Tag Archives: All Time Toys

#3135: Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man

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

KRILLIN — EARTH’S STRONGEST MAN

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

It’s been a bit over a year since my last Dragon Ball Z review, and I’ve got to keep these infrequent stops back at that particular well going, right? Right. Honestly, it’s not even a conscious thing really. They just keep putting out one figure I want just every so often enough to keep me from completely falling out of it. Last year it was Piccolo. This year? We’re finally circling back around to my man Krillin. And I sure do love me some Krillin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Krillin – Earth’s Strongest Man is a 2022 release for the DBZ subset of Bandai’s SH Figuarts line. He started showing up domestically in the last month or so. This is the third version of Krillin in the line, and the second to be specifically DBZ-based. As with Piccolo, it had been a while since that last DBZ Krillin, so another version was definitely due.  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and has 43 points of articulation.  As I noted in my review of Piccolo last year, there have been some definite adjustments made to how Figuarts implements articulation on their figures, especially for this line in particular.  Krillin continues that trend, and, despite his smaller stature, he’s still notably sturdier than some of the earlier figures, which is a definite plus, and something that makes the figure a lot nicer to actually mess around with.  The legs are notably a lot less prone to getting all floppy in certain poses, and his arms have less pieces that just float around during posing.  You still want to be somewhat careful, as parts can still pop out of place (as his right shoulder did during my initial posing), but for the most part, it works a lot better.  Krillin’s sculpt is all-new, and aims to address some of the issues with the last DBZ Krillin.  The biggest of those, ironically, was the size of the original figure.  He was far too tall to be an accurately scaled Krillin to go with the rest of the line.  Given his supposed canon height is supposed to be 5 feet, this new figure’s scale seems to be more or less on the mark.  Beyond that, the new sculpt is just a solid match for Krillin’s animation model, as well as the overall style of the more recent figures.  In terms of sizing, design, and how the articulation is worked in, he’s just an overall better representation than the prior release.  There are four different heads included with this one, each with a different expression.  The standard, right out of the box one has a fairly basic intense looking stare, but there’s also a surprised one, a yelling one, and an angry one.  They’re all consistently sculpted, so they look like the same character, and they’re all a good match for the character as seen on the show.  I wouldn’t mind getting something with more of a friendly smile, but the ones we got are solid.  I myself am partial to the surprised head, because that just feels so very Krillin.  The color work on Krillin is generally pretty basic.  A lot of it is molded colors, but there’s enough paint to get all of the important details.  The application is all pretty sharp, and he looks appropriately the part.  Krillin is packed with six different sets of hands (pointing, two different styles of open palm, two different styles of open gesture, and fists), an extra left hand holding a bag of Senzu Beans, and a Destructo Disk effects piece.  Pretty much all of the essentials are covered here, and I can’t really think of a ton of other stuff you could give him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first DBZ version of Krillin was released just enough before I got into the line that there was no way for me to get him at a reasonable price.  I’ve kept my eye out for other options in the scale pretty much ever since, and ultimately made do with the Dragon Ball version of him for a little bit.  That said, as soon as this one was announced, I was on board, and I eagerly awaited his release.  In hand, he’s a ton of fun, and very much worth the wait.  Given how much I like Krillin, I’m kinda glad I didn’t settle for the earlier version, and waited for what is definitely the best version of him out there.

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.

#3134: Teela

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

TEELA

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

“Learning she had been lied to her entire life, Teela threw down her sword, rejected her title, and turned her back on her family, friends, and all of Eternia.  Fate, however, has a way of returning.  Prince Adam’s secret identity as He-Man — the same secret that shattered her trust — became intertwined with her quest to save magic from disappearing from Eternia.”

Oh, wow, you know, those last two Masters reviews were so lovely, I think I might just do one more. Like a dessert or something. Just a little extra. Masters of the Universe Revelation spent most of its runtime in a post-defeat of He-Man setting, but it’s first episode, as well as some flashbacks sprinkled throughout the rest of the show, still gave plenty of focus to the main characters in their classic designs. This also gives the tie-in portion of Mattel’s Masterverse line plenty of free reign for some more straightforward updates of the original figures. While the line’s first Teela was sporting her later Revelation look, there was a rather quick follow-up to that one, this time with her classic attire. I’ll be taking a look at that one today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Teela is part of Series 4 of the Masterverse line, as one of the two Revelation-themed figures in the set. The figure stands about 7 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation. She again keeps with the set-up we’ve seen previously with the female bodies in this line, which is a pretty solid articulation scheme. Her sculpt is obviously starting from the same base point as the other female figures, but she’s almost entirely new. It’s a strong sculpt. I was a big fan of the prior Teela, and I liked the extra details the newer design offered, but this one looks pretty great too. The armor is very clean and sharply detailed, and I like how the two faces are a younger, more cleaned up Teela, but still very distinctly the same person.  As hinted by the “two faces” comment from the sentence prior, Teela includes two head sculpts.  The first is the more classic one, with her hair up and her headdress in place.  The second is her post-quitting look, with her hair down and messy.  They’re both a lot of fun, and, again, consistent to what’s been established thus far for the character in this iteration of the line.  Teela’s paint work is generally pretty decent.  The application is pretty clean for the most part.  There’s a little bit of slop on the tops of the boots, and the coloring on the cheeks is a little heavy handed, but otherwise, it works well.  Teela is packed with two sets of hands, a sword, and a shield.  Not quite as impressive as the last two figures I looked at, but still a nice set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was quite content with my post-time-jump Teela figure from Series 2, and, as cool as this figure looked, I wasn’t planning to grab this one.  I then got offered a deal on one that I really couldn’t beat, and suddenly, I have one.  She’s really nice.  A fantastic update on the classic Teela design, fitting right in with the other “classic” figures from the line.  I definitely dig the extra pieces, and she’s just a pretty solid figure all around.

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.

#3133: Andra

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

ANDRA

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE (MATTEL)

Remember when I was talking about Masters of the Universe yesterday? Good, then I won’t have to repeat myself too much. As it turns out, I’ve got a small little handful of Masters figures to check out, so I’m going ahead and doing that now. As I mentioned yesterday, the Masterverse line started off with tie-ins for Revelation, and while it’s moving on to some other corners of the franchise, there’s still a few more Revelation figures to cover. I’m looking at one of those today. This time around, it’s Andra. Originally introduced as a supporting player in the first ongoing Masters of the Universe comic (published by Marvel’s short-lived Star Comics imprint), Andra was revived and updated to be a major player in Revelation, getting her very first action figure in the process. I’m looking at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Andra was released in Series 3 of the Masters of the Universe: Masterverse line. It’s the last fully Revelation-themed set for the line, and also featured Fisto, Stinkor, and Scare-Glow. Andra is one of the characters to only be seen post-time skip, so she’s only got the one real look, which is what this figure goes with. The original Andra design’s honestly not much to write home about, so Revelation departs from it pretty radically, going for more of a post-apocalyptic, quickly thrown together sort of vibe, which I really dig.  The figure stands 7 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation. Her articulation scheme is the same as we saw with Teela and Evil-Lyn before her. As with Teela, actual re-use is at a minimum, mostly being confined to her upper arms, and the internal structure of the body. Beyond that, she’s an all-new sculpt. It’s a pretty great one. She continues the trend set by Evil-Lyn and Teela of the female figures really being the best ones in the line. The show design has all of its elements captured well, with just a little extra detailing to make the figure a little more visually interesting.  Her paint work is rather involved, but far more reserved than the usual offering from this line.  It works out pretty well, and matches up nicely with her look from the show.  Andra rivals Evil-Lyn in terms of accessory pack-outs, going for a real all-in-one set-up.  She gets her alternate masked head from her intro, plus a cloth cloak to go with it, three different pairs of hands, and a blast effect for her wrist blaster.  Certainly not a bad set-up at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Andra’s not a character I knew before Revelation brought her back, but, as I’ve mentioned a few times before, I really dug Teela’s whole team, and they’re really my main focus with this line.  Andra’s certainly not a character I could leave out, given how central she is to so much of the story.  She’s genuinely one of the line’s nicest figures, with a real feeling of value for what you’re getting, as well as a lot of very obvious care going into the whole construction.

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.

#3131: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (TOY BIZ)

I gave today’s intro a fair bit of thought.  Usually, I like to keep things fairly light and apolitical here on the site, what with it being about toys and all, but I would be lying if I said that wasn’t becoming a harder thing to do these days.  My aim isn’t to offend, or hurt, or throw mud, or anything like that, but even from an apolitical stand-point, there wind up being some lines that get crossed, and it gets pretty hard not to say anything about it.  So, I’m gonna keep being me, and I’m gonna say what I say, and continue to just try to be my best self.  Today is July 4th, a day that’s typically dedicated to celebrating all the great things about America.  For me, on the site at least, that means I get to review another Captain America figure, because that’s how I roll.  This year, things are very much muddied by current events, leaving a lot of people not feeling quite so hot about America, and perhaps a little less proud to be part of this whole venture.  I can definitely feel that, and I think we’ve all got some work we can do to get to a better place together.  I think we can all work towards being our own best selves.  And if you think my best self isn’t going to take the opportunity, in a time of uncertainty, fear, and worry, to review a figure of Steve Rogers, a symbol of hope for all the things that America should be to all the people that call it home, then you’re definitely not one of my regular readers.  When you need some inspiration, a Captain America’s not a bad place to start, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America was released as part of Toy Biz’s “Face Off” spin-off of Marvel Legends, which gave us new versions of the core heroes, facing off against their antagonists.  For his part, Cap was packed alongside Red Skull.  There was also a variant unmasked Cap, which was instead packed with Baron Strucker.  Look, he’s fighting a Nazi either way, right?  This was Toy Biz’s fourth and final version of Cap in their run with Legends, following the original Series 1, the Ultimate, and its more classically-inspired variant.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 46 points of articulation.  That hefty articulation count is aided by the addition of separately articulated fingers, something Toy Biz was giving a try later in their run.  They wound up as one of the very first things cut by Hasbro, and, honestly, it’s not a huge shock.  They’re really not much more than a novelty, and they mean he can’t really grip or anything.  It’s the sort of thing that alternate hands are just a far more efficient way of doing finger poses.  Other than that, the articulation is pretty decent from a range of motion standpoint, though perhaps not so much from the appearance angle.  They definitely aren’t super worked into the sculpt’s aesthetics.  Said sculpt was a mix of old and new.  He used the Ultimate Cap as a starting point, with the addition of a more classically-based set of gloves and boots, as well as slightly tweaked versions of the upper torso and head.  This whole sculpt wound up getting up-scaled for Toy Biz’s Marvel Legends Icons line, and it was honestly pretty good for the time.  It’s perhaps not aged quite so well, what with its wonky proportions and the slightly odd shaping of the face.  That said, the texture work, especially on the scaling, is really amazing work, and if nothing else, he’s certainly got a nice style to him.  At the time of release, he was probably one of Toy Biz’s best.  Cap’s paint work is decent enough.  Toy Biz was still tending to go pretty muddy with the colors at this point, but this guy actually gets a fairly bold and clean color scheme.  It works pretty well for the character, and, again, it’s really some of the line’s best work.  Cap is packed with his shield, which is the same as his Series 1 counterpart’s, complete with the cloth straps for placing over his shoulders.  This time, it’s better painted, and I particularly like the black interior; it definitely adds a lot more pop.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when this figure was released, I decided to stick with my Series 1 version, rather than trying to upgrade.  Given how difficult it was to get these packs, or really Legends in general, it wasn’t hard to justify.  I always kind of wanted one, but I never got the chance to grab him over the years.  Fortunately for me, he came into to All Time a couple of months ago.  He’s certainly a figure that shows his age, but I still really enjoy him for what he is.

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.

#3130: Korg

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

KORG

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A Kronan warrior on the planet Sakaar, Korg is forced to compete in the Contest of Champions.  When he meets fellow warrior Thor, he allies with the Asgardian to escape Sakaar and defeat Hela.”

Remember on Tuesday, when I was discussing Ragnarok‘s new characters, who were of varying importance and seriousness?  Well, hey, here’s Korg.  Not super important, I suppose, but certainly a good time, thanks to director Taika Waititi’s delightfully charming performance as the character.  He returned as the character for Endgame, and is now coming back once more for Ragnarok‘s sequel, Love and Thunder, which looks to be giving him an enhanced role.  I for one am very much in favor of this, as I absolutely love Korg.  And now I’ve got another Korg action figure.  Let’s see if I love that too.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Korg is the titular Build-A-Figure for the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  It marks his second time as a Legend, following the Ragnarok version from the two-pack.  This one is based on his upgraded attire from the new movie.  It’s a little more personalized, since he’s not a gladiator anymore.  There’s some fur, and a bit more color to it, making it a little more visually interesting.  The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Korg is built using a number of shared parts from the previous version of Korg.  It’s sensible, what with him being the same character, and the first version being a pretty solid piece of work and all.  This one keeps most of the arms and torso, as well as the feel, with a new set of legs, overlay for the torso, and head.  Generally, it’s a pretty nice selection of new parts, matching well to the quality of the original parts.  The head’s not super different, just with a slightly different expression.  This one’s a little more serious, though still not too serious, because, you know, it’s Korg.  The new legs notably give him actual pants.  That’s a nice improvement for him, I guess.  What’s not so much of an improvement is the hip movement.  He can’t actually get his legs to sit straight down for a standard standing pose; he’s always got to be low-key spreading his legs.  The figure’s color work is fairly decent.  The design allows for a brighter, more eye-catching look than the last one.  The application of the paint is pretty clean, though there’s not a ton going on in the way of accenting, much like with the rest of the assortment.  On the one hand, it’s a bit of a bummer, but on the other, it means there’s not a lot of mismatched shading, as can happen on some Build-A-Figures.  Korg is packed with his mace-thing, which appears to be the same piece as included with the last one, just with a slightly different paint scheme.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like Korg, and I really liked the last Korg figure, so I wasn’t certain I needed this figure.  That said, I did like the new design for the character, and I was at least somewhat interested in most of the figures needed to build him.  I was able to snag the part that came with Star-Lord on its own, meaning I had less figures I needed to buy, and making the whole thing just a bit easier.  While there are some slight issues with this figure, I do really like the end result, and he’s another fun Korg figure.

This is a more focused set than previous movie sets, to be sure.  I’m glad that Hasbro’s finally splitting movie and comic into their own things, as I think it allows them to cover more of the core movie stuff without dipping into exclusives and multipacks, which are usually pretty frustrating.  That said, for me personally, I’m hitting a point where I don’t feel as pressed to buy every single new MCU figure any more, given how many versions I have of some of these characters.  This one was an interesting experiment for me.  I think Korg remains my favorite, as I expected.  The two Thors I picked up are both fun, if maybe not much beyond what I was expecting.  Valkyrie and Groot are both figures that exceeded my expectations, and have become my favorite versions of the characters, so that’s pretty cool.  And Gorr…well, he’s just sort of there.  Again, hard to judge without seeing the movie.  With the projected price jumps, this one does feel a bit like a last hurrah for this type of assortment, but we’ll see how things progress.

#3219: Groot

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

GROOT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“I AM GROOT!”

At the end of Endgame, Thor continued his journey by venturing out with the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Rather unsurprisingly, the Guardians are playing at least some sort of supporting role in Love and Thunder.  From the trailers, it appears the whole team will be along for the ride, but with their third film on the horizon, it doesn’t make quite so much sense to fill an entire Thor line-up with Guardians.  So, Hasbro picked some favorites, including everyone’s favorite walking tree with limited vocabulistics, Groot!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Groot is figure 6 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  Between him and yesterday’s Ravager Thor, there’s also a new Star-Lord, but I opted to skip that one, on the basis that I’ve got a bunch of Star-Lords.  This figure is based on Groot’s “Teen” look.  It’s been given the Legends treatment once before via the Infinity War tie-ins, via the (supposed to be) TRU-exclusive three-pack with Thor and Rocket.  That one had gotten pretty pricey on the aftermarket, and with it looking to be more or less the standard version of the character going forward, it’s a sensible choice for a re-do.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 25 points of articulation.  He’s using the body from the prior Teen Groot.  It’s not 100% ideal, mostly due to how the arm articulation works, but it could be worse.  Generally, it’s a nice sculpt.  I was never super sold on the head sculpt to the old one, and, hey, would you look at that, it’s the one thing they changed.  The new head is a lot more sharply detailed, and just generally looks like a better match for the animation model from the films.  That chin is much less pronounced, and the leaves and such at the top are much more leaf-like.  The figure’s color work is also a slight improvement.  He’s more in line with the adult Groots from the first movie, being molded in a slightly lighter brown, and with a fainter green detailing.  I think it works a lot better than the prior version.  Groot also gets a slightly better accessory selection, by virtue of not being stuck in a pack with two other figures.  He gets two standard hands, an extra right hand with a trigger finger, two branch-looking effect hands, a blaster rifle, and the torso to the Korg Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a bit lukewarm on the first Teen Groot.  Being stuck in a big, expensive boxed set, he just didn’t feel worth the price, and I always had some issues with the actual sculpt, especially the head.  I wasn’t initially sure about this release, as I’d expected it would be a pretty straight re-release.  But, I wanted Korg, and the new hands looked fun, so I grabbed him.  While he’s not drastically different, the new head does a lot for the figure, and I’m ultimately much happier with him than I’d expected to be.  This definitely feels like the definitive Teen Groot.  So, they’ll clearly be changing his design entirely for Vol 3, right?

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.

#3218: Ravager Thor

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

RAVAGER THOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Thor wields the mighty Stormbreaker against a terrifying new foe.”

I’m already three figures into this look into the tie-in Legends for Thor: Love and Thunder, and I haven’t yet actually looked at the Odinson himself.  That seems pretty crazy.  There are two of them present in this assortment, and I’m opting to look at the slightly more unique of the pair.  This one, dubbed “Ravager Thor,” no doubt due to its ties to his time with the Guardians of the Galaxy, was the central piece of our first teaser image from the film, so its presence in this assortment isn’t all that much of a surprise.  So, let’s look at how that turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ravager Thor is figure 4 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends.  As noted above, he’s one of two Odinson Thors in this line-up.  The other is a more traditionally armored take on the character, but it’s got no Build-A-Figure part, so I’m not in a huge rush to pick it up.  This Thor is clearly in his post-workout attire, after he’s gotten back in shape following the events of Endgame.  It’s based loosely on Thunderstrike’s design from the comics, which is a nice touch, and is also a nice sort of half-step between his The Dude-inspired look as Bro Thor and his more classic warrior Thor.  The figure stands about 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  This Thor follows in the footsteps of the Endgame Thor, being closer to actual scale, rather than the exaggerated sizing of prior MCU Thors.  The figure’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s honestly a pretty respectable one.  The head in particular sports probably the best likeness we’ve gotten yet for Hemsworth.  That face just really clicks in a way that previous takes haven’t.  Given how many tries Hasbro’s given it, that’s definitely saying something.  The body sculpt has Hemsworth’s more heroic proportions from the film, as well as a ton of texture work on the outfit.  The vest is a separate, removable piece.  The left arm on my figure comes out, which makes taking the vest off a lot easier, though I don’t know if that’s on purpose.  The color work on this guy appears to be pretty spot on to the film design.  The paint on the face is suitably life-like, and the hair gets some nice accenting, giving it that slightly dirtier look.  He also gets the full detailing on his t-shirt design, which is pretty fun.  Thor is packed with Stormbreaker, as well as the arm to the Korg Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mostly, I bought this guy for the Korg piece.  That said, I also did quite dig this look from its initial appearance in the teaser photo.  I like how it works with the general Flash Gordon-y vibe of the first film (and, I assume, this one, too).  This figure is honestly pretty fun, and he’s a neat progression from the Bro Thor figure.

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.

#3126: Gorr

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

GORR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Wielding a powerful and terrifying weapon, Gorr will let nothing stand in his way.”

With Loki, the Frost Giants, Malekith, Hela, The Executioner, and Surtur off the table (and the Enchantress effectively adapted into Sylvie in Loki), the Thor franchise had to move to more recent additions for an antagonist in Love and Thunder.  Enter Gorr the God Butcher.  Introduced during Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic’s Marvel Now!-era run on the book, Gorr has no ties to pre-existing mythology, and was a new creation in wholesale.  He doesn’t exactly have a ton of comics appearances, but he played a role in the run that led up to Jane Foster becoming Thor, so including him in this particular story isn’t the craziest idea.  For the film, he’s played by former Batman actor Christian Bale, making him the second live-action Batman to join the MCU as a villain.  Bet George Clooney and Val Kilmer are feeling real skipped over right about now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gorr is figure 2 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends, which is entirely based on Love and Thunder.  This is Gorr’s debut in action figure form, making him the one truly new figure in the bunch, although it was also the first time we’d gotten an MCU Jane.  But this is our first Gorr regardless of universe.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Gorr’s articulation scheme is slightly more modernized, matching up with robed characters from other lines.  Obviously, he’s restricted on the legs, due to the skirt, but otherwise mobility’s pretty solid on the range front, and he’s also got the pinless joint construction on the elbows and knees.  Gorr’s sculpt is all-new.  It’s not a bad piece.  For the movie-verse, Gorr’s design is slightly less inhuman than his comics-counterpart, largely to keep Christian Bale’s face clearer for the purposes of emoting.  It makes for a slightly less distinctive design, but I’m sure it’ll work better within the movie proper.  The sculpt does a respectable job of capturing the design, at least based on what we’ve seen so far.  The face has a rather spot-on likeness of Bale, and the texture work on the outfit is rather impressive.  I don’t much care for how floaty the cape is, but other than that, the sculpt works well.  Gorr’s paintwork is rather on the drab side, seeing as he’s really just a lot of off-white.  It’s largely molded, but he gets a little bit of accenting on the exposed skin, as well as getting some pretty in depth printing for the face.  Gorr is packed with a black sword, which is presumably All-Black the Necrosword, Gorr’s weapon in the comics.  He also includes the left leg for Korg.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I know nothing of Gorr, at least from personal experience, so I’m pretty much banking off of a hope that I’ll like the character’s appearance in the movie.  Also, I wanted Korg.  So, there was that.  I honestly picked him up for that.  It’s not a bad figure, though.  Design’s a touch on the bland side, but the likeness is really good, and he’s pretty posable, especially on the upper half.

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.

#3125: Mighty Thor

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

MIGHTY THOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Jane Foster’s life is forever changed when she mysteriously comes to possess the hammer Mjolnir…and the power of the Mighty Thor!”

In two weeks time, Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth installment in the MCU’s Thor franchise, hits theatres.  One of the film’s earliest selling points was the return of Natalie Portman in the role of Jane Foster, as well as the confirmation that the film would be adapting her time in the role of Thor from the comics.  The MCU hasn’t really touched on the whole concept of other people taking on the mantle of Thor the way the comics had by the point Jane took over, so it’ll be interesting how exactly they handle it on screen.  It’s not like it’s a terribly confusing concept, though, and with Taika Waititi at the helm, I’m sure there will be some humorous quipping about the exact ins and outs of it in the final film.  Whatever the case, there are toys, and where there are toys, there is me, reviewing the toys.  Well, some of the time.  I mean, I don’t buy *everything*.  But I did buy this, so I’m gonna review it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mighty Thor is figure 1 in the Korg Series of Marvel Legends, which serves as the tie-in assortment for Love and Thunder.  It’s an assortment entirely based on the movie, which seems to have become the norm after years of mixing MCU and comics stuff.  Jane is seen here in what I can only assume will be her main attire from the film.  It’s a pretty solid recreation of the design she sported in the comics, with the necessary adjustments for it being on a real person and all, as well as tying her in a little more closely with the prior cinematic Thor designs. The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  As with most recent releases, she has the pinless joint construction on her elbows and knees, allowing for a generally sleeker design.  Jane Thor’s sculpt is an all-new offering.  It appears to be a pretty accurate rendition of the movie design, going by what we’ve seen so far.  The detailing is generally pretty sharp, though there are a few soft spots on a couple of the armored parts.  I quite like how the cape has turned out.  There’s a really convincing drape to it, especially given it’s heavier rubber construction.  Jane Thor includes two different heads; one with helmet, and one without.  The helmeted look feels just a touch goony looking; it’s something about how the eyes and mouth work within the context of the whole assembly.  It’s not too terrible, though.  The unmasked head is sporting a respectable likeness of Natalie Portman, certainly on par with the Padme from a few years ago at the very least.  Jane Thor’s color work is at best described as the bare minimum.  Well, okay, it probably goes a little bit beyond that, to her credit.  There aren’t any obviously missing details, but there’s also very little in the way of accenting.  It’s especially notable on the silver section, where some of the sculpted detailing winds up a little lost.  That said, the application is all rather clean, and the face printing makes her look sufficiently lifelike, as per usual.  Jane Thor includes Mjolnir and the right leg of the Korg Build-A-Figure.  Mjolnir is an all-new sculpt, showcasing its reassembled nature in the film.  Interestingly, it’s a larger size than the ones we’ve gotten with standard Thor (and Cap for that matter), making it our third different scaling for Mjolnir within the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I myself only had a somewhat passing familiarity with Jane’s time as Thor in the comics, but Jess was a huge fan, and collected the whole run, up through its end.  I know she would have been thrilled about it getting adapted, so that’s kind of translated to me being excited about it too.  I’m hoping that actually giving Natalie Portman a little bit more to do in the role might make her a slightly more compelling character.  The figure’s at least a promising start.  While I’d have liked to see them be a little more in depth with some of the paint, she’s otherwise a pretty solid release, and thus far looks to be the star of the assortment, at least as far as the general public is concerned.

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.

#3120: Death Watch Mandalorian

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

DEATH WATCH MANDALORIAN

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“An extremist clan that attempted to take over Mandalore during the Clone Wars, the Death Watch Mandalorians are tenacious warriors embracing the ancient traditions of their people”

The first “mainstream” follow-up to Boba and Jango Fett in terms of depictions of the Mandalorians in Star Wars was in The Clone Wars, where the terrorist group the Death Watch appeared as antagonists of the Republic forces, attempting to take Mandalore back to its warrior roots.  The Watch took on a number of different forms over the course of the series, as they took over control of Mandalore, and eventually had their own splintering following Darth Maul’s machinations within the Watch.  Though the Watch are classically seen as antagonistic, The Mandalorian casts a slightly different light on them, placing them in the role of a young Din Djarin’s savior’s during the Clone Wars.  Well, at least one of them, anyway.  Since their appearance in the flashbacks in Season 1, the live action incarnation of the Death Watch has been slowly finding its way into toy form.  Today, I’m taking a look at the Black Series version.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Death Watch Mandalorian is figure 21 in the Mando-sub-set of Phase IV of The Black Series.  He’s both the final Mando themed figure in this assortment, as well as the final overall figure in the assortment.  He’s the fifth army builder to come out of The Mandalorian, as well as the third time we’ve gotten some form of Mando Warrior army builder in Black Series.  He’s based on the Mando that saves Din during his flashback in the Season 1 finale, but all of the other Mandos in that sequence appear to be wearing the same armor, so it works as any of them, really.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  His articulation structure is about what you’d expect for an armored figure in the modern incarnation of the line.  He’s got quite of mobility, and can generally pose pretty nicely.  There’s a little bit of restriction at the shoulders and hips, but other than that, everything’s pretty great.  This figure is sporting an all-new sculpt.  At first glance, he appears to share the head/helmet with Boba, but this one’s actually a single solid piece, with no actual underlying head.  There’s a chin and such sculpted under there, but it’s not fully designed.  I suppose there’s no real need for it to be a separate piece if there’s no chance of ever taking it off.  The rest of the body sculpt is pretty nicely handled.  The armor plates are separate pieces mounted in place, which gives it a nice, properly assembled feel.  The paint work on the Death Watch Mando is a decent set-up.  He’s much cleaner than a lot of Mandos, but that’s accurate to what we see on-screen; guess they had more time for armor upkeep in those days.  It’s a cool color scheme, which is rather unique.  I very much dig all of the blues.  The figure is packed with a larger blaster rifle and a small blaster pistol, which are both pretty fun pieces, as well as a jet-pack, which appears to be an all-new one, different from the others we’ve seen.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I dug the Death Watch look during Clone Wars, and I definitely dug the updated version of the design that showed up in The Mandalorian.  Given it’s short appearance, I wasn’t expecting to see it show up particularly soon, but it’s also not something I thought was entirely unlikely.  I liked the Clone Wars version that came out in 2020, but it was built on an old mold, so I was glad to see the all-new version show up here.  He’s a really solid, really fun figure, showcasing all of the advancements that Hasbro’s worked into this line in the last few years.

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.