Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3609: Moon Knight

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

MOON KNIGHT

MARVEL SELECT (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

Fun FiQ Fact #0088:  Moon Knight had three action figures released in 2006, more than doubling his total figure count.

You know, I reviewed a Marvel Select figure on Tuesday, and it was an exceptionally positive review.  The kind of review that makes me feel like Marvel Select is all good all the time, and maybe it’s a line I should pay more attention to.  Gotta put myself back on track, though, right?  Remind myself of the full scope of Select.  So, umm, here’s this Moon Knight figure.  This will certainly go well.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Moon Knight was part of Marvel Select‘s 2006 line-up.  He’s just at the cutoff of figures in the line that where the prep-work was still being done by Toy Biz, before the reins were handed off to Diamond fully.  The figure stands 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  In stark contrast to Cap, who had a quite impressive articulation set-up, this one is…well, not the best.  It marked a step away from the glorified statues of the early Selects, but they hadn’t yet figured out what to actually do with the articulation.  It’s also amusing because there are spots of the sculpt where it clearly looks like a specific type of articulation was intended…and then it isn’t (the knees in particular appear to be meant for double joints, but they’re just singles).  Speaking of the sculpt, this one’s an earlier effort by Paul Harding.  Having seen shots of the original sculpt, I know for a fact it’s a good sculpt, very much inspired by David Finch’s illustrations of the the character from his solo book from right around this figure’s release.  Unfortunately, there’s definitely something lost in translation from original sculpt to final product.  It feels like the separate parts just don’t mesh together quite the right way.  There’s still some strong elements there, but when viewed as a whole, something just isn’t right.  The color work on the figure is passable, if perhaps nothing particularly amazing.  I don’t know how I feel about the grey body suit.  White or black I can dig, but grey feels like it loses some of its punch. It could be worse, and it’s at the very least different from other versions.  There’s at least some fun accenting on the body, which brings out the texturing nicely.  Perhaps the coolest thing about this release is the accessories.  He gets two moonerangs (though he can only hold one at a time), a stone crescent “stand” with no pegs or anything, and, best of all, a statue of Khonshu, which has its own removable staff.  Seriously, the Khonshu statue is just really, really nice.  So nice, you barely notice there’s only half of it there.  It’s, like, the whole selling point.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t collecting Selects when this figure came out.  Honestly, I was just in a different collecting space entirely, what with being 14, and all.  It’s been one of those ones I’ve been searching for since, but I can’t say I’ve been searching very hard.  One landed in front of me at All Time a couple of weeks ago, so that made things pretty easy.  He’s…not great.  Part of it’s age, but even amongst his peers, he’s not great.  That statue, though?  Top notch.

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.

#3608: Flash Gordon Movie Figures

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

FLASH GORDON — FINAL BATTLE, MING THE MERCILESS — MILITARY SUIT, & PRINCE VULTAN

FLASH GORDON (NECA)

Fun FIQ Fact #0087: Despite my love of Flash Gordon, Queen, and most of the actors involved, I didn’t see the 1980 Flash Gordon in its entirety until 2016.

I’ve been a Flash Gordon fan since I was very young, thanks to my Dad’s copies of the movie series on LaserDisc.  Yes, we were that family.  When I was a kid, the only option for Flash Gordon toys was Playmates’ rather small line of figures from the ’90s cartoon, but boy how things have changed.  There’s, like, options, and stuff.  NECA’s first stab at the license was via Defenders of the Earth, followed by a more comic-based set of figures, now followed by a set of figures based on the 1980 movie.  Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Flash Gordon, Ming the Merciless, and Prince Vultan make up Series 1 of NECA’s Flash Gordon line, which hit back in January of this year.  All three are based on their appearances in the movie, and, unlike prior King Features offerings from NECA, they’re all at NECA’s “Ultimate” price-point.

FLASH GORDON — FINAL BATTLE

You can’t very well do Flash Gordon figures without the title character, now can you?  Flash has a number of designs over the course of the film, most revolving around the same general design set-up.  This figure specifically is based on his “Final Battle” attire, which is his most distinctive look in the movie, and the one used for most of the marketing stuff.  It’s a natural choice, and one that NECA already referenced previously with their movie-inspired repaint of the Defenders figure.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Flash’s articulation is the standard Ultimate fare from NECA, so it’s fairly posable, but definitely has its limitations.  Still, you can get some decent poster style poses for him, which is really all you need, and he’s certainly the most posable of the three in this set.  The sculpt is all-new, and it’s honestly pretty good.  There’s some really nice texture work on the outfit, and the layering of everything works very well.  He gets three different head sculpts, all slight variations on Sam Jones’ dull surprise expressions.  There’s actually more variation than you might think at first glance, but I definitely think the slightly mouth agape one looks the best of the three.  None of them is a perfect match for Jones’ likeness, but they’re certainly not bad by NECA standards.  Flash’s paint work’s pretty decent; there’s a little bit of bleed over on the shirt, but it’s otherwise pretty clean, and it all manages to look the part pretty well.  Flash is packed with five hands (fists, gripping, and a right trigger finger), a sword, a rifle, and…whatever the small gold handled thing is.  The rifle’s trigger broke putting it into his hand the first time, and the stock is likely to break any moment as well, so that’s not great.  The sword’s at least nicer, but it takes some definite doing to get him holding it two handed.

MING THE MERCILESS — MILITARY SUIT

Flash is nothing without a worthy antagonist, so you gotta have a Ming, right?  Right.  Ming is seen here in his military garb.  It’s a slightly more tactical look, and matches up with Flash’s look, but it’s definitely his *second* most distinctive look from the film, the first being his more ornate robed look.  This one does alright, though, so I guess here it is.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall, and, like Flash, has 28 points of articulation.  His articulation is the same general set-up as Flash, but it’s more restricted to be sure.  Of course, Ming’s a far less mobile character, so it works out okay.  His sculpt’s another strong one.  The uniform is sharp and well-defined, and there’s plenty of fun ornate details going on with it.  Ming also gets three different heads.  His main one is wearing his helmet, while the other two are sans-head gear.  All three get different expressions, and they all get an impeccable likeness of Max Von Sydow.  I honestly don’t have a favorite of these ones.  His color work is alright, dealing with more metallics and such.  There’s still a little bleed-over, especially on the gold.  Ming is packed with three pairs of hands (gripping, fists, and open gesture), and his sword.  For some reason, the left fist is missing Ming’s ring, but otherwise, it’s a nice little set-up.

PRINCE VULTAN

Vultan’s the one odd-ball here, but he’s Brian Blessed, and he’s also by far the most glaring omission from Bif Bang Pow’s run with the license in the early ’00s.  And, you know, he’s Brian Blessed.  How can you not.  Unlike the other two, Vultan really only has the one look to choose from, so that’s the one here.  The figure is a little over 7 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  He gets an extra mid-torso joint, as well as swivels on the wings.  His build makes him a little more restricted, but he’s a little better than Ming.  His sculpt is another all-new one, and it’s….well, it’s easily the best of the three, to be sure.  There’s so much more layering, and the build is just a great match.  Plus, he’s got four heads instead of three, with a hair piece and a helmet to swap between them.  Blessed is known for his expressive nature, and these four heads cover all manner of expressions.  Well, okay, they’re mostly forms of shouting.  It is Brian Blessed after all.  All of them have a strong likeness of Blessed; it’s certainly very clear who it’s meant to be.  His paint work is decent enough.  He’s fully painted, unlike the other two; the painted skin-tone does soften some of the facial details, but not terribly so.  Vultan is packed with two pairs of hands, his club, communicator, and that clear rock/crystal thing.  They, of course, all pale in comparison to the extra heads, but it’s cool he’s got more than just those to go on.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I missed most of Bif Bang Pow’s Flash Gordon line, so I’ve kind of been looking for a good intro point.  NECA gave me that with these three.  I wasn’t sure when they showed off Flash and Ming, but once Vultan was shown off, I was 100% on board.  Flash is solid.  Not perfect, and the breakage on the rifle is annoying, but solid.  Ming, for me, was along for the ride.  I’d have preferred the robed version, and this one feels a little bare bones, but he’s again a serviceable figure.  Vultan?  Vultan’s perfection.  I love Vultan.  It’s been a few months, and we’ve heard nothing more about this line, so I don’t know if NECA’s planning anymore, but I’d certainly be a fan of getting more characters from the movie.  At least a few more of the main cast, perhaps?

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.

#3606: Mr. Miracle

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

MR MIRACLE

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

Fun FiQ Fact #0085: Mr. Miracle is voiced in Justice League Unlimited by Ioan Gruffud, who that same year played another super-heroic “Mr” as Mr. Fantastic in Marvel’s Fantastic Four.

The New Gods play a rather pivotal role in the DC Animated Universe, with each of the pivotal players getting their own focus.  Though largely in the background, Mr. Miracle gets his one focus episode, “The Ties That Bind,” which is a fun little summation of Scott’s comics background.  The comics adaptations were even kinder to Scott, as he got several appearances in Superman Adventures, which actually served as my introduction to the character, and which cemented my love of him.  How thankful I was that his JLU appearance got him a figure in the animated style!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Miracle was released as part of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited line, first arriving in 2007 as part of a three-pack with Orion and Darkseid, and then again in 2008 in a larger New Gods-themed six-pack, and once more in 2009 in a pack with Plastic Man and Cyborg.  None of them were super easy to find, so he remained a tricky one for most of the line’s run.  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Mr. Miracle is built on the larger male base body (retooled from the original Superman mold), which seems a little too large for Scott, honestly.  I feel like the medium/GL-retool body might have been better, especially since it would have kept him shorter, thus working a bit better with the line’s take on Barda.  Perhaps they felt that base was getting a little over-used?  I don’t know.  It’s not terrible, so I won’t harp too much.  He gets a new head and a cape add-on piece, which work well.  The head’s a little larger, which keeps the internal scaling better, but looks a little strange next to the rest of the figures.  It’s a good rendition of his animation model, though, which is a plus.  The cape is thick and stiff, but it’s a solid sculpt, and it’s got a nice flow about it.  Mr. Miracle’s paint work is doing the heavy lifting, as was the case for most of this line.  It’s generally decent, with the proper colors and the like.  The application’s a little fuzzy on some of the edges, especially on the greens.  Also, the paint is rather susceptible to chipping, hence the missing chunk of green on his foot.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Despite my love of Mr. Miracle, this was one of those figures I was unable to get during the original run of the line.  He just never landed in front of me, I guess.  You know, until it did, and, well, I bought it.  Yeah, there was one at the bottom of a shopping bag of otherwise junk that got traded into All Time, and, when you get a sign, you take it.  He’s not the best Mr. Miracle figure, or the best JLU figure, but at least I have him, right?

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.

#3603: Faramir

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

FARAMIR

LORD OF THE RINGS (ASMUS TOYS)

Fun FiQ Fact #0082:  David Wenham, who portrays Faramir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, has been part of two comic book adaptations: 300 and Iron Fist.  Look, he was good in Iron Fist, even if the show around him…wasn’t?

The Lord of the Rings movies were pretty much an inescapable part of the cultural lexicon when I was growing up, hitting theatres during the back half of my elementary school years.  So, I obviously couldn’t really avoid them, and I’ve got my own particular interests within them.  I’ve never been so much a main characters guy, so I didn’t latch so much onto the characters everyone else did.  One of my favorites since pretty much when the movies came out was Faramir, Ranger of Gondor.  I never did get any of his figures growing up, but I’ve been working to make up for that in recent years.  Here’s more to that!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Faramir was added to Asmus’ Lord of the Rings line towards the end of 2020.  There were two versions of him available, with an extra accessory that was only offered with Asmus’ direct store exclusive version.  I’ll touch on all of that a bit later down.  The figure stands about 12 inches tall and he’s got over 30 points of articulation.

Asmus is priced in the same realm as the lines of Sideshow and Hot Toys, so that’s the type of figure they’re aiming for.  That’s certainly evident in the included head sculpt, or at least the intent is.  It’s definitely not quite Hot Toys quality, but I’d put it on par with the average Sideshow sculpt.  The face has an alright likeness of David Wenham; it’s certainly got his glum expression as Faramir down, at least.  The face is perhaps a touch narrow, and I think the nose isn’t quite the right shape, but it’s all pretty close.  Faramir’s hair is sculpted, and it’s a big honking chunk of hair, for sure.  The joining at the front is not so subtle, which I’m not a huge fan of; normal lighting masks it alright, but the photos show it off front and center.  At least the shaping of the hair’s not bad.  The paint work on the head is respectable, if again not quite Hot Toys quality.

Faramir is depicted in his ranger gear from Two Towers and the beginning of Return of the King.  It’s certainly his most distinctive, and let’s all be honest, coolest, look.  The figure uses a mixed media set-up, with a lot of different parts and layers, much like his real outfit.  The sculpted boots are nice enough to look at, but don’t have any sort of posing, which can be rather limiting.  His cloak, outer “jacket”, belt, and quiver, all need to be put on the figure out of the box.  Some of that’s easy, some of it’s less so.  You need to pop the head off to get the cloak on, which gave me no trouble, but I’ve read there were some issues of breakage on the neck joint.  The quiver and belt are both really tricky, and the quiver’s actual assembly looks to just be wrong, so it hangs a little odd.  But, once everything is all assembled, it all vibes together quite nicely, and he doesn’t look too over padded or anything, which is a plus.

The underlying body seems to be pretty basic.  With all the extras on it, it’s not super amazingly posable, but it at least gets some okay poses.  The ratcheted joints were a bit frightening at first, but I ultimately like how they work for holding poses.

Faramir’s standard release (which is the one I’m looking at here), gets three sets of hands (relaxed, fists, and gripping), a diecast sword, five arrows, and a display stand.  Did you notice the mention of the arrows?  And the quiver in the outfit section?  Cool.  Yeah.  Well, the standard version *doesn’t* have a bow.  Nope, that was the exclusive piece.  Sure, let’s just give him the quiver full of arrows, but no bow.  Nothing weird about that, right?  Right.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Remember the big epic collection that All Time got that they’re still processing?  Yeah, well there were a lot of Lord of the Rings figures in it.  But it’s okay, because I didn’t need them.  I don’t need much in the way of Lord of the Rings.  I can just focus on the other stuff and–right there was a Faramir, wasn’t there?  Oh, and he’s got that mournful look, right there on the box.  The sort of look that asks me if I wish now that his and Boromir’s places were traded.  You can’t just leave that look behind.  So, umm, I didn’t?  Honestly, I was tempted by this figure when he was new, so getting the chance to snag him was very nice.  I’m annoyed by the bow thing, but beyond that, I really do love 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.

#3602: Angel

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

ANGEL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0081: Warren Worthington III was the third mutant to join the X-Men, following Cyclops and Iceman.

As a kid, the real centerpiece of my X-Men collection was my Toy Biz First Appearance boxed set.  Missing from that set for a good chunk of my childhood was its Angel figure, who was my favorite figure included.  Though Warren hasn’t held his high spot in my X-Men rankings as I’ve gotten older (which is less about me liking him less, and more about me finding other X-Men I like *more*), I do still have a soft spot for him, in both of his main incarnations, especially when it comes to action figures.  When it comes to Marvel Legends, we’ve gotten only a few figures.  There’s a really solid Archangel, but the Angel figures?  They’ve been less on the mark.  Let’s see how the latest one turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Angel is a deluxe-sized Marvel Legends release, who has been hitting in the last few weeks, pretty much in tandem with the Wolverine anniversary-related releases.  It’s been an X-themed heaven in Legends recently, so, you know, an Angel is appropriate.  This guy is sporting Warren’s ’70s-’80s era red and white number, which he started wearing in Champions, sported in his return to X-Men, and had during his tenure on Defenders.  It had a good run, and it’s his most distinctive and memorable of his “Angel” looks.  It’s also the one that got Legends treatment before, so this is a proper update.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 40 points of articulation, factoring in the wings.  It’s nice to see the extra movement in the wings, especially given that the Toy Biz figure’s static wings were its biggest drawback.  Angel is using the same base body as Nighthawk, with a modified upper torso to allow for the attachment of the wings.  He also gets two new head sculpts, one based on his earlier appearances in the costume, the other based more on his Defenders time.  I’m more partial to the earlier look, but both sculpts are very nicely handled.  The wings are also newly sculpted, and designed to work with more articulation than prior models.  It’s handled well, and they look pretty decent, while also managing to be quite posable.  Angel’s color work leans heavily on reds and whites, as expected.  The paint’s pretty clean for the base body, and there’s some quite nice accenting on the feathers of the wings.  He’s got white boots and gloves, which, for me, is frustrating, because I want him to be specifically Champions Angel, but I guess that’s more a me problem.  Angel is packed with two sets of hands, one open, the other in fists.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I do really like the classic Angel design, but it’s not one that’s been lucky in the toy department.  It’s entirely absent from the 5-inch run, and the original Legends figure just always really disappointed me.  This one doesn’t disappoint me.  In fact, I really quite like him.  I’d like him more with yellow boots and gloves, but let’s not get too picky here.

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.

#3601: S.T.R.I.P.E.

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

STRIPE

DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL)

Fun FiQ Fact #0080: The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy are a unique instance of a kid superhero having an adult sidekick, with Pat “Stripesy” Duggan serving as sidekick to both Sylvester Pemberton and Courtney Whitmore during their turns in the role.

When I was a kid, I got my first introduction to the “modern” incarnation of Stars and STRIPE via their guest appearance in Impulse, an issue I got as a free give away at an early Baltimore Comic Con I attended (which was also my introduction to Impulse himself). I had known of their golden age incarnation thanks to reading my dad’s copy of the JLA/JSA team-up featuring the Seven Soldiers of Victory, but I felt kind of like I got in on the ground floor with the new ones. They haven’t been excessively blessed with action figures over the years, especially not as a pair, but they did both at the very least make it into DC Universe Classics. I reviewed the Stars part of the team a while back, so now I’m looking at STRIPE!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

STRIPE was the Collect-N-Connect for the 19th Series of DC Universe Classics. The assortment was JSA-themed, and while Pat was never directly affiliated with the JSA himself, he’s been pretty closely tied to them enough for his inclusion to make sense.  The figure stands 9 1/2 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  His movement isn’t terrible for a figure of his build, with the only notable hang-up being that his mid-torso joint is effectively useless.  Beyond that, it’s not bad.  The sculpt, handled by the Four Horsemen, was built from a number of the same parts as the Stel CnC.  The legs are entirely shared, as well as the upper arms and the pelvis.  The rest of it was unique to this figure, and it all meshes together pretty well into one cohesive piece.  Said cohesive piece is interesting, because STRIPE’s design is not actually based on any pre-existing look for the character.  He’d had two notable comics looks and another design for JLU, and while there are certainly elements of all those looks here, it’s still something largely unique.  Certainly some of this comes from the ability to share parts with Stel (who got an upscaling of his own to also be able to share these parts), but there seems to have been a degree of letting the Four Horsemen go wild a bit with it.  While I’d have liked to get something more in line with his original look from the comics, I can’t deny that this is a pretty cool design in its own right, and it still works well for the character.   STRIPE’s paint work is pretty basic looking, but there’s a bit more to it.  He’s entirely painted, and the bulk of him is a pearlescent white, which is very fun.  The accent colors really pop, and he’s even got a light blue wash to help bring out more of the sculpted elements.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I tried to actually build this guy when he was new, but I never succeeded.  I wound up with half of him and just never got more.  I kept hoping I might find the missing pieces, but it didn’t happen.  However, as luck would have it, just as I was giving up on the whole endeavor, a mere decade after starting on him, a complete one got traded into All Time, and, boom, here he is.  Fun times.  He’s nifty.  Still would love a more comics accurate one too, but this one holds up nicely.

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.

#3600: Tron ReAction Figures

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

TRON & FLYNN w/ LIGHTCYCLES

TRON REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

Fun FiQ Fact #0079: I saw the original Tron for the first time about a week before the release of Tron Legacy, exclusively to know what was going on prior to watching the sequel.

I *love* Tron Legacy.  It’s a defining movie for me.  Just, like, the whole thing.  I love the music, the design, the choreography, the characters…I love it all.  It’s super great.  You know what’s not super great about Legacy?  It’s tie-in products.  Sure, there were a few slightly nifty products when the movie came out, but there was a *lot* more trash.  And I just really want some figures that are semi-decent.  Until then, I will forever be stuck making due with stuff from the first movie.  I love Legacy.  Did I mention that?  The first movie?  It’s…fine.  Like, I get the ground-breaking nature and all.  But…ehhh?  Still, I’m not gonna say no to everything Tron related, if that’s all I’m gonna get.  So, here’s some Tron stuff.

THE FIGURE THEMSELVES

Tron and Flynn with their respective Lightcycles were released as part of Super 7’s Tron ReAction line.  The line as a whole was a Disney Parks exclusive, but Tron and Flynn were both also offered up for order on ShopDisney.

First up, it’s the title character, Tron!  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s just got the standard ReAction articulation, which is exactly what you expect.  He’s based on the original Tron look, hockey pads and all.  The sculpt is a pretty basic one, but that’s really what you need for this style of figure.  The face has a respectable likeness of Bruce Boxleitner, especially given the style and sizing.  Obviously, it’s not to the same level as either of the two DST figures, but it works well enough.  I like the slight detailing for his costume elements; it’s simple, but very effective.  Tron’s color work is really solid.  He’s molded in glow-in-the-dark plastic, with plenty of line-work for all of those classic “tron-lines”.  It works really well.  Tron is packed with his identity disk, which can be stored on the figure’s back.

And, perhaps not the title character, but certainly a central one, it’s Kevin Flynn!  …Yeah?  He’s like Tron, but, you know, not.  Flynn was actually the only character to get multiple figures, since there was a single card and the one with the lightcycle.  The single was his “disguised” colors, where this one is the standard.  Like Tron, he stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is very similar to Tron’s, but they only actually share the right arm; everything else is minorly tweaked in some way.  Even the head’s got a Bridges likeness; it’s very similar to the Tron head, but I think that’s more the style and similar traits between the two actors.  His color work is very similar to Tron’s as well.  He’s also molded in the glowing plastic, and he’s got his own unique “tron-line” detailing, to help distinguish him.  He’s packed with the same identity disk as Tron, which can likewise be mounted on his back.

Both figures are packaged with a Lightcycle, designed to work with the included figure.  The cycles are each about 6 1/2 inches long, and they have moving wheels and an opening hatch.  Both cycles (and the one included with the Ram figure I don’t have) use the same sculpt.  The sculpt is very basic, but it matches what we see on screen pretty well, and it does what it needs to.  The figures fit inside, though with the 5POA set-up, they do admittedly look pretty goofy, just folded in half in there.  The coloring is where the change-up occurs.  Tron gets orange and Flynn gets yellow.  Both are accented by some black paint, as well as a little bit of the same blue glowing plastic used by the figures.  The glowing doesn’t work as well on the cycles, but it’s still nifty.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I haven’t been to a Disney park since 2007, and I missed these on Shop Disney.  So, how did I get them?  Well, a bit of luck, really.  They just so happened to come through All Time, and I just so happened to be there at the time, allowing me to just so happen to get them for a reasonable price.  They’re basic, but I do really like them.  It’s the simplicity that really sells them.

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.

#3599: Nightcrawler

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

NIGHTCRAWLER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0078: Nightcrawler’s creation predates the All New, All Different X-Men, and in fact predates his creator Dave Cockrum’s time at Marvel; he was originally intended to be part of Legion of Super Heroes spin-off book from Cockrum’s time at DC.  When Dave left DC, he took Nightcrawler with him.

Though certainly a popular X-Man, it feels like we never get enough Nightcrawler figures.  He’s always just a little sparser than you might expect.  Since the introduction of Marvel Legends, he’s gotten two, now three figures.  That’s not a lot.  They’re always pretty good, though, and after the last one, it felt like there wasn’t much room for improvement.  Well, about that…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightcrawler is part of the second X-Men ’97-tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  He was notable for being the only figure in the line-up *not* featured in the first three episodes of the show.  He finally made his return last week, and boy was that an episode of…like…things.  Just…okay?  Now he’s in the opening credits, and it’s a whole thing.  Look, new figure.  That’s the point.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  Sculpturally, this figure uses a handful of parts from the prior Nightcrawler, namely the torso, pelvis, and tail.  Those were solid parts, and are hard to beat for a standard Nightcrawler set-up, so it’s worth a re-use.  He replaces the Pizza Spidey arms and legs with new, albeit similarly built ones.  Now, they have no visible pins, and the glove and boot details are etched in, rather than just simply painted.  He also gets new hands and feet, which are *slightly* different from the prior versions, but not drastically so.  It’s all topped off with two new heads based on Nightcrawler’s updated show design.  One is calm and slightly friendly, while the other is gritting his teeth.  Both have the same swooshy hair, which is a lot of fun.  I very much dig them.  His color work is a lot of molded colors, but there’s some paint work in there too.  Some of the base work, especially on the gloves and boots, is a touch uneven, but the detailing on both heads is incredibly sharp.  Nightcrawler is packed with two sets of hands, one set open, the other set in fists.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t gonna buy this one.  Honest.  I saw him with the rest of the set and I was all set to say “I don’t need that.”  I’ve got my Wendigo Series one, and he’s fantastic, and just can’t be topped.  He’s the Nightcrawler I always wanted, and I have no need to replace him.  And I won’t be.  Because I’ve just decided I’m gonna *also* have this one.  Look, if I can do it with Cyclops, I can also do it with Nightcrawler.  And you can’t stop me.  I mean, I guess you could, if you really tried.  But why?  Why would you do that?  Anyway, I saw this one in person, and I resisted for a bit, but only for a bit.  He’s not drastically different from the last one, but he’s different enough that I see him as an alternative, not a replacement.

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.

#3598: Ultraman Geed Primitive

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

ULTRAMAN GEED PRIMITIVE

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

Fun FiQ Fact #0077:  Ultraman Geed is one of the few Ultramen whose name is also a valid word in Scrabble!

You can’t keep me away from the Ultras for too long! …unless you’re my pending review pile following today’s review, I guess.  You know, ’cause there’s no more Ultramen in it.  Not yet anyway.  Well, I guess I’ll just have to really make this one count?  I don’t know, let’s give it a try.  While my primary exposure to Ultraman remains the dubbed version of the original series, I do still dabble in some of the newer entries.  I watched a fair bit of Mebius, as well as stray episodes of a few others, which did include the first few episodes of today’s focus Geed, which is noteworthy for being the only Ultra series I’ve watched while it was still coming out.  That’s pretty cool, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultraman Geed Primitive was released as part of Bandai’s SH Figuarts line in February of 2018, just two months after the first run of the show wrapped up. The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 43 points of articulation. As his name implies, Geed is seen here in his “Primitive” form, which is his standardized look for the bulk of the. It’s purposefully designed to merge the classic Ultraman and Belial designs together, making it slightly more unique amongst the standard Ultras. The sculpt does a good job of recreating the look. It’s very sharply defined and clean, as well as being very accurate to the show. I was also really impressed by how the articulation was worked into the sculpt, as it’s pretty natural looking, while still maintaining a range of motion that’s better than many of the other Ultras. Geed’s color scheme sticks with the typical red and silver, with an extra dash of black thrown in. The application of the paint is all pretty clean; there’s some minor bleed over in some spots, but it’s generally solid. Geed is packed with four pairs of hands (fists, open gesture, relaxed, and flat), an hand with the Wrecking Burst effect attached, and a swappable color timer.

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THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Since Ginga broke on me, I went back to the Ultra well that was the massive collection still being processed at All Time.  I knew I wanted Orb, so I was initially just planning to grab him, but Geed here was also hanging around, and I felt myself called to him as well. He was just an along for the ride figure, but I find myself really liking this one a lot. He’s simple, but works very well.

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.

#3597: Goblin Queen

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

GOBLIN QUEEN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0076: Though she’s existed since 1983, Madelyn Pryor has had, to date, only two action figures, more than 20 years apart from each other.

I find Madelyn Pryor a generally tedious character.  The concept’s not awful, I guess.  I can certainly understand Claremont’s initial desire to give Scott Summers his planned “happily ever after” even with the adjustments to the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” resulting in Jean’s demise.  But, it does put Madelyn in an unfortunate spot of being nothing more than a placeholder, which isn’t ideal.  The whole dissolution of her marriage to Scott is sloppy at best, and “Inferno” is making the best of a bad situation.  So, X-Men ’97‘s take on the entire thing is, honestly, a refreshing reinvention of the set-up, which I actually quite enjoyed.  And it got her a second figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Goblin Queen is the third figure in Series 2 of Hasbro’s X-Men ’97-tie-in sub-line of Marvel Legends.  I suppose you could get technical and say she’s *actually* the second of two Madelyns in the set, depending on how you treat the second head with the Jean Grey figure.  But, you know, let’s not focus on that for now.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Her articulation scheme is generally what we’ve come to expect for this line at this point, at least in terms of set-up.  In terms of range, Madelyn is rather restricted.  It comes with the territory, at least as far as the design is concerned.  She’s good for standing around, provided you can get her balanced, which is admittedly a little tricky, but not impossible.  Madelyn’s sculpt is largely new; the arms appear to be the standard double-jointed female arms, but everything else looks new.  It’s a solid piece of work, though on mine the upper part of her chest doesn’t slot quite right into the rest of it, so there’s an odd shelf and the edge of her skin…which is odd.  Beyond that, though, I do generally like the sculpt.  The head in particular manages to stay consistent with Jean’s sculpt, while still having its own flair of character.  Madelyn’s color work is decent enough, if not 100% accurate to the show.  I don’t know if there was a change to the design during production, but in the final product, the leggings on her thighs are much closer to regular skin tone than what we see here.  It throws the vibe of the look off a touch, but it’s ultimately not the end of the world, I guess.  The rest of the paint is pretty nice, and I do quite like the slight variations in the colors on her outfit.  Madelyn is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture), a pair of energy effects, and, most importantly, baby Nathan Summers.  Nathan is using the body of the baby Hulk/baby Nightcrawler, but gets a new head, and even gets the special x-printing on the blanket, which is extra fun.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I may find Madelyn’s storyline’s questionable at times, but I don’t hate the character or anything, and I’m not opposed to a figure.  This was certainly high on my list when these figures were shown off.  I do like her, though I can’t say she quite shines for me the same way as Cyclops and Jean.  It could certainly be worse, though, and I especially like the baby Nathan.

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.