Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3297: Ultramarines Blade Guard Veteran 02

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

ULTRAMARINES BLADE GUARD VETERAN 02

WARHAMMER 40,000 (JOYTOY)

“Bladeguard Veterans are inexorable warriors, advancing relentlessly with blades held high – the very image of noble knights of myth. Members of their Chapter’s elite 1st Company Veterans, each of these vastly experienced Space Marines has fought to preserve the Imperium across uncounted worlds.”

Remember back in 2020, when I, glutton for punishment that I insist on being, decided to try and fumble my way through a whole Warhammer-themed review?  Wasn’t that a fun time for everyone?  I mean, at least someone, I’m sure.  Well, I’m going back in, you guys.  Is it because I know anything more about Warhammer?  Not in the slightest.  Still clueless.  But, I’m going back in regardless.  The licensing dam for the property has broken wide open.  My first venture was courtesy of McFarlane, but this time around I’m looking from an offering from the latest addition to the stable of licensees, Joytoy.  I mean, I do at least know a little but about them.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Ultramarines Blade Guard Veteran 02 is part of Joytoy’s overall Warhammer 40,000 toyline.  He’s a slightly more deluxe scale release for the line, similar to how the “Steel Legion” figures are treated for the Battle for the Stars toyline.  As his numbering suggests, he’s the second Blade Guard Veteran for the Ultramarines, though it’s worth noting that the first one initially appeared to be Sergeant Proximo, who was not actually numbered.  But then there was also a totally unnumbered one that got solicited more recently.  So maybe he’s the first one, just retroactively?  There’s also an 03, who is, you know, numbered.  But this guy’s the 02, and he’s the one I’m looking at!  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation, as well as moving shoulder pads, as well as jet-ports on his back pack.  His articulation sports quite an impressive range, especially given his bulky build; it’s better implemented than the McFarlane equivalents, and even those were pretty good for the designs.  In terms of sculpting, this guy’s a little different than the prior Joytoy figures I’ve taken a look at.  Rather than an underlying sculpt with armored parts on top of it, the armored pieces are just sculpted straight on.  For a design this bulked up, it makes a lot of sense, and it means that he’s quite sturdy.  The Blade Guard Veterans get a helmet that’s a little sleeker than the traditional Space Marine helmet; the mouth plate is now smooth and without the notable rebreathers.  He also gets a slightly more involved back pack, a tabard, and a handful of different items hanging off his belt, to say nothing of his various ribbons, which I assume have to do with his service achievements.  It all makes for a look that’s very involved, but thankfully not busy.  Like the design, the sculpt certainly has a lot going on; there’s many layers and ornate fixtures to the design, mimicking the very detailed nature of the game miniatures quite well, while also adapting him to a larger scale.  The details are quite sharply handled, and there’s a depth to them that wasn’t quite there on the McFarlane offerings.  The more ornate parts of the armor are definitely sharper, that’s for sure.  While the McFarlane figures kept their paint work rather on the more basic side (a side effect of the lower price point on the figures), Joytoy’s actually put quite a lot of effort into the paint.  Not only does the Blade Guard get all of the proper base coloring, applied quite cleanly and sharply, but there’s also an impressive amount of accent work.  Clearly, he’s not as grimy and dirty as some of the miniatures can look, but there’s plenty of shading and smaller work, which showcases the sculpted elements quite nicely.  The Blade Guard gets his blade, of course, which can be held in his hand, or sheathed at his side, two sets of hands for standard grip and trigger finger, a gun and corresponding empty holster for his belt, a holster with the gun stowed away, two removable pouches for the belt, a back pack with articulated thrusters, a shield with an articulated handle, and an alternate un-helmeted head.  The weapons are a little tricky to get into his hands at first, but once you’ve done it the first time, they’re easier to use after that.  The sword is actually kinda sharp, so do be careful with that.  I had one minor issue with the gun, which had its ribbon come off, almost as if it wasn’t glued down at all; it was at least a pretty easy fix.  The unmasked head is based on the second Blade Guard’s alternate head from the miniatures set, and it’s honestly not really my speed, personally, but it’s at leas cool from a technical side, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As stated in my first Warhammer review, I’m not really a Warhammer guy.  I am, however, a cool toy guy, and the designs certainly do make for some cool toys.  The McFarlane figure was fun for what he was, but I’ve been really digging the stuff I’ve picked up from Joytoy, and we got these at All Time, and everyone else was trying them, so I just sort of got swept up.  I really like this guy.  He’s a good, fun toy.  Still don’t really know much about the franchise that birthed him, but I’m sure some of it will rub off on me, I guess.  Or, you know, maybe not.  And then I won’t have to justify buying rather expensive toys from a thing I don’t really know much about.  Or something like that.

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

#3294: Aayla Secura

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

AAYLA SECURA

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A cunning warrior and Jedi Knight during the rise of the Clone Wars. A master of the emotional detachment necessary in the Jedi Order, she tried to pass on what she learned”

Even before the tide had generally turned on how people viewed the Star Wars Prequels, there were certain elements that were always pretty well accepted.  Pretty much, anything having to do with Clones, of course, but also a good chunk of the newly introduced Jedi Knights also picked up quite a fanbase.  It helped that they added new ones for each film, and it helped even more when The Clone Wars added further depth to a good number of their stories.  First appearing as one of the Jedi sent to rescue Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme from Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, Aayla Secura was a pretty popular character right from the start.  Look, being a blue skinned space chick in a revealing outfit gets you a lot of good will with fanboys.  She resurfaced for Revenge of the Sith, this time paired off with fan-favorite Clone Commander Bly, and she got a rather memorable send-off during the Order 66 sequence.  Despite her fan favorite status, her figures are definitely a bit spaced out.  It’s taken her a decade to finally make her way into The Black Series, but she’s finally here, and I’m taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Aayla Secura is part of the first main assortment of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s 2023 line-up.  She’s under the Attack of the Clones heading, where she’s figure #3.  Though she’s officially billed as an AOTC Aayla, thanks to her design remaining consistent, she’s able to work as both the Revenge of the Sith and Clone Wars versions of the character as well.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  Aayla’s articulation scheme isn’t quite as impressive as some of the other more recent Black Series figures, being a bit more on par with the pre-2020 stuff.  She’s still able to get some decent poses, but she’s not quite as agile as she could be, I suppose.  Part of this is centered around re-using some parts, as she makes use of the legs from Vice Admiral Holdo, as well as the right arm from Aurra Sing.  Everything else appears to be new.  It’s a pretty decent sculpt, up to par with the rest of the line.  She’s not the spitting image of her on-screen counterpart, but we also only briefly see her on-screen counterpart anyway.  She winds up a little skinnier, I think, than she should be, and her face looks a little rounder, but the rest of the detailing works pretty well.  Her color work is largely handled with molded colors, with just a little bit of paint to cover the basics.  Her eyes seem just a tad askew on my figure, but otherwise, things are basically what they need to be.  Aayla is on the lighter side for accessories, including only her lightsaber.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ll be honest, I’m starting to slow down on Black Series these days.  Most of the assortment that Aayla’s in wasn’t anything I was dying to own, so I largely skipped on this round.  I did decide to grab Aayla, if for no reason other than that I have Commander Bly, and you can hardly have Bly without his General, right?  She’s not exactly ground breaking or anything, but she’s got a fun visual, and it’s nice to finally get her added to the line after all these years.  And, more Jedi is always a good thing.

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

#3293: Roboto

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

ROBOTO

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

My Masters of the Universe reviews around here are getting further and further between, I’ll admit.  Part of that is because I’m trying to really stick to my guns on only buying specific characters from each line.  I have three characters that are a lock for any Masters line I’m picking up: Mekaneck, Orko, and Roboto.  The irony of this is that, up til now, Masterverse, the line I’ve been focussing the most on, has only actually had one of those three, Orko, and he was only as a pack-in at that.  Thankfully, there’s been at least one change on that front, as Roboto has officially been added to the Masterverse line!  Let’s see how he turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Roboto is part of Series 7 of the Masterverse line, alongside Sorceress Evil-Lyn, Stratos, and Frosta.  Roboto falls under the line’s Revelation banner, being specifically based on his appearance in the show.  His very awesome appearance in the show, where he’s the best part.  It was really cool, you guys.  You should check it out.  In Roboto’s case, it means he’s still a pretty classically-inspired version of the character, so he doubles as an update to his original figure, if that’s more your speed.  The figure stands just shy of 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation (which includes his moving mouthplate).  Roboto’s articulation is largely pretty similar to the others in the line, though he gains an extra swivel at the top of his right forearm, and lacks the usual mid-torso joint, due to the nature of his design.  On my figure, both of the arms had one half of the double elbow stuck right out of the box, so sticking joints is still a recurring issue for the line.  At least the hips aren’t as bad on this guy.  Roboto’s construction is a mix of old and new.  He’s re-using the legs and feet from Trapjaw; the two of them have shared legs going back to the vintage line, and its consistent with their respective designs in Revelation, so the re-use is a sensible one.  I’m still a little iffy on how the articulation works respective to the kneepads on the boots, but it does bug me less on this release than it did on Trapjaw.  The rest of his sculpt is an all-new, and it’s honestly my favorite to come out of Masterverse so far.  It’s very clean, very sleek, and very sharp.  It matches up nicely with his animated design, while still melding well with the established look of the rest of the line.  In particular, I really like the internal structure on the torso.  Roboto’s color work is generally pretty solid.  The paint application is nice and clean, and I dig the mix of metallic and flat colors.  As always, that clear torso’s a lot of fun, and works well with all the sculpted elements inside.  Roboto is packed with two different styles of blaster attachments to swap out for the right hand, as well as the two halves of the Power Sword, this time in a translucent orange, as if he’s fusing them.  The only thing notably missing is his poncho, which does bum me ever so slightly, but I guess it’s an okay omission.  He’s got the needed sculpted attachments, and that’s what really counts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Roboto was my absolute favorite part of Revelation, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting his addition to the line ever since the show dropped.  It sure did feel like they were dragging their feet, but he’s finally here.  I really dig this figure.  Lack of poncho aside, he does everything he needs to, and he’s by far my favorite figure from the line thus far.  Just a real standout, all things considered, and one that’s going to be very hard to top.

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

#3292: Ron Swanson

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

RON SWANSON

PARKS & RECREATION REACTION FIGURES (SUPER 7)

At the very beginning of the year, I discussed Parks & Recreation and how it’s the superior workplace comedy when compared to The Office.  Why do I bring this up again?  Well, for one to remind you all that I said it.  I said it and I stand by it.  I’m not backing down on it.  So there.  But, also, it’s because, at the time, I only looked at five figures out of the six figure assortment of figures that Super 7 put out under their ReAction umbrella.  The one figure missing was a character that, if he’s not one of the best characters in the history of TV, is at the very least one of the most distinctive.  That’s right, it’s Ron ****ing Swanson.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ron Swanson is the sixth and final figure in the first series of Super 7’s Parks & Recreation ReAction Figures line.  He’s seen here in his usual attire from Season 2 and on, after they’d nailed down the long sleeved polo and khakis look which would become his definitive outfit.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Of the six figures in the set, I think Ron may just have the best likeness.  There’s little mistaking who this guy is supposed to be, right down to his somewhat surly expression.  That’s definitely Nick Offerman, and he’s definitely playing Ron Swanson.  The body sculpt is far more basic, of course, but matches well with the rest of the line.  He’s a little stockier than the other men in the set, which is appropriate for Ron, and he’s again just got the rather standard pose.  Ron’s paint work is rather straight forward.  On mine, it’s a little cleaner than the others I’ve gotten from the line.  I did, however, notice one in the case that I pulled mine from that was, rather amusingly, missing his eyebrows.  Guess he was a Season 3 Ron, huh?  Ron is packed with a plate of breakfast meat, which seems about right for a guy that has a framed picture of breakfast meat on his wall.  Also, it means he pairs off well with Leslie and her waffles.  He still can’t really hold the plate, but at this point that’s expected.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I found the rest of the set, Ron was the only one not present, and I haven’t seen him anywhere since either.  He looks to be the first one to sell out everywhere, which I guess makes some sense.  Thankfully, I was able to get one through work, so my set is complete.  I’m glad I did, because Ron’s honestly the best of the first batch of figures.  He just really nails the character.  I’m hopeful that this set does well enough to justify more, because I really would love to get the whole main cast, and maybe a few of the recurring characters.  But, if it doesn’t, I’m happy that we at least got what we did.

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

#3289: Captain America – Tech-On Avengers

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA — TECH-ON AVENGERS

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

There’s something of an irony to the most recurrent character at the center of my S.H. Figuarts reviews for the last couple of years has been Captain America, but, well, here I am.  And you know what?  I’m gonna do it again.  In 2021, Marvel partnered with Bandai Namco for a Super Sentai-inspired Avengers series, Tech-On Avengers.  Marvel’s part was publishing a six issue tie-in miniseries, while Bandai’s part was releasing some Figuarts based on the designs seen in the comics.  The premise is pretty simple: the Avengers lose their powers due to shenanigans caused by the Red Skull, so they all have to be outfitted with Stark-designed armor, to become the Iron Avengers.  And I, being me, have the Captain America, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America — Tech-On Avengers is the second Tech-On Avengers release in Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line-up, following the Iron Man from earlier in 2022.  Cap started arriving domestically towards the end of the year, in that early to mid December area.  The figure stands right at 6 inches tall and he has 45 points of articulation.  The articulation on this guy is a little bit finicky; Figuarts often are, but they’ve been getting less so as of late.  This guy’s even more finicky than usual, especially when it comes to the pelvis area.  The waist folds inwards on itself, and the hips are just generally kind of a little tight, which is only made potentially worse by having the waist folded in too far.  There’s also a floating pelvis piece to contend with, which just further complicates movement.  You can still get a decent range out of the figure, but it can take some getting used to.  On the plus side, the way the shoulders are laid out is actually pretty intuitive, and gives him a solid range of motion.  Cap’s sculpt is an all-new one, based on his tech-ed up look.  It’s honestly a pretty fun look, and I kind of dig the Ultraman manga vibe going on here.  It’s a good merging of the Cap, Iron Man, and Sentai vibes, while still maintaining the classic Cap vibe through and through.  The sculpt is quite nicely detailed.  It’s very sharp and clean, and appropriately sleek.  The construction uses just a little bit of die cast metal, which appears to be confined to the feet.  Not sure exactly why, but I guess it at least makes him rather sure footed.  His color work is generally pretty classic Cap fare; red, white, and blue, or at least a close variation of it.  I dig the metallic blue and the varying shades of red, but I’m a bit less sold on the light grey in place of white.  It lacks some of the pop that it should have.  At the very least, the paint work is cleanly applied.  Cap gets an impressive selection of accessories, including five sets of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, open gesture, and with pegs for use with the blast effects), a slightly more tech-y version of his usual shield, four different styles of straps for said shield (for mounting on his back, proper gripping, loose hanging, and one for throwing), a throwing effect, four different blast effects, and a display stand.  One of the gimmicks for Cap’s armor is the ability to use his shield as an extra armor-up feature.  To facilitate that, this guy gets an alternate larger set of hands, forearm guards, shoulder pads, front, back, and lower torso plates, a version of the shield that’s opening up for the armor up feature, and effects for the shield, the front of the torso, and his fist.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Overall, Tech-On is a concept that I don’t have much use for.  It’s a bunch of gimmicky variants of characters I have plenty of times over, and they’re all rather on the expensive side.  That being said, I’m a sucker for a fun Captain America variant, and that’s what this guy is.  He’s still perhaps a bit on the pricey side, but there’s plenty going on with this guy that makes him feel worthwhile.  And he’s even got fighting fists?  How can I not love a Cap that has fighting fists?

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

#3287: Starscream – Armada Universe

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

STARSCREAM — ARMADA UNIVERSE

TRANSFORMERS LEGACY (HASBRO)

Launched in 2002, Transformers: Armada really did a great job of moving the collective consciousness back to vehicle mode Transformers after the shift caused by Beast Wars.  With it celebrating 20 years last year, it’s being given a little bit of extra focus in Hasbro’s Legacy imprint, albeit in a rather slow and drawn out sense.  To kick things off, Hasbro’s starting with one of the show’s real fan-favorites, its uniquely heroic take on Starscream.  I’m taking a look at that guy today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Starscream is part of the third Voyager Class assortment of Transformers Legacy, alongside the Beast Wars version of Inferno.  The figures hit just before the end of last year.  This figure marks Armada Starscream’s second update since the original Armada run, following up on the Thrilling 30 release from 2014.  In his robot mode, Starscream stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation.  He’s quite a bit more posable than his older release, which is definitely cool.  He’s definitely good for more than just standing around like the old one.  The all-new sculpt is a pretty solid piece.  He’s not quite as thick and blocky as the original figure, but he’s not as angular and thin as the Thrilling 30 release.  It’s a nice middle ground, as I always felt the Thrilling release was just a bit too far removed from that much bulkier Armada aesthetic.  This version hits the spot a lot better, and does a nice job of sticking pretty closely to how he looks in animation.  There’s one sizable downside to this sculpt: his complete lack of any sort of Mini Con ports.  The Cons were pretty essential to the whole Armada thing, and even if packing them in with the figures doesn’t cost out, not including the ports means that they can’t even be released after the fact.  Fortunately, it looks like there was a rather quick course correct on this one, as the upcoming Hot Shot has the ports accounted fore.  Like his sculpt, Starscream’s color work is likewise a pretty good match for his animated design.  The only notable change up is the lack of the black “collar” around the neck.  Otherwise, it looks spot-on, and the application’s all nice and cleanly applied.  Starscream is packed with his Energon Sword (designed to mimic the folding wing sword from the original release), as well as a small version of the Star Saber.

Like his original toy, this version of Armada Starscream transforms into a sci-fi jet.  The same sci-fi jet, even, which is nice bout of consistency.  His transformation sequence is a little more involved than the original, but it’s still got a similar layout.  It’s not too tricky, and it ultimately winds up with a pretty satisfying jet-mode.  He’s stripped of any of the electronic features of the original, but I can’t say I miss them.  In this mode, the swords can both be mounted under the wings, which isn’t quite as convenient and worked in as the original figure, but at least they can go somewhere?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Armada hits a real soft spot for me, being the first iteration of the franchise that I actively followed, while it was still fresh and new, no less.  I only had three figures during the original line’s run, but Starscream was one of them, and I’ve always enjoyed this take on the character.  I got a direct replacement for my original Starscream back in 2021, but the idea of an update, especially one a little more true to the character than the Thrilling 30 release.  The lack of Mini Con ports really does suck, but other than that, he’s a very fun update on a figure that I already really liked.  I’m even more hyped for Hot Shot now!

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

#3284: Sgt Slaughter

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

SGT SLAUGHTER

G.I. JOE: CLASSIFIED SERIES (HASBRO)

“Just about every member of the G.I. Joe team is qualified to be a drill instructor so it takes a special brand of heavy duty honcho to keep ’em squared away. Sgt. Slaughter fits the bill the way his bullet head fits his Smokey the Bear hat. Let’s face it, the man be rough and he take no guff.”

Wrestling isn’t really a thing I know much about, or even really pretend to know much about.  Sure, there’s a lot of action figure coverage for it, but none of it’s really my forte.  I do have my few exceptions, mostly in the scheme of wrestling working its way into other media.  For instance, G.I. Joe has the wonderful cross-section that is Sgt Slaughter!  After relaunching the brand into its smaller form, as well as successfully launching a comic book and a cartoon, Hasbro decided to add a slightly more fictionalized version of Robert Remus’s wrestling alter-ego to the Joe team.  He first appeared during the “Arise, Serpentor, Arise” five-part story which launched the cartoon’s second season, and joined the toyline in 1986, first as a mail-away figure, and then as a vehicle driver.  He got two more figures during the vintage line’s run, and has been an infrequent inclusion since.  When Classified Series launched, Slaughter’s rights were tied up with Action Force, but Hasbro was able to fairly quickly get things sorted out, in order to let the Sarge join the 6-inch Joes in proper form.  And hey, he’s not even a crazy stupid exclusive like the last three!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sgt Slaughter is figure 53 in the G.I. Joe: Classified Series line-up.  He’s his own Fan Channel-exclusive single release, officially occupying Hasbro’s more deluxe price point (presumably to help cover extra licensing costs).  This Sarge is based on his V2 figure from ’86, which was the one that actually gave him his show and comics accurate design, rather than just repurposing his wrestling attire.  It’s honestly the more sensible choice, and allows him to better mesh with the other figures we’ve already gotten from the line, so I dig it.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Slaughter’s sculpt re-uses the torso and arms from the Amazon-exclusive V1-style Roadblock, with the rest of his parts being all-new.  It has the side effect of his elbows not being pinless, while his knees are.  It’s a bit backwards, since that means he’s got the visible pins on his exposed arms, which messes with the flow just a little bit.  That said, it’s not the end of the world by any stretch.  The new parts are a good selection, which match well with the re-used stuff, while also sticking pretty close to his original look.  The head sports a likeness that merges the Sarge circa the ’80s with the general stylings of the modern line and how the characters tend to look.  His hat and glasses are both removable.  There’s always concern about how well such pieces are going to stay in place, but they actually go on pretty securely and stay there.  It makes for a very clean looking Sarge, which is exactly what you hope for.  The paint work is generally pretty straight forward.  It does what it needs to and the application is fairly sharp.  Slaughter is packed with a rather impressive selection of extras.  There’s the removable hat and glasses, of course, as well as his whistle and baton, plus an assault rifle, four sets of hands (fists, open gesture, gripping, and pointing), and a “World’s Smallest” Sgt Slaughter action figure, complete with its own packaging.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have a definite soft spot for G.I. Joe: The Movie, so I’m a fan of all of its central characters.  Slaughter gets a pretty sizable role there, and it’s always stuck with me.  Amazingly, up to this point, I’ve not actually gotten any Slaughter figures, so Classified gave me the opportunity to finally fix that.  This guy’s a lot of fun.  There’s a lot going on here, which keeps him from quite falling into that “the old figure but larger” trap that the line’s unfortunately seeming to get stuck in a lot more recently.  He’s a fantastic stand alone piece.

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.

#3282: Khonshu

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

KHONSHU

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Did I hear somebody say I should do more Moon Knight-themed reviews?  I’m pretty sure I did.  I mean, it was probably me.  I probably said that.  And it’s my site, so that honestly carries more weight than anything else.  So, more Moon Knight reviews.  It tracks.  I’ve looked at quite a number of Moon Knights, but I’ve never looked at any of his supporting cast.  In my defense, that’s because they’ve never actually made figures of any of his supporting cast.  Can’t blame me for that.  It’s okay, though, because he’s got a TV show under his belt now, which gives an excuse for things around him to get extra focus.  And what good is Moon Knight without the deity he serves?  So, let’s check out Khonshu, you guys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Khonshu is the Build-A-Figure for the series of Marvel Legends bearing his name.  It’s all Disney+ themed, but it’s curiously an assortment without any Moon Knight figures in its line-up, much like how the last assortment had a What If…? Ultron without any What If…? figures.  It almost feels like maybe the two BaFs should have been swapped, but who knows exactly what was going on behind the scenes there.  Whatever the case, we got him, and I built him, so here he is.  The figure stands 8 3/4 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is a little bit restricted compared to other recent offerings, making him feel a little more like a figure from a few years ago than one from the line’s current run.  This is generally a design thing, since the layout of his look doesn’t quite allow for full motion on everything.  Khonshu largely just stood around in the show, so it’s certainly not the end of the world.  Khonshu sports an all-new sculpt, which adapts his fully formed deity look from the show, which is itself patterned on Declan Shalvey’s redesign for Khonshu from the 2014 run.  It’s a distinctive look, and a more visually interesting concept that “Moon Knight but with stereotypical Egyptian gear added”, so it’s one that works well both on the screen and in figure form.  The sculpt, which is courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete, does a quite nice job of capturing his model from the show.  The detailing is pretty nicely rendered, and the star piece by far is definitely the head, which captures the distinctive shaping of the skull.  Since Khonshu’s head is just floating over his body, with no actual neck, in the show, the sculpt has to get a little bit creative there.  It’s a little bit of a compromise, but it’s what you kind of have to do here.  The sort of wisp-y structure is still visible, but it’s woven into the rest of the sculpt well enough that it doesn’t mess with the overall flow.  Khonshu’s color work is actually quite an impressive set-up.  While the standard Moon Knight just relied on sculpted texture work to carry itself, Khonshu actually gets quite a bit of accenting on his wrappings, giving them a much dirtier, worn-in look, with a similar touch on head, albeit with a slightly different look to more suggest bone.  It’s really nice, and sells the sculpt very well.  Khonshu is packed with his staff, which, like him, has to be assembled, since it comes in two pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was thrilled beyond belief that the Moon Knight show existed, and the further thrilled that we got the two Moon Knights from the show.  And, sure, I wanted more, but I certainly didn’t expect it, because, again, just thrilled about what I’d already gotten.  Since Khonshu wasn’t bundled in with the two Moon Knight figures, I wasn’t really expecting to see him quickly, so this was a pleasant surprise.  He’s a very nice figure, and honestly, he’s probably the best Build-A-Figure this year.

This assortment kind of feels like the MCU equivalent of the Bonebreaker series, given how oddball and kind of off the wall the character choices are.  Khonshu was my primary reason for getting the set, of course, and is ultimately my favorite piece.  That said, the singles are all pretty decent themselves.  Red Skull is the best of the singles, though he’s just a minor tweak on a prior figure.  Howard and Classic Loki are both figures with flaws, but they wind up being a lot of fun regardless.  Zombie Scarlet Witch is pretty by the numbers, but still solid, and He-Who-Remains isn’t thrilling or anything, but he does what he needs to. Jimmy Woo winds up as the kind of underdog success for this round.  He doesn’t look like much, he doesn’t seem like much, but he’s quite fun.  All-in-all, this is a very balanced series.  No one really jumps ahead of the pack, but no one’s really a bad offering, either.

#3279: Red Skull

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

RED SKULL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The Red Skull sets his HYDRA forces against the Allies’ lone super-soldier, Captain Margaret “Peggy” Carter.”

What If…? provides us with alternate designs and looks for a good number of Marvel characters, but it also relies on pre-established designs for an even greater host of them, given that things are meant to only be diverging at one specific point and all.  For the most part, the characters who don’t change aren’t really in need of new figures, since, well, they don’t change.  Red Skull, for instance, serves as the main antagonist of the premiere episode, but is sporting a look that’s not changed from his The First Avenger appearance.  So, he doesn’t *need* another figure.  But, umm, he got one anyway?  Just go with it, guys.  It’s another Red Skull.  And it’s maybe not bad.  Let’s give it a try.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Skull is figure 6 in the Khonshu Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the last of the What If…? based figures, and the single figures in general (since I’m not reviewing the Zombie Iron Man, what with him not having a BaF piece and all).  He’s seen here in his long-jacketed look, which has gotten Legends treatment once before, albeit as a con-exclusive.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  From the neck down, this figure is the same sculpt as the SDCC figure from 2018 (which itself has arms and legs in common with the standard retail version).  It makes sense, since it’s supposed to be the same design in-universe, and the parts didn’t get much use.  It does mean that he’s still got visible pins on the elbows and knees, but it’s not the end of the world.  I myself never got to mess with the SDCC figure, so I dig getting another shot at the mold, and honestly find myself preferring this mold to the standard release.  This release gets a new head, which is a little more dialed into the animated design for Red Skull.  The more movie-based look wasn’t *bad*, but I think the nature of the design didn’t translate quite so well on the last two figures.  The more animated one, with its slightly more pronounced features, works a little better in toy form, I think.  The color work on this guy is a lot of black and red, which is what you expect.  The face gets a lot of accenting, somewhat simulating the shading from the show, and helping to sell the details of the sculpt.  Red Skull is packed with the Tesseract, as well as the right arm of the Khonshu Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had the standard Ten Years Red Skull, which isn’t a bad figure, but was never my preferred look from the film.  The SDCC figure was harder to find, so I just made due.  Over the years, I’ve gotten a little iffy on the head sculpt used for them, so I was actually pretty happy to see this one.  Sure, he’s not an essential release, and he only very loosely fits the What If…? theme, but he’s still a lot of fun, and certainly the best MCU Red Skull to date.

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.

#3278: Howard the Duck

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

HOWARD THE DUCK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When an alternate Thor turns earth into an intergalactic tourist destination, Howard the Duck arrives to join in the festivities.”

Oh man, is that a Howard the Duck figure?  Like, on his own?  Not packed with, like, a Silver Surfer, or something?  That’s crazy.  Is that allowed?  I guess so.  I mean, here’s the figure.  So, you know, it exists.

Prior to his appearance in his self-titled, George Lucas-produced film in 1986, Howard the Duck began as a back-up feature in Adventure into Fear, headlined by Man-Thing of all characters.  He was a breakaway hit, getting spun-off into his own series, and then getting the aforementioned movie, which was both a critical and financial failure.  The character fell out of the spotlight after that, but resurfaced in the public eye for a cameo in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy film.  He’s gotten a few more spots in the MCU since then, and got a little bit of actual focus in What If…?, which was enough to net him another figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Howard the Duck is figure 5 in the Khonshu Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the third What If…? based figure in the set.  Interestingly, bio suggests the figure is based on “What If…Thor Were An Only Child?”, which is admittedly odd.  While Howard *is* in that episode, and does get a little bit of focus, he’s far from important to the overall plot.  On the flip side, “What If…T’Challa Became Star-Lord?” gives Howard an actual plot relevant focus, and is the episode of the two that’s gotten figure coverage already from Legends.  It’s also just a much better episode.  It’s all kind of irrelevant, I suppose, though, since his animation model’s the same across the board.  Who am I to complain about specifically which episode I get my Howard the Duck action figure from?  Also, the bios aren’t even on the box anymore, so the whole thing becomes increasingly irrelevant.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Howard’s articulation is on the lesser side of things.  I mean, sure, he’s more posable than the *last* Legends Howard, but that one was just a pack-in, not his own figure.  This one gets decent movement on the arms, okay movement on the neck and waist, and movement that barely counts as movement on the ankles.  There’s nothing actually on the legs proper, which, with a lot of things on this figure, seems to be a licensing thing, since we know Disney’s very particular about Howard merch.  The sculpt is all-new, and it’s fairly accurate to the source material, which is itself a pretty nice Howard the Duck design.  The one notable deviation from his main look is the inclusion of the hat, which is its own piece, but is glued in place on the head, so it’s not budging.  This again seems to be a licensing thing, since we know the Minimate was also required to have the non-removable hat.  It’s a minor issue, and I’m curious to see how hard it might be to remove it with some modding.  The color work on him is pretty basic; largely it’s molded in the proper colors, but there’s some paint work head and torso, which gets all the important stuff.  Howard has no accessories of his own, but the pack also includes the disembodied head version of Scott Lang from “What If…Zombies?”, which doesn’t really have anything to do with Howard, but it offsets the smaller size of the figure.  It also looks nothing like actual Paul Rudd (though I suppose it’s not a *terrible* take on the animated likeness), so it’s really only context that sells what it is.  To further offset the core figure’s smaller size, there’s also the torso of Khonshu, complete with his robe, which is the largest piece of the Build-A-Figure by far.  Like, to the point that, in the box, the torso is actually packed in the “figure” slot, and Howard is bagged up like one of the accessories.  It’s kinda goofy, but I sorta love it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was honestly pretty excited about Howard, because he’s just such a rarity in the toy world, and harkens back to the earliest days of Legends.  I tempered my expectations, of course, because the legal requirements always mess with the end product.  With that in mind, I acknowledge that this guy’s got some definite flaws, but he’s also just still a lot of fun.  Probably a bit pricey for what you get, but certainly more worthwhile if you’re after the Build-A-Figure.  Honestly, the only part of this package I’m not really thrilled about it Scott, and that’s probably more to do with my general lack of enthusiasm about the episode that spawned him.  But Howard’s definitely cool.

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