Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3158: Havok

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

HAVOK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Alex Summers aka Havok fires super-heated plasma from his hands to devastating effect. A veteran hero and leader, he longs to step out of his older brother Cyclops’ shadow.”

What’s that?  A new Marvel Legends Havok?  Well, don’t mind if I do.  When Havok was first added to Legends under Toy Biz’s tenure in 2006, they opted to put him in his original Neal Adams-designed outfit.  Since then, Hasbro’s given him two additional figures in the line, both covering different designs than the Toy Biz release.  Now, they’re going back to the beginning, with their own go at the original Havok, and, quite frankly, I couldn’t be happier.  Because, you know, Havok.  So, let’s wreak review some Havok!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Havok is figure 2 in the Bonebreaker Series of Marvel Legends.  Obviously, the assortment’s still got a Wolverine and all, but Havok does feel a bit like the headliner…but I’m probably biased on that.  I always feel like Havok’s the headliner.  I mean, he’s Havok.  Top shelf stuff.  This is Havok’s fourth time in Legends form, and his third under the Hasbro banner.  As addressed up above, this Havok is based on the character’s first costume, which he sported for about two decades, before the whole X-line got rebranded and he got his Jim Lee design.  It’s a classic look, and one that many of his designs since have referenced.  Moreover, he’s more or less wearing this costume again in the current run of the X-books.  Yay for relevance!  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Hasbro’s last two Havoks were built on the Bucky Cap body, but with that body officially being retired, this guy gets moved to a different base.  While there’s an intended replacement in this assortment, it’s not used for Alex.  Instead, he’s built on the 2099 body.  It’s a little smaller than the last base, but as a younger incarnation of the character, it doesn’t feel too out of place.  This also feels like the most direct replacement for the old Bullseye body, which served as the basis of the original Havok Legends figure*.  So, in that respect, it works out pretty well.  He gets an all-new head sculpt and it’s a very strong piece.  It’s a slightly calmer expression than the original Toy Biz release, but it still feels very on-brand for the character, retaining a number of traits from the ’90s Havok head sculpt, even.  The paintwork on this figure is largely pretty basic, but what’s there is really good.  In particular, the energy effect on his “symbol” on his chest is quite believable, and manages to convincingly look like it’s glowing.  I definitely dig it.  Havok is packed with three separate energy effects, all three of them new.  There are two for the wrists, like with the last ones, as well as one that clips into his back.  The wrist ones are a little loose, but I otherwise really like the new pieces, and I’m very seriously tempted to buy so many of this figure just for the effects for my other Havoks.  He’s also packed with two drum pieces for the Bonebreaker Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Have I mentioned that I like Havok?  I feel like that may be important.  Unsurprisingly, this figure was my most wanted of the assortment, because I’m always down for a good Havok.  This is a good Havok.  A very good one.  There’s a simplicity to the core figure, in contrast to the complexity of the last Havok, and it works very well.

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

*It was so direct a replacement, that it was actually used for the most recent Bullseye figure from Hasbro

#3157: Siryn

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

SIRYN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Inheriting her mutant sonic scream from her father Banshee and raised by her criminal uncle, Black Tom Cassidy, Theresa Cassidy forges her own heroic path with X-Factor as Siryn!”

Hey, do you know what it’s time for?  Well, another review, obviously, but, more specifically, it’s time for more Marvel Legends.  You know, because there’s new Marvel Legends. So, I gotta review them.  That’s how it goes, guys.  The latest round of figures is X-themed, and its an assortment of veritable oddballs.  I’m all about that.  The first of the oddballs up to bat is our second member of the Cassidy family in recent years, Theresa Cassidy, aka Siryn.  Daughter to Banshee, and long-time X-Force member, Siryn is surprisingly short on toy coverage, with only a single Minimate release to date.  Now, she adds a Legend to that list, adding to the ever-growing X-Force team within the line.  Let’s see how she turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Siryn is figure 1 in the Bonebreaker Series of Marvel Legends, which looks to be this year’s only proper X-assortment.  She’s sporting her classic Banshee-inspired X-Force look from the ’90s, which is probably her most distinctive design, making it a pretty logical choice of costume.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  Her parts are a combination of the prior mid-sized body, with the pinless arms and legs first showcased on Shriek.  She also gets re-used cuff pieces on the wrists and ankles, as well as an all-new head sculpt.  The new head is pretty decent.  There’s a nice dynamic flow to the hair, and the face generally matches the look of the character as she tends to be depicted in the comics.  Notably, unlike a lot of Banshee figures, the head isn’t permanently screaming, which is generally for the best.  It’s certainly less limiting in terms of posing.  Topping things off is her “cape,” which much like Storm, is made from a very thin, almost paper-like cloth.  It’s only printed on one side, and it’s generally kind of cheap looking, but it’s pretty much what I’ve come to expect at this point.  It at least gets the point across, but I’d appreciate at the very least two-sided printing.  The color work on this figure is generally alright; the application on the yellow is a little sloppy, but not terrible.  The face, especially the freckles, is quite nicely rendered, with a very lifelike quality.  It’s definitely the strongest aspect of the figure.  Siryn is packed with two sets of hands (in fists and open gesture poses), as well as half of Bonebreaker’s tank-body.  I’d have liked to have gotten an extra head with the screaming expression, but otherwise, I guess it’s not terrible.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Siryn wound up being the first of these figures that I got a hold of, despite perhaps not being the highest on my list.  That being said, that’s less about her, and more about what else was in the set.  I’m glad to finally have a proper Siryn figure, and this one is a good one.  She’s generally by the numbers, and not without some small set-backs, but I like her.  Now, can we finally get a Banshee update to round out the Cassidy family?  Because it’s getting a little silly at this point.

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.

#3155: Princess Leia Organa – Yavin 4

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

PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA — YAVIN 4

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“After escaping Vader, Leia and her rescuers rendezvoused with the Alliance on Yavin 4. She delivered the Death Star Plans, and later gave Han, Chewie, and Luke medals for bravery”

Despite her tendency for plenty of costume changes in later films, in the first Star Wars, Leila’s in the same attire for almost the whole runtime. But, not content to at least show off a little extra flair, she does get one quick change, all the way at the end of the movie, gaining an ever so slightly more regal set-up for the film’s closing scene, set during an awards ceremony on Yavin, following the Death Star’s destruction. It’s very brief, and so brief that it didn’t actually get toy treatment in the vintage run, and had only rarely graced the toy lines since. However, with a Ceremony Luke out there for Black Series, it was only a matter of time before we also got a Leia.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia Organa (Yavin 4) is the first figure in the A New Hope sub-set of Hasbro’s Black Series.  She was part of the first assortment of the year, alongside fellow ANH figures Ponda Baba and Doctor Evazan.  This figure is a mainline release of the Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Power of the Force tribute figure from the end of last year.  The only difference between the two is the packaging, with the figure in said packaging being the same.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation. Her sculpt appears to be all-new, although it’s entirely possible that some of the Lowe body is shared with other releases. The upper half is definitely all-new, and it’s a pretty solid offering. The new head sculpt is one of Hasbro’s best takes on Fischer’s likeness, and the mixed media set-up of the rest of the body works better than prior Leias, especially the standard ANH Leia. The paint work is largely limited to the face; it handles things pretty well, and results in a lifelike appearance, which nicely accents the already strong sculpt. Leia’s only accessory across both of her releases is one of the medals she presents during the ceremony. It appears to be the same one included with Luke, so I suppose it can be used with Han, or even the con-exclusive jacketed Luke, since he lacked the medal.  Or, could go absolutely crazy and give it to Leia herself…you know, since she also participated in the whole plot to take down the Death Star as well, and didn’t even fake running away like Han did.  Just saying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been expecting this figure since we got the Luke release, though she took a bit longer than I’d expected, honestly. While she’s not the most thrilling release, it’s a design I like, and one that fits well in the style. She’s a good company piece for Luke, and perhaps we’ll actually get a proper ceremony Han at some point, just to round out the set. Until then, it’s a throw back to the ’90s with just these two.

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.

#3153: Ripley

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

RIPLEY

ALIENS: REACTION (SUPER 7)

You know, every so often, I remember that Aliens is my favorite movie, and it’s got a diminishing presence here on the the site.  It’s the sort of thing that happens when you tend to buy just about everything from said film, and keep up with reviewing it all as its released.  Or the fact that you do sort of hit this point of only needing so many different versions of the same cast of characters.  Back in April, I took a look at a few of Super 7’s ReAction figures from the movie, and I’m circling back with another from the set.  This time around, it’s the film’s main character, Ellen Ripley!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ripley is part of Series 1 of Super 7’s Aliens ReAction line, the third of the six human figures that I’ve looked at here on the site.  In contrast to the rest of the figures in the set, this is Ripley’s fourth time in the ReAction style, and the second Aliens-based version, following up on Funko’s two-pack with the Loader and the Queen.  Despite using the same basic style and design, she is, nevertheless, a unique figure.  If I’m honest, I do feel like it might have been a good spot for a bomber jacket Ripley, since the final battle was already covered by Funko, but that might be my bomber jacket bias talking.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall (about a 1/4 inch taller than the Funko version), and she has 5 points of articulation.  The sculpt is all-new, and it’s just kind of different from the Funko version.  Not, like, in particularly notable ways.  Just different.  There are elements I like more, namely the head (and its more accurate hairdo) and the height/general build better matching Weaver.  The detailing on the outfit is a bit of a step down, making her look a lot more basic, but it at least covers all the bases, and she still matches up with the other figures in the set.  The paint work is similarly basic.  The colors are close to what they are in the film; notably, they’re brighter than the Funko version, which again matches better with the Super 7 set, so that makes sense.  Ripley is packed with her combo pulse rifle/flamethrower, which follows the stylings of the shotgun packed with Hicks, so that’s cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After snagging the Hicks and Bishop when they were traded into All Time earlier in the year, I was definitely looking to pick up a few more of the figures in the line, but also totally content to wait for more of them to come through in trade.  Ripley wound up being the first of them to come through in follow-up, so she wound up being the next one to get added to my collection.  I didn’t really feel like I needed her at first, what with having the Funko version and all.  That said, I appreciate this one for its distinct differences, and I like how she pairs with the rest of the set.  Now I get to wait for the rest of the set to walk through…

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.

#3152: Evangelion Proto Type 00′

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

EVANGELION PROTO TYPE 00′

ROBO-DUO (THREE ZERO)

I don’t talk about Evangelion much around these parts, largely because it’s very brain break-y, and I tend to need to unbreak my brain a bit after.  So, I’ve only got the one prior review here on the site, and then I took a year and a half hiatus to rebuild a little bit of my sanity.  Shortly after my own personal rebuild, I decided to risk tackling the Evangelion Rebuilds, and there was a rather timely release of another Eva that was up my alley right around that same time.  With my break thoroughly broken again, I guess I might as well just lean into it and review this here additional figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Evangelion Proto Type 00′ is part of ThreeZero’s Robo-DUO line, a line dedicated to robots from a number of anime properties.  She’s the third of the standard Evas to join the line, and started arriving in the last month or so.  As with the Robot Spirits release I looked at last year, this version of Unit 00 is based on the updated design from the Rebuilds, matching up with the other Evas from the line.  The figure stands about 10 inches tall and has 40 points of articulation.  Compared to the Spirits figure, this one’s definitely a lot larger, of course, but it’s also a fair bit less agile.  It’s partly the way the joints are laid out, but it’s also the largely die-cast metal construction of the figure, which not only makes her a bit heavier (meaning her joints need to be tighter to compensate), but also means there are some spots that just aren’t afforded the same amount of flex.  The figure is still capable of plenty of poses, especially the deeper crouches and lunges that the Evas are prone to do, but getting her there certainly takes a little more effort.  Of course, on the flip side, it does mean that this figure is a lot less prone to falling over, which I certainly like.  00’s sculpt is all-new, detailing the updated design.  Where the Spirits release had options for both early and late-game looks, this one sticks to her more armored appearance from later.  It’s my favorite of the two, personally, so that’s quite alright by me.  It means less swap-out parts, of course, but with most of the parts being metal, not swapping them around so much is much better for the figure’s long-term condition.  The sculpt is generally pretty strong, doing a solid job of replicating the animation design.  The arms are a little on the softer side in terms of detailing, which kind of clashes with the rest of the body, but on the flipside, that means that the rest of the body is quite sharply detailed, and I really dig that.  00’s paint work is pretty decent overall.  The colors are a little bolder than on the Spirits figure, which I personally like just a little bit more.  The application is mostly pretty clean, with the arms again being the outliers for quality; there’s a bit of slop on the white/orange change-overs there.  I do really dig the markings, as well as the panel lining on the bulk of the figure; it helps to make the sculpt really pop.  00 is packed with a whole plethora of accessories, which includes five sets of hands (fists, trigger finger, gripping, claw gesture, and wide gesture), two styles of plug (long and short, for displaying and storing, alternatively), a rifle, the Enchanted Shield of Virture, a removable umbilical with posable cord, and a display stand that swaps for the umbilical, and even looks like the umbilical at the end.  Apart from the cord not easily swapping into the stand’s umbilical, everything is pretty cool.  I miss the extra armor parts, but getting the shield certainly makes up for it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Picking up the Spirits Eva 00 last year got me into a pretty positive mood for Eva stuff, and this figure went up for order right around that same time, and that’s how they got me.  I was able to get one specially ordered through All Time, and from there it was just a patient wait for her to finally get released.  This release doesn’t have the versatility of the Spirits release, but it’s certainly got a presence to it, and I’m very happy to have added it to my collection.  I dig the fully armored design a lot, and I dig the serious heft that this figure has behind it.  I’m also really digging getting to try out so many of the various different styles of figure that ThreeZero offers.  They’re steadily becoming one of my favorite new companies I’ve discovered.

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.

#3150: Fennec Shand

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

FENNEC SHAND

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“An assassin and elite mercenary, Fennec Shand has worked for all the top syndicates. Clever, capable, and cunning, she is not to be underestimated and is full of surprises”

Though seemingly killed halfway through her debut appearance in The Mandalorian‘s first season, Ming-Na Wen’s charismatic bounty hunter Fennec Shand proved far too good a character for a throwaway role. A cryptic end of the episode teaser hinted at a possible return, and the second season would reveal that Fennec had been saved by none other than Boba Fett. After a few more episodes of The Mandalorian, she returned once more as a main character in The Book of Boba Fett, which was as good a spot as any for her to get some toy coverage.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Fennec Shand is the first figure in the Book of Boba Fett sub-line of Star Wars: The Black Series. She was part of the first assortment of 2022, alongside a bunch of non-Book figures. Thus far, she and the deluxe Boba are the only figures under the branding. The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation. The articulation is standard for modern era Black Series. Her sculpt is all-new. It’s a pretty solid offering. The head sculpt has a respectable likeness of Ming-Na Wen, as well as matching pretty well with the design for the character. The body sculpt is a nice, clean recreation of her show design, with respectable proportions and sharp detailing. The paint work on Fennec is a good offering. The base work is all fairly cleanly applied, and her face makes alright use of the face printing. It seems a touch offset on all of the copies I’ve seen, but not so bad as to look too wonky. Fennec is packed with her helmet and her sniper rifle, which features a removable strap. The helmet fits well on the head, and she can hold the rifle nicely and securely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I liked Fennec from her first appearance, and I was very glad when she returned on the show, as well as with her follow-up on Book. Her figure took its time getting here, but I feel she was worth the wait. Not everything is perfect, but she’s very cool, and another great addition to the growing Mando cast.

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.

#3149: Inigo Montoya – Bloodied

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

INIGO MONTOYA — BLOODIED

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

Alright, just one more day with The Princess Bride.  Let’s make the most of it, shall we?  With variants for Westley and Buttercup already on the books, that just leaves Fezzik and Inigo.  Fezzik’s variant was just not enough for me to justify spending the extra $40 to get him, but I was able to get on board with the Inigo variant.  And, I’m gonna take a look at that variant today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Inigo Montoya (Bloodied) is the final figure in Series 2 of The Princess Bride line from McFarlane.  He joins Buttercup as the other figure based on the end of the film, though they are notably two characters that have no real interactions, especially at the end of the film.  He’s specifically based on Inigo’s injured appearance post final duel.  And, like Buttercup, Inigo’s natural counterpart, Count Rugen, isn’t likely to get made.  That said, he’s again another figure that does alright as a piece on his own.  The figure stands a little over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  Almost all of Inigo’s sculpt is a re-use from the Series 1 release, with only the head sculpt changing.  Inigo’s sculpt was the best of the Series 1 figures, and his appearance remains fairly similar throughout, so it’s a good re-use.  The new head trades out the more calm and composed expression from the first release for a more intense, teeth-gritting expression.  It fits the mid-battle look, and changes up his look enough to make him more noticeably different from the first release.  It’s a good sculpt, perhaps not as strong a likeness as the first one, but still with enough of a vibe of Mandy Patinkin to be recognizable.  Inigo’s paint work takes the set-up on the first figure, and adds the blood from his injuries.  They blood splatters actually match up with the injuries in the film pretty well, and the blood on the hand in particular looks pretty convincing.  Also, notably, the figure doesn’t have the side-eye, and that certainly is an improvement.  Inigo is packed with his sword (with additional blood smears) and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Inigo is definitely the least different of the variants in the main series, and I wasn’t sure that I was going to get him.  That said, in hand, I rather liked the look of him.  The blood effect is actually quite nicely handled, and it does more to change up the figure than you might expect.  The Series 1 figure is still going to be my go-to, but I certainly like this one more than I’d expected to.

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.

#3148: Princess Buttercup – Wedding Dress

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

PRINCESS BUTTERCUP — WEDDING DRESS

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

As we make our way through the rest of the second assortment of McFarlane’s Princess Bride line, we’re entirely dealing with the variants that make up the majority of the assortment.  Yesterday, I looked at one half of the story’s central pair of lovers, and today, I’m taking a look at the other.  The last Buttercup figure focused on the “Princess” half of the title, while this release focusses on the “Bride” half, depicting her from her wedding to Prince Humperdink at the film’s climax.  Seems like a sensible enough excuse for another variant of the character.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Buttercup (Wedding Dress) is part of Series 2 of The Princess Bride line.  She’s one of two figures based on the film’s climax in the second assortment, though the two don’t, like, go together or anything, since there’s no Humperdink to go with her at this time.  Still, it’s a prominent look, and the one she’s wearing during their escape at the end, so even without the Humperdink to go with her, it makes a degree of sense.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and she has 35 points of articulation.  The sculpt on this figure has a number of parts in common with the Series 1 version of the character, though not really many of the visible parts.  The head is the same (though not the hair; that’s been modified to add the crown), as are the hands, and the legs and pelvis.  The head remains a respectable take on Robin Wright, and the new crown piece sits nicely on it.  The new upper torso captures most of the features of the dress from the movie, though some of the details seem a little bit iffy on exact accuracy.  The new feet are more or less the same as the prior versions, but with extra detailing at the top of the foot; not entirely sure that’s accurate, but it at least looks a bit different.  Like the last figure, the skirt piece is cloth; the pattern appears to be the same; it’s a solid fabric, and kind of stiff, making it rather far off from the dress in the movie.  But, I guess it gets the general idea across?  The color work on this figure is okay, with the paint on the face being pretty clean in particular.  She’s still got a bit of side-eye going on, but it’s a little more reserved this time, and not matched by the squinting, so it looks a little better.  The dress seems a little too blue to my eyes, but that might just be a lighting thing.  The paint work is at least pretty cleanly handled.  Buttercup is packed with only a display stand.  While there’s a shortage of things to pack with the standard Buttercup, the fact that this one doesn’t include the dagger from the scene after the wedding seems like a silly omission, especially given that she’s still got that gripping hand.  What’s its purpose otherwise?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was iffy on needing this figure initially, but wound up getting the whole series, and she came along with it.  It’s at least a fairly unique design, and, issues of accuracy aside, I do think she still makes for an alright figure.  The eyes being less ridiculous this time around certainly helps her, but it’s a shame she doesn’t really match up with the rest of the cast that we’ve gotten so far.  Still, on her own, she’s quite 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.

#3147: Dread Pirate Roberts – Bloodied

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

DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS — BLOODIED

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

Yesterday, I kicked back into my Princess Bride reviews with the only new character in Series 2 of the line.  Today, I continue with the first of the three variant figures that make up the rest of the assortment.  I’m going to look at them from most notable variant to least notable variant.  Most notable it is, then!  Princess Buttercup’s love Westley initially resurfaces in her life as the masked mystery man, the Dread Pirate Roberts, but after rescuing her from Vizzini and his men, he reveals his identity, before taking a bit of a beating while trekking through the fire swamp, changing up his look bit for the rest of the movie…or at the very least removing the mystery of the initial look.  That’s the look that gets the figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Dread Pirate Roberts (Bloodied) is the second figure in Series 2 of McFarlane’s The Princess Bride line.  While I don’t like to harp on names on the box too much, the fact that this guy is still labeled “Dread Pirate Roberts,” despite being a post-unmasking version of the character, and thereby being pretty much exclusively Westley at that point, seems like an odd choice.  But, it’s hardly the oddest choice that ol’ Toddy boy has ever made.  The figure stands a little over 7 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  As was expected for this release, a lot of his parts are shared with the Series 1 Roberts.  It’s a for better/for worse situation, since it’s consistent and all, but it’s also victim to the weird hang-ups of the original sculpt, especially that weird torso/pelvis set-up.  He gets a new head and left arm to sell his new look.  The head is a solid offering.  The likeness is even better than the masked version, and the hair is pretty much perfect for Elwes’ hair in the movie.  The new left arm showcases the damage to his shirt from fighting the Rodent-of-unusual-size, as well as the missing glove.  It’s a good change-up, marred by only one thing: they didn’t re-sculpt the right side, so he’s still got one glove, which is a look he never has in the movie.  Even just redoing the hand would at least sell it a bit better.  As it stands, it just feels a bit lazy.  Westley’s paint work is largely pretty similar to the standard version, but he’s got some blood on the shoulder, as well as more detailing on the face and the hair.  He seems rather pale for Westley, but honestly, it’s not the worst thing.  Westley is packed with his sword and a display stand, mirroring what came with the first release.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first Westley was the weakest of the first series.  This one had a bit more potential.  Ultimately, he probably could have just been an extra head and hands with the first release, especially given that they didn’t even fully commit to the dressed-down look, but at the same time, this one does work just a little bit better than the first one.  The unmasked look is more prevalent in the film, and works better as a figure, so he’s ultimately a slightly better offering, and just the better of the two, really.

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.

#3146: Vizzini

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

VIZZINI

THE PRINCESS BRIDE (MCFARLANE TOYS)

Back nearer the beginning of the year, the first series of The Princess Bride figures from McFarlane Toys hit retail.  It covered the basics for the film’s cast, and was generally not as bad as it could have been, given that it was, you know, McFarlane, and all.  A follow-up was announced very shortly after the first, which includes variants on all of the first assortment’s characters, as well as one new addition.  I’m looking at said new addition, Wallace Shawn’s Vizzini, one of the film’s most inconceivably memorable characters, today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vizzini is one of the four figures in Series 2 of The Princess Bride figures from McFarlane.  As noted above, he’s the only unique character from this assortment, and, going by how the line seems to be performing, he’s probably going to be the last unique character we’re going to see from the line.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  His height means he’s a little shorter than the other figures, but he’s not enough shorter to accurately represent Wallace Shawn.  For accurate sizing, he should be almost an inch and a half shorter than the Inigo figure, when in reality he’s only a half an inch shorter.  It’s almost an inch off.  Flip side is that he happens to be in almost perfect scale with the Fezzik figure.  So, in a line-up with the three criminals, like in the movie when they first appear, it’s Inigo who winds up looking out of place.  But, you know, he’s the one that’s actually in proper scale…so it’s weird.  Scaling issues aside, the actual sculpt is pretty solid.  The likeness on the head is on par with the rest of the line, so it’s not spot-on, but it’s also close enough to be recognizable.  The expression is a good fit for the character, with that goofy grin and all.  The detailing on the outfit is pretty sharp, with a bunch of really great texturing.  The articulation scheme is a little less awkward looking here than on the rest of the line, which is certainly a plus.  The paint work on Vizzini is on par with the rest of the line.  The base work is all pretty cleanly handled.  We’re still getting the slightly odd grey smear for the five o’clock shadow, but it’s not quite as thick.  The eyes lose the side eye thing, so that’s a plus.  I also really dig how the accenting on his tunic turned out.  Vizzini is packed with two goblets and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

With the four figures we got out of Series 1, I wasn’t expecting a Series 2, to be honest.  In the back of my mind, I was hopeful for a Vizzini, so his inclusion in Series 2 is pretty awesome.  He’s a slightly better quality of figure than the Series 1 figures, so that’s actually quite nice.   And hey, they actually made a Wallace Shawn figure!  How cool is that?

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.