Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3527: Orko

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

ORKO

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

Fun FiQ Fact #0006: In both the original ’80s Filmation Masters of the Universe and the 2002 re-boot, Orko and Mekaneck share a voice actor, Filmation founder Lou Scheimer in the ’80s and Gabe Khouth in the ’00s.

I’m not a hardcore Masters of the Universe fan by any means, but I’ve got a shortlist of three characters that I like to have in every possible style.  Number three on that list is He-Man’s plucky comic relief sidekick Orko, who I’ve had a soft spot for since I was rather young.  Yes, kid me saw the appeal of the kid-appeal character.  I was an easy target.  Super 7’s ReAction line is an ill-explored one in my collection, but I did get the Mekaneck back when he first hit, but I passed on Orko at the time, and he sold out.  He has eluded me for a bit, but no figure escapes me forever.  Oh, no.  I’m like a mounty: I always get my man.  Or…you know, action figure.  I’m like an action figure mounty.  Sure, let’s go with that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Orko was part of Series 2 of the Masters of the Universe ReAction Figures, which is interestingly enough, the same one that had Mekaneck.  The figure stands 2 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Orko doesn’t tend to get the same articulation as the rest of the characters, but this one actually gets the same set-up as everyone else, giving him some of the best mobility of any Orko figure.  He actually has “legs” to move, which is unique to this particular Orko.  As per usual for the character, Orko gets a unique sculpt.  It captures the style of the line nicely, and also requires less adjustments to his character design than some of the others.  His arms are a little longer, but not by much, and overall, he gets all the important details you need to sell Orko’s look.  Orko’s color work is his usual set-up; the paint work is a little spotty on the ears (a classic issue with Orko figures), but otherwise it’s pretty clean.  Orko is packed with his wand, which for this release is just a simple yellow cylinder, rather than anything more ornate.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Since I missed out on grabbing Orko from All Time back when he was new, I’ve been waiting for one to come through, and one did indeed, just last week, in fact.  I’ve been stepping back my pick-ups recently, but he was worthy enough to bring home.  He’s a fun little version of the character.  Plus, he gave me an excuse to introduce my daughter to Orko, which is always a fun time!

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.

#3522: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

Welcome back guys!  I’m…well, refreshed isn’t the right word to use for my post-Christmas break state, since I pretty much just spent the week dealing with the flu, but…it’s a week later?  Yep, that’s it.  First things first: I’ve got a bit of updating to be done.  I’ll be honest with you all, after ten years of doing the site, it’s become routine, and out of routine can come monotony.  And monotony doesn’t make for exciting writing or exciting reading.  And, if I’m not having fun here, then I ask you, what’s the damn point?  I might as well pack the whole thing up.  But I don’t wanna do that, so I’m going to tweak my formula a bit.  Namely, since I know from at least some portion of my readership, that the “Me Half of the Equation” is the bit they read first before going back to the rest if they think it’s worth it, and it’s also my favorite part to write, I’m moving it to the top.  Well, some of it, at least.  Overall assessment of the figure and post-review wrap-up will still be at the end, but the more interesting interludes are now starting things off.  Additionally, I’m going to try to give my reviews a little bit of a peppy-fun-type fact of the day, be it tied to the item’s history, or to my own, because I think that sounds fun.  And, because this is my site, I totally reserve the right to reverse the whole thing and go back to the old style.  We’ll see.  Awaaaaaaay we gooooo!

Fun FiQ Fact #0001:  Dick Grayson is not DC’s first character to use the name Nightwing; in the Silver Age, Superman used the identity while fighting crime in the Bottle City of Kandor, and eventually passed it on to his cousin Van-Zee.

A good portion of my modern DC collecting is owed to early ’00s DC Direct, and one of the most formative lines for me was Batman: Hush, based on Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s run on Batman.  In particular, it was the line’s second series, which featured Nightwing, which got me downright addicted.  I had the release date memorized, and I’d check DCD’s shipping schedules every week for it.  I’d ask about it at Cosmic Comix.  I had pictures saved on my desktop.  The figures haunted my dreams.  And Nightwing stood above them all.  So, when they finally *did* show up, and he was the one that was already gone when I got there, it only made the obsession worse.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a long wait for a restock, and I did get one, which I loved to pieces.  No, seriously, to pieces, because it was a ’00s DCD figure and they had the durability of wet toilet paper.  I’ve still got him, but he’s more glue than plastic at this point, I think.  Still, I do love that Jim Lee Nightwing.  And then MAFEX comes along, with they’re updates to the Hush figures, and Nightwing’s there, and there’s *literally* no way I’m missing that one, right?  Not on your life.  It was another long wait, and one that made me very much remember the wait for the original, but that’s honestly pretty appropriate, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is figure 175 in Medicom’s MAFEX line-up, and is the most current of the line’s Hush tie-in figures, though Ivy is close behind. The figure stands right at about 6 inches tall and he has 43 points of articulation. The movement here is very similar to that of Hush, albeit less restricted, since Dick doesn’t have the trench coat to worry about. It’s a very handy articulation set-up for a guy who’s a trained acrobat, so that’s a very definite plus. Nightwing sports a sculpt based on Jim Lee’s illustrations of the character from the book. Lee’s take on the design isn’t drastically different from the design that came before it, but he ditches the padding on the forearms and shins, resulting in a far more streamlined look, and one that’s, quite frankly, Nightwing’s best.  As with the other two MAFEXes I’ve looked at, the Jim Lee stylings are captured very nicely here, and in general, he makes for a very clean transition to toy form. Like the others, Nightwing gets two different heads, one calmer, and one gritting his teeth. They’re both very nice, very sharp sculpts, which really look the part. Nightwing’s color work is pretty much what it needs to be. It’s basic, but clean. The blue is appropriately bright and eye-catching, and they’ve even remembered to make the mask on both heads blue, fixing the error we saw on the Icons figure. Nightwing is packed with six pairs of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, open gesture, relaxed, and stick twirling), two standard eskrima sticks, one pair of sticks with a posable wire running between them, an alternate back piece with stick storage, and a display stand. I love all the options for the sticks, though I did have some difficulty getting the spinning ones to stay on their matching hands.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

My very long wait for this guy was brought to an end courtesy of All Time Toys owner Jason, who gave me this one as a Christmas present (well, this was my more store related gift; I also got a spot cleaner for carpets, which excites me because I’m apparently an old person now). I very much enjoy him. I’ve got a lot of Nightwings, but this one is the best.

#3520: KX Security Droid – Holiday Edition

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

KX SECURITY DROID — HOLIDAY EDITION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Okay, so it may not quite be Christmas yet, but you know what? I’m gonna do two Christmas-y reviews this year. Of course, since Christmas Eve falls on a weekend this year, I guess I’ll just observe it today, instead. That seems fair, right?  Yeah, let’s do that!  Last year, I took a brief look into Hasbro’s Black Series holiday offerings, and that feels like a pretty easy road to go back down.  There’s even more of them this year, including today’s offering, the KX Security Droid!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Holiday Edition KX Security Droid is one of the six Holiday Edition Star Wars: The Black Series figures for 2023.  This one in particular is the Walmart-exclusive portion of the line-up.  As with last year’s Protocol Droid, the KX doesn’t get any sort of clever name or anything, which feels like a bit of a bummer, but it’s at least brand-consistent.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  The KX is re-using the K-2SO mold, which makes sense, them being the same model of droid and all.  It helps that it remains a really strong mold, even seven years after its original use.  The only draw back to my personal copy is that one of his legs snapped off at the hip joint, which is a real bummer.  The color scheme really mixes things up on this one, going for a predominantly white color scheme, accented with red and green, which is all appropriately festive.  I especially dig the snowflakes swapping in for the Imperial Cog.  The KX is packed with a small blaster pistol, done up in Nerf-style colors, which is fun.  He also gets the requisite smaller companion figure that all of the Holiday Edition figures have gotten.  It’s another BD-1, this time decoed up in white and blue.  Not quite as overtly festive as the one that came with the Protocol Droid, but it’s still pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a big fan of this mold, and of the Holiday Edition concept.  That said, given how kitschy they are, I’m not hunting any of them down.  With this guy being a Walmart exclusive, I figured I wouldn’t be getting one any time soon and called it a day, but when one turned up as a trade-in at All Time, I jumped on it.  His broken hip is a real bummer, but he’s otherwise a fun, and I’m still very much a fan of this whole concept.

#3519: Nighthawk & Blur

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

NIGHTHAWK & BLUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The high-flying Nighthawk and super-speedy Blur ally with each other and the Squadron Supreme to defend their Earth”

It’s a rarity that I get to return to a Squadron Supreme discussion.  Sure, I’ve brought the team up a few times before, but it’s always about recontextualizing what is inevitably another Nighthawk or Hyperion.  This time, I actually get to build on a set I’m already building….albeit with another Nighthawk…but that’s not the point!  There are others as well!  That’s right, the Not-Batman comes packed with a Not-Flash, The Whizzer Blur!  Let’s check them out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nighthawk and Blur are the second of the two Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-packs based on the Squadron Supreme.  While the first set was a fairly catch-all classic take on its characters, this set more definitively dials in on specifically the Squadron Supreme of America incarnation created by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness.

NIGHTHAWK

Hey, it’s Nighthawk!  The Kyle Richmond version!  Which Kyle Richmond version, you ask?  Valid.  There’s actually four separate Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, and that’s *just* the Kyle Richmond versions.  There’s another four not-Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, but they admittedly get outweighed by Kyle.  This latest Kyle is perhaps the most Batman-y of the Kyle Nighthawks, so he’s got that going for him.  Design wise, he’s kind of a greatest hits of all the Richmonds before him, which is nifty, I suppose.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Vulcan body, which makes a degree of sense, since Vulcan’s supposed to be replacing Bucky Cap, and that’s what the last Nighthawk was based on.  He gets a new head and cape piece.  They seem pretty in line with McGuninness’s depiction of the character, albeit filtered through the line’s usual stylings.  The cape’s a little tricky to keep in place and kind of stiff, but it’s an improvement on the last one for the most part.  His color work is a bit darker than the last Nighthawk, which is in line with the depiction in the comics.  The molded color work is solid, and the paint application is nice and sharp.  Nighthawk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open, and three not-Batarangs.

BLUR

When the Squadron Sinister first appeared back in the ’60s, their Flash equivalent was re-using the name of Golden Age speedster The Whizzer, and when the Squadron Supreme came into existence a decade later, the heroic equivalent was also re-using the name.  It’s a name that’s admittedly a little on the sillier side, I suppose, so the villainous version switched to “Speed Demon,” while the heroic version took on the name “Blur” during Strazinski’s reboot of the team from the early ’00s.  Aaron and McGuinness’s version kept the “Blur” name going, albeit married to a design that’s a pretty strict update to the Silver Age Whizzer designed.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  This figure is based on the 2099 base body, with the upgraded arms and legs to remove the elbow and knee pins.  Speed Demon was built on the Pizza Spidey body, and I honestly was never entirely happy with that.  This one suits the general character set-up a lot better.  He gets a new head and belt, courtesy of sculptor Paul Harding.  The head’s a fantastic piece of work, with a nice, fun-loving grin on his face.  It feels very true to the character.  The color work is pretty clean; the black and yellow works well, and the painted elements are quite nice.  Blur is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly didn’t intend to pick this set up.  I got the first pack mostly because I just wanted a Doctor Spectrum.  These two using the newer designs meant I had less attachment to them, so I was planning to pass.  But, then they announced Power Princess, meaning I’d be able to finally have *some* version of the team completed, and the more I looked at the Blur figure, the more I liked him.  Blur is the real star here for me; something about his simplicity just really works, and he’s close enough to the classic Whizzer design to work for my collecting sensibilities.  Nighthawk I can take or leave.  I prefer the Defenders costume to this one, so it’ll remain my primary version of the character.  Of course, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a first appearance costume for 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.

#3518: Marrok

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

MARROK

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

In the lead up to Ahsoka, the trailer showed a mysterious figure in dark armor, wielding an Inquistor-style saber.  Who could this guy be?  Could he be…oh, I don’t know, maybe an Inquistor?  But who?  Well, then we got a name, Marrok.  He’s an ex-Inquisitor named Marrok.  But who could he be, though?  Well, as it turns out, an ex-Inquisitor named Marrok.  Can you believe that’s all.  How could he not be Starkiller, or a revived Kanan.  How could this character whose name we already had not be…that exact guy?  They’re killing the franchise, right?  Yes, that must be it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Marrok is figure 8 in the Ahsoka sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘ Phase IV run.  He, like last week’s Hera, is part of the second assortment with tie-in figures for the show.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He’s largely using the now standard set-up for the line, which works reasonably well.  One notable change is that he’s got ball-jointed wrists, rather than the usual universals.  It gets a little bit less movement in each direction, but has the benefit of being able to move all directions.  Marrok is sporting an all-new sculpt, which looks to be a pretty good recreation of his show design.  The armor pieces are all separate, which looks pretty good, but is a little floaty in some spots, especially the chest armor.  He’s also a little bit off on the proportions, with the head and hands seeming just a touch on the large side.  That said, the detail work on this guy is pretty sharp, and there’s a lot going on.  The figure’s color work is a solid match for this show look; it’s a mix of greys and blacks; it’s a little more pronounced in difference than the show look, but that’s probably a lighting thing.  I do dig the brown accenting work, which adds some pop to the sculpt.  Marrok is packed with a cloth cape and his Inquisitor saber.  The cape is a little clunky, but not a terrible piece.  The saber is a pretty standard set-up for the line; removable blades, and you can mount it on his back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Marrok’s design is one that spoke to me from his early appearances.  I never expected him to be anything more than he was, and I was thus not disappointed by his role on the show.  He’s a Star Wars character with a cool look and little else, putting him in a pretty decent category of characters from the franchise.  His figure’s not the height of The Black Series quality, but he’s still a pretty fun little 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.

#3517: War Machine

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

WAR MACHINE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With a new modular Gatling Cannon and enough firepower to take on a legion of enemies, the War Machine — AKA Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes — is a true one-man army.”

Hey, do you guys wanna talk about the implications of Secret War‘s big Skrull identity reveal on the events of everything post-Civil War as it pertains to Rhodey?  No?  Yeah, me neither.  Wanna pretend its not a thing until we have no other choice?  I certainly do.  Let’s do that.  But, hey, while we’re on that, can we address that the Civil War era armor design for War Machine is, like, peak War Machine design?  It’s pretty solid, and it’s got a figure, and I’m looking at that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

War Machine is part of the 2023 assortment of the Infinity Saga sub-line of Marvel Legends.  He’s one of the three Captain America: Civil War-based figures, which, rather amusing, doesn’t include a Captain America, but *does* does have both Iron Man and War Machine; way to upstage a guy in his own movie, guys.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  War Machine is a total mold re-use of the original Civil War release, which I looked at when it was repainted as Punisher War Machine.  The only times it was released in standard colors were as a Target-exclusive in a two-pack, and as a Disney Store-exclusive in a four pack, so a single release does make a lot of sense.  It helps that its also a pretty solid sculpt, and it still holds up pretty nicely, apart from a few spots where the articulation is a little bit stiff.  That said, it’s a really good looking sculpt, and very accurate to the source material.  I also found that the guns and baton stayed in place better on this release than my Punisher War Machine, which is a definite plus.  The only area with notable change from the original release is the paint work.  Admittedly, even that’s minor, but this time around the application is a lot sharper and cleaner, and the reds on the eyes and arc reactor now have a fade to white, giving them a bit more depth and realism.  In general, it’s just a much better look, all around.  This release gets the same accessories set-up as all the prior releases of the mold, meaning he includes two sets of hands (in fists and gripping), deployed and stowed versions of the baton and cannon, and the two removable forearm guns.  Its a shame we couldn’t get an unmasked Rhodey head, since there’s not new parts on this one, but it’s not like he’s a light feeling figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My saga of owning this version of War Machine is…well, it’s frustrating, and it’s entirely my own fault.   I passed up on the figure in the two-pack a couple of times, even when I saw it on clearance, which felt silly once they were gone.  Shortly after getting the Punisher version of the mold, I finally managed to track down a loose one…and then I opted to get rid of it when streamlining my collection, since I had the Punisher version and the Endgame armor.  Then I decided to downsize my Punisher figures, and I realized that I wouldn’t have this armor at all, which…well, it was annoying.  But, then they announced this release, and that made things better, especially since this one is just the two-pack figure, but improved.  Definitely my go-to MCU War Machine.

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.

#3516: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE (MATTEL)

It’s not uncommon to rag on modern comics as being total crap and having no value, or quality.  Certainly, not every one is a winner, that’s true.  Of course, that’s also been true of comics the whole time there’s been comics, so it feels like a middling point at best.  I myself am still a regular reader of a good number of comics, and there’s a few I’ve been really enjoying.  Perhaps the one I’ve been enjoying the most consistently for the last few years has been Tom Taylor’s Nightwing.  I’ve always loved the character, and I love where his current book places him within the DCU as a whole.  With the state of DC and its tie-ins being where they are, the book hasn’t gotten any proper tie-in figures, but Nightwing’s initial look was just his main Rebirth design, which snuck its way into Mattel’s late-run figures.  So, let’s look at that one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing was released as part of the Ninja Batman Series of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse.  It was a largely Titans-themed set…you know, apart from the CnC.  Nightwing fit right in.  As noted in the intro, he’s based on his Rebirth redesign, which is a solid classic Nightwing look.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Nightwing was built on the line’s mid-sized male body, same as Kyle.  It’s not *as* updated as some of the other late run figures from Mattel, but it was certainly an upgrade over the DCUC bodies.  It’s got decent movement, decent proportions, and even has pinless joints.  He gets a unique head, forearms, and hands, which are pretty respectable offerings.  Definitely dialing into that in-line aesthetic, and also fitting the character pretty well.  The forearms in particular are impressive, since they definitely could have gotten away without doing the arm wraps, and yet they did anyway.  Nightwing’s paint work is decent enough.  It reflects the color scheme from the books pretty nicely.  The blue is especially striking, and the paint application is all nice and clean.  Nightwing was packed with two sets of hands, in gripping and fists, as well as his eskrima sticks.  Not a ton, but also hits all the basics, which is what you really need.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

By the end of Mattel’s run, this line got pretty hard to find at retail, and chances of finding individual figures were zero to none.  Since I didn’t want to order a whole set online just to get a Nightwing, I wound up passing on this guy at the time of his release.  I was, however, fortunate enough to come across a loose one, when it got traded into All Time.  He’s the best Nightwing that Mattel put out, to be sure, and he’s honestly just one of the best versions of the character in this scale.

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.

#3515: Mike Power – The Atomic Man

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

MIKE POWER — THE ATOMIC MAN

G.I. JOE: ADVENTURE TEAM (HASBRO)

While a good portion of the fanbase has a tendency to ignore anything pre-1982, G.I. Joe had almost two decades of existence prior to its Real American Hero incarnation.  Originally “America’s Moving Fighting Man,” G.I. Joe began as a purely military line.  As public outcry against the Vietnam War grew at the end of the ’60s, desire for toys based on war declined sharply.  Hasbro adapted, easing out of the purely military side with Adventures of G.I. Joe.  When that proved successful, the entire line was then rebranded in 1970 as G.I. Joe: Adventure Team.  The group were now a non-military group of adventurers, focussing more on surviving the environment than on taking down enemy combatants.  The line was even more successful than its predecessor, allowing for expansion beyond its original set-up.  The team found themselves in even more fantastical environments, fighting aliens, and even taking on new members who were more than just simple adventurers.  That included today’s focus, Mike Power, the Atomic Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mike Power The Atomic Man was added to the G.I. Joe: Adventure Team line in 1975.  His addition was in response to the success of The Six Million Dollar Man, and Hasbro had in fact attempted to make him the “Bionic Man” in hopes of locking up the trademark on “Bionic” before the show-runners could get it.  Kenner, however, already held the toy rights to the show, and Hasbro was forced to make Mike Atomic, rather than Bionic.  The figure stands about 12 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Mike was built using the standard Joe 12-inch body of the era, and is in fact the last new figure to be introduced on it, as the “muscle body” would become the standard issue that same year.  He does, however, feature the one notable change to the body from the prior year: Kung Fu Grip!  In 1974, the Joes got new hands, made from a softer rubber, which allowed them to more properly grip tools and weapons than the previous hard plastic hands.  It was a cool novelty, albeit one tarnished a bit by how quickly the rubber broke down, leading to many yellowed and torn up hands.  But, it was a cool idea at the start, and its cool when you find not as messed up ones, which I just so happened to do.  Beyond the standard parts, Mike got a modified right arm and left leg, which were his atomic parts.  The leg is essentially the same, just in clear plastic with some extra parts embedded inside.  The arm, however, gets a tweaked internal construction, which also adds a spinning action feature to the forearm.  Mike also got a brand-new head sculpt, which was quite distinct from the standard Joes.  He still kept the cheek scar (something that other non-Joes from the line tended to lack), but he’s got a different set of features, and a generally friendlier expression.  While most Adventure Team figures sported flocked hair, Mike was back to painted hair (at least for his US release; Palitoy’s equivalent figure had flocked hair like the rest of them), presumably to make his “Atomic Eye” feature work a bit better.  Mike’s paint is contained almost entirely on his head.  Again in contrast to the other Adventurers, his head was completely painted as opposed to having molded plastic skin.  It results in a little bit of a mismatch between the head and the rest of the body, but it’s minor.  Mike’s outfit was a rather simple one, as it was really just a placeholder for the more involved outfits you could buy for him.  He gets a camo shirt and brown shorts.  The shirt is the same as the one included in the main line’s “Jungle Survival” set, while the shorts were unique.  He also had a hand-held helicopter blade accessory, which is the one thing missing from mine.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My first exposure to G.I. Joe was through my Dad’s old Joes from his childhood, which was largely a collection of ’60s era Joes that had been passed down to him.  His own proper Joe items were all from Adventure Team, and through researching those and obsessing over them as a kid, Adventure Team became my first real love of the Joe franchise (Check out my fan art of the Commander, Mike, and Bulletman, circa 2000, just down below).  Mike was one that always fascinated me in particular, and my Dad even got me my own Mike when I was a kid.  He took a bit of a beating (especially those poor hands), but he remained a favorite.  A month or so back, All Time got in a large collection going back to the ’70s, largely devoid of much Joe-related product, but it did have this guy in there all on his own, so your boi got himself another one to review.  He’s very, very fun.  Hokey, but fun.

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.

#3514: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Working alongside Captain America, Super Spy Black Widow makes a discovery that hints at a sinister worldwide conspiracy — and must do whatever it takes to counteract it.”

Back in May of 2014, when I reviewed the original Winter Soldier Black Widow, Scarlet Johannson’s live action take on the character was still quite a rarity in the toy world.  She was notably the only member of the original Avengers left out of the initial 6-inch line-up, and even her Winter Soldier figure was a short pack (since it was the days before the more even pack-outs on Legends).  In the almost decade since, that’s certainly changed.  It’s still not quite on par with her male counterparts, but she’s gotten a lot more headway.  And now, they’re even doubling back to that very first look to get the proper Legends treatment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow was released the 2023 assortment of the Infinity Saga sub-line of Marvel Legends.  She joins the previously released Cap to make up this assortment’s Winter Soldier portion, and the two of them jointly help the Flashback Winter Soldier in giving us updates to all three of the original Legends tie-ins for the movie.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She remains too tall to truly be a Johannson Widow, but that’s been a consistent issue across the board.  Her articulation scheme has changed compared to the original, as she’s now got double jointed elbows (with swanky pinless construction), and her neck joint is a double ball joint, rather than a single.  These changes are due to the fact that Widow actually gets some new parts, in contrast to Cap’s total re-use.  Her upper torso and arms are new, while the lower torso and legs remain the same.  The new parts are quite nice, and fix some slight issues with proportions and suit detailing on the last mold, as well as improving her movement quite a bit.  Apart from the slight issues with standing, the fact that she’s still got visible pins on the knees, and those dreaded holsters with the permanently molded guns, the re-used parts do at least still look pretty good.  Near as I can tell, the head is also re-used, but its worth noting that the likeness looks *a lot* better this time around.  Widow’s paint work on her original figure was based on concept coloring, while this one is based on what she’s actually wearing in the movie.  In Winter Soldier, she’s notably wearing actual black for most of her gear, and that’s reflected here.  It results in a number of areas actually getting a lot less paint than the last time, but it looks better.  It also helps that the areas that *do* get paint are a lot cleaner this time around.  The face paint in particular is night and day, and it does really look like a different sculpt.  I also really like that they’ve done proper accenting for her hair.  Widow is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), a pair of guns, a pair of widow’s sting effects, and the alternate Avengers-style head like the original had.  The guns aren’t real firearms, or accurate to the movie, but I’m glad she at least gets *something* this time around, rather than the complete lack from last time.  The alt head gets the same paint improvement as the main, which is very nice to see as well.  Of course, we don’t really have the rest of the core Avengers in a style that matches, but that’s hardly this figure’s fault.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite my issues with the original release of this costume, I maintained that it was still a pretty good figure, and didn’t really feel the same need for an update that I did with Cap.  I certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea, though, when her name popped up on the list.  I didn’t think that much of her when I got her, and I was prepared to be a bit let-down after Cap…but I really wasn’t.  There are a few small things that I’m still not 100% sold on, but in general, she’s just a solid improvement on the original figure, in ways that I hadn’t even really thought of.  I’m glad she got the new parts, and the extras, and she actually feels like she was worth the price of the upgrade.  Just a good 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.

#3513: General Hera Syndulla

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

GENERAL HERA SYNDULLA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy”

Yes, that’s certainly a very descriptive bio for Hera, who is very definitely mentioned in the text on the back of her packaging…Sorry, am I critiquing the bio text again?  I really don’t want to get back into that.  Those poor copy writers!

Ahsoka hit Disney+ back at the end of the summer, and, in addition to focusing on the eponymous character, it also brought back a good number of the cast of Rebels.  Amongst them was the Ghost‘s pilot, General Hera Syndulla, now portrayed in live action by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Her role is notably a bit smaller than some of the others, but she still gets a fair bit to do, as her personal goals place her at odds with her high-ranking position in the New Republic.  And she’s also gotten more Black Series treatment out of it, which is very dope.  Let’s check that out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

General Hera Syndulla is figure 6 in the Ahsoka sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘ Phase IV incarnation.  She’s part of the second assortment to bear figures from the show, alongside Marrok and Hyang from the show, as well as Pre Vizsla from Clone Wars and R2-D2 from The Mandalorian.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Hera’s last figure was honestly in a pretty good spot when it came to articulation, but this one improves even on that, giving her a very good set-up, which allows for some really natural posing.  Hera gets an all-new sculpt, based on her look from the show.  She’s not too far removed from her Rebels design, changing things up, while keeping them within the same general theming of her prior look.  The biggest change-up is the addition of the bomber jacket, which is really just always an improvement.  It’s a good look, and it translates well to the toy.  The sculpt is nicely handled.  The head’s sporting a strong likeness of Winstead in the role, and I especially like the slight smile; it’s very friendly, and definitely very Hera.  The goggles are a separate piece, but do not come down.  I don’t believe she ever has them down in the show, but it might have been cool.  As it stands they’re just goggles that do nothing, which is really what they’ve been the whole time.  The rest of her outfit is sharply detailed, and the articulation is cut in in such a way as to not mess with the aesthetics too much.  Her color work is pretty decent.  It’s a lot of molded colors, as has become the norm, but it works well.  It’s eye-catching, without being too garish.  The face printing works well on this release, and really adds to the overall likeness.  Hera is packed with her blaster pistol, which she now has holstered on her hip, rather than her boot.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like Hera as a character, and I was happy to hear she was making the jump to live action, and then even happier to hear she was being played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, whose work I’ve enjoyed since Sky High.  I liked her take on Hera in the show, and I really dug the new design, so I was very much down for an updated figure.  Hera was my favorite of the Rebels figures for Black Series, so topping that was no small feat, but, well, this one kinda did just that.  She’s a very nice 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.