Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3407: Puff Adder Series Wrap-Up

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

EXTREMIS IRON MAN, BARON STRUCKER, YELENA BELOVA, ORB, & PUFF ADDER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Are you guys ready for a totally radical change-up?  I’m reviewing Marvel Legends!  Okay, that’s, like, not a change-up at all.  In fact, that’s about as status quo as status quo gets around these parts.  The totally radical change-up is *how* I’m reviewing Marvel Legends.  Since the site’s inception, I’ve been reviewing single release Legends each as their own single review.  For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been looking at each successive figure from the latest Avengers-themed assortment on Tuesdays.  Today, I’m wrapping up the remaining four figures, plus the Build-A-Figure, all in one fell swoop.  Won’t this be an adventure!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Extremis Iron Man, Baron Strucker, Yelena Belova, and Orb are the last four figures in the Puff Adder Series of Marvel Legends.  Iron is the one unnumbered figure in the set, while Strucker, Yelena, and Orb are figures 2, 3, and 5, respectively, in the line-up.  Puff Adder is, as you might guess, the Build-A-Figure for the series, assembled by buying six of the seven figures in the assortment.

EXTREMIS IRON MAN

“Tony Stark’s new Extremis Iron Man armor utilizes nanotechnology to allow direct interface between his brain and the armor”

This marks the second time that the Extremis armor has been done in Legends, following his release in the first Return of Marvel Legends assortment, which was good for the time, but also quite a while ago.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation, as well as rotating hip discs.  This new Extremis Iron Man is sporting a brand-new sculpt, and one of its major selling points is the new and improved articulation.  So, how does that work out?  It’s a mixed bag, honestly.  One of the major things is that the original Extremis sculpt is a really good one in its own right, and it was restricted, but workable.  This one is less restricted, and more workable…but it’s not quite the massive improvement that it was touted to be.  Of note, one of the big selling points was the “hero landing” pose, which got used a lot in artwork for this armor.  The figure’s even shown in this pose on the back of the box.  I’ve done my best to replicate this pose myself for the Wilson photo that accompanies this review, and in doing so, I got to discover just how much cheating Hasbro had to do to make the pose work with this figure.  Yeah, it’s doable, but it really only looks good from one very specific angle.  Anything else, and you’re looking at a horrible mash of body parts.  I’m also not a fan of how the shoulderpads work; they’re not jointed on their own, which greatly restricts the movement of the shoulders proper.  However, there are certainly areas where the articulation really shines, and the neck joint’s definitely one for me; he can actually look straight up, which you don’t see with a lot of Iron Men.  The actual sculpting work is also pretty strong.  There’s a lot of mechanical work, which is quite sharp, and he’s also properly scaled to look like there’s actually someone in the suit, which fixes the primary issue with the last figure.  Iron Man’s color work is pretty decent.  It’s a fair bit of molded plastic, but the colors work well, and he’s got that slightly metallic sheen.  The minor bit of paint is all pretty cleanly applied, and it should hold up alright over time.  Iron Man is packed with two sets of hands and a pair of repulsor blasts.

BARON STRUCKER

“Having served Hydra as far back as World War II, Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker stands as one of Captain America’s longest-living enemies. ‘Cut off one head and two will take its place.'”

In another life, with a slight change to his last name’s spelling, I bet this guy would have made some great jam.  Either way, he’s definitely celebrating the advancement of some very old people.  Strucker’s never gotten the Legends treatment before, but that’s not terribly surprising.  He’s really just a stand-in for Red Skull most of the time.  He’s seen here in his spandex garb, which seems odd for such an old guy, but when you’re an actual Nazi, I guess clothing choice is the least of anyone’s worries.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Spider-UK base body, which seems consistent with how he was depicted when wearing this outfit.  It’s been modified to remove visible pins on the arms and legs, which is pretty cool.  He’s got an overlay for his scarf, which is loose and free floating, and doesn’t feel especially secure.  The new gauntlet sculpt is clean and sharp, and I definitely dig it.  The new head sculpt is a very strong piece, and definitely the main selling point here.  I particularly dig how they handled his monocle.  In terms of coloring, he’s very green, that’s for sure.  The face paint is very effective, and that scarring looks impressive.  It’s unfortunately not all up to that quality, as the yellow paint for the accenting is very thin, showing the green below.  Additionally, the neck line is very sloppy, though it’s masked a bit by his scarf.  Strucker is packed with two energy effect pieces, as well as the right leg for Puff Adder.

YELENA BELOVA

“Trained by the spymasters of the infamous Red Room, Yelena Belova is the second operative to take on the role of Black Widow”

Yelena’s not new to Legends, but she’s also still had a lot less coverage than you might think, given how long she’s been around, and how easy a variant she is.  Her only comics version before this was back in the Toy Biz days, and it even put her in the wrong outfit at that.  This one places her in her “Dark Reign” era Thunderbolts gear.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Or, you know, she would, if the neck joint on this one hadn’t busted between the first and second photos of the set here.  Not sure exactly what happened there, but her neck just tore clean through.  That’s a real bummer.  She’s based on the Riders Widow body, which hasn’t been used all that much, surprisingly.  It’s a good one, albeit one that’s a little older compared to others.  She gets a new head, upper torso, and belt overlay.  They’re pretty nice pieces, and I especially like the dynamic flow of her hair.  She’s rather light on paint, but it’s generally not too bad.  The red paint on her visor is a little off mark, so it doesn’t quite line-up, but other than that, she looks alright.  Yelena gets some of the best accessory work from the set, with two sets of hands, a pistol with and without silencer, a sniper rifle, a removable strap, two shooting effects, and two barrel flash effects.  She also features the torso of Puff Adder, which is his largest piece.

ORB

“Ridiculed for his appearance since his youth, the mercenary known as Orb holds the ironic distinction of being partially responsible for blinding Uatu the Watcher”

Orb’s certainly the set’s most obscure character choice.  He’s also an interesting selection, given he’s not *really* an Avengers foe, but I guess he’s close enough.  This is his very first figure, so that’s pretty cool.  The figure is just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Orb is still using Bucky Cap body, a base that was once a very good offering, but is now really showing its age and wear to the mold.  There’s some noticeable gaps in the joints, and he feels a little floppy.  He gets a new head and collar, as well as using the pouched belt, flared gloves, and buccaneer boots for the body.  The new head’s not bad; it’s a sphere, but it’s a good one.  Orb’s color work is bold and bright, which is good.  The application of the paint is a bit touchy in some spots.  In particular, the blue paint is a little sloppy on torso and belt, and there’s a stray spot on one of the pouches of the belt.  On the flip side, the eye detailing turned out really well.  Orb is packed with his gun and the right arm of Puff Adder.

PUFF ADDER

Hey, look at that, it’s Puff Adder.  Now the Serpent Society is up to four.  Or five.  Or six?  Possibly seven?  It’s honestly kinda hard to account for it all.  It’s another member, that’s what I’m getting at.  This time, it’s the big guy, Gordon Fraley, aka Puff Adder.  Puff here is a late ’80s addition, and I honestly don’t know a ton about him.  The figure is about 8 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Puff Adder is based on the same body as the Caliban BaF from 2019.  He gets a new head, but is otherwise just a rather basic, by the numbers figure.  It’s about what you’d expect for Puff Adder, though, so it works fine.  His color work is a lot of variations of green, which is again what you’d expect.  It generally works out okay, but without any actual sculpting or line-work, the two shades of lighter green rather blend together, which does muddy things just a touch.  Puff Adder includes two sets of hands, one in fists, one in relaxed poses.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, why this radical change-up here?  Let me ‘splain.  No, it’s too much.  Let me sum up.  For the last several years, I’ve been buying every figure in a given series of Marvel Legends for the purposes of getting a whole set to review.  However, I’ve been slowing down and even downsizing my personal collection of Legends a bit, so I’m not looking to actually purchase every single figure anymore.  Thankfully, my sponsors over at All Time Toys were kind enough to set me up with a deal where I get to take home and review a whole set of Legends, and then just pay for and keep the figures I actually want out of the set.  So, all of these guys, minus the Build-A-Figure, are the one’s I’ve elected not to keep from this particular assortment, for one reason or another.  And now you know my dirty secret.  Except it’s not a secret.  Or dirty.  So, I guess it’s just….a something?  Yeah, let’s go with that.

Though I didn’t opt to keep a lot of this set, it’s one that I can certainly get behind.  It’s got a good mix of heavy hitters, fan favorites in need of updates, and obscure oddballs, which actually mesh together a bit better than I’d expected.  Wonder Man is unquestionably my favorite, of course, but that Cap snuck up on me for just how cool he is.  Molecule Man’s cool for the novelty, so that’s neat.  Strucker is better than I’d expected, if not enough so for me to keep him.  Yelena *would* be in that category, if not for the breakage.  Orb unfortunately really showcases the need to finally retire the Bucky Cap.  Iron Man’s not bad, he’s just not quite what I was hoping for.  And then there’s Puff Adder, who is Puff Adder.

#3406: Mantis

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

MANTIS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After fighting many battles with the Guardians of the Galaxy, the once quiet Mantis is ready to open up, embrace her powers, and settle into her new home on Knowhere.”

When first introduced in 1973, Mantis was an Earth-native femme fatale-style super heroine, who was added to the Avengers roster by her creator Steve Englehart to shake-up the team dynamic at the time.  She would ultimately become a central player during the “Celestial Madonna” story, taking her to a more cosmic level.  She remained in the background for a bit after that (and was actually carried across a few different publishers as Englehart jumped around, albeit never being explicitly identified as “Mantis”), and was eventually worked into Marvel’s cosmic side proper when she was worked into the Guardians of the Galaxy.  When she made her jump to the MCU in Guardians Vol. 2, she, like Drax before her, went from being a human who went out into space to being an alien outright.  She also got quite a personality overhaul, becoming far more quiet and timid.  Over the course of her subsequent appearances, she’s grown a fair bit, and by Vol. 3, she’s far more capable in her own right.  And now she also gets a proper single release figure, rather than being chopped up as a Build-A-Figure.  Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mantis is figure 2 in the Cosmo Series of Marvel Legends, which serves as the tie-in for Vol. 3.  Like the rest of the main team, she’s seen here in her proper uniformed design, which is a change of pace after she wore pretty much the same get-up for her prior five appearances.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Where both Star-Lord and Drax relied heavily on parts re-use from older figures, Mantis is a lot more new parts…with the caveat that there’s a lot of sharing with another figure in the set, but we’ll get to that later.  She appears to be using the same head sculpt as the Build-A-Figure Mantis, which is reasonable enough; that was a good sculpt, with a respectable likeness of Pom Klementieff, so why not stick with it?  Everything from the neck down is new, and it’s generally pretty good, apart from one notable issue: she’s too tall.  I mean, not like, crazy too tall, but definitely too tall.  Beyond that, it’s a respectable offering, which details the design of the team suit nicely.  Some of the details are a little on the softer side, but otherwise it’s pretty good.  She’s also got the pinless construction for the elbows and knees, which keeps things pretty clean.  Mantis’s color work is alright.  It’s a lot of molded plastic colors, and in the case of the suit, I do feel it robs her of some of the sculpted details, since there’s not a ton of accenting going on.  Like the last two team suit figures, there’s definitely a bit of slop on the red sections, and in her case, her chest emblem is also a little bit offset.  Mantis’s face work is a little more detailed than her prior figure, and, as odd as it feels to say, I think I like the last one just a bit better.  There’s something about the eyes on this release that feels just a little off for me.  I’m not sure why, and it’s not bad in a vacuum, just odd compared to the other one.  Mantis doesn’t get any extras of her own; I’m not sure what there is to give her, but maybe some extra hands or something would have been nice.  As it stands, all she gets is one of Cosmo’s legs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really liked Mantis’s addition to the team in the second film, and I’ve enjoyed seeing her growth as a character over the films.  I wasn’t initially sure I needed another version, but we’re getting those team suits, and it’s so hard to say no to any of them at that point.  She’s got some smaller issues that definitely hold her back a bit, but the overall product is honestly pretty good.

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.

#3405: The Blob

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

THE BLOB

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Fred J. Dukes has long used the massive bulk and near-impervious skin granted by his mutant powers to combat the X-Men alongside the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants proving time and again that nothing moves the Blob!”

The Blob is a shockingly early addition to the X-Men universe when you really delve into it.  He’s only their third antagonist as a team, beaten only by Magneto and the Vanisher.  He was also pretty quickly worked in as a recurring foe, working for both the alien Lucifer and Factor Three, before finally being added to the Brotherhood roster in an issue of Defenders of all things.  He’s surprisingly absent for the formative years of Claremont’s run on the book, before finally returning with the new and improved Brotherhood in “Days of Future Past.”  From that point forward, he stuck around in a more recurrent capacity, though he’s never really been at the forefront of the stories being told.  But hey, it does get him some decent action figure coverage, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Blob is a deluxe standalone Marvel Legends release, timed to hit during the 60th anniversary of the X-Men, with all of the associated tie-in stuff for that.  This is Blob’s second time getting the Legends treatment, following up on the Build-A-Figure version released in Hasbro’s second ever Legends assortment.  It’s been a long 16 years waiting for an update.  The figure stands about 8 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  Blob’s articulation scheme works surprisingly well given his bulk.  I especially like the range on the neck joint; the ball-joint is very well placed there.  The range on the elbows is also pretty solid, but the slight offset to that is that they break the flow a bit when posed.  Not that it’s the end of the world, or anything.  Also, the weight distribution on this guy works out quite nicely, allowing for some really fun posing options, with running poses and the like.  Blob is sporting an all-new sculpt; the Build-A-Figure had a rather stylized look to him, angling for a more grotesque appearance, in line with some of the more monstrous additions from Toy Biz’s tenure (which makes sense, since Toy Biz’s team actually sculpted the original Blob).  This one’s a bit more all-purpose, going for a more classic comics styling.  It downplays things like the excessive fat rolls, and I think it’s ultimately for the better, especially when it comes to him fitting in with the rest of the Brotherhood.  There are two different heads included; one calm, and one screaming.  The two heads also have slightly differing hairstyles, with the screaming version getting a look that’s all on the top, versus the visible sides on the calmer head.  I appreciate the options, though I definitely lean a bit more towards the screaming one myself.  The paint work on this guy is sort of a mixed bag, with some of the base work being rather sloppy, especially for the yellows.  On mine, there’s a lot of slop on the edges, and the application’s also kind of thin, so there’s a change of color visible where applications overlap.  Also, despite the prototype shots not showing it, he’s got the same spotting on the arms and legs that the BaF had.  I can only guess it’s got something to do with making the large swathes of unpainted plastic look less plasticky. Blob is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in open gesture, which makes for some nice variety in posing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had the Build-A-Figure back in the day, but I was never really that enamored with him.  Admittedly, I’m a bit hot and cold with the Blob in general, so I wasn’t dying for an update, or anything.  That said, with so many of the Brotherhood accounted for recently, he was a notable omission.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by him, especially when it comes to posing.  Also, while we’re still a Destiny figure shy of the full DoFP Brotherhood, this guy does at least let me wrap up my “Pryde of the X-Men” Brotherhood of Mutant Terrorists line-up, so my X-Men have someone to face off against.  And that makes me very happy.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’d like to see a video of this guy in action, I helped out with one for their YouTube channel, so check that out.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3404: Chamber

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

CHAMBER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“At the Massachusetts Academy and as a member of Generation X, Chamber learns to manage his biokinetic flame which covers his chest and face”

Okay, but you know that the flame doesn’t *cover* his chest and face, right? It’s important to me that you know it doesn’t *cover* his chest and face. Because, like, his powers actually blew away is jaw and the upper portion of his torso when they manifested. Like, they’re just gone. Anyway, let’s talk about Generation X. Generation X is the generation between the baby boomers and the millennials. No, that’s not right. Generation X is an English rock band fronted by Billy Idol. No, still not it. Generation X is an X-Men spin-off, launched out of “The Phalanx Covenant” crossover in 1994. While most of the initial team was formed from the group of young mutants gathered by the Phalanx during the event, one of their most distinctive members didn’t join until their series proper launched later that year. But join he did, and no one can deny that Chamber was worry the wait.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chamber is figure 6 in the Ch’od Series of Marvel Legends. He’s one of the two debut Generation X figures in the line-up, and he’s also Chamber’s first figure since his old Toy Biz figure.  While he would eventually get a variation on the team uniform look, during his initial run, Chamber had his own look, which was really just civilian garb.  That’s what this one goes with.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Chamber’s mobility is a little more on the restricted, partially due to design (it’s hard to get good neck movement with this look), and partially due to the parts he’s re-using.  He’s making use of the lower-half of the Coulson body, which isn’t the most charming selection of parts.  The movement is very limited, especially on the hips and ankles, and the sculpt is also broken up quite a bit by posing the figure, which isn’t very fun.  It also means that he’s wearing dress shoes, which seems a bit off for Chamber.  Thankfully, the rest of him looks to be all-new.  The head’s the real star piece here.  It’s the work of sculptor Paul Harding, who seems to be Hasbro’s go-to for cool fire sculpts right now.  It’s very dynamic, which is truly the best way to handle Chamber’s appearance.  It’s largely meant to be viewed from the front, but it still works from other angles as well.  Chamber also gets a new torso and arms, which aren’t as flashy as the head sculpt, but still pretty solid pieces.  I’m particularly impressed by the texturing on the sweater, because that’s where I am with my life, I guess.  The figure’s color work is largely black, which is expected.  The variation on the head keeps with the dynamic nature of the sculpt, which I certainly enjoy.  Chamber is packed with two sets of hands, as well as the left arm for the Ch’od Build-A-Figure.  Since the head is on a ball-joint, I would have liked to see an alternate head with his collar pulled up over his energy, like he did a lot in the comics.  But, I guess that’s a lot to ask.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Chamber’s another one of those characters that I just have this sort of attachment to.  I don’t know exactly why.  He’s just really cool looking, I guess.  I really liked the ’90s figure back in the day, and I’ve been waiting for an update.  This one was very high on my list in a wave that has other very high on my list figures.  I’m not super thrilled about the leg re-use; it seems rather limiting and backwards, honestly.  Beyond that, though, I do really like him, and he’s certainly a step-up from the original 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.

#3403: Ultron

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

ULTRON

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Robot. Maniacal genius. Science experiment gone wrong. Ultron is the supreme weapon of mass destruction and a mortal threat to his creator Hank Pym, the Avengers, and all humankind.”

Wait….why do I feel like I’ve been here before? Could it be that I’ve already reviewed this figure? I mean, I’ve had it happen. That bio sure is familiar. But wait, there’s a very specific mention of Hank Pym in that bio now. What is this, some sort of very specific Ant-Man tie-in. Well, uh, yeah, it actually is. How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultron is figure 3 in the Cassie Lang Series of Marvel Legends, which is specifically an Ant-Man tie-in wave. Ultron’s obviously from the comics portion of that, though interestingly enough, movie Ultron was the Build-A-Figure for the very first movie Ant-Man tie-in assortment. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. By and large, this guy’s really just a slight tweak on the Ursa Major Ultron. That was really the definitive classic comics Ultron, so, you know decent starting point. What does this one do? New head. The last one was classic. This one is also classic. Just, like, a different classic? There are a collection of necessary details for a classic Ultron head, but there exact relative proportions are always a bit up in the air, making both takes equally valid. I honestly find this one just a touch more my speed than the last, but I like them both. While the last Ultron was painted silver, this one goes back to a molded plastic. I’m not so much on the molded plastic silver, but I do like the slightly darker shade. Since the head on this one has a larger, flatter mouth, we’re back to the painted crackle effect as well, which I still really dig. Ultron gets the same five hands and crackle effect piece as we got on the last release. Amusingly, the new head isn’t compatible with the crackle effect (hence the painted detail instead), so all he can do his hold it in his hand. I guess it’s nice that they didn’t cut it, though, right? It’s also a different pattern than the other one, so you get extra options there. Ultron is also packed with the left arm of Cassie Lang.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

On the outside, this guy does seem like the easiest figure in this set to skip for me. Which makes the fact that he’s honestly the single figure I was most excited for all the more baffling, right? What can I say; I’m a sucker for a classic Ultron. Even one that’s just minorly different. The new head really makes this one for me. Something about it just really resonates. Of course, I’m not swapping out the old one. It just means this guy gets the be the Ultron-12/Mark for my Legends collection.

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.

#3402: Molecule Man

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

MOLECULE MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Owen Reece aka Molecule Man possesses near-limitless power to re-order the world around him at the molecular level”

Molecule Man was first introduced during Fantastic Four‘s second year, and was initially a rather formulaic creation from Stan and Jack.  He’s a normal guy, bombarded by radiation, granting him super powers.  So, he puts on a green and purple outfit and decides to become a supervillain, because he was in a book that had somebody else’s name in the title.  Despite his formulaic origins, Reece was a rather high-power-level character, which meant coming up with unique ways to keep him out of commission, which they did for about two decades, before rolling him into the otherwise pretty heavy-hitter driven Secret Wars event.  At that point, it was revealed that the radiation that bombarded Owen wasn’t just random, it was in fact part of the Beyonder’s power, making Molecule Man an even stronger player than he realized.  He plays a key role in getting the people stranded on Battleworld home, and has since then tended to fall into the part of a man attempting to reform himself…sometimes literally.  And now he has a Marvel Legend.  Let’s check that out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Molecule Man is figure 1 in the Puff Adder Series of Marvel Legends, which is officially branded as an Avengers assortment, though Molecule Man’s place in such a line-up is a little bit iffy, since he’s more FF, or just general Marvel Universe.  I mean, the last FF wave had High Evolutionary, so I guess there’s a degree of trade-off going on there.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Molecule Man uses the Red Skull jumpsuit body as his starting point, which certainly makes a fair bit of sense for the character.  He’s got a new head, torso, and skirt piece, which suitably transform him into a different character.  Molecule Man’s look has made some pretty radical evolutions over the years, as he’s gone from quite deformed and unattractive to something more conventionally handsome.  This one is closer to his more recent appearances, seemingly taking the most influence from Mike Detato’s version of him from Dark Avengers.  It’s not strictly classic, but it’s also not a terrible look, so I don’t hate it.  At least he’s still got funky hair to keep him *a little* weird looking.  Paint is quite minimal on this guy, with the vast majority of his coloring being handled by molded colors.  He still gets all of the important details, mind you, and the molded pieces result in a pretty sharp color set-up for the guy, suiting his classic design nicely.  His face gets some printed detailing, which works especially well with the scarring.  Molecule Man is packed with two sets of hands (in fists and open gesture), two purple energy effects, and the left leg to the Puff Adder Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Molecule Man is one of those characters I’ve always liked in concept, but never definitively latched onto in practice quite as much.  He’s been rare on the toy side, with only the Minimate prior to this.  I did like that one, though, and I was *kinda* intrigued by this one.  However, I was still a touch on the fence up until getting my set to review.  Having him in hand, I actually do really like him.  If I had one complaint, it’s that we didn’t get an alternate, earlier looking head sculpt, just to give him a broader coverage, but beyond that, I do find myself quite enjoying 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.

#3401: Drax

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

DRAX

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Drax finally dons a shirt and becomes a more active member of the Guardians by helping set up their new headquarters–but he still has trouble thinking before he acts.”

Everybody gets a real character arc in all three Guardians movies, and Drax’s is getting a shirt on over his sensitive nipples. Right? Okay, no, not quite. In fact, his arc, much like the other Guardians, is about learning how to be a part of a family again, even if it’s not quite the family he was expecting. It’s admittedly a pretty nice arc for the guy. Also, he starts wearing shirts. Good for him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Drax is figure 1 in the Cosmo Series of Marvel Legends, which serves as the tie-in for Guardians Vol 3. He’s seen here in his full team uniform, a marked change from his last two figures. The figure stands about 6 3/4 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. Like Star-Lord, Drax is making use of prior molds for the character, though in Drax’s case, those molds go back to the very first film’s tie-in stuff. This figure makes use of the legs and feet from the previous movie Draxes, and apart from the visible pins on the knees, they honestly hold up quite well. Drax obviously gets a new torso and arms, so as to give him his shirt. It matches well with both the movie and with the Star-Lord figure, so those are both pluses. Drax also gets a new head. Like his first figure, this one is back to being calm. It’s not drastically different, but it does get a slight improvement to the Batista likeness. Drax’s color work is generally alright. Nothing major to write home about. As with Star-Lord, the red stripes stop right at the hips, rather than continuing into the pocket the way they do in the movie, but that’s a symptom of those re-used parts. Application on the reds is a little sloppy around the edges, but otherwise he looks pretty clean. Drax is packed with his two knives, as well as the front right leg of Cosmo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Drax is a character I keep thinking I don’t need to update, and then I keep liking his new figures more than I expected to. I largely grabbed this guy because I was getting the whole team in their fancy new suits, but I really like how he turned out, especially with that new likeness.

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.

#3400: X-Men Villains

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

STRYFE, PRETTY BOY, ZERO, VERTIGO, & RANDOM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Heroes are only as good as their adversaries and in their 60-year history, the X-Men have faced some of the fiercest foes in comics.”

That bio is definitely some poor Hasbro copy-writer’s way of saying “I’m not looking up info on all of these low tier X-villains.” And who can blame them, really? The X-Men have had a lot of villains, but, admittedly, only a handful have really stuck. Starting in the mid-80s or so, there were more and more space fillers, as every evil mutant gained their own team. And, in honor of those space fillers, Hasbro’s done a whole box set of them, seemingly chosen at random. And also with Random. Get it? Because Random is in the….and his name is…yeah, I’ll see myself out. Or I’ll just jump into the actual review.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Stryfe, Pretty Boy, Zero, Vertigo, and Random make up the Marvel Legends X-Men Villains set, which is a Fan Channel set. There’s not really a strict theme to this one beyond being villains from a roughly overlapping period of time in the late ’80s/early ’90s.

STRYFE

If there’s a solid selling point to this set, it’s this guy. He’s certainly the most notable of the characters included here. He’s also the only one to have a prior Legend. That said, the figure was part of the Jubilee Series, which is one of the most difficult modern assortments to get, leading to a hefty aftermarket value for Stryfe. The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. Stryfe has a good number of parts in common with his last release, with the bulk of the body being shared between the two. The legs have been modified to remove the pins at the knees, and he’s got a new head and arms, as well as what looks like a new cape. The new head is definitely doing most of the heavy lifting for this figure; the last one wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have a lot of depth. This one’s using a multi-part construction, which makes it far sharper in terms of detailing, and really sells the absurdity of “Wolverine’s mask but more so” that Stryfe’s mask always had. This Stryfe figure’s color work errs a little closer to his earlier appearances than his last figure, going for a brighter shade of silver, as well as some blue accenting. It’s a lot of molded colors, but there’s paint for the face, as well as those blue accents. The face gets the printing, which adds some life to the sculpt. The accent work for the blue is a touch on the sloppier side, but not awful. Stryfe is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

PRETTY BOY

Pretty Boy’s honestly a pretty decent selling point for this set, too. The Reavers have been kind of a slow build in the line, going back to 2019’s Caliban Series, and with Pretty Boy, we’ve got the original core group. So, of course he’s in a big boxed set. Ah well. Over the years, just how much of Pretty Boy is cybernetic has ebbed and flowed, but this one goes towards the heavier side. The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation. Pretty Boy gets an all-new sculpt, featuring a head courtesy of Paul Harding. It’s a good mix of aesthetics, as you’d hope to see for the character. I quite like the head, which captures the early depictions of the guy quite nicely. The body sculpt gets a lot of fun technical details, and I’m curious to see if it gets pulled again for future uses. It’s certainly a good, solid robot body. Pretty Boy uses a lot of molded plastic for his coloring, but still gets true face printing, as well as a little bit of wire detailing on the midsection. Pretty Boy makes out the best of any this set’s figures for accessories, with two sets of hands, a pair of guns (from Flashback Winter Soldier), two blast effects, and two smoke effects. The effects are in a funky green and I really dig it.

ZERO

The only other Mutant Liberation Front figure in the set besides Stryfe, and also by far the most minor of the bunch, Zero is honestly the best choice for this sort of set. Zero only has a few appearances, so just the one look, but it’s kind of fun in its simplicity. The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. Zero is built on the Spider-UK base body, which is honestly a pretty good match for how he tended to be depicted. It’s still got all the visible pins, but I’ll take what I can get. He gets a new head, which is all blank. It’s basic but it sits very well on the body, and it gets the job done. Zero is largely just molded white plastic. He does get a little bit of paint for the face and torso for the zeroes, and that’s pretty sharp. Zero is packed with two sets of hands, as well as the portal effect from the Defender Strange figure from last year.

VERTIGO

Vertigo is a character that’s kind of done the rounds in the X-verse, first serving as one of Magneto’s Savage Land Mutates, and then joining Mr. Sinister’s Marauders, and yet she’s still never had a figure. First time for everything. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation. While all of the other figures in this set have some degree of new parts, Vertigo is a total re-use figure. The head is the modern Invisible Woman, and the body is Psylocke.  While I’m not generally big on direct head re-uses for separate characters, especially for unmasked heads, this one honestly works out okay.  It helps that it’s on the Psylocke body, which is genuinely still a pretty solid one.  The big change-up here is the paint, which gives her the proper white and green set-up, which is pretty distinct.  Vertigo is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.  It’s a bit light, given her status as a total re-use, and it’s a shame we couldn’t get any sort of effects pieces for her powers or something.

RANDOM

And now we get to Random.  As random an inclusion here as his name suggests.  Also, very much toeing the line on fitting the set’s whole “villains” theme, since he’s never really been worse than a hired gun, with no real villainous tendencies, and he’s frequently been actively in the heroic camp, notably his time with X-Factor.  But, I’m not gonna turn my nose up at a Random figure, however I get him.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Random makes use of a good number of parts from the Thanos Series Hercules figure, with the vest from Rage, plus a new head, boots, and left forearm.  The whole thing winds up as a pretty impressive recreation of Random’s main ’90s look. I’m especially a fan of the head sculpt, with its multi-part construction for the head, bandana, and sunglasses.  There’s just a lot going on there, and it really works.  Random’s color work is actually pretty impressively handled.  The head again gets a lot of really in depth work, with printing for his stubble, and even slightly transparent lenses for the glasses.  I also really dig the tattoos on the arms; they add a lot of character.  Random doesn’t get any accessories, but honestly, he makes out alright without them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set’s announcement filled me with mixed emotions.  They’d shown off Pretty Boy first, and I was excited about rounding our my Reavers, but then they showed off the whole set of them together and I was suddenly less sure.  I mean, it’s a lot to spend, and how attached was I to the whole set?  Well, okay, it was really just Stryfe I wasn’t sold on, as it turned out.  But, wouldn’t you know it, at the same time, Max was frustrated that the Stryfe he wanted was bundled with other figures.  So, we struck up a deal, and he got his Stryfe, and I got my….rest of the set.  Random and Pretty Boy are the real stars here for me, thanks to rounding out two sets I’ve been working on.  But, the real underdog for me is Zero.  He’s basic, but where else are you gonna get a Zero?

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

#3399: Starjammer Corsair

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

STARJAMMER CORSAIR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Cyclops’ world is forever changed when Starjammer Captain and cavalier space pirate Corsair reveals he’s Christopher Summers, Scott’s long-lost father.”

Man, spoilers much?  I mean, seriously, what if I’m not up on my reading from the ’70s?  Or my viewing from the ’90s?  Won’t you think of the people that live under rocks, and yet still inexplicably buy toys?  No?  Well, that’s probably fair.  Since we already know his big secret, I guess, here’s Corsair!  Corsair, the assiumed name of Christopher Summers.  Which is just one name.  Like Madonna.  Or Beyonce.  It’s certainly not “Corsair Summers,” I’ll tell you that much.  Why bring this up?  Personal trauma, that’s why.  But let’s not get into that.  There’s an awesome Corsair figure to be looked at!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Corsair is figure 4 in the Ch’od Series of Marvel Legends.  This assortment has an interesting flow to it, all sort of headed by Cyclops, so it’s rather appropriate that Scott’s father would be a part of the set.  This is Corsair’s first time as a Legend, and only his third time as a figure, following his Toy Biz and Minimate counterparts.  He’s based on his original, sans shoulder pads design, which makes sense, since that’s the one he’s spent most of his carreer wearing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Corsair makes use of the Vulcan body, which is a sensible choice, seeing as it’s the one used by two of his three sons, and he’s typically depicted as about the same build as them.  He gets a new head and belt piece, as well as a modified upper torso (adding the collar) and forearms (adding the gloves).  I love the new head sculpt.  It really captures that feel of Corsair, and he’s even got that flowy hair!  Plus the dynamic flow on his headband looks really cool, too.  The new torso piece is somewhat baffling, not because it’s bad or anything, but because it’s a different piece than the nearly identical piece that was just used for Banshee, who is also built on the same base body.  Sure, the collars are a little different, but different enough for there to need to be two distinct and different pieces?  I don’t really feel so.  I’m not complaining, or anything, but it’s certainly odd.  Corsair’s paint work is clean, bright, and bold, which are really all of the things that I’d want out of it.  There’s a little extra detailing to help bring some more life to the face, which is very nice, and it’s otherwise just very clean.  Corsair is packed with two sets of hands (in gripping and fists), his pistol, his sword (re-used from Citizen V), and the right arm for the Ch’od Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

“The Phoenix Saga” is hands down my favorite portion of the X-Men books (and also the animated series), so I’m down for anything related to it in toy form.  I’ve held onto my old Toy Biz figure since he was new, but I’ve been hoping to see some Legends love for a while.  Hasbro definitely didn’t disappoint with this one.  He does what he needs to, and he does it well, and he’s just a lot of fun, as a good space pirate should be.

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.

#3398: Wasp

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

WASP

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Hope Van Dyne is now the leader of Pym Van Dyne Industries, a global organization focused on improving life on Earth with groundbreaking technology.”

Okay, I’m gonna level with you guys: I don’t have a good intro for this one.  Like, I really tried.  I wrote several variations of an intro explaining something about Hope Van Dyne, and it just never clicked, and it all felt boring.  So, I’m sorry.  I couldn’t come up with anything better.  It’s not even that I don’t like Hope, or the Wasp.  I do.  But, what is there to say?  It’s all been said, right?  Right.  So, you get this thing instead.  Ta-daaaaaa?  ….let’s just look at the figure, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wasp is the first figure in the Cassie Lang Series of Marvel Legends, based on her updated design from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.  While Scott just gets minor tweaks to the overall design, Hope’s new look is a little more removed.  It borrows a lot from Jan’s black and gold number from the comics.  I’m admittedly not the biggest fan of that look in the comics, but something about how it was adapted here just feels like it works a bit better.  Maybe it’s the blue accenting?  It could be.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 26 points of articulation, 30 if you’ve got her set-up with the fully-extended wings.  Hope gets an all-new sculpt, and it’s honestly a pretty good one.  Her last figure wasn’t bad, but it was a little bit odd on the proportions.  This one is definitely a bit more natural, and the articulation is definitely more worked in.  The detailing on the textures is definitely top-notch here, and she once again gets that awesome transparent lens set-up on the helmeted head.  It looks super spiffy.  Wasp’s color work is pretty solid stuff.  The colors on her suit are actually largely painted, which is a bit of a change-up, but they’re handled quite well.  The application’s nice and clean, and the yellow and blue definitely give her some pop.  Wasp is packed with a second, unmasked head, which has a respectable likeness of Evangeline Lily, which is honestly even better than the last one, which was a pretty good offering itself.  She’s also got an alternate wing pack that’s collapsed, as well as two sets of hands, one in fists, the other open, and the right leg to the Cassie Lang Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the last Wasp, I wasn’t in desperate need of a new one or anything, since that one was pretty good.  Her new design is pretty cool, I’ll admit, but cool enough that I needed another figure?  Well, sort of, but it was largely the BaF piece that was fueling it, I think.  But, I was kind of open-minded on this one, I think, and it paid off.  Like Ant-Man, I wasn’t expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  She’s not *quite* on the same level as Ant-Man, but she’s pretty nice.

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.