-up.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  His articulation is…something.  The elbows are restricted, as per usual for Super 7, and the tolerances on the joints are definitely a mixed bag.  On my figure, the shoulders are really tight, while the hips are quite loose, especially the right one, which pops off a lot.  Also, one of his two heads never truly clicks into place on the ball-joint.  QC was definitely very lax on this assortment.  His sculpt is, admittedly, pretty decent.  It translates the design into three dimensions pretty well, and actually manages to look good from multiple angles.  There are two different heads included, one calm, the other with his teeth bared.  The calm one doesn’t click in place quite right, but they’re both at least pretty nice sculpts.  The figure does a bit of mixed media, with a cloth cape piece, which has a wire running through it for posing options.  It sits a little weird on the neck joint, but it’s otherwise decent to look at.  The color work on Radioactive Man is basic, but bright an eye-catching.  There’s minimal paint work, and what’s there is a little on the sloppier side, again because of the clearly lax QC for this round of figures.  There’s a lot of small scratches, fuzziness, and even errant marks that shouldn’t be there, especially given the retail on this thing.  Radioactive Man includes the aforementioned swappable heads, plus six hands (fists, two different right gripping hands, a thumbs up left hand, and a pointing left hand), a Radioactive Man comic, and an American flag (which has 43 stars, for some reason).  Personally, I’d have loved to see some goggles that do nothing, but that wouldn’t actually be right for this one, with him not actually being the Wolfcastle version.  As it stands, though, he does feel a little light.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

While I’ve never been crazy into the Simpsons stuff, the Playmates line was always very tempting to me.  I particularly liked the Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy set, though I never actually owned one.  The Ultimates line has also been tempting me, but the higher price point kept me from jumping in on most of the figures.  I was honestly holding out for a “Cape Fear” Sideshow Bob to be my entry into the line, but with that off the table, I was back to being tempted by this guy.  With the line ending, and uncertainty about availability, I bit the bullet and bought one.  He’s…well, he’s a bit of a mess, honestly.  The general set-up is great, but the QC is *rough*.  I was rather unhappy when I pulled him out of the box.  That said, I’ve had some time to mess with him and let my opinions form more fully, and I do find myself liking him a lot more than I did initially.  There’s still issues, but he’s at least fun to pose and stick on the shelf.

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.

#3622: Justice

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

JUSTICE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0101: Vance Astrovik was originally introduced purely as the “present day” counterpart of Guardians of the Galaxy member Vance Astro.  After a split in the timeline, he became the second Marvel Boy, and eventually Justice.

As a kid, my earliest interactions with Marvel comics were largely through my dad’s ’70s and ’80s books.  My first real interaction with “current” books, at least as far as the mainstream line, was Busiek and Perez’s run on Avengers.  After the big launch that brought every living member of the team up to that point back for a reality-warping adventure fighting Morgan le Fay, they settled into a line-up of mainstays, joined by former New Warriors Firestar and Justice.  There was a poster of this new line-up, drawn by Perez, included in the issue that introduced it, which my dad pulled out of his copy and gave to me.  It hung over my bed for a good many years and only further cemented the run as definitive for me.  I’ve longed to build that version of the team in toy form since that poster came out, and it’s been a slow-going experience to say the least.  A particular hang-up has been Justice, who has, up to this point, not gotten any figure coverage that wasn’t “Vance Astro.”  Hey, look, a Justice figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Justice (or “New Warriors Justice” as he’s listed on the box) is figure 3 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends, which is the first Avengers-based line-up of 2024.  Vance has had a number of different looks over the years.  This one specifically goes for his second look from New Warriors Vol. 5, which was right around the Marvel Now! era.  It takes elements from his prior designs and is notably pretty similar to his Perez era costume, while still being a little different.  I’m still partial to the Perez look, of course, but this one’s not bad, and it’s technically “current.”  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s based on the 2099 base body, which is a respectable match for Vance’s usual build.  It’s interesting that it’s not using the modified versions of the arms and legs, without the visible pins, but there seems to be some sort of strategy to which version gets used for which figure.  Justice gets a new head, upper torso, and cape, all courtesy of sculptor Dan Mitchell.  The head is decidedly dialed into the 2014 Vance look, which is, as noted, no my go-to, but I can’t help but like this sculpt nonetheless.  I feel it does a really nice job of matching the energy of Speedball sculpt in particular, and I really liked that one too.  The new upper torso is designed to work in tandem with the cape sculpt, to give him one seamless design.  It’s very clean and concise, and works well to capture the design.  Justice’s color work goes for a slightly more reserved take on his look, which works well for the specific design they’re aiming for.  Paint application is all pretty sharp and clean, which is definitely key for a design as simplistic as this one.  Justice is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and relaxed, as well as the tendrils to the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

With each New Warrior we’ve gotten in Legends, I’ve hoped we might be that much closer to getting Justice.  It’s been a wait, for sure, but I kept hoping.  I knew he’d be the last proper member I added to my Avengers line-up, and sure enough he was.  He’s not in the right costume, but, honestly, I don’t care.  I got a Justice figure, and he’s really, really nice.  I’ll take what I can get, especially when what I get is as solid as this figure.

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.

#3621: Jean Grey

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

JEAN GREY — SPACE RIDERS

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Fun FiQ Fact #0100: “The Dark Phoenix Saga” is the proper storyline to be published in the trade paperback format by Marvel.

You guys didn’t forget about the Space-themed X-Men figures, did you?  Because I certainly haven’t.  They’ve been sitting on the floor of my room for months, and, you know, I kinda wanna not have them there.  Reviewing them seems like the easiest way to go about that, honestly.  I’ve done Wolverine and Cyclops, so might as well do the third point on the triangle and get Jean Grey reviewed!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jean Grey is the fourth member of the deluxe-sized “Space Riders” assortment of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, which was released in 1997.  The figure stands a little under 5 inches tall and she has 8 points of articulation (which includes a spinning ponytail).  Jean is lacking the single wrist swivel that a bunch of the others in the set got, which is a bummer.  In general, she’s a bit stiffer, I feel.  Her sculpt is all-new, and it’s…fine.  Her design is dialed very closely into the Jim Lee look, making this the closest the main X-Men line got to actually doing that look during the ’90s.  Crazy, huh?  It’s pretty much just that look, with some extra armoring.  The sculpt is rather on the soft side, especially on the head.  It’s in rather stark contrast to the heads on Cyclops and Wolverine, which are easily the best parts of their respective sculpts.  For Jean, that would be…I don’t know, maybe her boots?  Those seem pretty nice.  Jean’s paint work is fine.  It checks the boxes, but like the rest of the set, it’s thick and a little sloppy.  Jean is packed with her own Space Racer, which has folding wings, and a pair of missiles.  She’s also got a mask piece, though hers is missing any actual enclosing around the mouth, which feels like it defeats the purpose.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I actually got this one before the others, when a sealed one came through All Time a few years ago.  I even had to fight Max for it.  Okay, not really.  He wanted it, but I said I didn’t have one, and he told me I got first dibs on Toy Biz Marvel, which was very considerate.  No actual fighting.  Probably for the best, really, since she’s…well, she’s not amazing.  I mean, I guess she’s not terrible, but she certainly feels like the most phoned-in of the figures thus far.

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.

#3620: Darth Vader – Duel’s End

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

DARTH VADER — DUEL’S END

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0099: This is the 17th Darth Vader I’ve reviewed on the site.

In addition to the return of Ewan McGregor in the title role, Kenobi also brought back Hayden Christensen, now not just playing Anakin, but in fact playing a full-fledged Darth Vader. I never had the full-fledged hate-on for Hayden’s work in the prequels the way others did (though I’ll admit to getting in on some of the joking about it when the prequels hate was at its height), and it was super cool to see him get to do more work with the character. His Kenobi portrayal brought out a rawness to Vader that we hadn’t really seen in live action, and that was really impressive. I skipped the standard Kenobi Vader from Black Series, since he was very similar to other releases, but I couldn’t turn down a shot at a more obviously show-specific version!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darth Vader (Duel’s End) is figure 15 in the Kenobi-sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series. Like the rest of the back portion of that set, he was an exclusive, specifically to Target, hitting at the end of last year.  As the figure’s name indicates, this guy is based on his appearance at the end of his climactic duel with Obi-Wan, after Ben’s given him quite a beating.  The figure stands a little over 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  This figure is obviously using a good deal of parts from the standard Kenobi Vader, which itself was mostly re-use from the #43 Vader.  Once you’ve got a good base Vader sculpt, you just really need to move some details around, so I can get it.  He does get an all-new head and torso, though.  The torso gets some minor change-ups, with the slashes across his control box, as well as the one on his back (which is very easy to miss).  The head’s the real star piece, though, as the helmet is split open, revealing traces of the scarred Anakin beneath.  There’s a whole head sculpt under there, which is fun, even if you can’t see the whole thing.  The split helmet is great, because it’s got the proper updated look from the show on the undamaged parts, while also replicating the damage very nicely.  As with prior Vaders, he’s using soft goods for his cape and underlying robe.  The tailoring is a little better here than the prior ones I’ve messed with, and they even added extra damage to everything to match up with his sculpted damage.  The only issue I’ve got with it is that, at least on mine, the robe isn’t all the way under the shoulder armor the way it should be.  Vader’s paint work is standard Vader for the most part, but he does get some more exciting parts with the head under the helmet.  Vader is packed with his lightsaber and…well, that’s it.  It’s light, but it’s Vader, so we all kind of know what to expect, I guess.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I don’t really play the exclusives game, so I wasn’t thrilled by this one being only at Target.  But, over a long enough period of time, pretty much everything seems to show up in front of me, so I was able to snag one that got traded into All Time.  I’m glad, because I didn’t need the basic Kenobi look, but after getting Jabiim Kenobi, I really wanted a Vader to pair off with him.  This one’s an impressive piece in his own right, and a great companion piece too!

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.

#3619: Man-Thing

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

MAN-THING

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0098: In the mid ’70s, Marvel published extra-long issues of some of their books under the “Giant-Size” banner. Through this venture, there are not one, not two, but four issues of Giant-Size Man-Thing.

For the most part, I tend to map out my schedule of reviews at least a few weeks in advance, but I didn’t actually pick the subject of today’s review until just yesterday afternoon. It was definitely more down to the wire than I like to go. But, here we are, with a Man-Thing. So, you know, umm, there’s that? Look, let’s just call him Ted, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Man-Thing is the Build-A-Figure for the self-titled series of Marvel Legends from 2017. The set was the first Marvel Knights-themed series, meant to loosely tie-in with the release of the Netflix Defenders show, and giving us a handful of show-based figures mixed with some comics-based ones. Ted here was purely comics based at the time, but he’s made the jump to live action since, with a look that honestly isn’t that far removed from this one.  The figure stands 7 3/4 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The sculpt for this figure is a totally unique one.  I’ve long felt that the Toy Biz Legends Man-Thing was one of their best offerings, so this one had a very serious bar to clear.  It takes a decidedly different approach, going for a larger, more bulked up version of the character.  He’s also a little more balanced out and less piece-meal looking than the Toy Biz version.  That said, it’s still a very detailed, very rich sculpt, and certainly ranks as one of Hasbro’s best.  The color work does a fair bit to assist the sculpt, as he gets quite a bit of accent work, far beyond what we tend to see from Hasbro.  There’s a darker wash on most of the body, plus some lighter detailing on a few spots as well.  It all works quite nicely, and it’s one of the few times that a Hasbro paint scheme honestly rivals the original Toy Biz version.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

The Toy Biz Man-Thing remains one of my favorites from that line, so when this got shown off, I wasn’t 100% sure I needed one.  But, I did give it an honest try at finishing it, before giving up when the assortment proved rather difficult to get my hands on.  After five years, I got down to needing two parts, and then wound up just getting a complete one when it was traded into All Time last year.  Sort of takes the fun out of it, right?  Okay, not really.  This one is cool.  He’s different from the Toy Biz one, but in a way that makes them both equally cool.

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.

#3618: Silverbolt

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

SILVERBOLT

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY: UNITED (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0097: Eagles and wolves are both apex predators, though their completely differing tactics of hunting prey and different places in their respective food chains mean they have little, if any, interaction.  Unless, of course, they make up the two halves of a Fuzor.

It was difficult for me to truly avoid Beast Wars as a kid, what with it being a toy-driven show in the ’90s that aired during the Fox Kids block.  That said, it’s never been a *major* focus for me.  I remember watching it a little, but I only had two toys from it, and only really ever latched onto one character.  Of course, that character is Silverbolt, and he’s one of the best Transformers just in general, so, you know, big win there.  Since Hasbro went back to the Beast Wars well for Kingdom, I’ve been patiently waiting for my Silverbolt update, and boy did it take a while, but, hey, here it is.  Oh yeah.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Beast Wars Universe Silverbolt is part of the second Voyager Class assortment of Transformers Legacy: United, the banner that goes along with the third year of the Legacy branding.  He shipped alongside Cybertron Universe Starscream, and he was the heavier packed of the two.  In his robot mode, Silverbolt stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation.  His articulation is an improvement on his vintage counterpart, of course, and it’s especially notable that his wings actually sit flat to his back, rather than just jutting straight out the back like the old one.  The new sculpt aims for improved accuracy to his animation model, and it does a pretty good job at that.  The details are a lot sharper, and the proportions are far less blocky than the original.  His color scheme is nicely handled, with a lot of molded silver, of course, but there’s plenty of painted elements as well.  Unlike the original figure, all the proper details get their painted work, and the application is all nice and clean.  Silverbolt is packed with his “feather swords”, which he can either hold, or clip onto his wings, replicating the show set-up.  They just clip on this time around rather than being spring-loaded this time around.

Silverbolt’s alt-mode is, as is tradition, a merging of a wolf and an eagle.  It’s a distinctive mode, to be sure, and this figure does a good job of capturing it.  The transformation scheme is actually pretty intuitive, and the end result holds together nicely.  His hind legs sit a little bit further back than I’d like, but beyond that, it’s pretty solid.  He’s also generally more posable in this form than the original, and even gets a posable jaw.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I sure do love me some Silverbolt, and I really wanted this figure.  I was quite excited to see him shown off, and the end result is very, very fun.  I have some minor quibbles, I suppose, but it’s all very small and ultimately rather meaningless.  It’s certainly not enough to detract from how super excited I am to have an update on the character.

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.

#3615: R2-D2 (Artoo-Deetoo)

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

R2-D2 (ARTOO-DEETOO)

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0094: This review was supposed to run back in January, but I misplaced the figure before getting photos, and only just unearthed him last week.

I have a soft spot for robots, but for reasons that don’t really line up internally, I have a hard time getting excited about R2-D2 figures. I don’t know why. Other droids I can get excited about, even other Astromechs. Hand me an R5 and I’m thrilled. But R2? Not the same. Maybe he’s just too central a character, kind of like my thing with Duke and Optimus? It’s not that I dislike the character, nor that I don’t *want* to own him in figure form. So, I do buy him…I’m just less enthusiastic about it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

R2-D2 (Artoo-Deetoo) was initially released as part of the third series of the Return of the Jedi Retro Carded Black Series figures.  He was then subsequently re-released, now bearing branding from The Mandalorian, in the last standard Black Series assortment of last year, alongside Hera, Huyang, Marrok, and Pre Vizsla.  It’s worth noting that the figure reviewed here is the standard assortment version, but the two releases appear to be identical.  The figure is a little under 4 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  One of the more notable issues with the last astromech mold is how small it was; Lucasfilm has gone back and forth on their standards for R2’s scaling, and when the original Black Series release hit, they were opting for smaller than he actually was on screen.  The standards have changed again since, but there was already a mold, and Hasbro stuck with it for as long as they could.  This new one, however, aims for more proper scaling, adding about 3/4 of an inch, and generally scaling him up to match.  The sculpt is, at least outwardly, very similar to the previous one, just bigger.  The general articulation scheme is similar as well, with basic swivels at the shoulders and ankles, and hinged doors on the sides.  He also has opening flaps on his front, and now has a swivel at the top of the third leg.  Additionally, the way the third leg works has been re-worked, so it’s no longer connected to the head spinning.  The head now can spin 360 degrees unimpeded by the mechanism, and the leg doesn’t require the head to spin to lower it.  While it’s less gimmicky and odd, it’s also a lot harder to get the third leg out once it’s been retracted, so it’s a 50/50 on which approach is better.  The head now gets is own extending feature, based on unused concept work for The Phantom Menace.  It’s goofy, and certainly not essential, but it’s also a fun little extra.  R2’s paint work is decent enough.  It’s all pretty cleanly handled, and again pretty much matches what was done on the original.  It’s all pretty clean and sharp, and it looks appropriately the part.  R2 is packed with four different arm attachments, plus his periscope and radar attachments for the head.  He lacks the thrusters and the lightsaber (especially notable since his first release was on the RotJ card) of the first one, but there’s at least some nice options here.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I struggled getting enthused for the first R2 from the line.  The second I did better with, since the Dagobah look is a little more exciting.  This one’s effectively the original but bigger, so I wasn’t even sure I was going to buy him at all.  But, I was getting the rest of the set, and he did look pretty solid in person, so I broke.  And then, you know, I lost him.  As you do.  But I found him, so it’s alright.  He’s not bad.  The scaling is better, and some of the features a better refined.  He’s also notably sturdier, which I do like.  So, he’s fun.  But he’s R2, so I’m back to struggling to get excited.  Maybe I should have gotten the updated R5 instead?

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.

#3613: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL COMICS (SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES)

Fun FiQ Fact #0092: The plural of Cyclops is “Cyclopes”

Did you guys hear there’s, like, an X-Men-related thing going on today?  Nothing crazy.  Just the season finale for X-Men ’97 is all.  I’m just a tad bit excited about that.  And, when I’m excited about X-Men stuff, I tend to default to reviewing Cyclops figures.  I kicked off my ‘97 hype with a ’90s-style Cyclops, so I might as well close it out with another one.  Of course, the first one was on one end of the price-spectrum, while this one’s over on the other.  This one’s all fancy, you guys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops was released by Sideshow as part of their Marvel Comics line in the spring of 2021.  There were three versions available: a Jim Lee-inspired look with both standard and Sideshow-exclusive editions, and an Astonishing version.  This one is the Sideshow-exclusive release, and I’ll note the difference there when I get to the accessories section.  The figure stands a little over 12 inches tall and he has over 30 points of articulation.

Since Cyclops is from later in Sideshow’s 1/6 run, he’s a bit of a step up in quality from the other offerings I’ve looked at here.  This is very evident in the figure’s head sculpt, which is quite a thoroughly detailed piece of work.  He takes the comic stylings for the character and makes them look more like a real live person, which, well, if I’m honest, seems to involve making him look quite a bit like James Marsden.  I mean, I can’t really say I’m complaining about that, since it’s not like Marsden looks *unlike* the character, and he’s certainly got that nostalgia kick on his side.  It’s also not like it’s 100% meant to be him, so there’s still a little more comic Cyclops peaking through.  If I have one complaint, it’s that the “ears” of the visor wind up sitting just a touch too close to the head for my liking, making it easy for them to get lost with the visor fully in place.  I was quite impressed by the paint quality on this figure, especially the way the hair detailing works out.

Cyclops is built on a rather standardized body, which works okay.  However, one of the things I’ve never been super keen about with most of Sideshow’s offerings is how the bodies scale relative to the heads; the figures always look just a touch too scrawny to my eye.  Cyclops sort of experiences this, and it’s especially notable with it being the Jim Lee look and all.  With some decent posing, especially making sure his shoulders are up, he looks alright, though.  Topping off the body, Cyclops gets a heavily Jim Lee-inspired outfit, which features a cloth bodysuit and trunks, as well as sculpted elements for his belt/harness, leg straps, and boots.   The bodysuit gets a little more piping than the original design, and the boots and gloves get extra work as well, but it all reads as the classic design.  And, he even keeps the shorts, unlike the Mezco update of this look.

Cyclops’ standard release includes seven hands (pairs of fists, pointing, and gesture, as well as a thumbs up left hand), a removable bomber-style jacket, a standard visor, a blasting visor, and a display stand.  The exclusive adds a third visor into the mix, this time with a smoking effect to one side.  It’s very easy to break.  I should know, I got mine broken.  The hands give the figure some nice variety, though I was surprised not to get a two-fingered point for visor use.  Of course, the figure can’t quite get his hand up to his temple anyway, so it wouldn’t get much use.  The bomber jacket is by far my favorite piece, since it’s such a key piece of this look, and it also helps to mask the scrawniness of the base body.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

This figure came from All Time’s epic collection that’s been being processed for a couple of months now.  In fact, it was the only of the things I’ve gotten that I explicitly knew in advance would be part of the collection.  It took a little bit to unearth him, though.  I remember this figure being released, but I was in a different place in my life and concerned with other, more important things.  But, with a second chance, and at an exclusive version at that, I didn’t want to miss out again.  It helps that he’s so very impressive in person.  He’s not perfect, but he’s very fun, and a nifty update to a classic design.  And now I’ve got a Cyclops for my 1/6 shelves.

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.

#3610: Spacetrooper

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

SPACETROOPER

STAR WARS: THE LEGACY COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0089: Joe Johnston, director of Jumanji, The Rocketeer, and Captain America: The First Avenger, amongst other things, worked in the visual effects department for the original Star Wars trilogy, and had a hand in the design of both Boba Fett and his ship.

These days, my Star Wars collecting is rather focused.  I pick up the odd Black Series figure here and there, but beyond that, I’ve got my Power of the Force collection, and a selection of favorites from Clone Wars.  The other lines I generally skip, but there’s the occasional figure here and there that pique’s my interest, especially when it comes to the more fun behind the scenes stuff.  Like, for instance, today’s focus, the Spacetrooper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Spacetrooper was part of the fifth assortment of Star Wars: The Legacy Collection, where he was numbered BD-32.  He was subsequently re-released the following year in a repack assortment with a new Build-A-Droid part.  All of the fifth assortment figures were based on A New Hope, and this guy was no exception; the Spacetrooper is visible outside the Death Star when the Millennium Falcon is pulled in by the tractor beam.  Essentially, he’s a standard Stormtrooper, with two extra bits to make him space ready.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  The movement on this guy represents pretty much the height of articulation for Star Wars prior to them finally doing away with the T-crotch joint that George Lucas apparently mandated.  It’s a rather mobile figure, but also kind of stiff?  I don’t know.  It’s certainly not bad for the time or the scale, and it’s less floppy than newer Star Wars figures.  The Spacetrooper’s sculpt used the sculpt that originated with the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection Stormtrooper as its starting point, but got an updated head and torso, and seems to generally be a slightly sharper rendition of the sculpt.  He’s got a removable helmet, which matches well with the non-removable equivalent for this body sculpt, and underneath, he’s got a head sporting the likeness of Joe Johnston, who was the guy actually in the Spacetrooper armor on set.  The paint work is decent enough; he’s got the basic black and white set-up, with the extra details under the helmet and all.  The Spacetrooper is packed with his rebreather pack and hose, which plug into his helmet and back, and are fairly secure.  He also gets a standard blaster, as well as a larger rifle, complete with moving handle.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t really collecting much Star Wars when this figure came out, so I missed him when he was new.  He always intrigued me, though, so when I found a loose complete one through All Time, I jumped on it.  He’s a fun little figure, and, hey, now I’ve got a Joe Johnston figure!

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.